New Zealanders ARE NOT flocking en mass to Australia!

Sorry to spoil a good story. Here are the facts: 

New Zealand has a population 4.43 million (March 2012) meaning that the "massive" figures account for just 0.89% of our population. 

"New Zealand's net loss of migrants in the March 2012 year was due to a highest-ever net loss of 39,500 people to Australia. Annual outflows to Australia have been at record levels since the November 2011 year. The previous high of 35,400 was reached in the December 2008 year. The latest annual figure resulted from 53,200 departures to Australia (also a record), offset by 13,800 arrivals from Australia. In both directions, most migrants were New Zealand citizens." (Source: Dept of Statistics, March 2012) 

It reads quite differently when you strip away the emotive media language. 

It's critically important to realize the maths behind the figures plays a part. As the population in New Zealand increases, expect these records to be broken again and again. That's part of growth. All the nett numbers get bigger. This truth hardly ever gets reported, rather the figures are dressed up in the media with emotive hype. 

What I think is pertinent is to take note that in the 12 months to March 2012, 99.11% of New Zealanders DID NOT move to Australia.

There are plenty of opportunities here in NZ. Most of our work in for New Zealand enterprises, though we do some work for clients on the 'other' side of the Tasman - and at least for our work (Marketing/websites etc) it doesn't really matter where we are located - so long as we have a good understanding of the markets targeted. 

And, like the vast majority of New Zealanders, we are not moving to Australia in the foreseeable future.

Bruce Hudson
http://www.gantt.co.nz

From the heart

The possibility of doing dastardly deeds has reached a new low, and has now permeated into our cultural conciousness. Not as a Hollywood fantasy (which are bad enough), but as a real life possibility. And the fires have been spread far and wide by the media we condone through our viewing support.

So next time some nobody has an urge, their vocabulary of possible dastardly deeds will include this latest one. That some nobody will  belong to a family, be someone's cousin.

Did anyone in a perpetrator's family turn a blind eye? Saw that things weren't quite right, but did nothing? Almost certainly.

So here's the thing.

For your news, don't tune into the box. Rather, call a relative that you haven't seen for a few years. Get their news - get your family's news. It's more important, far more nourishing, than the news on the box.

Reach out to a relative that might need a hand. Hear their news. And if you can, try your best to mend any hurt. Help if you can. And if you think you can't, just listen.

Reach out and reconnect family ties.

And who knows, the world might be a safer, better place as a result.

Less about creating a 'social media buzz' than you might imagine

Bees are most concerned with hive objectives.
(Photo by Bruce Hudson)

Consider the following statement:

Social media is a key way to communicate to key individuals in ways that adds value in terms of getting our enterprise to where we want it to go.

Social media is the new 'buzz word' in marketing. Earlier today, I took a break, and took the picture to the right of the bee - and got to thinking. With bees, their main concerns are those of the hive, usually the ones seen are collecting nectar. Part of their job, according to documentaries, is to communicate to other bees where to go for the best results.

For any enterprise, it's the same, though now we can more easily than every before use these tools to  'create a buzz', I sometimes read posts and shake my head - maybe I miss how some posts contribute to the enterprise's objectives.

OK, so what's your objective?

My objective here for this post is simple. I am creating a resource so that you, the reader, can hopefully be inspired to think about your social media efforts in terms of your enterprises' objectives. What I get in return - and I'm being brutally honest here - includes:

• To help people with social media marketing by adding value based on my experiences
• Attract a growing audience through demonstrating competence and knowledge
• To gauge interest in this topic
• To exercise my 'creative writing muscles'
• Attract new business and contact that lead to new business

Questions to consider

What are your enterprise's objectives? Have you got a written plan? How well are the posts you make on social media serving those objectives? How consistently are you creating posts? Is timing important? What are the results of previous posts? What incremental improvements are you making to the way you use social media? How are you measuring your effectiveness? (Try www.klout.com - it provides a basic measurement tool - however the best is to measure your sales.) Calculate (if you can) how 

Note that I am not happy with all of my answers to the above questions. However I am happy that my answers today are better than they were last month - in short - I'm working on it and believe best results are a combination of working on and working in social media!

Recommendations

I would recommend doing following five things for your social media.

1. Consider your enterprises' written objectives (and if you don't have any, get some - FAST).
2. Calculate your spend (include your time, multiplied by your hourly rate)
3. Work out what benefits you are gaining from you posts
4. Create a way of measuring your effectiveness that suits you
5. Create a plan to incrementally improve your social media marketing (then work it.)

Initially, for every 60 minutes you spend with social media, it would be good to spend 20 to 30 minutes planning.

I hold great hopes for social media. It seems that positive results are clearer to see than they were a year ago.

Go well.

Bruce Hudson

Gantt NZ Limited

www.gantt.co.nz

Little time, so much to do

The title says it all, and like starting any enterprise I have great thoughts of where this could go - committing words to a blog. Of course this being my first post is the beginning, and I am slotting it in between jobs, as I eat lunch at my desk.

For some reason, I'm thinking about a quote: "If it is to be it is up to me" - appropriate given the subjective perspective of blogs. That quote I first heard in the mid 1980s - and it was at a networking meeting with an organization called SWAP. A quick Google reveals the quote above was by William H. Johnsen - I'm afraid I don't know much about him - but have gained benefit from his quote for years. (Thanks William!).

It seems I have been doing involved with marketing a long long time - but not as long as some people I know - and yes - things have changed. So much of marketing in online now - while the underlying principles are the same, there is more emphasis on the instant - being able to look stuff up NOW - and as that something often is a product or a service - marketing has become all about serving that desire.

It's my observation that there is considerable development with most companies to develop their online basics. To take advantage of smart websites and massage their online profile in ways that benefit their bottom line. And that's why I am here.

My hope (of course!) is while I do this, some benefit is gained by the readers.

Welcome!