Social Media « Ideas for a Smarter, Faster World

Mar

28

Has Facebook Killed Your Brand’s Personality?

by Rick Gardinier, Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer

This article that I wrote for the Business Insider is getting a lot of play so I thought I would post it here. Many seem to agree with the position, however there are certainly some who disagree. In the end, I am simply trying to challenge all brands to not lose site of the creative idea when working in social media.

I’m as big an advocate as anyone when it comes to marketers using social media to engage their customers. In fact, I’d challenge you to point to a major brand that hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon.
I can tell you that my own agency built social media strategies into nearly every communications plan we developed for our clients in 2010. Yet, despite all of the momentum in the space, one thing has been gnawing at me—regardless of the platform, brands are all starting to look the same.

Read the full article on Business Insider: http://read.bi/ggNGiH

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Mar

18

Creative, General, Ideas, Integration, Social Media, mobile

The Law of Conservation of Social Media

by Shaun Quigley, VP, Digital Practice Director

A friend tweeted today that he was going to start using Quora more…. if he could make the time.

Quora is the social Q&A engine where people write their own answers to questions and post questions of their own. It’s like Wikipedia–in that it’s continually improving (in theory).

In our business, it’s important to make time to explore emerging things. I try and devote ~10% of my social media usage to trying something new.

But integrating something new into your regular work stream creates a problem. There simply isn’t time.

So here’s a simple solution: apply the law of conservation of social media.

The law of conservation of mass: a fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system.

The law of conservation of social media: a fundamental principle of time management that social media usage (for heavy users) cannot be increased without going insane or living in complete technological isolation.

More simply, if you’re adding something new–do something else a little less.

Then get out for a walk and leave your phone behind for once.

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Feb

28

Social Media

Share the Like: Facebook turns up the volume of the Like button

by Diane Walter, Digital Strategist. Caped Avenger.

Over the weekend, Facebook changed the way your Likes are communicated to your social network. It used to be that if you Liked an item on a third-party site, it would appear on your Wall as a one-line update under Recent Activity. Now, your Like will publish a full story in your newsfeed:

roadkill

In essence, the Like button now mirrors functionality of the Share button (which Facebook is rumored to be phasing out completely.)

Time will tell how users respond – sure, you might Like the movie “Roadkill” – but do you want all of your friends to know this? Bottom line: be careful what you Like.

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Feb

16

1:1, Creative, General, Social Media

Digital is a Gift

by Aaron Cacali, Interactive Creative Director

Digital is a gift Recently, in a meeting, a senior executive client of mine said something a little unexpected.

“Digital is a gift,” he said.

He went on to say that digital now allows marketers like him and the brands that he manages to break out beyond the same, standard tactics that have been employed year after year, and instead provides unprecedented opportunities to truly connect with consumers.

Digital is a gift. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard it phrased so succinctly, or so perfectly. But that is a great way to look at it.

Digital is a gift because of the potential it delivers to form closer ties with our consumers beyond what traditional marketing tactics, or at times even our products, can develop.

Digital is a gift because of the creative opportunities that it provides. There are so many new forms that our message can take today that never existed before. It opens the door to a wide and ever changing array of creative solutions to the challenges of promoting our brands.

Digital is a gift because it allows people to seek out our brands whenever and wherever they are.

Digital is a gift in the way it allows people to become vocal advocates of our brands, sharing their experiences with friends and strangers alike. It provides an easy path from purchaser to influencer – who themselves can spread word of your brand to dozens, hundrends or even thousands.

Digital is a gift because it keeps us honest. It has shifted to power from the advertiser to the consumer, and the consumer isn’t afraid to call us out very directly and very publically when we let them down – and they have the tools to do it. So it helps keep us focused on better advertising, better marketing, better service, and better business practices overall.

And digital is a gift because it gives us as the opportunity as professionals to continue to learn, explore, experiment and improve our craft. It can be daunting, and sometimes exhausting, but the ever-changing shape of digital requires that we remain perpetual students of ways people use technology and the tools and methods at our disposal to reach them. And we should feel fortunate for that, because, to paraphrase my client, we don’t want to spend the rest of our careers doing the same old thing campaign after campaign, do we?

