The Heavy Chef Project

Top Tips On How To Make Your Blog Stand Out

Violet Kadzura — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:41:03 +0000

World Wide Creative is fortunate to have Louis Janse van Rensburg on their team. Manager of the Johannesburg branch, Louis is highly passionate about the entrepreneurial cause. He has been involved with many successful online projects including Virgin Mobile, The Thabo Mbeki Foundation, Honda South Africa and Exclusive Books. Louis has also been involved with numerous bloggers such as Jay Naidoo. Heavy Chef got the chance to hear what he has learnt from working closely with successful bloggers.

Hi Louis. There is such a variety of blogging platforms. Are different platforms more appropriate than others, depending on your goal?

To answer that question I will point out the main players in the blogging industry. There is Blogger which is a Google product. Wordpress has a very loyal following, and is a very relevant platform. It has done very well as a back end for content-heavy websites like magazines and newspapers . In recent years we have seen the rise of email-to-post websites like Tumblr and Posterous. These have come to the forefront because of their fast posting abilities. Posterous and Tumblr are more for lifestyle blogging, while Wordpress works for content heavy blogging. Blogger is the middle ground between Wordpress and Tumblr.

How can one ensure that their blog stands out amongst all the others?

Well it is really difficult because there is so much competition. As a blogger you’re also competing with social networks and other blogs. It has become increasingly difficult and some people have taken extreme routes which are not sustainable . There is no quick way to build a reputation. My advice is write on a frequent basis and create quality content. If you want to launch a blog for a quick win then it is not the right platform for you. Take Seth Godin’s blog for example. Godin is a prominent marketing guy and his blog does really well. It has become a place where people can comment and interact. He didn’t set up his blog yesterday; through time he has delivered an innovative way of writing. He started as a writer, and his blog became a natural extension of that. A blog should be an extension of your brand and not the centre of it.

A local example is South African blog KEO which is very popular. It is run by a Rugby journalist and was started a number of years ago. This blog exposed the Rugby Kamp Staaldraad in 2001 and 2002. From this, he wrote a book which got a lot of attention and this attention led to a successful blog and a loyal community. It is one of South Africa’s most successful blogs with about 120 comments on each article. This blog picked up on something and went with it. The message is, creating a successful blog is a long process and requires a lot of hard work.

What about creating a general blog versus a niche blog?

Specialized blogs will always do better. A blog has to speak to certain people and say loud and clear what it stands for. A blogger needs to focus on a specific category.

Would it make sense to make your blog search engine friendly?

Yes it definitely makes a difference. All roads lead to Google, so focus your content on topics that people would want to read. You can also do off-site work like utilizing Twitter, Facebook as well as other blogs. If you want to get into the dark arts of blog marketing you would need to speak to an SEO guru, but on a basic level make sure your blog appears on Google and that you have links to other blogs.

Any other words of advice for keen bloggers?

Blogging gives a massive opportunity to set up a profile online. There is nothing more powerful than the written, or typed, word. I would advise students and graduates to set up a blog as a way to create your own portfolio and start building a brand. When you apply for jobs, people research you before they meet you and a prospective employer will Google you. Telling people to look at your blog is a compelling argument to prospective employers these days.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Louis. We look forward to many hours of productive and successful blogging in the future. Follow Louis on Twitter here.

Why You Should Hire Smart – Founder Of Distilled, Will Critchlow, Explains

Wendy Tayler — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:59 +0000

After graduating from Cambridge University, Will Critchlow founded Distilled in 2005 with business partner, Duncan Morris. Starting out in web development, the focus soon migrated towards SEO and PPC, when Will’s brother, Tom, joined the team. In 2010 they joined forces with SEOmoz to create on of the most successful SEO organisations in the world. Distilled now have offices in London, New York and Seattle offering internet marketing services, especially SEO, to businesses of all sizes, up to Fortune 500 brands. Heavy Chef was fortunate enough to get some insight from Will this week.

Hi Will. So Distilled began as a web development agency. How did the focus shift to SEO and PPC?

We have always been very focussed on the business benefits of what we do. Back when we were building websites for small businesses, we built our USP around the commercial awareness that was sadly lacking in so many of our competitors.

That naturally led us to talk to our clients about how they could make the most out of their websites and we started offering them SEO advice and running marketing campaigns. As our confidence and skills grew, we started offering stand alone services in these areas. It was around this time that Tom, my brother, joined to head up our new search department. It grew quickly and we found ourselves growing our profile and working with larger and larger clients.

