Like?

Unless you've been hiding under the digital equivalent of a large rock over the last few years, you'll be aware of the huge impact 'social media' is having on the world at large. From Twitter to LinkedIn and Google+, these have given us all new ways to communicate with our friends, build brand awareness or plan the next major riot.

In terms of social media though, nothing can really compare to the behemoth that is Facebook, but many companies are still holding back from any kind of social media presence (especially when it comes to Facebook) as they see it as simply a glorified way for people to 'tweet' about their pub-crawl plans and 'like' pictures of kittens etc. - not exactly relevant for most B2B companies. Sure, we've all heard tales of B2C marketing successes - but again, that's when marketing directly to the consumer.

Even so, more and more traditional B2B companies are starting to explore this new frontier. Twitter seems to be the usual jumping off point - setting up a Twitter account is incredibly simple and with a maximum of 140 characters, most of us can just about find the time to write a tweet every now and again (although even that amount can sometimes seem daunting to those new to the idea).

Are you a tweeting fanatic or are you still sitting on the fence and waiting before you dip your toe in those mysterious social waters? And just because social media is the current 'trend' of the day, should you feel forced to join the herd? Facebook presents a few challenges in terms of building an audience and posting relevant content, so if you are new to the whole thing, then Twitter is probably the best place to start. It can be very effective when trying to raise awareness of your brand, getting your point of view out to a wider audience and even increasing your search engine ranking, so it really is worth trying (and talking of raising awareness - see the additional note 'Going Viral' below).

Here's a tip when starting out - one of the key things to do is find a 'voice' - remember this will be the Twitter account for the company, not necessarily yourself, but this doesn't mean that you have to be dull or 'matter of fact' – in fact those who simply use Twitter to post press-releases won't get a lot of followers. Use the channel to communicate with a different audience and in a different way. Don't forget to follow people you also find interesting and don't be afraid to RT (ReTweet) anything you think will be interesting to those who follow you. Throw in some links to interesting things on your site and use it to publicise any news or blogs you want more people to see (this can be great for SEO too). Finally, don't make the mistake that many first time Twitterers make - don't think of it as one way communication. If someone comments on your brand, your work or sends you a direct message - be on the other end of the line and answer their query, engage with them!

But that's just Twitter, what of Facebook? Well over the last few years, Facebook has steadily been rolling out changes to the way it handles 'brand' pages. Facebook is no longer just for individuals and there are now many more tools to enable either a B2C *OR* B2B brand to have a presence. You only really appreciate the true power of Facebook when you set up a page and then look into the advertising possibilities - the sheer range of targeting information and options is quite staggering. Want to advertise to women in London and New York and Tokyo, all between the ages of 24 and 28 who like Skydiving and Crochet? No problem!

One of the biggest of these recent changes is the Facebook Timeline. Any normal Facebook user will already be familiar with the Timeline layout as that rolled out to personal profiles several months ago, however, this now goes live for brands today. This means a whole new layout to the page, so any existing content will probably need to be re-looked at. So if you've already got a Facebook page, you'll need to make sure you're ready for the change, and for those who haven't explored the option, well, now's a good time to try!

The nice thing about the social media revolution is that the tools are free and the hard bit isn't actually the figuring out of technology/software - it's the creation of content (and not just once, but once a month at least!). This means that it's pretty easy for most people to figure out how to setup their Facebook page and add interesting content for your potential audience. That's not to say that more advanced features aren't available of course.

One tool we've recently been exploring is 'LikeIt Pages' - this is an interesting new service that aims to give the average user much more in the way of options when it comes to their Facebook pages - from encouraging users to 'Like' you, to giving extra content 'rewards' when they do. The system is pretty easy to use and any limitations are more down to the way Facebook works rather than problems with the software itself.

If you'd like to find out more about how you can use social media to spread the word and attract more business, give us a call or email me at: ben@tothepoint.co.uk. For further information about LikeIt Pages or setting up your Facebook page to take advantage of the new Timeline see the links below:

For further info:

Our Facebook page (feel free to 'like' us!)

