Branding & Advertising

Insightful playtime with Twitter Visualizer

thedarkly — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:54:15 -0700

Insightful playtime with Twitter Visualizer:

Looking to see if your brand is accurately being portrayed on Twitter and want to have a little fun while doing so? Visual.ly’s new tool, the Twitter Visualizer, allows you to do just that with its custom infographics.

The customer service conundrum in social media

thedarkly — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:47:00 -0700

Just as there are varying levels of social media prowess at the brand level, varying levels of customer service strategies should be used in social media. We’ve all heard of those cases that have gone viral, such as United Breaks Guitars, and there are obvious ways to avoid this from happening. The first being that brands shouldn’t just wait until bad news makes a splash in social media, they should start with great customer service in all areas - and even if a customer doesn’t have an issue, being helpful, proactive and engaged helps shape their perceptions of the brand. But, when you do get a customer complaint on Yelp, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, what should your brand really do?

Truthfully, it really shouldn’t be much different than the strategy or plan used when a consumer complains via email, letter or phone. Each complaint should be assessed and addressed in a manner that’s appropriate to the situation. If your brand takes a one-size fits all approach, you take the risk of that spreading and opportunistic consumers taking advantage of that pattern. After all, the end goal should be to protect your brand and your bottom line.Below are three ways to approach this situation to do just that.

if they’re irate or really frustrated, get them on the phone.

So often the initial response is to handle it all within the confines of social media – it’s convenient for both parties, everyone else can see it’s being addressed. But, replying with messaging that encourages them to call someone in a leadership position (whether it be a VP, a manager or their rep’s boss) can actually reduce the damage done to the brand and it’s bottom line, as it can often reduce the amount a company needs to payout to rectify the situation. In a study of Taiwanese restaurants, the National Taiwan Normal University and Jin-wen University of Science and Technology found that complaining consumers had the highest level of costumer satisfaction after receiving managerial attention and they were the most likely to remain customers – outweighing apologies, coupons, replacement items and free food.

put yourself in their shoes.

Because social media often requires or inspires brevity, it’s often hard to assess how frustrated the customer really is. Those who are at the social forefront of a brand need to put themselves in the consumer’s shoes, objectively asking themselves, “How upset would I be if this happened to me?” and responding accordingly. Additionally, maintaining a friendly, concerned disposition is crucial when responding to negative feedback and complaints. Canned responses, such “Thanks for letting us know. We’ll look into it” aren’t going to resolve most complaints. As Erick Schonfeld puts it, “don’t offer to help if you can’t intervene on behalf of customers.”

Keeping a kind, sensitive and respectful demeanor when interacting with frustrated clients or customers, coupled with a fast and easy compensation or claims process, can help decrease the payout a consumer perceives as appropriate for the situation. Furthermore, in social media, it’s really hard to tell if you’ve fully corrected a service failure, as when someone says thanks, they might just be saying “Thanks for responding”. And silence from a user? That should never be taken as a resolution. Use social media the same way you would conduct customer service through email, letter or phone by ensuring that it’s resolved.

make it fair.

If you are addressing the complaint within social media, it’s important that you aren’t always offering the same compensation for each request, but that you are offering the same compensation for similar requests. Why? Aside from the obvious of it’s not fair that each person get the same thing for a variety of different types of service failures, it’s not fair if people with similar requests are treated differently for no apparent reason.

For example, if I’m a Naked Juice follower and I complain about not liking a flavor and notice Marlon got a coupon so he could try a new flavor, but myself, Jacob and others didn’t get one (even when Marlon has far less of an audience), I’m going to feel as if my complaint wasn’t taken seriously or handled fairly.

Last, but certainly not least, make the compensation fair to your own company. Just because someone’s dissatisfied with a poor choice that they made, doesn’t mean you need to give them the world – a simple replacement should do just fine. Sure, as pointed out in this blog post, it’s a wonderful surprise from the consumer’s perspective when they get a 6-month supply of Palmer’s skin care products, and it can have a very positive impact on their future purchases and recommendations, but is it really necessary? After all, it’s out there on the interwebs and others could come to expect - or even demand - the same treatment.

And a few words to the wise – just like in any form of brand interaction, it’s the combined experience of how it’s handled that really matters. Stick to an overall genuine and thoughtful customer service strategy within social media and that dissatisfied costumer won’t wind right back at square one: on your Facebook Page, tweeting their story to the world, writing a ranting blog post or creating a YouTube video.

5 tips for using Facebook’s Moderation Blocklist

thedarkly — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 18:02:00 -0700

Originally published as a guest post on Jay Baer’s Convince and Convert.

