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Posts Tagged ‘social media’

Digital marketing’s guilty secret: we’re making this stuff up Thursday, November 19th, 2009

I was listening to an interview recently with the head of Razorfish, one of the world’s largest digital agencies (If you want to keep up with what’s happening in the digital media, I can recommend Susan Bratton’s Dishymix program, it’s very informative).

It was both surprising and refreshing to hear this fellow, Clark Kokich, frequently use phrases such as “none of us know anything” about digital media, “we’re actually inventing this as we go along” and “there are no experts”.

If the head of an organisation that is billing hundreds of millions a dollars a year in digital media is prepared to admit this, it’s time for all of us working in this space to come clean. This is the guilty secret of digital media “experts” all over the world: no one really knows what consistently works. There are a few principles to be applied, but unlike traditional media - be it advertising, marketing or publishing - there is no established framework that ensures a certain level of response to a program or campaign.

If someone tells you they have a fool-proof way to engage your customer base and turn ordinary customers into raving fans, guaranteeing huge exposure and profits, they’re bullshitting you. We’re all still experimenting with clients’ money.

So why on earth should customers take their money out of traditional marketing and advertising budgets and give it to online? Well, one big reason is that traditional methods are becoming less and less effective as the world’s embrace of online irrevocably changes their life habits (you can hear more about this in a Zazoo-produced podcast interview with Ad Age colunnist Bob Garfield published on the HotHouse blog this week. Be warned, this interview is not for the faint-hearted.). You need to find alternative ways to reach your customers, or else your competitors will get there before you.

Ready or not, your world is changing. Finding your way in the dark with someone who has a torch, however dim, is more effective than sitting there cursing the dark. And those torches are getting brighter all the time.

- Ray Welling, Content Guy


In praise of online text Monday, November 9th, 2009

Jonathan Salem Baskin, who was the subject of the most recent podcast we produced for HotHouse, has written an insightful post about the continuing importance of text in online communication on his blog. 

“If video killed the radio star, wasn’t video supposed to obliterate text?” he wrote. “It hasn’t. Not even close. Who would have thought that 2009 would witness instead the continued resurgence of the written word?

“As opposed to video, text is a ‘hot medium,’ if you buy into Marshall McLuhan’s theories about media (and I do, for the most part). Even when viewed online, words engage a single sense, and thereby establish a direct connection that is richer in specific information and meaning than more participatory, or ‘cool’ multimedia experiences.

He goes on to ask: ”Why do businesses use words so poorly?

“Maybe because words seem free when compared with the cost of producing a video or sound file. Perhaps because social media conversations are so fast and frequent that specific word choices seem less important. One of my pet peeves is that we still use words to satisfy ourselves; we talk to our aspirations for our brands, and not to make those direct connections to readers.

“I think the year proved that what companies say matters, whether as the inputs into social media, or as the tool by which they make those direct connections with their consumers. But it has to be accurate, honest, and credible. It’s harder to get away with a lie when it’s literally spelled out; conversely, if we use words to state truths (and avoid all of the nuances that distract or lessen them), then text is a powerful tool that transports across technology platforms, and works with all age groups.

“I believe that 2010 will give us great and useful opportunities to use video and other media to communicate with our customers, but I suggest that there’ll be even more, better, easier, and more cost-effective chances to wring more impact and value out of the lowly, simple, written word.”

Use of video is growing quickly, but there are some things that will always work best in text format.

Ray Welling, Content Guy


Shameless self-promotion, part XVI Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

I was interviewed a few weeks ago for an article on social media marketing in NETT magazine. The article, “Not all conversations are markets“, published this week, canvasses the views of a range of communication and marketing experts about issues in social media facing businesses today. It covers areas such as:

  • What department should be responsible for social media? (My vote went for the marketing department)
  • Should you try and control what your employees do and say on social networks, particularly during work hours?
  • Should businesses create “trusted avatars” and “sock puppets” (unidentified company spokespeople who try and create and steer conversations on social networks)? (The overwhelming answer was ‘No’)
  • Should you buy lists of friends? (Again, ‘No’)
  • What’s the proper etiquette for joining in on conversations in social networks?

It’s worth a read (of course I would say that, wouldn’t I?).

While on the subject of self-promotion, here are other marketing/social media articles and podcasts we’ve produced recently, for the HotHouse blog:

  • A messy village of communication and Branding’s mid-life crisis - Podcast interview with US branding expert Jonathan Salem Baskin and accompanying article about his book “Branding Only Works on Cattle”
  • Greater than the sum of the parts, The great juggling act and Confetti on the screen – Podcast interview with Australian Internet pioneer Tony Surtees and accompanying articles

    • - Ray Welling, Content Guy


    Social media cartoons Thursday, October 29th, 2009

    Sarah Chong, writing on the Penn-Olson website, has this week published “20 Hilarious Social Media Comic Strips“. Many of them are really funny, whether or not you work in this space. I’m not sure where many of them came from and I’m not sure about the copyright implications, but here are a couple of my favourites:

    - Ray Welling, Content Guy


    Cool social media counter Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

    Here’s a plug-in that shows you just how fast the social media sphere is growing.

