Don’t Get Social Network Tunnel Vision

I was in a meeting recently and a colleague was talking about Social Networking, he was getting very bogged down and seemed to think that the networks were the only SMM outlets. I though I would give him a summary of some work I had carried out in a previous role to show him how the SMM sphere reaches far and wide. It is very much a summary and does not mention/consider the whole sphere but he found it useful so I thought I would post it here too.

 

In a previous role I had a high street retail client selling toiletries, fragrance, health and beauty products and more. I was tasked with looking at what we could achieve for them from a Social Media Marketing point of view. When you are considering SMM use for a retail brand, you are already on the front foot as they have tangible products that can be sold online, meaning that you have a clear end goal for any SMM activity.

 

The first thing I looked at was how we could best use the networks to create a dialogue between the brand and its customers and potential customers. Rule number one when using networks is  – ‘If you don’t have anything interesting to say, then say nothing at all’ people too often open up networks profiles on Facebook, twitter etc and instantly start pushing out constant promotional messages. This instantly puts off users and creates no form of engagement. I decided that a great way to engage with these people would be to produce a number of health and beauty tips, case studies and tutorials that would give people added value and a reason to build up a relationship of continual engagement. The content did not just come from us, we asked the users to share their tips, creating a feeling of involvement for the user (and droves of UGC – User Generated Content). Anything we produced always used products that were available from the retail business in question. This allowed us to promote the products but in a clever way as we gave the user something in return.  The Facebook fan page was used as a hub for conversation and the added content and very quickly built up a strong following (all content was also placed on the official site, this is very important for SEO purposes but also aids in achieving the end goal – a sale!)  Outside of Facebook we used Twitter and Bebo in similar ways. Twitter more a pointer to new content etc. In this case I was looking at the Social Networks as the keystone of the campaign.

 

Once I had created this base it was important to look at SMM as a whole. See below for a summary of the other outlets that I used.

 

• Youtube – optimised video tutorials e.g. makeup tips
• Blogging – employed industry experts to blog with tips etc – blogs were placed on site as well as on blog sites such as WordPress
• Wikis – build a Wikipedia based around the business and its products but still with an educationary angle
• Forums – Allocated resource to participate in forum conversations based around health and beauty (please note this can be a risky strategy)
• Social bookmarking – implementation of bookmarking on site to ensure users could quickly share content using Digg, Twitter etc

 

By creating presence across the above, we had implemented a strong and engagement integrated SMM strategy which created community, engagement, brand awareness, customer to brand dialogue, a number of new customer service outlets and last but not least sales! This activity had a massively successful effect on the SEO of the official site. I will not go in to the details of how SMM can help SEO at this stage as that is a whole different ball game.

 

A few things to remember:

 

• You need to create and maintain a tone of voice that suits your brand/business etc
• All of these things take considerable time to set up and manage, once you start you cannot really stop
• Have a plan based around the product/service that your business offers
• If people are asking you questions via these mediums, be sure to answer the promptly. If they are complaining, do it even quicker and make sure any issued are resolved. Do not delete negative comments etc, be seen to address them and this will bode well for you.
• This is not a free ride, it will take dedicated resource but the advantages can be great.
• Remember there are always people out there with an interest in what you do, however obscure that may be, so go find them and engage!

 

I hope that is of use to you and feel free to ask any questions. This is designed as a summary, I could talk about SMM until the cow come home and I know you (we!) are all busy!

Life!

Sometime things just come together in life and you don’t even notice until you sit back and reflect. Right now I am in a fantastic job that is testing and teaching me on a daily basis, the band I manage are doing well and I am due to get married in a matter of weeks! I recently went on my stag weekend with 22 special friends and had the most incredible time, so many laughs and memories (and a few injuries too!).

Life is good and I like it!

A new blog by me…

I’ve launched a new blog that aims to share my experiences of being a band manager and music in general. Hopefully you will find it of interest!

