richardfrosty – Richard Frost – Manchester

I remember when the idea of a Manchester Social Media Surgery was first floated at Social Media Cafe. I remember thinking, ‘that sounds like a good idea’. I also remember making a mental note and – not for the first time – doing absolutely nothing about it. Time to change all that.

What is the Manchester Social Media Surgery?

The Manchester Social Media Surgery is a networking event that looks at ways to use social media marketing for business. It takes place on the second Tuesday of every month and is organised by the tireless Chi-Chi Ekweozor, founder of social media consultancy Real Fresh TV (@realfreshtv on Twitter). Each month, she puts together a panel of social media types to talk about different social media issues raised by members of the audience.

Manchester Social Media Surgery – June 2011

This month’s theme is ‘creating social media content and analysing engagement stats’. I’ll have to work out what that means and fast because I’m going to be sitting on the panel, alongside Ian Pettigrew (@KingfisherCoach), Carol Maughan (@DLA_Piper_News) & Chi-Chi herself.

Doubtless, I’ll be waffling on about the need for weekly reporting, the value of free tracking tools like TweetStats, bit.ly, Google Analytics and so on. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to say yet either.

Free biscuits

It should be a good experience though and I’m looking forward to finally checking out the Manchester Social Media Surgery after all this time. Having been to similar networking events in the past, I know they can be a great way to learn new skills, discover the latest Twitter apps and meet interesting people. And even if it’s a complete disaster, you can always take advantage of the free biscuits.

The next Manchester Social Media Surgery will be held at the offices of Real Fresh TV at Peter House, Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5AN. It takes place on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 from 530pm-730pm and is free to attend. For more info, go to the Manchester Social Media Surgery – June 2011 event page or check out #mansms on Twitter.

Update: In spite of the lack of biscuits, I had a great time at the Manchester Social Media Surgery, picking up loads of pointers along the way. If you missed the evening but are interested in social media content and engagement stats, check out the Manchester Social Media Surgery June 2011 live blog for some useful tips.