These are just some of the comments workshop attendees, clients and colleagues have kindly made:
“As an attorney and professional consultant and speaker, I thoroughly enjoyed your article in today’s Attard Business Know How newsletter. You’ve set out a concise and comprehensive handbook to creating, reviewing and delivering effective communications. Thanks for the article.”
Tom MacMurray, USA
We recently engaged Lee as a photographer for a Fella Hamilton brand fashion parade held at Living Choice Retirement Village, Fullarton in Adelaide and attended by 240 people.
Lee captured the mood of the event beautifully, with close ups and environmental portraits highlighting the grace and movement of the models, the colours and textures of the outfits, and excitement and delight of the audiences.
We would highly recommend Lee as a photographer at any fashion event.
Sharon Hamilton, CEO Fella Hamilton
We engaged Lee as our photographer for a Sesame Street event at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in Adelaide. He was such a pleasure to work with – easy to communicate with, professional, passionate about the job, and the photos and video content that he produced were brilliant. I look forward to working with him again on future events, and would recommend him to anyone looking for an efficient, professional and personable photographer.
Tamara Jenkins, Esencia Communications
“Lee Hopkins has an exceptional ability to quickly demystify social media and identify which of its mediums are practical or perhaps more importantly impractical for specific businesses and sectors.
“Whether working with an individual or on a group level, Lee’s presentation and training style blends valuable information, astute commercial insights, humour and practical examples to create understandable, memorable and motivating sessions for participants.
“The essential foundation for a successful, cost effective social media strategy requires first understanding what you want to achieve by using the medium, then understanding each of the many variations (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Blogs, online Video, etc), their nature, ‘golden rules,’ benefits, risks and hidden costs.
“Lee is the perfect guide in these regards and I recommend him without hesitation as an asset to any organisation. His work with Raine & Horne SA has helped our group move rapidly to the forefront of effective social media use and marketing in Australia and I have yet to have a conversation with him that has not resulted in a valuable new insight that can be applied in any organisation for better commercial, marketing or communication results.”
Kevin Magee, CEO, Raine & Horne South Australia
“Thoughtful, erudite communicator”
“Lee began commenting on my PR podcast; soon, his manner and expertise led him to become our first correspondent. I love Lee’s podcast, another symbol of his deep well of knowledge. His blog reaffirms my belief that he’s one of the best communication tacticians in Australia or anywhere else. I’ve already recommended him for speaking engagements and look forward to the day when we can work together.”
Shel Holtz, ABC, Holtz Communication + Technology
“Engaging, Empowering, Empathetic”
“This workshop was perfect for me. I think my knowledge was at the right level. Lee is an excellent presenter; over the course of the day he didn’t lose my attention at all. The course was relevant, well structured, entertaining and informative”
Rhonda Cadman, Web and Internal Communications Manager, RMIT
“Insightful, empathetic, engaging”
“Loved Lee’s style! Keeps it really interesting”
Ann Styles, Manager, Corporate Communications, Transurban
“Was pitched at the right level, started with a broad overview and gently took us into more detail. I feel re-energised from the course and look forward to sharing new ideas with my team, we have a lot of work to do. Really appreciated ‘mental breaks’ in the presentation”
Liane Briner, Corporate Communications Advisor, Department of Transport
“Articulate, warm, witty”
“About time I’ve had a speaker who is loud and passionate about what they do. Content was great and presentation was entertaining. More speakers should learn how to present from Lee Hopkins. I’ve come out with more ideas with Lee’s knowledge and information which I can apply at my organisation”
name withheld by request
“Hi Lee. Your presentation was great! Rating was 1.23 on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 was extremely effective and 5 was not at all effective.”
Taryn Sexton, Chief Executive Officer, Local Government Managers Australia (SA)
“Lee Hopkins has recently, for the second year, kindly provided a guest lecture for my Ethics course. This course concentrates on practical ethical dilemmas that students may well face when they graduate into one of several highly mediated industries.
Digital ethics is a vexed area, not only because we, collectively as a society are still working out what is right and wrong in this new world, but especially because the familiarity that most students have with that world makes it difficult for them to step outside their own reality and see the bigger professional picture.
