Archive
Timehop Abe – It’s Nice To Wake Up with You
If you have not already invited Timehop Abe into your life, I highly recommend it. Timehop Abe sends me an email each morning recapping my social activity from one year before. Personally, I find this to be extraordinarily interesting. It puts things in perspective to be reminded what I was thinking about and experiencing a year before. Do I feel the same way today? Are my observations still relevant? Was I doing something particularly fun or interesting? How has my life progressed? Am I about to attend the US Open exactly one year from the last time I did so?
This morning I woke up to a quite lengthy recap of my Twitter posts from OMMA Global, which took place September 26th, 2012 – an interesting reminder on the eve of Advertising Week 2012, which includes OMMA Global. I imagine OMMA schedules during that week in order to take advantage of the energy and the presence of those from out of town. Unfortunately, for me, I prefer to sample the smorgasbord of Ad Week panels throughout the city vs. dedicating a day to OMMA Global, which is a shame.
In any case, as I reviewed my entries, I had two observations: (1) Most, if not all, are completely relevant today. (2) Some are more relevant today because the topics or initiatives were just being born a year ago and have become mainstream, such as AMEX’s foursquare program, which has now branched out into other social media such as Twitter. (I see that I quoted Zuckerberg several times. Was he there?Have I seen the great Founder in person? I don’t recall – though I could certainly look this up…)
Hence, since the majority of my observations are still of interest, I thought I would start my day by sharing them with you. What do you think? Are they still relevant and thought provoking? I have added some of my own comments.
#1 This was the beginning of an ongoing – friendly – battle for mayorship of my apartment building with my doorman, several years since I created the venue. I don’t believe that anyone else in the building has ever signed in.
#3 “Native Monetization.” I don’t recall hearing this phrase since the conference. However, a quick Google search does reveal some discussion:
“Native advertising is a new form of inventory that seamlessly integrates promoted content from brand advertisers into the fabric of a site itself. Native advertising inventory is content that’s part of the site experience rather than ads that interrupt users, such as pre-roll video ads or boxes, buttons, and banners on the corners of pages. Facebook’s Sponsored Stories are one of the largest bets on native advertising in the ad industry – a bet that’s consistent with the ad strategies of the dominant social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, StumbleUpon and the coming ad products from the next wave of internet elite like Tumblr and Spotify” – Dan Greenberg, TechCrunch
I hope this does not include those incredibly annoying and interruptive “Pages You May Like” posts on my Facebook news feed.
Whoops – I have a conference call in 15 minutes. More later…
Social Media Tidbits II
Visit me here – or on Pinterest – for social media tidbits I find share-worthy. Share with me your thoughts and infographics you fancy.
Women dominate Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Zynga. Men dominate Reddit, Google+ and LinkedIn. Net, net, women are heavier users of social media.
So fantastic! But… don’t blink, or this LUMAscape will be out of date. Pinterest? (posted July 2012)
67% of consumers uncomfortable with Facebook’s use of data (July 2012)
Tweet, Tweet, Tweet – 100 million strong — 21 million active in U.S.
Social Media and Recruiting:
Using Facebook during the workday? Sure!
Which Social Media Activity Do Companies Feel Benefit Them the Most?
I suspect this varies by company, e.g., a customer service/complaint/service oriented company such as Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Bank of America, etc., might rank customer support higher. As Ted Schadler wrote in “Empowered,” customer service has become a form of marketing. Think Zappos and Virgin America.
You Can't Market Financial Services To Women
Before you jump to conclusions -- and all over my head -- read first, and then let me have it if you're so inclined.
There's renewed talk these days in financial services circles about "marketing to women."
Renewed, because I remember that 11 or 12 years ago, in the height of the dot-com boom, start-ups emerged dedicated to providing financial services to women (I still remember Jennifer Openshaw coming into our offices telling us about the Women's Financial Network).
The Stroke of Midnight – Will Viacom Go Dark?
