It was a historic night, where we met our fellow cohort for the first time. We came together for a presentation on “digital marketing” by our local expert Sarah Allison.
Held at ‘Sunny Bank Mills” in the art gallery, a perfect setting, where creative and digital met.
It was a delight to meet our colleagues from cohort 2 and to have the opportunity to establish our business relationships and network. Both cohorts have been involved in a local business support initiative – “Business Support Local” where we met every 6 weeks in an ‘Action Learning’ framework. As businesses we were challenged and accountable to the group, which is really powerful and ensures that you do achieve your goals. Having the opportunity to have a “Virtual Boardroom”, has been invaluable and so we continue to meet and support one another. This was the first presentation of planned regular guest speakers and it did not disappoint.
What did we learn?
The importance of knowing who your customers are and the way they use the different platforms on social media is vital. Here are the 3 things we need to know to truly engage our customers :
3 C’s of digital media:
- Customer
- Context
- Content
Who are your customers? How do they think? What do they do?
These are key questions to know and understand about your customers, so taking the time to establish these basic facts will assist you in understanding their mind set which is the context and enable you to create valuable content.
Quote from Sarah Allison :
“Taking time to identify your story and develop content around that can elevate your social media and digital marketing activity and save time in the long run. It ensures your tweets, blogs and posts come from a place of authenticity and really speaks to the heart of your customers.
Also when creating that content it is incredibly important to recognize the context in which it will be received by your customers. Where are they? What are they doing? What frame of mind are they in?
By understanding the importance of content and Context you can really win on social media.”
Key lessons
- Social media is all about giving … if you have this spirit and develop conversations you will be more effective.
- Being the best answer. This includes Wikipeadia as anyone can post on this, and is a very powerful platform to be related to.
- Local businesses make sure you are visible in Yell.com and ensure map of offices.
Link to resources
Here are some useful resources to assist you with digital marketing. They have been uploaded into a Google open folder for you to select by Sarah Allison:
One of the key messages is that content is really important and so within the resources you will find an editorial calendar and other examples to assist you in connecting with your audience. Choose one to suit how you work and type of content that will encourage you to use it and save time
So What ….
Any learning to be fully effective needs to be applied to your work environment, reviewed and reflected on. This will assist you to be active and develop better digital marketing skills.
Thanks to all who attended, to Sarah Allison for an excellent presentation, the Ahead Partnership for funding the event and William Gaunt for hosting it at the Gallery of Sunny Bank Mills.
What next :
Tell us how you have developed your digital marketing?
Many thanks
Karen Waite
Director
