tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8297520411326925892024-02-21T02:09:04.231-08:00The Creative FrontierThe Creative Frontier is a Social Media, Digital Marketing and creative design blog by Melissa Reilly who lives in Lanark, Scotland. Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-40301601001875244602020-11-09T07:51:00.004-08:002020-11-09T07:51:47.860-08:00The Magnificent Seven - Marketing touch points<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglZ9zUeuo60GclOHH8dgr8jaupZGJbzi_ij4K7rEbvzNjDG2GnJRrE8tACdRXtJ6dP5olGi6BJw2UVEpt-6ZjcmX7SEkYhgxD9KR4sIyam3MSPyt5Y1zWZriVe5C3JDzJXThtvAYgeIQk/s1200/the-original-magnificent-sevenjpg-172c8141ad70118e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1200" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglZ9zUeuo60GclOHH8dgr8jaupZGJbzi_ij4K7rEbvzNjDG2GnJRrE8tACdRXtJ6dP5olGi6BJw2UVEpt-6ZjcmX7SEkYhgxD9KR4sIyam3MSPyt5Y1zWZriVe5C3JDzJXThtvAYgeIQk/w640-h412/the-original-magnificent-sevenjpg-172c8141ad70118e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="💡" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t95/1.5/16/1f4a1.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span> The Magnificent Seven - That's the number you need to think of when considering how to get your marketing message across.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">There is a well-known school of thought that states within marketing, a consumer must engage with your brand message at least 7 times before the point 'sinks in' and they are encouraged to take action. These engagements are called 'touch points'. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">There are two main points to consider here, your 7 touch points can - and should - come across different marketing mediums. An example of this could be a consumer:</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">1 - sees your Facebook post <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="👍" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t55/1.5/16/1f44d.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">2 - drives past your billboard <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="🚙" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t47/1.5/16/1f699.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">3 - watches your TV advert <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="📸" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t37/1.5/16/1f4f8.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">4 - is given a recommendation <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="💌" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t50/1.5/16/1f48c.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">5 - picks up your flyers <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="📋" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t84/1.5/16/1f4cb.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">6 - reads a news article about you <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="🗞️" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/te7/1.5/16/1f5de.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">7 - sees an Instagram advert <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="🛒" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t75/1.5/16/1f6d2.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">.... And hey presto! Becomes a customer. If only it was that easy <span class="pq6dq46d tbxw36s4 knj5qynh kvgmc6g5 ditlmg2l oygrvhab nvdbi5me sf5mxxl7 gl3lb2sf hhz5lgdu" style="display: inline-flex; font-family: inherit; height: 16px; margin: 0px 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: 16px;"><img alt="🤫" height="16" src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/t5a/1.5/16/1f92b.png" style="border: 0px;" width="16" /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Research today shows that as we are so bombarded with brand messages every second of the day, it could be closer to 13 'touch points' that are required before a brand message sinks in!</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The second point to consider is that the touch points need to be spread over a period of time, you can't just go crazy one day posting across every platform and then sit back waiting for the moolah to start pouring in. Marketing campaigns need to be planned over a period of time, this can vary depending on the type of campaign - if it is a time-sensitive event or a product linked to a particular season or holiday etc. You need to think about your goal 'end date' and work backwards from there.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Start too late and you won't give people enough chance to see your message 7 (or 13!) times, and start too early and your campaign will be too diluted with consumers forgetting about the initial touch points by the time they see the last ones.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Get in touch if you'd like to pick my brain about your marketing campaign!</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks for reading.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Melissa</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="mailto:Melissareilly3@gmail.com">Melissareilly3@gmail.com</a></div></div>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Lanark ML11, UK55.673865 -3.78213827.363631163821154 -38.938388 83.984098836178845 31.374112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-78300681683950751502020-11-06T03:30:00.003-08:002020-11-06T03:30:50.198-08:00Marketing tips that really take the biscuit!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8gdfT9a1dgTOrCSLKr51qkU4-7mIuTcX8eSX522dfEST1GZqqWQflAHFA2xgvXff3Upw4EFy5Svv62ayreUSfTDy6eDktCEUT_mMdqoJiZD8T5eOSTsFHQbPsXSndv02Y94ZpJ1rOKU/s1368/120974845_4445356352204299_5677579979582649675_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Border biscuit" border="0" data-original-height="1368" data-original-width="1368" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8gdfT9a1dgTOrCSLKr51qkU4-7mIuTcX8eSX522dfEST1GZqqWQflAHFA2xgvXff3Upw4EFy5Svv62ayreUSfTDy6eDktCEUT_mMdqoJiZD8T5eOSTsFHQbPsXSndv02Y94ZpJ1rOKU/w640-h640/120974845_4445356352204299_5677579979582649675_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>What can a biscuit tell you about marketing? 🍪🤔 One of the biggest mistakes I have seen is a brand spreading itself too thinly by rushing into setting up multiple social channels due to FOMO (fear of missing out - should I be on Twitter, Insta, Facebook etc...) or external pressures - perhaps someone else within the organisation saying "we should be on X, Y, Z". </p><p>What will likely happen is they'll get stuck in a rut trying to work out what to post across all of these channels then they'll inevitably leave some (or in some cases all) of the channels to go quiet - que a tumbleweed any time now.</p><p>A much better strategy is to really think about your audience, what channels they are using and go there. Better to do one channel really well than ten terribly. So back to the biscuit (feat Lanark's own Border Biscuits no less!), this is a wee trick to help you think about the purpose of the many different social channels...</p><p>📍 Facebook - I like biscuits! Please join my community group of fellow biscuit lovers and we can discuss all things biscuity.</p><p>📍 Instagram - Here are some super fancy (filtered obviously) photos of homemade, artisan biscuits placed neatly beside a steaming coffee mug. Designed to make your mouth water and make your hand reach for the biscuit tin! </p><p>📍 Twitter - Let me update you on my current status of eating a biscuit. Perhaps we could get into a debate about the BEST biscuit ever. Do you have a biscuit-fuelled complaint? (not enough chocolate on your digestive) Head this way...</p><p>📍 Pinterest - Take a look at my biscuit recipe or why not try decorating your own biscuit tin. I'm very proud of my inspirational kitchen boards!</p><p>📍 LinkedIn - My skills include biscuit eating and for your perusal here is some information about my biscuit business. </p><p>📍 YouTube - Go behind the scenes at a biscuit factory and see how these biscuits are made or watch me do a live biscuit unboxing.</p><p>📍 Google+ - Searching for information on my biscuit business? Here you go! </p><p>📍 Snapchat - Want this biscuit? Sorry I ate it and it's gone! </p><p>📍 Tiktok - Apparently there's a new biscuit eating challenge. Jenga with kit kats - all the rage.</p><p>So, who really fancies a biscuit now? Get in touch if you'd like to discuss which social channels you should be using. FYI a jammy wagon wheel would be fantastic, thanks!</p><p>Thanks for reading!</p><p>Melissa</p><p><a href="mailto:melissareilly3@gmail.com">melissareilly3@gmail.com</a></p>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Lanark ML11, UK55.673865 -3.78213827.363631163821154 -38.938388 83.984098836178845 31.374112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-25935776914615005312020-11-01T03:31:00.001-08:002020-11-06T03:34:04.400-08:00The 80 / 20 rule in social media marketing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBKSIbsKkjyc-dTnDCKI1ppZANZsdIIh5P-HhbuxhYPsLQbtoGJoAlz03OqWrZBwiRrAJBjrg_zTa2fbIirD9m1TTEeuZpzTyfEUss31m6L-QcnTs-tSmcZCiL08AJY44KcLl8sFwQrg/s1280/122456741_4517716118301655_2274076651168478970_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Swiss roll" border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBKSIbsKkjyc-dTnDCKI1ppZANZsdIIh5P-HhbuxhYPsLQbtoGJoAlz03OqWrZBwiRrAJBjrg_zTa2fbIirD9m1TTEeuZpzTyfEUss31m6L-QcnTs-tSmcZCiL08AJY44KcLl8sFwQrg/w640-h426/122456741_4517716118301655_2274076651168478970_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Is it a cake or a meringue? 🤔 No you're right, it's a cake! 🍰 So turns out I'm using food for another marketing analogy, which seems to help explain the point and make me hungry in equal measure. </p><p>I'm sharing a photo of this tasty looking swiss roll to help describe the 80/20 rule when it comes to your social media marketing. First of all, marketing is annoying. You are trying to invade someone's personal (digital) space to get your message across and encourage action. To do this well, you have to 'sandwich' your sales message between valuable content. Here is where the 80/20 comes in. 80% of the posts from your business social media feed should be *valuable content*, with only 20% being sales posts. </p><p>Depending on your audience, there could be a huge variety of posts as to what is 'valuable' to them. This could be posts that:</p><p>- Entertain them (funny videos / memes)</p><p>- Inform them (industry articles / videos / infographics)</p><p>- Intrigue them (your story / behind the scenes, throwbacks etc)</p><p>- Inspire them (pretty photos, quotes)</p><p>- Excite them (competitions, giveaways)</p><p>- Shock them (topical causes / stats)</p><p>Basically, for every 'sales' post you share - you want to share around 3/4 posts of non-sales, valuable content that will appeal to your audience, make them trust/like your brand more and ultimately, be more likely to buy from you when they see the next sales post. </p><p>If you overdo the jam (the sales posts!) you run the risk of coming across as a pushy salesman, annoying, repetitive and users will either unfollow your brand, unlike your page or simply skim past your posts without any recognition. </p><p>Get in touch if you're looking for ideas of types of 'valuable' content you can share with your audience.</p><p>Thanks for reading!</p><p>Melissa</p><p><a href="mailto:melissareilly3@gmail.com">melissareilly3@gmail.com</a></p>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Lanark ML11, UK55.673865 -3.78213827.363631163821154 -38.938388 83.984098836178845 31.374112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-86187264321142711062020-10-20T03:15:00.001-07:002020-11-06T03:23:44.632-08:00Social media content: don't be a copy cat!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavAEc-jcecEwP4WJhAntRYe4wvmogZKw2eSVmrk28xSVO-zQ7McHGiRZDEmYE2GLji-WP3upx4813gFPQOAI4iKYUIGJ2yxAOmMYwGATqFAoVUIPkdNTNPUEeearzDDEA7p6LSMs-54M/s1920/122096873_4509424832464117_4286132763475363869_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two cats" border="0" data-original-height="1331" data-original-width="1920" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavAEc-jcecEwP4WJhAntRYe4wvmogZKw2eSVmrk28xSVO-zQ7McHGiRZDEmYE2GLji-WP3upx4813gFPQOAI4iKYUIGJ2yxAOmMYwGATqFAoVUIPkdNTNPUEeearzDDEA7p6LSMs-54M/w640-h444/122096873_4509424832464117_4286132763475363869_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">When you're managing multiple social media channels and time is tight, it can be very tempting to create a post on one channel, say Facebook, and then simply copy and paste the exact same image and text onto other channels. We are all guilty of it and I'll be the first to hold my hand up and admit I've done this in the past!<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There are two issues with this, firstly you may have completely different audiences following you on different channels - and the message that strikes a chord with one of them could mean nothing to the other. The second is that when you copy/paste posts on the SAME platform but through different account channels, it's extremely obvious to users as - if they 'like' and 'follow' both of your pages - they could see the exact same post coming in succession from both of your pages, which can appear lazy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Ask yourself - why does my umbrella (overarching) brand have multiple Facebook pages, Twitter accounts or Instagram accounts etc? <br /><br />If the answer is that you have different audiences interested in different things, you need to step away from CTRL + V and tailor the message consistently across each individual channel. This can be as simple as tweaking the format of the sentences, or using a slightly different opening line - perhaps using a rhetorical question which piques the interest of that individual audience. Mixing up the emojis used (or removing them) can change the 'tone' of the post! Within the post's image, you could use a different lead image for each account channel or if posting a mini album of photos (2-4 images) mix up the order they appear in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Thanks for reading! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Melissa</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="mailto:Melissareilly3@gmail.com">Melissareilly3@gmail.com</a></div></div><p><br /></p>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Lanark ML11, UK55.673865 -3.78213827.363631163821154 -38.938388 83.984098836178845 31.374112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-16066204101984979452017-02-20T13:32:00.000-08:002017-02-20T13:32:07.958-08:00HIT Scotland #EmergingTalent Conference <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend the <a href="http://www.hitscotland.co.uk/" target="_blank">HIT Scotland Emerging Talent</a> at the lovely Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. It was a really inspiring day with a host of fantastic speakers. I was ALSO lucky enough to be awarded one of the HIT Scholarships - with a specialism in Social Media. I'll find out more about what it entails in the next couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to finding our more about it. I already have a lots of experience using social media as a community and marketing tool, but as the landscape is always changing I'd like to learn about all of the latest developments from the experts and learn how to use them in my day to day job at <a href="http://www.newlanark.org/" target="_blank">New Lanark</a> - and as the (no official title) marketing / social media / promo person for <a href="http://lams.org.uk/" target="_blank">Lanark Amateur Musical Society</a> which I do in my spare time as well as dancing about on stage. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Below I'm going to share some of the most inspirational quotes I heard from the speakers during the day...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">David Cochrane - HIT Scotland Chief Executive "One thing you can't take away from Scottish tourism is the people"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fraser Doherty MBE "A good idea doesn't have to reinvent the wheel"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Helen Vass "If you don't ask you don't get"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rojan Kumar "If you don't try you'll never know"</span><br /><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bill McFarlane "what we think about, we bring about"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bruce Walker "Who made the rules and what are they? Why not break them?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My certificate - yay!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! I'll br writing another blog once I've completed my Social Media HIT Schoralship so you'll find out what it's all about.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Melissa</span><br />
