The most romantic week of the year is upon us once again.

The cards are stocked, the roses reduced and the restaurants ready for their annual influx of covers.

But what can the world of social tell us about Valentine’s Day in 2013. Is this a year of carefree romance or seasoned frugality? Champers or chocolates? And cheap frills or luxury lace?

A quick and dirty dive into Topsy’s Social Analytics offers a glimpse into the answer.

Tweet
#Valentines data crunching: Intimate dinners trumped romantic, Valentines weekends away
 

Tweet
#Valentines data crunching: slap-up meals 13% more popular than cooking at home
 

Tweet
#Valentines data crunching: old fashioned flowers still 45% more popular than chocolates and fizz
 

Tweet
#Valentines data crunching: Ann Summers beats Agent Provocateur in battle of the briefs
 

Data courtesy of:

Topsy Social Analytics, measuring keyword mentions on Twitter between February 6 – 13th 2013
Image courtesy of:

Wikimedia Commons, Tree decorated for Valentine’s Day in San Diego, California, by Johntex under a  GNU Free Documentation License

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

I’ve been doing a lot of recruiting over the last nine months. For those of you in the same boat, you will know it’s a time consuming and challenging task.

Finding people with deep digital experience rather than just a veneer is tough. I spend a lot of time writing and re-writing job descriptions. I often start with a somewhat unrealistic job description of a super-human marketing person who boasts a mix of creativity, strategic thinking, technical skills, content marketing experience, team management, data skills, account management…

Do they exist? Should I be looking for something else? How do we spot the next generation of digital professional? Well, this blog article by Ashley Friedlein reassured me that it’s a hunt worth pursuing.

He talks of PI (Π) shaped people. It moves away from the established idea that marketers need a broad understanding of the discipline, but also a specialism. Instead we need PI shaped people, those with a broad experience, but also the ability for left and right brain thinking.

“They are both analytical and data-driven, yet understand brands, storytelling and experiential marketing,” says Ashley

It’s really worth a read.

Thankfully Ashley’s approach chimes well with our internal training programme.  In 2013 we are investing more time and resource in training up our team, to develop their left and right brain skill-set. Our aim is to excel at high quality consultancy for our clients and help our staff fill the demand for the digital practitioners of the future.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

We love this recent infographic from the guys Our Social Times. With more than 57% of consumers searching online to solve customer service issues, it’s an area that just can’t be ignored.

Consumers are increasingly turning to social to solve queries and resolve grievances

If you would like to find out more about the way social media is reshaping the relationship between customers and brands, then immediate future MD, Katy Howell, is speaking at The Social Customer 2012 conference in London tomorrow, 29 March 2012.

For further details and to find out how you can still claim immediate future’s exclusive 10% discount contact info@immediatefuture.co.uk.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

An experimental scientist? A mathematician, an historian, an IT geek, a money making  economist or socially savvy psychologist? Last week we conducted a Twtpoll to discover who you would rather employ as a social media consultant for your business. The results were eye opening.

To our great surprise the mathematician received no votes.  One thing that social media and the world of online has is data – mountains of it. The ability to analyse and interpret data is increasingly important in social media, whether evaluating campaigns, assessing website analytics or search data or teasing out insights from the universe of social conversation.

However, it was the psychologist who was the most sought after. Inevitably, being able to understand the human psyche is a great advantage when trying to influence people and help brands to communicate effectively with consumers.

The IT geek ranked fourth in desirability. Having an avid interest in digital is a must, as the technology that drives social media is constantly evolving. But, perhaps our voters thought their technical know-how would obscure their ability to engage?

After much debate in the office we concluded that a professional with a mix of both psychology and a mathematician’s skills would be best suited. Having a firm grasp of statistics really is a prerequisite for the role. Social media campaigns’ success is dependent on a number of factors, one of which is to feel at ease with analysing data and responding accordingly.

Who would you employ in a flash? And whose CV would be quickly chucked in the recycling bin? We would love to hear your thoughts…

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Before hastily setting up a Google+ page for your business, you need to step back and consider whether there is any value in joining the early adopters. We pulled together 4 points to help you evaluate whether it is worth your company embracing Google+:

The promised land?

1.  Objective – Are you targeting your Google+ to generate awareness and buzz about your company? Or do you want to generate engagement and build upon relationships with customers? Google+ is in its infancy and audience demographics are unclear, there’s scant information about how active these profiles are. You’ll need to bear this in mind when contemplating what your objective is.

