I was at a FSB networking event this evening & the question I was asked the most was does this social media stuff work?
My response = YES! Now I don't think every business in the land should be twittering but I do think that there is a useful part of web 2.0 for everyone. For me, I generally consider a marketing effort to be working when it's resulting in more sales that can be clearly attributed to the marketing activity. The advantage of having a very traditional company which I run alongside Blacktype is that I can use it as a constantly evolving case study. It also acts as a brake when I get carried away with the latest new tech gizmo. I always ask myself - is it creating new business, because if it isn't, I'm wasting time.
I've got a lot to say about this topic but I'm going to keep you all in suspense & save the details for another blog post or three.
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Tuesday 19 May 2009
The Power of the Blog
Normally, I don't talk about politics on this blog, but after today's historic ejection of the speaker Michael Martin from the House of Commons (the first time it has happened since John Trevor in 1695) I can't not comment!
Blogs such as the notorious Order-Order have been instrumental in breaking recent stories concerning government smears & expense fiddling which led to the speaker being forced to resign. Whilst the mainstream press has also played a key part in the process (especially the Daily Telegraph which was the paper responsible for leaking the expense claims) I would contend that the blogosphere has whipped the general public into an unprecedented fury with the current administration. Without editorial and advertising restrictions, the top political blogs are generally more pointed in their coverage and the nature of a blog encourages commenting & discussion of the stories.
Whilst leading politicians such as Gordon Brown & David Cameron are quick to use social media, especially youtube broadcasts, to communicate their messages the real power of web 2.0 lies with the general populace. Never before have politicians been so accountable to the electorate. Their actions are quickly scrutinised around the globe and the ability for videos to go viral has leant unheard of levels of exposure to incidents such as the speech by Daniel Hannan, MEP, criticising the Prime Minister which was quickly loaded onto youtube and following mainstream media coverage has had over 2.3million views to date. Surely this can only be a good thing?
Blogs such as the notorious Order-Order have been instrumental in breaking recent stories concerning government smears & expense fiddling which led to the speaker being forced to resign. Whilst the mainstream press has also played a key part in the process (especially the Daily Telegraph which was the paper responsible for leaking the expense claims) I would contend that the blogosphere has whipped the general public into an unprecedented fury with the current administration. Without editorial and advertising restrictions, the top political blogs are generally more pointed in their coverage and the nature of a blog encourages commenting & discussion of the stories.
Whilst leading politicians such as Gordon Brown & David Cameron are quick to use social media, especially youtube broadcasts, to communicate their messages the real power of web 2.0 lies with the general populace. Never before have politicians been so accountable to the electorate. Their actions are quickly scrutinised around the globe and the ability for videos to go viral has leant unheard of levels of exposure to incidents such as the speech by Daniel Hannan, MEP, criticising the Prime Minister which was quickly loaded onto youtube and following mainstream media coverage has had over 2.3million views to date. Surely this can only be a good thing?
Thursday 14 May 2009
cheeky or inspired?
The irrespresible Gary Vaynerchuk has started the promo for his forthcoming book "Crush-It" & unsurprisingly he's hustling hard! It's fascinating to watch the web 2.0 marketing juggernaut roll into action.
Since the deal was announced Gary has been promoting via his site, his web TV show & on facebook & twitter but in the last 24 hours he's really stepped it up a gear.
First, he announced a ustream live chat session where he responded to viewers queries, as well as sharing his (slightly dubious 80s) music choices! This was the first chance for all the Vayniacs to see the cover art for the book & Gary announced it's up for pre-order on amazon.
He then quickly popped all of the relevant info up on his facebook page & twitter feed & asked his followers to share the content with their friends.
So, how did it work?
Well as of 6pm this evening, approx. 24 hours after the first announcement that the book was available for pre-sale, the book is ranked #112 on Amazon USA & #1043 on Amazon UK in the best-sellers rankings. Pretty impressive for a book that isn't available to ship until October & I guess goes a long way to justifying his 7 figure book deal with Harper Studio.
