Category Archives: British Library

Introducing social media for small business

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Last year I gave a workshop about my blog as part of our Web in Feb month of activities.pinterest_logo

This year I have been asked to turn it into a regular workshop by extending the coverage to social media.

Using the tried and trusted ‘Ronseal’ approach we came up with ‘Introducing Social Media for Small Business’ as the title.

So far I have the run the workshop twice, with more to follow on 15 and 29 May. It has proved popular, but I am struggling to fit everything in to the two hours available. Social Media is such a big topic and the platforms continue to grow, with Pinterest being the latest hot topic.

Here are my top twelve tips for Social Media success:

  1. Try to limit to 30 minutes a day
  2. Keep it professional – you might go viral in a bad way
  3. Keep an eye out for new services
  4. Try to measure results
  5. Cull any activities that don’t help your business
  6. Try to stay focussed – keep away from the Lolcats
  7. Be a person online – but not too personal
  8. Always try to add value
  9. Don’t just lurk – contribute
  10. Try to be ‘marketing lite’ – avoid spamming
  11. Have a consistent brand / name across your social media platforms
  12. Have fun with it

I recently posted my workshop slides onto Slideshare and was surprised to discover that I already have had 127 views there.

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introducing-social-media-for-small-business

Anorak – now a cool brand and a Success Story

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anorak_logo I have blogged in the past about the importance of using a ‘made-up’ name for your trademark, but there are other ways to establish a distinctive but protected presence in the market place.

I was recently helping a couple of customers in the Centre find some useful market research reports on home wares. In conversation I discovered they were the founders of Anorak, a company who make and sell ‘functional products inspired by the great outdoors’. I also learned that we had helped them along their journey to success over the last four years, so they qualify as one of our Success Stories.

For me, the story here is the ingenuity of taking a widely used slang term with negative connotations, and subverted it into something cool and trendy.

trainspotter

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Mattbuck

According to Wikipedia the term anorak came from the Observer newspaper’s description of UK trainspotters, based on their preferred form of clothing. Allegedly members of this group often wore, the by then very unfashionable anorak jackets, when standing for hours on chilly railway station platforms noting down details of passing trains.

However according to the Guardian Newspaper’s Notes and Queries column, the term was was originally created by Radio Caroline Disk Jockey Andy Archer in the early 70′. He used the word anoraks on air, to describe the boatloads of fans who came out to visit the pirate radio ships anchored off the Dutch coast.

During the 1980′s it became a general derogatory term for a someone with an obsessive interest in unfashionable and largely solitary interests. 1980’s UK rock group Marillion called one of their albums Anoraknophobia, referring to the long running in-joke that Marillion fans were sometimes called freaks or anoraks.

isle of wight computer geek iow

www.theisleofwightcomputergeek.co.uk

In the United States the term geek or nerd is often used instead, but is not associated with a particular item of clothing as far as I am aware. The exception might be the wearing of large unfashionable glasses. The US based company GeekSquad have also attempted to exploit the label to their own advantage.

The word anorak is derived from Greenland Eskimo ‘anoraq’, used to describe a waterproof jacket, typically with a hood, of a kind originally used in polar regions.

I am aware that this post may be in danger of straying into anorak territory itself with this level of obsessive detail, so I will stop here.

 

Anorak_fox_mugAbout Us

Introducing Anorak. A British brand with its heart planted firmly in the great outdoors. Inspired by childhood camping adventures (in a bright orange campervan), Anorak’s founder and Creative Director Laurie Robertson uses striking silhouettes to bring a touch of fun and whimsy to homewares and outdoor lifestyle accessories.

From Kissing Rabbits to Proud Foxes, Anorak’s animal designs are bold, bright and a good deal less timid than their real life relatives. But looks aren’t everything, so the entire Anorak product range has function at its heart. The wash bags are wipe clean, the sleeping bags have leg room a plenty, the picnic blankets are light enough to carry on the longest of country strolls. So if you’re a fan of the great outdoors (even when you’re indoors) and think fun should follow function, remember to pack your Anorak.

