So just a few of the reasons I like it, in no particular order:

Loving Circles: Although with other platforms mainly Facebook you can group contacts, friends, followers etc, the whole aspect of Circles really excites me.  Within Google+ for me at least it seems a simple and straight forward way of managing interaction with different groups of people and engaging with them with messages or posts which are of most use and relevance to their interests. In a nutshell, when I decide to share content or a post on Google+, I get to decide who sees it.  This gives me further flexibility to organise my circles and add users based on connections within these.    This can also become very useful if you’re a business needing to segment your audience.

Hangouts: Over the past number of months I have really started to use the Hangout feature.  I must admit when I first joined Google+ being an early adopter there was not much point in creating or using hangouts but as the platform has started to grow and more users like me are realising the benefits of + there are increasingly more opportunities to create Hangouts.   For anyone reading this who has no idea what I am talking out, it’s as the name suggests, a chat room of sorts and gives you the power to Video chat with other users by hosting virtual meetings with up to 10 people.  I like to use it most for team collaboration.  For example, if I’m working on a marketing project which has designers, developers and marketing professionals in different parts of the world we can all join the hangout and engage via video and voice.  As part of this interaction Hangouts offers a suite of productivity apps, which can allow sharing of onscreen information in Google Docs and the facility to view presentations and diagram together.

Integration with other Services: Many of us currently use other services and products from Google, eg Gmail or You Tube. With it’s plans to continue to grow and acquire other products and services, integration becomes key in its strategy to position itself as a major social platform player.  With everything being integrated there is increased time spent on the platform, better engagement and less likelihood of the user seeking to want to find alternatives.

There are of course many other benefits when it comes to using the platform for business & personal purposes. There is no doubt that Google aims to become a major player within Social Networking.  It’s biggest problem is trying to move users across from the other big platforms, mainly Facebook & Twitter and users are reluctant to do that.  Other challenges include page administration which can be difficult and many Social Dashboards still don’t integrate with Google+.  Up until the launch of its mobile app, this has always been the big let down for me and an area which is proving to be key for brands seeking ways to push out content to social channels to drive engagement.  But for me the big one to date has to be the Mobile Application for IOS. As a massive mobile app user I was impressed with its clean user friendly UI.  However, If you are like me and you have a personal profile as well as pages for brands which you manage, the big letdown comes from not being able to flick between accounts without having to sign out and back in again and then choose the account which you wish to use this for me and other users particularly marketing professionals using it is a big failure and something which needs addressed sooner rather than later.

To sum up,  Google+ is a great platform but there are areas in which it needs to focus on refining its user experience and work on building connections with its current user base as well as taking steps to ensure the experience is second to none.  Although growth may be small there is still great opportunity to improve winning across user ambassadors who can champion awareness via other more well-known platforms.  Moving forward Google will need to focus a lot more on its mobile platform as this is where the Big Winners will be.

Just kidding

On a more serious note, the delivery of content as we previously have known it has changed. The game has changed. The PR & Marketing Communication Powerhouses no longer control delivery of the message or how the message is created – in a nutshell it’s created a lot of the time by the brand. Many brands have been quick to realise by jumping on the content creation train.. It has helped them offer more engaging ways to connect with their customers using a different variety of channels and mediums, all of which have only been made possible by the Internet.

This step or change has become very important and has opened up a whole new level for brands to begin to try to build connections with their audience at a more personal level. This will be the brands chance to re-humanise advertising make it become more social and join up the dots. Now more than ever,Social Media & Digital brands actually have to care what people think, the consumer wherever they are in the world have a voice. The content which they create and publish, is spreadable on a global level. Get it right and just think of the impact it will have on your business.

This shift although it is massive, is great, because brands with products and indeed those with services now have a global focus group as they are all connected. Just think what can be done with this consumer insight if harnessed correctly to create and deliver better products and experiences for customers, which in turn will equal a more profitable business.

Now this all matters why? Because content is spreadable

Many reading this will be able to think of a number of successful brands who have already become publishers and been very successful at content creation. However those brands who have still not even entered the arena will find it hard because what we are increasingly finding is that just as with other areas of Social Media content, their brand has already been created by a new type of publisher, ‘The Customer’. The brands who have got stuck in early are those brands who have been able to build connections with their users, re-connect advertising messages and shape the face of the content which their consumer wants to receive and content which the consumer is able to help spread on behalf of the brand.

But before we get into ‘why user generated content matters’ let me be clear on just what UGC actually is, why it is becoming a major part of Search #Fact and why businesses also have a part to play in UGC.

