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Welcome to Ian Calvert

My controversial view on life, experiences and things that wind me up – plus the odd helpful hints too

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Tag Archives: Social Engagement

FinTech – how Finance has embraced Social Relationships

Posted by ianmcalvert on January 11, 2016

Many people outside the Social world of News and Finance will be unsure what the word “FinTech” means or they will ask if it is just another made-up business jargon buzzword.

Yet it’s something has been around for quite some time and one that all aspects of the business community need to embrace in so many ways as they are at the forefront of Social without them even knowing it!

Even many marketing people, companies and agencies are missing this fact!

What you have to do is basically separate the actually term and see where and why FinTech is the leading player in Social….

FinTech = Finance and Technology

Finance:-

For many years, the Finance community have been held within the boundaries of legislation and lots of regulation as to what they can and can’t do. Due to these circumstances you’ll have had people ask about whether you have investments or pensions and this enquiry to you, is either via a friend or a referral from a friend or family member. If you have used Brokers or Advisors, you’ll know that they will ask that if you are happy with how they are looking after you, could you give them three people’s names you know, so that they could speak to them – isn’t this Referral Marketing?

Again, look at the banking sector, they aren’t really advertising/promoting themselves to you, they are highlighting their products and what they can do/offer (where regulations will allow). However, when they want to promote themselves or look at expanding, they more often than not, offer incentives to you, where that if you introduce a family member or friend to the Bank or Building Society, they will either give you a reward or provide a reward to both you and that person becomes a client/customer – isn’t this Referral Marketing?

As the banking sector took off, the bank then  decided it needed another location, so around the town/city, the bank opened more locations and this then extended to the surrounding area to service more and more people. Over time, this name extended and then mergers and takeovers took place. Thus the banks name become known further and further afield. People would start using the bank that either their friends or family would recommend (or in some cases, your company would get their bank to open an account for you, so they could pay your wages into). Thus, people went to that bank because of the name they knew. If you look as building societies, most of these would be named after the town or city they started in and thus, people choose to use them as saving or deposit locations and then buy their houses through, as these were names they knew, could trust and felt safe with. In both situations – isn’t this Social Branding?

Is it that Referral Marketing or Brand Recognition are the foundations of both Social Branding and Social Selling?

Technology:-

With more and more technology appearing to help to speed up and improve our lives, technology companies are bringing out new technology to allow us to be more in touch with each other daily, whether we want it or not!

However, where did most of this technology come from?

Wasn’t it Finance?

Whether you like it or not, Finance has actually been the forerunner of Technology for longer than technology has been around!

If you don’t think so, just go back to when banks, building societies and insurance companies first appeared. What did they do? Whether it was a place to secure your money, a savings place for schemes (like where you could place your money as funeral fund or university fund for example), saving/investment schemes and pensions, you either took the money to them and deposit it or someone collected it from you. All these transactions were written down and then they were entered in to filing/record system or ledger. These paper records contained all your transaction history and if you wanted to withdraw the money or check on the funds/schemes you had saved with, they would have to look these up in their records. Wasn’t this the start of databases and CRM’s?

If you wished to withdraw money, they would see check the records to see if you had deposited enough to match the amount you wished to withdraw. If the records were less than the amount you wanted, you couldn’t make the withdrawal. Over time, the idea of lending, borrowing and buying items like houses, started to arrive. However, if you wanted to do this, you’d have to meet with the manager, who looked through your records to make a decision on whether he would lend you this money or not. Wasn’t this the start of Credit Scoring?

As times progressed and we started to receive items like telephones and telephone/hard wires. Banks and building societies were then able to be connected with their other locations and thus, you could then go to a different location/branch to withdraw or pay your money in. The ability of introducing centralised record keeping, to record your payments and history allowed you to use any place your bank or building society had a location and sometimes, if you wanted to withdraw money, you’d have to book an appointment or wait whilst they rang through or checked the system to see what money you had before authorising it. Wasn’t this the start of networked working and centralised systems?

During this time, the banks then started to look at what was a big gamble for them as it involved trust (plus, if you failed to honour this, it could and in some cases was a criminal offence!) and they introduced cheques. Some say it was the rich not wanting to spend time queuing at the bank to get their money or carry lots of money, but the arrival of cheques allowed that piece of paper to pay for items/services with no physical money changing hands. Then to make things easier and to speed things up, if you just wanted to take some money, why wait in a queue and thus, the arrival of the cash machine arrived. Thus the issue of the cash card allowed you to withdraw your money with no more queuing – how much easier was that? Then, as you had this card, could another card do just as well for you by allowing you to pay for things and then pay later? As a result, we then saw the arrival of the credit card were you brought something, could have it there and there and then pay later which improved our lives but also helped to fuel a society built around debt and not everyone could receive one based on their credit scoring. So, if you wanted something but had the money but not with you, how could you buy or pay for it? Well the arrival of the debit card meant that you could choose something, ask to buy it, and the retailer would via a card machine connected to your bank, either approve or decline the purchase. Wasn’t this the start of a cashless society?

So, as you’ve seen above, the banking/finance industry has taken items and really delivered so much that we take for granted every day without us realising that if it hadn’t been for the Finance Industry, many of these things would have never happened.

Yet, we still don’t realise that the finance industry impacts on our daily lives so much each and every day.

So if you look at what the finance sector has done, they have seen what is happening ahead of time, what is needed and found a solution to help society as well as providing a solution that is socially accepted and wanted by us all.

Isn’t this all down to bring together two things to make one aspect that is here in our everyday lives but we don’t realise?

