Is Facebook for Business?

According to the speakers at the event I attended this morning hosted by Phil Szomszor from Citigate Dewe Rogerson it certainly is.

Facebook for Business was sponsored and hosted at Citigate’s London offices this morning 10^th May 2012.

Key presenters were Roberto Kusabbi from the British Heart Foundation and Jas Dhaliwal from AVG.

Roberto talked about some of key themes about his social media strategy at the British Heart Foundation. What seemed to be central to his peruasive presentation was how much social media had been integrated into the BHF Communications strategy and indeed how it in some cases had become a pioneering platform when it came to releasing powerful messages about health and heart disease.

He gave two great examples where Facebook had been used to great effect to pre-release a hard hitting ad campaign using Vinnie Jones and also a more humourous but powerful message aimed at highlighting our diets and the dangers of sweet, high suger foods.

Following Roberto’s presentation was an equally impressive presentation from Jas Dhaliwal who also waxed very lyrically about the need for complete social media integration into everything the company did. Jas works for AVG the internet security people and they have more than 100 million fans on Facebook globally.

He talked about AVG Facebook VIPs or ‘superfans’ and how the company was recognizing the contribution these helpful fans were making in solving problems to other AVG fans and customers.

Great network event guys and look forward to the next one.

Please see the contributors background and contact details below.

What’s your Facebook strategy?

Key Contributors

Roberto Kusabbi

LinkedIn: Roberto Kussabi

Twitter: @rktweets

Company:www.bhf.org.uk

Company Twitter: @thebhf

Roberto Kusabbi currently manages social media and communities at the British Heart Foundation, where he shapes and delivers digital strategies for all British Heart Foundation projects. Previously, Roberto managed a suite of young people's websites at the BHF. Roberto has seven years of digital experience in the third sector and has worked at football clubs as well as other charities, he has an MA in online journalism from Sheffield University.

Roberto will talk about how the British Heart Foundation integrates Facebook into their marketing campaigns to establish and grow their fan base.

Jas Dhaliwal

LinkedIn: Jas Dhaliwal

Company: www.avg.com

Blog and website:www.jasdhaliwal.com

Twitter: @Jas

Company Twitter: @avgfree

Jas is a technologist, geek marketer, blogger and occasional speaker on social media and business. He describes himself as a digital marketer first and not a social media guru. Rather, he is a living breathing practitioner who has helped businesses to substantially grow their blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube audiences.

Through his experience working with small businesses and large corporates, he delivers talks with passion, enthusiasm and keeps audiences inspired with real life stories from the trenches.

Managing the AVG Facebook community which recently achieved over 1 million fans, Jas is going to share his insight into how to manage a successful brand page and deal with customer queries. 

Phil Szomszor

LinkedIn:Phil Szomszor

Twitter: @theredrocket

Blog: www.theredrocket.co.uk

Company:Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Company Twitter: @Citigate

Phil has been working with high profile brands and fast-track companies for over 13 years, most recently in the field of digital communications. Also a prominent blogger and social media commentator, Phil helps companies to defend their reputation and seek new ways of engaging with target audiences online.

Phil will talk you through the findings of the latest Citigate Dewe Rogerson research into how the top UK consumer and business brands are using Facebook, including sharing content, dealing with customer queries and attracting new fans.