When content and engagement aren’t enough: a case for having an idea
Nearly half of online consumers write comments to help others, not to engage with brands
This just in: 50 percent of all social media campaigns go unnoticed. They fall on deaf ears. Consumers don’t give a damn. And brands are wasting time and money. In large part because they don’t know how to listen to consumers or deliver content that matters to them.
At least that’s according to the recent TNS Digital Life 2012 Report. The study interviewed 72,000 people from 60 countries and discovered that consumers, particularly those in the US and UK, are pretty cynical. In those two countries 60 and 61 percent of consumers have no interest in engaging with brands via social media.
Are you surprised? I’m not. In fact, we probably don’t need a study from TNS to tell us this. Look how much mediocrity is out there under the guise of “brand journalism,” or “owned content.” Much of it might feel good to its creators, but it’s a yawn inducer for customers and prospects. The fact that anyone with a laptop and Internet access can be a content creator simply means we have “mountains of digital waste” cluttering a landscape populated by friendless Facebook accounts and blogs no one reads.
While some marketers are getting it right, most appear to be missing an opportunity. Consider that almost half of all consumers willingly comment about brands on review sites – not to complain or praise mind you, but to share experiences and help others. So they’re using social media to engage. And they’re talking about brands. They just don’t want to have those conversations with the brand itself.
Ironically, when it comes to making purchase decisions, consumers rely as much or more on a brand’s content than they do on peer recommendations. They just want it on their terms and in a relevant context.
Let’s recap. Consumers want brand information and use it to make decisions. They willingly take the time to engage online, albeit for the benefit of each other. And too many brands, at least according to this study, can’t find a way to engage.
Why? TNS suggests inefficient targeting.
My conclusion would be a lack of creativity — a shortage of truly interesting, entertaining and useful ideas. Daily posts on Facebook – polls, questions, promotional offers (though the latter tends to work) – might cut it with a select group of already engaged fans. But will they hold their attention long term? Or delight them on a regular basis. Or succeed in attracting new customers?
I’m a huge fan of earned attention. And owning content. And being in the publishing business. But the one downside of everyone and anyone — and that includes brands and companies — being a content creator is that just like cable television, the good stuff becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of all that’s out there.
We’ve all seen, and hopefully created, stuff that’s good. It might be an event that lasts a day. Or extends for a month. It could be a price promotion. Or a new product launch. A single app. Or an ongoing story. Even a Facebook page. When social content is great, when there’s actually an idea to capture our imaginations, when there’s an execution to delight us, we want to engage.
Social media may have changed everything. But not the need for new, interesting, useful, relevant, and well-designed ideas. Let’s make more of those.
How Sapient Nitro can turn a social media disaster into an opportunity
It’s easy to bash Sapient Nitro for its social media faux pas yesterday. After all, they basically wrote the playbook on what not to do in digital and social media. Nevertheless I’ll shed a bit of a positive light, go out on a limb (to the very edge in fact) and declare that this is an opportunity for Sapient Nitro to create a really good social media case study and learning guide.
Want to convince clients not to over-react? Who is in a better position to offer such advice than someone who made the mistake and lived to regret it. Want to forcefully counsel clients not to delete those nasty Facebook posts? Guess who now knows about that. Want to get paid by clients to develop a crisis management playbook that can be followed when problems erupt? The team that didn’t have one yesterday today understands how essential it can be. Especially for global brands with multiple content creators. (Note: read Atul Gawande’s The Checklist Manifesto and you realize exactly how important it is to have instructions worth following when the situation gets so stressful that it’s hard to think clearly.)
If you want to use this as a social media case study, check out this sequence of events on Storify. It includes links to video, articles and tweets, along with my two cents.
If I were Sapient Nitro I’d take comfort in a few things. One, this too shall pass. It might seem omnipresent yesterday and today, but a week from now no one will really remember. United Guitar, Nestle’s and even Dominos all endured days of misery when they screwed up. But search Dominos social media on Google today and you get a story about re-invention.