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Jan

12

General, Social Media, strategy

Traffic from Social Media vs. Search - What Does It Mean?

by Aaron Cacali, Interactive Creative Director

Recently it’s been reported that, for a number of popular web sites, social media now drives more traffic than Google.

Presumably, if that’s true for the sites listed in the report, brands like Comedy Central, Etsy, NFL.com and Netflix, then it’s probably true for a lot of other web sites. And beyond links to specific URLs, it could be a sign that traffic other pages featuring products, not just specific web sites, could be shifting from Google and other search engines toward social media.

That’s interesting and all, but what does it mean? And why does it matter, really? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Social media referrals demonstrate the power of influencers.

With the rise of the web and search engines, consumers have been given the unprecedented ability to seek out what they want, when they want it. But search is a solitary pursuit – no one else but the search engine is involved. And marketers using search as a traffic driving tool are really only reaching people one at a time. But in social media, referrals are often more, well, social. They are part of conversations, often among large groups of people. So for each person that offers a link to your brand as part of a conversation, or status update, or “Like”, dozens, hundreds or thousands of people can see it. That person becomes a potential influencer who can spread the word about your brand pretty quickly and effectively.

2. Links from social media often comes with endorsement.

Whether stated explicitly or suggested, links in social media often come with some form of endorsement. Perhaps it’s one friend suggesting a product to another. Or someone expressing enthusiasm for a brand in a status update. Or someone else sharing a link to digital content on Facebook or Twitter, along with comments like “This video rocks”, “I love these” or “I want one”. It could even be expert or peer-to-peer advice on a discussion forum or within a blog. An objective viewpoint recommending your content or your product has a far more personal touch, and potentially more influence, than a list of search results.

3. Social media traffic is driven by personal knowledge.

Search engines really know very little about you, other than the keywords of your search and perhaps your location. But in an online social setting, interests, situation and even personality, are factors in the referral process. Whether is it a friend sharing a link, or as part of a conversation, or even as a Facebook ad served up based on keywords in a user’s profile, the link has more personal relevance because it takes into account the interests and personalities of the sharer or the viewer. Particularly in online conversations, referrals are more relevant because live people, not search algorithms, have incorporated them into the context of their conversations. A real person has offered the information, so the level of trust in the link increases.

So what should marketers do about this?

It’s clear that social media is growing as an increasingly powerful tool to drive traffic to many brands. For marketers, an obvious first step is to be present in the social web. If you aren’t there, then there isn’t a lot you can do to help drive traffic.

But beyond that, marketers need to really begin to concentrate on Social Media Optimization, or SMO. Much the same way that brands have been focusing on SEO – search engine optimization – over the past decade or so, SMO needs to become a mainstay of a brand’s marketing mix. Now. Otherwise, traffic from social sites is left entirely up to chance.

Whether or not your brand is ready to participate fully in the conversations of the social web, it’s hard to ignore social media as a traffic driver. And as a traffic driver, it’s time for brands to begin taking it as seriously as search. Who knows? For your brand, it could be even more important than Google. Imagine that.

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Dec

17

Social Media

Moving On from Facebook

by Rick Gardinier, Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer

As Chief Digital Officer for a leading creative agency who professes a strong technology bent I’m often faced with a dilemma. My job demands that I immerse myself into emerging media and technology. But how deep should I dive into new technology in my PERSONAL life? If I adopted every new toy that came along I wouldn’t have time for new innovation — let alone finding time for my wife and kids. Curiosity drives me to try just about every new thing that comes along (remember Plinky and now more recently RockMelt). And in most cases, I’ll quickly assess the viability as a marketing tool and then move onto the next thing.

Occasionally, as is the case with LinkedIn, blogging and Twitter, I’ll wholeheartedly adopt new technology for my work, as well as my personal life. And when I’m not feeling warm and fuzzy about something (MySpace), I’ll shut it down. But Facebook is different. Giving up on a platform that has changed the online marketing world forever?