Social Engagement plus using Social Collaboration – both items have come together via embracing the Social Community ethos.

Finance drives and delivers technology…….

Whether it be Selling, Branding, Engagement, Collaboration or Community – the Finance Industry is one of the real founding fathers of the Social Eco-system, yet we want more…..

So, as we want more – the idea of improving and making things easier, has seen us move from paper record keeping to centralised networks and systems and thus, though analysing how we spend/save our money, produce a system where our credit scoring rates whether or not we can move forward by having a loan, buying a car or house – effectively controlling our lives.

Thus, this technology has not only helped to establish how we move forward with our spending, but improve the way we work by improving systems and speeding things up. Yet, this never seems to be enough for us….

Technology has embraced what was the cash, then credit and debit cards to use the card technology in other areas.

Card technology is used for access and security controls by verifying whether we have permission to go/enter somewhere – isn’t this just like cards authorising purchases?

The card has taken huge in-roads to replacing paper, so instead of collecting stamps, coupons and vouchers, we now have loyalty cards which can track/record our purchases and give rewards based on these transactions – isn’t this just like credit cards recording our purchases, detailing what we’ve brought and showing us our rewards just like a card statement?

At times of been given gift vouchers, gift cards and coupons now been replaced by stores giving us cards pre-loaded with money to spend or that we can add money to these cards so we can make purchases within these stores via stores cards – isn’t this another example of a cashless society?

So, as you can see finance has really embraced Social, Technology has embraced the ethos of what Finance has delivered but what does all this mean?

Finance plus Social plus Technology plus Finance equals FINTECH!!

With FinTech now here and really coming to the forefront of our lives what does this mean for us all?

Relationships = Social = Relationships

The business world now needs to look at how FinTech has grown over the last two years and start to embrace the whole ethos of Social but why?

The simple is that Social Relationships is the key moving forward and we are coming full circle. Again this falls back to having to thank itself for this via the finance industry and now it’s being taken to the next level by the technology industry!

The finance sector grew from the Social aspect of people lending money to them by trusting them to take this money and make it grow for them through these institutions having a Social Responsibility programme to look after their customers money. Because of how they operated, they grew through their Social Brand and Social Recognition that people continued to share their experiences via Social Selling allowing these organisations to grow and grow due to more people becoming clients/customers.

However, these organisations have either gotten greedy, had employees who mismanaged the funds, had Governments advise that they should take over other institutions to help them out (thus inheriting bad debt and loans), over lent to people/companies who couldn’t repay the debt, etc, etc which all led to/helped to create a financial meltdown and now leaves us where we are today. But are we in a good position?

Many people are looking to make fast money or get quick returns to fund their future. With more money than ever that is being thrown into technology to help us improve our lives by making things easier – here we are again, seeing companies coming up with ideas that are just re-inventing old ideas/formats. The majority of these technology companies are effectively going to the finance sector once more for ideas and then using the funds to take the finance sector to the next level….

Whether it is mobile payments to make purchases or transfer money between family and friends – all this only is what the banking sector has had for years but kept within its own eco-system.

Banks have offered on-line banking where you can check you balance, move money and make payments plus before this, they had cards that allowed you to make purchases without having to carry/use cash – so what is technology offering? All they have done, is just taken all this that the banking sector has been offering and moved it to your mobile device!

So with Finance being embraced by Technology to create the world of FinTech – FinTech is going back to Finance to embrace and use their Social ethos to start looking at embracing Social Relationships.

Moving forward the business world is going to see 2016 being the year where they have to start embracing Social Relationships and taking them to the next level if they want to succeed.

The ethos of Social Relationship is key and if you aren’t already embracing Social Branding, Social Community, Social Messaging and Live Streaming – then as a company you’ll not even be in the starting blocks come 2017!

Technology is helping us to start embracing Social so we can make decisions on what we do based on family and friends decisions and experiences and if we want something, then taken this advice, we make that decision/purchase there and then via our mobile device. So before you knock the finance sector again, just remember, if it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t be where you are now and with FinTech embracing what they have innovated, remember will be a major part of your next job/career……

And it’s all down to……

Social Relationships…….

If you are wanting to understand more about FinTech, Social Relationships and how it all combines with what The Social Family offers, then feel free to contact myself via the form below:-

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Leave a comment Posted in Assisting you with Social Media, Business Observations, Business Support, Changes to make society better, Social Business Applications, The Social Family Tagged Banking, Banks, Brand Recognition, Building Society, Building Socities, Cashless Society, Credit Rating, Credit Scoring, Finance, FinTech, Live Streaming, Referral Marketing, relationship building, Social Brand, Social Branding, Social Collaboration, Social Community, Social Engagement, Social Messaging, Social Recognition, Social Relationships, Social Responsibility, Social Selling, Technology

Do you just Post, Post, Post or are you using the Social Engagement element of The Social Family?

Posted by ianmcalvert on November 17, 2015

Engagement is KEY!

There is more to Social than just post, post, post….

Have you actually looked at your profile or other people’s profiles on say Twitter?

Yes, you can look at say Facebook, G+, LinkedIn etc but Twitter is the one that gives the best example…..

When you go through someone’s timeline (even the experts are good to look at), you’ll see the lack of Engagement is actually quite high! Even though they may have 10,000’s or 100,000’s of followers — the numbers of retweets are quite low!! They may have more “Favourites” than re-tweets, but what does this really do? Is there any point of Favourites?