    Get your own here.

    - Ray Welling, Content Guy


    Social media: who’s in charge? Thursday, October 1st, 2009

    A recent survey has revealed that the public relations department, not the marketing department, runs social media in most organisations. As one commenter, Jeff Bullas has written: “I thought I knew who was in charge of Social Media in corporations until I came across this survey.” The results were:

    • PR is in charge of digitalcommunications in 51% of organisations, compared to 40.5% for marketing.
    • PR is responsible for blogging at 49% of all organizations, while marketing is responsible 22%.
    • PR is responsible for social networking at 48% of all organizations, compared to 27% for marketing.
    • PR is responsible for micro-blogging at 52% of all organizations, compared to 22% for marketing.

    Mind you, the survey was run by ipressroom.com for the Public Relations Society of America, which may cause some people to mutter, “Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they?” I wonder what the results would be if this survey was done in Australia?


    Dealing with social media-phobia Thursday, August 27th, 2009

    If you’re having trouble selling in the idea of using social media in your business, Sydney-based IT/e-business consultant Jeff Bullas has written a couple of useful pieces to help you identify and problem and, more importantly, do something about it:

    Quotable quotes:

    • “So much of what’s discussed online is shallow and we have real work to do.”
    • “Traditional media is still bigger, we will use Social Media when it is more mainstream.”
    • “Waiting on ROI (return on investment) with facts and figures.”
    • “We’re afraid of making a mistake.”
    • “Ask them for 5 keywords or phrases that potential customers would use to find their/your company in a search engine, and then provide a brief report showing them the results of their ranking in Google, and ask a simple question, like, ‘Did I find you on page one of Google?’ ( the answer is mostly ‘NO’). So the best question to ask them next is, ‘How are they going to find you then  … the Yellow Pages?’”
    • “Sign your boss up to listen by setting up Google Alerts and TweetBeep for your boss/ or the CEO, so she or he can see that there are already many discussions about your organization going on online.”

    Well worth a read for CEOs and those who toil under them.


    Prius projects pop up in our portfolio Monday, July 20th, 2009

    Kermit the Frog was wrong: It is easy being green! Zazoo’s most recent projects for Toyota Australia, created with HotHouse, have revolved around this month’s launch of the new model Prius hybrid car in Australia.

    The “Prius People” vodcast project employs a social media-oriented relationship-building approach, presenting a slice of life with interesting Australians. We got the chance to work with some inspiring and remarkable people including environmentalists Tim Flannery and Tanya Ha, Eye Foundation CEO Belinda Sullivan, Today Show nutritionist Joanna McMillan Price, and technology experts Peter Blasina and Nick Broughall. Three of the videos launched this week and you can see them here.

         

    Also with HotHouse, Zazoo implemented a blogger engagement program for Toyota as part of the Prius launch, organising information sessions for several of Australia’s top bloggers.

    For more information see the Our Work page.


    Social media comes to PowerPoint (SlideShare, actually) Monday, July 13th, 2009

    Aden Hepburn has just published a useful collection of the top 10 presentations about social media (as recommended by Econsultancy) on his Digital Buzz blog. Well worth checking out if you want a primer on social media.


    The link between personal and corporate branding Friday, July 10th, 2009

    We’ve just published an article on the HotHouse blog on using social media tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter and the impact they can have on “brand you” as well as your company. There’s an accompanying podcast interview with Chuck Hester, whose book “Linking In to Paying it Forward” explains his philosophy on using LinkedIn to help others.

    HotHouse blog article: http://blog.hothouse.com.au/2009/07/08/the-link-between-personal-and-corporate-branding/

    Podcast interview with Chuck Hester: http://blog.hothouse.com.au/2009/07/07/hothouse-podcast-paying-it-forward-through-social-media/


    Best job in the world - an analysis Sunday, June 28th, 2009

    Earlier this year I wrote about Queensland Tourism’s “Best Job in the World” social media campaign, where applications were sought for a six-month gig as ‘caretaker’ on Hamilton Island. The reponse was phenomenal, with more than 35,000 video applications and 8 million hits on the website - all in all, $150 million worth of exposure on a spend of $1.2 million. Nice job if you can get it!

    A case study put together on the campaign, which won a record three Grand Prix awards at the recent Cannes Lions, has been posted on YouTube. The winner, a carrot-topped Pom, starts his job on Wednesday.


    This week’s social media links Sunday, May 24th, 2009

    Here are a few interesting stories about social media that have been published in the past few days:

    Social Media Benchmarks: Realities and Myths

    “….many clients still ask about benchmarks. They ask, ‘What are good CTRs, CPCs, CPMs, etc. so I know how my programs stack up?’ Well, there’s good reason those benchmarks are hard to find. Lacking a reliable source, I ran my own analysis over the last three years and came up with many eye-opening results…”

    Australian Social Media Statistics Compendium

    “With so many new social sites emerging it is very important for marketers to have Australian specific intelligence to determine which channels are the most attractive to pursue as part of your marketing strategy….”

    How Accurately Can You Gauge the ROI of Social Media Tactics?

