Social Media for Business

Social Media for Business | How to use social media to effectively market your business.

How to use Facebook, Twitter and MySpace for business

Chris Thorpe, Developer Platform Evangelist at MySpace and Media Consultant for The Guardian offers his top five introductory insights on how best to use social media such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to effectively market yourself and your business.

Chris will be running 01zero-one’s How to use Social Media for Business course on the 29th and 30th September in Soho. This course is essential for anyone who needs to use social networking to promote their business.

Essential tips on how to use Social Media, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace

"First off: what on earth is 'social media'? Well, it's partly a rewiring of media from the 20th century abberation of mass media, of having a single source broadcasting to an audience. Saying this here is ironic, as this mass email isn't very social. I can't tailor my message to each of you individually, however much I'd like to, but I can turn this into a conversation by making it interactive. So, please go to the Facebook Group for the How to use Social Media and join in the discussion on each of these points."

"Don't think of audiences. Especially don't think of audience size. The social web is a collection of people of differing needs, desires and most importantly of all - intents. They all want different things out of their relationship with you and from you. Design your experience/offering accordingly."

"But they're not all just individuals either. They're parts of tribes; communities of purpose who have a shared belief and intent. They also act as herds, following what friends have done before them, so always make activities visible where possible."

"Which leads us to streams. More and more, people are making first contact with brands and content in places such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. They become each other's social lenses on the world, recommending things in a similar fashion to the amazing serendipity engine that was the late, great John Peel. Design your content so it can be shared and gifted between friends in these streams. As MIT's Henry Jenkins says: 'If it doesn't spread, it's dead'."

"Finally, remember it's a conversation and not necessarily yours. It's theirs and if you're included, that's a privilege. You can only influence and accept what people are saying about you, and far more the latter than the former. If people are saying negative things only engage in a conciliatory way. Unless they are being libellous they are just expressing free speech and are giving you valuable insight. Talk to them and ask why they feel that way. If you can fix it, do. If not apologise, thank them for their opinions and discuss it with colleagues. If ever you do fix something, go back to the conversation and thank them and tell them. In the last year I've not been as happy as when Barack Obama said in his acceptance speech, 'I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.' I hope he does, and I will too."

You can find out much more from Chris about Social Networking for Business on 01zero-one’s Course being run on the 29th and 30th September.

Chris will look at:

· How your audience can help you to market you and your products

· Whether your website is currently set up so that other websites, fans and developers can utilise it to its best effect

· How Flixr can be integral to promoting yourself and your company

· Understanding the different demographics of users on sites such as Facebook, Myspace or Bebo.

Who's it for? This course will be particularly useful for:

* Anyone who wants to attract more people to their content/project using social networks.
* Brand Managers
* Content owners wanting to engage their audience
* Charities who want to personally engage their donors, benefactors and audience
* Marketing Managers
* Advertising Agency Staff
* Freelancers or employees who want to advise their clients about Social Network applications.
* Design Agency Staff

You should also have used or be familiar with either Facebook, Bebo, or MySpace. If you are unsure whether this course is right for you please contact us for more information.
If you would like to discuss your training needs more or the suitability for this course please call Polly on 0207 025 1987 or email pollyanna.lindley@westking.ac.uk

'Thanks 01zero-one and Chris Thorpe for such an enlightening workshop. Learning about the philosophies behind social networking and the ever developing applications available was a real eye-opener. Having the opportunity to talk about our The Beat Is The Law project with the group and come up with creative ideas was also a very useful exercise. The workshop has given me the awareness to approach this new and exciting frontier with more confidence. So many ideas and possibilities...' Richard Wood - Creative Director

About Chris Thorpe: Since he gave up playing with really big computers as a research scientist Chris has been trying to find more and more excuses to play with really big computers powering websites. He's been involved in projects as diverse as bringing Which? to an online audience, social worlds for 7-11 year olds, video archives of Nobel Prize winners telling their life stories, a James Bond premiere webcast and putting contemporary sculpture on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth. He is the founder of Jaggeree (www.jaggeree.com) a social media consultancy which designs, builds and advises on all aspects of social applications, use of social networks and social games. Currently he is consulting with MySpace as their Developer Platform Evangelist. In this role he is building a strategic initiative to bring new applications to the MySpace platform from many different companies including small indies and large media agencies.

COST:
Companies: £395
Charities: £295
Freelancers:£250

If you would like to discuss your training needs more or the suitability for this course please call Polly on 0207 025 1987 or email pollyanna.lindley@westking.ac.uk