(Note – whilst people still call it Favourites – Twitter has now updated and changed Favourites to Likes)

With the advent of new things appearing from Facebook, the way you can promote and educate your business through LinkedIn with their Company Pages & Showcase Pages and other platforms too – are YOU really set up for real ENGAGEMENT?

Are you actually bothering to engage?

The need of engaging is now a crucial part of how your audience perceives you and then interacts with you. Thus, with the emergence of Social Collaboration and Social Engagement, the one question is, will you, your company, your colleagues and your audience be the key?

This interaction is what makes or breaks your future….

So moving forward, you need to make sure that you are Collaborating and Engaging as these are your two key components that make up your Social Selling roadmap!

Social Selling is the main foundation that will make or break you. With more and more people communicating and sharing their thoughts and experiences via all the various Social Business platforms that are available — the key requirement is that you, your colleagues and company all have a complete sharing facility to enable faster and more collaborative engagement with your audience.

This is why now, you need to step back and start being a team to allow this engagement and collaboration with your audience.

How? By allowing anything that is seen or identified by your colleagues, to be then answered and transferred to the correct people to answer.

As after all, as the saying goes…

“bad comments are bigger advertising and more negative than any positive comments”

If are wondering how to really engage and collaborate, then utilising a solid foundation to undertake this across all your Social Business platforms is key!

Also, make sure that everything is collected and see that the correct action taken. So, once you acknowledge this, then now it is the time to move forward…..

Can this be done?

Will this help you in the long-term?

Yes, I believe it can and now with the planned introduction of new features from Facebook, plus the new opportunities that are now arising via Meerkat or Periscope and as well as Snapchat too…planning and implementation is needed NOW!!

So, instead of just obtaining news stories, related stories and sharing offers/promotions which create little or any true engagement — isn’t it time that you started to actually listen to keywords related to your company or profession that your potential are talking about and thus can lead to proper KEY engagement?

Personally, I do think that you really need to make sure that you have a platform like Hootsuite as your main key component of your Social Business management to enable KEY engagement to move you forward — are you using this or a similar platform?

On top of this, utilising audience listening platforms which not only helps to listen to people talking (whether positive or negative) about your company but also the wider picture where you can hear the comments of your competitors, similar products, etc not just locally, nationally or internationally to help you grow, is now a key component of your Social Business toolbox too.

Maybe you should look at Zoomph, which is an excellent one I have found to be so beneficial and fits so well into my use of Hootsuite too.

Should you want to discuss how and in what way you need to move forward with Social Business processes, please do feel free to contact myself to allow me to discuss with you how I can help to move you forward….

To discover more on how the right strategy can help you and your company lay the foundations for bringing the family of “Social” in to your company, feel free to contact myself to help take you forward into the world of “The Social Family”….

Or to understand more as to why you should be using Hootsuite and Zoomph — then please do get in touch too via the contact form below.

Ian Calvert provides a range of Services whilst being a Brand Ambassador, Brand Advocate, Brand Evangelist and Social Business partner for many companies not just in the UK but Globally too. Thus, by keeping ahead of the game, Ian Calvert can help leverage and build the foundations for bringing both you and your company into 2018/2020 today. To discover more, feel free to contact via his website here.

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Leave a comment Posted in Business Networking, Business Observations, Business Support, Read..., Social Business Applications, The Social Family Tagged #Hootsuite, Blab, Brand, Brand Advocates, Brand Ambassadors, Brand Evangelist, Branding, Collaboration, Engagement, Facebook, Linkedin, Meerkat, Periscope, Snapchat, Social, Social Business, Social Collaboration, Social Engagement, SocialBusiness, SocialCollaboration, SocialEn, The Social Family, Twitter, Zoomph

With the changes come changes but are you changing?

Posted by ianmcalvert on November 6, 2015

One of the things that has come past my desk this week has been some startling issues that people have mentioned to myself in regard to the poor customer service they have received.

When I went through this with them, is was astonishing that they just couldn’t get a reply or answer from anyone – why was this happening?

They mentioned that if they went into a shop or their local bank, they could actually sit and talk the issues through with someone to get an answer or resolution.

Yet, why is this not happening when we try to talk on-line to someone?

Afterall, this is becoming the most used method of raising an issue, question or compliant (and in some cases offering praise too) these days but the majority of companies are just not simply grasping and understanding the full in’s and out’s of what this encompasses!!

The level of Customer Service and Support companies say they are investing is actually worrying compared to the results that are being delivered. With more and more companies being on-line, they aren’t actually making sure they are properly on-line both internally and externally!

After hearing this, I sat back thought about three organisations – a local Charity, a UK National Company and a Global Company – I have been dealing with lately. I then took the examples above I had been told about and compared them to these three organisations and sure enough, the same was happening to myself!

Companies are outsourcing their “Social” to 3rd parties or being trained by external people who aren’t focusing on how both Internal and External Social Branding is being delivered. If this isn’t handled correctly first and foremost, how can you actually start to make sure your company is being seen how your audience are seeing it and using the information they find in front of them?

Either way, if the above isn’t been handled or brought to your attention, how can you have 3rd Party/Outsourced Companies handling your Social and Marketing?

Especially when they aren’t able to access the information your company has, when it comes to dealing with your customers issues or prospective customers questions either?

So, why outsource this when you already the solution at hand with an abundance of staff to handle this already?

The reason being is that there are too many people/companies – that they are saying to these companies like your’s – that they can handle your Marketing and Social for you and be able to boost your position in your business sector.

WRONG !!!

