Social Media

2012: Economic Sustainability and Evolution

January 1, 2012 By ajmunn 2 Comments

The first thoughts of 2012 are concerned with sustainability and evolution. Big challenges lie ahead for retailers, manufacturers and service providers. Scarcity of resources and lower spending power, coupled with easier search and information gathering are leading to changes in the way we consume.

It seems obvious that companies cannot be sustainable if they are producing more than they can sell, or if they are spending resources in areas where there is less return than they are spending, they are not going to be able to sustain themselves. Yet so many are pouring money into attempts to maintain a leadership position in the wrong race.

Many large successful companies became large and successful because they paid attention to the fundamental principles of economics. They invented and perfected processes that maximized the return from every business unit. Many have become entrenched and part of the fabric of the organization. Yet these processes and entrenched methods can take the focus away from adaption and adoption. The processes and methods were produced within a time of relative stability, where resources were deemed plentiful and the markets were in a constant state of growth. Twitter chats such as #innochat explore this topic in greater depth and talk of the need for optimal conditions for innovation. The leading voices in this chat are well worth listening to, as they discuss how legacy thinking and systems can often create blocks to innovation.

2012 brings with it an interesting junction for business and entrepreneurship. It is almost Darwinian in that the nimble and quick can adapt to changing conditions faster and become the new dominant force. The large and cumbersome driven towards extinction. Change cannot be effective if it does not permeate the entire DNA of an organization. Especially when thinking about sustainability during difficult economic times.

2011 was an incredibly interesting year for us. We, ourselves, have had to look at our structure. In terms of our clients, we have had to look deep into their DNA, understand what they need to retain, what needs to be adapted and what needs to be changed or adopted. Some have resisted change. Others have embraced it. It is not an easy process to go through.

We have also seen the collective unconscious come into play. We have been involved in the early thinking stages of a number of people who have approached us with ideas around new commerce. There is no link between these people other than a commonality of their ideas, their drive and vision and the fact they have chosen to talk to us. When enough smart people take an idea and run with it that it becomes a collective movement, it is not long before it infuses itself into the mainstream.

2012 will require a lot of energy - physical, emotional and transformational. Yet, those who choose to spend that energy will be rewarded. We have not seen so much open opportunity and a leveling of the playing field for a long time.

Filed Under: Social Media, Sustainability Tagged With: 2012, business, change, commerce, consumerism, culture, e commerce, economic, economics, emotional, energy, evolution, lot, m-commerce, physicals, required, rewards, Social Media, sustainability, transformation, transformational

TV Shows & Social Media

October 14, 2011 By Alex 3 Comments

The following is a guest post written by Lisa Skrezec, a Social Media Specialist and Account Manager at tcg. Her background in marketing has sparked her interest in the entertainment, fashion and social media world.

The only thing I love more than Facebook stalking and tweeting all sorts of outlandish hashtags, is television. When my two favorite things overlap, well, I couldn’t be any happier! Between the hours of 8pm-11pm you can find me sitting on the couch with my laptop tweeting away – but apparently I’m not alone.

Live-tweeting television shows is not only fun to partake in and track, but it has a proven positive impact on the ratings. The best way to reach your audience is to do what they’re doing, and they sure as hell are tweeting and Facebooking! Below are five examples of television shows that have adopted the live-tweeting trend and engage with their fans on a weekly basis:

