Not PR, not social media — just a great story about getting the message out there, accidentally. When was the last time you checked your out of office reply?
E-mail error ends up on road sign.
Hat tip: The Next Web.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
These words just sent a chill up my spine: “You allow us to twitter in your name.” Arggghhhh! Begone ye abomination back to whence ye came!
OK, Halloween-themed dramatics over, but it’s still a scary thought. A company using my Twitter name to send out ads to anyone who follows me? Brrrrr! It’s obviously an opt-in situation, and people are looking for ways to monetize Twitter, but this seems like an intrusive way of doing it. Almost … unpolite? Thanks for following me, and by the way, there’s an ad for you inserted by someone on my behalf.
One day YOUR tweets could look like this:
1) just attending the @chrisbrogan webinar 2) thx for the referral, retweeting 3) nice link to top 10 social media fallacies 4) social media expert in Alabama, buy one social media network get one free! 5) @jowyang leaving the stage to great applause, nice conference
So, did you notice 4) slipped in there? Magpie — the company offering the service — says that “You’ll only get magpie-tweets that match the topics you’re twittering about.” I’m assuming they have an algorithm of some kind similar to Google AdWords that tracks certain words and matches the ads?
Referring to your followers, Magpie says: “If they’re annoyed by the magpie-tweets, they might unfollow you and you might earn less.” I am going to monitor what’s being said about all this. [At the time of writing, it seems pretty favourable actually.]
Horses for courses, as they say, but my followers won’t be getting ads from me.
[Update: Here’s Jan Schulz-Hofen’s website if you have questions about Magpie.]
[Update #2: I asked Schulz-Hofen’s thoughts about the ethics of pushing ads — his comments are below.]
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Once back across the ocean, a study on how best to get your feet wet.
In a past life, I was working and living in the United Kingdom, and before that, Brussels, Belgium. During my tenure there, I had developed significant relationships with members of the European press, and through those relationships, I had excelled at getting great coverage for my respective clients. Many of these contacts became colleagues, and these colleagues became friends that I still correspond with as often as I can.
When I decided I was going to make the permanent move back across the pond, I knew how daunting an undertaking creating new relationships in the “New World” could be.
I continue to attend as many networking functions as my time allows and I make it a point to reach out to media here at every given opportunity, appreciating the value of the phrase, “By way of introduction …”
By way of introduction: It’s now that I ask myself, “How many other ‘ways of introduction’ can I utilize to reach out to potential colleagues?”
I latched onto LinkedIn, and was amazed and eerily proud at how much my dear Facebook had grown up. Through LinkedIn, one can professionally network without fear of it being mistaken as a social greeting. LinkedIn is a professional service more so than a place to post vacation pictures, and has a unique method of utilizing the function of ‘mutual friends.’ When adding a newfound contact, there appear two boxes — one to introduce yourself, and another, to have a mutual LinkedIn colleague introduce you. This is not only an instant icebreaker, but an essential tool in social and digital media.
By way of a colleague (Fine Print’s own John Carson), I have since been able to reach out to freelancers I would otherwise have never been able to find — certain reporters defy even the mighty Google. Through social and digital networking and through his own professional experience, John has developed a multitude of relationships with Canadian and international media, and has been gracious enough to extend a hand via LinkedIn introductions. It is clear that from there, the onus is on me to build on that introduction, and prove my value. It’s a challenge I’m more than ready for.
Through my continued work, I have initiated and indeed begun to develop relationships with a wide variety of Canadian media, knowing the importance of solidifying a trust in that business relationship, and will henceforth move forward honing digital and social media to better my clients, and indeed, myself.
Please consider this a case study in making those introductions; not shying away from “mutual friend” opportunities, and engaging new contacts through every social media outlet available. Truly one of the easiest and yet most efficient ways to get your name out there is by, well, getting it out there. A cold call is essential but disappears with a dial tone. An online presence is … ongoing.
~ Sam Amsterdam, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada
Marketing Vox has a post with the headline saying that “social techies rule ‘new social order’” according to neuroscientists. That geek you bullied at school? He’s leading the pack now. Forget the lunch money you stole from him … he sold his start-up to Google for $35 million.