Lee brings not just knowledge, but infectious enthusiasm and humour to his presentation that poses some hard questions without seeming too didactic for students who am, I’m sure, pretty sick of being told about how scary and dangerous new media is by people who are not digital natives.
I was very grateful for his lecture and the following tutes were exceptionally lively.”
Dr Phillip Bagust, School of Communications, International Studies & Languages, UniSA Magill Campus
“I met Lee Hopkins through social media: I heard his blog quoted on the Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter podcast, and then heard his reports on the For Immediate Release podcast. It wasn’t long after that, in September 2005, that we co-founded the Podcast Asylum — first as a joke, and then as a consulting consortium to provide help for people who were going crazy trying to keep up with Web 2.0. I’ve followed Lee’s blog, podcasts, videos, presentations, and research reports ever since.
He’s a terrific presenter: funny, engaging, and instructive. He provides cogent arguments for the value of social media and social networking in corporations and education as well as the benefits of blogging, podcasting, Twitter, and Facebook for small businesses. He is conducting PhD research on virtual worlds and their serious uses for communication, business, and education, in addition to the effect of 3D environments like Second Life on human behavior. No interaction with Lee Hopkins is ever dull. He combines Aussie directness with zany energy, endless wit, and sharp insight, all the better to live up to his own maxim and “Communicate with Passion!””
Sallie Goetsch, Co-Founder, The Podcast Asylum
“Creative, communicator, thinker”
“Lee is a brilliant social media practitioner and instructor. He knows how to use social media genuinely and authentically to great business benefit. What’s more, he’s a natural in front of a crowd; his presentations are entertaining and enlightening – guaranteed engaging.”
Glenn Murray, DivineWrite
“Lee Hopkins is a social media whiz! Never afraid of new tools, he is always the first to try out social media tools and report back on what is useful, what needs work, and what you can use right now to promote your business. He has experience in podcasting, Second Life, Twitter and of course has been blogging religiously for ages. He’s a solid member of the social media community and a tireless marketer for all his clients (if you’re lucky enough to be one!)”
Heidi Miller, Diary of a Shameless Self Promoter
“Lee Hopkins is quite simply a master of social media, with a deep and broad understanding of where all the platforms and tools fit in the communication mix, both generally, as in how people communicate these days, and specifically, especially in terms of business communications.
I often recommend to people who are a bit disconcerted by all the jargon and hype, and want to get a practical handle on what all this social media stuff is about, that they get hold of the latest edition of the white paper Lee produced in collaboration with Trevor Cook. It is instructive too that of all the Australians who could have been interviewed by US social media expert Shel Israel for his SAP Global Survey, Lee was the one chosen. In short, he knows that whereof he speaks and writes, he does that extremely well and he has the well deserved respect of his peers.”
Des Walsh, Social Media Strategist, Des Walsh dot Com
“Lee Hopkins exudes energy, enthusiasm, insight and passion for social media that is nothing short of contagious. Whether he’s in second life or real life, online or offline, Lee’s understanding of solid communication principles coupled with his grasp of the possibilities presented by social media create a powerful combination. A combination you want working for you.”
Linda Johannesson, Strategist
“Lee single handedly bought me into the 21st century. A must for anyone who wants to know more than their kids about social networking.”
Kath McGowan
“Articulate creative thinker”
“Lee is an energetic and entertaining presenter and public speaker. I had the privilege of being on a panel with him recently and much admired his public speaking style. Of course, Lee is also a well known blogger in Public Relations and an all-round, well connected social media consultant.”
Laurel Papworth, Founder, World Communities
“I had the pleasure of attending one of Lee’s social media for business workshops. Lee takes you on a journey, shows you how social media/networking can influence your customers or business, and helps you shape a plan to get started. Along the way there’s a lot of insights to be gained and a lot of fun to be had!”
Marnie Macdonald
“Lee has been floating around the Social Media space since the early days. I have always enjoyed his Podcast segments on For Immediate Release. He’s always clever, light-hearted and very passionate about how we communicate and how it is changing.”
Mitch Joel, Host, Six Pixels of Separation – The Twist Image Podcast
“Lee works with humour and energy. He ‘gets stuff’ – one doesn’t need to spend a long time explaining the brief. Be prepared to think outside the box. In the bewildering world of communication and particularly, social media – Lee is your man.”
