Aluminate - October 2010 - University of Edinburgh Business School

social media
Tales of tweets,
FOUR MBA ALUMNI SHARE THEIR ADVICE AND EXPERIENCES
OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE NEW BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
TO CONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS, COLLEAGUES AND MORE...
THE CONSULTANT AND PARENT
STEPHANIE JARVIE (CLASS OF 2002)
I set up my own consulting business two years
ago just after my son was born when I needed
to find a way to balance caring for my little
one and still earn an income.
I saw a niche in the market in Australia to
provide online, new media and social media
strategy for the corporate and government
sectors. Organisations in Australia have been
slow to harness the potential of these
communication technologies.
Since starting my business,
I’ve developed the ten-year web
and new media strategy for
Melbourne Water, which has
since adopted pretty much all of
the recommendations, including
overhauling its website, using
social networking sites such as
Facebook, as well as posting video
on Youtube and regular updates
on Twitter.
We’ve also launched a very
popular iPhone app where you can
get up-to-the-minute data on water
storages in the dams that supply
Melbourne. We’re also trialling using
SMS alerts to alert farmers about
when they can irrigate, and a separate trial
for sending out flood alerts to people in
flood zones.
As a parent, social media is not just my
bread and butter, it also provides me with the
flexible lifestyle to earn it. I mostly work from
home, but can be seen tucked away in cafés,
working in airports and at my clients’ offices.
The one item I can’t live without is my
iPhone. I check my emails, access news feeds,
do my online banking, use the
currency converter, translation
tools, restaurant locator, access
various social media sites and
apps. It also has episodes of my
son’s favourite TV shows on it –
I can’t tell you how many times
this has got him to sit still on a
plane, or bought me an extra
five minutes when I’m on
deadline.
In terms of my personal use
of social media, I use LinkedIn
a lot to keep up with my
professional network, and use
Facebook to keep up with my
friends, alumni and former
colleagues around the world.
‘AS A PARENT, SOCIAL MEDIA
IS NOT JUST MY BREAD AND
BUTTER, IT ALSO PROVIDES
ME WITH THE FLEXIBLE
LIFESTYLE TO EARN IT. I
MOSTLY WORK FROM HOME,
BUT CAN BE SEEN TUCKED
AWAY IN CAFÉS, WORKING IN
AIRPORTS AND AT MY
CLIENTS’ OFFICES’
Stephanie Jarvie
THE DIGITAL MEDIA PROFESSIONAL
LINDSAY KEITH (CLASS OF 2007)
As a digital marketing consultant, I
advise firms on how they can use
social media to engage customers.
If firms don’t have a social media
strategy, they are missing a trick. If
implemented correctly, firms can listen
to what consumers are saying about
their brand and products on social
media for vital insight that enables
innovation.
When employing social media to
market products or services, it’s about
selling. The benefit in using digital
channels is that it’s possible to track
entire user journeys from the first
touchpoint to conversion.
When employing social media for
marketing a brand, it is different. We
look to raise brand awareness by
seeding links on blogs, in listening to
consumer conversations in Facebook
and Twitter, responding to any negative
messaging and creating advocates to
keep the brand message going.
The future of social media lies in
the hands of consumers, but emerging
technologies to look out for are
Foursquare, Gowalla and the new
Facebook commerce engine – not to
mention Google’s plans for this area.
Social media is evolving, ultimately
empowering the consumer to share
their experiences. It’s my job to help
businesses listen, act and respond.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Lindsay Keith is Managing
Director of Canvas Perspective
(www.canvasconsutling.co.uk).
Follow him on twitter@lwjkeith
24 | aluminate | october 2010 www.business-school.ed.ac.uk