Archive for March, 2010

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DR. WHAW? – March 31, 2010


2010
03.31

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Posted in Branding, DR. WHAW?, Danny, Social Media, Twitter | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Danny Prager.


It broke 70 degrees in Chicago for the first time in a couple of months, and everyone is in a fantastic mood. I am too. Here are some great things I read today:

DR. WHAW? – March 31, 2010

1) Shift from Self-Driven to Issue-Driven Social Media Listening by Dave Fleet

Listening in social media is of the utmost importance. Like every other piece of execution however, you need to make sure that you are listening strategically, and that those who are doing the act of listening understand the difference between pure brand monitoring and a kind of listening that many might call research. This article effectively explains the difference between the two.

2) Posterous now allows you to set up custom domains Read Write Web

You can now buy a domain name, set up a website and host it all through the Posterous site. It is amazing to think that creating a simple, usable, and connected website is as simple as logging on to Posterous.com . While there will always be a place for well designed custom sites, it has never been simpler to make an effective website.

3) “We Have That Under Control” — Olivier Blanchard

Businesses get caught up in all the things that can go right with their latest plan or initiative but there’s a fine line between confidence and ignorance. Olivier sets them straight. Great impassioned writing. Now, I will be forever weary of the phrase, “we’ve got that under control”.

4) A brand is for life — Influx Branding

In our current obsession with real time feedback and response, sometimes we need a little perspective. Brands can be made and lost in a matter of days. We need to stop praising brands for short term successes and chiding them for quick implosions, instead, as communications professionals, we need to help them through the good and bad alike.

5) Influence on Twitter Can’t Be Purchased With Kim Kardashian — econsultancy

While Kim K may make a nice chunk of change using sponsored tweets. A new study from Yahoo found that Twitter influence is extremely unpredictable, and, at even the highest levels of sharing, a Tweet is only shared in the thousands, not in the millions. While celebrity is the best predictor of influence, we may need to re-think influence and focus on hyper-targeting combined with a mass media model:

Watts (the lead researcher) points out:

“Influencing one other person is clearly not what many people have been looking for [on Twitter.] But ordinary influencers are still influencers… Combined with mass media this could be very powerful.”

Hope you all had a fantastic day. Thanks for reading.

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The NCAA tournament is a classic example of our new fragmented world


2010
03.31

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If you know me, you know I live for March Madness. How could I pass up the opportunity to tie the Big Dance in with a social media blog post?

Over the weekend, I was trying to explain to my roommate why the NCAA tournament is so darn important in America. She was raised in Russia for a significant part of her life and didn’t understand why we get so excited about it. Being a die hard fan, I did my best to tell her why the 64-team tournament is so much fun to watch.

After rambling on for minutes about how awesome the tourney is, she asked me:

“So is this as big a deal as the Super Bowl? For like marketers and everybody? It doesn’t seem like it.”

For me, the NCAA tourney has always been a bigger deal than the Super Bowl because I’m just not a big professional sports fan, and especially not a huge football fan. But is March Madness as much of a cash cow for marketers and advertisers? I don’t think so.

Why isn’t March Madness as big of a deal for advertisers? The answer is simple: the audience is far more fragmented than the Super Bowl audience.

Sure we all talk about the Super Bowl in many different places leading up to the big game: Facebook, Twitter, Posterous, ESPN.com and mainstream media, to name a few. But once the game is on the air, all eyes are fixated on the TV broadcast of the biggest football game of the year.

March Madness is much different. Leading up to the Big Dance, the chatter is just as fragmented, but then once the games tip off, there are often four different games to choose from. My father and I have been known to watch all four at once (four TVs in one room dubbed the “Man Cave”), but this year I’ve been watching one game at a time. Maybe I’ll stream another game on my laptop if I care more about one of the games CBS has chosen not to air.

So where does this leave marketers? Instead of one captivated audience focused on one four-hour broadcast, there are often four two-hour broadcasts to choose from, not to mention livestreaming from NCAA.com or tracking scores on ESPN.com.

Does this mean that marketers should give up? Definitely not, and they haven’t. There isn’t as much hype around the marketing and advertising associated with March Madness, but that doesn’t mean it’s not noticed.

