Today I tested out the platform when creating a Tweetup invitation for an event with another Shel – this time Shel Israel author of the new book Twitterville.

Long time podcasting pal, Adrian Moss, who I met a few years ago at the Corporate Podcasting Summit where we were both speaking,  dropped me a direct message on Twitter some weeks ago to say that his company Parity Group were sponsoring a speaking series for Shel in Europe and did I think it would be possible to organise a Tweetup in Dublin.

The details have only just been finalised and on Sunday the 8 November 2009 we are organising an informal  Tweetup at ‘The Barge’ in Dublin – the drinks will be sponsored by Parity Group PLC thanks to Adrian. We’ll be meeting up from 8.15pm.

Shel’s most recent book ‘Twitterville, How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods’ includes  stories from more than 100 business people who are using Twitter in their business so it is a unique opportunity to connect with him and of course meet up with other Twitter friends.

Twtvite.com is very simple to use and people can register their attendance and interest in the event. You can also incorporate your own hash tag for the event (ours is #sheltweetup), it includes a map and you can quickly add it to your calendar. The one problem I found is that it did not hyperlink the full URL for the location of the event. It also makes it easy to share the details of your event through Facebook, Twitter, email and other social platforms. And it’s free!

Another tool you could use to promote your Tweetup is Tweetvite which provides similar functionality. However it also allows you to customise your event page and you can even add your own design, images and video.

So if you are thinking of organising and in person meetup of your Twitter community of followers and friends why not try out Twtvite or Tweetvite.  Networking online is great, but sometimes there is no beating a get together in-person.

Have you used other services to help you plan your own Tweetup? what do you recommend?

And remember if you are in Dublin and would like to join us for the Dublin Twitterville Tweetup you can register online at our Twtvite page.

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Until now, Group activities have been isolated to the group page. This week Facebook have made changes to Facebook Groups – changes are being rolled out across all groups over this week if you don’t see the changes yet.

In summary:

• Facebook Groups will now look similar to PagesFirst, we revamped the design for Groups so that they look similar to other pages and profiles with a Wall that summarises all the recent activities of people within the group and a Publisher that enables members to share their content.

• Facebook Group activities, which previously only appeared in the group, will now be delivered to your News Feed – you will see stories when one of your friends posts within a group rather than when all members post.

• You will be able to interact with Groups directly from the News Feed stories or make comments on these stories directly from your home page. You can choose to see only group-related stories on your home page by sorting by Groups from the filters on the left-hand side.

Facebook comments that while Groups and Pages now look the same, they still serve different purposes. Groups are for fostering member-to-member collaboration, while Pages remain the best way to broadcast messages to your fans if you are a business, organisation, public figure or other entity.

Facebook Groups historically have had a cap at 5,000 members – I’m not sure if that has changed or will change – what is clear is that Facebook is looking to make our content be that on Facebook pages or groups easy to access from our home page.

However the changes are not welcomed by many Facebook Group administrators or members who preferred the old version and many are asking for the option to stay with the old version of Facebook Groups.

If you are a member of a Facebook Group or an adminstrator for a Facebook page, what’s your thoughts on the changes?

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The programme starts at 8.45am and closes at 5.15pm.

The conference promises to cover areas including:

• Tips for surviving an economic downturn
• Entrepreneurship and business planning
• Creative marketing on a shoestring
• Funding your start-up company and getting your pitch right to investors
• guiidance if you are thinking of investing in a franchise.

Speakers include:

• Sean Gallagher: Entrepreneur, Property Developer, panellist on The Dragons’ Den
• Dylan Collins: Online Gaming Entrepreneur and CEO, Jolt Online Gaming
• Alan Gleeson, General Manager, Palo Alto Software Ltd.

There is also a competition that will be running at the event where the Sunday Business Post will award the ‘Best New Business Idea’ a prize of :

• €20,000 worth of advertising in The Sunday Business Post
• A professional website will be designed for the winners by Digital Ambition
• Three months business consultancy for your online PR and digital marketing campaign to the value of €5,000.

I am going to be speaking on the subject of marketing and will be covering:

• The four pillars of your marketing plan
• Essentials tools for your marketing kit bag
• Followers, fans and friends: how savvy entrepreneurs are using social media including Facebook and Twitter to attract customers.

So be sure to say hi if you are planning to attend.

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• 54% of companies were using Twitter
• 32% of companies had a blog
• 29% of companies are using Facebook.

• to distribute news and updates abut the company (94%)
• as part of their customer service programme (67%)
• to announce marketing promotions (57%)
• for recruitment of staff (11%).