Catriona Byrne, Director, SageCo
“Perceptive, engaging, creative”
“Lee knows social media as well as anyone on the planet. He not only is more than competent, but has a superb grasp of overall communications, and is wonderful person to interact and work with.”
Ted Demopoulos, Owner, Demopoulos Associates
“I love Lee’s work. He was social media long before I knew what social media was. And the best part — he’s not into social media for its own sake, but because he truly understands how best to use various media — including social media – to further effective communication. I listen to his recommendations, whether in his blog or in person. Smart communicators will, too.”
Amy Gooen, Manager, Corporate Communications, VeriSign
“Lee is a pioneer of social media marketing within Australia. While others have jumped on the bandwagon Lee helped build it from the ground up. With not only the knowledge but the inspiration and passion behind him Lee is a formidable professional force who has inspired countless others in the industry.”
Jenni Beattie, Communication Manager, Media Monitors Australia
“Considerate, thoughtful and passionate”
“When I entered the social media space a few years ago, I recall reading Lee’s blog with earnest interest, intensely soaking up all he had to write and say. And to this day, I continue to do so. Why? Because in an era that continues to become saturated with social media “expertise”, finding authorities can be difficult. To be frank, Lee is the real deal – and remains at the forefront of the conversation. He is one of the ‘originals’ in the Australian social media landscape – and I do not say that to simply indulge in rhetoric persuasion. It is a fact.
“On a personal level, my passion for this space is intricately tied in with his commitment to it. I am very thankful for that. I have never actually ‘met’ Lee, but, from a communications perspective, it shows one simple thing: he can connect. I have no doubt, he would be an enormous asset to any organisation. Plus, you will have the added benefit of having the collective minds, vast communities to tap into, as a result of his high-level participation in social media spheres. He is a good man – and a smart one at that.”
Edward Harran, Digital and Social Media Strategist
“There’s a reason Lee is widely recognized as an expert in online communications and social media — he knows his stuff and is extremely adept at communicating his ideas with passion and humour. Having followed his blog and podcast, and having seen some of his writing-workshop materials, I can attest to his knowledge and competence in the field of communications.”
Donna Papacosta, Principal, Trafalgar Communications
“Lee Hopkins, one of Australia’s most respected social media experts”
Gary Hayes, CEO MuveDesign and one of the world’s few digital media and virtual world experts
“I worked with Lee earlier this year when Ark Group published his book ‘Social Media: The New Communication Landscape’. Given that we were working together from opposite sides of the world, it made a huge difference to be liaising with someone who was so reliably responsive. Despite some significant challenges during the process, Lee maintained good humour throughout and put 110% into the project.”
Anna Shaw, Commissioning Editor, Reports, Ark Group
“I have worked with Lee Hopkins on a number of occasions. He has spoken for me at my events and has brought tremendous value to my attendees. His knowledge in the social media space is excellent since he lives and breathes his work. He is also a very dynamic, entertaining and more importantly educational speaker who can help anyone understand and get involved with social media.”
Beth Etling, CEO, The Insight Exchange
“Lee is one of Australia’s most knowledgeable, personable and creative consultants in the field of business communication and social media. When we hired Lee to lead several social media workshops and present at conferences, he consistently surpassed expectations and drew fantastic feedback from event attendees who described him as “Brilliant”, “Engaging” and described his work as “One of the best workshops I’ve ever been to.
“Practically, Lee is also a superb writer and strategist, works to deadlines and produces content to a high standard, as evidenced by his existing written portfolio, his consultancy work, and reputation within the context of IABC. If I were in the position to hire someone on a full time basis to lead social media programs within a business, Lee would be the first person I’d call.”
Alex Manchester
“As a speaker, Lee and his alter ego in the guise of avatar ‘Lee Laperriere’ played a key role in making our virtual event in Second Life a success. Lee was well-researched, engaging and enthusiastic about the possibilities that virtual collaboration brings and his presentation showed that he had really thought about the needs of our audience”
Helen Mitchell, Director of Knowledge Networks, CPA Australia
“I’ve known Lee since early 2005 through his regular contributions to the twice-weekly business podcast I co-present. The communication topics he contributes add major value to our show, clearly demonstrating that Lee knows a lot about business communication. It’s a great pleasure working with you, Lee!”
