Follow the Festival on Facebook and Twitter.

Already some events are a sellout, showing the enduring popularity of the event as it enters its 20th year. It began as an initiative of the tourist board, keen to extend a new invitation to visit the islands. The innovation and enterprise is clear – it was only the second such festival in the world.

That tradition continues and we will capture the essence of the event. In doing so we will create a compelling destination for people looking to find out more about the festival and provide a demonstration of its value to the area, its participants and to scientific discussion and innovation.

We will have a special section on the 4TM web site during the festival, and content will be transferred to a microsite created after the event.

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If you have a Spotify account (a free download) you can play along here:
spotify:track:5kgTNMMDhTN1FJQlxjj37O

The book is written by Manchester novelist Joe Stretch and narrated by actress Anna Friel.

It’s a great use of technology – both interactive and engaging.

Here’s Spotify’s blog post.

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Our 4TM Social Media team in partnership with Neil Huggan of New Makar copywriting and marketing will be presenting this social media for beginners workshop on:

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness

This workshop will be of interest to people who are just starting or already have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other social media channels and will be presented by Neil Huggan, David Sim and Rene Looper who have delivered many social media workshops over the years to people and businesses all over Scotland.

After attending a wee seminar given by the double act calling themselves 4TM, I am pretty confident that most of us immediately went back to work and logged into every social networking thingy we could remember. If this is the future then these guys are are the front of the queue…..and we intend to be not far behind.

The workshop will cover:

• What is social media?
• How social media can help you or your business?
• What is the role of storytelling in social media?
• What social media channel should I use?

This informal social media workshop is open to anyone with an interest in Facebook, Twitter and any other social network and is limited to a maximum of 20 people so registration is necessary. To register your interest please email enquiries@4tm-services.com or fill in the form below.

The evening will start at 7pm and will finish at about 9pm.

Included: Welcome drink on arrival and chilli with nachos after the workshop!

Costs: £25 incl. VAT

For feedback on our previous social media workshops see comments of delegates on 4TM Qype.

Hope to see you there!

Neil, David and Rene

To register your interest please add your details to the form below. Numbers are limited to 20 so don’t leave it to late!

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Boil the story down to its syrupy goodness. Make sure everyone who comes to your website leaves with clarity about you via a tight, memorable message or image, even if they don’t purchase.

People Sell Products: Look carefully at Apple’s iPod commercials. You’ll see lots of happy, energetic people dancing in silhouette against a colorful and ever-changing background. They are telling a story about the Apple lifestyle.

Try to occupy shelf space the already exists in the customer’s mind… then focus on the one thing you do better… then make it matter to people.

Build social networks and communities around your product.

Help early adopters, but have the mass market in mind.

The package and service around your product should be beautiful and engaging.

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Sociability: 26 Aug 10 takes a look at how social media is changing the world of work and information and, in particular, the ideas for supporting social enterprise. Some great stories in a 30 minute programme as we move from a web of pages to a web of people.

Play: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio/worldbiz/worldbiz_20100826-2030a.mp3.

Note that the BBC only makes the programme available for a short time after broadcast.

Sent from my iPhone

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It’s entertaining to follow worldwide mentions of pizza, and even see when pizza is most talked about (around midnight, it seems). If you want to connect with pizza enthusiasts, and be an expert in the latest cheese-on-bread thinking, it’s a useful tool.

The real value isn’t there yet. Google’s traditional search is good because, usually, it finds the most relevant and authoritative sources, rather than just the most recently updated web page. How do you find the most authoritive real-time sources on busy subjects?

Finding the person with the most followers seems logical. However, should Lady Gaga ever choose to write a blog post on astrophysics her post would float to the top as authoritative. (I should add, it may be that she has well informed views on astrophysics, and therefore would be deserving of a hearing). The algorithm needs to be more sophisticated – giving weight to someone who has a good following and reputation among astrophysicists, and perhaps has published papers.

If anyone is going to find the solution, it is likely to be Google, and we look forward to real-time search informing discussion and building new connections. In the meantime, enjoy the pizza.

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It has become a little more like Twitter instead of simply sharing the most popular news. Now you follow people you know or respect and receive a feed of information they’re sharing, effectively tailored to your interests.

Many people (including me) find Twitter most useful for the web pages and blog posts it turns up. I don’t find it the best tool for holding conversations.

Digg seems ideal, therefore: it is entirely about sharing links – discussion
takes place around these links, which makes the conversation focused and easier to follow.

