Retweet For Work is now hosted at www.barnessquiresassocates.co.uk from 28/02/12

Please visit www.barnessquiresassociates.co.uk for all information as of 28 February 2012

The facts

• There are many top quality individuals who are desperately seeking paid work.
• There are many businesses that would like to employ the above but can’t afford to take them on currently.
• Those seeking work and those with businesses can’t afford to speculatively invest.
• Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook is free and people have time on their hands.

The Proposition
To make our skills, knowledge, expertise, creativity and experience accessible to businesses that require them by building an association of consultants who will provide these attributes on an hourly or daily basis. This will result in the very best quality of support for even the smallest of businesses.

How do we achieve this?

Starting at 06.00 and finishing at midnight on Thursday 9th February 2012 (Retweet for Work Day) tweet your skills and services and those of other #rt4work networkers during the day – as many times as you wish.

• Follow @loyalhelp
• Tweet your skills, services and/or business details using #rt4work
• Search Twitter for others using #rt4work and retweet to your followers
• Follow those who you want to connect with and they will follow back
• Keep visiting all through the day to make sure that you do not miss out on any opportunities
• Keep tweeting, retweeting and following.  Experience shows that the more active you are the greater response you will receive
• Have a productive day meeting new people who are also looking for work and additional business whilst promoting yourself all over the UK

Will it work?

We started with nationwide use of social media on December 8^th 2011. The idea being that we ask every person who currently has under utilised skills to tweet their skills and services for one focussed day of activity. In return the rest of the network will tweet and retweet promoting each other’s services through Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook whilst asking for retweets etc from friends and contacts.

So in return for a few tweets we will all receive multiple exposures to new geographical and business opportunities. 30 tweets could result in 1000s of people reading about available services

It’s Free and thousands of people get to see what we can offer people’s businesses.

Benefits for participants

• Your name, experience, knowledge and speciality is shared with many like minded supporters
• Your name, experience, knowledge and speciality is shared with many businesses
• You actively promote yourself and other consultants who give you the same exposure.
• A network is created that serves itself and its clients
• You can ask questions, find solutions, find clients, bid for work, share intelligence and information, and grow relationships.

Outcomes

• Following December 8th and the second #rt4work day on the 12 January 2012 , we collected the results and they can be seen below. The response was so positive that we are doing it again
• We have identified more consultants and unemployed in a similar position who will help the awareness of the project to grow virally; so the day with many more participants takes place again on 9th February 2012
• In addition, the National Registry of Consultants (NRC)http://www.nationalregistryofconsultants.co.uk/ has agreed to enter the details of each participant into their database at no cost. In order to build case studies for the new NRC business they will work tirelessly to attempt to find positions for all those involved and further increased desire to expand the concept

How much does it cost?

Nothing. It’s free, fun and it works to bring you work

Who is running Retweet For Work Day?

Mark Barnes and Paul Squires are two town centre and high street experts who are finding that the current economic downturn has meant that they need to use imaginative solution to looking for work. For this time they are using their time on a number of unpaid projects to improve the circumstances of those looking for work and to network as well as voluntary high street and town centre projects

You can find out more about Mark and Paul by following the links to their LinkedIn profiles below

Mark Barnes http://uk.linkedin.com/in/themarkbarnes

Paul Squires http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top

Questions?

Feel free to email mabarnes@btinternet.com with any queries

Mark Barnes

Retweet For Towns Day March 8 2012 #rt4towns

What is Retweet For Towns Day?

We can all play a part in shaping the future of town centres and high streets.  All across the UK, resident led activity along with business collaboration is working to ensure that towns stay vibrant and will remain part of our communities long into the future.  Soon we will see an increase of the mobilisation of Town Teams thanks to the enthusiasm of the UK Government to highlight the plight of our towns.  However, this positivity only exists to address the fact that the majority of town centres are suffering a decline that started long before our current economic woes.

