I care deeply about the Creative Commons movement – this blog has been licensed for share-alike attribution since it started in 2006.
The Christchurch massacre on Friday has highlighted one of the challenges of modern media. How to stop bad stuff being shared; and the converse, how to preserve good stuff for future use.
The New Zealand ISPs are working hard to take down far right websites and the much-shared live stream video the gunman made.
Mike Dickison’s work to store images in the Creative Commons
Can you contribute?
Images are requested.
If you’re a cartoonist or a press photographer or a media outlet or just someone who has a good eye, we need your images uploaded to @WikiCommons under an open licence, ideally CC BY SA. My goal is to create a gallery that anyone can easily draw from and reuse for free. Images are important. They’ll define these attacks to people around the world, to our descendants, to the history books. Too often the only images repeated after a tragedy are ones of anger and fear and hatred. We need to make sure all the story is told.
Mike Dickison on twitter @adzebill
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Reviews are essential for businesses building brand visibility online.
But bad reviews make my toes curl. Sometimes they are fair, sometimes not. What can the marketing team do about this?
Different pathways for different reviews
Treating different customers differently is a core principle of good CRM. But until the review is published, you won’t know whether the customer is going to give you a good or a bad review.
Take a look at this – an alternative pathway for your “less good” business reviews.
Make every review count
A Mock-up Review Page
Starting from a review page set up within our software, your customer then moves down three possible pathways. If they give you a 4 or 5 star review, they arrive here.
And this is of course, the normal Google Business Reviews page.
If the customer selects a 1,2 or 3 star in the first screen they head off a different path, to this page. Where the review is captured and forwarded to the business. But the crucial difference it’s not on your public Google Business page.
The red square links to the Google Business page, so the customer can post a public review.
Sneaky or “allowable” marketing?
You choose – would you do this for your brand?
I have the contacts to set up this service for any business – get in touch.
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Podcasting is going mainstream – it’s the newest part of content marketing and frankly it’s about time!
Many people have been producing independent shows in voice format for years – I started one for my sport in 2013 – but only in the past year have brands started to get on board.
So why podcast in 2019?
There are three reasons – firstly, the pioneers are no longer alone – the mass appeal of storytelling podcasts like “Serial from This American Life” and “Under the Skin with Russell Brand”, Freakonomics and anything to do with Harry Potter has meant mass downloading of podcast listening apps onto devices.
Secondly, niche content marketers got in on the act early (like me) and so if you are a sports fan or a maker or follow politics there are now many different podcasts to choose from – all easily accessible.
And lastly we are short of time. Yes, even more than before. The on-demand nature of podcasts means you can listen in the car or while exercising or walking the dog. It’s easy to play, pause and then pick it up again later. And for the super-busy person, there’s the 1.5x and 2x speed playback settings!
Events lend themselves to podcasting
When planning the build-up to an event or having regular recurring events, there are already ample ways of communicating with your target audience.
But introducing the prospective attendees to the key themes of the event, the voices of your speakers and ramping up excitement about the day is really easy to do in a podcast format.
The Change Management Institute got its event speakers to answer 3 questions on a video call ahead of the event giving them unique content and a great preview of their international keynote themes to send round to members ahead of time.
And PodCon2 whose logo is on this article went one better – they allowed remote access at a cheaper ticket price by publishing all their event content afterwards in and audio feed as a stand-alone limited time podcast series.
Double down on success
Plus, if you choose to record video you can easily rip the MP3 audio file from the video and you have two birds with one stone. We then use the video for Instagram and YouTube advertising promotions.
But should YOUR event or brand podcast?
The answer is up to you but we’ve got a quick checklist of 5 questions to answer before making your deacon to move into podcasting for content marketing.
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Many B2B marketers and brands are using LinkedIn intensively as a channel to market, building awareness and interest in your offering.
LinkedIn is NOT EFFECTIVE a direct marketing channel – it’s for brand marketing.
Today I have a challenge for you. Followers.
Follower Count on LinkedIn.
Who follows you?
Go to your LinkedIn page and log in. Then navigate to your followers page. The link is the same for everyone.
Following – these are your connections. [Note: it’s not who YOU are following – a bit confusing]
Followers – people who follow your updates. This includes all your connections.
Below each person’s profile and job title is a check box showing if you are following then or not; and the number of people who are following them.
This makes it easy to filter. And one click to follow them back.
