360DigitalInfluence

I came to Ogilvy 360 DI — and social media strategy — via a slightly different route than most of my colleagues. In short, I was a longtime blogger (and journo) who’d become frustrated at how poorly blog outreach was being handled by brands that, under any other circumstance, would’ve been impeccable with their approach. They’d finessed relationships with the press and customers, but when it came to bloggers, they ended up botching it completely (clunky outreach, poor planning, uneven execution) — and as a result, not capitalizing on all that blogs and social media could offer. Ogilvy was the first place I saw that truly got that blogger relationships were not a one-size-fits-all kind of endeavor. I signed on for the job.

Even though I’m now at Ogilvy, I’m still a blogger — my fashion blog, FashionisSpinach.com, has been tapped for a wide number of influencer campaigns for brands like Chanel and Gucci — and I’m still the target for many brands stepping into the social media sphere. Not a day goes by when I’m not completely amazed at how companies try to use clunky PR methods to reach out to bloggers like me.

Here are three of my most frequently seen pitfalls.

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In my 7+ years working with professional services firms and B2B brands, I’ve experienced first-hand, the conservative nature of these companies and their marketing practices. So imagine my surprise in 2009, when these generally risk-averse companies began flooding my inbox with requests for counsel on the implementation of social media programs.

B2B marketers, long considered by some to be two-steps behind their B2C counterparts, are beginning to dip their toes in the unfamiliar waters of social media, as they quickly realize how they can pinpoint buyers, generate leads, and provide more accurate program measurement.

Even as social media use in B2B marketing continues to grow—57% of B2B marketers are currently using some form of social media in their business, up from 15% in 2007¹–many in the C-suite continue to have their doubts. For the past two years I’ve heard from clients, “social media is only for young people,” “my customers aren’t reading blogs,” “my clients aren’t engaging in social media,” “it’s not worth the risk,” “I can’t measure it,” and my personal favorite, “social media doesn’t apply to B2B.”

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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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This week, the Mayo Clinic announced the launch of its very own Center for Social Media – a first-of-its-kind social media center focused on health care. “Through this center we intend to lead the health care community in applying these revolutionary tools to spread knowledge and encourage collaboration among providers, improving health care quality everywhere” said Mayo Clinic president and CEO John Noseworthy, MD.

This announcement is a great step in the further acceptance and application of social media to advance patient health, and it got me thinking about the concept of leadership. continue reading

This past weekend, the New York Times published an article, “Will Zynga Become the Google of Games?” in which author Miguel Helft weaved together the components of every great start-up story: a confident visionary, early doubters, copycat competition, eventual success, and the forward-looking, “What’s next?”

While I enjoyed reading his article and am pleased games are getting the attention they deserve, the information mainstream journalists present their readers on the topic can be misleading.  Often this is because they’re comparing apples to oranges, restating known facts, or asking extremely broad and generic questions.

In an effort to create a clearer picture, here are three points the reader should know:

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The World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the world, is quickly approaching. Starting June 11^th, 32 teams representing different countries from around the world will compete for the soccer title that has been given every four years since 1930 (with an exception of 1942 and 1946 due to WWII). But 2010 is a particularly special and relevant year. Why, you ask? Because of social media!

Social Media as we know it did not exist during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Twitter did not launch until July 2006. Facebook didn’t become public until September 2006. YouTube existed but videos looked like this #6 most popular YouTube video of 2006. Now, only 4 years later, Facebook has over 400 million members and more than 50 million tweets are sent each day. These platforms, which were infants during the last World Cup, are now globally available and hugely popular.

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We are very excited to announce that we are a proud sponsor and participant of an upcoming virtual conference brought to you by our friends at PRWeek next week. With new applications and social media tools emerging every day, staying up to date on the latest trends in social media innovation is critical to our business as PR professionals.

The PRWeek Lab will take place Wednesday, June 2 and Thursday, June 3, 2010 and will provide an online resource for PR professionals on the most recent social media trends, tools, and strategies, thought leadership, and case studies- all without leaving one’s office. The online platform includes live webcast sessions, keynote speakers (such as Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO of Kodak and Ben Edwards, VP of Digital Strategy and Development, IBM), as well as exhibitor booth environments for follow-up questions, live chats, and material downloads. PRWeek Lab will be a fully interactive experience, with Q&A throughout, as well as polling of all participants on the quality of the content and the future of social media. No other PR event will bring you closer to the action that is driving today’s social media innovation.  Please visit here for additional details.

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I recently came across an interesting study that declared mobile web will be the leading trend in 2015. This is a pretty bold statement but believe it or not there is truth to it. This year we’ve witnessed an explosion in mobile and location based content with cool location based social applications like Foursquare, Gowalla, and BrightKite. Location based services are one of the most powerful ways to personalize one’s mobile experience which can be even more amplified with the integration of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.  An increasing number of brands are experimenting and trying out mobile marketing strategies as a result. Last month, Gowalla partnered with Travel Channel to integrate some of its dining content from the show Food Wars.  When Gowalla users check in to venues visited in Food Wars, they will be able to read show-related information about the restaurant and collect passport-stamp rewards. This is a great way to engage fans and build strong brand awareness and loyalty. Gowalla says users have checked in at 600,000 locations in more than 165 countries to-date.

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2009, defined by the deep recession, forced consumer brands to do more with much less.  However, this stressful environment drove  marketers to try non-traditional and less expensive channels, fostering the development of some unique engagement programs in social media.  In this series of posts, I’ll revisit a few of the more interesting campaigns from the past year and explain how these programs can guide our 2010 engagement strategies.

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Over the last year, location-based social networks such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Brightkite have exploded among early adopters. It’s no question—with increasing adoption of smart phone usage, location-based social networks are rising in popularity every day.

Recently covered in GigaOM, CNN, Ad Age and The New York Times, Foursquare is currently one of the most buzzed about location-based mobile social networks. Intel and Ogilvy recently used Foursquare to drive traffic to and create buzz around Intel’s offline events and activities at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month.

For CES, Intel created a branded Foursquare page, featuring locations where Intel had activity and tips for Las Vegas visitors. Intel also rewarded check-in’s to key events with branded badges, paired with the chance to win an Intel-powered netbook for all badge recipients.

This exclusive collaboration allowed Intel to track and build relationships with online influencers active on Foursquare at CES. With more than 400 cumulative check-in’s to Intel-affiliated locations and events, the collaboration was a breakout success and proved to be an interesting event-based model for brands looking to work with Foursquare.

We interviewed Tristan Walker, head of business development at Foursquare, to learn more about their vision for what’s to come for brands, businesses and Foursquare.

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