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Q&A: Like Minds speaker Olivier Blanchard
February 18, 2010
Marketing Donut will be bringing you live blog coverage of the second Like Minds conference on Friday 26 February. In this, the second interview in our Like Minds mini-series, Olivier Blanchard (OB) explains what the Like Minds theme of “people-to-people” means to him.
Why does social media need small businesses?
OB: Firstly, the vast majority of businesses around the world are small. If only large, enterprise space companies adopt and integrate social media, we will never see the kind of broad adoption in the business world that will truly bring about the next evolution of B2C communications.
Secondly. small businesses tend to innovate faster than large ones. In terms of innovative uses and integration of social media, as well as the development of new social media tools and applications, the small business community is already doing most of the heavy lifting. Remember that pretty much every social media platform in existence today, from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to Radian6, Scoutlabs and Seesmic started out as small businesses.
What is your take on the theme of “people-to-people” for this year’s event? Will it be a lasting business culture change?
OB: Yes. People are wired to communicate, share ideas and align themselves with the communities they relate to. The very nature of "social" finds its roots in community. The evolution of communications technologies, especially in the real-time digital space, has already eliminated the 20th century's notion of “six degrees of separation”. We have now shifted to “three degrees of separation”, solely through the social web, as LinkedIn illustrates.
Now that people have adopted these technologies, there is no turning back. People are connected to real-time information today like never before, and thanks to mobile, that link has shifted from the desktop to the pocket. Facebook, Twitter and a number of other online social networks help connect people to information, to each other, and to markets 24/7, regardless of where they are. As businesses learn to interact in this real-time P2P culture, both they AND their customers will learn to rely more and more on this type of instant communication. Barring a technological or cultural cataclysm, there is no turning back now: technology has taken P2P from physical face-to-face to digital face-to-face, breaking down geographic, time-zone and socio-cultural barriers, and facilitating not only communications but commerce. The ball isn't likely to roll backwards.
What can we expect from you at Like Minds People-to-People?
OB: Clarity. What I hope to convey to the audience at Like Minds P2P is first and foremost a clear vision and framework for properly integrating social media in their business or organisation, from strategy and multi-silo planning to layered management and rich measurement. There's a method to integrating social media and P2P in the enterprise, and I will focus exclusively on that.
Olivier Blanchard is a social media expert blogger and strategist. He manages the Brandbuilder marketing company and advises on brand strategy in order for firms to adapt to integrating traditional and new media marketing techniques.
- The Like Minds conference takes place on Friday 26 February. Half day tickets are still available and full programme details can be found on the Like Minds website
Surge in Digital Sponsorship
February 17, 2010
Sponsorship, once a symbol of corporate excess, is now finding its place within the business world—especially in the digital sector, where sponsors know how to best maximise ROI from these channels. By its nature sponsorship creates ideal digital marketing opportunities. It has the flexibility to provide platforms for brands to create exclusive content and online experiences as well as being able to engage directly with their audience.
Marketers are desperately searching for new and economical avenues to create stronger relationships between their brands and target audiences. One avenue that’s resurgent is sponsorship, which is proving a powerful way to engage with consumers while cost-effectively growing the business at the same time – a win-win situation for all involved.
For example Silverpop, a U.S.-based organisation that provides worldwide Web-based solutions, signed up to exclusively sponsor the 2010 DMA Digital Tracking Study. This partnership has provided Silverpop with a sought-after tool to reach out to the top marketing professionals in the UK, a market that they are developing. Additionally, this has helped the DMA to provide the latest research to its members.
Although partnerships are not a new theory, strategic business sponsorships can be new territory. However, providing they fit, they can be immensely successful. As digital marketers are usually first on the starting block I anticipate this trend will continue to grow across other sectors for those companies looking for more cost-effective and engaged marketing.
If you aren’t part of the digital sponsors who make up more than 50% of the total sponsors at the DMA, you might be wondering what you are missing.
Q&A: Like Minds conference organiser Scott Gould
February 11, 2010
Marketing Donut will be bringing you live blog coverage of the second Like Minds conference on Friday 26 February. To whet your appetite, we caught up with the social media conference organiser, Scott Gould, to find out more about his Like Minds journey and what to expect at the forthcoming event.
How did Like Minds come about?
SG: It started when Trey Pennington and I arranged a meet up when he was over in the country. He suggested we start a "social media club" in the style of what he'd been doing across the United States. I got to work on the idea with Andrew Ellis (who became my partner in Like Minds) in August 2009. Andrew challenged me to make the event highly accessible and affordable rather than expensive and exclusive, with the idea of reaching a wide range of people who were also thinking with an eye on innovation. Hence the name, Like Minds.
What did you take home from the first Like Minds event which focussed on ROI?
SG: It takes investment in the first place to ensure a return on investment. Then you've got the work of social media, engagement, policies, guidelines. And measuring all of this is no 'one tool fits all'. It takes work and careful analysis to have measurement that is meaningful. All of this is effort.
Of course to core business activities, this is how things have always been. But there's this misconception that social media is free and easy. It isn't.
How will Like Minds 2010 format be different from the first event in 2009 (workshops etc)?
SG: We've worked hard to bring multiple ways to get inspired, to learn and connect with each other into one event. Whilst we still have keynotes and panels, like we did last time, we've first of all been able to welcome speakers and panellists who are world class leaders in their respective industries.
We have then created an innovative lunch time workshop format in partnership with local restaurants that allows delegates to talk over specific subjects with our speakers. This means they get workshop time with these experts to get first-hand integration advice. Integration is a big focus for us this year, hence we are also holding free workshops hosted by our sponsors during the week leading up.
You pride yourself on the low ticket price. If that isn’t enough to convince a small business to attend, what is?
SG: Yeah we're proud about the price, but even more proud about the incredible line-up of people we have coming. Our keynote speakers and panelists consist of a range of backgrounds, cultures, industries, sectors and experience. We have the world foremost social media thought leader speaking, Chris Brogan, and two other top ten social media bloggers and Orange's head of internet.
Then when it comes to networking and lunchtime you'll find out how many incredible and successful people are just coming to attend. Some of the delegates flying in from America and Europe are worth the ticket price just to meet.
The theme for this year is People-to-People — tell us more about this.
SG: Social media have introduced a more personal form of business communication, which is replacing the anonymous corporate communication that has tended to prevail hitherto. Thus, the lines between the organisational voice and the individual voices of representatives of organisations have become blurred – to a large extent it’s now the individual voice that prevails. B2B, B2C, consumer, prosumer and owner forms of communication now follow a more socialised model; collaborating and conducting business in a way that is fundamentally different to ten years, and even five years ago.
Understanding this is vital. We have keynote speakers and panellists talking from such a wide range of experience and expertise that most business types and sectors will be covered at the conference.
- The Like Minds conference takes place on Friday 26 February. Half day tickets are still available and full programme details can be found on the Like Minds website
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