Connector Awards & Christmas Party 2010
by graeme on November 9th, 2010
WHO : www.connector.ie – organising “social networking social events” where we bring together diverse on-line & off-line communities to make new social, commercial & business connections.
WHAT : the 2nd Annual Connector Awards and Christmas Party 2010
Check out our Christmas slide-show …
WHY : to acknowledge and reward our 2010 Connector and Tribal success stories in the following categories :
Connector of the Year ( Male )
Connector of the Year ( Female )
Tribe of the Year ( Social)
Tribe of the Year ( Business )
Tribe of the Year ( Arts / Cultural )
WHEN : Thursday 9th December at 7pm (as part of the annual Christmas Connector event.)
WHERE : Krystle Night Club, 21-25 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 ( strictly over 21’s only & neat dress essential ).
HOW : This Connector Event is FREE including a complimentary welcome drink, finger-food and late night entry to the Krystle Nightclub. We will, however, be supporting the Irish children’s charity, Barnardos, throughout the evening so all donations will be greatly appreciated.
REGISTER TODAY and keep a look out for updates on the Christmas Connector event such as the guest speakers and the short-list nominations for the Connector Awards.
Connector Brainstorm @ Science Gallery, 6pm, Thurs 25th Nov
by graeme on November 7th, 2010
WHO : www.connector.ie – organising “social networking social events” where we bring together diverse on-line & off-line communities to make new social, commercial & business connections.
WHAT : Four great opportunities for you to participate in our NEW event format called Connector Brainstorm :
1. BRAINSTORM : REGISTER TODAY to join in the Connector Brainstorm which is for members of Connector.
6 tables, 6 topics, 8 to 10 participants per table
3 brainstorming sessions lasting 40 minutes per session
With each table chaired by a moderator, using different brainstorming techniques
Awards for each moderator’s selected “Most Valuable Ideas” and for the Brainstorm’s “Most Valued Players” of the evening
2. CONNECT : Meet & make new business & social contacts across a diverse range of businesses and services in Dublin.
3. LEARN : We have draft outline of 6 topics for discussion but you have the opportunity to sponsor your own topic of discussion. Use the Connector Brainstorm event to make new connections & generate new ideas for your chosen topic.
4. SHOWCASE : Promote, advertise, market and sell your new business idea, product or service by sponsoring one of our 6 tables and brainstorm a topic specific to your business.
WHY : an excellent, cost-effective opportunity to promote & leverage your brand, product or service during & after the Connector Brainstorm event. It’s not always what you know, but rather who you know that will open new doors of opportunity.
WHEN : Thursday 25th November at 6pm
WHERE : Science Gallery, The Naughton Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Pearse Street, Dublin 2
HOW : To participate in the Connector Brainstorm event, REGISTER NOW to secure your place.
For more information on sponsoring a topic or table at this event, please contact Conor Lynch at 86 8118833 or via email at conor@connector.ie
How to create a Social Media Strategy in 10 steps
by Connector on October 29th, 2010
Introducing SocialMedia.ie social media services
by adam on October 11th, 2010
Connector recently launched a sister web site SocialMedia.ie and here we present our brand spanking new services guide including training and community management. Hats off to Alvin Perry & Bernie Grogan for the great design work!
Social Media Packs
by malte on October 4th, 2010
Have you maybe ever considered to join your business to one or several of the so-called social media networks like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
To have a desire is one thing, the realisation and implementation another. Is it possible to get consulting, design and training from one single hand?
Consider connector and our three different packages as an opion to make your social media campaign manageable and a true succesess. Each box offers you the right mix of services and solutions for your company.
Just go to: http://www.socialmedia.ie/social-media-packs/
We provide a number of ‘out of the box’ solutions for businesses listed below. Each of these can be customised to meet your individual needs. If you need something more specific please contact conor [at] connector.ie.
Social Media Starter Pack
SocialMedia.ie offers a unique Social Media Starter Pack which will help you get started in the world of social media. Combining a number of different services it is specifically designed to help SME’s and Start-Ups to make the best possible start to their digital marketing. Read more….
Business Blogger Pack
Our Business Blogger Pack includes all the benefits of our Social Media Starter Pack with the addition of a WordPress blog. We’ll setup your blog seperately or as part of your website and provide training on how to use WordPress and to successfully integrate your blog and social media. Read more….
Community Management Pack
Social media can be time consuming. That’s why we offer a community management pack for businesses who have already setup their social media profiles but can’t find the time to use them. We can help you to manage you online communities and PR so you can concentrate on managing your business. Read more….
Or go to our webpage: http://www.socialmedia.ie/social-media-packs/
Hotel Website Marketing Conference @ the Crowne Plaza Hotel
by adam on September 21st, 2010
Conor recently spoke at the Hotel Website Marketing Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dublin on getting started on Social Media. Below are the slides for your viewing pleasure.
