Essential Smartphone Apps: LinkedIn Mobile and Onavo Data Saver

There are thousands of apps out there but here are two I reckon are `musts’ for any Smartphone user. The LinkedIn app and Onavo, a slick way of saving on your data allowance each month.

LINKEDIN ON THE GO

Definitely an app designed for a touchscreen, LinkedIn does the job

Obviously LinkedIn is a network which is more business than social. Great potential for networking yourself, job hunting, recruiting staff if you’re a HR director, or showcasing your company news, events, new products etc. But for me LinkedIn’s PC/laptop site is a bit fiddly, some of the key buttons are buried in obscure places and it lacks a real intuitive feel.

But the iPhone app version of LinkedIn is about 75% better to use than the PC version of the LI dashboard. Four basic buttons to tap open; Inbox, Updates, You ( Your Profile ) and Groups.

It is really simple to `Like,’ reply or Favourite an Update from a LinkedIn contact, the search bar is at the top of page if you want to find a person in a hurry. The Groups menu has a little button showing the number of recently updated discussions – dive into Groups and the most popular discussions are set at the top of the stack. Perfect.

I love this app and best of all, it’s free. The only criticism you can level at it is that it lacks some key features, such as the ability to leave a Group say, or find a company using the search box, rather than say just a person. It is ultimately a stripped-down version of LI, but in some ways, all the better for it.

The app version of LI is more appealing than the PC dashboard

ONAVO- THE DATA MUNCHIN’ MARVEL

Here’s another really useful free iPhone app; Onavo basically shrinks your downloads from all social networks, chops your emails down and puts the squeeze on photos that you may be uploading to sites like Facebook or Foursquare.

Looking at my first month of use I have saved 8.49MB out of 16.1MB downloaded to my phone, or just over half. The greatest savings have been on my general web browsing and Foursquare use. Not surprising, as I do like to post quite a few photos on Foursquare, just to prove I am actually at that place, rather than just `checking in’ whilst stopped at traffic lights near a shop or restaurant. Oh, you didn’t know people did that? Oh yeah, there are some naughty tricks used to blag the Mayorship of Domino’s Pizza…

If you’re on a monthly phone contract for your iPhone or Android device, then there will almost certainly be a data limit on that contract. See the famous T&Cs for details. Now if that limit is fairly low, then an app like Onavo can make all the difference between an extra £5 `top up’ charge in a month, or not.

Here’s a little detail you need to be aware of though, the Android version only monitors your data – it doesn’t shrink it.

Yes, I know I’m beginning to sound like Money Saving Expert Martyn Lewis here, but if there’s a way to cut your iPhone or Android bills in this recession, then why not?

Onavo helps you keep a lid on your data transfer in the background and as a bonus, by saving you data there’s a chance the phone’s battery will last a little longer. Very useful for iPhone 3G and series 4 users, as battery life can be a dismal 4-5 hours once you begin uploading plenty of pics and watching video clips on the move.

More phone tips, reviews and general techie ramblings coming soon. Why not subscribe to the blog and win a biscuit?*

Twittering on @npointsocial
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Decline of the High Street needs radical thinking

Yesterday’s newspapers reported that Mary Portas has suggested our empty High Streets could be filled with market stalls to bring them back to life. Not a bad idea, but if people simply aren’t shopping in a town because they feel it’s an unpleasant place to be, then what’s the point of having 50 market traders setting up pitch?

Shops and the offices above them are clearing out

I spent an hour this afternoon walking around Altrincham in Cheshire. It was frankly grey, dirty and depressing.

Once thriving, Altrincham is now a mix of abandoned offices, bankrupt independent house related businesses and charity shops, with the last remaining big name retailers hanging on grimly until the bitter end. Trouble is, our whole way of life has changed – that isn’t due to a recession, it’s down to technology.

Once M&S, WH Smith and a few big name banks pull out, Altrincham will be finished, at least as far as shopping goes. In terms of office space, it’s already game over – we simply do not work in 9-5.30pm`office jobs’ in large numbers any longer…at least not outside of London.

Online retail, the rise of home working, outsourced freelance consultants and `destination shopping’ via Malls, has all but killed off the traditional High Street in Britain – it’s time for some radical ideas.

MAKE OUR TOWNS SAFE, CLEAN AND UNIQUE

It sounds obvious, but so many small towns are woefully neglected. The councils basically took all the business rates in the good times and used them to gamble their pension funds in Iceland. The country I mean, not the frozen food retailer. If small towns have pleasant `quarters’ where traffic is minimal and people feel safe to wander, stop and chat, sit on the pavement and have a coffee etc that would be a start. Fix the pavement first though…

Next up, we need to offer rent protected retail space in `quarters’ where food shoppers, vinyl record collectors, shoe lovers, vintage clothing buyers, or someone who needs their computer fixed can find a cluster of vibrant, small businesses. Councils can support such businesses with `fairs’ or themed festivals four or five times a year as well – use social media to bring a buzz, some excitement to the town itself.

We need a law that protects small towns from the invasion of the charity shops – they need to make up no more than 10% of the retail space on any given street. Independent bookshops, music, clothing, shoe and other retailers cannot compete with charity shops – and we need small traders to revive small towns. Big business will never do it, charities simply soak up the budget shopper revenues – that has to change.

On the same lines, small cafes and independent restaurants should be paying 50% of the business rates of the big brand food chains. The chains have the advantage of buying food in bulk and outsourcing everything from accounts to HR, so let’s level the food business playing field. Anyone selling food which is produced locally – within 10 miles – gets a further 10% off. That encourages local farmers to sell their produce locally.

