Tweeting drivers keeps F1 interesting, says Williams boss.
The deputy team principal of the Williams Formula 1 team says it is vital that drivers are allowed to carry on tweeting – despite the possibilities of PR disasters. Claire Williams reckons F1 drivers need to be accessible so the sport doesn’t become boring. Claire gave an exclusive interview to Status Social and told us how she thinks social media and Formula 1 are a perfect fit.
Status Social: Is it a good or bad thing for F1 drivers to be personally engaging on social media?
CW: “I think it’s a great thing. There are lots of people that say Formula 1 is inaccessible and that the drivers are inaccessible and people can’t get into the paddock to meet them. So for drivers to tweet and to do it personally (and they all do, our drivers, they do it themselves, a press officer doesn’t do it for them), I think it’s so important that drivers do that.
I think it adds colour to the sport and it adds characters to our sport that are so necessary, so that it doesn’t just become an inaccessible, dry terrain that people aren’t interested in – and that people love. Racing drivers they’re heroes!”
Status Social: You’ve worked your way up through the ranks at Williams over the past 11 years now becoming Deputy Team Principle – how keen have you been throughout that time to embrace social media as a way of driving the team’s relationship with fans?
CW: “Well we were always looking at new ways when I worked in communications to beat everyone else. We’re hugely competitive at Williams, and that is not just applicable to the race jackets, it’s in everything we do. I maybe more so than others. Even down to the smallest detail, such as how quickly we get our press releases out at the end of every session after a race weekend.
Social media didn’t come on the scene though until quite a long way through my career in the communications office, probably in ’09 or something. I think we first started social media properly and that started with Twitter at testing. In fact someone told me the other day that we were the first to send pictures from a test, which I didn’t really know and I think that’s amazing!
So we are really proud of what we do. We don’t have the fan-following that Ferrari or the likes of Lewis Hamilton does, but I think we fight our own and I think we do a really good job of it and now for us it’s a hugely important element of the comms [communications] offer, not just for fans but for our partners as well.”
Status Social: Putting users at the forefront of the digital experience has always been high on your agenda. What can fans expect, continuing through this year, from their digital experience to try and help put them first?
CW: “Fans are such an important part of any sport and they are a really big part of Williams and we are very lucky we have got some very loyal fans that have been following the team since Frank started it, or when Frank started racing even, in ’69. They deserve loyalty in return, so whatever we can do to in order to enhance our offer for them and to embrace and engage them and draw them in so that they are part of the Williams experience is really important.
Every year we come up with a new road map as to how we will engage fans and we have a wide range of elements that fall under that from producing videos every month about what the team are doing in the factory or what Valtteri is doing trackside. We do lots of print and written material that goes up online and competitions weekly on Twitter. Someone is always engaging on Twitter.
We encourage more of our team personnel to engage on Twitter or to go on Instagram. So, we are always looking at different things that we can do and we are always looking at unique things that other teams aren’t doing to stand ourselves out. But we do it to share our passion for the sport and to bring fans in and to be a part of it and share things behind the scenes that they wouldn’t necessarily get elsewhere.”
Status Social: How do you think social media will impact Formula 1 going forward and how important is it to Formula 1?
CW: “I think it’s really important. There are so many restrictions around what we do, but actually it’s one of the freer elements of how we can communicate with our fans. So I think we just need to keep working on how we develop those channels. We have some very clever people in our communications team now that are working on that and actually engaging with other teams up and down the paddock.”
Listen to the entire interview with Claire Williams – including why the Williams drivers should be in everyone’s fantasy F1 teams and what Claire thinks of Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas.
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Who owns your contacts on LinkedIn?
Who owns your LinkedIn contacts? Is it you or the business you work for? And can you be sacked for using LinkedIn to look for job opportunities?
By guest blogger Katie Nash, employment law solicitor.
Senior HR professional John Flexman uploaded his CV onto LinkedIn and ticked the box which stated he was interested in other career opportunities. On the face of it, there may not appear to be much wrong with that. However, his employer BG Group took a different view.
His bosses asked him to remove his CV and invited to a disciplinary hearing for ‘inappropriate use of social media’. Although this may seem harsh on Mr Flexman, it appears that there was also information on the CV which portrayed BG Group in a bad light, suggesting that there were bad practices within the company. According to BG Group, his actions were in breach of its policies which precluded him from ticking the ‘career opportunities’ box on LinkedIn.
