I just had to share what’s happening on the new virgin website. It’s re-design and re-build is spot on! Why, because Virgin has truly personalised its web space, made it interactive, easy to use and built this around the community and fans they have. It’s all social media-ed up! Instead of focusing solely on the Virgin brand,  they are focusing on the credibility and personal brand of Richard Branson – building up that feeling of trust and a stronger relationship with the brand. The whole site is as much about Virgin as it is about us!

Why I love the new site:

The website is a portal to visit all the virgin websites from all around the world and get familiar with what Virgin has to offer. There’s so much more to Virgin than I originally thought!

Virgin have made it super easy for us to comment, post suggestions, share ideas, interact, gain opportunities in the business world that we could never have made before. Virgin have been extremely smart here. They have created a social networking site..plus more… all underneath the banner of their brand!

In the words of Richard Branson ” It’s your space to build and incubate ideas, help each other, get advice, talk to people and be inspired by other entrepreneurs. If your ideas can make money and benefit the world we’d love to hear from you”.

There is a section where you can pitch your entrepreneurial ideas on video, upload your films and if enough people in the community vote for you then you can be part of a pitch TV show – shown on all Virgin planes. Again, Virgin are extremely clever here as they are making the opportunity a WIN WIN. They get more exposure and credibility plus hits to their site/facebook fanpage thanks to us and we get the opportunity to possibly get our ideas put into action.

The site enables us to link up our facebook account with our Virgin.com account. So we can post our virgin.com activity right into our news feed. Hmm..wonder why they have done this

Virgin have utilised the facebook connect facility which has enabled them and us  to seamlessly hook up online – Virgin are among the biggest brands in the world to use it. I love Virgin because they are reactional to what’s going on right now and they have harnessed an extremely powerful way to market and connect with their target market. There are so many other brands..small and large that all have the same opportunity yet hold back, due to fear and perceived constraints. Go Virgin I say!

There’s an Ask Richard section: where you can ask Richard anything you like and he answers the communities’ most popular question every month. You’ll find a “Quick talk section” on the landing page – where you can write about what’s on your mind and interact with the virgin community. They also have their latest blog titles and some comments are displayed on the landing page enticing you to move further into the site.

You can check the site out here – http://virgin.com

In a nutshell, Virgin are leaders, they are willing to give new sources of media a chance and they are extremely community focused, they always have been. That’s why their new site is going nuts!!!

The purpose of this post is to highlight a big brand utilising social media extremely well and to show you how they are capturing millions of people and community members to the site. It’s also to inspire you and to get you thinking on a whole new level. Are you loving this…or what??? I wanna know – pop your comments below

We are blessed with some of the hottest connection tools to date! Twitter,facebook,blogs, youtube..even trusty blip.fm …the list goes on. Social Media is hotter than the sun right now, as it’s the difference that makes the difference when marketing your business and building strong relationships.

Yeeeharrr!!! That’s a fantastic thing as with the tools you can get closer than you have ever been able to get before with your friends, colleagues and target market online – plus build up a sturdy support network.

But wait…..its not all about the tools, really its not. Some people think now that they are on twitter or have made their own facebook fan page that business should start to pick up for them on these platforms. Quite the opposite. The tools are just like scissors, they do a job, yet its the person thats operating the scissors that matters.

Remember, the personality behind the tools is going to enable you to stand out. Let your character ooze out and your passion for your work, and life to shine through.Love your reader base, clients included, listen to them, interact with them and deliver! CARE is the biggest thing you can do.

Show you care by putting effort into everything you do online. If it means replying to every comment made about you on twitter, then do it…answer every email with thought and respect – step up everyday and give in this space. The more you do THAT, the more you get back.

The tools we have available to us now are mind blowing in connecting with people yet without the personality they are nothing.

This week has been an interesting week on Twitter guys. I have learnt a few new strategies that really work and have now got my head around balancing out this powerful tool – work and life balance! Fresh air! Geeze, it’s taken 5 months!

I now have a trusty follow base, tweeps (people on twitter) I can rely on, that I trust, like and respect. It’s ever growing too! Today I’m going to introduce you to a guy that has blown my mind and provided me with an application that I was foaming at the mouth for.

Drum roll…introducing:  

Kevin Sherman of BubbleGuru.com

You are probably aware by now, that I’m always looking for powerful ways to interact and engage with people via this computer screen and mobile phone. When I say people – more specifically, I mean my target market.

I have been looking for an interactive tool that would assist me to stand out from the crowd, and connect with my viewers . You know right? have more of that juicy web2.0 human touch to it. I’m guessing (if you utilise twitter) that you can get pretty peeved off with the dry and text base auto responders, I certainly do- unless they are fresh and fun!

Well, thanks to @thecardioexpert http://TheCardioExpert.com, I beautifully got introduced to @bubbleguru. That’s what happens on twitter right! Follow great people, and then get referred great resources. Whoompa!

Kevins Bubble video solutions have some heart thumping Web2.0 options so I just had to share!

BubbleTweet, BubbleComment and BubbleTestimonial, are all quirky and cutting edge tools that can assist you to create, send and manage your videos. From here you can place them onto any website/page you choose! Keeping that personal web2.0 touch with your target market. Love it!

Let’s drill this down for you:

BubbleTweet.com is  FREE. It assists you create and share your own personalised video message with other twitter peeps  - it’s quick, simple and easy. Why not make an impression and get remembered by creating a  “welcome message” for new followers like this.  There are so many more bonuses here – so dive in and check it out…..(After you have read and commented on my post mind you!:-)

BubbleComment.com has a free and paid plan option. I love BubbleComment because I can quickly create a quirky video message then pop it onto ANY Website I choose. This works really well if you want to guide people to your blog or share fantastic resources with others.

BubbleTestimonial.com is a fully charged video sharing tool for businesses. Simply whip up video and text based testimonials to show off your expertise on your Website or blog. You can even invite clients to record and add a testimonial at any time. From here simply manage the testimonials, whilst having control over the content.

So, isn’t it about time you added some web 2.0-ness to your twitter page? Let’s sprinkle that human element to web2.0!

Click here to see my bubble tweet!

I’m looking forward to seeing your links to bubble tweet in the comments section below!