Thoughts
- A Day in the Life of a Customer
This is a really neat excercise for understanding your target / customer / whatever you feel comfortable calling the people you are selling a product to.
Image via
Now, you can market to customers “in flow”. Maybe even give provide them with something useful, when they need it! The unfortunate thing, is, as a marketer, it is much eaiser to shout, than it is to be useful in an opportune moment.
I know it isn’t realistic to completely stop shouting, but at the very least let’s make these shouts useful or entertaining?
The barriers to distribution have theoretically collapsed, let’s create something worth spreading and find the right moment.
That was fun.
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- Today’s Theme? “Collective Engineering”
I love when ideas or trends group themselves into themes. Today I came across an advertising campaign, a Research and Development product by the New York Times, and reactions to a news story about Apple gathering iphone user location. There is a common thread in all of these stories. Yup. You guessed it, “Collective Engineering.”
Faris, in his post about the New BMW EVolve advertising campaign, almost wrote it as an aside:
“And the collective engineering data the it creates will be used to continue to develop the next generation of BMW Electric Vehicles.”
Collective engineering is a fantastic way to describe the practice of putting your customers data to use. Not only to fulfill business objectives, but to design and build products that provide even greater utility.
1) Here is the EVolve advertising campaign:
Collective engineering element –> Uses data from current BMW owners to discover if they are EV ready. That data, about how much owners drive for example, will be utilized in the development of future BMW vehicles.
2) Cascade, By New York Times Research and Development.
Collective engineering element –> Helps the New York times better understand the value of a Tweet, how stories spread on social networks, and identify key influencers by topic in a visually simple and stunning format. This data will (hopefully) be utilized to create news experiences that are better tailored and more relevant to individuals and curators alike.
3) The Apple Location debacle. I guess this is conjecture, but I have to believe that Apple is tracking location data on its Iphone users to determine how to make its services better, not only for some sinister purpose.
Collective engineering element –> By collecting location data, Apple can provide better services (especially in terms of allowing users to utilize LBS faster).
A side note: There is no viable explanation as to why the data is stored on the phone for 10 months. Gulp. I’m going to choose to believe their only goal is to improve the quality of their product.
Have you seen interesting examples of “collective engineering” lately? Do share.
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- Google and Kansas City, KS A New Standard of Brand Utility?
As you have probably heard by now, Google has chosen to install high speed internet in Kansas City, KS (Story from NPR below):
I’m really excited about the idea of a brand creating long term value through infrastructure investment. Obviously, I can’t be totally sure what Google’s ultimate aim is, but I hope Kansas City, KS becomes a case study for the economic power of top internet infrastrucure. If this goes well (economic growth in Kansas City, KS), the government may invest more readily in installing high speed internet across the US, with Google winning the coveted contract.
Currently, the US ranks 15th in average internet broadband speed gloabaly. So this seems like an apt problem for Google to address:
I love the idea of brands growing economically by investing in infrastructure. Especially in places that are suffering both socially and economically.
It is in the best interest of brands and their agency partners to form these types of relationships, where brands can provide tangible social value and sustain long term growth. Stuff like this makes me think its possible. Am I naive? Probably. But examples like Google make me think that profit does not always have to arrive at the expense of the poorest parts of society. Maybe smart marketing can spurr economic growth in a way that actually benefits society as a whole.
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- "Likes", "Comments", Reach and Engagement -- Playing Around With Correlations and Facebook Data.
This is my first Slideshare, based off of a report I did for work a little while ago. If this goes well, there will be more to come. Hope you find this interesting, or at the very least, reinforce what you probably already know. Don’t worry, it’s short. Here goes nothing.
I love the idea that inspring more Likes or Comments can be correlated with different outcomes, perhaps all “engagement” isn’t all the same after all. But you knew that already. Let’s keep investigating shall we?
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- Propagation Planning Explained (To the Best of My Ability Anyway)
Note: This post was originally written for the “How Do You Connect” blog from Imagination Publishing blog. I wanted to put it up here before I forgot. Coincidentally, Imagination Publishing is also where I work.
I’m very much intrigued by the idea of propagation planning.
Propagation planning challenges marketers to:
“Plan not for the people you reach, but the people that they reach”
Opportunities for marketing success with digital media have moved beyond hyper-targeting and increases in click through rates. In today’s connected world we have the opportunity to create custom content that is designed to spread.As spreadable digital content becomes water cooler fodder, seeding and creating this type of content becomes paramount for brands.
Propagation planning is an intoxicating idea, but how can a brand work to make sure that their content is shared?
Successful propagation planning is about understanding why people share, the nuances of different networks, and keen observation of online behavior.
