So I probably should have got round to writing this last week, but seeing as I’m STILL mentioning Social Media Influence in about 90% of my conversations, I’ve decided it does warrant a post.

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Social Media Influence 2010 was held at London’s Marriott Hotel on June 22^nd. An all day conference, it was interesting because, for the most part, it wasn’t simply a lot of people saying ‘isn’t social media great?’ (although there was some of that.) We know social media is great, we wouldn’t be here otherwise. There was some real insight from global brands such as Starbucks, Pepsico and Dell, alongside discussion panels and Q&A sessions.

The main thing that I took away from the day was that brands and agencies need to be prepared to take risks. Social media is new; the rules haven’t been defined so it’s not always about following the tried and tested. Think big, think new: most of the time your ambition will be respected, even if the results aren’t what you hoped for. Starbucks in the States has built a reputation for being one of the most forward thinking brands globally – they’ve pioneered mayor offers and badges on foursquare, organised a global sing-along on YouTube and built a massive community along the way. How many sales have they generated directly from social media? (This was a question on the day). They’re not sure, but at this level of exposure, it’s not really the point: the intangible brand value of being seen as an innovator is huge.

Having the support to take risks in social media comes from making the tools, platforms and activities an integral part of all of your activity. Stakeholders love the immediacy of social media interaction and (sometimes) the results. Pepsico has tapped into this by creating a social media war room – a physical bank of computers and screens that sits in the middle of the office, providing live updates from its brands’ social media pages. Social media is THERE, in-your-face, the buzz of the activity clear for everyone to see. Check it out for yourself here. There are risks and implications in going down this route, but social media isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being good, and Pepsico are demonstrating that perfectly.

Ultimately, being bold and brave will bring rewards, but it might bring a little bit of egg on your face. It’s nothing to be afraid of; you’ll often learn more from an unsuccessful campaign than you will from an award winning one. Key phrase of the day? It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission. So what are you waiting for?

This ash cloud has been quite a strain, my wife and baby are still stuck in Dubai five days after they were due to fly home. The good thing is that they are staying with friends and have a great support network.

What it has shown me is how great the internet really is. Searching for information on Twitter, airline websites with the latest information (sometimes), news sites with real time video and Skype to stay in touch and more has provided real peace of mind.

Let’s talk specifically about use of social media platforms to help deal with the crisis. Twitter has become the web user’s right hand. The way the platform is set up allows a number of really useful things. You can choose to follow everything from airports to sports personalities, each wrestling with the problem of the lack of air travel in their own way. I have put together a targeted list of some of my key sources for keeping up to date. It just takes a little time to search on the site.

With a mix of journalists and news sites as well as the likes of Jake Humhprey and the Formula1 teams struggling to get home from last weekend’s race in China, there is a lot of information out there to wade through. It gives real world insight into what might work for getting the family home and is building camaraderie online.

The next key feature of Twitter is the hash tag, a really useful way to gather conversations on the same topic together. You just need to make sure that you include the right one. It is also proving a great platform for people to help each other out. The #getmehome tag has been widely used and is enabling people to share rides across Europe. I have even seen organisations and companies – one is a car share organisation called Roadshare – that are using these tags to communicate out their services to people with a specific problem; clever.

What will be interesting is to see if there is any direct increase in Twitter users as a result of this. I wouldn’t be surprised if Twitter does see a European surge on the back of Iceland’s latest contribution to the global economy – I know, an act of God.

Everyone knows what press trips are about right? A chance to jet off to some sun-kissed location, get drunk with your journalist mates and generally avoid doing work for a few days. It’s all a big laugh. Well, no actually. Not always, anyway.

Especially not when the trip has eco-conscious thinking at its heart, as when I visited Sony’s Technology Centre in Stuttgart recently. We were there to get a closer look at the different ways a global technology manufacturer is ensuring that its activities display a real commitment to being eco conscious. It sounds dull, but it really wasn’t.

I spent the day at the Technology Centre, looking after a few of our contacts (Hi Cate, Maxim and Bonnie!) and also getting a chance to see firsthand some of the products and initiatives that we’ve been promoting on Sony’s behalf recently. One of the highlights of the day was definitely the semi-anechoic chambers where the teams of scientists check Sony products such as  BRAVIA TVs  to see what kind of emissions they make which could interfere with your neighbour’s radio. No interference in or out. No mobile signal. Lots of insulation. Very cool.

