IAB UK Social

, Head of Social Media at Microsoft Advertising, talks to the IAB about social media from an advertising and product perspective. Kicking off with a simple explanation of what social media is and why it’s so vital for CMOS, she uses her own case study from the Windows 7 launch as a great example of how you can use dialogue with consumers to inform business research and product development. Watch the interview in full below to also find out what future trends she feels will be hitting the social media industry next.

We IAB Social Media Council members are all about giving honest, practical advice to brands and practitioners.

This handy little four and a half-minute video from Henry Elliss, associate director of social media at Tamar, provides a perfect intro to blogging for brands… The do’s, the don’ts, the ins and outs, and who’s blogging’s the best in the UK right now.  Enjoy!

The IAB’s resident Paxman, , interviewed , commercial director at Unruly Media about what makes a successful viral campaign to dispel the myths that surround the area. Steve talks about what results clients are looking for from their campaigns using the Evian case study as a positive benchmark for brands, and what’s makes good creative.

Watch the below video to see the full interview…

Fleur MD of Pass it On Media was interviewed by IAB’s senior PR and marketing manager, on social media influencers. This 10 minute video covers how to spot a worthwhile influencer, how influencers help campaigns and how they can be detrimental in a PR crisis. Fleur talks through the processes at Pass it On on how to recognize a worthwhile influencer, what tools they use for this and how important it is to keep an influencer fully involved with the campaign and be honest and transparent throughout the whole process in order to gain the best results.

At the end of the video Fleur also mentions her involvement with the IAB social media measurement sub group and how they are currently working towards setting actual usable metrics for the industry.

For those of you who think virtual gifts are just something for the kids and hard core gamers you’d be wrong. In this video is interviewed by the IAB’s senior PR and marketing manager who asked questions such as What is branded content? What are virtual gifts and What is the size of growth within this market?

He talks about the prospect of virtual gifts being a new marketing platform for those brands that want to make contact with their hard to reach consumer. He also mentions how virtual gifts are a great way of expressing yourself online to your friends and family on your social networks.

Phil squashed the claim that branded commodities and virtual gaming is just for those hard core gaming types as more and more middle aged house wives jump on the gaming wagon. Games such as Farmville which are easy to play have powerful social elements to them allowing the user to include their friends and at the same time gaining online status.