Amos lighting to open new branch

Lighting the Way

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New showroom for Amos Lighting

I’ve known of the plans for a new showroom at Topsham in Exeter from the beginning of the year. It’s a bold move for this family-run business, but one that I am sure will go well.

We had to hold back from releasing any formal announcement for some time as the final negotiations were in the hands of the lawyers. Interesting how news leaks in the close knit Devon business community, though – I was asked on a number of occasions about the new showroom, long before the press release went out. Luckily all the documents were finally signed, sealed and delivered, so the story is now officially public.

Hot on the heels of the announcement I released a second press release, detailing the appointment of Ashton Hargreaves as the manager of the new branch. Ash is the perfect choice, and I’m looking forward to working with her once the branch is live.

Even though it’s only June, we’ll be racing towards the business launch and launch weekend in September. Catering, entertainment, giveaways – all to be organised and promoted. The launch is on the same weekend as the Self Build Show at Westpoint where Amos is exhibiting, so everyone will be working at full pelt. Watch this space!

Social Media

Amos Lighting has a healthy, active social media profile. But one important reminder that has come out of working with them is the need to ensure that login details for all social media are kept safe in a known place.

As part of my PR service I was asked to help sort out the company’s social media. We spent a fair amount of time trying to get into their existing accounts, set up long before I was on the scene. There was no record of the passwords, so it took a lot of guesswork, trying different combinations. We managed to access Pinterest but with Facebook and Twitter we had to start again, then work hard to get the old inactive pages deleted. It’s all done now, thank goodness! I have a note of all the logins, but, more importantly, so do David and Nicola Amos. After all, I might leave the country one day. Or retire.

A Face to a Name

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How many followers do you have on Twitter, and how many of those followers do you actually know? Perhaps the big question is how many of them do you actually WANT to know?

Over the past few months, for one reason or another I have found myself face to face with a person who I regularly engage with on Twitter. It can be quite a surprise meeting for the first time – rather like, in the ‘old days’, having a pen-pal in Germany that you meet after five years of writing to each other. Are you actually going to get on?

Twitter 1Surprisingly, it seems to me that very often, you do. I have certainly found this to be the case. I think this comes down to the fact that Twitter is a great platform for instant social hits. Tweets are often witty, and the tweeters that make you smile (or even LOL) are those you will probably connect with ‘in real life’.

Be warned – it can go the other way. I met two people I follow on Twitter at a recent event, and I knew immediately that I was of no actual interest to them. They didn’t make eye contact, and had no curiosity in finding out about the real me. To them, I am simply another number on their Twitter account. Well, shucks.

However, in the majority of cases it’s been a genuine delight to meet the person – it often results in laughter and even, on occasion, has led to business. And amen to that!

Blog on!

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This was supposed to be a March blog, but it’s taken a while to get round to it. So welcome to my first blog of April.

At a recent digital update seminar organised by CIPR, one speaker spoke of the nBlog 2eed to publish a blog at least every two weeks, and preferably more. You could hear a sharp intake of breath across the room. Who has the time?

Most of us understand the point of blogging. It’s a way of sharing your knowledge.

1. Blogs are good for Google. Each blog counts as a page, giving you credibility (as long as the content is fresh).
2. A well-written blog helps your customers to believe in your expertise.
3. Other professionals like to share the latest blogs – it shows that they have their finger on the pulse.
4. You can link to your blog on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and your business Facebook page – it all helps your profile.

The downTypistside, of course, is that you have to schedule in some time to write a blog, using your own ideas and views, and your own inimitable style.

Like everyone else, I often stare at the blank screen waiting for the thunderbolt of inspiration. Should nothing come to mind, I find it a good excuse to make a cup of tea. If the tea doesn’t help, here are a few helpful hints:

1. Think about what you do best and stick to what you know.
2. Search for topics in your area of expertise and read what other people have been writing about. What would you think about their topic – something different to what they’re saying?
3. Don’t plagiarise, it’s extremely unprofessional. If someone has had great original thoughts that you agree with, share them and acknowledge the writer.
4. 4. Have a sense of humour. Most of your readers will appreciate your blog more if you don’t take it all too seriously.

Finally, keep your blog short.Shortstory

Outsourcing social media management – hints and tips!

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Although part of what I do is termed ‘social media management’, I still find it fascinating just how many companies outsource this work. I understand the reasons, as I know first-hand what a time-consuming job it can be.