“Censorship reflects society’s lack of confidence in itself.” -Potter Stewart

A few weeks ago, Facebook released Moderation Blocklist, a functionality that allows Page administrators to set parameters around certain keywords, automatically marking posts with those topics as spam, and placing it in the Hidden Posts filter where only administrators can view the content. The majority of the community would be none the wiser that the post was made, as, aside from administrators, only the original poster and their connections can see the filtered content. My immediate reaction was “Clients are going to LOVE this!” but, it quickly followed with, “Consumers are going to see right through this…”

While the profanity filter aspect comes as a welcome addition to Facebook Page functionality, the Moderation Blocklist presents the potential for backlash and missed opportunities.

Imagine you’re the community manager for Chipotle and you choose to filter out mentions of your competitor, Baja Fresh. Then, along comes a customer who’s been a Chipotle brand loyalist since he could eat solid foods, but strayed from the path and stopped in at Baja Fresh the other day. Now, he’s unhappy with that life choice – the beans gave him bad gas, he felt lazy after lunch and he spilled guac on his new jeans. So, he expresses himself (in writing) on Chipotle’s Facebook Wall:

“I gotta say, I’m a Chipotle fanatic, but I just got a burrito at Baja Fresh and it was horrible – both the food and the experience. I’ll spare you the details. If you’ll have me back, I’m never, ever eating anything but Chipotle again.”

If Chipotle has their filter up, they’re missing out on this customer’s social advocacy.

Sure, Chipotle can (and presumably would) monitor the Hidden Posts and unhide the mentions that despite including competitors, actually tell a positive brand story, but it creates a moderated and asynchronous atmosphere on the Page. It’s also deceiving, as the customer will think their Wall post is public, but may eventually notice that no one from the community has responded.

It may make it appear that your company is running from criticism, or is trying to censor anything that could potentially be a threat to it’s image. Or, as Potter Stewart points out above, it shows a lack of confidence in your brand.

Filtering for keywords might help keep the overall tone positive, but doesn’t that fly in the face of social media in general? All information is good information, even if it’s less than flattering. By allowing customers to sound off, you give your company a chance to right a wrong.

So, how can you use this new thing in your social media tool box? Here are five tips that can help you determine how this functionality best fits with your brand:

1. Set a filter for topics that are irrelevant to your organization. For example, state tourism departments could moderate keywords and phrases that relate to the state’s political happenings that aren’t relevant to their organization.

2. Keep the bullies quiet. Every once in awhile certain users will try to provoke others with personal attacks. Page administrators can use the Moderation Blocklist to hide these unsightly remarks by using keywords and phrases that would likely signify someone bullying a community member.

3. Use it for any new offensive slang terms that aren’t picked up by the profanity filter. With brands that target younger audiences, Urban Dictionary has likely become their new best friend. If you notice a certain inappropriate slang term that’s getting missed by the profanity filter, use the moderating tool instead.

4. Turn it on when your organization’s unnecessarily under fire. While “unnecessarily” can be open to interpretation, there are going to be certain organizations that can’t really change their beliefs or business practices due to one group’s criticisms.

5. Remember that it’s not completely hidden. Currently, when users post to the Wall or leave a comment and use words or phrases that are listed on the Moderation Blocklist, the user and their Facebook friends will still be able to see the post or comment – just not the rest of the community. Check your hidden posts on a regular basis to remove posts that truly do not belong on the Page.

Social media lessons from Will Schuester

thedarkly — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The talented kids from Glee have stirred up quite a bit of chatter on Twitter - becoming a trending topic almost every Tuesday during the show’s inception - and have garnered a rather active audience on Facebook. As someone who woefully regrets not joining her high school show choir or glee club, I’ve become an avid watcher of this musical dramedy. Coincidentally, many themes from the show can be translated to my favorite topic: social media.

Be a character.

On the Emmy-winning show, many of the students and teachers represent extreme caricatures. While it’s not necessary that you portray your brand as an uber-controlling, self-absorbed drama queen or an intimidating and aloof troublemaker, it is important that your brand have its own distinctive character within its social media outposts.

Just like you wouldn’t want to be stuck working with the most bland member of the glee club on one of Mr. Schuester’s notorious musical assignments, consumers won’t be as apt to engage with a brand that doesn’t have a strong voice that distinguishes them from the rest.

This could even include having an actual character represent your brand, such as the case of K-Swiss’ Tubes, where the fictional Kenny Powers from HBO’s Eastbound and Down is representing the new line of sneakers on Facebook. He serves as a workout wingman, offering the service of managing each user’s personal Facebook profile while they are, presumably, out training in their K-Swiss Tubes. And, of course, these posts are in full character, but also remain relevant to the brand and promotion.

The best songs don’t always get heard by a large audience.

With all the hubbub about sectionals and regionals, you’d except to really get blown away by the musical stylings of the New Directions. But alas, the song selection and choreography often underwhelm in comparison to many of the other song choices, costumes and dance numbers featured on the show.