    “Marketers are under constant pressure to measure everything they do. The result is often a default to tactics that are more easily and accurately measureable, regardless of their effectiveness. This is especially true in social media marketing which often requires qualitative measurement rather than quantitative metrics that are more familiar to online marketers….”

    Online Marketing’s Evolution

    “What’s the future of interactive advertising? Executives from interactive agencies and marketing technology tech companies tried to answer that question at two conferences this week in New York City. Discussions ranged from the challenges of working in social media, risks for agencies in using pay-for-performance models, one online marketing sector that’s thriving, and Amazon.com’s crowdsourcing initiative. Here are some takeaways….”

    Social Media Fails To Manifest As Marketing Medium, Report Likens Twitter To TiVo: More Hype Than Reality

    “Social media has reached critical mass, with 83% of the Internet population now using it… But for all the media industry’s hype and buzz surrounding social networks, microblogs, and other social networking platforms, the genre has failed to become much of a marketing medium, and in the opinion of the Knowledge Networks’ analysts, likely never will. The report, “How People Use Social Media,” finds that social media is having a profound impact on the way people connect with each other, but that it’s not becoming a very meaningful way for people to connect with brands, or advertising promoting brands….”

    The Social Data Revolution(s)

    “In 2009, more data will be generated by individuals than in the entire history of mankind through 2008. Information overload is more serious than ever. What are the implications for marketing?….”


    Driving word of mouth Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

    Today’s edition of the Corporate Communicator, from US PR firm Bon Mot Communications, contains the following piece, which provides a useful summary of a recent study on corporate use of social media: “As the traditional news hole continues to shrink, communicators are turning to new media sources to help get the word out about their organizations’ services, products and causes. However, many business leaders are still skeptical when it comes to the value of coverage on blogs and other social media sites.

    “If this challenge sounds familiar, be sure to check out a recent study from the Aberdeen Group, ‘The ROI on Social Media Marketing: Why it Pays to Drive Word of Mouth.’

    “According to the study, companies are learning to leverage social media to drive marketing ROI by listening to and learning from current and prospective customers. Aberdeen found that 63% of companies surveyed plan to increase social media marketing budgets in 2009 - some by as much as 25%.

    “However, Aberdeen also found that measurement continues to be a sticking point: 59% said it was either difficult or somewhat difficult to measure social media.

    “How does your organization stack up? According to the study:

    · 39% of surveyed companies have established a method for engaging consumers in online conversation
    · 26% instill an organizational focus on social media
    · 24% establish a method for defining social media benchmarks and goals
    · 21% create a team or committee dedicated to social media ROI
    · 18% link results of social media activities to increased revenues and other financial outcomes
    · 18% establish a method for driving brand advocacy and customer referrals

    “You can purchase a full copy of the report here: http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5639-RA-social-media-marketing.asp ”


    Social media - how much is too much? Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

    With the recent explosion in Facebook and Twitter use (the media hype and recent stats are backed up by anecdotal evidence such as the stream of high school and uni friends that have discovered me on Facebook and a bevy of would-be porn stars following me on Twitter), it’s inevitable that some pundits are starting to ask if we’re reaching social media overload.

    Judy Shapiro, writing in Ad Age, writes that, “We use our different social networks to enrich different dimensions of our lives. Therefore, as you would expect, we want different things from our different social networks…. This is the heart of the problem. As marketers, our knee-jerk reaction to every community we create is to motivate members to create rich and robust profiles of themselves so they can connect with each other in new and powerful ways. While this approach may be desirable to us as marketers, it may not be best for consumers. We need to be mindful and respectful of the realities our customers live in and the truth is that managing all these social profiles is none too easy, the technology and tools notwithstanding.”

    She suggests marketers take a close look at their community-building strategies, asking “Are we being practical about what we expect users to reveal about themselves in our communities? Is our community a hub where users will congregate regularly, where rich profiles are of value or are we creating a secondary ’spoke’ community meant to address narrow or temporary niche needs? In short, as marketers do we demand that users create too many profiles in all our community-building programs?”

    The Harvard Business Review has also discussed this issue recently, recommending that companies treat communities as a high-level business strategy that is integrated across business functions, rather than just being the domain of the marketing department. A Facebook group or a Twitter account is not good enough.

    The HBR authors advise that companies shouldn’t try to control communities, and should view online networks as just a tool for community building, not an entire strategy. In other words, get out there and meet people face-to-face rather than just via the Internet.

    It concludes: “Although any brand can benefit from a community strategy, not every company can pull it off. Executing community requires an organization-wide commitment and a willingness to work across functional boundaries. It takes the boldness to reexamine everything from company values to organizational
    design. And it takes the fortitude to meet people on their own terms, cede control, and accept conflict as part of the package”

    Anyone up for the challenge?


    Types of social media distribution Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

    Here’s a diagram from Peter Kim showing the results of an analysis done showing how popular various types of social media distribution are:

    types of social media distribution

    Types of social media distribution (click on the image to see it in a larger format)

     Note how microblogging (largely Twitter) is the third-largest slice of the pie, behind social networking and blogging. Wonder how this will change in the next 6-12 months?


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