As I looked up from my desk today, I saw a news story that caught my eye: DirecTV is threatening to take 26 Viacom channels off the air at midnight. Gee, I thought, I guess it has been three years since they last were at loggerheads with the operators. But that was December, and this is July. That was Time Warner Cable, and this is DirecTV. That was 2008, and this is 2012. Is this story new or an off-network airing of a 2008 episode?
I went to the “Always On” archives to see. What I found was my post from New Year’s Day of 2009. I recall going out the night before preoccupied with whether Viacom would still be on the air when I came home. It was a dramatic moment! Fortunately, as with Y2K, the stroke of midnight did not bring the terrors foretold.
(Ok, so what I mean here is that in 1999, people feared that there would be all kinds of havoc when we entered the new century because our computer systems would get confused – long story – and people prepared for all kinds of hardships including food and water shortages and lack of electricity.)
In any case, my plan this evening – July 10th – was to republish the post below, comment on how this will be a tricky negotiation given that Viacom has had significant ratings problems with Nickelodeon and MTV, reference the fact that Viacom’s stock price is vulnerable to adverse news given these ratings problems, discuss whether these standoffs have become more common, more public, or simply more on my radar screen, and call it a night.
Given that I had an image of the Sponge Bob ad from 2008, I decided to grab one from this summer’s dispute. That is where the differences became apparent. The Viacom ads – at least the ones I found – are simple and slick and use Comedy Central rather than Nickelodeon brands. Somewhat interesting.
But what really struck me was DirecTV’s website. Clearly planned well in advance, the site maps out DirecTV’s side of the story including a heartfelt video message from the company’s CEO Mike White. The ability for television programmers and operators to communicate more directly, personally and interactively with their audiences and customers makes 2012 quite different from 2008 – even though the key sound bites: “Viacom wants too much money,” ”DirecTV/Time Warner Cable is taking your channels away from you” may sound the same.
Who”s the Enemy? Who’s the Friend? - January 1, 2009
Cable operators and TV affiliates complain when programmers put content online. Programmers put content online because that is where viewers are going. Music producers ignored this “where I want it, when I want it” trend, seeking to protect their business model, and were leapfrogged into impending demise by iTunes. NBC Universal cites Hulu as a huge success story, but CEO Jeff Zucker fears that the web will turn “analog dollars” into “digital pennies.” Online ads may garner high CPMs and may be growing at rapid rates, but they are still dwarfed by broadcast.
Viacom, owner of MTV Networks, has for years sought to create a “360 degree” media presence that hinges upon the Internet. They now have a huge army of digital employees. Cable operators complain that hits like “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” are available in long form on Hulu. But who is benefiting now?
Viacom is asking for a 25 cent increase in monthly subscriber fees (25 cents more per subscriber per month) from Time Warner Cable across 18 Viacom networks. Yesterday, a crawler at the bottom of the screen for each of these networks warned of an impending blackout at midnight. (I rushed home at 1:20am to see the blank screens, but alas no MTV Armageddon.)
Now I watch Comedy Central more consistently than any other non-premium cable network (I love my Showtime – twisted as it may be), and my loyalty to the two programs above is on par with that for broadcast network programming such as “60 Minutes” – most other programming (“Eli Stone,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty”) comes and goes. I am proud and embarrassed to say that I get most of my news from Mr. Stewart and, to some extent, Mr. Colbert. So, what will I do if Viacom goes dark? I don’t envision doing much.
First, I don’t watch any of the other MTVN networks. I used to admire Viacom for its segmentation strategy, i.e., different networks for different age demos, but now what that means — for me as a single New Yorker, at least — is that I watch only one of their networks. And, as mentioned above, the two programs I count on are available on Hulu. In fact, Time Warner Cable is promoting to its subscribers where they can access Viacom programming online should it go dark on TWC. So, to whose advantage is the online platform now? Ironically, Viacom has made itself less indispensable to TWC – at least in the short term.