<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Glasgow, UK55.864237 -4.251805999999987855.721638000000006 -4.5745294999999881 56.006836 -3.9290824999999878tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-61587273468162735962017-01-16T12:56:00.001-08:002017-01-16T12:56:58.025-08:00Getting to grips with Online Video Marketing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At a recent ETAG Conference I heard a very interesting prediction that <b>by 2018, 80% of the world's internet traffic will be video consumption</b>...(I sometimes feel like 2008 was two seconds ago, so it was a shock for me to realise that this prediction is talking about <i>next year</i>!). This prediction is also mirrored in a <a href="http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/index.html#~overview" target="_blank">Cisco study published in 2015</a> which also states that by 2020 there will be 4.1 Billion global internet users with 26.3 Billion networked devices and connections. That's a LOT of people watching a heck of a LOT of video content - but what will they be watching? The range of video content readily available on the internet is ever expanding, from YouTube vlogger sensations with their own beauty product lines, to streaming of films and box sets at the click of a button. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For advertisers the potential of video as a content marketing channel is absolutely huge in terms of engaging with your audience and promoting your product or service. This could be through vlogs, product reviews, interviews, webinars, tutorials, animations and good old fashioned trailers or adverts...the list goes on and on. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There's also been lots of new ways to share video online recently with the likes of Periscope, Facebook LIVE, 360 video, Snapchat and Instagram Stories - to name a few!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In my current role of Marketing and PR Officer at New Lanark World Heritage Site we began dipping our toes in the 'video marketing' world last summer by creating a series of <i>video adverts</i> I suppose you would call them for various areas of our site such as the Visitor Centre, Mill Shop and Health & Fitness Suite. We found they were a fantastic way to convey our marketing messages in an engaging way and show so much more than an image or text ever could. We also found that sharing very short snippets of video on our social media channels (mainly Facebook and Instagram) also performed very well in terms of audience engagement. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was very much an in-house operation with us undertaking all of the filming and editing. As there was no cost outlay at the beginning this allowed us to experiment and feel free to be creative without having to worry about having to pay a video editor for <i>just one more change. </i></span><br />
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</i></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This year we're looking to continue to use video marketing to support our wider marketing campaigns, and also by creating specific videos to support the marketing of our growing programme of events and exhibitions. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From working on creating and editing the videos I've learned a lot about what works well and what doesn't. As such, I've pulled together a list below of my 20 Top Tips for online video marketing. I'm definitely no expert, and always willing to learn so if you have any more tips or comments please feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:melissareilly3@gmail.com" target="_blank">melissareilly3@gmail.com</a>.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Videos shared on social media for advertising purposes should be 30 seconds max.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Use a simple backing track to keep the video lively (not too loud!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Every video should have a easily flowing beginning, middle and end. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">People are likely to switch off, so have the essential info at the start. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When editing use transitions sparingly! (if in doubt stick to a simple dissolve/fade)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Use a tripod for steady pans. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Perhaps the most obvious - use a good quality camera or phone for capture. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Natural lighting where possible is best!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When shooting capture a variety of shots (static, pan up down left right, zoom in out)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">More is more - take lots of short clips that you can piece together later.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Always capture more than you need at the start and end of a shot then trim down</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Incorporate your brand colour schemes and logo (but not right at the start as this will look very corporate - unless that's the style you're going for!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Upload videos directly to Facebook for a higher organic reach (rather than sharing a YouTube link for example)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">Use a relevant video title and searchable keywords in your YouTube video description</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Try out Youtube's new Director App to help businesses create better video content</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Export your video at the correct (and best possible) quality for your platform</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Embed video in your website landing page (or any other relevant page) to increase the time people spend on your website. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Include a call to action at the end of your video (so dedicated/engaged people who have watched the full thing know what to do next)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Try not to date content too obviously (if possible) as in most cases it should be evergreen content that you can share again and again!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is an example of one of the first videos I had a go of producing! </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4W9eG0HJqQY/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4W9eG0HJqQY?feature=player_embedded" width="480"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Melissa</span></div>
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">@_Melissa247</a><br />
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photo credit: Digital Adrian <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/78418390@N05/25164770399">Capturing the fountains</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com/">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Glasgow, UK55.864237 -4.251805999999987855.721638000000006 -4.5745294999999881 56.006836 -3.9290824999999878tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-91408977729265296242016-11-21T13:10:00.004-08:002016-11-21T13:23:31.113-08:00My Top 10 learnings from #asvaconf16<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18ydV1nhMNKhCouVFN5ib6X1aPtXcwnbZSoeMb59f_SP3T0RH2xwe9-_r903NfrMURBnuJAnoB4-0NIjAmaByf4biA0phrt2Y-8Y9e3LIJkeK3jMzzkf9OL9Q4-YzzvS29oGQ25pqc_c/s1600/image1+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18ydV1nhMNKhCouVFN5ib6X1aPtXcwnbZSoeMb59f_SP3T0RH2xwe9-_r903NfrMURBnuJAnoB4-0NIjAmaByf4biA0phrt2Y-8Y9e3LIJkeK3jMzzkf9OL9Q4-YzzvS29oGQ25pqc_c/s640/image1+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Myself and Gordon Morrison from Visit Scotland (plus my glitzy - and very pointy - award)</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend the annual ASVA Conference for a third time at the beautiful Crieff Hydro Hotel. <a href="http://www.asva.co.uk/" target="_blank">ASVA stands for the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions</a> and its members include all the well known faces of the Scottish tourism industry from Edinburgh Castle to <a href="http://www.newlanark.org/" target="_blank">New Lanark World Heritage Site</a> <i>*shameless plug for where I currently work*!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This year's conference was focused on 'Achieving Excellence' and there were some fantastic speakers over the two day event from tourist attractions in the UK, Europe and Canada! I always come away from events like this not with a fistful of dollars (I wish), but with a notebook full of ideas to take forward, inspirational quotes and random scribblings that I have to try and decipher afterwards. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had plenty to think about after this year's conference, and have just managed to sort out all of my notes into some cohesive thoughts. I've pulled together a list below of my top 10 takeaways from the conference, and although these were originally focused on the tourism industry there are many ideas or tips that are transferable across many businesses and organisations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh, I should also mention that at the conference's award ceremony I was chosen as the winner of the Rising Star award which is given to one individual under 30 from an ASVA member organisation who has shown real commitment to their role and made significant change within their organisation. Yahoo! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Anyways, onto the learnings - here they are...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>1. The customer experience is 50% emotional – focus on building the customer experience and not on the ‘thing’ (attraction) (Royal Yacht Britania)</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2. Invest in your staff and show them appreciation in a way that appeals to them (this may be 121 time, rewards/gifts or a gesture)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3. Know your customers and create tailored packages and experiences to meet their needs and desires. (The Famous Grouse Experience)</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4. Your welcome is extremely important, so use the right staff in the right place.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">5. Trip Advisor is big business (Scotland pages had 66 million views in the last 12 months) so be as visible on the platform as possible and reply to comments.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">6. You have to keep innovating / changing and developing new ideas to stay ahead of the competition. (The Famous Grouse Experience)</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">7. Video is a fantastic marketing tool to convey your marketing messages and brand. (Sumerlee Museum of Industrial Heritage)</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">8. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas! (Nova Scotia Marketing Board)</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">9. Be as authentic as possible. (Astrid Lingren World)</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">10. Be valuable to and for the community. If you look after your customers they will look after you! (Royal Yacht Britania)</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Did you attend the ASVA conference and have any other key takeaways? Let me know!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">@_Melissa247</a></span><br />
<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Lanark ML11, UK55.673865 -3.782138000000031855.638051 -3.862819000000032 55.709679 -3.7014570000000315tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-49743258516881014452016-06-20T12:26:00.000-07:002016-06-20T12:26:48.384-07:00Increase the reach of your Organic Facebook posts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many of us Facebook page managers are searching for ways to increase the 'organic' reach of our Facebook posts. By 'organic' I mean posts on Facebook that you don't pay to promote, that are initially shown to people who have liked your page. Over the past couple of years Facebook has become more and more clever about monetising the platform and is now making it incredibly difficult for page's posts to be seen by their fans, without any paid promotion. For example, your page might have 1,000 likes - but it's more than likely that around 10% of these people are actually seeing anything you post. When you pay to promote your Facebook posts this can be to people who like your page, their friends or anyone on Facebook that you select through a range of (very specific!) targeting options. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That being said, there are a few tricks you can utilise to try and increase your 'organic reach' and how many people see your Facebook posts without getting your wallet out to pay to promote the posts. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Use Photos and FACEBOOK Videos</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Facebook likes it when you use visual content and will give posts that use photographs, or videos in particular a higher organic reach. If you're planning on posting a video then you're much better to upload the video directly to Facebook, rather than sharing a YouTube link. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Watch your timing</b><br />Your posts are most likely to be seen by more of your fans if you share content whilst they are actually online. This will vary by page, but I find it tends to be based around meal times or when people are commuting - breakfast, lunch time, dinner and then around 8pm also seems to be a popular time for my pages. </span><div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like your own posts</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This might sound strange, but Facebook will show content to more people if it already thinks it is valuable and interesting. To kick start this I always 'like' posts from my page and then my personal account. If you work for an organisation you can encourage staff to like your page and actively 'like' content and also share if they're feeling extra nice!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Post links in the comments</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Facebook is less likely to show content if it thinks it's overtly 'salesy'. To minimise how much it looks like you're trying to sell something in your posts, I always include any links in the comments - instead of in the actual caption area. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ask people to like / comment / share</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another way to increase your reach is to get people engaged with your posts. You can do this by including questions in your post captions, asking people to 'like' the post or 'share' the post - in a light hearted way only! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Something I've discovered recently is that Facebook LOVES when you share Instagram images. Might be something to do with the fact that it purchased the platform in 2012! This is also a great way to share user generated content on your Facebook page, by searching Instagram for people sharing photos of your products, location, shop - you get the picture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear if you have any tips on how to increase your organic reach!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Melissa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">@_Melissa247</a><br />Page manager for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NewLanark/" target="_blank">New Lanark World Heritage Site</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StellaDotMelissaReilly/" target="_blank">Stella & Dot by Melissa Reilly</a></span></div>