When it comes to social media, the same can happen. Smaller conversations that are truly creating connections and reach a targeted subset of a brand’s audience can become overshadowed by a larger promotion within the same medium. But that’s okay.

For instance, Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese recently had a recipe competition on The Real Women of Philadelphia as one of their social strategies to further engage consumers. Leveraging Paula Deen’s massive following, they hosted weekly competitions. One would expect that within a competition, consumers would remain, well, competitive. That wasn’t always the case with The Real Women of Philadelphia – many of the women took to the community to post about their personal lives and connect with others. They even started helping each other out – as women posted about personal and financial problems they were having, other women in the community would offer help.

While Kraft did call attention to this by allowing for highlighted members and a community forum, it’s likely that the contest was seen as the larger focus to the passive user. But to those women that did connect with others, it’s almost a given that they have a much stronger brand affinity towards Philadelphia Cream Cheese and shared the stories with their real world connections. The smaller conversation still has enough impact on those involved that it’s perfectly fine that it wasn’t seen by everyone. In fact, it’s probably more powerful that way because it stays relatively organic and close-knit.

Slushies happen.

The glee club is accustomed to getting a sugary, icy beverage right to the face. While the attacks still cause a shock, they’ve learned to expect it and deal with it by helping each other clean up the mess. It does have an effect on the kids, but they manage to make the best of it. Case and point: doing the same to Mr. Schuester after he admits to never having the invigorating experience of a slushie facial.

In social media, brands should be no different. Go into social media expecting to get slushied and have a team behind you who can help mitigate these situations as they arise. While the kids on Glee typically ignore the bullying, a brand can’t have that same luxury in a social world.

Take DKNY for example. PETA attacked their Facebook Page yet again for the brand’s use of real fur in clothing. A bunch of protesters posted comments in quick succession with profile pictures that spelled out “DK BUNNY BUTCHER.” Instead of being quick to act, those comments were deleted and they disabled further commenting. However, DKNY’s most recent posts still have protesting comments for all to see.

DKNY retreated to the bathroom to wipe the slushie off their faces instead of being proactive and addressing their bullies. A better approach? Either listening to the protesters and making a decision to no longer use real fur, mobilizing their online communities to respond to the attackers with several firm, but non-aggresive messages or coming up with a carefully-crafted statement as to why the brand uses rabbit fur in its designs. While the latter may generate additional backlash, at least they’d be explaining their decisions instead of abandoning the conversation in an obvious manner.

Blogger outreach: Literally make someone talk about your brand

thedarkly — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:32:00 -0700

According to ComScore, blogs combined receive 77.7 million unique visitors each day in the United States. Furthermore, 77 percent of active Internet users read blogs, according to Universal McCann. That’s an audience the size of over 175 million people in just the United States alone.

Of course it’s great for your company or organization to have a blog, but what happens if it’s not reaching the right audience, or a sizeable one for that matter? That’s where blogger outreach comes in. Is there something your company just created or launched? Is there a really big event coming up? Is there something exciting you just have to share? It there an issue that’s a hot topic that concerns your organization? Those are all great opportunities to use bloggers to help disseminate your message. So, how do you get them talking?

#1: Provide an incentive. You may be thinking “What else does John from Oshkosh, Wisconsin have to do besides blog about my cool new product?” but the reality is that many of these people pour their heart, soul and free time into their blog’s content, and they often can be picky about what they choose to share. So, in order to ensure that your time is well spent, make sure you provide an incentive. Maybe it’s cold hard cash, an exclusive peek at the new product, an all expenses paid trip to the event or some free schwag – whatever it is, providing incentives shows bloggers that you respect them and value their time and efforts.

#2: Pitch when it really matters. An obvious example is with new technology. You don’t want to pitch a review of a cell phone after it’s already hit the market, you want to offer bloggers a free new phone, months before anyone else can get their hands on it. If there’s a new tech toy coming out, you better believe interested consumers will do their homework months in advance and often will have made their decision before the product even goes on sale. You want to make sure that your pitches are relevant and timely.

#3: Branch out to reach a wider audience. Let’s say your organization is dead set against the latest health insurance reform bill. Instead of speed dialing your go-to political blogger, think about who else you could be reaching. Think about who’s most concerned about health issues on a daily basis. Got your answer? If you guessed moms, give yourself a pat on the back. Looking for a mommy blogger who is on the conservative side would help spread your message and reach an entirely new audience. But remember to make your message relevant to them, not you, for example pitching scenarios of how the bill could potentially affect moms and families.

Social media lessons from Gordon Gekko

thedarkly — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:40:00 -0700

Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. All seemingly innocent names, right? However, the aforementioned sites can all be directly linked to one of our generation’s ultimate fictional, yet realistically diabolical villains. So, in honor of the sequel of the cult classic (especially of suits and MBA-wielders), Wall Street, recently being announced, I thought I’d take a look into how the many lessons GG taught Bud Fox can be applied to social media.

