public speaking

AmplifyNZ: Re-invention Talk

I was recently honored to speak at the first ever AmplifyNZ event in Auckland, NZ.

From the Australian version of the event:

Amplify is Australia’s leading ideas and events platform for exploring business innovation, technology, thought leadership and customer culture with the world’s best thinkers. In a time of unprecedented business disruption, Amplify is AMP’s initiative to discuss the future of business with Australian business community.

My talk centers around the topic of re-invention, and how I’ve applied it throughout my own life.

Give it a watch, and drop me a line @boopsocial with your thoughts!

gamedev, public speaking

Game Developers of Wellington – Free Talk

Game Developers of Wellington

Looking to learn more about using social media? In the Wellington area? JOIN US!

I’ll be talking about using social media to network & promote yourself at the September Game Developers of Wellington Meetup. I’ll be discussing tips, tricks, and personal anecdotes. It’ll be fun!

From the official description:

JUST DO (MORE OF) IT: Using social media to network & promote yourself (even if you’re not Shia levels of intense)

Fantastic special guest speaker Lucy Morris touched on the importance of using social media to network, promote and amplify your message. Now overly-enthusiastic American and past game industry Sr. CM Tara Brannigan (PikPok, Xbox, PopCap) will provide an overview on the do’s and don’ts of communicating online. Whether you’re just looking to meet other game devs and network, or wanting to promote your game(s) online, this crash course should provide valuable info on getting started and growing your presence in a genuine way.

When: Tues, 1 Sept 2015 – 6:00PM
Where: Victoria University School of Design – 139 Vivian St., Wellington NZ
Who should attend: Anyone who is interested! You don’t need to be a GDOW member to attend.
Cost: Free!

RVSP now: http://www.meetup.com/Game-Developers-of-Wellington/events/224603759/ 

video

5 Quick Tips for Social Video

Note: This piece was originally created for wipster.io/blog

Creating video content for use on your social media channels is not only a great way to stand out, but is quickly becoming an essential part of any social media content strategy. With social networks such as Facebook prioritizing video content in the feed, and investing heavily in new video tools and tech, including video into your social content strategy is quickly becoming a ‘must have’.

To help get you started, here’s 5 Quick Tips to keep in mind!

1: Keep it Short & Sweet

It can be tempting to create an epic, feature length, video dissertation on the topic of your choosing. However, the average attention span has dropped dramatically in recent years (Source). Unless your content is incredibly compelling and to the point, you’re not going to be able to hold the attention of most social media visitors for more than a few minutes.

8 seconds

8 Seconds – Average attention span for digital audiences, via Microsoft Research

In addition, you need to make the first few seconds count! If you’re not showing something interesting in the first few seconds of your video, you’ve already lost most of your audience. So make the most of it: Use those first few seconds to your advantage and show something great that will ensure your audience sticks around!

2: Always Add Great Description Text

Don’t skimp on writing and revising your accompanying description text, be it YouTube ‘Show More’ text, an accompanying Facebook post, or even a quick Tweet. You have a golden opportunity to capture the attention a larger audience, make sure to make the most of it.

This is particularly important if your thumbnail doesn’t clearly communicate what your content is at a glance. People want to know why they should be interested before they spend time looking at your content. Give them a quick idea of what to expect, and encourage them to watch through the accompanying text!

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best practice, quick tip, twitter

Starting a Tweet with an @

twitter

A quick tip on starting a tweet with an @:

If you begin a tweet with an @, only people who follow both you AND the account you’re mentioning will be able to see it in their feed.

Example:

If you want your tweet to be seen by everyone that follows your account, just make sure that you include something prior to the @. This can be anything from an intro word such as ‘Hey @account’, or if you’re short on space, a simple . Example:

Simple, no?

Just remember: If you want everyone to see your tweet, make sure to include something prior to the @!

Also, thank you to the Game Developers of Wellington (@GameDevsofWelly) for allowing me to use their account in this example.

facebook, instagram, templates, twitter

Basic Content Calendar Templates

Looking for a basic content calendar to get you up and running?

Feel free to snag mine and modify as you’d like! These are intended to serve as a basic building block for building out your own content strategy, so feel free to download, modify, and use as you see fit.

Note: I’ve included additional cells for the Localization content calendar, so you can add whatever additional languages you’d like to support. Just make sure that if you’re adding additional rows for the Twitter section to copy + paste both the language and the character count rows as one. The formatting can get a little finicky if you attempt to do it separately.

Feel free to use however you’d like, no purchase needed. Just make sure to give me credit with a link back to my site if you post them elsewhere, and send people my way if you think they’d like what I do, s’aright?