Twitter Users Forum

What a great event. Brilliant input from everyone.

Catherine Doel
Henmore Marketing
+44 1335 289075
@IdeasStrategies

Are you tempted to start a business?

This appeals to me a lot.  If something seems impossible then you just need to try harder to find a way to make it work.

These great sentiments and graphics are from the Be Your Own Boss programme fronted by Innocent entrepreneur Richard Reed. http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/beyourownboss

Interestingly they have set up an investment company - so if you are struggling with funding from a bank, try these guys.

I tripped over all this on Twitter and need to share with you a first in my Twitter usage.  It is the first time that I have ever paid any attention to a promoted tweet.

I don't follow many links on Twitter, unless I know the person/business that has posted the link.  So there you have it - a perfect example of how powerful a brand can be.  Will I watch the programme?  

Well, I missed the first one .... but I am definitely following @jamjarinvest

Henmore Marketing is Social Media speaker at Business Peak District event

Henmore is very proud to be speaking at the upcoming Business Peak District event:

An Introduction to Social Media

Please note, this event by Business Peak District is only available for businesses located or trading within the wider Peak District.

This seminar is designed for any small and medium-sized Peak District businesses wanting to develop online marketing who would benefit from an overview of social media to find out how it can help grow a business. No technical knowledge is required.

This seminar is presented in a jargon-free, easy-to-understand format and includes presentations from companies that are using social media in a successful way.

Network Events organised by Business Peak District

Wednesday 19th September (10 am - 12 noon)

The Royal Hotel Hayfield

'Marketing - bringing your website alive and keeping your customers happy'

details

Wednesday 26th September (10 am - 12.30 pm)

Bakewell Business & Agricultural Centre

Bakewell, DE45 1AH

'Social Media - an introduction'

booking online

Wednesday 10th October (10 am - 12 noon)

Buxton TBA

'Celebrating local food and drink supply and distribution'

Tuesday 27th November (10 am - 1 pm)

Beechenhill Farm, Ilam

'Renewable Technologies - all you need to know and planning out business risks, a survival kit'

Positive comments - a lovely way to start the week!

I gave a talk on Social Media recently to a tourism group.  It was very difficult to know how much detail I should go into because I am mindful that a proportion of the delegates were probably never going to engage with many of the tools of social media. Twitter was a 'marmite' subject to that audience. Half of the delegates were more likely to be consumers of social media than contributors, probably unwittingly at that. So with this in mind I added into my social media talk a small plea. Would everyone please make one small change to their browsing habits? After reading, leave a comment. It matters to small business owners, in particular, to receive feedback. So why do readers hold back? Does is matter so much to travel the web incognito?


Here is this morning's reminder of my plea to the tourism group. I am running a small workshop on Thursday about blogging. This morning I was very encouraged to receive a Facebook comment from Joy, one of the registrants on the course. She wrote: "Very much looking forward to Blogging on Thursday. Can really recommend Catherine's Workshops @dovefarm as they are informative and helpful but at the same time friendly and relaxed."


I am very grateful to Joy for her testimonial.  How lovely to receive positive feedback and what a great way to start the week.  I am prepping the workshop with extra enthusiasm as a result. 


So how about it?  When browsing the web today could you spare a second to leave a comment... even if you would never, ever describe yourself as a social media user?

Thoughts on Google +

I am facilitating a training workshop this evening on Social Media Marketing, covering the basics and a bit beyond depending on the range of online marketing experience in the group.  So as I put the finishing touches to the presentation, which generally means cutting back my expectations of the amount of information I can realistically share in 2 hours, I am pondering on whether to even include Google +.  I suppose it would be wrong not to as it is now 'out there' like it or not.  In my case, right now .... not.  Obviously this will be subject to change as the market responds.

My issue is that the fine line between bartering my identity in exchange for some great free gizmos has been crossed when it comes to Google +.   I am generally a fan of Google products, but with Google + they aren't even pretending to know only a reasonable amount about you, your friends, family, business, preferences, habits.... It is no secret that your information is being pillaged, on the contrary we are being persuaded to get over it.  Probably I will in time. Just now I am imaging a future when one day when I can't decide what to wear, up will pop my Google + app telling me that it has selected my underwear ready for me to get dressed. How is that for a nightmare scenario?

