The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that beneath ‘Welcome’ on this blog I mention ‘Great Food & Drink’ amongst my interests. Subsequently, over the coming months you may begin to see the occasional restaurant review on Social Web Thing, especially if there is a social business/media element to the eatery.

There are several reasons for this move; my reluctance/laziness to create a food blog elsewhere, simply wishing to broaden the topics I write about and more selfishly, because I want to. But fundamentally I view writing about social business/media and food and drink as not only matching up some of my interests, but the merging of passions.

Right then. Introduction over. Lets get reviewing.

Whilst I was back in London over the festive period I had the pleasure of visiting Meat Liquor. Although, lots of foodie bloggers have well and truly beaten me to the punch to pen a review, there are still many who have yet to hear about Yianni Papoutsis’ latest venture.

For those unfamiliar with Yianni’s rise to fame, his story is one of social media stardom, one that has seen him go from selling burgers out of theMeat Wagon to having a fully fledged restaurant in one of the most sought-after west end postcodes.

Its been quite a journey and a year ago I blogged about the mythical #MEATEASY operation happening above a pub in New Cross Gate, as well as finally getting my hands on an awesome Meat Wagon burger in the Mahiki tent during Henley Regatta.

The start of a new year is always a fantastic time to take a moment, look back and reflect on the year that was.

I’ve been studying Google Analytics to see how this blog performed throughout 2011, as well as to gain an understanding of what topics are popular, how readers land on the blog and what terms people are searching for.

I’m fascinated by the vast quantities of data that we increasingly have at our fingertips and more importantly how the insights gleaned from this information can be used to inform future content, search and communications strategy – and I fully intend to utilise the data below to shape the direction of Social Web Thing.

2011 Summary

• Social Web Thing received 42,664 Pageviews
• There were 47 new posts
• The busiest day of the year was 6 October with 465 views
• The most popular post that day was So You Want to Work in PR? Here’s My 10 Top Tips

Top posts

• 2011 PR Grad Schemes
• 2012 PR Graduate Schemes
• So You Want to Work in PR? Here’s My 10 Top Tips
• 5 Tips to Pitch Yourself to a Potential Employer Using Social Media
• 10 Free Data Visualization Tools

Top referring sites

• Twitter
• Facebook
• linkedIn
• Edelman Digital
• Hootsuite

Top search terms

• pr graduate schemes
• pr graduate schemes 2012
• social web thing
• pr graduate scheme
• personal seo

The data above validates much of what I already thought about Social Web Thing with regard to content, traffic and search terms. It seems people find genuine value from posts that offer tips or advice on landing a PR or Social Media role. Interestingly, three of the top five posts were written in 2010, but enjoyed fantastic longevity throughout the year. All the numbers have proven insightful and will certainly give me food for thought for the year ahead.

To kick things off, I’d like to wish everyone who has read, commented on and shared a Social Web Thing post over the past 12 months a very Happy Christmas.

All in all, 2011 has been a fantastic year, both personally and for this blog – amongst the many highlights are moving to a new country, gaining promotion and once again being nominated for the CRAPPs.

For something which started as nothing more than a hobby, I find it extraordinary and humbling to see how the Social Web Thing has evolved over the past 27 months. It’s been quite a journey and the growth has been very pleasing; with the blog exceeding 40,000 Pageviews in 2011.

Another source of much pride has been continuing to write for the Edelman Digital blog, as well as penning posts for The Next Web and Clare Siobhán Callery’s excellent blog, both on a topic close to my heart; employability.

Throughout 2011 I’ve learnt so much, from too many people to name, but I’ll be forever grateful to everyone who has made it such a wonderful year. I’m not quite sure what 2012 will hold for me, but I’m always optimistic and I’m sure it will be an exciting, memorable and enjoyable 12 months.

At this time of year, it’s almost customary to make some predictions about what trends we can expect to see in the year ahead, so I’ll put my head on the block and make some predictions – I’d be interested to hear yours too (here’s my 2011 predictions).

2012 will…

• Be the year of Social Business
• Be remembered for gamification coming to the fore
• See us have more control over our online data
• See the emergence and use of near-field communication (NFC) technology

2012 will not…

• See us any closer to the Rusbridger Cross
• See the death of SEO

Again, I’d like to thank you all for reading Social Web Thing and for your continued support over the past year, it’s much appreciated.

