What if your competitor blogs about you?
April 24, 2008 | 1 Comment
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Great story in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Turns out that Anheuser-Busch was planning to release a new beer, Budweiser American Ale. Of course, they wanted to make a big announcement about their new product.
Problem is, Brew Blog, which is owned and run by rival Miller Brewing Company learned of the story first, and ran with it. The St. Louis Post Dispatch then ran with the story, as did industry trades.
I bet that someone at Anheuser-Busch was waiting to get approval for the press release from the legal department when they got scooped. 
Remember when PR teams thought CNN changed everything? Now we’ve got not just blogs, but competitor blogs, controlling the message. Hmm….
Honey Bunches of Oats and Pandora: A “Soundful of Joy”
April 23, 2008 | 2 Comments
Today I was listening to Pandora, once again rocking out to some John Mayer radio, and I noticed one brand trying to get close to “social media”, through somewhat a unique form of traditional advertising mixed with social media. .
The picture of the banner ad to the right screams traditional advertising. I think that I count 16 Honey Bunches of Oats logos in this picture: from the construction hats, to the T-shirts, and even to the box itself.
Now the social part of it (although somewhat hidden in the branding) was a Honey Bunches of Oats radio station, called “A Soundful of Joy”. What I found by adding it to my radio station was that this station would play:
- Sarah McLachlan
- KC and the Sunshine Band
- Train
- The Jimmy Castor Bunch
(and several other bands that were before my time..)
In short, I think this is a unique way to get a big brand into social media. Why? Because it shows that one of the best social media strategies is to provide value back to the customer. Even though I still am on my John Mayer station, the “Soundful of Joy” station is right there when I feel like something completely random.
Think Before You Ning
April 21, 2008 | 11 Comments
I just finished the rather fawning Fast Company cover story on Ning, and I must agree their business model is impressive to say the least. In fact, I envy it.
If you’re not familiar with Ning, it’s an easy way to set up your own social network, and more than 230,000 of them exist right now. It’s very easy. And therein lies the problem–not for Ning, but for anyone trying to gain traction for their particular network.
Here’s the specific problem:
Nobody wants to join a social network–and they never have.
If that’s true, you say, then why have they been so wildly successful? More on that later, but it’s similar to this age-old marketing truism: “Nobody ever wanted to buy an 1/8th-inch drill bit. All they wanted to do was drill an 1/8th-inch hole.”
One Facebook, Lots of Niche Sites
Facebook serves its purpose by being the mass site, the one that everyone joins, but it’s really not good for other things. Niche social networks, on the other hand, are smaller, but can be more powerful, more active and more fun. (CafeMom, FitSugar and many more have much better conversations than most Facebook groups I’ve ever seen.) But 230,000 of them? What’s the differentiator?
Recently, I was invited by Chris Patterson to join InSocialMedia.com. I did, of course–it is, after all, what I do for a living. But other than that, I’m not sure why I joined or what I’ll get out of it. The site is built on Ning. When I was asked my “relationship status” when I joined the group, it got me to wonder how that was relevant to working in social media.
Form Must Follow Function
If nobody ever wanted to join a social network, why have they proliferated? Simple. What people have wanted to do is this:
- Communicate with their circle of friends easily (and they got Facebook)
- Use their business networks for professional gain (and they got LinkedIn)
- Keep up with their ever changing address book (and they got Plaxo)
- Share tips with other moms (and they got CafeMom)
- and the list goes on…
Yes, these ARE social networks, but that’s because that was the best answer for the function that was desired. Social networking is just a tool, and out-of-the-box solutions must be tailored to match the purpose that they are meant to serve.
Now let’s go back to InSocialMedia.com (and I’m not picking on it, it’s just a perfect example of my point). Here are the questions I have for Chris and the rest of the group on there:
- What is the basic point of InSocialMedia.com?
- How is my relationship status relevant to that point? (I’m married. It’s no secret, and I’m not offended by the question, but it’s an example that the site hasn’t been tailored for its purpose.)
- Are we meant to be sharing the best articles and insights on the profession of social media (and if, so, don’t we have that in Social Media Today and Sphinn)?
- How are the tools you’ve chosen for your social network (and how you’ve arranged those tools) aligned with the goals of the site? Why would people “in social media” be looking for a place to upload pictures and videos, for example? We have dozens.
These are the types of questions social networks going forward must ask. Do people want to join a community around this topic and, if so, what is the minimal amount of effort they should be required to take to begin to benefit from it and what will they get back?
If you want to bang out a quick social network with all the basics, by all means use Ning. But if you’re trying to build a social network that will rise above the other 230,000+ floating around there today, it’s no longer likely to be based on your topic. You’re going to have to do a bit more work, and success is more likely to be based on how you execute.
For that, I’d look at a more robust application, something like KickApps. Because the social networks that will thrive will be those that think it out before they launch. If you really customize your site with KickApps, and choose only those elements that support the goals of the site, then maybe you’ve got a chance to beat the social network fatigue that is starting to set in.
