Communicating Integrated Digital Media

Selling Stuff Online

Recently a client came to us and asked how she could sell yoga DVDs online. We reviewed the category and looked at the competition and told our client that we could help her create a network in order to talk to people online about her style of yoga and the DVDs she produced.

The client wasn’t too thrilled initially, in fact, she downright hated the idea, but we held our ground. The thing of it is there is millions of yoga DVDs and differentiating one yoga DVD from the next is a hard nut to crack. I’ve tried a few yoga DVDs in my time, and I usually try the ones with the highest ratings on Amazon or whatever is being endorsed by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow or Madonna. Years ago I bought the NYC Ballet Company fitness DVD because Sarah Jessica Parker swore by it.

Lame as it might be, word of mouth is how most consumers make their buying decisions. Even if the recommendation comes from a total stranger it’s better than nothing. At least a rating and review provides some form of context. I also like being able to try before I buy. Video samples and video podcasts are a brilliant way to give potential customers a digital taste.

Anyway, during this time I was browsing through Mashable, and noticed a banner for a CMS platform called SocialGo. On the SocialGo website I found a case study for a site called Earthlings.

When the owners of Earthlings started their SocialGO network, they weren’t yet ready to sell their baby clothing products. Even so, they persevered and built a healthy, online community so that when they were ready to sell, they had constant access to a specifically targeted consumer base. “We thought, why not start a community? We can have the ball rolling even before we get our products online,” says Hannah Shone, Co-Owner of Earthlings.

There are a lot of online communities out there, and I think it’s a mistake for any company to think their online community is going to rival Facebook or Twitter – I can guarantee you that a corporate or brand community will never, ever surpass a community based on real-life connections.

Anyway, the goal is to integrate into existing communities and start a dialogue about something you’re passionate about. For my client, it was yoga and living a healthy, balanced lifestyle. This is the perfect kind of conversational fodder, and I imagined she’d take to it like a yogi to a mat. But I was wrong. My client followed my directions and created her own network on SocialGo, and created profiles on Facebook and Twitter. We had custom backgrounds made and showed her how to communicate with people. As a few months passed she arrived at my house looking glum and defeated. When I asked her what was going on she told me that she felt disappointed that no one had bought a DVD and no one on her SocialGo network was interacting.

I was shocked. It never occurred to me that I needed to explain that setting everything up was only the first step. The web is not a field of dreams – there is no “build it and they will come” mantra happening in the background.

First you need to interrupt someone, get their attention by offering them something they’re interested in or looking for, and then provide them that ‘thing’. Once you’ve got the ability to communicate with them and they feel satisfied that you delivered what they were looking for you can then start communicating with them about the next thing they want. Then you deliver that next thing, and so on. This goes on for awhile, and then one day you tell them about something new you’ve got before they even have to ask- why do you do this? Because you’ve developed a relationship, and you aren’t offering them something random- but something relevant and right up their alley.

I'll be blogging about this client adventure more over the next few weeks. Please add a comment or send an email if you have any questions or want to share your own experience with selling products online.

A Giggle of Amusement

Reading through Wired's cutting story of Facebook's business direction to create a public community out of it's private community is a funny little twist.

Beside the scathing critic of Facebook's choice to sell information to third party businesses is a Wired Fan Page - 91, 712 fans and counting (I just added myself).

I personally believe that the inclusion of brands and advertising are a natural addition to Facebook. I really never thought it was THAT special and intimate. I kinda always felt it was the opposite of private- if I needed to be private I would not be using Facebook. Let's get real here, most people have about 200+ friends on Facebook- raise of hands how many actually communicate with the majority of their 'friends' on a regular basis.

As much as everyone wants to be too cool for advertising, the reality is that we are living in a consumer culture. Buying stuff is what we do. Last time I looked everyone wasn't turning their own crops or making thier own clothes (aside from the community selling their gear on Etsy). Wired wants to sell magazines -just like every other business wants to make a deal with an interested buyer. Businesses use Facebook is engage with people and find out more about them. I'd rather Facebook sell data then carry on with the Company Fan Page mania- truly, Fan Pages are rarely fun or interesting.