I’ll continue to review and report back on whether Digg has become a key source of information. In the meantime, we have 5 invites to give away for the new service. Send a tweet to @davidrsim or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

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They’ve never gone away (you’re reading one right now) but the spotlight has moved to Facebook and Twitter as their meteoric rise – 500 million users for the former – created a story in itself.

Leo Laporte is an important figure in the world of technology broadcasting. He enthusiastically embraced Google Buzz, a service very similar in operation to Twitter where he has nearly quarter of a million followers.

Last week however he had a startling realisation. Due to a technical glitch on Google’s part, for 16 days his posts hadn’t gone out. And, more worryingly, no-one noticed.

In a late night post entitled Buzz Kill he shared his thoughts on social media and how, in this instance, it actually created barriers with his audience.

So is social media a waste of time? An echo chamber?

Leo likens Twitter to being at a party with a thousand people talking. The majority of people in room will not hear what you say. If you leave the room, you might not be missed because there are still 999 others enjoying the party.

Does that mean the party is worthless? Of course not. Even if only a few people in the room actually hear your message they may well be the valuable contacts you need. I trawl social media for storytelling blogs posts and comments which inform my work with clients. Very few of the millions of Twitter users will ever see the posts I end up reading, but does it matter to the authors that they haven’t connected with a 15 year old Jusin Bieber fan?

However, Leo’s lesson is clear. Social networks are very much “of the moment”. If I post today on Twitter, it’s unlikely many people will see the post tomorrow. It will be, for all practical purposes, gone. The same goes for a Facebook wall. Those great links, amazing ideas and dramatic insights will be lost. Worst case: if a service like Twitpic were to close down millions of posted images will be lost forever. What if Facebook were to delete your account tomorrow, as is within their right?

That’s where a blog comes in. It acts as a store of your own or your organisation’s stories, revelations, links and anecdotes. You control it. You back it up. People visiting your blog will see what you are about and will be able to sift through the incredible resource you have created. You can still post links to your blog, and discuss your blog posts, on social networks.

Here’s a little anecdote from the story itself. Around 200 comments on Leo’s post were directly on his blog. Most of the remaining 2000 were on Twitter. Social media remains a fantastic way to connect, discover and distribute your content.

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4TM created the concept of, and social media campaign for, a virtual whisky tasting. The target was to reach a wider, enthusiastic, international audience for Benromach, an upcoming whisky brand. The campaign pre-publicity and the event itself told the stories behind the making of the whisky and the qualities that could be expected from the product, with the audience able to ask questions and provide feedback. Hundreds of people “attended” the event live or in the days that followed through online archives on a dedicated website. The event included social network promotion, live video, online discussion and followup and was featured in the press.

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For many businesses there are none at all – social media is just something new to try. It’s like websites – you just have to have one.

For others, there’s a range of numbers from the number of extra hits on a web site through to the number of fans on Facebook.

At a recent presentation I promised that I could gain hundreds, if not thousands, of followers for a Facebook page in a day. The solution was simple. Buy an Apple iPad and spread the word that one of the fans will, next week, receive the iPad free of charge just for connecting.

Of course, none of these extra followers will be joining through an interest in the business – they have their eyes on the prize. It’s unknown how many will fit the target demographic. The number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers is an interesting statistic and has some relevance: if you only have 10 fans after an extensive marketing campaign pushing the Facebook page, something may have gone wrong. However, it’s entirely wrong to suggest that a page with 10,000 fans is more successful than a page with 500 fans. It depends entirely on the quality of engagement.

It’s a myth that social media and other customer engagement work cannot be tied into traditional business measures – it is simply a matter of approach. Many businesses have been sold a Facebook page and Twitter account as a “social media package” by their web developer. To coin a phrase, it’s not what you have but how you use it.

As part of our redefinition of 4TM’s services we have a clear focus on creative customer engagement, particularly using storytelling and social media. It’s critical that when we develop a campaign, or create an audio production, or review how customer requests are responded to, we have target markets and business outcomes in mind.

Amongst other measures, therefore, we should see a direct increase in the level of customer engagement. This can be broken down into successful interactions with existing clients and connections made with new clients. What is the quality of these interactions (how were they followed up)? Most of all, how does the work increase conversion rates.

If we are to ask our clients to spend money with us, we must also expect to deliver real returns for them. Every business has stories to tell which build emotional connections with customers – it’s a matter of making them available at an appropriate time and in an appropriate form.

It’s an exciting area, and I’m pleased to say we’re bursting with creative ideas. Welcome to the new 4TM.

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