I thought I would just show you a couple of before and after shots... for my blog.

I always think that blogging platform templates are great places to start but should never be used as they are for your own personal or business blog.

You need to look at how you can customise it to make it your own. Your own personal or company brand is important and looking like someone else won't help. I have been on many business blogs and I wont embarrass some of them by showing how they look the same because they have used the same wordpress template, and they are not alone.

Customising a blog can be a daunting task for many as they think that they need to dig deep in code and use language like CSS, SEO and Widgets... what do these really mean to the everyday blogger?

As a designer and web developer I am conscious that I can do these things where many can't.

Here are 4 simple tips that work in most blogging platforms for customisation.

1. Always put your photo on the blog - There is no one else like you!
2. Most blogging platforms allow you to change the styling to layout, colours, text, links and images through an on screen interface - tweak everything, even if it is just a little.
3. Dress your blog with a great header - Magazines use a masthead design to distinguish themselves from crowd, you should do the same. Upload a great image to use as your header.
4. Link your blog from your own web address - See mine... http://www.anthodges.co.uk points to http://anthodges.posterous.com. This helps distinguish from all other posterous.com websites

My blog here started life like this:

...and after a complete re-design and coding of a new template I ended up with this:

What do you think? If you have a posterous blog and would like me to help, just get in touch.

Filed under  //   Blogging   Design   Social Media   Stuff  

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Recently I had a post removed from the Graphic Design Professional Group on LinkedIn (Link to the group) that I am a member of and wanted to share about it here.

[UPDATE: Now I have been kicked out of the group... See a screenshot of my post on the forum asking for feedback on this]

Filed under  //   LinkedIn   Social Media  

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(A post from the toinfinity blog)

I think that in 2009 we all did social media and twitter to death! Agree? What's next?

I was sent a link a couple of weeks ago to a slide share presentation by Rory Murray [Link] but I wanted to pick up on one thing that stood out to me... a common lie that is spouted by many ' Gurus' and 'Experts' about the cost of Twitter and other social media to your business.

A comparison is done on slide 12 between direct mail, billboard advertising and twitter:

It's hard to see how these figures equate to reality - Does the cost also detail the time and effort put into the design, printing etc of the direct mail and billboard advertising? Is the number of customers a true reflection on the ROI these things are so hard to measure?

For one moment do I not believe that Twitter is FREE.

Any one saying this should be hung drawn and quarter for misleading people. The cost involved may not initially be cold hard cash, but I do think that there are other costs that a few (not all) of these so called experts often leave out.

The real cost = Your time!

Social media marketing, like any other marketing vehicle, is a tool to be used in line with your overall marketing strategy for your business. It is not something that should be treated as separate.

The first thing that you will need to understand is the reasoning behind these guys and gals saying it is 'vital for the survival of your business to be on Twitter' and 'The return on your investment is massive!' - if you don't know how to drive a tank, you're gonna be no good in war. Don't jump into social media until you know why you should and how your business will benefit from it. You could just end up wasting your time.

If after looking at this and you feel that there would be a benefit, you may need to then dig in and learn how to use it (and all other related mobile applications and desktop programmes) and how not to use it. Oh... this will not happen in an instant... it will take time.

Once you've learned how to use the system there is then the small matter of either generating content or syndicate other peoples content over the social media platforms... and the small matter of engaging with people that ask questions of you, send you direct messages and also being involved in conversations to generate interest in particular subjects. Will this all happen without you giving any focussed time and effort? No... it will take up more of your time.

Then once you start - how is it going to reflect on you, your brand and your business activities if you stop because you can't keep up. Staying active and in the networks is key to the 'building relationships' focus on social media platforms. More time to plan for the future!

So how do people really find the time to do this whole social media thing?

All in all this whole business of time is the big fear that I hear many businesses speak about. 'I just don't have the time to do all of this' - after sitting down with them and showing them ways in which they can streamline and put strategy to this activity it becomes less of a headache and much more of a great profile building and 'profitable' long term relationship building exercise where transactions may indeed fall off the timeline of relationships.

In light of this I have decided to lay on a FREE seminar in Swindon on the 19th February 2010 where I will go through this much more detail. I will also have a couple of people talk about how they benefit for using social media, given their initial response similar to above.

Date and time: Friday 19th February 2010 - 3pm-4pm (then you can go home early!)

Location: Basepoint Business Centre, Swindon, SN5 7EX - click here for directions - (plenty of FREE parking)

To book in on this seminar call me on 01793 238697 or email seminars@toinfinity.co.uk. Spaces are limited as we don't have a huge seminar room, so book in early.

Filed under  //   ROI   Social Media   Twitter  

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OK - I've linked my Twitter account to my Linkedin account so that I can keep people I'm connected to on Linkedin up to date and my followers on Twitter at the same time.

Is this a good thing?

I have already had a comment from a good friend of mine suggesting that I keep them separate, and another comment from someone else telling me it's good to hear that I'm still alive. Their different opinions have got me thinking about why two people that I know, like and trust implicitly would suggest different approaches?

One thing that I have learned over the years is that when it comes to marketing, advertising, social media - communications of any sort - the way that people respond to them and engage with them differs hugely.

I was at a Business Link meeting a few months back where I heard Andy Poulton (@andypoulton) talk about how on the internet people live in little walled gardens. Some people love Linkedin and will only use linked in, forgetting about twitter, myspace, facebook etc - and vica-versa, all because that is what they are comfortable with, that is what they like and that is what they will respond to best. Like my friends mentioned above - one uses both and one only uses Linkedin. The one that thought I was dead uses Linkedin only, because I was living in my little walled garden of Facebook and Twitter.

Tapping into all of these networks in business helps you get noticed, followed, respected, connected and trusted to a much wider audience. From a business perspective, this marriage surely has to be a good thing?

I guess the time commitment you need to give to Linkedin to make it work and the noise, reliability issues and platform limitations of Twitter make each platform useful in their own ways and cause people to sit on the lawn on their walled gardens too - not wanting to leave the comfort that they find there and wanting to ignore the other platform entirely.

Linkedin is seen mainly as a connecting tool ideal for service providers and industry associations. Twitter on the other hand is a microblogging and creative platform useful for service industry type of businesses in the main.

Can you use either tool for the purposes that the other exists for? I believe you can. I have had business through both, chatted to people through both, published through both.

Twitter has become my default networking tool (tweetdeck more like), and with the advent of Google wave (when I get my invite), I am sure that it may event take a back seat then for collaboration and networking purposes.

What do you think of this joining of forces between these online networking super powers?

Will your Linkedin homepage become flush with 100's of tweets and updates, causing you to miss vital connections with other businesses?

Let me know your thoughts... I think for now at least I will leave them intertwined - "What therefore God has joined together, let no one put asunder." Mark 10:9

Filed under  //   Andy Poulton   Business Link   Google Wave   Linkedin   Social media   Tweetdeck   Twitter  

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