Social Media Consultant & Digital Marketing Trainer

My Business Very Nearly Cost Me My Home

Paul Sutton — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 03:23:38 +0000

In 2006 I quit my secure, salaried job in a PR agency to set up a business selling luxury pet accessories. Three years later and I was just a few short weeks away from losing my house and being declared bankrupt. The pressure and stress I went through during the several years before and after that time were incredible. And yet I’m not sure I’d really change it if I could. Had I not started that business I would not have learned all about digital marketing, social media, SEO and PPC advertising. I wouldn’t be doing what I am now, have worked with the huge brands I have, or have won awards for my work.

Today’s Digital Download is a rebroadcast of a recent episode of the Socially Unacceptable podcast, which I was asked to guest upon. As well as delving into the detail of what I learned during those failed years, we also talk about freelancing as a career choice, and about the benefits of podcasting for businesses.

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Screen Time, Burnout & techtimeout

Paul Sutton — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 03:52:14 +0000

The average person spends the equivalent of one entire month per year looking at their phone. They check it an average of 58 times per day. Overall screen time is at an all time high of 12 hours per day. And the impact on both our mental and physical health, as well as that of our kids, is stark. From a professional perspective, productivity suffers and burnout rates are high. And from a personal perspective, anxiety and mental health issues have never been as great.

Techtimeout is a digital wellbeing initiative focused on helping us to reduce screen time and achieve a more balanced relationship with technology. On today’s Digital Download we take a look at the issues behind excessive screen time, the impacts it has and what we can do about it.

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Need to Know: The Impact of Technology on the Future of PR

Paul Sutton — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 03:44:30 +0000

In the face of changes in the way Google works, how artificial intelligence is making inroads into copywriting and data analysis, the decline of conventional media and developments at X (formerly Twitter), the communications industry is coming under increasing pressure to adapt. Technology has a big role to play in public relations over the next few years, and the key for the industry is to understand this and to evolve with it.

On today’s Digital Download we take a look at where the communications industry is now and what technology is impacting it, and at how this is likely to change over the next year.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here: The Impact of Technology on PR Transcript

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Need to Know: Google Analytics 4 for Communications Pros

Paul Sutton — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 02:48:47 +0000

The introduction of Google Analytics 4 this summer was not exactly a surprise. Google had given several years’ warning that Universal Analytics would stop collecting data and that users should begin the transition to GA4 sooner rather than later. But being forced to use it is a whole other ball game, and has had digital marketers and communications professionals in fits of frustration and anger ever since! The user interface, lack of reporting and complexity has not gone down well.

On today’s Digital Download we’re delving into the world of GA4 and trying to explain what to do and how to do it in plain, simple language that anyone can get to grips with.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here: Google Analytics 4 Transcript

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Need to Know: The Future of Social Media

Paul Sutton — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:02:44 +0000

Social media is now 15 years old and communications consultants are grappling with a series of fundamental issues related to a brand or organisation’s use of social networks. While platforms implement updates on an almost daily basis, the bigger picture around whether a company should use specific networks has never been more sharply in focus. The answers to many of the questions arising from this are often extremely nuanced and far from straightforward, but understanding the macro picture helps to answer some of the micro questions.

On today’s Digital Download we’re looking at what’s happening in the world of social media and how this is likely to impact businesses over the next year.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here: Future of Social Media Transcript

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Need to Know: Sustainable Business Communications

Paul Sutton — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 03:59:48 +0000

Barely a day now goes by without a new climate milestone being broken or another extreme weather event wreaking havoc somewhere in the world. But while the causes of climate change are widely acknowledged, the solutions are complex. While we as individuals can take action by driving electric cars or not eating meat, the impact of such actions is extremely minimal. And with the Government now easing back on its action to tackle climate change, does the emphasis now fall on businesses to take up the slack?

On today’s Digital Download we’re looking at sustainable business and its role in preserving the future of the planet.

You can find the full transcript of this episode here: Sustainable Business Transcript

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Need to Know: The Impact of AI on Communications

Paul Sutton — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 02:14:32 +0000

Artificial intelligence is ushering in a new era of effective intelligent and convenient communication. At least, that’s what ChatGPT would have you believe. But while the market for AI tools has exploded over the last few months, many of those working within the communications industry are left either confused or overwhelmed. And when you add the prospect of AI being left unchecked to develop at incredible speed and the fact that an increasing number of tech specialists have voiced their concerns, it’s all a bit of a worrying time.

