PCM creative in action

Creating a social media strategy for B2B organisations | Econsultancy

We live in a consumer world and social media is a B2C portal especially if style, lifestyle, reputataion or status are affected in the 'liking'. We are after all social beings although at times the bafflement and suprise that social media is even here makes me wonder about folks some times. Businesses can be social with businesses. I don't think I would have continued with my own business if social media hadn't connected me with my business community and peer group.

This excerpt is from an Econsultancy post examining the rising awareness and interest in B2B social media engagement.

I love that it all started with experimentation and gave them a 'taste' for forthing thier social media activity.

The post by Tim Cawsey begins, My company Gemalto, a digital security provider listed in Paris, had begun experimenting with social media communications on a project basis and got a taste for it.

However, we realised if we wanted to do it well we needed to look at it strategically. While every company has a different internal culture, target markets and social media maturity, I’ve identified the following five steps that can be applied to creating a B2B social media strategy:

1. Take time to create a strategy.
2. Map your audiences’ online media habits and identify your influencers.
3. Share social media responsibility and train internally.
4. Focus on the right social networks for you.
5. Plan campaigns but don’t forget to be reactive.

read this article in full at econsultancy.com

Mapping the social media landscape for 2011: infographic | Econsultancy

I love info-graphics. This one caught my eye with its progressive stats which reflect my own social dilemma. As social media platforms integrate, the connection with an audience is made easier. Building the audience with consistency is as real as ever and not directly digital but the social media mechanics evolve in our digital lives for both personal and professional activity. Combined with public and private implications 2012 will be an intersting year.

Some of the most interesting highlights are below. Here, Dream Systems Media presents the must-know numbers from the biggest and best networks, based on AdAge data.

• Auto-posting to Facebook decreases likes and comments by 70%
• B2C Facebook results go up by 30% on Sundays
• 34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter and 20% have closed deals using Twitter
• 55% of people access Twitter via their mobiles
• 40% of bloggers consider themselves professionals
• 20% of searched on Google each day have never been made before
• 56% of college students said that if they were offered a job by a company that banned social media use, they’d turn it down

see the infographic for full details:

via econsultancy.com

 

Before Treshnish - IOFNC : 'on the ground'

Sometime I wish I could paint. I have just returned from the most serene escape on the Isle of Mull. It wasn't easy to blog... see my Extreme Blogging post.

I wrote: No wifi, No phone signal, a sheep bleats in the distant, the sea swells, the birds chirp. The last rays of the sun pierce the clouds falling on the sea creating a pool of gold as mist rolls in. 8.50pm and I sit at the picnic table to write. Alone with my LiveScribe pen and notebook. My week leading up to my holiday was not so serene.

Monday 4th July I was in London at the IOFNC Institute of Fundraising National Convention. 

Sylwia Presley who I followed on twitter before listening to an Ethics of the Web talk she delivered at MCL2 (Media Camp London 2) invited PCM to blog at this event. PCM projects (currently Phil Campbell @philcampbell and myself Caron Lyon @pcmcreative) are hoping to develop an 'on the ground' real time media making service for events so this opportunity to do what we excel at, capturing expectation, experience, the buzz 'on the ground' that makes an event so special. We interact with the people coming together to learn from and meet with like-minded professionals before they scattering to apply new knowledge to the organisation they have come from.

Over the 3 days around 2,000 (estimate) charity and fundraisers came together at London's Metropol Hotel with over 200 seminars and keynotes delivered by a congregation of speakers excelling in there this fields.

View more presentations from JustGiving

 

IOFNC - How to Optimise Online Fundraising

There were session firing off all around the convention centre. I took the opportunity to catch this one delivered by Joanne Warner and Jamie Parkins. Essentially fundraising using social tools. They kindly uploaded the slide presentation to SlideShare. I also captured a snippit of the audio while I was in the room. It is the last 10 mins before the Q&A.

It covered

• Twitter bucket lists
• Getting developers on board early
• Thinking of the end user
• Multiple channels of engagement
• Accept and be prepared for change
• API-control of the user experience
• Optimizing sign in and sign up
• SMS technology
• Mobile participation
• Apps are expensive
• Take part in the conversation

...and that was just the big I notated!

More 'on the ground' media

37 IOFNC AudioBoos - 
contributors 

Sylwiapresley
nickinoxford
philcampbell
pcmcreative

66 IOFNC Instagrams

831 IOFNC pictures shared on Flickr

 

Bloggers corner was real treat having a spot to call homebase. Great to be 'on the ground'.

Do startups need to hire social media experts? - Social Media

"I’m not going to talk about why startups should utilize social media and all that other basic stuff. Instead, I’ll focus more on the bottom line aspect of finding out what their purposes and agendas for using social media are, which is a prerequisite before even thinking of hiring a social media expert."

via thenextweb.com

I am very interested in the emerging attitudes to social media 'bringing in the best to be the best'.

Every 'Start Up' should include a social media 'expert' in the executive team or someone who knows someone who does and can bring them on board. You shouldn't 'hire', you should look to them to ignite a social media following from the start. The power of social networks is the following network connections. You have to have a social heart before being a social media 'expert' we make projects fly.

I'm uncomfortable with the term 'expert' when referring to social media, being good at social media is being a good communicator through the medium of digital.