THESOCIALPRESS April 2015
www.NewMediaAngels.com
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THESOCIALPRESS VOLUME 6 | APRIL 2015
03 TOP STORIES 04 EDITOR 09 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT 11 QUOTE OF THE MONTH 12 INNOVATION BOX 13 TOOL REVIEW 17 ANGELS ON THE LOOSE 19 CARTOON OF THE MONTH
HOW TO USE VIDEOS AND BLOGS TO BUILD
05 YOUR BRAND AWARENESS BY HANNAH
AVOIDING COSTLY HIRING MISTAKES BY HIRING
07 FOR CULTURAL FI T AND NOT JUST FOR SKILLS GUEST BLOG BY BETTINA PICKERING
SMALL BUSINESS TACTICS FOR BETTER
14 SOCIAL MEDIA CONNECTIONS BY DOMINICA
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April 2015
New Media Angels
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TOP RIES STO
1. Shopping shock waves that have left retailers in need of therapy New breeds of shopper have emerged in recent years, shunning brand loyalty and the annual squash into rammed stores on Boxing Day, in favour of hunting out the best deals when it suits them. Accountancy Deloitte warned this week that retailers are playing a dangerous game in spoon-feeding their customers an addictive diet of discounts. Traditional retailers have been forced to rapidly alter age-old business models based on simple “buy it, sell it for more” economics in favour of complex and expensive spending analysis and customer marketing. www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/shoppingshock-waves-that-have-left-retailers-in-need-oftherapy-9912565.html
2. Facebook Gives People a New Way to ‘Turn Down’ Annoying Brands People will be able to see which of their friends or the brands they follow accounted for the most posts in their news feeds each week, Facebook said Friday. What’s more, the company also introduced a way for people to dial down the number of posts they see from a given friend or brand, as opposed to completely hiding them.
The update means Facebook will put more of a filter on the content you see from friends or brands you “turn down,” ideally making sure that only their most relevant or compelling posts show up on your screen. http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-people-aquiet-annoying-brands/295781/
3. GE’s Katrina Craigwell: Head of global digital programming. Instagram proponent. TV fan. It’s a place where the brand can connect its audience with what happens in its labs and factories. “If I give you a white paper PDF on a GE jet engine, your eyes might glaze over although it’s a beautiful piece of machinery,” she said. “If I show you that engine rigged up in our test cell or on the wings of a Dreamliner plane, and it’s beautiful, it starts to get your attention.” That may be one of the account’s biggest achievements -- making machinery visually appealing enough to survive the aesthetics of Instagram. From wind turbines in Cape Cod, to trains traveling through the Australian desert, the photos are usually stunning. www.techrepublic.com/article/ges-katrina-craigwellhead-of-global-digital-programming-instagramproponent-tv-fan/
Cemanthe New Media Angels
April 2015
A Note from the Editor
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Hello again and welcome to April’s edition of the Social Press. Besides eating lots of chocolate for Easter, April is a good time to spring clean your social media; check all your images are updated, your bios still make sense, and your content is applicable to your campaign. This month Hannah is going to cover how to use videos and blogs to build brand awareness, we look at a new innovation in the world of technology which will amaze you, and we have another article from our guest writer Bettina. Looking forward to see you again soon at our next meeting, or if not then, through our next magazine. Have a great Spring!
Cemanthe April 2015
New Media Angels
How to use videos and blogs to build your brand awareness Videos, blogs, vlogs – all three of these fantastic business tools are excellent to helping you build your brand awareness and to help others feel closer to your business. Using them in the right way can not only help people to learn more about what you do, but become closer to your brand, and more likely to buy and recommend you. As a business, it is important to build that brand reputation with current and potential customers, and creating a video or a blog, will help you do this!
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New Media Angels
April 2015
6 So, how can you use a video to help build your brand awareness? There are three main ways to use a video for your business:
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Explainer videos – explaining how and what you do in your business. How to Videos – show your expertise by showing a “how to” video to your potential customers.
Insights into your business – videos showing your team, your location, your products all in fun interactive videos.
You can choose one or more of these styles, but utilising videos are a great way to help boost brand awareness. Many people in our network have found that people are recognising them thanks to the regular videos they post, even without having met them in person before! This is exactly what you want to see!