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

The

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When do you Tweet? When driving, at work or on vacation?

A recent Gadgetology study by consumer electronics shopping site, Retrevo.com found that most people check Facebook and Twitter a couple of times a day.

27% of respondents to the survey who are under 35 years of age however are checking Facebook more than 10 times a day.

The survey also found that that 36% of people under the age of 35 often use Facebook or Twitter after sex – men being more likely to do this than women – and iPhone users are three times more likely to do so than Blackberry owners.

The Retrevo.com Gadgetology study indicates that only 19% of the over 35 year olds use a phone as the preferred device for social media services with 81% preferring instead a desktop or laptop computer. However 46% of the under 35 year old survey respondents prefer to use a mobile devise to engage with social media..

Among the survey respondents under age 35, 27% of Facebook users check it more than 10 times a day compared to 39% of Twitter users checking in on Twitter more than 10 times a day.

When do you Tweet? And how addicted to Facebook and Twitter are you?

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

The Retrevo Gadgetology Report is an ongoing study of people and electronics from Retrevo, the consumer electronics shopping site.

The survey was an online study of individuals (non-Retrevo customers) conducted by an independent panel. The sample size was 771 distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States.

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

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The survey showed that online marketing budgets have returned to growth, though all other budget categories are still on a downward trend.

Amongst those companies surveyed, internet advertising was the only category to see an increase in spend with budgets rising for the first time since Q2 2008:  Internet was up 4.5% and internet search up 5.4%, with sales promotion down 4.5% and direct marketing down 4.7%. ‘All other’ (below-the-line such as  PR, events, sponsorship) seeing the deepest cuts.

The Bellwether Report is researched and published by Markit Economics on behalf of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). It features original data drawn from a panel of around 300 UK marketing professionals and provides a key indicator of the health of the economy. The first report was published on the 17th July 2000.

What are you plans for your marketing budget in this last quarter? Are you increasing the amount you are spending online? And what about your plans for 2010?

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I love Facebook. I love social networking. I love the way that many brands are adopting Facebook to connect directly to their customers.

But I do hate it when many brands are providing offers that are US centric even if they are a global brand.

Take for example Estee Lauder who I read about last week. They have a Facebook page with over 27,700 fans and I am sure those fans are from across the globe. They have realised that on Facebook we all have a profile photo so they are offering an opportunity for people to have a free makeover and a photoshoot.

The promotion, which starts on October 16 at Bloomingdale’s in New York and will extend initially to Macy’s, Saks and other Bloomingdale’s stores in Southern California, Miami and Chicago, also includes a giveaway of a 10-day supply of foundation. Let’s hope that their initial trial will run internationally.

With a target age of 35 to 55, Estee Lauder is trying to reach out to a younger age group and also recognises that many people aged 35 and over are using social media. And while no purchase is necessary, Estee Lauder has the opportunity to have their employees connect to consumers directly through the free make-over.

The Estee Lauder brand will be the back drop for the photo shoot, so unless you photoshop out the logo, they are hoping their brand will increase in visibility online. Read more about the Estee Lauder promotion here on Adage.

It’s a great idea though I am not so sure that I would want to be endorsing Estee Lauder through every profile photo I use on my social networking pages.

Alternatively and thankfully, if you are in Ireland, you don’t have to miss out on an opportunity to get a great photo taken for your Facebook profile. Award winning photographers Photogenic Photographers are offering people the opportunity to have their portrait photo taken by on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October 2009 in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation. This is part of a weekend of activities running in Dundrum Town Centre as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

As long as you are over 18 years of age, Photogenic Photographers are offering you the opportunity to have a new profile photograph taken.

The photo shoot takes place at Dundrum Town Centre – there is a nominal fee of €20 (100% of this will go directly to the Marie Keating Foundation).

Find out more about the Photogenic Photographers Be Facebook Fabulous event here.

What are your favourite examples of brands are offering value to their customers yet at the same time building their visibility through Facebook?

Disclosure: Photogenic Photographers are our family photographers and one of their directors and family friend invited me to their event.

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

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Dublin is home to our EMEA headquarters and many of our international employees. When we’re not working, we’re out enjoying a good “craic” in one of the city’s many pubs, socializing with the friendly locals, and going to top notch music shows.

Posted via web from Krishna De: Insights From Ireland On Digital Marketing, Social Media And Entrepreneurship

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During the last week I’ve had the privilege to speak on a panel at a non-profit conference and also deliver a social media marketing and communications workshop for some of Ireland’s most well known non-profit organisations.

Of all the case studies I covered, one of my favourite and most comprehensive programmes of the adoption and integration of social media platforms by a non-profit organisation is that by LIVESTRONG.org.