Let’s analyze the top viewed and shared items from Buzzfeed, the New York Times, NYMagazine, Reddit, and Huffington Post.
Where the data came from:
- The top 20 most “viral” content on Buzzfeed — http://www.buzzfeed.com/top/viral
- NYTimes most emailed — http://www.nytimes.com/gst/mostemailed.html
- Reddit — http://www.reddit.com/top/
- NYMag– most emailed — on front page.
I chose these sites fairly selfishly, as these are sites that I visit regularly to quickly understand what people like me are talking about online.
Categorization:
Posts were categorized based on their site, the type of content, the type of media, and why people would share.
After recognizing patterns among the initial content, I grouped them into 5 content types (With an example for each):
1) Celebrity
“The 21 best pictures of Luke Perry at DragonCon” — http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-21-best-portraits-of-luke-perry-at-dragoncon (BuzzFeed).
2) Internet/Nerd/Computer Culture
“How to sum up the Star Wars prequels in one .gif” — http://i52.tinypic.com/11j93zt.gif (Reddit).
3) News/Current Events/ Time Sensitive Opinion
“Maureen Dowd: Supremely Bad Judgment” — http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/opinion/24dowd.html (NYTimes)
4) Humor/Snark
“So, Actually, The World Might Not End in 2012″ — http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/so_actually_the_world_might_no.html (NYMag)
5) Shock/Awe
“Photos: Oversized Animals” — http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/23/huge-insects-rodents-fish_n_772097.html (HuffPo)
Obviously, this categorization is highly subjective, but I do think it helps shed some light on content that successfully propagates around the web.
Observations:
Across the four sites, and 47 posts, the News/Current Event/Opinion content type was the most common. 30% of posts were news, time sensitive opinion, and current event posts. However, this was largely driven by the inclusion of the NYTimes and Huffington Post. Moreover, the data was pulled on Sunday, where the well known opinion writers of the New York Times are prominently featured which may have skewed the data.
If we remove the Huffington Post and New York Times from the data set, we find that News/Current Events/Opinion category dwindles to just one post, and the internet/nerd/computer culture category remains the same. Out of the 30 posts from Buzzfeed, NyMag and Reddit, 37% of posts fall into the internet/nerd/computer culture category.
These findings illustrate, not surprisingly, that the most spreadable stories on the Huffington Post and NYTmes are tied directly to current events and news-worthy items. Much of the New York Times content that is shared the most is driven by their big names — Maureen Dowd, Nicholas Kristof, Paul Krugman etc.
The most spreadable items on Buzzfeed tend to be driven by a combination of humor, popular culture and examples of the collision between internet and popular culture.
Reddit success is generally dominated by meme generation and technological observation that speaks to a shared nerd culture.
NYMag success is driven by local pride, almost always focused on Brooklyn, and a sarcastic or snarky approach to newsworthy items.
There is absolutely overlap between all of these sites, but by attempting to understand the differences rather than similarities we can better identify what makes each site unique.
Now that we understand the types of content that succeed on these various sites, a second question remains. Why do people share these stories?
When I placed each story into the spreadsheet, I included a column called “Why someone would share” — This is a tag cloud of the most common words used in that description:
From this Wordcloud, we can see that the content analyzed would commonly inspire these sharing motivations:1) Making someone laugh.
2) Shock someone.
3) Reinforce or challenge a political viewpoint.
4) Reinforce or challenge a cultural viewpoint.
5) Show knowledge of the internet and/or popular culture.
When we think about what it means to share a piece of content, and how it impacts the identity of a web user, we are more likely to find the types of content that will propagate.
Takeaways
1. Understand the Nuances of Different Content Publishing Sites, and Tailor Your Content Accordingly.
2. When It Comes to the Web, Most Viewed and Most Shared Are Not Synonymous.
- Sharing is a public act that impacts user identity, while viewing is understood as private.
3. Images and Video are Helpful To Ensure That Your Content Spreads.
- If the goal of sharing content is to inspire awe, make someone laugh, or illustrate your “interesting-ness” visuals are a powerful way to make an impression.
Opportunities for Brands:
1. Reacting in near real time to cultural events.
- While engaging with your customers is still important, why not be proactive? Understand the types of content they are viewing and sharing on the web and be part of that conversation, rather than solely talking about your own products.
- Example: Sesame Street, “Smell Like A Monster:
This Old Spice spoof successfully targeted millennial mothers by referencing a cultural phenomenon. Sesame street continues to stay relevant through seeding digital content.
2. Seed content, and understand what sharing that content says about the propagator:
- Example: DonQ Lady Data On Buzzfeed:
This content fits in well with the top content on Buzzfeed, and motivations for sharing the DonQ LadyData match up with the motivations for sharing from the Buzzfeed site — It reflects an knowledge of internet and popular culture, and, most of all, that a user can identify funny stuff on the internet before the masses.