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Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-9441100292691965132015-03-03T11:13:00.000-08:002015-03-03T11:16:44.139-08:0010 tips to write a perfect press release!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hello everyone! My poor blog has been very neglected of late as I've been super busy with lots of different things. Very exciting news - I've started a new job as Marketing and PR Officer with New Lanark World Heritage Site. I'm also in the cast of Lanark Amateur Musical Society's upcoming production of Our House, and have just started a Diploma in Online Marketing course with the Shaw Academy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been thinking about this blog post for a while as part of my new role is producing press releases for New Lanark. I also dealt with them a lot in my role at Glasgow 2014, not writing them, but being responsible for releasing them on the website/social media in line with embargos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've pulled together some of my top tips for writing press releases, and would love to hear if you've got any more!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. <b>Make the timing clear</b> - when you send out a press release you have to let the recipients know when they are allowed to share the information. If you're sending out a press release that has to stay under wraps until a certain date it means it's 'under embargo'. Make this clear by stating<b><span style="color: red;"> Under strict embargo until DATE and TIME</span> </b>at the top of your press release .doc and your email. If your press release can be shared immediately put <span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Immediate release: DATE YOU SEND PRESS RELEASE OUT.</span> Bold and red also never hurts to get the message across!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. <b>Have a good headline </b>- At the start of your press release there should be a good headline that is eye catching, easy to read and makes people want to read more. Try and keep this to about 5-6 words maximum. Also use this headline in your word document title and your email subject line. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. <b>Get to the point in first paragraph</b> - Your first paragraph should summarise what the press release is about and convince them it's newsworthy. The second paragraph should expand the point in more detail. The third paragraph can include supporting quotes. Finally, the fourth paragraph should again summarise the press release, include a closing statement and reference any relevant websites. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. <b>Include quotes</b> - Including quotes written in people's voices can add personal colour and life to a press release. Always mark our quotes with speech marks, and include the name and job title/relevance of the person to the press release. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. <b>Include hard numbers and facts</b> - these will help to make your story more newsworthy and will also help journalists pull out the most important information for their publication. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6. <b>Be succinct</b> - a press release shouldn't be a novel, it should be just enough to convey your news and summarise the key points - if a journalist wants to know more they can contact you (see point below!). Try and stick to one page of A4, or 300-400 words max. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7. <b>Notes to editor section</b> - include ENDS at the end of your press release copy, and then an underlined title called <u>Notes to editor.</u> This is where you can leave your contact details (name, number and email) and any other information that may be relevant to the editor, but doesn't necessarily fit within the actual press release - such as your website address for more information. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8. <b>Use images where appropriate</b> - when including images make sure to reduce their file size and attach them to your email after your word document. Make the name of the image a description of what the image is, not something random like DSC13893.jpg as this could lead to captions being mucked up. I also tend to include a copy of the image within the press release word document too so the journalist can see why it's relevant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9. <b>Word not PDF </b>- I always send press releases as word documents instead of PDFs as they are simply easier to copy and paste text from. It's also a good idea to include your press release copy in the body of your email as well as attaching it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10. <b>Pressing send </b>-<b> </b>you don't want all of your contacts to see who you're sending out press releases to, so send the press release email to yourself and BCC (blind carbon copy) all of your press release mailing list in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And we're done! I hope that helped anyone who is perhaps writing a press release for the first time, they are fairly easy to produce once you're into the swing of them but you can't ever get complacent - always check check and triple check spelling, grammar, facts, quotes and people's names. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you need any more help or would like to ask me any questions please feel free to tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">@_Melissa247</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks, Melissa. </span><br />
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<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-56503625872391663572014-11-17T14:09:00.000-08:002014-11-17T14:12:19.582-08:00Roundup of this year's Christmas Adverts<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the words of Michael McIntye, "Are you feeling Christmassy yet?" I'm certainly in the mood for a mince pie after looking through some of this year's most popular Christmas ads from the nation's biggest food & gift retailers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From penguins to the post office, it's been fascinating looking at how some retailers have went all out down the emotional route to drive shares and others have focused on showcasing the quality and prices of their festive offerings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Maybe I'm a big softie, but my two favourite ads are the ones from John Lewis and Sainsbury's that tell a real story. Kudos also goes to Waitrose for their charitable song-download donations, and to Aldi for giving me a serious craving for a smoked salmon voulevant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you have a favourite from the ads below? Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">@_Melissa247</a> or leave a comment!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>The Post Office: "Get Christmas All Wrapped up"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">For the first time in around 5 years, the Post Office have released a Christmas advert to encourage more customers to post through their outlets - with the ad highlighting benefits like reduced postage for small parcels and guaranteed Christmas delivery right up until 23rd December. The quirky advert stars a range of celebs including: comedian Robert Webb, singer Pixie Lott, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, actress Amanda Holden and chef Gino D’Acampo.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;"><b>Views by 17.11.14: </b>2,386</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Not too soppy. Makes brown parcel tape and recorded delivery fun & memorable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> Webb's 'Wonka-esque' character appears to have been popping LSD like chocolate coins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Hashtag:</b> #AllWrappedUp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Waitrose: "The Gingerbread Stall"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">This advert tells the story of a girl who is put in charge of making delicious gingerbread biscuits for her class’s stall at the school Christmas fair. Although not very memorable to begin with, the advert has a few moments that make you smile - like the naughty dog munching a batch of the gingerbread biscuits. In true Christmas spirit, the soundtrack to the advert is a cover of Dolly Parton's 'Try' and was </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">created using voices of members of the public, who took part in Waitrose's Donate Your Voice campaign in October. All profits from the sale of the track are being donated to charity which I think is a lovely touch. You can download it on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/try-single/id938096757" target="_blank">iTunes </a>and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=B67y5ebhgblade3i5tvjtkunexi" target="_blank">Google Play.</a> </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14: </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">479,422</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Nice range of associated media including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE1pTtJh5Gc&list=PL113F7A567DDFCA31&index=2" target="_blank">Gingerbread recipes</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiSEcrr_jlo" target="_blank">behind the scenes videos</a> and <a href="http://www.waitrose.com/content/waitrose/en/home/christmaswithwaitrose/gingerbread-decorating-stations.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=christmasgingerbreadicing&stop_mobi=yes" target="_blank">in-store gingerbread icing stations</a>. YUM!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> Not immediatly as memorable or shareable as other ads until you know the story behind the advert & the charity aspect. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Hashtag:</b> #DonateYourVoice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Marks and Spencer "Follow the Fairies"</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Marks and Spencer have cleverly created the two characters of Magic and Sparkle the fairies in this year's polished Christmas advert. Whilst I don't think the actual advert itself is anything to get too excited about, the 'Magic and Sparkle' concept capitalises on the reputation of M&S being a bit of a "treat" and "special" shopping destination. Another brilliant element of the campaign is the <a href="https://twitter.com/thetwofairies" target="_blank">@thetwofairies</a> twitter account which tweets from the perspective of both the fairies, and follows them as they spread kindness throughout the UK meeting people young & old and leaving them special gifts. This appears to have captured the imagination of kids, with lots of mums tweeting their photos & messages for the fairies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Great online engagement with the Christmas-dinner-buying target market - mums!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> The actual TV advert is a little bit long and doesn't show all the amazing engagement with the fairies across the UK. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>John Lewis 'Monty the Penguin'</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">John Lewis' advert tells the story of a little boy, Sam, and his best friend Monty the Penguin. "It's a tale of love, friendship and giving someone the gift they've been dreaming of this Christmas." Like last year's Bear & Hare advert, John Lewis are masters at creating characters that make you go 'awww' and Monty is no exception. Admittedly, I did almost cry watching this advert the first time - but I'm not sure if it's made me any more likely to shop in John Lewis - probably because I don't have a child who will implode if they don't get one of the <i>sold-out</i> Monty toys. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14: </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">15,667,803 (leading the way!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Funny & engaging twitter accounts for both penguins <a href="https://twitter.com/MontyThePenguin" target="_blank">Monty</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/MabelThePenguin" target="_blank">Mabel</a>....they even flirt! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> Christmas commercialism gone a bit mad with a plethora of Monty merchandise....penguin cufflinks anyone?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Sainsbury's 'Christmas is for Sharing'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Quite possibly my favourite of the lot, Sainsbury's advert is a 3 minute long tribute to real events from 100 years ago. </span><span style="line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Made in partnership with The Royal British Legion, it commemorates the extraordinary events of Christmas Day, 1914, when the guns fell silent and two armies met in no-man’s land, sharing gifts – and even playing football together. The chocolate bar featured in the ad is on sale now at Sainsbury’s. All profits (50p per bar) will go to <a href="http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Royal British Legion</a> and will benefit armed forces and their families, past and present. A definite tear-jerker, I really love this advert and although it doesn't scream 'buy your christmas shopping at Sainsbury's' it's certainly got people talking about an extremely worthy charity. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14: </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">9,065,759 (second place!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Makes you feel all the feels. Keeps WW1 in our minds during this commemorative year & helps raise money via unique chocolate bar sales. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> n/a (maybe I'm biased)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Debenhams 'Found It!'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Debenhams' advert encourages viewers to "Explore the magic of a Debenhams Christmas as the search begins for your most fabulous festive season yet" Although it shows off a very pretty and festive looking store, I'm <i>struggling </i>to find any real saving grace of the advert as it seems to lack any real emotional story, or actually promote the benefits of shopping at Debenhams compared to other shops this Christmas.