Not just a label
"Strait Jacket" can be worn as t-shirt or dress. Patriziabel Sito
Cottage industry is on the rise with the success of online store fronts like Etsy and NOT JUST A LABEL (NJAL) is just such a site taking it’s existing social network of rising fashion stars and enabling them to sell one-off designer peices via the launch of a new online store.
Based on market research by the company showing that “today’s consumer is looking for unique and one-off designer garments” the new store will feature items selected by the NJAL team plus key industry figures. The idea is a new concept to showcase design talent by selling fashion which may not normally be considered commercially viable.
Will it work? New, exclusive, limited, alternative – sounds like a recipe for fashion success to me.
Ask and ye shall receive: ByUnderground
In December last year I attended a bloggers briefing held by Transport for London on how they’re planning to communicate transport info to the public, particularly via web and mobile.
Although I never typed up my thoughts from that meeting the clever folks at Inreal Technologies, a Cambridge based start-up, spotted a comment I’d left on Annie Mole’s blog stating that what most interested me would be mobile applications for transport info.
Inreal offers a free app called byunderground which differs from similar sites (like TFL’s wap service). Here’s some of the key features:
BTMYPLACE.com: things to do in London on your mobile
The Former New Piccadilly Restaurant
With that darned iPhone everywhere I’ve been feeling left out on the mobile apps front while still touting last years “it” phone the N95. Then, BT MyPlace launched and with it’s mobile element I had high hopes for it quietly becoming very useful for me.
But I honestly can’t tell you much how it’s worked for me because, after signing up, I’ve never been able to get a handle on the service. I use web and mobile services all the time, well beyond the average consumer, but getting running using this service has me hitting a wall. Why? A couple of things haven’t helped:
- there’s no getting started process or prompts. You sign up and then that’s it, you have to proactively start accessing the service like a pro
- wi-fi: I never use on my mobile in London or think about logging on to a BT OpenZone with my laptop just to use this service for free
I really wanted to make Bt MyPlace work. It’s a strong idea, they have all the local knowledge to make it good, it’s new, it’ll grow and develop, right?
If you want to try it for yourself (and then show me how) there’s no time like the present because you can currently win an Acer Netbook.
Just go to www.btmyplace.com, log-on to the competitions section and tell them your ‘best kept secrets in Westminster’. Could be your favourite pub, church, shop, market stall, greasy spoon, monument, cafe, cemetary…
Plebble: Managing customer complaints online
Plebble manages feedback about companies and organisations online. Now managing customer complaints on the web is not new, I mean I’ve previously posted about what happened when I had a wee rant on Twitter once and that seems to be more and more common these days, but this new site has got me excited.
It’s not just another channel for ‘Disgruntled of Tunbridge Wells’ to spout bile on. Plebble is managing those conversations in a number of ways and converting dialogue into opportunity by providing businesses with feedback and access to customers.
The democratisation of the web has already come and revolutionised the way we do business. More and more customers are turning to the web to leverage their consumer power. The days are fading when brands ask me how to “stop bloggers saying mean things” and even more are looking at how best to nurture conversations.
Plebble brings together some of the best elements of online customer feedback and takes into account there will always be some brands, big and small, that:
- nobody wants to hang out with on a brand site or in social spaces like Facebook
- will mainly get negative mentions online (in some sectors, happy customers are quiet customers)
- are strapped for cash to resource online CRM
This is true “e-mocracy”, as Prebble calls it, with a framework to prevent it descending into some Lord of the Flies style brand persecution. I like it.
P.S. British Gas, I am watching you…
Measuring Social Media: eCairn Conversation(TM) Dashboard
I’ve been trialling the eCairn Conversation(TM) Dashboard for just over a year now (thanks to some clever outreach and the persistance the lovely Laurent Pfertzel).
The product has really evolved and now ticks a lot of boxes for PRs conducting social media outreach programmes;
- Build a network of Social Media communities using your own lists OR their search feature and collated blog lists
- Measure influence of your network
- Track conversations across multiple platforms inc Twitter, Video sites, forums
- Organise and manage team activity online
- Measure impact of engagement
The company has a nice approach to building an authentic network and the product’s intended to give you the tools to manage & measure that process. They must know what they’re doing too as they’ve managed to nurture a relationship with me over the months and now look, here I am advocating you sign up for free trial! 
