A week or so ago Twitter unveiled its latest attempt to transform itself into a viable (aka profitable) business. Naturally, Twitter’s monetisation strategy is built upon advertising. Its latest product has been dubbed ‘Promoted Trends‘, which as the name suggests enables companies to buy their way into Twitter’s trending topics. It follows hot on the heels of Twitter’s ‘Promoted Tweets‘ product, which affords advertisers premium position for branded messages in Twitter’s real time search engine. While neither product seems like an instant silver bullet to me, one thing is clear… Twitter believes that the solution to its cash flow problems lie in real time search.

Why search is smart

Twitter’s decision to pursue profits via real time search is smart for a couple of reasons:

1. Google has proven that contextually relevant search advertising is a booming business model, although whether it translates across to real-time search is questionable
2. Confining advertising products (promoted trends/tweets) within the search engine ensures that users’ Twitter streams aren’t polluted with unwanted advertising. Long time readers will know my strong feelings on the topic (which I labelled Twitter whoring)!

Much respect must go to Twitter for maintaining user experience as a primary goal when building their business model. It’s a philosophy Facebook could learn from, particularly in light of their recent clumsy attempts to build their own real time search product.

Facebook’s Privacy Saga

Like Twitter, Facebook clearly see real-time search as critical to their future. And with over 500 million users, no-one is in a better position to report on the pulse of the planet in real-time. Yet Facebook can’t analyse and aggregate its mountains of data, as most users lock their data (status updates, links etc) behind privacy settings. So while Facebook undoubtedly has the best grasp on what the world is talking about, they can’t aggregate or report on (most of) it.

Facebook is clearly frustrated by this. Indeed, Mark Zuckerberg went as far to claim that “the age of privacy is over“. And in the last few months Facebook actively attempted to rectify this situation by introducing new privacy settings that pushed people towards open profiles.

Many argued they did so deceptively, and I tend to agree after discovering a number of friends maintaining inadvertently open profiles against their will (and knowledge). It’s clear the move to get users to open their profiles was designed for Facebook’s benefit, rather than the users. Thus the Facebook revolt began. The irony of the whole situation is that privacy controls are precisely what put Facebook where it is today.

But will real time search ever be profitable?

That is the question. I personally don’t doubt there are mountains of profits to be made via real time search. Advertisers will always chase ad space when people search for brand names, products and relevant keywords. So Promoted Tweets and Promoted Trends make perfect sense as advertising products.

The problem however is that normal people don’t use Twitter, let alone Twitter’s search engine. Few would even understand the benefits of real time search. It simply isn’t mainstream. Which is what Twitter needs to happen for it to attract real advertising dollars.

So how can Twitter take real time search to the mainstream? Here are my thoughts:

• There’s one sure fire way to take real time search to the masses, and that’s via Google. Google definitely want (and need) to integrate real time information into its search results, as it is a clear weakness. Real time data is returned in Google’s ‘Updates’ search filter, but it isn’t sorted or ranked in any meaningful manner.
• Rather than compete with Google, a battle they’re likely to lose, Twitter should be aiming to partner with Google. Twitter has the real time data, and Google has access to the masses and a proven advertising platform. Furthermore, Twitter is far less of a strategic threat than Facebook, so a partnership that may in fact weaken Facebook’s real time search ambitions is feasible.
• For the partnership to be struck, Twitter needs to bring some major cards to the table. Google won’t jump into bed without reason. Access to its data alone isn’t enough. Google already has that. What they don’t have is a way to rank that real time data, such as PageRank for standard web search. Real time data is simply displayed chronologically, which fails to sort the wheat from the chaff. Indeed, the quality of Google’s real time search is very un-Google like. It’s more reminiscent of Alta-vista…
• With a head start in aggregating and analysing real time data (aka trending topics), Twitter’s best opportunity is to develop the most advanced real time search product on the web. Google has proven that being the best at filtering data is a business model in itself. Twitter must nail real time search before anyone else, and should have a head start on the field. The good news is Twitter seems to be thinking the same thing.
• Finally, with a superior real time search product, Twitter should aim to strike a partnership with Google to make it available via their search engine. Advertising revenue generated via Google’s advertising in real time search results could then be split between the parties.

Of course, this is a gross simplification of the situation. Indeed, Google may seek to tackle real time search on its own. But Google has shown in the past that they’re not shy in acquiring businesses with a specific technical capability. And if not, there’s always another fairly large search that’s constantly looking for news ways to differentiate itself from Google…

Banner advertising sucks! That’s been my view ever since I got into the online marketing world. Indeed, I frequently tease anyone who works with banners on just how ineffective their weapon of choice is. And I’m rarely proven wrong. As a web strategist, I advise clients on how to leverage each web channel (search, email, social etc). And my recommendations are typically very similar. Search and email are consistently towards the top of the priority list. Social media usually sits somewhere in the middle (despite the fact that I write about it frequently). And almost without fail, banner advertising comes in dead last. User discretion advised…! Yet last week I was given a stark reminder that under the right circumstances, banner advertising can in fact kick ass! Indeed, last week I executed a banner campaign that was so successful, it wiped the floor with search. Yes… and a pig almost flew as well…!

