There’s still a lot of confusion between Social Media Marketing and Social Marketing – is it simply a case of terminology or do people really not understand the difference?

As we are increasingly asked to integrate both disciplines into campaigns, we thought it important to try and explain the difference – some clients may be unsure as to which one they need and, in some cases, they can have both!

There is already a vast amount of online space covering the topic, so without wanting to repeat anyone, here goes…

Social Marketing is used by government and other public bodies to communicate to audiences to encourage a change of behaviour for the common social good – i.e. we have worked with the NHS in the North West to engage with and encourage smoking cessation in certain parts of the region using social marketing techniques. These aren’t dark arts or new phenomenon – they are just practical ways of reaching, communicating effectively and changing people’s opinions and habits – and they’ve been around in one guise or another for 30/40 years. For more information the National Social Marketing Centre provides a comprehensive database of case studies.

Social Media Marketing on the other hand is very much the new kid on the block and has only been in existence, as a mass marketing tool, for the past couple of years. Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Linkedin and You Tube are all examples of social media – and that’s the key difference – these are media channels that can be deployed, taking great care, to communicate with discreet audience groups to disseminate information in a viral way. We are currently running a pilot social media campaign with the OFT – promoting their Scams Awareness Month 2010 – to determine what appetite the British public have for dispersing information. News on the results of this pilot will be released next month, see the Scamnesty Facebook page for more details.

Therefore you can use social media to deliver social marketing messages – just as you can any media channel.

Their commonality comes from their social status – as ‘communities’. Social Marketing looks to influence the thinking, attitudes and behaviour of real communities and social media looks to tap into the similarities that ties a community together – albeit a virtual one.

So it’s quite straightforward really. But are you ready for the challenge?

On Tuesday morning after 24 hours of heavy snowfall and gale force winds we awoke to the road to our house being completely blocked by a series of 6ft drifts. It was like a Mr Whipy ice cream van had gone on the rampage overnight with white banks, curls and folds of snow as far as the eye could see. I had to lift Sammie over one of the drifts and he disappeared into a dog shaped hole on the other side! He was not amused!

If it hadn’t been for our trusty builder moving in next door I think I would have been stuck there till if thawed in June! But luckily once the wind stopped filling the lane he came and dug us out from our icy barricade.

At least next time when I call work to say I am snowed in at least people will believe that I am not exaggerating!

When lunchtime came around we could resist the lure of the snow no more and descended on the deserted car park opposite the office. With 6″ of snow outside it was inevitable that grown adults were going to behave like children!

Mark² captured the scene in pictures marvellously – View a slideshow of his photos »

Building a snowman - It's man's work

From concerts, quizzes and fun days, to face painting (I am now an expert at painting tigers & butterflies), balloon launches, even bag packing in supermarkets and walking around with a big yellow duck. And all to support a friend of mine in his bid to raise money for the Meningitis Trust.  

In 2000 we nearly lost that friend Martyn to Meningitis. But Martyn was one of the lucky ones.

But this ferocious disease continues to affect thousands of families. The affects of Meningitis are not only through very sudden loss, but also through the devastating after affects such as epilepsy, limb loss and severe mental disability. So Martyn with a  bit of help from his friends & family set about raising an amount of money that will make a difference.

And he did! So far we have raised in excess of £7,000! A fantstic amount of money that will help so many people. If you would like to support the trust please visit http://www.justgiving.co.uk/martynsperutrek

Meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) are not always easy to recognise, and symptoms can appear in any order. Some may not appear at all. In the early stages, the signs and symptoms can be similar to many other more common illnesses.

Be aware! For more information on the signs and symptoms of Meningitis please visit http://www.meningitis-trust.org/

Piccys of our fundraising in the local rag! fame at last!!

Access / Stretford High School Partnership In Action

It’s an idea we dreamed up with our pr gurus Sian and Rachel at Cuban 8, following successfully reaching our 10 year milestone earlier this year – yes Access is 10 years old!

Please see our press release for full details on this initiative.

We fully intend to harness this relationship and do so responsibly over the coming years. We have already seen the extent to which is will be valuable to both organisations – we even used the school recently as a backdrop to a shoot for a client’s press campaign (but we can’t let you see it just yet)! We’ll keep you posted on this collaboration as it develops…

Meet Fred, the latest arrival at Access

Friend of Access Adam Murray-Brown dropped off this handsome fellow at the studio yesterday. Fred, who’s interests include rugby and sudoku, has kindly agreed to take part in a photo-shoot next week. He can look forward to being delicately entombed in papier mache as part of his duties. We look forward to seeing how he performs.

P.S. There is music so pop your headphones in!

Normally that would either involve hours of stock photography searching, hiring a photographer or trying to comp things together, which again would take lots of time. Imagine if you could just do a rough sketch of the composition and somehow it would magically turn into the image you need.

Enter Photosketch, a system developed at Tsinghua university. Sketch your image, label the elements and wait for the image.

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At the moment there’s just this video although an online demo is promised.