Big post with a short message - We Care...

At the outset, I know this will be a long blog post because it is a round-up of a very busy year for fatBuzz, but I hope you all find the time to read it and, if you find it interesting, please share it.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
2011 was a big year for fatBuzz, or so we thought. During that year we worked with 24 new clients, an amazing number in the current climate and we thought that would be difficult to repeat in 2012.  But we are optimists, so we decided to try and repeat this number in 2012. In fact, we actually exceeded our expectations by some margin - working with over 30 new clients.  

Our thanks go to all of these new clients for giving us the opportunity and to the many existing clients who referred us to many of these new clients.

Exceeding expectations is something we strive to do; we hope every client  we worked with in 2012 feels we exceeded their expectations.  If not, please talk to us about where you feel we could have done more.

We are extremely encouraged by last year's figures and even more positive about next year because we are already talking to a number of potential new clients for 2013. Hopefully we will be able to bring you some news about them early in January.

EXPANDING THE TEAM

Introducing so much new work to the business meant we had to expand our team and whilst I'd like to take credit for the great team we have, I must admit this was largely down to Kyle and Marion.  In fact, on one occasion, the first time I met one particular member of staff was the day after he started working with fatBuzz!  

Derek Howie was the first of the 2012 recruits. Derek actually interviewed me in 2010 as part of his university work but it wasn't until Kyle interviewed him that we knew he would be a great addition to the fatBuzz team.

Joanna Robb came to fatBuzz as an intern before joining us full-time a few months ago.  Joanna's marketing degree and experience in fashion retailing are very useful to a variety of our clients.

Chris Winch is the latest recruit (he's the one I met after he joined fatBuzz!) Chris has been a fantastic addition to the web development side of the business and his arrival brings us a range of additional skills that complement those already on offer from our design team.

Brian Blacklaw joined us at the start of 2012 to strengthen our accounting, reporting and admin functions - and he has exceeded our expectations!  We now have up-to-the-minute reporting and extensive financial data that helps us to set fair rates for the work we do for you. We are very pleased to have all of these people on board and I look forward to Kyle expanding the team further in 2013.

IMPROVING OUR ENVIRONMENT

We not only expanded the fatBuzz team in 2012, we also decided to give our office a major refurb!  We wanted the interior to reflect the innovative and dynamic nature of our business - and the main office is now bright and airy with lots of areas for team collaboration and client meetings. 

The floor of the office is Astroturf and visitors are invited to compete in our appropriately named "Finding the Net" golf challenge, where we record scores on a "Top Gear" style leader board.

We wanted the office to have a creative feel but more than anything we wanted it to be fun. We always tell clients that social media should be fun, even when the message is serious.
Thanks to John Dick & Son for their help with the office interiors, you can read more about the project here. 

SHARING KNOWLEDGE
fatBuzz is proud of its tradition of sharing knowledge, which we do mainly via the Social Media Podcast and the New Media Breakfasts.  September this year was the third anniversary of the Glasgow and Edinburgh events and what a busy year we had - over 1300 attendees heard a variety of presenters talking on a wide range of social media related topics.  

At our final breakfast in Glasgow a first-time attendee said to me immediately after we finished that she had been to many similar events that didn't impress her and she had come along not expecting very much, but that we had exceeded her expectations. That's what we like to hear. We do get lots of positive feedback from the breakfast attendees and we hope that most people take away at least one thing from each event.

The New Media Breakfast is a significant commitment for fatBuzz; many hours of preparation go into every one we do and we will continue to run them as long as we feel there is sufficient interest and support for what we are trying to achieve. The first breakfast of 2013 is already scheduled, where we will try to get your content creation off to a great start by giving you lots of tips for 2013. You can get full details of that event here.

In 2012, I also completed a large number of speaking engagements throughout the UK. I hope the 2000 (approx) attendees from Aberdeen to London enjoyed listening as much as I enjoyed talking to them.

WHERE WE DID FAIL

I will be the first to admit that we have failed to deliver a sufficient number of podcasts this year - this is very much a case of the 'cobblers bairns'. We have been so busy with client work and the breakfasts that something had to give way.  

We are still 100% committed to the Social Media Podcast and we're currently looking at ways to ensure a more regular release.  We may alter the format so that we have some like the existing one, others that are interview led and perhaps even guest presenters.  One thing is for sure - we will be bringing you more episodes in 2013 that we did in 2012, so please stay tuned to see what happens.