People today, do not want things rammed at them or have constant mailshots through their doors, emails, cold-calls and posts landing on their timelines from these companies on your behalf – they want to be treated the same way they would be treated if they met you in the street.

These 3rd Party’s/Out-Sourced Organisations don’t yet understand The Social Family and how it works – let alone advise you and your company how to implement it!

So, the time has come for you to step back and actually look at your company as a whole and actually see how you can provide that level of Social Collaboration and Social Engagement that your clients (and prospective clients) actually want each and every day.

Embracing your staff and working with them, can actually be your biggest and cheapest marketing and sales asset you could ever have.

Yet why aren’t you investing in them?

The ability of workforce to be your Social and Brand Ambassadors is such a huge powerful free tool which gives you the opportunity to be so much bigger than outsourcing your Social ever will be.

By actually implementing the right Social Tools and working with your staff to make sure they are your Social and Brand Ambassadors is something that is going to reap huge rewards for you in the long-term across so so many levels.

Utilising the power of Social Sharing, you can allow your company to be seen by a much wider audience and in turn this audience will actually see you being a company that values Social Inclusion.

The ability of combing these parts of The Social Family – Social Collaboration, Social Engagement and Social Inclusion – mean’s that you can create an environment where every member of staff becomes part your family…

Yes, that’s right – YOUR FAMILY!!

By actually working together to take everything that is thrown at your company, plus the ability to deliver answers and solutions that will move swiftly to a conclusion within a time frame that makes both your Prospective Clients/Customers and Clients/Customers happy – will ensure that they will also become your Brand Ambassadors.

As they will (in the majority of cases) be more than happy to share the positive news of what has happened to them when dealing with your company.

You seem doubtful?

Well, just think about it, you do nothing or fail to reply in a decent timeframe, they will shout and scream about you across their Social Platforms creating a negative issue about this…..

so, if you do things right…..

Why won’t they do the opposite and sing your praises?

The solution to moving this forward, is quite simple, let’s sit down and go through how we can improve the Social Engagement not just with your Customers and Prospective Customers, but with your own internal Brand Advocates too!

Let us spend some time putting some ideas together on how we can get both you and your company moving forward and start building both your internal and external Community’s that makes everyone feel special and inclusive…

Whilst you are checking you diary to find some dates for us to get together, I’ve arranged a special offer providing a free trial period for using the Hootsuite facilities on how you and your staff can start developing and taking the first steps to creating a Social Community.

With these via these two links, you’ll be able to start looking and thinking how we can use Social to take you to that next level:-

  • If you have NEVER tried Hootsuite previously, Click here to receive a free trial period of Hootsuite Pro
  • If you HAVE/HAD a Free Hootsuite Account or TRIED Hootsuite Pro previously, then click here to obtain a free Trial Period of Hootsuite Pro

By taking this first step in moving beyond just being on-line, to one of building a community with your staff and your audience, it will allow you to understand all your Social activities and start Engaging and Collaborating…..so we can together, both you and I can develop a programme moving forward to help you create The Social Family your company can offer.

To discover more on how the right strategy can help you and your company lay the foundations for bringing the family of “Social” in to your company, feel free to contact myself by filling in the form below to help take you forward into the world of the“Social Family”….

Ian Calvert provides a range of Services whilst being a Brand Ambassador, Brand Advocate, Brand Evangelist and Social Business partner for many companies not just in the UK but Globally too. Thus, by keeping ahead of the game, Ian Calvert can help leverage and build the foundations for bringing both you and your company into 2018/2020 today. To discover more, feel free to contact via his website here.

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Leave a comment Posted in Business Support, Read..., Social Business Applications, The Social Family Tagged #Hootsuite, Brand Advocates, Brand Ambassadors, Social, Social Advocates, Social Ambassadors, Social Collaboration, Social Engagement, Social Inclusion, The Social Family, TheSocialFamily

Why Bloomberg can really shape the way business operates in the UK over the next 18 months

Posted by ianmcalvert on July 6, 2015

Over recent months, we have seen across the EMEA, the emergence of a new force within the business communication arena that is the NEWS!

Whether it be Business, Tech, FinTech or HealthTech to name a few, Bloomberg are really starting to break their ties from America and facilitate a unique offering to the Business Community of the EMEA.

OK, let’s just get the bad bits out of the way, they are:-

  • Only still operating from 6.00am to 11.00am (well they did extend this to 1.00pm during the UK General election) but never continued with this format!
  • Yes, still seeming to be focused and reliant on the big companies!
  • Not really focusing on what is happening outside of London!

So, that is their three big on-going failures out of the way…let’s start on the positives and how they are nearly ready to blow the EMEA apart….

Radio…..

With their Bloomberg Radio – you have a great mirroring of their EMEA television content which really works well (even when they say look at this screen!) but again, this finishes at 10.00am before switching over to New York (aaahhh)! The radio content is really great and gives good insights on to starting the day, so for me, whilst the news maybe not be local, it’s business content is still a very key component to your business.

Why?

Simple – if something is happening that is negative, whilst you don’t think affects you, it does! The news on their radio show that they are reporting does relate to you and impacts on your business I would say around 80% of the time plus.

Someone once said to me that this is not the case. Well let’s say look at your local newsagent or say window cleaner. With the dying market of print media, print product sales are dropping and this is creating less revenue at the Newsagent. With the advancement of not just the Radio or TV but the internet also, people are grabbing their news on-line and on the go. Years ago, these newsagents would have waiting lists of children wanting to be Paper Boys/Girls but today, they are struggling to find them as it doesn’t seem to be “cool”! So, these News Channels are become the new print media product and this will circulated immediately, not the next day, few days later or following week! In many cases, Bloomberg scopes the news and then other news mediums get their “latest news” or “breaking news” via Bloomberg – so, don’t you want to be ahead of the game?