The article quotes a neuroscientist: “The people in the next generation who are really going to have the edge are the ones who master the technological skills and also face-to-face skills. They will know when the best response to an e-mail or Instant Message is to talk rather than sit and continue to e-mail.”
I like that answer. It relates to yesterday’s post [StumbledUpon by someone, excellent spike, thanks!] about distinguishing the people you connect to online. You may feel very familiar with them via the blog posts you read every day, or the tweets you reply to and monitor, but would you take the time to set up a face-to-face meeting with them, at your expense? Watch their facial reactions during your conversation instead of using a smiley emoticon? Shake their hand instead of poking them?
Noticing a spat on Twitter today between two marketing people, I wondered if they would throw those insults in person? Some people seem to disconnect from their real-life personas when behind a keyboard and computer screen. It’s similar to the mild-mannered person who becomes a horn-blowing, middle-finger-popping, nose-picking raving lunatic once they get behind the wheel of a car. Don’t forget the glass is transparent; we can see you!
Understandably, some do need anonymity to protect their interests, jobs or — in some cases — wellbeing, but I don’t have time for those who do it just for the sake of abusing and insulting others in a community. There’s a lot of value, knowledge and respect in social media, but also a lot of snarkiness. Time to out the bullies.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Apologies to Sally Field for today’s title, but it seemed to fit in well with the theme of knowing when to un/follow someone — not just in Twitter — but in social media in general. It’s usually the case of full steam ahead in the beginning, adding people left, right and centre, only to find that … hmmm … people start to drop like flies after a while.
I’ve been using Qwitter for about a week, and it seems to work very well. It sends an e-mail update when a follower leaves you. And it also mentions the particular tweet that (possibly?) caused them to leave. I had two people depart after I tried to find a sad trombone sound. I mean, who couldn’t use a “Wah Wah Waahh” every now and again?
The upside is that new followers come in and take their place, so in the end the numbers even out. And the great thing is that the whole un/follow process means my Twitter community is constantly refreshing itself organically. As mentioned before, I find a lot of value in following people that might not be in the social media or PR world. It brings a whole new raft of ideas to the table in learning how they become successful in their respective industries. Too much inward looking into the same fishbowl gets pretty boring and can make you stale.
Steven Hodson looks at the other angle: Could social media implode from too many friends?
He asks the question: “At what point does having all these friends become just ridiculous b******t because we really don’t know who these people are and for the most part we don’t care just as long as they follow us back?”
I can see Hodson’s point, but I thnk he is using “friend” in the wrong context. I have very few friends on Twitter or LinkedIn. I call friends on the phone and be social; I don’t need to see that they are having a coffee in Starbucks in 140 characters or less, or that they’ve updated their profile to say they now work as a director of marketing = I already know! If they really are a good friend then I probably bought them the coffee or provided a reference for them in their job hunt.
People too often mix up friends with colleagues with contacts with acquaintances (the latter is the most appropriate in defining the social media community: a. Knowledge of a person acquired by a relationship less intimate than friendship; b. A relationship based on such knowledge; c. A person whom one knows).
Friendships can take years to cultivate; acquaintances can take minutes.
[Update: And thanks to a follow from @mikemayhew I now know about this: http://friendorfollow.com/]
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Is shock value a controversial new form of media training for candidates or corporations?
If you’re like me, watching CNN has almost become a guilty pleasure, similar to catching an episode of The Hills. (I’m not saying I did … OK, maybe once).
It seems the shock value of Lauren’s relationship abruptly ending while the latest Rihanna song blares is strikingly similar to watching Sarah Palin insinuate that Barack Obama will introduce socialism to the White House. Why? Shock value.
There must be a rational lesson in behavioural science as to why many of us take pleasure in candid snippets and scandalous soundbytes. It remains undeniable that we do; a large majority of the populous get our fill of the daily news by surfing the Net, reading the headline and looking for the attached video for rapidly changing clips in an effective and colourful package. The question is: are these words lacking wisdom made deliberately?