Of course I’d still like to see some changes but their responsiveness to feedback and speed of development gives me confidence this is a Social Media tool with a lot of potential.
Groove Armada and Bacardi: Bliveshare.com
Having friends helps
The Groove Armada and Bacardi partnership announced last year was significant and heralded a new era of commercial partnerships with content creators, not just for the music industry. So is their first digital output, a music distribution platform called Bliveshare, going to set the world on fire?
Is SMARTA a smarter way to start a business?
Have Theo and Deborah backed a winner?
Last week saw the launch of Smarta, a new advice and social networking destination for budding entrepreneurs. But is it a smarter way to do business than existing sites like Business Link and LinkedIn?
Well it’s certainly prettier than Business Link and there’s some great resource on there, as well there should with Bebo founder Michael Birch, Dragons Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden, plus Yo! Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe backing the venture.
Its success remains to be seen in the community it can build. I worry LinkedIn is too ahead of the game now. Smarta only has a handful of faceless profiles slowly being added to the site. Will we spend time getting our profiles and network to the same level as where we’ve invested elsewhere?
Free marketing and PR resources online
Sharing is caring
Something I like about working in this industry is that PR & Marketing agencies, who traditionally are a tad competitive and protective about IP, suddenly get great at sharing knowledge when it comes to social media.
The concept Wikinomics explains the business benefits of mass collaboration and if you’re one of the agencies still not open to the idea of sharing anything at all, then read it. Here’s a round-up of some of my favourite resources on the web. In the spirit of sharing what’s your favourites?
- Nixon McInnes eBooks: Currently 7 chapters in their series “A marketers guide to Social Media”
- iCrossing eBooks: 2006’s “What is Social Media” is still relevant for newbies and they recently added “Brands in Networks”
- Fallon Brainfood: Planners from the award winning agency have a monthly lunch and the fruits of their thinking have been shared; from live tweeting, to video and slidecasts
- SEO Chicks’ “How to lists”: Not just Search tips
- PNeo introduction to Online PR: Every single post full of “how to” and “what is” explanatory goodness
- Immediate Future Social Media Glossary: Even if you know your “above the fold” to your “XML“ you might still want to point colleagues and clients here to brush up
- e-consultancy: Not an agency but my ultimate go-to destination for useful information
- TED: Again, not an agency, but worth mentioning. The inspiring talks covering technology, entertainment and design are of interest for anyone in business or education
I’d also like to include a couple of my clients who have created some useful resources themselves.
FRUKT, the music and branding experts, recently began a series of talks called the ‘FRUKT Sessions’. The slidecasts from their 2nd event are here and I’d love to hear your feedback.
Don’t forget Attentio’s free blog topic trend tool, Trendpedia, and they now have a series of whitepapers about social media and industry specific trends.
More How to promote your music via social media
My Chemical Toilet praises the artist Little Boots’ use of social media to promote herself and engage with her audience.
Personally I like the fact that even as she’s about to hit the big time she does all the MySpace / YouTube / blog stuff herself. It allows her intelligence and sense of humour to come across, and you can’t help warming to her. Of course if she really makes it that’ll all be handed over to a lackey, but at this point it’s an example of how pop stars can use “social media” to promote themselves beyond just bunging a few tracks onto their MySpace. Or making videos that make them look like dicks.
Is it all pointless once marketers get involved ‘helping’ maintain social media platforms on behalf of artists? Or, is this just something we need to stop being precious about, much in the same way we accept stars have been media trained and not every autographed pic will be signed personally. What do you think?
How to promote your music via Social Media
What a week. First I nab the goods from children’s author Alex Milway on How to promote your children’s book via Social Media then the ever talented solobasssteve whips up a similar post for musos with ‘Social Media- first principles for musicians‘.
At this rate I may never have to think of an original thought again!
Both new and established creatives are lucky; they don’t need to wait for help from fancy agents or publicists and can take hold of their online self-promotion today with these masters sharing their best tips.
About:
I'm Darika Ahrens and I help brands develop marketing strategies for Social Media.
My background is in Public Relations for companies like Orange, Microsoft, Philips, HTC, Yell.com, and Estee Lauder. I've worked with and trained some of the UK's top agencies.
In 2009 the Financial Times referred to me as "a new breed of business matchmaker" due to my network of contacts and way I work creating bespoke teams to deliver projects.