Wishing you and your families a Merry Christmas and great New Year,

Ben

My Edelman Digital colleagues have a paid internship available for somebody to work in the London office across several accounts; assisting with content, reporting, community management, idea generation and a lot more.

The team is looking for someone with a qualification in Media, PR, Marketing or a related discipline, but are more than happy to talk to bright people with other qualifications too. The ideal candidate will have a solid grasp of digital, social media and Web 2.0 tools, as well as superior research (qualitative and quantitative), writing and editing skills.

They need somebody who can work effectively with team members and clients, and who is highly organised, detail-oriented and a self-starter with the ability to efficiently manage multiple deadlines. The candidate will also have experience in using tools such as MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel, as well as an understanding of other digital tools.

Also, in an era where unpaid internships are unfortunately all too common, I’m proud to say that my employer has publicly committed to pay the minimum wage to interns and subsequently, this internship pays £15k per year.

 The main responsibilities are:

• Assist with in basic community management and updating to Facebook pages and Twitter channels
• Involvement in every aspect of creating and implementing innovative content plans and campaigns
• Prepare and/or review all client reports, including but not limited to activity reports, monthly reports and status reports, incorporating audience and sentiment analysis
• Assist with content plan
• Develop understanding of client’s internal organisation, business and sector
• Work with client on day-to-day basis
• Manage work process, supporting senior account team members as appropriate
• Keep account team abreast of timelines and deadlines
• Analyse key word research
• Exhibit effective project management working closely with account teams
• Analyse market research including using online services

I know and have worked with the team during my time at Edelman and can vouch that it’s a fun, exciting, challenging and fast-paced environment; a great way to cut your teeth in the world of digital and work with some fantastic clients.

If you’re interested in the internship, drop Eamonn Carey an email at Eamonn.Carey@edelman.com

Recently I was lucky enough to catch up with Jeffrey Harmon, Chief Marketing Officer at Orabrush.

For those unfamiliar with Orabrush, it’s a tongue cleaning product that following a series of failures, including approaching oral care manufacturers and an expensive infomercial, turned to social media. What happened next is amazing.

Orabrush literally went from nobody’s to social media superstars thanks to its inventive, unique and hilarious approach to pitching their product on YouTube. Thirty-eight million views and nearly 150,000 subscribers later, the tongue cleaner manufacturer is now a huge commercial success and retails around the world.

It is perhaps the best case study of a brand using social media to build its profile, engage with fans and drive sales. The Orabrush team has shown that with a little creativity it is possible to turn the conventional advertising model upside down.

You can find out more about Orabrush from its website, YouTube Channel and Facebook Page.

1. In your view what are the main advantages of online PR and social media versus traditional PR?
Some of the advantages include immediate access by those interested and the inherent mobility of web based communication. If people like what they see, it immediately gets passed around.

2. Just how important is social media to Orabrush – what social media do you use?
Social media is fundamental to Orabrush’s marketing strategy. Our main tool is YouTube. Of course it’s a video sharing platform, but it’s also an extremely vibrant social community. We’ve immersed ourselves in that culture and become a part of it. Our channel has over 150,000 subscribers, and our videos have been seen almost 40 million times. We also have over 290,000 “Likes” on Facebook. We use that platform to push out our videos, get immediate customer feedback, and drive traffic to other media that impact or talk about Orabrush.

3. Beyond advertising, what does Orabrush use social media for?
We’ve used social media in virtually every aspect of our company. We release a video on our YouTube channel every week. Some are meant only to entertain, some are meant to sell. We’ve made video press releases to announce company milestones. We made individually tailored videos to contact people who may otherwise be difficult to reach.  We’ve used video in the checkout section of our site to keep the customer informed about their purchase and to let them know about other things they could see. We also use Facebook to get immediate customer feedback on ideas, designs, or directions we’re thinking of going.

4. How would you describe Orabrush’s approach to YouTube and social media in general?
We engage the audience. Sometimes that means we simply entertain, sometimes it’s asking questions. We want to make sure there is plenty to talk about, so we make videos every week. We watch the trends in our ecosystem (mostly YouTube) and discover and codify best practices. In short, we do what social media is best at doing: We make new friends and make old friendships stronger.