LikeIt Pages

Top 6 guides to starting a Facebook Brand page

Top 6 changes to Facebook with the new Timeline

Timeline for brands - a complete guide

and finally a very nice use of the new Facebook Timeline - the D&AD Easter Egg hunt


Additional note - Going viral:

Just as I'm writing all this stuff about the potential power of Twitter, it's nice to see that our little typography game we created last year 'I Shot the Serif' has gone viral again. You can see the current Twitter chat here: https://twitter.com/#!/search/tothepoint.co.uk - the point is that without doing any additional marketing (over and above the occasional tweet), we had more hits to our site than EVER before yesterday (that's over 3000 unique hits in one day - not bad considering we usually average around 150 per day). And if that isn't a nice way to demonstrate the power of social media, I'm not sure what is!

On yer bike

Phew! It feels appropriate to be writing my first blog about a racing track as the past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind for me...

What started as a dream has grown into a full blown campaign and it’s with professional pride and personal interest that I want to write about the campaign to Save the Herne Hill Velodrome.

I have been a keen cyclist, racer and fascinated visitor to the Herne Hill Velodrome for many years now. However, this beloved landmark now faces closure due to deterioration and lack of funding, and with the country’s own Olympic moment just around the corner, it’s hard not to get sad at the prospect of the Velodrome closing forever.

The Herne Hill Velodrome is one of those rare things – an iconic landmark that’s in use and as relevant to it’s visitors today as it was in decades past. The oldest cycling track in the country, it was home to the 1948 Olympic Cycling Championships, with famous riders including Bradley Wiggins the three-time Olympic gold medallist, who began his competitive cycling career at Herne Hill. Today, it’s a favoured location for cycling enthusiasts the world over and local children alike, all training, riding and racing their way to a better time, fitter body or simply a fun day out. As I watch the children, including my own, gather for the various races and events made available to them, I hope and believe that there may be one, if not more, future Olympic champions among them.

With the threat of closure – and without forgetting Peter Cattermole and the unsung heroes who, over the last ten years, have kept the Velodrome alive – a new impetus was required. A group of us, led by Hillary Peachey, conceived the Save the Herne Hill Velodrome Campaign, with me in charge of the campaign’s identity, look and feel and of course all the materials. Many may think I can pull an identity out of a hat or cook up a campaign in my sleep but this was unlike anything else I’ve had to do in such a short time frame and with no budget. Fitting four days' work into a weekend, using matchsticks and only a handful of hours’ sleep later, I had produced the basics of a campaign including logo, website, stationery, posters, postcards, leaflets and helped with the Facebook page – branding and some content. Over the weeks that followed, I built on this with help on the campaign strategy and other materials including track banners, t-shirts, displays, stickers and badges as well as providing brand elements to third parties to produce their own materials.



One such party was Condor Cycles who believed so strongly in the campaign, that they devoted a large area of their stand at the Earls Court Cycle Show to help raise awareness to the wider cycling community.

It was great to work on something I felt so passionate about and personally connected to, and the collective enthusiasm and spirit kept me going during those sleep deprived weeks. I’m proud of the designs I produced and the message my work helped shape but, in a bizarre twist, I’m almost prouder of what’s happened since...

As a designer, I love what I do, but there’s something very special about people taking your designs and running with them. As this campaign is so personal to so many, taking ownership of the messaging is essential and creating a structure (with consistency across the various elements) gives people the tools to take it further and help grow the campaign. This is a true word-of-mouth, combined with social media, success story and the momentum the campaign now has, has really blown me away: we got widespread and heartfelt coverage in the country’s press including the Guardian, London Evening Standard and the Telegraph to name but a few. We’ve had BBC’s Newsround filming us, a tweet by none other than Stephen Fry (reaching his 1.8million followers), a hugely successful public meeting with over £70,000 pledged in support, backing by Tessa Jowell and a global Facebook following that now has over 4,600 friends.



To my family's amazement, I now even have knowledge of twibbons with Facebook profiles being updated to help show support for our campaign. I’ve learned more about the strength and spirit of communities and my own knowledge of how this can be harnessed and built on using today’s technology. After the whirlwind, sitting back to enjoy the fruit of our hard work to date and come up with ways to build on this success, I’m left with a smile on my face and a very warm feeling of satisfaction and achievement (or is that muscle cramp?). Make my day and show me it was all worth it – support us and pledge money at www.savethevelodrome.com.

Carl Ison
Branding and Design Strategy
carl@tothepoint.co.uk