Danny Brown

Danny Brown is partner at Bonsai Interactive Marketing, a full service agency offering integrated, social media and mobile marketing solutions. He is also founder of the 12for12k Challenge, a social media-led charity initiative connecting globally and helping locally.

Be Where YOU Need to Be, Not Where “They” Say You Should

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Posted on 2012-05-22

A friend of mine went to a Social Media for Small Business conference recently. He’s a small business owner, and has been thinking about using social media for a while.

He enjoyed the conference and made some great connections while there. Yet something he said worries me, and that’s the need to be everywhere.

According to the social media expert that was speaking at the conference, businesses need to be on as many social media channels as they can. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Ning, blogging, Facebook Places, Tumblr, etc – the list goes on.

The reasoning? You never know where your customer is going to be, so you need to be in all the places they could be.

Bullcrap.

You can (and do) know where your customer is going to be by doing the research – a social media audit, for example.

Because of this map, you can tell demographics, spend decisions, social network use, optimum time of day for...

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State of Independence

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Posted on 2012-05-20

Years ago I worked in retail on both sides. I started out working for an electrical goods chain store, then moved onto a smaller local one.

Both jobs were great (at least for me), because they satisfied the tech geek in me. Surrounded by home theater kits and massive TV’s? Sign me up!

But as much as I loved working at the big chain store, it never felt fulfilling.

We had to pretty much stick to a sales script and only if we were lucky could we occasionally offer our own take.

We weren’t encouraged to be ourselves.

Same went for special promotions. If a brand was paying to be highlighted that month, you had to sell toward that brand, even if another product was clearly the better one for the customer. It was snake oil salesmen tactics at their worst....

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Vision Is a Two Way Thing

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Posted on 2012-04-27

Often, we change things based on what we see in front of us, or based on perceptions of what we feel is in front of us.

It may be that our sales channels are bringing in less than 12 months ago; so we change the sales team or manager.

Or, our customers are leaving in numbers that are scary; so we change the customer service team or manager.

The problem is, often what we see in front of us is a very small part of what’s happening behind the visual.

Our sales team may be bringing in the same sales, if not more, but economic fluctuations and inflation are resulting in lower numbers. Or customers aren’t leaving; they’re moving to a different part of the product line, but still with the company.

Just because we see something doesn’t...

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It’s Always About the Team – Always

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Posted on 2012-04-25

To build an empire takes more than one person.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a solo entrepreneur, a solo blogger, a solo musician or artist.

To truly build an empire takes more than the soloist you may be – it takes a team.

From a solo point of view, that can mean a variety of things.

For solo entrepreneurs, it’s your partner that encourages you when no-one else will. Or the bank manage who approves your loan when you first start. Or the contractor who gives you the part-time skills for that job you couldn’t do otherwise.

For solo bloggers, it’s your readers who give you strength to keep writing when you want to give up. Or commenters that validate your thoughts. Or the social community who share your blog with new eyes.

For the musician or artist, it’s the fans who...

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Sergey Brin Paints His Kettle Pot Black Over Facebook and Apple

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Posted on 2012-04-16

Over at UK newspaper The Guardian, Google co-founder Sergey Brin shares his views on the future of the Internet, including web freedom and the restrictive practices of Facebook and Apple.

Brin makes some great points, particularly about the ongoing battles certain web users of the world have due to the firewall nature of their governments.

But on other issues, he clearly drank some alternative reality juice, since he conveniently ignores the fact that Google are just as bad (if not more so) than the two companies he’s taking issue with.

Google’s Short-Term Memory

From the Brin interview:
...

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The 2×4 Interview: Creativity and How to Improve Yours

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Posted on 2012-04-09

Towards the end of last year, my friend Michael Schechter was kind enough to invite me to chat on his 2×4 series.

The idea behind 2×4 is simple: one series that examines two topics, creativity and productivity, by asking those who make things on the web the same four questions on both subjects.

I had a blast answering Mike’s questions, and thought it’d be cool to share the answers here. In this first part, we talk Creativity – make sure you drop by on Wednesday for the Productivity answers.

Have you always considered yourself to be a creative person?

I’m not sure. I think it depends on how you’re defining creativity. If a kid...

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The Commitment of Success

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Posted on 2012-04-04

It’s scary being unsure. It’s a lot different from being sure. Instead of the safety net of knowledge, there’s the daunting chasm of uncertainty. It’s not easy to step from the warmth of the old to the chill of the new.

The same goes for commitment.

It takes a lot to commit. Especially if you’re someone that needs certain guarantees before you make the leap. Otherwise the check book is staying in your pocket until the next discussion.

The problem is, while you’re being unsure of commitment because of the uncertainty over success, your competitors are enjoying success because of the certainty in their commitment.

A slight difference in wording but a big difference in results.

So what can you do?

Remember when you were learning to drive...

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The Race for Mobile Supremacy and How It Affects Your Business Strategy

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Posted on 2012-03-30

If social media was the big thing in 2010 and 2011, then mobile is clearly leading the charge for the hearts and minds of both businesses and consumers in 2012.

While QR codes and push marketing via SMS campaigns have started the flow, the recent uptake in smartphone adoption across all parts of the globe means this year is going to be huge for mobile marketing and commerce.

A recent report from comScore emphasizes this point more than ever, and offers business owners and marketers an overview into the strategy they need to be preparing for the coming year.

Analyzing the Data

Some of...

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Jack of all Trades, Master of… The Problem with Google

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Posted on 2012-03-28

So, it looks like Google is entering the comment system fray.

Never mind that it smacks of yet another “let’s copy Facebook” move. Nor that there are already excellent comment systems out there at the minute – the awesome Livefyre (used on this very blog), Disqus and IntenseDebate to name just some of the third-party options.

Google’s clearly taken a look at how Facebook Comments tie the user into Zuckerberg’s network, and wants a piece of that pie to go along with their recent...

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Evolutions and Revolutions

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Posted on 2012-03-19

There’s only one letter difference between the words “evolution” and “revolution” but there’s a whole world of difference – yet many businesses fail to see it (or ignore it altogether).

When something grows naturally, it’s an evolution. When something grows through a huge dose of innovation and forced change, it’s (usually) a revolution.

Look at some of the biggest changes in the last few years.

James Dyson looked at vacuum cleaners, and how poor filtration and dust-filled bags meant your carpet or floor was never fully clean. Not only that, your health could suffer because of sinuses and allergies.

So he created the self-named...

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