Ian Williams
Ian Williams gained a wealth of corporate marketing experience from 16 years of working for companies such as American Express, Santander and Smith & Nephew. In 2009 Ian Williams established his own consultancy business in the form of Jericho Consulting Limited as well as teaching for OxCom.
Although passionate about the use of social media, Ian shies away from referring to himself as an expert:
"There are a number of people out there who refer to themselves as 'social media experts', however with the technology still in its relative infancy and, at the same time, continuing to develop at such a rapid rate, I would consider this to be a dangerous claim. In fact, I would go as far as to say that there is currently no such thing as a social media expert! The most important thing with social media is to realise how much there is learn and how much further the industry is yet to develop.
Social Media is, without doubt, the most exciting development in marketing since the advent of search engine technology; however it is also one of the most dangerous too. Many IT professionals/ enthusiasts still don't appreciate that the arrival of social media doesn't now mean that everyone can be an expert marketer and many Marketers still don't appreciate that social media isn't simply a natural extension to the marketing communications mix. There is still an awful lot to be learnt!"