The answer is a resounding no … and a sly yes. More often than not, shock-value soundbytes are corporate or indeed political gaffes; misnomers or statements with which the speaker wishes he or she had used better judgment when reflecting.
However, in some rare exceptions, said gaffes are deliberate. For example, John McCain stating that terrorists may test Barack Obama is a shocking statement. One could assume he wouldn’t formally write that on paper, or send that anywhere. He was caught in the moment because he so passionately cares for his country … or he simply reiterated the words from the shock value-friendly Democratic VP nominee, Joe Biden.
McCain may today regret the statement, but I sincerely doubt it, because for that split second, everyone considered his faux pas. It caused one to ponder a potential attack for that brief moment, an experience that arched, if not raised an eyebrow.
This is clearly relative to corporate strategy in its entirety, in that this tendency to wield hyperbole could potentially create the opportunity for new marketing strategies. It wouldn’t be a bold, new standard doctrine for both politicians and corporations. It would simply follow a remarkable trend that seems to be subtly, or perhaps, not so subtly, on the rise.
~ Sam Amsterdam, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada
It’s a given that there are still a lot of people oblivious to Twitter. Car mechanics … doctors … landscape gardeners. Just by the nature of their work, they probably haven’t been exposed to it, or needed it for their daily tasks. Just like they use tools that I’ve never had to learn about.
The clue that Twitter is becoming mainstream is when you see its slang being used elsewhere. For example, notice how bloggers and commentators now use @ when they reply to someone in the comments section? If you were starting to monitor blogs for the first time, you’d wonder what the @ stood for. Twitter users are familiar with it so are already “speaking the language.”
I can’t recall another social media tool that crossed over so easily. Tweet me @johncarson if you can suggest some, thanks.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Are you a hierophant? Specifically, the third definition.
Anyone who likes to blog, or comment on other people’s blogs, can be considered a hierophant. People who tweet can be added to that category too. Ahhh, social media. Making money from it yet? (Friday Fun Fact #46: “A Social Dime” is an anagram.)
Companies are still striving to monetize their Return On Engagement and work out how listening to their customers can impact their bottom line. It seems that everyone is talking about listening. Time to jump in and talk too! There’s no point in sitting on the sidelines and monitoring what is being said, if you don’t have the autonomy to make a comment yourself. Upper management needs to loosen the reigns a little, trust their staff and let them get in there and chat to those commentators.
Guess what? Those gripes and moans posted by “del_boy65″ and “lucy_in_ohio” are not just tags. They are people about to start adding to Google’s billions of lines of code stored on servers, searchable forever, with commentary such as “Waited on the phone for an hour! Their customer service sux!” or “Fifth time it’s crashed — anyone know where I can get the correct graphics driver?” etc.
Instant solution: “Hi, I’m Tim from customer support. Sorry to hear you’re not happy / need help / have a question. I will try and help you now, or get back to you within 24 hours if need be.” For anyone new to this, use your own name and not Tim’s. [That’s a joke BTW.]
So, then the customer is surprised that corporation X has actually — gasp! — taken the time to personally address them, almost immediately, with an offer to help [read: keep them as a customer and future advocate and word of mouth specialist to all their friends and family.]
That’s where Social Media can be turned into A Social Dime.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Just read about this, it’s disappointing news. As a former journalist, I used to read Press Gazette in the U.K. and considered Masthead its Canadian equivalent as keeping tabs on the journalism industry and who’s moving where.
Snip: “North Island Publishing Ltd. announces today that it will cease publication of Masthead magazine after 21 years of operation. The November/December 2008 edition currently in production will be the last issue produced by North Island. The company will also cease publication of MastheadOnline.com at a date to be announced.
“We are very proud of the service Masthead has provided the magazine industry over the years,” says North Island president Alexander Donald. “But the magazine has not been financially viable for several years now and structural changes in the market have created even more challenges. We’ve taken a decision to focus our company’s resources on other projects in our other markets.”
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
I’ve been meaning to blog on this subject since “Joe the Plumber” found fame and — once the sponsorship deals come in — possible fortune. The AdAge article prompted me.