We have developed into a society which likes to share, and by sharing I mean digitally share. UGC is content which we upload to a website or social media platform, examples of such content include Audio, Photography, Video, Written & Reviews. Now it’s no secret that I am not a fan of mass marketing. Nowadays we are subjected to so many advertising messages coming from a variety of different channels that, as businesses and marketers, we really need to take a step back and look at what messages are actually reaching the customer, or being lost. It is now generally accepted that peer recommendations online are more likely to lead to a sales conversion and that the attachment or advocacy connected with user-generated content can indeed be a powerful tool to strengthen and grown your consumer base. All of which matters in the competitive space of trying to win customers online.

Research carried out has shown that more than 8 in 10 say user-generated content from people they don’t know influences what they buy and indicates brand quality, while 51% say it is actually more important than the opinions of their friends and family, and far more trustworthy than website content. *Source Talking to Strangers Millennials Trust people over Brands Jan 2012*

Now for me, as an online customer engagement fanatic, the whole user generated content area excites me a lot. As I see it there is a massive opportunity for businesses, especially the small ones, of become big players. If they can get it right. B Building Brand advocacy via social media can really boost their business. Where many of the businesses fail is getting it right. They sit on the fence way to long, dip their toe in the water or put in a half ass effort. I’ve always found in the past with using social media you need to go all in, a bit like poker, to see any of the benefits. The generation of this content for the business comes at very little cost but some effort, although it is worth pointing out it can come with it’s own problems highlighting the negative downside of a business which underperforms.

I’ve included some steps, which you can take to start the ball rolling, encouraging the creation of user generated content amongst your customers.

• Ask and encourage customers to post reviews and comments on their experience with your brand, business or service. Include links to trusted review sites.
• Using User generated content websites such as Tripadvisor attract search engines visitors linking your site through UGC are contributing towards improving your ranking and increasing your visibility via the search engines.
• Create content which connects with the needs of your customers to grow UGC
• Encourage Discussion. The reason social media has been so explosive is because of its discussion aspect. It’s created outside of ‘actual’ physical conversations and is a place where people can talk, share experiences and ideas at the touch of a button. Within your business social space online encourage customers to suggest ideas which will contribute towards the success of your business. Ask their opinion on your products or services and how you could improve on them.

To sum things up, encouraging customers of your business to create UGC will contribute to your overall business marketing efforts. As the research shows earlier in the blog, 51% say UGC is actually more important than the opinions of their friends and family, and far more trustworthy than website content.

In a nutshell, your customers the ‘Users’ want to generate the content so at all opportunities encourage this. Of course from time to time the content generated may not be as positive as you wanted but managing the process will have the biggest impact and create more leads which will win you business. By providing great customer service within your business and by responding online you will be rewarded and further incentivise fans to create good content.

In traditional media context it was all about circulation; the numbers mattered. Or did they?  For many, traditional media and particularly print offered the tangible approach. You could look, touch and feel your marketing efforts.  This was seen as a way a business could reach out and build that valued connection.  There is a great emphasis for many with traditional media on tangible elements.  As a customer we could touch the advert in the newspaper or printed media.

When it comes to social media it could be argued that the non tangible aspects are the crucial elements. Within online engagement many businesses are not allowing the penny to drop and when it does drop will it be just too late?  Will they have missed a fundamental opportunity to engage and build a relationship with their customer online?    Of course it’s one thing to be talking about building the relationship but sustaining it long term online and ensuring it blossoms into a valued connection could be perhaps the biggest bridge to cross.  It’s in our human DNA.  Let’s face it we’re social people, and we need to have a connection with other people.  It’s this social aspect which those businesses & brands need to be seeking ways to build a connections with customers and stop using and seeing the online experience as a faceless transaction.  Those businesses that give the transaction a personality are on the first step to building the connection.

Building a connection takes time, building a valued connection takes even longer, but it’s the valued connection which will benefit both the consumer and the business the most.

As a business, if we consider Social Media as a low cost, quick marketing ploy to drive new sales for our businesses we are almost certainly going to fail.  Building a relationship online has no real difference to building a relationship offline.

Now I know there will be people reading this blog who don’t agree with this statement.  But what we do need to remember is that we now live in a environment where each and every one of us communicates differently than our parents did.  As business owners we need to find ways to actively engage in this new form of connection, which will ultimately result in helping our business to succeed and build out online customer base.

Follow me on Twitter: @waynedenner

Well put simply, you cant…You can try all you want to get your IT Department to lock down access to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other popular social media platforms,but what benefit will it have. With the explosive growth of Smartphones, users now have a new way to access content and social media platforms on the move.

