Category

Social Media

Sep 26
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Three Ways The New MySpace Could Challenge Facebook

By Communications, Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Social Media

Here is a demo of the new MySpace, which was tweeted about by Justin Timberlake a few days ago. It’s pretty compelling. According to Chris and Tim Vanderhook, who bought the company in July 2011, MySpace’s new design now focuses on emerging artists who hope to be discovered. The Vanderhooks bought MySpace from News Corp. for just $35 million, after News Corp. paid more than ten times that for it in 2005.

I think it has the potential to do an end-run around Facebook for a few big reasons:

It’s clear that the designers and developers have been paying very close attention to what social networks are good at and what people use them for–sharing their life in pictures, connections and music.

First thing you notice is the prominent role music plays in the site. The musician in me loves this. It’s like you can create a soundtrack of events that can be tied to the images and posts you create. Very cool. The timeline is horizontal and everything in is a visual mash that ties posts, video, audio, connections and photos together around those events. It’s loose, slick, and sexy, and seems to borrow a lot from Path and Pinterest. If nothing else, it mimics how we act as expressive people and provides a refreshing antidote to the stodgy Facebook vanilla. It even lets you log in using competing network profiles.

It Appears to Be Anti-Grownup.

This demo looks like my daughter acts. She will sit in her room with music going while she texts friends, adds photos, connects music to pages, teases her Facebook friends, and does homework. The new Myspace seems designed to be immersive for teens. Good call, since their parents (and grandparents) have taken over Facebook. According to Will Oremus over at Slate.com,  “it’s going to focus more narrowly on becoming a social home for musicians, artists, celebrities—and their fans.”

Privacy Will be Paramount

Myspace got in a lot of hot water for their privacy violations a few years back and as a result they are on a pretty tight leash. That actually plays to their advantage right now, as Facebook users start to rebel against the shameless exploitation of their data by Zuck’s public company needs. It also maps closely to teens’ desire to get away from their parents in the digital spaces they are forced to share.

I have yet to see any mobile demo or vision, which they absolutely MUST deliver to have a chance to really succeed. But they are presenting a pretty impressive alternative to a suddenly tired Facebook, especially for the younger and more artistic set.

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Sep 19
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Content Creation and the 14-Piece Bedding Set

By Marketing, Social Media

I’ve been shopping for new bedding lately. Not one to want to spend a lot of time on such a project, I’ve found myself very attracted to the idea of the 14-piece bedding set. It’s the simplest decorating solution you can imagine — in one set you get all the pieces including dust ruffle, comforter, pillow shams, sheets, throw pillows and ideally, curtains — all perfectly coordinated. That’s my kind of shopping.

I’ve been spending more time that I really want to trying to find the mix of colors and patterns that I want; meanwhile, at work, pondering the issue that so many clients have in tackling the challenge of creating content to spread across multiple platforms.

Seems like a leap, huh? Not really — bear with me.

If a company has a marketing piece or case study they’ve spent a lot of time developing, what can come out of that are many coordinating pieces, if you will. A tweet of statistics pulled from the piece. A blog post that gives a more editorial slant to the information. An editorial article pitched to a trade publication on the same topic. A Facebook update sharing information about the author. In other words, the pillows, shams and curtains to the comforter that ties it all together.

How are you doing, coordinating your communications efforts?

Also, anyone have any good recommendations for a nice California King set?

 

Sep 10
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Three Ways Social Media Really CAN Help.

By Communications, Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Social Media

I just finished a really terrific interview with Ted Hissey, SVP and Director of Innovation, Consumer Planning and Global Marketing Services for Brown-Forman Co., marketer of brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Korbel, Chambord and Finlandia. Yum. Read it here.

In this interview Ted discusses how social media has really enhanced the way they both learn from and then re-target customers across a wide range of demographics. It’s really worth the read. I took three really good things from it that I think we can all agree are pretty excellent ways to justify and empower social media use in our own companies.

Social media brings some scale to word-of-mouth. If your brand is one that relies on recommendations and satisfied customers sharing your products with others, social tools can really help you empower those customers to do it. Hissey says “Word-of-mouth has always been critical in driving awareness of new and existing brands,” and social tools allow customers to reach many more influencers with a single post.

Most social media vehicles are very targetable. When marketing alcohol (like many other CPGs), marketers can encounter a broad range of customer demographics that respond to different marketing triggers. Social media platforms can allow messages to be targeted by location, age, interests, networks, job, anything. This makes each marketing effort that much more efficient.

You can’t be boring or typical. If you’re going to bother tapping into  a social network of consumers, you have to make your messages worth their effort.  As Hissey says, “if it’s just something boring that people can get anywhere, you’re wasting your time.” If you get someone’s attention and wow them, they will spread that word.

So what’s stopping you from realizing these benefits and addressing these opportunities?

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Aug 29
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Do You Really Think CEOs are not on Social Media?

By Social Media

I’ve been in a lot of meetings lately where the potential client/colleague/friend of mine says something like, “I’m doing outreach. But you know, our audience is in upper management and they’re older. I can’t reach them on social networks.” I think I heard that three or four times last week.

Every time I hear that, I cringe just a little. There’s this stereotype that social media users are all gum chewing, 20-year -olds. I know that isn’t true. And according to an article I read today, 32% of users are over 45. That isn’t everyone. But it’s a pretty good percentage. Don’t believe me? Check out AARP’s Facebook page. The baby boomers may be getting older (like the rest of us), but they certainly seem to be keeping up with the times. There’s a great article about that generation’s place in the digital age on mashable.com.

Look, there are a wide variety of networks out there. Think of the differences between Spotify, LinkedIn and Pinterest. These sites are geared to different age groups and cultures. For those whose job it is to be experts and leaders in their field, wouldn’t it make sense for them to be connected in some way? In associations, chambers of commerce, community forums, etc.

My point is that I think assuming that the more “seasoned executives” are not engaged online is a little bit insulting. The baby boomers are redefining what it means to get older, and I think it’s time we give them a little more credit.