Facebook for business

Setting up and managing Facebook FOR BUSINESS

With more than 750 million users, you are likely already using Facebook; you may even fall in the 50% that log on every day. The question is: How well are you using Facebook for business … if at all? If you would like to know how to create a winning Facebook page, increase the number of “likes” and generate business leads with Facebook, this session is for you. You will learn:

• How to set up your Facebook page correctly
• How to manage events on Facebook
• Best practices and tips for creating engaging content
• Communications strategies for your fan base

Venue:  Dove Studio, Dove Farm, Mill Lane, off Dove Street, Ellastone, DE6 2GY
Price:  £15 + VAT

2012 workshop schedule and booking form

Other details:  Please bring a laptop computer if possible and a note of password information to any applications (e.g. Facebook) so that you can access and make changes to your accounts.

This workshop is for a small group of people so we will do our best to answer individual questions and resolve issues.

“Catherine talks common sense when it comes to marketing, which is wonderfully refreshing for a small business trying to achieve top results on a tight budget. Her practical, down-to-earth approach is both reassuring and motivating. I found her social media workshop and her general advice extremely helpful.”

Marketing & Technology - Ideas into Action

Really enjoyed the discussions with everyone at the event today.  Thanks for listening to Chris Woodhouse and me doing our best to share some ideas and strategies to use technology for marketing improvement.  Great to listen to fellow presenters Mathew (www.peakdistrictcreations.co.uk) and Paul (www.spinlessplates.com).

I promised a link to the thoughts I shared on how to make marketing work for small businesses.  This takes you to a tool I use for sharing documents - box.net.  Can be handy for sharing.  It also allows collaborators or those you share documents with to leave comments.  And it is free so hey, nothing lost.

Insights, ideas, strategies, ----> actions.
Next steps:
Here are a few ideas to encourage you to take further action - some are free, some are low cost and some are regular price but attract grant funding if you get your skates on and talk to our event hosts at Live & Work Rural.

1.     Free, anytime, LinkedIn Form:  Join our private delegate forum on LinkedIn and post questions and discussions.  We'll answer as appropriate, and maybe others will add the benefit of their experiences as well. Click for the Marketing and Technology Series forum on LinkedIn.

2.     £30 + VAT:  Workshop facilitated by Catherine and Chris
Date:  20th July from 9.30am at Riber Rooms in Cromford
Half day workshop delving into the detail of online marketing and social media. Further info: Marketing and Technology Workshop

3.     £3 approx:  Teleconference Q&A. 
Date:  Thursday 21st July from 2pm for approx an hour.
All delegates of the Live & Work Rural Event are invited to phone in and join some of the panellists from the event today.  All you need to pay is the cost of the call which the provider states is 4.3p/minute (so an hour session is approx £3).  Ask your own questions or be inspired by those of others.  We are using PowWow for this event: Telephone number is 0844 4 737373 and then you'll need to enter a PIN code. If you would like to join us on that call please contact us for the PIN (email: web@henmore.co.uk).
If you would like to submit your question in advance it may help get a more precise reply in the time available.

4.    One-to-one consultancy 
£400 + VAT for 2 x half days  (eligible for grant funding).   Training and Advice
Help to get your business properly set up for effective marketing and enabling appropriate use of technology.  Making sure you are on track with everything.  Either/both Chris and Catherine will come over and help get your business set up right for what you need to be doing. This consultancy and training package is eligible for grant funding if you're quick :-)  >

5.     Marketing Club 
£500+VAT pa (eligible for grant funding): With 6 x group sessions combined with 2 x one-to-one consultancy sessions and a supportive peer group of fellow members makes this programme excellent value for money. We have members of this year-long marketing programme who are grant funded; again, be quick applying. >  Marketing Club

And here is that thought-provoking YouTube clip, complete with cheesy music.

Ideas and strategies into action - Like!

