Social Media Portal interview with Tony Dowling from Online Influence Conference

Social Media Portal (SMP) profiled interview with Tony Dowling organiser of the the Online Influence Conference (Oiconf)

Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there for Online Influence Conference?

Tony Dowling (TD): My name is Tony Dowling and I am the founder of the 'Online Influence Conference' http://www.oi-listen.co.uk/. I have another job though ? a proper job - running a radio station, but for the time being I am pulling all the different people in the ?Oiconf? involved together.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about Online Influence Conference, what is it and when / where is the conference scheduled?

TD: It?s very much a conference that will be focussed on content. The creation and curation of content and how to use it to drive your business forward. It?s will be held at The Lodge in the fabulous Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales - 20 September 2012.

SMP: You?re a radio guy, why did you decide to do this event?

TD: I actually consider myself a marketing guy rather than a ?radio guy.? I?ve sold radio advertising over the years and that has led to an interest in marketing and a desire to keep up with new trends etc.

My approach has always been an advisory or consultative one; I?ve always trained my sales guys to sell the same way. Social media represents one of the greatest marketing opportunities for small businesses that I?ve ever come across as it matures as an industry.

People will come to see it as another marketing channel, a very powerful one! So it?s natural for my radio station, as market leader, to be involved in this sort of conference.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why (and who should attend ? does it have a broader appeal than just radio types)?

TD: Oh very much broader yes. It?s aimed squarely at Real Radio?s business customer. Small medium enterprises (SMEs) as they are known. It?s for people that have an appreciation of social media and marketing but want to get more from their social efforts.

The chances are the attendees will be all set up across various social media platforms but will be looking for the ?what next? information. Everyone knows they should be on Facebook, for example, but what do they do when they get there? It?s that sort of information and knowledge we?ll be zooming in on.

SMP: It?s your first conference, why did you decide create it and why the significance of it being in Wales?

TD: It all came about because of a twitter conversation I was having with the keynote speaker, Mark Schaefer. You?ll know Mark from his books ?Tao of Twitter? and ?Return on Influence? I?m sure.

Basically we struck up this friendship through twitter (I?ve written a post on his blog for instance) and one day he said it would be great to put on a social media conference in Wales. Obviously I agreed, and he - right there and then - offered to come over from the America to do the keynote speech! That?s the amazing power of the social web, right there!

SMP: What?s your opinion on how Wales is embracing social media in comparison to its UK cousins?

TD: It?s easy to trot out the usual line that Wales is behind the pace but I that?s truly not the case. Wales has always been a very entrepreneurial country with a healthy SME sector, innovation and creativity is a big deal here. Everyone is talking about social media and what to do with it and a conference like ours is perfectly timed.

SMP: What is Online Influence Conference doing that?s different?

TD: The fact we are focussing on the ?next steps?. It?s aimed at people that will already be set up on Facebook and twitter and Pinterest, and will help them understand where to go next.

We are bringing the sort of thinking that?s well established in other marketing channels to this ?new? arena. So, no one is selling anything and no one is particularly platform centric.

SMP: What will be some of the highlights at the conference?

TD: I would obviously say it?s all great, but I am particularly excited about seeing Mark Schaefer in Wales.

The guy is a global marketing figure and social media giant, so getting him to the Celtic Manor is very exciting. He is tremendously knowledgeable and always delivers a fascinating talk, plus, he?s a nice guy too. 


SMP: How are you attracting and attendees to the conference?

TD: So far it?s been word of mouth on twitter only. People have been able to get full details from my blog at www.completelyfreesalesadvice.wordpress.com and this week sees the launch of the conferences own website and that will help us push things along. For anyone interested they can also follow the #oiconf hash tag.

SM: What are the most important things that attendees can take away from this conference?

TD: ?Content strategies? is a bit trite, but that?s what it?s all about. We want people to be able to learn things that are going to help them run their businesses; ideas about what social media to use and what to do with that social media to drive community engagement. But ultimately it?s about ROI.

SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?

TD: The hardest part has been trying to do the organisational things and talk to people outside of ?office hours? as it were. I?ve got a few people that are really keen and happy to help out so that hasn?t been too bad. It?s been a lot of fun in fairness and hopefully it?ll continue like that.

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?

TD: Getting Mark Schaefer signed up definitely. As I handpicked everyone else that?s appearing I had another little celebratory punch in the air as each of them agreed to take part! Every time we knock another detail down, it?s great and I know it will be smooth going when we actually get to the event in September.

SMP: It?s claimed that some radio folk are notoriously slow at adopting digital channels and marketing. Is this still true and can this be said of social media?

TD: Really? I don?t believe that?s the case; we certainly spotted the potential to engage with our listeners more closely very early on.

