Andy Merchant - Independent Social Media consultant
Profile
Summary
Experience
- Sept 2011 - PresentFounder / Blog Pitching SymbolThe blog pitching symbol visually symbolises the fact that you welcome - or don’t welcome - brand or “product news” pitches to your blog. Additionally, the “we accept pitches” symbol can guide the pitching brand/agency to the fact you welcome pitches for a particular category or products, with the addition of your own supporting text.
- Jan 2011 - PresentCo - Founder / Social Digital SpaceSocial Digital Space is your space to blog about the digital industry and related subjects. We give you the opportunity, via guest blogging, to have your say on the latest digital trends, breaking news and opportunities within the digital sector.
- Aug 2010 - PresentIndependent Social Media Consultant / Andy MerchantPutting the fun back in social media and helping brands, establish, grow and engage online.
- Jan 2009 - PresentCo - Founder/Director / PressittSocial Media News Release creation and publishing platform. http://pressitt.com/ Pressitt allows you to create your own social media news release (SMNR) - also known as a social media press release (SMPR) or social media release (SMR), and publish it to an online community of journalists, the blogosphere and the general public.
Education
Additional Information
Posts
Surveys are a great way of collecting valuable marketing intelligence. The only problem is that countless companies know this and send out surveys endlessly. Due to this, many recipients are ‘fatigued’ and no longer complete surveys. But, you can break through the clutter! In this post I’m going to share with you some tips on [...]
The job application process has broadened drastically over the past five years. With the unforgiving economy and an overabundance of eager college graduates, one must know how to stand out from the crowd. According to a recent article in The Huffington Post, fewer than half of college graduates that graduated since 2009 found their first [...]
Almost every business owner understands the importance of having a website in today’s market. While having a business website is essential, many business owners do not realize the importance of having a mobile version of their sites as well. Why would you need to have a mobile-friendly website? Popularity of Smartphones If you have paid [...]
There’s a popular theory when collecting information via a web form that less is more. The idea is that by asking for less information in your web form, you’re increasing the likelihood of someone submitting it by reducing the friction they might feel about handing over their details. Makes sense right? It’s a good theory [...]
It’s that time again, the deadline for your upcoming email newsletter is looming and you just can’t find the energy or inspiration to even start. In fact, you find yourself staring at the screen with eyes slightly out of focus and fingers itching to type ‘w-w-w-dot-f-a-c-e-b-o-o…’ into your web browser. Sound familiar? Well help is [...]
In the end it’s all about good old-fashioned editorial skills! “Paid, owned and earned are here to stay.” So said Keith Weed who, as the CMO for Unilever (the second largest advertiser on the planet), knows what he is talking about. He was speaking at the recent Advertising Association summit bringing together the great and [...]
Good news for advertisers, media research enthusiasts and data fans last week as Conde Nast announced they will provide readership and behavioural data on each issue of their magazines’ tablet editions. This is a huge leap forward given that the primary currency of ad effectiveness for most of the magazine industry is still the blunt [...]
First of all it’s probably worth explaining what Pinterest is: Pinterest is a pinboard-style social content sharing website. The service allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. The site’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” Some Pinterest stats: Pinterest has approximately 12 million active [...]
As reported in the latest study by Outreachr, Twitter plug-in penetration in France is surprisingly low. We analysed 350,000 domains in the travel and finance sectors to find that only 0.5% of French websites had any kind of Twitter button or plugin on their pages. By comparison 7.2% of English websites had the Twitter plugin [...]
The Mobile World Congress, held between 27th February to 1st March at Fira Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain, is the world’s biggest mobile event where manufacturers have the opportunity to present and launch new phones. One of the biggest mobile trends for the past year or two is supersize phones with touch screens that are becoming [...]
The Twitter account surrounding Angelina Jolie’s right leg at the Oscars, @AngiesRightLeg, has become an overnight sensation, amassing 47,465 followers to date [correct at the time of writing]. But beyond that, what has been even more surprising to me, is that the spoof account has made the news of many major online and offline news [...]
Advertising agencies were outraged earlier this month following Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald’s comments in a conference call with analysts following P&G’s Q4 results, when he announced that he plans to ‘moderate’ P&G’s $10bn annual ad spend because they can now get ‘free’ impressions via social media. The robust agency response is understandable – [...]
A lot of email industry folk will tell you that the subject line is the first thing recipients look at when determining whether or not to open your email. But they’re wrong! The truth is that it’s second. Because the first thing people look at is the ‘from’ field to determine who sent them the [...]
Getting a pretty website built is great but what you really need are website visitors. There are many ways to market a website including Pay Per Click advertising (Google sponsored listings), e-mail marketing, social media and other offline methods, however in this article we will focus on on-site Google optimisation, specifically page content. The website [...]
