Speaking Sensis

As part two of his ‘The Age of Engagement’ series, Bruce Akhurst shares his thoughts on the rise of social media and what it could mean for marketers and the media.

Want to know about the US food van business that has built a huge following using Twitter? Or the toy company that used advice from its fans to create a truly innovative product development processes? Or the coffee chain that asked its customers for ideas and ended up with 70,000 of them in just one year?

Welcome to the extraordinary world of social media. The use of social networking sites have grown at extraordinary rates. Did you know that two thirds of Australian teenagers now use Facebook, YouTube or MySpace every month? (1)

But, in reality, these networks are just the beginning of the social media landscape.

In this presentation, Bruce takes a look at the world of social media and concludes that it is a game-changer on a par with the launch of television. It provides the potential for small businesses to access serious online technologies. And it can get companies and consumers not just talking with (instead of at) each other, but actually working together to build things that ultimately benefit them both.

(1) Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, base: Australians 14+