Profiled - BeyeCONNECT - Meeting the social networking needs of the global business intelligence (BI) community
An interview with Kym Wootton, Marketing Director at BeyeCONNECT
The Social Media Portal talks to BeyeCONNECT about using social media to reach the business intelligence community and helping them share information and knowledgeSocial Media Portal (SMP): What is your full job title and role at BeyeCONNECT?
Kym Wootton (KW): I?m the marketing director for the BeyeNETWORK ? BeyeCONNECT is one of our affiliated sites.
SMP: Why was BeyeCONNECT started and when did it launch?KW: BeyeCONNECT was started because we saw a gap in the business intelligence industry. We launched in February of 2009.
SMP: Briefly, tell us about that service, what is it and what does it strive to do?KW: BeyeCONNECT is a free community website where professionals in the business intelligence and data warehousing industry can come to join interesting and relevant groups, communicate with other members, share their opinions about content and gain closer access to leading industry experts in an interactive environment driven by the community.
SMP: What was the most challenging part of building the service?KW: I think all sites like ours have to put a great deal of effort into getting people comfortable and engaged enough to participate in the community. We have hundreds of people on the sidelines who are reading content and engaged in finding information, but we are always trying to find new ways to encourage people to add content and start discussions.
SMP: Who are your target audience and why?KW: The site serves the business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing (DW) community and all the industries that fall underneath. The information is relevant to all age groups and job titles within the BI and DW communities.
SMP: How did you initially attract users to your site and service for the launch, and how do you do it now?KW: We started by reaching out to the audience that was already seeking information on our main website,
BeyeNETWORK.com. These were people who were already engaged and interested. We also spread the word on our Twitter feed (
http://twitter.com/beyenetwork) and in our blogs on the site. Now we are trying to extend our net a little further by sending out press releases and spread the information at industry conferences and events.
SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?KW: It?s hard knowing what a great resource we have and seeing it under utilized! Our goal continues to be to increase the interaction and interest in the site.
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?
KW: Seeing people network and get answers to questions as a result of community interaction. It?s great to see people using the service for the exact purpose that we created it!
SMP: Now the service is becoming established, what do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities?KW: Keeping people engaged and offering the opportunity for members to begin their own groups on the site.
SMP: How important is ?community? at BeyeCONNECT and how do you intend to nurture it?KW: It?s the MOST important part of the site. We think the best way we can nurture the community is to continue to bring in new members and encourage interaction.
SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks?KW: I think that you have to find a way to integrate the media into people?s lives. Now that there are so many places to get information, busy executives don?t want to have to go to 10 different places if they can find one place to get it all.
SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media / technology throughout 2009?
KW: It will be very interesting to see which trends continue and which go away. There is always a company who does it bigger and better than the last ? think of MySpace vs. Facebook. So who is going to come trump Facebook? My guess is that we?ll see something new enter the market next year.
SMP: What impact is the global recession having and what do you think the best way is to manage it for businesses such as yours?KW: I?m not sure that the global recession is necessarily impacting social media, since it is typically a free resource. In many cases, it?s a fun and free diversion from reality.
SMP: How does this fit into plans at BeyeCONNECT?KW: BeyeCONNECT is and will always be a free site to participate in!
SMP: What are the next moves for BeyeCONNECT?KW: We hope to continue to spread the word of the community ? bring in new members, encourage lots of participation and bring value to the business intelligence and data warehousing community.
SMP: Best way to contact you?KW: Contact me on email at kwootton @ beyenetwork.com or find me on BeyeCONNECT and send me a message!
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?KW: Toast with peanut butter for breakfast and a gyro for lunch
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?
KW: I think good is in the little things ? opening doors, giving thank you waves, letting people into traffic. I try to do these many times, daily.
SMP: How many hours to you work a week?KW: I try to keep it around 45 ? balance is key for me.
SMP: If you weren?t running BeyeCONNECT what would you be doing?KW: Community manager at BeyeCONNECT is one of the many hats I wear at BeyeNETWORK. I also handle marketing, media partnerships, branding and live events. I love what I do, so hopefully I can continue to do this for other company?s in the future!
SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?KW: Cruise to the Caribbean. The beach is the perfect vacation for my family!
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?KW: Make my to-do list and check email
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?KW: Teleportation ? I hate the daily commute!
If you are interested in being Profiled, get in touch with the SMP editorial team via our contact
form.
Read more