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News, opinions and advice on marketing and the rapidly evolving media landscape.
2016 ‘millennium’ glitch delivers text messages from the future
We'd barely concluded our 2009 Dumb Report rankings earlier this week when the Twittersphere lit up with reports that a "sizeable" number of Bank of Queensland and BankWest ATM and eftpos machines had malfunctioned due to an internal glitch of 'millenium' proportions.
How to build a business in 7 days for under $500 [Day#3: The Pitch]
So you want to start a business but time and money are holding you back? Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin has set himself the challenge of launching a startup in seven days for less than $500. He’s posting daily summaries for seven days. This is his third post in the series. If you’re new to this series, it’s worth reading the preceding posts for context.
MIT students develop ‘Gaydar’ software to out social networkers
Two MIT students have developed software that uses an algorithm to analyse friendship associations on Facebook and predict whether users are gay.
The ABC of effective selling [going back to the often-forgotten basics…]
Bold statement alert: Everybody lives by selling something. Why then do so many of us leave the sales process to chance? It’s interesting that the majority of Australian business leaders - whether from big business or the SME sector - all experience similar challenges with sales planning, sales prospecting and sales communication. Many businesses lack robust sales processes for its products, services and people - this is a big business blunder.
Do you really want to stuff up your LinkedIn profile? Here’s some advice: don’t...
There’s a really annoying trend that seems to have emerged lately where people have stuffed their LinkedIn profiles full of keywords -- kind of like the early black hat cowboy days of SEO. Keyword stuffing makes you look desperate for attention. If everyone does this it becomes a race to the bottom to get up to the top.
Pete Williams’ EXTREME ‘content leverage system’ video
If you attended yesterday's webinar with Pete Williams on outsourcing, offshoring and crowdsourcing, you might recall that I asked Pete whether we could share a video of his that I was fortunate enough to stumble across in the not-so-distant past. As mentioned, this video really got my head spinning. It begins with one logical and familiar example of outsourcing (creating content for a website) and then takes the process to the... wait for it... EXTREME! (Because Pete's an outsourcing 'extremist', see?)
Lessons from a LinkedIn lush: Why I regret becoming an open networker
One of the decisions I made when I joined LinkedIn was to become an “open networker.” I’m on a list that says I am open to connecting. Three years later and I have thousands of first-degree connections. Now... I kind of regret it.
Know your niche! It’s working for the reinvented TigerAir [VIDEO]
One of the most fundamental parts of any marketing campaign is, knowing exactly who you are talking to.
The airline industry in Australia is no...
Have you ever sacked a client?
Having just terminated a relationship with a client, David Moore considers the flawed client service model that sees the provider living on eggshells.
Australian brands are missing out on extra revenue by not listening and engaging with...
The Australian Top 50 Brand Love List showed there are a lot of home-grown companies missing out on revenue dollars due to not listening and engaging with their customers on social media.
Nicole McIver, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Winner
Nicole McIver's Wholesale Baby delivers its entrepreneurial punch with a satisfying WAHM. McIver, along with nine agents who work for her selling wholesale child, maternity and parenting products to retailers, are work-at-home moms. She and the agents work on behalf of more than 50 brands, selling products to thousands of retailers.
Do you write for search engines or for people?
You’ll hear plenty of SEO specialists and your friendly neighbourhood search engine hobbyists touting the phrase, “Write for people, not search engines”. What a load of crock. What’s the point of writing for visitors if you have none?
Borders bankruptcy and the not-so-mysterious demise of the ice-barons [What do you think will...
The bankruptcy of Borders naturally got chins wagging at Anthill HQ, prompting us to consider what other big changes might be on the horizon, leading us to create our own short-list of things on the commercial endangered list. What do you think will become obsolete in the next decade?
Even the genius of San Francisco tech companies can’t solve the hipster problem [VIDEO]
Oh great. This is just what we need. San Fransisco is about to become even smarter. Some of the greatest tech companies, and the minds behind them, are joining forces to solve the problems of the city itself.
Those music video mad geniuses in OK Go get interactive in latest song
We've seen the imaginative guys from OK Go on treadmills. We've seen the band channel Rube Goldberg and share the camera with awesome dogs. For their latest trick, these musical masters of the viral video tried their most daring stunt yet -- making a vid dressed in skintight, pond-green unitards.
The most amazing printer yet; or perhaps it’s a cat toy [VIDEO]
This printer began its life as an idea funded on Kickstarter.
But, now it's a reality.
Think of it as a cross between a Roomba robot...
Create a unique selling point (then deliver on your promises…)
When promoting your product or service, it’s easy to miss a key trick by failing to make what you’re selling unique. The term ‘Unique Selling Point’ (USP) was first coined in the 1940s, and first defined in print by advertising executive Rosser Reeves in 1961. A good current example of a clear USP is the well-known brand Head & Shoulders’ "You get rid of dandruff."
Your sales script is just the beginning [but for goodness sake make sure it’s...
Can you tell when someone is reading from a script? While many organisations understand and appreciate the importance of a sales script, a clumsily-worded pitch teamed with awkward delivery is unlikely to inspire confidence in your business. Similarly, a salesperson who’s unable to think on their feet when the prospect strays off-script makes your brand look amateurish.
Here are four ways to optimise your business’ lead generation and qualification
While webinar analytics are valuable in and of themselves, they become invaluable when delivered to a company’s marketing automation platform. For marketing automation, bigger data leads to greater visibility.
Three easy wins when using LinkedIn with David Hobson [FREE REPORT]
"If you’re pressed for time, I'm here to help."
In this report, David Hobson will show you three quick wins - things you can do to
pimp out your LinkedIn profile in 15 minutes or less.