To complement the work of Politicians, Local Authorities, Town Centre Partnerships etc Retweet For Towns Day on March 8 will be a co-ordinated campaign of mass tweeting about town centres.  Over a 24 hour period and across the country people of all ages and from all walks of life will tweet and retweet about what is important to them about their Town. Retweet For Towns Day will see the UK come together for a day of collaboration to openly discuss what was once and still can be the heart of our communities

Social media already contains much discussion around all aspects of our town centres. Retweet For Towns Day will be an outlet for that passion and allow a balanced discussion in an online forum.  Twitter is at the same time the portal for disheartened residents to complain that their town does not meet their needs any more whilst proactive Town Centre Managers, Town Councils  and Tourism Boards are telling a story about the how fantastic their town is.  Retweet For Towns Day will bring all parties together to allow a free and honest debate around people’s local areas whilst enabling the sharing of great ideas and initiatives that can make town centres better places.

The Economy, Town Centres and the High Street are so high on the agenda that everyone has a view, and most views are valid.  Retweet For Towns Day enables the Silent Majority who vote with their feet when shopping, socialising and relaxing to have their say.  This is an opportunity for those who would not normally embrace community activity and who do not believe that they can influence change to speak out loudly from their armchairs.

We encourage Town Councils, Partnerships, Town Centre Managers, Local Authorities and everyone else involved in working to make town centres a better place to join in on the day and highlight the good work that they are doing locally to preserve and develop their town centres.  We want to see the projects that are being delivered successfully on a local level being promoted on the day so that other areas can learn from them to improve their own locality.

We will be prompting responses by asking questions like: are town centres viable? What will they look like in the future? Do people care if their traditional centres do not survive?  This will be a day of activity, discussion, debate consultation and sharing unlike any other.  We believe that Twitter is so easy to access that we will create a real energy for the topic and will be able to collect many people’s views over a 24 hour period.

During the day we will be monitoring the debate and collecting responses which we will then bring together in a single document that all will be published online and will be freely available to all.

 Why have a Retweet For Towns Day?

 Town centres, high streets, independent businesses and shop local campaigns are so emotive at the moment that we want to harness this, learn and share best practise in a way that is straightforward and cost free.  Quite simply, we want Aberdeen to learn from Aberystwyth, and Dartford to share with Darlington while people in Chester and Chelmsford tell us what their town centre means to them.

Who is behind Retweet For Towns day?

 This event is being delivered free of charge by passionate high street and town centre experts Mark Barnes and Paul Squires.  Mark is the leading voice in the UK for area based loyalty and was Town Centre Manager in Louth until January 2011; for more information see   http://linkd.in/piTw9z  and Paul, designer of HighST UK and co-author of Reimagining the High Streets; Escape from Clone Town.  please see http://linkd.in/nXfzzA

Mark and Paul believe that this event through Twitter will encourage more people to become active in joining the debate about town centres whilst allowing those with a responsibility for our towns to balance the discussion.  Mark and Paul firmly believe that resident led activity can play a significant role in addressing the issues facing our towns and this maybe a first step for those who have not considered their views important.

What can be expected on the day?

 Discussion and debate around issues and solutions

• A display of pride from many who are emotionally attached to their town
• Strong views about where town centres are failing
• Demonstrations from towns about how projects are working in their centres
• Sharing of ideas about what is next for town centres
• Feedback from businesses on the high street
• Views on how businesses and landlords can help in the high street
• Ideas on how to make the town centre an enjoyable experience
• Promotion of resident led activity
• Sharing of best practice
• Networking between professionals  and residents who have a passion for where they work and live
• A day of activity that displays that whatever  role people have in their community, millions of us, all across the country care deeply about our town centres

Where did the idea come from?

 Mark had the idea for the highly acclaimed Retweet For Work Days in December 2011, and with Paul he has been delivering ever since; the next one is planned for 9^th February.

 How will the day work?

Instructions on how to participate will be published and promoted online in the run up to March 8^th

What is needed to make the day a success?

 Mark and Paul will monitor and run the day including all the preparation on the lead in to the event. However, this project would be greatly enhanced by support and endorsement from partners.  In addition, please spread the word and circulate the press release.  Follow @loyalhelp on Twitter and RT and create your own tweets to promote the day.

Retweet For Work Days resulted in HTV News and BBC Radio Wales interviews and the publicity will be significantly greater for Retweet For Town Day so sponsorship is an opportunity.  If available any income would only be used for additional marketing and greater online presence. Also, please promote the day on your websites and we will ensure that multiple tweets go out directing people to your site.

At the very least please join in, tell us your views, offer some challenging questions and lets together all spread the good and the bad news about our towns and high streets

What do I do now?