Facebook marketing for the WIN!

If the thought of a banner campaign outperforming search is enough to shock a seasoned online marketer, the fact it was a Facebook campaign would truly knock their socks off.

If you were to do any sort of independent research on Facebook advertising, it’s unlikely to make for pretty reading. Tales of abominable click through and conversion rates are the norm. And I must admit that I’ve always been a skeptic. After all, social networks aren’t search engines. People aren’t in research mode. They’re there to socialise. So why would they click on an ad…?

Despite this, my research led me to the conclusion that Facebook was a fertile ground for the client. Their customers were there. We knew that. Competitors had already established successful fan pages. And there were tens of thousands of people with brand related keywords in their profiles to target. It wasn’t rocket science! There was a real opportunity there.

So we took the plunge…

And boy did it pay off!

The campaign results

Within hours of implementing the campaign we knew we had a winner. The community was growing considerably by the hour. Within a week we had connected with over a thousand new “fans” via Facebook at a cost of around $0.30 per person. Furthermore, the new fans weren’t simply joining the page, never to return. They were contributing wall posts, uploading photos and commenting on each other’s photos. Within a week, the community had generated over 100 photo uploads and almost 200 comments on those photos. The audience was engaged. The campaign was a runaway success.

People often question the true business value of a Facebook “fan”. The truth is that those people don’t understand the potential of Facebook as a communications platform. To me, acquiring a Facebook fan is much like acquiring a customer email address (few marketers will question the value of email acquisition). In both cases, customers are opting-in to receive communications from the brand.

While being careful not to abuse that privilege, the organisation can now communicate freely with that audience. Obtaining a Facebook “fan” shouldn’t be viewed as a goal itself. Rather, it is simply the start of a relationship. It is what is achieved via the ongoing communications that drives the real business value. Web traffic, new product awareness, customer advocacy/retention and real-time customer feedback are just some of the marketing goals that can be achieved via those communications.

In our case, even after just a week of establishing the page, we are beginning to see tangible business benefits being derived via Facebook communications.

Proof that banner advertising doesn’t suck?

Well… no. Not quite. In this specific campaign we were the beneficiaries of operating in an extremely high involvement industry (definitely within the top 3-5 purchases a consumer makes in their life). Customers have a true passion for the product and many are active advocates. This was a huge factor in the success of the campaign. The fruit was ripe for the picking.

In another low involvement industry the campaign could easily have tanked. So the point of the article isn’t to pump up Facebook or banner advertising. Instead, the key message is to understand your audience first before determining which marketing channels to employ. Don’t rule out a particular technique based upon previous experiences in another industry…

Rather, determine who your audience is, what they want, where they hang out & how they behave. Once you understand this, you’ll have a far better idea of how and where to hit them with a message that will resonate.

Who knows… it might even be a banner…

As some of you would already know, I’ve been actively involved in the upcoming Social Media Master Class event with US author & marketing strategist David Meerman Scott. It’s now less than two weeks until the event and I for one am looking forward to it immensely. David sits comfortably amongst the best marketing minds on the planet, regularly speaking with fellow luminaries Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki & Chris Brogan. In a world of self-professed gurus and wannabe’s, David stands as a pioneer in developing techniques to leverage social tools & technologies (in a human manner).

While most other marketing professionals hadn’t even heard of social media in 2006-2007, David was busy writing one of the first “bibles” on the topic. That book – “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” went on to become a Business Week bestseller and has since been translated into 22 different languages. His latest work – “World Wide Rave” looks in more depth at viral marketing and has already become an Amazon #1 bestseller.

Master Class presents a unique opportunity to pick the brains of one of the world’s most progressive marketing thinkers in an intimate environment. And as an added bonus, I’ll be participating in an industry panel at the end of the day for some open Q&A along with other local industry punters. So if you’re heading along, make sure you say g’day.

A few weeks ago Wrigley’s gum launched an ambitious social media marketing campaign for its new brand of chewing gum – 5 gum. I love it when I see established Aussie brands experimenting in social media, because there’s not a whole lot of precedent, yet there’s an army of critics ready to pounce on perceived “failures”. So it takes some courage to push a high profile campaign. The 5 gum campaign targeted urban influencers (designers, artists, musicians etc), challenging them to ‘remix’ content and add their own unique flavour. The formula had been successful for other brands. However, Wrigley’s campaign seemed to be missing one key ingredient… a trigger point. A reason to participate. While most branded social media campaigns provide users with an incentive (aka prize) to participate, Wrigley’s took the brave decision of encouraging organic (and unmotivated) participation. It’s a decision that seems to have backfired. A month later and the campaign site has less than 10 remixes submitted. The organic path hasn’t created momentum. Which beggars the question… is bribery necessary for social media success?

