Koroberi Blog

Expectations are already high for the coming year in the realm of social media. Mashable is predicting the rise of augmented reality in social applications while Social Media Today is calling for increased social advertising. While excitement mounts about what is to come in 2012, here at Koroberi we’re taking a look at the note-worthy social media trends and events that happened in 2011:

1. Spotify comes to the United States: The UK-based app Spotify opened its digital music streaming services to American users in July. Originally available via invitation, the site has three different subscription models and allows users access to a library of more than 15 million songs. Hitting 2.5 million subscribers in December, mere months after opening in the US, Spotify was a big hit in 2011.
2. Facebook gets a makeover: Every time Facebook tweaks one of its features, Zuckerburg is faced with controversy and several million angry users. That didn’t stop the social media giant from launching the new Facebook “Timeline” layout, available to developers in September and fully launched in late Fall. The completely renovated Facebook profile now serves as “the story of your life,” making it one of the most noteworthy social media advances for 2011.
3. Twitter Scandals: From Anthony Weiner’s lewd photo tweet to Newt Gingrich’s fake followers, 2011 was a year of political Twitter scandals. Though “Weinergate” eventually blew over and Gingrich was vindicated by Twitter analysis, here’s hoping that politicians become more adept on the Twitter scene in 2012.
4. Planking goes viral: Planking isn’t a new trend for 2011, but the meme went viral this year as celebrities (and non-celebs too) posted photos and videos of awkward planking photos everywhere from Twitter to YouTube.
5. The first Twitter Presidential Debate: Republicans took advantage of Twitter this summer in the inaugural presidential Twitter debate. With only 140 characters to tackle often controversial policy issues, this new medium for debate was a huge shift from the prime-time television debates that dominate election season. The results? According to an analysis of Twitter posts, Herman Cain received the most Retweets while @teambachmann received the most @mentions.
6. Google + the new Facebook?: In late June, Google launched Google+, its answer to Facebook. While Google + isn’t short of users (62 million members and counting), many Google + profiles have been created and left inactive as users struggle to find its relevance among its already established competitors, Facebook and Twitter. But one thing is certain, Google + has definitely kept the Facebook beast on its toes as Zuckerburg introduced increased privacy settings and the social grouping feature to combat two of the site’s most innovative attributes.
7. The Angry Birds phenomenon: The most popular app of 2011, Angry Birds has become a sensation taking over tablets and smartphones across the world. The wildly addictive game has become a global brand with t-shirts, stuffed animals and other merchandise flying off of store shelves faster than you can launch an angry bird at an evil pig with a slingshot. Angry Birds was the top paid app in Apple’s app store, but Words with Friends came in a close second in a recent poll.

We’ve all seen it. The dead Facebook page. An inactive Twitter account. An attempt at B2B social media marketing gone wrong.

With 81 percent of B2B companies maintaining company-related profiles on social networks (source: Business.com’s 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study), it’s clear that social media is no longer uncharted territory for B2B marketers. So why is it that so many make the leap into new media without the strategy to back it up?

It’s critical to have a larger strategy to guide social media tactics or you may quickly find that you never see a return on the time you invest (unless you just need an excuse to learn how to tweet).

For a company with a miniscule marketing budget and not enough staff to carry out a full-fledged new media campaign, developing a strategy before creating your Twitter or Facebook may seem daunting. John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing developed a social media hierarchy for businesses to follow as they deploy social media tactics. Here are some of the highlights:

• Blogs: Blogging should be the foundation of your social media strategy. Keep up with relevant blogs, stay in-the-know about hot issues and develop content that inspires real engagement.
• Social Search: A social search provides a more personal experience for consumers than traditional advertising. Make use of social search engines such as Yelp to increase and manage your reputation online.
• Facebook: Once you have the content and digital reputation nailed down, take advantage of the potential business prospects on Facebook. Create a dialogue with the surrounding community and keep them coming back to your page with fresh content and ideas. After all, nothing is more disappointing to consumers than a dead Facebook page.
• Twitter: The ultimate tool in the social media marketing mix, Twitter allows for quick tracking and engagement. However, Twitter is at the top of the hierarchy because without the groundwork laid by blogging, social search techniques and Facebook, you may quickly run out of new and appealing tweets.

If social media strategic plans are thoughtfully developed, B2B companies have the potential to build the kind of lasting relationships they want with their clients, jump-starting word-of-mouth and increasing brand loyalty. If you jump on the social media bandwagon without a sound strategy to back it up, you’ll end up with a Twitter account but nothing to tweet, or a Facebook page that no one “likes.” Nobody likes that.

From Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential announcement on Livestream to Obama’s Twitter Town Hall, social media is taking center stage in the campaigns of 2012 presidential hopefuls.

Twitter is one social media tool that presidential hopefuls are deploying in new ways. The inaugural Republican presidential debate on Twitter will take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.With Twitter’s 140-character limit and the absence of a video camera, debaters will be completely reliant on their ability to concisely express views to appeal to voters (We wonder how the Kennedy-Nixon debates would have played out on Twitter!). Though the brevity of arguments is one of the main benefits, all tweets will be tracked through the account @140TownHall, allowing anyone to follow the evolution of the debate either in real time or after the debate has concluded. The website 140townhall.com will feature three columns, one displaying stats like followers, retweets and mentions; a second column with the debate as it happens; and a third column with a tweet box for comments from the public.

One of the more curious aspects of this debate is its scheduled time. Contrary to broadcast debates, which typically occur in primetime slots around 9 p.m. EST to reach the broadest possible audience, this Twitter debate is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. At this point in the afternoon, most Americans are in the full throes of the workday, many too busy to actively follow a Twitter feed. Thus begging the questions, which demographic are they targeting and how valid is this assessment of voter engagement?

While measuring the actual outcome of the debate and impact of the Twitter medium may be difficult, success (or the perception thereof) will be judged by the amount of public engagement it generates. After all, the real benefit of social media is the ability to make your message go viral with the help of an active audience.

Last week, some of my Koroberi coworkers and I participated in a “virtual event” sponsored by the American Marketing Association titled “Social Media: Cracking the Code for Business Marketers.”

I was armed and ready. I had circled the speakers that interested me and marked the conflicting time slots to remind myself to watch them on-demand later.

One problem: I couldn’t log in. I never even received my login information. Emails to the AMA were answered by an automated message assuring me that my “question would be answered within 24 hours.”

This is the equivalent of a locked entry hall door at a tradeshow. There were others in the same boat on Twitter, calling out to @marketing_power for help. The problem could have been solved faster had any of us known the hashtag for the event (it was #AMAVESM), but even that wasn’t released until after the webinar had already begun. We could “hear” bits and pieces of the presentations from some of the other Tweets, but it was akin to pressing a glass to a wall.

Once I was able to log in (piggybacking on a coworker’s information), I joined my conference and immediately found myself adjusting my speakers. The presenter’s audio was terrible! I had to “turn it up to 11,” my tinny computer speakers threatening mutiny.

There were some strong lessons to be had, though most of it not about social media. It was about how to do (or not do) a virtual event” Now that I’ve had a week to think about this, I’ve compiled a list of guidelines for coordinating and running a virtual event.

1)    Ensure that attendance links are sent out in advance – not when the “doors open.”
Even after I logged in, I had to update my Mozilla and restart my computer. I would have appreciated the chance to update earlier in the morning (even if I didn’t take the opportunity to do so!)

2)    Post the event hashtags to your Twitter account – not within the event!
For those that couldn’t join the conference, it’s nice to be able to catch a glimpse through a Twitter search feed.

3)    Powerpoints are never glamorous – but please give us good audio.
The high-pitched ringing of my speakers made an introductory topic painful to listen to and likely caused several audience-members to tune out.

4)    Consider how the user will interact with the speakers and others.
The presentation was located in a “pop up” window but the chat was housed in my main browser. I lost the presentation “underneath” my browser windows and couldn’t efficiently watch the presentation and chat at the same time.

5)    Always provide the information for on-demand viewing.
Bravo, AMA. The Virtual Event is still on demand here. Yes, that’s a typo in the link. No, that’s not my typo…

That being said, we applaud the AMA for putting the event together. We can’t all dedicate a day in our local city to attend a conference that only has one or two applicable presentations, let alone fly out to Beverly Hills or San Francisco, so virtual events are a helpful and cost-effective alternative.

On a side note, we’re breaking out the popcorn and watching one of these this afternoon!

The agency RFP process, widely criticized by agencies to the point that it’s even driven some to strike, has been covered extensively by authors voicing opinions for fixing or refining the age-old procedure (see examples below). While it’s easy to recommend ways to amend the clearly challenging and expensive RFP process, the question remains – once you’ve chosen to participate in a pitch, how can you tell if and when you should politely decline to participate?

For example, we recently pitched an account from a large global corporation headquartered in Wisconsin. The new VP of marketing visited twice, provided guidance during the process and informed us that we were finally shortlisted for the actual pitch, going against two mega agencies. We felt the love, the interest and the validity.