WHERE WE DID SUCCEED

Perhaps the most satisfying event of 2012 was the Social Media Day for Charities that we ran in October. We were delighted to welcome 125 guests representing over 90 charities to 29 Member's Club for a day of knowledge sharing about social media.  We were delighted to be able to offer this day to every attendee free of any charge.  Several people did say it had exceeded their expectations - we liked that!  

The day was made possible because so many of our clients supported what we were doing and helped us where they could.  We are very grateful to 29 Glasgow, Bloom VC, Commsworld, Dean's Shortbread, Meigle Print, Orb Group & The Networking Coach for their support and participation on the day.  

RAISING THE BAR
The only way we can keep exceeding expectations (yours and ours) is to continue to 'raise the bar'. The Social Media Charity Day was an example of this, we wanted to help charities make better use of the very limited resources they have at their disposal. Next year we would like to do it all again, but let's do it for 500 charities this time!

If we are to achieve this though, we will need even more support. We don't mind putting in the hours to make it happen and if any of our clients or social media friends would like to offer their support please let me know I will be delighted to chat to you about it.

GIVING SOMETHING BACK
fatBuzz has always adhered to the motto of The Entrepreneurial Exchange - 'Work Hard, Play Hard, Give Something Back'.  We will continue to work with a number of charities for discounted rates and in some instances for no fee. This year we are delighted to have worked with; Aberlour Child Care Trust, Action for Children, Hearts & Minds, Kilbryde Hospice, Carers Trust, Scottish Spina Bifida Association, Skillforce and With Kids.

We would urge all of our clients and social media friends to find a way to work with charities, the rewards for both parties will exceed your expectations.

IT DIDN'T HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT
We are genuinely delighted with 2012. It has been a busy year but it didn't happen by accident; lots of hard work helped but I believe the real difference this year lies in the goal setting and planning we did at the end of 2011, and before that, at the end of 2010. I really cannot express enough how important it is to set goals and plan how you will achieve them.  Personally, I would like to thank my fellow directors Marion and Kyle for their support and faith in me, it is much appreciated. It would also be remiss of me to exclude Philip Dearing, of Philip Dearing Works, who has helped us enormously with the strategic development of fatBuzz.   

AND FINALLY...
Finally, I would like to thank all of the team at fatBuzz for their hard work and dedication over the past 12 months. They really do work hard, we give something back and, as a result, we also have some fun!

We hope all of our clients, suppliers, partners and friends have a wonderful time over the next few days and we wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

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January New Media Breakfast: Content Creation Inspiration for 2013

CONTENT CREATION INSPIRATION FOR 2013

VENUE: 29 Member's Club, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
DATE: 25th January 2013
TIME: 7:30am for 8:00am

Firstly, we would like to wish all of the New Media Breakfast attendees and speakers all the very best over the festive season, we hope you have an enjoyable break with your friends and family.

It's time to start thinking about our plans for next year and some topics for future breakfasts and we would really like to hear any suggestions you have for topics in 2013.  If you have any suggestions, please post them as a comment here on the blog, on the Facebook page or, email them to gordon@fatbuzz.com. It is important to us that we cover subjects that are relevant, interesting and topical so please give as all of your suggestions.

For the first breakfast of 2013 we thought it would be useful to give you some inspiration for content creation in 2013 so we've entitled the January New Media Breakfast:

CONTENT CREATION INSPIRATION FOR 2013

We have always recommended the calendar as a great source of content so we want to go through some ideas that may give you inspiration for your content for the whole year.  We will look at traditional calendar events and what you can do to tap into special times throughout the year for content ideas.

INDUSTRY/SECTOR SPECIFIC
We will also look at some industry specific dates and how different sectors can use specific events and dates to create interesting content.  If you would like us to specifically feature your sector, please email us details in advance and we'll try to include it in the presentation.  Please send your industry or sector details to gordon@fatbuzz.com

SPECIAL EVENTS
In addition, we will look at special events in the 2013 calendar and how you may be able to create relevant content around them.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
All in all, we want to provide as many content creation ideas based on the calendar as we possibly can; we hope every attendee will leave with some great ideas about how to use the 2013 calendar to inspire and create good engaging content.

We hope you'll be able to make  it along to the first event of 2013, we intend to get the breakfast sessions off to a great start by sharing lots of knowledge that you can use and implement in your own social media. 

