360DigitalInfluence

Outside of the Yankees during playoff season,  I find nothing incites my competitive juices like reality television. I’ve been in an American Idol fantasy draft, I’m on the edge of my seat for The Amazing Race, and I’m still bitter over Boston Rob’s early exit on the most recent season of Survivor.  However, minute for minute, no program compares to So You Think You Can Dance simply for the way it combines artistry, entertainment, athleticism, public judging, and public voting.

This season’s So You Think You Can Dance introduced a number of changes in format including: the return of past contestants as partners, a reduction in the number of contestants, and the elimination of the loudest (but most joyful) judge, Mary Murphy.  On top of all of the changes, Alex Wong, arguably the most talented contestant to ever appear on the show, sustained an injury and was eliminated early — arguably the greatest tragedy to ever occur in reality television history.  My own dejection over Alex’s injury was briefly alleviated when I saw Ellen DeGeneres tweet that she was going to “do something special for Alex.”  Unfortunately, Ellen’s gift was not a miracle that would heal Alex so he could dance again as I’d hoped, but it did, however, make me think about social media’s effect on SYTYCD this season and how it’s changed the viewing experience.

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For PR Week Labs a few weeks ago I recorded a 15 minute presentation on 5 Steps to Conversation Management. Conversation Management is an 360 Digital Influence program for helping our clients establish or manage social network presence with the dual goals of grassroots engagement and business impact. Based on a dual theory of influence, our team uses Conversation Management to promote advocacy on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The steps are included below and you can watch the video here (for more videos check out our YouTube channel- this one was too long to be included).

360 Digital Influence- PR Week Labs- Conversation Management from Ogilvy 360DI on Vimeo.

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Word of mouth practitioners often find themselves in uncharted territory. The majority of the digitally led programs being developed or put into the marketplace simply could not have existed two years ago.  Sometimes not even two months ago.

As a result, planners and strategists in our industry rely on piles of research to gain insights into what’s likely to work for a particular audience. Some of that research comes from inside our own walls, sometimes we consult outside experts and publishers to make sure we know as much as humanly possible about a particular topic. The latter can come from peer-reviewed academic journals or independent publishers like eMarketer or Forrester.

Beyond those sources, though, there’s been a sharp uptick in research from a new universe of resources.  Some doing great work.  Some not.

Here are a few warning signs that suggest you could be relying on some shaky data…

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Last week, I attended a webinar from WOMMA where WOMMA General Counsel Tony DiResta discussed the importance of disclosure across social media. This conversation normally focuses on brand-blogger relationships but the same best practices and government guidelines may also affect your Facebook Page.

Here are five things to keep in mind about your brand and disclosure on Facebook.

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The title of this post might make you shudder since commenting policies and risk mitigation seem like heavy subjects for something as fun as Facebook; but setting simple, straight-forward guidelines should be an essential part of your Facebook strategy. These guidelines (which you can post or link to on your Info tab) are part of facilitating an open sharing environment and have the added benefit of coaxing you to figure out exactly how you want to use your Facebook brand page.
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We often get questions about if and when brands can edit a Wikipedia article and I’d like to provide some background on Wikipedia’s format and clarify what is and is not an acceptable edit. I am not morally against brands editing Wikipedia articles and there are no rules against it but the acceptable instances are few and any edits should be done transparently and by someone educated in the format and citation process of Wikipedia. continue reading

Upfront Disclosure: John Bell is the President of WOMMA and Managing Director of 360 Digital Influence, which means I work for him and he controls my livelihood.

Sometimes I read a blog post and feel cheated. It happens when I run into references to a product or service that seems out of place or just unnecessary. I figure the blogger is paid for the reference, but I’m never sure. Maybe they just enjoy the product. Who knows? Well, knowing is important - important enough to feel a little off-put and a little wary of both the blogger and the brand.

WOMMA targeted this lose-lose result Monday in a live webinar discussing what exactly constitutes “disclosure” regarding relationships between brands and influencers. The diverse panel agreed on a lot. If a blogger/influencer has a relationship with a brand and writes about the brand they need to disclose that relationship clearly, candidly and upfront. To put it simply, there must be no ambiguity from a reader’s perspective that a relationship exists. Suggestions on how to eliminate ambiguity varied from having two separate blogs – one personal and one for reviews (which didn’t work for one blogger) - to disclosing relationships early and often in a post - even linking to a “Terms of Engagement” document that outlines the relationship. Ultimately, having set guidelines will benefit everyone and the discussion on best practices will continue up to and through the FTC releases their updated guidelines (likely October 2009).

What struck me as most interesting was the overwhelming sentiment that those who fail to provide full and clear disclosure will be “called out” and punished by the marketplace. The correlating result is a rational and utopic conclusion – the good people win. Unfortunately, the marketplace isn’t rational. It does self-police, but not that well. With a who’s who of WOM practitioners and an active Twitter stream, it was difficult to come up with one good example of a company or influencer being punished by the marketplace for failing to disclose a relationship. continue reading