Advertisers Kill Tradition

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 20th, 2009 | Comments

Tonight in a Tweet, I realized how true this statement really is; advertisers who approach the social web as a communication vehicle, kill cultural norms within a given space. Case in point…Twitter. Twitter is not just a vehicle to communicate. It is not a tool. It is a culture.

Here at Activating Word of Mouth we focus on authentic word of mouth. This begins with relationships, not spam. We take the advertising out of marketing. Other marketing firms approach social networks as a new vehicle to get their products/services out in volume. They are about noise. Last night I noticed a new trending topic “Chris Brown.” My first thought was, did I miss the news? Did he do something to Rhianna again? I clicked on the search for “Chris Brown” in Twitter and saw this: (more…)

Respect Culture Within the Social Web

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 16th, 2009 | Comments

In the offline world, respecting cultures is just common sense. Different ethnicities, different geographic locations, heritages, traditions, etc. are all around us.  People come from different backgrounds; in my opinion, cultural diversity is what makes the human race a beautiful thing.

Similarly, the online world is full of different cultures; however most assume online cultures consist of the same  factors that define culture offline. Sure social web users have diverse backgrounds that include religion, traditions, regional understandings, etc., but beyond these distinguishing elements lie cultures of each social network.

What does that mean?

People interact and consume information within a specific social network differently then they would others.  For example, if you are on Twitter and link your Facebook status to your Tweets, do you often get people within Facebook telling you to stop spamming their feed with all your status updates?  They might not even be involved with the same social networks as you and not understand that Twitter is about microblogging short posts.

In the case of Twitter and Facebook, these are two very different worlds. Facebook’s main landing page is a social stream of your network. Where folks can see photos, links, comments, events, etc from friends, family, and colleagues. This tends to be a more intimate interaction as posts are not limited to 140 characters like Twitter.

The point being, if one evolved within a given social network, they understand many social norms within that space that might not carry over to another space. If you tweet a lot, and carry that over to Facebook status updates, some might consider that spam. Or at the very least, see it as a social faux pas with that social space.

Social networks develop social norms within their space; be mindful and respect the given culture within that space.

Many large corporations hire anthropologists to understand the business etiquette of various nations in order to minimize the cultural gap.  Here at Activating Word of Mouth, consider us your cultural consultant to the online world.

There are many spaces that have different cultures. Make sure you don’t take that fact for granted.

Social Media Marketing Reality Check

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jul 8th, 2009 | Comments

By: Jennifer Kindred

For those interested in social media marketing…its here and growing fast.  However, a majority of society has not opted into online socialization, so it is understandably difficult for those people to get why social media marketing would be effective.  I often get questions about social media such as, “why would someone want to know what I am doing all day?” or “Twitter people are crazy status updaters…who cares?”  This blog entry will attempt to demonstrate some truths about social media and social media marketing.

What is it about blogging that makes people want to blog?  The writing aspect, putting your ideas out onto the web, or receiving responses from others who read your blog?  For me its a combination of all three (although not too much into the writing part), but what I really enjoy is getting responses and comments about my blog.  I suspect that most people get a happy, excited feeling when someone takes the time to read and comment on their writings…particularly if the comments are positive.

This is not a shameless shout out for people to read and comment on my blogs but an example of social web interaction.  As demonstrated above its not about just flinging information out onto the social web…people update their status, post information and content so that others will respond!

A survey last month, highlighted today in eMarketer and reported by Adam Ostrow at Mashable outlines the benefits that marketing executives cite as reasons to embrace the medium (see chart).  Customer engagement ranks highest at 85.4% of respondents citing it as a benefit of using social media marketing.   Social media engagement is a simple and effective way to engage with consumers and fans of  you or your product.  Activating WOM assists clients in developing strategies to maximize client’s social media presence and transmit social media momentum to offline marketing campaigns.  One of my recent blogs discusses creative ways that companies have maximized their social media marketing strategies offline.

So what does all of this mean?  What is the real world impact of social media marketing?  Is it really being used by companies and is this the time to start developing strategy?  Yes, yes, and yes!  Forrester Research just came out with their Interactive Marketing Forecast for the next five years, and estimates that social media marketing will grow at an annual rate of 34%.  This is faster than any other form of online marketing and double the average growth rate of 17% for all online mediums.  Forrester estimates that $716 million will be spent on the medium this year, growing to $3.1 billion in 2014. At that point, social media will be a bigger marketing channel than both email and mobile.

