Digital Marketing Course - Wk 2

Here's what I learned in Week 2 of the Digital Marketing Course that I am currently studying.

The following relates to use of Social Media by businesses.

Bitly!
I had used Bitly to shorten links to share on Twitter, etc.  
A better use for Bitly is to sign up to track your links to gain useful information like where clicks on your links are coming from.

Images
Images add value to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if tagged properly.  Use keywords when saving an image that you are then going to share on Facebook

Chat with and endorse other brands that have shared interests or shared target audiences 

When tweeting someone put Hi before @----- in order for the tweet to show up in your followers feed

Second Screen
Have you heard of the Second Screen?  This is when you are watching TV but also tweeting about the TV show at the same time. In Ireland the Late Late Show has been broadcast every Friday night for about 40 years.  There is a large live thread/discussion about the show on Boards with lively discussion about the show as it is broadcast.  We have changed the way we watch TV and there has also been changes to the way that TV shows are produced.  TV shows have social media ad-ons like hash tags and actors are employed to, as well as act in the show, engage with viewers on social media.

Hashtags
When hosting an event, create a specific hashtag for it.  If people tweet about the event they should include the #tag which may get it trending.

Facebook check ins
"Check ins" are crucial - they endorse your business.

Status Updates
Status updates can be scheduled - spend an hour or two to schedule all your updates for the week.
Look for the clock on the post/status update - put in times and dates you want the updates to go live.  This allows you to mange your time more effectively on FB.
But do remember to react to timely events and take down scheduled updates if they are no longer appropriate.

And finally, always include a link to your website in "about" on Facebook and Twitter, etc.  This creates the all important back link.
Remember that the reason for using social media is to drive traffic to your website.

Hope all of the above was useful and look out for my post about what I learn next week in the third week of my course!

Tunnocks Tea Cakes

Is there anything nicer on your morning coffee break than a Tunnock's Tea Cake???

Open the cool retro box to take one!

Unwrap the printed tin foil to reveal the chocolate jewel!

And Voila!  The Tunnock's Tea Cake in all it's glory!!

Soft marshmallow on biscuit enveloped in chocolate.  The perfect food!!!

Here's the Tunnock's Tea Cake stash in work!!

Snowboard fail

My twin sister was snow boarding in France recently.  Here she is in action - the best bit starts at about 30 seconds!!

Sunday Funday!

It was Mother's Day today in Ireland and UK so we called to both of our mother's with gifts of flowers, wine and chocolates.

We didn't stay for dinner in my mother's as she is having an operation on her back this Tuesday.  She was hosting my two sisters, my brother in law, my nana and my uncle for dinner so I didn't want to put more pressure on her by adding two dinner guests + dog!

After my mother's we called to Ciaran's mother.  She was delighted with her flowers but had already got a bunch from Ciaran's brother. He lives in Galway so he arranged for a florist to deliver them to her. Nice! 

Ciaran's Dad spoke to us about how much he enjoyed the Patrick Scott exhibition in the Imma so we decided to go once we left their house.

His works are spectacular and we whiled away the time looking at them.  

Scott passed away just before this exhibition opened.  He was 93 and seems to have had an amazing life.  Starting out as an architect he worked for the famous Irish architect Michael Scott for 15 years, and worked on the well known Bus Aras building -  he completed the main work on the stunning mosaic patterns in this building.  I also learnt that he designed the black and orange livery for the trains in CIE!

A very worthwhile exhibition to visit, do go if you get a chance. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you mammies - hope you had a great day!

Swan walk!

On Thursday night my sister and I saw a swan being walked down Baggot Street to the canal.

We joined in the walk and chatted with the group of people that gathered to help the swan get back to the water. It was like Forest Gump when he was running with lots of people joining the group and dropping off.

This guy in the high-viz vest was the main leader in Swan Walk (the swan had been in his garden!).  The swan was very calm but got very tired and had to sit down a lot - in the middle of the road!!!

This cyclist on the bike lent a hand.  He went near the swan with his bike to keep him walking straight.  He was the owner of the Brennan's bread (how Irish!) that is at the forefront of the photo - he put the sliced pan down to move his bike with ease. 

He picked up his stride as we got closer to the water.

And then when we finally got to the water the swan decided to not get in but eat the grass instead!

At this point we decided we had to leave him and the four of us who were left on the walk went on our separate ways!

My sister took a short video!

Daffodil Day

Today is Daffodil Day in Ireland.  The Irish Cancer Society sells daffodils, badges and products to raise money.

Last year was a complete washout - there was fierce rain storms and so earnings were right down.  The daffodils are sold outside shops.

This year they are selling a range of products including tea towels, teddies and note cards.

Look what I bought!

The Irish Cancer Society has had an increase in donations this year.  A large amount of money was raised by Daniel O'Donnell's wife Majella who bravely shaved her head live on the Late Late Show when she was diagnosed with breast cancer recently.

And now the No Makeup Selfie that is taking Facebook by storm has raised over 1 million euro to date!!!

Have you taken part in the No Makeup Selfie Initiative?  The concept is that you put a picture of yourself wearing no make up on Facebook and also make a donation to the cancer society.  Of course if you don't want to do that you can just make the donation!

Digital Marketing

I started a part time Diploma in Digital Marketing on Monday evening. The course is held in a Lecture Hall in Dublin City only 5 mins from my house - how convenient. The first lecture focused on social media and I found it so interesting.

I learnt so much including:

*  Google Alerts! Set them up - they are essential to monitor web traffic about you, your company or your competitors.  Know what people are saying about you online!  (Use inverted comma's to include your full name in the alert - or your businesses name)

* Optimize Linkedin - Use keywords that describe the industry you are in

* Use different tones for different platforms and be friendly but not familiar 

* Always respond when contact is made - this gives you the opportunity to convert a member of the public in to a customer.  Thank people for following you:  Make a connection

* Write for your reader but only put up what interests you.  If a piece of info bores you, it will bore your readers too.

* Prepare for a crisis - have a Social Media Policy

* Make a digital marketing strategy.  What are your goals?  Who are your audience?  What platforms do they use?

And finally if you are a business with a dated social media account that you never post to and it just has a load of old stuff on it, it is best to shut it down.  No online presence is better than a dated one.

Hope all of the above is of interest and if it is watch out for my post after next weeks lecture!