It reminds me a bit of our strategies in the middle east. We train the enemy of our enemy, even though that force was or could become our direct enemy. A bit of an extreme comparison, perhaps. But the question remains – to whom is the Internet a greater threat and for whom is it a greater advantage? Programmers? Distributors? Both? Neither?
Business minds around the world have not yet come up with a way to turn the enormous value of the Internet into a tangible, substantial monetary value. True, digital broadcasts of the Olympics, of SNL (Tina Fey) and of prime time programming do drive stronger TV viewing of these programs — something that was not necessarily anticipated. But, what is the long term business model? How can the television industry identify and transition to a new business paradigm? And, how will they accomplish this in light of existing carriage contracts and – even more specifically — Most Favored Nation (MFN) clauses that make change even more cumbersome?
You’ve Been Placed. And You’ve Been Spotted
Product placement has become to video what social media is to media. It is intrinsic to its fabric. It has become second nature. It has become indiscernible. And that is why I continue to enjoy observing and calling out the placements I spot. Here is my third installment. (Stay tuned for more.)
- Lorax: The movie “Lorax” has 70 tie-in partners.
- Colbert and Wheat Thins: Colbert coins the term “Sponsortunity” on an episode in which he reads at length from the branding memo for “Wheat Thins” that only someone in brand management could have written. A real treat and must-see for those in marketing.
- Diet Coke: Diet Coke seems to have used product placement in its own ad (“Not All Stars Appear On Screen”) during the Oscars. The commercial shows the evolution of a film from script to production with cameo appearances by Diet Coke cans, e.g., in the hands of the writers and those producing the film and placed on the shelves of the door to the sound stage.
- Apple: I find it so interesting to see which programs use Apple computers but cover up the otherwise highly visible Apple on the back of each device. Example: Two and a Half Men. Clearly, the producers like the aesthetic and how it fits with Ashton’s character, but, I guess they did not strike a deal with Apple, so they cover up the fruit. Other shows go all the way – do they get paid for that? In Showtime’s “House of Lies,” the consultants use Lenovo Think Pads. I would expect no less (and it makes me cringe a little when I think back to my pre-Mac years).
For more examples, check out: Place the Spot, Spot the Placement and Spot the Placement, Place the Spot.
Playing with Pinterest, Tallying with Twitter
I finally spent an evening (ok late night) playing with Pinterest, and I can see why it’s so addictive. So many beautiful images. It’s visual decadence and indulgence.
It’s uplifting. A great way to spend half an hour… or more. It’s also extremely easy to use with an overall positive vibe (or tone, as Pinterest would say). People are sharing things they find uplifting or attractive or thought provoking, in a light hearted way. As of now, no disturbing images. And wonderful production quality. I wonder how they control for that. Images come from the Internet, so they’re not really user generated – though they are user curated. That maintains this highly polished experience.
But what’s especially nice – it’s all about the details – is the email you get when you sign up: “Hi karenlevine,” it says, “YOU are the newest member of Pinterest, a community to share collections of things you love. We’re excited to have you as a member and can’t wait to see what you pin.” Now that’s just nice.
Twitter, of course, is also addictive, but in a different way. On Twitter, I find myself almost unhealthily aware of how many followers I have. Am I loved??? Am I respected? It’s like they days when you would come home and rush to see whether you had voicemails.
Every time I post something on Twitter, I watch to see if it leads to more followers – in that vast community of hundreds of millions of people I don’t know. Someone out there shares a topic I am interested in and felt that what I had to say merited following me.
Of course, I also look to see whether I have been retweeted, the ultimate compliment. Or retweeted my multiple people, a real head rush. And then there are the responses. The exchanges you have with someone you don’t know at all. At social media week, it was truly fun to watch people who had somehow ended up following or corresponding with each other meet in person. And because the avatars are typically photos, it makes it that much easier.
