Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

12 August 2010

Finding the Right Social Media Mix for Market Research

by Debi Kleiman

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All posts by Debi Kleiman

This week we held a webinette: Finding the Right Social Media Mix for Market Research. What’s a webinette you ask? It’s a bite-sized webinar meant to give you some great information on a focused topic in 30 minutes or less.


Ps- Be sure to watch it in full screen mode for the best experience

This week we held a webinette: Finding the Right Social Media Mix for Market Research. What’s a webinette you ask? It’s a bite-sized webinar meant to give you some great information on a focused topic in 30 minutes or less.


Ps- Be sure to watch it in full screen mode for the best experience

In it, Julie Wittes Schlack, SVP of Research and Innovation for Communispace spent 20 minutes helping attendees learn about the differences, best uses and benefits of private insight communities, online panels, social networks and online listening platforms. She also provided a framework for how to decide the right approach based on learning objectives. We had some time at the end for questions.

We had such a great response to the event we thought it would be helpful to post it on our blog; hopefully you’ll find it interesting too.  We’d love to hear your questions and thoughts about it, so please leave comments for us. Also, if you have ideas for topics appropriate for future webinettes, let us know!  We’re excited to hear from you.

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11 August 2010

It Takes an iVillage: A conversation with Candice Carpenter Olson on the evolution of community

by Diane Hessan

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All posts by Diane Hessan

One of the most iconic symbols of the early days of online community is iVillage – and the company’s founder and former CEO, Candice Carpenter Olson, recently visited us at Communispace. It was fascinating to hear about her original vision for iVillage, her philosophy about how women would connect with each other on the web, and her next big idea in the learning space.

One of the most iconic symbols of the early days of online community is iVillage – and the company’s founder and former CEO, Candice Carpenter Olson, recently visited us at Communispace.  It was fascinating to hear about her original vision for iVillage, her philosophy about how women would connect with each other on the web, and her next big idea in the learning space.

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6 August 2010

Marketing is Dead

by Charlotte Birkner

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All posts by Charlotte Birkner

Well actually it’s not; marketing is more powerful than ever these days, as the latest Old Spice campaign can attest! But, who started this whole viral, user-generated, guerilla, social marketing concept anyways? Lately people have been saying it was the Grateful Dead.

Well actually it’s not; marketing is more powerful than ever these days, as the latest Old Spice campaign can attest! But, who started this whole viral, user-generated, guerilla, social marketing concept anyways? Lately people have been saying it was the Grateful Dead.

Unfortunately, I never became a Deadhead. But, I did admire the stuffed animal Dead Bears during trips to Newbury Comics, with my dad and brother, back in my middle-school days, and even bought a purple-and-green one. Little did I know, I too was part of their strategy. The CEO of HubSpot recently co-authored a book entitled “Marketing Strategies of the Grateful Dead,” which was reviewed in the Boston Globe last week.

They write that the band cultivated a loyal following by giving things away — letting people record their concerts and freely distribute music, going around their promotions department and building their own mailing list, and even letting people buy premium tickets by mail (what, mail? yeah in the “olden days” you had to get tickets right at the box office, so this was pretty cool). They also encouraged “artisans” to “co-opt the band’s fan base by selling compatible, often handmade, products at performances,” says the Globe article, hence my Dead Bear. 

To add to the Dead “buzz,” an article in the March issue of The Atlantic talks about how it was the Dead’s lyricist, John Perry Barlow, who made this connection way back in 1994, in Wired Magazine, saying that “the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away.”  He went on to say in the Atlantic article “if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows me, and my value as a creator is dramatically enhanced.” That’s a pretty good Customer Value Proposition if you ask me!

In terms of connecting with their market and creating loyal customers, the free model worked pretty well for the Dead. But, how is it working today for other companies? Well, consider how we are all marketed to online.  About five minutes ago, I got an email from Virgin America saying that if I buy a plane ticket in the next 24 hours they will donate $5 from my purchase, and for every ticket sale, to an educational cause. Wait, I have to pay? Well, I think it’s pretty popular because I just clicked on the link and I’m still waiting for the page to load. Or, when I followed one of my favorite clothing companies on Twitter and they sent me a 25-percent-off coupon; thanks guys! While I’m not getting “free” stuff, I already know which dress I’m buying with the coupon, so I’d say the strategy is working pretty well!