Once again, have a great time over the festive season, we look ofrward to seeing you all in 2013.

THE SPEAKER
Gordon White, Managing director of fatBuzz Ltd will present the January New Media Breakfast.

HOW TO BOOK
Venue: 29 Member's Club, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
Date: Friday 25th January 2013
Time: 7.30am for 8am
Cost: £10 +VAT

BOOK FOR NEW MEDIA BREAKFAST GLASGOW HERE:

No.29 MEMBERS GO FREE 

If you are a 29 Member you can attend the breakfast free of charge. Please email malcolm@fatbuzz.com with you membership number and he will add you to the attendance list.

We hope you can make it along to this event. If so, I look forward to seeing you on the day.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

It's Nominations and Awards time, and our clients have featured a lot...

It's the time of year for awards and we're pleased that many of our clients have been featuring prominently in some of the most prestigious ceremonies around the country.

Ambicare Health 

Their Lustre Pure Light treatment for acne has won the Product Innovation of the Year award 2012 at the UK Cosmetic News Aesthetic Awards in London on Saturday December 1st.

Lustre Pure Light was selected ahead of many other innovative products by a group of leading healthcare professionals and industry experts.

The judges comments

"Lustre Pure Light was a breakthrough technology which finally allowed clinically proven phototherapy for acne to be delivered to patients in a convenient affordable manner" 

The technology was originally developed by leading dermatologists at NHS Tayside in collaboration with leading physicists at the University of St Andrews.

Paul J Donnelly CEO said, "This comes at a very exciting time for us as we recently launched in Holland and France in October and also filed our 510k application for USA approval in the same month.  It is very satisfying to see so many new customers supporting us in taking the product to persistent acne sufferers."

Anyone wishing to buy Lustre Pure Light can find their nearest clinic at www.lustrepurelight.com or you can visit their Facebook page here.

The Phoenix Group

John McGuire, Managing Director at Phoenix Car Company was particularly delighted when Phoenix won Employer of the Year at the recent ROCCO Awards in Renfrewshire.

Phoenix Car Company has grown steadily from its roots in Paisley to car and motorbike showrooms in Stirling, Grangemouth, Glasgow and Edinburgh.  The company has an impressive record with some of the best marques in the car industry with dealerships selling Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki.

John McGuire said, "We are delighted to win this award, it is reward and recognition for the investment we make in our people.  We are delighted to accept the award on behalf of our employees who make it possible for us to be recognised as Employer of the Year."

Scoot

Ranjit Anderson, Co Founder of Scoot has been nominated for Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year in the Scottish Asian Business Awards 2012.

Scoot are the innovative business who send drivers on Scooters to drive you home from town in your own car.  The business was founded in Edinburgh in  2003 and is set to open for business in Glasgow early in 2013.  We wish Ranjit well with the nomination and the expansion into Glasgow.

The Booking Room
We were also delighted that Michael O'Hare, Managing Director at The Booking Room was nominated for Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in the Annual Entrepreneurial Exchange Awards at The Hilton Hotel, Glasgow last month.

The Booking Room offers the most advanced worldwide ground transportation service in the chauffeur industry.  In 1999, they developed an innovative new approach by delivering solutions to the global ground transportation market, since then the company has gone from strength to strength.  Based in Glasgow, they operate offices in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong.

Spectrum Service Solutions

Sara Speirs, Managing Director at Spectrum Service Solutions has been especially busy with two nominations at the ROCCO Awards in Renfrewshire and a further two at The Herald Scottish Family Business Awards. 

Spectrum had a very busy year in 2012 with various new contracts, perhaps one of the most notable with The Olympic Games during the summer.

The Entrepreneurial Exchange and WeDo Scotland

Not only did our clients feature in the nominations for many awards, two of our clients actually hosted prestigious events: The Entrepreneurial Exchange Annual Awards were held the the Glasgow Hilton and WeDo Scotland hosted their very successful WeDo Business Awards 2012 in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh last month.  

So, we are pleased to have two leading business networks as fatBuzz clients - WeDo Scotland and The Entrepreneurial Exchange.  Both these organisations promote knowledge sharing and business networking at the very highest level and we are delighted to work with both of them.

These are just some of the clients who have enjoyed a successful year in 2012 - we will bring you more news in the coming weeks.  Meanwhile, if you have enjoyed this post, please share it using the social media share buttons below. There's a good chance others you know will enjoy it too.  Thank you.