And so I’ve wrestled with this question all year: How can I give up on Facebook, and still claim that I’m on the cutting edge? When my job is to council clients on the merits of using platforms like this for their brands?

In the end, I’ve decided that as a Facebook user for years I have a deep appreciation for the platform and the power that it has as a communications tool — for people as well as brands. But as our agency embarks on a renewed commitment to innovation, I need time. I need time to explore what’s new. I need time to discover what the next Facebook will be. I owe it to our clients. I owe it to the agency. And I owe it to myself. So I’m saying goodbye to some things that just aren’t feeling right for me personally - including Facebook.

PS - If you take the time to check, I’ll still have my account. Just in case.

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Nov

16

Measurement, Social Media, Usability, strategy

eCommerce best practices: Liberally-lifted ideas from leading industry experts

by Shaun Quigley, VP, Digital Practice Director

The more time a visitor spends on your site, the more likely she is to buy. Carts experience the highest drop-off in the first two or three pages visitors see. Once they’re into the process, drop-off rates decline precipitously. To improve conversion rate, focus on providing relevant and persuasive content based on understanding visitor intent. Persuade on every page. Link pages together, in a step-by step-fashion, to guide visitors through the buying process. Hold their hands, and anticipate their every move. Make them feel comfortable and in control.

Here’s a list of eCommerce best practices we’ve curated from some recent reading:

1. Reduce the number of steps in the process. Combine the logical steps first (shipping and billing address information as an example). But don’t make brevity a goal in it of itself. Once the user completes the first page, they are invested in the process. Long forms at the front end result in higher abandonment rates. But once the user completes they first page, they are more likely to finish the job.

2. Manage the user’s expectations. Always let the user know where they are. Add visual process indicators to the checkout procedure. In addition, use headlines and breadcrumb navigation to show shoppers where they are. Page elements like large text headings and subheadings can help customers establish which page they are on and what the topic of the page is. Breadcrumb navigation helps customers establish how deep they are within the site structure and what is available to view before and after. Breadcrumbs and page headings have SEO benefits as well. If the process takes longer than 5 minutes, consider telling the user that as a courtesy.

3. Give them someone to call. Keep contact information prominent and include it on each page. Place a customer service phone number in a clearly visible location with the text “Prefer to order by phone?” to help decrease cart abandonment. Sites that provide this assurance perform better than those that don’t.

4. Let users easily modify contents. Keep the contents of the cart accessible and easy to find, so they can be changed along the way. Don’t just provide a link back to the cart. Visually show the cart–and its contents–at every step during the path to purchase.

5. Don’t require registration to checkout. This is difficult for some stores to implement because of the architecture their cart is built upon. However, if you have the ability to offer what is often called a “guest checkout” feature, you should do so.

6. Make the experience social. Incorporate user reviews through a tool like BazaarVoice. Products are 10% more likely to be purchased when accompanied by a user review. Port those reviews to your Facebook page and to retailer sites. Use Facebook Connect to make the process even more social. In addition, remember users when they come back. When someone returns—even as a guest—their cart should be waiting for them. And don’t forget to remind users of abandoned carts via email or through your CRM program.

7. Make error messages clear. Red is the most common color for error messages. Target is a one color brand and still uses red in its error messages. Blue text with an alert icon could work just as well. Look at a couple different options and test them.

8. Clearly display your security and trust seals. Customer privacy concerns are paramount. Provide this assurance.

9. Only cross sell relevant products. Cross sell before the checkout process and after items have been added to the cart. Grouping products, showing related items and cross selling is important for customers and helps lower shopping cart abandonment rates.

10. Test, measure and refine. To a certain extent, every experience is unique. Test different combinations. Study user behavior. See which ones produce the best results. And make small changes based on what you learn.

