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TweakYourBiz TV Talks To Niall Harbison From Simply Zesty

by Amanda Webb on March 26th, 2012
10 Comments



This week I was delighted to get the opportunity to talk to Niall Harbison from social media agency Simply Zesty. They’ve been in the news recently as the business has been sold to UTV media.

Simply Zesty were already a success story and now with the backing of UTV, their future looks even brighter. That means there will be no slowing down for Niall, who as well as being one of the co-founders and working in the agency, also writes at least two blog posts a day. In this interview, Niall explains how:

  • The Simply Zesty blog is getting around 500,000 unique visits a month and has brought the agency business from all over the world.
  • They now post around nine times a day with the aim of providing content that their readers will find useful.
  • Working with UTV they hope to be able to grow the business and service more overseas customers including more customers from the US.

As blogging has been a key strategy to their success, I talked to Niall to find out where he finds the time to blog so much and asked him what tips he would give to others embarking on blogging or social media:

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Thanks to Niall for taking the time to tell us about their success. Make sure you go visit their incredibly successful blog which also happens to be one of the best social media resources on the web.



Category: Blogging, interviews, Online video

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The Author:

Hi I'm Amanda, a social media consultant and trainer who loves blogging. I work with small and medium sized businesses to help them develop social media strategies that work. I really enjoy developing my marketing and social media skills. I also love cats, cycling and cakes. http://www.spiderworking.com

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  • http://www.bloggertone.com Niall Devitt

    Thanks to Niall & Amanda for doing this interview, the Simply Zesty story is fast becoming a great Irish success. The Zesty blog is a go to social media resource and it’s obvious that Niall, Lauren and the team have and continue to put in huge amount of hard work, they deserve all that’s coming their way.   

  • http://BasicBlogTips.com Ileane

    Hi Amanda! You’re such a pro at doing these interviews! Congrats to Niall and his team for the deal with UTV. I’m looking forward to his next project. Thanks Amanda.

  • Smallbiztrends

    Nice interview – kudos Amanda and Niall!  His comment about frequency of posting bears out what I’ve learned:  the more you post, the faster a blog grows.  The challenge is balancing quality when you increase posting levels.

    - Anita

  • http://www.spiderworking.com/ Amanda Webb

     Thanks. Niall is a great inspiration and so full of great info it was easy!

  • http://www.spiderworking.com/ Amanda Webb

    So true.  I’ve seen a massive increase in visitors since I’ve moved from one post a week to three… not sure I’d manage two a day and keep the content great though.

  • ElliStGeorgeGodfrey

    Thanks, Christine, for taking the time to comment. Another client of mine went through the process of long days when he and just a few staff members did everything. Despite the difficult economic times in Ireland, he now can focus more on business development (one of his roles as CEO of his firm) because of his preparation.

  • http://twitter.com/eggmarketing Susan Payton

    Elli–Fab post. I’d add that sometimes you’re not the best person to be CEO. Yes, you had the vision for your brand, but you might be better as the CMO or VP, and someone with more experience in strategy could take your company further. My husband is dealing with that and his startup.

  • http://www.startuphughes.com/ Donncha Hughes

    Elli – great post. Your post is a wonderfully political way of getting the ‘boss’ to think about their role. Frankly, I am probably more blunt. I would have little sympathy for a client who ‘tells me he hates doing his administrative tasks but
    there isn’t enough money to hire a much needed administrative assistant’. I think that most small business promoters do or have done the juggling act that you describe in your conclusion. I regularly meet promoters who love the technical nature of their job. When times were good or when the business was smaller, they did not have to worry too much about business development or more importantly the general area of business administration. But problems can and do emerge – most likely in the shape of cash flow difficulties arising from insufficient turnover or inability to get paid on time which can often result from not issuing invoices on time.

    I love your list of 6 ways to prepare yourself to be a CEO. No.6, staffing, is hugely important in terms of how a promoter thinks about their role. I often work with promoters to map out the current organisation chart and then create one that they would like in 12 months time. This forces them to think about their own role and in many cases they realise that they have to move away from the technical end of the business to concentrate on other critical aspects most likely in the area of business development. At that stage, I like to point out that Internships and graduate recruitment offer a valuable cost effective avenue to hire good staff. But they only work if the promoter and senior team makes them work – correct selection, proactive induction, ongoing assistance and empowerment, all based on a strong job description and fit within the organisation.

  • ElliStGeorgeGodfrey

    Donncha,

    Thanks for reading and commenting. You got it that the point is to have the “boss” think through his/her choices and possible solutions. You have some great suggestions about how a business owner can design how the business will look now and a year from now. Like you said, there comes a critical point when they have to get away from being 100% on the technical side and more on what will build a more sustainable business. Drawing a picture, literally or otherwise, makes it more possible to take steps to ensure it happens.

  • ElliStGeorgeGodfrey

    Susan,

    Thanks for reading and commenting. Your point that sometimes you are not the best person to be CEO is spot on! However, without planning and preparation, it’s easy to get stuck in that role and end up resenting your business.

    I wish your husband success in determining how he and his startup prepare for the next stage. (If I can help, please let me know.)

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