Seems like Nick Ragone is a smart guy. After John McCain mentioned Joe the Plumber for the fifth time in the latest TV presidential debate, he was communicating with his team the best way to use that instant buzz phrase to the best advantage of one of his clients. (I’m also sure he checked out this and this too, but alas, already taken in 2007. Good for that plumber’s page views, and probable spike in business.)
The PR manager for Ragone’s client ultimately turned down the suggested strategy, which I think was a smart move. He said: “As soon as that thing hit, we got media requests from around the country to see if there was a Joe the Plumber in their town. I got media requests from New York, Seattle, Denver and Hawaii.” The plumbing industry was hot for a brief while, and how many times can you say that? It was the fallout from a very prominent figure, mentioning the name of someone who could be one of us regular Joes [the Plumber].
I’m all over keeping an eye on what’s hot and trying to get some mileage out of it, but will anyone remember Joe the Plumber in a few months, or even do a search for it? Doubtful.
And even if a client does want to jump in, they have to move fast to greenlight it with their PR reps, or, allow them to act on their behalf and trust their insight and initiative. Be the heroes or the zeros.
It’s probably more lucrative in the long run (and, social analysts, correct me if this is totally wrong) to keep an eye on the media, try to see what’s coming down the line, and then do some speculation on potential desirable URLs. It’s worth a gamble of around $20 on GoDaddy [no affiliation] and I’ve banked a few myself that I won’t mention here for obvious reasons.
So, if you decide to snap up a few, here’s a very handy tool that claims to be the fastest domain-checker out there: domize.com/
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
One of the most thrilling tasks that a public relations consultant can experience when working for a client would be acclimatizing to a new variable, ultimately, to change. A new client or perhaps even an existing one with a new campaign can be very exciting, as one is being introduced to new relationships and original ideas are abundant. That’s the industry — it doesn’t just move with the times, but keeps one step ahead.
GCI Canada has an abundance of creative and innovative strategists who fully comprehend the value of digital and social media. They understand and indeed wield new digital and social media trends in order to extend the reach of client messages. After reading The New Rules of Marketing and PR, I found similar inspiration on dynamic PR and its value from David Meerman Scott.
I have had the privilege to liaise with Scott in the past about new and exciting forms of digital and social media, and he has never disappointed. He regularly updates his blog, furthering his book’s teachings of frequent, credible content and streamlined communiqué, and their importance over client matters to the consumers. It’s not just the message but how many mediums it can be sent through; how important even the minutest change in policy or in practice can be to the consumer/reader.
Many books attempting to rewrite the rules of new social and digital media and their relevance to PR are usually found to be outdated by the time one is finished reading them. As an avid bookworm, I was beginning to feel dismayed. However, I’d like to give my first “hat tip” to Scott, and suggest any people interested in social media give his book a gander.
~ Sam Amsterdam, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada
Social media + measurement + tool? My interest was piqued when this request popped up in my LinkedIn network. So, in the spirit of good karma, throwing it out there for some feedback on behalf of Michael Strutton, Director Product Management, Vitrue. (It’s not a closed beta.) The tool is here if you want to test it out: vitrue.com/smi/
I was curious about this part from their description: “Based on our patent-pending technology, index scores are comprised of various online conversations from text-dense micro-blogs to multi-dimensional video sites. The Vitrue SMI score provides a snapshot in time to help make sense of the overwhelming amount of measurable data.”
I’m sure most of these services track the same sources, so asked Strutton what facet of social media his tool includes. He replied: “We look up data in real time, from varying sources. The index number presented is associated to that date. The e-mail function at the bottom will send you a unique URL to retrieve that historical report in the future. Handy, if you want to see change over time.
“While it’s possible to see the Vitrue SMI scores change in the middle of the day, we don’t feel that level of granularity is necessary. So, we cache results per day. In other words if you search for Starbucks (278) today the number will remain the same until it’s queried tomorrow.
“The data, the technology, and algorithm is patent pending, so I’m not at liberty to describe in great detail. However the tool currently looks at sample data from popular sources in the following categories:
“Social Networking - general sharing
Video Sharing - high engagement of viewing time and authenticity of dimension
Micro-Blogs - key influencers who chatter and actively push content
Photo Sharing - social meta data
Blogs - general blogosphere, commentary mentions”
So, no concrete examples there, but at least there are more tracking and measurement services of this type appearing now, which can’t be a bad thing.
