Month: August 2018

You may be aware that next week (3–7 September) is National Payroll Week, which is designed to “raise the profile and awareness of payroll in the UK”. But what exactly is payroll, and why should we celebrate it?

Essentially, ‘payroll’ refers to everything to do with paying employees and collecting taxes from them, and it has a significant impact on the country’s economy. According to the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP), payroll contributes £4.46 billion to the economy each year through income tax and national insurance.

Exactly what form your payroll takes will depend on the type and size of business you own: perhaps you handle all payroll matters yourself, or maybe you have one or two employees, or even an entire department, dedicated to it. Whatever your payroll looks like, it’s a vital part of your business, and next week’s celebrations are a great opportunity to recognise that. With that in mind, here are a few of the ways you can prepare your business for National Payroll Week.

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Get Ahead VA offers a wide range of business and marketing services. In our Service Spotlight we take a closer look at one of these, and show you how our virtual assistants can help you and your business. This month we’re looking at social media management.

What is social media management?

Social media management is a vital part of any modern marketing strategy. It involves engaging with your customers and creating a persona for your brand on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and so on. You can do this by creating and sharing content, and responding to questions and comments from your audience. (more…)

We are delighted to announce that Get Ahead VA has been shortlisted for not one, but two awards in the upcoming Women in Business Awards 2018!

The Women in Business Awards “celebrate, encourage and inspire successful and aspiring business women in the South.” This will be the event’s fifth year, and awards will be given to business women from the Thames Valley, Solent and South Coast regions across eight different categories. These awards will honour women who have made a significant difference inside or outside their organisations, at all levels of business, from start-ups to senior executives.

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Blogging for business: many of us feel like it’s something we should be doing, but does it really work?

‘Content marketing’ – the official term for marketing that involves creating and sharing content, like blog posts, with an online audience – is hugely effective. Compared with paid search, for instance, content marketing can produce three times as many leads and cost 62% less. What’s more, blogging has myriad benefits for business owners: it can drive traffic to your website, generate sales and mailing lists, and help you to establish yourself as an authority in your field. When it comes to the question “Should my business have a blog?” the answer is almost always yes.

If you’re new to blogging for business, there are a few golden rules you should follow to make your blog a success. Remember, blogging is hard work, but use these 5 tips and you’re bound to start seeing results.

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Press releases are a fundamental part of media relations work and one of the main ways you can share your news with journalists.

But unless you work in PR or comms, knowing how they exactly work and what they can actually achieve is somewhat of a mystery. For instance, just because you’ve issued a release to the media, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get any coverage.

In this blog, former journalist and Get Ahead VA team member, Sanina Kaur, sheds some light on the world of press releases.

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LinkedIn is the number one channel for B2B marketers. According to research conducted by the site, 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute their content, and more than 80% of B2B leads created by social media come from LinkedIn. So what does this mean for you? Well, if you’re a business looking to promote your products/services to other businesses, then LinkedIn should be your first stop.

One of the best ways to promote your business using LinkedIn is through the messaging service. It is here that you can connect with other users, share your content and find new leads. There are two versions of LinkedIn messaging: the free version lets you message your contacts on the site, while the paid-for version, InMail, allows you to message people you aren’t already connected with.

So, if you’re a business looking to make connections on LinkedIn, here are some tips for getting the most out of LinkedIn messenger.

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