Before attempting to answer the question, it’s worth looking at some of the highest profile (but not necessarily successful) Australian campaigns of the last few months, and their approach to facilitating consumer participation in social channels. Just how high is the bribe factor in each? Let’s take a look:

V Australia

V Australia’s 4320LA campaign gave 3 Aussies the chance to win a round the world trip courtesy of the airline. The catch was that they first had to spend 3 days in LA and Tweet every single minute they were there. I’m guessing the aim was to get people talking about the ‘crazy’ feats of the lads, but with just a couple of hundred Twitter followers, I’d doubt it achieved that.

Bribery factor: Strong. It’s a round the world trip for goodness sakes.

iSpy Levis

iSpy Levi’s is a crafty little campaign devised by Levi’s’. It’s a Twitter based campaign that sees a Levi’s agent roaming the street with free pairs of Levi’s to give away. The agent gives clues as to their current location, and the first person to ask them gets a free pair of jeans. With over 1,500 followers the campaign has attracted a niche following.

Bribery factor: Moderate. With the cost of designer jeans these days, a free pair of Levi’s is not to be sneezed at.

Tooheys 6 Beers of Separation

Toohey’s 6 beers campaign is essentially a reality TV program, but has clearly been designed for online consumption via MySpace & YouTube. The program aims to validate the ’6 degrees’ theory that no more than 6 connections separate every person in the world. Four Australians were chosen to meet a celebrity via no more than 6 connections.

Bribery factor: Strong. International travel and celebrity hook ups are strong motivators.

Panasonic

Through the month of July, Panasonic ran a promotional campaign across Twitter & Facebook giving followers a chance to win a Wii every day for performing a variety of wacky challenges. With almost a thousand Facebook fans and over a thousand Twitter followers they’ve achieved some success.

Bribery factor: Moderate. Who doesn’t want a Wii?

The Best Job in the World

The mother of all Aussie viral/online PR campaigns. I doubt I need to re-tell the story here to anyone.

Bribery factor: Super duper strong! Dream job. Fifteen minutes of fame. A $150,000 salary. ‘Nuff said.

Looking beyond our shores, the trend of consumer bribery is also evident. Ford’s Fiesta Movement is one of the highest profile social media campaigns ever seen, handing 100 agents a new Fiesta for 6 months in exchange for regular discussion around the product. Moonfruit’s Twitter campaign is another high profile example, in which consumers were given the chance to win a MacBook’s for including the hashtag #Moonfruit in their Tweets. Again, bribery is the core tactic to get consumer’s talking about the brand.

So… is bribery in fact necessary for social media success?

Not quite.

As far as I can see there are two exceptions to the bribery approach:

• Not-for-profits
• The anti-campaign

Not-for-profits

Some of the best social/viral campaigns to have come from our shores have eminated from the not-for-profit sector. Greenpeace’s send-a-whale campaign is a perfect example, which has attracted the involvement of over 125,000 people lobbying against Japanese whaling practices. Amnesty International have followed a similar path in generating over 10,000 butterflies to raise awareness of victims of sex slavery during the World War era. Earth Hour has had success in building huge follower communities in networks such as Facebook & Twitter. The viral success of not-for-profits is certainly not motivated by bribery of a monetary nature…

However, I still suspect bribery to be an underlying factor in consumer participation… emotional bribery. Contributing to what is essentially an online petition is perhaps the easiest possible way to ease one’s social/humanitarian conscience. It allows people who are otherwise inactive in supporting such causes to feel as if they’re contributing to a better world. In speaking with people working within not-for-profits, it seems as if there is little transferral from basic online behaviours through to actions that really add value to the organisation (eg. donations, volunteeting, activism).

So the online viral campaign serves as an emotional bribe. A convenient and low-committment method to appease the average person’s social conscience.

The anti-campaign

By now, the social media purists may well be tearing their hair out in frustration at this post. The mere mention of the words ‘social media’ and ‘campaign’ is an oxymoron to them. To the purist, social networks are all about people, and marketing initiatives should be focused on a long-term commitment to developing relationships and customer retention. Which is exactly the opposite of a campaign approach, built upon bribery to gain attention/interest. Stephen Collins & Jonathon Crossfield have both written excellent posts from a purist perspective. And I must admit, I am probably 90% purist myself. But I also need to be practical to do my job…

The longer-term strategic approach is completely unreliant on bribery. Rather than ‘buying’ consumer word-of-mouth, the aim is to earn it through regular positive interactions. Marketing at its’ most basic level. Satisfy a customer and earn referrals as a reward. Ingenious!