Fast forward to post-pitch and D-day. We did not win the account. Oh well, it happens all the time. A big deal and yet not a big deal – simply part of “our” business model as a marketing agency. Despite the fact that RFP’s are time-consuming and cost a bunch of money (research, creative, media planning, presentation, travel, etc), we understand the risks and rewards going in eyes wide open.

But here’s the thing. When we reviewed our January website analytics, we noticed a startling fact – over the entire three-month duration of the pitch, we did not receive one single site visit from Wisconsin headquarters. Not one. We also found that zero corporate stakeholders had taken the time to review our personal or corporate profiles on LinkedIn. The oversight of not noticing this earlier suddenly dawned on us. We were so deep into the pitch and so busy with the work that we never took the time to review the facts. And the facts spoke to a lack of interest in spite of the personal visits, emails and telephone calls from the delegated corporate coordinator.

We would have noticed this apparent lack of interest much earlier by keeping a closer eye on our collection of analytics, and could have responded by withdrawing and allocating our time, effort and dollars more appropriately. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

So you can bet that the next time we pitch, we’ll be monitoring our web traffic and other analytics, gauging interest throughout the process and staying absolutely on top of our newly designated “interest-o-meter.” For our clients, we embed and apply metrics to practically everything that we do, and we’re held accountable by them. It’s now time to put the same process to work in our pitching. Embed the metrics, analyze them daily and make decisions based on facts, not feelings. Because despite what we want to believe, love has nothing to do with it.

Related links:

http://fuelingnewbusiness.com/2010/02/20/belgium-ad-agencies-strike-to-protest-unfair-new-business-pitch-process

http://www.experiencetheblog.com/2009/02/why-agency-rfirfp-process-is-contrary.html

http://digitalseachange.blogspot.com/2009/01/fixing-clientagency-rfp-process.html

As the New Year rolls around, everyone inevitably compiles the usual list of resolutions: lose weight, eat better, Tweet more often, watch TV less, etc. Here at Koroberi, we’ve compiled a short list of resolutions that we feel will bring more value to our clients in 2010. Below are my media and marketing resolutions for the New Year.

1. Don’t let clients engage in social media without them knowing why.

Too often, B2B companies see social media as simply creating a Facebook page, adding a Twitter account or uploading videos to YouTube. It’s our job to help them see the big picture. Identifying key objectives, understanding customer behavior and devising a detailed strategy are paramount to any successful marketing initiative, so why shouldn’t that apply to a social media campaign?

2. Create measurable metrics for all social media activities.

Once upon a time, social media was seen as the “immeasurable medium” that offered no identifiable metrics, therefore making it impossible to calculate ROI. Those days are history. With tightened budgets and uneasy executives making marketing decisions, creating quantifiable metrics and demonstrating ROI can make the difference between a successful social media campaign and one that never gets off the ground.

3. Move beyond email marketing.

I won’t go as far as saying that email is dead, but there is an oversaturation of email marketing in the B2B space. What was once an affordable, fairly simple form of advertising has deteriorated into a spam-ridden vehicle utilized by many and read by few. So what’s next? SMS advertising? Social search marketing? Online video sponsorship? How about a return to direct mail now that the receipt of a letter has become a rarity?

Yesterday, when Reed Elsevier announced the intention to sell off the majority of its RBI publications, while retaining those that “fit well with [their] plans”* we were taken aback. Sure, it’s “happening everywhere” in the print magazine industry, and this is not the first we’ve heard of RBI’s sale but it’s difficult to accept that a major player in the business can just throw up their hands and walk away.

It seems that North American trade press has been hit even harder than mainstream news. What’s the future of B2B communications while print flounders?

For many, the answer is a move to digital media – whether by offering an optional digital format of the magazine or a full-service Web site that includes articles, blogs, comments and news feeds. Content that is consistantly updated in real-time is the lifeblood of these sites and has become integral to the SEO strategies of companies fighting to maintain relevancy in a saturated online market.

The move to all-digital formats makes sense for many of these publications. After all, many of their readers are stationed at a computer or near their Blackberry/Palm/iPhone most of the day, so a digital media form makes sense.**

In order for these endeavors to succeed, these publications will have to become integrated; that is to say, it will likely have to go above an offering of a .pdf version of a magazine.  These sites should become the “hub” for their readers; a place where content is shared, readers become part of the conversation and remain engaged and informed. for digital magazines and Web sites for many of these trade publications.

