The Business of Manufacturing, a Question Time style debate on the future of UK manufacturing, chaired by Peter Marsh of the Financial Times, attracted lots of media attention last week. With some high-profile business leaders on the panel, including Juergen Maier of Siemens and James Averdieck, founder of Gu Chocolate Puds, the event created plenty of incisive comment on the prospects for growth in manufacturing and engineering rebalancing the national economy.

Working with the debate’s organisers, Marketing Leeds and Leeds Manufacturing, Appeal helped broaden media interest in the story by creating a video that provided an informative summary of the event, featuring interviews with the speakers. The video was used on TheBusinessDesk.com, to generate greater depth and interest to the Business Desk’s report on event.

It seems that news releases that include video content achieve three times more coverage than releases don’t have multimedia content.  The research showed that for those releases with editorial or blog coverage, the average number of pieces was 17.1 for the releases with video content.  This was almost three times the figure for the sample without video content of 6.2 and four-and-a-half times more than the distribution industry average of 3.8 pieces.

The latest technology has made it relatively simple and cost-effective to produce online video which can be quickly uploaded onto YouTube – the second most popular search engine.  Video enables a story to really stand out and has the viral benefit of online sharing, giving it a wider reach and longer lifespan than a traditional story in print.

The use of online video is continuing to grow as are the number of outlets wanting it, making it a great time for businesses to experiment and really differentiate themselves.

Here’s a recent online video we’ve produced for one of our forward-thinking clients, JCT600.

Although Google have tried to downplay the launch, its new social network is here, and users have been clamouring for an invite to its trial.

Unlike thousands of other social networks’ attempts to knock Facebook from the top, the buzz around Google+ is indicating that it has real legs and here at Appeal we have all been trying it out.

Although in the early stages, we’ve been impressed with what we’ve seen so far. The network is very intuitive, structured in a similar way to Facebook and the combination of concepts are generally sound more complex than they actually are to use. Google already have a strong hold over internet users as the world’s most popular search engine and judging by the positive feedback of Google+ so far, it is going to be difficult for internet users to avoid this new network in the future!

So what makes it different?

Google+ attempts to couple with Google’s strong current offering, its search function. However instead of isolating a search, relevant information can be shared with friends, family and acquaintances. If you are a Google user, you may have noticed +1 icons appearing next to each suggested site of a search. These are similar to Facebook ‘Like’ buttons. However the difference with the +1 icon is that recommendations are only shared when users search for relevant content, instead of being shared with everyone. Google + users can then choose their contacts’ recommended sites, visible in search results.

The second feature is the use of ‘Circles’. The basic ones are friends, family and acquaintances but these can be created and named yourself and the best thing is the contact will never know which Circle you have placed them in! Information can then be shared with whichever Circle you specify. This bridges the gap between networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn by giving you the capacity to have your personal and professional contacts all in one place.

A feature we are yet to try (mainly because most of our friends are yet to join!) is ‘Hangout’, which is basically a group video chat. This works for up to 10 people and lets everyone in your chosen Circle know that you’re interested in chatting.

Aswell as adding new features, Google have tried to make some of Facebook’s best features, such as its ability to share photographs, a little bit easier to use. Instead of patiently waiting for pictures to upload, all photos taken on a mobile device are automatically uploaded to a private album and photos can then be shared with whichever Circle or individual you choose.

The final significant feature is called ‘Huddle’. A feature on the app that allows you to group message and this is available on all Android and iPhone devices.

Have you had chance to use Google+ yet? Is it enough to make you move away from Facebook?

A recent survey by Havas Media indicated that Europe is seeing a similar trend with digital readership overtaking print in France. The research found that people spent 37 minutes a day reading digital publications, and 22 minutes per day reading print.

It also showed greater diversification than previously with 51 per cent accessing news via websites; 31 per cent read electronic editions; and 17 per cent using mobile apps. Already, 56 per cent of tablet owners use them to access branded press and with the explosion of tablets, this is likely to increase considerably by next year.

Not surprisingly, advertising spend has followed these trends with online advertising now outstripping newspaper advertising. Between 2009 and 2010, online spend grew by almost 14 per cent in the US to reach $25.8 billion.

What’s more, with the recent News of the World hacking scandal and subsequent closure of the newspaper fresh in the minds of the public, online media looks set to benefit from the consumer backlash.

The United Bank of Carbon (UBoC) is the brainchild of Jonathan Wild, former chairman and chief executive of Bettys and Taylors Group. Having spent much of his career leading a company with strong links to the tropics through its tea and coffee growers, Jonathan was ahead of the times, investing in environmental initiatives long before the concept became popular.

Twenty years ago Jonathan started a campaign to engage customers in support the company’s environmental projects. Since then, Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate has succeeded in planting three million trees across the globe and its latest mammoth undertaking is to support a UBoC project that is working to save a rainforest in Peru which is the size of the Yorkshire Dales.

The Bettys & Taylors name has become synonymous with green initiative s and ethical trading and there can be little doubt that its phenomenal success as a business owes much to the place it has won in the hearts of its customers and staff as a result.

Anyone who has met Jonathan will know that his conviction is contagious. Having listened to him explain his vision to a journalist, we immediately offered our services on a pro bono basis to support UBoC’s communications needs. Working with Jonathan and fellow trustee, Professor Piers Forster of the University of Leeds, we have re-launched a brand new website for the organisation to showcase its achievement so far and encourage more businesses to join the collaboration.

