More Blogging & Me on Twitter

I really need to get blogging again, but it takes time, and that is something I have not had since Arwyn came along. This year I will try to make a more concerted effort to do so though!

We have done so much in the past few years since I left British Airways, moved to head up digital marketing at Whirlpool and moved house to Horsham, that it seems a shame to have not blogged about it. But it was either let my son feed himself or change his own nappies or write the blog. Guess what won?

In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter, if you like. I am more prevalent on there at the moment, just because it’s a lot easier and quicker to update what I’m up to and share my interests that way.

I used to have a different Twitter account for a number of years, but deleted it due to hacking and because I wanted to start afresh. This was also a shame as I had built up a lot of followers, but I’m back with a vengeance and slowly building up my network again.

I tweet about digital marketing, Asia, Japan, family life, rugby, and anything else that takes my fancy.

Come and join the fun!

Back from Takasaki

My lovely wife is now back from Takasaki, Japan, after visiting grandma for a few days, who has been unwell and in hospital.

Welcome back, darling! 会いたかったよ！愛してる！チュー！

Get well soon, grandma!

Star Wars comes to Windsor!

Star Wars came to Windsor at the weekend over three consecutive nights - and there’s more this weekend on Saturday evening!

Just down the road from us, Legoland Windsor had their annual fireworks display. This year’s theme was Star Wars. Yayoi and I walked down the road on Friday and Sunday night to take a few photos and videos.

It was a really good fireworks display, and they even had some fireworks which turned into smiley faces, which I had never seen before. Yayoi says they are quite popular in Japan and are called ニコちゃん.

I’ll post a video tomorrow. There are a few videos taken by people who actually went to the event on YouTube. It seemed quite fun with Star Wars music playing during the display, but why pay an extortionate amount of money for a fireworks display in Windsor when you can see them from your back garden?

Launching a successful website in Asia

Following on from my previous post on self PR online, I realised I forgot to share details of my time at at my previous company, the launch of the new website, and the results.

Why read on? Well, I have been in digital marketing for over six years now in a variety of roles within blue-chip companies in varying industries. Whilst I would not declare myself a true expert by any means as things constantly change, I have an excellent grasp on all aspects of digital marketing, good experience within all fields of marketing communications in general, and I have had immense success in the field of digital marketing both in Europe and in Asia with the companies I have worked for – particularly in Asia, which is my area of expertise. I have a good job in a good company, and put simply, I’m pretty good at what I do.

As marketers, we are all constantly learning and changing the way we communicate to consumers, as technologies advance and customer habits change. But the basics remain the same. Do what’s right for the customer and everything else should flow from that. By following some of the tips below, hopefully you too can launch a successful website, whether it be in Asia or elsewhere!

My decision as soon as I arrived at the company was to re-structure and re-design the website, starting from scratch with SEO (search engine optimisation) and the customer in mind. Not an easy task, given that 90 percent of our customer base was spread across Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea, and we sold quite a number of products, but here’s a few things that I made sure were included in the new website that ensured success:

1. A good, logical site structure and an appealing look-and-feel – make it look good from the front and from behind!
2. An intuitive and simple customer funnel – ensure no more than 3 clicks from the home page or the menu bar to desired information to conversion by means of contact or sale!
3. A good internal linking structure – make navigation simple and logical for the visitor, whether human or bot!
4. Logical well-named URLs and page titles – based on keyword and competitor research, pick a keyword for the page and stick to it!
5. Well-written sales-focused description metatags – be creative and beat competitors to the click in organic listings!
6. Well-written, well-optimised copy – make it easy-to-read for visitors, whether human or bot!
7. Focus on one keyword/keyphrase per page – use the words that customers use, not internal jargon!
8. Good use of keywords in image titles and ALT tags – be friendly to those with a disability and help yourself at the same time!
9. A well-structured sitemap – let the search engines do their work and flow through your website!
10. A well-stocked glossary with appropriate internal links - let the search engines do their work and help customers, too!
11. A well-resourced press release section – make each press release a separate page and get customers through the back-door!
12. A partners section and partners pages – get those authoritative links coming in from your industry pals!
13. Publication of our email newsletter online – be an authority in the field online!
14. Employ a user-friendly multilingual-capable CMS – make sure your back-end systems are easy to use and work for you!
15. Permanent 301 re-directs from old pages to new – don’t lose the visitors you already had!
16. Speak to customers in their own language – translate everything, localise it, and help customers, whether human or bot!

The results paid off, both financially and in terms of improved metrics. 

• Within two to three months, we were on page one of the organic search results in Google Japan and Yahoo Japan, Google Korea and Naver, and Google China and Baidu for the majority of our keywords and products - the majority in position 1 – well outranking all of our competitors, the majority of whom were Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Taiwanese companies. This was down to a big effort on my part spending time and energy ensuring every page in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean was well optimised, doing tweaks as necessary – I guess it helps if you can read Japanese and Chinese and have an aptitude for how languages work (although I cannot read Hangul, I have enough knowledge of the grammatical structure of the language which enabled me to work things out for SEO-purposes after learning which characters made up the keywords).
• Just two to three weeks after launch, the website had a 90% increase in visitors, and a 45% increase in returning visitors. The figures continued to grow month on month.
• The website generated over £1 million in new sales, all the revenue coming from sales of a product which was previously hidden in the old website and nowhere in the organic listings in any country. These sales came from new customers. The website paid for itself and then some!