You can read an interview with Vitrue at Forbes.com.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
The author of Tribes — Seth Godin — is involved in a conference call October 21 @ 2 p.m. EDT, and it’s free.
Snip: “We’ll discuss how the Internet has enabled everyone to lead a tribe and create movements with customers, employees or neighbours.”
[Update: Unfortunately I missed this due to some last-minute blog research work, so any insight from people who listened would be great!]
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
When the Medium is the Message, Mean doesn’t necessarily Matter
I’d like to first take this opportunity to introduce myself; my name is Sam Amsterdam, a new addition to the GCI team, and I look forward to writing many more of these. Please feel free to share your comments as I am eager to respond!
One simply has to switch on CNN in the morning to witness a fascinating new trend occurring in the realm of public relations; bad publicity transforming in to good – or even great — PR. The latest McCain diatribe on Barack Obama has exemplified how little several “messages” can actually mean when compared to the significance of a mere mention.
McCain’s character attacks, although absolutely part of political chess, have done little to stifle the popularity of Obama, and that fact alone does raise the question of why, and, on a business scale, how is that relative?
Let’s face it — nine times out of 10, bad publicity is just that: bad publicity. But more often we’re finding that in an era of apology, a fresh start or even maintaining a positive stance through competitive adversity can give way to tremendous success. I have terrific faith in the power of the “boomerang effect” when handled tactfully, and it clearly relates to both corporate and political endeavours alike.
The answer to the aforementioned “why” lies in the power of the consumer, and reactively, in supply and demand. The average blog reader or even CNN viewer appreciates a steady, never-wavering flow of information. Be it good or bad, they appreciate the new, and in that lays a unique opportunity. Conscious repetition, even if slamming a political opponent or repeating corporate acceptance of blame and indeed moving forward can create both brand loyalty and even compassion. It creates this through the supply of unique information to meet the ever-growing demand of the viewer/consumer.
It is clearly therefore a challenge and an outright role of those in public relations to provide that output and, if necessary, outreach. To remain ever adamant on providing transparent and credible information to the consumer is to subscribe to not only a basic belief of behavioural science, but to truly change attitudes.
I’m Sam Amsterdam, and I approve this message.
~ Sam Amsterdam, Account Coordinator, GCI Canada
The title of today’s blog post is a reference to the popular TV show, Beverley Hills 90210 and the popular micro-blogging platform, Twitter. One is a hotbed of gossip, relationships and being part of the in-crowd — and the other is a TV show.
Julia Roy — herself known for being all over the social media scene — posts (late) today about Twitter Tip Tuesday, and the ethics of following and being followed on Twitter, and why you should unfollow someone. You can read it yourself, but this statement stood out for me: “Before you go and find more people to follow, get rid of those that did not follow you in return. Unless the person who did not reciprocate the follow is an influencer you admire or some other big personality, unfollow them. Don’t receive updates from those that do not receive yours.”
I can see where Roy is coming from; trim your list to make it tight and relevant, but (as I commented) and will repeat here for the record: “I don’t think it’s a popularity contest on Twitter. To me, there’s more value in following people than being followed — I have so much great info flowing across my Twitter screen from social media influencers. It’s gold, especially in my PR role.” It’s a ticker tape of knowledge coming from people, some of whom could charge hundreds of bucks for their time. (Same for the Q&A section of LinkedIn, but that’s another whole area of interaction altogether. Very underused in my opinion.)
So, if the worst does happen, how can you track who has unfollowed you? One of the commenters mentions Twitterless and I also found Qwitter. (I am testing out the latter so will see how popular my next lot of tweets are by who leaves me. *sniff*)
And, while we’re on the subject of popularity, one man very much in demand right now is Peter Shankman and his HARO. Mentioned it before here on the blog, but today we got a hit and saw a mention for GCI in an article on social media. Hip hip HARO!