Have you noticed a difference in the types of marketing or advertising companies do during March Madness? How would you try to reach this fragmented audience?

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DR. WHAW? – March 30, 2010


2010
03.30

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Posted in Community management, DR. WHAW?, Melissa, Social Media, Twitter | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Melissa Cafiero.

Not to freak you out or anything, but it’s almost April, which means it’s almost June in Mel-land (it’s a fun place to be, I assure you) and that means six months until Christmas… if you celebrate that sort of thing. Anyway, just a thought. But now I bet you’re ready to think about something else and boy, are you in the right place!

DR. WHAW? – March 30, 2010

  1. Participation, Expectations, and Responsibility by Amber Naslund –What kind of a responsibility do we have when participating online? Do we cut out our personal interests when tweeting and keep it strictly business if our followers are mostly professional contacts? You will never please everyone at once and they’re entitled to their opinions. But if you cut out personal anecdotes, you could miss an opportunity to connect with someone on a deeper level over a mutual interest. Good thoughts in Amber’s post and the comments make for great reading, too.
  2. How to Beat Writer’s Block by Jeremy Porter – Ah, the dreaded affliction for those of us who enjoy putting words to paper (or computer screen, or whatever medium you prefer). Jeremy provides some common excuses scenarios and solutions.
  3. 20 Things You Should Share On Social Media by Jeff Bullas – Jumping off the previous post, this one can also provide some inspiration and ideas for you when you’re stuck. I think it’s also a good reference to provide to clients if they are getting their feet wet with blogging and tweeting. A lot of the questions I hear are, “Is this appropriate to tweet about? Is this something that would work for the blog?”
  4. Twitter is Not a Case Study by Lauren Fernandez – Lauren makes excellent points in her piece and the more I sit in on Twitter Webinars and read case study collateral for Twitter… it all begins to sound the same. I’m no longer learning anything else by consuming that content. On the other hand, they can be helpful for clients and new users in terms of a Twitter introduction.
  5. Incredibly obvious tips to save you time by Erin Doland – Some of these you’d think are common sense, but it always amazes me when I see people doing things in a roundabout, inefficient manner. I can’t change anyone’s working habits, and it’s none of my business anyway, but it does provide excellent examples for me to become more efficient myself. The comments are really helpful, so check those out.
  6. Are you a walker and texter? posted by Michael Sebastian – This is to provide a bit of humor in the day. It’s a quick video, so “Watch a TV reporter show exactly why walking and texting, walking and talking on a Bluetooth, and various other cell-phone inspired behaviors are extremely annoying.”
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DR. WHAW? – March 29, 2010


2010
03.29

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Posted in Clay, Community management, DR. WHAW?, Search, Social Media, Twitter | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Clay Schossow.

Hope that everyone enjoyed their weekends.  Down in Chapel Hill, we had some depressing weather, but at least there was some NCAA tourney action to watch (even if it wasn’t the Heels).  Did a lot of catching up on reading, today, and here’s what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work (but wanted to!).

DR. WHAW? – March 29, 2010

  1. Nine Common SEO Campaign Mistakes — It may seem like I include a lot of SEO articles on my list, and that’s because I do.  It’s a topic that is relevant to every vertical and every marketer; even if you focus on offline marketing, it’s still important to understand the basics of SEO, link building, etc.  This article does a great job of exploring some really common mistakes and how to correct them (love the long tail graphic!).
  2. It’s the People, Stupid — This article is a guest post on Rebecca’s boss’s blog –small world!  It’s a nice look at how social media needs to be embraced throughout an entire organization to be effective.  I also love the emphasis that Todd puts on focusing on the social rather than the media.  Good, quick read.
  3. Your Company’s Urge to Tweet (is wrong) — I think this is a nice companion piece for Todd’s article, above.  The article focuses on how so many big companies and other brands get set up with an FB page and Twitter account and think they’re done.  They blast out some message, get a nominal amount of followers, and call it a win — no measurement of ROI, no real scale, no real message.  It’s a good read.
  4. Twitter and the 9 Month Bounce — Yeah, this one is from TechCrunch, but I found it very interesting and appropriately analytic, so I decided it was OK to throw in a link from one of the “big guys.”  Social Media Analytics company Sysomos takes a look at Twitter usage based on how long one has been a member.  Pretty cool and intuitive stats — people start off pretty strong, go through a lull, and then really pick it up again around month 9.  Would be interested to see the same stats on Facebook; I bet they have a much quicker adoption timeline, since the network is so much larger and canonical.
  5. Agencies Enter Into a “Great Race” for Relevance — Some nice data on how clients see the divide between their different agencies.  Overall, they’re very hesitant to let an interactive agency lead their brand, but they’re even more hesitant to let their traditional agency lead their interactive efforts.  Wow.  Some staggering facts and a nice case for an agile agency model that has traditional agencies outsource interactive to specialist firms (like my firm’s ad agency web development partnership program), rather than taking it on themselves until they’re completely sure they can handle it.