Check it out at http://www.thebandmanager.wordpress.com

In the Presence Of Legends (AC/DC at Hampden)

On Tuesday June 30th, I was lucky enough to take in AC/DC at Hampden on the final show of the European leg of their Black Ice World tour. I was with my soon to be best man Gav, who is a lifelong AC/DC fan and lover of all things classic rock. Never before had Gav been able to catch Angus and co live so this was a very special night for him. To me AC/DC are a band that I have really only started to appreciate in the last few years, with the Back in Black album being my introduction to their sound, songs like ‘What Do You Do For Money Honey’ and ‘You Shook Me all Night Long’ helping me to appreciate their majestic anthems and I have steadily gotten to love more of their repetoire since.  I was very excited about seeing them live and could only imagine how Gav was feeling after decades of anticipation.

It was an extremely warm night in Glasgow which added to atmosphere at pitch level. As we entered the famous stadium, Irish rockers The Answer were belting out some rather cool sounds, the gravely voice of Cormac Neeson is awesome and they deserve some real recognition. As the night got muggier and the beer started to boil, English indie rockers The Subways took to the stage and instantly it was evident that they were not going to be of mass appeal to the growing crowd. The poor youngsters were brought in at a late stage to replace Thin Lizzie, so they were doomed to fail from the start really. Their performance was not neccesarily bad, it just did not suit the audience and the middle aged rockers around started to show their lack of patience and disgust. The crest fallen pop rockers left the stage and it was then that the crowd seemed to instantly swell. Whoever was responsible for putting them on after The Answer should slap themselves in the face, the classic rock of the celtic chaps would have  perfectly complimented AC/DC.

After a wait that was as slow as tectonic plates, the giant screens on stage burst in to life, treating the crowd to an animated film of the band and some fantasy rock chicks hurtling along on the Rock n Roll Train as the speakers blasted out a train track noise that shook you to core. As the movie flashed along and came to it’s end, the back of the stage exploded and the huge black smoking locamotive came bursting through!  At this point the boys were on stage and blasting out (yup you guessed it) Rock n Roll Train for their latest album Black Ice. The crowd were bouncing, singing and flashing the devil sign as the guitars and drums blared, shaking Hampden to it’s core. From that moment on we knew we were all in for a treat and a glance at Gav returned a look of amazement and awe!

The hits just kept coming (including ‘Back in Black’, ‘Shook Me All Night Long’ and ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’) and the special sound and lighting added to the experience. We were among a happy fun crowd that were intent on having a great time no matter what. I was recently saw Oasis at Murrayfield and was in amongst some absolute idiots who were more focussed on swaggering about looking for somebody to punch, what a contrast this was, as people from all age groups came together to worship true rock gods.

The stage and overall show was a sight to behold and when the 1977 hit “Whole Lotta Rosie” started, the locomotive was amply stradled by a giant inflatable woman with a whole lotta loving on offer (see below).

We were situated to the left of a square stage that was placed in the middle of the pitch and was connected to the main stage by a runway that parted the crowd like Moses.  At various intervals throughout the show, Angus Young and Brian Johnson would run up the runway, teasing the crowd but never quite ending up on that stage. It wasn’t until nearly two hours into the show that the crowd stage was utilised. After Angus had treated (!) the crowd to his traditional striptease (check out his boxers below!) he then started to work his guitar with every incredible inch of skill he could muster, whipping the crowd up in to a frenzy as he edged closer to the crowd stage (continued below)

before dissapearing under the stage and emerging a-top it, bathed in light and looking almost angelic! After some engrossing strumming, the stage started to lift Mr Young high in to close air above us (see pic below) as he continued to rule 50,000 people with pure rock and roll majesty.

Angus played that guitar for at least 15 minutes and at one point was using only his left hand on the upper frets whilst still producing an incredible rolling sound.

After two full hours of rock paradise, the stage when dark and the token breather before the encore commenced. A matter of minutes later and the stage exploded in light as the first riffs of AC/DC monster hit ‘Highway to Hell’ pierced the air. The crowd exploded as myself and Gav bounced and screamed along with the famous lyrics and really appreciated that we were viewing masters of the Rock n Roll art. As the pace of Highway to Hell dropped away, the 1981 anthem, ‘For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)’ began and had the crowd mesmerised for the final few minutes of the show. The Rock and Roll journey was complete, it lasted 2.5 hours but the memories will live on forever.

