Firstly, let me say congratulations again to Ross for a great conference. I was asked to moderate one of the Roundtable discussions held during the day - namely one of the three on the topic: 'Media and Social Networks', although we probably discussed 'Social Media' more broadly than we did the specific topic.
Participants in this conversation were:
Gavan Heaton (aka Servant of Chaos)
Josh Mehlman, Editor at Nett
Chris Saad, CEO of Faraday Media (Paying Attention)
Stuart Buchanan, General Manager at Community Engine
Stephen Collins from acidlabs
Ulash Tiwari, Web Analytics from IBM (sorry if I got the name/title wrong, Ulash)
Gemma Maughan, from Lewis PR
Myriam (sorry Myriam, didn't get your surname or company)
Jemma Enright, from DaVinci, and myself,
Rob Antulov, CEO 3eep Pty Ltd
Some of the discussion around the table follows ...
Definition of Social Media
while social networking is mostly about connections, social media is more about content creation
personal media - enables individuals to express themselves, thereby socialising that expression with others
Corporate Participation in Social Media
employees as bloggers or social media participants - blend of individual prespective and the 'corporate' brand
many companies about which conversaion occurs online are NOT tracking this conversation, so are missing out on a unique opportunity to listen and engage with some of their passionate consumers
ignoring social media (by a corporate) doesn't mean that it doesn't exist - the conversation continues even if ignored
invoking the Cluetrain Manifesto, Chris made the point that a company thinking that it can still strongly control its 'public face' is begin severley undermined by social media (and used his own example of Twittering about his poor experience with Qantas as an example)
companies are not resourcing internally to listen to or participate in the online conversation
companies' strategies should be about listening and engaging - the tools are easy to use and relatively inexpensive
companies can use social media to 'close the feedback loop', right back/down to the product if that is identified
companies can use 'crowd-source' strategies - for example, with product support to other users
companies should aim to build relationships with people online in a similar way to that which they would use in a 'face-to-face' situation - treat them as real, use authenitc communications, enable access to real people (eg CEO, COO, etc)
How does a 'corporate' (eg Qantas) do it? - get involved, encourage employees, set boundaries; but, will require changes in the way companies hire, train and 'guide' staff
Stephen used a great example of how 10 Downing St has engaged with their online community by 'participating in the conversation' that occurs about British politics and the Prime Minister
NFP and Community Social Networks
NFPs often don't have $ or resources to engage with their stakeholder coimmunities as nmuch as they'd like
They can use social media to communicate with their communities
Advertising Considerations on Social Media
social media ad budgets are generally miniscule for major brands
proposal is that companies could shift even just 10% of their ad budget into 'new' media for powerful and measurable results
ROI is not always the right metric to focus on
"What is the value of a conversation about your product?" - immeasurable!
Hope that gives you some insight into some of the thoughts that were discussed by a table-full of passionate and interested observers and participants in this very interesting time we find ourselves in!
