We are pleased to announce our alliance with the “World’s Leading Internet Policing Specialist” – Web Sheriff.

Known to the music industry as their top web enforcer, Web Sheriff’s work has helped numerous clients secure No.1 albums worldwide with their unique and pioneering combination of anti-piracy and viral marketing services and have similarly protected several No.1 US Box Office movies. Additionally, they continue to help many artists and celebrities to protect their online name, brand and revenues within the entertainment industry. Web Sheriff has worked with Lady Gaga, Adele, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Magnolia Pictures and most recently helped Noel Edmonds reach out to his infamous Facebook Troll.

With this unique alliance we are able to extend our valuable existing services and not only help promote you but also protect you, by offering high-end policing and protection of your name – ensuring your online voice remains professional and on track.

For any queries about our new service please get in touch.

One thing we encourage all our clients to do on social media however, is to find another subject matter to talk about. It goes without saying your fans want to know what’s happening with your career and get a glimpse of your personal life in the process but showing you care about other issues humanises and makes you much more interesting. Do it right, and you can attract a receptive audience who may then tune in to your TV show, see your latest movie or go see you perform on stage – all because as they respect you an artist and as a person.  Vanessa Mae is apparently skiing for the Winter Olympics this year and George Clooney is making headlines for his humanitarian campaigning for Sudan, so what interests you beyond your work?

George Takei  from Star Trek fame has generated a whole new legion of fans through his online activism for Equal Rights through Facebook. These are a new generation who have no idea about his sci-fi heritage but drawn by his entertaining and though-provoking posts about Prop 8, racism and campaign to educate people about the history of Japanese Americans. He’s doing it so well in fact, he’s now employing a social media manager to look after his online campaigning.

Remember, your interests don’t have to  be political. Perhaps it’s a charity you support or just a hobby  like cooking or balloon animals? All are valid subjects as they matter to you and it’s your enthusiasm that will make you more engaging and perhaps steer your career into a whole new direction like George Takei.

So big news today is that Facebook announced Timeline for Fan Pages and social media marketing bods can finally rest easily in our geeky beds tonight as some of our biggest concerns have been answered. The new format allows a brand to be a lot more social and a lot more relevant to fans who visit your Page.  If you missed all the fuss and want a simple breakdown of the incredibly long fMC presentation which was streamed live today, a simple summary of changes to the new Fan Pages can be found below:

New Cover Photo
Photo has has strict guidelines: no price or purchase information, contact information, call-to-actions or references to userface elements (e.g. Like or Share).

Tabs still there but now wider
No default landing tab anymore but three apps can be visible on the top menu (but Photos has to be one of them) but you can have a maximum of 12 in total and your existing tabs will work within the larger dimensions (810 pixels).

Customise Your Posts
You can Pin more important posts so they appear at the top of your Page for 7 days, back date previous posts, highlight posts so they feature across the width of your page and add significant company milestones.

New Administrator Panel
Fans can now direct message Fan Pages, there is an activity log so you can review all yor posts and activity, insights have also been simplified and new controls will be introduced so you set permissions for each Page Admin.

Timeline will roll out on all Pages from March 30th
You have a 30 days to preview and get your Fan Page right before it goes live to the public. So spend this time to evaluate your existing content and decide what to highlight.

So with these points in mind, what will you be doing with your Fan Page? If you want to see the new layout check out Laughing Buddha's here.

The Guardian picked up the eponymous alter-ego back in November 2011, with many people initially believing it was the man himself behind the profile, Cameron Mackintosh flatly denying it, saying “Not only is impersonation the highest form of flattery, but the fact that someone thinks I am technically savvy enough to tweet (dear) is a big compliment!”. I was lucky enough to be one of the few to begin following the infamous profile early on when he was actually known under a more obvious Twitter handle, until the real producer’s offices stepped in and forced him to launch as the more user friendly username he has today which has over 12,000 followers and counting. He continues to ruffle feathers and provide laugh with tweets this week, like the ones below:

“Kerry Katona called. She’s desperate to be in the Les Mis film. I’ve offered her the role of ‘man in beard’ #dear”

“Night night. Phantom eyemask on. Dreaming of Chris Martin from Coldplay playing the first vegetarian Bill Sykes, dear”

There was even an online campaign to get him shortlisted as ‘Theatre Event of the Year’ at the WhatsOnStage Awards this year but sadly missed out on the final selection to more sober events like David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s Shakespearean reunion in Much Ado and the 25th anniversary of a little know musical called Phantom. Still, it’s impressive by any standards. A Twitter profile that gets people talking is something we all hope for and quite envious of, as it’s a notoriously hard social media platform to penetrate.