The smiling and buzzing crowd slowly dispersed on to the streets of Glasgow, the air was still heavy and the gig legs started to kick in! We walked the three miles back to our hotel with the sounds of AC/DC charging through our brains and reflected on what we had witnessed. Back at the hotel there were people saying that they had seen AC/DC 7 or 8 times and the one that we had experienced was up there with the best. A cool beer was quaffed before heading back to the room for some Rock n Roll dreams.

A truly awesome experience and one that will be rememebered until the day we join Bon Scott in the big gig in the sky.

So long Michael, thanks for the memories.

Rising this morning was not easy, but it got even worse when my bleary eyes looked at the SMS messages telling me that Michael Jackson had passed away. Such a huge talent and man that was undoubtedly misunderstood.  When your childhood is lived out in the lime light it must be hard to be balanced, taken from pillar to post to perform in front of millions and never settling in the one place for any great length of time.  His adult life was plagued with controversy, debt and unrest but he looked to be turning the corner with a comeback merely days away.  The first album I owned was Bad and it made an instant impression on me. My first live concert experience was MJ on his Dangerous tour at Glasgow Green on 18/08/1992 at the age of ten, a truly awesome experience.

Michael’s musical influence is so far reaching it is had to fathom. From modern R&B to rock his style has resonated with many an artist. Not only his music but his unique moves and style can be seen by many a performer on todays’ scene.

More than 750 million sales speaks for itself.

Rest in piece MJ, long live the king.

Tormented – Quick Review

I had the day off today so went to see the new BBC backed  movie Tormented. In a nut shell, a school boy commits suicide due to bullying and comes back to seek revenge. It’s not often a film tells you the end at the start but this does and I wish I had left at that point…

This is supposed to be a horror movie right? There was no tension or frights at any point as far as I am concerned. The acting was TV standard (this should have been a TV movie), the killings mildly original but just not quite there and the comedy value was nil. It just failed to captivate me at any point. The plot was bloody obvious. The lead male character Brad was wooden and unbelievable as a posh bully type and it just generally stank as the adolescent school kid cliches kept on coming

This had potential but fell well wide of it.

Save your money folks…

What Makes a Person Rock n Roll?

I hear it all the time, ‘That guy is so Rock n Roll man’  – it’s not directed at me, it is said about somebody that may be regarded in this way. Dave Grohl, Slash, Mick Jagger etc. They are Rock n Roll. What makes them R n R? Is is their hair? (somebody recently told me that a certain band would never make it because their haircuts were too short…) Is it their clothes? Is it the fact that they produce Rock music? No not really.  It’s not an image it is a mentality. You can’t judge a person by their hair, clothes car etc.

Can somebody be Rock n Roll and not even produce music? Yeah they can. I think it is all about a mentality. It’s all about doing something the way you wanna do it and raising your middle finger to those who tell you not to. It’s saying to the world ‘Don’t judge me by my actions, what gives you the right?’ and getting on with making a change.

To me to rock is to be passionate about what you do, how you do it and what it changes. Obama rocks, Joanna Lumley, she rocks. Iggy Pop did rock until he started selling insurance. Does he feel passionate about car insurance? Me no think so. Pushing yourself and trying new things, that is rock. Sitting on your ass and complaining about your job and life in general is not rock. Go and change it man!  Go rock the shit out of everything you do until it changes and you feel happy.

Then come back and tell me that you fucking Rock!!!

My Expenses Claim…

I just put in an expenses claim to my boss.  You can see the details below:

Train Ticket  – £18.00

Train Ticket – £18.00

Taxi – £6.00

Total – £42.00

I am sure you would agree this is a reasonable claim for purchases that were essential to me completing my job in the manner that I am required to?

So what have Labour & Tory MPs been claiming for?

