Buddy Media's Facebook Page advice

Michael Lazerow (@lazerow), CEO of Buddy Media shares his thoughts on how to successfully manage a branded Facebook page.

The thing that stood out for me was how he talked about understanding the Facebook metrics. When you work day to day on Facebook you understand that the objectives for posts should focus around likes, comments, shares and impressions. The higher these metrics are the further your message travels.

I believe clients in general need to have a stronger understanding on Facebook and why we post updates in the way we do. Therefore, it's of vital importance that they have a clear understanding on how the metrics work.

The Global Social Media Check-up 2010

Global Social Media Checkup

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Social Mobile in Japan

Japan has always been a good indicator when it comes to looking for future trends in technology. Mobile interactivity is growing at a fast pace so here is a brief look at the world of Social Mobile in Japan.

Social Mobile In Japan

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I found carrying out this research fascinating. It's always fun to learn about other cultures. The differences in the ways (to the West) Japanese people interact and engage with one another online is very interesting to me. I hope you enjoyed it too!

The Future is Interactive, The Future is Mobile

Mobile and Interactive content to shape future marketing spend

Forrester, the respected forward-thinking business and technology research company has revealed in a recent survey that social and mobile will have the biggest compound annual growth rates (CAGR) - 34% and 27% repectively through 2014.

Social media has grown phenomenally over the past few years (as we all know). Social networking in particular has seen a massive growth in numbers of users in the past year. Brian Solis has estimated that for August 2009, Facebook recorded 370m unique visitors globally. Similarly, Twitter registered 66m unique visitors worldwide.

This has created the special opportunity to marketers for engaging customers through social media channels to build trust and brand loyalty. Activity otherwise known as 'Social CRM' (Customer Relationship Management).

Marketing is gaining more power in corporations because of its connection to consumers. Forrester says 40% of marketers said that marketing is the strategic leader of their organisation.
60% of respondents said they are boosting their interactive budget by shifting money from othe media - print will really suffer. Direct mail, newspaper media and magazines are expected to get the axe to feed interactive.

Mobile in particular is expected to really become massive in the not so distant future. New innovative technology is the reason for this. Last year we saw the rise of the iPhone app with great new devices bought out every second it seemed like! My favorite is the Barclaycard Waterslide app as shown below.


Augmented reality is really expected to take off hugely in 2010. Check out this video to see some of the latest augmented reality work!


Location sharing has also been highlighted as a future trend to rise in 2010. GPS-aware mobile devices became user friendly in 2009 and social networks Facebook and Twitter have taken interest (link).

Foursquare in particular has been highlighted as an exciting prospect for a location based social network. As a member of Foursquare you are encouraged to document places you visit in order to receive points. Also by documenting your location friends (who are also on Foursquare) can give you a 'shout out' to let you know they are nearby if you wanted to meet up. There are rumours that Facebook is looking to use Foursquare (or a similar location sharing tool) - see below - to encourage users to be more open.

(Image via Mashable)

Ultimately the rise of real-time communication seems to be the biggest thing to come out of social media from 2009. In any case, with more marketing budgets shifting towards digital and mobile the future looks very bright with much more exciting online and mobile content being created for us all to enjoy!

Lets hope we can all be as happy as this guy!

The 2009 Engagement Awards!

Starbucks social media team (of only 6) take the Gold.

Starbucks is the number 1 brand at engaging with consumers across social meda. This is according to research carried out by Wetpaint and The Altimeter Group who have gone beyond surface case studies to measure the true financial value of social media. The research was small scale - but was based on the world’s 100 most valuable brands – these are brands that are widely acknowledged for setting the standards in marketing as measured by BusinessWeek / Interbrand "Best Global Brands 2008" rankings.

The Wetpaint/Altimeter Group:

"evaluated how well they are engaging their consumers using social media and, even more importantly, how that engagement correlates with their most important financial metrics: revenue and profit".


