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thrudigital builds websites, social networks, widgets and social media apps. We take ideas and turn them into reality. Become one of the nerds in our central London office.
You will join our friendly, fun and hard-working team of social media development junkies on a range of projects. We develop websites, social networks, widgets and social media apps for exciting and high-profile clients from entrepreneurs to large organisations such as Sky, ITV and 10 Downing Street.
We are a friendly team who are proud of each other and our achievements. We don’t work for objectionable clients or on projects that are set to fail. We take it in turns to be the daily DJ and there is usually something interesting going on in the background, but we like to get our heads down when we need to. We often take the afternoon off to down tools and discuss anything as a group that we think is interesting. We work in a fast-paced environment, and you will find that no two days are the same.
To apply for the position, please send us your CV with a covering letter/email explaining why you are interested in joining us to: jobs@thrudigital.com. Links or attachments of previous or current work will help to support your application.
If we shortlist you for a second interview, we will also ask you to complete a couple of tasks. The first task is concerned with dynamic page styling in PHP, while the second requires you to produce a database schema. You can find the tasks here: http://www.thruserver.com/proveyoucanworkforus
You must be a current UK resident to apply.
NO AGENCIES
These posts are written from a presentation I gave at Mediapro 2009. The first post explored the concept of social media, and the second looked at methods of engagement. Before going on to explore the major opportunities for brands and give case studies of industry leaders who are seeing some success, this post debunks some myths and exposes some truths about the ROI debate.
What’s the ROI?
It’s one of the most asked questions in this field currently. And at this early stage, there are not yet firm results from social media projects in every industry. In fact, Seth Godin would tell us that if we wait for a case study, we will be too late to catch up (I disagree with that, but I also digress…). So let’s have a look at this in more detail.
Social media does cost.
Many of the tools might be free, but the time spent in using them, and especially paying an agency to use them, is certainly not. Anyone who is looking for a solution that is completely free, is probably going to be disappointed. However, it certainly does lower the cost of many activities.
Social media does takes time.
A pay-per-click campaign or magazine advert might yield immediate results, but it takes time to listen to and engage with your audience. It takes time to be accepted as part of the conversation as a valid and valuable voice. But the results are much longer lasting. That’s because the results are founded upon relationships.
Social media is hard to measure.
Some aspects are directly measurable. Costs cut. Revenue gained. The trouble is, many companies aren’t measuring these effectively anyway. So the ROI question is irrelevant until the company becomes functionally data-driven. Because social media goes way beyond a single business function and impacts process, perspectives, and cultures as well as specific campaigns, it is very difficult to calculate a cumulative effect. However, what can be measured, should be measured.
But what’s the ROI?
As Nick Tadd puts it very eloquently, “Social media is just communicating. You say 5000 words a day, yet no one tries to establish an ROI for talking!” I would take this a step further, and say that if I was in a sales meeting, or speaking at an industry event, I could theoretically place an approximate valuation on the effect of my words. But in every other circumstance, it would be a completely fruitless exercise. In just the same way, the ROI on specific social media uses and campaigns should certainly be measured. But don’t go trying to assign a revenue line to ‘talking’ in your P&L…
Why the sudden focus on ROI?
What’s the ROI on your office location? What’s the ROI on your email system? What’s the ROI on your office lobby? What’s the ROI on your phone line? Because its the new kid on the block, social media suddenly is forced to prove itself form the ground up. Again, where this is possible, go for it. But instead of trying to prove a positive six-month ROI for your CEO’s twitter account, go do something more useful for your company’s strategic success, like watching this. Only joking. Actually, go watch this awesome presentation by Olivier Blanchard on Social Media ROI.
Right, now that I’ve got that off my chest, the next post will look at the valuable opportunities available to brands. And yes, it will include some quantifications of value returned by social media investment! As in, actual numbers.
To get the followup posts over the next few weeks, simply click the “add to RSS button”, follow thrudigital on Twitter, or subscribe to these posts by email by clicking the button above.