Telstra provides a good example of an Australian organisation implementing the long-term approach. Their Twitter based customer support service is very much focused on longer-term marketing goals such as customer satisfaction & retention. And with over 1,500 followers it’s clear that they’re doing something right. So bribery certainly isn’t linked to their success. Likewise, many local telecommunications companies are active within the Whirlpool forums with similar intentions – generating positive word-of-mouth by connecting with customers one-to-one and resolving their problems.

But… the fact is that relatively few senior marketing decision makers are ready to make a total leap of faith into social media (and the resourcing required to sustain it). And it’s probably unfair to expect them to. Baby steps are necessary. Few organisations can go from social ignorance to a full-blooded commitment. It’s a massive quantam leap. So the social campaign (and the related bribery based tactics) provides a ‘comfort zone’ for marketers wanting to test the waters. Campaigns are what they know. Thus, the social media campaign becomes their entry point into the social web.

And for the anti-campaign-ers out there, Panasonic provides a nice little case study on corporate progression in social networks. After dabbling with bribery related tactics (as described earlier), they have recently announced the launch of an online customer support strategy within social networks.

There is hope.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know I’m prone to the occasional rant. And one of my more frequent musings is the conservatism of Australian businesses towards social media. But rather than cracking that old chestnut open again, today I’m going to tell a happy tale of social media excellence. Because we can’t always be grumpy can we? It’s a story of an Australian organisation applying social media to their industry in a killer manner. And would you believe it… it’s a footy club! Yes. A footy club. While the industry is often portrayed as neanderthal like, the Essendon Football Club is putting most Aussie businesses to shame in their application of social technologies. No wonder I love them so much…

It’s clear that the Essendon Football Club has a strong committment to the web as a marketing channel. Indeed, they are the only club in the AFL to maintain a stand alone site beyond the AFL’s official hub, thereby sacrificing financial compensation from the AFL. But by maintaining complete control over their web presence, they have been able to innovate at a higher level than any other club. And as it turns out, they’re innovating at a superior level to most Australian businesses. Let’s take a look at how they’re applying social technologies to their industry:

Twitter

The Essendon Football club’s use of Twitter is impressive. While other businesses fumble for practical uses, Essendon obviously recognise the strengths of Twitter and tailor their usage accordingly. And with almost 3,000 followers, the punters seem to agree. Three particular uses of Twitter have impressed me:

• Breaking News: Rather than utilising Twitter as a broadcast channel to distribute news, Essendon FC uses the immediate nature of Twitter to break it. Indeed, the club’s Twitter feed was used to break one of the biggest stories of the year – the shock recruitment of their new CEO from rival club Hawthorn. Mainstream media later reported the news, citing the Twitter feed as the news source. The club also used Twitter to break the news that star player Jobe Watson would make his comeback from injury.



• Live event coverage: Twitter and sports are a match made in heaven, particularly when a game isn’t covered on free-to-air television. Live Tweeting provides an alternative form of coverage for fans who are unable to attend/watch the game. The Essendon Twitter account is used on gameday to give blow by blow descriptions of how the game is unfolding.



• Player profiles: The club also seems to be strongly involved in establishing a player presence on Twitter, which is a brilliant move. AFL players are idolised across the country, and Twitter allows fans to ‘connect’ with their heroes, opening a small window of insight into their everyday life. Sports hero gazing holds just as much appeal as celebrity gazing, as illustrated by the popular accounts held by Lance Armstrong & Shaquille O’Neal. Jobe Watson and Angus Monfries are the two Essendon players currently on Twitter, with the club actively promoting a rivalry between the two over who can attract the most followers.

Live player chat

Aside from Twitter, Essendon also utilises a custom built live chat service on its’ own web site dedicated to live match coverage. The most recent match coverage can be viewed here with around 300 entries from supporters. The master stroke of the internal live chat service is that each week a different player participates in the chat session with fans during the match, providing their thoughts and commentary on the game.

It’s worth noting that the players participating are not fringe players or outcasts. In most cases the players are regular first team players who are injured or suspended including Andrew Welsh, Adam McPhee and Angus Monfries. I believe captain Matthew Lloyd has also hosted a session. Much like Twitter, the initiative is clearly aimed at bringing fans closer to their heroes. And while the player’s participation and interaction with fans is very much limited, it is the perception that fans can connect with players that creates value. Given players match day committments (even injured players), it’s unlikely a higher level of engagement during the game can be realistically achieved.

Blogs and open commenting

A club blog has been established as part of Essendon’s web infrastructure, although as an internally built tool, it lacks the functionality of WordPress blog. Most contributions come from the coaching staff and players themselves, albeit at a rate of about 1-3 posts a month. The posts provide some level of insight into the inner-sanctum of the club, discussing issues such as finals prospects, the challenge of interstate travel and dealing with long-term injuries.

