I just love Paris…..probably my favourite city. So I couldn’t help sharing some pics I took earlier this year. Hope you like them!

We were out taking more pics the other night…..and we stumbled across the fabulous Brighton Wheel.

Looking rather splendid don’t you think…

I had a great day last week running two social media for business workshops for Brighton & Hove’s Chamber of Commerce – one for beginners and one for advanced users. And it’s fabulous to see so many of the delegates now well on their way to creating an effective and powerful social presence.

One thing I promised is to share some of the videos I used to demonstrate the power of businesses becoming more social. So, for your viewing pleasure, here they are…

And if any of you are interested in further training, do get in touch as I offer bespoke group or 121 training to perfectly suit your specific business needs.

Social Media in Plain English

Social Media Revolution

David Cameron… “Too many twits make a tw**”

Breaking the Super-Injunction in Parliament

What’s the ROI of Social Media?

“The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Old Spice Case Study

KLM Case Study “Spreading Happiness”

“Will It Blend?: iPhone” Blendtec Ad

Alice Dreams Home Page

A few months ago, we were asked to help a fabulous new retail outlet, Alice Dreams, get online – a gorgeous little shop specialising in all things Alice in Wonderland. We were so excited to be dealing with such a unique project – unique as the shop owner planned to create a huge Alice themed mural on the side of the shop.

With such a visual business, we were thrilled to be able to put our photography skills to good use – something that would really help the business stand out online.

We chose to replicate the imagery used for the shop and mural on the website – picking out the same lettering and using as many of the mural images and product photos on all of the pages.

Alice Dreams on Facebook

We created a Facebook page to help keep fans up to date – again, taking advantage of using photos and imagery as much as possible to keep fans engaged.

Alice Dreams on Twitter

And, of course, we set them up on Twitter to start building a network of fans and influencers to help spread the word.

Not a lot sells a product more than a good photograph and we realised this was absolutely key for Alice Dreams.

The gorgeous little shop has been doing brilliantly since it opened in April and we’ve been asked to think about setting up an online shop to help getting the word spreading globally.

Whether you’re an Alice in Wonderland fan or not, do pop by and check out Alice Dreams in Middle Street in Brighton Lanes. And make sure to check out the amazing mural on the side of the building!

Alice Dreams mural

Alice Dreams Shop Front

It’s taken us a little by surprise but one of our most popular services is training. And that’s not just one type of training – we’ve been asked to train on everything from basic computer skills… to intensive 121 communication coaching… to advanced social media marketing techniques. For more information about our training services, take a look at our training page – but please note, we will tailor our training to whatever your needs – so if it’s not listed, please do get in touch.

Here’s a little taster of some of the training we’ve been involved in:

Intensive 121 communication coaching
During April, we provided a bespoke 4 day intensive communication coaching course for a communications professional from Albania. Here’s a little breakdown of the course: Day 1: Developing a communication strategy | Day 2: Creative communication techniques | Day 3: Getting the best results | Day 4: Social media. I loved the intimacy and informal nature of this course – allowing me to really dig deep into the specific needs and requirements of the company.

Half day social media workshops - beginners and advanced

Social media – beginners and advanced workshops
In June, on behalf of the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce,  I’ll be hosting two half day social media workshops – one for beginners and one for the more advanced. These sessions will focus on using social media for business – everything from engaging customers through a Twitter account to developing sophisticated Facebook pages for your business – as well as many more tips and guidance on other social media applications. If you can’t make it, I can run these courses for anyone – as I did for a Brighton based pub group recently, so just get in touch.

Basic computer skills
For many, getting to grips with technology has somehow passed them by  – which these days can be incredibly frustrating. One of my clients was constantly having to ask for help with the most basic of computer functions – so, I suggested a short and simple weekly training session on basic computer skills. After just a few lessons, she’s already become a lot more self-sufficient and is also saving time AND money with not having to constantly ask others to do stuff for her.

A one day workshop on social media for internal communication with media140

Social media in the workplace
In May, in partnership with the lovely folks at media140, I’ll be hosting a one-day workshop on using social media for internal communications. This workshop focuses how being more social inside the organisation can benefit businesses through improved engagement levels, increased advocacy, maximised collaboration and innovation opportunities.