Connector Intern Event 2010 Review
by Shelsea Rawson on July 29th, 2010
When I plan events, it’s always more fun if it is planned for a good cause. There is something to be said for doing an event with the purpose to help another. With this intern event, Barnardos was our charity partner. Barnardos mission is to challenge and support families, communities, society and government to make Ireland the best place in the world to be a child.
To help this intern charity event come together we received sponsorship from The Church, Jameson and Shamrocker Tours. The Church allowed us to invade their club downstairs while providing us with welcome food and a free glass of wine or beer. Shamrocker donated a trip for three days around Ireland, a chance for an intern to see other parts of the country. Jameson graciously donated several bottles of their famous whiskey, along with a lunch for four, and an 18 year old bottle all for us to raffle off; along with providing our guest speakers a bottle of their gold whiskey.
Our speakers for the night were Orla Tighe and Neil Leyden.
Orla Tighe is the fundraising manager for Barnardos. She told a moving story about a little boy she had met that is in programs at Barnardos, she talked to the struggles that he has in his life and how Barnardos helped this boy and his family move towards a better life.
Neil Leyden is the project manager at Gateway Ireland. He spoke to what Gateway Ireland is striving to do. They are focusing on promoting Ireland to the world and harnessing the vast majority of people in the world with an Irish connection. He focused on people with an Irish connection around the world and how they can bring these people together for a common purpose through various social media outlets.
The event all in all was a success; we talked, mingled, danced, enjoyed ourselves, and most of all did it for a great cause. We learned about the cause and we learned about how vast the Irish culture is spread no matter where you are in the world.
We would like to give a big thank you to all of our sponsors and our speakers for coming out last night. It was a great time and we could not have done it without you.
And thanks also to Jason Roe from BTW who kindly helped us raise more money for Barnardos at his event also in The Church. Their collection brought in approx €250 which is brilliant for a meetup and much appreciated by us and Barnardos.
Bridging the gap between Irish business and advances in digital marketing
by Diarmuid ORiordan on June 10th, 2010
Irish companies feel like they are falling increasingly behind the times in terms of advances in digital marketing. While the digital community prepares itself for advances in areas such as location based marketing, the SME community is still unsure as to whether Internet marketing actually works. We need to further establish both positions and how we can bridge the gap between the two.
Mr. Bill Thompson was part of an open discussion at the IIA conference in Dublin recently. In a conversation with Jim Power on the use of social media in business, he was of of the view that companies not embracing social media would cease to exist in a few years. He also added that this may not be a bad thing, as companies who do embrace it will be offering a superior service to their customers.
Mr. Jim Power, prominent economist with Friends First held a conflicting opinion. Jim also runs an economic consultancy practice and has a lot of contact with SMEs. His view was that SMEs on the ground were largely untouched by the advances in digital marketing. He added that SMEs didn’t understand many of the platforms, were wary of privacy issues and were not convinced “social media actually works, and that its not just something fluffy and useless!”
So having established these hugely different viewpoints, who can we say is correct?
Both are correct in my opinion, and bridging the gap between the two is where the way forward lies. Jim is right in terms of SMEs on the ground, they still have a large customer base which is not using social media. Among SMEs who do use social media, their is a misconception that all a company has to do is set up a Facebook and Twitter page and watch the market come flocking. These users are only moderately succesful in their attempts and a general feeling of social media marketing being ‘fluff’ has been created.
Bill Thompson’s viewpoint can be easily backed up using Internet usage statistics and how people are using social search to find products and services. Business in Ireland must follow consumers onto social media.
There are innovative online marketing solutions being devised here in Ireland. However there is a danger if SMEs are not informed and trained, revenue streams will dry up and this could impair the advancement of these solutions and Irish business in the next number of years.
Mutual dialogue must be initiated between the two groups and the government must also be involved in the roll-out of broadband. Marketing through social media is all about listening to the conversation of customers, the digital community must listen to its customers for the benefit of all Irish business in the coming years.
The Connector 10C’s Model for online marketing strategies
by Dave Dungan on May 26th, 2010
The Connector 10C’s is a strategy model to devise, implement and evaluate any digital and social media marketing plan. Aimed at businesses and organisations of all sizes and industry sectors, it can help executives and entrepreneurs to combine their website, social media and email marketing to attract and retain more customers and to gain the best return on investment possible.
The video below discusses the Connector 10C’s model in more detail.
Connector’s 1st Social Media Survey Results
by Sarai Fernandez on May 26th, 2010
As you know, last week we were running an online survey to find out about social media use. Some of the results have been really surprising, for example 77% of those polled says they use social media to find out about events and organise their social life, and 67% access social media from their mobile.