What do you think? Can companies create brand loyalty by giving things away? Or is the Dead’s strategy just going to Hell in a Bucket?

3 Responses to “Marketing is Dead”

  1. Barry Silverstein says:
    August 6, 2010 at 1:46 pm

    One good contemporary example might be Apple and its free apps. Of course the Apple devices are not cheap, but they build a lot of brand loyalty with the downloadable apps., many of which are free.
    Taking it a step further, Google has done pretty well with free search.
    Couple of current examples where companies build value and loyalty through “free” services to consumers.
    Barry

  2. Jeff Dale says:
    August 8, 2010 at 11:17 pm

    Great post Charlotte! My feeling is that free marketing is a great way to gain visibility and “share of mind”, but often fails at gaining “share of wallet”. A quick example from my experience:

    I manage marketing efforts for two local dance studios. I produce videos of various performances by the dancers and give free DVDs and video links away to students. This added value increases loyalty among customers. It also builds visibility as these students share the videos with their friends and family.

    On the other hand, we tried giving away a free month of dance classes to anyone who refers a new student (an attempt to increase enrollment). We distributed this info on a certificate to over 300 active students, and not one redeemed it!

  3. Aviva says:
    August 9, 2010 at 9:53 am

    The Dead’s strategy is definitely alive and well today, even in the music industry. Amanda Palmer, a Boston-based solo artist and member of the Dresden Dolls, is notorious for reaching out directly to her fans and being extremely generous with her content – and her fan base is nothing if not loyal.

    Jeff, I think the key to making these promotions do help you grab that share of wallet is looking at your business model and figuring out how you can use free or discounted services to push your high margin, or highest demand, products, while delighting the customer will extras. So for example, concert ticket sales might have been the top priority for the Grateful Dead, and their customers essentially acted like marketing agents for ticket sales.

    Really interesting post, love the blog!

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3 August 2010

When Granny Comes Callin’

by Julie Ruiz

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All posts by Julie Ruiz

For many of us, the dawn of the “Information Age” and computer illiteracy are far behind us, like dinosaurs roaming the Earth. Or even like buying encyclopedias from a door to door salesman (I was told at a young age that I was LUCKY to have my own set, HA!) Although for many Baby Boomers, finding information and products on the Internet is a daunting task.

For many of us, the dawn of the “Information Age” and computer illiteracy are far behind us, like dinosaurs roaming the Earth.  Or even like buying encyclopedias from a door to door salesman (I was told at a young age that I was LUCKY to have my own set, HA!) Although for many Baby Boomers, finding information and products on the Internet is a daunting task.

For instance, my grandmother still refers to the Internet as a person, like a faceless man in a suit with enumerable secrets locked away in a metal suitcase. “Yes, Grandma…I will ask the Internet.” And often I am forced to placate her, while taking a few minutes to play treasure hunter for her – whether it’s paying bills or buying items from the Disney store online, assuring her that you don’t have to go ALL the way to Orlando to get Mickey Mouse socks. They just don’t get it! Meanwhile, I find myself asking, “Why is Grandma suddenly calling to get information from me? What happened to the old ‘how’s work’ question? When did the paradigm shift?” Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with this problem …

Morey Wright, of South Florida opened Netcrossers, a service based firm that helps Seniors navigate the web in a way that’s comfortable, safe and convenient.  For as little as $199 a year, Seniors get unlimited access to a web specialist for search requests. This concierge tool can be used for a variety of things, like finding the perfect earrings, or helping Granny check in to the grocery store on Foursquare.

Ok, that last one was a joke. I don’t need another medium to find out a lady who used the 10 items or fewer line with 12 items (#killme). However, if it will help her get the information she needs without bugging me in the process, I think its value is inherent.

And while I didn’t invent this business, I’m happy Mr. Wright did.

So tell me, is $4 a week worth the price of catering to Granny’s insatiable whim?

3 Responses to “When Granny Comes Callin’”

  1. Morey says:
    August 3, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    Thanks for the write up Julie! At Netcrossers our mission is simplifying the lives of Seniors! And to answer your question, i think granny is worth the price of one Starbucks visit a week!