Social Media, Reese Witherspoon and Pinterest
Last night on Chelsea Lately, Reese Witherspoon admitted that she “doesn’t get” social media. Twitter, she said, “scares me.” And, although she knew she had a Facebook page, she thought, upon Chelsea’s suggestion, that the address is likely www.reesewitherspoon.com. (It isn’t.)
This adds credence to Terri Li’s estimation during a Social Media Week panel entitled “The New Ghostwriter” that 4/5 of celebrity twitter feeds are ghostwritten. Terri is the Chief Operating Officer of Bre.ad. It’s no surprise, of course, that Reese does not manage her own Facebook page. However… the point of this comment, and the part that is (ironically) interesting is that Reese exclaimed in the next sentence that she LOVES pinterest.
On another Social Media Week panel, Jon Steinberg, the president of buzzfeed said of pinterest: “I think it’s going to be one of the most powerful business models after Google.” Wow, that’s big. What happened to the days when social media and other sites took years to figure out how to monetize themselves? In fact, Google itself took 5 years before hitting the lottery.
Images below: reesewitherspoon.com (top) and Reese’s Facebook page (bottom)
Geolocation: What Art Though to Me? Part VI
Each day, geolocation has a unique impact on my life as I watch the way it influences my city, myself, and increasingly, my world. A few months after joining foursquare in 2010, I decided to keep a journal of my new life with geolocation.
You have now entered Part VI this ongoing tale – tracking the personal, sociological and historic milestones associated with the rapidly growing service/game/application. Click on the Geolocation tab for the full story or check my archives for Parts I, II, III, IV and V.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Eureka! I’ve rediscovered specials and – in a way – trending on FourSquare. And, in the process, I happened upon a tie in with Groupon. It’s all so incestuous, these frenemies. In the images below, please note: (a) “Special” next to my local designer pizza joint Freddie and Pepper’s - tied in with Groupon (b) little person image next to the Beacon that shows that 12 people have checked in (c) This is new to me – “Show” icon next to the Beacon. I’ll have to investigate that further. Something GetGlue-ish???
Just arrived home from a phenomenal meal at a restaurant in Chelsea called Westville – an amazing meal thanks to all the people who left me tips on foursquare, from the scores of them who recommended the four market sides for $14 to a non anonymous stranger named Frank, who recommended the chocolate pecan pie. My friend Nancy and I thank you all.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
It seems that my taste in primetime television is on par with other GetGlue users – and that the app (which is not actually geolocation but was initially positioned as the foursquare for people who stay home..) is gaining serious traction. I checked into “New Girl” along with 7,173 other viewers and joined 14,682 other Glee fans when I checked into that show. I watched both via DVR. Keep you eye on this one.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Have you checked out Square’s Card Case app. You should. If only to experience the art of what’s possible. You can pay for things by simply giving your name to the retailer.
Ok, so I’m working my way through Mary Meeker’s 2011 Internet trends and discovering all kinds of treats and terms along the way. Many of which are mobile, and many of which are location based. (I’ve even adopted a new phrase: “Geosocial networking.” Nice.) Here’s one I find intriguing: Shopkick. And here’s what they have to say about themselves:
“shopkick gives you awesome deals and rewards simply for walking into your favorite stores. You can collect your kicks™ rewards at millions of stores in America, and great deals at many of the top national retailers.
Collect walk-in rewards: Have you ever gotten rewarded simply for walking into stores – yes, just for visiting? Now you can collect boatloads of kicks™ in the kicks Reward Program and unlock awesome exclusive deals at your favorite stores. Just walk into 1,300 Best Buy stores in all 50 states, and hundreds of Target stores, Macy’s, American Eagle, Sports Authority, Crate&Barrel, West Elm, Wet Seal and the largest Simon malls! Open the shopkick app on your iPhone or Android phone in the entrance area, and wait for a few seconds. Your shopkick app will reward you instantly. shopkick is adding more stores in more cities every month.
Get exclusive deals: Discover and unlock awesome deals in the shopkick app at dozens of national stores, many of them are exclusively offered to shopkick users only.