Phone coaching
For those with a busy schedule, phone coaching can be a great way of topping up your skills without too much of an impact on your precious time. One of my clients took me up on this and I’m coaching her through the early stages of getting a bit more social through a Twitter account and Facebook page. We’re managing this through having the odd one hour phone call here and there backed up by email support between phone chats.

Social media training at the Brighton & Hove Business Show

esurgery tasters
At the Brighton & Hove Business show in April, I carried out a series of face to face 15 minute social media surgeries for local businesses either exhibiting or visiting the show. This was a great way for them to get a taster of how they could use social media – such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin – for business. You can read more about the show on our recent blog post.

That’s just a taster of what we can offer. So, if you need training – whether it’s advanced, intensive coaching or simple computer skills, just get in touch.

Main photo thanks to Ian Weir of Shutteritch

I just wanted to say a huge huge thank you to everyone who attended my twitter, facebook and linkedin esurgeries at the Brighton and Hove Business show. I had a wonderful array of businesses asking about embarking on their social journeys – covering florists, singles nights, dental practices, coach trips, sponsorship, skating rinks, accountancy, shiatsu and even knitting!!…to name a few.

It was fantastic to hear how all appreciated the importance of becoming more social and it was great to be able to give them some tips and tricks on how to get started. And I’m looking forward to doing some follow up training and consultancy with many of them as they launch their social strategies. Here’s to Brighton and Hove becoming even more social!

Great event and I look forward to next time!

Here’s my original post……………

On Thursday 7th April, 2011, hundreds of businesses from all over Sussex will visit the Brighton and Hove Business Show. At the show, visitors will get an opportunity to network with other local businesses, talk to over 100 exhibitors about new products and services as well as taking advantage of FREE social media expert advice.

And, hello! Brighton and Hove are proud to be leading these expert sessions.

We’ll be running FREE 15-minute face-to-face social media esurgeries throughout the day covering Twitter and Facebook – providing you with up to the minute information and advice on how your business can benefit from becoming more social.

To book your slot, head on over to the show’s booking page – but get in quick as the slots are getting booked up fast!

The Brighton and Hove Business Show

And, if you hadn’t already heard, the BBC’s Dragons’ Den film production team will be returning to the show giving businesses the opportunity to talk about applying for Dragons’ Den. Check out the flyer below for more information.

Dragons' Den at the Brighton and Hove Business Show

A couple of months ago, I met with Emma D’Arcy, Artistic Director of the Iambic Arts Theatre in Brighton, to look at how we could transform their presence online. She’d had a website up and running for a couple of years and it was looking a little tired and she wasn’t achieving the right levels of search ranking as the SEO was dated and lacking in the right meta data and keywords.

A fresh, new web design for the Iambic Arts Theatre, Brighton

With the Brighton Fringe just a couple of months away, it was vital that we created something with a bit of WOW FACTOR…. something fresh, modern, functional, engaging and with powerful SEO to boost search results.

I’m delighted that we launched their new site at the weekend to coincide with the launch of the Brighton Fringe listings. We gave the site a fresh new and more contemporary look and added much needed online booking functionality and social integration. And, to add some OOMPH, we added photos and videos to really help bring the content alive.

Iambic Arts Theatre's eye-catching Facebook Page

And, to maximise word of mouth opportunities, as well as the chance to improve interaction and conversations with customers, we also launched a fresh new Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter Account.

It’s been an absolute pleasure working on Iambic’s online presence and I’m really excited to see the positive impact and opportunities it generates for Emma over the coming months.

And the feedback so far has been fantastic! Including this wonderful testimonial from Emma…

“I have never experienced working with anyone like Abi in my 25 years of business. She goes over and beyond, in every single way, is a perfectionist and makes the most difficult seem effortless. She has turned round a totally new website for my theatre here in Brighton, and is constantly on hand, with an unflagging support. I shall be recommending her to all my friends/colleagues.  Thank you, Abi.” Emma D’Arcy, Artistic Director, Iambic Arts Theatre, Brighton

As they say, a picture paints a thousand words – and nothing can be more true when it comes to capturing attention online. People often forget about the power of the photo to draw people in and make something more memorable – well, a recent report from the guys at Conversocial shows how photos are proving to be the most engaging updates on Facebook. Take a look at the article here.

The article shows that people are almost 3 times more likely to engage with a photo update than a link update. That’s well worth remembering when you’re managing your Facebook updates. And, definitely something to bear in mind when designing any web page.