Retail Trends – Online and Offline by Cate Trotter

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Cate TrotterThe latest in Cate Trotter’s series of Trends workshops (see my previous posts on Key Trends for 2012, The Future of Online Marketing, The growing grey market in the UK) concentrated on Retail. In it Cate covered the rapid online developments, but also changes in bricks and mortar shopping, known as offline retail. She also explained how the smarter retailers are merging these two elements together to enhance both the online and offline experience for their customers.

Here are my notes from this highly recommended workshop:

Omnichannel retailing

  • Although the value of online clothing and accessories sales are predicted to double over the next five years, offline will still dominate with three quarters of overall sales.
  • There is a trend for online retailers to add a high street presence. Examples are FunkyPigeon, Made.com and ETSY.
  • The new Burberry flagship store on Regent Street is a leading example. It has a large screen showing live fashion events from around the world. And live music events held in the store are streamed onto their website.
  • Cate suggested using If This Then That or Hootsuite (which I have been using for a couple of year and can personally recommend) to manage multiple social media channels from one screen.
  • She asked the audience to review all their customer contact points and maximise buying opportunities for interested customers.
Burberry flagship store on Regent Street

Burberry flagship store on Regent Street

Mobile

  • Use of smart mobile devices is currently increasing at 35% a year, so all websites need to be made mobile friendly using tools such as DudaMobile.com.

Retail is everywhere

Social

  • Customers trust social media far more than advertising, for instance 90% trust recommendations from their peers.
  • Pinterest has now grown to 50 million users and is a great way to show products and designs.
    Pinterest_logo
  • This leads to an approach where products promote the brand which is a reversal of traditional marketing where the brand promotes the product.
  • Cate’s advice is to create remarkable products and services which your customers will want to promote through their social media networks.
  • An example is shops which offer free wi-fi enabling customer to take pictures of items and share them instantly online.

Speed and efficiency

  • The market is changing rapidly and social media trends show you where it is going. So monitor it using tools such as Google Trends or Editd.com.
  • Get your customers to choose what they want from you using funding sites such as Kickstarter.com.
  • Customers are demanding instant gratification to match delivery digital goods, so use services such as Shutl.com to deliver within minutes instead of days.
    shutl_logo

Customer experience

  • You can’t compete on price with the likes of Amazon.com, so develop an enhanced customer experience instead.
  • Be remarkable – be unique to compete.
  • For example the record company Rough Trade opened a record store designed to be a browsable experience rather than focussed on sales.
  • Look Mum No Hands sells and repairs cycles, but is also a trendy café for two wheeled fans.

A tailored experience

A personalised experience

  • Amazon.com has increased sales by 40% through the use of its recommendations system.
  • Dressipi.com uses customer driven fashion retailing to get the lowest return rate in the industry of just 10%.
    dressipi_logo
  • Cate suggested trying out Facebook’s recommendations plugin

 

Answer our questionnaire and win £50 worth of John Lewis vouchers

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866529_feedback_form_excellent by Dominik Gwarek - kilashi

Source http://www.sxc.hu/photo/866529

We would love to hear from you about the difference the British Library Business & IP Centre has made to you and your business. Your participation is crucial in helping us secure future funding and ensure that we continue to meet your needs.

I would be grateful if you would spend five minutes to complete this survey. The information you supply will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used for this purpose. As an incentive, your name will be entered into a price draw and you could be one of three people to win £50 worth of John Lewis vouchers.

The survey will be closing on 19 March 2013.

Many thanks in anticipation.

Early innovation – The Italian Academies 1525 to 1700

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Academia_SpensieratiA little while ago I attended a staff talk at the British Library on a project to catalogue books published by the Italian Academies dating from 1525 to 1700.