There you go folks, those are my 5.  Some good reads already this week, encouraging me that there’s great stuff ahead.  Happy passover, Good Friday (in a few days), and enjoy the week.

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Who cares which came first? How are brands created?


2010
03.29

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Posted in Branding, Marketing, Social Media, public relations | View Comments

This guest post was written by John Merritt, a digital strategist who focuses on brands and marketing in his work. His personal blog can be found here. I highly recommend getting in touch with this guy, he’s a smart cookie. He wrote the post below in response to my post last week which asked whether the personal brand or agency came first.

I think it might be a good idea to first understand how brands come into creation and then answer the questions that came up in the previous blog post.

So how are brands made?  Below is an image that I put together to convey how I believe brands are developed and how they become the iconic behemoths that we come to see regularly and love.

Brands are as nebulous as the marketing that serves to promote them.  Their creators start from something that they only understand and make it into this flourishing dream that we see and experience by way of product, services and experiences.  All brands, small and large, typically begin this way (that includes the agency brands and the personal brands).

What came first, the personal brand or the agency?  From what I’ve seen and experienced, personal brands are created and evolve into these brands (agency, client side, and more).

So that’s great, but what about the other questions I had in response to Rebecca’s post?

1)    How do businesses and agencies need to change?

2)    What will brands and agencies have to do to adapt? Balance?

3)    What is the purpose of a company in relation to my personal brand?

The much stickier questions could not receive justice in just one post.  For instance, businesses and agencies operate in several different contexts – depending on the business, industry, customer type, etc., and that could determine the direction that a business needs to go(or not).  Agencies, too, face this dilemma.  From a 30,000 view in the sky, each needs to focus on customers and needs to change in that direction.  Moving closer to each brand’s ground zero would be a little more difficult to achieve without a deeper understanding of that business.  Another way we can address this is to see one perspective via image below:

I’ve laid out how each of those questions above might look when addressing a particular concern about brands adjusting and growing.

Well wait a minute, what about the agency in relation to my personal brand?  How does this get addressed?

Think of things this way, no one agency can do everything.  Look over the history of agency development and you’ll see that evolution and the shifts in their focus.  A good place to view this for the last decade is a site called WayBackMachine where you could see the transitions of each agency as time progressed.  With this said, personal brands fill a vital role that even the largest of the larger brands cannot fill – they are the experts in niche or collective fields whom might be able to provide an unbiased and uncanny perspective.

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DR. WHAW? – March 26, 2010


2010
03.27

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Measurement, PR metrics, Social Media | View Comments

Happy weekend, y’all! I had a rough and sleepless week, and I decided to skip outta town to get a much-needed and relaxing weekend. How was your week? I’m reaching a crossroads in my life as my long-term and long-distance boyfriend has decided to get his PhD at Cornell, which is quite far from Chicago. Oh well, we’ll take it one day at a time and see where we end up. Before we dive in, I think everyone should check out this funny measurement comic, I think it’s a good test of just how nerdy you really are. And with that, I bring you what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work (but wanted to!) yesterday.