In August 2009, LIVESTRONG.org hosted their first ever Global Cancer Summit in Dublin which was attended by 500 delegates from 60 countries.

At the end of the Global Cancer Summit I had the opportunity to meet with Brook McMillan the Online Community Evangelist for LIVESTRONG.org about how they use social media from Facebook to Twitter, from blogs to YouTube, from Flickr to Ustream.tv.

Today is LIVESTRONG Day, a global day of action to raise awareness in our communities about the fight against cancer and the founder and patron of LIVESTRONG.org, Lance Armstrong commented in the Austin American Statesman:

A new Economist Intelligence Unit study commissioned by the Lance Armstrong Foundation pegs the global economic impact of the disease at more than $300 billion in 2009 alone.

If you are a non-profit and are wondering how social media can support you in outreach to volunteers, raising donations, advocacy or stakeholder engagement, I hope you find this interview inspiring.

And remember – you don’t need to have as an extensive programme as LIVESTRONG.org – choose one platform that will help you achieve your communication goals and do that really well.

You can find LIVESTRONG online at:

• LIVESTRONG Blog
• LIVESTRONG on Facebook
• LIVESTRONG on Flickr
• LIVESTRONG on Twitter
• LIVESTRONG on YouTube
• LIVESTRONG on Ustream.tv

What non profit organisations in Europe do you think provide inspiring examples in their use of social media to help them achieve their goals?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE

Here is a great example of a post that LIVESTRONG has on it’s blog sharing ideas and ways on how to participate in LIVETRONG Day – it’s a model you too could use to help your community actively participate in your social cause.

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HubForce is a free social network for business people in Ireland and it features online videos, articles and podcasts (I am delighted that one of my podcast series has been shared on Hubforce.com).

I invited Martin to tell us a little about HubForce.com, his vision for the site and the plans he has for the future. Thank you Martin for being so detailed in your interview.

Q. What is your professional background and what gave you the idea and inspiration to develop HubForce.com

A. I came to Ireland in 2004 to chase the dream of achieving financial freedom. Life in Poland was very limiting and I couldn’t do things there, that are possible here. I am a self-taught web developer, although I’ve spent some time at different universities in Poland learning programming  and computer graphics.

In March this year I managed to start my own web design business in Ireland called Aeronstudio. The beginning was difficult – limited resources and constant rush – it felt lonely and very stressful at the start.

I attended several networking events and as a Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn user I realised that it wasn’t easy to find all the people I met on any of the social networks. There was something missing.

Facebook seemed too private, LinkedIn felt lonely if you did not have any connections from the very start and Twitter is still not so popular in the Irish business world. I came with an idea to develop something much more focused, yet very accessible. Something I would like to use if it was available.

I decided to give to the community something more than another social network. I thought of all the things I found useful conducting my own business, and started implementing it into HubForce.com – podcasts, videos, articles, upcoming business events – everything hand picked. It started to grow and the more time I spent developing new features, the more I liked the whole idea.

Q. Where does the name originate from?

A. The name originates from two words, ‘hub’ – effective centre of an activity, region or network; and ‘force’ – strength or energy. It’s not a new philosophy – if you group creative and ambitious people together in one place, you can be certain that something great will come out of this. I believe that best networks are those built face to face. The technology can be used to develop such connections further.
Q. Why develop another social network – aren’t there enough places already for us to connect online from Facebook to LinkedIn, from Twitter to IGOpeople, or even the proliferation of stand alone networks that are being developed in Ireland and across the globe?

A. As I mentioned before, these networks are very important to all of us… each has it’s own purpose.

Facebook doesn’t seem to be a very good platform for business use though, and LinkedIn is great if you have plenty of connections but it is very global and diluted. Every network has it’s pros and cons and none of them was developed with Ireland in mind.

What differentiates HubForce from all of them is the content – it’s not just a network, it’s a knowledge base for business owners. It’s not only a tool, it is a valuable resource that is rapidly growing.

Additionally, HubForce puts an emphasis on service exchange (barter) – it seems to be a great way to get things done on a small budget. Most start-ups have limited resources but plenty of skills and time. It’s only a matter of finding a good partner to establish a mutual gain. We are doing our best to facilitate this activity. It comes handy in the current state of global economy.

Q. How have you funded the initial development of HubForce and what is your plan for revenue generation in the next 12-36 months?

A. I’ve put a lot of time into the project and many sleepless nights. The money came from my own pocket, but I already had all the skills to develop the service in it’s entirety, so it was just a domain name and server space… and loads of coffee. The project is free for users. Future will show, how it’s going to generate money – there are couple of ways to do it – sponsorship, targeted advertising, government support – I will go with the best option for our members. For now, it is non-profit.

