Latest Posts

Visualising The Code

We were approached by SenScot to develop the identity and website for the new voluntary code of practice for social enterprises in scotland – ‘The Code’. We are delighted to be involved in an initiative that has values such as honesty, fairness, democracy, empowerment and collaboration at its core and resonates with how we strive to do business.

The Social Enterprise Exchange begins tomorrow in Glasgow, UK. The world’s largest event of it’s kind aims to bring together organisations operating in or with an interest in the social enterprise sector.

The Code has been initiated by a group of founder members representing some of the key organisations in the Scottish social enterprise community. The code was developed in response to a feeling in the sector that the definition of an SE has never been adequately focussed or asserted with the result that many essentially private businesses have been using the term to describe themselves while not operating in a fashion that the wider community would agree constitutes a true social enterprise.

A set of values and behaviours rather than a mandatory set of rules, the code is designed to be voluntary and provide the basis for self-regulation by the SE community.
Download The Code (PDF)

Using Linkedin to grow your business

The days of cold-calling are thankfully a distant memory (or at least they should be). Today’s social media savvy marketeers know that building your brand’s reputation and positioning yourself as an expert in your chosen field are far more effective ways of communicating with potential clients than the scatter-gun, push and hope strategy that is cold-calling.

One of the things I love about social media is that it actively encourages and rewards those that help others without trying to ram sales pitches down their throats and ‘being nice’ is a genuinely great strategy for growing your business. At the end of the day if you help people out they are far more likely to recommend you or use your company than if you try to hoodwink them into buying something from you that they neither want nor need. It’s not a scaleable business model!

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Emotionally connect with your reader

When we sit down to write we hope that people will read what we have to say, that they will be informed, or moved or inspired to take action. How can we get them to pay attention? When it comes to connecting with your reader it doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a blog, your social media updates or your organisation’s web copy, the only thing that matters is understanding what your reader needs.

Some people will tell you it is all about incorporating themes like sex or violence, it is about stirring dissatisfaction then providing solutions. I’m going to propose something different, something that comes way before you try and sell a product or idea. It is about emotional connection and in order to do that you have to seek first to understand, and then be understood.

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