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Mike Stopforth is the CEO of Cerebra, a leading strategic communications agency specialising in social media and PR for corporate brands. Cerebra’s client list includes Vodacom, Nedbank, Samsung, Toyota, Unilever, PWC and more.He is a sought-after speaker on the subjects of social media and marketing, a technology commentator for popular business and marketing websites and regularly lectures at executive business schools.In 2009 Mike was named one of South Africa’s “300 Young South Africans to take to lunch” by the Mail & Guardian newspaper, as well as one of “35 men of influence under 35 years of age” by GQ magazine and invited to contribute a chapter on social media to Dion Chang’s 2010 Flux Trends Review publication. In 2010 he was named an “exceptional industry guru” in Destiny Man magazine’s Power of 40 feature.Mike also co-founded Web startup Afrigator, Africa’s social media aggregator, and the 27dinner social networking movement. He blogs at www.mikestopforth.com, and can be found on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

• 5 steps to building digital communities that really impact your business

  One of the more appealing opportunities for brands engaging with customers in social media is soliciting candid feedback about their products and service. With the right amount of investment in your communities these insights can have a profound impact on the way you conduct research, design business processes, train staff, build products and more.Strategy starts with defining clear objectives. The same applies to social media (or digital) strategy -- without clear objectives at the start, engagement falls flat. Traditionally these ...

• What should you do when personal and corporate brands collide?

  Should employees have unlimited access to social media during office hours? If staff have access to social media how can time spent online be used constructively for business? What happens when an employee’s personal brand becomes bigger than their employer’s brand?Millions of previously “ordinary” citizens the world over have discovered how to leverage social media tools to publish and share content online, rapidly establishing themselves as thought-leaders in their chosen field of interest. Many of these individuals are now recognised ...

• Shifting from social media to social business thinking

  The term social media refers to a set of web-based and mobile tools, technologies and platforms that enable connection, communication and collaboration in ways never before possible. Hopefully you’ve cottoned on to this by now.The problem is that this definition doesn’t encompass the undeniable impact social media has had on society and business. I’ve been saying for years now that social media is not about tools, but about people. I believe that companies that grasp the ethos behind social media ...