DR. WHAW? – March 26, 2010

1. Five Social Media Research Warning Signs by John Stauffer — Everyone is talking about measurement these days and how to do it right. This offers five tell-tale signs that you are working with and relying on insufficient or incorrect data. If you are going to use social media, you need to measure. If you are going to measure, you need to understand how to spot bad data.

2. A little bit of good news from the PR News Survey on Social Media Measurement by Katie Paine — PR News did a survey of readers to coincide with its measurement conference in Washington, D.C. this week. Katie explores the results of the survey and believes that there is good news for the industry. What do you think?

3. Making Sense of the Volume and Structure in Social Media Measurement by Christopher Berry — I like this post because Chris compares social media measurement to the night sky. It’s a good (and appropriate!) metaphor, and this post gives some good insight to measurement for everyone, beginners and newbies.

4. How Much Do We Really Know About the Influencers? by Catharine P. Taylor — Influencers. These people mean everything to social media, right? But who are they really and how much do we really know about them? I love this look at those people that are so crucial to the online world.

5. The ROI Measurement for Social Media Should Be Goodwill from Gerson Lehman Group — I like this new idea. Goodwill has the ROI of social media instead of anything else. I definitely don’t absolutely agree, but it’s an interesting new theory. What do you think? How should we really measure ROI?

6. Three Reasons Measurement is Useless Without Goals by Teresa Basich — Teresa is absolutely right. There is no need trying to measure anything (let alone social media) without having goals in mind first. Before you even attempt to measure anything, you must know how you define success. Read on!

7. A Social Media Scoreboard That Works by Jay Baer — This is a great review of the new monitoring tool offered by Swix. This is the second review I saw, so I decided to finally give it a try. I’m not 100% sold on it, but then again, I have only been using it for my own personal accounts instead of tracking campaigns. I suggest trying this tool out. It could be fabulous.

So what do you think, folks?

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DR. WHAW? – March 25, 2010


2010
03.25

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Job search, Rachel, Social Media, Twitter | Comments Off

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Rachel Boyman.

It’s been a long week for this East Coaster but I’m looking forward to a little 4-day staycation in NYC – here’s what I Didn’t Read While Hard at Work today (but of course, really wanted to!). Enjoy!

DR. WHAW? – March 25, 2010

1. The Eight Types of People to Unfollow on Twitter or Defriend on Facebook by Brian Moylan

The headline on this one caught my attention immediately, and though the tone is a bit crass, the point is well-taken (it is Gawker after all). I’m most active on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and though I have different “standards” for each social medium, there is a certain guilt I feel when I ignore or deny a friend request or have to relegate someone to a blocked/limited view list after receiving the 14th invite to Farmville (you know who you are). Moylan’s piece made me feel less guilty, because as he states, “Guess what, if we cared about stopping the deforestation of the Florida panhandle, we would seek the group out and join it ourselves.”

2. Advertisers Gather Around as Publishers Tout Bells and Whistles of Apple’s iPad – WSJ.com by Shira Ovide and Suzanne Vranica

The iPad is coming! I’m supremely tempted to buy one (now you know I prefer Apple products to flowers…well, actually, I like both ;-) but would want to see how some of the content models will shake out for consumers. This WSJ talks about some of the uncertainty still out there, as well as some of the advertising deals that have already been inked with well-known mags like Time, Esquire & Men’s Health.

3. Why the Industry Needs You to Fill Out the Census – The Big Tent – Advertising Age by Bill Imada

A lot of money is at stake for state and local communities based on this year’s Census results, so if you haven’t taken a few minutes to fill yours out yet, perhaps this piece will give you an extra nudge. For those who work in the advertising industry, (or any industry that depends on advertising dollars, which is, well, a lot of industries) Imada gives another reason to stand up and be counted – your industry will benefit. Check out how your state/city is participating here

4. When Success Follows the College Rejection Letter by Sue Shellenbarger

Whether you’re anxiously waiting to hear from an admissions office or trying to figure out the next step in your professional or personal life, I think it helps to know that some of the most successful people face difficulty—even rejection—at some point.

