It’s been a bit of a jumble of stuff this week leading up to Easter, a real mixed bag of cool stuff, from social media-themed comedy, the launch of a major content marketing play by one of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks, and a brilliant and relevant article by author and blogger, Mark Schaefer.
Okay … let’s get into it!
TWTRLAND – interesting Twitter analysis tool
I stumbled upon (and subsequently tried out) Twtrland which, according to the company, “visualizes social footprints to help you discover new people, understand their impact and find better ways to connect and increase your network”.
I gave the tool a test-run and I liked what I saw. It allows you to analyse your Twitter activity (you can also connect Instagram and Facebook accounts) to see how many of your tweets were retweeted, how much engagement you’ve had with your network, and what your audience’s interests are.
According to Twtrland, I tweet on average 17 times per day, I get 39 retweets for every 100 tweets, and 22 per cent of my followers are what it classifies as ‘power users’, while 73 per cent are ‘casual users’. On average I share 39.5 links per week, and 44 per cent of my tweets are ‘@ replies’.
I trialled the free version of Twtrland; a paid version gets you deeper insights into your Twitter activity.
BLOG POST: The best marketing insight I’ve received in the past 5 years (by Mark Schaefer)
I love this post by Mark Schaefer (pictured) on his popular Grow blog. The insight? Be. More. Human!
Mark’s contention is that connecting in a human way builds trust. Trust builds loyalty. And loyalty trumps everything.
I agree 100 per cent; this whole notion of human connection is why I’m so interested in the area of social media and content marketing. Indeed, over on my Connected Brand blog, I write a lot about about savvy companies – what I call connected brands – that are using social technologies and online publishing platforms to connect with the marketplace on a deeper level.
Mark is what I call a ‘pragmatic purist’ (much like myself). While he’s a marketer at heart who is in the business of helping people to grow their company, reputation, customers, impact and profits, he also values the power of story, connection and relationships over simply using technology to try and ‘game the system’.
I recommend following Mark on Twitter – you’ll be all the more illuminated for the experience!
BLUE NOTES – Major content marketing play
One of Australia’s major four banks – the ANZ – this week launched a major content marketing play called BlueNotes.
It’s interesting move for several reasons.
One, ANZ hasn’t exactly been a leading light when it comes to the world of social media. Indeed, I think the Commonwealth Bank has been the most progressive of the four banks, with NAB also doing some interesting things in the space. Secondly, the fact ANZ recruited two business journalist heavyweights – Walkley Award winner and former Australian Financial Review columnist Andrew Cornell and former BRW and Smart Investor publisher, Amanda Gome – to spearhead the new content venture has made people, me included, sit up and take notice.
According to the bank’s head of corporate comms, Paul Edwards: “BlueNotes is a new way of sharing those stories based on quality journalism, research and opinion, and a new way of contributing to the social conversation about the economy, business and finance, technology, innovation, investment, inclusion and sustainability – as well as breaking news from ANZ.”
BlueNotes is a bold move, albeit financially a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of dollars the brand throws at mainstream advertising. The challenge will be when it comes to telling its own stories and whether or not it can resist the temptation to ‘spin’ the yarn for its own purposes versus writing the article in an authentic way that’s more relevant and interesting for the audience. I think with the journalistic talent at the helm, they’ll make the right decision!
On what I’ve seen already, I think the BlueNotes content initiative will serve the ANZ well.
FURTHER READING: Why (ANZ CEO) Mike Smith is a Social Media Believer
JORDANA BORENSZTAJN’S LIKE ME, LOVE ME, RETWEET ME – Hilarious comedy show
This week I sat in the audience for Like Me, Love Me, Retweet Me, comedian Jordana Borensztajn‘s hilarious social media-themed show for the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
In Like Me, Love Me, Retweet Me, Jordana explores issues of honesty and self-worth online, and exactly why making herself look good on social media is a full-time job! She joked incessantly about how we use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to craft an online image for our friends and followers; and of course, funny cat videos were a highlight!
PIC: Hanging with Jordana Borensztajn after her sold-out show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Social Media is the New Punk Rock
My mate, the online reputation management guru Gerry McCusker produced this video back in 2009, just as social media was starting to emerge. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon it this week, but I gave it another play and was pleasantly surprised how parts of the message are still wholly relevant today, some five years later!
Warrior Around the Web
I’ve been a tad active these past few weeks. Not sure why, must be something in the virtual water! Here is a sweep of content I’ve had published over the past few weeks.
HOW TO BUILD A ‘VILLAGE OF SUPPORT’ FOR YOUR PERSONAL BRAND (Ideas Ignition blog)
This post – on Firebrand Talent’s awesome ‘Ideas Ignition’ blog – has really resonated with people, notching up some 340 shares on social media.
It’s one thing to have a network of professional contacts – friends, peers, and acquaintances that you can call upon for all manner of favours: such as making introductions on your behalf, tipping you in to new business or career opportunities, or simply inviting you to the corporate box at the MCG to watch the footy!
But it’s another matter entirely to have a vibrant and engaged ‘village of support’ underpinning YOU (and when I say you, I don’t just mean you the person, but ‘Brand You’ and all that comes with it – your reputation and standing within the professional community). READ THE FULL ARTICLE
VIDEO INTERVIEW: INBOUND MARKETING UPDATE WITH JEETU MAHTANI, HUBSPOT (The Connected Brand blog)
HubSpot is a highly regarded marketing software company that’s been growing like crazy in recent years. I’ve been hat-tipping the brand for several years now for the way it uses social media and useful original content to market itself and its products. As an example of a progressive ‘connected brand’, there are few better than HubSpot (check out the the quantity and quality of the brand’s free online resources; the company’s blog is also a ripper!).
Thus it was great to catch up the other day and chat with HubSpot’s Dublin-based international managing director, Jeetu Mahtani, who was in Australia to announce the opening of HubSpot’s Asia Pacific headquarters based in Sydney. WATCH THE INTERVIEW
LINKEDIN BLOGGING PLATFORM
I’ve been experimenting this past fortnight with LinkedIn’s new blogging platform.
Here is a selection of the most viewed articles:
- The most important business book you’ve never read
- Creating a company careers page that ‘crackles’ with authenticity
- If you want to learn about Twitter, visit Daylesford’s Farmers Arms Hotel
