Today I’ve got a cracking quote to share, and hopefully a little food for thought to go with it.

I’ve just started reading the copywriting guide ‘Words That Work’ by the political consultant and speechwriter, Dr. Frank Luntz. As you’d expect from a book on this topic, the main theme is masterfully condensed into the strapline “It’s not what you say, it’s what people hear”.

I was barely three pages in when I read a passage that really caught my attention:

“The key to successful communication is to take the imaginative leap of stuffing yourself right into your listener’s shoes to know what they are thinking and feeling in the deepest recesses of their mind and heart. How that person perceives you is even more real, at least in a practical sense, than how you perceive yourself.”

Even though the words above are about speechwriting the advice is just as valid for crafting web content. Further than that, it applies well to other aspects of what we do as web designers and publishers.

(more…)

Last week I wrote our first post in a new mini-series on Social Media, discussing Twitter.

We’ve since come across some fascinating statistics detailing the top ten countries that Twitter receives traffic from. Our international audience may find this rather eye-opening. Check it out…

(more…)

With the new year comes new resolutions, new plans and new ideas – hold up, scrap that – here’s what this is without all the rambling…

A new mini-series of posts from Tactical Thinking about how Social Media is being used in the Snow Sports and general Adventure Tourism Industries.

It’s always nice to associate things with the beginnings of another calendar year, but I think I’m a few weeks late on that note.

So here it is; post number one in our new series and in it we’ll be discussing last years big social media development Twitter. Now if you don’t know what Twitter is, don’t fret…

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

… in other terms it’s a free micro-blogging platform that allows people and businesses to communicate short and simple messages quickly to their audience.

Rather than explain all the benefits and intricacies of Twitter itself, we thought it best to just show you how others are using it in the many different ways it can be applied.
(more…)

In light of the recent economic doom and gloom, and before 2008 could see it’s end, UK-based travel web site Travolution asked a cross-section of executives and commentators for their travel predictions for 2009.

For the first time senior executives and bloggers stare into their crystal balls to second-guess the events which will shape the industry over the course of the next 12 months

Now before you delve right in, be aware: this is a very long post! There’s some interesting perspectives to be read and a few clashing views (always fun!), but it’s a good insight none-the-less. To save you a bit of time we’ve picked out the six most relevant points for our specific audience…
(more…)

Last week, amidst the delivery of a web marketing pitch, I was asked about the negative branding impacts social media could have on ones business. The client was particularly concerned with the open interactive company-specific groups, like those becoming common place on Facebook.

I addressed the concern by discussing constructive feedback and by pointing out that complaints or negative comments made by customers are not always a bad thing. On the plus side, they provide the business with an opportunity to respond publicly and they often bring up concerns that the management may not have been previously aware of. David Alston, a guest on Lee Odden’s Top Rank Online Marketing blog summed up the social media complaint responding benefits (wow, that’s a mouthful) very nicely in his last post Top 10 Reasons for Monitoring Brands in Social Media.

“A complaint is an opportunity to demonstrate problem-solving abilities. A posted complaint may also draw out other comments from people with the same concern, which provides an opportunity to reach out to them as well. And who knows, impressing customers with great customer service may generate some positive posts about how you resolved the problems.”

(more…)