Using Blogs to build your brand awareness: Blogs are a fantastic way to share more in depth information with customers and potential clients. Using a blog regularly on your website can also help boost your credibility and get you more visits to your website. The favourite ways I use blogs are:
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Top tips – help people know more about your industry by sharing tips to implementing or learning more about what you offer. For example, if you are an interior designer, you could share top tips in how to choose the right paint colours for a living room.
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Current news and events – show your expertise by sharing the new changes in your industry and news stories that have happened, with your take on what it means for you and your customers.
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Answer FAQs. I heard this from one of our fab Video guys about what to do in videos and thought this could reflect so well in blogs too. Take note of the questions people ask you at networking events, in emails and the regular questions that new and potential customers ask. You can then answer them in your blog, which will probably get you the most hits, as if people are asking you, they are probably searching for the answer in Google too! Blogs and videos are great ways to help you boost your brand visibility and to get more people talking about you, sharing your content and getting to know your company even more. Stick to a schedule that you can keep, so you stay clear of any stresses, and go through a plan for your upcoming month / quarter / year to help keep you focused and ready in advance. You can even help your own marketing and PR plans by creating blogs and videos that are reflected in your marketing campaigns.
Hannah April 2015
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Avoiding costly hiring mistakes by hiring for cultural fit and not just for skills Guest Blog
Money
Time
Decrease in customer satisfaction
Whilst most SME leaders are clear about the technical skills and competencies they are hiring for, they are less clear about the cultural fit - the values, attitudes, and behaviours that someone who need to have to been a great fit for the role and in the company.
Why is cultural fit important?
SME’s and Microbusinesses cannot afford to make hiring mistakes – and this includes virtual assistants and freelance associates. Bringing the wrong type of person into the company will not only drain much needed financial resources, it also takes up valuable time having to deal with the fall out of having the wrong person in the role:
Values drive our motivation, and thus our attitudes and behaviours. Values are what is important us. They can often be intangible and hard to pin point as many people only recognise their values when they have experience a values violation i.e. something happened or they did something that went against what was important to them.
Increase in remedial people activities
We express our values in our attitudes and behaviours. These are tangible, observable, and measurable.
Exiting the ‘unsuitable’ employee making sure due process is followed: all their access to systems or buildings is cancelled, work tasks are handed over carefully including any work they did is checked especially customer facing work.
Increase in recruitment activities Finding a replacement is likely to take so much longer as you will not want to make the same mistake again.
Reduction in productivity Additional workload for everyone else or tasks get left. It can also affect motivation of remaining employees who might have already been frustrated and stressed due to needing to work with someone who did not fit into the organisation culture. Decrease in customer satisfaction There might be a negative impact on relationships with customers due to errors or service inconsistencies if the employee customer facing. I have come across instances where valuable customers were lost because of hiring mistakes that were not caught in time.
We all have preferred attitudinal and behavioural patterns, which we fall back into repeatedly when we do not pay particular attention, run on autopilot, or are stressed. Whilst these preferences can change, we have to make a conscious decision to do so. Skills and competencies can be taught, cultural fit cannot. Whilst everyone has the potential to change and adapt, smaller organisations cannot take the chance of hiring someone who would have change their normal patterns significantly. Yet, cultural fit is the one element that most hiring managers are weakest on. While they may state they are looking for someone who has e.g. a ‘can do’ attitude (attitude) or ‘communicates effectively’ (behaviour) or wants to make a difference (value), they tend to fail in being really clear as to what those concepts mean: in practice, in their organisation, and in that particular role. If we do not have our requirements (positive and negative) present and clearly stated, we will miss key elements when we make initial contact or speak to someone in an interview. It’s human. New Media Angels
April 2015
8 Three key activities to articulate good cultural fit 1. Identify those attitudes and behaviours that truly make a difference to the role and the future hire’s success in the organisation. It is also important to highlight the attitudes and behaviours you don’t want, so you do recognise them in an interview or even when you first make contact with the candidate(s). This may take a little bit of time, but it is well worth it. Think back to what you really liked and did not like about how the previous role holder performed the role. If is a new role: what would make someone a success or a hassle in that role. It is a good idea is walk through the activities of the role and draw out key attitudes and behaviours for each core activity. 2. Decode how you would know if someone has the ideal attitude and behaviours and what these high-level words actually mean in the context of their organisation. How would you recognise what good looks, sounds, or feels like?
