Aidan Montague's Blog
I recently created a new report for Panorama Synergy. The goal was to provide some useful tips to real business owners (not techies) on how to have a website developed that actually made sales…as opposed to just looking good.
Judging by the feedback it seems that it struck a chord with many people.
You can download the free report here. I hope you enjoy it. Download Special Report
OK – even the Pope gets it! If you ever needing convincing that Social Media is here to stay then you have to look no further than the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI has just instructed his priests to get out of the pulpit and start blogging. Here is an excerpt of what he had to say:
“The spread of multimedia communications and its rich menu of options might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel”
I stumbled across this great presentation by Paul Isakson – previously Head of Strategy at Minneapolis based, Space 150 – a leading branding agency. I thought I would share it with you – some great insights.
Relationships First - Business Comes Later.
How do you make money from social media? This is a question which I get asked continually.
The short answer is you don’t…well at least not directly. Social media is all about being just that – social. As soon as you try to overtly use it to push products down people’s throats you will fail.
However, social media is still very powerful for businesses. Let me give you an example.
As many of you would be aware, I have been involved in the golf industry for many years. I have a network of golf related websites that sell online training, golf training aids etc – these are my “money” sites.
I use a “two-step” social media strategy to promote these sites i.e to send traffic which converts to real dollars.
I recently set up a Twitter account specifically aimed at the golf niche. You can view it here at TwitRGolfers. At the time of writing I have 6238 followers on Twitter. This will grow over time, but now starting to achieve some critical mass.
I then link my Twitter account to my own dedicated social media network in the golfing niche. I have used a product called Ning to set up my own network – a sort of Facebook for golfers which I am able to control myself.
Here is the link to that network – TwitRGolfers – for golfers who Twitter
When I socialize amongst golfers on Twitter, I frequently include links back to my own social media network. I then build up a community – or as marketing visionary, Seth Godin calls it a “Tribe”. It is early days, but my Tribe has become quite influential. I don’t market to them – I communicate with them. I build relationships with them. They are my customers and my potential joint venture partners. Many of them are very active marketers in their own right.
Because I now have a trusted relationship with my Network,
Looks like local news is shaping up to be the next major battleground for the newspaper industry.
Here is a good article from Henry Blodget on the subject. (remember Henry – he was the analyst who predicted that Amazon.com’s stock price would hit US$400 in October 1998 – which it did a month later – gaining 128%. Great call, which earned him the title of No.1 Internet/ eCommerce analyst on Wall Street in 2000 – That was before the world came crashing down as the dot-com bubble burst)
Anyhow, Henry has now got a real job 
“I’m not saying I beat the devil …but I drank his beer for nothing” – Kris Kristofferson
It is not for me to validate or otherwise the persistent rumor that Rupert Murdoch is in fact the devil incarnate. However, he is certainly accusing Google of drinking his beer for nothing.
It appears, according to Rupert, that every time Google index his content in their search engine, they are behaving like
I stumbled across this great presentation by Paul Isakson – previously Head of Strategy at Minneapolis based, Space 150 – a leading branding agency. I thought I would share it with you – some great insights.