Neville Hobson, ABC, leading UK Business Communication consultant
“Lee chaired a conference I was part of in March 2009. It was the first time I’d met Lee in person after hearing him on podcasts and meeting him in Second Life. Lee has infectious energy, a self-deprecating sense of humour, and – pretty importantly – a deep knowledge of social media.”
Simon Young, Cofounder and Creative Catalyst, iJump
“In my experience, Lee seems to live and breathe social media and all its manifold technologies. In Australia, he’s almost without peer in his generosity and willingness to share and spread his passion for social media-based communication solutions.”
Gerry McCusker, Founder and principal consultant, Engage ORM
“Lee’s a leading social media expert. He’s facilitating our upcoming workshops – which are a sell out.”
Katrina Andrews, Director, Asia Pacific, Melcrum
Lee is always right on top of the situation and gets things happening in a no-fuss manner. He’s a pleasure to work with as you always know where you stand and you know he’s working towards common goals: pleasing the client and getting the job done.”
Brad Anderson, Owner, Graphic Media & Motor Media
“Lee moderated a panel at ad:tech where I was a panel participant. Lee was an intelligent, charming and effective moderator. He lead the audience and panel through a valuable and entertaining discussion of digital PR. He was one of the best panel moderators I’ve worked with.”
Steven Noble, Director, Digital, Hill & Knowlton Australia
“Lee is a creative, innovative leader in the social media space. He is always on the cutting edge defining and creating the future.”
Jay Berkowitz www.TenGoldenRules.com, Owner and Podcast Host, TenGoldenRules.com
“Your excellent audience evaluations at the IABC 2009 World Conference in San Francisco qualify you as an IABC all-star speaker with the “IABC recommended speaker” designation”
Vicki Yim, Director, World Conference, IABC
“Lee’s insights into the vast new world of social media/Twitter are brilliant and dynamic. When the next hottest thing comes along, I know where I’ll be looking first for a straightforward explanation”
Chris Barron, Viva9
“Lee hits the mark perfectly with this Twitter e-report. It is long on punchy facts, practical ideas and sound advice, and short on length so it won’t take you ages to plough through. You’ll be mastering Twitter in no time!”
Trevor Young, PR warrior, ParkYoung
“This report is a MUST for those who are infatuated by the intuitive, far-reaching and anarchic nature of Twitter — but would secretly love to be comforted by a linear, step-by-step, hand holding friend who gives you lots of squeezes on the way. Well done Lee!”
Catriona Byrne, director, SageCo
“Lee Hopkins was one of the key speakers at our very successful Affiliate and Performance Marketing conference – www.affiliatsyd.com in Sydney on May 13th 2009. Lee embodies his own core values of Passion, Integrity and Consistency in the way he presents. A potent mix of ‘Social Marketing Sage’ and ‘Mad Professor’, I would recommend him to anyone as a speaker and consultant on social media and the future of online business communication”
Matt Bateman, MD Viva9
“It was a pleasure to have Lee speak at our 2008 Industry Day conference on the topic of Online Marketing: Social Media & Converting Hits to Sales. He is an engaging, confident, knowledgeable speaker who is clearly passionate about his craft.”
Peter Thurin, MC
“Australia’s top social media bloke”
Simon Young, NZ
“One of the best days I’ve spent with a man!”
“Wow – what a presentation, it went so well, thank you very much! Fantastic job!”
“Lindy and Lee, you were both brilliant and I’m very thankful and pleased for your efforts, it was excellent. Thank you.”
“One of Australia’s leading public relations practitioners in the so-called new media”
“While I only had the pleasure of actually meeting Lee face-to-face several months ago, I have been aware of him in conference programs and through feedback from one of my team members for a while. Lee has an amazing and unique skill for managing the new media to support business outcomes”
“Oz’s best social network strategist”
Gary Hayes, online strategist
“As for Local Royalty, you really are a Superstar among the bloggers and blogosphere!”
“Wow! You under-promised and over-delivered—thanks!”