A few months ago I ran a day's training on improving your online presence and using social media tools for business and one of the attendees was Lucy Cufflin, foodie and Cookery Writer.  In the group there were experienced social media users and total sceptics.  I hope that Lucy won't mind me saying that she came to the event yet to be convinced or the merits of any of it; persuaded to come by a business associate.  And look at Lucy today, my goodness.  She has three Facebook business pages.  And check out the comment below if you can read it. . .

Lucy posts"bring your friends, spread the word" and the reply posts says . . . . (I love this bit) "I already am! facebook definitely works, every Friday I get reminded its cake day and almost every week I'm trying a new cake from you . . ."

Lucy has found her online voice and things are going well.  I am off to check up on how the other course attendees are doing now.

Next course June 15th - Cromford Mill.

Training and thinking, marketing forum 15th June, Derbyshire

Ideas + Strategies -----> Making Connections
We are planning a new style event on 15th June at Cromford Mill. We'll facilitate IT and Marketing-based subject discussions and provide the environment for you to join other forward-thinking business owners to take a little time out to concentrate on your business, generating ideas and workable strategies.

Broadly, the morning session will cover strategic marketing and IT subjects, delving into some how-to and top tips for success with the tools and techniques we showcase:

• Ways to keep in touch with your customers and create champions and referrers.
• Seamless ways to collaborate with associates and present work to customers.
• The mindset and toolset to create a more marketing-led organisation.

. . . and it will be lively and interactive with presentations, case studies, thought-provoking exercises, peer group discussion. More than that we have built into the agenda an extended 'let's take that off-line' break-out session designed to be free flowing. Choose between the opportunity to pose detailed questions to the experts or engage in discussions and networking with other attendees.

Ideas & Strategies – Marketing and Technology

9.30am – 12.15pm Facilitated interactive sessions (as above)
12.45pm – 2pm Freeflow and break out sessions - Marketing and IT questions answered and debated.
£15 + VAT (book in advance cw@cwoodhouse.com)
Lunch and refreshments available at the on-site cafes

Why not arrive early and include some breakfast networking taking place in the same room.
7.30am - 9am Matlock Business Club – networking and business support group meets
£5 including breakfast payable at the door (book in advance web@henmore.co.uk)
Call or email us to reserve your places at these events.

Online Marketing Conference and Exhibition, #omce2011

Spent a worthwhile day yesterday at the East Midlands Conference Centre visiting the OMCE event put on by @ebizclub. 

I always find with these sorts of events that you sign up to go because an aspect of it is tempting, then come the night before all enthusiasm to take a day away from the office has evaporated because a long 'to do' list is beckoning.  On this occasion I stuck to my resolve because managing online marketing is a service we offer clients and social media for business is one of Henmore's popular training events.  I needed to check we are on the pulse of all that is new and vibrant in social media for business.  We are!   

I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Andrew Grill (@AndrewGrill).  He made exactly the same comment that I always use to open my presentations:  "Am I a social media guru?  In social media there are no gurus, just practitioners."  Things evolve very quickly in social media and even quite minor-sounding changes have far reaching implications for online marketing.  Take the Facebook business page change a couple of weeks ago for example. And Google's changes to its algorithm always puts the cat amongst the pigeons  - watch out for Panda Farming and some Google house-keeping is coming up as @IanLockwood explained in his fab presentation on the future of search.

During the conference and presentations some of us were tweeting our thoughts.  As @IdeasStrategies we were having some fun with @somecallme_Jem, @zaddleMarketing, @davedawes, @tom_geraghty, @AndrewGrill (and somewhere on another continent @hotelPRguy tweeted that his ears were burning). 

I just did the #omce2011 search on Twitter again (this is the day after) and I see others have just joined the fray.  I guess they are doing the same as me, blogging and sharing their views on the day.

Well, it was worthwhile.  Check Andrew Grills slides and enjoy the notion of the Twitter Tax.

