10 questions with... social media strategist jeremy waite
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We had a chat with social media strategist Jeremy Waite about why he loves social and his tips for social media success.TRANSCRIPT
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SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING | brandwatch.com | @brandwatch | [email protected] | +44 (0)1273 234 290
10 Questions
with… Jeremy
Waite
Introducing: Jeremy Waite
2 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
There are lots of influential people in the world of social, many of
whom share their social wisdom with the rest of us.
We always jump at the chance to get some insights into what
inspires those big in social, and what their tips are for great social
etiquette.
We recently caught up with Jeremy Waite, Head of Social Strategy
at Adobe EMEA to find out he feels about social and his tips for
those budding ‘social’-ites out there…
Who is Jeremy Waite?
3 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
Jeremy is the Head of Social Strategy at Adobe EMEA.
Previously, he held the same role at TBG Digital and prior to that was Head of Social Media for Phones 4u. His experience includes working with FTSE-100 organisations, such as Unilever and Centrica, in addition to well-known brands such as Reebok, MTV, and Kellogg’s.
Jeremy is the author of ‘Sex, Brands & Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and is currently writing his next book, ‘Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You’.
How did you first get into social
media as a career?
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“ I have been in brand comms for 10 years and started in the golf
industry.
Advertising started to get more and more social and I have always
been fascinated with behavioural science and communities, so I was
pretty much obsessed with social when I first discovered MySpace
and started blogging. ”
What do you love about social
media?
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“ From a personal point of view, I love the fact that I am constantly
connected to my friends, despite moving away from Manchester to
London.
I also love the way that social media brings like-minded people
together, so I regularly chat and share ideas with other social
strategists and digital marketers.
From a commercial point of view, I love that social media is the one
area of business where a brand doesn’t need to out-spend its
competitors in order to beat them. ”
And what do you hate about it?
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“ People’s obsession with the number of friends, followers and
subscribers.
I’m a big fan of Robin Dunbar, the social scientist who’s research
states that people are not capable of sustaining more than 150
friends. In fact we usually only have 3-5 really close friends. With
that in mind, the fact that people claim to have thousands of friends
is simply not true.
In many ways, social media is making us less connected than ever,
because there is so much “noise” and we’re trying to “manage” so
many superficial relationships. ”
What’s your favourite social
network and why?
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“ That’s like asking me to chose between my children as to which
one is my favourite!
If I’m pushed I’ll go with Twitter and Instagram (although it’s
interesting that Twitter don’t call themselves a social network
anymore – they’re an information network), so I’ll go with Instagram.
I love the creativity, I’ve always been a frustrated photographer, but I
love the visual element that breaks down all cultural boundaries.
Every other network apart from Instagram is restrictedly language. I
love that Instagram helps people anywhere in the world connect with
each other. ”
Who are the people in social
who inspire you most?
8 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
“ Jack Dorsey. Brian Solis. Gary Vaynerchuk. Kevin Rose. Olivier
Blanchard. Reid Hoffman. Peter Thiel.
On a local level, James Whatley from Ogilvy is a pretty cool cat. ”
Which brands do you think
do social particularly well?
9 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
“ The cliches will be Innocent, Coke, Red Bull and Starbucks – but
I’m a huge fan of Paddy Power. Not necessarily from a gaming
perspective, but I love that they “get” their fans and connect with
their customers in a way that many other brands fail to. ”
What 3 changes do you
think we’ll see in social
media in the next year?
10 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
“ 1. Social “media” will be increasingly referred to as social
“business” as more brands will put it at the heart of their
organisations.
2. Customer service teams will have as much (if not more)
ownership of social channels than marketing teams. Managing
large numbers of fans at scale will also put the emphasis on
more (accurate) automated processes.
3. As brands seek to justify ROI for every penny they spend,
social marketers will be held more accountable in the
boardroom. ”
What are your 3 top tips
for those starting out in
social media marketing?
11 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
“ 1. Social media is about story-telling and engaging with the
people that care about you (or your brand) the most
2. Social media is not primarily a sales channel. People want to
“click-to-share” before they are asked to “click-to-buy” (although
social is a pretty damned effective sales channel when it’s used
properly)
3. If you understand the top 2 well enough, you don’t need a
third tip :) ”
Tell us about your new
book – what are readers
going to learn?
12 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com
“ ‘Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You’ is a book about the top 100
people in social media. The subtitle of the book is “leading from the
middle of the pack”.
The book aims to inspire everyone from start-ups and entrepreneurs,
to business leaders and junior managers by asking each of the
people in the book two questions.
It should be a fun ‘coffee table’ style book and will be available for
free (pay with a tweet) or as a glossy hardback version – where all
profits will be going to charity (Help for Heroes Poppy Appeal). It is
due out this summer. ”
Enjoy this?
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