PR builds your online presence

Jonathan Bowers, September 17th 2007, 12:48PM

As Communications Director at UKFast, I occasionally do presentations to
businesses on the ways they can boost their brand using the Internet. At
the end of last week I did a talk with the CIPR in Manchester on
podcasting as part of an Online PR evening. We did a similar event back in
March this year and when I came to look through the original slides it
amazed me how much has taken place since then.

Having spoken just on audio podcasting earlier this year I knew that
videocasting and the potential of viral video would have to play a part in
this session. I also had to update all statistics about the industry and
it became clear that the various forms of online PR are in some ways
converging. Sites like YouTube, Facebook, Digg.com bring a variety of
functionalities that businesses are really beginning to harness with some
great results.

It was exciting to see a tremendous mix of people in the audience. Present
were some of the North West's largest PR agencies as well as
representatives from some of the regions biggest companies. Some of them
were coming completely fresh to online PR, others had success stories and
enthusiasm with them.

Hearing stories from the audience, two things stood out. One delegate
revealed that the mix within a PR pitch a few months ago was four fifths
offline and one fifth online. Now, they are looking at closer to a
fifty-fifty split. Another told of using Facebook to develop awareness and
how they had not received instant results.

The online PR landscape is developing so rapidly that a lot of what we try
is experimental at this stage. Personally, I think that what is most
important is that we do try it and in many cases, those who persist with
it will be the ones with the most impressive results.

UKFast

Tags: , online_pr, podcasting
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The importance of bespoke programming

Jonathan Bowers, March 13th 2007, 4:46PM

I've just completed a new UKFast podcast on Programmers and there's some really useful information in there from both Lawrence Jones and Steve Logan, MD of Recruitment Software Solutions.

The power that having in-house programmers gives a company is incredible. Lawrence looks at the potential of programming as a tool for company growth and communication, while Steve has developed a piece of software, called Eclipse, that quite literally places the recruitment sector on a whole new online platform.

I also asked both MD's about whether programming plays a part in ranking success with the search engines and there are some great insider tips to be gained from a quick listen.

Tags: podcasting, programming
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Exhibitions and speakers for inspiration

Jonathan Bowers, December 6th 2006, 3:21PM

At the end of November, I was at the B2B North West exhibition at GMEX in Manchester and was very impressed with one thing in particular: They had some very influential and successful entrepreneurs speaking.

I initially went along to record Jacqueline Gold CEO of Ann Summers talking about the challenges that she's overcome to build her £150m a year business. The podcast, part of our Chamber View series is now available for download on our website and is well worth a listen.

Not surprisingly she championed the Internet as a fantastic sales channel, citing almost 100% growth in sales over the last year.

But Jacqueline wasn't the only inspiring speaker at the exhibition. Sahar Hashemi, Simon Woodroffe, Gerald Ratner and Bob Geldof were all giving their take on 'making it' in business. I would say that the speakers were probably the single most important aspect of the exhibition and hope the Manchester community took their chance to learn from all this success.

If you missed out, the Jacqueline Gold interview, conducted by Angie Robinson of the GM Chamber addresses some great topics, including the lack of female entrepreneurs, motivating your workforce and innovative channels for sale.

Tags: motivational speakers, exhibitions, podcasting
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Podcasting for all Manchester businesses

Jonathan Bowers, November 7th 2006, 10:12AM

Since beginning our collaboration with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce last month, we've released two great podcasts.

The first covers economic secretary Ed Balls' visit to Manchester in October (as mentioned here last month) and answers some of the regions biggest questions about government funding and the ways to direct the finances to strong economic cities like Manchester.

The second takes a very different angle on Manchester businesses, presenting the highlights from the MEN Business of the Year Awards, which took place last week. There are interviews with all the winners and some opinions from Chris Barry, business editor at the MEN and Angie Robinson, chief executive of the GM Chamber.

The partnership is designed to offer all businesses the opportunities that only a few have access to.

You can download Ed Balls and the MEN Awards, or go to the UKFast Podcast page to find out more.

Tags: manchester_businesses, podcasting
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Polticians and the power of the web

Jonathan Bowers, October 4th 2006, 11:58AM

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has been to meet Tony Blair and talk at the Conservative Party Conference this week. He's been talking about the people power the Net has created and its effect on politics.

It's an interesting topic. It has already been said that the next US election will be won on the Internet and there are a growing number of UK MPs with their own blogs encouraging debate online.

I went to Boris Johnson's blog site today to see what his views on Schmidt's talk were, but he may be too busy taking on Jamie Oliver at the moment to give comment on this Internet issue.

Tomorrow, I am going to a Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce event to produce a podcast on Ed Balls, MP for Normanton's talks to local businesses. As one of Gordon Browns inner circle, I might ask Ed what involvement he sees the Internet having in the next UK general election.

When the podcast is finished I'll post a link here.

Tags: podcasting, politics
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