Simon Wharton of search marketing agency PushON talks about search and SEO – click here to listen.
The image: Richard Gregory commented in previous post where Simon’s swearing came in on the last post, well, I hope you are satisfied.
SAScon is about to have its inaugural conference launch on 28th April at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.
The aim is to bring talented and knowledgeable SEO and search marketing experts, from Europe and the US, in one place to deliver informative and practical advice to marketing, PR and fellow digital professionals.
It is an exciting opportunity, especially as it is in Manchester and will promote the city as a centre of digital talent.
I spoke to Simon Wharton of search marketing agency PushON, and a driving force in organising the event, on why this is a must attend and what attendees will get out of the day.
Simon Wharton explains more, click here to hear the interview. (Is that alliteration?)
I have worked with Will Kintish for two and a half years now, promoting his networking wisdom in publications ranging from The Manchester Evening News to Legal Week to The Scotsman.
Will’s enthusiasm for his subject as well as his skill in delivering talks has resulted in a client list that includes HSBC, Deloittes, KPMG and The Bank of England.
Will is known for presenting on those key fundamental face-to-face skills that are essential to business success although increasingly his time is being used to train professionals on how to get more out of LinkedIn.
Martin Bryant is the digital content editor of Marketing Manchester and the editor of tech and business blog The Next Web
I met up with Martin, at Social Media Cafe Manchester, and asked him what he thought of Foursquare and its potential, here is what he had to say:
Little Orchard counts many PR and digital agencies amongst its clients as well as companies of the size of Linden Homes.
Lewis himself has worked for MEN Media, and Jack Morton Communications on the Nokia and Vodaphone accounts.
As you might have seen I have been talking at length below about the DMEX placements for digital professionals in the North West, so it might not be a shock that I would investigate the power of video as a PR and SEO tool with Lewis.
Audio Interview links
First we started on the characteristics of video and moved onto content – what makes it invaluable?
You might be surprised that video is a fantastic SEO tool, not only through meta data but also through the recognition of verbal content ( a very recent development for YouTube ): Listen here
The initiative has been successfully run for 18 months, but once the final places are taken the placements will come to an end.
The scheme called DMeX gives digital and marketing agencies the use of a seasoned TV professional for 20 days at a rate of only £30 a day for the host organisation (above stated link rate has changed).
The placements bring a range of skills from producers to camera specialists to scriptwriters that can add real value to the host organisation: from gaining a better understanding of video to working on live projects.
Many placements go on to collaborate with the agencies long after the placements have been completed.
Interview:
Call Phil Birchenall for more information on 0161 446 2991 or birchenall@thewhiteroomcec.com
I was having a really interesting conversation with Denis Koltsov of BREC and Katie O’Connor of C-Tech Innovation at The Daresbury Innovation Centre recently.
Denis mentioned something very interesting about social media: it doesn’t forget!! Alright (you know that), but according to a Radio Four program he had listened to, we are not designed to remember everything.
Immediately my mind flashed back to the first day I saw the Internet (for some unknown reason). It was at the Cyber Cafe on Oxford Road Manchester: a highly impressive piece of branding and interior design as I recall.
I had heard Michael Heseltine bleat on about the “Super Information Highway,” but I hadn’t a clue what he was on about, and I suspect neither did he.
So I went in, took a pew, and was introduced.
I came out – and remember how slow and dull and primitive it was in 1994 – and rushed over to a family friend’s business in China Town. I exclaimed that I had seen something very special, and was given a generous and perplexed look.
I now get very agitated without broadband and my iPhone. I have worked in the Internet industry, traveled to the US (twice), I am able to work for myself and I am training in about two hours a professionals services practice and much more besides because of the Internet – it is quite incredible if you think about it.
George Dearsley, a Manchester based media trainer, sent me a great link about the iPad on The Guardian website, and I almost fell in love again: this is really going to revolutionise communications – one Dutch newspaper has taken the bold step of migrating its website based version onto the iPad as the main (and I think the only) means of diseminating its content.
Craig McGinty did warn me – I now believe.
Wow!: a cross between techie, photo-journalist and Sgt Bilko (in the nicest possible way of course – he is one of my TV heroes) Christian Payne, AKA Documentally, gave us an insight into how to get the most out of Twitter.