While the blog component of the site is perhaps underutilised, it is the blog-like commenting function on all news items that adds a real level of audience engagement to the site. It is not uncommon for match reports to attract 100+ comments from passionate fans (including myself). The open and unfiltered fan commentary has built a vibrant community that reflects the true pulse of the punters. Fans aggregate each week to rejoice in victories over arch rivals, and to bemoan dismal losses against lowly ranked opponents. Admirably, the club is brave enough to allow the most ardent of trolls to post incessant drivel week after week in the knowledge that others will jump in to defend the club/players/coach.

As a result of the unbiased commentary, the Essendon FC match report is now one of my first stops after a game. I come back to the site regularly with the specific intent of reading fan commentary. I’m keenly interested in seeing how others have perceived the team’s performance, as well as contributing my own thoughts. By simply allowing open fan discussion, they have made me a far more engaged and loyal user of their web site.

Video

Bomber TV is Essendon’s subscription based online video service, to which Bomber fans can subscribe for a cost of $10 per year. All the standard content is there that you’d expect from a footy club including game highlights and press conferences. However, the club produces a raft of unique video based content to ensure fans get value for their money (all $10 of it). The wide range of video content includes:

• Panel Shows: Two panel shows are produced each week with the involvement of Essendon’s assistant coaches. One show analyses the performance of the team in their most recent match, and the other previews the game for the upcoming weekend.



• Interviews: Player interviews are a staple of Bomber TV with club legends and current players giving insights into their careers and lives.



• Behind the scenes footage: Fans are given a taste of the inner workings of the club with footage from club functions, training sessions, interstate trips, sponsors events & more.

User comments are also open for video content, although far less utilised than the comments function for the general news.

Social network

The fifth bow to Essendon’s social media armory is a niche social network for Bombers supporters called ‘The Hangar’. It operates in the manner of a very simplified version of Facebook. Fans can create their own profile page and connect with other Bomber fans. In theory the concept is solid. Football fans have a common interest and offline social clubs thrive. Indeed, I’d appreciate being able to meet more Essendon fans as sometimes my regular group of friends can’t make it to the game. However, the execution of the social network is poor (but I’ll give them a break… they can’t get everything right).

The greatest problem for The Hangar is that it is extremely difficult to actually connect with other fans. The only way to search for people is by surname (which is a very cumbersome listing process rather than a keyword search). But what if I don’t know who I’m searching for? Isn’t the point of social networks to connect with new people? So how do I know who to connect with? I’d much rather run a search based on interests or geography (perhaps we could hitch a ride to the game together). It seems other people encounter the same problem, because I have only ever received 2 friendship requests from fellow fans. Even when I do connect with others, there is little scope for real interaction. We can leave comments on each other’s walls, but that’s about it. No email or alternative form of communication exist.

Despite its limitations, The Hangar has seems to have thousands of members (as demonstrated when searching by surname). So the concept has some potential. However, until it is more functional, it is unlikely to be utilised to its full potential.

Mobile

While not strictly a social initiative, Essendon’s mobile site is further evidence that the club is committed to innovating in emerging channels. The mobile site allows me to access key pieces of club information including game results and reviews, club news, the ladder, a fixture & more. The mobile interface is greatly simplified to allow convenient browsing from my iPhone.

Australian businesses – watch & learn!

There’s no question that sporting clubs have a head start over most businesses when it comes to applying social tools & technologies. The sheer passion of the average sports fan means that they are for more likely to be drawn to social technologies the club creates. Most businesses simply can’t replicate that level of passion or interest.

However, it is still up to the club to devise smart tactics for each channel to engage fans. And it is here that Essendon excels. While many businesses approach social tools with a traditional marketing mindset, Essendon has identified the strengths of each channel (social network adise) and delivered an experience that creates true value for fans.

Now… there’s no question that my judgment in the matter may be biased based on my affinity with Essendon Football Club, but I can’t think of an Australian organisation doing a better job of implementing social technologies. If you can, feel free to drop their name in the comments…

This post has been a long time coming. It seems like an eternity ago that my pal Trevor Young sent me a copy of Connection Generation by Iggy Pintado to read. And I’m certainly at the back of the queue when it comes to reviewing the book, with people such as Lucio Ribeiro and Craig Wilson already giving their considered opinions. But with a hectic lifestyle, the fact is I rarely dedicate 15 mins an evening to offline reading. So finishing a book can be a bit of a journey at times. But enough about me… let’s take a look at the book.

Connection Generation is all about the influence technology and the Internet has had on the way we communicate and connect to each other. Iggy argues that everyone who has lived through the emergence of the world wide web is part of the connected generation, regardless of their demographic. And he’s right. Since the emergence of the web as a communications channel, it’s next to impossible to have not have adopted it in some manner to communicate and connect (even if it is just for viewing emails). It is the manner in which we have adopted the technology into our life that distinguishes us.

