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Posts tagged 'Social media'

Here come the girls: An interview with Julie Hall of Women Unlimited

8th
Sep
by Sarah Turner

A few weeks ago, I managed to squeeze in a quick lunch with the very busy Julie Hall of Springmedia and Women Unlimited. (Yes, she really does run two companies. And a family. She’s, like, Superwoman!) Over a jacket potato we discussed positive discrimination (we disagreed), the UK versus the North American work ethic, and the tools she uses to help her run her two businesses.

Turner Ink: Not only do you run Springmedia, a successful web design company, you’re also the founder of Women Unlimited, an online networking group aimed at business women. How did that come about?
Julie Hall: I created Women Unlimited in 2008 to be the kind of community and network I wished I’d had when I started my own business back in 2000.

Only 15% of small businesses have women owners. And given that we are 48% of the workforce, I figured there needed to be a place that encouraged women into entrepreneurship and helped them to succeed.

TI: Why did you want a women’s group? Do you think women have different business needs?
JH: No, I don’t think that women have different business needs. But many of them do lack confidence and business experience. So we aim to fill in the gaps and show them what’s possible.

TI: So how does Women Unlimited help women in business?
JH: Well, we offer practical advice and support via daily articles and blog posts, and the social networking groups. And of course we run events and workshops, which give women the skills they need.

The LinkedIn Group has been a great surprise to me, because it’s turned into a very supportive place for women to ask questions and connect with each other.

TI: Are women more supportive of each other in business then or is that just a myth?
JH: That’s an interesting question. I think it depends on the person. I’m a girls’ girl. I love women and talking with them and finding out what they’re doing. Women Unlimited’s events have a great reputation for being really inspiring and fun. One woman, called it a ‘spa for my mind’.

TI: I attended a WU event last year. The speakers were fantastic. It was an inspiring afternoon
JH: Yes, the events are workshops are well attended and very popular. We run a few big events on and around International Women’s Day (March 2011) and we run specialist events for different types of businesses. We’ve just completed one for the food industry.

TI: So what are Women Unlimited’s plans for the future?
JH: We’re launching a membership area and taking our training courses and events to other cities in the UK.

TI: Ok, I’m going to ask it – what are your thoughts on positive discrimination?
JH: [Laughing] You know this is one of my soapbox speeches! I’m in favour of positive discrimination because without it, change will take 50 years. I think what’s going on in France and Norway is a great example of how to do it. However, I think culturally in the UK it won’t be possible to bring positive discrimination in because there’s so much resistance to the idea.

TI: As a Canadian, do you think British women work differently?
JH: You’ll probably hate this, but North Americans definitely work harder than their UK counterparts. The whole work-life balance thing is just not something that they stress about in the same way we do here. They have less holidays and work longer hours. Though, I’m not saying that’s better. And even though we scorn the personal development culture that they have in North America, they are much more success oriented and less prone to let fear stand in their way.

TI: So who or what has been your greatest influence in business and why?
JH: A guy by the name of Peter Massey. He was my first boss in the UK and gave me my first break. He also taught me that sometimes lack of knowledge about something can create innovation and shouldn’t hold you back from trying something out.

TI: What other business women have inspired you?
JH: I’m inspired by all the business women that I meet. They all have their own visions, passions and ideas that they want to share with the world. I’m very lucky in that many successful women have supported what we’re doing by speaking at our events; people like Camila Batmangelidgh, founder of the Kids’ Company, Claire Burnet, founder of Chococo and Polly Gowers, the founder of Everyclick.

TI: How can other women succeed online?
JH: I recommend that everyone has a clear business model before they start. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet. The best advice I would have is to find a product that people want to buy, be very clear on your differentiation, make sure that you have a way of connecting with your target market and just do it.

TI: What are your favourite business books?
JH: I have shelves and shelves of business books. Some of my favourites are The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki, The E-Myth by Michael Gerber and From Acorns by Caspian Wood.

TI: What would you say is your greatest professional accomplishment to date?
JH: Hmm, I’m not very good at this kind of question… but I was absolutely thrilled at pulling off a conference with 250 women back in March.