If you are a company interested in social media marketing but don’t see where in your budget it fits, here are a couple of ways to think about making a splash in the social media world:

1. What percentage of my marketing budget do I currently spend on online advertising?
2. How much of that budget am I willing to divert to a social media marketing campaign?
3. What kind of social media marketing campaign do I want to execute and for how long?
4. What consumer engagement goals do I want to achieve with my social media marketing campaign?

These questions may require that your company consult a firm, such as Activating WOM to aid in development and execution of a social media marketing strategy.  Your firm may already have an idea of what it would like to achieve through its social media marketing strategy but may not be knowledgeable enough on all of the tools to successfully achieve its goals.  Again, consulting firms such as Activating WOM is oftentimes necessary to realize the full potential  of social media; similar to engaging traditional media, social media is its own animal with hundreds of methods, tools, and communities to interact with and use.

If you are reading this blog and are thinking about how social media fits into you marketing campaigns, give us a call or leave a comment.  As I have written before, social media is here…communities are built…when are you going to decide to engage?

In Order to Succeed You Must Get Out of the Bubble

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jul 7th, 2009 | Comments

Many businesses look to other businesses in their market and/or geographic area for ideas. In social media we find this is a double edged sword. We recently wrote about the Perils and Rewards of Being First in the market. This was in response to many conversations with prospective clients wanting to understand more about social media but not really wanting to make that dive into resourcing out part of their marketing budget toward Word of Mouth marketing on the social web.

We at ActivatingWOM have been traveling a lot. We are still amazed that geographic markets drive the decision to jump into the social web. When we are talking to clients in the Bay area, where social media applications, networks, etc are born every day, the dialogue is about new analytics and how to maximize new networks before the main stream takes advantage of these tools. In LA it is about how to define your social presence as it relates to fans of various talents and how engagement is measured. In DC it is about identifying policy trends in conversations and identify influencers of various policy discussions.

In Arizona, people are will watching and learning. Few companies are willing to jump out of their bubble and take the social media plunge. Even the various markets mentioned above are still in a bubble. They rarely look at how practices in these various markets can help with their web presence.

I come from an extensive political background. I saw the “bubble effect” often. In various campaigns you tend to surround yourself with like minded individuals who further strengthen your ideals but tend to disconnect you with others outside your bubble. I often challenged organizations and candidates to get out of their bubble. Washington tends to be so deep in the beltway bubble that they hire pollsters after pollsters to get the pulse of the American public.

On the social web, everything is available. Case study after case study is available. What relevance does it have to your industry? No one else in your industry is really resourcing out this work you say? It is time to get out of your bubble. In a previous post we demonstrated various companies’ success on the social web.

If you are a company that has never used Twitter or often laugh at discussions around social media, I have a test for you. Go to http://search.twitter.com and type in a few words related to your product and or services. I guarantee you that there are conversations happening around your services and or products. From Tea to Athletes we manage a wide range of clients who at one time thought the social web was not for them. This simple tests showcases that there are potential customers and/or fans out there. If they are already talking about you, why are you not engaging?

It is time to get out of the bubble, and make the jump. Don’t let bubble vision keep you from success.

Network Growing Pains…Don’t Let Them Cripple Your Authenticity

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jul 3rd, 2009 | Comments

Lately, I keep coming across services such as PMS Social Suite and Tweeterfollowers, which claim to grow your Twitter network to thousands of followers within 30 days. Who are these followers? Are they spam bots? People who have similar interests as you? Are they even people?

I am from Illinois and lived in Chicago for sometime. The City’s reputation for wind, beautiful lake paths, horrid winters, and corrupt politics are all right on. Growing up I recall hearing jokes and comments about dead people voting in Chicago…as a child I would try to picture a deceased person rising from their resting place and voting, then wondered how a cremated person could vote (yes I was a strange kid). Now I understand that dead people of course did not actually vote but their propensity to vote straight ticket Democrat preceded them into death thanks to Chicago party politics.

What does this diatribe have to do with Twitter and social networks? My anecdote poses a very important question, are these services akin to having dead people following you on Twitter?

There is an internal debate among the social web community regarding numbers v. authenticity, which is more important? Are they mutually exclusive? We argue that when numbers and authenticity coexist a very powerful network is born. For those that are entering the social web world for marketing purposes, we assert that the “magic sauce” exists in the strategy in which you engage your network. Meaning, if you opt to use a follower aggregator service, you must put extra time in auditing your network to ensure that your numbers reflect real authentic followers.