#JerseyShore: Oh yes, our favorite fist pumping “juice heads” have without a doubt adopted social media. They dominate the trending topics every Thursday at 10pm EST and each cast member live tweets and asks questions to their fans. 9 our of 10 times @itsthesituation WILL retweet you!
#TheVoice: This past summer, NBC’s hit new show “The Voice” not only had its 3 judges live tweeting each show, but they even had a social media room! Fans would tweet questions for the contestants using #TheVoice and they would all be answered in the exclusive, state-of-the-art social media room. How cool is that? Needless to say, #TheVoice was always the number one trending topic.
#Bachelorette: @ChrisBHarrison hosts the long running show “The Bachelor”/”The Bachelorette”, and as the seasons progress, Chris gets more and more involved with connecting his show’s fan base through social media. Throughout the entire 2 hour show, Chris is actively tweeting and answering questions, many of which reveal “behind-the-scenes” fun facts. (For example, did you ever want to know if the contestants pick out their own clothes? Well someone asked, and Chris said nope!)
#Survivor: @JeffProbst, the host of Survivor, is a social media guru! He too live-tweets each show, but he has recently joined Tout. Tout is a video status update — essentially Twitter meets YouTube. Fans tweet him questions during the show, and he answers them in a Tout. Not only do I look forward each week to his video responses, but I’m excited to see how Tout is perceived by social media users…
#SonsofAnarchy: Last, but most certainly not least, is @SutterInk. Kurt Sutter, the creator, writer and producer of Sons of Anarchy has explored ALL aspects of Social media, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogspot. Kurt is quite possibly the most honest and uncensored person on Twitter. He constantly stays connected with his fans, which certainly helped him achieve a 20% bump in viewers from season 3 to the season 4 premier.

Below is a graph that demonstrates the relationship between online buzz and TV ratings. Clearly social media has it’s biggest impact prior to a show’s premiere, which is expected, but it also does hold a great deal of value throughout the season (source):

Social media gives fans and followers the opportunity to connect to these shows/contestants/creators on a more personal level. I look forward each week to tweeting all those mentioned above, and nothing makes me happier than getting a response! I am very glad to see television shows taking part of new age media – keep it up!

Do you follow television shows in the social media universe – have you gotten an EPIC retweet? I’d love to hear all about it!

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Social Media Tagged With: audience, fun, impact, partake, positive, proven, ratings, real time web, Social Media, televisions, the bachelor, tv shows, tweet, Twitter, web 2.0, world wide web

Social Media as a Weapon Against Disease Outbreaks

October 7, 2011 By Alex 3 Comments

The following is a guest post written by David Marcus, a Social Media Specialist and Account Manager at tcg. His background in economics has sparked his interest in applying social media to solve real world problems.

Social media moves fast. It can even move faster than nature itself, as evidenced by the 5.8 earthquake that occurred on the east coast. With fiber optic lines connecting Washington D.C. and New York City, New Yorkers were able to hear news of the rumblings in D.C. even before the shock waves travelled up the coast. The tweets were able to outpace the earthquake and acted as an advanced warning. Scientists are looking at other areas such as disease outbreak where this speed will work as an asset to help curb their spread.

Currently, more people in the world have mobile platforms than Internet connection on a computer. As of a 2010 study by Wilson Electronics, Inc. there are at least 4.6 billion cell phones in use today. Often times, epidemics start in areas where sub-standard qualities of life are the norm. Traditional methods of detecting the spread of disease become inadequate and it is unfortunately normal for there to be a shortage of doctors. Where can epidemiologists turn for accurate and relevant data?

The answer may lie in social media and crowdsourcing. These scientists can learn where diseases originate and how they spread by measuring the movement of pandemics through the rise of specific keywords in different locales. This is aided by the addition of locational tagging (or geotagging) to messages. When there is enough relevant data to aggregate, a map can be created where these terms are mentioned. For example, when people in a specific area start talking about cholera, it is possible to discern that is becoming an issue that is affecting the people in that area. Scientists will use this data to try to discern the direction that diseases are spreading and to try to cut them off before they reach dense and large population centers.

Intelligence Systems Laboratories in the United Kingdom tested this methodology of tracking pandemics during the H1N1 flu pandemic over a period of 24 weeks. What they found was that these results were statistically relevant when compared with similar data from the Health Protection Agency. A linear correlation of 95% between the two data sets means that this method of detecting the pathology of outbreaks may gain wider spread adoption in the future. In many ways, the people who are affected by diseases will be the first ones to see the potential for an outbreak. Recognizing problems directly from the source – via social media and crowdsourcing – will lead to faster response times an increased efficiency of combative medical efforts.