The Top Ten

From the official report showcasing the full 100 brands - here - you can see a common trend showing how the top placed brands have much larger integrated campaigns across a number of social media channels with Starbucks, Dell and Google all having a presence on 11 different channels.

Personally I am a big fan of Nike and have been very impressed with their use of digital. They have a great Facebook fan page that is updated regularly to 438,285 fans. Their virals have been particularly impressive over the years - you may remember the Kobe Bryant jump over a speeding Aston Martin (3.3m YouTube views).

They also have Nike+, a genius idea where amateur runners can track how far they have run. They can then race against friends or just monitor progress by uploading their data collected through their Nike+ sensor and wrist band. However I still believe there is more to come from Nike, hopefully through competitions aswell as campaigns that encourage higher levels of consumer participation with the brand.

Most Contagious Report 2009

Here is a great round up to the most talked-about trends and technologies that influenced global marketing in 2009.

Most Contagious Report 2009

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The review by Contagious includes fantastic examples from successful campaigns from IKEA to Compare The Market to BestBuy and so on. A fascinating read!

Mobile social networking comes of age

Touchscreen mobile devices like the Apple iPhone will replace PC's as the main way consumers engage with social media, according to new research.

A study by Forrester claims that the latest generation of smartphones will transform the mobile internet experience, giving users access to a range of new social media devices.

The research shows mobile social media consumption is being driven by the youth consumers with up to 40% of UK 16-24 year olds accessing social networks via their mobile phones, compared to 7% of the same age group across the rest of Europe.
The same research also suggests that these consumers are doing much more than just visiting their social networks - they are also reading and updating their own blogs, contributing to forums and joining in with discussing groups.

Mobile social media consumption is still in its infancy. But with handset manufacturers and mobile networks investing so much in developing heavily in product services it is only a matter of time before mobile social networking becomes common place, eventually taking over from PC's.

Forrester senior analyst Thomas Husson says,

"The always-on mobile connected handset frees the social web from the chains of the PC and thrusts it into the real world... Online players, handset makers and mobile operators are jumping on the bandwagon"

Coca-Cola to send 'Happiness Ambassadors' around the world

Coca-Cola are planning to send three bloggers around the world to find out what makes people happy, as part of their "Open Happiness" campaign.

These bloggers will visit 206 countries, spend just one or two days in each one. The project is being dubbed "Expedition 206". Expedition 206 adds another major-brand to the social media venture. Currently there are 3 teams of 3, battling for the chance to go on this wonderful journey. At the moment it is very close, you can vote who goes on this trip via the Expedition 206 website here.

The travelers will meet with locals, and document their stories on the Expedition 206 website. They will even get a chance to be part of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Adam Brown, director of Coca-Cola's Office of Digital Communications and Social Media explains why they have decided to take on this project.

"It's not about having the Coca-Cola brand first and foremost, center of the screen... It's about telling the story that involves Coca-Cola, that involves the attributes of what Coca-Cola is about, optimism and joy."

The trip begins on the 1st January and begins in Madrid, and finishes on December 31st at the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta.

I think this is a great idea by Coca-Cola, it is exciting and although the concept of sending bloggers off on their travels is not new, the enormality of sending bloggers around the entire world is new. Coca-Cola is the perfect brand for this type of trip as they have held a global presence for years and years. You will find someone drinking Coca-Cola is any country in the world most likely.

The one problem with this task is whether or not they will be able to keep people interested in the travelers blogs across an entire year. The content that they post will need to be extremely strong. I think pictures will play a huge part. Photographs of different cultures and scenery is always interesting and if the bloggers can add interesting stories to the imagery, Coca-Cola could offer something truely original and appealing, whilst stealthily promoting the brand.

Voting ends November 6th, so start voting!

UK chart stars looking for social networking site sponsors

A new website set up to market girl group, The Saturdays new album seeks fashion retailers to sponsor the individual band members (Una, Mollie, Frankie, Vanessa and Rochelle) pages.
Fans will be able to click through the sponsored pages to fashion retailers with transactional sites where they can find clothing that will help them dress in the style of the band.