TI: What’s the best advice you have received that you’d like to pass on?
JH: Don’t do it all yourself. Build a strong team around you. Do the things that you are good at and bring in exceptional people to fill in the gaps. Your team should include mentors, advisers and team members who can each bring you one step closer to your goal

TI: That’s great advice Julie. Finally, are there any resources or tools you’d like to share with other small business owners that have helped you run your business?
JH: So many tools! I’d recommend WordPress, Go To Webinar for teleseminars, Tungle.me for scheduling, someone just shared Echosign with me for online contracts, Eventbrite for organising events, Conference Genie for free conference calling, and the British Library BIPC for research and events.

Julie Hall - Women UnlimitedJulie Hall is the MD of Springmedia which specialises in web design and development, logo design, email newsletter creation, blogging customisation, web consultancy and social media strategy.

She is also CEO of Women Unlimited an online community for female entrepreneurs.

Connect with Julie on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

 

 

 

 


Tags: julie hall, linkedin, networking, Social media, springmedia, web designer, women unlimited
Posted in Interviews with cool people | comments icon 1 Comment »

Let’s get digital. An interview with Matt Sawyer of Datadial

22nd
Jul
by Sarah Turner

This month, I’ve managed to grab a few moments with digital marketing expert Matt Sawyer (who was one of the first industry bods I ever followed on Twitter). Matt heads up the online marketing department over at digital agency Datadial. We talked about link campaigns, the best blogs to read and why is the SEO industry coming in for some flak?

Turner Ink: You’ve been head of SEO and digital marketing at Datadial for five years now Matt. What’s changed in the industry since you joined?
Matt Sawyer: Everything and nothing. I see a lot of talk about how SEO is constantly changing, but really the fundamentals have remained the same – good content in a well organised and well structured website.

Social media has really changed link development though, and it’s forced SEOs to think a lot more creatively about who will link to them and why.

TI: So where is the SEO industry heading? What’s it going to look like in 5 years’ time?
MS: I think we’re going to be a lot more integrated with other marketing disciplines. To a lot of people we’re always the geeks in the room at the end of the corridor that nobody really understands. I think the industry itself is partly to blame for that.

Over the last couple of years though, SEOs have become far more closely integrated with development, sales, marketing and editorial teams and we’re doing a much better job of educating people, not just on what we do and why we do it, but also how it complements their roles.

TI: That’s interesting. Because there’s been a bit of SEO bashing online lately. (This is the post that springs to mind.) What are your thoughts?
MS: I completely understand why people feel that way when so many people have had bad experiences with SEOs. I think there is a real knowledge gap between the marketing managers and SMB owners that are buying-in the services and the companies that are selling them. Unfortunately, this either leads to companies taking advantage of this, or services being mis-sold.

TI: Ok Matt, how do you execute an SEO strategy? What do you do specifically?
MS: Generally for us it falls into four distinct stages:
1. Site architecture – ensuring the site is technically correct. Everything from making sure all the pages are reachable by search engines, to checking for duplicate content issues.
2. Site structure – checking that the site is organised logically, with relevant category pages.
3. Keyword research and page optimisation.
4. Link building and social media strategy.

TI: Yes, links are a major factor in the success of a site’s SERPS positioning aren’t they? How easy or difficult is it to get quality links?
MS: Links are THE biggest factor in rankings for competitive phrases. Getting good quality links is easy. Getting them in large enough quantities is harder. Social media has made the process easier and more scaleable, but you still have to rely on great ideas to make things work.

TI: I’ve locked horns with a number of so-called SEO experts who are more concerned with the mechanics of SEO and don’t give a hoot about the quality of the writing. What are your thoughts?
MS: Always write for users. There’s no point getting visitors to a page if it looks like it’s been written by a 5 year old (or me for that matter). There is no reason why a page can’t be optimised as well as written with conversions in mind.

TI: Well, I totally agree with that! What SEO tools do you use?
MS: I think most people would be surprised how few tools SEOs really use. I think there’s a misconception that we automate everything. But really the only tools we use are those that speed-up fairly menial tasks or give us more metrics to play with in Excel.

