By Kiron Mair, UK Community Manager for Synthesio

It’s no big secret that in 2012 social media is driving most of the world’s conversations about anything and everything. But it’s only been in the last three or four years that brands have cottoned on to the idea of social networks being places where their customers are gathering and sharing their opinions about products and services.

With this realisation came a need to listen and understand what these people are saying, and then to work out how to engage with them – otherwise known as Social CRM. This is where social media monitoring tools enter the fold; applications that scour the public spaces of the web to find where the conversations about given topics are happening, what they are about, and who is having them. (more…)

By Maya Grinberg, Social Media Manager, Wildfire Interactive

Summing up social marketing in 2011 and making predictions for the coming year is a daunting task! 2011 saw more industry growth than any other year; we saw the widespread acceptance of social marketing for B2B companies, and we witnessed moments that are likely to echo beyond 2011: the debut of Google+, the introduction of Facebook Timelines, and an amusing concession to social media silliness by the White House, via the now infamous rickroll. (more…)

By Anders Lundin, EMEA Digital Lead for Text 100

There is no doubt that LinkedIn has taken the position as one of the leading social platforms for B2B communications. LinkedIn currently has around 150 million users and the platform is used almost exclusively for business contacts and business communication, which makes it a very powerful tool for B2B communications. Further evidence of this is the report presented by HubSpot recently, which says that LinkedIn is almost 300 percent more effective when it comes to generating leads, compared with Facebook and Twitter. (more…)

By Lloyd Salmons and Ronnie Crosbie from Outside Line

This is the year that the Superbowl got all social on itself. With an estimated 60 per cent of its 100 million viewers tuning in via a ‘second screen’, it’s no wonder the main players have woken up to social plug-ins.

The Superbowl has – until now – been the primary platform for blockbusting TV ads. So it’s interesting to see how the big 30-second spot is evolving in the era of social media.  This year’s event set two new records on Twitter for the number of tweets per second. During Madonna’s half-time performance Twitter traffic reached 10,245 tweets per second and after the Giant’s won, Twitter traffic reached 12,233 tweets per second. The relationship between an increase in tablet usage and social media this year, mean that major televised events are increasingly becoming a two-screen experience.

(more…)

We’ve teamed up with Vitrue to celebrate Social Media Week next week with a Social Soiree at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden on Thursday 16th February between 5 and 9pm. Come and join us and get involved over some networking drinks with social media enthusiasts and friends.

The event is free to attend and promises to be a fun filled evening and a chance to catch up before SMWF at the end of March. We’ve got lots of entertainment planned for the evening including an iPad DJ, Facebook games and the chance to win a piece of LiveArt crafted at the event representing a pictorial view of social media.

We’d love to see you there, so register to attend here, but be quick places are limited!

Let us know you’re coming – tweet us using the hashtag #SMW_Soiree

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

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…)

According to a study by SAS and the Harvard Business Review, by 2012, 88% of companies will use social media worldwide.

Well, 2012 is just around the corner, and if you haven’t taken the steps to make your business socially active and aware, now is a great time to start! Meltwater Buzz, our social media monitoring, engagement and management platform, is the perfect tool to help you build and drive your social business.

How?  We’ve broken it down to six core steps.

(more…)

SMWF Asia are delighted to welcome back MEF for the 2nd year.  The Mobile Entertainment Forum will be hosting a free to attend session within the Developer/Social Media Hub on day two from 11.30am.

The MEF line up of sessions will explore the cross-over between the mobile app platform & social media and provide an insight into monetising, social commerce, location based marketing, mobile video and more

Kicking of the session, MEF Asia chairman, Colin Miles, will be presenting on how the mobile platform amplifies social media, followed by Arsenal F.C’s global  partnerships Rupert Daniel who will provide an insight into how premier league clubs are adopting mobile social media to engage with fanatical Asian supporters. (more…)

Guest blog from Demand Media, silver sponsor of SMWF Europe and in the comScore Top 30 Global Network of Premium Online Brands .

Thank you for attending the Social Media World Forum and for joining our discussion panel “Examining the Social Shopper” where you met our VP of European Sales & Business Development, Stephanie Himoff. We really enjoyed meeting with you and learning about your business! In the discussion, our VP shared real-life examples of leading brands that increased conversions with basic social media tools.

Optimizing the Social Mix
One of the things we love about the Demand Media Social Solutions group is the opportunity to work with thought leaders at brands and agencies. Via a variety of meetings, conversations and exchanges recently, it’s become clear that marketers are evolving their perspectives on social media. (more…)