In this way, ever evolving technology can keep up with the rapid spread of disaster and disease like never before.

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Social Media Tagged With: against, as a, cell phones, curbing, disease, life threatening, natural disaster, new york city, new yorker, outbreaks, Social Media, spreads, weapon

Managing a Digital Footprint

June 28, 2011 By Alex 2 Comments

This is a guest post written by Alex Shippee, and reproduced from the website for #SMchat.

A “digital footprint” is what your presence on the Internet communicates to those who find it. Google is the usual starting point, but more and more people are using monitoring services or going straight to the big social platforms, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, your blog, etc. All of this is becoming a necessity because of one inescapable truth about the Internet Age:

You will be Googled. In fact, you most likely already have been. Family members, co-workers, friends, and employers will all be interested in how you show up on a search engine. And if you are a brand, or have a client who is, then you can add “customers” to that list as well.

© Clare Munn 2008-2011

This isn’t a bad thing. Instead of seeing it as “work,” try to think of it as an “opportunity.” It is common for our clients, some of whom are new to social media, to be concerned about “opening themselves up.” They fear negative comments, or being the victim of a smear campaign by their competitors. The truth is, people are already talking online and it’s not possible to curb it. Choosing not to participate hands all the power to the consumers, or competitors. Instead, you want to fan those flames in the right direction.

One of the most valuable and rewarding elements of the work tcg does is provide their clients with real-time, contextual intelligence by monitoring and analyzing their digital footprint before we start our work. We take it a step further than wanting to know what people are saying about you and reputation management; we turn a digital footprint into a valuable asset.

Managing a digital footprint means taking responsibility and ownership of your brand. You start with the simple steps first and sign up for Twitter or start a blog. Then, you go one step further and decide you want to attach your name, or brand, to good content. From there begins the hustle of growing an audience now that you’re easy for them to find.

Filed Under: Guest Posts Tagged With: #smchat, blogs, branding, digital footprint, facebook, Google, linkedin, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, social-networking, tcgagency, Twitter

Crowdsourcing Lauren Spierer

June 8, 2011 By ajmunn 2 Comments

Post Written by Matt Freedman

It has now been five days since 20-year-old Indiana University student Lauren Spierer was last seen, and the panic surrounding her disappearance seems to escalate each moment. How can I tell? Not from news outlets, who have done an admirable job covering the story but cannot possibly devote themselves to minute-by-minute updates. Instead, I’ve been rabidly clicking refresh on my tabs for Twitter and Facebook. With the account @NewsOnLaurenS, the hashtag #FindLauren, the event ‘Urgent! Please help spread the word about Lauren Spierer’s disappearance!’ and the page ‘Help Find Lauren Spierer, an enormous community has sprung up overnight in support of finding this missing girl.

The response has been overwhelming: With over 6,500 followers on Twitter and another 71,802 attending the event on Facebook, news of the student’s disappearance has traveled quickly. It makes you wonder what is possible in the real-time far-reaching world of social media, and how effective this type of crowdsourcing can be.

The primary purpose of this campaign, at least in the beginning, was to crowdsource individuals for participation in three-times-daily searches in and around Bloomington. To this end, and many others, it has been successful. Hundreds of people, acquaintances and strangers alike, have volunteered in droves for the search parties. And though hope may be slipping through the public’s fingers, they also refuse to give up.

Despite being a grassroots effort, the campaign’s momentum is in no way random: the strategic targeting of influencers, from celebrities to news outlets, has dispersed the news swiftly and in staggering numbers. With users pleading celebrities to retweet their message, the hashtag #FindLauren has earned over 20 million hits. It has been retweeted by celebrities Ryan Seacrest, Scott Baio, and Donnie Wahlerg, as well as other public figures, such as NFL star Desean Jackson. With Lauren’s photograph now appearing in millions of tweet streams, and a ‘flyer-tagging’ movement on Facebook, in which users are encouraged to change their profile picture to Lauren’s “missing” flyer and tag friends in order to spread the word, the campaign feels like a real movement. It’s a cry for help that people are listening to. And although not everyone can grab a flashlight and upend Bloomington, IN, the support must provide an emotional uplift for Lauren’s friends and family.