 Contact Mark Barnes on 07590 005692 or email mabarnes@btinternet.com to register an interest

The national skills network launched its second Re-tweet for work day on January 9th 2012. Tweeting and re-tweeting skills, knowledge and experience created a buzz of on-line excitement and opportunities.

Individuals looking for work and income shared details of their services and products with each other and on rt4work day, tweeted each other’s skills and offers to everyone in their own networks. So each person had their details tweeted to thousands of  tweet accounts all day!

So what happened on the day and will we do it again?

Twelve members who submitted results reported that they:

Gained over 290 new followers

Sent over 650 tweets

Re-Tweeted over 350 times

Attracted over 150 visits to linkedin profiles or personal websites

Created 6 opportunities for work.

We also received lots of support from friends, colleagues and complete strangers who happily tweeted on our behalf, extending our networks much further than we could have possibly imagined.

Next Retweet for Work Day will be 9th February 2012 .

Want to take part; then mail your details to mabarnes@btinternet.com by 8pm Feb 8th 2012

How to design your Tweets for RT4Work day January 12th 2012

Below are samples of tweets supplied by participants in the RT4Work day in December 2011. Please remember to include your personal link to a web site, blog or LinkedIn and the hash tag #rt4work. For those of us that struggle with only 140 characters to describe our offer then please supply two different tweets. Send your tweets to mabarnes@btinternet.com

An HR Advisor that doesn’t tell you what u CAN’T do, but will help you with what you CAN do! #positiveHR http://bit.ly/svtwLx #rt4work

NRC is keen to be involved with National Retweet work day always seeking new consultants for the registry http://bit.ly/sDBZZY #rt4work

@HolgateHR Experienced HR director interested in interim work or ad hoc consultancy. #rt4work

Need to make something happen?   Contact Jean Ball http://linkd.in/uNcBXE #rt4work

TCM, Manager, Entrepreneur, Salesman, Innovator, Networker & general sleeves rolled up worker seeking new role is @loyalhelp  #rt4work

@neajimbob Business coach. Sales training, NLP, leadership development. Business Support. #rt4work. Jan offer on sales training

@GWSolution Gary Willard  I specialise in Advertising, Marketing, Corporate I.D.s & PR 4 all sizes of businesses over 20 years exp #rt4work

Managing change, finding cash for Town Centres, Vol & Soc Ents. Creative & innovative; looking for work http://linkd.in/unOaH7 #rt4work

Pragmatic, commercial support 4 your Talent Mgt (HR needs, Employee Development & Engagement & Org. Change) http://bit.ly/ukzDSw #rt4work

@Working_Bees We are a proud sponsor of #RT4WORK! http://working-bees.com Free Master Membership! Use RT4WORK @ checkout Pls #RT

@taryn_creative Freelance Web & Graphic Designer and Social Media Geek! Working with SME’s across the UK #rt4work

@MikeTheCode Web design biz w UK clients but no office in UK needs ad-hoc IT pros to help, Mid Wales to Manchester corridor #rt4work

HAB Accountancy Business help for startups. Bookkeeping & accounting. Business advice. http://bit.ly/vaSihp #rt4work

Sharon Scott Place Solutions regen and tourism consultancy specialising in Place and Destination Management   http://bit.ly/plSOL #rt4work

@mattmarlboro I help business communities decide what they want and show them how to get it #rt4work

Recommendations from RT4Work day December 8th 2011

“Mark has organised and delivered a fantastic opportunity for freelancers and people looking for work. He’s shown great dedication to making Retweet for Work Day a great success!”   Taryn Lee Johnston, Owner / Designer, Creative Thinking Concept – Design – Marketing

“Mark brought about a great response on Twitter for #rt4work in an attempt to generate work for people by advertising what people did.  He did this in less than 7 days. Incredible!”  Christopher Hickmott-Arnold MIAB, Director, HABAccountancy Ltd

“Very impressive work to package a new social networking idea, launch and then run with the new creation: and all in the space of 10 days or so. Mark quickly brought our business on board and worked effectively with the new partners he brought in to his project. For sheer energy and commitment to creating and launching a successful new marketing idea within social networking Mark deserves huge credit and I wish him every success.”  Mike Slater, Business Owner, art71.com