For example we use a ranking checker to monitor site rankings changes. I also use the Open Site Explorer to pull link data and site metrics into Excel. Majestic should also get an honourable mention here. I also like using Xenu which can spider an entire site, extract page metrics and export all of the data to a .csv file.

TI: Do you only optimise for Google?
MS: Realistically, yes. In the UK, especially, they have such an obscene share of the search market that they have to be the search engine that’s at the forefront of your strategy. However, most search engines work in similar ways, so you’ll find that most SEO work brings similar benefits on all search engines.

TI: But is Bing becoming more important?
MS: Slowly. I’m seeing its search share gradually start to creep up, and before long Yahoo will start to serve Bing results.

TI: What other services do you offer at Datadial?
MS: We’re a full service agency. So we do everything from design, development and hosting, through to digital marketing, email marketing and ebusiness consultancy.

TI: I know you handle online PR and reputation management for clients as well and you’ve developed an in-house reputation monitoring tool. Tell us how that works.
MS: Our reputation monitoring tool works by pulling together lots of different data sources – such as Google (news and blogs), Twitter mentions, RSS feeds and several others, which it then parses for mentions of the client name. These are then displayed in an admin control panel. A lot of similar services tend to over-complicate things, so we have tried to go the other way and keep thing as simple as possible for the user while retaining functionality.

TI: You and I are both on Twitter quite a bit. Are you finding clients want to jump on the social media bandwagon no matter what their product or service?
MS: A lot of people seem to decide that they want to do social media before they have thought about why they’re doing it and what they want to get out of it. Some companies are made for social media; others need to think about culture change before they engage in social media.

The key thing to remember is that consumers aren’t always the best group for your company to try to engage with. Often, it’s better to network online with the bloggers and journalists in your industry.

TI: Talking of bloggers – you write for the Datadial blog Matt. And, of course, you write for own blog. What topics do you cover?
MS: With the Datadial blog we write primarily for our clients, on (hopefully) interesting topics and issues that affect them and their business.

My own blog has actually been around for several years in one form or another, and I tend to use it to organise my own thoughts and rants more than anything else. I have been known to post at 3am when I have ideas that I need to get down somewhere!

TI: I hate to think what I’d blog at 3am! What other blogs do you read or recommend?
MS: The SEOMoz blog is fantastic, both for advanced SEOs and novices alike. The range of topics covered and the resources that they have available really are second to none.

Other than that I regularly read (and recommend) EConsultancy, SEOptimise, Apple Pie And Custard (who also win the prize for the strangest name), Search Engine Land, Malcolm Coles and SEO By The Sea.

TI: And last question Matt. What does a normal day look like for you?
MS: Normally I get into the office by seven. I cycle into West London from Surrey and spend around an hour reading my RSS feeds and answering emails. These days I tend to get more involved in the technical and strategic side of SEO, so that will include everything from site audits to planning structure and then organising the link and content development and social strategy. It seems I spend a lot more time at client meetings these days, so I’ll be out and about for much of the day.

TI: Thanks Matt. See you on Twitter.

 

Matt Sawyer - Head of SEO at DatadialMatt Sawyer is head of SEO and digital marketing at London-based digital agency Datadial and is considered one of the most influential SEOs in the UK.

He works with a wide range of clients and industries: from internationally recognized businesses to small, niche brands. His specialities include integrated digital marketing, SEO (on-page and off-page optimisation)

social media, digital PR, PPC, link development strategies and online marketing consulting.

On Twitter he describes himself as a social media junkie, part-time blogger, and full-time timewaster. Follow Matt on Twitter.


Tags: datadial, digital agency, matt sawyer, online PR, reputation management, seo, seo company, seo writing, Social media, twitter
Posted in Interviews with cool people | comments icon No comments yet »

Can I trust you? Why we’re not believing our friends anymore

5th
May
by Sarah Turner

When you book a holiday, buy a gadget or download an album, chances are, if you’re anything like me, you read all the reviews on Amazon, TripAdvisor and iTunes before parting with your cash. Once, much to the annoyance of the boyf, I changed our hotel booking in Marrakech – just because Enid Williams in Basingstoke hadn’t thought much of the quality of the linens in my previous choice.

