360DigitalInfluence

(Part 2? Yeah, check out Part 1.)

In case you missed it, Ron Paul supporters, ASU students, and VFX artists were among those that joined the fray since my last post. The variations continue to proliferate further down the tail, satirizing - and entertaining - more niche audiences. What does this add up to? Segmentation.

While I easily enjoy Sh*t ASU Students Say even though I’m not a Sun Devil - and haven’t even been to the campus - the video resonates better with those who were. Beyond that, the video’s arc is more relatable to students who enrolled in the past 5-10 years and drink socially - perhaps even deeper for students who were in the Greek system and enjoy campus takeout.

The point is, there’s a clear difference in the type of viewer who’s going to watch the video halfway through for a chuckle and a viewer who’s going to share across social networks. Those pearls of info are demographic, psychographic, and behavioristic qualities - in some ways digital has obscured their importance.

As segmented as some brands' social media programs get these days.

On-platform segmentation

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In a recent Washington Post article, Polarized News Market has Altered the Political Process in South Carolina Primary, we peak into the news consumption habits of a South Carolina voter. Two election cycles ago the South Carolina native would read newspaper for political news, now she “settles in at her desktop to fire up Facebook.”

“Selective Exposure”, described by researchers from UCLA and Stanford suggests to that consumers are “tucking themselves inside information silos” and that this is compounded by the speed and like-mindedness of social networking.

New research from Facebook suggests that - despite what many instinctively believe - social networks actually expose us to new, novel ideas and information rather than polarize us. While politics indeed may be more polarizing than ever, social networks like Facebook actually perform the opposite effect. According to a massive experiment, rather than polarize us, Facebook brings us together.

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The beginning of any good social media strategy is rooted in research. Before any brand or organization decides to embark online or move forward with a new idea, it’s essential to understand what’s already out there. Who is the audience and how and where are they already talking?

Looking at the stats, the “where” will almost always include Facebook. Though it may not be the primary platform to meet every organization’s objectives, the truth is that Facebook is the behemoth. It’s the largest social network in the world, with 155 million users in the United States alone, an audience that spans all ages and demographics, visits the site multiple times a day and shares billions of pieces of content . That’s not to be ignored.

Too easily though, Facebook, the giant, can be overlooked. The majority of Facebook’s content is private, which means listening tools, such as Radian6, cannot access all of the information. Since these tools can only pull in public status updates from Facebook users who keep their privacy settings open to the web, results frequently show little conversation from the major platform. The findings skew more towards platforms such as Twitter, where more users keep a public account. continue reading

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, it’s appropriate to discuss the latest trends online among the Hispanic community. From closing the digital divide among Hispanics 50+ to the newer and younger general market with a Latino flair (now being classified as: Gen N), US Hispanics are leading the future of technology and marketing.

Recently, the 2010 Census data revealed that one in six Americans is Hispanic. With 50.5 million people nationwide, Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in America. It’s no surprise that companies are changing their marketing strategies in order to reach Latinos. But, what is surprising is how we go about reaching and engaging this powerful community.

Several studies have confirmed the importance of online marketing among Hispanic consumers. Google recently released a report titled “Four Truths about US Hispanic Consumers” that is an eye opener for anyone interested in reaching the nation’s largest minority group.

If Google isn’t convincing enough, here are five more reasons why reaching Hispanics via digital media is a must:

1. Hispanics are the highest users of text messaging and mobile devices.

Research shows that the Hispanic community is among the highest users of text messaging and spends more time interacting on their mobile phones overall.

In May 2010, the Pew Internet & American Life Foundation reported:

• 87% of Hispanic households have multiple mobile phones and use them more than any other form of personal or handheld technologies on the market today
• More than half regularly use text messaging
• Text messaging has increased 59% YOY among Hispanics
• Responding to mobile marketing text messages is up 74% vs. last year

When creating content to reach Hispanics, they’ll be the first to tell you they prefer to receive information in Spanish. This doesn’t mean simply translating English messages into Spanish, but truly understanding the culture and demographic of this diverse community that you’re trying to reach. There are several translation services available when considering a SMS campaign, online ads or websites to effectively reach Hispanics.

2. Hispanics are active on social media.

Hispanics are also actively using their mobile devices to access social media channels. Facebook and YouTube are the 2^nd and 4^th most popular social channels among Hispanics. However, these are just two of the many social channels available to reach Hispanics.

• Facebook – 10 MM US Hispanic users/ 600 MM global users
• Que Pasa – 22 MM global users
• Orkut – 100 MM global users
• hi 5 – 10 MM global users
• MiGente & Bantanga are also available

Scarborough Research also reveals that 12% of US Hispanic mobile users use social networks on their mobile vs. 10% of the general market.