So today on Digital Download we’re delving into AI: the potential impact on our jobs, the tools, the ethics, and where on earth we should start in order to future proof our careers!

You can find the full transcript of this episode here: Impact of AI Transcript

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‘Need to Know’ season trailer

Paul Sutton — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 04:04:47 +0000

After a much longer than anticipated hiatus, the Digital Download podcast is back. And we’re diving back into the digital communications world with a series of shows intended to catch you up on the latest developments.

This season features topics including the profound impact of AI on the marketing communications industry, the latest in the ever evolving social media landscape, analytics and GA4, and the challenges of sustainable business in the communications industry. We have some wonderful guests coming up, so make sure you join us as we explore some fresh and to-the-point views on the core digital topics that matter right now.

What to do Next

Subscribe to receive new episodes automatically, and if you enjoy today’s show, please email it to a friend or share it on your favourite social media channels. And finally, it would also be very awesome and hugely appreciated if you’d take a moment to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser, as this helps others discover Digital Download.

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Threads: A Case of the Emperor’s New Clothes

Paul Sutton — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:10:10 +0000

Tomorrow, Thursday, Meta is launching Threads, a new “text based conversation app” to rival Twitter.

The timing of the move, it has to be said, is perfect, with Twitter owner Elon Musk seemingly on a one man mission to destroy everything that was good about the service. The latest in a long line of damaging changes have seen the number of tweets an individual can read being restricted, popular user dashboard Tweetdeck being moved behind a paywall, and the continuing push to get users to sign up to the largely pointless Twitter Blue subscription service.

Threads is Mark Zuckerberg’s big play to bring another chunk of the social media environment into the Meta ecosystem to go alongside Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. And much of the marketing communications internet seems to be very excited about it being the app that will sound the death knell for Twitter. Except me.

No Innovation

Threads is not a Twitter killer. And I’ll go as far as to say that after a hype-driven start, Threads will be one of the those Meta features that simply bubbles away in the background with no-one really paying it that much attention. It’ll die a long, slow death before it’s eventually phased out in a few years. Much as I hate what Musk has done with Twitter (and I REALLY hate what he’s done with it), Threads is not the answer. And here’s why.

Most, if not all of the talk around Threads isn’t about what an innovative new app it is which brings a genuine value to the world. Rather, it’s about how it’s ‘not Twitter’.

But is being ‘not Twitter’ enough to make it a success? Absolutely not. If that were the case, Mastodon or BlueSky would have killed Twitter already. Unless once it’s launched Threads brings something radically different to the world that Meta has accidentally forgotten to mention, it has no point of difference. The novelty of being ‘not Twitter’ will not attract users or, to be frank, last very long.

The Tale of Google+

“Ah yes,” you say, “but what about the fact that Meta will push Threads through Instagram to drive mass adoption?”

Sure, Instagram has a massive social graph, and prompting Instagram users to download the app is a surefire way of getting the ball rolling very fast. Expect updates in a few months time about how many tens or even hundreds of millions of people have installed the app.

But remember Google+? Google launched its last attempt at a social network to much fanfare in 2011, and by the end of that year 90 million people had signed up to it. In early 2012 Google attempted to use its user base on other products, notably Gmail, to further boost adoption. User numbers sky-rocketed. At the end of the day though, and despite being a better product than its competitor, Google+ was little more than ‘not Facebook’. As time progressed, interest waned and engagement within the platform died.

‘Not’ something isn’t ‘something’.

And none of this even considers Meta’s record on data privacy. Threads will not even be launched in the EU at the current time due to more stringent data privacy regulations in the rest of Europe. Should that not ring some alarm bells?! Or the fact that Meta doesn’t seem to give much of a crap about the impact of its platforms on mental health, society or the world at large. Quite simply, I just don’t trust that Mark Zuckerberg and Meta has the interests of anyone other than its shareholders at heart.

So if you’re asking me whether one social network run by a narcissistic sociopath will be any better than another social network run by a narcissistic sociopath, it’s going to take a hell of a lot to convince me.

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Climate Crisis: What Are Communicators’ Moral Obligations?

Paul Sutton — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 03:16:43 +0000

As the UK sweltered through record high temperatures this week, climate misinformation went into overdrive. Recent reports show high levels of greenwashing and non-existent impact assessments of organisational climate initiatives and, quite simply, this has to change. This week Paul is joined by Laura Sutherland from the PRCA’s Climate Misinformation Strategy Group to discuss the responsibility that the entire communications industry has when it comes to tackling the crisis.

What to do Next

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