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14:</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">695,806</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Engaging <a href="http://www.foundit.co.uk/selfie/" target="_blank">weekly competition</a> for people who share their #FoundIt selfie with their Debenhams purchase.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> Advert doesn't stand out at all against it's competitors. It's also confusing as you can't really tell what all the kids are doing running around, and finding the fluffy reindeer at the end is a bit of an anti-climax. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Boots #SpecialBecause</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This endearing advert from Boots celebrates being together at Christmas, surrounded by the ones you love. It's a nice mix of an emotional story - celebrating the mum at the heart of the family - and successfully showcases the range of special gifts you can <a href="http://www.boots.com/en/Christmas/" target="_blank">pick up at Boots</a> to treat those special to you. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14:</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;"> 284,342</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Encouraging people to share the love with their <a href="http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Christmas-TV-advert_1245098/" target="_blank">#SpecialBecause hashtag</a> pulled together on their website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> Not much, could have a clearer CTA to use the hashtag at the end of the ad. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hashtag:</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> #SpecialBecause</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Tesco 'Lights On'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Plugs...plugs everywhere! Tesco's Christmas advert shows a range of people getting ready for Christmas, with the help of Tesco of course. This advert doesn't appeal to me too much as it doesn't really convey an emotional story, or highlight any benefits of shopping at Tesco this Christmas. I think their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_4AOpcBwZ4" target="_blank">retro 2013 advert </a>was FAR superior!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14: </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">505,377</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Funny characters & relate-able situations (how do lights get tangled EVERY year?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> They don't seem to be bothering too much with continuing the adverts engagement, and haven't even tweeted about it in almost a week!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hashtag:</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> #MakeChristmas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Aldi 'Everyones coming to us this Christmas'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leaving the tissues behind, Aldi have gone for a light-hearted advert which highlights the trend of Aldi/Lidl's growing popularity and reputation for selling high-quality food at a fraction of the price. Out of all the ads, this is probably the one that's most likely to make you change your mind when deciding where to fork out for the Christmas turkey. Oh and yes, that is Jools Holland at the end! </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">Views by 17.11.14: </b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 20.7199993133545px;">40,785</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Positives: </b>Engaging social media competition where users tell @AldiUK who is joining them for Christmas dinner for a chance to win the food from the advert. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Negatives:</b> Now I'm hungry....</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hashtag:</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> #AldiChristasAd</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa x</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.......*damnit!*</span></div>
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Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-60225969709769878692014-11-03T12:13:00.003-08:002014-11-04T00:25:58.461-08:00The show must go on! The BIG list of show promotion tips. <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I mentioned in one of my <a href="http://thecreativefrontier.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/musical-theatre-poster-design-tips.html" target="_blank">previous posts</a> I've been involved with musical theatre groups for around 10 years. During this time I've been a cast member, committee member and have helped out backstage. However, one thing stays the same - whenever you're involved with an amateur musical production there is always a huge need for the cast (and everyone else involved) to promote the show, and drive ticket sales. Without the huge budget that many West End productions have, this can sometimes be really tough, and pretty stressful for those at the heart of the organisation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That's where this post comes in - it does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a big quick-fire list of ways to promote your amateur theatre production. Most of them are free, and a number of them are fairly simple to implement and can result in a huge boost in awareness (and ticket sales yahoo!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here we go...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Have your posters designed well and put them up in local, high traffic areas at least one month before the performance. Tip: offer shops A4 or A3 and they're more likely to put one up depending on what they can fit in their window. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. Keep the visual style of your posters consistent across any other advertising: social, web, press adverts etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. Create a Facebook event for your performance and encourage cast members to 'invite' all their friends/family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />4. Submit your event to any local 'news' sites, a really good one in Lanark is <a href="http://www.lanark.co.uk/" target="_blank">Lanark Life. </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Submit for free to <a href="http://www.wow247.co.uk/" target="_blank">WOW247</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6. Add information about your show, images, videos & press releases to your local S1 page - here's <a href="http://www.s1lanark.com/" target="_blank">S1Lanark.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7. Submit your events to you local 'whatson_____' website, they send out weekly newsletters! Here's <a href="http://www.whatsonlanarkshire.co.uk/" target="_blank">Whatsonlanarkshire.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8. Submit details of your event to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://amdram.co.uk/" target="_blank">amdram.co.uk </a>- a site specifically dedicated to all things amateur dramatics!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9. If your group is a member of <a href="https://www.noda.org.uk/" target="_blank">NODA</a>, make sure you're listed on their website's What's On page. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">10. Write a press release for your performance giving background to the show, key details, a bit of background about your group and any other interesting facts. Send it to local media, bloggers and the websites I mentioned above!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">11. If you have budget available consider advertising in your local paper. They will tend to offer discounts if you take multiple ads, so consider placing a series of ads in the run up to the performance. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9S6Is1TNGlT10mZUes053lGfgDrlg7nwgzslrKMA80nMQw6yFg5p9nbQ87j6dIGN-rWfMZ2kdkNllXuIsvEB5tvi2rKcIwy1AZlC3PuUfGBNKn_-XQ1l5rXBQYolG32S0HV6Oyjo-xVw/s1600/1625726_652513468154062_6918122837096824260_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9S6Is1TNGlT10mZUes053lGfgDrlg7nwgzslrKMA80nMQw6yFg5p9nbQ87j6dIGN-rWfMZ2kdkNllXuIsvEB5tvi2rKcIwy1AZlC3PuUfGBNKn_-XQ1l5rXBQYolG32S0HV6Oyjo-xVw/s1600/1625726_652513468154062_6918122837096824260_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">12. If the venue of your performance has a website make sure your event has a listing on it. If they can share it on their social media channels - even better!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">13. Advertise in other local production's programmes to attract a captive audience who you know should be interested in other shows. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3H8c7n7htsq6sM6L0bjvf6kYKkU1mp75SwkvC2WQphDwys9O1Pz_-6KC9rVZkWUcP_jgL8TNWrXqpxh1PDwwK7Syah7Bco4d56Rt5I_JHvsCZdAGT2tnE0u3J6Lj9yR-lmCKAq8BHdM/s1600/10176032_652513141487428_9082620888204228675_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj3H8c7n7htsq6sM6L0bjvf6kYKkU1mp75SwkvC2WQphDwys9O1Pz_-6KC9rVZkWUcP_jgL8TNWrXqpxh1PDwwK7Syah7Bco4d56Rt5I_JHvsCZdAGT2tnE0u3J6Lj9yR-lmCKAq8BHdM/s1600/10176032_652513141487428_9082620888204228675_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">14. Get social and set up a Facebook & Twitter channel for your group, if you haven't already! As with point 1, keep all your channels branded and change your Facebook cover image to promote the show. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">15. Encourage cast members to change their profile picture to a graphic advertising the show. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">16. Consider paying to increase the reach of your Facebook posts or tweets. On Facebook this can be done for as little as £3!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />17. Take over your local high street with a media day! Dress up in costumes from your show to get noticed, hand out flyers and if possible get the soundtrack playing on a boombox or sound system. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CrDlMOp8occsLZ1WJSLSWmYXgCzi1-_VoNjk8OjrLT6MkkcLfvRtouwJLeiup2sHKki703TfpKZwHzgX282UcdjAGrMh8sIAXawIg4xXmkjzYpMbPhfog4i4KkZ6rs0wFtWOpFkn5Mc/s1600/Grp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CrDlMOp8occsLZ1WJSLSWmYXgCzi1-_VoNjk8OjrLT6MkkcLfvRtouwJLeiup2sHKki703TfpKZwHzgX282UcdjAGrMh8sIAXawIg4xXmkjzYpMbPhfog4i4KkZ6rs0wFtWOpFkn5Mc/s1600/Grp.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />18. Invite local media/bloggers along to your dress rehearsal to photograph & write up a review of the show ahead of 'curtains up'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">19. Put on your directors hat and create a short promotional video. Capture footage of rehearsals, talk to the cast & production team!</span><br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/uuQnwWT_Ntg/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/uuQnwWT_Ntg&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/uuQnwWT_Ntg&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">20. Share 'behind the scenes' photos of rehearsals, costumes, set with your social media audience to continually build awareness of the show and give people a little teaser of what to expect. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKUWN_v0KVlthIQnOxBdu01Ij9Z72gh6b8q_AfeU_eNd9y71rlXcfpL8-dJBdXEJwZwUcZPRU-3YS8tSG27YvmmoQvEv0jUAUBiiWCm-tEjgH1-cPs7EBKUJseFtcKPRCVlDivaTiyzs/s1600/10003360_652513384820737_2402971523521335704_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEKUWN_v0KVlthIQnOxBdu01Ij9Z72gh6b8q_AfeU_eNd9y71rlXcfpL8-dJBdXEJwZwUcZPRU-3YS8tSG27YvmmoQvEv0jUAUBiiWCm-tEjgH1-cPs7EBKUJseFtcKPRCVlDivaTiyzs/s1600/10003360_652513384820737_2402971523521335704_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />21. Encourage people who see your show to leave a review or wall post on your Facebook page, or gather comments via a guest book. You can then share these socially the next day to continue to drive ticket sales throughout show time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">22. Make sure details of your performance are on the homepage of your website!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">23. Advertise your event with posters & flyers on tables at any fundraising events your group holds. A good idea is to have a simple 'What's on' A6 flyer that you can easily update & print in black and white for each different fundraiser or gathering. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Phew, that turned out to be quite a list - and I'm sure I've probably forgotten something. If you can think of anything that's worked for you please comment below!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Melissa. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">PS. Lanark Amateur Musical Society's next production is Our House in March 2015 :) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Lanark, Lanark, South Lanarkshire ML11, UK55.673865 -3.782138000000031855.638051 -3.862819000000032 55.709679 -3.7014570000000315tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-30830964901894985942014-10-27T15:13:00.000-07:002014-10-27T15:26:13.029-07:00Fonts à la française!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A couple of weeks ago I came home from a rather lovely holiday in Nice, South of France. We had a super-handy apartment right on the promenade, and the weather was much nicer than expected for early October. Most importantly, copious amounts of red wine, cheese and bread were eaten. C'est la vie!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love looking at the different styles of signage when you're on holiday. From hand painted shop signs tucked away down little alleys, to neon signs blinking down the main street. They always seem to look more interesting, colourful and personable to the company/people who own the business than the usual signs we see on every British high street. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During our walks throughout the Old & New town of Nice, I tried to snap some of my favourite examples of signage on the shops, restaurants and official buildings. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It wasn't too clear at the time, but looking back at the photos below there seem to be two distinct 'french' styles in Nice. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. The first style is quite thin, i</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">talic, cursive, in a solid colour - think Monotype Corvosia. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. The second, and more prominent style uses block capitals and wide kerning with a solid shadow, usually white or lighter than the font colour. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Across all examples there appears to be a common family of colours used which are all warm/earthly: </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">red</span>, <span style="color: #660000;">burgandy</span>, <span style="color: #783f04;">brown</span>, <span style="color: #f6b26b;">cream,</span> black, <span style="color: #bf9000;">yellow...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, if you're working on a design project which requires a french touch, here are some fonts which might help you out: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Click to download!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fontspace.com/rick-mueller/legrand" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGb5zRfzqvehhCYFwPSmZ2-iP2o9N_9I9JirfK8xg88GxEWjb0Xz-O9BKLn5I8QeCw6fPLBx0N19a8ZXqIdLCM9G57QSd8xKOe-2aLqKLudulyzVm1Y6yEZi6cJ5O04MJwTwVCgRnzQw/s1600/download.png" height="72" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fontspace.com/dieter-steffmann/campanile" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7eZwZuJnoELsB5Fz2wp4xEGKiL2rY20tt0w5fyrsh9GMBkj0c5lw5mJVhl3eLit0mddZA59f5ZyK_Jrt30iYgMg3JF0p2JVLDYGiIbGL3Kb4PECPeoN6pmndmOVUyDW8V2jY41JyCK4/s1600/campanile.png" height="77" width="200" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fontspace.com/david-rakowski/paris-metro" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglXg77eoqCMoH4GWo0usX0uyTMFJvSxSNIaFFSRwtHg3a3GZYX6vcrMr5Vr1gpfUikxMqnDN06_eoRizpSCOi4Kdsw-cM_JTx62ZTTKkvE_tqLo1RrT_cq5ZyiFOM3W7hsHdo8b-KiIag/s1600/paris.png" height="33" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fontsaddict.com/font/ecolier.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCXNAETh7lyWs1OVLfguvWYRQiam2eIpUkckBOdWzrJnnHATA5JB85Jlen4hNb9T-0M1baJ-A0zw-6T98IWK_k38wkhbsWm1ygf6h3RtW10A8uwr3NONdzjvh7tM4E6Saub2_R0DPA9w/s1600/ecolier.png" /></a><a href="http://www.fontsaddict.com/font/ecolier.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.fontspace.com/david-rakowski/upper-eastside" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC71FSi6hnsBKJCOUaQ3C3Nd9OZIozZWEkWgRv3vUwxVKI5R9HMg09fcRQav3OgpXb5PzUGwYEp_bJU-pQVwyLP-MLNIm2c8pLXTWgSZot2s7C_TTDDswVwPtEvs9J066v9SVTRn1vgOY/s1600/side.png" height="51" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa x</span></div>