Information is the most valuable commodity. It should be no shock that people are on social media sites to connect with their friends and family. So, when utilizing social media to spread your message, make sure it’s not viewed as an interruption, but as an asset. How exactly do you do that? Quite simply, post things that you know (or at least think) will add value to your viewer’s life, day or that particular moment in time. The best (and sometimes arguably the worst) thing about social media is that you’ll be able to get a pretty good sense of if what you’re posting is of value, based on interaction. It’s no secret that we’ve been in a message-laden culture for some time now, and as that increases, consumers will all start to value how they spend their time over how they spend their money. Providing relevant, useful or entertaining content will make your brand an asset, as opposed to a nuisance.

Always have a back-up plan. In the flick, Gekko reevaluates his plan with Bluestar Airlines and determines what he believes to be a better course of action - social media campaigns need to be met with the same sort of flexibility. Of course, your Plan B probably won’t involve turning an entire company into a garage sale – but, if you go in with one set plan, you can at least expect to modify, if not completely change, said plan. As stated above, fans and followers will offer their feedback, and some will even go as far as to be brutally honest. When that honesty isn’t exactly in support of your organization’s initial strategy, you’ll need at least a solid idea of a back-up plan.

It’s never a one-man operation, and it always helps to have eyes in the field. Just like Gekko had employees in his office and hot on the trails of anyone who could potentially mean anything to his business, the same goes for social media. With any social media campaign, you need multiple sets of eyes and sources of brainpower. Regardless of whether your running a political campaign or launching a new product or service, there are going to be many employees and people in your organization that are all a part of the process. And, therefore, their voices and perspectives should be included in your social media campaign. As far as keeping your eyes in the field, we don’t necessarily think you need a spy, but it always helps to solicit feedback from your followers and fans about the content you’re sharing and the tone your outreach has.

Watch your competition closely, and look for opportunities to differentiate, not copy. As Gekko follows the every move of his arch nemesis, Sir Larry Wildman, your organization should be following your competition’s strategy and messaging, specifically in the social media space. And, just as he looks for opportunities to outsmart and differentiate himself from his competition, instead of following in their footsteps, it’s important for an organization to do the same in social media.

Lunch is for wimps. Don’t get me wrong, I avidly recommend three square meals a day, and even a snack or two, but the point is that while social media may seem fluffy and fun, it has a lot more in common with thecutthroatness of Wall Street. You see, social media is ever changing; your audience can shift and platforms can drastically rearrange and morph all within an instant. There’s also more risk involved than the traditional campaign since it’s success or failure can be much more visible, and in most cases, people can offer their feedback for all to see. Also – if you’re doing it right – it’s a fulltime job. It takes planning, analyzing, determining strategies, creating content and implementing it all. Thus, not always leaving much time for leisurely lunches.

Your brand has a great personality, but it's a hot mess

thedarkly — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:20:00 -0700

The other day, I was in line at Starbucks, and I was behind this group of people. Being the avid sociological observer that I am, I was watching them interact. This one women was incredibly vivacious and had an extremely warm aura—even when she was talking about a coworker she disliked, she still seemed to be radiating positivity.

Now, if the world were perfect and personality mattered way more than looks, this woman would have been set. Granted, she was attractive in her own right, but the way she presented herself, was well, a little off… the inserts in the soles of her clogs were showing and her clothes fit too tightly and she was wearing pantyhose with runs in them. In no way am I trying to sound catty (or even like I’m the best dressed person in the world), but the point I’m trying to make is that so many brands have their inserts showing, runs in their panty house and ill-fitting clothing. And in a world where first impressions matter—and when first impressions are generally deducted visually—it’s really important to take note in how things are presented.

So many brands are just like that woman; they have amazing products, services and people behind them but that initial visual impression lacks the same gusto as the former. I understand that the economy is tough and that things are tight (I think it’s safe to say that agencies are probably feeling it a lot more than many other businesses). But if you’re out there looking to be the best your brand can be, it might be time to consider a makeover.

Ask any fashionista, and they’ll tell you, when times are tough, they don’t cut spending on their appearances, they cut spending in other areas (bye couch and television! hello ramen knoodles and a smaller apartment!). Grab your pen and paper and take note from these ladies. Instead of cutting spending on Marketing, cut spending in other areas, such as travel, office supplies and downgrade to a smaller location. Little savings here and there can add up, so you can afford to make an amazing first impression again.

Three tips for fundraising via social media

thedarkly — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:58:00 -0700

Looking at three case studies, we can see how to apply best practices to your own social media fundraising campaigns and see significant results.