I have to admit this was a new topic for me, but as the speakers explained, the Learned Academies represent a vital aspect of early modern culture. They were the first intellectual networks of early modern Europe. Consisting of approximately 600 Academies in Italy in the period 1525-1700, they were responsible for promoting debate and discussion in a wide range of disciplines. These varied from language and literature, through the visual and performing arts to science, technology, medicine and astronomy.

In some ways these were the Silicon Valley’s or Silicon Roundabouts of their day.

Some were formally constituted, with published rules and lists of members; others were much looser groupings of like-minded individuals, often young men, with common interests. The Academies functioned as alternative institutions to the universities and the courts, and numbered among their members pioneering scientists, writers, artists, political thinkers, and representatives of both sexes and all social classes.

The Academies also had a more playful aspect, devising for the academy and for each member amusing names which were often represented visually in punning illustrations and devices. International in membership, and in correspondence with scholars across Europe, they were fundamental to the development of the intellectual networks later defined as the République des Lettres, and to the dissemination of ideas in early modern Europe. The range of interests and the very large number of Academies and their publications makes these institutions central to the study of early modern European culture.

This project involves a collaboration between three of the UK’s leading research institutions: Royal Holloway University of London; the University of Reading; the British Library. The project also has its own Facebook page with some images from the collection.

One of the major outcomes of the project is a comprehensive database of information on Academies from across the Italian peninsula, detailing their membership and publications. This is publicly accessible through the British Library on-line catalogue at: http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/ItalianAcademies/

Galileo_Galilei

Portrait of Galileo Galilei – one of the more well known Academy members

 

Management Book of the Year 2013 – the winners

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Monday 28 January saw the Library hosting CMI Management Book of the Year Award. It was a great event with lots of energy and enthusiasm from the panel, the audience and students from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication. Students were invited to create videos for the winning books, and directors of the best ones were invited along to the event.

After British Library Chief Executive Roly Keating had given a short pitch for the Business & IP Centre and our Management & Business Studies Portal, Professor Cary Cooper of Lancaster University Management School and this year’s Chair of Judges, hosted the evening.

Management Book of the Year Winner – 2013

The Management Book: How to Manage Your Team to Deliver Outstanding Results
Richard Newton
Pearson

Clearly structured in 36 short sections, this practical book provides rapid, accessible advice on all the essential management challenges. Focusing on the manager’s key role – managing teams to get things done – this book looks at the essential parts of management from unusual perspectives and different angles. Structured with the busy manager in mind, you can dip into any section of the book and read it as an individual piece of advice or read it end-to-end to gain an overall picture of management.

Category Winners

Management and Leadership Textbook

Managing Equality and Diversity : Theory and Practice
Savita Kumra, Simonetta Manfredi
Oxford University Press

Taking a business, rather than sociological approach to the subject, this text supplements the theory behind managing equality and diversity with real-world practical examples, providing an insight into the contemporary issues facing today’s businesses and organisations. Structured in two parts, the authors begin by grounding students in the theory of diversity management and outlining UK and European equality legislation. The second half of the text is then devoted to connecting this theory with the practice of managing gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation in the workplace. Rich in case studies from the public and private sector, this textbook provides students with a comprehensive insight into real-life management situations.

The Commuter’s Read

The Strategy Book: How to Think and Act Strategically to Deliver Outstanding Results
Max Mckeown
Pearson

Thinking strategically is what separates managers and leaders. Learn the fundamentals about how to create winning strategy and lead your team to deliver it. From understanding what strategy can do for you, through to creating a strategy and engaging others with strategy, this book offers practical guidance and expert tips. It is peppered with punchy, memorable examples from real leaders winning (and losing) with real world strategies. It can be read as a whole or you can dip into the easy-to-read, bite-size sections as and when you need to deal with a particular issue. The structure has been specially designed to make sections quick and easy to use – you’ll find yourself referring back to them again and again.