As a part of my social media consultancy work I’m often asked about blogging; specifically how to build a blog, and the plugins one should use without any coding knowledge. Today I will share with you five WordPress plugins you might want to install now or bookmark for your next project! 1. In-post Template allows [...]
Posts
18 Tools to Develop Your Brand on Facebook
www.practicalecommerce.com
If you’re look for a place to develop your brand, Facebook is the spot. With over 500 million daily active users, it’s a great platform on which to engage followers and promote yourself. It’s also an ideal environment to monitor how successful you are at engaging and promoting.
Flumes aims to change the way you interact with social media, listening, organising and connecting you with the important conversations, encouraging you to join in and take action. Detecting trends, keyword tracking, spam filters and analysis is automatic and in real-time. This provides a snapshot of any social media conversation including the best links, images, videos, and tweets on any topic and analytics around volume, sentiment, and demographics.
flumes - Social Media Distilled
flumes.com
Polygraph Media - Truth revealed through social data.
polygraphmedia.com
Polygraph mines every social interaction on Facebook Pages - yours & your competitors - to deliver intelligence and actionable insights
TwitIQ Smarter Twitter
twitiq.com
Smarter way to Discover and Share what's happening on Twitter
Piktochart- Infographic & Presentation Tool.
piktochart.com
Piktochart- Make Information Beautiful. Create infographics. Engaging presentation app.
Pinstagram is a free service that lets you enjoy Instagram on the web. Pinstagram works seamlessly with your Instagram account.
Pinstagram lets you view your feed, popular photos, and more.
Pinstagram
pinstagram.co
Venngage helps you create and publish custom infographics, engage your viewers, and track your results. Venngage is the most powerful infographics publishing platform ever for marketers and publishers.
Venngage
www.venngage.com
Social data | Social software | Analytics | Bazaarvoice
www.bazaarvoice.co.uk
Our industry leading social commerce solutions capture & amplify user-generated content, driving the highest social media ROI, for the world's largest brands.
Photo Sharing. Your Photos Look Better Here. | SmugMug
www.smugmug.com
Billions of happy photos, millions of passionate customers. Gorgeous online photo sharing. Protect your priceless memories. Create beautiful prints & gifts.
Welovroi is an intelligent dashboard for Digital Marketing Managers who need to monitor, measure, report and calculate the return on investment (ROI) of their online strategies.
http://www.welovroi.com/
www.welovroi.com
Hoonto - Your Personal Online Dashboard
beta.hoonto.com
I accepted an invitation to be one of the first to experience Hoonto this summer!
who did I forget?
whodidiforget.com
Did you ever forget someone while organizing an event ? Whether it's a friends get-together, a family dinner or a high-school reunion, give us a rough sketch of who you want to see there and we'll come up with a complete guest list for you and take care of sending the invites.
World Social News and Buzz in Realtime | Frrole
frrole.com
Frrole is a brand new way of discovering the current social buzz in World. Analyzing the Twitter stream for World, Frrole digs out the most popular tweets, intelligently categorizes them into sections like Sports, Events, Deals etc. and presents them to the user just as a newspaper would in older t...
News360.com
news360.com
Web-based version of News360 - a popular cross-platform newsreader, that gives you personalized news feeds based on your social web activity.
Get the latest, photos, videos, and news, directly from your favorite celebrities, athletes, and influencers.
http://www.whosay.com/home
www.whosay.com
Rue La La is an invitation-only destination for a life of style where members delight in discovering private sale boutiques that open daily - and stay open only for a short time. A community where members shape the experience -- and enhance the excitement -- by inviting their friends. A place where they discover some of the most sought-after brands in fashion, accessories, footwear, home, travel wine, gourmet, local services, and more.
Rue La La - Home
www.ruelala.com
Docspile - Find, Upload, Download, Share, Publish And Broadcast Documents.
docspile.com
Docspile is a live tools for people to find, share and broadcast professional and personal documents. Find 100,225 documents on our pile.
Welcome | Chime.in
chime.in
Online Reputation - Directory Listing | Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard
smallbusiness.yahoo.com
A FREE solution that helps you discover new marketing opportunities and determine what works best, so you can grow your business.
OnlineBeta | Beta Testing Community | Beta Test
www.onlinebeta.com
The official site of OnlineBeta - A beta testing community for individuals all over the world...
TimelineImageTool.com
timelineimagetool.com
Timeline Image Tool lets you create your own image, add text, then upload it automatically to your Facebook page for free! Watch the video to see how it works, then click “get started” to start playing on your Facebook page.
Photo Pin : Free Photos for Bloggers via Creative Commons
photopin.com
Photo Pin is a free tool that helps bloggers and designers find beautiful photos for blogs and websites using Creative Commons licensing. Download the photos and get attribution links already formatted for you.
Populr
www.populrapp.com
Get the news, from the sources that you like, in one place ordered by what you read most and what your friends recommend.
