Next week we are due to visit the Social Media European Forum in London. We signed up to this conference, as like many other marketing and PR agencies, to remain successful; new technologies need to be embraced and integrated into current marcomms campaigns and we need to be aware of the trends. There are many conferences and seminars around  the UK showing you how to use linkedin, twitter, how to blog etc. However after conducting research on 3000 businesses, we are now finding that 50% of SME businesses are now already using social media technologies within their business to some degree. Whether this is effective or not is another issue entirely and a different debate. However, as a marketing agency  we not only have provided training courses in social media , but also actively use it for many of our clients and as part of their marketing mix.

So after much internet trawling and searching for cutting edge conferences that can provide a holistic view of this hot topic, we believe the Social Media Forum is unique in that it is providing examples of global best practice using social media and including some of the big brands to discuss this. Furthermore, if your business specialises in a certain part of social media, such as cloud computing, mobile or social TV, there are going to be specific areas of expertise. We personally are going to be at the enterprise section, looking to discover the latest technologies that can be used to manage and monitor social media as well as listening to the great line up of speakers to discuss their social media strategy. We have already seen that the social media market is experiencing extreme growth, from $500m in 2008 to an expected $5billion by 2012. Social Media is an exciting way to reach new customers, all online. If you have time to spare, come along to the conference, more information can be found here www.socialmedia-forum.com. See you there!

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