Andrew Grill OMCE2011 March 2011

View more presentations from Andrew Grill

Marketing & Technology Workshops - spring 2011 series

Please view/download the flyer for the Marketing and Technology tutorial events

I co-presented a workshop recently with Chris Woodhouse, an IT and technology expert.  We trialled the one event to see how it went.  Quite honestly we were quite pleased with it.  But obviously it is not what we think it is what the delegates thought of it, and it seems they were pleased with it too.  Phew!

We were delighted to receive this comment on the LinkedIn page for the event:  "Really enjoyed this workshop and came away with lots of practical ideas.  Highly recommended."

Since then Chris and I have put our heads together and the result is a number of workshops on Marketing and Technology working together. 

Is your website doing its job? Let's ask Google! - we take you through the best way to analyse your site traffic and interpret findings into a plan of action.

Grow your business using loads of free stuff  - we short cut delegates to low cost / no cost marketing tools that we know work and demo case studies of clients that are doing a good job.

Can you improve your online marketing? - we help you assess whether your online marketing efforts are working and throw in some alternatives to consider.

Business development using The Cloud technology - using case studies we explore how to make the most of the tools already at your disposal and the software and gadgets that you can add for smarter marketing and business development.

More details on all of these tutorial workshops >> Marketing & Technology
Please add your name to Henmore's mailing list to be sure to receive details of our workshops, programmes and speaking engagements. 

REGISTER - When you are ready you can book your place online.

Marketing and use of Social Media

Henmore's virtuous circle of marketing communications diagram illustrates the marketing challenges businesses need to address.

During the workshops this week we helped businesses with the use of Social Media in their marketing.  Participants came armed with laptops and applied changes to their online presence during the workshop.  I am driven by a determination to help businesses translate ideas into workable strategies, that they succeed in putting into action, gaining desired results. It is not enough for me to see people scribbling notes of their good intentions, because I have experienced those intentions myself and subsequently lost the piece of paper (or the good intentions).  We all know about this inevitable loss of momentum.  That's why I like interactive workshops and year plus programmes like our Marketing Club.

Last week people in the room were there to make changes.  But of course we worked our way towards that part of the workshop.  First of all we looked at the challenges faced by businesses in generic terms, referencing Henmore's much-referred-to trademark diagram (as shown above).  Each workshop participant in the room articulated the particular marketing communications challenges that were a priority for them.  Then we took action on the laptops.

I am sure someone once advised it is high risk to present live in an environment of children, animals and IT.  We only had live IT, and it seemed to work OK on this occasion.

As presenter and facilitator I really enjoyed the sessions and the enthusiasm of the business owners in the room.  I would like to thank everyone for all the positive comments and the reviews and recommendations that we have received as a result.  And I would like to thank Jane Stretton at Dove Studios for the refreshments and the perfectly functioning IT connections.

If you would like to join one of our marketing and social media training courses in Staffordshire or Derbyshire please check our upcoming events or sign up to receive email invitations.

Is the customer king, more than ever before?

Do you remember that old phrase 'The Customer is King'?

It was an adage that businesses had to regard, because unhappy customers had the annoying habit of muttering their displeasure around the local community. The result was that businesses had to take note and make improvements, assuming improvements were necessary. Either that, or the community made an assessment of the mutterings, filtering out the ramblings of the odd unhappy customer on the basis they were probably maladjusted or had a personal vendetta. Easy enough to spot – then as now.

I was particularly interested in the TripAdvisor debate and the views of various commentators and phone-in participants. I was reassured that people said they'd ignore someone whose user name is something like 'ChocChipCookie' making a personally damning observation along the lines of “the hotel owner is aggressive and a sexist racist and you shouldn't stay in her/his hotel . . .”

True, Social Media does give King Customer an instant voice. These tools take us back to hyper local ways, albeit across a global economy. I was just researching the latest views on social media tools for this weeks workshops and was reading a blog article on Social Media Today on which I just had to leave a comment. It said:

“One happy and connected customer can start a spiraling of praise which can hyper accelerate building a global brand. And one maligned (or maladjusted) unhappy customer can put the breaks on a multi-million dollar campaign and bring pain to a huge company.”

I said I thought the author was exaggerating. Huge brands have so much consumer interaction that a few negative comments are drowned out.