Of course, these tips only cover internal efforts on the website, albeit a lot of work. PPC search, affiliates, display ads, mobile marketing, email newsletters, direct mail, TV, ATL ads, radio - all the external comms efforts will increase what you can achieve, pull more customers through the door, and hopefully help to increase sales and revenue.

It’s important all the channels you use in your marketing campaigns are aligned in objective if not in message, but always remember that in today’s world your website is usually the first place people will encounter you, your company, and your brand. It’s your shop window to the world, so get it right.

The above tips are not only good for launching a website in Asia, but for any website anywhere. The list is not exhaustive, but get the basics right, be creative, and the rest will follow!

Self PR Online in Asia

I was taking a stroll down memory lane today and came across this old press release! My small claim to fame in the form of a press release about the CMS (Content Management System) powering the TTPCom multilingual website, which was in English, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.

This was back when I was in charge of online marketing at TTPCom (before it got taken over by Motorola). The websites do not exist anymore since absorption into Motorola, but I was proud of the work done and my achievements there.

Having found this press release, it got me thinking though about how important self PR online is these days, but also how careful you need to be about what you post online and where you post it. Although it is becoming more and more important for people to be seen as experts in their chosen field, especially for those of us in digital marketing, these days employers often conduct online searches on prospective employees. What comes up in their search may sway their decision whether or not to employ you!

So, what’s good and what’s bad? Linked In, for example, could be construed as a place for good self PR online, due to its business bias. You are unlikely to share your social life on Linked In. However, social media sites like MySpace or Facebook may create a bad impression, due to the ‘friendly’ nature of the content posted. Blogs are another classic example, whereby the topic or main objective of your blog is important. Your blog, if specific to your chosen field of business, can show you to be knowledgeable, professional, allow you to display expertise, and this will paint you in a good light. Your blog, if too personal, could work against you, depending on the content.

I am always careful about what I write on my blog. I never mention my name directly, although there are links to my profile if you look hard enough and you can find my name indirectly if you view the right postings – this post is a clear example of that. I never mention my current employer by name or discuss the specifics of what I do there – what I do there is confidential and I do not want competitors reading details of our digital strategy. This blog is not a blog to make my name in the world of digital marketing in Asia, it’s my personal blog. However, I never know who may come across it, so I continue to maintain a modicum of caution whenever I post.

So, what’s my point here? Well, for anyone involved in digital marketing, or marketing communications in general, raising your profile through blog postings, article submissions, comments on other blogs, mentions in press releases or articles, are all important these days – especially when you might be on the look out for a change in career – but just be careful what you write and where you write it, because you never know who might be looking and reading!

奥さんは帰ってくる～！

明日弥生は日本から帰ってくる～！やった！（嬉）

早く会いたいよ、ダーリング！チューーーー！（笑）

Japan recognises the Ainu

This is huge news! On Friday, the Japanese government will finally recognise the Ainu as an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion, and culture.

The Japanese have constantly maintained for years that they are an ethnically homogenous society and that the Ainu do not exist – something which is quite untrue. It is clear that this is a symbolic gesture, especially with the G8 summit in Hokkaido drawing near, but it is a step in the right direction. Only time will tell how this will really affect the very few Ainu left. A great day for them nevertheless.

I have always had an interest in ethnicity and indigenous peoples and their assimilation into societies, with a particular focus on the social identity of individuals – How does an individual see himself/herself? As Ainu? As Japanese? As both? As either depending on circumstance or situation? All very intriguing.

Many people often forget that the Okinawans (Ryūkyūans) are in a similar position to the Ainu in Japan, but not as vocal for various reasons. Many of the complaints from Okinawa these days surround the continued presence of the US military on the islands, which often detract from any discussion on ethnicity and historical discrimination issues.

My Masters thesis was on the changes in Ryūkyūan Identity from the days of the Ryūkyū Kingdom through assimilation into Japan during the time of Meiji in 1879, and from post-war occupation to the present day, where it seems that people’s social identity has come full circle: Ryūkyūan - Okinawan – Japanese – Okinawan – Ryūkyūan. There are some individuals in Okinawa these days who will actually claim that they are Ryūkyūan. I find this fascinating, perhaps because I think of myself as Welsh and not British.

Business Class to Tokyo

My wife, Yayoi, has gone back to Takasaki, Japan, for a week to see friends and family. I couldn’t go due to work commitments, but I am off to Singapore for a week later this month and will be booking a business trip to Tokyo in July, when hopefully we can both go. It was touch and go whether she would get on the flight, but she managed to get business class on the way to Narita - she has the same priority as me. A return flight to Japan for less than £200 in business class. Not bad!

ダーリング、会いたいなぁ！早く帰ってきてね！愛してる。チューーーー！（笑）