Two, this story played out primarily on Twitter, a few blogs and AdWeek. At least so far. It didn’t really make the mainstream press and most clients don’t pay as much attention to the same blogs as ad industry types do.
And three, admitting mistakes and laughing about them, presuming you don’t repeat them, is something everyone can relate to. (We’ve all done something stupid.)
True some clients may prefer their agencies to know enough not to make such mistakes. But with a little bit of “positioning” Sapient Nitro ought to be able to turn this into a useful case study that talks about the eight mistakes not to make in social media.
- Don’t post the wrong kind of content
- Remember the web isn’t local, it’s global
- Engage proactively at the right time
- Don’t try and control the community or delete their comments
- If you do, archive everything
- Have a crisis management plan in place and follow it
- Try not to get defensive
- Accept the blame, apologize, and move on
If you want the beginning of a case study, check out the Storify post.
Google+ Pages would be perfect for Car Talk
And vice versa. While brands and media properties will no doubt rush to try out Google+, in many cases for the wrong reasons – to push out content, to replicate Facebook posts, to do the same thing they’re already doing elsewhere – it strikes me that Google+ Pages could work better for certain kinds of brands and content creators than other social platforms. Like Car Talk.
Wouldn’t you love it if Tom and Ray had hangouts once or twice a week for open questions and clever repartee? Sure Car Talk hangouts might be hard to get into, and fans would get really frustrated if they got shut out, but the brothers could always produce brief videos of the best exchanges and share them on YouTube after the fact. Which by they way would help yield better search results and drive traffic back to their Google+ page.
They could share puzzlers on their Google + page each week, too. Fans and listeners could post answers right there. Instead of simply hearing the right answer on the next show, we could amuse ourselves with the wrong ones, too. Perhaps even engage in some argument and debate.
And while it may not be possible for Car Talk, as a Google+ Page owner to add individuals to its circles (at least until the page is circled by a fan first), once fans do add Car Talk to a circle, Ray and Tom could segment those users based on interests or needs, both automotive and psychological. They could have circles of “mechanics who want to get better,” “prospective new car buyers,” “people in bad marriages due to automotive disagreements,” etc. Click and Clack could offer up advice, information, links and content specific to the circles that could most benefit from them.
There are plenty of reasons for brands and media companies to get onto Google+ Pages.
To stake your claim before someone creates a fake version
Like this one for BofA. (They deserve it, though.) Looks like Google is already on top of establishing verified pages, but it’s always easier to avoid the hassle.
To increase search results
Certainly Google+ pages will come up higher in organic search than will Facebook pages. Plus Google can weigh inbound links to that page, so that if you get the right people to link to you your results are even better.
To take advantage of Direct Connect
As Google+ continues to get more popular searching for +Burberry or +Pepsi or +Google makes it really easy for people to find your page. Presuming that they want to because you’re doing great things there.
To avoid being late to the party
An awful lot of brands were late to Facebook and even later to Twitter. While it’s always possible to catch up, it’s hard to be perceived as an innovator if you don’t get there first and set an example.
To get familiar enough with the platform to actually be inventive with it
And I don’t simply mean putting some video in your profile pictures, though kudos to Burberry, it is aesthetically pleasing. Rather to figure out whether or not you can deliver better service here than elsewhere, take advantage of hangouts, or simply leverage your +1’s in a more meaningful way.
Here are some other posts that you might find helpful.
Why Google+ Will Have a Huge Impact Re: Brands
Brand Pages are Lacking, but You’ll Make One Anyway
Burberry and Angry Birds Launch Pages
Google+ Pages Won’t Save the Social Network
In the meantime, I’m hoping Click and Clack jump on Google+ pages sooner rather than later and set an example of how to use the platform.
10 ways to get your agency more mobile
With apologies to the Economist
There is no shortage of facts, figures, stats and predictions on the proliferation of mobile and the market penetration of smart phones. Apparently you can make a pretty good living issuing research reports about how many people now have smartphones and what they’re using them for. (Hint: That would be everyone and everything.)
You can also fill up the web, or try, simply re-posting and regurgitating those facts in one form or another. Take a look at some of the coverage of Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends report from a week or so ago. Hundreds, if not thousands, of press and bloggers embedded her deck or linked to her talk.
