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DMI Blogs | social media
social media
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
This was the question posed by Deanna Lee of The New York Public Library (NYPL) at Blogtalk 2010 last week. The NYPL has recently been acclaimed for its effective use of social media. As the Vice-President for Communications and Marketing Deanna Lee came to Blogtalk 2010 to show how a traditional institution such as a public library utilised social media to spread awareness as well as run campaigns.
Deanna Lee knew they would have to go beyond a Facebook page to get the library’s message across. So they embarked on an online communications strategy than spanned across numerous platforms. The library wrote not only their own blog but also wrote posts for the well known blog the Huffington Post. They wrote about hard news but also maximised the appeal of soft news through their blog and micro-blogs on Twitter.
Deanna’s strategy went further than just blogging, everyone knows the appeal of viral video the problem is coming up with the concept that makes the video popular enough to go viral. While many institutions can afford to pay for celebrity endorsed videos these often don’t provide enough ‘bang for your buck’. Instead the NYPL invited the well know improve group Improv Everywhere to come and perform in their library. I am sure you have seen the video which has received almost three million hits on YouTube, and shows the ghostbusters chasing down ghosts in the NYPL. The video was fun and interesting and took the library out of the ‘normal’ perception that people have about libraries.
The real value of social media kicked in for the New York Public library when budget cuts of $37 million of funding were looming. The New York Public Library pushed their social media up a gear with the ‘Don’t Close the Book’ campaign. A supporters micro-site was set up where people were able to send a letter protesting at the budgets cuts on behalf of their local branch. The map on the site signified all of the branches by dots which grew as the number of letters grew also.
The library needed more traffic to the site so another viral video was concocted. This time it was the turn of Tillman the skateboarding dog. Tillman also happened to be looking for a long corridor to attempt to break the world record for fastest skateboarding dog so it was a win-win for all involved. People of course went wild for the video and the campaign got some great exposure. The campaign over all was a huge success, with over 130,000 letters sent and $144,000 worth of funding was raised. In the end an incredible $27 of $37 million of proposed cuts was recouped.
So what did the library get right? Well it all comes down to Deanna’s first question, are you being interesting? Is the content you are creating worthwhile? Content must be meaningful to people on some level for it to be successful online. Another element of the NYPL’s campaign was that it was a people’s campaign, libraries are a public service and people did not want to see their local branch close. Individuals became personally involved because the message meant something to them. They uploaded videos, there was an independent Facebook page set up and many schools created artwork to show their support.
All of this boils down to ‘engagement’, one of the founding principles for social media and the reason many companies don’t get it right. It does not matter what tools you use to connect with people but without engagement your campaign will never get off the ground.
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Posted in Radical, social media | No Comments »
Friday, August 27th, 2010
I recently audited a new client’s digital marketing strategy and implementation.
They were frustrated with the results of their efforts so far and wanted some advice and guidance on how to get better return for their investment. Their budget was significant but the return was negligible. Having reviewed their digital activities, I was struck by a common theme in each of the channels they were using. All of their activities had one goal, drive traffic to their site. In trying to explain to them what was wrong with their digital marketing I told them about an Aunt of mine.
I have an aunt who insists that all parties in a house should happen in the kitchen.
She emigrated from Ireland 40 years ago and when she returned last Christmas she stayed with my family for our new year celebrations. She has fond memories of growing up in Ireland and all of her memories are of being with her family in the kitchen. She insists that any gathering or event in a house should take place in the kitchen. Invariably after a few glasses of wine she carves off one of the guests in the sitting room and works them slowly towards the kitchen. Which is always empty and cold.
Much digital marketing is wasted when all it tries to do is move the party.
We try to move people from where they are online to our empty websites. We expend all of our budget, energy and efforts trying to move the party, trying to move the audience from one site to our site. instead of just join the party where ever it is happening.
The solution? Join the party.
Your target audience is active and engaged on the internet. Your challenge is to meet them there.
Meet them where? Meet them where ever they are.
Despite the fact that there are hundreds of TV channels available to us, we all tend to gravitate around 4 or 5. Similarly on line we tend to gravitate around 4 or 5 websites. Trying to move people from one of their haunts or introduce a new haunt is a very expensive and often wasteful activity. Better to find out where the party is happening and interact with your audience where they are rather than expending effort and expense in trying to move them somewhere else.
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Posted in Advertising, Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation, adwords campaign, digital marketing institute, facebook, social media, youtube | No Comments »
Friday, August 20th, 2010
Many ‘inspirational’ videos on the web compare the virtues of traditional advertising with social media marketing and plot the cost of traditional advertising as being ferociously expensive compared to its new fashionable digital cousin. I protest!
In the above video the newly appointed web wine guru Gary Vaynerchuk is quoted as having spent $15,000 on direct mail to get 200 new customers, $7,500 on billboard advertising to get 300 new customers and Twitter is credited with producing 1800 new customers for….FREE!
The back-story looks a little less simplistic. Mr Vaynerchuk is a very unique, charismatic and non-conventional wine critic. Gary has worked in the wine business for many years and decided to create a video blog back in early 2006. His style is very energetic making traditional wine critiques appear antiquated. His production quality has risen over the years and his personal investment in nourishing his following has been extensive.