Not only that, but I also had some eye-opening experiences. Did you know, for example, that any product produced by a third party that includes Sony branding is pulled apart and tested for any potentially hazardous materials?

Obviously, it was a client trip so you know I’m not going to say anything negative, but it genuinely was extremely eye-opening, especially if you’re a bit of a geek like me. Dr Joachim and his team explained everything in layman’s terms that were easy to understand, even though this was only the second time they’ve opened their doors to journalists.

Goes to show that companies sometimes don’t know which of their assets could actually be a rich vein to tapped for PR purposes.

Check out some of the coverage from the attendees here:

Treehugger – http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/sony-bravia-3d.php

Gizmodo – http://www.gizmodo.de/2010/03/23/video-hinter-den-kulissen-sonys-forschungsabteilung.html

This week I enjoyed ‘An Evening with Rufus Wainwright’ at Sadlers Wells in London. Watching the very unusual first half of the performance, I was mulling over the power of the performer, the generosity of the audience, the nature of being an expert and relationships. I know. High faluting stuff. It was that kind of show.

Why are these musings making it onto immediate future’s blog? The star, the performance and the audience illustrate perfectly a dynamic of the consultant/client relationship.

At the risk of quoting that yeast extract related cliché, Rufus Wainwright doesn’t appeal to everyone. But I think what is less contentious is his talent – he is often referred to as a ‘musical polymath’. Rufus is an expert; his fans know this. He regularly releases new material, stamped with his very particular style but still with the ability to surprise. He knows his stuff. He is consistently excellent, performing at a high level.

Sadlers Wells is a magnificent setting; we walked into the theatre ready to suspend our disbelief. As we sat down, an official appeared on stage. He read out a message to tell us the first act would be a ‘song cycle’ and that we were not to clap. The audience looked around at its companions to comment/laugh. Then we all obeyed!

There was total silence throughout the set. On came Rufus Wainwright, commanding the audience to just listen, and we did. It was just him, a piano and an extremely complicated set of lyrics and music. He took centre stage for a brave performance. We willed him to be successful. The trust circle was complete.

The interesting thing though is, that he fluffed it a couple of times. A couple of times in the first act and then maybe three times in the second act. As he tackled a particularly complex and pacey section of song with difficult key changes, he got it wrong and had to catch up with himself.

We had all paid our money and taken time out of our lives to travel across London to listen to this artist, who’d got it wrong. Yet nobody considered it a bad performance. The opposite in fact. People were commenting during the interval that ‘it made him human’, it ‘made the performance even better for not being absolutely perfect’.

What parallels do I draw from this? Firstly that clients are willing to take a leap of faith and trust us do a good job.

Secondly, if we deliver an excellent service, we will demonstrate that we are worthy of that faith.

And finally, if we are expert at our job and perform consistently at that high level, the occasional error will be tolerated. (Although I’m not sure a client would prize the fact it makes us human).

Essential to all of this of course is the real dedication to excellence. Anything less can quickly degenerate into complacency. Rufus doesn’t hold back from his performance and that commitment to being great is the life blood of a strong client/consultancy relationship.

The latest volcanic eruption in Iceland has had a dramatic effect on many more millions of people than could have been imagined. As one person commented on Twitter this morning, interesting to see the hand of God can still command such control over us mere humans – or something like that.

It is a time like this that social media can really help stranded passengers and relatives waiting on news. Yet the airlines seem to be avoiding the channels there right in front of them. British Airways are Tweeting about the state of play and interestingly Heathrow Airport’s Twitter stream is also a good source of what little information there is right now.

How this plays out when there is no actual solution for people who are supposed to be in the air right now or have flights planned for the next few days is going to be interesting. Airlines, probably led by the aviation authorities, need to start managing customer expectations now. They have no control and have to wait on the National Air Traffic Service to open the skies again. Realistically there are unlikely to be flights into the UK in the next 48 hours and then how do the airlines manage the thousands of calls for people trying to get on flights? As I learnt in a previous life, news that there is no news and that the airline is doing all it can to solve passenger problems is better than no news at all.

