It costs five to fifty times more to find a new customer than sell more to your existing customers.  We’re working with a lot of clients helping them to increase sales and this is nearly always one of the best places to start.  It’s a common fault – and we’re probably guilty of it ourselves! [...]

Is the social housing sector being over cautious in not embracing social media?  Members of The Guardian’s housing network certainly think so.  In February a poll of Guardian housing network members revealed that 83 per cent do not think the housing sector is realising the full potential of social media. A month after this poll [...]

A year ago, when I wrote our free ebook on social media for business, we knew that LinkedIn would work – but we didn’t really have the evidence.  Now a year on, we are starting to hear great stories. So here are the ways that your business can win business from LinkedIn, based on the [...]

by Jon Buscall, head of Jontus Media, a digital marketing agency in Stockholm, Sweden. He hosts the weekly Online Marketing & Communications Podcast. He is also the author of an ebook and video training series Launch a Podcast and Grow Your Business. Despite the regular calls that podcasting is dead, let me assure you that [...]

Social media for Managing Partners – opportunities and threats Earlier this month, we were invited to speak at the Yorkshire branch of the global Managing Partners’ Forum. What are the issues worrying heads of professional firms?  Where do they see the opportunities in social media? The aim of the forum is to bring professionals from [...]

Recently I ran a PR and social media workshop in York for tourism businesses with Denise Howard OBE, director of Welcometraining.  All the participants were finalists in Visit York’s Tourism Awards. Entering and winning awards is a great way for businesses and organisations in any sector to achieve effective and low cost PR.  You can [...]

At the beginning of March, the Guardian released its new TV advert. We’ve since used the YouTube clip of the ad in client meetings, workshops and LinkedIn discussions to help illustrate how the media landscape is changing – and show senior professionals why social media should be integrated into business strategy at the highest level. [...]

Earlier this year we decided to look at new markets – and to go to Dubai.  How do you go about researching and winning new business from an entirely new market?  Here is how we did it – from a standing start in mid January.  What worked?  What didn’t?  We share it all with you [...]

A disaster on a school trip is every head’s worst nightmare.  You are trying to cope with anxious parents while journalists and photographers are camped outside the school gates. Every year we see national newspaper headlines about students injured or killed on school skiing trips or outdoor activities.  Incidents involving cyber bullying, inappropriate behaviour on [...]

Last year I wrote an ebook on social media for business.  In it I outlined what I thought the rules should be for connecting to people on LinkedIn.  These are that they should be people who -          You do business with -          You would have a drink with after a meeting -          You would recommend [...]