I thought it might be a run through and at a level for beginners (although Phil Birchenall had of The White Room had tried to describe how amazing Christian is in conveying the power of social media). It did turn out to be a tremendously interesting hour.
Alright onto business: What did I learn? Where do I begin? Let’s see.
Christian is a one man media kit: he carries around a range of items to record photos / video / audio and this content is transmitted with almost immediate unhindered effect to Twitter. From there an interview, for example, will be re-tweeted from his lists and followers. The viral effect sounded tremendous, if not a little frightening in its potential.
Christian said that 75% of his activity was through Twitter, which he said was the most powerful and cherished tool he has because:
If you add the fact that Twitter is growing at 1382% a year (and these figures he quoted are 3 months old) then the potential gets more exciting; Facebook by comparison, if I have remembered properly has 182% growth.
Christian gave the following advice on using Twitter:
And communication technologies to look out for in the future?
If my piece seems a bit confused, perhaps piecemeal, well the hour was a whirlwind. I think you can only get an insight into how Christian uses social media – it takes a little longer to take it all in.
If I could spend a day with Christian I think I would grow in my understanding of social media techniques at the rate comparable to what I could learn in a month of being self-taught.
Thanks to DMEX and North West Vision and Media for organising.
If the branding and page tool bar has gone on this page please let me know, it could just be my browser.
I had to do this, if only to use the image.
(Unfortunately I do not have the skills to airbrush myself – never mind).
The election will be almost upon us and as sure as summer used to herald the thwack of willow on hippy or crusty, the election will have that most weary of images: senior politicians pointing up at unconvincing posters, surrounded by photographers clicking away as though the public could not wait to read about it next day in the papers.
There are exceptions. Saatchi and Saatchi’s Labour Isn’t Working had a touch of genius and was devastatingly effective.
But even I hoped this specimen might have dampened enthusiasm for the thrusting billboard campaign, I am disappointed:
I prefer:
Back to the serious point after these cheap jibes. The conversations online are affecting the effectiveness of the traditional billboard. This can be seen no more clearly than with my www.davidcameron.com
Within the time it takes to make a spoof, a campaign in “the real world” can be derided and scuppered, indeed work against the party in question.
Suddenly communications are more integrated and multi-channel than some imagined.
I expect when a political commentator asks will the election be fought online the answer from the “expert” should be it will be fought everywhere, and especially online.
Well, getting a start would be ideal for most graduates or school leavers.
It is not easy to get a career; it is not easy to get a job at the moment, and a sought after career: forget it.
Even in good times things are not easy, so what do you do if you want to get started in marketing or PR in such a discouraging market?
Here are a few tips that I hope helps:
Social media – If you want to get into marketing or PR and you do not know about social media then you are letting yourself down.
You are not taking the opportunity of building relationships with professionals that could help you. You are not noting opportunities as they come up. You are not showing that you have the skills and intellectual curiosity to succeed.
Flexibility – It is tempting to wait for the right job. But the right position rarely comes along.
Make a start, if you get offered an opportunity – a placement or junior role – think seriously about taking it even if it is not perfect, you can still look for your dream job in the meantime. You might find the role you get offered turned out to be what you wanted or was much better than you imagined.
CV and applications – I have received CVs with grammatical errors!! Really, do I have to say more?
Cultivate opportunities where none present themselves – I have received speculative CVs and reply and get no word of thanks when I offer advice. I understand that if you want a job you have no time to dwell and you move on as quickly as you can.
But if only they called me or asked for leads or pointers, I would be happy to reward a little bit of initiative, so would many other people. Yet my efforts to reply are never rewarded – if I was recruiting I would not employ such individuals although this might be unfair. This one example where initiating a quick conversation might really help reduce that job hunt’s length.
Networking – following on, look for people that can help you.
Do not be afraid to ask: it is not cheating to ask contacts to get introductions that can lead to work experience or even, dare I say it, work.
Have a real think who might be able to help, ask those who you do not think could help, you might be surprised who they know.
Determination – it is a difficult road for many and one that I do not want to travel again. But if you really want it, you are most likely going to get you dream job. So have courage and keep at it even though it is a miserable process.
