Taken from this month's issue of Onward.

Oh the irony. I’ve been asked to write an article on how we are integrating social media into our business, and like the people who brought us Twitter, my Onward editor has limited my word count!

I’ll therefore spare the statistics as I think we all now know just how much social media is taking over the consumer media diet and instead, I’ll get straight onto where we see a new opportunity for brands to embrace two areas of the markettiers4dc group business that we have so much passion about, Broadcast and Research.

No matter which social network you happen to favour, the one consistency in this increasingly important space, is that people like to share their opinions in a live environment, creating discussion and debate. So it’s quite handy that we have a research agency called Opinion Matters and a TV studio that allows us to create live broadcast content for people who are engaged online to talk about.

Welcome to Social Media TV research.

Monitoring discussion within social media about your brand and knowing when to respond, or when to just listen, has become a key part of the ongoing communications mix. But finding out about conversations on the likes of Twitter, Facebook etc is a reactive process. So how beneficial would it be to embrace the technology that consumers enjoy, i.e., the live conversation, but be proactive by inviting them to join in with a live debate. This whilst all the while engaged by the other aspect of online that they enjoy doing - watching video, now made a daily experience for most of us.

Opinion Matters Live! (OMLive!) is a service that is now coming into its own. It gives clients the chance to replace the age old tactic of traipsing up and down the country in numerous viewing facilities and hotel rooms organising focus groups. Instead, in one evening, they can invite a group of screened individuals to watch, what is in effect, a live online TV show; broadcast from our studio, with the participants answering quantitative and qualitative questions that appear on their screen during the broadcast. The results of those questions are analysed immediately and can be viewed by brand observers anywhere in the world as they too can take part online. At the same time, viewers can join in an ongoing debate in a moderated discussion board that sits on the same page.

This is exactly what The Blue Door did for their software client that wanted feedback for a new product launch in May. We invited 30 respondents, predominantly parents, from across the UK to log on and join us for a 40min live show with the objective of getting feedback about potential new advertising creatives and website design pre-launch.

At the end of the session, we asked our live panel for their feedback on what it was like to take part in the process.

The response was tremendous –
here’s what some of them said about the event:

“Hi, I’m new to this and really enjoying this format”
“Hi - Just to say I love this way of research - works really well for me - do invite me if you do it again!”
“Enjoyng it, very interesting giving live opinions”

Take it from someone who was sat in the studio gallery watching these responses come through, this is a fantastic and exciting way for a brand to embrace Social Media . . . and we even allow our live participants to tell us what they think in more than 140 characters!

For more information on OMLive! go to: http://bit.ly/tvresearch

NMA tweeted this story this morning http://www.nma.co.uk/third-of-radio-listening-now-via-web/3015851.article

Nearly a third (31%) of radio listeners tune in via the internet, according to the latest Rajar figures.
Of that percentage, 29% of people claim they listen live, up 2% from November last year, and 25% use listen again services, also a 2% rise.

The results, which covered listening via mobile for the first time, showed 1.4m people have downloaded a radio app; 20% of smartphone users, with 53% of them claiming they use the app at least once a week.

The results also showed 16% of the 1,083 people surveyed downloaded podcasts.

The Rajar Measurement of Internet Delivered Audio Services (MIDAS 6) was carried out last month by Ipsos MORI.

For more, follow the link to NMA's website

Back in December I had a little blog rant about the proposed broadband tax that the previous Chancellor had proposed - http://blog.markettiers4dc.com/archives/90-Freedom-of-the-Internet.html

Well, the good news (and again, these are personal views and not those of markettiers4dc) is it would appear that yesterday, new incumbent George Osborne may have read our blog, as he announced that the 50p a month tax would be scrapped before it even got started, leaving private investment to handle the roll-out of the super-fast broadband whilst ensuring money would be made available for rural areas - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10378416.stm

This is a great compromise and a good step towards ensuring we get everyone to enjoy a quality online experience.

And on that subject, markettiers4dc have just signed up to http://raceonline2012.org/ to help make the UK 100% connected by 2012. We’ll be thinking of ideas on how we can help achieve this aim but recommend you go to the site to make your pledge too.

The IAB interviewed our Digial & Social Media Director, Russell Goldsmith, about using video effectively across online.



Questions included

What can broadcast and interactive video add to your social media activity?
What methods can you use to push it out there?
What are the best ways to encourage consumers to interact?
What if the subject matter isn't particularly exciting, for example with some B2B brands?
Can you talk us through a case study that you're really proud of?
What guidance can you provide on best practice in the social space?
What kinds of measurement are meaningful within interactive video?

Visit: http://www.iabuk.net/socialmedia for help in using your brand within social media.

To find out more and to keep updated about what's happening in social media, visit: http://iabuksocial.co.uk/

Just my opinion and apologies if any political allegiances shine through in this following blog rant (these are not the views of markettiers4dc) but our Chancellor is hardly a 'Darling' of the online world as he confirmed in this morning's Pre-Budget report that he will be introducing a new broadband tax next year of £6 a year

Whilst 50p a month may not sound much to begin with, the question is how long will it be before this new tax becomes an easy target to be increased in future budgets just like petrol or alcohol, should Labour win the next election? The alleged use of the money will be to help rural areas of the UK gain access to super-fast broadband with a target reach of 90% of the population by the end of 2017. However, this figure is estimated to fall way short of what is required to achieve that goal - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8403273.stm - and so it will surely be only a matter of time before Mr Darling comes knocking on our virtual doors for more cash?

Now I have no objection to my hard earned taxed cash going to help those in hard to reach parts of the UK connecting to the web in super fast time so they can join in this very blog debate, but didn’t he also announce today that our National Insurance contributions are going up, oh, and VAT is back up again too? Sure, these other increases are earmarked for other expenses . . . ah, there's a word we could debate too. I wonder if Mr Darling will expense his broadband connection so that he can work from home a little more - after all, what's an additional £6 when you've already been accused of claiming over £70,000 - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1145574/Alistair-Darling-accused-doing-Jacqui-Smith-lavishing-70-000-family-home.html