Quitting the web development business was a hard decision, it was how we got our start, after all. But from a pure business perspective, it was pretty straight forward when you looked at the numbers.

In your opinion, when is it best to use SEO over PPC and vice versa? Do you follow a basic checklist when deciding which will be more appropriate?

I don’t see them as alternatives particularly. Many businesses use both with great success, and it’s worth noting that even if you don’t do SEO, you still are likely getting organic traffic from the search engines.

The biggest times where I tend to advise avoiding a specific channel are where overnight success is important, and budget is not a problem, as only paid channels can bring you instant results. And secondly, where revenue models work on the basis of very low amounts per visitor. For example, ad-supported business models, where it is rare to find paid visitor acquisition successful.

What challenges have you faced in this business that you have learnt a valuable lesson from?

As described above, quitting the web design business was a very tough decision, as it was where we started from. We were very worried about many of the details but as soon as we actually did it, we knew it was the right answer. This was an example of a lesson we are still learning. As soon as you are 70% sure about something, you should go for it.

We know that you teamed up with SEOmoz. Can you explain what this partnership meant for Distilled?

The SEOmoz partnership has been huge for us. Here is some more information from back when we announced various parts of the evolution. The biggest and most exciting part of the whole thing is that we continue to see the future of online marketing in very much the same way as the SEOmoz crew. That makes me happy as we look to the future.

Do you have any advice for people wanting to start a digitally focused business in an industry that is always changing and evolving?

Hire the smartest people you can. Things change so fast that you need people who can keep up. I explained this to someone the other day as specialist generalists. You need people who can broadly do anything, but who focus on becoming specialist in a chosen area at a time.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us at Heavy Chef, Will. You continue to inspire us as Distilled grows from strength to strength. Follow Will on Twitter here.

What’s So Great About Ruby On Rails? We Speak To An Expert

Wendy Tayler — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:49:29 +0000

Heavy Chef got the opportunity to speak with Glenn Roberts, the founder and lead developer of Siyelo. Glenn has 12 years of professional software development experience and has consulted with several leading technology companies such as Accenture, Ericsson, Hutchison ‘3′, and Tele2. His experience is in architecting, developing, and deploying scalable business applications; including revenue-assurance systems, web-applications, and Internet business. Siyelo is an expert web consultancy, specializing in building bespoke web applications and websites.

Hi Glenn. So can you explain to us what exactly Ruby on Rails is?

Ruby on Rails is a web application development framework built on the Ruby programming language. Rails is a Model View Controller or MVC framework which means that its easy to keep your business logic out of the presentation layer, thus reducing bloat and development costs. Frameworks like Rails come with a set of reusable components and conventions that make building web applications much easier, and therefore read faster. Rails takes away the pain of lots of stuff, like setting up how your data is stored, doing low level browser interactions and securing a site against common web attacks.

There’s a growing demand for the simplicity that Ruby On Rails offers, driven by businesses, and programmers, who want speed and agility in building applications. This is evidenced by Ruby on Rails being used for some 235,000 websites, including top companies such as Amazon, Groupon, Shopify, Basecamp, Highrise, Hulu, Slideshare, Zendesk, YellowPages and GetSatisfaction, to name a few.

What we really like about Rails is that it’s Open Source software, with a very talented and active community. On the language side, Ruby itself is a dynamic, object-oriented language, whose popularity has soared, partly because of Rails, and partly because it’s terrific to program with. Ruby applications are now serving hundreds of millions of web users, so it’s a serious alternative to Java, PHP and Python.

Why did you decide to specialize in Ruby on Rails development?

Professionally, I think that once I saw how productive I was in building web apps in Ruby on Rails, I was hooked. Coming from a Perl background, I found Ruby had many similarities and many wonderful extras. I went from an Angry Perl Developer to a Happy Ruby Bloke. Plus the Ruby Rails community continues to impress me with it’s breadth of projects, depth of talent and willingness to help others.

From a business perspective, I find Rails allows us to focus on solving the business problems that customers are facing, rather than a lot of low-level busywork. Savvy clients don’t want to manage a bunch of techies, they want to work people who can bridge the gap between their business and technology.

Tell us why a strong community around Ruby and Ruby on Rails is important to you as a developer?