If Facebook is able to figure out a way for brands and advertising to become personalised and relevant to me - I say bring it on. Right now the best they're able to pull off is celebrity weight loss and underwear ads.

What evil will come from a local merchant letting me know that the boots I crave are in my price range and down the street from my pilates class?

I might be a loner on this one, but I really don't think my random, lame, witty funny, stupid remarks on Facebook is going to lead anyone anywhere close to harming me. I don't think my 'cultural norms' are disrupted at all by the new privacy position. I just don't think I'm special enough to be watched all that closely.

If anything, I don't think Facebook is going far enough. I'd like to be able to be paid for my interactions with businesses. I'd like to be rewarded more often and given discounts at local stores. Instead of every shop having its own rewards program- I'd like to have one massive rewards program that allows me to manage all of the brands and brands I choose to engage with.

in reference to: Facebook’s Gone Rogue; It’s Time for an Open Alternative | Epicenter | Wired.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Social Media For Communicators

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Social Media For Communicators

View more presentations from Red Shoes PR, Inc..

Steps for Implementing an Online Marketing Strategy

I’m very organized most of the time- not always, but my partner calls me the ‘keeper of all things’. I like knowing where all my stuff is and how to get at the small things at the back of the cupboard.

At work, I’m positive that I annoy most of my co-workers with my need to know everything. It’s not that I want to control everything or everyone- it’s just that I feel lost not knowing the bigger picture and it’s through the organization of the smaller things that I’m able to stay focused.

At home, if I want to try a new recipe from my favourite cookbook I don’t want to spend 20 minutes hunting for all the ingredients. I have a designated place for everything. All of my baking tools are in one drawer with all of the ingredients I use to bake.

Professionally, I apply the same principles to organizing strategies for my clients.

Here’s my list of actions and steps to keep a new project on-time and orderly. I strongly encourage you to leave a comment if you think I’ve missed anything or failed to explain something. I also encourage you to share this with anyone who might find it helpful.

Interview the client to obtain:

What are the business objectives?
What is the USP (unique selling proposition)?
What is the marketing budget (on-going and current)?

Research category to define:

Who are the direct competitors (online and offline)?
Are there any gaps in the market?
Are there any potential partners? (Cross promotions, affiliates, add-on services)
What is the best brand positioning strategy?
What are the top 40 search terms?
What available digital technology compliments the product/service?

Outline a project strategy to define:

Best method to achieve business goals.
Online brand positioning tactics.
Cost of acquisition via online promotion(s). (On-going, seasonal, special offers)

Content inventory assessment to define:

Is there enough call to action messages?
Are the calls to action messages strong enough and clear?
Are Images rotated and updated on a regular basis?
Is there a unique message for returning site visitors?
Can the sitemap be improved to increase traffic (SEO)?
Do people know what to do on the site? (Are the conversion paths smoothly transitioning the user through the flow?)

Work allocation to ensure:

Developer(s) understand what needs to be built and /or improved.
Designer is clear about the direction of the brand positioning.
Promotions are scheduled and prepared well in advance.
Copy is given a “fresh coat of paint” by a professional copy-writer.

On-going Analysis to obtain:

Report on performance translated into action (are people doing what we expected, is the number of conversions increasing?)
Explain the trends (annotate data with the wisdom that explains the results).

Another great idea when developing an online marketing strategy is to look at previous examples, 6 Lessons We Can Learn From Barack Obama’s Online Marketing Strategy.

Teach Me How to Tweet

First of all, you don't need to be 'taught' how to tweet - be like Nike, 'just do it'. The notion that you need to acquire new skills to use Twitter or social media is buying into a manufactured sales pitch. Someone is trying to sell you their services or their products - if you want to buy into it that's ok, but know what you're buying into. Formulating an online marketing campaign or interactive promotion requires thinking and skill - just like any other type of campaign, but you're personal involvement in Twitter is not to make a pitch.

There are approximately 16,926,015 Internet users as of Feb. '09, which is roughly 79.6% of the Australian population, according to ITU. As marketers, it's our job to reach them with messages; however, Twitter is not the place to broadcast sales of products and talk about how great a company is - Twitter is a place to exchange contextual information; meaning, information that is specific to what people are asking questions about or talking about already. My involvement with Twitter is not to talk up the company I work for or the clients I represent - it's to engage with people who share the same interests as me. It's personal and entirely about my indidivual opinion. The best use of Twitter is Zappos, a company that empowers their entire workforce to engage in real time.