    Morey Wright
    Founder and CEO
    Netcrossers

  2. Julie Ruiz says:
    August 3, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    Morey, I think your business is the epitomy of innovation. I’ve been following your company recently, and I’m excited to see your employment goals come to life. Thanks for bringing jobs to South Florida!

  3. Jason says:
    August 5, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Hey Julie, great article. I had no idea about this company but it makes sense. Like you said… most seniors just don’t get it. A phone call is so simple and it’s like… calling Google.. or calling Mr. Internet for an answer. Now the question is, how often can they call, up to how many hours of service do you get? I guess I’ll have to mosey my way over to the website now.

    My last question is… who will win the Heat/Celts game on opening night?

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2 August 2010

Would You Want to Know Your Competitor’s Strategy?

by Bill Alberti

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All posts by Bill Alberti

A story surfaced today on TechCrunch.com claiming that a Facebook employee boasted the company “has obtained copies of proprietary Google documents outlining their social strategy.” Besides being way uncool to yammer on about at a cocktail party, it poses an interesting question: Would you even want to know your competitors’ plans?

A story surfaced today on TechCrunch.com claiming that a Facebook employee boasted the company “has obtained copies of proprietary Google documents outlining their social strategy.”  Besides being way uncool to yammer on about at a cocktail party, it poses an interesting question: Would you even want to know your competitors’ plans? 

Wouldn’t it limit your thinking – from offense to defense; from what you believe to what your competitors believe?  Chasing competitors who are behind you is a dangerous business.  Might you lose focus on your customers by thinking too much about your competition?

What do you think?  Would you want to know their plans?

2 Responses to “Would You Want to Know Your Competitor’s Strategy?”

  1. Brad Mampe says:
    August 2, 2010 at 3:00 pm

    I read this and immediately thought, “Runners on second still try to steal the catcher’s signals.” That’s not 100% analogous, but it’s a good start. And sports and games serve as a useful analogy in and of themselves: More often than not, the person who acts last often has an advantage, as they get to plan their own strategy based on the actions of their opponent. That’s ignoring any assumptions about the time involved, of course – in football, you wouldn’t elect to kick the ball if you won the coin flip in overtime.

    There is tremendous value in understanding what your opponent is doing. Unlike the sports and games analogy, though, in a business context, you’re not limited to a single opponent, and spending time to evaluate how to best proceed can be costly.

    Consider risk/reward propositions. The risk part is the cost associated with being wrong; the reward part is comprised of the gain associated with being right. The more I understand the hows and whys of what my competitor is doing, the better I can devise an approach that effectively counters it. While I can’t quantify it, I’m guessing these gains more than outweigh the losses of plodding ahead without knowledge of what my competitors do. I’m taking the insider info virtually all the time.

    Of course, all this is assuming that knowledge is absolutely legitimate. If there’s even a small chance of deception, then the choice is much more interesting – but that’s a topic for another blog post.

  2. Rich Weiss says:
    August 2, 2010 at 5:16 pm

    Bill, could not agree with you more. There is a mystique to not knowing that pushes you to wanting to stay ahead. While I’m sure it would be nice to have insight into their plans, I’d much rather have a wild imagination and plan for the worse.

    Also, the pragmatist in me wonders if I were to stumble across this information, is it real or a set up? I say know who you are, what your values are, and build your strategy with that in mind instead of chasing your tail.

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30 July 2010

Trust Me.

by Rocky Prozeller

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All posts by Rocky Prozeller

Did you know there are currently 10 elephants enrolled in painting schools in Thailand, and among the trunks toting paint brushes, the overwhelmingly preferred color is purple?

Did you know there are currently 10 elephants enrolled in painting schools in Thailand, and among the trunks toting paint brushes, the overwhelmingly preferred color is purple?


Having trouble sorting fact from fiction? You’re not alone.

According to the 2010 USC Annenberg Digital Future Study released earlier this week, nearly 80 percent of Web users rely on the Internet as a rolodex for informed reading, but a significantly smaller segment believes the spouted stats are sincere – and those digits are dropping annually. Ten years ago, 55 percent considered the majority of material concrete; in today’s edition that number dropped to 39 percent, a new low for the Digital Future Project.

