Andy Poole, the digital strategist for Weber Shandwick in the regions, has some words of wisdom he’d like to impart to client companies eager to make the most of a fast moving medium.

Here’s what he has to say:

What’s the best piece of advice that you can give to businesses embracing the digital era?

It’s crucial that businesses don’t get lost among all of the digital information and platforms that are available. Digital media can work wonders for a business, but it is vital that they complete their research to find the medium that suits them, their messages and audiences.

How can businesses effectively use social media?

Poole: well connected

Businesses should take an ‘inline’ approach that doesn’t alienate traditional offline platforms or develop digital strategies independent of the wider communications plan.

This will ensure that off and online activity effectively complements each other, all audiences are effectively targeted and capital wisely invested.

What are the pitfalls and how can they be avoided?

I wouldn’t say that there are ‘pitfalls’ to be avoided exactly, it is merely a case of treading carefully at the initial stages. 

There are lots of opportunities out there and new digital platforms are cropping up on a near daily basis; businesses just need to remember to maintain focus on clear objectives and use existing knowledge and research when devising strategies.

What can North West businesses learn from digital leaders in the US?

The UK is not that far behind in the digital realm, but I do think that it is important to share digital knowledge and expertise.  Businesses, communications agencies and marketers in the US all work in close partnership to constantly understand what does and doesn’t work, and how strategies can keep pace with ever evolving digital platforms and techniques.

What/where’s the tangible proof that digital communications work?

What's the next big thing?

In addition to numbers, it’s important to measure online buzz to understand what conversations audiences are having, what brands they are and aren’t talking about and what they are interested in. 

These elements can be easily tracked using bespoke buzz monitoring tools and findings used as a basis for research as well as evaluation.

Blogging, Facebook, Twitter – what’s next?

Naturally there will be some debate surrounding this, (which is always healthy), but I think that mobile and video are going to become increasing popular.

Mobile and video are available on a large scale to the public, often at relatively low-cost. If you hit on the right idea and employ the correct strategy, you can achieve instant impact among a huge number of people.

Importantly, mobile and video are constantly evolving, which means in turn that the applications and uses are constantly changing.

www.webershandwick.com

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