 5. The Orabrush YouTube channel has had nearly 40 million views, what was the thinking behind the it and the humorous infomercials?
We sell the Orabrush through our videos, but we also upload our weekly vlog. It’s not meant to sell, but it gets our brand seen and recognized by the community. We stay engaged with the audience and become an authentic part of the community. People like the brand because we’re essentially online friends.

6. What impact has social media had on Orabrush’s reputation and it’s bottom line?
It has made all the difference. Before we tried social media, our sales and brand recognition were nil. We tried an infomercial, that didn’t go anywhere. Now things are much better.

7. How would you suggest that other small brands look at social media?
Decide what you want to accomplish. Choose where you’ll play, whether its Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or some other tool. There is a lot of benefit to focusing on and figuring out the best way to use it. But some of the most important things in social media are: be present, be social, be authentic.

8. As a client, what more can agencies do to demonstrate the value of social media?
Make it work for them and don’t over promise unreasonable results. There are smart ways to engage in social media that don’t rely on a video going “viral” or taking an approach that is too gimmicky. Try a campaign and set measurable, reasonable, specific goals to determine whether it was successful. Also keep in mind that the end result of a social media campaign may be different than a traditional public relations or marketing campaign. Depending on the tools used, the measurements will be varied, but the campaign will still be effective.

9.In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about social media?
That social media is a magical black box for people who don’t use it. Kids use it, businesses make money from it, but outside observers will admit they don’t “get it”. That’s easy to fix. Start using it! Once people get involved, find the areas they connect with, they’ll start to understand the communities. Maybe the biggest misconception is when people think there is some magic special sauce for success. There isn’t. Get involved, experiment and figure out what works for you.

10. How do you measure and evaluate the value of your social media activity?
The easy answer for Orabrush is sales, but that isn’t the whole story. We do plenty that doesn’t immediately drive the bottom line, but improves the brand image. We estimate our social activity and social capital with whatever tools we have access to. We watch the likes, comments and subscriptions on our channel. We watch to see if people share our content. There are response videos, parodies, and knockoffs. There isn’t a single perfect way to measure, but with all the interactions available through social media, it isn’t hard to estimate your impact. You create your own dashboard, and you get to change it and adapt in ways that are most beneficial to your company.

I would like to put on record my thanks to Jeffrey for taking the time to talk to us about Orabrush and providing such an insightful Q&A. I wish him and the rest of the all the very best for the future. It’s a wonderful hometown, start-up success story and I’m sure there are more chapters to come in this fantastic tale.

This week I received a heads-up about the latest piece of branded content from Eloqua and JESS3. You may remember this duo created the innovative and useful Social Media ProBook back in July, so I was curious to see what they had in store for us this time around.

Their latest offering is an infographic called The Blog Tree: New Growth which shows the interrelationship between many leading new (post January 2009) digital marketing blogs in a rich, hyperlinked, visual and fun way. In its most basic form I see the infographic as a good piece of content; a ‘who’s who’ of the digital space that would make a great addition to any Reader or blogroll.

But there’s more to it than that. When you deconstruct this part of the campaign coupled with the Social Media ProBook you realise that Eloqua and JESS3 are putting content marketing at the heart of their marketing strategy. Eloqua and JESS3 are positioning and I would go as far to say, fast establishing themselves as content marketing leaders with these efforts.

It’s perhaps unsurprising Eloqua and JESS3 have opted for an infographic on this occasion as they have proven high value on the web. By their very nature infographics communicate a lot of information in an engaging way – and it is this type of content people want to write about, link to, ‘Like’, comment on and share throughout their social networks; all of which generate good quality inbound links that help improve SERPs.

Lastly, the outreach from Hotwite PR is worthy of praise too. As someone who is regularly pitched with poorly targeted press releases, it was refreshing be offered two clear benefits when contacted, namely:

1)      A good piece of content that my readers would be interested in

2)      The possibility of driving traffic to and from influential blogs (via hyperlinks on the infographic)

What do you think of the The Blog Tree: New Growth infographic as a standalone piece of content and more importantly as part of a content marketing and link-building strategy?

The Blog Tree New Growth Eloqua JESS3