“All That Matters”, Asia's only business-to-business and business-to-fan experience, held over six days from 20 to 25 May in Singapore at The Ritz-Carlton Millenia, and Social Matters made its debut with two days of thought-provoking insights from industry players across the region.

Over 25 of the world’s leading social media specialists and content creators gathered for the inaugural Social Matters Singapore event last week– Asia’s first and highest-level conference focused on the business value of social media and engaging content.

Themed ‘Brands as Creators’, the conference welcomed over 400 delegates and offered a deep dive into the tools used to create compelling content, stimulate interaction and accelerate brands across the social sphere. Brands such as Coca-Cola, SurveyMonkey, BuzzFeed, Nissan and SingTel gathered to discuss innovative ways to create, co-create and maximize great content.

Officially tracked through the social relationship platform Hootsuite, #socialmatters generated over 3.8 million impressions by close of day alone.

Among the top tips shared: the art of storytelling and need for emotive content remains crucial to success, according to industry leaders.

The top three elements of powerful social content revealed:

1. Happiness has universal appeal.

2. Surprise in some markets.

3. Sadness…if resolved.

“Emergent new platforms force brands to create large amounts of quality content at high speed,” said Thomas Crampton, Global Managing Director at Social@Ogilvy. “Creating a Hollywood blockbuster on an indie budget can be tough, but the right tools and publishing models can help brands accelerate and improve the quality of content.”

Dave Goldberg, CEO of SurveyMonkey, commented, “It’s interesting to see how Hong Kong and China have embraced social sharing whilst Japan has virtually opted out. The motivations that drive consumers to share brand messages give us insight into why some regional brands succeed and technology brands dominate.”

“Participation in an event such as Social Matters has really allowed us to share on a global stage Nissan's strategy of 'koto-zukuri' story-telling, with an aim to elevate the brand, its people, products, technologies and relationships in a measurable way using social media,” said Dan Sloan, Editor-in-Chief, Nissan Global Media Center. “We always look to raise overall opinion and positively impact the bottom line. It's a pleasure to be among so many social media enthusiasts, and learn first-hand the latest trends and opportunities in this space.”

Secrets of digital marketing were shared by global brands including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Nissan and key decision makers as they revealed their business insights in producing compelling content marketing and visual storytelling. Attendees took away the latest and brightest updates in the world of social media engagement. And young YouTubers also had a chance to meet and listen to established YouTube creators through the YouTube FanFest with HP Academy which comprised of two half-day workshops to help attendees share, learn and explore everything YouTube related.

By MediaBUZZ