2.  Time and resources – Your time is important so you need to evaluate whether it’s worth launching a page and the continual maintenance and monitoring of that page. Content is also key. The page requires rich content to be shared and engaged with. As Google+ prevents competitions or promotions, it’s perhaps best to use content from assets that you already have.

3. How will Google+ fit in with your other branded web estates? – Do you really need to include it in your marketing mix? Will it play a large part in your online marketing ecosystem or are you just securing a simple branded profile? Perhaps wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks, and then, venture into investing resource.

4.  Outcome – So far the main benefit is that Google+ has connected social with search. For those who participate in this opportunity it is likely that your page rankings will get a boost. And for those who do not, we anticipate that you may lose rankings or be displaced amongst your competitors who have a Google+ presence.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

If you’re in the industry, you’d be lying if you didn’t shudder when a choice nugget of social media consultancy newspeak pops out of your mouth, or a colleague’s. It’s like an involuntary spasm, and you feel like you need a shower after it’s come out. Is social media jargon now endemic in the industry? Is it a way to explain a new form of media or a way to cloak the industry in mystery and maybe add a certain cache to a subject that might be otherwise obvious? We’ll be conducting a series of mini polls over the coming weeks to try and get to the bottom of it and gauge industry feeling.

But, in the meantime, you may be interested to see the results of a Twtpoll immediate future conducted the other day – apparently we think social media rock star or guru is more offensive than both Tweriod and Digerati put together! I must say I was a little shocked by that. Could this be because we don’t like to think of social media experts as occupying a special place in society?

Does there need to be an amnesty on these words – should we be allowed to use them without embarrassment? This brought to mind the most recent episode of Stephen Fry’s wonderful ‘Fry’s Planet Word’ which had a very powerful section on George Orwell’s 1984 and how the shortening of words and acronyms reduced their power and reduced the need to think.

Whatever your thoughts – please feel free to add your own most hated social media newspeak into the comments.

p.s As I write this someone has just sent me an email with the term ‘screenagers’ in it, in reference to Generation Y, millennials, digital natives or the Facebook generation. I take back what I said about an amnesty. Bring on the torches and pitchforks, we march!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Social media marketing is not new. We’re all familiar with the basics and brands are actively engaging with their consumers on a daily basis. So, why are people still doing it incorrectly? Here, we share what to do and, more importantly, what not to do when it comes to the basics of social media marketing. Some of this may be second nature to online community and brand managers, but it’s worth reminding ourselves of the basics from time to time.  Taking a step back and reviewing the processes can help make sure your social media  strategy is robust and prepared for the out of the ordinary.

SEO

Recent data from AOL shows how important it is for brands to invest in SEO PR in order to feature well in search engine results. The first ranking position in search results receives 42.25% of all click-through traffic. Results on the first page (first 10 results) receive 89.71% of all click-through traffic. So, what should you do to get that prime first place position?

Do research your key terms. This will give you a clear direction and inform your content strategy and plans.

Do monitor your performance – make a note of where you were to begin with and see how you’re progressing in the rankings. This shows your efforts paying off and also shows where you need to improve.

Don’t rest on your laurels. Keep generating positive and relevant content to help keep your ranking up.

SEO can be a hard to get your head round. SEOMoz has created a great beginners guide to SEO that gives a good understanding of what it is, why it’s important and what you can do.

Social commerce

Social commerce is really taking off. Brands are beginning to see the value of selling through social platforms such as Facebook; ASOS and Best-Buy are good examples of this. It’s still a new area, so what should you be aware of?

Do integrate social commerce into your wider sales strategy and social media strategy. This will make sure all departments are singing from the same hymn sheet and your approach won’t be fragmented.

Don’t jump straight on the band wagon – take time to research social commerce. Ask yourself: is it right for you? How will it fit into your wider sales strategy and social media strategy and is my consumer demographic likely to respond positively?

ASOS is leading the way. Its f-commerce store looks and feels the same as its website, all within its Facebook page, offering a seamless experience for consumers. This type of integration is key. Consumers often don’t see the point of purchasing on a social site if the experience is not like buying from a normal e-commerce site.

Influencer relations

Contacting bloggers and other influencers is becoming the norm among PR agencies. More and more PR firms are conducting influencer relations in addition to outreach to journalists. Gone are the days of press lists. But, should all influencers be treated in the same way?

Do know your audience – take time to research who you want to target. Remember that not all bloggers or influencers think of themselves as journalists so tailor your approach to suit them.