New-Bees are Buzzing

We revealed last month that we were looking for two new mouths to feed at fatBuzz - and we are delighted to announce that we have found the perfect candidates!

Firstly, we would like to welcome our new Social Media Account Manager, Joanna Robb, to the team.

Joanna had been interning with fatBuzz for six months, and she has always been a major part of the fatBuzz team, but we thought it was about time we made it official!

Joanna graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with a 2:1 Honours Degree in Marketing, and in addition to keeping the fatBuzz boys in check, she will work directly with a range of clients on marketing, social media engagement and developing online communities.

While carrying out 'extensive' research for this post, we found out that Joanna used to attend RSAMD Theatre Group... which really does explain a lot! 

In all seriousness, Joanna is a real people person with an infectious, bubbly personality and we are confident that she will bring a range of additional skills to the team.

We are also delighted to welcome our latest web developer/designer, Chris Winch, to the team.

Chris is a web and graphic designer from Dumbarton, with vast experience in developing websites for a range of businesses across various sectors. 

We knew Chris was the perfect candidate for this role as soon as we met him; he is experienced, enthusiastic and ambitious, but most importantly, he fits in perfectly with the fatBuzz culture.

Chris' main skills lie in HTML/CSS, WordPress and Graphic Design, but he is also vastly experienced with UX/Usability, Responsive and Mobile Web Design and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Interestingly, we have just found out that Chris and our other web developer David actually went to school together, although they didn't know each other at the time!

It really is a small world, isn't it?

In saying that, we are sure that our own little world will continue to grow and we look forward to welcoming lots of new faces to the fatBuzz team in 2013.

If you've found this post interesting please use the share buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they'll find it interesting too.

 

Content Explored...Not so much sharing, more of an Entrepreneurial Exchange!

The 3rd in our series of "Content Explored" blogs

At recent presentations and speaking engagements, I've been talking a lot about the power of sharing and how much you get back by simply giving away information and sharing knowledge. As author of "New Rules of Marking and PR", David Meerman Scott said in a video he very kindly did for me, "The more you give, the more you get". This advice is also shared by other luminaries like CC Champan (Content Rules), Mitch Joel, (Six Pixels of Separation) and Chris Brogan (Trust Agents).

I certainly concur with their beliefs. Through the New Media Breakfast and our Social Media Podcast, fatBuzz share information and knowledge that leads to engagement, enquiries, referrals, and ultimately more work. The New Media Breakfast, the Social Media Podcast, our blog, and some other speaking engagements are the only real form of marketing we do at fatBuzz - all of them involve sharing knowledge. It is true, the more you give, the more you get.

However, after speaking at an Entrepreneurial Exchange Supper Club event this week it occurred to me that what we get back is much more than referrals and new business. The format of these events is a short presentation by the speaker (in this case me) followed by a round table discussion over dinner about the speaker's topic (in this case Social Media Defined and Proving ROI). Therefore, I get to engage with 15 entrepreneurs about social media; I learn their views, fears, experiences, concerns, expectations, perceptions and much more.

How valuable is that for me? These Entrepreneurial Exchange members are experienced and successful business owners, their opinions matter to me because they are relevant and probably representative of many other businesses. By listening to them, I have a much clearer understanding about what people want to know and what they want to achieve through social media marketing. So, I reckon I finished the evening learning as much, if not more, than they did, so in this case I got something back immediately. 

One of the first things I tell people about content creation is to look at your FAQs; what do people generally ask you? This is a great starting point; create content that answers the questions people normally ask you. By listening to the 15 Entrepreneurial Exchange members I have a clearer idea about the issues and concerns they have about adopting social media, I can now create content that addresses these points and I'm sure it will be relevant to many more than the 15 business owners in attendance.

So, the next time you're asked to speak to your local business networking group, careers meeting, industry conference or, graduate's boot-camp don't think of it as a chore, think of it as an opportunity. The questions they ask you are relevant to that community, they will help you understand what it is they need to know about you and what type of content is likely to engage them.

To the Entrepreneurial Exchange members who were present at the Supper Club meeting, thank you for open and frank discussion, I learned lots, and I hope you did too.