Resources (these guys deserve all the credit)
• http://www.clickz.com/2245891
• http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/23/designing-for-the-user-experience-in-ecommerce/
• http://www.grokdotcom.com/2008/02/26/amazon-shopping-cart/
• http://www.getelastic.com/measuring-cross-sell-success/
• http://www.ecommnewz.com/2009/07/22/decrease-cart-abandonment-with-a-sturctured-checkout-process/
• http://www.searchmarketingstandard.com/tackling-the-shopping-cart-abandonment-rate
• http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/28/12-tips-for-designing-an-excellent-checkout-process/
• http://econsultancy.com/blog/1828-ten-ways-to-improve-online-checkouts
• http://www.elated.com/articles/10-ways-to-improve-your-store-checkout/

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Nov

04

General, Integration, Measurement, Social Media

Get out the “Likes” or Votes?

by Ken Johns, SVP, Digital Strategy Practice Leader

'Likes' or Votes?

More people read about or watched the election coverage on line this past Tuesday than in 2008. In fact with a peak at 6:00 pm Tuesday, this election was the third most viewed online news event since these things began being tracked. Check outCNN’s take on the pulse and impact on line for the mid-term election. So how does that translate to the social media realm?

Facebook is publishing numbers regarding the success rate of candidates in Tuesday’s election and their number of “likes.” (See the Advertising Age article here). They note that on the national level (House and Senate) about 78% of those candidates with the most “likes” went on to win their race. I don’t know if that deserves a “Wow” or a big dose of “who cares?” I guess if you are right 78% of the time on anything that’s doing pretty good. But is that really any kind of a predictor for elections? Look at it from the other side - in something as important as national elections 22% of the time it was incorrect. Does getting out the “likes” equate to getting out the vote? It may seem so but until we start voting via Facebook I think there’s more to learn about how the medium is being used from this than viewing this as a predictor - at least so far. Lets give it a few more elections before we declare it the stand alone Nostradamus of modern politics. The success rate may be a good number overall - but in a few instances those with far more “likes” got walloped at the polls. I guess political analyst could combine this information with exit polls and come up with some insightful something but as it relates to the average Joe I’m not sure what it means yet. To me the bigger question is what, if anything, can you interpret that to mean as it relates to consumers connecting with anything on Facebook?

An OpenForum piece from September shares data from an Exact Target study that shows that 40% of the people that like a company on Facebook do so for discounts, 39% do so to show support of a company and 34% do so to stay informed. I see how the latter two points could very much relate to the political sphere, so I will be curious to see over time what role FaceBook plays in elections and what kind of facts, figures and projections can be gleaned from election results. I will be more interested, however, to see how consumers view relationships with brands on Facebook and what we learn about the interplay between online and offline behaviors. Ultimately for a brand isn’t voting with your wallet really the only thing that counts?

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Oct

20

Social Media, strategy

They Can’t Run, But They Can Hide

by Michelle Latta, VP, Group Account Strategy Director

Like errant children, some brands have made it a past time to babble on because they can. My son knows it is not polite to interrupt at the dinner table. So he listens intently for an opening. And when he finds it he pounces! He begins his story-usually with a “guess what happened” and continues with “and then…” and due to his overall fear of losing the stage he continues with a long series of “and thens” where there is not much subsequent action in the story. After his second or third “and then…” my mind wanders to my day, how the family likes the dinner and other musings. I liken this to the way most brands are playing in social media. Just because brands have the platform, they keep talking, usually without anything meaningful to say. And yes, like me at the dinner table, your consumers are learning how to tune out all the high frequency blad-di-blah.

The danger for me is-what if my son says something really important in the middle of that story? And for marketers-what if your brand suddenly has the biggest innovation the category has seen in years? All the noise brands have created by being a “strong engager in social media” (which to this point may have been worn as a badge of honor) is now the greatest enemy in consumer break through.

Here are a few brand postings from my facebook page today:

“How many toppings do you usually like to have on your pizza?”
“Do you wear an apron when cooking to avoid spills or barely have the time to cook much less sport an apron?”
“Does anyone else get that warm and fuzzy feeling after drinking a nice cold [brand x]?”