There was a time, where we took every review at face value. After all, why would Quickmix Boxer Boy bother to log in to iTunes to tell us how brilliant  Lady Gaga’s latest album was if he didn’t really think that? And yet. And yet…

The latest annual Trust Survey from Edelman’s has revealed that our trust in the information we’re reading online has reduced dramatically. In 2008 45% of us trusted the views of our friends and peers online. In 2009 that figure was just 25%.

So what’s happened?

Have big brands infiltrated the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to such an extent that we no longer trust what we’re reading?

Jennifer Leggio of ZDNet thinks so.

“Social networking used to be innocent, peer to peer conversation and now it’s turned into a marketing playground in which almost everything — blog space, tweets and, in some cases, opinion — is for sale.”

It seems that Tweets, blogs posts and comments are all up for grabs. Remember Paris Hilton’s “I love The Coffee Bean – The Frozen Chocolate Drink is Amazing. If you haven’t tried one before I deinitely [sic] reccomend [sic] it. :) x0x0 Paris”. Yeah, right. With all those calories? 

But if we’re starting to mistrust what we’re reading online, how else are the big brands going to reach us?

Last month the Sunday Times Magazine reported how brands and their ad agencies are now hiring actors for ‘brand experience solutions.’

The magazine interviewed David Chambers, a guy who had worked for an unnamed web search engine. He and a group of colleagues had infiltrated the studio audience of The Wright Stuff, a day time show on Channel 5 here in the UK, which relies heavily on audience participation. Chambers reveals “we were there to plant subliminal messages. It was all about inserting the key phrase, about freeing the information into the conversations.”

“The same day we did dozens of radio phone-ins, calling up and pretending to be different characters and just getting the phrase in”.

According to the Sunday Times, brands are increasingly targeting our conversations. One agency director revealed “it has all become a lot more under the radar. Sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors. Consumers will sometimes never know they’re being influenced by a brand.”

What does the future hold? Who can we trust?

Only last week we saw a release of the film The Joneses starring David Duchovny and Demi Moore. They’re a perfect couple with beautiful teenagers, a suburban McMansion, expensive designer clothes, smart looking cars and all the latest gadgets. And of course, they’re happy to recommend these products to their friends, family and colleagues.

But this is no ordinary family. They’re slick marketers employed by brands to sell their products.

Of course this is just a movie. But how long will it be before we see this for real?

So when that lovely family move in next door with their flash Audi A8, 3G iPads and Jimmy Choos*, don’t be jealous. It could be that they’re just being sponsored. Now, doesn’t that make you feel better?

*I have not been given any reward for mentioning these products. Or have I……?


Tags: edelman, facebook, iPad, iTunes, Social media, trust survey, twitter
Posted in Social media | comments icon No comments yet »

Putting the ‘oh’ into SEO: An interview with Rob Dobson of SEM London

9th
Oct
by Sarah Turner

This month’s interview is with colleague and SEO consultant Rob Dobson of SEM London. Over a pot of hummus and some carrot sticks (true!) we chatted about a number of things including, why blogging is so great for SEO, the future of SEO, and why Rob still hasn’t got any content on his website!

Turner Ink: Ok Rob. Tell us a bit about what you do. You do more than keyword research don’t you?
SEM London: Well what I do is market a company on the internet. I increase a company’s internet presence. So that includes detailed keyword research, website optimisation and inbound linking. And then of course there’s PPC campaigns, integrating blogs into websites, and helping clients set up their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages. So yes. It’s a bit more than keyword research.

TI: How has your work changed from a couple of years ago?
SEM: Well, I guess the use of social media has been the biggest change. Potential customers now expect companies to engage with them on different levels whether that’s blogging, Facebook, Twitter or other social media opportunities.

TI: What’s involved in the SEO process? Where do we start?
SEM: Of course keyword research starts the whole process off and is the most important thing to get right. Keyword research not only tells you what key phrases to target in your content but it can even dictate what web address you choose for your site.