#1: Make it all about the medium. In non-profit and political sectors the bulk of contributions often come from events. Looking at Twestival, we can see how surrounding the event with social media incorporation can help increase awareness. Twestival, which originally was put into place to help raise funds for the infamous Charity: water, used Twitter as it’s primary medium for outreach for the event. People in turn shared the event with their followers, encouraging them to help out the worthy cause.

With such widespread outreach, the event garnered a lot of attention, and if you were big on Twitter, you better believe you were attending the largest Tweetup ever. They made almost made participation and knowledge of Twestival a right of passage on the micro-blogging service. Essentially, their event went viral because everything about the event was encompassed on Twitter, from the inception to promotion to the event happenings in real time to the end results. How successful have they been for making it all about the medium? Well, on their first try they raised $250,000 for Charity: water and Twestival local raised thousands of dollars for local charities in each of the 133 global host cities.

#2: Get your foot in the door. Taking an example from my own playbook, one of my past clients, COAR, has demonstrated that asking for a little gets you a lot. I ran several campaigns asking for small donations, such as during World Refugee Week, I asked that people within COAR’s network donate seven dollars, or a dollar per day for the week. Not only did more people than expected participate, but people gave more than what I had suggested. Everyone who donated gave between $10 and $30. Using small asks, or getting your foot in the door, as opposed for asking for what you might really want to suggest, will encourage more participation on social media. Just ask COAR, asking for small favors over the past few months has helped increase their Cause Page donations by almost 300 percent.

#3: Tell a story and build connections. Although it’s our last tip, it’s actually the most important. Just like the chances of you buying a new product that you’ve never heard of are slim to none, the chances that people will donate to your organization without hearing your passions and stances are about as probable. Social media is a great tool that allows you to share your story and give supporters the chance to see the people behind your organization.

Who’s sharing their story on social media, and doing an amazing job of it? Charity: water.

Keeping the people behind the name at the forefront, their founder and CEO, Scott Harrison, plays an incredibly active role in sharing the Charity: water story. Whether it’s twittering about a well being drilled in Kenya or creating a video sharing how Charity: water began and all the successes they’ve seen in only three short years, he tells the story fluidly and with such emotion you can’t help but feel a deeper connection with the organization. Don’t have access to a full on production team? You’d be surprised what sort of emotions you can conjure up with a few photos and some well thought out words.

As a whole, they use Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to keep their supporters up to date. They share the normal every day things to the above average actions they’re taking, such as a picture of an internal meeting, a photo from a past event or their plan to bring water to a community in Uganda. Sharing these things make the supporters feel connected, and better yet, like their donations are truly making a big difference – something that without social media, they might not otherwise be aware of.

Who are the biggest brand advocates at Twitter and Zappos? The employees.

thedarkly — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0700

There are quite a few businesses in the business of helping other businesses. And, sometimes, they are totally necessary and needed. Some one with years of experience and a keen eye for efficient and effective solutions can greatly help out a management team. But there’s something some of these consultants and businesses might be missing out on…

Turning their employees into their biggest brand advocates. While, yes, most employees are extremely thankful for paychecks and the occasional pat on the back, a lot of them (especially Gen Y and Gen X professionals) are looking for businesses with culture. Businesses that just don’t leave the brand experience for the consumers, but promote the same in the work place. For instance, Twitter users know that it’s a fun place to quickly connect with everyone from friends and family to celebrities and the media. Translating the fun of the Twitter brand into their workplace, the management encourages collaboration, involves everyone in important discussions, allows everyone to take a break to meet visitors who come in, often bring in food for everyone and have beer tastings pretty frequently.

And at Zappos? Well, just google them and if you haven’t already read all about their corporate culture, you’ll know now.

While efficiency and productivity are crucial in every business, having a culture (that isn’t an I’m-so-stressed, an-11-hour-day-would-be-a-break, I-really-need-a-vacation atmosphere) is just important. Why? Because it helps you really see what your brand is through and through, it creates advocates of your employees and it actually increases moral, productivity and collaboration.

What is mundane for your organization could be the next viral video for your audience

thedarkly — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:09:00 -0700

DuPont has been the latest brand to take the Internet by storm. The brand has a 200-year history and many loyal consumers, however, they were lacking a connection with younger audiences. Their strategy to reach out to the Gen Y and Gen X crowd? Share what they’ve always been doing: testing their products.

In a series of videos called “DuPont Science Stories,” they showcase old footage of testing products and describe the science behind each one. Now while performing these tests could seem like a daily activity to the employees of the company, to consumers, they’re really engaging and worth sharing with friends and family. Especially those interested in science, or things burning and being destroyed…

It’s important to look at the routine and mundane within your organization with a fresh perspective to determine if it could potentially tell a very viral story.

