February 24, 2012 4.25 pm This story is over 157 months old

Social media conference returns to Lincoln

LincUpLive: Second Lincoln social media conference brings international speakers and experts to the city to share their wisdom.
Internet marketing expert Susan Hallam speaking at LincUpLive

Some 150 delegates attended Lincoln’s social media conference, LincUpLive, with international speakers and experts taking the stage on Friday, February 24, at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.

Local businesses and twitterati absorbed the wisdom of social media gurus from the likes of IBM’s Delphine Remy-Boutang and Orange’s Yann Gourvennec.

Attendees also learnt how the medium is affecting local policing with a talk from the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police Richard Crompton.

LincUpLive Co-founder Glenn Le Santo opened the event explaining how social media can help boost business in Lincoln and companies should let their staff embrace it.

“Social media can empower Lincoln, putting it on the map with modern marketing bringing the city forward.

“You can now sell sausages to America thanks to e-commerce, if you just look outside and see who else you can reach,” he said.

Former Worldwide Social Media Director at IBM, Delphine Remy-Boutang, spoke to The Lincolnite about how Lincoln’s businesses can embrace their community.

She said: “It is about engaging with the people you want to influence, when I arrived in Lincoln I tweeted the fact and a local bar called Dogma started following me, now I know where to go for a drink when I return.”

Remy-Boutang explained that social media shouldn’t be intimidating for small businesses as by starting slow and using tools like TweetDeck they can quickly gain visibility.

Educating staff to adapt to this cultural shift is also important in a customer services sense, according to Remy-Boutang.

“Social media brings a humanised experience to a brand and although there will be mistakes, that is fine; it is best to be part of any negative conversation to turn it into a positive,” she said.

As LincUpLive continues to grow since its inaugural event last year, the next conference has already been announced for September 14.

You can keep track of discussion around the event by following the hashtag #LUL360 on Twitter.

Photos: Paul Clarke and Luke Todd for LincUpLive