Tags: social media ROI, thebrandbuilder
So I have a thick head today. We were 45 minutes late to our Christmas party because Ollie was tackling a badly behaved cron job to work on our server. Emily, Ollie’s girlfriend, had been waiting all that time at Waterloo for us but she was kind enough to forgive him when we arrived. We eventually assembled at Namco Station on the South Bank and quickly started racking up the bar tab before having a few rounds of pool to get going. Piers had not told us in advance that he is practically a pro, so him and his girlfriend, Grace, cleaned up. Here is a picture of him about to take a shot – look how serious he is. I’d like to think this shot was a mis-cue, but I’m pretty sure he potted both balls in one go.
Bowling quickly degraded into a competition of creative methodology. We had backwards bowling, sliding on knees, see who can throw it the highest, the furthest before landing, the slowest, get it as close to the TV screen as possible without hitting it, bowl the most balls in one go, knock the next-door lane’s pins over, and run as far down the alley as possible without getting caught. We learned that bowling the ball really slowly helps greatly in improving accuracy (I’ll add that to the wiki).
Eventually once all other options had been exhausted and the diminishing marginal returns commonly associated with drinking were realised, we got ourselves on to the dodgem cars. Twelve months of stress manifested itself in complete carnage on the floor. However the trick became less about trying to thrash the hell out of our fellow work mates but more to try not to laugh any sick up or have it projected out by the seatbelt pulling on impact.
[These posts are written from a presentation I gave at Mediapro 2009. The first post explored the concept of social media, this one looks at methods of engagement, the next one will explore the major opportunities for brands, and the final one will give case studies of industry leaders who are seeing some success.]
We have already established that a conversation is occurring, without your consent or control. Nice. But what should you do?
Within your company’s processes, or your day-to-day activity, change your perspective and approach to one that expects and values brand mentions, whether positive or negative. It’s what people were saying anyway… just now you can eavesdrop. This might sound tough, but its a decision to place the customer at the centre of your business which will pay off.
It’s kinda like the playground. Some people are not going to be saying nice things. Even well-meaning and supportive customers are going to present you in a bad light sometimes. Get over it. Controlling the message is not what’s important. Trendstream research shows that customers perception of brands improves even when you just show you are listening. For a disappointed customer, shouting into the interwebs might bring them some consolation. But for you it represents a valuable customer signal, which you should be listening to. Because soon enough, your competitors will be. So set up a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account, and use a feedback form or an open customer support service to show customers you are listening.
Whether it is just ‘friending’ vocal customers on Twitter, commenting on blog posts, or blogging yourself, start to take part in the conversation. In February, I will be participating in the second LikeMinds conference at which the topic will be “P2P.” Social media has enabled a world where classifications like B2C and B2B are less important. The important conversation is now P2P – “Person to Person.”
Your audience already has a set of behaviours online. There is already an ongoing conversation. Your target market searches for content, plays games, chats, researches, and watches funny videos. Instead of interrupting their activity to deliver an advert, why not try and add value: something eye-catching, funny, interesting, or informative. Why not aggregate the conversation? Why not deliver quality branded content? Why not provide tools for your audience? Why not provide a forum for customer service queries? Why not build a game or quiz to engage people? Why not create something that people will be interested in, discuss, and share. By engaging with your audience, and then exposing your brand by adding value, you embed your brand within the consciousness of your target market. At the end of the day, its about being present, and vocal.
In the next post will will outline the most valuable opportunities are for your brand within social media. One clue – its not all about marketing. Many business functions can benefit. Then we will start looking at successful examples of what others are doing.
To get the followup posts over the next few weeks, simply click the “add to RSS button”, follow thrudigital on Twitter, or subscribe to these posts by email by clicking below.
Tags: social media, twitter
Phone ProblemsWe're hiring again!Social Media for Brands: Part 3 – Whats the ROI?Ding Dong Merrily on HighSocial Media for Brands: Part 2 – How can you engage?