Key Magenta clients – King’s College London, Bouygues Energy & Services and Andrew Hulbert at Pareto FM – were recognised at last night’s BIFM Awards.  Bouygues and King’s won the FM Excellence in a Major Project category for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) accommodation efficiency review undertaken by the two organisations in 2013 while Hulbert, managing director of Pareto FM, was highly commended in the Rising Talent in Facilities Management category.

Magenta supported all three organisations in putting together the awards submissions and managing the judging process as part of a wider PR and marketing strategy.

King’s and Bouygues are also shortlisted for the PFM Awards next month in the Partners in FM Education Facilities, where another Magenta client, Trade Interchange, is up for the Facilities Technology Innovation Award.

“Awards are a great way to increase awareness of your organisation’s brand and provide recognition for your people’s expertise,” said Cathy Hayward, Magenta’s managing director. “We are delighted that three of our clients were recognised for being the best in the industry and look forward to achieving similar success at the PFM Awards next month.”

Magenta has published a guide to support organisations entering awards. Visit https://www.magentaassociates.co.uk/magentelligence/ to download your free copy.

Sodexo, Carillion and Mitie have been revealed as the top three users of social media among facilities management service providers. That’s according to the second annual research report from FM communication specialists Magenta Associates.

Social Media in the Facilities Management Sector, published today, 15 November 2013, includes, for the first time, a ranking of the best social media communicators which are:
1. Sodexo
2. Carillion Support Services
3. Mitie Group
4. Kier Services
5. ISS Facility Services
6. Serco
7. Johnson Controls GWS
8. Interserve
9. Compass
10. Amey

The ranking was compiled combining measures including number of active followers, number of tweets/ posts during the research week and Klout scores together with a subjective assessment of the range and content of social media activity.

The 44-page report analyses new and developing trends within social media and how its use has developed in the FM industry. It looks at each of the top 50 FM service providers’ performances across the main social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr and compares them with their 2012 performance.

The research explores: what organisations in the facilities management sector have done to date in their use of social media (through an in-depth analysis over a test period during October 2013) in terms of frequency of use and timing; the audience; the content published; and the maintenance of the conversation. This information is then compared to the 2012 research to see if there are any increasing trends, or improvements in the general operating of social media channels.

The report is available to purchase via Paypal as a hard copy for £99, or as a downloadable PDF for £75.

Alternatively please email Marianne Halavage at Marianne.halavage@magentaassociates.co.uk to purchase your copy.

“Although the uptake of social media has increased since our last report, it is still evident that the FM sector either isn’t fully committed to the communications tool, or doesn’t understand it,” explained Cathy Hayward, managing director of Magenta. “Channels are often set up as it is seen as the done thing to do, however there is often little thought to the resources needed to effectively run them. Without a social media strategy and staff to run the channels, effective communication is impossible.”

The report’s publication marks the launch of Magenta’s social media division which includes social media audits, strategy and content planning, as well as full social media management services. “We’ve provided social media advice and content as part of our PR and marketing offering for some time, but given the increasing importance of social media as a B2B communications tool, we felt it was time to launch a dedicated division,” added Hayward. Magenta is also offering social media training, including a half-day introductory course, a full-day course for more advanced users and bespoke training. These courses will be based in Brighton and London and all delegates will receive a complimentary hard copy of the report. To discuss your training needs, email Cathy Hayward on Cathy.hayward@magentaassociates.co.uk