Having a strong community for your chosen technology gives you a lot of confidence in tackling a problem with it. Either someone has partially solved it and made it available to others, thanks to Open Source, or you’ll quickly find relevant resources with a modicum of research. Or you can dig deeper yourself, since the documentation or code is often of a very high standard, possibly due to the strong culture of testing in the Ruby Rails community.

If all else fails, you always get help from other developers. The technology and the community are possible because of these people who give up their time to write awesome software and share it with others. These people make me warm and fuzzy, and challenge me to become a better developer.

Okay, so tell us a bit about the work that you do?

At Siyelo, we use the web to help create new companies, and to improve the technology of existing ones. We’re a team of developers and designers who love to build web products that scratch an itch. We’re geeks for hire, if you will.

We work a lot with internet startups and with businesses that want to streamline an internal process. Recently we’ve also done a lot of interesting work in the health sector in Africa, building web-based financial applications that help improve oversight and reporting.

From your experience, what do you think are some of the key ingredients for developing a successful web application?

I spent many years struggling on IT projects where developers were too far removed from the business side of things. Firstly, to deliver what the client really wanted, and secondly, innovate. From this experience I found that to build a successful web app, or any reasonably sized software product, you’ve got to create an environment of open communication and regular feedback. To the point that the client and the development team communicate directly. It’s not always easy, and often needs to be facilitated, but there’s nothing like being in a product demonstration meeting where the client says to the team “Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted”.

Also remember, design is important. The user interface is the software. Write tests first before you code, automate everything, and hire good developers that understand all these points.

You have a team of developers in Europe and a team in Cape Town. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working in a distributed fashion?

That’s correct, Siyelo started in Skopje, Macedonia, over three years ago, and we’ve grown to work really well as a distributed team. It has the advantage of allowing us to tap into two talent pools of highly skilled people; and forcing us early on to develop the systems for distributed development, which are also used to coordinate with our overseas clients. Some of the tools include lean project management practices like SCRUM and XP, Pivotal Tracker, Balsamiq, Campfire, Skype, Google Hangouts, git and GitHub.

Of course, distributed teams have their challenges and solutions. Different time zones, yet luckily our flexi-time policy helps. Communication, including plenty of Skype video chats; and cohesion so that we share as many projects across geographical boundaries as we can, helping us to develop that mutual respect for each other.

What new technologies are you looking forward to experimenting with in 2012?

Rails 3.2, Redis, Resque, Responsive design, improving user experiences with Javascript/jQuery.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Glenn. We look forward to seeing more great things from Siyelo this year. Follow Glenn on Twitter here.

MD of Ogilvy Namibia On How Online Marketing Differs In An Emerging Market

Jo Barrow — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:14:15 +0000

Anny Mouton is the MD and the driving force of Ogilvy Namibia. Her career highlights include launching Saatchi Namibia in 1990, founding partner and creative director of Ogilvy Namibia from 1996-1998 and MD of Ogilvy from 1998-2007. She was the co-founder and director of Business School of Excellence and since 2009 Anny is back in the managing director’s seat at Ogilvy. Heavy Chef had the privilege of speaking to her about advertising in emerging countries, and acquired some lessons from her experiences in the advertising industry.

Hi Anny. What does your job at Ogilvy Namibia entail?

As Managing Director, my role shares many similarities with that of a ship’s captain. I set the co-ordinates for where our business is headed, then I make sure that we’re not thrown off course, regardless of how stormy the seas may be. Sure, it’s a volatile industry and heavy winds are par for the course, but my job is to turn any obstacles into stepping stones. Although I’m not supposed to be too heavily involved in the day to day nitty gritties, sometimes I can’t help myself if I pass through our Studio and see a great ad. I’ve seen countless ads but I’m still addicted to the adrenalin rush of The Next Big Thing.

How do you think the marketing scene differs in Namibia compared to developed countries?

The gap is definitely narrowing, and I attribute that to the ever-increasing influence of media in our daily lives. Our target audience now has greater access to the latest trends in developed countries. They know what’s hot and what’s not. So we have to give them our best, instead of dumbing it down, because they are sophisticated enough to know the difference. Having said that, we can’t copy-paste what worked in developed countries, forcefeed the local market and still expect identical results here. We have to give it a local, home-baked flavour. It all comes down to intimately knowing your audience, speaking their language and breathing their air.

What challenges do you face when it comes to trying to integrate Ogilvy Namibia with Ogilvy universally? How do you keep a seamless front?