The content that appears on these outlets varies from downloadable flyers to words of encouragement, and even includes a video of Lauren’s parents addressing the media. Some examples of tweets are:

ofarevolution O.A.R.

Let’s help find missing 20 yr old Lauren Spierer, last seen at Indiana U. Photo: yfrog.com/h2c8x9j #FindLauren

CollegeTownLife CollegeTownLife

Lauren needs our help! Someone knows something. Make her picture go viral! TOGETHER WE CAN #FINDLAUREN! http://bit.ly/kzMSgW #CTL

DeseanJackson10 Desean Jackson

RT @jkalmus please RT to help find missing indiana university student. one person who knows something can help #FindLauren @NewsOnLaurenS

The campaign surrounding Lauren Spierer is proof that social media can be used in significant and positive ways. This may be old news, as most people are aware of the role Facebook played in the Egyption revolution, but it doesn’t cease to inspire me. In what other ways have you seen social media inspire community outreach? And, at the end of the day, what tangible effect does it have on people’s lives? Please leave your opinion below, and don’t give up on Lauren Spierer.

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Social Media Tagged With: Clare Munn, Crisis, Crowdsource, facebook, Lauren Spierer, Matt Freedman, Social Media, tcgagency, Twiiter

Dancing into the Cloud

June 2, 2011 By ajmunn 6 Comments

Guest Post: Author Matthew Freedman

The music industry’s adaptation to the Internet has been a struggle for survival. Hampered by a change in format, then cut out of the equation by piracy and peer-to-peer file sharing (90% of all downloads are unauthorized), the recording industry watched slack-jawed as sales dropped 64% from 1999-2009. Now, Artists rely on grueling tour schedules to stay afloat, and record companies are desperate for a new source of revenue. With all of the industry despair, it’s no wonder cloud computing is being heralded as the future of music.

The idea is this: users would be able to access enormous libraries of music, at any time, without restriction and from any internet-capable device, presumably with a subscription fee.

Why download music when you can stream anything you want instantly? For record companies, it is at least a glimmer of hope. By licensing music for online-streaming services, they are finally edging into the action. And like a swarm of moths near a shining porch-light in the summer, everyone is throwing themselves heedlessly at the glow.

Is the hype real, or are the hopefuls going to get burned?

Cloud computing itself is not a new concept (it was first coined in 1997), but as mobile devices develop and tablets continue to take off, the ability to access the Internet on the go is increasingly common. And each day mobile technologies advance the Cloud becomes more enticing, more valuable, and more of a necessity than a luxury. I see the effects every day when exasperated commuters in the subway can’t access their email or twitter feeds.

As someone who works in digital media, and more importantly, as a music lover, I’m extremely curious as to how ‘the cloud’ will evolve with music. All the major players are in on the game: Apple announced today that they will reveal iCloud in one week, and Google has already shared an early version of their aptly-titled cloud platform, ‘Music Beta.’ Now Amazon has Cloud Player and Cloud Drive, and even LaLa, a website that was bought by Apple in December of 2009 and dismantled four months later, allowed users to upload their entire music collections to the Cloud.

Still, there are a couple of big questions: will cloud computing live up to its hype as the future of music, or merely provide convenient but unremarkable online storage? And will the record companies really be able to turn a profit? It all depends on whether or not streaming becomes the new norm, and if membership can take the place of ownership.

For the music industry, the trouble will always be that subscription fees are more expensive and less permanent than free peer-to-peer music swapping. As a user, my biggest concern with Cloud streaming would be my own lack of control: having no palpable ownership over my favorite music would mean the possibility of disappearance or altercation, however unlikely that may be. I want to be able to say “my music” and mean it, to have it with me at all times, connected or not.

