CM site coordinator Justin Kirby - with input from opposing parties - wonders why anyone bothers using Twitter, the microblogging platform that enables you to share short messages with the world, via mobile phone or computer. Is it a valuable social networking tool that will burn bright and long, or a flash-in-the-pan invention for the morbidly self-obsessed? Read all about it here on iMedia Connection.

CM site coordinator Justin Kirby is the keynote speaker on October 8 at Neuronio08, the annual conference and awards ceremony run by Portugal’s telecomms and postal giant CTT.

The conference theme is about gaining superior intelligence by learning how to communicate with the new breed of consumers.

Justin’s keynote speech ‘HAS WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING GOT A FUTURE?’ discusses:
What is word-of mouth marketing? Why are businesses so interested in it now? And are they getting carried away with a passing trend and missing the point of customer participation? Justin will present his take on the rise and potential fall of word of mouth marketing, and discuss why and how he thinks companies should involve consumers directly in product and service innovations and developments at the very heart of the business process - truly aligning demand and supply.

Other speakers include the Director General of web communications consultancy Seara, the Head of GE Money Portugal and the Director of Marketing Services at Nestle Portugal.

You can find out more about the conference here.

In a Contagious magazine special report about Social Media Methods and Metrics, DMC’s Justin Kirby discusses how to move social media marketing metrics on to the next level. Read the unedited article here.

The connected marketing industry’s business networking activities are now consolidated under one umbrella. Find out more about the new Connected Marketing Networking Group here.

The Summit will discuss the latest trends in marketing and communication that are transforming the classic word-of-mouth (WOM) approach into one of the most promising and efficient tools in the unconventional marketing field.

Organiser Reed Business Information says: “International experts - such as [CM site coordinator] Justin Kirby - will introduce the participants to their experience and vision.”

Topics covered will include: how to integrate traditional marketing tools with unconventional ones; what we mean when we talk about WOM; how much it can cost and what the expected results can be; evangelists’ role; blogs and brand communities; and many more.

Justin will talk about metrics, advocacy and business growth in the changing media landscape.

Read more about the Summit here.

Brand Management magazine’s Jan-Feb 2008 edition carries a feature from CM site coordinator Justin Kirby who offers 12 tips for would-be word-of-mouth marketers to bear in mind.

In the feature, Justin argues that fully understanding the complexities of word-of-mouth marketing is vital in order to decide whether or not to undertake even short-term tactical activity.

You can download and read the article here.

A new research report by CM site coordinator Justin Kirby and the LSE/LRCG’s Dr. Alain Samson was published in Admap today and can be downloaded for free for a limited time. The report reveals how UK companies are using customer advocacy metrics, and ways in which usage can be improved.

The research involved meetings with more than 60 senior marketing, research and strategy staff in major UK businesses, discussing the pros and cons of customer loyalty metric the Net Promoter® Score (NPS). It investigates why and how brands are using the NPS, where it falls down, what other customer advocacy metrics they employ, where they think these metrics are heading and other insight direct from the coalface.

You can download and read the report here.
(Reproduced with permission of Admap. © Copyright Admap.)

Advertisers are understandably keen to tap into the perceived consumer-fest of social media - but even social network owners themselves are getting this kind of contact wrong, as experienced recently by Facebook. In today’s edition of iMedia Connection, vbmaNETWORK co-ordinator Justin Kirby discusses how marketers need to change their view of social media, if not their entire approach to marketing!