BRING THE PEOPLE BACK INTO OUR TOWNS

Much of the abandoned office space in small towns should be converted into low cost housing. You could even convert many old fashioned Victorian pubs into very nice flats. There is plenty of housing demand, so we should offer interest free loans to those who can find 10K to invest in refurbishing or converting an office into a flat.

Very few people can save up 30-50K for a deposit on a house, but 10K is achievable. In the same way that credit unions offer loans to those who save, councils could offer `housing unions’ similar support as part of their local regeneration plans.

If you give people a chance to create a decent home from what is basically sound, but neglected office/shop stock, for an affordable price, they will come. They will build it.

Britain's pubs are closing as our lifestyles change forever

Finally, promote your unique small town identity. If the area has a history tell that story, promote festivals, make something happen. Use Foursquare, Facebook and Groupon to offer people real incentives to physically `check in’ to your High Street – embrace the internet, don’t fight it.

Small towns cannot compete with the Trafford Centres or Westfields. Neither can they halt the inevitable rise of online retailing. To survive they have to offer more than just `distress’ shopping experiences and the chance of a £60 parking fine.

It’s time to rebuild our towns and make them interesting, friendly places to live and work in once again. It’s going to be a long,  slow process, but if politicians can stop squabbling over the last few million in business rates and think laterally, there’s a glimmer of hope.

Agree, disagree or got an idea to revive your town? Post your comments or tweet me @npointsocial

 

 

 

SEO tips: Content is King, so add a photo or video clip

This isn’t just theory, I tested it last year whilst studying SEO and social media last year at Salford University. Add a photo and your post will gain about 60% more traffic over the following month. There are lots of things you can debate in the arcane world of SEO, but you can’t argue with cold hard stats. Traffic speaks volumes.

This pic from New Zealand was perfect for the MCi Tours motorcycle travel blog

The other great thing about adding photographs or video clips is that people engage far more with the blog. They like it, they share it, they comment.

If you are blogging on behalf of a brand, not just for fun, then adding well composed, beautifully lit, eye-catching images is essential. You want comments because one of the main reasons for promoting your products on social media is market research, seeing genuine comments – seeing what inspires, enthuses, impresses.

By the way, if you are one of those companies who thinks this can all be done on the cheap, using outsourced keyword-rich copy and stock images, think again.

Google will knock your page rank down if you simply paste press releases and samey photos, or wobbly video clips with duff sound. You need to post something original.

If you film an entertaining clip that’s a start. Then set your own You Tube channel, link it to your blog, and tag the clips using keyword research tools, not just the seat of your pants.

In short, create something engaging and people will engage with it. The old saying, ` a picture paints a thousand words,’ was never so true as it is today.

Forget The Apprentice – Good Business Management Means Having a Common Cause

A couple of weeks back I went along to an Inspired Leaders Network meetup in London. There I listened to John Pearson from Virgin Radio and the Shazam app company describe what made a successful brand prosper. One of the key elements said John was `having a common aim or cause – people only start moaning about money when they no longer feel happy to turn up for work, their morale hits rock bottom without a belief in the cause.’

Everyone in your company should be marching to the same drum

It made me think back to some of the magazine jobs I’ve had in the past, where being editor was about striving for a vision of how the title could look, feel and develop – not the wages!

More importantly, as John was speaking, you could see the smiles and nods of agreement from delegates around the room at London  BPP Business School.

Instead of the brutal, back-stabbing antics of The Apprentice, or the stagey, soap-opera fakery of Dragon’s Den, real business people were listening about sharing ideas, learning new skills and breaking down barriers within companies. Opportunity, new projects, making a difference – that’s what drives people onwards, not just next month’s salary.

I got on the train back to Manchester and pondered for two hours on the various management structures I’ve encountered in the last ten years or so. I’ve known some great, inspirational people like motorcycle insurance broker Carole Nash – she started a company on her dining room table and sold it for £80m to Groupama in 2007.

Carole had some assistance from a guy called Damien Keeling, one of the most forward-thinking MDs I’ve ever met, who was willing to listen to any ideas which could add value to the CN brand. Compared to some of the endlessly petty, `them & us’ squabbles which hamper many publishing outfits, Carole Nash was a breath of fresh air.

But times, and companies change. Since the recession kicked off in 2008, the UK business environment has got more competitive. Strong High Street retailers have closed forever. Banking, media, telecomms, manufacturing, the legal sector – nobody is immune from this ongoing shake-out. There’s a ruthlessness now which is leading to more social division, more fear in the business world. However, instead of getting all `dog-eat-dog’ maybe it’s better for managers and directors to work in a different way – if we all have to work longer, for less pay, what else is there but the cause?

PUT A CVO PROJECT ON YOUR CV

Back at my desk the next morning, I searched out business link projects in Cheshire and found a brand new initiative that Cheshire Council are promoting with CVO – the Council for Voluntary Organisations.

In a nutshell, Cheshire West & East Councils are setting up a service called SkillShare, where local companies can offer practical help, business advice, PR support, marketing services or just some bricks and mortar for a new community building project. It isn’t about cash donations, it’s about sharing experience, taking a meaningful stake in a charity’s local vision.

Fact is, there are very dedicated people working in the third sector, often for free, but they are struggling right now. Grants have been cut and donations from the public have also dropped off. The future for many smaller charities depends on local people with business acumen helping them succeed in….yes, you guessed it, a common cause.

So myself and the team at Source PR are getting involved in SkillShare. Listening. Learning.

Maybe your business should do the same? If you do I reckon your staff morale and managerial effectiveness would all benefit from the experience.

I’m Twittering on @Npointsocial by the way