The New Manager

The Leadership Skills Handbook: 50 Essential Skills You Need to be a Leader
Jo Owen
Kogan Page

The Leadership Skills Handbook from best-selling author Jo Owen reveals the essential skills you need to be an effective leader. It shows you what works in practice, not in theory. Each skill is presented in concise, easy to follow format. The skills are about the real challenges real leaders have to master. Based on research from over a thousand leaders in the public, private and voluntary sectors, it identifies the practical skills to make you even more successful, and offers guidance on all key topics. This completely revised second edition of The Leadership Skills Handbook is about more than just technical skills, it is also about developing the people skills, behaviours and values you will need. Full of tips, exercises and practical wisdom, it will help you become a leader that people want to follow.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Winning at Innovation: The A-F Model
Fernando Trías de Bes, Philip Kotler
Palgrave Macmillan

Innovate or Die! Companies that cannot innovate and develop new products, strategies and technologies to keep ahead in today’s fastpaced market will not succeed. Winning at Innovation presents a groundbreaking new model for successful marketing advancement from two world-leading experts in marketing and innovation, Fernando Trías de Bes and Philip Kotler. Innovation is a responsibility normally assigned to R&D departments but this is not enough. Companies need a systematic framework so innovation can occur at any level of the organisation. The A-F Model is a step-by-step process for developing a successful culture of innovation, bringing together the different individuals and groups across the organisation for ideas to be created, developed and implemented. Offering flexibility, the model allows a back and forth flow of ideas and creativity to adapt to changing circumstances. Using this model, companies can learn how to make their innovation processes more effective, more sustainable, and more successful. Innovation must be a priority for organisations who want to be ready to grow and develop in post-recession economies. Trías de Bes and Kotler present a unique model for innovation for all companies that want to succeed in the global field.

Practical Manager

The Management Book: How to Manage Your Team to Deliver Outstanding Results
Richard Newton
Pearson

Clearly structured in 36 short sections, this practical book provides rapid, accessible advice on all the essential management challenges. Focusing on the manager’s key role – managing teams to get things done – this book looks at the essential parts of management from unusual perspectives and different angles. Structured with the busy manager in mind, you can dip into any section of the book and read it as an individual piece of advice or read it end-to-end to gain an overall picture of management.

Spring Market 2103 competition winners

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In January we ran a competition to find designers and makers who have used the Library to develop their ideas, the prize was a day selling their products at our at our Spring Market on Monday 4 March 2013.

The winners of the competition also get training in running a market stall, free business advice through the Business & IP Centre, as well as marketing support from the Library.

I bought some great presents at last years Spring Market so am really looking forward to this one.

Spring Market winners 2013

Ali Miller
Ali’s handmade and UK produced homewares have a traditional, nostalgic feel with a twist of British quirkiness. Her vintage inspired work has been featured in the BBC’s Sherlock Holmes series as well as in notable publications such as Elle, Financial Times and The Telegraph. Ali has attended the Library’s ‘Make it, Sell it’ event and used our Business & IP Centre for research.
www.alimiller.co.uk

ali-miller

Anthropoid Clothing
Using her training as a scientific and natural history illustrator, Abigail Lingford creates bags, home wares, clothing and shoes inspired by her love of science. She was shortlisted for the BBC wildlife artist of the year in 2012 and has been featured in Time Out and The Guardian. She is inspired by our exhibitions, including ‘Out of This World’ on science fiction. She is also a user of our Business & IP Centre which helps her to commercialise her work.
www.anthropoidclothing.com

anthropoid-clothing

Boodi Blu
Upcycling has become increasingly popular in recent years. Boodi Blu’s Sarah Marafie has utilised this to create beautiful bespoke pieces of china and porcelain jewellery. The china she uses has been found buried or washed up on river banks, building an historical story to the jewellery. Sarah has used our Business & IP Centre to better understand intellectual property, copyright and to attend our ‘Knowing your Market’ workshop.
www.boodiblu.com