“In the space of less than a week, Mark created, developed and delivered a fantastic day of networking opportunities via Twitter that, from a personal point of view resulted in new connections on LinkedIn, a hatful of new followers on Twitter and has, I’m sure, opened the door to business and further networking opportunities that are yet to be taken advantage of. This interesting, unique and innovative way of working has a great deal of potential and I am happy to have been able to get involved from the start. Once again, Mark has come up with and delivered a different way of doing things that really do make him stand out from the crowd.”
Matt Powell, Town Centre Manager, Birmingham City Council

“Mark is a positive thinker with innovative ideas and delivers on his outcomes. Mark is able to deal with difficult situations and remain inclusive. Collaborative working and positive solution focused ideas make Mark as an excellent team player.” January 4, 2012
Gemma Levi, Health Network Co-ordinator, NHS Lincolnshire

“Mark is an energetic man of action who deserves to do well. Not one to sit on his hands (or laurels), Mark thinks creatively and has the drive to turn ideas into action. He is a people person with excellent social networking skills and good instincts for collaborative working. If you have something that needs done quickly and thoroughly, Mark is your man.”
Jean Ball, Place, Destination, Marketing and Event Manager, Your place or brand?

#rt4work day: How brilliant was that!

The national skills network launched Re-tweet for work day on December 8th 2011. Tweeting and re-tweeting skills, knowledge and experience created a buzz of on-line excitement and opportunities.

Individuals looking for work and income shared details of their services and products with each other and on rt4work day, tweeted each other’s skills and offers to everyone in their own networks. So each person had their details tweeted to thousands of  tweet accounts all day!

So what happened on the day and will we do it again?

Ten members who submitted results reported that they:

Gained over 300 new followers

Sent over 400 tweets

Re-Tweeted over 500 times

Attracted over 60 visits to linkedin profiles or personal websites

Created 3 opportunities for work.

We also received lots of support from friends, colleagues and complete strangers who happily tweeted on our behalf, extending our networks much further than we could have possibly imagined.

Next Retweet for Work Day will be 12th January 2011.

Want to take part; then mail your details to mabarnes@btinternet.com by 8pm Jan 11

Be a part of Re-Tweet to Work Day – How you do It!

• Follow @loyalhelp

• Then re-tweet one @loyalhelp tweet to all your own Twitter followers

• Your can find a list of @loyalhelp tweets by searching #rt4Work

• Email mabarnes@btinternet.com with your personal tweet, describing what you do – remember to include a link for your linkedin profile, personal website or blog and #rt4work.  IMPORTANT – you must send a complete tweet that fits 140 characters and that will work without further editing. For Jan 12 there will not be the time to edit everyone’s tweets.  This must be received by 8pm Jan 11

• Mark will send you by email a list of tweets from fellow association members

• On Thursday 12^th January (Retweet for Work Day) tweet your own and other members tweets during the day – as many times as you wish.

• Search for hash tag #rt4work during the day to watch how the network grows!

ReTweet to Work day – Press release

A CAMPAIGN to get people back to work, save national skills and fill vacancies in businesses of all sizes comes together on Retweet for Work Day this Thursday (December 8)

Entrepreneur Mark Barnes is organising the campaign which publicises individuals’ work skills on social media. “We want to match the vast amount of skill out there offered by people currently looking for work, with businesses needing work to be done,” he explained.

“There are many businesses – often small companies – who are struggling to find such skills. The idea is to put the two together so that people can be employed on an hourly, weekly or monthly rate which helps both businesses and individuals”.

People, looking for opportunities, are being urged to email their details with a link to their online presence to Mark and a team of volunteers who will then re-tweet details to everyone in the network, who then re-tweet their own and other participants details to their own networks. This way people with great skills, experience and knowledge get to promote themselves to hundreds of businesses and receive nationwide exposure. He has also arranged with the National Registry of Consultants (NRC) to enter details of each participant onto their database at no cost.

At the same time, companies across the UK are being urged to Tweet their details of vacancies on Thursday.  “This way, for one day at least and possibly longer, we may be able to get more people in paid work, and help companies with vacancies at the same time,” added Mark.  Anyone interested in being involved is urged to email mabarnes@btinternet.com or call 07590 005692

*   For further details contact Mark Barnes on 07590 005692 or email mabarnes@btinternet.com