Social Matters and Natters

It's time to get the blog back up and running, so naturally let's talk about the Christmas campaigns for 2015! My personal favourite is the comeback of Mog in the Sainsburys advert, I love cats so this is a clear winner! Then we come to the much awaited John Lewis advert... Man on the Moon alongside Age UK. Whilst this is a great emotive advert, once which definitely caught my heartstrings it also poses another question... We all send gifts to each other at Christmas, but when it comes to "No one should be alone at Christmas" surely our time is the best gift available? Maybe spending some time with those in need and who are alone is a better gift than a pair of socks? Of course the release of the Man on the Moon led to Aldi quickly jumping on the bandwagon... which I personally think is BRILLIANT! How they've got away with it I do not know, but here it is... what a cracker! So I want to know what your favourites are? And which ones are

At the moment I 100% fall into the "digital age" of marketing category. When it comes to customer service, the first place I head to is Twitter. The world needs to know if I am not a happy bunny with a company, and I expect a response within 24 hours. I know, I know - that might seem a bit harsh but it's reality. The companies I am talking to are massive. I know as well as the next person that they've employed a team to focus solely on social media, so answer me!!!!! Recently a couple of companies have taken DAYS to get back to me. Come one guys, let's pull it out the bag shall we? I can see you responding to other people... Anyone else have this issue? Am I being unreasonable? Let me know your thoughts! Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions, not those of my employer

It's been long.. too long since I last wrote something! So sorry... Here I am, I'm here and it's time to fill you all in. The last time I posted was way back in July, July?! Wow, it was still warm then! Well to be honest not a massive amount has actually happened! I mean, it has but not a huge amount that I am going to broadcast to the world... I am still loving life. There's been a fair few changes but it's all good! I've fallen in love and had my heart taken to Aus as my man has gone there... I've got a car which is caught up in the Volkswagen emissions scandal... And I've traveled around the UK a bit. So I will back back with more marketing and business stuff soon! :) Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions, not those of my employer

Oh dear, oh dear - it's been too long! Please accept my apology! Its been a busy time, everything keeps getting in the way of me sitting down and writing. But I am here now! Horray! The summer is here, more time in the evenings and all sorts. Smashing. So what's been going on? What's the 411? Well... not a lot! I've been so so busy catching up with people and running my socks off, but still nothing much has happened! A little weekend away to Bournemouth, that was awesome. I'm turning into a proper adult now and have set up my house fund... Yikes. Time to start getting it all together and thinking about the future! But hey, I'm still young so watch this space. Right so marketing wise what can I say... Have you seen the background to Google Analytics and Adwords? They're like a maze! Lots to do, so much opportunity! Any top tips welcome!! Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions, not those of my empl

It's been a while... long, too long. It's time for a catch up, so grab a cuppa and some dunkers and let's go. So I cannot believe it but it will be a year since I started my job next week - time flies when you are having fun! It's strange that whilst I was at uni everyone would always tell me to make the most of it because time goes so quickly when you finish, well they were right! It doesn't seem like 5 mins since I was sat taking my finals. I mean it's nearly June, but that's cool, it was just Christmas yesterday... Deep breathing! But it's all good, we are 12 months on and everything has finally come together. Cracking job, fabulous friends, new car, sights set on a house - Happy days! Plus I am finding more time to blog now, so that's another bonus! Anyway, quick catch up on the last few months... Centre Parcs with the uni lovelies Shard with the Marketing Girls Bruges with the fam Race for Lif

So as I am typing this my laptop sounds like it's about to give up on life and head to the moon... Think it might be time for a new one, sob. (Recommendations welcome but I am on a budget!) This week seems to have been a busy one but it's flown by! I've started properly running in preparation for Race for Life in June, which I'm fairly surprise at because I am enjoying it! It's a great way to sweat away the day and collect your thoughts... Minus the twisted ankle I am now nursing with a bag of frozen peas! Ouch! So marketing wise, today I am talking qualifications. My career and learning is very important to me, and I want to further my knowledge through additional qualifications, be that in 6 months time or a few years down the line. But there seem to be so many to choose from it's hard to know which is the "best" one to go with. Bearing in mind the cost, time, etc. that goes into all of these. The options so far that I have looked into/heard ab

And we are back... this time for a proper blog post and I need your advice/help. The more I use social media, the more I fall in love with it, and the more it baffles me how people act etc. But my love for it stays strong, especially being able to interact/communicate with friends, colleagues, etc instantly and across the globe. Perfect. I follow a lot of B2B companies on Twitter (Note Twitter is my main social media platform focus here!) and also work in a B2B environment... and social media is primarily between marketing departments rather than reaching out to decision makers etc. or its just indiviuals like myself who've taken an interest in the company. So my question to you is - what interests you when interacting with companies on social media? Being able to ask questions? Images? Info on products etc? I know what interest me but I feel like this is pretty different to everyone else! I'd love to hear your thoughts, feelings, pet hates - send them all! Lets g

Here's a quick blog post to say Happy Easter to you all, hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend we've got and is consuming their body weight in chocolate! This weekend has thrown me off slightly, I've completely lost track of what day it actually is and seem to have turned nocturnal all of a sudden (hoping this is sorted before going back to work!!) Anyone else having a similar issue?! I've had an action packed weekend, full of family time and catching up on all the little jobs that I've been putting off for ages - I have nearly mastered accountancy! Just a short post today... I need to get back on it soon!