Collect scan rewards: Collect additional kicks rewards by scanning barcodes of featured products with your phone at 250,000 stores across the United States.
Redeem your kicks™ for rewards! Get rewards like iTunes gift cards, restaurant vouchers, Best Buy/Target/Macy’s/American Eagle/Sports Authority instant gift cards, Facebook Credits, movie tickets, or if you go all out, a 3D 55″ Sony Bravia HDTV or a cruise around the world! And if you want to change the world, donate your kicks to 30 different causes!”
Friday, November 18, 2011
The next (current) phase in location based services is Near Field Communication (NFC). (I call it a LBS because the two devices need to be near each other.) Here’s how wikipedia defines NFC:
NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States. [Gosh, it seems like decades ago that I read about Japan doing this. Oh right, it was. It was commonplace as long ago as early 2006 when I did my first mobile study for BusinessWeek.] Many smartphones currently on the market already contain embedded NFC chips that can send encrypted data a short distance (“near field”) to a reader located, for instance, next to a retail cash register. Shoppers who have their credit card information stored in their NFC smartphones can pay for purchases by waving their smartphones near or tapping them on the reader, rather than using the actual credit card. Co-invented by NXP Semiconductors and Sony in 2002, NFC technology is being added to a growing number of mobile handsets to enable mobile payments, as well as many other applications.
And, here are some of the applications (by applications, I mean uses) – again, from wikipedia:
(1) Social Networking
NFC simplifies and expands social networking options:
- File Sharing: Tap one NFC device to another to instantly share a contact, photo, song, application, video, or website link.
- Electronic business card: Tap one NFC device to another to instantly share electronic business cards or resumes.
- Electronic money: To pay a friend, you could tap the devices and enter the amount of the payment.
- Mobile gaming: Tap one NFC device to another to enter a multiplayer game.
- Friend-to-friend: You could touch NFC devices together to Facebook friend each other or share a resume or to “check-in” at a location.
(2) Bluetooth and WiFi Connections
NFC can be used to initiate higher speed wireless connections for expanded content sharing.
- Bluetooth: Instant Bluetooth Pairing can save searching, waiting, and entering codes. Touch the NFC devices together for instant pairing.
- WiFi: Instant WiFi Configuration can configure a device to a WiFi network automatically. Tap an NFC device to an NFC enabled router.
(3) eCommerce
NFC expands eCommerce opportunities, increases transaction speed and accuracy, while reducing staffing requirements. A Personal identification number (PIN) is usually only required for payments over $100 (in Australia) and £15 (in UK).
- Mobile payment: An NFC device may make a payment like a credit card by touching a payment terminal at checkout or a vending machine when a PIN is entered.
- PayPal: PayPal may start a commercial NFC service in the second half of 2011.[15][16]
- Google Wallet is an Android app that stores virtual versions of your credit cards for use at checkout when a PIN is used.
- Ticketing: Tap an NFC device to purchase rail, metro, airline, movie, concert, or event tickets. A PIN is required.
- Boarding pass: A NFC device may act as a boarding pass, reducing check-in delays and staffing requirementsFr.
- Point of Sale: Tap an SmartPoster tag to see information, listen to an audio clip, watch a video, or see a movie trailer.
- Coupons: Tapping an NFC tag on a retail display or SmartPoster may give the user a coupon for the product.
- Tour guide: Tap a passive NFC tag for information or an audio or video presentation at a museum, monument, or retail display (much like a QR Code).
(4) Identity documents
NFC’s short range helps keep encrypted identity documents private.
- ID card: An NFC enabled device can also act as an encrypted student, employee, or personal ID card or medical ID card.
- Keycard: An NFC enabled device may serve as car, house, and office keys.
- Rental Car and hotel keys: NFC rental car or hotel room keys may allow fast VIP check-in and reduce staffing requirements.
The future (or past…) is here.
Sunday, December 4th, 2011
I’ve checked into the Central Park Tennis Center 88 times and into my apartment building 726 times.