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel widely, and I can tell you that even between neighbouring African countries, the cultural truths can be poles apart. Even in Namibia itself, the diversity is immense, so you can imagine how challenging it is to create a seamless golden thread across a gigantic global corporation. But as sister agencies we’re united by a shared passion for creativity, and an innate need to do things differently. By identifying the things that make Ogilvy stand out from the rest, we make the advertising world smaller, and think bigger.

What tips could you give to small businesses trying to gain momentum in the Namibian online marketplace?

I would say don’t be daunted by the country’s weaknesses and start focusing on its strengths. Yes, online usage has been slow to take off; but we also have one of the world’s highest mobile penetration rates, even higher than many developed countries. So use that to your advantage. If your customers can access the internet on their cellphones, you’ve won half the battle already. Be realistic. You won’t be able to change the world overnight. But you can certainly change your customers’ world.

Who else do you admire in the industry that you think others can learn from?

Obviously I’m biased, but I would say David Ogilvy. He grew up at a time when a TV was like magic to most people, yet his principles are still valid today. That’s something neither Nostradamus nor the Mayans could have foreseen. The fact that we’re even mentioning his name a century later, makes him a more timeless visionary than today’s Silicon Valley whizz kids, geniuses though they are.

Thank you for sharing your time with us Anny. You can check out Ogilvy Namibia’s Facebook page here.

The Secret To Keeping Your Online Brand Strong

Wendy Tayler — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:24:58 +0000

Giovanni Ghignone is the engaging voice behind the Virgin Active SA brand. With his role as social media manager, he is in charge of interaction between the Virgin Active community, as well as providing clarity, information and monitoring the brand. Gio does this exceptionally well, so Heavy Chef decided to have an in-depth conversation with Gio about being the face behind a brand name, and keeping a brand strong and active.

Hi Gio. When it comes to being a person behind a major brand, how does one integrate themselves into the brand, and at other times separate themselves from the brand?

I’ve been part of Virgin Active for the past 12 years, so my integration is pretty solid. For those who are starting out, it’s imperative to be soaked up in the brand culture. Always spend a good amount of time watching, listening and learning how things are done and have those frank discussions where you question the processes currently in place. If they’re serving the customer well, then great, but if not, then try change them for the better. At Virgin Active our brand values of fun, value for money, innovation, challenging the norm and great customer service underpin all our efforts and we’ve actually summed them all up into one golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Your brand’s culture will build your moral compass and give you the instinctual decision making required for the role. In our case, the golden rule. This compass is imperative as you will be the voice of a brand and won’t always have time to pass comments through marketing, PR or customer service teams. You will need to know where to push brand boundaries and when to reign them in.

Separation of person and brand is something that we are still dealing with as I do have a personal life and with that comes it’s own personality. Because of the time spent with the business I’ve managed to align the values and ethos of the business with my own personal ones and thus negates any conflict of interest. If the business does anything that I feel divulges from those values, then we have the discussion internally and debate it thoroughly so that no matter the outcome, we are all on the same page and have a unified front.

Do you think having your name within the company name, such as Giovanni under Virgin Active SA on Twitter, can help or harm? Is it easier for people to feel a connection with a person than a brand? Or are there challenges to having your name attached to such a big brand name?

This decision was taken back when Frank Eliason was still running @ComcastCares and had his name behind the handle. I felt it gave the brand a real name and personality instead of a drone script reader behind the account. This does, of course, have it’s risks as whatever the person does in their personal capacity can be linked to the brand, and perhaps even supersede the brand identity, but the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to emotional connection with the brand. It does also limit the number of people servicing the twitter handle, but that can be dealt with when the team size increases by either signing off with a distinctive signature or creating specific twitter accounts for the different query types.

I would feel far more comfortable knowing the name of the person I’m dealing with than simply firing emails or tweets off into the great unknown as it creates accountability for the response and always allows customers to find you through other channels.

What do you think is the secret to keeping an online brand alive through social media? What is key to keeping conversations fresh and engaging within the community?

This boils down to knowing what they community is looking for. Whether it’s inclusion, knowledge, a place to vent, a place to meet other community members or simply look for deals. Finding the root attraction and keeping the focus on that is key. For us, we’ve started seeing trends away from the initial complaints to more of an advice seeking platform and so our next focus is providing content that is both proactive and reactive, thereby maintaining the connection, and adding more value to the community. Constant interaction is key. A community can sense neglect very quickly. Posting updates isn’t the only way to interact, so don’t feel pressured to have X number of posts per day, simply ensure that you interact and talk with your community through whichever channels they prefer and always keep it personal. I find that nothing quells anger and frustration like empathy and honesty from a real person.

