Brookstone Innovation

04/10/2021

Wind Turbines... What would you do with them?
What happens to off-shore wind turbines at the end of their working lives? They do so much good for the planet, wouldn't it be a shame if they just end up being toppled into the ocean, or buried in landfill!
It got us talking in the studio and we found this interesting short read from the BBC:

One wind farm company is looking for imaginative ways to repurpose turbines at the end of their lives.

20/09/2021

Have you seen this story on the BBC about getting broadband out to remote parts of the world via airborne beams of light?

The project has been developed by Alphabet's moonshot factory, X.

09/09/2021

Dyslexia - Seeing The World In A Different Way!
Not being able to see the world in the same way as others is often considered a drawback, but the view from a different lens can also be revelatory.
This link takes you to a brilliant quick read about how an explorer who found many iconic shipwrecks like the titanic credits dyslexia for his success.
Take a look:

Robert Ballard, a pioneer in underwater robotic technology, has had a fascinating life—he discovered the shipwrecked Titanic.

11/08/2021

What's the cheapest way to market my business?
This is a regular search term on Google from business owners looking for a quick win, but so too is the search term "why isn't my marketing working"!!

There is a strong link between the two questions, as cheap marketing rarely leads to a good result, in fact it usually leads to throwing your money away and sometimes even the closure of what could have been a great company.

There's a much better question those business owners should be asking and we've written a quick read about it (about 3 mins):

This is one of the most asked questions on Google when it comes down to the subject of marketing, but what a shame people want to waste their money by “economising” in this way.

26/07/2021

Ever heard of an online metaverse? Well Mark Zuckerberg wants to transform Facebook into an online 'metaverse' apparently!

It's not very often you hear someone speaking about a metaverse is it, let alone anyone creating one. But then again not many people had heard of social media before Mark invented Facebook had they? So maybe we should listen to what he has to say.

So what is a metaverse and why does Mark Zuckerberg want to transform Facebook into one?

Well a metaverse is many things, but if you've used Zoom or Teams for a meeting you will undoubtably know the advantages this has brought to us all over the last 18 months. We've been able to continue meeting in a virtual world rather than face to face and what a blessing that has been!

But it's not quite like meeting face to face is it, and that's one area a metaverse can help to further improve.

Mark's metaverse will allow us to virtually sit in a room with the person or people we are meeting, rather than staring at a flat screen, bringing the experience of a virtual world meeting one step closer to that of a real world meeting.

Could this also be the first big step towards a 3d internet where we actually enter into a virtual world rather than just looking at it?

Take a look at this article, it's pretty interesting: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57942909

CEO wants users to work, game and communicate in a virtual world, often using VR headsets.

21/07/2021

Marketing Tip No1:
In engineering marketing, one thing many marketers seem to underestimate is the power of combining two or more marketing tools into the same campaign, it seems to be a common misunderstanding that one campaign means one marketing tool.

Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook Ads and Instagram are popular choices for online marketing in engineering, and while they all have their strengths and weaknesses, sticking to one or two basic methods is not going to get you very far in the end.

Why not combine marketing tools, using their individual strengths, therefore strengthening your advertising? Boom. Lightbulb moment.

Take a look at this quick read for more ideas and guidance:

One thing many marketers in engineering seem to underestimate is the power of combining two or more marketing tools into the same campaign, it seems to be a common misunderstanding that one campaign means one marketing tool.

14/07/2021

Engineers have you heard of Conversion Rate Optimisation?
It’s a big old subject but at the base level its a really quick and effective way to increase your turnover, and without having to set up any additional marketing!

We could go on about Conversion Rate Optimisation for hours, but we will spare you that. To give you a rough overview, CRO is where you take an element of your marketing that already works and then nurture it to get even more from it.

Simple right? But hey it can get pretty complex the deeper you get into it!

Here’s a link to an introduction post we’ve just published. We go into a little more depth here, but still we won't bombard you with technical detail.

Take a look as it really can help you increase sales and ultimately your turnover 🙂

It can be very easy to fall for the latest shiny marketing tools and strategies instead of working with what we already have, I know we're guilty of it! But let's face it, the grass always looks greener on the other side... but have you ever spent time digging into your existing campaigns and carryi...

06/07/2021

Engineers – You're amazing at machining, you achieve the seemingly impossible every day, so let me ask you this "what are you doing to generate sales enquiries and keep the orders flowing to you"?

