Our canoeing sandbox environment

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My colleagues are often perplexed by my paddlesport journalism. Where the heck does this fit with thought leadership and online authority in healthcare? There is distinctly more overlap than may be apparent. Canoeing provides us with our sandbox environment.

Once seemingly distinct fields now intersect like a Venn diagram. The process methodology is similar; only the topic is unique. However, parallels between sport and business management are nothing new.

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Inexpensive inbound tools – update

Opencity Inc., Inbound Marketing, Inbound on a Shoestring Budget, Digital Communications, inexpensive inbound tools

We have updated and expanded our original popular post – Inbound on a shoestring budget.

Cash flow is tight for most new businesses and non-profits. We set out to prove how close you can get to inbound best practice on a shoestring budget, with inexpensive inbound tools. These are our latest tips.

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Rio lessons on the content kingdom

Opencity Inc., Balint Vekassy, Rio, Content Kingdom, canoe slalom, International Canoe Federation, Planet Canoe

I have been fabulously privileged to share our love for canoeing with the rest of the World. Rio was a huge inspiration; deeply disturbing; profoundly sad and proof in the value of teamwork.

  • We have all grown in our own ways since London 2012. The Olympics upholds the faster, higher, stronger motto. Personal bests. New records. Outstanding achievements. The Brazilian nation. Our ICF media team.
  • The deprivation that is very visible around Rio is deeply disturbing. It can’t be hidden behind fluorescent Olympic colours. Nevertheless, we witnessed great individual stories of out-reach for example New Zealand’s Mike Dawson. The fact that we left more cognizant of this has to be positive. We pledge to come back. We ask the IOC to please donate all the stuffed toy mascots to the local kids in Rio.
  • The canoeing world is left with a deep sense of loss too. We lost one of our own canoe slalom community. German women’s coach Stefan Henze was tragically killed in a taxi in Rio. Stefan was an Olympic silver medallist in Athens.
  • We saw incredible teamwork, the Brazilian’s came together and embraced the overseas sporting world. Athletes from different nations lent a hand to each other. Sport does unite us.

Content is the Kingdom

So what do healthcare, canoeing and charity spotlights have in common? Simple. Content. The process is surprisingly similar. Arguably, the ultimate goal is to increase brand authority in each case. To me now, only the topic is different. Three once vastly separate aspects of my life have now converged more than I could ever have imagined. Skills learnt in one facet benefit the others and vice-versa.

If you do provide valuable content, your target personas will trust you. They will also share your content and become ambassadors for your brand. This expands your reach and drives new contacts to find you.

In the space of three weeks, I produced a 24,000-word blog series and more than 1,000 live tweets using hashtag #ICFslalom and #ICFsprint. We have one final post soon on the social analytics and what this means for the business world.

Don’t forget the Paralympics. These athletes deserve our attention and recognition too. I will be tweeting #ICFparacanoe @PlanetCanoe

I didn’t compete. That doesn’t matter. I know I have left Rio, faster, higher, stronger and more enriched than when I arrived. Adeus Rio.

Photo credit: Balint Vekassy, ICF photographer. In my opinion, the very best image from the canoe slalom in Deodoro. Pictured is Jana Dukatova (SVK).

Opencity Inc. thinks giving a spotlight to charities is important and one way we can be socially responsible.

2016 resolution half-time scorecard

Opencity Inc., top posts, hot topics, social responsibility, inbound marketing, strategy & digital communication experts, scorecard

My New Year post reflected both on the hot topics we had witnessed in 2015 and where we would invest time in 2016. So what does our half-time scorecard look like?

Here we re-examine those hot topics from 2015 to see how they have continued to evolve, while adding one more for 2016. Continue reading 2016 resolution half-time scorecard

HubSpot customer story – 45-minute blog

Opencity Inc., HubSpot, 45-minute blog, optimized blog post, inbound marketing

I am very honoured to have had the opportunity to publish a customer post on the authoritative HubSpot website….. it is a true story too.

This post describes the process with HubSpot, how I got here and what’s next.
It is fun to see what happens through experimentation, you never know until you try.

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Charity Spotlight – Sport Relief

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Sport Relief is a high profile charitable fundraiser with dual aims of mobilising the British population while raising funds for those in need.

It is inspiring to see sport and entertainment as a platform for social responsibility. Join in the spectrum of activities for this year’s March 18-20 Sport Relief 2016.

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5 hot topics in 2015

Opencity Inc., top posts, hot topics, social responsibility, inbound marketing, strategy & digital communication experts, scorecard

For those who know me best, it will not be a surprise that I always write New Year’s resolutions before the start of the next year!

These resolutions are really a set of guiding principles or an opportunity to re-set your intent. I have always believed goal setting is very motivating.

While you may not care what my 2015 New Year’s resolutions were, what I learned in the process may offer some insights. Importantly, they also guide our expectations for 2016.

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