Our recent fatBuzz Social Media Day for Charities

NOTES:

• If you would like to find out more about social media marketing please think about coming along to our Monthly New Media Breakfasts - Details of the next one are here
• You can learn more about Entrepreneurial Exchange membership here
• CC Chapman has just published his new book entitled "Amazing things will Happen", if it's anything like the first book it will be well worth a read.  More details here 

If you would like to discuss your content strategy please give us a call or drop an email to hello@fatbuzz.com, we will be delighted to have a chat.

If you've found this post interesting please use the share buttons below to tell your online community about it, there's a good chance they'll find it interesting too.

 

November New Media Breakfast - Social Media Defined

The term “social media” is bandied around on a daily basis yet, more often than not, it is misinterpreted or misunderstood. We will define social media and how it relates to marketing and promoting brands.

We will also provide real examples that prove a healthy return on investment is possible when social media is fully understood and used in the proper manner. Likewise, we will provide examples that explain why so many organisations are wasting their time, and ultimately failing, with social media.

The November breakfast will explore what social media actually means. We will define social media in a business context and try to dispel some of the myths.

Most people understand what social media is on a personal level however, when it comes to business, the definition is less clear.

How do you apply the principles of social media to your business and how do you get a return on your investment? Hopefully we will be able to help you understand what social media marketing is all about and how you might be able to use it within your business.

We will also explore how you choose what tools to use and how you can become 'trend proof' if you adopt the right social media strategy.

THE SPEAKER
Gordon White, Managing director of fatBuzz Ltd will present the November New Media Breakfast.

HOW TO BOOK
Venue: 29 Member's Club, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
Date: Friday 30th November 2012
Time: 7.30am for 8am
Cost: £10 +VAT

BOOK FOR NEW MEDIA BREAKFAST GLASGOW HERE:

No.29 MEMBERS GO FREE 

If you are a 29 Member you can attend the breakfast free of charge. Please email malcolm@fatbuzz.com with you membership number and he will add you to the attendance list.

We hope you can make it along to this event. If so, I look forward to seeing you on the day.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

Crowdfunding for Charities

Fundraising is tough at the best of times, but it’s increasingly difficult to raise money during a recession.

Which is why crowdfunding is shifting the paradigm, away from the usual sources of finance.

We all know it’s no longer enough to shake a tin and count on the patrons that have supported us in the past. We need to move away from this traditional route to fundraising to a more innovative, creative, wider reaching and longer-term approach to raising money.

Crowdfunding enables you to get creative to stand out from the crowd, extend your reach, encourage a new conversation with your supporters.

So, what is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is simply a new way of using technology to help people with an idea raise money to bring it to life, whether that’s a business idea, a startup, a community project, a charity or a social enterprise.

Did any of you do a sponsored event when you were at school – take the form home and ask your parents who asked their friends? You collected the money and took it back to school.

That was crowdfunding.

Do you remember your history studies? The Darien scheme back in the late 1690s, when a quarter of the money circulating in Scotland was pooled in what became an unsuccessful attempt to make Scotland a world trading nation by establishing a colony called New Caledonia in Panama.

That was crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is a global phenomenon that provides an alternative route to donations – from an extended audience – it’s all about community and that truly lends itself to charities.

It’s the explosion in the use of social networking sites that has brought crowdfunding to the fore; as users of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn grow, so do the opportunities to reach out for support.

Crowdfunding is simply an extension of what people have been doing for centuries – patronage, supporting family and friends and the local community.

Millions of pounds, dollars and euros are donated every day to support exciting, innovative and life-changing ventures around the world. The impact on businesses, individuals, communities – and the economy – is significant.

But it’s not just about business and entrepreneurs, crowdfunding works for communities, social enterprises, charities, youth groups, schools and more.


Charitable crowdfunding – it’s not just about the money

Money is obviously important, but it needn’t be the only driving factor behind a crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding delivers more than just money.


Donor fatigue is a real issue, local communities will have regular supporters of charitable activities in the area, but it’s important to widen the donor pool.

Crowdfunding enables you to reach out to the diaspora, people who have moved away from the area but who maybe still have family there, or memories that keep them tied and supportive.

It means you can engage with young people more easily – Gen Y are not only engaged in social, they live it, breath it, dream it.

And then there’s the Corporate Social Responsibility opportunity for you to engage with large corporates to help them with their CSR – if you can come up with ideas or projects that could be crowdfunded, you could get their employees involved in the campaign, then ultimately ask the corporate to match the money raised. You get double the impact and a terrific community legacy.