Q. Where is the site developed – in Ireland or with overseas developers?

A. The site is developed in Ireland and it’s designed entirely by me.

Q. What makes you different to other business social networks such as LinkedIn or IGOpeople?

A. Daily updated, business oriented content. HubForce is focused on it’s members and their growth.

Q. Who are you hoping will join you (types of business, geography etc)?

A. All ambitious individuals starting or running their business are welcome, as long as they are based in Ireland.

Q. Is the social network a closed network as you find with LinkedIn or is all the content you post visible in the search engines?

A. All content on the HubForce site is available for free without registration, even the members database. After all, the main aim is to promote members. Some functionality is restricted only to members – service exchange details, contact details, voting on articles and videos etc.

You also have to be a member to collect ForcePoints™ – you get them for every vote on an article or video and for different activities performed on the site. This functionality is in beta right now. Members will be able to exchange earned ForcePoints™ for advertising within the site or for products provided by future sponsors. That’s an extra incentive for giving back to the community.

Q. How have you promoted HubForce.com?

A. HubForce was available from the beginning of April in it’s core version. It was very experimental back then. It is developed on a small budget and there are no money for huge advertising campaigns. Of course I am pitching the project to newspapers and use different channels to promote the website on-line e.g. AdWords, Twitter, Facebook.

I believe, that the value presented by HubForce will defend it’s position on the market and the community will grow gradually. There is several people involved in promotional efforts. We will promote HubForce face-to-face on different events in Ireland and we have plans to organise our own networking events under HubForce flagship.

Q. You have a competition running to win an iPod – how does that work?

A. Yes, there is fourteen business categories and fourteen iPods. Each registered business is assigned to one or more categories. We will take the names of first five registrants for each category and one person from each lot will win an iPod shuffle (2nd Gen). Winners will be announced for each category separately, as soon as the number of members reaches five within that category.

Q. How many members do you have at the moment and what has been your pace of growth?

HubForce has officially launched on 6th July 2009, so the number of members is quite small. I am going to focus on the promotion now, so I am hoping that this and the iPod competition will bring some good traffic to the site and new registrations. It is too early to estimate the growth rate at this stage.

Q. Given the huge popularity of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter you seem to be integrating of your network with theirs?

A. HubForce is not competing with other social networks. The goal is to help all members to promote their services and products. HubForce members can specify links to their third party profiles (Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and more to come) and have them displayed to other members and external visitors. HubForce is about maximising the potential of networking, not limiting it.

Q. Your content at the moment in terms of podcasts and articles are primarily from US content providers – why is that and what are you looking for if people want to submit podcasts and articles?

A. I don’t give much consideration to the origin of the content; the value it gives to the community is far more important. I also hope that members will provide some valuable content in exchange for ForcePoints™. I am happy to publish every submitted material, as long as it matches HubForce’s standards.

Q. What are some of the benefits businesses are finding from joining you?

A. HubForce gives it’s members an extra exposure and I am determined to continue the development of the project in that spirit. On top of that, members can communicate, exchange services, get information about upcoming business events and find great content from top authors from around the world in the subjects of business management, marketing and self help.

I plan to put some emphasis on the personal aspect of the site, organise HubForce branded events and invent ways for HubForce members to get the recognition they deserve in the world of Irish business.

Q. What are your top 5 tips for creating an engaging profile on HubForce and making the most out of membership of the site?

1. Register as soon as you can but take plenty of time and use your best writing skills to describe yourself and your interests

2. Keep in mind that the profile is not only about your business but also about you. Give other people a feeling that you are approachable and easy to talk to

3. Write only true and accurate information – HubForce is a business network, so keep to the facts

4. Upload your photo – people want to see who they are dealing with. Your logo is not your photo – people want to network with you, not your company. Networking is a personal matter

5. People are more likely to buy from the people they trust – do everything in your power to gain that trust and you will have plenty of valuable connections that will bring you plenty of business

Q. Can you give us a few insider tips for what is planned for the future development of the site?

A. Of course. Most importantly – HubForce will grow substantially in content, features and members. Check out ‘upcoming features’ section to see what is coming next.

Additionally, I am going to work on the ForcePoints™ feature and try to establish some dialog with sponsors. ForcePoints™ are already being tracked for HubForce members, so it is a good idea to register now and fill in as much information as possible. Everything counts towards points – not only what members do, but also how well they do it. Finally, I am going to interview members from time to time, and publish their stories on the front page.

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