Even search engines such as Google and Yahoo – traditional stalwarts of online sincerity – have lost some of their luster, dropping 11 percent on the reliability register. But what’s most stimulating (or simply scary) is the significant slide in trust even among websites we choose to visit regularly, a stat which trickled down for the third time in as many years.

If consumer confidence in online information continues to erode, how long do companies have before the lack of faith moves beyond the one medium and infects a brand’s overall believability? This raises the real question of how to win that confidence back and attain the vaunted status of ‘old faithful’.

Solid relationships require true trust – an attribute earned, not owed. The one direction offered by websites, purely pushing information out, isn’t engaging enough to build the requisite rapport needed to create certitude – that requires a two-way dialogue. Dynamic conversations allow consumers to think, test and ultimately interact with a concept; the ability to challenge inspires confidence.

Providing a platform for pondering back and forth is a means for entertaining the elephant in the room, that way we can sort fact from purple propaganda.

– 

Here’s to wishing readers from sea to shining sea a whale of a weekend as we jump out of July and attack August!

One Response to “Trust Me.”

  1. Janet Bednarz says:
    August 1, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    Well, I don’t care what other people say – I think Mr. One Eye is real.

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27 July 2010

Can McDonald’s Pull Off “Local”?

by Lou Tamposi

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All posts by Lou Tamposi

Local is all the rage right now. Everywhere I turn, I see restaurants and stores pitching their food as locally grown and sold. I think this is pretty fantastic (though it certainly can get out of hand—I recently saw a “locally raised and organically fed filet of rabbit with a side of natural root of summer squash and a home-grown fat of pig garnish”), so I was especially intrigued when I saw that McDonald’s has recently launched a “locally sourced” food campaign in Washington state.

Local is all the rage right now. Everywhere I turn, I see restaurants and stores pitching their food as locally grown and sold. I think this is pretty fantastic (though it certainly can get out of hand—I recently saw a “locally raised and organically fed filet of rabbit with a side of natural root of summer squash and a home-grown fat of pig garnish”), so I was especially intrigued when I saw that McDonald’s has recently launched a “locally sourced” food campaign in Washington state.

The premise is simple—McDonald’s claims that 95 percent of the fries and Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and 88 percent of its apples served in Washington come directly from within the state. These are pretty interesting statistics, especially because McDonald’s is seen by many as a big bad corporation—the antithesis of local. If you take a look at the microsite for the campaign, you can see the full list of specific products, and where they come from in Washington. Nifty stuff, and, if nothing else, they’re offering a free medium fries just for checking out the site. You can bring that one right to your nearest Washington McDonald’s for about 28 free fries from Washington, and 2 from god knows where else.

The question is—does a big company going local mean anything to you? If you heard that your local McDonald’s used locally sourced ingredients, would you be more likely to succumb to your Big Mac cravings? Or, do you think this campaign, with its varying “participation and duration” clause, is a sham to “localwash” consumers? If it’s successful, should McDonald’s try to expand the idea throughout the country? You tell us!

2 Responses to “Can McDonald’s Pull Off “Local”?”

  1. Nina Kentsis says:
    July 28, 2010 at 8:49 am

    This is interesting because many large companies are trying to do this, including Wal-Mart. While I don’t eat at McDonald’s, and I’m not sure how many people like me would be swayed to do so because of a campaign like this–or even how many regular customers care about this kind of information–I think it’s a good thing. Companies like this have the power to move markets and to change the way we eat. For example, when Starbucks decided it didn’t want the milk that it served to have rBGH, I’m sure it had an effect on milk production in this country because Starbucks buys so much milk.

  2. Geri Koeppel says:
    July 30, 2010 at 7:43 pm

    I don’t care if McDonald’s grows their own food in their parking lots or on their roofs; I won’t eat it because it’s uber-processed and full of chemicals. They are missing the point of eating locally and seasonally, and attempting to pander to a demographic that probably never will be customers anyway. Or, more likely, they’re giving current customers a way to justify their bad eating habits, which they don’t need — folks who eat fast food will eat it no matter what. Either way, I think it’s wrong-headed.

