“Be where your customers are,” is the message from FIPP’s development programme in London

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest or Google+, you should be researching and potentially investing in a presence there. If you don’t, your competition will, said Campman.

Developing your brand

When it comes to developing your brand on other platforms, the same ethos must be applied. Rebekah Billingsley, consultant, Big Cat Consulting said that if the numbers don’t stack up right now, hold back – there’s no point in investing huge amounts if your customers aren’t there yet. However, if your customer are expecting your brand to be available elsewhere, by not being there can be detrimental. With the wealth of apps on the market and the poor experience on the App Store for searching App Search Optimisation is on the rise and must not be ignored. Simple steps can ensure that your apps are found.

The editor as content director

Frank Hitzert, publishing director, at Publishing House Burda, Russia, led the inspiring and practical Editor as Content Director module. Working collaboratively internally, sharing the right information and working in a more consultative way with advertisers were key messages today. Do we do this? And should we be doing more of this to ensure we keep our consumers at the heart of all we do and deliver relevant content to them.

Managing your team

The focus shifted on Thursday with an energetic and fully interactive day on Managing your Team through Leadership, where participants went on a voyage of self-discovery, gaining revealing insights to their own behavioural traits. With this newly gained knowledge they were shown how they can leverage and adapt their own leadership style to get the best out of their people and ultimately lead their teams to success. Having the right skills to hire the right people and understanding that job roles are changing quickly in publishing were also discussed.

Innovation in magazine media

The second week of the three week programme ended by exploring the exciting ideas detailed in FIPP’s newly published Innovation in Magazine Media World Report, and was presented by John Wilpers, editor of the publication. The participants discussed, debated and also created their own new ideas in the following areas including: content, advertising, data, social media, newsletters and events. 

The participants will return to London in June for the final session and their graduation, which is sponsored and hosted by UPM.