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
On Monday of this week, Gowalla was acquired by Facebook. That’s huge. What impact will this have on foursquare?
Friday, January 13, 2012
The American Express tie-in with Foursquare has been simplified and is quite nice. When you check into a participating location, you are notified of an AMEX special. If you use your AMEX card there, you get a $10 credit on your statement. Nice. I’ve used it at a restaurant and a nail salon. It’s a good promotion because it encourages you to use your AMEX card to pay – at the time and point of purchase. Moreover, it gives you an incentive to spend at least $10, a requirement I met easily with my yummy chicken parmesan and lovely pedicure. What will be especially valuable is to use it for an $11 manicure…
If you’d like to read more of my thoughts on geolocation, click on the Geolocation tab or check out Part V of this series.
Social Media Tidbits I
Visit me here for social media tidbits I find worthy of sharing. Share with me your thoughts.
Do You “Like” Me? Do You Really “Like” Me?
Much of both Advertising Week and OMMA Global was spent talking about the importance of being “Liked,” as in the Facebook “Like” functionality. The conclusion was that (a) consumers don’t hate advertising, they hate bad advertising… (b) if you keep it under control, it can be powerful (c) consumers DO want to have relationships with brands they care about – as well as those who offer them something for being their “friend.” So, ironically, today’s eMarketer article includes two charts about consumers attitudes towards letting brands/advertisers/companies into their Facebook worlds:
Discretion
We’ll move now to a personal admonition – things individuals should consider before posting on their social networking site (69% of prospective employers have rejected a candidate based on something posted on a social networking site). Below, we get into what organizations should do at a minimum in social media – to avoid regrets.
The chart below shows the huge draw Facebook has on our time. Far and away higher than any other U.S. Web Brands in terms of total minutes. I was intrigued by the Facebook phenomenon back when I joined in early 2006 (as one of 7.5 MM unique users) – and suggested my media client take a serious look at it. At the time, Facebook was just opening up beyond college students. Here are some bullet points I put in my report in February 2006:
Overview:
- Social network site for college & university students
- Founded by Mark Zuckerberg; raised $500,000 from Peter Thiel in angel round
- Raised $12.2MM from Accel partners in April 2005 (valuation of $100MM)
- Began allowing high school students to join September 2, 2005: High school and college networks are kept separate. There are 20K U.S. high schools.
- Must have .edu email address to join
- Supports 1,120 colleges – 56% (Source: Scott Osman, 2/10/06 – up from 880)
- 85% of students in supported colleges have a profile
- 7.5MM unique users in January
- 60% of members log in daily; 85% at least weekly; 93% at least monthly
- Recent alums are maintaining same log in rates
- Users can add favorite music, books, movies, quotes, etc. and see others who share same interests; can also form and/or join groups
- Additional functionality: events, messages
Here’s an interesting post from ClickZ by Heidi Cohen:
What’s Your Social Media Marketing IQ?
As you make your 2012 marketing plans, consider what you need to do to take your social media marketing to the next level. To ensure your firm’s maximizing its social media effectiveness, now’s the time to check your organization’s social media marketing IQ.
Here are 30 questions to help determine your firm’s social media marketing IQ. These questions will help you assess where your organization is in terms of social media marketing maturity and where you may need to improve effectiveness. Depending on where your organization is along the social media adoptioncurve, some of these questions can help you develop plans going forward.
Listening
- Do you have brand monitoring and/or other analytics in place? If you don’t have the budget for professional social media monitoring, use free options such as Google Alerts, Twitter Search, and Google Analytics.
- Are you analyzing the information collected?
- Are you taking action where appropriate based on your brand monitoring? Remember, about 2 percent of the comments require any company interaction.
Social Media Guidelines
- Do you have social media guidelines for how employees should represent themselves and what they can say?