Gary has many unique and un-repeatable advantages to his online marketing strategy:
- He got in early and had obtained extensive offline coverage in the Wall Street Journal, GQ magazine and on TV with Ellen and Conan O’Brian because of his first mover advantage.
- His technique was counter-intuitive to the market norm as the wine industry is typically conservative. His unconventional style, whether intentional or not, would be considered as disruptive in his market.
- He has spent more hours than most promoting his online reputation.
- He has remarkable charisma and passion in front of a camera.
So why is Gary shown in web videos as being the normal kind of social media success? He is clearly the exception. Why is Twitter credited for his success when it’s his highly entertaining content that drives his following? Gary lead a successful business before he went online. What is the cost per-hour needed for his massive input? Should we celebrate his unique timing, personality, passion, depth of knowledge, eccentricity, first mover advantage and disruptive techniques as being free?
Twitter is a great tool. It is wonderful at connecting you with like-minded individuals. However, it fails to deliver if your content is poor and you have nothing of interest to say. Creating content of interest to followers takes more than a Twitter account. It takes creativity, opinion and leadership. If your business is successful, it takes that very expensive commodity of your time to supply the story that spreads. If you’re time rich it takes creativity. Most frequently it takes a blended approach to marketing using traditional and digital channels. Don’t believe the hype!
Gary Vaynerchuk has spent thousands of dollars of his time creating his own brand and followers. His videos are entertaining and unique. It is this investment and creativity that has caused his success.
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Posted in Online Marketing, social media | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Use the funnel to determine the marketing tools & content needed for each part of the customer journey
Creating an online marketing strategy is as much to do with balance, as it is to do with tactics.
I created this funnel to help me check if I am addressing the entire customer journey when constructing an online marketing strategy. Whether you are after customers, votes or donations, the process is the same.
Driving traffic to a website isn’t the same as converting a prospect to a customer. Many marketers feel that if they had more traffic they would get more customers. My experience tells me that if you focus harder on converting prospects already on your site the outcome is much more profitable.
For many businesses, the sales process doesn’t take place online so the purpose of the web presence is to drive sales opportunities to the phone.
Some businesses, like hotels for example need a blend. A hotel may wish to promote and sell hotel rooms online without ever speaking to a customer, whereas for conferences and weddings the hotel would like to get customers to visit their premises as this is a consultative sales process.
Understanding the customer decision making process determines how you create a successful customer journey and eventually determine the tools needed and the emphasis you put on each channel.
There is evidence left at every stage of this funnel to allow for forensic analysis of the sales process. Perhaps it’s time to get CSI on your web strategy.
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Posted in Email Marketing, Online Marketing, Websites, deloitte, google maps, google. teracent, social media | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
When I plan events, it’s always more fun if it is planned for a good cause. There is something to be said for doing an event with the purpose to help another. With this intern event, Barnardos was our charity partner. Barnardos mission is to challenge and support families, communities, society and government to make Ireland the best place in the world to be a child.
To help this intern charity event come together we received sponsorship from The Church, Jameson and Shamrocker Tours. The Church allowed us to invade their club downstairs while providing us with sustenance and a free glass of wine or beer. Shamrocker donated a trip for three days around Ireland, a chance for an intern to see other parts of the country. Jameson graciously donated several bottles of their famous whiskey, along with a lunch for four, and an 18 year old bottle all for us to raffle off; along with providing our guest speakers a bottle of their gold whiskey.
Our speakers for the night were Orla Tighe and Neil Leyden.
Orla Tighe is the fundraising manager for Barnardos. She told a moving story about a little boy she had met that is in programs at Barnardos, she talked to the struggles that he has in his life and how Barnardos helped this boy and his family move towards a better life.
Neil Leyden is one of the project managers at Gateway Ireland. He spoke to what Gateway Ireland is striving to do. They are focusing on promoting Ireland to the world and harnessing the vast majority of people in the world with an Irish connection. He focused on people with an Irish connection around the world and how they can bring these people together for a common purpose through various social media outlets.
The event all in all was a success; we talked, mingled, danced, enjoyed ourselves, and most of all did it for a great cause. We learned about the cause and we learned about how vast the Irish culture is spread no matter where you are in the world.
We would like to give a big thank you to all of our sponsors and our speakers for coming out last night. It was a great time and we could not have done it without you.
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Posted in Conor Lynch, Main Category, social media | No Comments »
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
What implications does the new feature of Facebook Questions have for our online reputation of our business or our personal brand?
In the last 24 hours Facebook has been rolling out it’s ‘Questions’ functionality – you will see it on the left hand side of your Home Page or at the top of your Profile or Business Page.
the Answers and Questions feature of Linkedin have been a great way to build online visibility and be a source of lead generation for a number of years. This move by Facebook is another example of them looking to have people spend more time in their company and become a source for information and research about questions we have.
One of the most powerful features is that you can post a reply to a Question as the name of your ‘Facebook Page’ – unlike when you comment on a Facebook Profile or Facebook Page.