3. Hispanics are technology savvy.

Research also shows that Hispanics are younger and more technologically savvy. AOL’s Hispanic Cyberstudy, reports 46% of Hispanics who are actively online are under the age of 35. Another astonishing fact is that 32% of Hispanics access the Internet through their smartphones, compared to 20% of the general market. This tech savvy trend is not only prevalent inmobile adoption, but the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication also found that Hispanics are early adopters of tablets and e-readers as well. It’s no wonder that Hispanics have an estimated $1.3 trillion in buying power this year.

4. Hispanic mobile websites are simple and just smart.

If we know younger Hispanics are accessing the Internet on their smartphones, a mobile website is a must. A mobile optimized website has multiple benefits:

• They will work on virtually any smartphone.
• Content is simplified and design is less intensive, often being a cost effective option.
• Mobile websites can be easily translated into multiple languages.

Check out Univision’s mobile site and Major League Baseball’s LasMayores.com Spanish mobile version for examples.

5. Hispanics are more responsive to online advertising

Hispanics online are not only younger, tech savvy and connected – they’re also more receptive to online advertising.ComScore recently reported on how responsive Internet users are to online advertising. When looking at advertisement, 31% of U.S. Hispanics reported they enjoy watching advertisements compared to 19% for non-Hispanics. The study also shows that 48% of Hispanics expect advertising to be entertaining compared to 39% of non-Hispanics.

Still not convinced, Google can give you 200 million reasons why they are investing in Latinos online. That’s how much Google reported brands are spending online this year to reach the Hispanics market. We will have to watch how Google+ and Facebook capitalize on the Hispanic market – and if they do it well. It’s no doubt that Latinos will begin to tune out advertisers unless they are culturally relevant and engaging – even when speaking to Gen N.

One of the cooler aspects of Twitter is that it gives consumers a direct line of communication with everyone from big brands to small businesses. It also offers them a chance to talk back when they have a question, concern or complaint. And many of us do just that. But how often do we actually receive a response back?

A recent study* indicated eight in 10 Twitter users surveyed worldwide said they thought the answers businesses posted on Twitter were at least as trustworthy as those from regular people, and about six in 10 said they wanted businesses to respond to them on the microblogging service. Clearly this shows that twitter is more than a nice-to-have for businesses – it is becoming an important means of real time conversation with customers.

Actively engaging with your consumers can not only increase your awareness of what’s being said, but also affect people’s buying decisions. According to *Compete Pulse, Twitter is more effective at driving purchase activity than Facebook. 56% of those who follow a brand on Twitter indicated they are “more likely” to make a purchase of that brand’s products compared to a 47% lift for those who “Like” a brand on Facebook. This is further evidence that marketers can drive ROI with Twitter by engaging followers through compelling content. See the chart below for more details on usage outcomes across Twitter and Facebook.

While there are brands out there that have a great process in place, a lot of businesses are falling short. One reason I suspect this is happening is because businesses only pay attention to their @ replies and #hashtag mentions, and are missing out on a lot of valuable conversations. This may leave the consumer feeling unappreciated and ignored – which is bad for business. So what can be done to prevent that?

There are a few easy solutions. The first is doing a search query for your business name on twitter. Any tweet in which that query is included will appear in order of most recent. This method however is manual and requires that someone remember to do it.

Another, more efficient method, is to use a platform like *Seesmic that allows you to setup a query-specific timeline that will automatically populate whenever anyone in the world includes that query in their tweet. This allows the business to know exactly when anyone uses their name but does not @ reply them. But don’t forget to include common negative keywords, to ensure you are capturing all that is being said about your brand, not just the positive comments.

How would you convince your client to get into the conversation, and go one step beyond looking at their specific @mentions?

*http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008440
http://seesmic.com/
http://blog.compete.com/2011/06/13/four-things-you-might-not-know-about-twitter/

We’ve all done it. Some of us often and some only occasionally.

We’ve all been guilty of genericide at some point - or, when a trademark or brand name has become the colloquial or generic description for the product or service, i.e. when someone needs a bandage they ask for a BAND-AID® or they need a tissue but refer to it as a Kleenex®.  Or in the digital age, when people say, “Facebook me!” or “Tweet me!”

Last week the French TV regulatory agency Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA), determined that the French can no longer say the words Facebook or Twitter on television unless they are used in the context of a news story. The result of this is that the audience can no longer be asked to connect or interact via Facebook or Twitter to find out more, post a comment or ask a question.

Another example to consider is that earlier this Spring Twitter requested that one of its most used applications on Blackberry UberTwitter discontinue using the brand name Twitter in their brand name because of trademark infringement and privacy concerns. UberTwitter was quickly renamed to UberSocial and relaunched within days with new positioning that it is a broadened social communication tool.

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I recently attended Facebook’s first studio conference held in New York City in May, 2011. The conference offered an interesting look at Facebook’s culture and how success can be achieved through sharing. Several enthusiastic presenters spoke regarding Facebook’s marketing strategies and the culture for the company.  However, the session that intrigued me the most was “Social by Design” by Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s Vice-President of Global Sales.