- Do you have guidelines for what’s acceptable for customers and the public to contribute on your organization’s website, blog, and/or forum? This doesn’t mean you can delete negative comments! Customers will say whatever they want on their own and third-party social media networks where you have no control.
- Do you have a crisis management plan? If so, do you review it regularly to ensure it’s up to date and employees know what to do? If not, here’s help to develop one.
Goals
- Do you have goals for your social media marketing? This is a critical first step of any marketing strategy. Don’t think it’s just a test and we’ll figure it out later. If it works, you’ll need to make a case for more resources.
- Are your social media marketing goals related to your overall business objectives? This is a must for any marketing plans!
- Is your social media marketing driving revenues? For many businesses, this is a sign of social media maturity.
Management
- Does senior management buy into social media as part of your marketing and business plans? Recognize this can be difficult to achieve. Research shows leadership at one in three businesses supports social media marketing after three years.
- If management doesn’t buy into social media marketing, are you bringing them up to speed? Chances are that you need to show how it drives results associated with business goals.
- Are you expanding buy-in beyond senior management? Think customer service, sales, product management, human resources, investor relations, and other organizational departments.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
- Do you have a social media marketing strategy? What do you want to accomplish?
- Are your social media marketing strategies integrated with your overall marketing plans?
- Are employees monitoring social media marketing implementation(s)? Customers will use every point of contact to reach a human being.
- Are you promoting your social media marketing efforts? To drive customers and the public to your social media marketing, you must continually promote it. Use internal media.
- Do you make it easy for social media participants to share your content? Think social sharing including Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
- Do you have tailored call-to-action and tracking mechanisms integrated into your social media marketing efforts?Prospects and customers need to be guided through your sales process.
Social Media Marketing Content
- Are you creating tailored content for your social media marketing initiatives? Since social media thrives on content, ensure your social media efforts have the fuel they need.
- Have you created a variety of content formats?
- Does your content support every stage of the purchase process? The information consumers need may cut across your organization. To support these efforts, use an editorial calendar and marketing personas.
- Is your social media-related content integrated into your search optimization efforts?
Social Media Marketing Budget
- Do you have a dedicated social media marketing budget? Social media marketing isn’t free! You can’t count on having a robust social media marketing strategy without financial and headcount resources. If you don’t have a dedicated budget, can you leverage other resources or hide your social media marketing budget?
- Do you have headcount dedicated to your social media marketing efforts? If not, are social media marketing activities incorporated into specific employees’ job descriptions? If no one’s required to do the work, it won’t happen.
- Do you have social media training to ensure employees understand how to engage on social media platforms and are consistent in how they represent your organization? Many firms overlook this important factor.
- Do you have a social media contingency plan to ensure you have personnel involved and monitoring social media 24/7?What happens if your social media manager’s sick or unavailable and there’s a problem?
Metrics
- Do you have established metrics to track social media marketing efforts back to marketing and/or business objectives?This is best done when you’re planning your strategy.
- Do your metrics include the full purchase process not just the last marketing touched? Social media can influence customers before you realize they’re shopping and after they’ve bought your product or service.
- Do your social media metrics go beyond marketing? Think broadly across your business such as customer service.
- Are you measuring the ROI of your social media marketing? Understand it takes time to have a well-integrated social media marketing strategy where you can measure your investment and results accurately. Short-term, determine whether your social media marketing contributes to achieving your business goals.
Social media marketing is a growing part of every marketer’s plans and budget. Regardless of where you are on the social media marketing continuum, you must assess the effectiveness of what you’re currently doing and implement strategies to enhance your results.