Radio has always spoken to its listeners ?in real time? live on-air. For instance we quickly dropped the old ?answers on a postcard? in favour of the tweeting and Facebook model for competitions and embraced the opportunity to engage with listeners quickly and more importantly, directly.

I?ve always considered radio as the ?original? social media in many ways. User generated content in the form of request shows; interaction in real time as I mentioned and providing the content bits between the songs seems to be catching on as one sees various music platforms introducing talk and editorial speech elements. Plus, we had the original wireless network too!  

SMP: Have you any early bird discounts (if so when does it end)?

TD: Yes, the full ticket is priced at £75, but currently early birds can get in for £50, a great price for an event of this nature I think. We also have limited student tickets for £30 as I speak, but they are very limited.

SMP: Is there anything else we should know about the conference?

TD: I?m not sure I?m getting the collaborative nature of it across. Each of the speakers has given their time for free and the gang of people involved in organising are also waiving their normal charges.

The event won?t make any profit, anything that?s over (there?s a slim chance of that!) will be donated to charity. That, in itself, makes it a pretty unique event, the quality of the speakers notwithstanding.

SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks in terms of radio?

TD: A process of ?even more,? really. As is the case with the conference attendees, most if not all radio groups are heavily into social already and you?ll see really exciting things happening that ?blur? the line between social communication and ?normal? communication in the immediate future, especially from a mobile perspective.

I expect social channels to be the most important way to contact your favourite radio station. Even now some of the competition stuff radio stations are running is brilliant and that will develop and evolve. In terms of journalism, social media offers an unprecedented ability to report the news.

SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media / technology throughout 2012 and into 2013?

TD: I think we?ll see further delineation between the networks. People will find that certain networks suit certain parts of their lives more and more. So I think we?ll see a more fully formed (possibly smaller) Facebook tribe emerge, and a Google+ tribe and a LinkedIn tribe and so on.

It will become increasingly difficult for brands to reach their target market, and this will mean just buying Facebook ads and paid for search won?t be enough. I also expect social media buying to become more sophisticated. Exactly the same as is the case with traditional media actually.

SMP: What are your top five predictions for social media throughout 2012?

TD replies with:

• Facebook will stabilise and return to former glory. I think the hype around the IPO has been massively exaggerated. 900+ million people aren?t going to up-and-leave their online lives to start them anew somewhere else.
• Social will become the number one element in SEO, maybe that?s a few years away yet, but it?ll happen.
• We?ll see Google+ and Pinterest etc establish as ?mainstream? social alongside Facebook and Twitter.
• A brand new idea will come along and VCs all over the world will kick themselves for not seeing it coming.
• Online Influence Conference (the Oi Conference) will be hailed a massive success!

SMP: What are your top five social media tips?

TD replies with:

• Immerse yourself! Enjoy it, try everything out. Take part. You?ll learn loads.
• I can?t for the life of me see why anyone would pay to learn about this stuff. Every possible lesson you need is available in a blog or wiki entry or whatever for free! So Google everything and read lots!
• No one is an expert - we don?t know where this stuff will end up - so be cautious about listening to people that say that they are experts.
• We are all here to learn together so don?t feel bad about admitting you don?t know about something. No one knows everything there is to know about everything. And everyone has to start somewhere
• Be authentic ? don?t make stuff up online. Be who you are otherwise it will come back at some point and bite you? Google has a long memory!

SMP: Best way to contact you?

TD replies with:

Twitter @oiconf, Website http://www.oiconf.co.uk. And, search for me as Tony Dowling on LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter @radiojaja.


SMP: What did you have for breakfast and lunch?

TD: I went for a run this morning and was pushed for time to so I ended up with a McDonalds breakfast on the way into work! I made up for it with a healthy brown bread chicken sandwich for lunch though

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

TD: I advised a guy asking for inspiration on twitter to buy the new Jack White album (I thought it was a good thing!)

SMP: If you weren?t running Online Influence Conference (or doing what you do) what would you be doing?

TD: Er.. my actual job! Running a radio station. If I didn?t do that I have aspirations and delusions about being a writer

SMP: You?re favourite radio DJ ever?

TD: Oh! Not fair! OK, from a happy memories perspective, I loved listening to Sir Terry Wogan with my mum when I was little

SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?

TD: France, last summer. We went to Disneyland Paris with my twin boys ? and had a blast!

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?

TD: Switch on my pc. And plug my phone into its charger. Then check my iPad!

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

TD: Ummm?. I?ve always wanted to be Ironman. Cool tech great suit nice cars and buckets of cash!

SMP: One of your favourite brands using social media?

TD: Avoiding the usual suspects and speaking about what I enjoy personally, some of the big golf tournaments like ?The Masters? from Augusta Georgia have done great things to bring themselves up to speed.

The Masters app this year was one of my favourite sports apps ever I think. It was full of stats and tons of video highlights and interviews and all right there on the iPad.

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