Matt Owen

Matt Owen is Head of Social Media at Econsultancy. He looks after Econsultancy’s global social media strategy and architecture, where he has led community engagement and growth since 2010.

Matt has a background in music, film and television in addition to marketing, and was instrumental in building the UK's largest entertainment blog network before moving into dedicated social management and strategy for one of the world's largest business schools before joining Econsultancy. He has a particular interest in social measurement and organizational integration.

In addition, he works with a community of 200,000+ digital marketers daily across a variety of social channels and has written best practice guides for popular social platforms. He contributes regularly to the Econsultancy blog, industry titles and makes regular appearances at events and conferences.

Q&A: Aurora fashion's John Bovill on multichannel retail innovation

Aurora fashion is best known for its high street brands, including Karen Millen, Oasis and Warehouse, with several hundred stores across the UK.

Aurora's group IT director John Bovill was recently named as one of retail's top 70 movers and shakers by Retail Insider, and the group also received Retail Week's IT team of the year award in June.

I spoke to him about the challenges faced by retailers moving into the multichannel space and the impact of mobile and online technology as a supply and demand chain facilitator, as well as the way Aurora has been working with BT Expedite to develop an innovative integrated store system.

by Matt Owen 08 November 2010 12:34pm 0 comments

Cooks Source, condescension and copyright law

It’s hard to make a living writing online. In general, those who write for the web are looked down on by their ‘in-print’ counterparts. Despite the fact that we often speak to larger and more relevant audiences, there’s still an attitude that web copy is somehow illegitimate, less professional.

Just because someone is writing for a newspaper, they aren’t automatically any more talented or influential than a blogger. The lines are blurred; many bloggers being talented journalists and vice versa.

Indeed, the only real difference is the matter of accessibility, and it's this factor which has led newspapers to duck behind paywalls, offer subscription-based apps and ‘unique content’ add-ons as the old media struggle to monetise their sites and avoid devaluing their content.

The assumption seems to be that online, content may be king, but it’s still cheap.

In fact, one recent incident shows that some people consider it so cheap; it isn’t worth paying for at all.

by Matt Owen 05 November 2010 08:36am 3 comments

Social media: how to stay in control

Last week, the Washington Post’s Managing Editor Raju Narisetti sent out a memo to all of the paper’s employees entitled "responding to readers via social media" in which he effectively bans reporters, editors and assorted hangers-on from engaging directly with the Post’s considerable Twitter following.

The memo came after a controversial article implying a link between homosexuality and mental illness was published in the Post and rightly lambasted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). In the ensuing kerfuffle, a Post editor responded to critics via the company Twitter account, claiming that the paper was “trying to represent both sides of the story”.

Whether or not there actually are two sides to this story is not for me to comment on here, but the reaction by Narisetti highlights the continuing misunderstanding and misapplication of social media policy by many large companies.

by Matt Owen 03 November 2010 09:34am 5 comments

What do social media managers do? Part 3

itv2-logo In the my previous post, I spoke about a single aspect of my work process, and in future installments I'll be looking at other areas where I speak to different audiences. However, by now I’m fairly sure that you’re all getting slightly tired of me shouting about how great I am , so this time round I thought we’d take a break and begin looking at some leading social professionals from other industries.

Social media tools and initiatives are increasingly widespread, but their use can vary dramatically from company to company, and while Econsultancy has an interesting business model, it's also fairly unique. By looking at other industries I'm hoping we can uncover how the core principles of social media (Listen. Consider. Respond. - you hadn't forgotten had you?) can be applied to different situations.

A good social media manager needs to be highly adaptable, applying these tenets to differing business models for a variety of reasons.

To kick things off, I recently spoke to Tom Webster, Social Media Producer at ITV Digital Channels about how the broadcast media industry applies social media in order to engage audiences and promote content on a variety of platforms.

by Matt Owen 28 October 2010 13:32pm 3 comments

Top ten iPad alternatives

The iPad's been around for a while now, and although reviews have generally been positive, their are a few Flash and USB-shaped tweaks that many consumers are clamouring for.

Luckily, every electronics company worth their salt has decided to ignore Steve Jobs’ recent disparaging comments and are currently rushing out hundreds of slate computing options in the hope of slicing off a piece of the sure-to-be-massive tablet computing pie.

With so many quirkily named Korean imports doing the rounds, we decided it was time to have a look through the top options and see how they shape up, and if they could be responsible for the iPad’s recent poor market performance.

Just in time for Christmas, here are my top ten alternative tablet options:

by Matt Owen 25 October 2010 14:52pm 3 comments

What do Social Media Managers do? Part 2

Following on from my previous post, it’s time to throw myself to the wolves and tell you exactly what it is I’m doing all day. Hopefully by outlining my regular daily routine you’ll begin to see how various platforms can be used by your social media staff to enhance your customer’s experience and generate revenue.

Where relevant I’ll try to post exact figures and ROI, and detail some of the new ideas that have come from our social outreach recently...

by Matt Owen 18 October 2010 13:04pm 8 comments

Building a great social media strategy

When I’m writing about social media, I always try to hammer home the importance of transparency: Clear and open communication with clients by members of staff at all levels.

Unfortunately there are times when this isn’t appropriate. There are hierarchies of information and responsibility in any company, which means social media expansion often requires a clear policy so that anyone with access to social media (which means everyone) stays on message and doesn’t accidentally destroy a lovingly crafted campaign with an ill-advised tweet.

In order to roll out a social program across an entire company, you need to train and educate across your organization, and a properly honed policy is a good way to begin.

Here area few quick points to consider when putting together a general use policy that will help you ensure maximum engagement and minimum risk.

by Matt Owen 14 October 2010 11:35am 4 comments

What do Social Media Managers do? Part 1

Social media is an incredibly diverse field: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblrs, blogs, forums, Flickr, YouTube and literally hundreds of other apps, tools and networks, presided over by hundreds more gurus, ninjas, mavens, managers, engagement specialists. Even the (very) odd Producer.

It’s a young discipline, it’s evolving quickly and new innovations and methods of integration are arriving on a daily basis. With all this going on, it can be hard to find someone qualified to run your social media successfully at a strategic level.

While HR departments are working hard to fill new positions, how exactly do you decide who is qualified?

by Matt Owen 08 October 2010 09:09am 15 comments

Facebook ads to be more social

Facebook has often claimed that ads with a social context or initiative byline are generally more effective.

As an example, an ad may contain information showing how many of a user’s friends ‘like’ a particular brand, or a question/answer call to action, with users more likely to click ads that their friends have already tried out.

In order to prove this effectiveness, Facebook has now launched a set of metrics that measure social engagement for paid ads, showing advertisers exactly how much value can be gained from including a social context.

by Matt Owen 10 September 2010 14:34pm 1 comment

Donald Trump, Twitter spam and affiliate marketing

Trump-trump-trump

If you deal in online marketing or the media in general, then you'll probably be familiar with The Trump Network, owned by business icon (and face of the US 'Apprentice' show) Donald Trump.

The Trump Network is currently making a foray into affiliate marketing, pop along to the campaign's homepage and you'll see a short video from Mr.Trump, explaining how his affiliate program can benefit anyone financially, up to and including multi-millionaires like himself.

The network itself wasn't what initially caught my eye however. Instead, what piqued my curiosity was the way in which the network is being promoted across the Twittersphere.

While there's no reason to assume that Trump or his company are directly behind it, the Trump Network does have a number of seemingly automated feeds out there promoting the business, a practice which indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of the medium.

by Matt Owen 10 September 2010 18:10pm 11 comments