Another Social Media Week has come to an end in London and it’s been great to see so many people sharing their experiences of working on a huge range of projects as well as speculating about what the future holds.
Social Media Week 2013 brought with it plenty of practical insights from those in the business – as well as the threat of being included in the brilliant but rather brutal This is not an insight Tumblr.
As for Liberty842, we were privileged enough to host our own event at Gateley LLP’s magnificently positioned offices beside St Paul’s Cathedral (thankfully no mid-evening bell-ringing session to contend with this year).
Guess who? Brands, identity and reputation aimed to give those attending some practical advice on managing digital content, covering the creative process as well as the legal considerations of putting a brand out there on social media.
A strong theme of the evening was suspension of disbelief, as demonstrated by the character-driven Twitter accounts I and Liberty842 co-founder Tayler Cresswell manage for Chatty Man and Mr Selfridgeand Somethin Else’s StoryFarm publishing platform that, Trevor Klein explained, has brought to life characters from dramas Skins and Hit the Floor on social media.
These characters not only allow you to create a very distinctive tone of voice for your brand but they also offer followers a greater sense of engagement by giving them an identifiable person to communicate with as opposed to an anonymous company employee.
Taking a TV drama even further beyond the realms of its scripted storyline, James Deeley showed how viewers of Channel 4’s Utopia were invited to explore the issues raised throughout the series. The Utopia Inquiry provided many extra layers of entertainment, rewarding those with questioning minds for their efforts by taking them deeper into the story.
From TV to the biggest sporting event in the world, we got an insight into the creative challenges and opportunities of producing digital content for London 2012 as Darren Groucutt showed us the work he did for the games. Particularly interesting to note was how the works in progress – not just the finished material – captured the imagination of many and reached a huge audience when recommended by creative community online. A valuable lesson to learn here was about setting out to make great content – not to aim for viral exposure in the first instance.
Creativity and experimentation are always to be encouraged but there’s a definite need to have the legal essential covered before putting content out online. Thankfully Gateley LLP’s Lisa Logan was on hand to give an overview of brand protection for social media and how to be transparent about advertising and sponsorship through your accounts. Being upfront about paid-for posts is always advisable to ensure you’re not breaching CAP code guidelines.
Lisa also touched on the new Defamation Act and how all of us should be aware of its implications, whether in a professional or personal capacity.
Thanks to everyone who came along on the night – especially to our speakers Lisa Logan, Trevor Klein, Darren Groucutt and James Deeley.
Look forward to seeing you again at Social Media Week 2014 but if there’s anything Liberty842 can help you with before then just drop us a line.