Crowdfunding can often trigger matched funding, so it’s important to explore these options.

And even if your crowdfunding campaign is unsuccessful, you will have an up to date database of new backers to reach out to, and a significantly raised profile beyond your immediate location.

The legacy is a much more engaged community of supporters, and for those who haven’t engaged with social media effectively in the past, this is a great starting point

So how does it work?

Bring your community and build interest in advance of your campaign. Do your research, find out where your target market is consuming their data, spending their time, and go there, start to engage before you launch your project.

Create your project – it’s simply an online pitch, so tell your story, engage people, choose the amount of money you want to raise and a time limit – 30, 45 or 60 days. Upload images and video to illustrate your story.

Create rewards – a series of compelling, unique, exciting rewards will make it a much quicker and easier decision for strangers to your project to back you. So be creative, ask your patrons and backers to donate things, use any celebrity connections you have. They’re bound to be on social media and will happily publicise anything they’re involved in. You’re reaching their followers each time they tweet, ultimately extending your own reach.

Then the hard work starts, reaching out to your community and asking them to support you. It takes time and it takes effort.

Create a mini campaign plan and work hard. It’s not a one-off activity, this is all part of building your supporting community for the future.

At the end of the day you get out what you put in, there’s potential to raise much more than you initially ask for, and you can post as many different projects as you like.

Images courtesy of siteorigin.com and harrods.com)

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

Christmas Hampers Charity Competition

As many of you will be aware, fatBuzz is running an exclusive Social Media Training Day for charities tomorrow - and we are happy to reveal that our goodwill doesn't stop there.

To celebrate our Training Day and to reward charity workers' continuous hard work and dedication, we are giving away not one, but TWO of Mitchells Dairy's luxurious Christmas Hampers.

If you think a particularly deserving charity worker has gone above and beyond the call of duty this year, or if you simply want to show your appreciation, we want you to nominate them for this fantastic prize.

To do so, you can nominate him/her on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or you can comment directly on this blog post.

And that's not all! If the person you nominate wins the Christmas Hamper, we will also throw one in for you for taking the time and effort to nominate them!

The competition will close at 12pm on Monday 5th November, so remember (remember) to get your entries in before then!

If you don't win this competition, but still want to buy Mitchells' Christmas hampers for your friends, family or colleagues, you can visit Mitchells' online Hampers Store by clicking HERE. 

Starting from the £35 Afternoon Tea Hamper and ranging up to the £140 Taste of Scotland Hamper, there really is a hamper to suit every taste and budget.

If you want to get in touch with Mitchells and order a bespoke hamper, you can contact them on: 01467 621389 or info@mitchells-scotland.com

Good luck everyone, and we hope you have a wonderful, educational and beneficial day at our Social Media Training Day.

PS. We will also be making an exciting announcement about further charity support later in the week, so make sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter to find out the news.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.

Social Media & Music - Creating a Song and Dance

Scottish band Biffy Clyro have been making waves in the social media world again this week, after inviting fans to reveal the artwork to their eagerly anticipated new album Opposites through Twitter.

Every time a fan tweeted #BiffyOpposites, a little more of the artwork was unveiled until the entire image, complete with subtle animated touches, was displayed.

After just 18 hours, the artwork was revealed; putting the final touches on a wholly successful social media campaign.

The campaign, and the subsequent buzz that was created surrounding it, got us thinking about other bands and artists that have embraced social media.

Obviously, there are particular artists that roll off the tongue when you think of social media; Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber are just two prominent examples.

However, we decided to cherry-pick other artists and bands who have embraced social media and utilised it in the most innovative and creative ways.

Hue and Cry

If you grew up in the UK in the 80s, you will no doubt be familiar with brothers Pat and Greg Kane, otherwise known as pop group Hue And Cry, however you might not be so familiar with their social media activity. 

In an article in Wales Online, Pat Kane explained: "We have a very active relationship with the fans through social media, through our own website Hue & Cry Music Club and all the other channels."

As well as embracing social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, Hue and Cry also have their own Ning social network, Hue And Cry Music Club, which they regularly use to interact with their fans. Impressive.

Radiohead

Radiohead's online presence is long established, but it is impossible for us to ignore.

They regularly market their music in a way that no other mainstream band has attempted before; back in 2007, they recorded 'In Rainbows' on their own and released it on their website as a direct download with the asking price of “pay what you want.” 

