Robert Snell » social media

Social Media, Strategy, Cats and Dogs ….

Robert Snell — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:57:38 +0000

Back in London (the UK for those that were not aware) and have been going full on 16+ hours a day since taking on the CMO role at a fantastic start up (www.medicanimal.com). From meeting and socializing with Google in Dublin Ireland to meeting with some of the largest portals in the world, this role is a continuous challenge and one that I am enjoying.

In an extremely competitive environment, marketing pet care products and differentiating yourself is a bit of a challenge. That being said I am preparing to unveil some amazing partnerships I have been working on, that will effectively take this company to a whole new level. Keep an eye on the MedicAnimal site for things to come.

UI, PPC, Strategy, Partnerships and more … All in a days work and lately my days keep getting longer. If you happen to know a Internet Marketing Ninja let me know, the person should be based in London and needs to be a thinker and a doer (not just a doer).

So enough on that… No one wants to hear about Frontline, Hills Dog Food or Hamburger shaped beds (yes a Hamburger shaped bed).

In the six weeks that I have been here in London, living and working … I have been re energized. The business climate, the people and the lifestyle have caused me great enjoyment. The only problem … My wife is in Canada and I will not see her until I head back to Canada in December for Christmas. Short term issues that have to be dealt with I guess.

Oh and back to what I had originally titled the blog post “Social Media, Strategy, Cats and Dogs ….”. Actually when I originally thought of the title I didn’t take into consideration that I would become so easily distracted and stray from the original. This blog post has now turned into a Business/Random Rambling blog post. Guess I’ll have to do a Part 2 and actually focus on the subject … Till next time, which will be soon, a Social Media post!

Is Harper listening?

Robert Snell — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:34:02 +0000

That is a great question and I really have to wonder if Harper is listening to the conversations happening online? It would seem that he is ignoring or discounting the online conversation and pushing forward with his own agenda ignoring not only those who elected him but those who are fed up with his inability to lead.

At first count we are seeing more than 10,000 people calling for Harpers resignation, with even so called faithful conservatives calling for a change in leadership.

The social web, social media and the internet as a whole is an important channel for expressing ones opinions, feelings and in cases is more popular than other traditional mediums. The story is always followed, constantly updated and traditional mediums can’t keep up. The conversation is growing and will continue to change as the events unfold.

Curious? Check out some of the conversations at www.beaverfight.ca. This is an almost real time feed of the political discussion on the popular service Twitter.

If I had to make a guess I would say millions of people are following the current political issues in Canada online, whether they are expats living abroad or a farmer in rural Ontario I would say more people are following and participating online than will watch him address the nation this evening.

This post is a work in progress and will grow as we continue to track with our monitoring solution.

Do they get Social Media?

Robert Snell — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:58:55 +0000

So your a company seeking the wisdom of a third party for your impending entry to the world of social media, the question is Does your potential provider get it?

Looking at organizations around here (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and the general opinion is no. There seems to be limited understanding in this space with a lot of companies learning about social media, testing the waters and learning from their mistakes (well, one hopes they learn anyways). Like Internet Marketing in this region companies are flocking to Social Media and adding it to their stable of offerings, it is the new bandwagon for the next few months and more jump on every day.

How do you find a company or consultant that can effectivly lead you into the world of social media? Well there is nothing like seeing how these companies operate in the space, get the potential provider to go through their plan of action for their own business. If they can’t do it for their own business then they probably can’t do it for you.

Some areas of interest, targets and outcomes or really just something to think about.

Community Outreach- Putting your business out there and talking with the Social media community to build awareness of your message through communities, bloggers and create relationships with the influencers in related social networks. Think about it, everyone online is involved in social media in one way or another.

Content optimization – Optimize existing web-pages and content-including video, press releases, inter-actives and web content- to maximize re-distribution and discussion. Keep people up to date, notified and give them the chance to be involved. An involved community could lead to product or service improvement, leading to increased revenue.

Monitoring and Reporting- Managing all campaigns takes diligent monitoring to maintain the quality of information and effectiveness. Its all about listening and reacting. One misstep could be costly, listening could be the difference in a good year and an amazing year!

What are the advantages?

Increased Revenue- The more eyeballs that see your message and the more often they see it, the more opportunity there is for them to hear you and get engaged.

People are listening- Focused interest and increased user engagement returns in user loyalty and higher traffic as well as increased revenue.

This is just a basic overview, it gives a rough idea of the pitfalls and the benefits to social media if executed properly. Find a professional that can design and execute an effective social media strategy that works and will provide measurable benefit to your business.

For more info on what I do and the Social Media Consulting we offer visit our website.

So much to do ….

Robert Snell — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:14:32 +0000

So much to do and so little time and the blog is beginning to suffer from the lack of time. Currently I have 2 blog entries in the works primarily focusing on the state of the technology industry and business environment in Atlantic Canada. These will be great blog articles, however I’m not sure how well they will be received. I’ll get them up in due time, they definitely need more work at this point.

So what else has been keeping me flat out…. Where do I start?

intevix, My new business launched with Giles Crouch is going full steam ahead and picking up momentum. Lots of people think what we are doing is great and the services provided will only help organizations better utilize technology. A section from our main page will give you more of an idea about what were doing:

“We’re the firm that works behind the scenes to increase your profits, build your online reputation and improve productivity through effective use of the Web. We don’t design websites or provide software solutions. From project audits, to strategy to online reputation services, intevix is in your court, independent of any vendors.”

Whats coming up? We are launching an open source software product, a media monitoring solution and an analytics and click fraud solution …

Sounds good so far… Visit the site, especially if you need a Hybrid Web Management Consultant

On the Tech East side of things I am keeping very busy…

I have working on a Technology conference called TechOpen. Looks like it will be going ahead in October 2008 with a great line up of speakers.

Another work in progress is the Nova Scotia Innovation and Productivity survey being done in partnership with NovaKnowledge, we are getting set to have this completed soon and launch the results at a breakfast in June.

I am bringing on a writer to start turning out unique content on Tech East. From executive profiles to news affecting businesses in Atlantic Canada I am working to keep Tech East number one in Technology news for this region.

And last but not least my own consulting is still keeping me busy. Companies looking for Halifax SEO professionals and Halifax Website Design services are keeping me busy, helping them enhance and improve their online presence through effective internet marketing strategies.

Well thats all for now, Hopefully today I’ll find out if I’m going to the Mesh Conference, Some great stuff going on at the event and some great stuff to share on Tech East I’m sure. Hopefully I’ll finalize one of my other two blog entries shortly and you’ll have something interesting to read.