Got To Let Go

Here at fatBuzz we have been working closely with Jai McDowall, a Scottish recording artist who won the fifth series of Britains Got Talent in June 2011, for the past few months.

We've been assisting with his social media leading up to the launch of his debut single "Got To Let Go" which was released on Sunday the 19th of May.

Since we have been working with Jai, the social media activity has dramatically increased with the YouTube hits now at 20,120 since it was uploaded just two months ago!

You can watch his latest music video below.

   

The team at fatBuzz like his song so much that we play it every Friday. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Please show your support for Jai and buy a copy of his single HERE.

If you enjoyed Jai's video, please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

Social Media Podcast 54 - Meilee talks Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon and, the ABC of what not to do on Social Media

We released Social Media Podcast No.53 four days ago to discuss the incredible story of Amy's Baking Company in Arizona.  The story was originally brought to our attention by Meilee Anderson, a Social Media Podcast listener in Seattle who was kind enough to let us know about the Facebook meltdown as it was happening last Monday evening.

If you have listened to Social Media Podcast No.53, you will know the Facebook likes had gone from around 1680 on Monday evening to 50,000 on Wednesday afternoon - they now have 91,352 on the page and it is continuing to grow.

On podcast No.54 we are fortunate to be joined by Meilee Anderson from Seattle for a chat about the feeling towards Amy and Samy in the United States and where we think the story will go from here.

There is a 'Grand re-opening' planned for Tuesday 21st May when the owners will host a press conference when they claim they will reveal what actually happened to their Facebook page.  On the podcast, Meilee and Gordon discuss the planned re-opening and the appointment of a PR company to handle the crisis.  We also explore the general feeling towards the couple and whether the situation is in any way  recoverable for them.

If you haven't seen the programme yet, you can watch it below, it really is an amazing episode that reveals just why this became such a big story.

We have also included some links below to some of the articles referred to in the podcast.  We would love to find out what you think about the situation so please feel free to leave your comments below.

We hope you enjoy the podcast, if you have any comments to make or topics you would like us to discuss, please leave them here on the blog or on our Facebook Page.

Play the podcast here:

Subscribe/Download Social Media Podcast on iTunes

Watch the Amy's Baking Company episode of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

Compare Amy's food pictures with others found online

The Washinngton Post blog

Would you like a presentation on social media and customer service?
We're offering a range of bespoke or generic presentations on the topic of social media and customer service, if you would like to find out more please go to the following link: Are you prepared to lose control?

Have you listened to the digital copyright podcast?

We continue to see people using images, video content and other files taken from the internet without consideration to potential copyright issues. We would encourage all of our listeners to download Social Media Podcast 50 which clearly outlines what you should and shouldn't do with images sourced online. Find it on iTunes now.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE US TO TALK ABOUT?
If there is a specific topic you would like us to cover in a future podcast please let us know. You can email gordon@fatbuzz.com or send us a message on Twitter @MediaPodcast or, you can post it as a comment on the Social Media Podcast Facebook page.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your on-line community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

Social Media Podcast 53 - Amy and Samy feel the heat in the kitchen - What are the customer service lessons?

For some time now we have been planning to do a Social Media Podcast about the increasing importance of social media for customer service however, the recent incredible story of Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique and Bistro has prompted us to make the podcast now. We were alerted to the story on the evening that it started to unfold on Facebook by Meilee Anderson, a Social Media Podcast listener from Seattle - thank you Meilee for bringing this to our attention in the UK.

Because Meilee contacted us early on we were able to see much of the story unfold and when we first looked at the Facebook page it had around 1680 likes; we actually did a screen grab at 1802 likes and now, 48 hours later, the page has 62,685 likes. During the podcast recording earlier today the total went from around 48,000 to 50,109.

Click to view full size

Normally growth like this is good news but not for Amy and Samy, the owners of Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique and Bistro, this is a genuine kitchen disaster that even Gordon Ramsay couldn't have predicted. In fact, Gordon Ramsay was instrumental in flaming the fire that very quickly got out of control.

In the podcast we discuss this monumental kitchen nightmare and explore what went wrong, what is continuing to go wrong and whether the situation is in any way recoverable - listen to our opinion and feel free to leave your own comments here on the blog.

Having examined the issue, we then go on to explore the wider issue of customer service in a social media environment. We look at the sharp increase in customer service enquiries on social media platforms and the willingness of consumers to commit their enquiries, complaints, and compliments to public platforms.  

Many organisations are not fully prepared for dealing with customer service issues on social media platforms; there is a tendency to leave it to the marketing team rather than hand it over to the customer service experts. We discuss what should happen and what action organisations need to take if they are to successfully deal with customer service issues online.

Some of the things we discuss in this podcast include:

• Amy's Baking Company Baker and Boutique
• Velocity Digital - Mike McGrail's blog post on the Amy and Samy Facebook meltdown
• Who should respond? - Marketing Department or Customer Service Department
• The blurring lines between marketing and customer service
• Virgin's recent Facebook problems
• Why you should embrace negative comments
• The Drum article about the cost of bad customer service
• Zappos - An excellent model for online customer service; practicing what their core values preach
• Humour - Can you defuse a situation with humour?

