BRX Bond Street

Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday’s Twitter talk by Mark Shaw.

If you weren’t able to make it or you’d like a bit more explanation on the mechanics of how it all works, I highly recommend Mark’s free beginners guide for Twitter, just send an email to: cheesesandwich@aweber.com .It’s short, only about 20 pages, easy to understand and explains things like how to follow, how to send a message, what retweets are, and what all those weird symbols mean. (To get Mark’s daily top Twitter Tips via email straight into your inbox send an email to : twitterverse@aweber.com )

Once you’re on Twitter (it really does only take about 5 mins to set up properly) if you go to http://twitter.com/BRXBondStreet and look on the right hand side of the page, you’ll see ‘members’ and ‘visitors’ under ‘Lists’. If you click on ‘members’ you’ll see all the BRX Bond Street members who I’m currently aware of as being on Twitter. If you click on ‘visitors’ you’ll see all the people who’ve visited Bond Street who I’m aware of as being on Twitter. If I’ve left anyone out do let me know. I think Twitter is a useful way of connecting with other members during the week, and it’s also an easy way of keeping in touch with the visitors we’ve had. (By the way if you go to the ‘Find People’ tab and do a search for ‘BRX’ you’ll find we’re now top of the list.)

If you need any help with Twitter or have any problems do get in touch and if I can help I will.

By the way Mark isn’t the only people who’s in touch with the Starbucks UK MD. I messaged the Starbucks corporate US account to ask about a branch they’re opening near me and got a message from the UK MD the next day answering my question, and he’s now one of my followers. So Twitter is a great way for a company to show it’s serious about customer service – and to really impress its customers. It’s also a good way of following and getting on the radar of organisations or people it would usually be very difficult to contact – for example I’m now on the Creative Review (UK’s leading magazine for advertising/design) twitter list of copywriters, which only numbers 28 copywriters out of all the thousands in the UK.

And finally – it’s nothing to do with Twitter as a business tool – but there is such a thing as a free lunch. I follow a Michelin starred chef who’s recently opened up a restaurant and sent a tweet to his followers offering a free meal for two in the ’soft opening’ week before the restaurant formally opens and the critics arrive, in return for some feedback. So I took my father for lunch and enjoyed apperitifs, amuse-bouches, two courses (I had a herb ravioli followed by wild garlic risotto) with a lovely white Italian wine recommended by the sommelier, a main course (I had some superb angus beef) with a gorgeous South of France red wine, a pre-dessert of sorbet and fruit to clear the palate, and a stunning Louis XV dark chocolate praline dessert , followed by petits fours (marmalade marshmallow, truffles and raspberry sable) with coffee ….. all absolutely free (though I passed on the ‘wafer-thin mint’). In return I had the arduous task of writing an email with my feedback and and some (extremely minor) criticisms. Though I do wish In Kilter Fitness was doing his fat burning kettle bell sessions in a park near me.

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“How to use Twitter effectively for business”

BRX Bond Street, RAF Club, 128 Piccadilly, London, Friday 21 May, 7.15-10am

This Friday the BRX Bond Street business networking meeting has been specially extended to incorporate a 1 hour talk with Mark Shaw, the UK’s leading expert on using Twitter to grow your business. (The meeting is open to all business professionals but numbers are limited so you must RSVP by 19 May – see below)

Millions of people worldwide join Twitter every month, but is it just a social thing or does it have any uses for business? Can Twitter actually increase traffic to your website – and with it revenue for your company? To find out, visit us this Friday for a specially extended meeting that includes a seminar with Twitter ‘guru’ Mark Shaw, who has spoken to, amongst others, Microsoft, the Welsh Assembly, the BBC World Service, Cass Business School, The Independent and Chris Evans on Radio 2.