Have a great weekend.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Ran across this post by Jason Baer (hat tip: Larissa Fair). Apart from the always-useful “scowling Pulp Fiction-style monkey with a gun” photo, Baer dissects some misconceptions that people have about social media, how to do it and what can be achieved.
To save space, I’ll just list his top six picks (all FALSE in Baer’s opinion) and answer on my own.
1. Social Media is Inexpensive — FALSE
2. Social Media is Fast — TRUE
3. Social Media is “Viral Marketing” — FALSE
4. Social Media results can’t be measured — TRUE
5. Social Media is Optional — FALSE
6. Social media is Hard — FALSE
For (2) I would argue that, depending on how niche the community is that you’re trying to engage, good results can be achieved in days, if not hours. For (4) I would argue that (not from a technical, software-monitoring option) social media results can’t really be measured. Baer does concede that to a point: “Can those results be tied back directly to sales, and therefore ROI? Probably not yet …” [I still prefer the term ROE — Return On Engagement.]
I think that the dangerous part of social media is that it is becoming a catch-all phrase; something that people who don’t really understand it think that it can guarantee results, cheaply, without much effort and because … well … “everyone else is doing it, right?”
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
On behalf of [GCI Canada’s client] Dell Canada, we’d like to invite you to a free computer recycling drop-off day at the Dell Canada headquarters in Toronto. In line with its commitment to become the greenest technology company on the planet, Dell Canada has joined hands with Purolator and GEEP for the initiative.
No RSVP is necessary – just turn up! (Or please mention it in your blog if you have one.)
For more information, contact Savio Tavares at savio_tavares@dell.com or 416-758-2365.
What: Free computer recycling drop-off day at the Dell Canada headquarters in Toronto where residents of the Greater Toronto Area can drop off any make or model of computers, laptops, monitors, printers as well as peripheral devices including computer speakers and mice to be recycled free-of-charge. Only computer-related equipment will be collected at this event. This is a safe and secure way to recycle electronics.
When: Saturday, October 18, 2008
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Where: 155 Gordon Baker Road (Highway 404 and Finch), North York, ON. M2H 3N5
Examples of materials we will accept: Computers, CPUs, computer parts – cables, hard drives, memory keys, computer peripherals – keyboards, mice, monitors, laptop computers, printers, fax machines, servers and ink/toner cartridges.
Examples of materials we cannot accept: Wood console televisions, video games, game controllers, DVDs, CDs or VHS/BETA video tapes, DVD & VHS Players, CD Players or stereo equipment, cash registers and adding machines.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Over at the excellent ReadWriteWeb (RRW) they’ve been asking the top bloggers and social media gurus what they earn. Might be a rude question, but the answers are anonymous, and it makes for an interesting survey — especially with the current financial climate looming large.
So … for bloggers, it ranged from $10 to $80 for a single blog post. RRW reckons that some of the full-time bloggers are pulling in six figures, which is probably true if you check out TechCrunch, Mashable and the Gawker Media Network. All very successful, opinionated and influential.
And the big $$$? “Social media consultants, expert practitioners with multiple years of success in the kinds of positions discussed above and in some cases in traditional marketing jobs, are the ones making the most money. No one we surveyed named an hourly consulting rate below $150 per hour. $300 per hour was the most common rate named.”
I am guessing all the survey respondents were from the U.S. Curious, too, as to how they pitch their services? Do they quote one fee for the advice they offer, and hope the client is happy with the results? Or — braver still in social media — guarantee certain elements of success for their fee, and collect on proven results?
Along with coverage in the dailies and a breakfast television slot, does the PR checklist now have “50 blog mentions” and “25 new Twitter followers” on it’s to-do list as a successful campaign?
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
First, please read this article by CNET’s Caroline McCarthy, then, discuss …
Gartner analyst Adam Sarner projects that 50 per cent of social media campaigns will flop. Picking out a few choice quotes from the article, here’s some personal thoughts:
” … over 75 per cent of Fortune 1000 companies with websites will have undertaken some kind of online social networking initiative for marketing or customer relations purposes.”
That “75 per cent” stat sounds pretty high. Maybe 55-60 per cent may be closer?