LaunchGram - Find Out About Upcoming Releases
www.launchgram.com
Websites Like - Alternatives to your favorite websites
www.websiteslike.org
Websites Like helps you find similar, related or alternative websites. Websites Like comes in handy whenever you're looking for alternatives for a website. We do this better than any other website on the world wide web.
Gmelius™ · Ad Remover and Better UI for Gmail™
gmelius.com
Gmelius is a poly-browser extension that proposes a better and cleaner Gmail™ inbox. Try it now for Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Safari!
ResumUP.com | Go Visual - Get Visible
resumup.com
Resum UP is a service for personal data visualization aimed to set a new standard in career management, online and social recruiting.
Posts
In its effort to provide professional, convenient and cost-effective healthcare tests throughout the country, ANY LAB TEST NOW, the nation's fastest-growing retail healthcare testing clinic, has opened its newest location in Des Peres, MO at 13327 Manchester Road next to Trader Joeâs in Des Peres Pointe. This new ANY LAB TEST NOW location is officially opening on May 29th 2012. Â
Almost 700 business leaders, aspirants and their guests from across BC gathered at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on May 24 for the induction of the provinceâs newest business laureates into the Hall of Fame (www.businesslaureatesbc.org). Junior Achievement of British Columbia (JABC) was the host for the 7th Annual Business Laureates of British Columbia Gala Dinner and Induction Ceremonies, co-sponsored by Scotiabank Group and Fasken Martineau. The evening was emceed by Tony Parsons, co-host, CBC News Vancouver.
Carole Nash, the UKâs leading motorcycle insurance* broker has launched a competition to reveal Britainâs pride amongst bikers, ahead of the Jubilee.
Latest research from Endsleighâs Fantime Friday campaign suggests the Xbox is a more popular choice than the PlayStation 3.
Book Marketing, The Authors Marketing Powerhouse, serves as a community of authors and allows authors to actively engage in promotion and publicity for marketing purposes. Authors can upload author photos, bios, book covers, video and book trailers. It also offers discussion forums, segmented groups and events listings. Facebook and Twitter integration are available
City Chase, The Worldâs Largest Urban Adventure Series, is about to embark on a four month odyssey of adventure and adrenaline pumping challenges for over 10,000 Canadians across the country. It will begin its journey of Laughter, Adventure and Discovery in Edmonton on Saturday, May 26.Â
New York, NY - May 25, 2012 - www.InvestorIdeas.com, a global investor research specializing in sector research including China stocks, issues an investor alert for Complete Genomics, Inc. (NasdaqGM: GNOM), continuing on yesterdayâs gains, trading up at $3.03, up 0.70 (30.04%) 10:30AM EDT on over 9 Million shares . GNOM is the top percentage gainer on NASDAQ as of the time of this report.
Allied Wallet is one of the world's leading providers of internet payment processing, merchant services, and a PCI Level One Payment Gateway. Today, their stake in the e-commerce market is stronger than ever after announcing its partnership with PrestaShop.
On May 31, 2012 at 8:00 pm EST, the Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association (CT REIA) will be hosting a free webinar with Sue Nelson. Attendees will learn how to buy notes and real estate directly from banks.
The South Wales boys and girls teams qualified for the under 14 AEGON County Cup finals in Nottingham â where both went on to finish sixth.
Hi Lo Poker Spearheading Sky Vegas' New Games and Incentives
Keep your iPhone 4/4S safe and protected from anything Mother Nature has to throw at it even when on holiday with the LifeProof case. The LifeProof case is in stock now at Mobile Fun.
Small business marketing consultant Patrick Giammarco, announced today he will present his Leveraging Your Brand for Growth: 5 Pillars to Marketing Wisdom at Bowling Green State University's Professional Development Series held June 20 at Levis Commons.
Sizzling promotions lined up at the Wink Bingo site.
Alila Villas Soori is hosting its next Artist In Residence, Raymond Wiger, a master sculptor in the art of wire mesh. Wiger's works will be exhibited in June at the resort showcasing several inspired art pieces that was done on location. Â
â Chris Miller, Founder of The Mission Center, will be the keynote speaker presenting, âA Startup is a Startup â The Story of a (Social) Entrepreneur,â at the Missouri Venture Forum (MVF) June 1 breakfast meeting , which will be held at Greenbriar Hills Country Club located at 12655 Big Bend Rd., Kirkwood, Mo., 63122. The meeting is from 7:15 â 9:00 a.m.
Ed Mayuga, partner at the St. Louis-based public relations and marketing firm, AMM Communications LLC, public relations marketing consultants of greater St. Louis, was interviewed for the May 13 âAll About Businessâ episode about branding and marketing tips to implement this summer.