Take Window Cleaners, it used to be the case that virtually every house had their windows cleaned every week or two but now you are looking at around 1 in 10, or maybe 1 in 20 are have their windows cleaned around once every 6 to 8 weeks! Is it they don’t seem this important to consider this or see it as a regular disposable cost? So, now with the latest gadgets available, you can buy attachments and place them on the end of your hosepipe and clean them yourself or even you can go high-tech and buy robotic window cleaning devices. These companies developing, making and selling these products are in the news so, hence will be been reported on Bloomberg! (Isn’t this same theme as the above with newsagents??).

Television…..

With their television channel (which provides the source and content for the radio as discussed above) which finishes at 11.00am, Bloomberg have  created something that really covers so much and yet what makes it different, is that it isn’t really the roundabout of normal TV News channels! Instead of telling the same story in each hour (apart from major headlines), they are always bringing the latest breaking news and the consequences of it.

Yes it has the downside of not been mainstream and or on Freeview channels, thus meaning it is only available on Sky or the App within their website but it is still accessible to everyone and every business too!

You have the ability to connect that TV in your reception, lobby, offices or canteen, by changing, you can take your channel selection away from BBC News or Sky News and turn over to the Bloomberg Channel (on Sky Channel 502 or any of the platforms listed here) or just hook up a TV or monitor as a computer monitor to their website TV App. By having their breaking news on display, your staff will get to see the latest news and be able to share this within your company.

For example, is your company selling or buying from overseas? A member of staff may come across a news story which details about new ways to pay or transfer money overseas and this is something breaking that your finance teams may miss. So, then this can be transferred to them so they can look into it – a clear example of Social Collaboration within your company between colleagues…..

Collaboration, Engagement and Social…..

They are also embracing Social Business with things like “Twitter Question of the Day”, presenters been online and asking people to tweet them, further examples of Bloomberg is using Social Engagement to be at the forefront.

This process of not just the presenters but the production team and other staff, shows they are receptive to engaging and sharing things with their audience.

So, if Bloomberg can really take this forward…..

can they really can be a huge boost to the UK Business arena….

yes and here is why?

Simple, after 11.00am, they switch over to New York (and then later in the day to San Francisco) and continue reporting stories coming out of the US. Whilst this maybe good, they are highlighting stories around business and technology relating to services and products that aren’t always available to the EMEA (and in some cases – stories of this nature are described as breaking or new – yet when you look into them, we have had the products/services/technologies here in the EMEA for years!).

Thus, if we can bring Bloomberg back to the EMEA and then continuing after 11.00am allowing it to say continue broadcasting through to around 7.00 or 8.00pm – then we will be hearing more from EMEA companies as well as seeing/hearing of events taking place that we may want to attend or follow!!

With so much more reporting and touring around the EMEA, we can discover what is happening or not, what is hot or cold and generally learning that life isn’t after all just based in or revolving around the Americas!

We often (well virtually all the time) keep hearing about the Valley or what Investment/Hedge Funds and VC’s are up to, yet, if you listen to many other people or companies here in the UK and Europe, the talk is of how we are being a much more powerful Investment and Technology arena!

Yes there maybe millions flying around the Valley but also a lot of this cash is crashed and burnt more often than not.

Whereas here (even with all the moaning of individuals/companies struggling to raise finance), what we do experience is a lower risk of failure, plus that we don’t need for these companies to relocate to the Valley!

If you actually get to speak to some of the Tech Companies or Investment Companies/VC’s who have all decided to expand and open up here in the UK/Europe, they all say, that they wish they had opened here earlier! Doesn’t say it all about great the EMEA is…..

So, come on Bloomberg Europe……

time to stand up to the US and say…..

we are leaving and going alone as we have a huge EMEA audience to cater for…..

To learn more about bringing the future into your business today and setting you on the correct path for your future, as well as understanding the forward thinking and the views & opinions of Ian Calvert, the research for other companies that he is looking into and undertaking for companies or just to learn more about Ian Calvert and how he can help you further, you can visit his website here

Or just fill in the form below to discuss this article more……

 

 

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Hootsuite – is it just a platform?

Posted by ianmcalvert on July 4, 2015

With the rise and growth of all the various Social Business platforms, the issue that confronts you, is which is right, when to post and do you have the time?

Well it seems that we are now seeing the rise and appearance of many platforms that can help you with your Twitter, allow you combine the management of all your platforms via a single one or actually help you via teamwork to manage and action all your platforms.

After using various ones, I have found and settled with Hootsuite as it for me, shows true Social Collaboration and Social Engagement.

Why?

Well here are some simple points for you to consider….

Social Collaboration:-

With Hootsuite, they have taken this to the next level by creating an engaging community. I, like over 1,000 others around the world, have been appointed HootAmbassadors. Besides the Hootsuite team of staff, you also have #HootAMB’s to support and assist you. So, you get to gain help and assistance not just from staff but real users and trainers of Hootsuite too!

Social Engagement:-

As I said above, Hootsuite have also created a Hootsuite Community where Hootsuite want to really show and demonstrate how by using Social Business, you can create a true community to help each other, host events and also help, do things and fund raise for the local community and good causes too as well.