3. Translate these attitude and behaviour requirements into interview questions that determine if someone would be a good cultural fit or not. Forget the usual plain old interview questions. Instead, use case studies and real company situations (sanitised so they can be used externally) where you can ask the question: •
How would you handle that?
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What you do in this situation?
Listen closely to the answers, checking it against your requirements - positives and negatives. This is will give you a good basis for discussion with the candidate. And you will be mostly surprised by some candidates who you would have ordinarily hired, but who will present answers that make you shudder, and by others who previously you would have dismissed who will give you creative answers you wish you had thought of at the time.
Example: When someone communicates effectively - What does that mean? How would that show? It could mean that
April 2015
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someone asks for what they want clearly and succinctly,
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they pick up the phone instead of using e-mail or
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they treat each person they interact with like a friend.
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All these could mean they communicate effectively, but may not all or none are applicable to the role you need to fill.
New Media Angels
About the author: Bettina Pickering is the founder and director of www.aronagh. com, a consulting, training and coaching company providing organisation culture design, leadership development and resilience services.
Business Spotlight
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My name is Diane and I am an interior designer. Design and harmony have always been inherent in me. For as long as I can remember I have mentally restyled every space I’ve entered. I can remember as a young child lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling and imagining how I would resite everything if the room was upside down! I think my parents may have had a lot to do with this love of mine, they were vaguely Hampstead Bohemian, my father was a clothing designer and manufacturer, and my mother French and chic. Our house was always different from other peoples – black, white and red featured strongly with pops of peaches and gold, - another time chrome, black leather and G Plan, jade green and velvets (well it was the 60’s/70’s/80’s!)
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Design was only a small part of my work in the 90’s/00’s. I ran an electrical and building company with my late husband. Here I learned first hand about planning and building regulations, project managing, time and budget constraints, but the cherry on the cake for me was designing the kitchen, choosing harmonious colour schemes and the all important finishing touches. After a while it just seemed obvious that I should enhance my studies with a university degree and concentrate on the design aspect of this work. It’s something I simply love doing, it just doesn’t feel like work to me! My clients are very varied - home owners wanting a revamp, first time buyers, shops and offices, and property investors who want to renovate to let or flip a property. I usually sit and get to know them first, asking key questions to reveal their passions and style, and suggesting options that will result in a space they will love to live or work in. Even when a client says “I don’t know, just do something on trend and wonderful” I can still draw hidden desires out of them to create a space that is unique to them. We once refurbished a small restaurant in East London to look like a factory canteen due to the age of the building and the client’s limited budget. This was before the industrial look became a big trend so it was a leap of faith, but I’m pleased to say we were heading in the right direction with this idea, and the owners have since opened more branches. Although these days many of my clients come from word of mouth, social media is a great way to get known to a broader client base. I have a Facebook page, Diane Sofer Design, where I post pictures and trends that inspire me. I also use Twitter and LinkedIn for networking.
on limited budgets, as it is possible to create and furnish beautifully and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. I love colour, inspired by my travels to Africa and years spent in the Middle East. I like to incorporate facets of these countries where I can, but light is different all over the world and what looks great in one country doesn’t necessarily work in another, so this is always born in mind. Africa and India are full of deep, vibrant colours, Scandinavia evokes pale wood and neutral pastels – there is a reason for this! I also draw inspiration from designers that are not scared of colour, Karim Rashid and Abigail Ahern among others, and the furniture I love are the timeless pieces of Le Corbusier and Eileen Gray – designers light years ahead of their time. Currently my own hallway is orange with an Iberian feel, the kitchen has dark red units and grey walls, the living area is more of a neutral background with dark coloured alcoves and vibrant soft furnishings. The most important aspect of home for me is harmony and peace. When everything is in place and visually appealing I feel calm, secure and able to function at my best. I want to bring this feeling to the world!
