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Thursday, 3 March 2011

Ecademy and BNI

I recently supported Penny at an event held during the International Networking Week run by David O'Dell the Area Director of BNI in Ware. If you have heard Penny make one of her presentations you will know what I mean when I say that she is a truly inspirational leader with a heart.

Penny was followed by Bernie De Souza who is a leading authority in helping businesses and individuals in maximising peak performance and a motivational speaker.



There were over fifty BNI members from various chapters across Hertfordshire and it was great to meet some of them.

During the event a conversation took place on how BNI members and Ecademy members had a great deal in common, were like minded and how the two groups could and should work closer together.

Having been a BNI member for a good number of years, sadly no more as I have been locked out due to unfortunate circumstances, I can see how this could benefit both groups.

Many BNI members are also Ecademy members but many are not. BNI is a closed group allowing only one person from each profession to be a member of a chapter. Ecademy has no such restrictions and anyone can join the various groups within Ecademy.

Each system has it's advantages and disadvantages and one is not better that the other. It is just the way it is. BNI members mainly meet offline at the weekly chapter meetings and they do not engage much online unless they are also a member of LinkedIn or Ecademy or another online networking group.

Ecademy members mainly connect and have discussions online but do get to meet each other in person at Ecademy events or Boardrooms. But the numbers who meet at these events, which are mainly in London, are reasonably few in numbers and tend to be the same committed members.

This is where I feel that each group can help one another. Perhaps monthly or quarterly local get togethers, with an educational slant, so that Ecademy members can learn about 1to1, face to face networking and BNI members can learn about the why and how of Social Media and Social Networking. We can learn from one another. It will also help develop the membership of both groups. I know from experience that there are many BNI chapters well below their optimum 40 members and that engaging with Ecademy members outside London is difficult. In other words the Givers can Gain and we can all be Known, Liked and Followed.

I do realise that to organise such an event will be difficult but that is no reason why we should not try.

David Holroyd-Doveton
The Digital Coach
david@thedigitalcoach.net
Posted by David Holroyd-Doveton at 14:50
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About Me

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Are you confused about all the hype on Social Media and Social Networks?

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ecademy, My Space, You Tube, Flickr, FourSquare - the list is endless!

HootSuite, TweetDeck, my6sense, MarketMeSuite, Gowalla, foursquare – sounds like a foreign language.

 Google reader, blogs, video blogs, RSS feeds, Facebook pages, Marketplace - who has the time to learn what they all do, let alone find out how to use them?

All these strange names create are questions and confusion for most people.

What does it all mean?

Why do I need it?

What will it all do for me?

Will it make me any money?

Do you dip your toe in the water and dabble or do nothing and hope it goes away?  

The problem is – it’s not going to go away.  

  • Google+ has been around since 2011
  • Twitter since 2006
  • Facebook has been around since 2004
  • LinkedIn since 2002
  • And Ecademy is fourteen! 

If you really feel that you should be doing something about this social media lark, but you don’t know where to start or what it could do for you, don’t worry.  You are not alone, I was there myself, not so very long ago, so I know exactly how you feel about it and, yes, there is a way out of all the confusion!

Let me give you a short guided tour of this Social World that we live in.

I am David Holroyd-Doveton, a Marketing Strategist and Digital Marketing Coach with over thirty years experience in helping both well established and start up businesses develop and promote themselves resulting in an increase in sales and dominance in their target marketing niche.

I use a tried and tested three pronged 'SID' approach to provide tailored solutions for my clients.

The 'SID' approach stands for Strategy - Implementation - Development.

There are three main channels of expertise:

  • Digital Marketing Coach
  • Marketing Strategist
  • Design/Print/Promote

My expertise is well suited for business owners with both established businesses and the over 50's who find themselves in a declining industry and who need help in moving their business to the next level. 

As an accredited Digital Coach, I can show you the Why, How and Where of Social Media Marketing ensuring that you don't just have a presence online, but ensure it’s both consistent and financially rewarding.

I will coach business owners to be Known, Liked and Followed, the cornerstone of Ecademy philosophy.

As Managing Director of Positive Print and Design Limited I have over sixteen years experience in helping both start up and existing  businesses with their off line marketing plans.  We offer a wide range of services, from design to print, direct mail to variable data printing, banners to exhibition displays as well as helping our clients to get noticed with both online and offline promotions.

This means that I can offer a variety of solutions from carrying out an initial Marketing Audit to a comprehensive coaching process designed to meet individual needs.

With experience in engineering, purchasing, sales and marketing over the years I’ve been on a journey that’s given me a good grounding in how businesses work and what makes them profitable.

Having been in the ‘social media is a passing fad’ brigade for a while, until someone helped me to see the business application and power behind it, I know how easy it is to dismiss it.  That’s why I really want to help other business owners and managers with the challenging new Social Media platform, so they can really leverage this essential element of today’s marketing mix.