Corporate culture and a drinking game

thedarkly — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:42:00 -0700

In this video, Mark Zuckerberg talks about how the corporate culture of Facebook has aided in cultivating great products.

All your employees should be your biggest brand advocates. While a brand can have a culture in the consumer world, it’s also just as imperative that it has a culture in the corporate world.

Creating a distinct culture within your company or organization will help attract the right employees. Someone who is uptight, likes to take on one project at a time and loves structure would know from the culture Google projects, that it might not be for them. Whereas, someone who loves the environment, building communities, having a good time at work and creating innovative products would know that Twitter is perfect for them, based on the culture they promote.

Not only is having a distinct corporate culture good for attracting the right personnel, but it aids in keeping them. If there is a clear vision, values that everyone has ingrained into their psyche and a sense of community, more employees will think twice before jumping ship. As harsh as it sounds, if your organization or company doesn’t have a community and values that set it apart from competitors, there will be no reason, aside from a paycheck, for employees to stick around.

Building a culture and values will give everyone a sense of purpose and will revitalize drive and motivation within your company. Just look at the leaders within the corporate culture world: Google, Facebook, Twitter and Zappos. Do you think they’re all dreading going to work? I don’t think so.

*Note: to make this 3:30 minute interview a great drinking game, take a shot every time Zuckerberg says “focus.” Due to the amount of times used, my lawyer told me I should recommend a shot of beer, as to make sure your liver does not ensue a magnitude of damage.

YouTube celebrates 1 billion views per day, so I have some tips

thedarkly — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:22:00 -0700

Head over to YouTube right now and you’ll see just how excited they are about reaching this huge milestone. While it might seem like only a minor change to modify their logo, if you check out the file name, “logo_holy_crap_1bn_a_day,” it’s clear to see that they’re just as impressed as most of us are. So in honor of their 365 billion views a year from here on out, I decided to provide some tips on how to become the next big YouTuber, or at least to ensure that your videos are being seen by a larger audience than your mom.

Be entertaining. While some people check out YouTube to catch up on the latest news in the world, the majority of visitors are there to get a laugh, be surprised or feel some other sort of emotion aside from boredom. Whether you’re a politician or a company, it’s important to get at least a few videos up that showcase your sense of humor and personality.
Collaborate. The likes of Carl’s Jr. and Intel have all used the power of YouTube users with a much bigger audience than them. Find out who’s huge on YouTube and is relevant to your audience and reach out to them asking to make a video about your organization or company (but, most of them won’t do this for free, so stock up on schwag or prepare to shell out their rent for the month). This will not only give people a fresh perspective of your organization, but it will most likely reach an entirely new audience. Can’t find anyone that fits with your organization? Than reach out to your existing audience and promote user generated content, so it’s not always about you.
Optimize your content. Many videos are found via search, so make sure that you’re utilizing appropriate and related keywords. Also, take advantage of other tools YouTube offers, such as adding other videos as video responses to your latest video and providing links to your other relevant networks in the sidebar.
Send your videos to your mother. In order to increase views and attempt to go viral, you have to start sharing your content, and not always with just your preexisting audience. Send videos that are worthy of spreading to people within your network and encourage them to share with their networks. Include your latest video’s link in your email signature. Pitch your videos to bloggers, asking that they blog about your organization and include an embedded video.

These are just a few simple tips that can help you increase your views and grow your audience. While, you might not get a billion views per day like my friends at YouTube, you’ll definitely watch your success increase.

There's always going to be someone who's pissed

thedarkly — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

I’m sure you’ve already heard about Squidoo’s Brands in Public Project, where brands pay ~~an arm and a leg~~ $400 per month to have control of their page and are able to hide the negative comments and emphasize the positive ones.

The blogosphere was sitting on the fence when this first was announced (probably because saying anything bad about Seth Godin is forbidden in the ad industry). Some were just stating the facts, whereas others were talking about how they were unsure of the project. Well, I had formed my opinion right away.

The idea, all around, is pretty bad. And, the business model surrounding it is even more atrocious.

Essentially, Squidoo had just built a social media content manager, including Twitter and Blog feeds with mentions of each brand. While, this can be incredibly useful for a brand, it definitely isn’t worth $400/month. Now, to go into the service further, brands pay this obscene fee in order to gain control of their page and manage the way content is presented (a.k.a. get rid of all the bad chatter). While it may be great to show stakeholders, it doesn’t do a lot of good with consumers.

If the Brand in Public profiles are meant to be similar to reviews, sort of like Yelp, consumers will quickly become savvy to the fact that certain brands only have positive comments, while others have varied input. They’ll easily be able to tell which brands paid for control of their page, which will greatly diminish their credibility, and ultimately do them more harm than good. Why? Because these people are probably technologically adept and connected. Meaning, they’re more than likely to share their discovery…

Thus, adding to the negative chatter that really isn’t going away, it’s just hidden.

