The buzz about 'the buzz about the social media buzz'

We were onboard at last Wednesday’s ‘Buzz about Social Media Buzz’ Pecha Kucha event alongside a whole host of other industry insiders talking about the future and potential of online buzz measurement. The event - hosted by brand-e.biz and sponsored by Visible Technologies – was an illuminating afternoon, highlighting both the pressing need for brands to engage with social media, but also the extent to which the industry is still very much in it’s infancy. So Robin Grant from We Are Social gave some very real examples of how they had helped their client at Eurostar to manage the ‘social media tsunami’ that followed their recent yuletide troubles. And Matt Rhodes from Fresh Networks showed how they had used social media to drive buzz around the launch of Jimmy Choo’s trainer range. However, there was also a note of caution from Paul Armstrong at Kindred who claimed that transparency still needs to be the theme of the day when it comes to actually measuring buzz. The methods that are being used are still imperfect – and don’t believe anybody who tells you otherwise. Andrew Grill from Visible Technologies used his time in the spotlight to show how their technology works to make sense of the conversations happening online – and how important the human element still is in deciphering what the mentions of a brand online actually mean. Our very own Claire took to the plate in much this spirit, talking about how social media buzz tools can add an interesting dimension to our work as researchers as a complement to our usual more face-to-face methods. In our recent research into the buzz around ethical world cup campaigns for brands like Puma, Adidas and Nationwide we found that looking at what people were saying online could get you so far in understanding their reactions to specific initiatives. But things got really interesting when we talked to people more directly about the campaigns, as it emerged that people were open to engaging more on these issues, if only they were given a bit more prominence by brands. The lesson for brands appeared to be is that there is real potential to build brand affinity through relevant and engaging ethical initiatives, and so despite the risks there is also a growing argument for giving these initiatives greater prominence