5. Beware: Social Networking Cops Are Here by Bill Snyder

Last week, I wrote about geotagging and how I’m hesitant to participate in location-based social networking sites. This post by Bill Snyder basically reminded me that it doesn’t really matter whether I invest time in geotagging or not because in the

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DR. WHAW? – March 24, 2010


2010
03.24

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Danny, Social Media, Twitter | View Comments

This post was written by new DR. WHAW? Contributor Danny Prager, check him out in the newly updated contributor page. I’m excited to have Danny (and Rachel!) joining the crew! Such great new insights and thoughts, please share what you think, too!

Hello! Really excited to contribute to Dr. Whaw. Hopefully I can share some articles that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Without further ado, here we go…

DR. WHAW? – March 24, 2010
1) How to Get an Influencer’s Attention by Tamar Weinberg

While you see many posts pontificating on the best way to pitch bloggers or influencers, it’s great when you hear it from the source. Tamar was able to get interviews with well respected bloggers, who told her what pitches work on them and why. More than anything else, this post reinforces that pitching bloggers is really about creating a relationship more than anything else, as each blogger is unique.

2) Junto: Ideas Worth Spreading by Vanessa Miemis

Vanessa Miemis writes posts that consistently challenge her readers. This post is no different. Love this idea of a collaborative tool to improve communication between both individuals and groups. If the power of networks lies in exchanging ideas, tools like Junto will take our interactions to a new level.

3) Facebook is the New Petition by Kristen Malzone

Love this title more than anything. While this post highlights the petition to get Betty White to host SNL, the recent Nestle versus Greenpeace Fiasco immediately came to mind. Most brands today see the power of Facebook as a community hub for current and potential customers, but thinking of Facebook as “the new petition” reinforces the potential for massive backlash from fans and critics alike.

4) Foursquare and Pavlov’s dog, a Conditional Response by Ben Yoskovitz

As a psych major and social media lover, I was really excited to see the word Pavlov and Conditional and Foursquare in the title of this article. Foursquare is powerful because it changes behavior, and reinforces a conditional response, the “check-in”, any time you go somewhere. So the next time someone asks you why Foursquare is so addictive, or why they keep adding users, mention Pavlov and Operant Conditioning, everyone will think you’re smarter than you actually are. Trust me.

5) Bud Caddell’s Response to “the Social Media Bubble Article” by Bud Caddell

Yesterday, Umair Haque posted The Social Media Bubble over at The Harvard Business Review blog. First off, read both of these articles, right now. This is a great debate about the power of connections made via social networks. Are they overvalued? Something worth thinking about. Personally, I love Bud’s argument that social networks are good at “extracting value from thin relationships.” What do you think?

Alright, thanks so much for having me Rebecca. Until next week!

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DR. WHAW? – March 23, 2010


2010
03.23

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Posted in DR. WHAW?, Job search, Melissa, Mobile, Social Media | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Melissa Cafiero.

I’m really enjoying my week off from work and thus was a bit late getting this post to Rebecca – apologies to her and everyone eagerly waiting for the day’s post (I know you are anxious to get caught up on the day’s top articles)! I put myself on a Twitter time-out for the week, so hopefully I’m not missing anything huge… besides March Madness trash-talking.