3. Create richer understanding for your customers through data sharing and visualizations:
- Frito Lay Chip Tracker:
This combination of transparency, personalization, and data sharing provides the opportunity for a unique consumer experience that begs to be shared.
It is fantastic that brands are actively monitoring and engaging with their customer base, but a richer understanding of the web, and online sharing allows for more effective content planning — Where brands can be proactive in seeding spreadable content, rather than merely reacting to consumers.
What are some challenges with propagation planning? Can all brands use this to their advantage?
To read more on propagation planning head here.
What culturally relevant, interesting, and site specific content are you creating at the speed of the web today?
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- Textaraunt, “Wait Online, Not In line”
Also thinking about how services like this could tie into the “next generation” of location.
(Read this whitepaper).
On the textaurant website:
Until we can use this, there’s always @WaitListChi .
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- The “Gleeification” Of TV
Today I read a critique of Glee that argued that Glee, “Instead of illustrating the unspoken and inner desires or fears of the characters, the songs here seem like coldly calculated viral videos, designed to rapidly spread across the Internet.”
I could not agree more. And unfortunately, it makes a lot of sense.
1) By including content in scripted television that will spread across the web, networks can reach consumers at more touchpoints.
2) Digital content is infinitely more measurable, which provides ammo for networks to appease and retain advertisers who are beginning to balk at the value of traditional Nielsen ratings.
3) Advertisers want the measurement that digital provides, with the reach of TV.
But here’s the real question — Does producing 30 second to 5 minute spreadable online content within the framework of a show take away from the show itself?
I think the answer is that it depends on the show.
Regardless of the answer, if you were a producer or executive trying to score some ad dollars for your show or network wouldn’t you try to work in content aimed at the web to show some immediate ROI?
Imagine if Lonestar clip that included product placement spread across the web. Do you think Fox would’ve been as quick to cancel the show after poor ratings on just 2 episdoes?
Do you think we’re going to see more stuff like this coming out of network television?
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- 10 Top Chicago Foursquare Bars (Based on Data from Deep Focus' New "FourScore")
I really enjoy this new project from Deep Focus, “FourScore” which lets your rank businesses Foursquare activity within specific categories.
I took the liberty of searching bar category, in Chicago, on the FourScore site.
Turns out, the Berghoof Restaurant has the highest Fourscore. Admitedly, I’m sure this has something to do with their yearly Oktoberfest celebration.
This is a fascinating list nonetheless, and a really great use of the Foursquare API. Well done Deep Focus!
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- Is Measuring User Loyalty More Important Than Measuring Engagement in Social Media?
We’ve been having a lot of internal discussion about measuring social media at work lately. Showing the value of social media to clients is both exciting and extremely challenging at the same time.
Of course, one of most improtant metrics we stress in our reporting is engagement. There have been mutliple studies that tie engagement to sales, and on many of our pages, we define success when important engagement metrics improve both month to month and year to year.
While engagement is a powerful metric, it is very much a stepping stone to understanding larger consumer actions and behaviors, rather than the holy grail of social media measurement.
So what are these “holy grail” type of measurments?
This morning, after reading this article from the Think Vitamin blog, placing engagement and growth metrics within the framework of user loyalty might be a good place to start.
So how do we build user loyalty with social media and how do we measure it? I took the liberty of diagraming the post from Think Vitamin (Hope they aren’t too upset):
Obviously, this is over simplified. But as we hunt for social media ROI and how to demonstrate it, this is a thought provoking framework. Thanks Think Vitamin!
Thoughts? Is user loyalty even a measurable business objective?
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- Gilt Makes Its First Foray Into the Editorial World
Gilt Groupe has made its first foray into the editorial world, with its “Manual“. We’ve seen editorial sites getting in on the group buying / designer discount trend, most memorably with Thrillist buying Jack Threads .
The blending of editorial content and group buying/ designer discount makes some sense. In my mind, this melding of editorial and “social shopping” experiences fills consumer need.
When making a purchase decision, a consumer can now have a mix of trusted editorial content, recommendations from your social graph and the final push of group buying dynamics.
In essence, shopping sites will probably add more editorial, and editorial sites will add more innovative “social shopping” options.
Imagine if the next Gilt manual was written by Esquire or GQ with special sale items tied into both current magazine content and “Manual” items?
To be fair, one could argue that editorial sites starting their own speciality shopping sites could impact journalistic integrity, but as traditional publishers struggle to cater to advertisers is offering their own branded shopping experiences really that different? At least it’s more transparent?
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