The Producer continues to tweet live at every industry awards do, opening night and event and I get asked if I know who’s behind the camp producer who thinks “Plays are a bit too long” (as if I would say if I did anyway!) On a more serious note, as marketers in the industry we can learn a lot from him:

• It is possible to engage an entire community on Twitter if you position yourself correctly and have the right message and a voice worth listening to that captures the public mood.
• It takes commitment and time to craft content which is entertaining and offers value to it’s followers – something which can’t appear overnight or even over a month.
• It takes the idea to go beyond online for a campaign to really take off and filter into the public domain.

My fellow colleagues and I have wondered if it is another theatre marketing manager behind the mysterious profile due to the level of sophistication and regularity. I myself have been accused of being @WestEndProducer at one point (I wish! My profile isn’t half as funny @richardlecocq) but until he decides to retire and dim his lights, we may never know who this person is and I don’t think we ever should. I am waiting for the Broadway equivalent to cross the Atlantic, though for some reason all the funny spoof profiles seem to have a distinctive English sense of wry humour about them. So we will have to wait and see if that happens.

Until then, as @WestEndProducer would say “lets just sit back and enjoy the show, dear.”

This post is also published on The Situation.

If you’re lucky to be successful in your career, you will have a number of fans. Some may might even build a website or set up Facebook Fan Page so they can talk about you to their hearts content with other like-minded people. Being commercially successful in your line of work or ‘famous’ is an essential element to the longevity of any artist’s career. It translates into box office return, sales and viewing figures. Producers will love you and your talent even more, if you can bring this to the table.

Gaining a fan base can happen quite easily if you land the right job, but harnessing it as part of your own ongoing publicity is a much more difficult process and is one of the main reasons why any professional artist should ensure they control it. As much as social networks are forums for people to come together to talk about the things they love (i.e. you) there are concerns in allowing fans to administer this message on your behalf. Yes, they’ll be committed and may offer to do it for free but are they shaping your message or their own? Consider the following about fan managed Fan Pages:

1. Is Your Mum Speaking For You?

If you don’t have someone in control of your Fan Page that isn’t you or someone you trust implicitly, then you at least need someone who can communicate your tone of voice. Otherwise, its like having a mother speak for their son in front of a prospective girlfriend – with similar cringe-worthy results. They may have all the good intentions in the world but don’t necessarily know what you’re thinking or the facets of your personality you’d like to convey. A professional online publicist will insist on working closely with you to develop your tone of voice.

2. Outside vs Inside Voice.

Official Fan Pages speak from the source which adds all important credibility to your voice and news, where as a fan managed Fan Page will speak from the outside looking in. The public and also media want online news sources they can rely on and trust so failing to provide this source increases the risk of the wrong information about you getting out.

3. Robert Pattinson Is More Than Just A Vampire.

Fan Pages are usually created after you gain notoriety in a particular role, meaning the focus of news can be biased towards this or be nostalgic in tone with less emphasis made on your wider achievements or future career plans. As an artist, you should be looking forward and ensuring your fans know about your future career movements all the time, as well as acknowledging your past career achievements.

4. What Do You Mean I Can’t Say That?

Some news is incredibly time sensitive. Securing new jobs or finalising contracts and deals may hinge upon your discretion and understanding of when certain news can be made public. Fans who run these pages aren’t journalists so don’t necessarily understand or respect news embargoes – they’re usually excited about getting exclusives ahead of everyone else. Unless you or your agent have a close relationship with the people who run these types of Pages, having no control could get you into trouble and inadvertently make you seen as untrustworthy and unprofessional.

5. Vocation or Job?

Fans who run Pages aren’t being paid to look after your presence online, so it’s up to their discretion how frequently they post content and what they talk about. Having a social media manager means you have a professional who is required to consistently look after the message you want to deliver online. You need to ensure a Fan Page with your name on it is never out-of-date, so make sure the person managing it never loses interest or goes AWOL.

These are just a few considerations when deciding who looks after your online voice and these factors apply to Twitter and other social media platforms too.