My website recently needed updating and the lovely ladies at New Media Angels stepped in and worked with me to create a site that oozes with my style and reflects my personality (www. dianesofer.co.uk). My own home is a hotchpotch of trial and (sometimes) error. I often repaint and restyle, setting myself budget challenges in so doing which proves invaluable when working with clients
Diane Sofer April 2015
New Media Angels
Quote of the Month
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Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand.� - Amy Jo Martin
New Media Angels
April 2015
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Innovation Box The Grid harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to take everything you throw at it - videos, images, text, urls and more - and automatically shape them into a custom website unique to you. As your needs grow, it evolves with you, effortlessly adapting to your needs. Want to add e-commerce? Social feeds? A different layout? The Grid just takes care of it. This is not a website builder. This is your personal AI web developer. Its first masterpiece is the website you’re looking at right now. Its next one could be yours.
A website that builds itself? https://thegrid.io/
Cemanthe April 2015
New Media Angels
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Tool Review Trello Trello Review – the Most Visual Productivity Tool?
It’s pretty. It’s inherently visual, and you can spend as much time making it look lovely as you might spend decorating a room. The interface simplicity gives away no hint of just how easily Trello can be used to manage complex projects and procedures. In fact, one of the trickiest things about this tool is deciding how to represent your work in the incredibly flexible system of boards, lists and cards with colour coding, checklists and tags. It’s probably no surprise that Trello works exceptionally well for the Kanban method of working, where items move through different stages across a board. Trello project management process is really simple: •
You get boards
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On each board is a set of lists
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On those lists you can add cards
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Cards can be sub-lists, notes, links, photos, files
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Cards can be assigned to people, given due dates, colour coded and tagged, and dragged from list to list or moved from board to board.
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Your team members can comment on, subscribe to, or vote on cards.
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Cards are the incredibly versatile building blocks of your system in Trello, and they are the key to making it work for you.
Dominica New Media Angels
April 2015
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Small Business Tactics for Better Social Media Connections Today, simply creating a Facebook page or Twitter handle for your small business is not enough. While establishing a presence across social media is important, making lasting relationships is the key to longterm success. And as we know, creating meaningful relationships and winning over todays consumer across social media doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a commitment to sharing relevant content in a way that inspires your fans and followers to interact and take action. It also requires consistent conversation. Conversation that allows you to easily stay connected and top of mind. So how can you create vibrant conversations that fuel visibility and increase awareness around your small business?
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Below are easy and effective small business tactics for better social media connections! 1. Create Social Networks Worth Visiting •
Are your social channels appealing?
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Have you created a space that’s inviting to both visitors and current followers?
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Spruce it up by answering a few quick questions!
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What’s the first impression anyone landing on your site will receive? You only get one chance, so take this one seriously!
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Are you sharing relevant content in a way that resonates with your potential clients?
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Do you discuss local matters in a way that makes sense to your community?
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Is your page or profile interactive?
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Do you have a Call to Action?
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Have past clients given testimonials?
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Are you sharing multiple forms of content including video, images and text?
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Is your content easy to read and wellwritten?
Social media is fluid. In order to maintain fan and follower attention, you need to constantly adjust to meet their needs. 2. Be an Active Listener Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are excellent catalysts for conversation. Nevertheless, a conversation doesn’t truly become beneficial until both parties are involved.
Become an active listener in order to quickly respond and meet the needs of your fans and followers in real-time. Tools such as Social Mention allow you to monitor the conversations happening in and around your business. Use it to search your company name, local phrases like your city or community, and keyword search terms. Once you begin to dive into that information, you can use it to create content. Write a blog post around a specific question or create a video tip responding to a need. You can also use Twitter Advanced Search to monitor your name or keyword phrases. Monitoring certain phrases will allow you to respond while the thought is fresh in the mind of the consumer. Let’s say you’re a real estate professional, an example might be a search for your local area. Anyone looking to “buy a home in Denver” could be a potential client. Searching that term will bring up anyone who uses that phrase within their tweet. If you don’t have the time, put someone in charge of monitoring these tweets so you can respond with engaging — not hard sell and spammy tweets. 3. Be a Resource Gaining a social media following will require that you share relevant content along with your thoughts, ideas and insight around the topic or your industry/niche. As a small business owner, understanding the needs of your consumer is critical. Below are a few tips to help you become the go-to resource. New Media Angels
April 2015
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Unique photos of your business with fun and engaging questions. Example: “Who wouldn’t want a tasty ice cream sundae on a hot day?” We know we would!”