In only that one area.

Don't leave a bad taste in your audience's mouth

thedarkly — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:28:00 -0700

Maybe it was in Kindergarten when you couldn’t remember what came after P. Or possibly in grad school when you couldn’t answer the questions you were called on for because you had came down with temporary narcolepsy (also known as nap time). Regardless, everyone has had at least one moment where they’ve felt a little less than intelligent (yes, even agency types), and I think it’s safe to say that no one truly enjoys it.

So, if we all have this common understanding that no one wants to feel stupid, the same should go for treating people like their stupid, right?

Treating your audience like they can’t comprehend your message or dumbing down the content, will more often than not leave them with a negative impression.

Case and point, is the McDonald’s ad above, which I spotted on Pandora a few weeks ago. Now, having used Pandora for almost a couple years now, the McDonald’s ad instructing me on how to use the online radio, came as more of an insult than a friendly tip.

Yes, the burger chain wanted to integrate their ad within the content of Pandora and make it relevant. But, they could have easily done that by creating a unique station, maybe even with oldies promoting the history of McDonald’s or an I‘m loving it station with McDonald’s employees favorite tunes or allow users to vote for what bands they want to hear on the station.

But instead, the idea was to teach people how to use the online radio. And I’m sure 90 percent of Pandora users already knew how - thus having their intelligence insulted and leaving a bad taste in their mouths.

The answer to “Is social media a fad?”

thedarkly — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:58:00 -0700

I’ve noticed a lot of people asking the same question on Twitter… “Is social media a fad?” I’ve seen varied opinions ranging from, “Yeah, people will eventually forget about Flickr and Twitter,” to “It’s more like a necessity.” Despite what people think, the facts point to one answer: Not really.

Blogger launched a decade ago in 1999. While it’s numbers are declining, MySpace has held it’s presence on the web since 2003. Facebook, now the number two site in the world according to Alexa, and Flickr, one of the largest photo sharing sites, launched in 2004. YouTube was up and running a year later.

With most of the major social demonstrating success for several years now, I think that it’s safe to say that social media itself isn’t a fad. To me, it’s similar to calling emailing or texting a fad. Social media is just a means of communication, and therefore shouldn’t be (and isn’t) considered a fad, since it’s not likely to change until the next new thing comes along.

I think the more appropriate questions are “Is Twitter a fad?” and “Was MySpace a fad?” Some social networks may demonstrate a lot of popularity for a few years, but then something better comes along (or they don’t keep up with new developments and improvements) and people move on to the next thing. In that case, then, yes, that site was a fad. Other social networks may have a lot of initial appeal, such as Twitter, Posterous and Flickr, but people may not see the value in keeping up with it since their friends and family aren’t there, and in that case, the site is somewhat of a fad for particular users.

Pabst is a perfect example of embedding your brand within a culture

thedarkly — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Listen carefully to any indie Gen-Yer over a beer or two, and they’ll tell you all the marketing secrets you’ll ever need to know about attracting the late teen to early thirties audience.

Yesterday, Ad Age discussed the success that Pabst Blue Ribbon has had over the last few years, and their greatest success has come amidst the recession, up 25 percent from last year. The article goes on to point out that the spike had nothing to do with ad spending because their competitors were blowing them out of the water when it came to budgets. They attribute the success of the brand to a word-of-mouth campaign that was done about five years ago that positioned the brand as the “‘ironic downscale chic’ choice for bike messengers and other younger drinkers who viewed beer as a statement of non-mainstream taste.” While the campaign can attribute to a lot of the brand’s success (the year it launched sales increased by 17 percent), I think there are a few bigger reasons.

Gen Y consumers would rather get to class on time than be told what to think is cool. They prefer to discover brands on their own and often are averse to advertising messages that try to hard to speak to them. Due to PBR’s low ad spend and low recognition in the marketplace, many of these younger consumers saw the brand as underground, as part of subculture and as undiscovered.

It’s become a part of the indie culture. Walk into your local dive bar and, unless someone got lost, most of the patrons are drinking independent brews and clutching cans with labels of the likes of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Red Stripe. Why? Because those brands and smaller labels have found themselves amidst indie culture, which as we all know, has the effect of spreading to the mainstream. How did they become part of the culture? The brand communicates a lot about the drinker

It speaks for the drinker. Think about what drinking a Miller Light communicates to onlookers… You’d probably think frat guy who loves sports, will take over his dad’s business and considers himself a guys-guy. Now think about what drinking a Pabst communicates… I don’t care what you think, I like bands you’ve never heard of, I shop at thrift stores for vintage tees and there’s no way in hell I’m being a dentist like my dad.

By creating a brand that’s prone to discovery (and not mass market appeal), communicating ideals about the consumer and becoming a staple in the indie culture, Pabst Blue Ribbon is the perfect example of a brand that has become part of a culture for younger generations.