Unfair dismissal
As a result of the dispute, Mr Flexman resigned and issued a claim of constructive unfair dismissal; essentially claiming that he was forced to leave his job as a result of the actions of the company. This is thought to be the first case of its kind involving an employee resigning over the use of a LinkedIn account.
The tribunal held that Mr Flexman had been unfairly dismissed as BG Group was guilty of a ‘serious breach of contract’. The tribunal said this was due to their unacceptable delay in dealing with the disciplinary case and their failure to address a grievance raised by Mr Flexman.
What many were hoping to see as a result of this case but didn’t, was whether the employer had been right in the first instance to commence disciplinary action over the uploading of the CV and the information contained therein. We may have to wait until another court case to get the answer.
Another issue to think about is contact lists. In a recent High Court decision, it was ordered that a former employee of Hays Specialist Recruitment had to disclose his LinkedIn contact list. Hays suspected he had taken contacts belonging to the company and copied them to his LinkedIn account.
However, the interesting point to note from this decision was the fact that the Court decided that the list of LinkedIn contacts actually belonged to the employee and NOT Hays, despite the information being gathered during the course of his employment (which is the usual legal test when considering who owns work that is created in the course of an employee’s employment).
What can employers do about social media issues?
Many employers will not have considered what will happen to an employee’s list of contacts on termination of employment. Historically, employers have relied on post-termination restrictions in tightly drafted employment contracts to ensure this valuable information goes no further.
However, now that professional social networking allows employees to create their own personal list of business contacts, employers should ensure that their contracts and policies deal with these tricky situations. The best way to do this is to ensure that there is a coherent social media policy, dealing with issues like inappropriate use, ownership of contact lists and obligations as regards confidential information.
Katie Nash is an employment law solicitor with Fishers Solicitors in Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire. . Fishers have just launched ProActHR – an employment law and HR service. For more details click here.
If you would like to learn more about affordable social media policies designed by Status Social and top barristers, click here.
Status Social will be running a ‘LinkedIn for Solicitors‘ workshop on May 29, hosted by Swindell & Pearson in Derby. For full details and to book your place, click here.
Read MoreWhy this photo means you should be on Google+
The image below should make every business realise why they need to be on Google+.
It’s the results of a search for double glazing companies in Derby – a Google search that probably takes place every day. Thousands of times a day with a different location.
I’ve removed the top two paid-for results. The next two are the organic entries – websites which fit into the way Google likes them to look and behave. It is what comes next that shows how search is being changed by Google+.
The next three entries all have Google+ pages – Google tells us that in the search results. The ninth double glazing company listed is also on Google+. Even the other two entries on the first page have Google reviews alongside them. All of the entries are listed on Google local – now a part of Google+.
Nearly all of page one of Google influenced by Google+. And that is why you should be on Google+.
About the author
By Mark Saxby. Mark is a director at Status Social and with his team, has trained more than 800 business people how to use social media to increase their profits. Status Social also runs Google+ accounts for big business. It is also running a NEW ‘Google+ for business’ workshop on May 21 in Derby. For full details and to book your place click here.
Read MoreWhy your business should be on Google+
Are you still wondering if your business should be active on Google+? You’re not alone.
This infographic put together by Crimson Consulting gives 4 reasons why you should start to think seriously about being active on the platform, or risk being left behind.
1. Number of active users
Google+ has now emerged as the second largest social media platform behind Facebook, with over 343 million active users. That’s more than Twitter and YouTube!
2. Circlecentric Marketing
What is ‘circlecentric marketing’? The use of circles on Google+ allows you to engage with your user in a much more targeted and personal way. When a user circles you, you can circle them back and add them to unique circles based on their profile.
3. Organic search results
By having a verified Google+ account and posting your content from it, you are likely to see benefits such as your website appearing HIGHER in Google organic search results.
4. Google’s long-term vision
Google+ is the latest ‘social’ addition to its huge list of products which are all interlinked. Google’s long-term vision is to strengthen the links between all of its products so that users stay on Google for longer.
In summary, Google+ can help you appear higher in Google and communicate with your audience in a more targeted way. So if your business isn’t already on Google+, perhaps now is the time to create an account and start taking advantage of its many benefits.