HootAmbassadors:-

HootAmbassador’s are now totally over 1,000 worldwide and are here for you and not Hootsuite. They are aren’t Hootsuite staff telling you what to do or should be doing but are real users who not only use Hootsuite on a day-to-day basis but, test and evaluate new parts of Hootsuite to make sure they are right for you to use, as well as been here to help to train and teach you about how to use Hootsuite. Yes, Hootsuite staff could do this, but they work for Hootsuite, whereas HootAmbassador’s either work for themselves or companies which live and breathe Social Business to understand what you do and how various platforms or add-on’s can help both you and your business.

HootUP’s:-

HootUP’s are hosted by HootAmbassador’s to bring together people who aren’t Social, new users to Social, users of Social Business and others who wish to learn more about Hootsuite. These events hosted by HootAmbassador’s in-conjunction with other companies to provide a light-hearted night where you can network with others as well as learning more about Hootsuite. Oh…..and did I mention, if you come along you will get a goodie bag with some items of HootSWAG too!

HootSWAG:-

One thing Hootsuite have done, is that they decided to a) bring some humour into Social Business and b) allow you to get some great Hootsuite goodies too. If you attend a HootUP, you will receive some HootSWAG goodies that range from stickers to some great valuable items (I will leave you to attend a HootUP to discover what these are) which will really be a great surprise and thank you from Hootsuite. HootAmbassador’s also, within their own community, are given by Hootsuite a range of challenges to undertake, where we are awarded points to buy – via these points – more items than you see in the HootSWAG shop to give to clients – these can range from pens, stickers, bookmarks, laptop camera protectors etc – or even t-shirts and mugs too, well maybe even an #Owly too ……

HootCHAT:-

As I said above, Hootsuite want to keep you informed as to what experts, influencers or business leaders do and feel about a range of various topics. That is why Hootsuite – hosted by the Hootsuite Community team – provide a weekly Thursday #HootCHAT where the Hootsuite Community #HootCHAT host asks the week’s guest, a variety of questions – normally around 7-8 questions – over an hour. Which you can join in and share your answers too and engage with other members of the #HootCHAT to exchange your thoughts and ideas too.

Training:-

Hootsuite regularly host a range of live Webinars to take you through various aspects of not only how to use Hootsuite but also, they have industry people talk about how they use Hootsuite within their industry. They also have a range of on-demand Webinars where you learn other items plus re-cap on ones you may have missed too.

 

So, as you can see just from these seven things I have highlighted, Hootsuite is more than just a platform – it is a real community where you can really feel part of a family and not just a customer where a company just takes your money and provides you with a service or product and never speaks or engages with you again!

Thus, if you really want to learn how Social Business can really help you and your business really engage with not just your customers but your POTENTIAL customers too…..then it is time for you to join…..

“The Hootsuite family” to discover how Hootsuite are truly using Social Business to create and embrace Social Collaboration and Social Engagement.

 

To learn more about bringing the future into your business today and setting you on the correct path for your future, as well as understanding the forward thinking and the views & opinions of Ian Calvert, the research for other companies that he is looking into and undertaking for companies or just to learn more about Ian Calvert and how he can help you further, you can visit his website here

Or just fill in the form below to discuss this article more……

 

 

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1 Comment Posted in Assisting you with Social Media, Business Support, Read..., Social Business Applications Tagged #Hootsuite, Events, Hoot Ambassadors, HootAMB, HootAMB's, HootCHAT, HootSWAG, Hootup, Hootup's, Owly, Social Business, Social Collabo, Social Engagement, SocialBusiness, SocialCollaboration, SocialEngagement, Training, Webinars

Part 1 of “Are you wanting more than just a Social Business platform?”

Posted by ianmcalvert on June 10, 2015

Welcome to Part One in the series of “Are you wanting more than just a Social Business platform?”

This is where I look at various Social Business platforms which I use and what my thoughts are on them….

I keep being asked as to why I like to be part of a community and whether communities work within the Social Business Marketplace and the Applications that are available.

Well for me the answer is simple….

YES

Why?

Well, yes some Social Business platforms are just platforms and never pay you attention or recognise you – such as Facebook, Google or Twitter for example. Which, if it wasn’t for you, they wouldn’t exist and yet if you are in the Social Business arena, they are happy to invite you to events but they never engage or recognise you!

Despite YOU promoting and selling their services!!

Hence, whilst there are many more like the above that I use and the same happens across the majority of Social Business platforms, there are some, that make you feel welcome by engaging with you, promoting you, sending you out of the blue gifts or rewarding you financially for being active in their community.

So, this is the first in a series of blogs where I highlight Social Business platforms actually understand the power of Social Collaboration and Social Engagement.

 

Hootsuite – a platform that goes beyond just been a Social Business Platform

Capture Hootsuite Logo

A few years ago (I think it was actually more like about 5 or 6 years or more!!) when I was entering the arena of moving from just using Social Media for “Personal Use” to embracing and incorporating it in to my “Business Toolbox” –  I wanted a facility that would make things easier for myself when managing and finding information. After evaluating many platforms, the one I settled on from day one was Hootsuite.

One of the main reasons that struck back them, I was welcomed after signing-up for the free trial and asked if I wanted any help or assistance. After the trial ended, it didn’t stop, I was regularly emailed to ask if I was need any help, informed about helpful hints, videos and guides for me to use to enable making using Hootsuite easier to understand. I have to say, too many companies once you sign up, never reach out to you again unless it is to send you an invoice – this is a huge mistake when it comes to Social Engagement!