Apples new iCloud has taken some steps to address these questions. Instead of having to upload your music library for you to stream on your portable devices, Apple has been reported to have secured deals with the major record labels, that will allow iCloud to recognize the music files on your iTunes and use your past purchasing history. This would seamlessly allow you access to your music library wherever you are, as long as you are connected to iCloud.

iCloud will also bring more than just streaming music libraries. The connotations for syncing devices, sharing documents a la Google Docs and seeding sales of productivity apps are huge. But I digress.

The Cloud will certainly be a wonderful addition to the way we listen to music, but I don’t think it will change our need for tangible ownership. And if that’s true, will services like iCloud be enough to change the fortunes of the record industry?

Photo by Alasdair Munn

Filed Under: Guest Posts, Social Media Tagged With: Apple, Clare Munn, Cloud Computing, iCloud, MAtthew Freedman, music, Social Media, tcg, tcgagency

Hotspotting: A New Era for the Interactive Advert

May 25, 2011 By ajmunn 6 Comments

Guest Post: By Alexandra Beard

Although Hotspotting, or Clickable Video Technology has been around since the early 2000’s it has only now started to attract the attention of big brands. Fuelled by our increasing accessiblilty to digital video content, Hotspotting is steathly encroaching on new domains and a larger audience.

Hotspotting technology makes it possible to place an interactive layer of ‘clickable hotspots’ on top of video. This software is primarily used by advertisers on their online videos. Whilst watching the video you can hover your mouse over the on-screen ‘ clickable hotspots’ and this allows for customers to shop directly from the video. The hotspots can be anything from the clothes the actors are wearing, to their accessories, the cars they drive, and the furniture on set. Once you click on an item that interests you you are taken directly to the check-out page of the online store where you can purchase the item.

These videos are being touted as the imminent future of advertising. By using interactive video online retailers can increase traffic and customer time on site, convert video to sale, have a higher average order value and reduce marketing spend through social media sharing. Hotspotting can be powerful as it harnesses the impulse buy. Impulsive buying has always been a crucial element for advertisers; most people generally buy with their emotions. Later, they justify their purchases with logic. In other words, people buy impulsively. With Hotspoting, an impulse is given a call to action as they did not go into the store or go online planning to buy what they ended up buying. Consumer durables bought on impulse are likely to be items that boost someones self esteem and self image. Film can have a profound imact on viewers. When attractive, youthful and charasmatic actors are using or wearing certain items this can be projected onto viewers as something that they can buy into/become. Advertisers have always fought for product placement in films for this very reason; consumer durables bought on impulse are especially likely to be those goods that project a person’s self-image.

A recent example of hotspotting can be seen in an advert featuring Manchester United’s star of the moment Christiano Ronaldo. In the ad he runs around the pitch and strips off after a match, as he does this fans can click on his shirt, shorts and shoes to buy them instantly.

Go Viral, based in Bristol England, created the ad and their internal research has shown that up to 30 per cent of people who see the Hotspot ads click through to find out more about the product.

However Hotspotting is being developed and used for far more than e-commerce and advertising purposes. For example; It has been used to create an interactive sing-a-long to The Jonas Brother’s track LoveBug and it has been used on video footage of fashion shows so that you can find out about and purchase any of the items being modelled. Pokeware, one of the leading innovators in Hotspotting has designed a new revolutionary system which highlights the enormous breadth this technology can cover. Teaming with Guestlogix they are developing a new interactive e-commerce video for those travelling by aeroplane. Another company, ClikThrough, uses Hotspotting as a fun and interactive experience for music videos. Not only can you purchase the items on your idol’s video but you can discover band and individual member information, links to buy their songs, concert information to see event dates and locations to buy tickets, song lyrics from the video, fun facts about the band members and latest band news.

Nearly all of the Hotspotting videos, for whichever purpose, have similar features and capabilities such as face-to-face live video chat, wish lists, options to view similar products and rating and sharing features which mean customers believe they have the personal attention and interaction of a real live store while shopping from home.. In the UK, it is expected that once the switchover from the analogue to digital TV signal is complete by 2012, the technology will be utilised on television as well.