The Twitter expert probably has a bit of an advantage, staying in touch with things through a series of feeds, managing both their own and their families’ expectations as to when they will be able to fly. Some suggested feeds are:

1. The Met Office – tracking the plume of ash and will provide NATS with the information it uses to decide to open UK airspace again
2. Heathrow Airport – for latest on the status on the ground at the airport
3. Aberdeen Airport – this airport should reopen before any other UK airports, so worth keeping an eye on its feed

Good luck to those trying to fly today and thoughts go out to the Icelanders feeling the full force of the eruption, no casualties reported, which is good news. As always better safe than sorry.

Recently there has been a major shift in the world of Corporate Social Responsibility. Climate change and the current economic climate have pushed companies to adopt a more pro-active approach to CSR. The bottom line is now centred around people, planet and profit. As businesses aim to build more sustainable and socially responsible entities, social media strategies are becoming paramount and it’s not hard to see why.

Can't we all just get along

Nowadays the focus is on social media. Social networks are key to our everyday lives and communication has been redefined based on our voice power. The communities we create are now who we are, who we know and how we reach people on a daily basis.

Over the last few years, social media has done more to promote causes, generate awareness and raise funds than any other tool or platform. Its advantage is that people can get involved in ways that are immediate and meaningful. Companies no longer need to host elaborate and expensive fundraising events to create awareness of their cause, they can now spread the word via tools such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Successful CSR campaigns are transparent, consistently delivered across multiple media platforms and open to public feedback. It is therefore clear that companies must adopt meaningful, effective social media practices and encourage their employees to become involved with their causes. By using social media, they can build on their relationships with customers and promote their good work in a way that feels far more genuine than a wordy press release.

Many web-savvy companies are rising to the challenge and taking advantage of the social media platforms available. For example, Pepsi skipped the Super Bowl for the first time in 23 years, investing instead in a large social media program called Refresh Everything, which utilises Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Pepsi

Although it remains to be seen how this initiative will benefit Pepsi’s bottom line, it has certainly paved the way for social media and CSR. Soon after Refresh Everything was announced, Pepsi’s arch rival launched its own CSR project. Every time someone visits Coke’s fan page or makes a donation, the Facebook campaign donates $1 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

What next, I wonder?

As I far as I was concerned, SXSW (South by Southwest, for those of you not familiar with the acronym) was a music event, a chance for A&Rs, managers and sundry other music industry types to blow their expenses budget, get together for a good gossip and, if there was time, discover some new bands. The advantages for talent spotters are obvious – see as many bands as you can in four days, in a small-ish space so you can get around easy. It’s like In The City (Manchester) or CMJ (New York) but with better weather and more barbecues.

The landscape of the festival has shifted gradually over the last couple of years though, and not just because I personally have shifted from a musical space to a digital one. Last year’s conference saw a massive increase in attendees visiting the interactive sessions at the festival, and the ubiquitousness of the iPhone put a serious strain on mobile networks. This year this process has accelerated even further – services like Foursquare and Gowalla have allowed people to see at a glance exactly where the hottest parties and most happening events are taking place. You can imagine the conversations can’t you? “Wow, [cool venue] has sixty people we sort of know there. It MUST be good”. In fact, the two geolocation services even threw parties on the same night, fuelling the social media focus even further.

We shouldn’t be surprised really, as passion points like music have always been the drivers for the adoption of new technologies and services, but it’s still a little bizarre that the platforms themselves have become the focus of the attention, so much so that the Foursquare/Gowalla parties were THE hottest events. One of the other big talking points from the festival was the Spotify keynote speech where they announced, well not a lot to be honest. But still, it would be nice to have some, like content, coming out of this festival. Seemingly gone are the days of a band like The White Stripes coming out of nowhere to blow everyone away. A quick browse of NME.com and the highlights appear to be Muse and Hole. Not exactly the cutting edge in terms of new music. However, with so many bands springing to people’s attention online via blogs and social networks, and bands themselves generally eschewing traditional models to go it alone, it’s probably a natural evolution. The geeks inheriting the earth. With the ‘talent spotters’ chasing after them, desperate to not be left behind.

With Obama’s ‘masterful use of social media’ and the tweets of his 3 million Twitter fans sealing the election of the Democrats’ golden ticket, can our politicians and parties emulate this success and seduce the online masses and turn them into advocates?