I recently carried out a mini experiment for my personal intrigue on LinkedIn. I regularly post updates to my connections, however these are usually text only. So I gave posting a picture with a short caption a go... The picture was this: With the caption:  Cracking bit of marketing here by café Nero! Best thing I've seen on facebook for a while! Low and behold... 25 likes just like that! The power of an image! So from now on I am planning on posting a lot more images to get my message out there to my connections! On other social media platforms I have seen a similar trend, with pictures gaining more interaction with followers. And I admit I am the same, I see a picture and I'm like "ooo, what's that?!" I would like to hear what everyone else thinks about the use of pictures on social media? Do you see more interaction from these compared to text? Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions

The more I think about this, the more my head hurts...! This is purely from my own opinion, so don't take it as gospel... We live in a digital age, there is no denying that. But as more and more social sites pop up I am starting to think will social die as quickly as it was born? I am in the generation that has experienced social bursting onto the scene, social stalking taking place, and the "selfie" entering the English dictionary. Big changes, all of which I love and am very passionate about. However, I've started talking to different people about this, reading different articles, scanning the web - and I am starting to think that it could all just stop. Different social media sites seem to pop up all the time and be the "in" thing for everyone to be on and socialise with friends. In recent years we've gone from MySpace to Facebook, to Twitter, to snapchat, to goodness knows what else! Even I am starting to feel old...and I am only in my early 2

Recently I experience two really bad examples of customer service. I'm not going to name and shame, I think I made myself perfectly clear at the time! Example one: Don't leave me waiting for a starter for 30 mins then another 40mins for my main course... then offer me nothing, not even an apology! Example two: Don't talk to my Dad and ignore me when I am buy a new car... No, my dad is not paying, I am. NOT COOL GUYS. This got me thinking what makes for good customer service? To me, customer service is all about putting the customer first and going that extra mile... sounds all so clique but it's true! I know that a lot of young people get a bad reputation when it comes to providing good customer services, I've been in their shoes. However, I think most young people understand the value of customer service and expect to be treated well, therefore are willing to go the extra mile to provide the service they would expect. I would love to hear any experiences any

So this week has been a busy busy busy one, I now know how a bee feels... On Thursday I headed to the Big City for TFM&A at Kensington Olympia. Having not been to this event for a couple of years I wasn't too sure what to expect. It was a great day though! The seminars had changed this year to be ticketed, resulting on these "selling out" very quickly so I missed a couple of the ones I wanted to see - not ideal... I did however go to a brilliant seminar on the latest tools from Google, hosted by Guy Thornton from Found . This gave a great insight into Google tools, especially AdWords and Remarketing. Mooching around all the exhibitors was also good to see all the agencies etc.  Other than that this week seems to have flown by, can't believe its Sunday already! Here's to next week being a productive one as well...! Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions, not those of my employer.

Working in a B2B environment has opened my eyes to a whole new world (no, no, not Aladdin) when it comes to social media. Previously I have used social media for personal use - Facebook has always been just for my friends, Twitter for everyone, blogging, LinkedIn, Instagram... etc. etc. I communicate on these platforms on a daily basis, writing my thoughts and opinions, posting picture of cats (classic) and much more. All of this is communicated in a colloquial manner, I joke around and say it how it is... However when it comes to posting on behalf of a business it's very different. I realise you might be thinking that this is obvious... but recently I have seen a few companies carrying out bad practice on social media - portraying that they are just using it as a method to chat with friends etc. Not cool guys! Whilst I completely understand and agree that social for business needs to be kept professional, it is also a great opportunity to show the "human" side of

So today is Safer Internet Day 2015 , completely appropriate for a blog post! Luckily I am at the age where I am pretty savvy when it comes to staying safe online... but there are so many kids and even my peers who are targeted online and are sadly victims. Don't get my wrong, I know when I was younger I was on MSN and MySpace to friends of friends...but I knew not to give out any personal information etc. and my parents taught me to keep safe. The thing that annoys me the most is that social media sites barely react to complaints... For example, I have recently been followed by a lot of "adult content" twitter profiles (no idea why) and in order to delete theses, especially on my phone, I have to go onto the profiles to access the "block" button... ... Now, whilst that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, image a child having to do that. It's so wrong and I think twitter needs to re-evaluate how to block someone when using their mobile app.

Right so this year I want to travel. Not go traveling, just a weekend here and a weekend there across Europe. It's always been something that I have wanted to do and I finally have the time, money and no one who is relies on me for anything. Perfect timing. I have made a list of places I want to go and things I want to visit. Historical places/attractions are of interest to me so there is a bit of a theme! At the moment the list if written in the back of my diary and is slowly growing as I get more inspiration...There are more things on the list than in this pic! All I need to do now is learn to fly alone without horrendous fear (or find someone to come with me!) If anyone has an suggestions/recommendations of European places to visit please let me know! I need to keep my list growing! Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions, not those of my employer.

Congratulations on surviving your first week back at work, pat on the back for you! 2015 so far is shaping up to be a good one, admittedly we are only 10 days in... Not a long post today. So I am sure most of you have read my previous blog post of my goals for 2015... And this post is about another one. I really want to keep developing my marketing skills and I need your help. If anyone has any suggestions of marketing websites, events, courses, people to follow... anything... I want to know it! Please comment below or tweet me . Much appreciated! Developing my skills and knowledge is so important to me and I would love to hear what you think! And to finish it off here's a pic of a beach, that I think we all wish we were on... Sorry! Lets get social! Get  tweeting  or  LinkedIn Disclaimer: This blog reflects my own opinions, not those of my employer.