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22 July 2010

Will Tweet for Dates

by Kristin Bassett

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All posts by Kristin Bassett

What do you do when you’re new to a city and newly single? You give yourself up to crowd sourcing, of course. Or at least that’s what one eligible bachelor who is new to New York City has decided to do. Meet Brian. He is on the hunt to go on 30 dates in 30 days with your help.

What do you do when you’re new to a city and newly single? You give yourself up to crowd sourcing, of course. Or at least that’s what one eligible bachelor who is new to New York City has decided to do. Meet Brian. He is on the hunt to go on 30 dates in 30 days with your help.

Brian seems pretty savvy in social media. He has the “Big Four” media covered: a webpage, a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page and a Youtube account. With all his bases loaded, Brian’s dating life is bound to be busy this upcoming month.

In a culture where we love to scrutinize others’ lives and where “reality” entertainment is king, Brian seems to be bound for viral stardom. I must admit, I’ve already followed him on Twitter, subscribed to his Youtube page and amcurrently debating which one of my NYC friends I can convince to go on a date with him.

Brian’s plan is genius. He combines two of Americans’ favorite types of entertainment: dating shows and shows where the viewers call the shots. Take the popularity of shows such as The Bachelor, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, for example. Hopefully, since the viewers get to choose the girls for Brian, we won’t have another Vienna scandal on our hands.

Plus, how can you not want to watch a shy guy make awkward phone calls asking girls he met online on dates?

So what’s your bet? Will Brian be able to go on 30 dates in 30 days?

One Response to “Will Tweet for Dates”

  1. karthikeyan chandrasekar says:
    July 27, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    No way because there are many other brian’s too available in the city, who also wish to go on 30 dates in 30 days.

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19 July 2010

Alternatives to the Comfort Food of Search

by Guest Blogger: Andrew Davis from Tippingpoint Labs

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The way we search is changing. Whether you’ve noticed or not, more and more people are using content-specific alternatives to Google searching. Why? What does this mean to those of us trying to reach our audience?

Google is the comfort food of search

The way we search is changing. Whether you’ve noticed or not, more and more people are using content-specific alternatives to Google searching. Why? What does this mean to those of us trying to reach our audience?

Google is the comfort food of search

Image via Flickr @trekkyandy

We all use Google. I use it everyday. Josh Cole, an executive producer at Tippingpoint Labs, calls Google the “meat loaf, mashed potatoes and peas of search.” It’s hearty, straightforward and the traditional comfort food in the Internet search world. However, Google’s not the best search engine for finding a meat loaf recipe.

If I’m looking for a recipe, I go directly to Recipezaar or FoodNetwork or maybe even Yummly. I know that at all of these sites a search for “meatloaf” is going to return to me the most relevant search results possible. I’m only going to get meatloaf recipe results.

Now, let’s say I was looking for the title of an album by Meat Loaf, the singer. You know, the guy who sings “I’d Lie for You” and “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”? I wouldn’t use Google. I’d go right to AllMusic.com and search for “Meat Loaf” and I’m guaranteed to get only one result—Meat Loaf, the singer.

This is how I search when I know exactly for which type of trusted result I’m looking. I call these kinds of sites (search engines for recipes, music, movies or events) Branded Content Aggregators.

Branded content aggregators are the future of search

Search results for Meat Loaf on IMDB.com

I define branded content aggregators as “human-edited websites that deliver results from trusted sources delivering a consistent quality and volume of valuable content.” So, Amazon.com could be considered a branded content aggregator for products. Or IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database) is a branded content aggregator for all things movie- and television-related.

These content engines are amazingly powerful and deliver a vast amount of focused, reliable and smart results designed to deliver exactly the information I’m looking for without having to search through pages of “ten blue links” from Google.

So, branded content aggregators are tremendous sources of information, but they also provide brands and community members with wonderful opportunities to engage and participate in an active community by creating, curating and editing valuable content designed to make their experience better.

The Semantic Web is here—and you helped build it

Tim Berners-Lee, proponent of the Semantic Web

For years, people have been advocating the standardization of all Web data, searching for a way to build a machine language that supports a more intuitive and content-rich experience. Tim Berners-Lee calls this the Semantic Web.

