MSc Marketing at Salford Business School: One Year Later

Time flies and it seems to move faster when you keep yourself busy. Just what I've been doing ove the last 12 months: Keeping myself busy. 

It was a sunny but windy day of 2014 when Marta submitted her dissertation after a year of sleep depravation and thousands of hours of sitting down reading, summarizing, analyzing, writing, editing, reading and rewriting. Now that I rethink it I don't actually remember how weather was. Most likely rainy (sleep depravation times, remember). 

The day after the DD-day (Dissertation Deadline) I came back to the place I had been working as an intern, now as a full-time worker. For a person who's been living on internship salaries and zero-hour contracts, having a full-time position felt like a dream. Contract, holidays, salary over the minumum wage, travel expenses... the whole lot: the paradise of the postgraduate. 

It's been a year of hard work at Web Shop Direct: Getting used to the company, learning about the tools I use in my everyday, but also learning about the products and the sector. I not only need to choose the best plugin for my blog about tights or knowing how to analyse on Google Analytics the traffic coming to this blog, but also sharing interesting and useful content. So, yes, I've been learning about hosiery and, on the meantime, I've become a little bit of a Fashion victim. Ask me about Fashion trends or celebrities, I rule it. 

Grades came and I happily got a Distinction (Yay). Then Alex Fenton asked me to join the Little Chip Awards on the Placement/Aprenticeship category and (surprise suprise) I happened to win it. Yes, it's an award for being an intern, but I have always been a good intern (References can be provided on request). 

More recently our amazing website for pretty amazing bikinis and swimsuits has gone responsive and, luckily, UK Tights has also moved to a responsive design. Furthermore, a new online store for Fine lingerie sets and lovely nightwearis coming live very soon. As you can see I can't help myself: I like keeping myself busy and I couldn't ask for a better job (or a greater job place). 

I'm going to use my own recipe and creating a calendar of contents with posts for every month. Does this sound good to you? In the meantime, why don't you tell me (and whoever reads this) what did you do on your first year after uni? 

How to destroy your reputation in a single email

Building a brand reputation is a long process. It takes ages to create it and it needs of much careful and patient manners to keep working on improving it. Brand reputation is a must for companies and Social Media plays a key role in building reputation.  

On the one hand, Social Media is great to complement the offline branding strategies of every kind of company, not only because Social Media increases brand awareness, but also because of the positive synergies with social networking and the greater interactivity with users (clients and potential customers). 

On the other hand, a company's mistake can be easily spread online. If PR's reaction takes too long, consequences can be terrible. So, a single tinny mistake, followed by the wrong PR response, may become viral: as contagious as a flu. Then, there we have: an online public lynching against the brand. 

Innwise: A model not to follow

https://twitter.com/abadgz

Alejandro, a Spanish young joobseeker had an interview in Innwise, a marketing consulting company. Hours later, he received the following email, obviously by mistake: The liked ones (...) I'd may be harder to get the candidate from Toledo for 400€ [monthly] than the "pipiolo" (little boy) for free. I'd hire Alejandro for 3 months, trying free or up to 200€ in part time and 400€ to César". As you can imagine, Alejandro was very upset with the email, not only because they used the word "pipiolo", synonim of "little bird" to refer one of the candidates, but, more important: it reveals how some companies in Spain agree with the extended practice of youth exploitation with the excuse of the weak economic situation. A manager from Innwise contacted the candidates to apologise, some workers of Innwise tried to minimise the mistake saying it was out of context and the company apologised on Twitter, too. It was too late: #becariopipiolin had became trending topic. And so, the damage to Innwise reputation had gone viral. Besides Twitter and Facebook, #becariopipiolin has been main topic in Hufftington Post and it has been the most read post in Menéame.

Tweets about "#becariopipiolin"

What to do in this situation?

Well, first of all, a company should not allow this kind of policies and pay more attention to private communications in such topics, where information is meant to be confidential. But after there has been an incident like this, a trust and quick apology is vital. 

The apollogy note should contain: 

- The vision of the company about what actually happened. 

- The name of the person on charge: the company needs a face to prove the apology is not fake. Hidding is not going to help at all. 