Iggy breaks the connected generation into 5 core groups, based upon their adoption and usage of connection technologies:

• Basic connectors: Those that largely ignore new technologies, or apply it with a single-minded & limited purpose
• Passive connectors: Those that understand communication technologies, but choose not to adopt it as a major part of their life
• Selective connectors: Those that manage their connectivity in a organised manner with proficiency, relevant to their particular needs.
• Active connectors: Those that have a deep understanding of connection technologies, and use it proactively for personal and business gain.
• Super connectors: Expert connectors that manage various connection technologies in a structured method to continually expand their network.

The break down of the connected generation is where I got the most benefit from the book. There’s clear similarities between Iggy’s categorisation of the connected generation and Groundswell’s Social Technographics Profile (which is also comprised of 5 key user groups). However, while Groundswell outlined the core behaviours of the different user groups, Connection Generation goes into greater depth into the psychology of why users behave as they do. Consider this description of basic connectors:

“They claim to be technologically disabled and are usually in deep denial about their ability to learn and use technology to connect. Their preference is to spend as little of their time using connection technology as is humanely possible. The basic connector is also challenged with applying technology to process. As technology is not at the forefront of their thinking and they are entrenched in “established-way-is-the-best-way” thinking, they may not see the possibilities and benefits of using technology to save time, money or effort.”

I found this type of insight particularly interesting, along with a subsequent chapter on the challenges of managing each user group. The second half of the book concentrates on best practices for leveraging connection technologies from a personal and business perspective. And it must be said, Iggy is the king of acronyms when it comes to outlining how to leverage connection technology. I counted four different acronyms in the second half of the book:

• HITS: An acronym describing the behavioural pattens of the connected generation
• PLAN: An acronym describing the steps to manage connected individuals
• GROUP: An acronym describing the typical behaviour of online groups
• OPEN: An acronym describing the steps in managing connected groups

There were also the ABC’s of connection and the three R’s of connection. Phew! I probably got less out of the second half of the book as I am an avid reader in the field. But that is not to say that it’s not good. There is plenty there for beginner’s and intermediate’s to pick up. And there were also a range of case studies I hadn’t seen before. I’d suggest the book is most suited to those just beginning their adventures in social media and connection technologies, but there’s enough there to keep advanced audiences interested as well.
]]> http://onlinemarketingbanter.com/book-review-connection-generation/feed/ 3 http://onlinemarketingbanter.com/guest-post-on-search-engine-people/ http://onlinemarketingbanter.com/guest-post-on-search-engine-people/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:56:27 +0000 James Duthie http://onlinemarketingbanter.com/?p=483

It was a pleasure to guest blog for my Canadian friends over at Search Engine People today. The Search Engine People blog was one of the very first I ever added to my RSS reader and has remained compulsory reading ever since. What’s more Jeff, Ruud and the rest of the crew are amongst the most approachable A-listers on the Net. My post extends the social media mythbusting series I’ve been working on over the last month or so. This time I dispel the myth that customers are vengeful creatures desperately waiting for an opportunity to troll your business. To prove it I took on the painstaking task of analysing 150 user comments from 3 separate blogs to determine the negative comment ratio. I included the GM blog because I figured if anyone would be getting troll treatment right now, it’s GM. It was hard work, but the results are fascinating.

Read ‘Social media mythbusting – The customer’s gonna get me‘ now

I’m pleased to announce that the guest blogging world tour has officially launched for 2009. Over the next couple of months I’ll be invading numerous blogs throughout the industry with my inane banter. The tour officially kicked off at Steven Bradley’s blog – Van SEO Design. My first guest post for 2009 profiles the ultimate social media rockstar. No… it’s not Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan or Maki. It’s Lily Allen… of course.

Check out the post – ‘The original social media rockstar‘ now.

Are you sick of hearing your friends same old travel stories? Well… next time they launch into a tired old tale you’ve heard 50 times, point them in the direction of Way2go and ask them to tell someone who cares. Way2go is a new niche user generated site/magazine for the traveler community, and is backed by NRMA Motoring & Services. Rather than relying on journalists to produce tales of travel, the Way2go team have handed all writing responsiblities over to the masses. Today I have the exclusive opportunity of speaking with Shane McClelland, General Manager of Corporate Communications at NRMA, about this ambitious new project.

Disclaimer – I’ve not received a single penny for this post. I’m covering it as based on its relevance to digital media.

Q: Why has NRMA decided to launch the Way2go concept?

A: NRMA has been publishing its member magazine – Open Road – for more than 80 years. In recent years NRMA has expanded its portfolio of publications focusing on niche segments and now also publishes Australian Classic Cars and Australian Caravan & RV. Way2Go fits this strategy of developing publications that appeal to particular segments of our membership base and help to build communities around specific areas of interest. Real-life stories are the largest growth area both in magazines and TV programs.  The growth of blogs, MySpace and Facebook underpin this publishing concept.

Q: Do you see social networks such as Facebook as a competitive threat given that users have the ability to post travel photos, videos and stories?