Here is a quick video review of the Facebook Questions feature which I published today over on my Biz Growth Media Facebook Page.
You can also ‘follow questions’ and edit the answers to the questions that you respond to.
However one potential disadvantage is that when people click on the links to the questions you ask using the ‘Questions’ feature it will take people away from your Facebook Page.
If you are monitoring your online reputation on Facebook it will be important for you to start to listen to the questions being asked and answered.
When you post an answer or a question it will be seen by the whole of the Facebook community irrespective of your Facebook Profile privacy settings – so be careful what and how you ask and answer questions.
More details about Facebook Questions are here on the Facebook blog.
Remember the novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams where the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything was 42 – perhaps Mark Zuckerberg is looking for that book to be re-written – and the answer now being Facebook.
What are your thoughts about Facebook Questions?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Access my FREE Facebook webinars about using Facebook Pages and Facebook Advertising
Access my guide to Facebook Pages best practice guide for colleges and universities
Perhaps Facebook not where your potential clients are networking online? If they are using LinkedIn you might want to access my FREE LinkedIn for business – make sure that you leave a valid email address so that you can access a discount off my forthcoming 4 week programme starting the 9 August 2010 called “LinkedIn for Business Leads and Profits”. The discount is valid until the 31 July 2010.
Share on Facebook
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Posted in Krishna De, facebook, social media | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Do women and men interact differently online is a question I often get asked. Well here is some research that will help us all when considering how best to connect to our community online.
comScore, Inc. has today released a global report how women interact with the web called, “Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet” – it’s an extensive analysis of how women are are interacting online across social networks, online video, mobile communications, online retail trends and a number of other key areas.
The report comments that social networking sites reach a higher percentage of women than men globally, with 75.8 percent of all women online visiting a social networking site in May 2010 versus 69.7 percent of men.
Here are a few conclusions I drew from the comScore report.
1. Don’t just look to connect and reach women on women’s magazines, celebrity gossip and baby sites – the report comments that “women are more engaged than men on the Internet -you just have to know where to look”. Think beyond the obvious suspects when looking for online communities where you can reach the female consumer.
2. If you want to connect with women you need to understand how they interact in social networks – the report states “social networking is central to women’s Internet experience”. Women of all ages connect on social networks sharing photo’s, playing games, and watching online video. Globally, women spent an average of 16.3 percent of their online time on social networks in April 2010, compared to only 11.7 percent for the men.
3. Women in the US control the cash – more women than men get engaged with online transactions and collectively spend more.What does this mean then when it comes to the tone and content of your online marketing?
4. Act global but understand local influences – we need to deep our understanding of regional and cultural differences impact in Internet behaviour. The report goes into some depth about differences they have found across the globe.
5. Stop making the excuse that Social Networking is only relevant if you are marketing to a youth audience - the 45+ female segment is driving the greatest proportion of growth for Social Networking sites, in terms of both visitation and time spent. Yes the 15-24 may use these sites more frequently and use them more however the 45+ age group visit and use Social Networking sites just as much as the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups.In fact older women are using Social Networks significantly more than men do. In North America, with 9 out of 10 female Internet users visiting a social network site in April 2010.
6. Men and Women use Twitter differently – the report comments that in an April 2010 comScore survey, men were found to be more likely to post their own Tweets than women; women on the other hand used Twitter more to find deals and promotions, as a place for conversing online and to follow celebrities.How does that change your content strategy for Twitter?
What other research and insights have you found about how female consumers use the web and how is it influencing your online marketing, PR and communications? What other insights did you glean from the comScore report?
Share on Facebook
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Posted in Krishna De, social media | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Here are three new resources from Facebook that I think you will find of interest:
1. A new Page about Facebook Safety to provide you with updates and information to keep you and your family safe while using Facebook or surfing on the Internet. This compliments the Facebook Security Page.
2. A Facebook Page for PR professionals where the Facebook team share what they have learned about creating social content, promoting events, optimising Pages, and integrating with tools off of Facebook – it looks as though this will be a great resource for PR an marketing people alike. Check out the hour long video recording of a live event held last week at Facebook HQ in the US with information about using Facebook advertising and live streaming
3. A Facebook Page for the Media where they are providing guidance and tips for media outlets in terms of best practices and tools to drive referral traffic and increase engagement on your site. They are recommending all journalists should have a Facebook Page, and provide tips about running events, adding Facebook social plugins and how to use Facebook search to monitor conversations.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Access my FREE Facebook webinars about using Facebook Pages and Facebook Advertising
Access my guide to Facebook Pages best practice guide for colleges and universities
Perhaps Facebook not where your potential clients are networking online? If they are using LinkedIn you might want to access my FREE LinkedIn for business – make sure that you leave a valid email address so that you can access a discount off my forthcoming 4 week programme starting the 9 August 2010 called “LinkedIn for Business Leads and Profits”. The discount is valid until the 31 July 2010.
Share on Facebook
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Posted in Krishna De, facebook, google maps, social media | No Comments »
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