boodi-blu

Euan Cunningham
A professional artist, Euan has applied his ink and watercolour drawings of London landmarks to items such as greeting cards, mugs, t-shirts and prints. Euan was featured in the Sunday Times and his card designs are now sold in Fortnum and Mason. The Library’s building has influenced his work – watch out for the British Library print!
http://commissionahouseportrait.com/

euan-cunningham

Josie Shenoy Illustration
Josie is an illustrator and designer who is inspired by storytelling and has a passion for fusing hand-made and digital approaches. Josie’s success is growing; she has recently sold her work with Topshop and ASOS. Josie attended our ‘Make it, Sell it’ event and has enjoyed our exhibitions such as ‘Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire’.
http://josieshenoy.com

josie-shenoy

Lisa Edoff
Swedish graphic designer Lisa Edoff creates beautiful products inspired by folk tales, nature, pop culture and the surrounding environment. She was directly approached by notonthehighstreet.com to become a partner and her products have been recommended by The Independent Magazine. Lisa has used our Business & IP Centre to attend our ‘Beginner’s guide to IP’ workshop, get one-to-one business advice and to network with other makers.
www.lisaedoff.com

lisa-edoff

Lucy Alice Designs
Lucy Porter has been creating gifts, cards, jewellery and homewares since 2011, all of which are influenced by her love of illustration and the British outdoors. Lucy was Runner up in the New Design Britain Awards in January 2012 as well as an exhibitor at MADE 12. Lucy has used the Library’s Business & IP Centre to research intellectual property and to create her business plan as well as researching British wildlife in our wider collections.
www.lucyalicedesigns.co.uk

lucy alice designs

Motties
Environmentally friendly Motties, are cosy and stylish slippers handmade from recycled leather materials. Alexa Mottram, the designer and creator of Motties, donates £1 from every sale to the homeless charity Emmaus. Alexa has received notable press coverage from The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. Her focus is on ethical fashion and she used the Library’s collection to research her MSc in Sustainable Architecture and Energy Studies, which has influenced her design work.
www.motties.co.uk

motties

Nette’ Leather Goods
Talented Californian turned Londoner, Johnette Taylor produces high quality leather goods such as purses, iPad cases and bicycle accessories. Her hand crafted accessories are made to last as well as being designed for functionality and attractiveness. In 2010, Johnette won a start up grant from the Prince’s Trust, and is currently a finalist in the Brand Amplify competition. She attended our creative and fashion meet-ups and training sessions on copyright and registered designs.
www.netteleathergoods.bigcartel.com

nette-leather-goods

The English Tee Shop
Alia Qadir designs and makes a range of luxurious printed t-shirts for women. Her emphasis on Englishness is central to the brand and can be seen through her use of the English language on the t-shirts as well as manufacturing her line solely in the UK. Alia has used the Library’s Business & IP Centre to do market research and has attended a trends workshop with our partner Insider Trends.
www.theenglishteeshop.com

the-english-tee-shop

Wonderhaus
Wonderhaus is an urban jewellery brand created by Julia Roy Williams. Julia gathers inspiration from urban environments, looking at architecture, music and other sub cultures and transforms this into beautiful jewellery made from materials such as bronze, leather, perspex and rubber. Julia’s jewellery has been recommended by The Sunday Times and Grazia as well as being seen on celebrities such as Erin O’Connor. Julia has been inspired by our exhibitions, including ‘Magnificent Maps’, our online gallery of images and our St Pancras flagship building.
www.wonderhaus.co.uk

wonderhaus

Spring Market 2013 competition: Made with the British Library

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spring-market-comp-web-pageOur Spring Market in 2012 was such a success, we decided to run it again (surprise).
So if you are a designer or maker and you have used the Library to develop your idea, why not apply?

The prize is a stand at our Spring Market on Monday 4 March 2013 on the British Library Piazza in London. The Market is part of our Spring Festival and will show off the work of ten of the most innovative jewellery, fashion, homeware and craft designers who have used the British Library. If you have attended an event, used our Business & IP Centre, seen an exhibition or have a Reader Pass you are eligible to enter.