The re-designed website now focuses on the motivations that have driven supporters’ involvement. It is not necessarily a case of ticking the corporate social responsibility box, it may that supporters gain benefits through improved employee engagement and customer loyalty or they may be thinking of the future potential of carbon credits. The reason for involvement doesn’t matter, what is important is the fact that leading companies such as Deloitte, Bibby Line Group, Straight plc, Premier Farnell and DDB believe that they have something to gain from their investment.

With PR ‘greenwash’ receiving much criticism in recent years, supporting UBoC is an easy way in which businesses can make a genuine contribution to protecting our world. Surely the success of Bettys & Taylors, a £103m business and blender of Yorkshire tea, the third largest tea brand in the UK, is proof that investing in the environment really is a sound commercial investment.

In the past, many businesses have been deterred by complex and time-consuming production along with prohibitive costs.  However, the advance of social media together, together with camera technology, has made it an ideal time for businesses to experiment.  Existing media relations campaigns can be complemented with an online video which can be produced for a similar cost to a stills press shot and hosted on YouTube – still the leading brand for video streaming.

Figures show that online video usage is a huge area of internet growth.  In October 2009, Nielsen reported a 25 per cent increase in online video viewing year on year  and the trend is continuing – January 2011 saw annual usage in the US increase by 45 per cent. In February, there were a staggering 139.2 million unique US online video viewers who streamed 13.6 million videos and spent an average of 4 hours, 20 minutes viewing video.

With online media such as TheBusinessDesk.com requesting that businesses submit video releases, it’s a great way of getting more profile for your story.  What’s more, Google loves video so it will also give valuable search engine optimisation benefits.

Many businesses remain cautious, with the old days of hugely expensive corporate videos still too fresh in their minds.  However, for innovative companies (particularly those who have succeeded in building up a strong social media presence) there are huge benefits to be reaped.  Here’s the latest online video we’ve produced for one of our forward-thinking clients, JCT600.

I was glad to see an article in New Media Age which I thought was worth sharing with other perplexed parents as it officially recognises this Y generation phenomenon. 

According to research carried out by marketing agency Digital Clarity, it seems that 80 per cent of the 1,300 under 25s surveyed use social networks while watching TV, with 72 per cent commenting specifically on programmes via social networks.  Unsurprisingly, the most popular networks were Twitter (72 per cent) and Facebook (56 per cent).  The shows most widely commented on were teenage cult programmes such as X Factor, Skins and Glee as well as the enduring soaps Coronation Street and Eastenders.

Yet another reminder that the consumers of tomorrow will have a completely different way of communicating with the world, effortlessly engaging with a host of media simultaneously  while we digital immigrants struggle to work out how to record on the hard drive…

That’s the findings of recent research by OnePoll, on behalf of BaseKit .  It also found that SMEs in the UK are actually harming their business by not optimising their web presence – 70 per cent of people claim they would not buy from a company with a badly designed website.

The creation of the World Wide Web has made the concept of a global village a reality in just a few years.  Giving businesses direct, fast and economical access to large international markets, it has become a crucial marketing tool for every organisation.  From just 1.3m hosts on the internet in 1993, it has grown to 9.5m in 1996 and there were 234m websites as of Dec 2009.

Today, almost every business has a website, but the question is whether they are all making the most of it.  Like all marketing tools, a website must be constantly reviewed and updated to ensure it evolves to meet customers’ changing needs as well as keeping up with the latest technology.  Not only must it be well-presented and professional to give credibility, it must also be user-friendly and functional to convert all of those online browsers into customers.

Claire stressed the necessity of making self-promotion a priority.  With many professionals working 40 hour weeks, she said it was easy to lose perspective, but essential that everyone invests time in their personal development.  She described how after leaving The Apprentice in 2008, she treated herself ‘like a bottle of shampoo’ and created her own brand using her experience working in beauty marketing with L’Oreal and then Colgate.  With a huge number of opportunities in front of her, she took a step back and drew up a ‘wish list’ of what she wanted to achieve and where she wanted to be.  Since then, she has only accepted work that will further her specific goals.

Clare realised that her passion lay in education and working with young people.  She is currently  involved with two ventures, School Speakers which provides motivational speakers for schools, and Girls Out Loud, which is a social enterprise aiming to raise the aspirations of teenage girls.

Self-promotion takes a lot of effort; and the starting point is a focussed approach to your objectives.  Claire is adamant that everyone should have a written wish list clearly identifying what they want and where they want to be in ten years’ time – currently aged 32, her aim is to be in politics by the time she is 40.  Successful people are passionate and have conviction, so it is essential that you believe in what you do.

Referring back to her time at L’Oreal, Claire said that despite her post-Apprentice image as a chatterbox, she used to be very quiet, but was advised that she had to speak up or she would be ignored.  She then threw herself into creating her ‘Rottweiler’ image – attending every corporate event she could to meet as many people as she could within the business.

Claire asked everyone in the room to write down their USP – a phrase by which they would like to be remembered by people.  She then challenged the audience to convey those characteristics, whether they be ‘driven’, ‘tenacious’, ‘confident’ or whatever, in every aspect of their life.  Having decided on a ‘brand’, the next step is to make short term aims which will lead to the realisation of the long term goal.

To summarise: write a wish list; identify your USP; and live it.  But don’t forget to take time out of your week to dedicate to yourself!