Does the”Blog Council” Understand Blogging?
December 11, 2007 | 3 Comments
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Yesterday I discovered an excellent (and rather humorous) post by B.L Ochman discussing the “Blog Council“. What is the Blog Council you may ask? The site describes it as the following:
“The Blog Council is where the people who run large companies’ blogs share best practices and new ideas.”
Upon reviewing the site - there is so much to say. Below are the three things that I just can’t help but notice. These things really make me wonder if this so called “Blog Council” really understands blogging:
1) The “Blog Council” ironically does not have a blog anywhere on it’s site. And if you want to give feedback? Well you better either write it on your own blog or send an email.
2) The Blog council is all about the “sharing” of information, but only with those involved in corporate blogs. Seems like these companies could also use the help of those who have specific expertise and solid understanding of social media, but perhaps I’m biased.
“By joining this movement, you share ideas, opportunities, and energy with a peer group that understands exactly what you are going through. You meet great people. You do big things. You make a difference.”
3) Finally, the council states that it does not, “represent vendors, agencies or individual/small business blogs. We also don’t represent big businesses that aren’t blogging yet.” So basically the council is after large corporations with large budgets. Sounds like a good business opportunity for somebody involved….
Any Blog Council members out there who would like to shed some light? I’d love to hear your point of view.
How to Write a Social Media Proposal
December 7, 2007 | 8 Comments
Since we launched here at Ignite, we’ve been inundated with prospects that are looking for a social media agency. As you can imagine, one of the most common requests
that we get from these prospects is always “Can you draft us a proposal?”.
And so a few weeks ago when Glen Allsopp over at ViperChill suggested that I cover some steps to writing a social media proposal, I thought this would be a great way to share some of our strategies that we have learned along the way - for both the social media marketer and potential prospects alike.
1. Don’t give it all away. Some “potential clients” will be looking for a proposal to be a comprehensive social media strategy with specific ideas and tactics outlined. Beware of giving too much proprietary information away - many of these prospects will have no intention of hiring an agency, but are seeking high level strategy or ideas to guide their efforts. Be modest - don’t give it all away on the first date.
2. Evaluate the Business. Before drafting the proposal - take a good hard look at the business and its current business model. Often times we have been approached by internet companies who are simply wanting to spam and sell links. Be sure to remember that even the best social media campaign cannot help a bad product or sleezy business model - use a level of discernment in choosing your clients. Ask the following questions:
- Is the product or service offering quality?
- How does the client make their money?
3. Ask Questions. Many potential clients have come to us and said, “We’d like a social media proposal for our company”. Before running to write, the following are some examples of the questions you need to ask:
- What is the benefit you wish to gain from social media marketing?
- What are the current external and internal communication needs within your business?
- What type of internal resources do you have available? (content creators, technologists, etc?)
Finally, if an opportunity arises to ask about the allocated budget, ask. There is literally no end to what can be done for a client in social media. The budget can help determine how many hours should be allocated for content development can have a huge determinant on the tactics and strategies that are suggested in your proposal.
Additionally, no budget and just wondering “how much this is all going to cost me” likely means they aren’t very serious about making an investment. It’s not that you can’t start with some things and ramp up, but not even being willing to react to a range of costs (or react to a specific list of services) may send red flags up for you.
4. Tailor. Yes, it is tempting to shoot a list of your services and call it a proposal, but social media is not one size fits all and your services will not be the right fit for every client. A good rule of thumb we’ve used in tailoring our proposals is to outline 3-5 services we provide that “make sense” for the client and the client’s needs. We don’t put everything and the kitchen sink - but show select services that take into account the social media readiness of the company, internal resources, and company objectives.
5. Client Goals. Ask the client what they expect from a social media investment and, importantly, how quickly they want it. Good social media marketing is patient. You give things away (information, games, whatever) and build a following with it. It’s not a banner ad campaign that starts on date certain and should be generate X clicks 2 days later. It could take 90 - 180 days to gain traction (depending, of course, on which tactics you’ve chosen and how they are otherwise supported). Does the client understand that?
Finally - this list is intended to be dynamic. If you are a social media marketer please offer your expertise, and if you are more of a potential client then we’d also be curious to hear your candid feedback.
How to Shut off Beacon in Facebook
December 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Now that Facebook has allowed you to opt-out of their “Beacon” system, here’s how you do it.
First, click the “Privacy” tab in the upper right hand corner on your page. You’ll see a page like this. Select “Edit Setting” under External Websites:
Next, just check the box that says “Don’t allow any websites to send stories to my profile” as you can see in the picture below.
