Hi, I’m Craig Bailey and this is my personal blog where I write about technology, web strategy, and general musings. You can read my posts here. (If you are looking for the Content is King post by Bill Gates it is here)
I run two digital agencies in Sydney:
The first is XEN Systems. We help government departments and mid-large B2B technology companies with their online strategy, including content marketing, SEO, SEM and Social. You can find out more about what we do here.
The second is XEN Solar, where we help high quality solar companies (dealers, installers) with their digital marketing.
I’ve been thinking about this lately – how to ensure predictable outcomes. Usual wisdom is to follow a proven process. Seth’s post today notes the process versus the outcome – and it reminded me to consider further: Instead of asking, “how did my team do?” we can begin with, “did the system do what it’s supposed to do?” and The process that gets you answers you want most...
Just loving that Databox have released this new course on predictable business performance.
I’ve signed up, have you?
If you’re a marketer take a moment to stop and think about how you respond when someone (anyone!) suggests a new marketing idea, channel or (dare I say it) growth hack. If your first response is to resist (as mine often is), then here’s a reminder to be more open. Marketing is constantly changing, so you need to open to new ideas, new processes, new opportunities. Sometimes the new...
From an interview with ex-Googler Kaspar Szymanski: But the first and foremost, the most important thing to clarify—because this is a very common misconception—is the fact that there is no such thing as an algorithmic penalty.There are algorithms and manual penalties. Those can have a rather similar impact. They can feel like they are the same thing, but it is very important to understand that...
My wife (Michele Connolly) has won another award for her wonderful book: How To Be An Introvert In An Extrovert World. As always, you can buy the book on Amazon, and if you want to have your say you can leave a review on Goodreads. It really is an excellent read, useful for both introverts and extroverts. And a reminder, if you’re interested in joining a community of quiet, non-threatening...
As you may know one of my mantras is ‘test and measure‘. That is, always be testing things/ideas/tactics and measuring the results. Which is all fine and good if you can actually measure the results. But what should you do in situations where you can’t reliably measure? And how do you even know? Take for example the recent confirmations about Facebook inflating video metrics...
Yes the 2020 posts have started already! Brace yourself…
A useful post (as always) from ConversionXL, covering some of the key trends in PPC for next year.
Key points:
Automation of your advertisingAI (of course!)Video ads (eg Google’s Bumper Machine) Responsive search ads become the norm
“Let’s not confuse getting better at stuff with being a better person. One is a much bigger priority than the other.”
From the October 22 note in The Daily Stoic.
Everything changes so quickly: The embrace of the app at this school is mirrored on scattered campuses across the United States, where students are forming TikTok clubs to dance, sing and perform skits for the app — essentially drama clubs for the digital age, but with the potential to reach huge audiences.And unlike other social media networks, TikTok is winning over some educators, like Michael...
Fascinating extract from Sandworm on Wired, covering the cyberattack on the 2018 Olympics Opening Ceremony in South Korea. The attack highlights the incredible sophistication in place, and has ramifications for all major events, the upcoming US election of course being top of mind for many: As the 2020 election approaches, Olympic Destroyer shows that Russia has only advanced its deception...
