According to Seattle news station KHOU, 36-year-old Dan Garrett has become one of the latest people to benefit from the generosity of Facebook users.

Garrett’s wife set up the successful Facebook campaign after the couple failed to find a match among friends and family.

According to The United Network for Organ Sharing, the nature of the social media means people are more ready to come forward to help others.

Other social media platforms have also proved effective in a search of a kidney.

Last year, a single tweet resulted in 19 offers with one positive match and a woman in Florida received a kidney after posting an ad on Craigslist.

The live music industry is keen to nail that elusive ‘social’ factor to power their business to the next stage and there are a lot of new services out there to help. But, do they deliver?

Topics for discussion:

• How will the live music industry develop?
• For whom is the live industry the great cash-cow?
• Only the top 1% performers?
• How much money do live gigs really make for the artist?
• What are the true economics of a live gig? Niche gigs or sell-out venues?
• Live is the music market place for new talent… Do digital tools mitigate the tour costs?
• How much do the events listings companies influence the market?
• The ticketing dirty market…how strong is its grip on power?
• What are the marketing tactics and tools, social and digital?

Organiser:

2Pears
+44 20 3239 9325
http://www.2pears.com

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This year’s table has been compiled following a year of unprecedented growth in the use of social media platforms.

The list features campaigns from iconic brands such as Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Toyota and Levi’s to lesser known names such as Turkcell and Local Motors.

“Whether they’ve been created to raise product awareness, increase sales, drive footfall, add fans, improve SEO or enhance audience engagement, one simple thread links all these social media campaigns together, a clever concept”, Adrian Johnson, Umpf owner said.

“At the heart of any great marketing campaign, whether it’s a press ad, a piece of DM, sales promotion, PR, or in this case social media, you’ll typically find a brilliant idea.”

“Each of the campaigns in our Hall of Fame II exhibits that trait helping generate brand buzz, conversations, interaction and engagement.”

Have a look at the full Hall of Fame II on Umpf website.

The British have really jumped on board with social media with as many as 55% of over-65s now having a Facebook profile, a new study suggests.

The survey, issued by social media agency Umpf, showed how endemic social media use has become.

“Social media is clearly no longer the preserve of the tech-savvy under 30s”, Jon Priestley from Umpf said.

“The social media landscape is changing rapidly and gender divides are starting to become apparent.”

Men prefer to be LinkedIn

Over three-quarters (77%) of UK adults have an active Facebook profile, with nearly one-third (32%) also using Twitter regularly.

Men and women were found to favour different platforms, with nearly twice as many men than women having an active LinkedIn account. Of those with a profile, 28 per cent of men checked theirs at least once a day, compared with just 14% of women.

Facebook was used by 80 per cent of women, but a significantly lower 72% of men.

Divides emerged based on age as well, with nearly all (95%) of 18 – 25s having an active Facebook profile, with this figure dropping significantly to 55% of over 65s.

Whilst social media usage was distinctly lower amongst those of pensionable age, more than half actively used Facebook and more than two-thirds were regularly using and viewing YouTube.

Top users in the South West

The study also shows how geography is playing a key role in the social media adoption with distinct geographical areas beginning to favour different social media platforms.

Click on the infographic to see it bigger.

The South West counted the highest percentages of Facebook and Twitter usage across the UK while Northern Ireland had the lowest average usage of social media platforms.

Just 6% Northern Irish residents had an active Linkedin profile, contrasting with one in five in the South East.

However, Northern Ireland saw the highest percentages of those using YouTube, with three quarters of all those surveyed frequently using the video sharing site, as opposed to just 59% in the South West.

The survey was conducted by polling agency Your Say Pays amongst 2,387 UK adults in July.

For more information and for full survey results, visit www.umpf.co.uk.

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has launched a new social media campaign to create the first ever personalised 3D showroom on YouTube.

Based on users’ own information on Facebook, IKEA’s tool creates a bespoke 3D model that can then be explored and tailored by users to create their perfect bedroom.

The 3D showroom enables people to see detailed product information and to click through to IKEA.co.uk to purchase any home furnishings featured in the room.

Go to bed happy

Carole Reddish, deputy UK & Ireland country manager for IKEA, said the campaign is a result of trying to better understand people’s needs, wants and dreams.

“We understand that every bedroom is unique, it is a space that needs to fulfil so many roles; for some it’s a place to work, for some a sanctuary, above all though the bedroom is a place to sleep”, she said.