Thanks Gio, you’ve been great! All the best from us. Heavy Chef readers, if you want to witness what great social media managing looks like, follow Gio on Twitter here.

How To Grab The Attention Of Generation Y

Wendy Tayler — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:24:10 +0000

Mike Saunders is the CEO of DigitLab, a well-known business that focuses on digital strategy, design and development, research and training. Mike also provides training, presentations, consulting, social media, social business and networking, email marketing, and is an avid blogger. Along with his array of offerings, Mike was also voted one of the top 20 people of follow o Twitter in South Africa. Heavy Chef caught p with him to learn about his success and specialty role as a keynote speaker.

Hi Mike. Can you tell us a bit about what you do, as the CEO of DigitLab?

As a CEO I would say that my primary role is to get the best out of people, to find out what they love and set that free in the work they do at DigitLab. If I can create an environment where people feel empowered, trusted and needed then I think I have done my job well.

Apart from that I spend most of my time traveling to meet new clients around the world, researching industry trends and trying to stay on top of the fast paced and incredibly exciting industry. Most of the team at DigitLab would probably tell you that my iPhone is permanently attached to my ear. So I guess I spend a lot of my time talking. I just hope someone is listening.

What does the role of a keynote speaker and a social media coach entail?

As a keynote speaker and social media coach I get to spread the word of how social media and the internet can be harnessed to help people and business. I love this part of the job because I constantly see the light bulb moments as people start to see the potential.

I spend much of my time researching the impact that these technologies have had on consumers, employees and business. My personal belief is that social media and the internet is only useful because it connects people, so we need to do our best to understand these people more. That opens doors to a multitude of new possibilities.

How would you sum up Generation Y in relation to technology and digital?

Generation Y are digital natives. They don’t know a world without the internet and digital technology. In general, they are pretty savvy on digital devices and using the internet. The main reason is because it is such an integral part of their world. Older generations are amazed at how technology has changed their lives but Generation Y take it for granted. They don’t know any different.

This has created a generation that multitasks constantly. It has been said that you will never actually be able to hold the entire attention of a Generation Y. They are constantly bombarded with messages from multiple sources demanding their attention. So this creates a great challenge in communicating to this generation. We need to speak through multiple levels and channels.

Most people believe that technology is the only way to speak to Generation Y but I would suggest that they need to be engaged on multiple fronts to catch their attention. They need events that are exciting in the physical experience and engaging in the digital. More than ever, digital, traditional and experiential marketing need to dove tail in order to create an experience that will actually grab the attention of a Generation Y.

As you are presenting the Web 2.0 conference, which I’m sure you are excited about – what would be your top tips when it comes to business reinvention in 2012?

I am excited about presenting at the conference. This Social Reinvention presentation is something that is close to my heart. I hope it inspires people to actively consider reinventing themselves and their businesses. The key to remember is that this is a social technology reinvention and not only a social media reinvention. The technology is what counts, social media is only one application of the concepts of social technology.
My top tips would be unlearn everything you think you know about business and social technology. Rethink social technology and your business. Approach social technology with a focus on how people use it. Approach your business with a focus on how people use it. Invent an offering that meets your clients and customers needs through the way they use social technology.

Who do you admire or see as a great example in your field that others can learn from?

I think there are many people we can learn from in this industry. I respect anyone who is willing to learn about this industry. Especially those who have a deep knowledge in specific area. Anton Koekemoer is a constant source of the application of more social media technology and SEO objectives. The SEO Cowboy is a wealth of SEO information. Quirk are doing a great job in educating our future industry professionals, and people like Fred Roed, Mike Stopforth and Angus Robinson are doing a good job of bringing credibility to this industry. I always enjoy the research that comes from Arthur Goldstuck and WorldWideWorx because it fits the South African context very well. Memeburn is doing a great job at reporting on the news in this space.

I must also say at this point that I have a deep respect for people in my industry. There are some very smart people doing some very cool things in the South African social media space.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Mike. We look forward to hearing the great things that will come out of the Web 2.0 Conference.