Don’t send a blanket emails – this can be off-putting and gives out the wrong message for your brand, especially when littered with silly mistakes like “Hi [insert name]”.

Doing it right, means great relationships that will be beneficial to your brand. We’re in regular contact with influencers as a social media consultancy and a number of us have a background in traditional PR. We believe influencer relations is about utilising traditional PR skills and adapting them for a new audience.

Community management

There’s a whole world of conversation happening about your brand online, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, blogs or forums. Having a Twitter profile or Facebook page is a given when planning a social media strategy. But, how can you effectively connect with your online audience?

Do research your audience. Find out what social networks they are most active on and this will help inform your strategy. There’s no point setting up a Twitter profile when your core audience isn’t talking on Twitter.

Don’t ignore your community. Listen to what they have to say – their opinions can help build your online presence further and can quickly destroy it too.

We advise all our clients to listen and engage in consumer conversation. A community is a two way street – you have to interact with them so they engage back. You wouldn’t expect the organiser of your local community meetings to dictate things to you, so why should it be any different online?

Let us know if you have any other invaluable tips you’d like to share and we’ll make sure they’re included too.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In the last post we looked at figures from the twentieth century and the lessons that could be learned from their experiences when implementing brand social media training.

In this post we’ll investigate some historical recommendations crowdsourced on Twitter over the past week.

Don’t expect people to be interested solely in your news, get the mix right - Samuel Pepys – a mixture of your own news and timely social comment is always advisable. People aren’t just interested in your latest news, version 2.6.8 of your latest software package or the appointment of so and so to Vice President of Packaging. By all means update your customers and fans through social media, but don’t expect them to share it with others unless it is relevant to their interests. As the great Pepys provided eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London he still provided daily insights into his home life from his love of wine to his wife’s dancing lessons. Getting the mixture of news and comment right is key in any social media and blog posting.

Watch your supply lines and make sure that your resources can live up to your social media platform commitments – Erwin Rommel‘s failure in North Africa was exacerbated by stretched supply lines and by limited resources across a wide front. Logistical problems plagued his Afrika Korps in 1941 and finally lead to his retreat. Brands need to realise that if they are going to set up social media platforms to interact with customers and fans then they need to be properly staffed, and have guidelines in place to respond to customer queries. A Facebook page with an empty wall or one that was updated months ago is worse than useless because it gives the impression that the brand does not care about its community and gives competitors the opportunity to step in and interact with your consumers.

Spelling and punctuation is vital – A social media platform is a real time representation of your brand, poor spelling and grammar reflect badly upon companies and give followers the impression that not enough care or resource is being devoted to them. Gordon Brown was hauled over the media coals for his numerous spelling mistakes in a letter to the family of an Afghanistan military casualty. The backlash was yet another costly PR mistake that took time and resource to try and resolve and still appears high in the Google search rankings when looking up the former Prime Minister. Proofing and sense checking should be at the heart of any communication that goes out on a branded social media profile.

Sex sells, or the prospect of sex and style sells – Now, I’m not advocating you to advise your social platform managers to turn branded profile into X-rated broadcasts, but Mae West certainly had the right idea in terms of promoting her personal brand. A maestro of the double entendre, Mae made a name for herself throughout Hollywood as the go to woman for quotes, quips and controversy. People don’t become fans of the mundane, they don’t share with friends and colleagues things that might label them as boring. Branded content should be treated in the same way as any other piece of content in the sense that; “If you wouldn’t share it with your own circle of friends, why should you customers or clients be interested?” With that, I leave you with one of Mae’s most famous quotes and one that has been shared by millions “When I’m good, I’m very good, but when I’m bad, I’m better.” Brand managers take note.

Please feel free to proffer any tips you may think relevant for social media training or blog training and I’ll update the post accordingly.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Those looking to ensure staff are equipped to represent their brand across social media platforms could do worse than learn from some of history’s most famous and infamous historical figures. So what can your social media training learn from the past?

“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

Don’t take others at face value - Fake news stories spread like wildfire, especially on Twitter, from the reported death of Charlie Sheen to Rebecca Black’s pregnancy. Even seasoned journalists and media publications have been caught out by news that originated online without any facts behind to back it up. Even today, news that Madeline McCann has been found is a trending topic on Twitter, yet no news outlet has officially confirmed these reports at the time of writing this blog. Neville Chamberlain was easily swayed by a mixture of gullibility and persuasive argument from Hitler in Munich in September 1938. In short corroborate your news from a viable site prior to a blog, retweet or wall post. It pays to be vigilant and accurate rather than timely in many cases. It’s great to break some news early to fans and followers, but not at the cost of your brand integrity.