New York, NY - May 24, 2012 (Investorideas.com renewable energy/green newswire) Investorideas.com, a leader in renewable energy stock research for independent investors, issues an investor alert for Gevo, Inc. (NasdaqGM GEVO) trading up at $5.89, gaining 0.54 (10.09%) 1:13PM EDT on over 177,000 shares.
New York, NY - May 24, 2012 (Investorideas.com renewable energy/green newswire) - Investorideas.com, a leader in renewable energy stock research for independent investors, issues an investor alert for A123 Systems, Inc. (NasdaqGS: AONE) trading up at $1.00, up 0.0699(7.52%) 1:03PM EDT with a morning high of $1.03 on volume of just over 1.3 Million shares.
Annapolis, MD - May 24, 2012 (Investorideas.com renewable energy/green newswire) Clean Wind Energy Tower, Inc. (OTCBB:CWET) (the "Company") announced today that on May 23th, 2012 the City Council of San Luis, Arizona held a second and final hearing on the zoning and voted unanimously in favor of zoning a parcel of land within the San Luis City limits for the construction of Clean Wind Energy's innovative green renewable energy Downdraft Tower Facility. In a separate and additional action, the City Council approved an agreement for protected development rights with Clean Wind Energy, Inc., paving the way for the entitlement to develop a second Tower on the subject property.
Popular online casino software developer Net Entertainment confirmed that it was releasing a new slot game called ThunderFist this week
The Facebook stock option is now available at Option Range and can be traded on a daily basis.
Toys and baby products from Fisher Price have been trusted by mums for generations. Yet their commitment to innovation means they keep on coming up with new ways to help us take care of our little ones. The Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo is the latest example of this.
Great competitions launched once again at SpinandWin casino.
New York, NY, - May 23, 2012 â (Investorideas.com renewable energy/green newswire) Investorideas.com, a leader in renewable energy stock research for independent investors, issues an investor alert for AMSC (Nasdaq:AMSC ) following news it has received a100 MW Wind Turbine Electrical Control System order from Inox Wind. The stock is trading at $3.96, up 0.42(11.86%) 3:05PM EDT on over 400,000 shares.
Updates
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#Useful of the day: 18 Tools to Develop Your Brand on Facebook http://t.co/YMbkQlw7
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Social Merchandise is out! http://t.co/bX4dZ0A7 ▸ Top stories today via @tweetnut @carrieagroff @rdille
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Tablets are great for keeping kids occupied. http://t.co/YlYKgITw
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Testing some sites on the Responsinator: Responsive Web Design Preview For Different Devices http://t.co/FhzQKtKl
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#Useful of the day: http://t.co/PhPb9KLE HTML5 Image Galleries. Use Juicebox to create image galleries on your web site or blog
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Social Merchandise is out! http://t.co/bX4dZ0A7 ▸ Top stories today via @socialmediastrg @JosieRogers
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RT @SilkCharm Proof that #Pinterest drives Sales, bigtime http://t.co/whJl7C5k & pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without
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Checking out chkin.at http://t.co/kCsUtMHC Lets you check into sites instead of places.
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Very simple but great idea > RT @adenhepburn Volkswagen “The Original Click” YouTube Ads http://t.co/oLY8Uwzh
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The five biggest social media fails http://t.co/OaH1jYTG via @Telegraph. What others can you think of?
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Checking out flumes http://t.co/qZRyS8d7 Real-time News Analysis Through the Eyes of the Social Web.
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Has anybody used So.cl? Any good? Microsoft’s Social Network So.cl Targets Young People http://t.co/RYxnMjjc via @popsop_com
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Rising number of drivers are being distracted by Facebook & Twitter at the wheel, RAC warn http://t.co/E5vPfFiO
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20 issues you must consider for a website relaunch - Smart Insights Digital Marketing Advice http://t.co/Y5GDgqH1 via @smartinsights
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10 ways to get more responses to your next survey http://t.co/ZKX8p0P3 via @socialdigitalsp
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Social Merchandise is out! http://t.co/bX4dZ0A7 ▸ Top stories today via @KellyeCrane @CPotratz @tywebbin
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Click the keys > Google Doodle for Robert Moog is a fully functional synthesizer | The Verge http://t.co/xPIVovNB via @verge
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[CASE STUDY] The ‘Headline News’ Twitter Integrated Cup Sleeve http://t.co/CwLtzfIS via @cguerrillamblog
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Social Merchandise is out! http://t.co/bX4dZ0A7 ▸ Top stories today via @RobertoGuerrer @rdille @CyberZizo
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The World's First Wikipedia town is in the UK. http://t.co/cYxCcssJ
By day I can be found @pressitt Social Media News Release Service or @socialdigitalspace. Guest blogging for the digital enthusiast.
Follow me on Twitter @andymerch and check out my Applications and online tools for PR professionals Facebook group.
Also find me here -