Although much of the innovation impetus for Hotspotting is coming from servicing big brands and commerce, the implications for cause marketing, education or training are exciting.This technology would prove invaluable when used for Health & Safety tutorials at the workplace, First Aid services, education or even cause marketing. Indeed, there are as many possibilities as there are ideas.

What do you make of Hotsotting? What will the future bring?

Filed Under: Guest Posts Tagged With: Alexandra Beard, Clare Munn, Digital, Hotspotting, Interactive, Pokeware, Social Media, tcg, tcgagency, Video

How To Get Your Client To Plan For Cultural Transformation

August 12, 2010 By ajmunn 8 Comments

As organizations realize that their customers hold control over their brand conversation, and harnessing the knowledge both from, and about their stakeholders is the smart and truly sustainable way forward, but the manner in which they respond is key.

Twitter chats such as #smchat and #innochat deal with these topics all the time. Much wisdom and debate is shared within the chats. The consensus appears to be that ‘Corporate Culture’ plays a pivotal role.

This reminds me of a joke:

Q: “How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?”
A: “One, but the light bulb must really want to change.”

I fast-forwarded to the end.

Here is how I got there:

Philosophy meets Process

There is much debate around what Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) is. Paul Greenburg’s brain structures the approach to SCRM wonderfully. His ‘10,000’ hours on the subject show.

“Social CRM is a philosophy and a business strategy, supported by a technology platform, business rules, processes and social characteristics, designed to engage the customer in a collaborative conversation in order to provide mutually beneficial value in a trusted and transparent business environment. It is the company’s programmatic response to the customer’s control of the conversation.” Paul Greenburg July 2010

The elements of his definition bring it all together nicely. Reading Paul’s framing thoughts you can feel his frustration. He would rather we all got on with working towards realizing the elements of a SCRM that are relevant to us, instead of debating semantics. Fair point.

We at tcg: thecommunicationgroup talk SCMR, but have been reluctant to publically use the label. Getting involved in the debate can distract from the doing and the learning through doing. If we were to point at a definition, Paul’s would be it, not so much because of the words he has used, but because of the reasoning behind them. Hat’s off to Paul for doing and saying.

I know I harp on about the short-cut culture, the tips and tricks brigade, etc. We are suckers for anything that promises to cut our workload, get us more exposure, increase our following … “and it’s practically for nothing”. I am all for solid process and best practices but it needs to be aligned to strategy, quantifiable objectives and in the context of the big picture. I do not mind if something is going to cost me something as long as I can realize a return. I think it‘s called investment. Implementing a SCRM strategy is not a shortcut. It holds no hidden secrets, no tricks. It involves whole system thinking and participation. It is as much structure as it is philosophy.

The way an organization approaches a move towards SCRM is as important as the technology it invests in. If an organization does not invest in shifting the way it works, the way it thinks, the way it evolves…no amount of technology, tricks or tips are going to bring around a meaningful transformation. When we were working with Cisco on their Channel Partner Relationship Management three years ago we saw many of these concepts play out successfully. Cisco were committed to the organizational change that accompanied the technical changes. Lots has changed since then, but Cisco continues to adapt due to their organizational philosophy.

Of course this is easier said than done. We cannot only blame organizational culture for the lack of progress and adaption to SCRM. We – the people who talk about it and offer our time and services to implement this for organizations – need to play our part, too. It is not unreasonable for companies to request data and details that will enable them to understand the level of investment needed and the expected return on that investment. It is our duty and responsibility to provide them with this information by incorporating cultural transformation within the project resource allocation, process and budget.

SCRM and cultural transformation are complex and I know I haven’t exhausted the topics. There are so many opinions and levels that I know you have something to say. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Photo by Mandaloo

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: #innochat, #smchat, brand, Cisco, Clare Munn, conversations, customer relationship management, SCRM, Social Media, tcg, tcgagency

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