We've seen so many brilliant engineering businesses fold over the years and it's unjustifiable. They were brilliant at what they did and often did it for the love of the job, and the pride of passing over perfectly machined components.

But what they didn't do was tell the customers and potential customers all about it. So nobody knew.

They bought the best tooling, got in early each day and got on with the job, but like many engineers they had a dislike for anything to do with marketing or sales and relied totally on word-of-mouth.

We all know how reliable word of mouth is though don't we!

Don't assume the orders will flow in... just because you're the best in the field it doesn't entitle you to make sales and still be here this time next year

Like it or not we have to shout out loud and let the right people know what we do and how to find us. Otherwise they're going straight to your competitor, even if their product is inferior and more expensive.

Don't let your company become another victim. If you don't have the time or inclination for marketing, find somebody who does.

If you need some help or advice we can help you too. Call Brookstone Innovation for a friendly & informative complimentary review of your marketing.
Call: 01455 561 561

Website Design and Marketing for Engineers & Manufacturers, from a specialist team with direct engin

25/06/2021

LEGO Lovers Will Like This One:
Ok so any news on a new Lego product isn't directly related to either marketing or engineering, so why you may ask have we dedicate a space to it on our post today?

Well the thing is, those of us with either an engineering mind or a creative mind surely cannot help but admire what Lego have done here, both from a creative and an engineering angle, especially when you consider this is a fully operational typewriter!

There’s some real thought gone into this set, take a look at the story just here:

LEGO has just released a new model in its 'Ideas' range—a vintage typewriter with real moving keys.

21/06/2021

SEO V’s PPC:
A question that regularly crops up from our clients is “should we invest our time and money into SEO or PPC?”.

For those of you who are not familiar with these terms, first let me explain:

SEO: Search Engine Optimisation, is a form of optimising your website to get as high as possible in the results of search engines like Google, for selected keywords or search terms, that your potential customers will be typing into Google.

PPC: Pay Per Click, also known as Google ads. This is where you set up an account with the likes of Google and tell them to place your pre-written adverts at the top of the page when people type in certain keywords or search terms to their search engine.

So as you see, the two are answering the same problem, but the results from the two can be very different depending on the viewers searching habits.

Viewers will typically search for a product in one to two ways:

A - They click on the top results on the page of Google to get to the product or solution in the fastest possible time.

B - They go below the adverts and spammy search results to get to higher quality pages, without all the advertising and marketing spin.

Both search habits have advantages and disadvantages, but the key here is to realise you need to be in both the adverts and the organic listings below the adverts in order to get in front of the maximum amount of potential customers. Choose just one of these and you will literally be marketing to only 50% of your target market.

For a very informative guide to SEO V's PPC, take a look at:

SEO and PPC are both extremely powerful marketing tools, but choosing to use just one of them is not always the best way to go. How would you even compare, and choose, one of two available tools that each have distinct advantages? You can’t.

16/06/2021

How To Market To A Difficult Audience - Watch this video!🤣

The 2 minute short film, directed by Tore Frandsen and led by creative agency &Co, follows a group of Vikings planning their next raid on England. They are seen fully kitted out in their furs and are blowing their horns ready to set sail, but they’re met with an issue… the lead Viking, Svend, won’t wear his helmet.

This is the point where normal road safety adverts would go on to use some shock tactics to get their point across, but that’s not the approach that Tore and &Co took. They decided to go down the comedic route instead, covering pros and cons in a comedic debate between the Vikings.

Even with the advert clocking in at just over 2 minutes long it’s an enjoyable and entertaining piece of content, even if you’re not the intended audience.

We think that this is a great way to get people to remember the message that you’re trying to get across. The shock tactics only work so far, and with so many companies using them they can all blend into one. This comedic approach is sure to stay in the minds of the target audience for months to come and be a much more successful campaign than it may have been had they opted to go down the other route.

You can watch the full advert here:

13/05/2021

Today sees the launch by HS2 contractors of a 2,000-tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) named Florence from the Chilterns tunnel south portal site in Hertfordshire, North West of London.
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The TBM is called Florence, after Florence Nightingale and her twin sister machine Cecilia is named after astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin.
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They will each dig a bore of the 10-mile Chilterns tunnel.
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Photo: www.theconstructionindex.co.uk