IMG_3116 Hootsuite are in my opinion, are a “Two-Way Company” where they want to involve you and help you develop further by inviting you to take part in webinars on a regular basis. This is where they help you to learn more (or just a refresher course) on the Hootsuite platform.

All of the above was a great conception from day one of Hootsuite and has continued to the present day – but now it is even better!

Hootsuite have moved forward with the Webinars making them interactive, so you can ask questions not just though the Webinar Chatroom Facility but by raising questions via Twitter and using the relevant Webinar hashtag too! This means that not only are you able to ask the presenters questions but ask them to go back and explain something that you may have missed or didn’t understand.

To take this more educational (and again interactive), they have introduced weekly chat sessions on Twitter where they have Guest Q&A sessions with people who can offer you even more help as well as been able to interact with them.

Several years ago – I guess due to my enthusiasm of the product and that I was recommending the Hootsuite programme to so many – I was asked by Hootsuite if I would like to become a Hootsuite Ambassador which I was proud to accept.

The Hootsuite Ammbassador Community has grown substanially since I was asked and today, stand at 1,000 Ambassadors Worldwide. These Ambassadors have their owne groups and platforms where they can help one another, share features, share tips and provide assistance too in helping one another. They even Collaborate to help each other to create and promote Hootsuite Events too!

The Hootsuite Community even has it’s own account on Twitter – @HootCommunity – and coupled with the Ambassador hashtag – #HootAMB – you are able to interact drectly with the community or the Ambassadors directly. Thus, allowing you to learn, discover and ask either the Community or Ambassadors by asking them questions on Twitter.

Last year, I was fortunate to be invited to #CvHL in London where Hootsuite had chosen as the event and location to announce it’s re-brand, have guests to explain how and why they use Hootsuite to manage their business plus have some great guest speakers to explain how they see the world of social Business moving forward including NATO and Twitter.

At the event, Hootsuite were giving away gifts – which went very fast – and they were seeking guests opinions on them. With the feedback received, they decided to go one step further!

They expanded the Ambassador Programme to create further interaction, sharing, feedback and offering REWARDS !!

This then followed with the launch of the Ambassador Hub which means all this working together and helping provide feedback to Hootsuite were awarded reward points to claim rewards. These rewards were either for Ambassadors to have themselves or share/gvie to their clients.

IMG_2510Just before Christmas, I was fortunate to be sent – out of the blue – a small box as token of appreciation for the help that I had given Hootsuite, some notebooks, stickers, pins (or badges as we call them here in the UK) and a bandana! Whilst this may be dismissed by many, it was not asked for or requested!!

In my opinion, it just goes to show that Hootsuite care about just their customers, but the people who actually help them too.

IMG_3114

As you can see here, the rewards which they call HootSWAG – #HootSWAG – includes items such as Pins (or badges as we call them here in the UK), Stickers, Powerchargers, Hootsuite Notebooks, Mugs and now even Owly too!!

 

All of which mean that Hootsuite are now enabling the Ambassadors to not only continue to promote Hootsuite but share the Rewards / #HootSWAG with people attending their events or give to their clients.

IMG_3120    IMG_3116

 

 

 

#HootSWAG rewards proved so popular that requests and ideas for future rewards came thick and fast plus members of the public and non-customers started asking too – thus the #HootSWAG Shop was born!

Through the #HootSWAG Shop (which is currently only available in Canada and the US at present), you can a wider of products (some that even Ambassadors can’t get through th Rewards Programme) including items such as

  • Mugs
  • Pens
  • Pins (Badges)
  • Hootsuite Notebooks
  • Stickers
  • Hoodies
  • Moleskin Notebooks
  • Up-cycle Lunch Bags
  • T-shirts
  • Laptop bags

with of course the chance for you to buy your own Owly and many more items being added all the time…..

IMG_3118 IMG_2786

People even started sharing photos on Facebook, Google, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, that Hootsuite are now asking people to send in #HootSWAG selfies too!!

IMG_3117 Seems the selfie is here to stay – even within the Hootsuite Community!!

 

 

So, I hope you see, what I am mean by companies going that extra mile and that “Hootsuite – a platform that goes beyond just been a Social Business Platform” does show that Hootsuite are looking beyond their customer base, and thus enable and offer items, products, services, tutorials, events and webinars to everyone – customers or non-customers.

Can you really name many other companies that offer an all round interactive experience like?

The number of companies are small and over the next few weeks, I will again share with you other companies that are just like Hootsuite and understand the terms

Social Collaboration

and

Social Engagement

I hope that you will enjoy the next Application that I will be highlighting just as much as you did reading this….

IMG_2519

 Oh and if you are wondering what I did with the Hootsuite Bandana they sent me –  Idid nothing as @SamsBellaBob claimed it and is enjoying it alongside of her collection of Bandanas….

To learn more about bringing the future into your business today and setting you on the correct path for your future, as well as understanding the forward thinking and the views & opinions of Ian Calvert, the research for other companies that he is looking into and undertaking for companies or just to learn more about Ian Calvert and how he can help you further, you can visit his website here

Or just fill in the form below to discuss this article more……

 

 

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Leave a comment Posted in Assisting you with Social Media, Business Networking, Business Observations, Business Support, Changes to make society better, Read..., Social Business Applications Tagged #Hootsuite, Ambassador, Facebook, Google+, HootAMB, Linkedin, Social Business, Social Collaboration, Social Engagement, SocialBusiness, SocialCollaboration, SocialEngagement, Twitter

Big companies are really missing the point! Oh and opportunities too….

