"Social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. No one knows how. When finally done, there is surprise its not better" - Avinash Kaushik (analytics evangelist at Google)
This past Friday, we were fortunate enough to be paid a visit by Meg Kerr, a
Social Media Integration Manager at Mosaic. Ms. Kerr's presentation outlined the term "social media" and what it has come to encompass in our current society. She discussed the various social networks currently available, the pros and cons of using these networks and the effects they are having on the methods through which we share our information.
- Wikipedia
Ms. Kerr discussed the various social media trends happening at the moment. Real Time + Smartphones, Location Based Services and issues of privacy. Smartphones now allow anyone to share and search for information in real time, changing immensely the way and from which sources we get our information. Whether or not its accurate is a whole other issue. GPS enabled Smartphones have made things even easier to share through LBS such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp. Issues of privacy and "living online" have caused a movement in the other direction. Social media sites that require a strict membership have developed, and some have gone as far as deleting their Facebook and Twitter accounts for good. (For those ready to take the plunge:
http://suicidemachine.org/)
Facebook: 500 million users around the world. (Although 5 of the top 7 countries on Facebook are actually declining in over all number of users)
Foursquare: 3 million users (and growing rapidly)
These statistics and other interesting facts can be found in the following:
Socialnomics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhPgUcjGQAw
Ms. Kerr attended Western University in London, Ontario where she obtained her Undergraduate degree in Media Information and Technoculture. She also completed a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at Fanshawe College. After a some time with Corus Entertainment, Ms. Kerr made the move to
Mosaic in 2006. Ms. Kerr provides creative digital strategy, community management, social media measurement, blog outreach, content creation, hybrid event planning, and manages multiple internal corporate online properties. Ms. Kerr describes her job as "conception of a program, less execution." Working with a creative team, it is her responsibility to find an integration based on the brand or image of a product. Brand ambassadors are a major tool used in experiential marketing. Ultimately her main goal is to sell; but she is fascinated by the ability to receive feedback and participation from all parts of the world through tools such as Twitter and Foursquare. An example of this is the Rogers Cup. Using Twitter, people were able to communicate and comment in real time as the game progressed.
Mosaic describes themselves as, (the) "leaders in the new reality of consumer-centric marketing." Mosaic XM develops "unique and customized branded experience that stop, engage, entertain and educate customers." Some of their clients include Cadbury, Proctor and Gamble, Coca Cola and Gilette.
They have locations across North America, including Texas and Chicago.
Check out Ms. Kerr on LinkedIn:
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/megkerr
Contact Information:
Meg Kerr
2700 Matheson Blvd East
West Tower, 2nd Floor
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4V9
Phone 905.238.8422
Fax 905.238.1998
