Category Archives: digital media

January 27, 2014 · 9:33 am

Small Guys, Big Voices

I spent part of the weekend getting caught up on everything going on across the various social networks to which I belong.

Facebook logo Español: Logotipo de Facebook Fr...

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It’s an impossible task, by the way.  It’s really the epitome of living in the moment because one can’t ever really get “caught up” – a post from a week ago is so…last week, I guess.  In any event, it got me thinking about how social media keeps changing and how what I tell clients about optimizing their use of that channel needs to change as well.

Sometimes I think the Internet should be called “The Great Equalizer,” since it puts the small guys on an even footing with the big guys.  It may seem to you as if every company/brand/retailer you know is on Facebook and you’re right: 92% of them use it.  The majority of them are on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and publish some sort of blog.  Unlike regular advertising, a bigger budget doesn’t assure you of bigger visibility.  If as a smaller business you’re going to be good at social media and conduct what some term “social commerce” it’s pretty obvious that you can’t outspend the big guys in your category.  You need to outsmart them with great content, and make wise choices about where to devote resources, both human and financial.

I’ll admit to have hardly ever clicked on an ad on a social site.  I do, however, read posts from brands all the time and once in a while I’ll click-through those to find something that’s piqued my interest.  I’ve even bought something as a result.  I’m not alone.  According to Internet Retailer 2014 Social Media 500, which ranks online merchants on the percentage of site traffic they receive from social networks:

  • Monthly referral traffic to e-commerce sites from Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube increased 42% in 2013 to 51.5 million monthly unique visitors from 36.3 million.
  • Social commerce sales retailers raked in, that is, revenue derived from those visitors, jumped nearly 63% to $2.69 billion from $1.65 billion.
  • Spending on social ads by 40 retailers that supplied data increased 400% from 2012 to 2013.

It’s the small guys driving those numbers.  The challenge for them – and maybe for you – is to overcome the clutter in every user’s social landscape. That clutter in not the only issue. The fact that only a tiny fraction of what you post appears in your fans’ news feeds means that you must get the user to seek you out and to do so often enough that the algorithms see you as a close enough “friend” to put your news in those “top news” feeds.  You up to the task?

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January 13, 2014 · 9:31 am

Swimming And Synchronizing

There were a number of interesting things to come out of last week’s CES. Curved TV’s, self-driving cars, and stun-guns built into your phone case are a few of the more notable ones and there’s been quite a bit of press on many others.

English: New company logo.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most of those interesting things, however, don’t offer up opportunities for new businesses. One thing does in my mind, however, and that is the data coming out of a study conducted jointly by the folks that run CES – the Consumer electronics Association – and the National Association of Television Program Executives.  They conducted a study of consumers last October about how those consumers were using second screens to engage with video content.  What they found is the sound of opportunity knocking:

Of the Second Screen users surveyed, 79 percent access a second device while watching TV programming. Nearly all Second Screen viewers access asynchronous program content, either right before watching a show, right after watching, or between episodes/seasons, which offers a strong opportunity for program brands to increase loyalty and keep viewers engaged and watching even when shows are not on the air.

Only 42 percent of Second Screen users have tried synchronizing their content experience to live TV. According to the survey, synchronized content available for TV programs does not generate strong positive perceptions – only 13 percent of respondents said it makes their program viewing experience “much more enjoyable.” The majority of users said synchronized content makes their viewing experience “somewhat more enjoyable,” considering it less of a necessity than a “nice to have” for certain types of programs. More than half of those who access synchronous Second Screen content do so during commercials, so there is an opportunity to provide synchronized content that can be easily and quickly accessed during commercial air time.

In other words, many of us (actually MOST of us) are using some sort of second screen device but in general we’re not using that screen to enhance our viewing experience and no one has yet cracked the code on engaging viewers across multiple screens and devices.  For example – why wouldn’t a cooking show push out the recipe being made at the moment along with definitions of terms with which viewers may be unfamiliar, places to buy hard to find ingredients (maybe at a discount – partnership opportunity!) and links to other recipes that go along with what’s being made?  I’m aware all of those things can be done through the web site, but this is more about content providers being proactive and not the viewer having to do all the work.

What I especially like about this study is that it reminds all business folks that the ubiquity of mobile devices and tablets has changed pretty much everything.  If something as familiar as watching TV has been disrupted, what’s the effect been in your business and, more importantly, how can you use that change to your advantage?  How well we sink or swim as business people depends on the answer.

We’re starting to see more of this sort of activity. There is live, in-show voting on a number of programs and a number of sports applications try to integrate themselves with what’s going on in-game.  But as the study shows synchronizing program content with second screen content  is really a large opportunity over the next few years.  Someone (or multiple businesses) is going to crack the code, write the app, and swim very well.  You?

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January 2, 2014 · 10:46 am

Most Read Posts Of 2013 – Part 5

For our final installment of last year’s most read posts, I present one that was published way back in January.  This was the most read post I wrote last year which I find surprising. Given that it was originally called “The Most Effective Marketing Words” (link bait alert!), maybe not.  As I read it again today I realize that it’s a good basic overview of a few of the marketing tenets I hold near and dear.  Let’s see if they resonate with you.

Since I seem to be emptying my “possible posts” research folder this week, here is something recent that comes to us from the good folks at Weber Shandwick.

It’s a study called “Buy It, Try It, Rate It” and you can read the study here.  While this may fall into the “duh” category of research, the study found that consumer reviewers trump professional reviewers as the key purchase influencers and further shows that 65 percent of potential consumer electronics purchasers are inspired by a consumer review to select a brand that had not been in their original consideration set.  It turns out that the average buyer consults 11 consumer reviews as they get ready to purchase.   A few other key findings:

  • Consumers report that they pay more attention to consumer reviews (77 percent) than professional critic reviews (23 percent). The gap between consumer and professional reviews closes noticeably, but not entirely, for more advanced technologies like tablets and computers.
  • The most influential reviews include certain elements. In consumer reviews, the most helpful ones are those that seem fair and reasonable (32 percent), are well-written (27 percent) and contain statistics, specifications and technical data (25 percent).
  • Shoppers trust consumer reviews on Amazon.com (84 percent) and BestBuy.com (75 percent) the most, topping Consumer Reports (72 percent). Consumers show no apparent discomfort in getting their research from a seller of the products they’re considering.

This gets to the notion of authenticity.  I’ve remarked to some people that the next review I find in a golf magazine which gives a bad review to a piece of equipment will be the first.  It’s pretty obvious that without golf manufacturers advertising in the books most of the publications would be in deep financial trouble.  Professionally generated content about electronics, cars, and other goods can have the same skew, or at least raise the issue in consumers‘ minds as the study shows.  What can you do as a brand?

First, be transparent.  This means, among other things, don’t do everything you can to have negative reviews pulled down and certainly don’t censor them on your own site.  Second, as the study suggests,

companies need dedicated resources to manage social network communities for purposes that go beyond branded content. An online community manager should be encouraging customers to review products, disseminating positive customer and professional reviews through social channels, and working in tandem with customer service to respond to customer feedback or issues quickly.

Third, be authentic.  Don’t use marketing speak – write as if you are a consumer.  Finally, don’t be afraid to engage on other sites – Amazon, for example – which have become so influential in the process.  Do so openly though.

The most effective marketing words are those coming out of consumers’  mouths.  While we as marketers can’t put them there, we can listen carefully and respond honestly   That can help make sure those words are positive.  You agree?

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