“‘(Businesses) will rush to the community and try to connect, but essentially they won’t have a mutual purpose, and they’ll fail,’ Sarner said. By a ‘mutual purpose,’ he means a way to serve both the company putting out the campaign and the audience interacting with it: finding that balance is not easy. The quirkiest and most addictive campaigns often provide little value for the company and turn out to be fads, whereas marketing efforts on the Web often don’t go over as well with the public.”
I believe that if your purpose is to serve the community that the campaign is aimed at, then the company will ultimately be served down the line. [A company being ’served’ doesn’t sound appropriate; maybe ‘respected’ is a better word?] If the most addictive campaigns are the ones picked up on by the customers, then how can that provide “little value” for the company too?
“The social network is ‘more for the community than it is for the bottom line’ …”
Agree with Sarner on that one.
“‘Are you discovering what’s going to be the new black next season?’ he suggested as an example of a trendspotting-focused strategy.”
If anyone reading this knows what will happen [re. social media] in 12 months, please tell us so we can all jump in get involved.
“When asked whether the faltering economy will mean that businesses are cutting back on this largely unproven field of social media for marketing or customer relations, Sarner said he didn’t think so, and that many businesses will turn to the Web to stay in touch with consumers during a difficult financial climate.”
Sarner seems to be in agreement with the stats that Mitch Joel picked out a few days ago.
In summary, my take from the sentiments expressed is that, yes, companies do want to get into social media strategies, but are looking for ways that will benefit themselves and their customers in equal measure. I can still sense the reluctance — a little — to let go.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
There’s a reason that Chris Brogan is in our blogroll and that’s because he knows what the hell he’s talking about when it comes to social media. This article is no exception, and I squirmed slightly when I read this sentence: “When talking with people about these technologies, never take that condescending air. As much as we feel excited to be part of this whole social media ‘thing,’ the people who don’t ‘get it’ have all kinds of skills on board that we may or may not have.”
Personally, I get so hyped up about social media and why companies should be involved in it that sometimes I need to take a step back, and realize the fact that it is still relatively new to PR. It’s easy to be astounded when people don’t “get it” as Brogan mentions, but they “get” other scenarios that I don’t, and need help on. No one is an expert in everything and we can all learn from each other. There’s a lot of skills out there that I “don’t get” so will try and learn from those who do!
So, if it reaches the point that someone does need to be in social media, the inevitable question arises of how much budget there is for that aspect of a communications strategy. Ford’s social media guy, Scott Monty, blogs about that here. He hits the nail on the head when he says it’s not free to do this stuff, it takes time and labour. Even with the plethora of automated tools out there, someone still has to sift through the results before the client gets them in a nice, tidy report.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Having met Christie Adams at the very informative Interactive Ontario event a few hours ago, she mentioned having spoken to Niall Cook, who is the guest speaker at Third Tuesday Toronto tonight — subject: Enterprise 2.0: How social media will change the future of work.
Here’s Adams’ blog article.
It was also nice to meet Mike Allan ( a.k.a. New Media Mike) too. Here’s his sum up of the event.
Here is Adams’ sum up of the event.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Mitch Joel crunched some numbers from a survey and reported that (Joel bolded it, and that’s good enough for me): 65% of Chief Marketing Officers and marketing executives said that because of the troubled economy more of their money will go toward digital/interactive marketing than before.
More stats from the same survey (PDF):
- Social computing (including word of mouth, social networking sites, viral advertising, etc.) was the most popular emerging channel with 42% of marketing executives expressing interest in adding it to their marketing mix;
- Blogs were the second-most-popular emerging channel, with 35% of marketers expressing desire to use them and 19% already using them;
- Almost one-third of CMOs mentioned podcasting as an area of interest, with 31% interested in adding it to their marketing mix and 18% already having done so;
- 29% are interested in Mobile Devices (phones/PDAs) and 22% have added them to their marketing mix.
[Italics are mine.]
The declarations of “interest” and “desire” are great, to a point, but it would be preferable to see some “planned” or “commitment” sprinkled in there too. Makes me wary that the CMOs are willing to experiment a bit with social media, because their hand has been forced by the economic climate, rather than the fact they believe it’s a firm strategy.