Many would sign off their blog criticism with #justsaying (on Twitter) or Just sayin' (on a blog comment). This always reminds me of when people say “no offence, but . . .” It's fun this social media, isn't it? A couple of opinionated people on different continents having their say, jostling for position and recognition by being slightly critical but mainly in agreement.

The author's main thought, about the struggle businesses have on Social Media in finding their voice and putting on a face, is a point on which I wholeheartedly concur.

As I said, I am meant to be researching social media views in preparation for the workshops on Wednesday and Thursday this week when I was distracted by this blog post, and just had to leave a comment. . .and then had a coffee and thought a bit more about it and decided to write this blog on the subject . . . and have it feed through to facebook, twitter and LinkedIn.

It was a time-consuming distraction . . . . a sign of the times for sure.

Social Media for Business - marketing training event

Social Media - your business voice

Social media has revolutionised small business marketing. There ever never before been such a cheap and easily accessible set of tools. More and more small businesses are seeing the benefits of social media to help increase awareness, create and nurture relationships, generate new leads, increase search engine placements, monitor marketing effort ... all with reduced expense.

It takes thought, so many organisations are not yet effectively establishing and managing a strong social media presence, let alone keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of social outlets and tools.

Henmore's interactive, hands-on workshop session covers:

• Social Media Basics & Beyond: Understanding key social media outlets, emerging trends and new tools and communities to consider in your social media plans
• Creating Your Social Media Strategy: Developing and implementing a social media strategy that supports your specific brand voice and vision, takes into account your day to day realities,  identifies which tools make sense (and which don’t) for your business.
• 5 Marketing Questions to ask yourself: What you need to consider before diving into specific social media outlets - and tips for making your effort worthwhile when you do.
• Tips, Tricks & Real-world Examples - ideas, practices and lessons learned from helping clients with their marketing on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Blogging, and more.

Our social media session is always one of the liveliest. We share our knowledge and give you tips
and tools to help you get started, grow and solidify your social media strategies.

2012 Social Media Workshops - schedule and booking

Social media follow up for WiRE group

More on Facebook for the women entrepreneurs of Derbyshire and Staffordshire who are busy with their Facebook pages:

Importing your blog to the Facebook Notes.

Prep your Blog:

• Check your feed settings on your blog and make sure it is set to allow feed
• Find your feed address - likely to be your blog URL/feeds/posts/default or something like that.

Edit your Facebook page:

• In edit pages of your FB page go to Notes and select import external blog option
• Add the feed address that you identified above
• Decide if you want to publish to your wall or just to your notes.  (see previous post here for thoughts on this)

Hope this helps - let me know!

Thanks
Catherine

Facebook for Small Business Owners

I met up with some enterprising women from Staffordshire and Derbyshire at the local WiRE meeting last week. The highlight of the evening was obviously the delicious local Staffordshire food provided by Emily and Maggie of Simply Staffordshire in the relaxing environment of Dove Farm. The main notice of the evening was the launch of the WiRE Doves Networking pages on Facebook. To accompany the launch I was tasked with presenting on the subject of using Facebook for business. This post is a follow up for those that want to get started or work a bit harder at using Facebook.

A show of hands revealed that most of the women in the room were small business entrepreneurs who were either sceptical about Facebook or inactive users. With a couple of advanced users in the room we were well set up for some lively discussion.

1. Mindset for Facebook

Adopting Facebook does require a different mindset to having a web site and using email. To some, it is uncomfortable when their interface with the online world becomes potentially more personal, more visible, possibly less controllable. Maybe I was too harsh and modern when I suggested that it was time to 'get over ourselves'. But I said this with true passion to the women in the room simply because I really want them to take action asap to help their businesses. Right now there is still opportunity to get in on the act while this space is less crowded. If they wait until the culture is fully adopted and they are inured to this whole way of doing business then it may become harder to gain a foothold. And mistakes will be more obvious to the world. I was an early adopter and made some mistakes along the way - we all did at the start- but Social Media Marketing is becoming more established and part of this means that ways of conducting yourself are becoming established. Why do humans so love to create rules of conduct, I wonder?

