If you want to keep up to date with what's happening in the world, ignore newspapers and the broadcast media.

When it comes to breaking news - they're not even at the races.

If you want to find out what's hot to trot, look no further than Twitter the fastest news source on the planet.

You will hear about almost every major breaking story on Twitter many minutes before it gets noticed by the traditional media.

It's the place to go for up-to-the-minute reports on wars, political goings-on, celebrity gossip, financial scandals and sports news. Whatever your interest, whatever your passion you'll read about it first on Twitter.

If you want to look like you have your finger on the pulse of the news, it's a simple matter of retweeting what's breaking on Twitter.

For me Twitter is not the last word but the first word in news!

Beattie Communications will invest £100,000 this year on solar panels and energy conservation.

Our aim is to become one of the greenest marketing and communications groups in the world.

It's a bold ambition, but we feel it's important to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

By generating our own green electricity and through energy conservation, we will cut our fuel bills and reduce our carbon footprint by 8 - 10%.

If every company followed our lead, just think how much of a difference we would make to the environment.

Glasgow company Absolute Solar & Wind has been awarded the contract to install a 10kwp solar energy system on the roof of Beattie Communications' Media Village at Falkirk in Scotland.

They will be installing over 50 solar panels and we expect the system to be fully operational by the end of March.

In addition to the solar panels, we are investing in a whole raft of conservation measures - energy-efficient lighting and office equipment and modern heating systems.

In addition, we are making more use of video and audio conferencing and most of our training programmes are now delivered remotely. That is producing a double whammy - it's cutting our carbon footprint and slashing unproductive travelling time.

We've done our sums and although it's an expensive upfront investment, we will receive a financial payback over time. In addition, it will have a significant immediate impact on the standing of the Beattie, Only and 11ten brands.

In last week's blog, I headlined a gloom and doom report from Plimsoll Analysis that claimed a third of UK PR agencies are running at a loss.

According to Plimsoll, 244 PR agencies are in financial danger.

Our own research has shown that it's not just PR agencies that have been badly hit by the recession but marketing businesses in general.

From what I can see there are hundreds of marketing agencies in the UK, Ireland and US struggling to pay their bills.

Social media agencies and market research businesses appear to have been particularly badly hit as clients draw in the financial purse strings. Surprisingly, some internet marketing businesses also appear to be suffering.

As I said last week, it's in sharp contrast to what we are experiencing at Beattie Communications and Only Marketing. Only Beattie is continuing to expand internationally, win exciting new clients and create significant numbers of new jobs.

That's why we are now offering to throw a financial lifeline not just to PR agencies but to good marketing and media businesses which are struggling to swim against the current economic tide.

We don't want to see vibrant PR agencies, robust advertising businesses or long-established direct marketing consultancies going under or throwing talented people out of a job.

I would, therefore, urge the owners of good marketing agencies to talk to me about a rescue - if the business is struggling in the current financial climate.

With eight offices in the UK and an international network spanning 40 countries, we can offer you a good home and a secure financial future.

Your approach will be treated in the strictest confidence. Get in touch with me at gordon.beattie@onlybeattie.com or ring me on 0800 612 9890 in the UK, 1-800 937 374 in Ireland and 1-800 400 3831 in the US or Canada.

A third of UK PR agencies are currently running at a loss.

That's the gloom and doom heading from the latest report on the UK PR industry by Plimsoll Analysis.

According to Plimsoll, 244 PR agencies are in financial danger.

It's in sharp contrast to Beattie Communications, which is continuing to expand internationally, win clients and create new jobs.

So we are offering to throw a financial lifeline to good agencies struggling in the current economic downturn.

We don't want to see vibrant PR agencies going under and talented people being put out of a job.

As a strong and well-managed business, we believe it is important to do our bit to support the PR sector.

We are, therefore, urging the owners of good PR agencies that are floundering in the stormy economic seas to get in touch to see if we can work out a deal to avoid their businesses sinking.

We are particularly keen to hear from agencies in the UK, Ireland, US and Canada.

For further information please contact Laurna Woods on 0800 612 9890

www.beattiegroup.com
www.onlymarketing.com
www.11tengroup.com

Linkedin is a powerful platform when it comes to winning new business - but it's often seen as the poor relation of Facebook and Twitter.

Just because it's a b2b business tool, it does not have the glamour or grab the media headlines like its big sisters.

While you won't find Lady Gaga or Paris Hilton on Linkedin, you will discover more valuable personalities - people you can do business with.

As chairman of Beattie Communications, Only Marketing and 11tenGroup, I have used Linkedin to seal many valuable business relationships over the years

I use Linkedin for three purposes:

• Staff recruitment
• New business campaigns
• Joint venture deals.

The most remarkable truth about Linkedin is that people are much more likely to respond to a Linkedin message than to an ordinary email. This factor alone makes Linkedin marketing unbelievably successful.

The No1 secret of Linkedin is to have a great profile and the No1 rule is - don't be modest.

When writing your profile, be creative and inject "sunshine" into your words so that you sound friendly.

Always include a photograph - not any old photograph but one which makes you look good. For some of us, that's a hard ask but even if you are not God's gift - get a good mug shot. It's going to be a lot more effective than a company logo or some line drawing you've pulled off the internet.

When you are happy with your profile, move on to building up your contacts. Start by connecting with people you know and move onto people you would like to do business with.

Build your Linkedin network still further by joining relevant industry groups. Your initial ambition should be to have 501contacts as 500+ comes up on your profile and demonstrates you are well connected.

There's so much more I could tell you but here are six additional tips -

1. Invite your Twitter followers to connect with you on Linkedin.
2. When inviting people to connect with you on Linkedin, pen a message - you get one line to do it.
3. Avoid mass messages, Linkedin works better one-to-one.
4. Ask happy clients to write a recommendation - testimonials are powerful marketing tools.
5. Build relationships by sending regular messages.
6. When a relationship has been established - pick up the phone. It's good to talk!

The more effort you put in, the greater the payback. If you need help with Linkedin marketing, contact me on Linkedin or drop me an email gordon.beattie@onlybeattie.com