The social networking site is the first of its kind for record label Polydor and has been designed by digital creative agency Clusta.

Fans sign up and create their own profiles, following this they will be able to add concerts they plan to attend to their calendar and leave comments and reviews. They can also make friends with other fans and upload related content.

The individual band member pages will hold personal diary entries.

Aaron Bogucki, Senior digital campaign manager for Polydor says:

"The girls were already really proactive in providing content for their site and getting involved in social media.... With the success of the first album we wanted to make sure our digital strategy led the launch of the second so we decided to launch a fan networking site".


The article where I sourced this news in MarketingWeek doesn't say how much interaction there will be between the girls and their fans. I have a feeling that the band will post diary entries and fans will comment and interact with fellow fans on the website. Brands, actors (Verne Troyer) and now Popstars have seen social media as an opportunity to form closer relationships with the public/fans.

I believe if this is going to work then Popstars etc. can't just make a half-arsed attempt by just setting up a site and posting content. The most successful sites will be the ones who interact with the fans and make them feel special and valued in doing so. As I said I do not know if The Saturdays are planning on doing this, but if they do then they are more likely to see a far more positive response.

The new album titled 'Wordshaker' will be released on 12th October.

Reformed Burberry to explore social media

Burberry, the famous British luxury fashion brand has announced their plans for a social network website to be available next month. The reason behind the website named artofthetrench.com, is to offer consumers a stronger brand experience. Artofthetrench.com will feature users sending in pictures of themselves wearing the famous Burberry trenchcoats. Burberry currently has over 660,000 fans on Facebook, more than any other luxury brand, and this is seen as an encouraging sign for CEO, Angela Ahrendts.

"These might not even be customers yet. Or they may be a customer for a bottle of fragrance or for eyewear," she said.

"But these are the customers who need the brand experience, who need to feel the brand. That word-of-mouth spreads through their social networks and continues to be a positive conversation [about Burberry] . . . that is so powerful."

Burberry has been working to overcome an image problem in recent years and have made significant steps to do so. The brand has in the past been associated with football hooliganism and 'chavs'. It was forced to dump Kate Moss in 2005 after after the supermodel was pictured allegedly snorting cocaine. However, now Burberry has generated a buzz of real excitement around it leading up to London Fashion Week.

I believe that the social network will have some fairly minimal levels of success. I think that simply asking people to send in pictures of themselves in Burberry clothing is not a strong enough incentive to become actively involved with the website for a meaningful length of time. Also because Burberry has a large number of fans does not necessarily mean that they all own Burberry products. They could just admire their work.

If Burberry can come up with a stronger mixture of content and added incentives then I'm sure they will have greater success with this approach.

Day 2: Imagination Work Experience, London

Tuesday 11th August 2009

Day 2 at Imagination has just finished and has been another good day. The morning consisted of research and note taking around the Holcim social media recruitment project.
I looked at:

• Competitor Analysis
• Content
• How recruitment agencies & other large businesses are using social media to attract applicants
• Successful case studies
  
• Target Audiences/Demographics
• Aspects of social media that have proven effective in raising interest in brands/businesses
  

In the afternoon, because Holcim isn't a household name I thought about ways Holcim can raise public awareness whilst informing the public about what they do, who they are etc, etc.

I then began coming up with ideas about how Holcim can effectively engage with prospective recruits once they have gained their interest, which social media platforms would be most suitable and how I could make Holcim different, memorable and appealing to potential graduate and professional recruits whilst still staying true to the brands identity.


This is certainly a challenging task but I'm feeling confident about my ideas so far. I'd say I need another few ideas so a later day in the office is on the cards. I have a deadline on Friday that I am on course to see but I have to make sure my work is looking professional and presentable.

