Social Media – How do Entrepreneurs use it?

I attended this Social Media marketing event earlier this year: http://www.wearelikeminds.com/likemind10/

It was the second one run in Exeter after a successful inaugural event in 2009. Boy was there a buzz in the room with 300 of so “social web people” there. Every third participant seemed to be live streaming it from their iphone back to their blog and if you weren’t tweeting at the same time then you may as well have had a sticker on your forehead saying “old school tie”.

So how do business owners use social media? Can they use it as a business tool rather than as a toy. Are they just kidding themselves that it is time well spent or does it really add value to their business. I had my own views, but I was curious to see what the experts had to say now that social media tools have matured and evolved.

The majority of speakers and panellists convinced me that SM does have a place in B2B marketing and is not just B2C or for frittering away your time. Follow the #likeminds tweets for a sense of the mood. For me the message was clear: ask yourself regularly what the ROI is on your investment in SM tools and time.

The speaker and participant list was impressive with the following topics up for discussion:

Keynote: ‘Making Connections – an outsiders view of Social Media’ with Jonathan Akwue

Panel: ‘How are we changing the way we communicate?’ moderated by Daren Forsyth, with Glenn Le Santo, Heléna Holt and John Harvey.

Like Minded Endeavour: Leap Anywhere, with Malcolm Scovil.

Keynote: ‘Time for a Strategy: Beware Social Media Tokenism’ with John Bell

Panel: ‘What are the key components for Social Strategies?’ moderated by AJ Pape, with Maz Nadjm, Charlie Osmond and Gemma Went

Like Minded Endeavour: Hospiscare with Amy Kilburn.

Keynote: ‘Emergent media for Person-to-Person Communication’ with Joanne Jacobs

Panel: ‘What are the tactics, tools and methods for engagement today?’ moderated by Lloyd Davis, with Ilicco Elia, Madlen Nicolaus and Andrew Davies.

Like Minded Endeavour: Twestival, with Aren Grimshaw.

Keynote: ‘Integrating People-to-People’ with Olivier Blanchard

Panel: ‘How can organisations take the first steps towards integrating People-to-People?’ moderated by Andrew Gerrard, with Steve Bridger, Benjamin Ellis and Gabrielle Laine-Peters.

Keynote: ‘Social Media and B2B: How to Build Outstanding Advocacy’ with Yann Gourvennec

Panel: ‘How can dying business models innovate through people-to-people?’ moderated by Vikki Chowney, with Kevin Anderson, Edward Barrow, and James Whatley.

Like Minded Endeavour: The Have A Heart Appeal, with Matt Young