This Week’s Social Media Posts That Are Igniting- 4.18
April 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
Here are some of our favorite posts coming out of the social media world this week. Enjoy!
Don’t Think Traffic - Think Demographics
This post by SocialMediaTrader.com gives a very in-depth look at one of the first things we evaluate at Ignite- your audience. It is a waste of time and money to engage in a social media campaign without knowing who you’re campaigning to and whether they care. (It also speaks to Jim’s last post about Firefox users vs. Explorer users. Firefoxers are typically more tech-savvy.)
Is Social Media Marketing Really Important?
My BestRatedWebhosting.com gives some great insight into some social media terms and why it is imperative that people don’t ignore social media marketing.
Barack Obama is Rocking the Youth Vote
Liana Evans gives an AWESOME critique of the Democratic candidates’ attempts at Social Media and how it is influencing the youth vote. We keep hearing that Obama has captured the younger generation’s votes when compared with Clinton. Evans explains just how that may be happening through social media.
U.S. Lags in Social Media Creation, per Survey
Brian Morrissey reports for Adweek about a new study that says Americans love social media, but don’t necessarily participate as much as people do in Asian and South America.
Are We Just Jumping On The Social Media Bandwagon?
Colin Walker discounts those who think social media will not become a daily part of everyone’s lives. The only thing I might add to Colin’s post is that I think social media will continue to be a term all its own instead of eventually being lumped with print, tv, etc.
The Danger of Assuming We’re Normal
April 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment
We’re social media geeks. All of us who work at Ignite Social Media. Most of you who read this blog are, too. That means we’re not normal. I tell my clients all the time that nobody in the room is normal. They think about their product more than any normal person would, and I think about social media marketing more than any normal person would.
A post I read today brought that home in a compelling way. The writer noted that 60% of his visitors used Firefox, while only 23% used Internet Explorer. So I checked the stats for Ignite Social Media and found that 63% of our recent visitors used Firefox, about the same level it’s been for a long time.
Based on that, it’s easy to believe that Firefox is the #1 browser in the world. Not even close. In fact, Internet Explorer’s market share in March 2008 is reportedly 60%, while Firefox is 19.95%. Granted, IE share is down from 68.63% just one year ago. Here’s Microsoft’s market share (see the full report at e-janco.com here):
I checked the stats on one of my client’s sites. They target a very “corporate” type user. 80% of the visitors to that site use Internet Explorer.
So as we Twitter, check out different browsers like Flock, add extensions to Firefox to make it “ours”, and blog on the couch late at night, we need to remember that we’re not normal. That’s ok, until you choose a social media marketing strategy that’s based on people acting like us.
As you craft your social media marketing strategy, remember, you’re not normal.
J&J’s Camp Baby: A Social Media Mistake or Social Media Opportunity?
April 14, 2008 | 4 Comments
Today I ran across a Brandweek article that covered Johnson and Johnson’s latest social media attempt to reach and engage mom bloggers: a three day conference entitled “Camp Baby”. Now, I had been following this for quite some time, read interesting articles from Scoble and his wife, Maryam (who actually attended the event) - but hadn’t consolidated real value from the banter until now.
In case you are unfamiliar with this event, here’s the short end: J&J cre
ated a conference for 56 mom-bloggers, paid for them to attend, and had sessions ranging in topics from wine tasting to infant eye exams.
While this sounds like a great concept, Scoble quickly noted the following problems:
“1. You can’t bring your baby. Dumb.
2. They scheduled it at the same time as BlogHer. Double dumb.
3. They disinvited a couple of bloggers, one who had a baby, and another who was speaking at BlogHer. Triple dumb.”
While these all seem like costly mistakes at the detriment of J&J, I think these revealed a valuable lesson in social media, especially to a large brand like J&J.
What lesson does it present? The value of conversation, and the inability to define when it starts and when it ends. Put aside traditional marketing, PR, and even event planning practices. Put aside the notion that we ever understand our audiences completely. Instead, it reminds us (and big brands like J&J) that successful social media marketing engages and gains valuable input from its audience on an ongoing basis.
How could J&J have avoided these mistakes? By really connecting with these mom bloggers regularly instead of connecting at the conference, or in a few disconnected email invites. Or by allowing the community to help contribute and plan the details of the conference to increase the member buy-in (and therefore decreasing the amount of angry mom bloggers!).
At this point, I’m wondering what J&J is doing after the conference is finished. Will it remain a mistake, or will the company see it as an opportunity for beginning and continuing a relationship with these bloggers? I hope for the latter…
In-Depth Intro to Social Media Marketing: May 8th
April 10, 2008 | 8 Comments
Need to get up to speed on social media marketing? I’m leading a full-day workshop for the Triangle (NC) Chapter of the American Marketing Association next month and, since you found out about it through social media, I can hook you up with a $15 discount. But hurry, the early bird discount ends Monday.
