If you are already a member of thebestof Southend, either as a business or a consumer, you will be well aware that we strive to work with you and for you to maximise your business potential.

Ever aware of the speed with which technology moves forward, we have no intention of being left behind and as a result are developing our new updated cutting edge website, due to be launched in just a matter of weeks.

The familiar and trusted bestof logo and format will still be very much in evidence, but we are giving the website a fresh community feel designed to attract more local users, more repeat business and more potential new business.

One of the most significant developments will be the integration of social media on every single page.  People will be able to log into the site via Facebook, Twitter and Google, instantly drawing a much larger audience and hugely increasing the ‘shareability’ of information. For example, if someone likes your business feature, event or an offer you have listed this will appear as a full post on their Facebook page or Twitter account, and this will include your name and logo. This in turn will reach all their social network contacts, massively increasing your audience. 

All pages will be Widget-based, making the site more streamlined and quicker and easier to access, with the information you and your customers are looking for much easier to find. It will also be simple and straightforward to customise and personalise so only the widgets relevant to that local person are shown.

Genuine offers can play a huge part in the success of any business. With the new thebestof Southend site's daily, weekly or monthly offers you can reach a huge local audience by showcasing your offers on your business feature, and you will be able to monitor and promote those offers to thousands of daily users. And what's more you don't pay any commission or cut for any business received via this service.

We are also planning some fantastic new tools for your feature page. Your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds will be promoted via your feature page so your customers will have one central point to get all the up to date information they need about you. Static photographs will be pretty much a thing of the past. We can provide a slide show of images displaying your products, services or even personnel, and each feature also has the functionality to upload menus, prices lists, icons or anything you may want to share with your target audience. 

And if this wasn't enough you can now incorporate video into your feature, offering a virtual tour of your premises, a 'how to' guide or a live customer testimonial, the potential is massive. Plus you can also have your own blog, enabling you to notify customers of new or discounted products and services, offer useful articles or highlight relevant events.

We really are entering a new era here at thebestof Southend, and we are delighted to share it with local businesses and services - we feel the site will become even more of a community gathering point to find the very best of everything local.  The site will be so much more interactive yet simple and straightforward to use, offering you and your business the very best opportunities.

And you need not worry about the technicalities of the updates; thebestof Southend will be in touch making sure you are fully equipped at switchover to the integration of social media. And of course if you have any immediate queries feel free to contact us with your questions.

Exciting times!