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<a class="twitter-share-button" data-size="large" data-url="http://thecreativefrontier.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/fonts-la-francaise.html#.VE7FF_msVSI" data-via="_Melissa247" href="https://twitter.com/share">Tweet</a><br />
<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-32592431047713046282014-09-29T11:57:00.003-07:002014-10-27T15:32:25.211-07:00My top social picks of the #RyderCup<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One long term effect of working at the Commonwealth Games is that I now find myself paying much more attention to big sporting events than I would have in the past. Pre-Glasgow 2014 I wouldn't have batted an eyelid at the World Cup, and I definitely wouldn't know what Fourballs was. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As it happens, the Ryder Cup has just finished at Gleneagles (in my Scottish homeland!) and I've been paying attention to the action. I won't say close attention as I still can't bring myself to watch sport for hours on end on TV, but I have been following both teams and the main Ryder Cup account activity across their Facebook & Twitter channels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/news/2014/09/29/ryder-cup-scores-162000-social-media-mentions-sponsor-bmw-dominating" target="_blank">The Drum</a> the Ryder Cup saw its highest ever online traffic after receiving 162,000 social mentions in the last week. The fans talking about the competition on social media were certainly enjoying what they were watching, with 79% of social mentions being positive. The top hashtags people used were #rydercup, #rydercup2014, #golf, #USA and finally #europe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have to say that I think Team Europe had the more polished social media strategy with behind-the-scenes photographs, informative score info-graphics and witty captions - whereas the USA's was a little bit cheesy with the fake movie posters and semi political campaign graphics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Take a look below to see some of my favourite posts from the past week, the last one is sure to give you nightmares!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The players are ready. Are you? <a href="http://t.co/hhZdoAOwPx">http://t.co/hhZdoAOwPx</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercup/status/515210432068718592">September 25, 2014</a></span></blockquote>
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<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
The waiting is over. It's time to walk the walk. <a href="http://t.co/rOFf25zJXb">pic.twitter.com/rOFf25zJXb</a><br />
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercup/status/515229957149446144">September 25, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
There it is... the 1st "Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Oleeeee! Ole!" of 2014 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RyderCup?src=hash">#RyderCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/UeScKLWBFf">https://t.co/UeScKLWBFf</a><br />
— Ryder Cup Team EUR (@rydercupEUROPE) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercupEUROPE/status/515382679483985921">September 26, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Only at the Ryder Cup. <a href="http://t.co/ASaJovrcm6">pic.twitter.com/ASaJovrcm6</a><br />
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercup/status/515788144177078272">September 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
These guys will be busy today. <a href="http://t.co/TAFKODrHnn">pic.twitter.com/TAFKODrHnn</a><br />
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercup/status/516211158509174784">September 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Supplies ready for the press conference. <a href="http://t.co/nMY9YGzTGe">pic.twitter.com/nMY9YGzTGe</a><br />
— Ryder Cup Team EUR (@rydercupEUROPE) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercupEUROPE/status/516289362213228545">September 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Thanks for the memories. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoEurope?src=hash">#GoEurope</a> <a href="http://t.co/LFJCzAB3cC">pic.twitter.com/LFJCzAB3cC</a><br />
— Ryder Cup Team EUR (@rydercupEUROPE) <a href="https://twitter.com/rydercupEUROPE/status/516302016558424064">September 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
What just happened? <a href="http://t.co/OeH6FjRusc">pic.twitter.com/OeH6FjRusc</a><br />
— Hunter Mahan (@HunterMahan) <a href="https://twitter.com/HunterMahan/status/516346635816026112">September 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading! Melissa x </span><br />
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-86197317095760655072014-09-22T13:07:00.002-07:002014-09-22T13:07:08.628-07:00Musical theatre: poster design tips!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been involved with musical theatre groups for around 10 years now - which is a little bit scary to think as that time has flown by! I started out with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ICELanark" target="_blank">ICE (Independent Community Entertainment)</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lanark-Panto-Club/297577545230?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Lanark Panto Club</a>, and for the last couple of years I've been part of <a href="http://lams.org.uk/" target="_blank">LAMS (Lanark Amateur Musical Society)</a> as part of the cast and a committee member. </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With posters being one of the main methods of advertising an amateur production, it's important that they look good enough to pull in the punters! I know that a lot of community groups don't have enough budget to pay designers to produce advertising materials, so most of the time it's someone in the cast/committee that ends up creating them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It can be hard to know where to start designing a poster for a performance, with the amount of information you need to fit on (dates, times, prices, rights etc) and any brand guidelines linked to the actual show. (logo, graphics etc)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a little helper to other amateur dramatics groups out there, I've pulled together some tips for creating posters and a A3 layout template that might be of use. (see below design tips)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Design tips</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Beware of high contrast gradients or gradients that use more than two colours. These can look quite dated. Keep gradients subtle and stick to harmonious colours not too far apart on the colour wheel. For example white/grey, orange/yellow, purple/blue. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. Just say no...to <b>Wordart</b>. Over fussy text with too many effects (3D, bevel, gradient, shadow) is another way to make posters look dated. If you want to make your text stand out try using a free font from a website like <a href="http://www.dafont.com/" target="_blank">dafont.com. </a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. If you're going to include photographs in your poster make sure to crop the edges carefully - organic forms like hair can be especially tricky to make look neat and professional. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. There might be a a lot of elements in your poster, so make sure the important details stand out by making them easy to read and in the right place. (see guide below!) The most important details are probably the show name, dates, location, price and how to get tickets. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Don't steal images from Google! It can be tempting to copy and paste images you need from Google, but it's actually illegal. A great site for royalty free images is <a href="http://www.freeimages.com/" target="_blank">sxc.hu. </a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6. Always place text on a solid or semi-solid colour background so it's legible. If you need to place it over an image try adding a low opacity shape behind it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7. As we tend to read from top to bottom, left to right, it makes sense lay your poster out so the most important details are easy for people to spot. Although, rules are made to be broken so sometimes this layout can be moved around if the visual idea requires it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Example A3 poster layout </u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Some good examples</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you're looking for someone to design your poster for a low cost please feel free to send me an email to <a href="mailto:melissareilly3@gmail.com" target="_blank">melissareilly3@gmail.com</a> :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa x</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-4811397241136893402014-09-12T12:46:00.000-07:002014-09-12T12:46:59.162-07:00"Rooted in the community"<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you go down to the woods today, you'll find something a little bit different in <a href="http://www.newlanark.org/" target="_blank">New Lanark</a>! In the continued development of the World Heritage Site on Lanark's doorstep, an exciting new project just been completed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In an area of New Lanark which I mostly remember as being a grassy hill, there is now a fantastic facility for families to enjoy: the </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Clearburn Picnic & Play Area. </b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Walking through the park it's hard to know where to look, as it seems around every bend of the path there is something new for the kids to enjoy. From a 'Bug B&B' and a 'Secret Stage', to my personal favourite the 'Swirling Willow' and 'Once upon a time' story chair. The ingenious design of the play area makes it appear to be part of the landscape, and not just </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">plonked down</i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> like other metal and plastic play parks I've seen so many of. The wooden texture and organic forms (like toadstool seats!) of the play area have a real fairy tale feel - and this is only enhanced by the hazy sun filtering through the trees surrounding the park.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was no ribbon in sight to open the park, instead Willie Macleod, head of the New Lanark Board of Trustees cut a piece of scarlet New Lanark Wool (<a href="http://newlanarkshop.co.uk/" target="_blank">produced in one of the on site historic mills</a>, don't you know?) to mark the opening of the park. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eagerly awaiting the wool to fall were children from local schools who had been involved in the development of the <b>Clearburn Nature Trail. </b>To the sound of applause from parents & on-lookers they formed, what can be called no less than an enthusiastic stampede, over the bridge then shot off in every direction possible to explore their new surroundings. I was slightly jealous that I couldn't join in & hang out on 'Monkey Mayhem', but as a big person I was privy to a bucksfizz and a New Lanark ice cream canape, so I can't complain too much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you live in Lanark or the surrounding areas I'd definitely recommend packing a picnic basket and heading down to Clearburn for the day. <a href="http://www.newlanark.org/visitorcentre/find.shtml" target="_blank">Here's how to get there!</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Take a peek at the different features of the play area...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #444444;">Clearburn Picnic & Play Area has been generously supported by <a href="http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Big Lottery Fund</a> and <a href="http://www.clydeandavonvalley.com/" target="_blank">The Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership</a>. The project has been developed in collaboration with the local community and schools. </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Keep an eye out for more lifestyle/event posts from The Creative Frontier! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Follow me on Twitter @_Melissa247<a href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/_Melissa247</a></span>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-21002991168928572082014-09-08T12:21:00.000-07:002014-09-08T12:21:27.539-07:00Greetings from...America!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The jet lag is just about wearing off, and I'm becoming accustomed to sleeping in a proper bed again (who knew the divine powers of a mattress?) since touching down in Glasgow early on Thursday morning after an amazing three weeks in the USA. Myself and 7 other twenty-somethings from around the world journeyed from New York to Los Angeles with <b><a href="http://www.trekamericalive.com/" target="_blank">trekamerica</a></b> on the company's famous 'Southern Sun' trip. Whilst I was holding up the Scottish contingent on my own, we had Angela from New Zealand, Roy from Korea and 5 other gals/guys from England. Leading the group was our amazing tour guide Becky, from Washington State. It was such an incredible experience, I'm sure we'll all remember it for years to come. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After sifting through all of my souvenirs and random artifacts</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I picked up along the way, I discovered I had quite the postcard collection going on. Whilst I didn't manage to raid a gift shop in each of the 18 states we passed through, the ones I did manage to get are from some of my favourite states/cities we visited: Texas, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love the down right cheesy graphics on some of the postcards. They remind me of the idealistic America I had in my mind before setting off on the trip: big, brash, bold, colourful and a little bit retro. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For your viewing pleasure, and from a graphic design point of view here's a look at the different styles of postcards you can pick up from sea to shining sea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you have a favourite postcard? Mine could be glitter-tastic Vegas!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">Follow me on twitter @_Melissa247</a></span><br />