We hope you enjoy the podcast, if you have any comments to make or topics you would like us to discuss, please leave them here on the blog or on our Facebook Page.

Play the podcast here:

Subscribe/Download Social Media Podcast on iTunes

Would you like a presentation on social media and customer service?
We're offering a range of bespoke or generic presentations on the topic of social media and customer service, if you would like to find out more please go to the following link: Are you prepared to lose control?

Have you listened to the digital copyright podcast?

We continue to see people using images, video content and other files taken from the internet without consideration to potential copyright issues. We would encourage all of our listeners to download Social Media Podcast 50 which clearly outlines what you should and shouldn't do with images sourced online. Find it on iTunes now.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE US TO TALK ABOUT?
If there is a specific topic you would like us to cover in a future podcast please let us know. You can email gordon@fatbuzz.com or send us a message on Twitter @MediaPodcast or, you can post it as a comment on the Social Media Podcast Facebook page.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your on-line community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

May New Media Breakfast - Blogging and Sharing Content

    

  

Blogging and Sharing Content

Venue: 29 Member's Club, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow

Date: Friday 31st May 2013

Time: 7.30 for 8am

It was August 2010 when we last looked at Blogging at the New Media Breakfast so we thought it would be worth revisiting the topic to bring you up to date with the whole area of creating content via blogs.

We often describe a blog as the hub of your social media activity, it's a place you own and control and, a place from where you can share content to your other social media channels.  Moreover, it's a place form where interested readers can share your content with their communities and help to build your audience.

At the May breakfast we will demonstrate the power of blogging and try to show you why you should consider this very important activity as part of your social media activity.  We will also look at ways to encourage people to share your content.  Here are some of the things we will look at during the presentation:

• What platform to choose for your blog?
• The design and layout of your blog
• What should you talk about and what tone should you use?
• How to attract readers to your blog
• How to encourage people to share your content
• Syndicating content to other platforms
• Adding images, video and audio content
• What length your blog posts should be?
• How often should you post?

The New Media Breakfast in May will explore how to using blogging to raise awareness and tell your story.  Used properly, a blog will build trust and encourage engagement with your target audience, we hope the New Media Breakfast will clearly demonstrate how it can become a key activity and an invaluable tool to help build your brand.  We will also look at examples of popular blogs and suggest why they are successful.

We hope you can join us for what should be a fun, but informative breakfast. If you have a specific question you would like to ask, please post it as a comment on the New Media Breakfast blog post. Alternatively you can post it on Twitter as a direct message @fatbuzz or you can email us at hello@fatbuzz.com

THE SPEAKER
Gordon White, Managing director of fatBuzz Ltd will present the May New Media Breakfast.

HOW TO BOOK
Venue: 29 Member's Club, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
Date: Friday 31st May 2013
Time: 7.35 for 8am

BOOK FOR NEW MEDIA BREAKFAST GLASGOW HERE:

No.29 MEMBERS GO FREE 

If you are a 29 Member you can attend the breakfast free of charge. Please email fiona@fatbuzz.com with you membership number and she will add you to the attendance list.

We hope you can make it along to this event. If so, I look forward to seeing you on the day.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

    

  

Come Work for Us!

We are looking for a full-time Web developer to join our expanding team. As our client list is getting fatter, we’re looking to bring in a new ‘Mac Monkey’ to our web team.

We welcome interest from hard-working, enthusiastic, self-motivated, and ambitious candidates. But, more importantly, we want someone who’ll fit in with the fatBuzz ethos and is keen to be a part of our fun and bubbly team.

fatBuzz is a hard working, but fun digital marketing and design agency. We work hard to ensure our clients get exactly what they want, but we work just as hard to make sure fatBuzz is a fun a friendly place to work.

We want someone who will fall in love with fatBuzz just as much as we have.

Full-Time Web Developer

We work with a wide variety of clients. The role will involve working with organisations of all sizes. Our clients are mainly within the consumer, professional and charity sectors; ensuring that you’ll never get bored of doing the same thing day in, day out.

The successful applicant will primarily work alongside our other ‘Mac Monkeys’, David and Jon, as well as our clients, on website design and development. You will also be required to collaborate with our Social Media team, helping set up blogs for content they’ve created.

The position is based in our Glasgow office at Kinning Park. Although not essential, it would be advantageous to have a full UK driving licence.

Your salary and package will be commensurate with your experience.

Key Requirements:

Excellent understanding of the PHP language
Excellent understanding of Wordpress
Good experience with e-commerce projects
Good knowledge of HTML / HTML 5 & CSS
A good understanding of databases
Some experience working with Jquery / Javascript
Good attention to detail

Must be able to:

Code a fully functional HTML website from scratch using a provided Photoshop .psd file
Turn HTML code into a working Wordpress Theme / Template

Plus Points:

Knowledge of mobile / responsive web design and development
Experience of working with Magento
Create fresh / modern website designs from scratch or from clients' specifications
Creating / editing Wordpress plugins
Branding design experience
Comfortable working with designs in Photoshop

If this position sounds like a perfect fit for you, then we welcome your CV and covering letter. In the first instance send them, along with links to any previous work, and other relevant information to kyle@fatbuzz.com. All applications will be strictly confidential.

