Author Archive

Good Idea + Social Media = Big Impact

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

thebigideaIf you’ve somehow remained unconvinced that social networks can profoundly affect people, organisations and businesses all over the world, then there were a few social media campaigns that during 2009 that probably grabbed your attention. Forget the frantic rush to log-in to Facebook and un-tag yourself from a Christmas party photo, something much bigger happened this year that will should pave the way for even more powerful campaigns in the future.

Whilst there are of course much more important issues that the UK Christmas number 1, the Facebook campaign to get Rage Against The Machine to the top of the charts ahead of the X Factor winner is perhaps the biggest demonstration yet that social networks can have a fundamental influence. Part time DJ Jon Morter started his Facebook group as a ‘bit of a giggle’, but the campaign went stratospheric when comedian Peter Serafinowicz urged his 268,000 Twitter followers to join in and  “Killing In The Name” went on to sell over  50,000 more copies than Joe McElderry’s The Climb.

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Beware of the social media monster

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

purple_monsterAs I’m sure Richard Branson would agree, social media can be a bit of a monster at times and a rather difficult beast to tame. The scope and speed offered by networks such as Twitter and Facebook, coupled with the ever expanding blogosphere, allows user-generated content to travel faster than a transatlantic flight to New York City.

Whether it be a poor customer experience, a brand simply getting it wrong or rogue staff playing a prank - social media has given a voice and a platform to everyone with a keyboard and mouse: and they’re certainly not afraid to use it!

Here is a collection of some recent high profile examples of the staggering power of social media from the last few months, highlighting the potentially damaging effects it can have on big brands:

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