What your blog platform says about you

thedarkly — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:00:00 -0700

In the great blue sea that is the world of blog platforms, there are plenty of fish. Some are at the top of the food chain; others are arguably so small we’ll never even know that they exist.

With all these choices, I thought it would be interesting to analyze what a blog platform says about a person or company. Below are the detailed findings of my intensive research* (a.k.a. musing over a Nimbus brew at The Lost Leaf).

Wordpress. Bloggers using Wordpress shop at American Eagle, listen to Coldplay, grab their coffee at Dunkin Donuts and drive a Camry. These users often follow the masses and look to others for signals on how to act, consume and express themselves. Companies that use Wordpress for their blog are no different - they’re average, doing nothing groundbreaking. However, users who use Wordpress as their content management system for their website are extremely badass, since they are working the system, being innovative without wasting time and are breaking the rules (sort of…).

Typepad. These users are either (1) heavily influenced by Seth Godin, (2) got tricked into thinking that Six Apart’s advertising program was a good idea, or (3) are oddly loyal for no real reason.

Tumblr. Bloggers using Tumblr shop at Modern Amusement, listen to Benji Hughes and the Kills, grab their coffee at Lux and ride a custom-made Urban Outfitters bike. These bloggers are serious artistes, and so are the few companies that use it as well. These people and brands are heavily into art, intellectual musings and culture. Hence, why I use Tumblr…

Blogger. Bloggers using Blogger shop at vintage stores, listen to the Beatles, grab their coffee at Hob Nobs and roll out in an old school VW Bug. People and companies that use blogger like things a little retro and vintage. They also like to keep things simple and aren’t making to many wild changes.

Square Space. Bloggers using Square Space shop at Apple, listen to whatever’s hot on iTunes right now, grab their coffee wherever there’s free wi-fi and roll out in a Ford Fiesta, since, of course, they’re part of the Fiesta Movement. Square Space users value form and function, technology and design. They like to have their cake and eat it too, and at any price, since, after all, Square Space isn’t free. Companies and people using Square Space are ones to watch on the tech front.

*I’m making generalizations and these thoughts are strictly musings, no factual information can back up these claims. If you use Wordpress, Blogger or Typepad and are offended, I suggest you switch your blogging platform or face reality.

Logo Love: The Fashion Center

thedarkly — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:09:13 -0700

Although most fashionistas don’t often brag about their buttons, the Fashion Center definitely has bragging rights.

The Fashion Center is a not-for-profit corporation, was established in 1993 to promote New York City’s apparel industry and to improve the quality of life and economic vitality of Manhattan’s garment district.

It may be more cute than fierce, but the logo definitely turns heads. Using an icon is very clever, especially in the realm of fashion, since most logos are simply typefaces. This logo differentiates them, as well as helps them stand out in the fashion world.

Logo love: The Bahamas

thedarkly — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:23:00 -0700

If there ever were a logo that would inspire us to cash in our savings, pack up a suitcase, and run to the next available 747 in search of a land where all you need is a little SPF, it would be the Bahamas logo.

The design is fresh, yet still appeals to pretty much anyone that still is comfortable wearing a bathing suit. With the colors and the multiple directions that the “islands” are pointing out in, the logo has a ton of energy and communicates that exciting things happen in the Bahamas. But it’s not all hustle and bustle. The lighter colors toward the bottom of the logo also hint at the relaxing atmosphere. We’re not a huge proponent of 14 color logos, but in this case, it really works.

Simple in design, yet compelling in the colors, this logo has never made us want to take a vacation so badly.

Why Amazon bought Zappos for 850 million

thedarkly — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:42:00 -0700

While Zappos definitely doesn’t have the most innovative or creative logo, the company is a true testament to brand. Brand doesn’t always boil down to a logo, it’s much more than that. A brand is literally the collection of thoughts a consumer has about a product, company or service. The reason why Zappos has been so successful (and why it’s worth so much) is because they’ve placed an incredible emphasis on brand values.

Since day one, Zappos has dedicated themselves to creating a fun, inspiring, irreverent corporate culture, building meaningful and genuine relationships with consumers and going above and beyond to make sure customers are satisfied. And what has taking company values to heart, from the ceo to the call center employees, brought them? A story that has been spreading like wild fire, a business model that everyone is coveting and a serious acquisition.

So why did Amazon buy the hottest online store around? Aside from the fact that it is the hottest online store around… Because they wanted to learn from the brand in how to be customer obsessed and build a strong, remarkable corporate culture.

Whether you’re a large company like Zappos and Amazon or a local business or non-profit, brand values are critical for success because they put everyone on the same page, help differentiate yourself within the marketplace and helps create a culture - internally and externally - around your brand.