<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-16566497384476365892014-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:002014-08-08T10:12:49.874-07:00Glasgow 2014: the #BestGamesEver!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over the past two years I've been on an amazing journey with the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games as we geared up to host Scotland's biggest ever sporting and cultural event - and as of Sunday 3 August we can say, <b>we did it!!</b> The Games are being hailed as the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23BestGamesEver&src=typd" target="_blank">#BestGamesEver </a>and I feel immensely proud to have been part of them. Over 1500 staff, 15000 volunteers and 6500 athletes & officials came together to make history. </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's not even mentioning the millions of visitors and spectators who came to Glasgow and created a magical and buzzing atmosphere throughout the city that I'm sure many will remember for a long time to come!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My role as Social Media Executive with the Games has now come to an end, so I'm now back in the job market. (here's my <a href="http://lnkd.in/eF-CFY" target="_blank">linkedin</a> and here's my <a href="http://issuu.com/melissareilly5/docs/2014_melissareilly_portfolio" target="_blank">creative portfolio</a>) First of all though, I'm taking a 3-week trip to the USA with TrekAmerica and will be travelling from New York to LA through the Southern states armed with bug spray and a cowboy hat. I'm pretty excited, as Charlie Flynn would say I'm buzzin' like a jar of wasps! I have no idea where my next job will take me, and I'm pretty open to opportunities but would like to build on my experience in any social, digital, creative, communications, marketing, events type roles - ideally in central Scotland. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">See y'all later!</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Melissa x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Some Glasgow 2014 reading...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/news/features/top-5-social-moments-glasgow-2014" target="_blank">Top 5 social media moments of the Games</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/news/features/top-home-nations-moments" target="_blank">Top Home Nations moments</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/news/features/magical-moments-games" target="_blank">Magical moments of the Games</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/news/features/glasgow-2014s-unofficial-anthems" target="_blank">Glasgow 2014's Unofficial Anthems</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b> </b></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Some of my favourite moments...</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ahhh The Queen photo-bombed our selfie!! 😄 👑 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/royalty?src=hash">#royalty</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sheevensmiled?src=hash">#sheevensmiled</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amazing?src=hash">#amazing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Glasgow2014?src=hash">#Glasgow2014</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Hockeyroos">@Hockeyroos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AusComGames">@AusComGames</a> <a href="http://t.co/ZMtHYFUqHk">pic.twitter.com/ZMtHYFUqHk</a></span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">— Jayde Taylor (@_JaydeTaylor) <a href="https://twitter.com/_JaydeTaylor/statuses/492269017215012864">July 24, 2014</a></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/chrishoy">@chrishoy</a> great look towards <a href="https://twitter.com/Queen_UK">@Queen_UK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CommonwealthGames?src=hash">#CommonwealthGames</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/baton?src=hash">#baton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/screwtop?src=hash">#screwtop</a> <a href="http://t.co/LhRqzgftQz">pic.twitter.com/LhRqzgftQz</a> — Andrew McNab (@Andrew_McNab) <a href="https://twitter.com/Andrew_McNab/statuses/492077471068880896">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
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I never thought I'd be able to stand in the Celtic Board Room in front of the trophy case. . . with no pants. <a href="http://t.co/FClLZZm0ke">pic.twitter.com/FClLZZm0ke</a>
— Rod Stewart (@rodstewart) <a href="https://twitter.com/rodstewart/statuses/492065908563537920">July 23, 2014</a></blockquote>
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The crowds united to chant on the underdogs - Uganda - at the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2014rugbysevens?src=hash">#2014rugbysevens</a>! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BestGamesEver?src=hash">#BestGamesEver</a> <a href="http://t.co/Zy6aHoahnN">pic.twitter.com/Zy6aHoahnN</a><br />
— Glasgow 2014 (@Glasgow2014) <a href="https://twitter.com/Glasgow2014/statuses/496354900414980096">August 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Without doubt my favourite ever post-match interview from any sport: <a href="http://t.co/org2RxwLFf">http://t.co/org2RxwLFf</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CharlieFlynn?src=hash">#CharlieFlynn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Character?src=hash">#Character</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Glasgow2014">@Glasgow2014</a><br />
— Fraser Wilson (@Doonhamer79) <a href="https://twitter.com/Doonhamer79/statuses/496239798374658048">August 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-43876773780739183202014-06-21T06:19:00.001-07:002014-06-23T10:14:48.999-07:00What I'd change about Twitter (and some other social media channels!)<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Using social media for work and play, there are a few things about certain channels that are starting to get on my nerves. If I ruled the internet, there are a few usability and feature changes I'd make to some of the main social media contenders to make my life that little bit easier... </span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twitter</span><br>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Instead of having to go through a third party site like bit.ly, I'd LOVE it if Twitter had an option to automatically shorten URLs within the desktop site & mobile. It just makes sense!</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It would also be useful to have the ability to 'quote tweet' from the Twitter mobile app - I can't think why this feature is only on desktop? Sometimes you want to explain why you're RT'ing something.<b> (Since writing this post and updating my twitter app you can now do this - someone must have been listening ;) )</b></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It would be great if the new ability to upload multiple photos was also available on the desktop version of Twitter - it seems to be only on mobile right now. The other day I found myself taking photos on my phone, emailing myself them to edit on Photoshop, then emailing myself them back to download them again and then upload them to Twitter with my phone - ahh!</span></li></ul><div><font face="Trebuchet MS, sans-serif"><br></font></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the twitter ads platform it would be really useful if you could have an 'enter now' call to action with a webcard - makes much more sense for running competitions! </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Instagram</span><br>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's kind of annoying that your 'Following' feed doesn't have a scroll or 'more' functionality so you can look through more of your friends' activity. (maybe I'm just nosey)</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The BIG one. Please Instagram, can we have hyperlinks in image descriptions yet? Pretty please with a cherry on top! (it would also be nice if there was an automatic link shortener</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> - see above)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Linkedin</span><br>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When you accept someone as a new connection their little profile picture pops up for a second...then disappears! Of course you want to have a nosey at the employment history of this mysterious new connection. Instead of having to go and then (try and remember) their name and search for it, it would be great if you just had a simple 'view their profile' option after connecting with someone. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whadda'ya know - I can't think of anything I'd change about Facebook right now as a user. As a page manager that's a different story and a whole other blog post. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What about you, do you have any social media 'bug bears'? Comment below! (...and let the revolution commence!)</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks, Melissa.</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br></span>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-66773093524117757732014-06-13T12:03:00.002-07:002014-06-13T12:26:06.024-07:00A look at the #WorldCup on Twitter so far!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's here everybody. Last night the FIFA World Cup kicked off and for the next month we'll have football matches on the telly almost (thank goodness!) every day.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'll put my hands up and admit that I'm really not that interested in football at all...like, not even a little bit. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That being said, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">working at </span><a href="http://glasgow2014.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Glasgow 2014</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> has piqued my interest in how the biggest football event of the year uses social media, with a particular focus on Twitter, to engage and communicate with their fans.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last night, the first match of the tournament #BRAvCRO, or Brazil vs Croatia to you and I <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/bravscro-7-worldcup-twitterdata-points-you-need-to-know" target="_blank">generated over 12.2million tweets during the match</a>. With 3,336 tweets per minute using the hashtag synonymous with the competition, #WorldCup. The tweets came from all over the world with more than 150 countries joining in the conversation. Check out this <a href="http://cartodb.com/v/worldcup/brazil-croatia/#/2/1.8/-21.4/0" target="_blank">cool heat-map which visualises the conversation</a>, and shows the huge influx in activity when a goal was scored. </span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="520" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" src="http://cartodb.com/v/worldcup/brazil-croatia/#/2/1.8/-21.4/0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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</span> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As we know, people love to share photos via social media - and that was no different last night. Twitter have pulled together an <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/2014/bravscro-7-worldcup-twitterdata-points-you-need-to-know" target="_blank">interactive gallery</a> of some of the most shared photos posted during the match, with the top two coming from the Official <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup" target="_blank">@FIFAWorldCup</a> account. The most mentioned player of the match was Brazil's top goal scorer <a href="https://twitter.com/NeymarJr" target="_blank">@NeymarJ</a> who consequently gained over 165,000 new followers on the day of the match. (10x the amount of followers he gains a day on average)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look what happened to <a href="https://twitter.com/neymarjr">@neymarjr</a>’s followers after his <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BrazilvsCroatia&src=hash">#BrazilvsCroatia</a> performance <a href="https://t.co/YybPLg6pzg">https://t.co/YybPLg6pzg</a> <a href="http://t.co/891lw3SfYT">pic.twitter.com/891lw3SfYT</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterData/statuses/477331548253851648">June 13, 2014</a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Taking a look at the official </span><a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">@FIFAWorldCup</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> twitter account we can see that they have 1.47 million followers. Interestingly, the account has been branded as the 'FIFA World Cup' organisation, rather than the individual event IE </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">twitter.com/Brazil2014</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. This means that in four year's time when the next world cup rolls around they can just 're-brand' the channel and will have a solid follower-base of 2 million +....give or take a few hundred thousand. </span></div>
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Another thing I find really interesting, and quite surprising is that the channel doesn't seem to offer any customer service facility - from looking at its <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/with_replies" target="_blank">'tweets and replies' feed</a> there aren't any direct @mentions to fans which would indicate them answering questions. With so many people using social media to voice their opinions/make enquiries I wonder if they are missing a trick here. On the other hand they may have made a conscious decision to make the channel purely about pushing out the best/most relevant content - and leave the questions about parking spaces to some poor guy on the end of a phone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In terms of content so far they seem to be covering a nice range of different types of material. They are giving fans exclusive insights by showing behind-the-scenes content like the <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/477520381453299715" target="_blank">players' dressing room</a> and a shot of the stadium before the Opening Ceremony started. They are also sharing the most up-to-date information like <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/477509580386471936" target="_blank">team line ups</a>, and live tweeting throughout matches. Not forgetting to engage with the fans, they're also asking a <a href="https://twitter.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/477476808812556288" target="_blank">lot of engaging questions</a> - and RT'ing some of the best answers, which always helps in driving up the replies. The web page they seem to be driving the most traffic to is the match specific <a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=255931/match=300186510/live-blog.html" target="_blank">Live Blog</a> which is pretty nifty showing a range of content like quotes, facts, stats, weather and photos of people wearing carrots on their head. El dente! I mean....GOOOAAALLLLL!</span></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll be looking out for interesting content throughout the rest of the tournament and will be saving my cheers for my sweepstake selection. Go Cameroon!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Feel free to share - </span><br />