We have up to 5,000 visitors at any one time. You’ll be able to exhibit and sell your products to our visitors for the day, get experience and training in running a market stall, gain free business advice through our Business & IP Centre, plus lots of marketing and press exposure.

See the winners of last year’s Spring Market competition

Your prize

  • A market stall during the Spring Market. We will provide a stand, fabric covering and basic staging.
  • A workshop on how to dress your stand and gain the most out of the opportunity.
  • Your work featured on the British Library website.
  • We will promote your products via the British Library’s marketing channels including Twitter, Facebook, blogs and our website.
  • You’ll be included in a British Library press release sent to major national and local publications.

Competition criteria

We are looking for designers and makers who:

  • Produce fine art and photography, graphic art, jewellery, crafts, home-ware, fashion or other products.
  • Have been trading for at least six months in the UK.
  • Have a product range which has potential to make a fantastic visual display on a market stall.
  • Can sell the majority of products for around £30 or less (so that it is affordable for passing trade). Although it is fine to have a small range of high-end products to show the full range of your work.
  • Are able to attend the workshop for competition winners on Friday 8 February 2013.
  • Have used the British Library e.g. for events, exhibitions, our collections and Business & IP Centre.

How to enter

Complete our word document form and email it to springmarket@bl.uk by midnight on Sunday 27 January 2013.

Download the application form

Read our competition terms and conditions

Key dates

Midnight on Sunday 27 January 2013: Deadline for the competition
Friday 1 February 2013: Winners announced via email and on our website
Friday 8 February 2013: Workshop for the winners
Monday 4 March 2013: ‘Made with the British Library’ Spring Market

Web in Feb 2013 is nearly here

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WebinFeb logoOur annual Web in Feb will be here very soon so have a look at what we have on offer and start booking up before they sell out.

Search Engine Optimisation for small businesses workshop

Tuesday 5 February 2013, 10.00 – 14.00

Learn how to improve your website so that search engines, like Google, list or rank it better and higher.

Science and technology information for the business user

Tuesday 5 February 2013, 14.00 – 16.00

Get a competitive edge by exploring our incredibly rich resources on technology-based products.

Social media for business innovation

Wednesday 13 February 2013, 10.00-12.30

Learn how to improve your products and services by using  social networks including: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Marketing masterclass for small businesses

Wednesday 13 February 2013, 14.00-18.00

This workshop will introduce you to new ways to think about how your online marketing and will give you the opportunity to apply these marketing strategies directly for your business.

Insider trends: The future of e-commerce

Monday 18 February 2013, 18.00 – 20.00

Get the latest trends to get a head start on  the social media revolution.

Manage your business on the web

Tuesday 19 February 2013, 18.00 – 20.00

Save precious time and money by learning about the different web applications out there which can help you run your business, many of which are free.

Introducing copyright workshop

Thursday 20 February 2013, 14.00-16.00

Find out how copyright protection is different from other forms of intellectual property and why it is essential for your business to protect the works created online.

What next for your invention? Plan, prototype or protect?

Thursday 21 February 2013, 13.00 – 17.30

Join this practical workshop to learn all the key issues that need to be covered when you plan, prototype and then protect your online or digital devices.

How to crowdfund for your business

Tuesday 26 February 2013, 18.00 – 20.00

Explore the latest Crowdfunding trends to raise capital and discover an approach to Crowdfunding that works best for you.

Managing money and saving time with Sage One

Wednesday 27 February 2013, 18.00 – 20.00

Find out about the online mobility of the cloud-based accounts and payroll software.

Mobile Marketing Demystified

Thursday 28 February 2013, 14.00 – 16.00

Get an introduction to the next frontier of marketing – apps and mobile websites.

 

Writing about ‘Web in Feb’ on Twitter? Use our hashtag and see what everyone else is saying: #webinfeb