- Any way to contact the company: it is always best to face problems than avoiding them. It is going to be a hard day, but an effective response will reduce the damage for the brand reputation. 

- A trust apology (not only "empty" words). 

The PR team should contact the whole staff to let them know what is happening, instead of allowing/promoting their staff trying to minimise the damage. It makes things worse, as users become angrier while interacting with them. It is the company (and its PR department) the one that has to sort it out the issue. 

What would you have done in their situation? 

My first collaboration with Passport to Trade 2.0

Internet Mobile has evolved in Spain and Spanish Social Media habits have changed, impulsed by the greater sales of smartphones and tablets. When I started to prepare my colaboratio with Passport to Trade, I didn't know how far Internet Mobile has changed the Social Media landscape in Spain. 

Why is guest blogging so appealing for me?

On the one hand, it is an ideal excuse to research about one particular topic. Information is power, so it is always good to know more. Besides, Social Media is a matter I feel particularly attracted, as it changes all the time. Even before I had planned to study Marketing, I was a quite active Social Media user. Before Facebook and Twitter, I spent my hours uploading pictures in Flickr, sharing staff in Fotolog and I even had two Space Groups (The ones from Msn, not a MySpace). Nowadays, I am the one my friends ask to know "What is that of Tumblr" or "What is Pinterest for". 

On the other hand, I have always blogged in Blogspot. Although I know how to use Wordpress, I have always used Blogspot. It is my pending task and I hope I can start to sort it out early, as I have realised Wordpress has loads of SEO pluggins and customisation options. 

Finally, the project is just amazing. 

What is Passport to Trade 2.0 about?

Well, #P2T2 project (as you can find on Twitter) is an European program to help small and medium-size companies and students going abroad. Passport to Trade 2.0 is a guide about online and face-to-face communication in 31 different cultures. It worths a look if you want to learn something about other European cultures. It is also available in nine languages, besides English. University of Salford - Business School is part of this project along with seven more European organisations. No doubt why Business Culture website has been shortlisted for the European Search Awards 2014. 

I am glad to have been part of this project. I hope I can write some more posts in the future. 

What is your opinion abour guest bloggers?

How Facebook has changed our lives in 10 years

Today Facebook is ten years old. Time flies. Why did you sign in? In my case, I just wanted to keep in touch with some foreign friends after my stay in Italy. Around 2010, being on Facebook became compulsory for people and for companies, too. Here there is the video Facebook has launched today. 

Life has change in ten years and, without realising, you have became more social thanks to Facebook.

Post by Facebook.

1. You are nobody without a Facebook profile. Few year ago, the million dollar question was "Aren't you on Facebook?" Indeed, even if they don't use it any more, almost everyone has a profile yet. Since your mother until that small pub o social centre in your neighbourhood. You know it isn't cool any more, but you still use it to gossip. I won't tell anybody. 

A Facebook user wishing Facebook a Happy Birthday (Source: Facebook)

2. You have so many friends you can't even recognise them. You aren't alone. They are not friends but acquaintances. Do you remember that friend of your friend who took a picture of you? Or that girl you met in a conference three years ago? Sometimes it becomes harder to recognise people, as it is a current trend to change your Facebook name for a pseudonym, apparently because they think Facebook won't spy you if you have a nickname. 

3. You hate receiving Facebook Messages. Everybody does, but it happens to be very usefull when you want to send a more informal email to an old friend or a colleage. I used to find Messages very useful as a substitute f Messenger, until I started to hat it, as some people don't understand midnight is not a good time to start a conversation on the chat. That is why its app is one of the most downloaded and hated. 

Some people don't share the celebration mood (Source: Facebook)

4. You know closer your friends (and acquaintances). Traditionally, religious and political opinions were left appart from regular conversations. Now timelines are packed with highly personal opinions. You can easily know if your friend is a cat or a dog person even if you don't use Instagram, as pictures of kittens and puppies are as popular are photos of babies. 

5..You go party or holidays to post it. Holiday photos are taken to be shared on Facebook.Social travellers look for wifi desperatelly when going abroad, so that all envy them. Going out is another version on this phenomenon, as it seems a cocktail cannot be enjoyed without sharing it with all your Facebook friends. 

