Talking to exhibitors during the first day of Totally DIY, the collective view seems to be: it could have been worse.

For a textbook example of 24-carat crap journalism, you wouldn't have to look much further than the item that appeared on the BBC website at 12.41pm on Monday January 23. Under the headline "Is it RIP for DIY?", a presenter named Steph McGovern told us that "over 600 DIY firms are exhibiting at the Interiors UK fair in Birmingham" and posed the question "Are DIY companies still making money?".

One of the fears companies, particularly larger companies, have with getting involved with online marketing and social media is the potential for negative feedback.

Merchandising and POS is "vital" in persuading cautious consumers to part with their hard-earned cash, experts tell DIY Week.

I just wanted to highlight something you could, and should all be doing for free to put your business on the map. Literally.

Online video is an effective way of advertising online, most advertising gurus are agreed on that. But what's the best way to do it? Isn't it expensive to achieve results? Here are a few things I think you could consider to get off the ground with video advertising.

You get told everywhere that social media is the future and marketing will never be the same again. I wonder how many of us start social media accounts secretly thinking, this can't really be as useful as it's cracked up to be.

It's just over two years since Wyevale Garden Centres announced it had decided to abandon the Wyevale name. Instead of trading under a single corporate identity, all the centres in the chain were to adopt - or revert to - local identities.

If the customer is king, then convenience is one of the ways retailers swear their fealty. Making the sales process as simple, hassle-free and enjoyable as possible, is key to enhancing instore experience, thus driving loyalty and repeat footfall. Nowhere is this more true than at the tills.

A part of me hates smart phones. For one thing they turn nice normal people who you used to enjoy socialising with into annoying recluses who sit in the pub totally ignoring you while they poke people on Facebook and play Angry Birds.