Most of the write-ups added little value for their readers; they simply cut and pasted what was in Mary’s deck. (If you want one of the better lists of Mary’s facts, check out blogger Dave Allen.)
The real question is what you’re supposed to do with all of this information, from Forrester, from Pew Research, from Mary Meeker. Sure you can put it all into a deck with your logo on the front and present it to clients. But I’m not sure that will get you very far. At least not in the long term.
It’s not about knowing that mobile is soon to be the dominant digital and social platform, it’s knowing what to do about it. I can’t claim to be an expert, but here’s what I’m thinking you should be doing.
Make mobile your new focus
You may have been late to the Internet revolution (hopefully you’re still around to take advantage of this one) and perhaps even slow to realize the potential of social. Don’t blow this one. It may be too late to be early, but it’s still early enough not to be late. What, you’re thinking mobile should be the domain of the media department? Or maybe the developers? Think again, everyone will need to be and do mobile before next year is out.
Get smart about behavior not technology
Since I’m not a developer I always start with the consumer rather than the technology. Think about social media. What was more important, the platforms or what consumers did with them? The same is likely to hold true for mobile. How and when will people search from their devices? Will they access a retailer’s site when they’re looking for directions, or when they’re in the store? How about a museum? Will a user want hours and exhibit dates before visiting the museum? Or is she interested in the backstory of an artwork when she’s standing in front of it? Understanding how and when someone uses their device leads to better mobile functionality.
Think utility over advertising
A few months ago, Jeremiah Owyang shared a mobile strategy deck. The mobile world changes pretty fast, but Jeremiah’s content remains relevant, demonstrating how to bring utility to every point on the purchase funnel, from pre-sale awareness generation to post sale loyalty building. He includes examples from North Face’s snow report to AAA’s roadside assistance, making this overview a good starting point to think about all the ways you can apply similar thinking to your clients.
Remember that mobile isn’t always about on the go
Heineken’s Star Player is one good reminder. It’s an accompaniment to a user’s TV set. The app makes a soccer fan a participant in a any televised soccer match. It does everything right: it understands the user and context, connects him to others in a community, and puts a branded experience in his hands for 90 straight minutes. It may make it harder to slurp down a beer, but presumably if you use the app for that much time you can do it with one hand. If you’re not familiar with it, check it out.
Don’t forget to think beyond apps
Would you rather pinch and zoom or simply scroll vertically.
Yes we’re all programmed as users to download and use them. But as mobile search begins to rival that of desktop – it has a ways to go but is growing fast – you’ll want to be in the business of developing mobile optimized sites. And if you start developing them using responsive design, you’ll deliver a branded experience to the all of the plethora devices that make standardized apps a never-ending challenge. Furthermore your online advertising will be more effective. Most Google ad buys (full disclosure, they’re a client) include mobile, but if you’re delivering ads that link a user to a non-optimized site you’re wasting money, or at least diminishing effectiveness.
Take a look at this search I conducted to make the point. On a smartphone I searched men’s shoes. (In real life I’d just go to Zappos, but for the purpose of this exercise I used Google search.) Two paid results came up. Whose site would you use?
Remember to sell stuff and make paying easy
Apps and gaming are easily embraced, but the real future of mobile is commerce. Pay Pal will do $3.5 billion in transactions from mobile devices before the year is out. And that’s a conservative estimate. Heavy mobile users actually prefer to shop from their mobile devices versus a laptop. So make sure your commerce site is not only optimized for mobile but offers a fast and easy way to search product categories, find what you want and enter payment information. Oh, and let us not forget mobile payment. We may have taken a long time getting there compared to some other countries, but it’s here. Learn how to leverage it.
Include mobile thinking on every assignment
There’s a tendency whenever a new technology comes along to place it in a silo. Digital. Social. Mobile. But they’re not isolated media or experiences. These days everything is connected to everything else. And I’m not talking about QR codes on print ads. Take a look, for example, at this print ad optimized for mobile. The Zappos team at Mullen knows that people discover fashion in magazines. But you can’t really shop off a magazine. Unless, of course it interacts with your smartphone. In this case we developed an ad that lets you drag items of clothes into your phone, dress a digital shopper and then connect to Zappos to actually purchase your desired items.