Right about now senior managers and CEOs eyes start to roll.. Not having control of their brand or businesses communication message is a big problem. The communication game has moved to a whole new level, now more than ever, everyone and every employee have a voice and what’s more they have a channel in which to communicate that voice to a sizable if not global audience.

Businesses need to understand this.

Businesses & organisations need to look at ways to harness the power of social media and look at the potential benefits enabling social media within the workplace as a form of communication.

I’ve given 5 pointers which organisations need to consider & implement to ensure social media within the workplace is working for them:

1. Strategy is key – within any businesses or organisations strategy plays an important role in how the business meets it goals or objectives. Social Media needs a strategy, many businesses are confused just to what a social media strategy is their business and how they implement. That being said the strategy will ultimately depend on what and where the businesses is hoping to get with their social media.
2. Training is fundamental – the digital landscape is changing all the time and many businesses jump on the social media bandwagon for the sake of it, or perhaps because everyone else is using it. Staff at all levels within the businesses need to be aware of social media, its benefits and indeed its drawbacks, everyone from the CEO right down to junior and new members of staff need to receive training. Social media has become such a core way in which we communicate not only within work but also outside of work on our own time that it is vital employees and businesses understand what discussions are acceptable and which are not, how they can benefit and also affect the business in which they operate in. Starting by making employees aware of the boundary between public and private spaces will help with selecting the right medium to communicate with their customers.
3. Respect Privacy – We live in a society now more than ever where things we come across we share – just look at the explosion of Pinterest and how it has changed the game for how we share content online. Many of the comments which we send out are to public spaces like Google + or Twitter which are indexed by Google meaning they WILLl appear in search results. If you are reposting or resharing make sure the original source has allowed you to do so, always exercise caution and respect the privacy of users within your community or space.
4. Have a Social Media Policy – it amazes me how many businesses or organisations today still don’t have a social media policy or guidelines – IT’S ESSENTIAL. In its simplest format a social media policy will help clear any grey areas between an employee and employer on what is and what’s not acceptable when using or engaging with social media. There is no one type fits all when it comes to social media policy and depending on the size & nature of the business will determine the policy needed.
5. Take care when mixing personal and professional – There is nothing worse personally as a consumer of online activity of coming across company jargon on social media platforms What I am referring to here is company speak and the use of company lingo to communicate with your customers or audience. As humans we like to feel when we engage socially online we are engaging with another human therefore your communication needs to have personality. For many businesses and brands when they move online they seem to lose their personality so much so that they run the risk of becoming not authentic to their customers. Just as we spoke earlier in the blog that the strategy is key it’s at this point in which we must determine what the company’s personality is online and just how it should be communicated.

There are of course other areas which need to be considered in relation to social media and its usage within the workplace but one thing that is for sure – Social Media is here to stay, its been a fundamental shift in the way we communicate both personally and professional and also the way we do businesses –it can’t be ignored and is an area which businesses both small and large need to hae a clear understand of.

The big change for many businesses, brands & marketeers using the social media platform is that Facebook is getting rid of default landing tab on its pages landing tabs specifically the default landing tab have proved very useful for many businesses, brands, products & indeed services as away to increase likes on their page prompting a call to action via the custom landing tab. All however is not lost and I for one have begun to like many of the new developments which they have started to roll out with this new update. Facebook it seems has taken this step to allow brands a new way to deliver more focused content to their audience which helps convey the overall brand message. Now for Facebook this is all relevant how? Well the latest set of changes now allows Facebook more than ever to fit into the greater marketing communication plan of the Brands & Products who are using it.

So what can we expect with the new changes I’ve picked out 3 of the changes which have made an improvement.
1. Cover Image
This is one of the core changes to the new Facebook Pages. Many of us have already begun to use this feature on our personal pages and guess what its being rolled out on pages too. Brands & Businesses have one big image to showcase what they are all about, lets face it the cover image will be the first thing your visitor see when landing on your page. Below is an example of how Red Bull has embraced the cover image feature.

2. Applications
More new applications have become available but as mentioned earlier the default landing tab has been removed but no need to panic if you have created a custom welcome tab they are still there along with any other applications which you may have added. The new changes allows for up to 12 applications to be shown with up to four appearing on the main area below the cover image. Personally I feel the new position of the Apps will make it easier for users to engage with the content provided giving better exposure to competitions and possible and guess if you had previously created one you can still include your welcome tab – a sigh of relief for many.

