Truth, a cornerstone of social media
One of the shortcomings of traditional marketing has been that the desire to dress the brand in a better tight has led to what’s been written getting further and further from the facts. For the honest amongst us this has meant we’ve had to ‘talk-up’ our services, for...
Measure your ROI
So many businesses are so keen to get in to the Social Media space that they forget they’re businesses. They become obsessed with having a fan page, recruiting followers, connecting with people and blogging that they seem to have lost sight of the fact that Social...
Choosing a SM supplier
Seeing as there is no social media accreditation in the UK (or even the US for that matter) how are businesses supposed to choose someone who can give them guidance in these matters. How can they determine who’s telling the truth? Well, the first thing I would suggest...
The danger of sharing
Yesterday I received a notification about a new posting from one of the groups I’m on on LinkedIn, and whilst it made me a bit angry it got me to thinking about some of the potential problems with the kind of chatroom or forum that shares 'knowledge and expertise'....
The Conversation Prism
Quoted as “the art of listening, learning & sharing” The Conversation Prism is a piece of visualisation created by Brian Solis and Jess3 and helps to describe what an incredibly complicated and deep world Social Media is. For those of you out there that think engaging...
Social Media in the UK
In the UK the use of social media, or perhaps the understanding of social media, is way way behind what’s going on in the United States. In the UK I think that we can probably catagorise the corporate involvement in social media in to 3 types. Those that get it...
The state of the internet
Well, this is possibly the BEST VIDEO about the internet currently doing the rounds. If you have a moment, please watch this and prepare to be amazed at the world you live in. Thanks to Jess3 for...
Do you want loads of followers?
I’m tired of listening to people in the social media sphere banging on about getting loads of followers and how important it is. For the most part it isn’t important at all. Simply having followers means nothing if they’re not listening to you, means even less if you...
Totally missing the point.
I was at a networking event this morning. Rather a good one it must be said. One where somebody has had the brainwave of trying to integrate what goes-on in the online/social media space with face to face networking. I had a good time, and picked-up some valuable...
An introduction to Digital Marketing
Another happy...
Information is beautiful
We've just ordered some stuff for the kids from Amazon, books mostly, but you know how it is with that damn site, you go there to buy one thing and end up buying many. A fantastic customer experience, one where you feel that they really understand your likes and...
Why read business books?
I was at a networking meeting yesterday morning and one of the other attendees was an old friend of mine, Andrew Wilks, who spoke for a few minutes about affiliate marketing and the importance of finding the right partners to leverage relationships…very interesting...
Business as usual
The day after the UKs most exciting general election for many years and with, as I write, no government in power we can reflect on how after the dramatic role that social media played in the American elections, over here it played no role whatsoever. STILL...
Several of my friends are staunch Labour voters.
I was once a staunch Conservative – but I’m cured now. The reason I’ve decided to write a post about today’s UK election is that I feel everyone in the world of social media (myself included) has failed to grasp the nettle and use the tools to uncover truth and dispel...
Top questions and comments when I talk.
I'm doing quite a few talks at the moment (usually 2-3 each week), and there seems to be a series of questions (or rather questions and comments) which are emerging as clear winners in terms of the amount of times they are asked. They are: I only want to use Facebook...
Digital Marketing for 2010 and beyond.
After the great success of the last seminar “Digital Marketing for 2010 and beyond” we are running another seminar along the same lines on 12 April. We have also developed a series of other courses, covering specific areas of digital marketing in more detail; Planning...
Digital Marketing 2010 and beyond
A nice comment during the latest Digital Marketing in 2010 and beyond seminar made by Paul Riley of Total Soft Water www.totalsoftwater.com. Thanks...
Roll up roll up, the social media circus is here!
The onward march of technology, it’s interesting that there seem to be many jumping on the Social Media bandwagon at the moment. Both as individuals who are looking for a career change or as companies who are looking for a new sales channel. But the more interaction I...
Social Media is just like being in a really big meeting…
Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to mail prospects to generate leads, if you didn’t need to advertise, if customers just phoned you up? You know that every now and again you get a phone call out of the blue from a new lead saying “a...
12,000 miles is only a moment away
Over the last month or so, I have re-forged a relationship with an old friend of mine who moved to New Zealand about eight years ago. The interesting thing is that without Facebook & LinkedIn we no doubt would have lost touch. We would have lost touch not because...
Electronic marketing for 2010 and beyond – a directors’ view.
The workshop gives an overview of social media, SEO, Adwords and digital marketing and is a useful grounding in what you need to do, and how you need to do it to make your business competitive in the age of Social Media. During the workshop you will learn why your...
The BEST description of what social media is!
This is in my opinion the best, most succinct description of social media for these that haven't yet got it. So, why not show this to all your clients so they too can get on the train! Many...
What should we do about Social Media in the workplace?
A very interesting question that many corporates seem afraid to address is ‘what is our policy about social media use in the workplace’. Clearly in this age of connectivity, a blanket ban simply isn’t going to work as many staff have their own internet access through...
Do you want your customers to sit up and take notice?
Do you want your prospective customers to sit up and take notice of you? Yes? Then give them some of your expertise, the better the stuff you give them, the more likely they are to listen, and the more likely they are to become a customer. If what you give them is...
Social Media – an advertisers dream?
Over the last few years we have seen advertising arrive on Facebook, Myspace and other social media sites. Why… well, because it clearly works. Detractors of social media sites as a viable advertising platform say people won’t pay attention to the ads as they’re just...
Apple Hackintosh!
