Pictures at an Exhibition….

Posted by Gerry on Jul 15, 2011 in General interest, Gerry Vincent, Industry interest

It’s very common to hear the following from company bosses, “I can’t blog because I don’t have time. And I don’t have anything to say.”

Hmmm. Well, we can’t do much about the first thing - but we can offer suggestions about the second.

Because blogging is very important now for both SEO and lead generation; some research I read recently suggested that nearly one third of businesses regard it as business critical.

Much of what is available on the net is shared because it is free. Or offers better value than, say, on the High Street. For B2C companies, that means product giveaways or competitions. If you are a B2B company, you have something equally valuable to giveaway: expertise. So, providing regularl advice, information, market intelligence etc delivers both compelling content and underlines your own brand proposition (authoritative, credible, market leadership etc).

Remember blogs don’t have to be long, but if you’re looking to generate followers, the best advice at the moment is that you should blog at least once or twice a week; and they can be picture/link-led. If the main reason for blogging is SEO, then the content that is more important than frequency.

Here are a few suggestions…

One thing you have discovered that week (or two, or three…)
Customer feedback - and how you have addressed it (keeping the customer anonymous)
Feedback about your products (try not to make the blog too self-congratulatory though. Feedback should be informative for readers e.g. why is it working well)
Best idea(s) you’ve gleaned from seminars
Information from conversations/feedback you have been having with Sales Directors (ie. their experiences with customers)
Information from TV, in newspapers, magazines/blogs/forums or websites – do you agree/disagree or can you offer advice
New regulation/updates
News on product updates
Pictures from exhibitions
Team news and pictures – a who’s who of sales teams
Key presentations
Case studies
My Top 5….(whatever it might be)
Market developments and trends
Market statistics

You can probably think of dozens more, so go on - get out there and get published!

Good ad v bad ad

Posted by Amy on Jan 27, 2009 in Industry interest

This post was going to be about the fantastic new T-Mobile advert, where we see a troop of dancers taking over the Liverpool Street Station. Normal passengers join in, everyone is enjoying the entertainment, people are filming it on their phones or phoning loved ones to tell them what’s happening…and it fully supports their strapline Life’s for sharing. It’s brilliant (& that’s even before you realise that the full dance clip on YouTube has had nearly 750,000 hits after just a week).

BUT, this morning I have seen Cadbury’s latest advert:

and I don’t get it! I didn’t particular get the trucks or the gorilla ads from the A Glass and a Half Full team, but I did find them enjoyable…this is just plain bizarre.

The Cadbury marketing director said: “”Like the other productions ‘Eyebrows’ is all about losing yourself and embracing that moment of joy … after all, everybody remembers pulling a silly face or getting up to no good as a child when backs were turned.”. Firstly, those children look like they’re in pain and secondly they’re not getting up to no good - they’re still sat down which is more than most children would be.

Maybe i’m taking it too literally and maybe it’s just not aimed at me, but I do know one thing, it does not make me want to go out and buy chocolate!