Fast forward to 2011, where they fully utilised social media.

Ahead of the release of 'The Kings of Limbs' album, they posted a tweet on their official Twitter account: “Thank you for waiting…”, which was followed by a link to www.thekingoflimbs.com, a website designed for the release of their new album.

Four days later, on Friday the 18th, Radiohead tweeted again: “It’s Friday…It’s almost the weekend…You can download ‘The King of Limbs’ now if you so wish!”

Cue social media frenzy. Simple, but effective.

Ed Sheeran

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is perhaps one of the best examples of how powerful social media can be in music.

Sheeran's producer, Jake Gosling discovered him on MySpace four years ago, and he has since built a loyal following of 'Sheeranator' fans through YouTube. 

Having worked with grime and underground artists, Gosling had come to know Jamal Edwards, founder of online music channel SBTV, and rather than the traditional music media, it SBTV that propelled his song You Need Me to go viral and gain millions of hits.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Conor Maynard

Conor Maynard, like a lot of aspiring young artists, used social media and sites like YouTube to share his videos and after the R&B artist Ne-Yo saw his cover of his song 'Beautiful Monster' on YouTube, the two started Skyping, which led to a recording contract with EMI.

Once again, Maynard is tapping into his social media-hungry fan base to help him decide where in the United States he should perform this winter. To determine the five cities in which the 19-year-old will give free concerts, his label has created MayniacMap, which lets his fans earn points for their respective cities.

Users rack up points by connecting their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare and Tumblr accounts, and performing activities — such as following, liking, commenting and sharing. And for anyone who is remotely interested, New York, San Francisco, Houston, Detroit and Tampa, Florida have accumulated the most points so far.

Ellie Goulding

British singer Ellie Goulding has fully embraced social media.

Not only did she recently conduct the world’s 'first digital album signing' in a Google+ Hangout, she also unleashed a lyric video for Halcyon‘s lead single, 'Anything Could Happen', which featured fan-submitted Instagram photos.

Goulding had just joined the photo-sharing site in June before she asked fans to show her some Instagram love, and you can view the resulting video below.

Have you found this post interesting? If so, please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. If you can think of any other examples of musicians embracing social media, let us know. Thank You.

Exclusive PackshotBoys Offer

One of fatBuzz’s long-term partners, David Cadzow, has an intriguing new business venture - and he has a fantastic introductory offer for the fatBuzz community.

David, who has over 20 years’ commercial photography experience, has created PackshotBoys, a vibrant new packshot company providing high quality, low cost packshot solutions for e-commerce businesses across Scotland and the UK.

And if anyone is interested in taking advantage of David’s and PackshotBoys’ expertise, he is offering a fantastic 15% introductory discount, exclusive to the fatBuzz community.

For those unaware, packshots are still or moving images that are used to portray your products’ quality and reputation, whether through your website, digital advertising or traditional print media.

He can shoot product at clients' premises or in their purpose built studio, using the best digital camera and lighting equipment available to produce stunning quality images to do your products justice.

As well as running PackshotBoys, David also owns internationally acclaimed architectural & interior photography company, Cadzow Pelosi, alongside Joseph Pelosi.

David has also previously supplied photography to a major multi-channel retailer supplying both room-set lifestyle and creative photography, as well as fast turnaround, high volume packshots.

To obtain this offer, contact David directly on 01698 891 721 or email him at info@packshotboys.com Offer is valid until 16th November.

You can follow PackshotBoys on Pinterest and Twitter, or join them on Facebook.

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Social Media Podcast No.49 - Remember When Facebook's share price was $38, now it's almost half but they have 1 billion users!

We're back with Social Media Podcast No.49 and it's a slightly different line up from usual, Kyle had to take care of some urgent client work but we are joined by a couple of first-timers on the podcast.  Taking part in Social Media Podcast Episode 49 we have Gordon White,  Iain Murray  Derek Howie and Joanna Robb.

As usual, we have some lively debate and chat around the world of social media and we bring you some useful examples of social media campaigns that have gone well, and some that have not gone so well.

One of the things we discuss is the Friends Reunited #RememberWhen campaign run at a recent charity ball when they used disposable cameras and a hashtag to engage people both on the night and, on the Friends Reunited platform.  Here is a picture of the Friends Reunited cameras that were used at the Cash for Kids Ball which ultimately raised £250,000 ($403,000) for charity.

