Being social means being local

By Molly Flatt

I spent my early years in a small country village; incidentally, so did 1000heads.

corn

London doesn’t seem quite so special now, right?… via VisitCornwall

One consequence of this is that we’ve always acknowledged that Britain, although social media would sometimes have you believe otherwise, does not end at the M25. Our word of mouth activity in the UK is just that – across the UK. Similarly, our activity in Canada goes beyond Toronto, our activity in France goes beyond Paris, our activity in the US goes beyond the Big Apple… well, you get the idea.

I’ve discussed the value of localism before. If we all agree that the best business engagement is personal and relevant, then adapting your activity to where people come from (as well as what they love) is hugely important. We’ve learnt ourselves that some of our biggest successes have come from going to local communities – such as with our Aussie Angels beauty bloggers’ events across the country for P&G.

So I’m delighted to be travelling to Truro on 3rd March to speak at a breakfast seminar for the Cornwall Development Company. With superfast broadband coming to Cornwall, local businesses (from £1 million startups to big established firms) are eager to step up their social activity, and understand what other companies in the UK are already doing in the space.

What I’m interested to learn is how their location effects their audience, their brand identity and their approach – their insight into what it means to be Cornish will be integral to our advice. And sometimes you just have to be in situ – I find a chatty wander in the streets and a sociable drink in the pub can bring more insight than reams of online data.

So if you’re a Cornish business, or a word of mouth/ social media fan who lives in the area, get in touch with Cornwall Development Company to secure your space – or send me a tweet and I’d love to meet for a coffee and find out what you’re up to.

Like this?

Brought into the world on Thursday, February 17th, 2011 and filed under 1000thoughts, Case Studies, Events.

  • http://topsy.com/www.1000heads.com/2011/02/being-social-means-being-local/?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2 Tweets that mention 1000heads :: The Word of Mouth People — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by 1000heads, Molly Flatt. Molly Flatt said: Why being social means being local: http://bit.ly/fyzP20 (cc @invest_cornwall) [...]

  • http://scottgould.me/ Scott Gould

    Amen.

    Social is individual, hence personal, hence local.

    I think a big back lash from nameless, inpersonal brands will hit the mass market over the next 5 years.

    Tourism here has massive opportunity to tune people into what is local.

    Have a great time and don't forget to come via Exeter and rub Faye's bump!

    Scott

  • http://michaelkwan.com Michael Kwan

    Thanks for the mention. Last summer on the N97minitour was a lot of fun. :)

  • http://twitter.com/johnhood John Hood

    As per Scott's comment. This is a refreshing take on social media.

    Best regards,

    John

  • http://twitter.com/98rosjon Jonny Rose

    Hi there Molly,

    I'm a huge believer and champion the intersection of [hyper]local community and social media.

    That's why I have started the Purley 2.0 Project in Croydon. More info here –> http://bit.ly/euC7o2

    I'm just a SM enthusiast rather than an expert, so if you know of any good resources regarding how to encourage social media in local offline communities, I'd really appreciate it!

    Jonny Rose :)

  • http://www.mollyflatt.com Molly Flatt

    Great project Jonny, drop us a line and I'd be happy to talk over coffee…