Why Choosing A Single Platform To Market Your Brand Won’t Work – CEO Of Motribe Explains

Wendy Tayler — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:29:38 +0000

Nicholas Haralambous is the CEO and co-founder of Motribe.com, a platform that allows users to manage their own mobile social communities. He started off as a journalist, but quickly moved from print media to the online space. He has worked with the Sunday Times and Financial Mail. Nic is also the head of the mobile division at Mail & Guardian, and the General Manager at Zoopy.com. He also adds product manager of Vodacom SA’s mobile and social networking division to his resumé. With such success, we thought we would chat to Nic about mobile and the various platforms that are necessary to flourish as a brand.

You describe a “plug-in agency”. Tell us about that concept?

Motribe has created a toolset that will assist agencies in their use of mobile and the Motribe platform. We’re seeing an increase in usage of the platform and tools that we have for brand campaigns on mobile and want to help agencies create better mobile campaigns. We’re educating them not only on the use of Motribe but of mobile as a medium.

You have had some customers that only want to target one platform. Yet as you have said before, you need to have a run through line, and be everywhere, all the time. Explain why choosing a singular platform does not work?

In the emerging markets it is tricky to know which platform is the right platform to choose to market on or to. If you choose Facebook then you ignore a significant portion of the population, if you choose Mxit you ignore another, if you go desktop then you forget about the majority, but if you ignore desktop you receive criticism.

I believe that there is value in owning the chosen platform and feeding the other media through a single portal. Creating a mobile web destination and connecting with Facebook, Twitter, your blog, website and Mxit can work due to the single marketing touch point. On all advertising you promote one destination as a landing point and in the emerging markets it’s probably smart to make that one destination a mobile website or community.

If you fragment your audience from the very start you will have a fragmented message and community throughout the campaign.

This is not a one size fits all approach though. Each campaign, brand and client needs to be considered individually and the outcomes of the campaign specifically targeted and understood.

What are the features for the Facebook app that you plan on using this year, that will help with integration?

We’ve devised a way to help brands create mobile-enabled apps for Facebook. As of right now it’s extremely difficult to build an application on Facebook for the mobile user. Using the Motribe platform we’ve managed to solve the problem for the brand and agency.

You made a great point about how First World countries are emphasizing that this is the year for mobile, yet in Africa mobile has always been the only way to reach the masses. Because of this, do you think that developed countries might actually be learning something from us for a change? Have we developed skills on this platform ahead of the rest?

I firmly believe that when it comes to building on the mobile web for the masses, the emerging markets are leading the way. Not only are we ahead but we are implementing and succeeding where developed markets are failing. Again this isn’t a generalized statement that everyone in the developed markets is losing to everyone the emerging markets. This is a specific statement that there are leaders in the emerging markets who are dominating mobile. Companies such as InMobi out of India are beacons of success for the developed markets to watch and follow.

When redirecting people to a site off of Facebook in order to allow them to engage with a community privately, does this limit the site management or control? Or is a separate registration encouraged once they arrive on the site?

If you are going to attempt to move users off of Facebook, firstly there should be a valid reason for this. Secondly, using Facebook Connect, the user shouldn’t need to reregister. The Facebook mobile API is sufficient to allow developers to integrate without destroying user experience.

Thank you for sharing your time with us Nic. Motribe can be emailed at sales@motribe.com and you can find Nic on Twitter here.

The Difference Between International And Local Online Marketing – Christine da Silva

Wendy Tayler — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:58:13 +0000

Christine da Silva is the Head of Search for Neo@Ogilvy in South Africa. She has extensive experience in the international markets including the Unites States, Europe, The United Kingdom, and South Africa. She has also been at the head of SEO divisions of three well renowned Search Marketing companies, prior to starting her own consultancy, AlterSage. Christine successfully managed AlterSage for four years before it merged with Ogilvy’s Neo division. She took some time to chat with Heavy Chef and share some important elements concerning international marketing.

What does your role at Neo@Ogilvy entail?

My title is Head of Search, which means that I manage specifically, organic and paid search; and social, as it relates to Search, for Neo. In a nutshell my role can be described as educator, consultant and strategist; both for my team and our clients. Campaign and channel strategy comprises of ensuring that our client’s goals are met by matching them with the most appropriate channels, tracking and following through to ensure ROI is gained.

We know you also specialize in SEM and Usability. How do you incorporate your SEM and Usability skills into your marketing strategy?

They are part and parcel of the same thing. You can’t have a great campaign, but a shocking website to send people to. The same as having a wonderful website, but not employing any marketing campaigns. The nitty gritty is that we look closely at analytics and watch how visitors move through a website. From the very words that sent them there, such as search engines, to which pages they look at and what actions they take. If their actions do not match our intent for them, we change the features, such as design or content of the site, to ensure we make the path easier for them to perform our objectives.

