Spread the Word

08/06/2026

Sometimes less is more.

08/06/2026

A picture speaks a thousand words. What do yours say?



Photo credit: Sarah Warrington Photography. Photo of a mouth-watering bagel taken for a local café review (can you guess where?).

Generic: ChatGPT visual. Not real pricing or place.

08/06/2026

A bit of fun!

05/06/2026

Some social media content should be a slow burn.

It sounds like the consolation prize. It isn't. It's where the real work happens.

It's likely influencing how you think this weekend. That post you saw, you weren't even looking — but it resonated, and it's banked for later.

That's how good content works. It's quietly whispering about your business in a way that's natural, so it feels more like a useful conversation, not a hard sell.

Even a word-of-mouth referral — people look you up first.

If they do today, what will they find?

04/06/2026

Social media can give you an instant surge of visibility.

A shout-out on a local page, a feature, a share from someone with reach — and suddenly eyes are on you.

Before anyone can consider you, they first have to know you exist.

You can't sell a secret.

02/06/2026

Social media can give you an instant boost of visibility, or it can be a slow burn.

Which approach depends entirely on what you're trying to achieve.

01/06/2026

28/05/2026

Sometimes you just have to put on your big girl un**es, smile, and carry on.

I was having a pretty good week; a local business with a trusted and well-earned reputation left me an amazing Google Review.

And that made my day - maybe my week.

But then today, I got a rude message from someone who clicked on my ad.

It made me think.

When you are in business, you represent a brand, an experience. So, everything you say and do reflects on that.

And when you are dealing with people on any level, at any time, they could be a potential customer or even your biggest champion, if you treat them right.

Remember that old saying, 'do unto others'?

Think about that when you are out there doing your thing.

I hope you have an amazing weekend, and take every opportunity to shine a little light, and not be THAT guy.

27/05/2026

People connect with people. Not logos, not businesses — people.

I've seen this play out on Hello Whangārei. Early on, I profiled a local person — her story, her background, what drives her. The post reached over 10,000 views.

When I later profiled the organisation she's connected to, it had just under 5,000.

Same writer. Same audience. Different angle.

The organisation's post did well. But the one about the person did so much better.

This isn't a coincidence; it's how people engage online.

They're drawn in by a person's story, then become curious about what that person is involved in. The organisation benefits, but the human story opens the door.

It's something worth thinking about for your own business. Who is the person behind it? What's their story?

That might be your most underused marketing asset. Because a good story doesn't just boost your visibility, it brings people one step closer to choosing you.

25/05/2026

Storytelling is one of my favourite tools, for my own business and for the people I work with.

Not just because it's something I love doing, but because when it's genuine, it connects in a way an advertising post simply can't.

When I lived in Waikanae, I wrote a piece about Artel Gallery & Store, a favourite local haunt. Maude Heath was moving her gallery back to Waikanae after five years in Ōtaki. With the recent development of a public art gallery in the same area. I turned a simple relocation into a story of homecoming and Waikanae's status as an art destination.

The result. Almost 30,000 people read it within 24 hours. Over 40,000 in a few days. Artel had a noticeable lift in foot traffic and followers soon after.

Good storytelling still has commercial intent (of course it does). But when the narrative is real, people don't experience it as marketing. They experience it as a connection — something worth sharing, and that’s what makes it work.