Asda’s ORB – online reputation booth – is where head of social media Dominic Burch knows he will always learn something new about his business or customers

Building customer relationships is important for any business but in the retail industry it’s absolutely vital, and social media is the perfect tool. Customers are voicing their opinions across the social media channels – from Facebook to Twitter – and ignoring what they are saying means missing rich learnings and the opportunity to build closer relationships. It also risks brand damage given that customer complaints that were once made behind closed doors are now broadcast to the widest audience possible.

As one of the UK’s biggest retailers, owned by US giant Wal-Mart, supermarket giant Asda is today an active and effective social media communicator, yet only three years ago it didn’t even have its own Facebook page.

Speaking recently at the SMWF Asda’s head of social media Dominic Burch revealed that the company’s approach to social media had its roots in a no-nonsense approach and a limited budget that had forced it to be creative in the early days. So what can other businesses learn from Asda’s approach?

Tip 1 – Understand that social media is the new PR and you have to be reactive

Burch headed up Asda’s corporate communications team before moving to his role as head of social media earlier this year and previous to that was in the PR team at Asda for over a decade. In that time things have changed dramatically. Neither customer nor journalists now use businesses themselves as their first point of contact and instead often take to social media airwaves before verifying facts. Burch said businesses and brands had to accept and be aware of this fact and react accordingly.

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Creating brand mascots on social media can be as powerful as creating much loved characters via traditional ad campaigns

The world of social marketing means that brands no longer have to be faceless organisations but can get closer than ever to customers. And what better way of doing that through the voice of your brand?

As ITV’s ‘who dunnit’ drama series Broadchurch concluded in the UK recently social media forums lit up with reaction about who the murderer had been. Central to the discussion was the character who had solved the murder – Detective Sergeant Alec Hardy played by Scottish actor David Tennant – who was commenting, in character, throughout. Engagement rocketed as a result.

The tactic of creating a central character to embody your brand (a mascot) has long been a successful marketing technique but extending that online helps further and extend engagement beyond the original ad campaign, so how do you get it right?

1)      Create a believable, representative character for your brand

In the case of Broadchurch @Alec_Hardy the work had already been done because viewers had experienced the character through the series but brands those that don’t already have a mascot can also develop their own brand figurehead by defining who their character is – how they think, what they do and what their role in life is. Brands already define their customers in this way. Now they need to define themselves in the same way.

2)      Pick the right name and avatar

As important as the character itself is the first impression you get from the name and avatar, so make sure both match the image you are trying to portray.  For sweet brand M&M’s the choice was obvious – the company’s chief chocolate office Ms Brown who not only has her own Twitter account @mmsbrown but also her own Facebook page.

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Who’d have thought that the online equivalent of a corkboard and pins would have revolutionised how brands are marketed? And yet the social media phenomenon that is Pinterest is changing the way brands are marketed online for good – especially to its predominantly female audience. So what exactly does the channel offer for marketers and how are businesses using it imaginatively?

1) A new twist on the old

Of course mood boards to illustrate a marketing concept is nothing new for anyone in a traditional marketing department, but how to translate that into a useful and meaningful campaign that means something to their customer audience has always been the hard part. Now however marketers can not only push out their own versions of their mood boards but see the concepts, items and ideas that inspire their customers too – their own moodboards as it were. (more…)

We hope you’ve enjoyed the last two days of interactive debate and discussion at #SMWF as much as we have! Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event so productive and engaging. Here are our photo highlights of the last two days!

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Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the proud sponsor of the Connect Lounge at #SMWF next week.  It speaks to the very heart of our company.  Salesforce.com is focused on providing next generation technology that helps our customers to connect with their customers, employees, partners and products in entirely new ways.

We help our customers to become “Customer Companies”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwaZwm2dTCA

Some of the best connections and insights at conferences come after and between the talks, when you can have deeper conversations and share knowledge with your fellow attendees.  We are happy to be the sponsor of the space where these synergies can happen at Social Media World Forum.

We will also be on hand to answer any questions about how your company can become a Socially Engaged Enterprise and can turn insights into action and connections into customers for life with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, or any of the salesforce.com products.