What would you say are the top three lessons you have learned throughout your international experience regarding online marketing?

Whether internationally or locally, the lessons remain the same. Firstly, transparency with clients and their expectations. Secondly, content is king. Lastly, timing is everything.

In your opinion, what are the greatest differences when doing online marketing for South Africa versus international countries?

Localisation of content. Adapt your copy to the voice of your target market. For Angola as an example, we would also create content in Portuguese. Our search engine result pages are not yet as competitive per industry as internationally, therefore there are still many opportunities in our SERPs to perform well. The reason being that internationally, search is considered a must have, rather than a nice to have.

Education. Every search campaign still requires heavy sales, ITO advantages it may bring to clients, as well as handholding and guidance throughout the campaign. Internationally, Search is part of the marketing mix as a standard.

Who do you admire in your industry, or see as a great example for doing online marketing strategy well?

Matt Cutts, chief engineer at Google, for his passion. Danny Sullivan. And anyone that can see the big picture of how channels should be integrated, not only digitally, but through the line.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us Christine. Follow Christine on Twitter here.

Hong Kong: A Brief Look At Asia’s Most Under-rated Digital Destination

Violet Kadzura — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:29:04 +0000

Erica Ho is a contributor to Time magazine’s technology blog, Techland, and has also lent her writing talent to AOL and Gizmodo. Erica attended the University of Texas and then moved to San Fransisco to write for Gizmodo. She has been living in Hong Kong for the past two years, and Heavy Chef got a chance to speak with her about her tech experiences there. She also shared her views on the Android vs. Iphone debate.
Hi Erica, tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

Originally, I attended The University of Texas in Austin, studying English and Government. After my time there, I moved to San Francisco where I joined the gadget blog Gizmodo, covering tech news. I’ve worked for Lifehacker, AOL and Time since then, but it was really in tech news where I got my start, probably due to the fact that I’ve always been interested in playing with the latest gadgets as a kid. Since I came from a family full of engineers, we were also encouraged to explore and experiment in an tech savvy environment.

So how did you find your way to Techland and Hong Kong?

For a period of time when I was freelancing for AOL, I took up a friend’s offer to come out and visit Beijing, which proved to be a life changing experience. I returned because I was fascinated with Asia, which quickly led me to Hong Kong and also Techland.

Digitally speaking, what differences did you notice between Hong Kong and the United States?

There is not much difference. The internet is open, unlike mainland China. Although Hong Kong is under Chinese jurisdiction, it has its own laws, system and currency. It’s considered a special autonomous region. So it is not censored like China is.

What are some popular websites and mobile apps in Hong Kong?

In many ways, what is popular in the States is popular in Hong Kong as well. It’s interesting to see globalization really pervade culture. I mean, people love their Facebook here in Hong Kong just as much as they do in the States. Same with Angry Birds. I guess that’s universal.

What are some personal favourite websites, and why?

Some of my personal websites include thedailywh.at and The New York Times, along with longer focused reporting pieces. I also enjoy reading The Awl. Obviously the New York Times and some other publications are stellar at what they do, which is real reporting. But I also prefer to mix it up with blogs and general pop. In this day and age there should be more than one kind of definition for what should be considered real news.

In South Korea, Tesco Homeplus launched a virtual subway store to make life easier for busy commuters. Does Hong Kong have it’s own digital innovations that make life more convenient for the masses?

Perhaps the most convienent solution for masses in Hong Kong is really the Octopus card. I think San Francisco is just starting to implement something similar now, but its a transportation card that can be used for subways, buses, ferries, fast food, convenience stores and many other places. It acts like a debit card, and most card readers will recognize and deduct the transaction immediately.

The media usually shows Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea as places that are heavily reliant on technology. How true is this in reality? How has technology changed everyday life in Hong Kong?

I think to a degree, it’s not that different from the United States and other places around the world. People just might be more wired here than other places in the world. Things are certainly much more efficient, above all else. And with so many people and devices, I think more than anything else people in Hong Kong are much more stimulated than in other places in the world, precisely due to the concentration of things. But one could argue that’s also a product of culture and environment. Hong Kong is a hectic city by nature, and extremely dense, so efficiency is key.

How has technology impacted traditional industries like publishing in Hong Kong?