Ms. Everson talked about how the capability to share is perhaps the most significant ingredient in making a design successful. She mentioned two particular case studies that resonated with me since I am a gamer and love the World Cup: 1) EA Halo vs. Zynga Farmville and 2) Nike’s 2010 World Cup advertising.

EA Halo is one of the top games for Microsoft’s XBOX and generates millions of dollars in revenue.  In addition, EA spends millions of dollars on creating the best graphics with cutting-edge technology for Halo. On the other hand, Zynga’s Farmville graphics are much simpler. But as Ms. Everson rightly noted, there are far more people playing Farmville than Halo. (Farmville has over 57 million players.)  In fact, Zynga has recently been valued at $8 billion by Bloomberg, which is more than the value of EA. The main reason that Zynga has been able to be so successful is that Farmville was built to share.

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Have you ever been fully engaged in a digital experience and didn’t quite know why? The content or your original objective became less important than the actual experience, and you found yourself interacting with it out of pure self-fulfillment? If so, then you have most likely experienced emotional design.

I was first introduced to emotional design at the 2010 Future of Web Design Conference, during a presentation by Aaron Walter, a User Experience Designer from MailChimp - easily my favorite of the day. The basic concept of emotional design revolves around our physiological needs as humans to emote and bond. And while the web as a digital experience (both desktop and portable) has a history of being impersonal, the rise of social media has completely changed the digital landscape, making it less private and creating a greater voice for the individual. This in turn creates a greater need for HCI (Human-Computer Interaction). In simple terms: Emotional Design creates a connection between man and machine.  A metaphor Aaron provides really puts this in perspective: “Designing an interface to be usable is like a chef creating edible food.” Yes, edible is an acceptable result, but one is not necessarily left with a pleasurable or memorable experience. Creating a user experience that’s purely usable isn’t enough. As users, we desire personality with our interactions. Personality is the way we connect with one another. Products and services should be designed more like people with personalities than objects. Designing for emotion can create bonds with our targeted users, which ultimately gains their trust and has them coming back for more.

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Photo: Associated Press

Social media is most often thought of as the space to connect with friends (or share with them the latest laughing baby penguin video). But for the recent crisis in Japan, social platforms took on a much more serious — and crucial — role as a key information resource.

Since the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, social platforms have become hubs for critical information, a method to search for loved ones, and a way to raise urgent funds for relief efforts. After the earthquake, the U.S. embassy in Tokyo even sent a message to U.S. citizens in Japan encouraging them to use social media to connect with family. Millions of users have gone to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Mixi, and other sites to share and find the latest information. According to Tweet-o-Meter, within hours of the earthquake there were over 1,200 Tweets per minute coming from Tokyo. User data like that reminds us that social media is an essential global tool in both times of peace (and, er, baby penguins) and times of immense crisis.

One particularly noteworthy aspect of the crisis response, a trend that we are seeing with previous natural disasters, is the use of mobile. Japanese citizens turned to their mobile devices when all other methods of communications were tied up. Com Score reported a significant spike in mobile usage after the earthquake and tsunami. Mobile communications were not only used for Japanese citizens to communicate, but texting also played a vital role in fundraising. Similar to their efforts for the earthquake in Haiti, the Red Cross implemented a donation by text campaign which has raised millions of dollars for the efforts so far. Other organizations have also set up donations via text message, including Save the Children and the Salvation Army.

The following are some additional highlights of the use of social media during the crisis in Japan:

• Google Person Finder – Google launched this name database site within hours of the earthquake – it can be used to look up or report missing people.
• YouTube Video Person Finder – Similar to the Google person finder, this YouTube channel aggregates messages from earthquake survivors.
• Japan Earthquake Facebook Page – An Australian news.com Facebook page with over 17,000 Likes, used as a community for information sharing.
• Twitter Hashtags – A variety of hashtags have been created in response to the disaster including #Tsunami, #JapanQuake and #Japan just to name a few.
• Crowdrise Hope for Japan – An aggregate of various Crowdrise fundraising opportunities that has raised over $1,200,000 so far.
• Flickr Galleries – A variety of Flickr galleries have been set up with cross promotions for donation opportunities.
• Live Blogging from Al Jazeera – The news site provided live blog coverage of the earthquake’s aftermath.
• Quakebook – A charity book created solely from Tweets about the earthquake.

Resources:

http://mashable.com/2011/03/11/follow-japan-earthquake-online/

http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/03/mobile-internet-traffic-in-japan-spikes-in-response-to-the-tsunami/

It is hard not to notice the sponsored #MikeInTheWindow trending topic on Twitter and wonder “what in the world is this?” For those who don’t know, Mike in the Window is a campaign currently being conducted as part of Downy’s “Clean Sheet Week” Challenge where Mike Birbiglia, comedian and author of the New York Times best-seller “Sleepwalk With Me,” has been sleeping in a Macy’s store window to encourage consumers to test out the “long-lasting” freshness of Ultra Downy® April Fresh.

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