2. Manage your Personal Brand on Facebook

I am always banging on about how your business has a brand, an identity, a personality, that it is not necessarily the same as that of the owner or founder. You and your business are different (I have a fun exercise on this for another time). But on Facebook you are required to join as an individual first. You have to sign up as a consumer and are encouraged to provide some information and a picture just to get going. Nb Leter when you set up a business page your identity and your business identity become seperate again.

• Think really hard about the information you provide. Choose the Interests you list. This is info about you as a consumer and will drive the adverts and information that is placed on your page. E.g if you list Travel and the Far East as interests you will receive special offers and adverts from holiday companies operating there, that may be useful. By being female and over 40 you will be bombarded by dieting and debt ads. Obscure and quirky things may seem fun just to position you versus other people, but it all forms part of your online personal brand so please sanity check what you offer – and set your privacy for who can see this information.
• Get comfortable with the Privacy Settings and activate them. They are much easier now than before. You need to be in control of this!
• For more Privacy sophistication, put your contacts into Lists and control the privacy levels associated with these lists accordingly. Start as your mean to carry on with this. (Parents take note – your children, when they get savvy, might put you on a List and you will be in blissful ignorance of their real online outpourings).
• The Wall is something to manage and understand. You can write on your own to distribute your status (aka a thought/deed/update) to all your Friends; you can jot something on your Friends' walls; you can also write something on the wall of a Business or Organisation e.g WiRE Doves Network or Alton Towers. Just remember that whatever you write stays with you publicly on your wall.
• If you 'Like' something you see then click to say so. The fact that you have done so is shared to all your Friends. In organisational terms this is a great viral way to raise awareness of brands and issues. It also work conversely if you complain by writing a negative Comment – so use this tool to hold businesses and organisations to account. Organisations also have online reputations to maintain.
• Quick word on Marketplace – it is a place to flog or give-away stuff, visible to your friends – and Groups – indicators of the collective state of mind and vehicles for the collective voice. Groups are mainly for lobbying and spreading trends. If you feel strongly about something there will be a Group for it or you could start your own.

3. Manage your Business Brand on Facebook

Really, really easy to set up a business page (once you have a personal account). And a lot less personal as there is no need for your mug shot or your name to be on the page (although you will be the first fan to join your page so at that point the connection remains obvious).

• Think about the name you use for the page and picture/logo you add. As an example, the holiday cottage has benefited from being called 'Barks Holiday Cottage near Alton Towers' because it positions it clearly. On Facebook adverts this vital geographical fact has been in the headline. When people search Alton Towers on Facebook, up pops the cottage in their search list. FYI www.facebook.com/barks.holiday.cottage
• Choose and add other pages: Add Notes, Info, Boxes, Photos, Video, Events and any other Apps (.e.g Twitter feed) that suit your business. Try and get it all sorted out before you get people to join/follow your page because changes are notified to your followers.
  Contact details – A good spot is in the little biog bit on the top left of your page and in the Notes section.
• Set which page you want to act as the opening page – it is not necessary to have the Wall as the main page and wouldn't be suitable for some businesses.
  There is a place to show 'Favourite pages' of your business so add wisely to suit your business brand and ethos and to support your associates' businesses (e.g. other WiRE Dove networkers' businesses.)
• Import your blog to your Notes page using the RSS feed from your blog. Choose carefully whether you want your blog posts to be published onto the wall (and thus automatically sent to your followers) as this may be overwhelming or may be perfect, depending on your business. The blog can be a good opening page.
• Post status updates. How often? You know you get it right when interesting snippets please your followers and they post comments or click the Like. Gratifying sure, but more importantly they are spreading the word to all their friends. You know you get it wrong when your followers decide to hide your feed, or worse still leave altogether by unfollowing your business. A negative comment would be better than have them unfollow!
  

4. Facebook Business Targets

First Target = 100 Fans / followers: then you can set the page name for your business from a whole load of numbers and squiggles to a meaningful name that you can publish on your business cards. I will deal with how to find and keep followers another time.