Barely, if at all. The media sector has definitely lagged behind the digital trend. Especially in the local papers, you can tell there’s a disconnect with the print segment and online. It’s nearly archaic. However, it is definitely interesting as Hong Kong has some of the most profitable papers around, like the South China Morning Post.

How does the Android vs Iphone debate fair in Hong Kong?

Without a question, iPhone. It’s offered for free in Hong Kong in many places with a plan, and thus you’ll see almost everyone on the streets with the latest iPhone.

Follow Erica on Twitter.

How To Stand Out – Top Tips From BizCommunity Content Manager

Violet Kadzura — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:20:52 +0000

With consistent and unique content, Bizcommunity manages to stand above other content based websites in the industry. One of the people behind Bizcommunity’s success is Sindy Peters who is the site’s content manager. Sindy and her dynamic team work hard to keep material flowing through to loyal readers. Heavy Chef spoke to Sindy about content management and working at Bizcommunity. Sindy hails from Kwa-zulu Natal and graduated from UCT in 2005 where she majored in English Literature, Language and Media and Writing.

Sindy, how did you find your way to BizCommunity?

I interviewed for an intern position with PASA, The Publishing Association of SA. They took me in and I was placed at Tafelberg Publishers, dealing with non-fiction books. As part of the PASA internship programme I attended editorial-related courses and picked up some real world experience at Tafelberg including proof-reading, and reviewing manuscripts among other things.

During the internship I continued job hunting on Bizcommunity’s Jobs section as well as through a few newspapers. A position for a production assistant opened at Bizcommunity and I eagerly applied. I went through two interviews and eventually landed the job. Since then I’ve worked my way over the last five years from production assistant, to content manager, to editor and finally to my current position, content development manager; which combines the roles of an editor and content manager, as well as researcher.

As a content manager, what does your job actually entail? What are the day to day processes of content management?

The job of a content manager is to ensure that there is a constant flow of editorial copy published daily. It also entails regulating what is published, making sure the copy meets the standards of Bizcommunity.com. Content management includes sourcing news and news providers for copy, clearing copy for publication, copy-tasting emailed releases for our sub-editors, and finally loading and proofing the copy.

The day usually begins with loading the most important copy, whether it’s from journalists, or it’s a press release. The day before I would have sent copy through to the sub-editors which they would have sent back already, these need to be loaded next. On any given day, I load between 10 to 15 articles on the verticals I work on. Other tasks include picture sourcing, editing and loading as well as contributor management, which is sourcing possible contributors, creating profiles and loading their content.

What makes BizCommunity stand out in content management?

I’m not sure how other news portals run their content departments, but I can say that Bizcommunity’s content management is run resourcefully and conscientiously. We review emails constantly, making sure important breaking news is published as soon as possible yet still within the standards set by our editorial department. We provide as much alternate information as possible using primary and secondary links. Our editorial style sheet is used to keep content clean and consistent. We welcome new contributors who are well-versed in their area of expertise and provide them a platform to showcase their knowledge and share freely with others.

What practical tips would you give for effective content management?

Ensure your team is aware of their specific roles in the publishing chain and that they achieve their tasks consistently. Each team member should have a daily task list. Clear parameters must be set for usable content. And make use of RSS feeds where available.

What other websites are doing well in managing their content and why?

Apart from the obvious ones such as Mail & Guardian, IOL, TimesLive and News24, I admire the smaller sites such as Memeburn, The Daily Maverick, TechCentral and Mahala. Their content is relevant, in-depth and interesting. While they may not have a large staff complement, they do update frequently, and a high proportion of that content is unique.

What are the important things to implement for a content based website to be successful?

A smooth running CMS is vital. A clear editorial style sheet for consistency throughout the site. Allow feedback from readers so that you know if you’re supplying relevant, interesting content. Ensure the correct channels are made clear to content providers for a smooth flow of copy. Hire dedicated staff who pay good attention to detail. Try to publish as much unique content as possible, as opposed to content obtained from wire news services. While a high volume of content is important, put quality above quantity.

What factors limit the success of content based websites?

Content-based websites could cost a bit in terms of bandwidth, especially if they’re image or video intense. Limited staff means that content-based websites are labour intensive. Creating unique content costs and is time-consuming, but it’s important in order to retain readers. And a team that doesn’t gel can also limit success.

What practical lessons have you picked up from your job?

The ability to collate and assess content for the areas I work on. The ability to run a portal and manage an editorial team. I’ve learnt how to prioritise tasks and work through a task list. And how to communicate well with others.

Follow Sindy on Twitter here.