#Hashtag Twitter Chats

I've been on twitter for almost 3 years and has never followed and be involved in a 'hash tag twitter chat' until now!  A couple weeks ago I followed chat, it was all about how to market your business around holiday events to drive sales. i.e valentines day, christmas, easter. The main focus was around Valentines day as it was approaching. It was sponsored by Amazon and had people who were experts in marketing, business owners, graduates, students and ordinary folk from around the world answering 9 questions that were put to the participants.  If you want to look back at the chat the hash tag used was '#smbvalentine'

Anita Campbell,  a Forbes Top Influential Woman for Entrepreneurs had some great answers as did the other participants; so much i downloaded the whole transcript. Whether I set up my own business, a consultant to a start up or working in a agency these tips and tricks would going to come in handy. 


As I didn't major in marketing, it has been a learning curve and the chat pointed out some things i would of never thought about, for instance a marketing calendar. Here's one i found displayed as an infographic. Note that when you make a generic calendar and list all the holidays doesn't mean you should use them all some may not compliment your business. Another tip I learnt, you don't have to be so obvious marketing ideas around Valentines day doing a ' love your customer event'  'Wrap your purchase with love', realtors using Valentine’s Day theme “Fall in love again … with a new home.”

. If you were using location based strategy you could collaborate with a restaurant or flowers shop ' Spend over £30 and get 20% off at Fiona's flower shop' 

I never knew that Facebook allows targeting based on relationship status for laser-focused ads. All in all i really enjoyed the chat and best of all it was free and I didn't have to leave my house or change out of my pajamas! 

This got me thinking also if you were a small business getting feedback from customers and potential customers would be key. I have in the past have started a blog on projects, however as a really small team it was very time consuming but hold a tweet chat every month on different fun topics that would entice them and in turn get you get feedback you can analyse is a win win. Plus you would be creating a community through social media.


As this blog is called Get a life I would love to host a twitter chat on a hot topics so we can all bounce and learn of each other.

To teach or not to teach?

Now for the last couple months teaching has been on my mind. Even when i'm start on the beach with a rum punch in my left hand, my right is scribbling down a rough workshop curriculum. It would kind of be like my course i graduated from the University of Salford. It would be an open class to an array of people who are either design led or business/marketing led. For example on my course there was graphic designers, fashion designers, account managers, UX designers, photographers, 3D designers, set designers. You get the jist. We all were different but we learnt the same principles. How to get from having an idea to conception. This included a full investigate research, from questionnaires, looking at the competitors, interviews, group work, presentations, how we would market it, mock ups and so on so forth. We weren't just creatives', we are creatives' with the ability to investigate which is an asset to a company, we can do more then just design. Unfortunately the course has been cut due to budget cuts which is a real shame.

Are you as confused as me?

I would if i did teach, adults I feel some of the older population has got talent and want to make it on their own. The last 20 years technology has been progressing at a alarming rate (but great) and i feel that they just don't where to begin. I would consider doing after school sessions with secondary children because when i was at school the only 'design' was art class which i was told by the teacher not to take it up as a G.C.S.E because i was bad. charming! I did a SWOT analysis and things that would hinder me starting it up would be not having a reputation and a teaching certificate. But as i said this is just a thought.






I came across this website via twitter called Go-On, their main objective is to get the older generation using this fantastic technology that we have access to. They help the communities around manchester with the help of volunteers to teach them the basic IT skills and also how to use social media. The volunteers range from local businesses or individuals like you and I. I've put my request in to help out maybe it will help me to figure if teaching, if in my spare time or part time is for me.

I have never wanted to be a teacher, i've always wanted to be the one to keep learning. A friend of mine graduated from university the same time and wanted to work with the youth offenders. She tried and tried but couldn't get anyway. September of 2012 she started on a teaching programme and will finish this year with probably a guaranteed job offer. Dont get me wrong she enthused with what she's doing now, its her life and she loves it.  I dont want to be  disingenuous to the teaching profession, as a know a good few people who have gone into nursing and teaching because the majority of the time its guaranteed work.  I want to have the passion and the drive in the profession i choose and not be in it just because. However things are getting hard and it is time to start working and saving up for my pension! Lord knows David Cameron's not going to help with my heating bills!!


Either way i need to start working it been too long now.... lets hope the many jobs i've applied for something comes up!

Who am i?

Alisha Forrester. T: @maverick2design

It's been a long time I've been signed up since March 2011, i'm not a big blogger but I've decided to try and start. If it's not work, life, love or trying to gain a degree its having a cocktail in my right hand and a interesting book in my left that stops from getting started on my blog. So let's by having a little background on the one and only shall we.....

Born in the late 80's surrounded by noise from 3 older siblings and nephew, the constant pirate radio station playing the latest reggae and calypso tunes and a mother whos trusted best friend was her cake making machine and sewing machine.  Ever since i can remember,  i was always the type of person that liked plan my life out, i decided i wanted to be a computer programmer. Not knowing what that involved i was adamant that was my job role plus a ranger rover parked outside my house that was the size of buckingham palace.

Fast forward to the days when Britney spears was toxic and 50 cent was 'in da club'  still my job role was to become a computer programmer so I took information Technology as a GCSE which wasn't the greatest.
    College, I studied a btec national diploma in ICT, each module covered every aspect of ICT and that's where as if a light shone bright above my head, I decided I wanted to become a Website designer.  Why? because i enjoyed making something astehically pleasing to the eye.

In 2007, I enrolled at the University of Salford onto a course that unfortunately was all geek and no design. I stumbled onto the course I graduated in called Design Futures, which was right up my street. From being on this course i came to the conclusion that there is more to design then designing something and that there is more behind the scenes and more roles to produce art work or a product.

With all the projects we were given, it gave me the chance to 'play' different roles in an organisation and that eureka struct! Marketing strategies, business development and idea generation are my passion and even before i graduated i started building up my portfolio with a 3 month internship at Photolink Creative Group. Working with another intern, on then a new venture which has sky rocketed, Little Black Dress, we worked together coming up with ideas and Stephanie writing fantastic content.

From there on i did a few more paid work for them and got myself a mentor, who happened to be the founder of NorthernSoho. Time went by and my positivity and enthusiasm slowly was fading as every headline in the paper was 'Students coming out of university will have a hard time finding a job'. The economy was taking a nose dive and getting any type of job was hard. That was then(graduated 2011). That is still now, the end of 2012 and all i've managed to secure is a one day a week job. Keeping myself occupied in the mean time i have been doing some freelance jobs, writing a marketing strategy for a jazz band, Yasmin and the Wild Things.


My entrepreneurship has never left my side. I tried to set up a networking organisation, Creative Championships,which had great feedback on the idea however the team all found jobs and couldn't commit which i fully understood.

So thats me really, you're are now fully up to date with my 23 years of existence. If you want to know how it came about me travelling aboard in a few weeks to try and impress important to maybe land a job just read my next post!


p.s Apologies on the aesthetic at the moment, i'm a newbie!