apt blog

home sweet home

Just a short post to wish Hannah (our first-class marketing exec) the very best of luck when she moves house later this week! Hope it goes swimmingly Han! :-)

Forget the tools

Just because the tools are still shiny and new doesn't mean that the core messages, the brand proposition, the products, the services, the whatever should take a backseat. No sireee!

In fact, now that most companies are particpating in conversations via Social Media channels, the tools have become secondary again...which is how it should be.

We're done with Social Media being seen as a differentiator. So, back to basics then. Get your offering right, get your brand right and be truthful.

The Social Media environment rewards open and transparent companies. It also craps all over those who don't respect this code!

Worth noting (without becoming paranoid) that everything you say will be indexed, searched for, found, analysed, re-hashed, regurgitated and (potentially) used against you!

Oh wait, I feel a Mark Twain quote coming on. Seriously, this illustrates the point: "If you tell the truth you won't have to remember anything." :-)

This is still broken

Seth Godin just reminded us of a talk he gave a while back. I caught the original release three years ago but it's just as relevant today.

In the talk, Seth points out some interesting and amusing examples of when something is 'broken', as he puts it. Basically this means it just doesn't work!

Where his talk excels is in listing some of the seven reasons why things are broken. This exposes the ludicrous way in which companies operate.

In my opinion, most interesting is the concept that companies break things 'on purpose' to make it difficult for customers to complain/respond! Would they really do that? :-)

If you have the time, revisit this little gem.

Survival of the fastest

  

Flicking through Marketing Week's info-packed 'Search & Social Media' supplement I found the article: 'speed ahead in a slowdown'. It says speed, rather than size, will be the key to companies navigating the recession. This sums it up...

"The businesses succeeding are those, regardless of sector or size, displaying the same hunger and agility as the smallest start-up. It is companies that ignore the trends and act conservatively that are finding their markets eaten into by nimbler, hungrier rivals."

I agree completely. To emerge strongest in 2010...11...12...or whenever you believe we'll come out of this recession, companies MUST open their eyes and MUST make changes. Anyone out there still need convincing? Take a look at some of the stats they use to back up the article...

• Over 60% of UK internet users aged 16 to 54 have created a social network profile
• Social networking via mobile is predicted to reach 910 million users by 2012
• 15 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every...wait for it...minute!

Staggering eh? Oh, and check out the survival of the fastest YouTube channel too :-)

Are you a Dyslexic dropout?

Don't despair, inspiration is at hand! Just take a look at this list, posted by Michael Dunlop of Income Diary. It includes some of the top thinkers you could er...think of!

They are all dyslexic, some are college dropouts and (as Michael notes) some are even left-handed too! Talk about being born under a bad sign :-)

In all seriousness, it's pretty humbling that they've managed to excel despite these perceived setbacks. Fascinating stuff.

Mmmm...chocolate!

OK, so we're off for Easter now! Actually that's not strictly true, we'll be checking emails and the boss Angie will no doubt be in over the weekend (workaholic that she is:).

Anyway, have a great break and we'll see you next week...

FAIL blog

A trivial departure this one. Just to say, anyone who hasn't stumbled upon the FAIL blog yet is missing out. Bigtime. So, as is our duty, we're telling you to go and check it out!

It's got one of the highest readerships of any blog, globally. And it's not hard to see why. Simple and accessible with no set narrative, easy to dip in and out and god damn funny!

The content is user-generated, so minimal maintenance required. Regular visitors seem almost obsessed in making the first, funniest or most annoying comment, which then sparks a wave of interaction.

A great formula then :-)