“This tool uses design, inspiration and lifestyle to show what’s possible when creating the room of your dreams, ultimately helping you go to bed happy.”

Charlotte Morton from Google’s Creative Agency Partnerships team called the campaign ‘forward-thinking’.

“This is an innovative use of social media illustrating what is possible on YouTube for a creative brand like IKEA”, she said.

Social media innovators

The Swedish furniture giant’s latest campaign continues in the innovative steps of their previous social media successes.

In 2009, IKEA created a huge social media buzz with their Facebook tagging campaign.

The idea was simple – the first one to tag their name on a piece of furniture in a picture of an IKEA showroom on the company’s Facebook page got the item for free.

The winner of the ‘Face of New World’ competition will be the new public ‘face’ of the brand as well as taking control of the company’s Twitter and Facebook channels.

As part of the role, they will also spot new trends and feedback on product development.

The five finalists, chosen from hundreds of online entries were asked to write a short blog and create a mood board to represent their personality. All entries are available to view here.

The winner will be decided by a public Facebook vote, open until Sunday 14 August with the winner announced the following day.

Jon Brennan, commercial manager at New World, said this is the first time that a UK company has pledged to hand over their social media channels to a member of the public.

“We were unsure what kind of response we would receive, but we have been overwhelmed by the standard of entries and the shortlisting process was extremely tough”, he said.

“Social media is hugely important to our brand and this campaign is giving the ‘man on the street’ the chance to control what we talk about online by tapping into their own interests in the world of interiors, food and fashion, as well as spotting new trends which may feed into new product development.”

One of the region’s top printing companies has launched its new website and is going big on social media.

Potts Print (UK) has given the site a complete overhaul including a new design and live feeds from Facebook, Twitter and a blog.

Among the new content is an extensive section on the history of the company and a complete list of contacts for all divisions in the printing, packaging and direct mail services.

The company has been active on a range of social media platforms in the past year, establishing itself on Twitter and attracting 200 followers.

To mark the launch of the new site, the company are giving away a social media marketing guide via its Facebook page.

People can access the guide, containing tips on marketing through social media, by simply liking the page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pottsprintuk.

The new website is up and running now at: http://www.potts.co.uk/

Uncover how to plan and execute successful value generating digital campaigns.

Marketing Week’s Digital Strategy Summit 2011 brings together 12 leading brands that will showcase the top digital marketing tactics and discuss how the ‘social media revolution’ influences consumers’ behaviour and affects the way marketers work.

Fully embracing the potential digital media offer and getting the strategy right opens up whole new opportunities for your brand and helps you drive engagement and conversion.

Attending our event will provide you with essential learning and insight into the most effective digital strategies to help you achieve just that!

Attend to find out:

How do you successfully integrate online & offline marketing activities and make them work together?

What are the key challenges in implementing mobile marketing?

How do you create authentic and engaging online conversations with your target audience?

What are the prerequisites to effective SEO in the social world?

Organiser: Marketing Week
Contact: 02079704253

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This half-day seminar will take you beyond the basic tools and techniques used in social media and provide insight into the future of social media trends.

Look at ways you can take your current strategy to the next level to increase awareness of your brand, drive sales and web traffic and engage with your customers in a more sophisticated way.

Key industry speakers will share their real life case studies with results to back them up.

What you’ll learn:

Segmentation – tailoring your approach to your audience
Understanding your resources – how much can and should you be doing?
Comparing and contrasting – understand which social media platforms will work best for you
Automation – how to reduce your workload through automation
Balance – getting the balance right between creativity and process
Future trends – what you should be preparing for and new technologies

Organiser:
B2B Marketing
02072696590
http://www.b2bmarketing.net/

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After piloting the course for external journalists in May, the BBC Academy decided to extend it to the general public with the first fully open sessions taking place on 26 June.

The 5-day course focuses on news gathering but also features aspects of strategy and community building.

Claire Wardle, who leads the course, wrote on the Academy’s website that they quickly realised it wasn’t enough to send people on a one-day social media course.

“People need short sharp bursts of awareness-raising initiatives, but then newsrooms need key members of staff to act as digital champions – able to provide bespoke training to colleagues when they need it, to co-ordinate social media activity in the short term while others get up to speed, and to evaluate what is working and what isn’t”, she wrote.

“This is how the course has been designed. It is for those people who can go back and make change happen in their newsrooms.”

The BBC Academy is the training arm of the broadcasting giant through which it fulfils its remit to provide training to the wider industry as well as its own staff.