If they do decide to move ahead, here’s a handy tool to see if their brand name has already been taken on all the major social media hangouts.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Hectic day today — been on the phone with the media to fill the last seats for this event we’re sponsoring: http://www.interactiveontario.com/events/ilunch7. The response has been very enthusiastic; people really want to know where Canada’s digital media industry is heading. [Press — please contact me if you’d like to attend, or click the link above.]
There wasn’t a long lead time for this … in fact, we started inviting yesterday. I think these days people are so busy they make a snap decision as to whether they’re going to attend an event or not. Sure, there’s cool things happening in 2009 that we’ve all bookmarked, but the digital media workplace is in the “here and now,” the RSS ping, the tweet — the immediacy of the technology turns us (well, me anyway) into a voracious user of information that needs a fix.
OK, back to the phone. Have a great weekend.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
[This is a cool event being held by Interactive Ontario and sponsored by GCI Canada.]
Canada’s Interactive Industry: The Knowledge-Based Economy Of Tomorrow?
Do you work in — or report on — Canada’s digital media industry? With the Canada New Media Fund being eliminated, do you wonder which parties will invest in Canadian new media? Can Canada make the leap from making car engines to making game engines? Join us for a complimentary lunch and panel discussion on October 7, 2008 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto to debate where Canada’s digital media industry is heading.
The theme for iLunch 7.01 is: Financing the Future: Raising Capital in Uncertain Times and we’ll examine the current financial crisis, private vs. public investment opportunities and the rapid growth of the interactive digital media sector. iLunch is a highly interactive discussion where attendees will be given the opportunity to plug into the conversation, ask questions and speak their minds — journalists, bloggers and broadcasters are all welcome!
Bring your laptops as there’s free Wi-Fi so you can tweet or blog live from the event.
Schedule:
11:30 Registration and Networking
12:00 Lunch
12:15 Introductory remarks
12:20 Case Study
12:35 Panel discussion: Charles Zamaria, Mark Bishop, Jody Shapiro (to be confirmed) and Trevor Fencott
13:30 Question and answer period for audience
13:55 Final remarks and post-event networking
14:00 One-on-one meetings with panelists (by appointment)
** Please click here to register and see bios of the speakers — space is limited for this event. **
Hope to meet a few of you there in person!
[Update: Just checked this Friday morning and it’s already at full capacity, that didn’t take long.]
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
Chris Woodley has somehow managed to include a police mug shot of Frank Sinatra in a blog post about social media, and it is relevant, actually. (You’ll see the connection if you read it.)
He writes at Social Media Trader on the subject of social proof [from Wikipedia: Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon that occurs in ambiguous social situations when people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior. Making the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation, they will deem the behavior of others as appropriate or better informed].
In other words, if you see a lot of people subscribing to a blogger, you probably will too, or follow them on Twitter. Is there value in that, or does blindly joining the sheeple give one a sense that they are not missing out on something important?
It can work both ways. I have personally added a ton of social media influencers to my RSS reader and will publicly admit to being excited when one of their names goes bold to indicate that they’ve updated their blog = means I will learn something. I’d say around 60% of those have been recommended to me, or I’ve checked out a “Top 20 Most Popular Social Media Bloggers” list or something similar.
The other 40% are people that I’ve found myself; niche specialists that concentrate on one area of social media, say, good causes, toy safety or cat lovers. (Client work.) They all have their own ways of doing things, some mainstream, some extremely inventive … and the great ones write about tangible results of what worked and what didn’t. It’s a gold mine of trends showing where social media is heading.
Woodley mentions the art of faking social proof — artificially inflating the amount of “fans” that bloggers have, and relates it to Frank Sinatra’s manager paying girls to scream for him at concerts. [I knew I’d get there in the end, thanks for sticking with it.]
Sinatra was the influencer of his day; things were simpler then, and it’s interesting to consider whether he’d be successful as a social media influencer today using the same tactics.
~ John Carson, Senior Digital Media Specialist, GCI Canada
