By Lance Concannon, UK social media lead at Text 100

Speak to any senior corporate comms exec about the barriers that prevent them from using social media more in their organisation, and I guarantee that the issue of ‘risk’ will usually come close to the top of the list. This raises a couple of questions; what exactly are the risks posed by social media, and how can we negate, or at least mitigate, them?

What if people say bad things about our brand?

People often think that creating social media channels for the brand will add fuel to the fire of criticism, but that really doesn’t make any sense. Almost all brands have detractors, and social media makes it easier than ever for those detractors to share their opinions online and there’s not a lot you can do to stop that. (more…)

The SMWF team are excited to announce that the fourth annual SMWF Europe event will be taking place on 27^th and 28^th March at Olympia in London. This year’s show is your chance to experience a packed agenda of interactive workshops, combined with unique networking opportunities, a bustling exhibition space and much more…

New for 2012 we have introduced an updated show format, delivering 6 individual conference tracks, each examining the latest strategies and cutting edge technologies across specifically focussed areas of social media marketing. (more…)

Following a landmark year for location based services, mobile marketers are looking towards 2012 as the year when location based technology will pervade many of the services available on users’ handsets.

Last year Foursquare reported that over 15 million users and 600,000 businesses had joined the platform, resulting in over a billion check-ins. Location technology is firmly on the radar for many leading brands, and makes up a key part of the agenda at SMWF Europe in London in March. (more…)

A big thank you to those that attended the Social Media World Forum in New York.

Also a special thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, exhibitors & media partners we enjoyed working with you and look forward to meeting you all again next year!

Greg Cargill kicks off the Social Media Hub with the Fundamentals of Social Media.

Panel Discussion: Examining strategies for using social media for business to business marketing

Chairman/Moderator: Joshua March, Co-Founder,  Conversocial 

 Linette Gomez, Senior Director, Internet Marketing – Social Media,CA Technologies
Jeannine D’Allegro, Marketing Director, Social & Digital Engagement Strategy, Dun & Bradstreet
Price B. Floyd, Vice President of External Engagement and Digital Strategy, BAE Systems

Keynote Panel Discussion: What is Social Reputation and why this should matter for your business

Chairman/Moderator: Joshua March, Co-Founder,  Conversocial 

 Garth Holsinger, VP of Sales and Business Development,Klout 
Ted Rubin, Social Marketing Strategist & Brand Evangelist & Chief Social Marketing Officer,Collective Bias
Paul Papadimitriou, VP + Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Jason Wellcome,  Head of Digital Group, Weber Shandwick

Networking bar

Social Media Hub chair Greg Cargill introduces Adam Singer from Lewis PR

Exhibition

Some great discussion this morning at SMWF in New York, Ted Rubin, social marketing specialist and social media entrepreneur Pete Shankman hosted an engaging discussion about how the meaning of the word ‘friend’ is being warped by peoples’ use of social media.

Clicking on a box does not make us friends, was the gist, and the way the immediacy and ease of connection is ameliorating the term friend had the panellists concerned. “I want 2012 to be the year of taking back the word friend,” said Ted Rubin. (more…)

Companies in the social media space are constantly looking for advice and new ways that they can make sure their efforts in the space are working. While there are no definitive answers, as every company’s goals will require different methods of showing success, there are a few tips that can be followed for guidelines along the way

The following is 10 tips that I’ve learned from the fantastic community that participates in #SMmeasure. #SMmeasure started off as a weekly Twitter chat that I’m fortunate to host. It has since turned into a community that shares interesting articles and ideas throughout the week, but still gather to chat for an hour every Thursday at noon(EST)/9am(PST). This list is the second part in this series. If you missed part one, be sure to check out our first 10 tips learned through #SMmeausre here. (more…)

This November the Social Media World Forum will be landing in New York and we are giving you the chance to win an access all areas workshop pass as well as an invitation to the evening networking party.

What can you expect from #SMWF N. America?

SMWF North America will be providing a format for networking, engagement, and lots of social media debate around the latest tools, technologies, platforms, and emerging trends within social media marketing.

With predicted numbers of 2500 + attendees the show has grown significantly and will host a variety of free to attend Social media Hub & paid conferences for marketers, PR professionals, brands, agencies and SME’s. (more…)

Ted is a leading social marketing strategist and coined the term ROR: Return on Relationship,  a concept he believes is the cornerstone for building an engaged multi-million member database, many of whom are vocal advocates for the brand, like the one he built for e.l.f. Cosmetics as the Chief Marketing Officer between 2008 and 2010, and the one being built for the new updated OpenSky where Ted was Chief Social Marketing Officer until the end of April.

Currently the Chief Social Marketing Officer at Collective Bias and Social Marketing Strategist for MARS Advertising, Ted be will taking part in  the Keynote Panel discussion ‘What is Social Reputation and why this should matter for your business’.  With less than a month to go until SMWF N. America, we caught up with Ted for a chat about his experience in the world of social media.

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Managing your business across the social space is a little more complex than simply having a facebook page or twitter account. Much of social reputation comes down to educating internally and ensuring that those within the business are aware of the core values and key messages that should be portrayed.

How to manage your social reputation:

1. Empower:

In a typical office when the phone rings it is simply a case of whoever is first to take the call but this process wouldn’t work on social media sites. Like a receptionist, somebody needs to begiven the job to handle the social media sites and be the ‘face’ of the company online. Having one person taking control will save the risk of mixed messages and will keep a standard tone to the communications. (more…)

To brands Facebook isn’t about playing games, it’s all about starting new relationships as well as building and supporting existing ones. With over 550 million users Facebook is something at brands cannot afford to ignore, but with over 3 million fan pages how do you stand out from your competition?

Pagemodo have created the fastest and easiest way to customize a fan page and make it stand out from the crowd. The Pagemodo’s Pagebuilder provides businesses with everything they need to create page that will:

1. Engage visitors from the moment they arrive with a dazzling welcome tab that tells your story.
2. Promote a business in a fun and effective way with video.
3. Hide special content behind a cover to entice visitors into becoming fans of your Facebook page.
4. Brings your Twitter feed to your Facebook page.
5. Make it easier for fans to reach you with questions and comments. Plus, those who submit a form to you are hot, new leads for your business!

You can learn more from Pagemodo’s co-founder Jakob Lykkegaard at SMWF Asia’s free-to-attend Social Media Hub at 1300 on the 2nd Sept who will be covering the benefits of creating a compelling facebook pages, using tabs and templates.
To register for day two of the SMWF Asia please click here.