Eir Spiders Digital Workshop, The Building Block, Sligo

On Wednesday the 23rd of August 2017, I had the pleasure of joining the panel at the eir Spiders Digital Workshop in The Building Block, Sligo.  It was a very enjoyable and productive morning of networking with like-minded business owners.  I was delighted to share my knowledge and experience with an engaged audience and I also gained lots of digital insights from the other digital experts on the panel. 

MODERATOR: Aidan Doyle - CEO, Sligo Chamber of Commerce

The opening address was given by Aidan Doyle, CEO of Sligo Chamber of Commerce who also acted as moderator during the workshop.  Aidan is CEO of Sligo Chamber of Commerce & Industry.   He has extensive experience in business having held management roles within Bank of Ireland and the Rabbo Banking Group in Cork and Sligo for over 25 years.   Aidan is a co-founder of the successful company Dream Links Golf, which specialises in attracting overseas golfers to the Sligo region focusing on the connoisseur golfer and the corporate market.   As CEO of Sligo Chamber of Commerce & Industry Aidan works closely with all stakeholders to develop growth and innovation to the Sligo Region.  

SPEAKERS:

Sinéad Carroll, Founder and CEO of Mini Media and Irish Blogger Agency

I was first up to deliver my presentation on 'The rise of Digital Influencer Marketing and how it can impact your bottom line'.  As CEO of Irish Blogger Agency, Ireland's dedicated agency for digital influencer marketing I was in a position to share my experiences and give my point of view on the benefits of digital influencer marketing, how to measure influencer marketing success, how to effectively engage with digital influencers and I closed my presentation by sharing some successful digital influencer campaigns over the past 12 months. 

Daniel Browne, Commercial Director Ocean Media, Director of Sea Sessions Surf & Music Festival

As a blogger and content creator I was very interested in hearing Daniel Browne's presentation titled ' Content is still king' - exploring constants in a changing environment'.   Having worked in the media in the north west for almost 20 years, after a career in journalism Daniel moved to the commercial side of media opening 13 Newspapers for River Media as Operations Director.  With all this experience, amazing stage presence and lots of charm it is no wonder Daniel delivered a fantastic presentation.

Today Daniel is the Commercial Director of Ocean Media, which operates the award winning radio station Ocean FM, and now delivers video production for commercial clients across the region as well as web design, social media management and graphic design. Daniel is also one of the owners of Sea Sessions Surf Music Festival in Bundoran, a multi award winning festival which most recently beat Electric Picnic and Longtitude to be named the IMRO festival of the year for 2016.

Barry Walsh, Digital Marketing Manager, Supermacs Ireland

Confident, charismatic and full of energy, Barry Walsh delivered an excellent presentation on 'Understanding mobile experience for business'.  As Digital Marketing Manager for Supermacs Ireland Barry oversees management and development of Online Digital Strategy and implementation for Supermac's Ireland.   Barry also spoke about Digital Transformation and shared news of the new Supermac's app launching soon.  He also touched on branding through Social Media and Google Analytics for business.  

Previously, Barry worked as Lead Digital Consultant for Failte Ireland for 4 years, and was the Digital Strategy Manager for lead digital tourism agency OSD Digital. He was also a Digital mentor for Bank of Ireland and a Google Entrepreneur Mentor.  

Paul Mulqueen, Head of Small Business, eir

Sharing some real life examples from his own personal experiences, Paul gave a true and honest insight into the use of social media for small to medium size businesses.  There was lots to be learnt during Paul's presentation on 'The Revolution of Social Media in Small Business', with some top tips and tools shared,  allowing you to take your business into the digital age!

Paul started in eir over 19 years ago, when it was Telecom Eireann, within the IT department. He began his career as a Trainee Test Analyst testing the introduction of a new and innovative product called ‘broadband’! Since then, Paul’s role has evolved as he progressed through the company becoming a Product Manager for Value Added Services and Broadband. While in this role, he took the retail product lead in the development and implementation of fibre broadband in Ireland.

Following this, he became Head of Product for Small Business and subsequently the Head of Small Business where he manages the product and propositions areas for the business unit. Through his role, Paul has seen first-hand how the explosion of social media has helped small businesses thrive.  Paul knows it’s powerful to be connected online but that’s not enough, how you use your channels and what you say to your customers is what really takes a small business to the next level. 

Panel Discussion / Q & A

With an eager and engaged audience there was no shortage of questions at the end, all answered comprehensively by the panel.  Every day is a learning day in the 'Digital Space' so I have no doubt everyone left with some nugget of wisdom and excited to integrate (or improve) a digital marketing strategy into their marketing plan.  I certainly gained from bieng part of the workshop and I am looking forward to implementing some new and exciting strategies into my own digital marketing plan over the coming months. 

Conclusion 

As a Digital Marketing Strategist, Blogger and Web Designer specialising in e-commerce websites I know the importance of implementing a digital marketing strategy.  

The first question I ask any potential client is "Does your Business have a clearly defined Digital Marketing Strategy?".  The answer varies between NO full stop or No - we are doing digital marketing but have no defined digital marketing strategy.  

Whether you have a digital marketing strategy or not Mini Media is here to assist you and your business so please get in touch to avail of my 1 hour FREE consultation.  I will review how well you are currently using the key digital marketing techniques, identify the gaps in your current digital marketing strategy and briefly discuss the overall digital strategy and the key tactics like Search, Social Media, Email Marketing, Influencer Marketing and website/experience design.

Mini Media would also like to offer a 20% discount on Web Design and Logo Design until the end of September 2017.  Call 083 10 22 553 or email minimediairl@gmail.com and quote Discount Code: MINIMEDIAEIR

Thank you to Rebecca and Sarah and all the team at eir Spiders for including me as part of #eirSpidersWorkshop.  I look forward to delivering my next presentation at the upcoming eir Spiders Digital Workshop taking place on the 6th September in Limerick.   The event is FREE to attend and is aimed at SME's who are seeking to improve their digital presence online and also to hear from past eir Spider awards winners. The Limerick Digital Workshop is especially exciting as there will be a Panel Discussion with three Players from the Munster Rugby Team who will also be taking questions of attendees.