If 2012 is the year you decided to join Twitter or perhaps you’ve decided you’re not getting as much out of it as you’d like, then look no further, as the Buddha is here to help you find your tweet, I mean feet. (sorry, terribly bad joke) We’ve just produced our latest FREE download, ‘10 Twitter Tips To Get You Started‘ on our home page, which details some simple pointers on how to get the most of out of this popular social media network. So why not take a look, if you have any further questions, get in touch with us as we’d be more than happy to help! Click here to download a copy.

1. Tell the world you’re now on Twitter!

That doesn’t mean telling just your mates and your postman. Update your Facebook profile and Fan Page if you have one, put links on your website and blog. Ensure there are multiple ways for people to find and follow you.

2. Choose the right name.

Make sure you pick a name that looks official and allows you to be found easily. If you want industry people to take you seriously then @brianloveskittens might not be the best choice. If you can use your full name – great! Remember, people like follow individuals and brands they want to be associated with and recognise.

3. Follow people.

No physical stalking please. Just find people who interest you online and follow them on Twitter. Take the time to see who they follow, as it will help you discover a group of people with similar interests to yourself.

4. Interact with people.

Twitter is a conversation, if you don’t respond to people’s mentions or respond to their tweets, it will become a very unrewarding experience. Just talking about yourself is as much fun as standing on a street corner, holding a billboard that reads, “I’m REALLY interesting, honest.”

5. Tweet, tweet, tweet.

Be an active member of the Twitterverse in order to make an impression, so make sure you post regularly. People like to follow individuals who are informative, useful or simply funny. Try not to be mundane or irritating, as you will end up being perceived as spam (as in the unwanted messages, not the processed ham).

6. Retweet.

Read a tweet you liked? Spread the word and pass it onto your followers. Social media is all about sharing and it will help you gain more followers and give your followers an idea what interests you in the process.

7. Timing is everything.

Rush hour (8-9am and 6-7pm) and lunch time (1-2pm) are the most popular time for people to check Twitter, so why not eat your breakfast or sandwich and make sure your tweets are seen then and join in with people’s conversations.

8. Be nice.

Do favours for people, retweet their posts, respond to questions, offer advice and people will consider you as a valuable person to follow. It’s a great way to become popular, that and perhaps offering free cake.

9. Use the #hashtag.

Hashtags are simple way of ensuring your tweets reach a wider audience by inserting a ‘#’ in front of popular keywords or phrases people might be searching for, i.e. a favourite TV show, popular event or person, a political issue or if you want to be witty a saying, e.g. #thoughtsduringterriblesex

10. Follow Friday.

Twitter’s oldest tradition after the ‘Fail Whale’ (the image that pops up on error page when the Twitter server is over capacity). Every Friday, nominate the people you love to follow by tweeting their username handle e.g. @richardlecocq and include #ff hashtag.

Charlie Sheen, Rebecca Black and Lady Gaga were some of the most talked about personalities online in 2011, but who should we watch out for in 2012? When it comes to actors and personalities last year, it seems the American contingent are leading the way (Mr Jackie Chan slips in there too!) No British celebs though, not even the boy wizard Daniel Radcliffe! (probably doesn't help that he doesn't have an official Fan Page - if you're reading this Daniel, give me a call). So take a look at the fastest growing personalities on Facebook, see what they've been talking about and what their fans say about them too.

1. 1. Megan Fox
2. 2. Vin Diesel
3. 3. Adam Sandler
4. 4. Selena Gomez
5. 5. Will Smith
6. 6. Taylor Lautner
7. 7. Jackie Chan
8. 8. Ashley Tisdale
9. 9. DJ Pauly D
10. 10. Kim Kardashian

"A picture (or video) speaks louder than 140 characters. Given that the camera on your smartphone is almost as good as your actual camera, the multimedia-driven social networks are here to stay"

Baer points out this will never overtake Facebook's current popularity but I've definitely seen an increase in more individuals taking up this App. Much like Flickr, if you're not the most eloquent of writers or plain can't think of anything to say every day as a status update, (perhaps you don't find yourself not as witty as you thought or rather not lead headline filled lifestyle?) this is the perfect way to reach out to people. Who wouldn't love to be inspired by pictorial glimpse into a person's life through an online photo album? Hell, there's even filters to make you look like Annie Leibowitz or David Bailey! It's incredibly easy to update and it can also link through to your preferred social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Flickr. Most of all, it's free! I'll definitely be suggesting it as an option to my clients who are simply snap happy and would rather show off their photographic skills.