3. Milestones
Just as in our life & in our personal Facebook profiles we can now create and set Milestones. If used correctly Milestones have the potential to be of huge benefit to brands as they begin to personalise themselves for their users. Milestones will allow then to create and tell people about events both small and big in the life of the Brand or Business. Another reason they are of benefit milestones allow users to follow a brand journey experience and take a step back and a look at milestones which have been achieved or watch for those yet to happen.

For all page owners once the 30th March arrives the change over will take place automatically which will present a whole host of new opportunities for brands to engage. Facebook has said that the new pages will help businesses, organisations and brands a new opportunity to share their stories and connect with their users. I see this as a new way for Brands & Businesses alike to see these changes as a  unique opportunity to engage followers in a new way and making them become part of the businesses or brands journey, feeling better connected and part of an experience which can only help the business or brand prosper.

If we step back in time, say 12 years ago, most of us should be able to remember the Internet was a much different place in terms of digital marketing and online advertising. Back then advertising such as banner advertisements and email marketing were pretty much all we were exposed to.

Lets, for a second, take a look at email marketing and how for many of us, our inboxes are being consumed by vast amounts of none relevant messages, which we aren’t remotely interested in. For me, and I’m sure for many, the sheer amount of junk mail received can be somewhat over whelming to say the least, so much so, we select and delete without even opening. So let’s look at long term relationship which businesses want with their clients. Are they really happening? Are the messages and advertisements simply washing over us? as they hit our inbox or display on screen. As marketers we are constantly searching and seeking out new ways to create channels in which to target consumers; but perhaps it’s a step back which is needed to really look at the message which we are sending to our customers, standing in their shoes and looking with their eyes.

Just as with our interactions offline we need to learn to forge and build relationships with our customers online for our campaigns to really be effective.

Building relationships with customers is the crucial and critical component which needs to be at the core of every campaign. This takes time, time to research and learn what your customer wants, listening first is key.
Those brands, businesses that build relationships with their followers, fans or within their community are the ones who stand to benefit.

I come across way too many businesses that see Social Media & Digital Marketing as a quick fix towards marketing efforts. For most businesses there is no real gain in Social Media in the short term but those businesses that stick with it, build relationships and engage with their followers, fans or community online will see a real boost in their bottom line. As a businesses when a person likes your page engage with them as you would a real customer, take time to get to know them, listen to them and personalise your relationship. Following these steps should make the purchase pattern happen a lot easier as apposed to hitting them up with an offer or a discount as soon as they like your page.

Let’s be clear ‘Long Term Relationships built either offline or online equal Long Term Business & Returning Customers’.

Follow me on Twitter @waynedenner

Why is blogging important?
• It creates awareness – it gives your business more chance of being found online and makes you visible among search engines who just love content.
• Demonstrates the business or your authority, passion, expertise and experience in your business industry.
• It drives traffic to your website
• It refreshes or updates your website’s content on a regular basis; major search engines such as Google love nothing more than new content.
• It helps spread your business message beyond the reader by making it sharable on social media platforms such as Twitter & Facebook
• It shares links about your regular blogging and is another great way to drive traffic back to your website and for users to find out more about what you do – you could look at this as lead generation.

For many businesses the next questions can be “Where will we find the time?” or “What will we blog about?” . Here are a few tips which I have found helpful along the way..
• Blog regularly – When I started out blogging I won’t lie, it took it a little while to think about what it was I wanted to blog about and trying to make it interesting. Reading other blogs and getting ideas makes the process a little easier.
• Give your blog a personality
• Keep the topic relevant, picking something which is currently in the media or fashionable is always good
• Engage your reader
• Try to write it so that people can understand it, nice simple flow always works best – but people need to be able to read it.
• Don’t over think your blog & aim for 350-400 words
• Keep SEO in mind – use keywords as often as possible.
• Write in the same way you talk – let your blog be flowing, friendly & conversational

Now it’s your turn. Blogging is one of the most effective organic ways to improve your visibility on the web but blogging regularly will also help build trust with your customer. It will help you become a recognized voice in your industry which can and will open doors for your business.

These things are great, all fine in principal and have a role to play. But for many businesses actually approving any spend on this sort of marketing activity depends on what bottom line this will generate, if any. For me, many of the well known Brands and indeed those smaller businesses using the platform as part of their marketing efforts are missing the key element.. ‘Engagement’. Many of the pages which I visit just don’t engage with me as a consumer. I may go onto the page, have a quick look and then I’m gone without even liking it. Typical of the bounce rate on your website if you will. There are also those Brands who have used Facebook very effectively and run a campaign which has ticked all the boxes, and been engaging, only to let activity dwindle away to nothing once the campaign has finished. It’s one thing to ‘Build it and they will come’ but what about sustainment after the campaign?

