THINK DIGITAL 02/03/2012

Big Eye Deers had a great turnout with the first Think Digital event in November last year, so, to use a sporting cliché, we took the ball and ran with it.

The second Think Digital took place last Friday the 2^nd of March at the KuKu club on Greyfriars road. As a Cardiff newcomer I haven’t yet had a chance to check out some of the nightlife hot-spots but the KuKu Club will definitely be on my list for it’s relaxed and cosy but professional atmosphere (think Sir Alan Sugar’s Moroccan Love Den, if he had one).

The idea of Think Digital is to provide local business with a platform to freely discuss and obtain information on how to strengthen their online presence.  Whether they want to do this to connect with more customers, create a strong brand image, or sell more products Think Digital aims to cover a variety of topics with each event that enable small businesses to do this. It also provides great networking opportunities and past speakers include Social Media specialist Tom Beardshaw, Strategist from Native HQ , Mobile App Developer Craig Lockwood from App Workshops, Rhys Miles Thomas, Multiplatform PM for Cyfle and our very own Creative Director Steve Flanagan.

As Think Digital is a collaborative event with other local digital companies the speakers there care about local business and ultimately want to inspire and share their insight (local business owners take note – you can use this to your advantage and squeeze some extra digital wisdom from them up at the bar after the talks! Just a thought…)

The talks were varied, covering E-commerce, Apps (do you really need one?) and a variety of social media and marketing methods. Steve Flanagan (Big Eye Deers) got the ball rolling with an introduction to opensource platforms and the benefits of getting your business on group buying sites such as Groupon.

Craig Lockwood (App Workshops) was up next, demonstrating how important it is to have a website that can successfully translate onto mobile devices so as not to exclude customers or appear unprofessional with case studies on apps gone bad.

There was a short interval where attendees could top up on wine/nibbles and do a bit of mingling. I got chatting to the lovely Rachel Bierley, a Marketing and Design Assistant from digital agency 27stars who had travelled all the way from Shropshire to attend! Her feedback on the event was positive, and she also mentioned how interesting it was to hear other industry professional’s opinions and teachings on digital media. It’s great to meet like minded individuals and quite exciting that Think Digital, although originally for local business, is getting it’s name known nationally!

After another round of drinks we all returned to our seats eagerly awaiting the social media talks. Rhys Miles Thomas (Cyfle) didn’t disappoint, with a great presentation on how to use the right platforms to target your audience.

After Q & A Tom Beardshaw (NativeHQ) wrapped up the event with some great case studies on social media identities, asking the questions ‘Who are you’ and ‘how do you want to portray your brand?’.

Once again the turnout was fantastic and we hope that everyone who attended got something out of the event. Whether it was the confidence to expand their business online through a website or the use of social media or to have made a few more contacts in the digital world. We have already received some great feedback on it and are busily preparing for the next!

The whole event was done on donations to raise money for the Prince’s Trust Cymru which we believe is a brilliant and fitting cause as the charity enables young people achieve personal and professional development, encouraging that entrepreneurial streak that is present in so many of the people that attend the event. We hope to continue to work with this incredible charity and would like to thank every person who donated.

Like digital technology, we are always looking to improve and adapt to people’s needs so if you attended Think Digital and would like to give feedback or would like to be involved in future events please get tweeting @TDCardiff with your ideas.

See you at the next one!