I think of “fake followers” as inflation, just because your numbers are bigger does not mean you can buy more influence as the influence price will also become higher. So 30,000 followers may seem like a lot but really you only have 2,000 engaged followers. Further, when you follow other artificial networks, your perceived influence becomes almost impossible to gauge. At the end of the day if you are using Twitter for marketing purposes, you must be able to measure your influence and potential ROI. Inflationary numbers will distort your true influences, just as it does in the monetary economy.

If you choose to use a service that automize your network growth there are several strategies you can take to also authenticate your network:

1. Review your new followers everyday.
2. Take out any spam bots or other fake profiles.
3. Go to new follower profile and look through Twitter feeds to see if they are interested in your brand/topic.
4. ENGAGE new followers through authentic conversation and mention of your brand/topic.

Follow these steps and not only will you have a large following but one that is engaged in your topic area. Activating WOM works with clients to develop network engagement strategy and produce marketing analytics to track your network’s influence in terms of sales, brand discussion, and network interaction.

Don’t let your network become dead, white noise…unlike Chicago politics, where a vote is a vote, in the social web world, an authentic follow is much more valuable than fake followers.

China Mist Tea Tour TwitPics

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jun 30th, 2009 | Comments

Last week one of our clients, China Mist Brands, wanted to thank all of their Twitter followers by hosting a “tweetup” tour of their factory. We had about a dozen “influencers” on Twitter show up. The reality is, these are all fans of the brand who showed up to gain more knowledge of the brand that they love!

Of course various types of user generated content was produced during the tour. We want to show you some of the TwitPics from their fans. This is authentic engagement, real honest marketing that yields the best results:

@azneville—Alex Neville
•    http://img291.yfrog.com/i/vdjn.jpg
•    http://img145.yfrog.com/i/8h0.jpg

@wesleytech—Wes Novak
•    http://twitpic.com/8foxm
•    http://twitpic.com/8fiif
•    http://twitpic.com/8fhll
•    http://twitpic.com/8fi1e

@chrislee—Chris Lee
•    http://img141.yfrog.com/i/kbo.jpg
•    http://img291.yfrog.com/i/58761960.jpg/
•    http://img261.yfrog.com/i/f9b.jpg/
•    http://img146.yfrog.com/i/5g3.jpg/
•    http://brightkite.com/objects/15ce703461ef11de93ca003048c10834

@wonet—Warren Owen
•    http://twitpic.com/8fc50

@ChefVern—Vern Gill
•    http://twitpic.com/8fk5k
•    http://twitpic.com/8fe1f

@jen2281—Jennifer Kindred
•    http://twitpic.com/8fgfj

Online Business Networking…Just an Extension of Offline Networking?

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jun 30th, 2009 | Comments

By: Jennifer Kindred

I am an Economist magazine junkie and have been for years. I may not always agree on the magazines opinions but the analysis and reporting is top notch. So imagine my surprise and excitement when I came across an article about Business Networking websites http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13900974. The article cleverly compares the influence of old fashioned networks like alumni associations, social cliques, and religious groups to online business networking sites such as LinkedIn, Xing (headquartered in Germany), and Viadeo (based in France).

These online networks are breaking down the “good ole boy” club barriers and creating a diverse pool of people who can post their credentials, resumes, and recommendations to the world. My LinkedIn profile is a wonderful online resource for employment opportunities, client vetting, and networking without leaving the comfort of my desk.

However, I must disagree with The Economist on one point, even though anyone can join LinkedIn and post their profiles, users must engage others either offline or online to grow their network. LinkedIn does not allow you to simply click on others and make them your “colleague” the other person must actively engage you through invitation and accept you as a member of their network. Savvy users will not just allow anyone access to their rolodexes.

So are social networks like LinkedIn just another way to create exclusive clubs, but online? Perhaps, but people who are fans of exclusivity will undoubtedly seek to exclude others in all environments, including online. However, The Economist is correct in its assessment that online networks create links that cross national borders and help people to exchange information about each other’s talents and businesses.

At a minimum you should create a LinkedIn profile for business purposes, it is a resource for you and others interested in you or your company. Business networking sites are another example of the benefits of authentic engagement and information collection.

Here at Activating WOM, our business cards not only have company information but our LinkedIn profiles links. We are living in the digital age; you and your business must get on board the social web to compete in the world of infinite information.

The Social Web: Companies that are Catching on in a BIG Way!