Ongoing target and primary goal: Engage with your followers and fans

Right now this is relatively easy. Users of Facebook have not yet become so discerning about what they follow and like and join. There is still a level of innocence to it all, especially with the older users who are signing up in the droves right now. It doesn't take long before you want to start weeding out the 'noise' by paring down what you follow.

Management Target: to maintain the post quality and the number of likes and interactions so that you can measure and maximise the level of engagement you are achieving with your followers. Because Engagement is what it all about.

As a business using Facebook think really hard about what you post and how frequently. Your goal is to elicit Likes and Comments from your followers and getting testimonials and fan photos from them.

BTW – if you are a friend of the business owner, remember it is not helping them promote their brand and business if you write personal, non business-related comments on their wall. It could actually be damaging.

Engaging with customers and prospects so openly can have its downsides too. If you do get a negative comment then deal with it to your advantage - clarify, apologise, offer recompense, rectify as appropriate. (If all else fails there is always the Remove comment button.)

Long term target: If you can manage to get 10,000 fans you can get some serious analytical insights into each post and who read it etc. We'll come back to that another time perhaps when everyone is a bit nearer this target.

In the mean time, I wish everyone in the room every success with their online marketing.

5. And Finally

A quick plug for us - Henmore has services and packages that cover set up and management of most online marketing methods in case you, or anyone you know, is short of time or patience for handling all this Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc stuff. Drop me a line for further details or call to discuss.

This post has now gone on far too long, as did my talk. I admired the forebearance of those not interested in the subject of Facebook politely waiting to be allowed to sample the delicious desserts on offer; thanks for your patience. My effort of preparing and giving the talk was rewarded by those that set about creating or improving their Facebook pages the very next day. Thank you for your enthusiasm. I was amused by the Twitter activity between @HenmoreLtd and @SimplyStaffs next day. LOL!

If I can help you further please do get in touch.

If you would like further details of the WiRE Doves Network please visit the new Facebook page.

PR from an editors point of view

I have just read a great blog post written by an editor about how editors are treated and what they face day to day. I have pleasure refering clients and PR associates alike to this great post that explains what is acceptable and not acceptable to a modern editor of a trade publication.

I have been fortunate over the years to consider many editors as colleagues and our work has been mutually beneficial and enjoyable. It is not always easy, however, to build 'relations' when you work in Public Relations and to find the 'social' when you use Social Media, in the way this blog post suggests PR and marketing people should always do. I agree, however, that this is what should be done.

There are plenty of editors that build impenetrable walls around themselves. There are lots of journalists that enjoy proving to novice PRs that there is a imbalance of power to be remembered at all times - the power being in the hands of the journalist, of course. These are unhelpful attitudes but are a response, no doubt, to the unforgivable behaviour of too many PRs and companies that try to randomly promote stuff using the online equivalent of a blanket junk mail campaign. It's just rude behaviour all around.

Shh, don't tell anyone but . . . there are plenty of times when editors rely on PRs for relevant information, contacts and, of course, opportunites and transport to cover a story first hand - but PRs are never meant to openly acknowledge this side of the relationship as it hints at some sort of impartiality in journalism. Obviously I would never, ever suggest journalists can be swayed in any way, just that PRs and editors both have jobs to do and can help each considerably if they know how to make things a bit easier for each other. After all, I shall never forget that balance of power as long as I am in the PR business ;)

I like to think that this blog post from a real, live editor might restore the faith of a few hurting, novice PRs and provide some tips to anyone considering some DIY media relations. This blogger reminds us of a golden rule of PR: publications are approachable if we have applied serious thought to what each editor requires. It also reminds us of a golden rule of doing business: remember our manners.

Pink Concert PR disaster at Alton Towers

It was all going so well, Pink wowed the capacity crowd at Alton Towers . . . . and then it was time to leave the concert and head home. That's when, from midnight, it all started going horribly wrong at Alton Towers. A double whammy, guest and local residents PR disaster ensues! Quick, arrange a meeting with the crisis management PR people.