Online, people’s attention spans are very short – so it’s important that you quickly grab attention through powerful photos. Have you seen any online spaces that have done a great job with photos?

#themeet140 by the sea, Brighton

Next tweetup: Thursday, March 10th, 2011 – RSVP now!

Last Thursday, 13th January 2010, saw the first #themeet140 by the sea in Brighton. Myself and Steve Ward (@cloudninerec), my partner in crime co-organiser, were both really excited about the event. There’d been a great buzz in the build up to the event, with a brilliant crowd of Sussex based twits keen to get along to their first local #themeet140 as well as some London based #themeet140 veterans registered to come along.

At 4pm, a few of us hard core locals headed for a very wet Brighton pier for some pre-meet fun and frolics. Sadly, Horatio’s bar was closed so, not wanting to dampen spirits, we quickly headed over to The Cricketers for some much needed shelter, some beer/wine/vodka/coffee and a good old chinwag about everything ranging from dropbox.com to tattoos to the weather to venues for future tweetups. And it was great to be joined by @chris_hall1, one of #themeet140′s co-founders.

The main event kicked off at 6pm at The Waterbar in the Thistle Hotel. The Waterbar’s a great space for a tweetup – near enough to the station, round the corner from all the great Brighton shops and just opposite the pier. Perhaps a trifle pricey and an “interesting” choice of background music – but great for our first meetup.

Tweet from @Alice_Reeves

And, after chatting to everyone there, along with looking at the twitter stream through the evening (a whopping 183 of them!!) and afterwards, I think it’s safe to say it was a roaring success. There was a great atmosphere and really friendly buzz about the whole thing. I think this tweet from @Alice_Reeve sums up it up beautifully. Click here if you’d like to take a peek at the full twitter stream for the event.

#themeet140 Brighton word cloud

And this wordcloud captures the essence of what people were tweeting. Click on the image to see a large version of it.

It’s great to see the top tweeters from the night in there as well as some brilliantly positive words and sentiments used through the evening.

And, of course, we took a load of pics. You can see mine below or on Flickr…. and a big thanks to the lovely @saraheadworth for doing a great job of capturing the event. You can see Sara’s pics below or check them out on Flickr.

Our next #themeet140 by the sea, Brighton is on Thursday, March 10th, 2011 – RSVP now! We’re looking around at potential venues right now – if you’ve got any great suggestions, then do drop a comment below or get in touch with me or Steve.

Finally, Steve and I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who made it along – you make these events so special, so thank you. And, we can’t wait to see you at the next one!

#themeet140 by the sea, Brighton

When Steve Ward (@cloudninerec) contacted me a couple of months ago about jointly organising #themeet140 by the sea in Brighton, I jumped at the chance. #themeet140 is one of those tweetups you just don’t want to miss as it seems to attract a very diverse mix of the loveliest, coolest and friendliest of twits. It’s also one of the most informal tweetups – no agenda, a distinct lack of business cards but plenty of friendly banter – just like going out for a few beers with your mates.

Founded by @markofrespect and @chris_hall1, #themeet140 events are now being organised regularly in London, Cheltenham, Glasgow, Bedford and Aberdeen… and it was time to bring it to the seaside.

So, tomorrow (Thursday 13th Jan 2011) sees the first of what we hope to be many #themeet140 events by the sea in Brighton. Steve and I are absolutely thrilled with the response – over 70 registered so far covering a huge mix of local businesses, local individuals and folks traveling down from London. And it’s not just for avid twits – so if you know anyone who’d like to get a little bit more social, do invite them along. To register, just pop over to http://twtvite.com/themeet140b.

Horatio's Bar, Brighton Pier, BN2 1TW

From 4pm: For early birds who fancy some pre-meet fun and frolics, join us at 4pm at Horatio’s Bar on the Pier. After grabbing a quick pint or cuppa, we’ll hit the pier for some fun & games and fish & chips, finishing up at The Thistle (just over the road) at 6pm.

From 6pm: We’ll be in The Water Bar in The Thistle hotel. For London folks travelling down, The Thistle is just a 15 minute walk from the station and the last train back is 11:37 with plenty of regular trains in between.

If you’ve got any questions don’t hesitate to contact me or Steve. Thanks and can’t wait to see you there

The Thistle, Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2GS

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