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jun 29th, 2009 | Comments

When we sit down with potential clients, many are still trying to grasp the world of social marketing. During out pitch, there tends to be a lot of education about what the social web is, and what makes us different than other marketing/PR firms. Many think that volume is the key strategy to the social web. We feel that there is a fine line between spam and volume on the social web. So today we decided to post about different approaches to the social web and how our strategies coincide with these successful engagement methods.

Our specific strategies start with social networks…evaluating a brand’s digital foot print, determining which networks work best for the brand, and executing a specific strategy for the brand.  Obviously we add our special sauce that provides analytic reports. Evaluation is key. Our Managing Partner has spent nearly 10 years in political campaigns.  His specific background is in “field.”  Field work is about breaking apart the trend data of voter files and marketing lists to target a voting base and then “activate” them. With the social web, the data is there!  Marketing lists and social interaction data is resting in the code of the tweets and the pings.

The following are examples of brand sponsored social marketing strategies. Companies are catching on in a big way!

Last week we had the privilege to partner up with Jennifer Van Grove, the Associate Editor for Mashable.com, for the #sdtweetup with Shawne Merriman.  ActivatingWOM was a big part of the event.  Her latest post:

“brand sponsored social media campaigns are everywhere. From SeaWorld, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ Donuts, to Cadbury, A&E, and even Universal, it’s officially the hot trend to replace or supplement traditional marketing campaigns with social media.”

SeaWorld has created a Facebook game application where you can challenge friends to get the most points; Starbucks challenged its network followers to be the first to post pictures of new Starbucks advertisement signs. Cadbury has taken a page out of Ford’s viral marketing campaign and created a contest for Cadbury fans to get as many social media views and points as possible while participating in “Operation Goo.”The winner gets £20,000 ($32,900).

The newest social media campaign is coming from Huggies in partnership with the social site, Circle of Moms. Huggies will be putting its content directly in the path of its primary consumer group…moms.  The “Huggies Zone” will be an interactive site with advice columns, baby photo sharing space, parenting polls, and of course diaper information.

As these examples demonstrate, companies are approaching the social web in a variety of ways…everything from Facebook applications, to photo contests, to large scale viral marketing, to an interactive page focused on a specific consumer group.  Companies can spend and do as much or as little as they want on the social web.

Here at Activating WOM we understand different social media strategies, implementation, analytics/tracking, and most of all reporting.  Companies need to know if their marketing strategies are effective.  We believe in authentic marketing, which is what creates a viral marketing campaign.

When taking the social web plunge, companies should be opened minded …as demonstrated above there is a whole new world of online communication.

Companies should see the social web as a cost effective way to talk about brands, engage consumers, and most importantly track their progress.

The social web is here…. are you ready?

What is Web3 Word of Mouth Marketing?

Posted by Kevin Spidel on May 26th, 2009 | Comments

We all know that the fastest way for an idea to spread is through word of mouth communication.  When you hear everyone talking about a new product, service, or site, you immediately want to check it out to see what all the hype is about.  That’s the power of word of mouth – but how do you get it?

Activating Word of Mouth engages your consumers to be brand advocates for you on the social web.  We identify your fans, build on the existing culture of your brand, and activate your fan base to spread your message.

We are a Web 3 Marketing firm that takes you from concept to contagious word of mouth, using Web 3 empowerment strategy. This strategy revolves around the idea of targeting your audience based on semantic (conversational) data and how it relates to the consumer.

Ford = Social Media Win!

Posted by Kevin Spidel on May 18th, 2009 | Comments

By Kevin Spidel

A few months ago I was contacted by Ford to create a video of why I should be given one of their new cars to drive  for 6 months. At first, I was thinking this was another big company trying to capitalize on social media leaders’ networks. I wrongly opted to skip making the video.

That was dumb.

A few weeks went by and I started noticing all my friends in social media (professional and hobbyists) begin posting their videos for Ford. These are people I trust. I was surprised that they were falling for such a scam. It was me that was being naive.

Nearly all of the top 100 people that Ford awarded cars to I know through the web and my work. I missed out.

Being upset at myself for missing out on the fun (and the free car) I started following this social media campaign closer. Today there was another write up: http://mashable.com/2009/05/18/ford-social-media

This article showcases the best data to date on a successful social media campaign by a large company.
Here is a winning video submission from one of my colleagues / friends.

This video captures true authentic word of mouth marketing, not paid shrills.  Participants are enthusiastic about an opportunity to drive a new car and are rewarded for marketing Ford online.

This is a solid example of how and why Ford is winning on the social media game.