It’s always a good idea to plan a conference early in advance.  Share your attendance and reach out to fellow attendees on social channels to arrange meetings, so you can make the most of the event.  Here is a handy eBook that provides you even more tips on how to use Social Media to prepare for and enhance the conference experience: http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/resources/ebooks/social-media-for-conferences-and-trade-shows/

By: Joel Windels, Lead Community Manager, Brandwatch 

Recently, the hot topic in the social world has been social media and TV. And for good reason; this year, social media activity during the Super Bowl was reportedly 3 times higher than in 2012 and, in February, Twitter bought TV analytics company BlueFin Labs, demonstrating that they are serious about TV and how it ties in with Twitter.

Dual screening – that is, using a smartphone, tablet or laptop whilst watching television – is now commonplace. According to Nielsen, in Q3 2011, 68% of tablet users and 63% of smartphone users said they use their mobile device several times a week or more whilst watching TV. (more…)

By: Heidi Myers, Marketing Communications Manager, UK, Middle East & Africa, Meltwater

This year, social media changed the way the world saw the Oscars. The celebrity world has always remained a mystery, with outsiders waiting eagerly to catch a glimpse of their favourite star on the red carpet.

But with the rise of social media, non-Oscar ticket holders were, for the first time, able to voice their opinions in the build up (who will win?), hear the personal views of the celebrities attending the ceremony (best dressed?), and share in goings-on at the glamorous after parties.

Even before the event, the general public had a voice in the conversation. Meltwater, the Global Media Intelligence Company, tracked billions of social media sources in the lead up, to see what the general buzz could reveal. Meltwater Buzz is a powerful suite of social media monitoring, engagement and publishing tools to help drive, manage and measure social activities and initiatives. Fascinatingly, 5 out of the 6 nominations tracked were successfully predicted in social media. (more…)

#SMWF Europe is pleased to welcome some of the world’s most exciting social marketing players to this year’s agenda and demo area exhibition. Find out more about them below:

Platinum Sponsors
Lithium

Lithium social solutions help the world’s most iconic brands to build brand nations— vibrant social web and online communities of passionate customers. Lithium transforms businesses in the areas of marketing, commerce and support, delivering business and marketing ROI –  higher traffic and conversion, sales through peer to peer engagement and better customer experiences by lowering service costs while capturing rich, expert content.

Adobe

Over 80% of marketers aren’t sure if social media is working for them. Fortunately, Adobe® Social, part of the Adobe Marketing Cloud, has the tools, data, insights, and expertise to crack the code of social. We’ll show you what’s working, how it’s working, and what you need to do to get even better results across all your social media investment. (more…)

#SMWF Europe is extending the new model successfully pioneered at the New York show last year, delivering high-level practical content and advice across smaller interactive breakout workshops.

The London show in March will deliver more opportunities to get hands on and creative than ever before with the launch of the three #SMWF Learning Lab Sessions.

Delegates in the Learning Lab Sessions will get the chance to team up and collaborate shoulder to shoulder with show speakers and industry experts to formulate their own integrated social media strategy. (more…)

With two jam-packed days of content, frequent networking opportunities and the best of the industry at your fingertips, it’s easy to miss some of the messages being spread at #SMWF N. America.

Merlin Ward, account strategist at Renegade, has six lessons from some of social media’s brightest brains at last year’s New York show:

1. Pair Your Social with Ads

Chris Thorne, Vice President of Social Media & Media at EA, the sports game developer, found that content was more effective when coupled with Facebook advertising. They put extra care into creating content that users could “play” with, essentially gamifying their Timeline; then they made the monetary spend to promote it to as many users as possible. The result was more than just extended reach—they increased virality and sales.

2. Your Content Doesn’t Work Everywhere

Morgan Baden, Director of Social Media and Internal Communications for the book publisher Scholastic, shared their failures and successes with Pinterest. Pinterest is a natural social network for this brand, but they found that not all content is created equal. While female users enjoyed sharing book covers and special quote memes from books, photographs for events and other physical spaces didn’t attract the same interest. It seems that content made for collecting does the best on Pinterest, while amateur point-of-view photography is better left on the shelf.

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