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SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING | brandwatch.com | @brandwatch | contact@brandwatch.com | +44 (0)1273 234 290

10 Questions

with… Jeremy

Waite

Introducing: Jeremy Waite

2 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

There are lots of influential people in the world of social, many of

whom share their social wisdom with the rest of us.

We always jump at the chance to get some insights into what

inspires those big in social, and what their tips are for great social

etiquette.

We recently caught up with Jeremy Waite, Head of Social Strategy

at Adobe EMEA to find out he feels about social and his tips for

those budding ‘social’-ites out there…

Who is Jeremy Waite?

3 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

Jeremy is the Head of Social Strategy at Adobe EMEA.

Previously, he held the same role at TBG Digital and prior to that was Head of Social Media for Phones 4u. His experience includes working with FTSE-100 organisations, such as Unilever and Centrica, in addition to well-known brands such as Reebok, MTV, and Kellogg’s.

Jeremy is the author of ‘Sex, Brands & Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and is currently writing his next book, ‘Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You’.

How did you first get into social

media as a career?

4 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

“ I have been in brand comms for 10 years and started in the golf

industry.

Advertising started to get more and more social and I have always

been fascinated with behavioural science and communities, so I was

pretty much obsessed with social when I first discovered MySpace

and started blogging. ”

What do you love about social

media?

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“ From a personal point of view, I love the fact that I am constantly

connected to my friends, despite moving away from Manchester to

London.

I also love the way that social media brings like-minded people

together, so I regularly chat and share ideas with other social

strategists and digital marketers.

From a commercial point of view, I love that social media is the one

area of business where a brand doesn’t need to out-spend its

competitors in order to beat them. ”

And what do you hate about it?

6 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

“ People’s obsession with the number of friends, followers and

subscribers.

I’m a big fan of Robin Dunbar, the social scientist who’s research

states that people are not capable of sustaining more than 150

friends. In fact we usually only have 3-5 really close friends. With

that in mind, the fact that people claim to have thousands of friends

is simply not true.

In many ways, social media is making us less connected than ever,

because there is so much “noise” and we’re trying to “manage” so

many superficial relationships. ”

What’s your favourite social

network and why?

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“ That’s like asking me to chose between my children as to which

one is my favourite!

If I’m pushed I’ll go with Twitter and Instagram (although it’s

interesting that Twitter don’t call themselves a social network

anymore – they’re an information network), so I’ll go with Instagram.

I love the creativity, I’ve always been a frustrated photographer, but I

love the visual element that breaks down all cultural boundaries.

Every other network apart from Instagram is restrictedly language. I

love that Instagram helps people anywhere in the world connect with

each other. ”

Who are the people in social

who inspire you most?

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“ Jack Dorsey. Brian Solis. Gary Vaynerchuk. Kevin Rose. Olivier

Blanchard. Reid Hoffman. Peter Thiel.

On a local level, James Whatley from Ogilvy is a pretty cool cat. ”

Which brands do you think

do social particularly well?

9 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

“ The cliches will be Innocent, Coke, Red Bull and Starbucks – but

I’m a huge fan of Paddy Power. Not necessarily from a gaming

perspective, but I love that they “get” their fans and connect with

their customers in a way that many other brands fail to. ”

What 3 changes do you

think we’ll see in social

media in the next year?

10 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

“ 1. Social “media” will be increasingly referred to as social

“business” as more brands will put it at the heart of their

organisations.

2. Customer service teams will have as much (if not more)

ownership of social channels than marketing teams. Managing

large numbers of fans at scale will also put the emphasis on

more (accurate) automated processes.

3. As brands seek to justify ROI for every penny they spend,

social marketers will be held more accountable in the

boardroom. ”

What are your 3 top tips

for those starting out in

social media marketing?

11 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

“ 1. Social media is about story-telling and engaging with the

people that care about you (or your brand) the most

2. Social media is not primarily a sales channel. People want to

“click-to-share” before they are asked to “click-to-buy” (although

social is a pretty damned effective sales channel when it’s used

properly)

3. If you understand the top 2 well enough, you don’t need a

third tip :) ”

Tell us about your new

book – what are readers

going to learn?

12 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

“ ‘Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You’ is a book about the top 100

people in social media. The subtitle of the book is “leading from the

middle of the pack”.

The book aims to inspire everyone from start-ups and entrepreneurs,

to business leaders and junior managers by asking each of the

people in the book two questions.

It should be a fun ‘coffee table’ style book and will be available for

free (pay with a tweet) or as a glossy hardback version – where all

profits will be going to charity (Help for Heroes Poppy Appeal). It is

due out this summer. ”

Enjoy this?

13 © 2013 Brandwatch | www.brandwatch.com

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