Posted by ianmcalvert on April 24, 2015

 Over the last 18 months I have been very fortunate to be involved with four companies – all US-based – which are on the verge of becoming huge game changers…..

But guess what – they aren’t taking action and delivering the ability they have created and keep talking each day about!

These four companies just think the world is how they have worked for last 20 plus years coupled with the fact the bigger client is the only way to make money! Well let’s break this down shall we…..

The last 20 years…..

These companies are still thinking that brochures, whitepapers and research papers are the way forward and by creating four pages of information or more is what people want – WRONG!!

Today, we have the internet and you can find information within seconds that can be read in three minutes or less which is about average maximum length people are looking for information to scan and gain the relevant key points. They aren’t grasping why Infographics have become so popular and the small less graphic packed/intense Infographics are the most popular and shared.

The ways of the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s are way gone and just because the decision makers that are their target client base are from these times, the influencers and end-users are from the Generation X and Y era and want things short and fast.

Foundation building is key and by not changing now – with Millennials and Generation Z starting to appear around the corner –  adoption to change is needed now to embed today’s information into the research of the future!

Big isn’t better or sustainable long-term…..

When you speak to these companies, they are looking at selling services either directly or through Channel Partners to companies with at least 5o, 100, 150 or above employees and this is the bench mark they see!

If a company has less than these numbers, then they are considered to be less than a Small Business (ie SMB or SME) and not worth dealing with, as they aren’t seen to be cost-effective to deal with!

So, instead of selling their products or services to these companies now and getting revenue in, they will wait SIX, TWELVE or EIGHTEEN months before getting their 1st sale because it is a big number – HUGE FAIL!!

They need to educate themselves as the business world has changed and is moving even faster! For an example as to how things are changing, let’s look at these UK figures and what this means:-

  • Micro Business – 5,010,000 – 0-9 employees
  • Small Business – 195,000 – 10-49 employees
  • Medium Business – 31,000 – 50-249 employees
  • Large Business – 6,000 – 250 plus employees

So according to the ONS figures released in April 2015, 31,050,000 people are currently in work with data from elsewhere stating that as an 1 in 7 people are self-employed (which relates to 4,435,714 out of the 5,010,000 Micro Businesses listed above).

Taken either way, the figures of 4.436M or 5.010M are a huge number been over looked and not really been looked after properly. Recent figures stated that this will rise from One in SEVEN to One in FOUR by 2020 with some even predicting this will drop to 2018!!

So based on 31.05M being employed today, a 1 in 4 self-employed rate would mean 7,762,500 million people needing Applications and Products that meet their needs!

What is the answer?

The answer is simple and right in front of them but they aren’t prepared to use and actually look after this sector – which is strange……

As these Four Companies are using self-employed contractors or companies employing less than 49 – in most cases less than 25-30 each and every day!

With the figures riding from 1 in 7 to 1 in 4 within less than 5 years, the number of small and medium businesses will increase too as the International and Corporate companies reduce in size via either outsourcing or adopting new technology.

If you accompany the fact that over this period, that Technology will be reducing manual labour too in manufacturing, engineering, building, transportation etc, then these companies need to start thinking of the future now….and not chasing the big dreams of huge sales instead when the services they are offering are superseded by newer services or their target market has shrunk and the service offering has to be downsized!

So if – in my honest opinion – these companies woke up and listened and could see what small/micro businesses and self-employed/entrepreneurs are seeing then…..

– Company A:-

  • will see that creating a locally business focused team, they can create a more focused, collaborating and engaging team to look after their clients better. By looking after their clients better, they will find out why customers aren’t buying upgrades, bolt on extras or utilising their products to their full potential

– Company B:-

  • have created a virtual environment containing so many things that self-employed people and entrepreneurs can take parts of and use them together as a bigger picture. They need to create a team of people are mirrored in each country that are from ground up to keep them focused on what they need to be providing from the feedback obtained. They need to communicate and follow through with speed that people want, expect and can get themselves like they already do elsewhere via various Social Business platforms already. The small and micro businesses want products that can be brought easily, installed and ready to go immediately as will been specific to meet their needs without too much bespoking via others

– Company C:-

  • by taking the products they have and creating localised teams to be there to support and deliver, the take up of their products could increase, whilst gather greater feedback to allow their developers to be constantly updating and resolving issues. Again, they need to remove the Sales Partners who are overcharging for their projects and making things too complicated thus, meaning they are going for free or cheaper open-source services instead

– Company D:-

  • by rolling out the services and offerings they have, the revenue would be flowing and feedback will really take them to another level and the market by storm instead of delaying until they think they are ready with the next generation and releasing something that has fewer features and is way too complicated for the growing new business arena

These aren’t hard things to change and implement as the Micro Business market does this each and every day to great success because they are listening and implementing feedback quickly.

The need to gather thoughts and feedback is also key but yet again companies are missing out on this they do not see the need to plan for feedback or gather information to help both with next launch/event and people’s thoughts on what said or shown.

So, really get a quick impression on where you thing your company should be going next, speak to your children or teenagers within your family and ask them about what they want, what or how do they want the information to make them choose is and when/how do they want the product/service?

You will be so surprised and shocked at the answers…..

To learn more about bringing the future into your business today and setting you on the correct path for your future, as well as understanding the forward thinking and the views & opinions of Ian Calvert, the research for other companies that he is looking into and undertaking for companies or just to learn more about Ian Calvert and how he can help you further, you can visit his website here

Or just fill in the form below to discuss this article more……

 

 

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