<a class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://thecreativefrontier.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/a-look-at-worldcup-on-twitter-so-far.html#.U5tLmfldVSI" data-via="_Melissa247" href="https://twitter.com/share">Tweet</a><br />
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Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-19708571977767115412014-06-07T06:11:00.003-07:002014-06-07T06:14:15.728-07:00The CIA's #FirstTweet makes a splash on Twitter.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGTUWkKMoe3ODZjsSsPii70lC0ki-5nXAUQ7DFuq1AQfzXLFRFWCbcaU6BOza90gVR9FBj5QUOmt1xxYOJ0lTOHP3svQACsxhczPj8L9VjYSRRaRpXqm1CIHL4jhNec8IyFIcMNtaxVo/s1600/_75365924_ciatweet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOGTUWkKMoe3ODZjsSsPii70lC0ki-5nXAUQ7DFuq1AQfzXLFRFWCbcaU6BOza90gVR9FBj5QUOmt1xxYOJ0lTOHP3svQACsxhczPj8L9VjYSRRaRpXqm1CIHL4jhNec8IyFIcMNtaxVo/s1600/_75365924_ciatweet.jpg" height="356" width="640" /></a></div>
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I woke up this morning and noticed that twitter was all aflutter with talk of the CIA's surprisingly witty first tweet. The secretive government organisation joined <a href="https://twitter.com/cia" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Central.Intelligence.Agency" target="_blank">Facebook</a> yesterday, with a promise of making #unclassified information more widely available to the public. </span><br />
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We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.<br />
— CIA (@CIA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CIA/statuses/474971393852182528">June 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In less than 24 hours the tweet has gained 210 RT's and 120K favourites, driving over 383K followers of the new account. Not bad!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can't say I know too much about the CIA (does anyone?) but I think they've made a smart move in launching the account with more of a 'human' tone of voice, much unlike the </span><a href="https://twitter.com/FBI" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">@FBI's</a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> account which just seems to robotically post out web links. Everyone loves the glamorous idea of secret missions and spies, so the tone they appear to be planning to use definitely further enhances the 'coolness' of the secretive government organisation. I'll certainly be giving the account a follow, and will be sorely disappointed if I don't see some form of extra terrestrial activity. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I'm wondering if MI5 will follow suit in joining the social network, and if they'll use a similar tone of voice to our American cousins...or if the stiff upper lip will remain. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A parting thought to the hypothetical land of film. 007's #FirstTweet? </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>@Bond007: Shaken, not stirred. </b></span><br />
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<a class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://thecreativefrontier.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/the-cias-firsttweet-makes-splash-on.html#.U5MP7_mwLXE" data-via="_Melissa247" href="https://twitter.com/share">Tweet</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Melissa x</span><br />
<script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');</script>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-68444576324633184852014-05-14T12:04:00.002-07:002014-05-14T12:05:56.646-07:00121 with @AshlyLondon!<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hi everyone! The next blogger to be featured on The Creative Frontier is </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger <a href="http://www.ashlylondon.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ashly Rae!</a> Read on to find out what inspired her to start her blog, and the beauty product she can't live without...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhiroW-BtDJdScSJz-TWz9gHfBg1wS364A5pOIoCoDh92N53YncZm_jY7E-VXagkB50c1KeBJ4wLQ99jqHViBfyn_0QoJIu_p3v8DD3CBBowbZLuJmBoTtewXZ2i9gFdAUX9YU8zXeOc/s1600/ashly+london+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxhiroW-BtDJdScSJz-TWz9gHfBg1wS364A5pOIoCoDh92N53YncZm_jY7E-VXagkB50c1KeBJ4wLQ99jqHViBfyn_0QoJIu_p3v8DD3CBBowbZLuJmBoTtewXZ2i9gFdAUX9YU8zXeOc/s1600/ashly+london+(1).jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">What's your name and where are you from?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ashly, I am from Aberdeen up north in bonny Scotland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why did you want to start a blog?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To be honest I kind of started it by accident, I didn't really know what I was doing and found myself typing away about god knows what and here I am today!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where do you get your writing inspiration from?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other blogs, magazines, shopping, what I have been up to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What channels do you mainly use to promote your blog?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love twitter, meeting and chatting to new people. Youtube is fab too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What's your favourite high street clothing shop and why?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New Look because I find the prices are so great.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What's beauty product could you not live without?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Arbonne intensive renewal serum, makes my face smoother than smooth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do you have any tips for someone looking to start a fashion/beauty/lifestyle blog like yours?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just go for it. Be prepared to but in a lot of time and effort, it is not easy but in the end it is definitely worth it!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blogger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Web: <a href="http://www.ashlylondon.blogspot.com/">www.ashlylondon.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/AshlyLondon" target="_blank">@ashlylondon</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you're a Scottish Blogger who'd like to be featured in the Creative Frontier then just drop me an email at <a href="mailto:melissa@247-design.co.uk" target="_blank">melissa@247-design.co.uk</a>!</span><br />
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<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-62444196118560065522014-04-03T08:24:00.002-07:002014-04-03T08:27:05.345-07:00121 with Rachael Tordraighen from @capturingbritain<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can't believe that we're into the month of April already - where has the year gone?? This month's interviewee is </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://instagram.com/capturingbritain" target="_blank">@capturingbritain</a> co-creator <a href="http://rachaeltordraighen.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Rachael</a> who talks about her 'phongraphy' habit and why she started blogging...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JejfBFCnhqJ0yaI62sA8EJtmKb9Tit4wROEcTdYNPz9acPXKGPZishhQ-D8xEdHmt75s7PnGEfrgH-TYWJsIwGONXzpLa4ULHNHA4MO8yQqbv1bz1sG_uDc-icVdIhxZ9MMcYk8C_UU/s1600/Phonto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6JejfBFCnhqJ0yaI62sA8EJtmKb9Tit4wROEcTdYNPz9acPXKGPZishhQ-D8xEdHmt75s7PnGEfrgH-TYWJsIwGONXzpLa4ULHNHA4MO8yQqbv1bz1sG_uDc-icVdIhxZ9MMcYk8C_UU/s1600/Phonto.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">What's your name and where are you from?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm Rachael Tordraighen <a href="http://instagram.com/rachaeltor" target="_blank">@rachaeltor </a><a href="http://instagram.com/rachaeltor2" target="_blank">@rachaeltor2</a> on instagram and <a href="https://twitter.com/RachaelTordraig" target="_blank">@rachaeltordraig</a> on twitter and I'm originally from Yorkshire but have lived in the East Neuk of Fife for the past four years. Living near the sea and in a rural location with big skies and fantastic light were part of the reason I took an interest in 'phonography'. This grew to the point where I had a considerable amount of followers on instagram and with that to came the creation of <a href="http://instagram.com/capturingbritain" target="_blank">@capturingbritain</a>. The instagram community I co-created and moderate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Why did you want to start a blog?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I enjoy writing. I do it in my regular job as a researcher but the tone is always very academic. I like sharing ideas and making people think about their actions. I've always been interested in how people interact in a changing social landscape (My Masters thesis looked at this). That fascination continues to grow so it was obvious that I'd eventually start blogging on people and social networking with the scope that eventually I'll apply my talents to working in social media management.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGjNa1PHXQQJOtyOFKwMyMWX4OAr8-zp4OtrPCsei6xIVmbVKKbBJCir88OMUjaJdy_jAhKp3afhOUZsDu8nIs8aLO9N3r_BddrVLWeNqF_gmi9NN-BysMG-n9W5itp9R4fMVlETegdY/s1600/IMG_20140221_145137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGjNa1PHXQQJOtyOFKwMyMWX4OAr8-zp4OtrPCsei6xIVmbVKKbBJCir88OMUjaJdy_jAhKp3afhOUZsDu8nIs8aLO9N3r_BddrVLWeNqF_gmi9NN-BysMG-n9W5itp9R4fMVlETegdY/s1600/IMG_20140221_145137.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where do you get your writing inspiration from?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Conversations I have at random and people watching. People are full of ideas even if they don't realise it. I love people and people watching be that in the real world or even how they interact online - the things they post etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What would you say is the biggest misconception about a Community Managers job?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think people don't realise the amount of time that goes into community management. To me it's like a labour of love. You also get a lot of feedback sometimes negative. You can't please everybody in the way that communities develop even if it's down to the font used on a post but i think it's key to remain my pleasant self. Any feedback is constructive. As <a href="http://instagram.com/capturingbritain" target="_blank">@capturingbritain</a> has grown and the interaction along with it I have had to recruit a team of moderators and 'manage' not only the page but them. In all fairness though as I like creativity and individuality there is no real regulation over what people post as long as it's relevant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Who is your favourite person to follow on Instagram?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's a tough one to answer. <a href="http://instagram.com/jimmybobbins" target="_blank">@jimmybobbins</a> <a href="http://instagram.com/marcamachofebrel" target="_blank">@marcamachofebrel</a> are among favourites - James has amazing BNW pics and Mar is diverse and posts from her phone often with little editing but still producing amazing captures.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where would be your favourite place to photograph in Scotland?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'd like to go to the Isles of Lewis and Harris if any one wants to take me :).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do you have any tips for someone looking to start a blog similar to yours?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you want to write just do it. Write just for you and if anyone else enjoys what you have to say it's a bonus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks Rachael!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you're a Scottish blogger and would like to be featured on The Creative Frontier then drop me an email at <a href="mailto:melissa@247-design.co.uk" target="_blank">melissa@247-design.co.uk </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks, Melissa x</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Follow @_Melissa247</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/111332644180581990907" rel="author">Melissa on Google+</a></span><br />
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<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-46651519509617597082014-03-05T11:26:00.000-08:002014-03-14T12:34:16.164-07:00121 with The Foodie Quine<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As part of a new series on my blog I'm going to interview a different Scottish blogger every month to find out a bit about their blog, and their tips for people looking to start out blogging in their industry. I thought this would be a good way to build links with other bloggers in Scotland and to give readers a break from me nattering on! <a href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" target="_blank">(please get in touch if you'd like to be featured)</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">*dramatic drumroll*....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first blogger I'm interviewing is food blogger <a href="http://www.foodiequine.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Foodie Quine</a> based in Aberdeen!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFspKxvKm_25YGvwXXIbfTa7iR7libkul4FSjc2trv6FX1OFtk_L_TBfPS7ZM9_6tphZlVePbQDq8w68IJpAJWRiBBVBaTx7v0NYcTQJwvKEQPIjwRZX8xzicMx6PK4qH0HpIadmE6F_U/s1600/photo+%252848%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFspKxvKm_25YGvwXXIbfTa7iR7libkul4FSjc2trv6FX1OFtk_L_TBfPS7ZM9_6tphZlVePbQDq8w68IJpAJWRiBBVBaTx7v0NYcTQJwvKEQPIjwRZX8xzicMx6PK4qH0HpIadmE6F_U/s1600/photo+%252848%2529.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What's your name and where are you from?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm Claire Jessiman aka <a href="http://www.foodiequine.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Foodie Quine</a>. Originally from The Black Isle and now living in a village to the south of Aberdeen. I've been blogging for almost two years. Married to Foodie Loon and have two bairns. One who is a complete mini foodie and the other is more of a chicken nuggets kinda gal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What inspired the name of your blog?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My blog is called Foodie Quine because that's exactly what what I am! </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Foodie - foody, [ˈfu:di] Someone greatly (even excessively) interested in the preparation and consumption of good food. Epicure, Gastronome, Gourmet, Bon Vivant </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quine - quean (Scottish Doric dialect ) a young woman, girl or daughter. A female person from Aberdeen/shire</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Why did you start food blogging in the first place?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I started blogging because it was suggested by some that I should share my ongoing adventures in food on the interweb. Bet they wish they'd kept their mouths shut now. The blog has brought me some fantastic opportunities and I've met some great people along the way. As a result of it I'm now a Freelance Foodie doing cookery demonstrations, foraging events, food education, community cookery classes, consultancy, radio and more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Where do you get your ideas for blog posts?