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Always add a call to action – what’s the next step you would like anyone connecting with you on social media to take? Make it simple for them to ask a question or click through to your website to learn more about your company.
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Talk about an upcoming local or sponsored event, why you’re involved and why it matters to your social media fans and followers.
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Tell the stories of past and current clients. How did your company solve a problem or help when no one else could? People love feel-good stories and stories humanize a business. Answer questions around your business or product and share how you make their life easier. The key is to make the buying process feel safe and comfortable.
4. Get Visual The results are in. We live in a highly visual world. Studies have repeatedly shown that people respond positively to photos and videos far more than they do articles. Use this to your advantage. Two Visual Content Post Ideas: •
Quotes from your latest blog post – use a tool like Save Publishing to pull quotes from your blog posts. Then add them to a high-impact graphic.
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Unique product/service features – what makes your product or service special and what makes you stand out? Identify what differentiates you and then share that in a way that captures the attention of your target audience.
Dominica April 2015
New Media Angels
5. Stay In The Conversation Is your company guilty of posting and then running off, never to return? If you’re using social media as a one-way bullhorn, you’re missing the point. Social media is interactive. It’s a vibrant, lively space. But only when you take the time to stay in the conversation. While sharing valuable content is important, it won’t automatically create conversation. Take the time to ask questions, listen to your fans and followers and respond in a timely manner. Just as in the offline world, it’s considered poor etiquette within social media if you “run into the room” screaming about your company, and never take the time to get to know anyone. 6. Track Your Success And finally, track, measure and adjust your strategy. Winston Churchill said it best: “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Let’s face it, at the end of the day if we achieve results then there is always a cause for celebration.” As a small business owner, your responsibility is to generate sales and increase revenue. Put a plan in place that will let you easily create, manage and follow a daily social media strategy. Set aside time to work with key people within your company to create your roadmap. It’s that important to your success!
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Angels on the Loose Well the last 2 months have, as always, been great for the Angels! We’ve signed on a few new clients for social media campaigns, websites and videos. We’ve completed a few projects, and currently bringing a big project (which included illustrations) to a close. Cemanthe has been invited to stand as an MP for a local independent party and also joined a new networking group in London, as well as helped a few clients get into the world of Twitter, so we’re all keeping busy. Our Business at the Beach training sessions started in March too and went really well. We’ve done social media training at a law firm and SEO reviews for a 3D printing company on their site. And also provided cover images, through Hannah, to a gym and nutritionist!
All in all a busy few months and doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon :)
New Media Angels
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April 2015
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Cartoon of the Month
New Media Angels
April 2015
If you want someone to: •
calmly sit down with you and explain social media in non-technical jargon
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discuss strategy and implementation in a practical and affordable way
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be enthused by that person’s passion and creativity
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feel supported by a caring and exceedingly responsive approach
... Cemanthe is your woman! ~ Ray Amsterdam, New Invention Marketing
New Media Angels have been a delight to work with throughout our project. Their help with design, logos, characterisation and website building has been excellent, a complete package. I would have no hesitations in recomending New Media Angels and I hope to work with them again in the near future, thanks again!
List Of Services: Social Media Management Social Media Training SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Design and Illustration Web Design Video
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~ Dr Anthony Hobson, The Functional Gut Clinic
Wow....New Media Angel has blown me away!!
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Cemanthe’s passion, enthusiasm and commitment to the task at hand is exceptional. She has created an excitement in me for a tool I knew nothing about and was always wary to use, a new world has opened up before my eyes. She continues to amaze me with all the ideas she has, and challenges don’t seem to disturb her energetic personality!! She is always encouraging and extremely patient. You will be crazy not to use her to start your business or add a new dimension to it.
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~ Tracey Botha, www.createnaturalnutrition.com
I was overwhelmed & confused by the world of “business social media”, Cemanthe has quickly cut through all the bull out there and helped me understand what I need and how to achieve it, fantastic value for money.Thanks. ~ Jon Denoris, Club 51
What we stand for: http://youtu.be/I1ennL4mK-E Web: www.NewMediaAngels.com Email: cemanthe@NewMediaAngels.com Direct Tel: (+44) 07886 593 076