The other day (in fact the day that Apple launched the iPad) I did a "Hackintosh", that is to say I installed Mac OSX on a netbook. For years I've been a mac-man. My experience with PCs has been poor to say the least, but just before Christmas I finally decided that...
Social Media – what’s the point?
Now, there's a question I don't get asked very often. Social media is, I think, currently going through that phase in its life where every business has acknowledged that they need to be involved, and some have even started to use the platforms out there, but few are...
So, apple announced the iPad…
…notice I say 'announced' rather than 'launched'. For many months now the computing world has been rife with rumors of an Apple netbook/tablet device, but Steve Jobs in his inimitable fashion has kept going back to the drawing board until he's been absolutely happy...
I’m not listening!
You know that feeling, where you’re in a networking environment and you start to tell someone what you do and their eyes just glaze over? Either they're not listening, or not interested (or both)! Have you ever wondered why no matter what you say, or how well you hone...
Mobile, the importance of this platform
Although I said this would be 1 minute, it's actually 2! In fact I probably could have spoken for two hours about it as it's going to be such an important platform/medium in the future. Already there are 2.7 billion mobile phone users in the world, against only 1.5...
Why your social media profile MUST be right.
One of the key tools you need to get on top of in using social media for business is getting your profile right. You need to strike a balance between between being a niche provider of your product or service and seeming like a jack of all trades. Get this bit wrong...
A reality check.
Today, I went to talk to a hospice about how they might begin to use social media as a tool to engage potential donors. They were fantastically open to the ideas I was suggesting, which was really good to see. After the talk I was given a tour of the facilities. Two...
Social Media a force for good?
A brilliant interview with Stephen Fry, Biz Stone (the founder of Twitter) and Reid Hoffman (the founder of LinkedIn). It helps to highlight the better, more human side of social media and the motivation behind these guys. This video is taken from NESTA’s website, and...
Why you should use YouTube for business
There are lots of social media platforms which you can use for business, one of the most powerful (but often overlooked) is YouTube. If you search for 'Gary Vaynerchuk' or 'will it blend' - you will see examples of people who really have used YouTube and the viral...
A Change is Gonna Come
Well, here we are. A new year, and a whole new world of opportunities for all of us. I think that this year is going to see some very big changes in how we communicate, as the technologies and platforms which we've seen arrive in 2009 are seeing more and more...
The best business argument for social media EVER!
I came across this video earlier today. I've seen other videos on this subject, and other videos by Eric Qualman, but this is by far and away the most compelling argument for businesses to get on board with social media that I've ever seen. I like it so much I've also...
Facebook stealing Googlers at an alarming rate… in 2007!
One of the great strengths (and I suppose, weaknesses) of Social Media is that when you say something it can spread very quickly, and it sticks around for a while. Clearly if you get what you say right this is a very good thing. If you get it wrong this can stick...
The beginning of the end (of commuting)?
After a day on Friday of struggling with the UK weather, and the problems that it causes for travel, particularly public transport (where the drivers would, it seems, rather have a day at home in bed), I wonder if this is perhaps the beginning of the end for...
The secrets of LinkedIn part 7 – groups
One of the great things about LinkedIn is that there are so many groups. Groups for just about anything you can imagine. Joining some appropriate groups is a great way of being seen by people in your industry, and people who are looking to buy your expert services....
Back to basics…
The other day I had a conversation with a new client, and to be perfectly frank, I was a little disappointed. I thought I'd got past that kind of conversation with clients! Basically the client had written loads of stuff about their company (and I mean loads) and had...
A minute on why Social Media…
A brief introduction to why social media is the future of...
Thanks to Paul Manoian…
Paul Manoian a nice guy from Michigan was very helpful in getting my mobile platform blogsite up and running. So many thanks to him. He's also quite useful with a camera!...
The secrets of LinkedIn part 6 – regular updates
One of the key ways of ensuring you get some value from LinkedIn is regularly updating your status. If you place an update/message in your status window once per day you’ll find that all of a sudden you’ve become visible to your network. This has been mentioned...
Mobile website, why do I need one?
2010, what does the coming year hold for business? Well, if we're to be successful... massive changes. We are living in an age of exponential growth. And because of this; great uncertainty and great opportunity. The landscape in which we all operate is not as it was –...
NEW MOBILE WEBSITE
In light of the increasing move towards mobile device surfing, we've just finished re-developing the mobile version (particularly for iPhone) of my site. If you now view the site from a mobile platform you will receive identical content, but an entirely different...
Happy New Year
I would like to wish everyone who reads my blog the happiest and most successful new year in 2010... as would my daughter! Thanks for following...
A year of challenges and opportunities.
As we approach the end of the year, I think that there’s much for us to reflect upon over the last 12 months. Clearly the global recession has hit most businesses, some harder than others, but I think everyone has been effected one way or another. Whilst the recession...
Snow… in December, whatever next!
I’ve been very slack about sending updates over the last few days, but with snow & young kids there just seem to be much better things to do with the days, like building snowmen and sledging in the orchard at St Albans Abbey! It hasn’t snowed in (and around London) in...
Chris Brogan’s “social utility belt”
Chris Brogan – a social media hero of mine, wrote a really interesting article on his blog the other day about a utility belt (like the sort of thing Batman wears around his waist) and how the social media world required you to have a utility belt (of sorts) to get...
The Secrets of LinkedIn, part 5 – shut-up.
There is the old adage “you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio”, the same holds true within social media. At least half of your time online should be spent listening to what others say. Firstly, because nobody wants to be inundated by another’s...