Want to learn more? We are running a NEW ‘Google+ for business’ workshop on May 21 in Derby. For full details and to book your place click here.
Read MoreStatus Social Fantasy F1 League results week 1
We at Status Social are big fans of Formula 1, so each year we run a Fantasy Formula 1 League.
Well it may only be few hours since the first Status Social Fantasy F1 League was posted for the first time but we have a new leader since this afternoon! Like all great competitions, we have had a teething problem which meant First Lap Nutcase GP was robbed of 22 points in our earlier table! So in the shortest spate at the top ever, Stevenson’s Rockets and Nosey Parker’s have been toppled from leading the championship. Sorry guys…
Only nine of you had teams where all your drivers completed the Australian Grand Prix. Exactly two-thirds of you have Kimi Raikkonen in your team – will that turn out to be an inspired choice?
If you were a fan of the name Nico, then you had a grim first weekend of the League. Rosberg’s car breaking down and Hulkenberg failing to even start the race cost Wiggles Racing dear, dumping it at the foot of the table. Mind you, there’s a long way to go yet…
| Position | Team Manager | Team Name | Points |
| 1 | Greg Walton | First Lap Nutcase GP | 120 |
| 2 | James Parker | Nosey Parker’s | 119 |
| 2 | Andy Stevenson | Stevenson’s Rockets | 119 |
| 4 | Gary Butterworth | Gary2152F1 | 118 |
| 5 | Andrew Curd | Lightning Lemons | 116 |
| 6 | Kerry Saxby | KJS Racing | 114 |
| 7 | Rob Brittle | Murraymint | 113 |
| 8 | Nicky Price | Price’s Powerhouses | 111 |
| 8 | Merlyn Griffiths | The Great & Powerful Craig Wen Wizard | 111 |
| 10 | Mark Saxby | Bernie Ecclestone’s Gym Pants | 110 |
| 10 | Julian Boardman | NinjaFatman F1 | 110 |
| 10 | Chris Redshaw | RevolverRacing | 110 |
| 13 | Steve Adey | Arkansas Chuggabug | 109 |
| 13 | Lee Porter | Saxo AMG | 109 |
| 13 | Marc Vesty | Simply the Vesty | 109 |
| 16 | Terry Mills | STAN BOSIE LETVET | 108 |
| 17 | Neil Shafe | Shafe F1 | 105 |
| 18 | Richard Morris | Gower | 104 |
| 18 | Suzy Tiernan | Team TM | 104 |
| 20 | Peter Broadhurst | DNA F1 | 102 |
| 20 | Andy Churchman | donald big-flaps | 102 |
| 20 | Tim Whitemore | Driven To Distraction | 102 |
| 20 | Martin Griffiths | RedCow Racing | 102 |
| 20 | Sam Saxby | Speedy Saxby | 102 |
| 20 | Julia Halpin | The Incredible Hulkenburg | 102 |
| 20 | Jake Waterhouse | Waterhouse Speed Team | 102 |
| 27 | Louise Maskill | Lutudarum | 101 |
| 27 | Benjamin CR Langley-Smith | Murray Walker | 101 |
| 27 | Jean Sellers | Olivia’s Army | 101 |
| 30 | Tim Elliot | shouldhaveknownbetter | 99 |
| 31 | Tania Vesty | Vesty’s Va Va Vooms | 98 |
| 32 | Steve Kennedy | Steve’s Stars | 95 |
| 33 | Peter Mackness | Mack Attack | 94 |
| 34 | Martin Broadhurst | Team Retweet | 93 |
| 34 | Harry Bowley | The Colonels Chicken FC | 93 |
| 36 | Roger Vickers | Victorious Vickers UK | 91 |
| 37 | Farid Salim | Arctic GP | 89 |
| 38 | Andrew Wearden | BuxtonSilverArrows | 85 |
| 39 | Richard Griffiths | Hunt 4 a Red Bull October | 83 |
| 40 | Dale Van Dermark | YNOYANKEES | 81 |
| 41 | Kate Saxby | Wiggles Racing | 62 |
The winner will win a F1 cap of their choice courtesy of www.grandprixmerchandise.co.uk. See terms and conditions for full details.
Tell us what you think to your opening Fantasy F1 League weekend on Facebook or tweet us. You can also keep up-up-to-date with the Status Social Fantasy F1 League via our social media!
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