If your brand is creating conversation for conversation’s sake, think about revamping your strategy. At Brunner we develop content strategies for our clients based on the 3 Rs:

1. The right RECENCY

2. The right RELEVENCY

3. And the right RECEPTIVITY

The right Recency means you should be creating dialogue with only as much frequency as your brand realistically plays in your target’s life. That means if consumers only eat at your restaurant every 3.4 weeks, don’t pepper their social network pages and in boxes with multiple messages a day. Consumers are inundated just trying to keep up with their friends. Make sure your social media content doesn’t just add to the clutter.

The right Relevancy means sharing news when you have it, serving up tips and offers, and asking for input on how to make great products and experiences. The right relevancy is not asking how they spent their weekend, or determining if there are any apron-wearing June Cleavers among us.

And lastly, the right Receptivity means a well thought out content strategy to appropriately respond to consumer concerns, gain feedback on new initiatives, and take action from the learning (good job GAP!).

While I’ve had to find skillful ways to interrupt my son (without breaking my own house rules), consumers have an easier way out. It is the all powerful HIDE button. I wonder if Facebook can tell us how many brands are hidden on a daily basis. The good news is that with a well thought out social media content strategy that respects the 3 Rs you may have higher chances of remaining in your audience’s social circle.

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Sep

23

General, Social Media, mobile, strategy

Where the F@&! Should My TV Spot Send People?

by Shaun Quigley, VP, Digital Practice Director

Despite the fact that 40% of America is time-shifting their TV habits, broadcast TV remains the most efficient way to grow or defend a big brand—and for some—initiate a quality engagement on the web.

But for advertisers who are serious about using TV to drive online, the decision about where to engage is tougher than it was a year ago. Simply sending to the “web” is officially up for debate. And brands, regardless of category, face social scruples on where to direct traffic.

Facebook is killing the corporate website, says AdAge. Toyota drives, Klondike screams, and Old Spice is cleaning up on YouTube. And BestBuy continues to tweet for Twelpforce.

So should spots point to social media or a brand site? Annoyingly, there’s no right answer. The hub-and-spoke model that made sense on PowerPoint ten years ago seems to have fallen apart.

“Spokes are the new hubs,” say the social media boutiques. “Fish where the fish are.”

But will Facebook really kill your brand site? There are plenty of opinions here, here and here. But what does it matter, really?

Here’s what we do know:

Audience is paramount.

Where do they participate? How do they behave there? Facebook should no doubt be considered, but should not be the automatic default for every social experience. Challenge your agency partners to conceive ideas that connect with your audience in all relevant media. Not just bought—but also owned, and earned.

Be seen, be heard.

Budget constraints have forced many TV advertisers to reduce spots to fifteen seconds. And as a result, traditional spot writers hesitate to allot any time for a closing voiceover that drives to the web. Fifteen seconds is barely enough time to cram in equity claims, they say. This is a big mistake. Site and sound have more impact. Use both voiceover and super to bring attention to the URL you are promoting.

Get mobile. Quickly.

U.S. mobile Web usage grew 110% last year. There are already 70 million Americans surfing by phone. And by 2013, mobile web usage will be more common than any other form. Does your mobile experience deliver something interesting? Does it even exist?

When they arrive, the old rules still apply.

Ensure that your web experience—social, mobile or otherwise—answers these questions:

1. Where am I? What is this place?

2. How do I get around? (be courteous, and don’t make me wait)

3. What do you want me to do next?

4. How can I easily share it?

The days of the brand site as sole engagement vehicle are over (forever).

The web gets more social every day, and brand sites should continue to find ways to harness the viral effects of social. Connect all your properties (give me one reason why not). Set aside an innovation budget to experiment, track and measure new things. And don’t let the brand site’s content collect cobwebs in the rush to swing the digital budget toward social.

Look at what the leaders have done. Toyota, BestBuy, Old Spice and Klondike all have well–conceived, integrated experiences that go beyond social. How did they decide which to pick for TV? I’m not sure. But I’m guessing each brand assessed the most valuable way to drive engagement, and simply promoted that.

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