Wit and personality goes a long way – Brands looking to develop a voice and persona of their own, especially in a busy marketplace, should look to Oscar Wilde.  His belief that; ‘Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.’ should not be taken lightly, there are many brands on Facebook and Twitter who are happy to go along with the crowd and not distinguish themselves from the competition for fear of controversy. However, people are far more likely to retweet or share something that they find amusing or useful; this could range from the bizarre Skittles profile to the erudite and compelling Dr Samuel Johnson. However, Oscar’s theory that ‘It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information’ may now be somewhat redundant.

Controlled controversy - Kenneth Tynan made a name for himself as an outspoken theatre critic and writer, oh and the first man to say ‘fuck’ on television. Link baiting or controversy has a role to play in certain aspects of social media activity in order to excite debate and encourage shareability of branded content and messaging. On 13 November 1965, Tynan participated in a live TV debate and was asked whether he would allow a play to be staged in which sexual intercourse was represented on the stage, and replied: “Well, I think so, certainly. I doubt if there are any rational people to whom the word ‘fuck’ would be particularly diabolical, revolting or totally forbidden. I think that anything which can be printed or said can also be seen.” Critics later stated that Tynan’s use of the word was a “masterpiece of calculated self-publicity,” adding “for a time it made him the most notorious man in the country.” Notoriety is not always desired by brands, but publicity and the guts to say something out of the ordinary and that your competitors are afraid to, cannot be underestimated in terms of creating widespread brand awareness. Tynan was always one for breaking down linguistic inhibitions on the stage and in print and I’m positive that if he was still alive he would be confounding expectations on Twitter.

In the next part of the ‘Lessons from History’ series I’ll be delving into the training tips that can be gleaned from the lives of some recommended historical characters. Thanks to @photogirluk @Elle_Emmm @Carrot79 @nickhide @lesanto @Shinybiscuit for their input! Also please feel free to recommend your own historical characters who we could learn a few social media tips from.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Facebook pages give brands an opportunity to build close relationships with consumers; however, they also present new challenges for online community managers. Unlike forum based communities, brands have little real ownership over the platform:  posting is instant, 24 / 7, and pre-moderating is restricted. This means that the risks are higher – and it’s important to be prepared.

Here are our top 5 tips for managing and moderating an online community on Facebook.

1. Use the Facebook tools: You can’t pre-moderate all comments on Facebook; however, you can block profanities; remove posts and ban users or pages.  You can also set up a list of blacklisted keywords that keeps these comments hidden until you have reviewed them. Make sure that your profanity setting screens out any obscene posts; and, use social media monitoring to identify any sensitive terms that you might want to review before the post becomes public.

2. Publish a moderation policy: Having a clear moderation policy can reduce the need to remove posts and also provide a justification, should you need to delete any content. Here are some good examples that tell the community what is acceptable and what is not.

The next web ‘To our fans’

Diabetes UK ‘House Rules’

Topshop ‘Info’

Baileys ‘Terms and Conditions’

3. Know when to delete: Negativity is not always a bad thing and certainly not a reason to automatically censor content. People may post negative comments and it’s important to have a workflow in place to decide what will be deleted and whether an explanation will be provided.

When we’re managing Facebook communities, we delete posts that are offensive, irrelevant or spam. When we get very negative conversation that does not fall outside of the Terms and Conditions, we use other techniques such as asking for the community’s input or direct messaging.

Nestlé’s handling of the Greenpeace Kit Kat campaign and its deletion of Facebook posts demonstrates the risks of a heavy handled deletion policy, so make sure that your reaction is planned and thought through.

4. Know when to ban users: Users and pages can be banned from posting.  We’d only recommend banning users/pages who repeatedly break the Terms and Conditions of your Facebook page; and those considered scammers or spammers. It’s helpful to be aware of your online detractors – but don’t ban them until they have given you reason to do so.

5. Make sure your page is adequately resourced: Are your staff clear about the moderation policy?  Is there an escalation process for any potential risks? What happens out of hours? If you want your online community to succeed and any moderation to be effective, it needs to be properly resourced and you need to act quickly.

These tips have helped us to successfully manage Facebook communities for international brands, but what do you think? Are there any tips that you’d add into the mix?

Bookmark It

Hide Sites