Kellie Croxon, partner, Clarity Communications
“I cannot think of a way our strategic planning could have worked out better. A great deal of the success is down to your planning, communication and facilitation skills and the way you allowed all of us at Effective to demonstrate our strengths. Thanks again Lee for your involvement. It is already helping to take our business to the next level”
George Hallwood, CEO Effective Group
“Lee was very entertaining and knowledgeable. He demystified social media for me and he made me feel it IS possible.”
“His enthusiasm is infectious – exciting stuff!”
“But what’s even more exciting is the overwhelming positive response I’ve had to this from my peers. They are genuinely excited about what we’ve set up. I’m getting emails from all over the country congratulating me on this, and more importantly wanting to attend courses and discuss opportunities to work together. I’m getting over a dozen emails a day that are business related and directly attributable to the blog.”
Malcolm Robinson, Bowerplace Consulting
“Excellent. A really fascinating insight from an engaging speaker.”
“A very difficult topic but it was explained in a fantastically simple way.”
“I have intently viewed Lee’s business with both a personal and professional interest. His regular online communication tools are always topical, intelligent and extremely useful. I have also been highly impressed by his MC and public presentation skills. Professional, clear thinking and a great innovator, I would recommend contacting him for any online communication projects.”
Keith Arnold, Principal, Loud Communications
“The Walkleys relies on the good will of Australia’s talented communicators to make events like these happen and I can’t thank you enough for taking time out from your heavy schedule to make the convention such a memorable event.”
Danielle Crofts, Walkley Foundation
“The workshop was very useful in that it enabled us to directly relate what we learnt in the seminar to our business. Lee was very easy to relate to and he presented all the information in a way that was simple to understand.”
“Informative and engaging – gave good overview of new on-line technologies and how they can be applied to businesses. Particularly valued the opportunity to have a separate session to look at the specific needs and potential uses for my own business.”
“Great to talk to someone who is expert in their field and passionate.”
“Thank you for preparing the Invisage presentation for our recent International Conference. This was a fabulous presentation for our internal relaunch and rebrand of our business. It really created a powerful impact, got our message across and we received many compliments about this production.”
Julie Manuell, CEO Invisage Australia
“The ability to interact one on one with Lee, as well as seeing new technologies and how they can be easily implemented into current business processes [was great]”
“Great. Lee was very engaging and presented info in easy to understand language and examples. Use of music, video, PowerPoint etc keep contents fun and educational. Great stuff!”
“Great! Even I could understand and appreciate the content. Excellent examples, wonderful presentation. I’m going back to share with my team. Thank you.”
“Lee was a great facilitator and his energy and passion for social media was evident.”
“Excellent, enthusiastic presenter who is right into what he is talking about. Walking the talk. Just the right amount of info about the different topics. Not too geeky. Strong emphasis on how the tools can assist effective business communication. Relaxed friendly atmosphere. The workshop opened lots of doors, stimulating. I’m strongly encouraged to try things out. Many thanks.”
“Lee was great – knowledgeable, enthusiastic, generous in sharing his expertise. I liked the demonstrations.”
“Great Workshop… helped me crystalise my thoughts on social media and now I feel ready to develop the strategy and make use of this great new medium”
“Having worked around the world in many types of environments and organisations across creative and commercial media industries it is rare to find professionals who genuinely care about their work. When I met Lee he was presenting at a large marketing conference and struck me as someone with a deep and organic knowledge of the social media industry and particularly the impact it was having on the corporate sector. He is very personable and easy to get on with, but really understands corporate & business need and any organisation needing strategic direction in this space would do no wrong in working with Lee.”
Gary Hayes, Multiplatform Producer, CEO MUVE Design & Founder StoryLabs
“My Aussie correspondent”
“Lee is an IABC-recommended speaker, receiving 6.34 out of 7 possible points from session attenders at the IABC 2009 World Conference. A personable, humorous person, Lee is enjoyable to work with.”
Stacey Thornberry, Director, N. America Demand Generation at Coupa Software
“Lee’s encyclopaedic knowledge of social media is matched only by his passion for sharing this knowledge with others. We certainly value his presentations, and our clients seem to love them even more. Highly recommended.”
Phil Martin, Managing Director at Michels Warren Public Relations
If you would like to discuss how you and your team might benefit from engaging me to work with you, please email me straight away. My diary for the remainder of 2024 is filling fast!