A: We see social networks as a tool that we can use to help drive user generated content to the Way2Go web site. Way2Go will develop its own identity and style over time and is truly focused just on travel and those who have a passion for travel.

Q: Were there any hesitations launching the concept at this time given the state of the economy and the tourism market?

A: There are challenges to be faced; no question about it, with the current economic climate, and its impact on the travel industry however people are still interested in travel regardless of the economic climate. Way2Go is all about real travelers sharing their real travel experiences with others.

Q: How will Way2Go differ from TripAdvisor, Trav Buddy and other established (global) user driven travel sites?

A: Way2Go differs from the other travel sites in that it also has a printed magazine which includes more in-depth stories than those on the website. There are also opportunities for travelers to win prizes if their stories are published in the magazine. Way2Go will be a source of reliable, truthful, accurate, trustworthy advice and will not feature advertorial.

Q: Given that user generated content is almost exclusively the domain of the web, why was the decision made to take Way2go to the print market as well?

A: There are a number of real life magazines in the marketplace at the moment and they are quite successful. Current publications like That’s Life! magazine – with a distribution of 320,000 weekly – and Take Five magazine, – with a distribution of 250,000 weekly -demonstrate an appetite for reader-generated content. Way2Go is the travel equivalent of these magazines and unique in the travel magazine marketplace.

Q: User generated sites live and die by the quality and frequency of contributions. What plans are in place to foster contributions from the traveler community?

A: We will be leveraging our other titles, websites and staff to drive contributions to the Way2Go site. We are also looking at how we can leverage our associated travel businesses to encourage their customers to contribute content. We have also employed the services of a digital PR agency to drive travelers to our website.

Q: What are the goals in terms of user participation? How many stories, photos & videos are you hoping to receive in the first few months of operation?

It will take some time to get the website up and running, but we expect that number of contributions to increase as the magazine and site becomes better known.

Q: The site itself looks like it will be information rich if travelers adopt it (and free). What motivation will people have to subscribe to the hard copy publication?

A: The Way2Go magazine will feature more in-depth editorial content, prizes and puzzles.  It has a strong focus on entertainment and will be a good read for subscribers.

Q: User generated content is typically difficult to monetise (ala YouTube & Facebook). How does NRMA plan to generate revenue via the Way2go site?

The site will be monitised using a traditional online advertising model to generate income. We are able to sell packaged advertising across all our titles and website properties.

Q: Many travel sites include hotel info & reviews (often driving commissions and revenue). Are there any plans to introduce hotel reviews to Way2go?

Not at this stage however if members of the site post reviews of hotels, airlines and accommodation the site will carry them provided they are genuine user generated reviews.

And my thoughts on the concept…

I can’t wrap this up without having my own 2 cents on the topic. I’m thrilled an Australian organisation has the kahunas to launch a true user generated site. I know from experience just how hesitant most Aussie businesses are towards user generated content/social media projects. Indeed, I can’t think of too many advanced user generated sites that have hatched from our shores. So kudos to NRMA for having the courage to launch the project.

My main question for now is the business model itself, and the blending of new and old media. Is it a meatball sundae? Should a new media format (user generated content) be mixed with a traditional print media business model of subscriptions/advertising? I’m not sure… but Shane has managed to round up a few hundred pre-launch subscriptions already… so perhaps he knows a bit more about the game than me.

Aside from that, I wonder whether people will warm to the journalistic content format. When I look for user generated feedback online I generally seek weight of opinion. I want to know that a specific hotel has an average rating of 4 stars from 113 different people. To me, that gives it credibility. Way2go departs from this traditional style of quantifiable user feedback, relying instead on the power of stories. That’s not necessarily a bad thing… but they’re going to need some good story tellers.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Shane for his time and input. Way2go is a bold new project and it’s exciting to see big businesses that are willing to be innovative and take a risk. I’ll be watching Way2go closely over the coming months to see exactly how it evolves. Good luck Shane.

On January 11th my humble little blog celebrated its very first birthday. But rather than publish some lame/self congratulatory post, I’ve decided to follow in the footsteps of my buddy Tad, and use the occasion to embark upon a little reflection. Infants are sponges for information in their first few years of life, and as a blogging infant I’ve certainly learned A LOT. So today I thought I’d share the five most important lessons of the past 12 months…

Lesson 1 – Momentum disappears damn quickly

In the final quarter of 2008, my life was largely pre-occupied with personal matters such as my recent engagement and the all important end of year holidays. As a result my publishing frequency and external social media participation dropped dramatically. What surprised me was just how quickly my blog lost momentum. Momentum is perhaps one of the most underrated characteristics of blogging success. In my case, I had spent 9 months building momentum by:

1. Frequently publishing new material
2. Networking regularly in my preferred online communities – Sphinn & StumbleUpon
3. Commenting regularly on other blogs
4. Frequently contributing guest posts to prominent third party blogs
5. Participating in the occasional external interview

I suspected my efforts had bought me some well deserved time off. Apparently not! In the blogosphere it seems that out of sight means out of mind (even if it’s just for a few days…). Within weeks of reducing my participation I’d noticed dramatic drops in traffic, subscriber engagement, reader interaction (comments) and social media support. The loss of momentum was cumulative as the period of inactivity extended, to the point where it become a virtual ghost town in December.