I spend a lot of time thinking about social media, reading about social media, talking about social media and writing about social media. It’s very hard to not get lost in the semantics, misinformation and negative assumptions surrounding the topic of web 2.0. It isn't hard to get started - there are people out there who want to scare you for their own benefit. Fear is one of the most powerful selling pitches around - look at George Bush's presidency if you need an example of how it's possible to manipulate popular opinion through fear tactics.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the negative taste some have developed for the use of the term. I can remember several instances where a person scoffed or raised an eye brow or simply discarded the concept as ludicrous. I believe people have this reaction because they are confused. 'Experts' tell them that they need to be careful, that involvement is dangerous, that once you say something you'll be held to it forever and no matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to live down your mistakes.

There are lots of reasons why people have adverse reactions to the concept of social media. I’ve blogged about it before, and will continue to blog about it again and again because it is the pervasive darkness that lingers in my daily existence. I cannot escape the constancy of negative barrage against change- regardless of the person’s age, gender, life position; everyone seems to carry large amounts of doubt with them. There is something incredibly threatening about social media for most people and it is because of these individual fears that my job can be incredibly challenging.

I don’t know what it is that makes some people open to the idea of sharing their knowledge, opinions, creative talents- or lack thereof; I’m not a Sociologist. I assume there is something within our survival instincts that tells us to communicate with our fellow human beings. It’s our learned behaviour that teaches us to fear each other and fear strangers. Insecurity keeps us safe in a mute state. We fear judgment. I’m sure there are tons of theories and philosophies about open communication, but it is a very new thing to be able to cross over so many physical barriers and reach out to people on the other side of the world.

To me, the role of Marketing within the context of social media is to listen and communicate. Build relationships and treat people as individuals. Perhaps what is most scary about social media is how incredibly simple it is and does not require degrees to master. Social media breaks down convention – and that is a huge reason as to why it appeals to me. I don’t take it anymore seriously then I take myself. If I make a mistake or I’m misunderstood then I learn from it and move on. And most importantly, maintaining the ability to laugh at oneself is important. Social media can become a reflection of the persona we project out into the world – and sometimes it’s very humbling to see yourself as others see you. It’s not about tricking people with smoke and mirrors- you don’t need to learn a heap of “Twitter rules” to engage. Do what feels natural and I guarantee that you will enviably connect with like-minded people.

In conclusion, next time you see a post, article, comment about the 'rules' of online engagement - don't waste your time with it. Would you buy a book to learn to swim? Not likely, you'd find someone who knows how to swim and practice with them. Don't buy into the wrongful thinking that you need to learn a ton of new terms or abbreviations - just jump in and splash around. It's fun and everyone is allowed to play in any pool they like. Whatever technology or platform works for you is perfectly ok - old fashioned email works just fine.

Source of cartoon: Outraged Comics

Clay Shirky Big Idea Social media enhances the emotional dimension of news

I'm a huge fan of Clay Shirky, I read his book Here Comes Everybody on a flight from Toronto to Austin, TX last year. I was on my way to SXSW where Clay was apart of a panel with Penguin- who was not a huge crowd pleaser (Penguin was a touch... out of touch? Out of their element? Having a Twilight Zone experience?). At the time, I was working for a large book retailer in Canada and could not believe the contrast of the Penguin panelists and Clay (who was uncharacteristically quiet).

Clay's involvement in SXSW was much more true to character this year. Check out Teressa Iezzi's post about Monkeys with Internet Access: Sharing, Human Nature, and Digital Data.

Clay has the extraordinary ability to explain the complexity of social media and new web technologies in simple terms. He speaks in realistic terms that rationalize what's happening without making it all seem like you need a manual or adopt new lingo to understand.

For those who aren't familar with SXSW, it is a massive conference in Texas that is broken up into three main categories: film, music and interactive. The panels, discussions, talks and seminars are some of the best around. I highly recommend it to anyone who is passionate about digital media (and the parties and live music is the best you'll find in the world).