The event is on Thursday, May 8th, at the RTP Hilton here in the Research Triangle Park (that’s right between Raleigh and Durham, NC for you folks from out of town) and it runs from 8:30 to 4:30.
I’m excited that my co-presenter is Julia Storberg-Walker, Ph.D., who teaches at NC State and focuses on social networks and communities of practice in her work. She’ll cover how and why social networks work, and the difference between communities of practice and social networks.
I’ll cover the 11 types of social media, as well as the 5 most common mistakes that people entering social media make and then we’ll do in-depth on how to use the tools that are out there, as well as practical examples of companies putting social media to work for them (successfully and unsuccessfully). We’ll leave some time to brainstorm some of the group’s challenges and how to address them, and give you the first few steps you should take to get started.
Book by April 14 and the rate is $149 if you’re an AMA member or $229 if you’re not. After the 14th, the rate goes up $50.
If you put in the double secret code “socmed” into the registration form, they’ll knock $15 off the cost of the registration and we’ll see how spreading the word works.
Hope to see you there. Seating is pretty tight (it’s already more than 40% full) and the promotion is just starting. If you’re interested, save $65 bucks and book today.
Social Networking for Your Chromosones!
April 10, 2008 | 1 Comment
Sure, you can join Facebook, you can put up a MySpace page, you can follow your friends on Twitter. You can pick your friends based on mutual interests or, gasp, actual friendship. I just joined a new social network today called “InSocialMedia.”
But you know what’s been missing (until now), don’t you? I mean, you feel it deep down. Really deep down. Like, in your DNA.
What if I could join a social network based on aligning myself with folks that have similar DNA? Now that would be something. Imagine the wall posts: “Hey, you’ve got the same congenital disorder of glycosylation type Id (CDG-Id)! Do you think that’s caused by homozygous mutation in the ALG3 gene, you know, a de novo mutation in combination with a segmental maternal uniparental isodisomy? Mine sure is!”
Yes, that giggly opportunity is now a reality if you join 23andMe. MIT Technology Review covers the social networking for the genome opportunity. All you have to do is fork over $999 for the genetic test and, poof, they throw in the social networking tools free! (Wait, social networking tools are usually free anyway… But I digress.)
While I make fun of it (because, well, it’s mostly dumb), I do see one potentially serious and very helpful application of this. People with genetic markers for certain serious diseases could find each other and share relevant science. That could be helpful. But I imagine that would take a lot of $999 investments to get to scale where that would really help. And that would mostly benefit 23andMe.
Tip of the hat to Bolaji Oyejide for pointing it out to me.
Is Google AppEngine Worth Checking Out?
April 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In short, yes it is. It isn’t for everyone, though. AppEngine is in the same space as that of Amazon’s EC2 service. Both offer virtual hosting services that can seamlessly scale up to meet demand. Unlike EC2, Google’s service is free and includes 500MBs of storage and ample bandwidth to boot (sounds good to me). AppEngine is a developer’s environment, which means you’ll need to have a working knowledge of programming languages. For the time being, this means knowing Python. From GOOG:
Google App Engine lets you run your web applications on Google’s infrastructure. App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs grow. With App Engine, there are no servers to maintain: You just upload your application, and it’s ready to serve your users.
They keep saying “easy” a lot, don’t they? Personally, this is great news. I am very happy to see Python (and Django, by extension) get the exposure it so greatly deserves. Anyone interested in getting their hands dirty using Python should definitely jump on Google’s free offer.
Take a look at what’s been built so far…
Should Social Media Marketing Campaigns Even Be Measured?
April 7, 2008 | 3 Comments
I read a post from Jake over at 10e20 blog recently with a promising title, “Social Media Marketing is NOT a Direct Response Channel.” I could not agree more. Jake’s point that you should not expect social media to compete with your direct response channels, like pay per click, is 100% valid.
Social media is not a switch that you turn on and off like a light. Engaging in a social media campaign is a commitment to a new form of communicating with your customers. And that can pay huge dividends.
But here’s where I disagree. In the post, Jake writes, “Events in Social spheres are sometimes tough to track and tie-back, but more importantly, Social is not about individual sales nor is it about the individual.” He also says that, while it’s possible to track certain things, doing so can be more expensive and time consuming then the campaign itself.
Some truth to that, but at Ignite we recognize that the budgets that fund our client’s
social media marketing campaigns could be used for any number of other tactics. And, while this business is in its infancy, pretty soon we’re going to be expected to justify the existence of our budgets.
Social media marketing is powerful stuff. I’ve seen it repeatedly. And tracking the footprints of something you don’t control is hard to do. That’s why we’re building new systems to do just that. I hope everyone in the social media marketing field is doing the same thing.
It won’t be long before the early adopters turn to us and say, “Why should we fund you next year?”
We’re working hard to make sure we have our answers. You should too…