To get it right and offer more rich engagement with your target audience, not just on Facebook, but other social platforms, it can’t all be a one way street. Businesses need to adopt a two-way communication process, which allows both the business and the consumer to engage. Way to many businesses are using Social Media as a way to Sell, Sell, Sell.. with very little, if any, listening to their customers.

Engagement is key not just during the campaign but ongoing.

Using social media as a way to communicate your businesses message can prove very effective if you are open to listening to your customer. Have a think about your actual quality of likes and what they mean to the ROI of your business. For me, I would rather have the businesses which has 2500 Likes or Followers (whichever platform your using) of which I am regularly engaging with the users, building relationships, and converting leads into sales than the page with 20,000 Likes with no return to my bottom line. Which category is your business in?

To sum up, as mentioned earlier in the blog, don’t get hung up on pushing out content with a sell, sell, sell approach on it. Nor focusing on increasing your number of Likes. Bottom line is, if you have good, engaging content this will naturally happen, likes or followers will increase organically as well users wanting to share content from your page. The rule of thumb is that ‘Content is still king’ so think about your customer base. Good content on your website and in your social platforms will reward you with stronger search engine rankings and most importantly higher conversation rates adding towards your businesses bottom line.

We like to keep our clients up to date on the latest marketing tips and tricks so if you want to find out more, let’s grab a coffee and discuss. Have a fantastic Christmas & New Year.
Follow on Twitter @waynedenner

No matter how wonderful your brand, product or service is, if you don’t advertise people wont know about it. Time and time again we hear companies saying ‘We don’t need to advertise, we’re doing well without it’ but not everyday is the same, especially in the current economical climate we are living in. Not every customer you serve today will come back for more tomorrow.

Here are 5 steps to get you thinking about advertising your brand, product or service this Christmas…

1. Research – But don’t just hop onto the World Wide Web (facebook & twitter included). Look at how & where your local competitors are advertising. What can you do better? Look at local press, local billboards. Ask all the customers you serve today a simple question like, what’s your favorite product? Collect adverts you’ve seen, even if there is only one thing you like about them.

2. Plan – A plan for any advertising campaign is essential. Doing this at the start will save you a lot of time and money throughout the overall project. How long do you want this campaign to last? Where do you want to advertise? How much money are you willing to spend? As this will help make sure every penny you spend is used correctly.

3. Engage – Many companies miss this out completely but this is most important as it’s where you connect with all your customers (both old and new) get feedback and MAKE MONEY! At this point if you’ve just thought about blowing up your company name to fit a 48sheet (3m x 6m) billboard for your next advertising campaign. Don’t expect a big turnover, Why? It’s just your name but bigger and that’s not engaging.

Engagement starts at the planning stages of your campaign. Tell customers and clients, that you are about to do something BIG (don’t tell them what exactly, obviously). This will create a positive buzz about your company even before you yourself, have thought about what exactly you want to advertise and could even lead to a mini campaign leading up to your big campaign.

The language you use should be creative and draw peoples attention. Using local slang, being blunt or even just ‘Thanking Betty at No.22 for coming in every Thursday for a paper and a pint of milk’. It all works and before you know it the whole town will be talking about YOUR BRAND PRODUCT or SERVICE because of YOUR NEW BILLBOARD.

4. Call of Action – You have less than 10 seconds to get you message across to your consumer. So forget addresses, phone numbers and opening times. This is where the online world comes in, web addresses, facebook and twitter mentioned anywhere on your campaign is enough to get your customers in BUT make sure your campaign follows through to them as well. It has to be consistent, and if you don’t already have a website, facebook or twitter page GET ONE, if you don’t know how? 10thstep is here to help!

QR codes (which have been introduced to the 10thstep service) are the newest way to engage immediately with your customers. I’ve seen them used recently in a lot of print adverts and I am a big fan. In advertising less is more, so always keep it simple.

5. The End – When your campaign is finished TAKE IT DOWN! Nobody wants to see an out of date, faded billboard. Your next campaign should be ready and waiting to go. Even if it is just a facebook/twitter competition, you need to keep those customers engaged with your brand, product or service.

Advertising doesn’t like to wait. Waiting loses you customers and money. So lets get together and see how 10thstep could help grow your business through your next advertising campaign.