Gary also let slip in his live chat that he is going to ask his fans to promote the book in their email signatures, which is a cheeky request & the first time I've seen someone do this. It will be interesting to see if this idea takes off but if it does then surely it will be more effective than 3rd party widgets or the standard amazon affiliate program.
You can find out more here: http://garyvaynerchuk.com/book
Since the deal was announced Gary has been promoting via his site, his web TV show & on facebook & twitter but in the last 24 hours he's really stepped it up a gear.
First, he announced a ustream live chat session where he responded to viewers queries, as well as sharing his (slightly dubious 80s) music choices! This was the first chance for all the Vayniacs to see the cover art for the book & Gary announced it's up for pre-order on amazon.
He then quickly popped all of the relevant info up on his facebook page & twitter feed & asked his followers to share the content with their friends.
So, how did it work?
Well as of 6pm this evening, approx. 24 hours after the first announcement that the book was available for pre-sale, the book is ranked #112 on Amazon USA & #1043 on Amazon UK in the best-sellers rankings. Pretty impressive for a book that isn't available to ship until October & I guess goes a long way to justifying his 7 figure book deal with Harper Studio.
Gary also let slip in his live chat that he is going to ask his fans to promote the book in their email signatures, which is a cheeky request & the first time I've seen someone do this. It will be interesting to see if this idea takes off but if it does then surely it will be more effective than 3rd party widgets or the standard amazon affiliate program.
You can find out more here: http://garyvaynerchuk.com/book
Tuesday 12 May 2009
it's not all about the new
Last month I had a chance to go on a factory tour at Bristol Blue Glass. It was a fascinating evening, seeing skilled craftsmen at work in what is a complex & dying art. If you like shopping or glass or both, please go & have a look at their online shop & support this great business.
Before we hit the factory floor we were treated to a talk about the origins of the glass industry. The famed Bristol blue colour comes from adding cobalt to the glass. In the 1700s an enterprising Bristol merchant gained the exclusive rights to import cobalt from the Royal Works in Saxony, Germany & launched the Bristol glass industry as a result.
With all the focus on social media and the internet in general in business, it was really interesting to realise that the basics of business haven't really changed much over the last thousand years. Find a great product/raw materials, secure the rights to distribute/manufacture & bring it to market!
In that vein, here's a neat combination of the old & the new: a youtube clip of a ship's decanter being handmade using traditional methods from Bristol blue glass. Enjoy!
Before we hit the factory floor we were treated to a talk about the origins of the glass industry. The famed Bristol blue colour comes from adding cobalt to the glass. In the 1700s an enterprising Bristol merchant gained the exclusive rights to import cobalt from the Royal Works in Saxony, Germany & launched the Bristol glass industry as a result.
With all the focus on social media and the internet in general in business, it was really interesting to realise that the basics of business haven't really changed much over the last thousand years. Find a great product/raw materials, secure the rights to distribute/manufacture & bring it to market!
In that vein, here's a neat combination of the old & the new: a youtube clip of a ship's decanter being handmade using traditional methods from Bristol blue glass. Enjoy!
a new print magazine - bold move from Joules
After my previous post on ASOS, I was intrigued to see a copy of the new Joules magazine dropping through my letterbox. It's a pretty slick production, as you'd expect from the team behind one of the fastest growing lifestyle brands of the moment & whilst carrying a small amount off 3rd party advertisement, it is primarily acting as a show case for the clothing ranges.
Joules does have a blog & a facebook page so the focus on a paper offering is fairly interesting, if a little retro. Tom Joules is one of the sharpest people in the industry so perhaps he feels as everyone else pulls away from paper & switches to social media, there is a gap to exploit?
Anyway, I'll be interested to see what they do with the magazine over the coming months (even if it does tempt me to open my purse a little too much!)
Joules does have a blog & a facebook page so the focus on a paper offering is fairly interesting, if a little retro. Tom Joules is one of the sharpest people in the industry so perhaps he feels as everyone else pulls away from paper & switches to social media, there is a gap to exploit?
Anyway, I'll be interested to see what they do with the magazine over the coming months (even if it does tempt me to open my purse a little too much!)
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