Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Aug 4, 2009 in Uncategorized
How it works:
Twitter is a micro-blogging platform for messages of less than 140 characters. Short sharp tweets, delivered across a number of platforms to followers (of your brand, not knights of the realm). It is partly down to this assimilation across mobile platforms (the only social network to truly grasp this, due to its simplicity, as even Facebook stumbles when it comes to images and video) that Twitter is so successful. The other reason is its use of vertical connects. You follow on Twitter based on interests and expertise, as social as it is, it’s about information dissemination and VERY niche targeting, which makes it unrivalled in its power to connect brands and the individuals who want to meet them.
Use it to:
Develop your personal branding; direct traffic to sites, blogs, podcasts, videos, images, comment, forums – WHEREVER the party is; or crucially to administer unparalleled customer support and prospecting. Organisation happens via #tags, which collate tweets around a certain topic, creating pockets of relevance and applications such as Twitterhawk allow for the searching and automated tweeting of hot, not vaguely warm, but HOT leads in your exact target vicinity. Your searches can include key terms, exclude key terms, be weighted for positive or negative attributes, filter for location and include up to 5 different responses for different types of identified tweet. Very clever.
What you could get:
Real business. Whereas conversion has historically been hard to prove, with almost no concrete stats emerging from any social (or anti-social) media for that matter, Twitter can deliver hot leads that just require tipping over the edge into a pot labeled ‘revenue increasing’.
Information, faster than any other method as networks catch fire with big (and small) world and niche news.
Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Aug 4, 2009 in Uncategorized
How it works:
Blogging is all about branding. Whereas traditionally branding was about imagery, colour palettes, sounds, jingles and strap lines (which all still apply); what blogging now allows for is the stream of consciousness, the personality, interests, tonality and opinion of your brand (and employees) to shine through, which is much more compelling and engaging than engineered ‘snippets’ of our brand in pictures or words.
Use it to:
Communicate your viewpoint, comment on industry-specific happenings, celebrate work – yours and other peoples, provide employee updates, make announcements, ask questions, start conversations and respond to comments from other people and critically on other people’s blogs – your blog is not an island, CONNECT.
Overall, a good mix of news, comment, invitation, opinion and insight is always a good recipe.
What you could get:
Excellent blogger relations – how does a pool of engaged, respected and respectful contacts, customers and prospects sound?
Feedback – don’t be afraid of criticism, it may be the best chance you get to surprise and delight a customer. Let’s face it, if you do everything perfectly first time then your customer gets exactly what they paid for, nothing to write home about then. If you happen to disappoint them slightly, (but publicly thanks to your corporate blog) but you then respond to that disappointment by going the extra mile and (publicly) delighting them, you may just have an advocate on your hands.
Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Aug 4, 2009 in Uncategorized
Very funny, incredibly dry and took two reads to realise that it was in fact 100% spoof. Definitely worth a view (click on the links as well) http://www.facebookbusinesssolutions.com/
Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Jun 16, 2009 in Uncategorized
Just bought the book ‘How to sell clever things to big companies’ by Carrie Bedingfield and absolutely loving it! An easy-to-read and insightful dip into the world of the modern marketeer. Ranging from thought-starters to complete step-by-step guides and subtly suggesting ways to excite and engage the ever-sceptical client, it’s a must-read for anyone genuinely trying to sell something clever, to the big boys, on behalf of the little guys!
Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Mar 9, 2009 in Uncategorized
Opinions please! A short survey regarding the effectiveness of new media, how much importance is placed on it within the marketing mix, plus the best and worst you’ve encountered….
I would really appreciate your feedback and look forward to writing a revealing analysis, to be summarised and posted for the viewing pleasure of anybody who may be intrigued by the findings!
Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Mar 9, 2009 in Uncategorized
In the not so distant past, attention could be bought and traded, practically in weights and measures.It was a commodity bartered for in after-work drinks and tickets to Ascot/The Premiership/The BAFTA’s for the people who held the keys to that magical gateway, beyond which was the land of rapturous attention.Once upon a time you bought airtime and were guaranteed that at least half the population would sit and listen to what you had to say.
Only now the control gauge has swung a 180 and the dial is pointing firmly at users…oh, and it’s not about what YOU have to say, it’s about what you might have to hear.Listening has long been a one-way street, unless of course we’re engaging in a bout of expensive market research and then we’re all ears.It’s not enough just to listen when we ask a question anymore; we need to be listening even when we’re not being spoken to.Think of it like that friend you don’t keep in very close contact with, until you remember that their brother works at Apple and you fancy discount on your new iMac; they’re not going to keep picking up the phone to you forever if it always comes down to what they can do for you.
You can’t buy attention today anymore than you could buy respect or love.It might look like attention on the outside – real estate on a website, air time on a targeted satellite channel – but users own the time and the space and if they choose to withhold their attention then they’ll simply fast forward through the TV spot you paid for (they’re probably watching the programme days later than it aired or have downloaded it on their PC/mobile anyway).
Attention today is earned and every last drop requires the creative and strategic pairing that means that your thought-starting gem of an idea is waiting in the right places for whenever your eager, investigative audience should happen to search it out…and tell someone about it.
Value is in the eye of the beholder and as marketers there is a large debt to our ‘listeners’ to be repaid.Users are in the driving seat and they’re demanding to see the proof in the pudding, we said we understand better, care more, work harder, last longer….so prove it.Congruence is our new best friend.User control means that businesses need to be totally transparent and keep every promise.Surprise and delight by doing exactly that.
Posted by Rebecca Sykes on Feb 2, 2009 in Uncategorized
Ok…so it’s a popular theme. The digital revolution is quietly transforming our lives and the way we interact, learn, travel, do business, shop and pretty much the way in which we meet all other social needs.
There has been lengthy debate surrounding the extent to which we will become digitised, with everyone predicting, Nostradamus -style, a year at which we will be fully digitally literate. There have also been many ‘how to’ guides published regarding the ways in which to maximise the financial opportunities of a digital-savvy society.
However what I am interested in is attitude conversion; the ability of digital and new medias to change someone’s attitude or behaviour. Businesses spend millions, and with the publication of the Carter Report and the subsequent government investment, are set to spend millions more online…yet all we really know is who clicked where and how long they chose to dwell. We know what the industry deems entertaining and innovative, but does that simply highlight which clever creative is to be the next Cadbury gorilla with electronic go-faster stripes? How can we determine which creative, which formats and which criteria makes an execution affect consumer attitudes and behaviours?
Cadbury Gorilla
I would love to know your views on the situation and would very much appreciate your comments on either:
a) Which new media concepts have changed your attitudes or behaviour towards a product/service?
b) What was it about those concepts that was influential i.e. were they interactive/original/offer you something unique?
c) Can you recall anything you’ve seen that was perhaps clever but missed the mark?
d) Where do you think new media is really effective?
e) Where, if anywhere, do you think new media or digital formats may never work?
Your comments can be as short or as long as you like and you can either respond via this blog (just add a comment) or email me with any insights into any or all of the above at sykes.rebecca@googlemail.com