TI: I wrote a post a while back about dodgy SEO ‘experts’. How do you differentiate yourself?
SEM: Well, when I’ve been approached by clients that have worked with other SEOs, the thing they have in common is the lack of proper keyword research. Without detailed keyword research it’s just a bunch of guesswork.

And I don’t bamboozle clients with loads and loads of reports that they won’t read. I’d much rather show clients how to use Google Analytics and analyse other metrics, so they can get a real feel for their visitors, customers and potential customers.

To be honest, I just don’t know how some of these SEO ‘experts’ justify £500 a month and then just chuck a fat monthly report at their clients. So many clients come to me having spent a few thousand pounds – and they’re not really sure what on! If a monthly fee is how you wish to charge then it should be clear exactly what you’re getting for that fee each month.

TI: There still seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors around SEO. Why is that?
SEM: Well there shouldn’t be. It’s true that search engines like Google keep the algorithms – the criteria they use to rank your site – a secret, and, of course, they often change this.

But SEOs should be transparent. You should say what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it and the sort of results you’d expect to see.

TI: Is blogging important for SEO?
SEM: Definitely. If a search engine doesn’t see your site evolving with fresh content or increased backlinks then, rightly so, it decides your site should be given less weight over time. That’s why SEO and website content is an ongoing thing. A blog is a brilliant way to get new content quickly and easily on to your site. A website should never be ‘finished’!

TI: Do you make any promises about getting a client on to page 1 of Google?
SEM: No never. Because you can’t promise something that isn’t entirely under your control. Organic search results cannot be bought. But with proven techniques your chances are greatly enhanced. So when a company starts an SEO campaign they should realise that it needs its own annual spend and it’s an ongoing process. For large organisations this may even require a new role to be created. Website, Search and Social Media Liaison Manager would be a good title!

TI: Tell us a bit more about link campaigns. Why are incoming links so important for the Search Engines?
SEM: An inbound link is a vote of confidence. A vote from Site A to Site B is saying that Site B is worth checking out. But the quality of links is essential. A hundred links from non related or irrelevant sites is less valuable than five from well renowned and trusted sites.

So a link campaign consists of researching linking opportunities. On a basic level this can be links on free business directories or something like Best of the Web Blogs as well as paid-for directories. On a higher level there are things like article marketing.

TI: What’s around the corner for SEO?
SEM: SEO is still very much in its infancy. So I expect demand to increase and the job of SEO to become harder. Much of the real change will depend on the direction the search engines take. Improvements in localised search and possible changes within paid search will provide new opportunities.

TI: What does an SEO project cost?
SEM: Basic keyword research and website optimisation can start in the region of £1.5k.This will get you started on the road of an SEO strategy. Unfortunately marketing yourself online is an ongoing process and an annual budget should be allocated to it. A beneficial initial strategy may cost up to £5k.

TI: So tell us a bit about your background Rob. What did you do before you became an SEO bod?
SEM: In 1995 I was running a small company’s computer network and maintaining their website. I taught myself HTML and how websites should be built. I even did a few myself although I was never much of designer! I got into SEO back in 2003 as I felt the content and the ‘findability’ of the site was more important than all the design bells and whistles that were going on at the time.

The internet taught me about the internet. And I am constantly learning about this evolving industry.

TI: So what’s happening with your website Rob? When are you actually going to get some content on there?
SEM: I know, I know! I first need to find myself a good SEO copywriter. Ha ha! Time constraints and my clients’ success have meant I’ve been unable to practise what I preach. I guess in a way I’m lucky that I haven’t had time to get my own site – SEM London – sorted. But I will do soon. I promise.

TI: And finally, how can people get hold of you Rob?
SEM: Well I have managed to complete a LinkedIn page!

Rob Dobson, SEM LondonRob Dobson is a freelance SEO Consultant. He works with clients directly or via design and development agencies. He has worked for South West Trains, PayPoint, MTV, SITA, and Sanderson as well as many SMEs.


Tags: facebook, linkedin, seo company, seo writing, Social media, twitter
Posted in Interviews with cool people, Social media, Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon No comments yet »

 

Definition of a blog: A blog or web blog is a website usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. (Wikipedia.com)