Here’s the deal, Tim. The semantic web is already here. Every one of the branded content aggregators I visit understands the content, the lexicon and architecture of their specific niche better than any machine language ever could.

If I search for “pineapple” on AllRecipes.com, I get a list of the recipes that include pineapple as an ingredient. I don’t get the history of the pineapple. If I wanted that, I’d head to Wikipedia. Millions of individual contributors on millions of branded content aggregators have built semantic understandings of their specific niches to address their specific lexicon. That means the semantic web is already being built.

Harnessing the power of branded content aggregators in two search engines—is this the future of search?



So what if you don’t know where to find a branded content aggregator for your specific need? Where do you go? Who can introduce you to new, trusted sources?

I use two search engines that draw only from trusted sources to provide relevant results and contextualized navigation. I suggest you head over to DuckDuckGo.com and Kosmix.com and try searching for “meatloaf” (the dish) and “Meat Loaf” (the artist) with both search engines.

Each is an innovative search experience and a great use of branded content aggregation!

3 Responses to “Alternatives to the Comfort Food of Search”

  1. Ron Blau says:
    July 19, 2010 at 10:36 am

    What about WolframAlpha (www.wolframalpha.com), which calls itself a Computational Knowledge Engine? Though not a universal search engine, it’s very different and very informative.

  2. Andrew Davis says:
    July 20, 2010 at 5:21 am

    Ron,
    I love Wolfram Alpha. I would call it a branded Content aggregator actually, because it’s the place I go for all things numbers! It’s great!
    Thanks for the reminder!
    - Drew

  3. Andrew Davis says:
    July 20, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    By the way, Ron, I highlight Wolfram Alpha in the session that inspired this post.
    Check out the video here:
    http://vimeo.com/13370259
    Thanks again for commenting.

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8 July 2010

Climbing the Great Wall of China: Version 2.0

by Christina Belsito

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There is something romantic about writing a blog. One shares his or her thoughts, stories, art and experiences with the world simply by clicking a mouse. Blogs have redefined what it is to be a writer or a journalist simply because “works” are published instantaneously. Whether or not the blog is actually read by anyone else but the blogger, the writer feels a sense of accomplishment and pride – he or she is, to a certain extent, an international superstar.

There is something romantic about writing a blog. One shares his or her thoughts, stories, art and experiences with the world simply by clicking a mouse. Blogs have redefined what it is to be a writer or a journalist simply because “works” are published instantaneously. Whether or not the blog is actually read by anyone else but the blogger, the writer feels a sense of accomplishment and pride – he or she is, to a certain extent, an international superstar.

But what about in a place where such stardom can be seen as a threat? Enter: China.

To some, the expansion of the Internet in China was a surprise. How would a country that encourages censorship incorporate the World Wide Web – the epitome of freedom of speech – without chaos? Naturally, regulations were put in place (the second Great Wall of China), and many websites were blocked. These include Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube, and most importantly for the purpose of this blog entry, Blogspot and Blogger.*

Despite the limitations, there are millions of bloggers in China (an estimated 30 million in 2005). Some are political; others are, well, unusual, but the majority of China-based bloggers use blogs to talk about themselves – the type of self-expression that would be seen as ludicrous 50 years ago. And no doubt, Chinese bloggers take their “right to blog” quite seriously.

In 2008, in order to outsmart Chinese government censors, bloggers began to use software that would allow them to write backwards. Others attempted to write in the ancient vertical form to confuse the technology. Today, bloggers are playing a game of cat and mouse with Internet police by creating multiple accounts under pseudonyms or by purchasing software that allows them to climb over the firewall. Another trick? Modifying the blog content to avoid being caught using one of the 1,083 characters that are filtered by security forces, which is not quite as simple as misspelling a word or adding an extra number or letter to the end. (When using characters, this blogger assumes that Chinese bloggers use either a similar character or an entirely different character with the same pronunciation as the intended word. Confusing as it may be, readers can still gather the sentiment behind the code.)

Of the 136 jailed journalists worldwide, 24 are imprisoned in China. Clearly, the government means business.

It makes you wonder… what drives Chinese bloggers to keep writing when the risks are so high? What are your thoughts?

*It should be mentioned that despite these regulations, certain people are allowed access to these websites, and many more have found ways around the “Wall.”

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