Cleaning of a moat – £2000.00 (a moat? around a flat in London? Oh no it’s actually a country home. I see)

Repair of a water pipe under tennis court – £2400.00 (tennis is essential to running a country right?)

A sit-on lawn mower – £1500.oo (a neat lawn will help us thorough the recession)

Ridiculous.

The MPs are claiming that all of these purchases fall within the guidelines given to them.  The operative word there would be ‘guide’. These people who run (and I use run in the loosest of meanings) our country are and have been taking the mick out of us all with these ridiculous claims. What on earth makes them think that claiming for items such as light bulbs is acceptable. The sickening thing is that it is not just a few little weasels but a large percentage.  The average salary of an MP is in the region of £60,000 per annum. That is more than double the average UK salary. I agree that they should be able to claim living expenses if they are travelling to London from another part of the country, but do these sleazy swines really need a second home? Surely it would be cheaper to put them up in a Holiday Inn like the majority of us do when working in cities other than our base. Why do they have the right to a luxury lifestyle that the majority of us can only dream about? They can spend their salaries how they want, but billing the nation for castles in the country and porn is just plain robbery.

People that we (well the majority of voters) have put in place, in to positions of great power have slapped each and everyone of us hard in the face and the worst thing is the fact that apologies have been few and far between.  David Cameron is reeling now that he has to publically admit that his party are not as squeaky clean as he likes to portray.Gordon Brown is even deeper in the mire. The fact is that we are now a soft nation that will not rise up against this shambles and really show them what we think. This latest outrage is not the only area that public money is being frittered away on, but this is not the time or the place to go in to that.  The MPs will continue to live their lavish lifestyles (yes their expenses will be cut) whilst the average UK citizen struggles to make it through the recession with any cash to spare.

So what are they going to do about it? They should be cutting all MP expenses back to essential items and releasing annual figures for each member of parliaments claims, so that we can feel safe in the knowledge that we are not being taken for a nasty ride again.

It’s time the people let them know the anger and disappointment that we feel.

Would it make sense to boycott elections, starting with the European in June?

I Have Launched Push Zero Artist Management…

Hello well I am back in the Music game at last!

I have launched my new artist mangement company – Push Zero Artist Management

Push Zero Logo

My first act is the mighty Lost in Audio (www.myspace.com/lostinaudio)

They are a young Alt Rock band who already have a strong following in the UK and Europe. Their songs are an incredible mix of blistering guitars and vocals blended with clever lyrics and an energy that cannot be denied.  Be sure to check them out!

Push Zero will be working hard to secure the best possible coverage and perfomance opportunites for the band and look forward to a great future.

Check it out – www.myspace.com/pushzero

Also on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Push-Zero-Artist-Management/76905808988

And Twitter – www.twitter.com/pushzero

Nicholas Cage – Knowing – Review (potential spoilers)

Oh dear oh dear. This was not the movie that I intended to view, I was hoping to see The Damned Utd but it was sold out. ‘Knowing’ was the only other option that was starting at roughly the same time so it was a natural choice. I am not a Nic Cage fan in general (Con Air served a purpose as did Face Off) and tend to avoid his movies like the plague, so I had no real expectations from the film.

The concept is quite nice, a school class bury a time capsule and it is opened 50 years later. Within it is a list of numbers scrolled by one of the children that just happens to map out every disaster that would take place during that 50 years. Yes you guessed it, there are only three disasters left and good old Nic has to sort out this debacle and save man kind.

Nothing happens in this movie for a coma inducing 45 minutes, then we are treated to an spectacular plane crash scene (it really is good honest) and things start to look promising. Then they stall again. Some number of minutes later the viewer is party to another incredible scene within which a NYC subway train crashes. Again breathtaking. From there on in the movie falls flat again and trundles towards it’s stuttering end.

Aside from the two excellent disaster scenes the movie really offers little else. There is not really anything new here and the acting is mediocre from all involved.The end scene is convoluted and I have a feeling the budgets were creaking as the use of effects is dated.

Sorry guys but bar two scenes it is a total turkey.