May 2012

Thank you to all that attended the long awaited Chinwag Insight: Psychology of Online Influence conference yesterday.

The afternoon was jam-packed with brain-busting insight from some of the leading experts from both academic and marketing worlds, bringing together theory and practice to build on the debate from the first event that took place during Social Media Week London in February.

Amongst the sea of information, here's a few of our favourite pointers on tackling online influence:

• 1. Know your target, 2. Communicate persuasively, 3. Sell with integrity.
• Relate to what bonds people and drives them to share: shared history, attitudes, society and culture.
• Identify the 5 types of influencers: idea starters, amplifiers, curators, commentators and viewers
• Provide 'social validation': ratings, reviews and pictures bump up effectiveness by 20%

As part of the global festival that is Social Media Week, taking place in 14 cities this September including our very own capital, we're asking you to represent London and capture it's unique British beauty. 

This contest will be taking place across all this September's host cities, including Barcelona, Berlin, Bogota, Chicago, Doha, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Jeddah, London, Los Angeles, Torino, São Paulo, Seoul and Vancouver.

In the coming weeks, Social Media Week will launch the Instagram Your City website, which will pull together the best photos. One "Best-in-Show" picture will be selected from these. Once selected, the winning contestant will be given the opportunity to travel to any Social Media Week city of their choosing during the September 24th - 28th event.