‘Tis the Season of the Webinar (and Conference)
Autumn is here, and with it, a plethora of webinars, seminars and conference. My dance card is filling up. Here are some recent and upcoming events:
Upcoming:
“A Millennial Perspective on Diversity & Multiculturalism” – American Advertising Federation – November 9th, 2011 – various locations throughout the country
Recent:
The State of Mobile Commerce - Are You Meeting Your Customers’ Mobile Experience Expecations? – webinar – November 2nd, 2011 – NYC
Featured speakers, Sucharita Mulpuru, Vice President, Principal Analyst from independent research firm Forrester Research, Inc., and Compuware APM CTO, Steve Tack discussing:
- The current state of mobile commerce and key mobile trends
- Why tablet owners are a key component of mobile success
- Common mistakes that prohibit companies from capitalizing on the mobile opportunity
- Best practices to deliver quality mobile web and application experiences to smartphone and tablet users
Advertising Week NYC – October 3-7th, 2011
Advertising Week Videos available HERE.
Future of Media Forum – October 5, 2011
MediaPost’s Future of Media Forum brings to life MEDIA magazine’s annual “Future of Media” issue by gathering together prominent executives and intellectuals from all facets of media to discuss, debate and opine about the Media Industry’s future. This intriguing roundtable discussion — moderated each year by a noted industry journalist — will take place October 5th during Advertising Week at New York University’s Kimmel Center, hosted by the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
How to Effectively Leverage Customer Insight to Deliver a Superior Multichannel Customer Experience, October 13, 2011
By the American Marketing Association (AMA): “Voice of the Customer is not just about surveys anymore. Customers are interacting with your brand through multiple channels including the website, retail store, contact center and even social media. You have to understand all of these multichannel interactions collectively to develop a complete Voice of the Customer. Join us on this webcast and learn how you can easily gather and leverage data from all customer touch points to deliver a superior multichannel customer experience.
Learn how you can:
- Collect real-time customer insight across channels
- Discover and act upon emerging customer trends
- Deliver a more personal and targeted customer experience
- Increase customer loyalty and reduce churn”
The World Technology Summit and Awards, October 25-26th
“On October 25th and 26th, 2011, at the TIME Conference Center in New York City, many of the most innovative people and organizations in the science and technology world will come together for an historic gathering – the 2011 World Technology Summit & Awards (the tenth incarnation) – to celebrate each other’s accomplishments; to explore what is imminent, possible, and important in and around emerging technologies; and to create the kinds of serendipitous relationships that create the future.
The majority of Summit participants are either current WTN members (primarily winners/finalists from previous World Technology Awards cycles, as selected by their peers as those doing the innovative work of “the greatest likely long-term significance”) or 2011 World Technology Award nominees. A combination of keynote talks, panel discussions, and breakout sessions… and potentially-career-altering-networking opportunities over two days concluding with a gala black-tie Awards ceremony on the second night held at the United Nations.”
How IP Geolocation Can Turn Your Local Marketing On – webinar – September 28th, 2011
“It’s a proven fact that located messages perform better overall but there is a discrepancy when it comes to online ads. Currently, online CPSs are far below their offline counterparts (TV, radio, direct mail), and this correlates to the fact that half of all advertising is bought at the local level but there is no scalable way to reach consumers locally online. For brands, targeting consumers locally is an essential and effective part of marketing as 80% of consumers’ disposable income is spent on businesses within 10 miles of their homes.
Advertising networks and online properties are boosting efforts to engage in increasingly local campaigns as clients are requesting geographically targeted ads. IP intelligence provides the ability for super-niche targeting, allowing brands to create/provide the most relevant and engaging adds as it provides unique information about web browsers. This increases marketers’ ability to reach their customers by targeting both business type, and consumer location, IP intelligence provides geographic, demographic and business information so that brands can effectively reach customers online the way direct mail and billboard ads are used to work offline. Marketers will be able to zero in on trends, demographic information and cultural aspects to best target consumers.
Key learning points that audience members will take away from this webcast are: What is the need for geolocation targeting? What are the statistics of geolcation effectiveness on advertising? ROI? What are some marketing strategies that I can implement around IP intelligence?
Speakers: Miten Sampat, VP of Product Strategy, Quova. Steven Cook, CMO, Co-CEO, i.e., healthcare. Alli Libb, Moderator, AMA.”
OMMA Global – September 26-27th, 2011