There’s nothing wrong with outsourcing, as long as you find the right person for the task. This will be someone who’s prepared to get beneath the skin of your business, achieve the right tone of voice and find the right accounts for you to connect to. (I managed one account for a while which was taken over by a dedicated sociasocial media management 1l media business. I went back some months later to have a peek, and was dismayed to discover that the business’s Twitter followers had grown tremendously, but on closer look all the followers were spam accounts. Where’s the value in that?).

How many times recently have you heard someone say there’s a clue in the phrase ‘social’ media. Here’s a good definition of social: ‘relating to activities in which you meet and spend time with other people’. On social media, people want to interact with a real person, not an automated tweet. There’s no life in that, and no long-term benefit.

In truth, most social media managers will mix and match scheduled and real time tweets and posts – it’s a tough call to avoid scheduling completely. However, it’s bad practice to schedule a tweet then forget about it as it disappears into the Twitter ether. Similarly on Facebook if someone asks a question about a post, they are much happier if they are answered quickly. Your social media manager must be on the ball to respond quickly should someone engage on one of your social media sites.

By the way, if you outsource social media management, don’t think that you don’t have to do anything. A good social media manager will need to communicate with you from time to time – for example if one of your customers has a question social media management 3needing an immediate answer that only you can give.

Although this blog discusses Facebook and Twitter management, your social media manager could also run Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube – whatever works best for your business, as long as they do it well!

Mind the Pot Plant!

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I finally bit the bullet and agreed to give a presentation with Sharon Goble of If…Media to one of the networking groups I attend, the Exeter and East Devon Business Club. Now, although I have a background in drama (nay, a degree in the subject!) I have always preferred to be behind the scenes, having worked both as a video producer and a stage director. Getting up in front of a crowd is not something I particularly enjoy, which may seem odd given that I work in PR (for me the whole point is usually to PR my clients, not myself)!

However, Sharon convinced me, and came up with a great topic, PR – is it magic? She was keen to talk about the power of images and targeting stories for the right media. I wanted to explore the connections between PR and social media, and how businesses should make sure they don’t let great PR stories get away.

Come the day, and off to the Deer Park Hotel for lunch before the presentation. I put my nerves to the back of my mind, deciding not to indulge in a glass of wine – I thought Dutch courage could prove my downfall!

Sharon and I got ready to start our presentation, which is when I got up close and personal with a pot plant. The layout of the room meant that I was standing under the leaves of the plant and could barely see the people in the room.

After attempting to talk from behind the foliage I decided to twist it round to get the leaves out of my face. The audience gasped as the plant toppled and I dived to stop it from falling. General hilarity ensued – talk about an ice breaker!

Of course, my nerves dissipated and I (almost) enjoyed the experience. Sharon has offered the presentation to another networking group we are members of. My only request is that there is a pot plant in the room….

Thanks to Fluffy of New Tricks for capturing the moment.

Twitter followers – quantity or quality?

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Do you ever look at the number of Twitter followers you have and wonder if more is better? Do you peek at an account that boasts 30,000 followers and wonder where you’re going wrong with your 583?

Well, the chances are you’re not going wrong. The chances are you’re talking to the people you want to talk to. If an account has thousands upon thousands of followers, take a look at who they follow and who follows them – it can be very illuminating.

There are, of course, reasons why some accounts have a multitude of followers. Take our very own #DevonHour, the Twitter account that gets businesses across Devon talking to each other. It makes sense that this account has approaching 13,000 followers – because there are that many businesses in Devon! Likewise accounts belonging to celebrities, supermarkets and the BBC –it’s pretty obvious why they have so many followers.

I always become a little suspicious when a smaller business has tens of thousands of followers. Are they purchasing followers, I wonder. In recent months I’ve been offered the chance to do just that to boost the numbers of followers on my account. Similar offers are being made to accounts I help run for clients. ‘Get 10,000 new followers instantly!’ Er, why?

Cartoon

I like to earn my followers. I prefer to know that someone likes what I’m saying, or wants to know more about my business. I follow accounts that have some relevance to me and my business, others that look like they could do with support, some for news and one or two simply because they make me laugh.

Running Twitter (and Facebook) accounts for clients may seem a simple task, but to do it well you need to engage the right audience and find new followers who are interested in what the client is doing and what they have to say. Why would a vintage shop in Devon want to follow a pizzeria in Glasgow (unless they’re friends with the owners), or a lacemaker in Honiton follow an energy specialist in Florida? (Of course the vintage shop and the lacemaker really should be following each other!)

At the end of the day, it’s not about how many followers you have, it’s about the relationships and relevance. It’s good to have a healthy number of followers, but it’s not so good to have thousands of followers you really don’t have anything in common with. So be content with your 583 followers – as long as they are the right ones then you’re doing well.