For our normal meeting fee of £18 you’ll enjoy:

• · Breakfast networking (7.15-8.45am) – With one of London’s liveliest business networking groups (includes full English breakfast)

AND

• · Twitter training (8.45-10am) – Learn from an expert how to get started on Twitter and how to use it as a powerful business tool

Mark’s talk will cover exactly why your business should be on Twitter, including:

1 – Why should you bother with Twitter?
2 – How to get started – getting the most effective name, avatar & biog
3 – What can you do with Twitter?
4 – How do you gather information?
5 – What are the 4 R’S?
6 – What are the 4 things you need to do to be successful with Twitter?
7 – What are the 3 things you need to Tweet about?
8 – What results can be generated via Twitter?
9 – How can you increase website traffic with Twitter?

10 – Where should you spend most of your time on Twitter?

Where and when

7.15-10am, Friday 21 May, at the RAF club, 128 Piccadilly, London W1J 7PY (nearest tubes are Green Park and Hyde Park Corner). Map info

RSVP

Please RSVP by email only to louise (dot) hassett (at) delfont-mackintosh (dot) com before the end of Wed 19 May to secure your place. Remember to bring plenty of business cards and the £18 fee.

Follow Mark at www.twitter.com/markshaw

Follow BRX Bond Street at www.twitter.com/BRXBondStreet

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At this week’s meeting corporate wellbeing expert Alexis Garnaut-Miller of The Happiness Centre raved about the quality of the young graduates she’s taken on for 6 months’ work experience, at no cost to her, via the government’s Future Jobs Fund Programme – the scheme pays for all their wages and National Insurance. London chocolatier Kirsty Jolie of Perfectly Tempered was also enthusiastic about the scheme and emailed details. Judging by these members’ feedback, it seems to be fantastic programme and a win-win situation for all, so I’ve summarised the details Kirsty emailed below for anyone who may be interested.

If you could offer work experience opportunities to young people at NO COST to you and with NO OBLIGATION to keep them on after, how many would you take?

Future Jobs Fund (FJF) is a new Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) initiative designed to give ‘real world’ work experience to eligible young (18-24) people with the programme paying all salary and NIC costs for 6 months. All the rules and standards are set by the DWP.

For employers wishing to expand but reluctant to invest in salary and training costs without first proving the worth of the candidates, or where new opportunities exist that would not otherwise be cost‐effective to entertain, this is an ideal solution. The young people involved have been claiming Job Seekers Allowance for a minimum of 26 weeks,

Home Training CIC (HTCIC) http://www.htcic.org/ to date has been the UK’s most successful independent contract delivery provider under the FJF programme. They will offer you a number of pre-screened candidates, matched to your requirements, and it is up to you to select the one/s you would like to engage. Thereafter, they provide the candidates with in-work mentoring and 5 e-learning courses (from a choice of 360), together with ongoing support for the participating employer. In addition they will be:

- Paying candidate wages (National Min Wage) for 25hrs per week for 26 weeks

- Paying the employer’s National Insurance contributions for the candidate(s).

How the FJF programme (through Home Training CIC) works:

• The candidate is confirmed as being eligible for the FJF programme (this is determined by Job Centre Plus based on the rules set by the DWP).
• The employer commits to employing the candidate on a temporary work-placement basis for a period of 26 weeks, for which HTCIC will reimburse gross salary to a maximum of 25 hours per week at National Minimum Wage.
• If the employer would like to pay more or engage the candidate for longer hours per week, this would be a cost to the employer.
• The employer commits to training the candidate (as necessary) for the job they have been employed to do.
• The candidate is required and expected to work for the full 26 weeks to complete the programme.
• The candidate is supported throughout the 26 week period by a coach/mentor from HTCIC, to address any difficulties if and when they arise and to encourage success during their period of employment.
• The employer will also provide regular feedback to the coach/mentor and HTCIC to make sure that the candidate has integrated successfully, or to assist with any problems that may arise relating to the employee.
• The employer will provide a record of hours worked, time off (authorised or unauthorised), etc., from which the salary for the candidate will be reimbursed regularly to the employer’s bank account by BACS transfer (on dates to be agreed).

If you are interested in taking on young employees via the FJF programme visit www.hometraininginitiative.com/partners_futurejobs.htm or contact Home Training CIC by calling 0844 888 7640 or emailing b.burden@htcic.org

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