Check boxes to show if you’re following people on LinkedIn
What to do about LinkedIn Followers
Three things to do:
Browse the list for people who you’d like to connect with and who are following you
Decide on your criteria for following people – everyone, only those with key attributes, people who could be clients; people with high/low followers themselves etc
Make a diary log to check back regularly for new followers
LinkedIn works best as a business development platform if you have a clear client persona; have a clear content writing strategy [topics, frequency, audience]. Targeting the right audience with good content, regularly.
Unlike Twitter, LinkedIn does not have a ratio of following to followers throttle. And remember, following someone is a great way to get their insights, to become acquainted with their perspectives as a precursor to connecting.
Famous people have lots of followers. If you are trying to break into a marketplace and build a solid profile, my recommendation is this.
Follow people whose follower count is low-to-medium. Their news feed won’t be too cluttered and your content stands a better chance of getting noticed and commented.
A
website’s success is often dependent on its design flow, cohesiveness and
content. This is the reason as to why a lot of User Experience experts (UX) are
also adept in graphic design. One of the best ways to create a good user
experience is by having a clear grasp of design principles.
Here’s
some key website creation tips you can learn just by attending a graphic design
course.
Value The Fundamentals
The
key to developing a higher understanding of any topic is by understanding its
fundamental principles. Nowadays, creating a cool looking graphic is as easy as
tapping a couple of buttons on your smartphone. While that may sound simple,
these design tools are only part of the process. The more significant piece is
understanding what’s visually appealing and what distracts people from your
message.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Here’s
a list of basic design principles you should know about:
Color – Sticking to your favorite color may not always be the
best strategy. When appropriate colors are used on a website, it can help
dictate the mood of the audience. For instance, using a Green color correlates
to the environment and make people think about charity, while the Red color
induces a strong emotion.
Typography – This is an art form that arranges type to make it
readable. Choosing the right font will help convey your message better, it
helps show feelings even in written form. If you want to learn more about
typography, this graphic design course
by HubSpot
does the job well.
Composition – More than choosing what color and font to use, you should
also know how to compose a visually appealing graphic design. Design
composition pertains to the alignment of each element, ensuring proper contrast
levels, and grouping related elements together.
Leverage The Fold
The
term “above the fold” was initially used in graphic design and later on used on
web design as well. Above the fold pertains to the topmost area of your webpage
that users see without scrolling. There’s still a debate whether this area is
still relevant nowadays, but whatever the case is the fact remains the same —
80% of users spend their time above the fold. You need to maximize the use of
this space and hook your visitors. Here are some ways on how you can do that:
Image credit: Shutterstock
Clear and concise headline – Once a visitor opens your
website, they should be able to know what it’s all about. The proper use of
typography will help communicate your message better.
Call to action – Make sure you design a clear and visible call to action
(CTA) button. Increase your chances
of conversion by placing your CTA above the fold.
Leverage media – Use images, video, and even audios to support your
headline and improve CTA click-through rate.
The
way you design this area will contribute to how well you communicate your value
proposition to your target audience.
Create Your Own Graphics and Images
About
65% of the population are visual learners which means that a lot of people rely
on visual cues to help them understand better. When you apply this kind of
mindset into website creation, you can expect more people to find your website
worthwhile.
Take,
for example, infographics. People pay attention when you show them data and
statistics backed by research. However, not everyone can digest a 20-page
research paper. Through the use of infographics, complex information can be
communicated easier. A graphic design course can teach you how to create your
graphics, select thought-provoking images, and repurpose old content.
Put Importance On Branding
If
you’re wondering why a lot of websites spend time and money on branding, it’s
because a properly thought out brand shows a unified business. Graphic design
courses should teach you the importance of creating a brand guideline and how
to properly implement it not just on your website but in your overall business
as well. Here are some of the reason why consistent branding is essential:
Value – When website visitors see that you have an organized and
visually appealing branding they’ll have a good impression about your business.
It helps build your credibility, sets you apart from the competition and
establishes your brand value.
Recognition – When you use your branding consistently all across
platforms and not just on your website, it helps with brand awareness and
recognition. While establishing a recognizable brand takes time, strict
adherence to branding guidelines can make the hasten the process.
Perception – You can control how people perceive your business through
branding. Each time you communicate with your customers, business partners and
even investors make sure you follow your branding guidelines.
Conclusion
Take
time to increase your skills by enrolling in a graphic design course. The
lessons you learn from these courses will help you create a website that’s not
only user-friendly but also appealing. You don’t need a lot of money to learn
how to design. You just need an infinite amount of resources and the
inspiration to push you forward.
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