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Apps increase engagement and strengthen brands whilst social media opens doors and grows business says One Wimpole Street Technology Masterclass

The second in a series of free masterclasses for event professionals, organised and hosted by One Wimpole Street, conference and meetings venue, revealed 100% of delegates would recommend or attend the breakfast briefings in future.

Held in One Wimpole Street’s high-spec Main Lecture Theatre on Tuesday 17th January, delegates were treated to a complimentary breakfast including scrambled egg and smoked salmon, pastries and a selection of teas and coffee, before Simon Burgon, director of 360R, took to the stage to discuss the ins and outs of app technology. Looking closely at the different platforms apps can be built upon, how they can benefit business, and strengthen a brand, Simon shared an extraordinary set of app statistics which included 1.2 billion apps downloaded during just one week from 25th-31st December 2011, the equivalent of 2000 apps per second.

With the average person spending just 0.9 minutes looking at a website via a browser on a mobile device, compared to 4.2 minutes spent on an app, this exciting and fast-moving area of technology is something that needs to be seriously considered by businesses as mobile device usage continues to increase dramatically as another million smart phones are activated daily.

Acknowledging the debate between whether you should or shouldn’t charge for apps, Simon highlighted the dramatic decline in downloads of an app when there is a fee, by looking at one company who initially launched the app for free which resulted in over 300,000 downloads and then dropped to just 5,000 downloads once a fee of £1.79 was initiated. Looking ahead at future trends and innovations, Simon shared hints and tips with the audience including building in social media and booking platforms to stop users having to jump in and out of an app and the importance of including analytic software so you can monitor what people are doing within the app and how they rate it.

Second speaker Ian McKendrick, helped event professionals get to grips with the continuous evolvement of social media. Having approached social media from a research point of view, Ian shared his insight into social media as a tool that opens doors and grows business as well as a platform to build relationships and share information. Introducing the audience to ‘Twellow’, a search directory of people by area of expertise, profession or other attribute listed in personal profiles on Twitter, Ian explained how free technology like this enables people to engage specifically with people of relevance.

Stressing the importance of always including calls to action and providing information of value, Ian explained: “It is these which set you apart from your competitors and make you worth engaging with. Hints and tips were filtered in throughout the presentation, ensuring delegates understood the power of social media, the relationship between social media and Google rankings and the importance of not just focusing your efforts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you want a loyal audience, you need to find a specific network for your target audience. The major social networks are great for building an immediate and sizeable following but if you want to really build relationships with key businesses or individuals, find a specific social media platform for your industry to really network by sharing tutorials, how to guides, image galleries, articles and asking and answering questions. It isn’t about selling – it is about creating something of worth.”

The next One Wimpole Street Technology Masterclass will take place on Thursday 17th May 2011 with a delicious hot breakfast served from 7.45am and the masterclass starting at 8.15am. Following the finish time of 9.30am, there will also be the opportunity for those who wish to network further, to enjoy pastries and coffee following the masterclass until 10.30am. To register your interest in attending this exclusive event for event professionals please visit
http://www.onewimpolestreet.co.uk/news/Free-Interactive-Technology-Masterclass.aspx