Following the SEMDays conference which was held in Bucharest between 24th -25th of September, we sat down with Nichola Stott to discuss the importance of adding context and value to every digital marketing strategy.
Beaglecat: We oftentimes see comments like “sharing is caring” on social media. In your opinion, is sharing really caring or is it advertising in disguise?
Nichola Stott: I think sharing is definitely caring when there is value or context added. As an example if I’m RT’ing something that a colleague or peer has written to my followers I will try to add a little additional value or personal perspective. If it is industry data then I might say if it’s something like “Our data agrees with this too…” or “I found point 7 to be the case.” Here’s a few example tweets. That said if you represent a personality or a product that is personality-marketing-driven then I’d still recommend getting your social ambassadors to do the same . You can even create suggested value points for them to add. Not only does this help them retain (and grow) follower numbers if they are still seen to be adding value to what is obvious product endorsement; but sales conversion is helped enormously.
BC: Where should a small business with a quite limited budget start with its digital marketing strategy?
N.S.: If it is a B2B company I would definitely recommend communicating frequently via Twitter and LinkedIn, creating and attending meetups for networking. I’d recommend using knowledge based assets as the strategic offer. Invest that small budget in creating free white papers and tools to help grow a mailing list and market to that list, also leveraging members of the list as community ambassadors.
BC: If you could name 3 books that have truly inspired and helped you grow during the past few years, what would they be and why?
N.S.: Elon Musk – How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and TESLA is Shaping Our Future was an amazing read. I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk and really admire the way he thinks without any limitations. Every now and then you hear stories and read anecdotes that tend to suggest he may lack some emotional intelligence or perspective on “normal life” but I think we need different people for different things -from a team level to a company level, to a country level to a global level. Technical SEOs tend to think very differently from creative designers as a more familiar example. The critical difference with Musk (and indeed with many other billionaire entrepreneurs like Richard Branson too) is this attitude that any theoretical concept can and should be practical and that he is the person to help steer whatever it is from theoretical to actual. And he’s done it enough times already. I’m also personally obsessed with space and genuinely believe that the long term survival of the human race must involve leaving Earth in generations to come. A belief shared by many including Buzz Aldrin to name one very famous proponent, and something that Musk is keen to lead (in terms of when, how and where to…)
Get a Grip – by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton is a great book for entrepreneurs of small to mid-size and growing businesses. It’s not your typical ‘business bullshit’ book but explains in an allegorical way a realistic account of how one organisation shakes-up the way it operates, reports leads and grows. I’d say this book as a contributing factor to our 50% year on year growth to our last financial year end if that’s a good enough endorsement.
Nichola Stott is Managing Director at The Media Flow. Nichola has twenty years’ experience in digital communications, from advertising, to PR to a five year stint at Yahoo! as head of UK search partners prior to founding theMediaFlow in 2010. The Media Flow is an organic digital marketing agency with a focus on SEO and content. combine highly technical solutions with creative ideas for their global client base.