Learn from the startups
One thing that ad agencies and clients have a tendency to do is to copy each other. I prefer to steal from more innovative companies, in this case startups who are inventing the stuff. We can learn a lot from Instagram – fun, sharing, user participation, community and the network effect. We can learn from Spotify – a perfect application of the freemium model and an experience made better by social sharing. We can learn from SCVNGR – gaming dynamics to influence.
Make it social
One interesting fact in Mary Meeker’s presentation is how much social media is now mobile. More people tweet from their smartphone than from any other kind of device. She also reminds us that the mega-trend of the 21st century is the “empowerment of people connected via mobile devices.” Hate to break the news, but in most cases, people want to connect to other like-minded or trusted friends via mobile more than they want to connect to your brand. So give them all the opportunity possible by creating a site experience and/or apps that not only allow but encourage people to connect with one another.
Do it to get it
Everyone who got into social media as a user got better at creating in the space. Ask Iain Tait, the brains behind Old Spice on Twitter. Or talk to the Brammo team at Crispin. Same is likely to hold true with mobile. So don’t leave it up to someone else. Play in the space. Get excited about responsive design. Think about all the ways a mobile site can be useful. Try all the new services. Check-in. Pay with Google. The more you use it the more you’ll get it.
Thoughts? Other things your agency is doing? Or your clients?
Related post: It’s time for web marketers to cater to mobile users.
Sharing my S.I. Newhouse Talk
The First Amendment, printed in its entirety on the SI Newhouse 3 Building at Syracuse University
The good folks at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication were kind enough to invite me to speak there this week as part of their Global Leaders in Digital and Social Media Speaker Series.
The experience was awesome. I had the chance to visit and present in two classes – Dr. Bill Ward’s Social Media You Need to Know, and Professor Brian Sheehan’s Integrated Advertising Campaigns –and then deliver a keynote in the school’s wonderful Herg Auditorium.
S.I.Newhouse impressed on all fronts. The facility is spectacular, especially Newhouse 3, with its curved facade and the full text of the First Amendment (written in its entirety) incorporated into the exterior glass walls.
The building houses media rooms, production facilities and editing labs that feel almost as cool as an Apple store. There are well-lit open spaces that act as metaphors for transparency and freedom of information. But best of all, I found eager engaged students.
In my keynote, titled The End of Us and Them, I talked a bit about the somewhat conflicting trends in our business today. On one hand, TV spending in the US next year will grow 5.1 percent to well over 70 billion. On the other hand the critics tell us that, “In the future marketing will be like sex. Only the losers will pay for it.”
We have agency models that are still beholden to the golden era of media defined best by Walter Cronkite, Bill Bernbach and Ed Sullivan. Yet the new media forces are people like Zuckerberg and Chen, who’ve liberated us all and therefore relegated the old model – in which agencies and media companies were owners of content and controllers of distribution – to the diminished position it has today.
I shared an exchange I witnessed between Ted Koppel (SI Newhouse alum) and Arianna Huffington to remind students that it didn’t matter who was right –Ted wants to give people news that’s good for them; Arianna wants them to have the news they want – the reader, and consequently Arianna, have already won. (You can see the entire video of that conversation if you want.)
But I also suggested that all would be well. Advertising and its practitioners will prevail and prosper presuming we learn to create not only with words, pictures and stories, but also with technology, APIs and community.
There are a few other suggestions and examples as well. Much of it familiar to regular readers here. But if you want to take it, use it, repurpose it for yourself, here it is.
Thanks to the folks at S.I. Newhouse and especially to @DR4Ward for the warm hospitality and dinner at America’s best rib joint. I suggest the pork ribs and pulled pork combination.
Oh, and if you ever get invited to speak there, do not pass it up. Talking to you Mr. Armano. You’ll get more Twitter love from the students than you’ll ever get anywhere else.
