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Social Media: It’s Not an Option Anymore!

by Julian Westaby.

Lunch and Learn event

Lunch and Learn event

At Dunning-Creating Sparks we have been converts of Social Media for quite some time. Whilst we don’t consider ourselves to be experts, in reality few practitioners can lay claim to Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” guru status of 10,000 hours practice = good, however we do like to think we know what we’re talking about.

So, today we were happy to stand up and share an overview of our knowledge to not one but two business audiences where we boldly stated Social Media: It’s Not an Option Anymore!

 

Not ones to shirk a challenge, Julian picked up the mic and by 2 o’clock had spoken to over 120 businesses on the merits and the pitfalls of social media. First up was a breakfast seminar starting at 7.30am in GTG Training’s state of the art facility in Whiteinch.  We then moved on to the Corinthian Club in Glasgow City Centre where we presented to Glasgow Chamber of Commerce members at the first of their Lunch & Learn series of sponsored events.  Both venues were fully booked, in fact the lunch was the first ever sold out event for the Chamber who had to start late because an extra table was needed to accommodate all the eager, lunch learners.

Lunch and Learn event

Lunch and Learn event

Julian talked about the variety of social media tools available and emphasised the need for a social media:

  • Policy
  • Strategy
  • Measurement criteria
  • ROI demonstration

He offered the following Top Ten Policy Tips:

  1. Introduce the purpose of social media
  2. Be responsible for what you write
  3. Be authentic
  4. Consider your audience
  5. Exercise good judgment
  6. Understand the concept of community
  7. Respect copyrights and fair use
  8. Protect confidential and proprietary info
  9. Bring value
  10. Productivity matters

In conclusion Julian advised everyone to ensure they held tight to the traditional principles of any marketing strategy:

  • Plan
  • Create
  • Publish
  • Govern

And reminded us all that it’s not rocket science and always:

  • Be interesting
  • Be useful
  • Be yourself

If any of this sparks your interest, whether you’re already utilising social media or just want to dip your toe in the water, feel free to get in touch as our first hour of consultancy is free and training can attract up to 80% funding from Glasgow City Council.

Here’s some of the tweets following the events:

In order to download the presentation that Julian gave to the sell out 'breakfast' and 'lunch' events on Wednesday 25th May please fill out your details below.

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Hoss Gifford at The Second Communications Breakfast

by Julian Westaby.

Hoss Gifford

The Second Communications Breakfast takes place on Thursday 5th May at The Corinthian Club 7.45am-9.00am.  For this breakfast, we’re delighted to have secured Hoss Gifford as our keynote speaker.

Hoss is an award-winning digital guru who’s published several books and presented at a lot of international creative and technology conferences. He’s judged awards, including D&AD and The One Show, and spent time as visiting lecturer at Glasgow School of Art. His trophy cabinet features accolades from Epica, Creative Review, Design Week, the Scottish Design Awards, and Computer Arts magazine recently featured Hoss as a Design Icon.

With a degree in architecture, he has served time as a graphic designer, worked in advertising, and has been influential in the new media industry since its inception. He also worked as a lifeguard in Pennsylvania in the eighties, a cocktail barman in Edinburgh in the nineties, and owned a BMX shop in the naughties.

Hoss is going to share his experience at the sharp end of innovation, candidly discussing both successes and failures. There will be a focus on using technology in your business, but the talk itself will not be technical. Come along and Hoss will tell you:

  • How to find out if you’re spending too much on your website
  • The question digital agencies don’t want to answer when pitching for your work
  • Three simple and cheap things you can do today to get measurable return on your investment in technology

The last event was a fully booked, standing-room-only affair. It’s a free event, you get a delicious breakfast and you get to hear a really in-demand speaker. Be quick!

If you’d like to book, click here

Standing room only!

by Julian Westaby.

Today was the day of the very first Corinthian Communications Breakfast!

Great weather, the luxury that is The Corinthian, fantastic foodstuffs (bacon and egg rolls from heaven, pastries and fruit) and of course, Mr Julian Westaby’s insightful and inimitable chat made for a standing-room-only event. We were knocked-out by the near 100% attendance! More