I had heard last week that Alton Towers were genuinely expecting it to take 4 hours to exit the park - well they were right, it just about did take that long. I really have to wonder why, if Alton Towers knew how long it was going to take, they couldn't make better arrangements. Either find a way to get everyone out of the park quicker, or find a way to set more realistic expectations.

Guests exiting the park at 2am after a 2 - 3 hour stationary wait apparently vented their frustration by beeping their car horns in the local villages. Not sure how that fits into operating within a noise abatement order (brought about by the already frustrated residents of Farley). During a meeting at Alton Towers recently, the PR person said to me that they had given up worrying about what local residents think of Alton Towers. Amazed by this, I downloaded a Charter they've written on this subject and looked carefully to find any meaningful content, but alas, there was none so I guess she meant what she said.

The residents of a few roads in Alton and Oakamoor receive a quota of free theme park passes to compensate them for the lines of traffic passing their front windows, but then receive letters reminding them that special events like concerts are strictly off limits with these passes . . . oh and sorry about the extra traffic jams and noise it will all cause. I don't guess they mentioned the likely risk of angry car drivers beeping at 2am! This letter went down quite badly, which was a pity when it could have been turned into a local PR triumph with just a bit of smart thinking. But Alton Towers' PR thinking of late has been about issuing press releases to do with the need for plastic pants on Thirteen and the calorific content of the flies that riders unwittingly ingest. Not very strategic.


Meanwhile, customers invest in Park plus Pink tickets and get there early to enjoy a day at the park prior to the concert; a USP over Coventry where Pink played last weekend. Were the early birds with this ticket really directed to the furthest away car park K? Surely better arrangements were in place. No?! Just imagine, there you are with your kids, after 14 hours spent trailing round Alton Towers (with a lack of food and facilities to cope with the pre-booked 28,000 guests) and guess what? Only another 2 and a half hours from midnight sitting together in the car before you need bother to start the engine! It just wasn't what full paying customers were expecting. No wonder there are so many complaints posted on their Facebook page this morning! These techniques to engage your customers are great, aren't they . . . I've not seen any replies from Alton Towers as yet!

Fabio Capello is probably not the only one who's job contract is being examined this morning! Was there any trouble getting people out of Glastonbury do you think? Alton Towers, it really is time to consider PR a lot more strategically than you do. Plastic pants indeed.

New web site - we're like those cobblers' children

Do you ever get completely fed up with your website? We certainly have with ours! The old one stayed up way too long and became an embarrassment. It's not that we lack the skills, far from it, the trouble is we always priorise our clients' requirements. . . Cobblers children!


We have prepared ourselves a brief, at least, and put up a 'holding site' while we prepare a new site. The reality is that it will take a while. This is what we are planning:

•Give reassuring examples of the ways our current clients successfully add our marketing communications expertise to their organisations. It's important that potential customers understand what we are all about. It is also vital that existing clients know how to make the most of our range of services. A few case studies should show how we handle ongoing marketing activities and specific projects on behalf of clients.

•Raise awareness of our work with Midlands-based entrepreneurs and business owners that keeps them in charge of their own marketing. In particular we'd like to promote our popular consultancy offerings: the Strictly Marketing Club, a group business development programme, and our hard hitting half-day Team Workshops for marketing trouble-shooting. We have been experimenting with lots of the 'free' marketing tools recently, so that we can advise clients on what works and what doesn't. We created a Google site for Strictly Marketing and a private forum on LinkedIn for members to share ideas and give feedback. Check out the Google site so far, its been a bit of a fiddle: Strictly Marketing Business Development

•Position our business as having seasoned marketing, design, copywriting and web experts. We have been going for almost 20 years. We would like to inspire some extra confidence for potential customers to try us by showcasing our team and focusing on our years of experience organising all sorts of marketing-related projects. We put links on the holding page to LinkedIn and this blog.

Making preparations for the holding site has taken quite a bit of effort. I am reminded how much work goes into preparing a whole new web site. This is a timely reminder of what our clients go through, even with our direction and support. They also have to prioritise working IN the business rather than ON it.

So, cobblers children that we are, a new holding page will have to suffice for the time being