Yeesh… can’t a guy take a break…?

Lesson 2 – It’s not all about the traffic

Like most bloggers I spent most of my first year obsessing over traffic levels. I’d check my stats every morning and eagerly anticipate the traffic spike after I published a new post. I even developed a split personality. But if my time off in late 2008 taught me nothing else, it was that traffic ain’t everything. With my publishing frequency at just 25% of my most active output, traffic plunged:

Eeep!! While it wasn’t unexpected, my heart broke and my ego was crushed. With reduced productivity and output, I expected my subscriber numbers to follow. But they didn’t. In fact, subscriber growth continued at almost exactly the same rate as when I was most at my most active:

Amazingly, the final quarter of 2008 saw the steepest growth in subscriber numbers of the year. I don’t really have a good explanation of how or why this occurred (aside from a backlog of good content…?), but it did make one thing abundantly clear. While traffic may be good for the ego, if visitors don’t convert to subscribers, it serves no great purpose .

Lesson 3 – Personal blogging doesn’t make you a social media expert

Earlier this year a smart young buck by the name of Julian Cole put together a list of the top 100 Australian marketing blogs. It replicates the Ad Age structure by using traffic ranking signals to rank Aussie blogs. I was fortunate enough to come in at number 11 on the list. Hooray for me. Some would say that makes me a social media expert. To that I say… “bah”!

Certainly I have an idea of how to build and promote a personal blog. And based on that knowledge the agency I work for began to involve me more heavily in client projects with an element of social media. But what I increasingly found was that very few of the tactics I used to build my blog were applicable to the corporate environment. Amongst other things issues such as time frames, ROI, resourcing, legalities and management hesitancy rendered many of the tactics I’d used redundant. My personal blogging experience still held some value, but its applicability was limited.

Rather than say any more, I recommend you watch what Brian Chappell has to say on the matter (not the highest quality vid but the message is poignant):

Lesson 4 – Networking is forever…

It wasn’t long into my blogging adventures that I realised I needed to develop a personal network. Indeed, I created my very own process to build a network of influential friends and peers. And what do you know… it worked. But having successfully created my personal network, I sat back and enjoyed the spoils (mainly in the form of social media support). I thought the job was done. It clearly wasn’t.

At the time that I published my post on how to build an influential network I came under criticism from people who thought the approach was akin to ass kissing.

“If you want to devote your life and time to kissing up, go right ahead. You might get a kiss or two back. But that kiss will be worthless in a little while when the ‘top dogs’ you kissed up to yesterday disappear tomorrow.”

I’ll never agree with the ass kissing argument, but boy did the crux of the comment turn out to be true. Months later, and for various reasons, many members of my posse have significantly reduced their participation in my chosen social networks. And as a result, the support I was generating slowly dwindled away. Rather than continuing to proactively play the networking game, I became lax. My bad…

Let 09 be the year of resourceful networking!

Lesson 5 – Guest blogging rocks

If you’ve read this blog for a while you’d know I’m a huge advocate of guest blogging. In the middle of last year I launched a guest blogging ‘world tour’, during which I contributed to a range of prominent industry blogs including SEO Scoop (twice), Huomah, Techipedia, SEO 2.0 (twice), TheVanBlog & Social Desire (twice).

Initially I was a little nervous about ‘giving my traffic away’. I hadn’t quite conquered the traffic obsession just yet. But I soon learned better. Throughout the year, my biggest subscriber jumps always came after a popular guest post was published. I was sacrificing traffic, but gaining subscribers. And what’s more important to the long term growth of your blog…? I think Tad summed it up perfectly below (aside from the whole ‘sought after’ bit…):

“You can’t really measure reputation. By now you are one of the most sought after writers in the industry. I doubt that a few more visitors to your blog would have the same effect.”

With that in mind I’m planning a second world tour starting as of February ’09. First cab off the rank will be Steven’s blog, because I’ve given him lame broken promises for guest posts over the past few months. Sorry buddy! For everyone else, if you want your blog to be part of the tour in 09, feel free to drop me a line.

What’s with all the negativity dude?

You may have noticed that 4 of the 5 lessons focus on things that I haven’t done particularly well. That’s not to say there haven’t been positives, because there have been plenty (many of which I have written about). Hell… if there weren’t any positives I doubt I’d still be going. But I think our greatest lessons come from our mistakes… and I know that has certainly been the case for me in my first year of blogging. Hopefully my mistakes will help others to learn.

The challenge now is to take decisive actions from those lessons in order to build a better blog in 09. Because as  Einstein would say – insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results…