Day 1: Imagination Work Experience, London

Monday 10th August 2009

Today was the day I would finally begin my 2 week internship with Imagination (http://www.imagination.com/), an integrated communications agency based in Camden, London. I was lucky enough to gain this opportunity after a brief yet interesting coffee meeting with Katie Streten (Head of Insight and Content within the Digital department) where I expressed my passion for digital marketing and my desire to work within an established agency one day like Imagination.

Day 1, like at most companies was an introductory day where I got tour of the building, the digital team and was given my brief for the projects I would be immersed in for the next 2 weeks.

Project 1 (Week 1) : A Social Media recruitment and activation project for global brand Holcim who supply cement, aggregate (gravel and sand), concrete and construction led services to 70 countries on all continents.
Basically I have to deliver a report and recommendations for Holcim on the best ways to use social media for
- Recruitment of graduates
- Recruitment of professionals
- Promotion of the company in an HR context

I am really excited about this challenge because it is the first piece of work that has required me to use my knowledge of marketing using social media since my dissertation dedicated to the topic.
It would of course be a lot easier if it wasn't about encouraging conversations about a brand that wasn't based around cement and concrete, but that's the challenge!


Project 2 (Week 2) : I haven't been given my official brief on project 2 but the information I have received suggests it will be based around the Imperial War Museum in London and the different content and marketing projects Imagination could do for them. It looks at how the IWM could potentially attract different audiences through these campaigns.




Later on in the day Tom, a member of the digital team, took me through a campaign that Imagination carried out with the NMOLP (National Museums Online Project) called 'Creative Spaces' (http://vna.nmolp.org/creativespaces/).

Creative Spaces is a community that allows the public to view artifacts, statues and other objects situated within the 9 UK museums and galleries. The community allows members to create groups, comment on collections and upload their own content - a place many artistic people might go to seek and share inspiration.
Tom also showed me how they incorporated Twitter into the campaign with daily updates of inspiration that increased traffic and interest to the website. I found this particularly interesting because I always wondered how Twitter could be used effectively within a campaign.


Day 1 has gone very well, the people I have met have been very welcoming, helpful and really down to earth. The building itself is very interesting also, made up of two separate buildings linked with metal staircases and bridges, it looks very cool!
I feel I have settled in quickly and can focus all my efforts on doing the best possible work for Imagination on both projects.

Social media beats traditional media to report Michael Jackson death

According to SearchEngine.com reports of the iconic star's demise first broke out on Twitter and Facebook ahead of US news stations CNN, FOX and MSNBC.

The first official news network to break the news was AOL's TMZ Blog, which first reported the news of his heart attack and then finally confirming his death.

Celebrity Twitter tribute posts quickly followed and were shown across news stations.
Wyclef Jean: "he lives forever in my heart i will never forget the day he came to see me in the studio and i played him music... R i p to Michael Jackson my music god ... Some lost Elvis Presley and we lost Michael Jackson... I cried today because Michael Jackson was a Father that we all lost!"

Coldplay: "MJ was the best of the best. His music and performances made the world a brighter place. His light will shine on forever."

Mariah Carey: "I am heartbroken. My prayers go out to the Jackson family and my heart goes out to his children.Let us remember him for his unparalleled contribution to the world of music, his generosity of spirit in his quest to heal the world & the joy he brought to his millions of devoted fans throughout the world. I feel blessed to have performed with him several times & to call him my friend. No artist will ever take his place. His star will shine forever."

On the 25th of July social media website Mashable.com stated that 30% of all Twitter posts included the words 'Michael Jackson'.

Tributes have appeared all over the world, from rockstars to everyday people to innmates in a Filipino prison.

Editor of Search Engine Journal, Loren Baker, said, “Only in a social media controlled world would we see a Twitterised ‘revolution’ in Iran, and the breaking news of Michael Jackson’s death.”

Social media has most certainly made clear the enormous impact of Michael Jackson's death and life has had on the entire world.

R.I.P