We look forward to hearing from you.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your on-line community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

Are you prepared to lose control on social media channels?

Our latest presentation highlights a new and very real threat... and opportunity

I recently delivered a presentation entitled 'Social Media for Customer Service', something we were asked to do by an attendee at the New Media Breakfast.  You can read a summary of the presentation here.

It was during the preparation of this presentation I realised just how much the customer service role has changed and to what extend the lines between social media marketing and customer service have become blurred.  It has even led me to believe the main driver for participation on social media channels in the future will be customer service and not marketing.

More and more people are using social media channels for their customer service enquiries, complaints and compliments and this can spell trouble for organisations that are not monitoring those channels.  The demand for 'social customer care' is undoubtedly growing and all business must take note and be prepared for an enormous increase in this activity.  A recent survey by Simply Measured revealed that 30% of the Interbrand 100 companies now have dedicated Twitter accounts for customer service.  It also revealed a massive increase in customer service activity on social media channels in the last 3 months. 

But, it's not all bad news because the data that can be collected from this activity can tell you lots about your customers, not least what they want and, where they want to engage with you.  It also provides the opportunity to use customer service activities as part of your marketing activity - this is where the blurring of the lines can become problematical.  Most social media activity is currently conducted by the marketing department and they are not trained in customer service.  Furthermore, customer service personnel don't usually have expertise in social media.

The presentation did provide a valuable insight into the potential pitfalls and the opportunities now available when incorporating customer service into your social media strategy.  For me, one of the greatest opportunities is the ability to empower all of your staff to be involved in social customer care - a true method of encouraging innovation from the ground up and an excellent opportunity to WOW your customers.  This can all be achieved without fear of them interfering with your brand's marketing messages - the presentation did provide useful examples of this type of activity.

So, why this blog post?
I truly believe this is an enormously important topic - it should be revealed to all of your staff. fatBuzz is offering bespoke presentations to organisations interested in finding out what they need to do to avoid the pitfalls that can be encountered when the consumer takes control by posting about you on social media channels.  Likewise, we will demonstrate why it also presents a valuable opportunity to use your customer service issues to market your business in a very effective and productive manner.

We will use our existing material as the basis of the presentation but, where possible, we will tailor it to your specific market sector and, we will allow plenty of time for a Q&A session.

Who should be in attendance?
We believe every organisation regardless of size and market sector should be aware of this important subject.  We also believe it is useful to every member of staff, from senior management down; you may decide to be more selective but we are happy to tailor it to appeal to everyone in the organisation.

If you would like to discuss your specific requirements with a view to booking a presentation please call Gordon White on 0141 427 0727 or email me at gordon@fatbuzz.com.  I will be happy to explore the options with you.

If you would like to see the original presentation we will be delivering it at the Lanarkshire New Media Breakfast on the 16th May, you can find out all the details here.

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You Have A Personal Brand…But What The Heck Is It?

You Have A Personal Brand…But What The Heck Is It?
Jennifer Holloway, author of Personal Branding for Brits

If you’ve ever come along to a New Media Breakfast when I’ve been the speaker (and if you haven’t you’ll get your chance this July) you’ll have learnt one very important thing:

You have a personal brand.

The reason that’s an indisputable fact is because your personal brand is made up of six elements, all of which you are in possession of:

• Image – how you look and sound 
• Skills – what you’re good at 
• Behaviours – your personality 
• Reputation – what others think of you 
• Drivers – your motivators 
• Values – your moral compass 

What you might not be in possession of, however, is a clear idea of exactly how those elements come together into a distinct brand definition. It’s worth taking the time to find out though because people buy people and when you know what you’re selling you increase the chance they’re buying.

You Snooze, You Lose

While your brain is probably thinking, “Yep, I understand where she’s coming from, people do buy people,” it might also be thinking, “but I’m British and it’s not the done thing to have a personal brand, let alone tell anyone I have one.”

I get that, after all, arrogance is not an attractive quality – but here’s the thing:

In this day and age, if you don’t tell people what you bring to the party, you won’t get invited.

That might sound a bit harsh but it comes with a piece of good news: it’s entirely possible to subtly blow your own trumpet without sounding like an eejit…you just need to make the most of all the opportunities you have open to you.


A Practical Guide 
That’s why I wrote my book – Personal Branding for Brits – to give people a steer on how to create their personal brand and, just as importantly, get it out there (whether that’s in the office, out and about or online)None of what you’ll read is rocket science, it’s simply common sense stuff that tends to get forgotten as we go about our busy lives. If you’d like to find out more you can read the first two chapters FREE at www.sparkexec.co.uk/personal-branding-for-brits or come along to the New Media Breakfast this July where I’ll be offering signed copies at a discount. 

If you would like to buy Personal Branding for Brits you can do so here

Jennifer Holloway will be speaking at the New Media Breakfast in Edinburgh on the 18th July 2013 and in Glasgow on the 26th July 2013 - Please subscribe to the New Media Breakfast mailing list to make sure you don't miss the booking details.  Subscribe here.

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