There’ll be new blood on the hustings. According to Home Office sources, 134 serving MPs will be “spending more time with their families” instead of contesting in May (87 Labour, 35 Conservatives, 7 Liberals and 5 others.) While natural churn of MPs is only to be expected for personal, health and career reasons, that is an almost 50% rise on the 85 who stood down in 2005.

Various news sources have indicated that this might have something to do with expenses, surely not! Nevertheless, the stage is set for new firebrand candidates to fill the vacuum and the re-standing candidates to face fresh competition. These candidates have been immersed in social media explosion of the last 5 years in their private lives and now are looking to galvanise support with it through their political careers.

The vast majority will be utilising social media and search mentions to push their agenda and their shiny politician faces, at present a mere 81 serving MPs are without their own website.

New web savvy and Twitter prolific Prospective Parliamentary candidates (PPCs) or ‘iMPs’ include Chuka Umunna (Lab, Streatham, Twitter following 1,397) Iain Lindley (Con, Worsley and Eccles South, Twitter following 481) and Bridget Fox (Lib Dem, Islington South and Finsbury, Twitter following 698.)

We’re not expecting the right honourable member for Bexhill and Battle to boast a Twitter following in the millions, but parliamentary process is becoming more and more integrated with social media, one need only look to the fervent activity on Tweetminster to see that.

Over the next few weeks we’ll look at how specific iMPs’ social media campaigns are progressing and our ever changing Election Dashboard will also analyse how Brown, Cameron, Clegg and co are competing in the social media stakes.

Finally, there’s always that elephant in the corner to confront after the election dust has settled: ‘Does a big online following translate into a seat in the Commons?’

There seems to be a lot of confusion about the purpose of online PR these days. Too many people think that the sole job of online PR is improve the client’s search engine optimisation and help drive traffic to their website. Granted, SEO and online PR do go hand in hand to a certain extent, but they are not the same thing and to think so is to underestimate the contribution that PR can make to your wider communications strategy.

Without wishing to understate the value of the discipline, SEO is essentially a technical exercise – it’s about figuring out how search engines work and determining the on and off-page measures most likely to put their clients at the top of the results for the most relevant search terms.

Online PR is, just like offline PR, largely about managing the client’s public reputation. A key part of this is building relationships with influencers, with the ultimate aim of gaining positive media coverage. Obviously, the coverage generated by online PR often features links to the client’s site from high profile blogs and online publications, which is undoubtedly great for SEO.

But the important point to remember is that the SEO benefit of the coverage is just a nice side effect of the PR activity, not its primary purpose. The point of building relationships with influencers is to get positive coverage for the client in relevant media, and the point of that, lest we forget, is to get the client’s message heard by the people that the client wants to reach.

SEO does not do this. SEO might help hook a business up with somebody who is actively searching for something that business offers, but SEO can’t tell people why that business’s products are better than their competitors, or whether that business has great customer service, or if that business has sound environmental policies. SEO certainly can’t help a business to communicate clearly and effectively with the public if it gets caught up in a crisis situation.

Most importantly of all, SEO does not facilitate dialogue between a business and its customers. Online PR can help you engage with your customers via the digital channels that they feel most comfortable with, enabling your business to build stronger relationships and earn greater loyalty.

So, while there is clearly an overlap between SEO and online PR, it’s important to understand that they are two distinct disciplines which require different skill-sets and deliver unique benefits. Organisations which don’t understand the difference between these tools are unlikely to be able to use them as effectively as their competitors.

Flog Definition: When a marketing bod pretends to be a 12-year-old computer nerd and leaves made-up reviews of his own products all over the blogosphere – it’s known as a fake blog or flog. Like fake hair, fake nails and fake tans – fake blogs are cheap and nasty. It’s not a good look.

As part of our social media jargon report we have had a series of cartoons commissioned. We will of course publish a few on this blog; a few are being offered exclusively around the web; and all will be available in the report when it is out.

The cartoons also fit rather nicely with the tongue-in-cheek social media glossary on our site.  Sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and have a giggle at how ridiculous it is for grownups to say they are ‘tweeting’, or reaching out to the ‘blogosphere’. Or it that just my childish sense of humour.

Do grab and share the cartoons if you like them…