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Food is all around us every day so inspiration is everywhere. I blog about events I attend, dishes I cook, places we visit and dates on the foodie calendar. I'm passionate about promoting the fantastic natural larder we have in Scotland and championing local farmers and producers. Blogger link ups and challenges are also great fun where time allows and I'm happy to undertake product reviews if anyone is nice enough to send me a food parcel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">What food item do you always have in your fridge? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cheese. See below...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZIsO-GRum42i1bNzUzKgD0To5ytron-YFc70Ps5heTAt8CUriT3m11xLXa0rfkTHBAXYxu62g725Rh7dNpM3zWB3RHVY6rPi8tevkJhZD42Rywa1W_t0MVk3h1R_rpZKMst6rsXVT1w/s1600/cheesecake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZIsO-GRum42i1bNzUzKgD0To5ytron-YFc70Ps5heTAt8CUriT3m11xLXa0rfkTHBAXYxu62g725Rh7dNpM3zWB3RHVY6rPi8tevkJhZD42Rywa1W_t0MVk3h1R_rpZKMst6rsXVT1w/s1600/cheesecake.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be? </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's a really tricky one. I'm going to turn it around and nominate the the food that I couldn't live without and that would be Cheese. I'm a huge fan of it. I had an amazing Cake of Cheese for my 40th Birthday Party. Can I have a drink too? Make mine a G&T.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Do you have any tips for people looking to get into the world of food blogging?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don't go into it for what you think you can get out of it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Be yourself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Share your passion. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Find your voice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Keep your integrity. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stick at it. Even if you think it's only your Mum reading. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Blog <a href="http://www.foodiequine.co.uk/">www.foodiequine.co.uk</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/FoodieQuine">www.facebook.com/FoodieQuine</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/foodiequine" target="_blank">@foodiequine</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzO4u92Lq_h1Qx9bUfbxifk5_viJhf2WSfyype0H7RGsYnvzTkEE4dkf763LDfFidJOYVFon7cFe2egZ05-7dIrT3tqgWF3Oq7cSYFY2-VZfLjHhttqkqaxZXIi_6ITla7msK8KmkkjI/s1600/Native+by+Nick+Nairn+launch+event.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzO4u92Lq_h1Qx9bUfbxifk5_viJhf2WSfyype0H7RGsYnvzTkEE4dkf763LDfFidJOYVFon7cFe2egZ05-7dIrT3tqgWF3Oq7cSYFY2-VZfLjHhttqkqaxZXIi_6ITla7msK8KmkkjI/s1600/Native+by+Nick+Nairn+launch+event.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thank you very much to Claire (</span><a href="http://www.foodiequine.co.uk/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">The Foodie Quine</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">) for taking part and answering my questions. Best of luck with your blog in the future and I must admit I'm very jealous of your Cake of Cheese!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I said I'm looking for more Scottish bloggers to interview, if you're interested <a href="mailto:melissa@247-design.co.uk" target="_blank">please send me an email!</a> :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks, Melissa x</span><br />
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<a class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" href="https://twitter.com/_Melissa247" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Follow @_Melissa247</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/111332644180581990907" rel="author">Melissa on Google+</a></span><br />
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<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-87697863962445510392014-02-24T13:19:00.000-08:002014-02-26T01:49:10.093-08:00Going viral: what makes people share content via social media?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UMFIgqd-Qpvpgr2lqpuAFBD1DXdalie61Svg6OAE7msmQD86PU-rV0U5BvK4q9NuGSP7lsFlFM92Z4vrRckVgqLLKeBlhMR5YseqpcxznlR6OXJ-g83ImaLe_bYwwLpYDj3MAqPtfac/s1600/viral_content.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2UMFIgqd-Qpvpgr2lqpuAFBD1DXdalie61Svg6OAE7msmQD86PU-rV0U5BvK4q9NuGSP7lsFlFM92Z4vrRckVgqLLKeBlhMR5YseqpcxznlR6OXJ-g83ImaLe_bYwwLpYDj3MAqPtfac/s1600/viral_content.png" height="320" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've noticed recently that everyone seems to be talking about making content 'go viral', as if there is a magic lever you can pull that will...*poof!* make your content spread like wildfire across the internet. Unfortunately, there isn't a magic formula or 'Viral content for Dummies' book out there (actually is there? must check amazon) and if there was I'm sure Zuckerberg would have tried to buy it for oh let's say, 13 billion by now?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Content goes 'viral' when it is shared in quick succession by a large group of people, then their friends share it, and their friends....and their friends...and their - you get the picture!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Although there isn't a sure fire way to tell which content will be widely shared or not, I've had a think about it and I think there are things that a piece of content should <b>do</b>, or make people <b>feel</b> to allow it to be <u>worthy</u> of a share/RT in their opinion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Shock people</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shocking content can be something that surprises them, baffles them or just simply makes them sharply intake breath then let out an "Ohmigoddddddd" "Can you believe this??" "This is crazy!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Content like this is most likely to be created organically (happen on it's own) but if you can be there to capture moments on video or camera then you're onto a winner. Just like the CCTV camera that caught this bear scoping out unsuspecting Scottish couple Bob & Irene in California...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Make them laugh</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />From what I've seen, positive content tends to get shared more than negative content online and what better way to make someone feel positive than to make them laugh? Funny content might not be for everyone, depending on what industry you're in - but for the majority of businesses I'd say it's a good idea to let your metaphorical hair down and test the comedy waters*.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">* Good writers/content producers essential. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You don't want to seem too try-hard and be like the weird uncle at a family party cracking out the obscure jokes that nobody gets. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Making me chuckle recently is the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cadburycremeegg" target="_blank">Cadbury Creme Egg Facebook page</a>...</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151809338400079&set=a.441333980078.235608.42941780078&type=1&theater" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_JBTCrUnqBwEcaITg6xrX53IV19-VeWTNEnDfpq15SqnCtI1QjSpIG1WH_eY9IRUgU_kaYdaGkL71kZVad_DpNxm49mf7ZAw_ijCNng3LvkoM5HZb2kaBEAYXistf1c5LvTdxUp8mAg/s1600/creme_egg.jpg" height="252" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Activate their FOMO (Fear of missing out)</b></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Have you seen this???"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Us humanoids are naturally curious and when we hear whisperings of something that's going on in the internet, we're more than likely to seek it out so we can see it/watch it and be able to join in the conversations with everyone else. We'll also then feel inclined to share the content to <b>show </b>that we're part of the gang. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It also helps if the content is hard to find or even banned. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When someone tells you NOT to think of a black cat, what do you think about? And when someone tells you that no matter what, you must NOT look inside the box - what can't you stop thinking about doing? ...and when you hear that something is banned on the internet then by-jolly you're going to find it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Admit it...you searched for Scarlett Johansson's banned superbowl ad didn't you? (along with about 13 million other viewers)</span><br />
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<u style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Relate to them</b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds are becoming overrun with the relate-able graphics known as memes. People seem almost unable to control themselves when it comes to sharing these graphics, as they allow them to show that they <u>relate with the content</u> in an 'I agree with that', 'I do that too!' way without having to actually <b>say it. </b>Take this one for example, you're having a crappy day and don't really want to be seen to be moaning about it... just click 'share' show that you concur with the populous in 'Monday hating' without coming across as too negative or a bit of a grumpy guts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u><b>Connect emotionally</b></u> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Content that connects emotionally with someone is always going to perform well as it's another way for people to relate to the content. By 'connect emotionally' I mean content that has been produced with a certain mood or feeling in mind that will elicit emotions from people or mirror what they are already feeling which will in turn lead them to engage with, or share the content. On the most basic levels, this could be split into four categories:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy - share because the content makes you feel good, laugh, feel positive vibes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Supportive/Proud - share to show your support for a cause, person or organisation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sad - share to raise awareness of a cause, event, show you empathise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Angry - share to get reaction, generate conversation, protest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u>Give them useful information</u></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lastly, people will be inclined to share content they feel will be useful to others - such as an interesting article, informative graphic or demonstrative video. If you know your business/industry then this type of content should be one of the most accessible to produce. Work in beauty? produce make-up tutorial videos using your products. Work in DIY? produce an info-graphic on how to tile a bathroom (can you tell I don't do DIY??)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just think, how can you <b>teach</b> people something new?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I'd love to hear any of your thoughts on why you share content, or if you've found any good examples of viral content you couldn't resist sharing!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/111332644180581990907" rel="author">Melissa on Google+</a></span><br />
<br />Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Glasgow, Glasgow City, UK55.864237 -4.251805999999987855.721638000000006 -4.5745294999999881 56.006836 -3.9290824999999878tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-829752041132692589.post-13060983708462135422014-01-25T04:27:00.002-08:002014-06-13T12:26:42.675-07:00Happy Birthday Vine!<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One year ago Twitter gave birth to a beautiful baby....6-second video sharing platform - formally known as </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Vine. </b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since launching last January, Vine has acquired over 40 million users (August 2013) - although they are very tight lipped about how many of these are actually active and producing vines. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In case you haven't used <a href="https://vine.co/" target="_blank">Vine</a> before, it's a feed-style channel that lets users create 6 second video clips (Vines) that loop when played back until the viewer pauses or scrolls down their feed to the next video. Like Facebook / Instagram you can 'like' and 'comment' on videos, and also 're-vine' to share the video on your profile. The 're-vine' feature is the little button behind many Vines going viral & users becoming 'Vine Stars' and accumulating millions of followers in a matter of days. </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've had the app downloaded on my phone for a while now, and I mainly use it to scroll through my feed and watch Vines from users I follow - I seem to have a penchant for comedy/humorous ones! In fact, I think the comedy Vines make the best use of the platform (who knew 6 seconds could be so funny?) and make me the most interested to see <i>what happens next? </i>Famous comedians doing live vine-gigs? </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I haven't ventured into actually creating a vine yet - I think this might be because all the vines/users I see are so funny that I feel a bit intimidated about creating one? I wonder if other people feel this way as I've read suggestions that although the platform has over 40 </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">million users - it's only a small number of these 'stars' that are actually creating vines...</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, it's a typical Scottish morning with a steady stream of horizontal rain and snow so here are some of my favourite Vines that have literally made me LOL to cheer us up and shoo away the January blues :) </span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hQPjM1dn3MD/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hVn3VuBl95M/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script><br />
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<iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/h2DFEZEHF0b/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hbTuxIuQv7j/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hbFwheI9Uez/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hq5n9QYaBD7/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hVrYxdPWAA2/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/heZvK5F2eQl/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe class="vine-embed" frameborder="0" height="320" src="https://vine.co/v/hrhedaV2YH0/embed/postcard" width="320"></iframe><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js"></script></span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I think aussie godzilla is my favourite :) </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thanks for reading, Melissa x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/111332644180581990907" rel="author">Melissa on Google+</a></span>Melissa Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02741428381996395172noreply@blogger.com0Glasgow, Glasgow City, UK55.864237 -4.251805999999987855.721638000000006 -4.5745294999999881 56.006836 -3.9290824999999878