HELP US WITH OUR 50th EPISODE
The next Episode is No.50;  we would like to make it a special edition by getting some comments from you - these can be sent by email, Twitter or, posted on the Social Media Podcast Facebook page.  Better still, why don't you send us a short audio message and we'll play it on the podcast - send audio messages to gordon@fatbuzz.com

We would really welcome as many comments and contributions as possible so please send them to us as soon as possible.

Podcast No.49 is packed with great conversation and information from the world of social media - there's also the normal banter and light hearted fun you expect when the Social Media Podcast  team get together.

There's a lot in this one including:

• Audi's ProgressIs campaign - What lessons can we learn from the competition and the two finalists, John Garcia and Jet Set Brunette?
• The fatBuzz Training Day for charities, oversubscribed but we may have some good news for the charities on the waiting list!
• iPhone 5 - Leaves its mark, but is it different enough?
• Samsung vs Apple, the battle rages on
• Will Microsoft's phone be the next big player?
• Friends Reunited - their interesting #RememberWhen campaign
• Iain's a finalist in the National Geographic Photographic Competition - does he need our votes?
• 12 Principles of Social Media Marketing - we discuss an excellent blog post from Jeff Bullas
• Bing teams up with Klout - are these 'scoring' sites of any real value?
• Social analytics tools - are they an expensive luxury?
• ROI - Are your expectations and goals realistic?
• Facebook features strongly in our discussion including the following: Facebook Gifts, Facebook Offers, the alleged Facebook fail
• Facebook also loses a clients' Facebook page and they wont respond to us - is the real price of 'free'?
• TV hit series, Once Upon a Time's Fan Club adopt With Kids as a their Charity and raise lots of money online after watching a video of Robert Carlyle on YouTube.  We discuss the global donations for this small but worth while Glasgow charity.
• Facebook pass 1 billion users but are more than half their users still frustrated with Facebook's mobile experience?
• Pinterest - great for certain brands but are people realising the potential?

If you would like to donate to Gareth Hughes Once Upon a Fan campaign for With Kids, you can do so at the Just Giving Page here

We hope you enjoy the podcast, if you have any comments to make or topics you would like us to discuss please leave them here on the blog or on our Facebook Page.

Play the podcast here:

Subscribe/Download Social Media Podcast on iTunes

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Should I or shouldn't I - Is fear stifling your creativity?

Many good ideas never see the light of day through fear of failure or ridicule. 

How many times have you had what you think is a good idea but, by the time you go to implement it, doubts have set in and fear takes over?  You then shelve the idea with the intent of 'sleeping on it' and it never seems quite such a good idea again.

Sound familiar?

This week's New Media Breakfast can perhaps help to dispel some of these fears or, confirm you shouldn't proceed.  I will be looking at some examples of social media winners and losers; campaigns that have worked well and others that have ended in tears, hopefully you will get inspiration from some and cautionary intelligence from others.

I have tried to choose a wide variety of cases from the world of industry, commerce and charity - there is no shortage of examples of winners and losers whatever the sector.  I have also tried to pick examples from all of the main social media platforms so, regardless of which platforms you favour, hopefully there will be something you can relate to.

By the end of the breakfast presentation I hope all of the attendees will have a better idea about the following:

• What kind of social media works - or doesn't!
• Potential pitfalls
• What is success or failure?
• How to test your idea before going 'global'
• How to deal with a negative response

I hope as many people as possible make it along to find out about this important issue and I hope that all attendees will leave with the confidence to try new ideas.

I hope in the future the only real barrier to your social media marketing success is the limitation of your own creativity and that its not coupled with fear of failure.

HOW TO BOOK
Venue: 29 Member's Club, Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow
Date: Friday 28th September 2012
Time: 7.30am for 8am
Cost: £10 +VAT

You can read more about the New Media Breakfast here.

BOOK FOR NEW MEDIA BREAKFAST GLASGOW HERE:

No.29 MEMBERS GO FREE 

If you are a 29 Member you can attend the breakfast free of charge. Please email malcolm@fatbuzz.com with you membership number and he will add you to the attendance list.

We hope you can make it along to this event. If so, I look forward to seeing you on the day.

If you have found this post interesting please share it with your online community using either the Twitter, Facebook and Share buttons below. Thank You.