Wishing Facebook a Hppy birthday and a soon recovery of "coolness", I still have a vital question: 

Does anybody knows what is a "poke" for?

How to choose the right Christmas present

Christmas morning, you are about to open Santa's presents. Full of energy, anxious and happy... but five seconds later you feel disappointed. Why did Santa pick up the wrong present? Well, Santa didn't follow these easy steps when buying Xmas presents.

Some of Santa's presents. By Mike Fleming

The present is not for you!
Tired of getting shocks or scarves every year? When you are buying for someone else, you just need to think about other's needings and likes before buying something you like. Your Grandpa doen't want a Premium Spotify subscription, although I would love Santa would buy me one.

Be creative!
Little budgets require an extra creativity, which can be developed in two aspects: the packaging and the present itself. Every year my friends and I hold a Secret Santa. Presents should be under 5€, so creativity is a must. I bought my friend a Cadbury caramel bar and this original IKEA lamp. My friend loved them.

Be social!
Use peer to peer opinions to find the right present. Ask the "experts". In my case, having a camera makes me the person everyone ask when they want a new camera. Between you and me: I have no idea about cameras. I am only an expert in Google and Social Media research.

Use Internet and Social Media to compare!
Comparing features and prices is easier with Internet and Social Media networks. So, when people ask me for advice, I look up and compare on Internet some cameras, I select some ones between the budget and I pick the right one. I also have a few photographers friends, whom I ask, too.

Follow the trends!
Be viral! If a product is very trendy, if it has been sold in mass... your teenager daughter/son would love it. Pay attention not to spend loads on it, as viral products are usually quite expensive, too. When not sure, just review the 5 tips list I have given you.

Good luck finding the right present and Merry Christmas!

What is the most effective Social Media network in Spain?

When doing business abroad, it is vital to have into account the similarities and differences in the choosing of Social Media networks. British people have a different behaviour than Spanish one. As I am Spanish, I have decided my first post will talk about which Social Media platform should be used to succeed in Spain. 

Source: mkhmarketing

Did you know Spain is the 5th country of the world in the use of Social Media? 

Apparently, Spanish enjoy building online relationships as much as they like establishing offline ones. So, if a British company wants to internasionalisate and decides to go to Spain, one of the first steps should be designing a Social Media plan. Another important detail should not be forgotten: Social Media pages should be translated into Spanish if Social Media strategy is focus in customers. 

Another interesting point is that the 60% of Spanish believe what their friends recommends online and only a 18% do not believe social recommendations, these figures meaning a high confidence of the Word-of-Mouth between Spaniards. 

So what Social Media shall be used in Spain?

It depends. It basically depends on the target, although there is a Social Media platform common for all ages in Spain: Facebook. According to Socialdente, 16 millions of Spaniards have a Facebook account. Facebook should definitely be imprescindible. Not convinced yet?. What if I tell you Facebook is the second most visited page in Spain? 

Source: Mashable

On the other hand, Twitter has become very popular, achieving 4,5 millions of accounts in 2012, which makes Spain the 3rd in the rank of World Twitter penetration (Source: Mashable), after Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. In my opinion, though, Twitter's penetration is quite important in the urban and most populated areas of the country, while other Social Media networks may be more influential in rural areas of Spain. Its users are, generally, young people and professional adults. Besides, the also high penetration of smarthpones in this country has definitely beneficed Twitter. 

What is Tuenti?

Source: Tuenti

If your target is very young, Tuenti should be your first choice, as it is very important in Spain. Maybe its popularity is the reason why Telefonica has recently acquired the 100% of the company, or maybe it is the fact that Tuenti is growing notably in the Americas market. Besides, Tuenti achieved 12 millions of users in 2011, 90% of whom are from 14 to 35 years old. 

What should I use to B2B communication?

Definitely LinkedIn. The 4th most important Social Media network in Spain is LinkedIn, having 2 million of users in Spain. Recruiting through LinkedIn is not very common between Spaniards, but it is often used as a professional agenda of contacts. Personally, I strongly believe LinkedIn has a huge potential in Spain. Time will tell.