DR. WHAW? – March 23, 2010

  1. You Can Text Me Now by Farhad Manjoo – “But look around you. Many people are pulling out their phones at inappropriate times. Spouses are texting during dinner, students are texting during class, and a lot of idiots are texting at the movies.” So true. If you don’t have time to read the article, here’s what Slate readers decided was proper etiquette: “If you’re in a situation where you’d excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, you should also excuse yourself before reaching for your phone. Otherwise, go ahead without asking. Either way, don’t play with your phone longer than you’d stay in the bathroom.” But how many of us still have enough manners to pardon ourselves to use the restroom? (I do.)
  2. Why Recruiters Hate the Compensation Department! by Dr. John Sullivan – This is a really interesting inside view of the hiring process and the headaches a recruiter may have. It’s a bit long, but I think there’s valuable information here. And, of course, I’m sure situations differ by company.
  3. Apple Seeks Patent For Mobile Social Networking by Antone Gonsalves – “Apple is seeking a patent for technology that would make it possible for users of the iPhone or other mobile devices to form an ad hoc social network to communicate and share information during tradeshows, concerts, rallies or other event.” Like other new social networks (say, Buzz?), this sounds cool in theory. But will people use it? Why would I use it over a Twitter hashtag? Or a combination of Twitter and Foursquare (or Gowalla, depending on your poison preference)?
  4. Charlene Li on social media and leadership by Merritt Colaizzi – I’ve been trying to avoid anything coming out of SXSW (jealousy, whatever) but I liked this article about a discussion Li had with attendees regarding her upcoming book, Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead. “…Open Leadership argues that a new organizational structure is required to accommodate and benefit from the culture of sharing that social media has fueled over the last four years. The information flow we all experience daily can no longer be organized into neat org-chart silos, she posits. Instead, it demands a new kind of leadership — one based on letting go of the command-and-control model and embracing openness and relationship building.” Also, as Gen Y continues to participate in social media and climb the ranks of companies, we’ll also be in positions to lead (well, even when you’re entry level, you still have an opportunity to lead by example) and I think we’ll change the traditional structure of the workplace.
  5. Is your company built to blog? by Mark W. Schaefer – Just because it looks like everyone has a blog doesn’t mean your company needs one as well, especially if some of Schaefer’s bulletpoints are true for your company, executives and culture. This one’s a must read.
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DR. WHAW? – March 22, 2010


2010
03.23

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Posted in Clay, DR. WHAW?, Marketing, Search | View Comments

This post was written by DR. WHAW? Contributor Clay Schossow.
After a bender in Vegas and a red-eye straight to the office, it’s amazing that I’m still able to read.  So, after celebrating that fact, I quickly turned to my Google Reader and found these gems that I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work (but wanted to!) to help you all to start your week:

  1. How CRE Made $1 Million for SEOmoz with One Landing Page — I know that this title initially sounds spammy, but it’s actually one of the most thorough and helpful articles I’ve ever seen on a landing page case study.  CRE walks you through their entire process of identifying SEOmoz’s problem, strategizing a solution, and executing the plan.  It’s very long, but is a must read for anyone doing online marketing or curious about best practices.
  2. New Study on Scrolling and Content Below the Fold — Jakob Nielsen conducts a great study with interesting results on reading habits of web users.  Almost everyone of our clients gets scared of having any content below the fold; we assure them that in this day and age, people fully understand and are prepared to scroll on most pages.  This study reconfirms that fact, but it also demonstrates that 80% of attention is paid above the fold.  So, while you can count on users scrolling, you better not put any vital info or calls to action down there that you want the majority of visitors to see.  I expected the 80% number to be lower, but Nielsen’s study is very scientific and has repositioned some of my theories on usability.
  3. How to Kill a Great Idea — This Inc. feature looks at the history of Friendster and its founder, and uses them as an metaphor for the general dangers of the VC-startup relationship.  Are startups taking money too soon?  Do VCs have an inherent conflict of interest when they’re only trying to have 2 out of 20 investments really succeed?  The article explores these questions and also delves into the psyche of a visionary entrepreneur who majorly struck out and is now usually the butt of jokes.
  4. Groupon Marketing Results — I’ve been enamored with Groupon lately and have been recommending it to clients and friends who run services companies.  I hadn’t seen any case studies on it, but I just love the model and know that it’s tempted me and friends to buy many things we normally wouldn’t.  So, it was nice to see Phil Greenspun publish the results of his Groupon experiment for helicopter lessons.  While, the results displeased him, because they sold too many, they demonstrate to me that this really is a valuable tactic that can be leveraged by services firms.
  5. 9 Content-Driven Link Building Tips — Great article from my friends over at PR 20/20.  They provide some really great tips and tools to leverage offsite link building, which is the most important element in gaining your site credibility and high search engine rankings.  If you’re not doing all of these, you should definitely at least give them a shot as they the longtail benefits can be incredible.
A pretty marketing-heavy group of links, but I think these are really valuable resources to consider when marketing your own business or your clients’.  Let me know your thoughts on the individual articles and on the list.  Thanks!

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