Don’t get me wrong. We’re a social media agency. We support social media marketing. We support clever use of technology to help people connect with products they care about. But this wasn’t that. It was rushed to market, poorly thought out and a real privacy invasion.
Back to the drawing board Facebook.
Facebook Ads vs. MySpace Ads: The Latest Stats
December 5, 2007 | 3 Comments
comScore Ad Metrix is reporting today on the relative frequency of ads appearing on MySpace pages versus the relative frequency of ads appearing on Facebook. While MySpace had twice as many unique visitors (68.4 million) than Facebook in September, they served six times as many ads. That’s leading some to suggest that Facebook has lots of room to run more ads on their pages.
What that ignores, however, is the brand damage that could do to Facebook, which is already reeling from a backlash over their Beacon program, which they recently adjusted.
Remember, Facebook’s “brand” is clean and pure. MySpace’s brand is the wild, wild west, so the ads are just another part of the chaos–along with hideously ugly templates that some people choose.
Facebook continues to grow nicely (129% growth over September 06), particularly relative to MySpace (23% growth), but right now MySpace is winning the battle to monetize their traffic, and Facebook hasn’t yet found that answer. The multi-billion question is if they ever will.
Here’s the projected growth of advertising on social networks through 2011. (I love eMarketer, by the way… Great info from those guys…)
Funny Facebook Song
December 4, 2007 | Leave a Comment
A friend of mine showed me this video by Rhett and Link and I couldn’t help but to share it with you. For those of you unfamiliar with Facebook, it actually gives a little overview of how it works too…. My favorite part about the video? The recorder solo…
Target’s “Off Target” Social Media
December 3, 2007 | 8 Comments
With mine and Jim’s previous posts about Wal-Mart’s missteps in social media, I couldn’t resist the temptation to share a little about Target, who has recently been caught as it is learning its lesson on transparency and disclosure. 
To get a feel for what happened, you may want to read this article by Jackie Crosby over at the Star Tribune which gives a pretty good encapsulation of what happened. Basically, to put it in a nutshell, Target reached out to a group called “The Rounders” ( a group of students who receive discounts and products from Target to share with friends and to provide feedback) to promote its Facebook page.
This in and of itself is a valid effort - reaching out to advocates and promoting other social media efforts is always a smart move in my opinion (after all - that’s how Jim gets Facebook friends…). However, Target decided to tamper with the lines of transparency within social media and specifically encourage these Rounders not to disclose their affiliation with the program.
In fact, according to the Star Tribune article, the newsletter sent to this group stated the following:
“Your Mission: Try not to let on in the Facebook group that you are a Rounder,”
“We love your enthusiasm for the Rounders, and I know it can be hard not to want to sing it from the mountaintops [and in the shower, and on the bus]. However, we want to get other members of the Facebook group excited about Target, too! And we don’t want the Rounders program to steal the show from the real star here: Target and Target’s rockin’ Facebook group. So keep it like a secret!”
From this messaging, Rounder Rosie Siman (who I now want to hire by the way), posted her personal concerns of this request on Facebook - a concern regarding the ethics of asking paid/compensated advocates to specifically hide this information in a fan-related forum.
From there, after Siman’s posts were mysteriously archived/deleted, Target was forced to play a typical corporate crisis communication plan of action - including displacing blame to other affiliated parties and vendors, making vague corporate statements, and making it seem like they had no idea of how something like this happened. Target’s response was as follows:
“An e-mail from a company employee, identifying herself only as Laura, told Siman that her concerns “were completely founded” and that the newsletter urging Rounder members to stay anonymous “was not endorsed by Target.”
“Clearly it was a mistake from this vendor, and that’s why they did the follow-up,” said Target spokeswoman Amy VonWalter. Target’s intent, VonWalter said, was not to ask Rounder members to hide their affiliation, but to discourage them from dominating the Facebook site and making it feel like an exclusive, members-only club.
Now - I’m not sure either if Target wrote this newsletter or it’s vendor - or the exact details to how something like this happened- but it blows my mind how 1) a company like Target can claim that something clearly branded to their advocates is “not endorsed” by their company (in my world if you farm something out you are ultimately responsible for it) and 2) how whoever was responsible didn’t think that “it’s our little secret” sounds outright sketchy and unethical and 3) how large companies like Target and Wal-Mart haven’t hired a dedicated social media agency.
That’s all I’ve got to say. If anybody has answers to this please let me know!