A busy return to business proper as Peter Barton reports from last night’s Social Media Cafe.
Deansgate Locks on a sunny, late summer’s evening. It is a Tuesday and Wayne Rooney is out of town. It could be a slow night.
Fear not, Manchester publicans, there is business to be had: there are 40 or so people gathered in Revolution’s downstairs function room for the first, post-summer Social Media Manchester meet-up. And this month’s sponsors, PushOn, have put some money behind the bar.
The choice of two from four sessions this evening: social media and business; social media and dreams; creating social media trade associations; the possible impact of mobile video calls. I made the first and last, so feedback on the other two is welcome.
Social Media and Business: presented by Bryan Adams (no, not that one – though his business card bills him as ‘internet marketing genius’, so he has the rock star ego), from PH Creative in Liverpool. Questions from the floor: how to make revenue off content, how to manage the SM function, how to calculate ROI, and what next?
Adams’ thoughts: Social media is about building a database and improving its relevance; social media blurs the lines between the corporate brand and the individuals who work from the brand (it is your brand relaxed); make it easy to share content; check sales against real-time traffic (don’t be content with just measuring traffic spikes), social media can build trust, trust helps sell your (new) product. Snappy one-liner: You don’t buy a Hoover because Hoover tells you to.
Pleasingly, there was much involvement from the floor, particularly with practical advice on how SM could help a (SM-averse) homebuilder drive sales.
After a 10-minute break, and a few bullish words from tonight’s sponsor (is it me, or does PushOn’s Simon Wharton have a touch of the Tony Wilson about him? The hand gestures, the bombast?), it was upstairs for mobile video calls with Julian FutureEverything and Dave MadLab.
The gist of J&D’s pitch is that mobile video will change the visual aesthetic of out lives in the same way as disposable cameras. It is a sleeper technology, one that is on the cusp of being fully exploited.
Unfortunately, the mention of Apple in the introduction (and brandishing iPhone 4s at the audience) proved divisive. Much shouting and carrying on from the floor (sample quote: ‘I don’t want people to see me working in my dressing gown!’), and the feeling of an opportunity missed. Enjoyable stuff, all the same.
Finally, the night’s other announcements: smc_mcr will be celebrating its second birthday shortly, Josh promises more news soon and puts a shout out for sponsors; Louise Bolotin flags up the Hacks & Hackers Hack event on October 15 (tickets are free, but limited); Ian Forrester asks for help/shows of interest in a future BarCamp in East Manchester. Follow up any of the above through the Ning.
Peter Barton also writes a personal blog which you can see here.
If you’re into Manchester’s digital community and would also like to contribute an article, please feel free to contact me sarahMancunianWay AT Googlemail.com.
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