Among all trade publishers, Reed publications have generated arguably the largest online media presence. Many have adopted not only a digital format (which I’m thankful for, on behalf of trees and my recycling bin), but also blogs, vlogs, Twitter and Facebook accounts. They saw the writing on the wall, got creative and adapted at a breakneck speed, exceeding the expectations of many. These sites do not behave like stereotypical, flat B2B trade pub Web sites – they are dynamic, interesting and content-rich. What more could you ask for?

I have faith that these publications, bolstered by their web-savvy editors, will emerge from the chopping block even stronger than before. I hope that investors can see the value in these publications, the bargain price they’re going for and, moreover, the influence and respect they have in their respective markets. To all of the editors that we have worked with here at Koroberi, we will see you on the flip side – and be sure to comment on your blog.

*(including the construction units Reed Construction Data US & Canada and RS Means, entertainment units Variety, Marketcast, LA411 and Buyerzone)

**I did see a few copies of a familiar B2B software magazine at the gym a few weeks ago, where admittedly reading from a screen is a bit difficult.

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We recently interviewed George Wright, VP of Marketing, and Kels Goodman, Video Producer, of Blendtec. They are the creators of the popular YouTube videos series, Will It Blend?, which has generated over 200 million views. They spoke to us about the inspiration for the series, the goals behind the campaign, the keys to social media, and how it relates to B2B marketing and corporate culture. They even gave a shout out to Koroberi. It is our video after all.

Watch the video here and share with your friends and colleagues. We have also posted this on YouTube so you can embed the video in your own blog if you want.

With the recent bushfires in Australia, the worst in the nation’s history, social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr has kept people informed and in touch. According to an article from the Australian newspaper, The Age, “Mainstream news outlets, battling to provide comprehensive coverage of the tragedy, have incorporated accounts published on the social networking sites extensively in their reports.”

The people on the ground had better access to the tragedy happening around them, and mobile and web tools gave them the outlets to get this information out to the rest of the world. Even the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, used his Twitter account to talk to his 7,000 followers to provide links to emergency government assistance and ways to donate.

More and more people are tapped into these social networks, and the outpouring of content continues to grow with every major event. Tragedies feel bigger because we can put a human face on them. We read the words and we see the pictures as they happen. And acts of heroism get magnified for the same reason.

Lots of companies in the B2B space offer webinars about marketing, public relations and social media, among other topics. The purpose of these is two-fold. The first is to present useful information to participants who have signed up to learn about the topic. The second is to promote the company running the webinar. If the material is well presented and offers real insight into the topic, participants leave with a good feeling about the company. That’s a positive brand experience. But if you feel like you just wasted an hour out of your busy day, that does not reflect well on the presenting, or sponsoring, company.

I recently sat in on two webinars from two companies and had two very different experiences, mainly due to their incorporation of web conversational tools into the presentations. Based on these two examples, here is a list of five things to look for at the beginning of a webinar to determine if it is worth your time. If you are planning a webinar, keep these things in mind to provide a better experience to your customers and potential customers.

1. Provide Twitter address for questions and comments
If the webinar leaders do not announce a way to interact with the presenters during the seminar, this is a broadcast not a conversation. Twitter is the most common way to take questions during a live presentation. If you can’t ask questions, this will limit your involvement in the presentation. Sometimes presenters’ points need to be clarified, and if there’s no way to do that during the webinar, you are left shaking your head.

2. Hashtag to follow conversation on Twitter
A hashtag is a keyword or abbreviation placed anywhere in a tweet, or twitter message, that tags the message as part of a larger conversation. There may be an official hashtag for a webinar or event, or sometimes participants agree on hashtags as they go. This is one of the strongest benefits of an online presentation. Participants can connect and communicate about the topics being presented. It is also a great way to share information and knowledge that expands the presented information. By following the Twitter backchannel of a webinar, you can engage with new contacts who are also interested in the subject of the webinar. From the presenters’ side, it generates Twitter buzz as lots of people tweet the company’s name (if that’s the hashtag).

3. Contact information for presenters
Whether the webinar offers a means to ask live questions during the presentation or not, you need to be able to contact the presenters after the webinar. Questions might come up after the presentation and you will want to follow up. Again, there might have been a good point in the webinar, but if you can’t clarify the details, the point is not made.

4. Way to get presentations later
Just like you might want to contact the presenters after the webinar, you might also want to get a copy of their presentation. Slide Share is a common option for posting presentations. These presentations allow you to easily share ideas and concepts with colleagues and clients who were unable to participate in the webinar.

5. Video
And finally, more companies are using video to present their ideas. It is a much more engaging medium than audio. Sometimes it is just easier to follow a talk if you can see the speaker and watch their facial expressions. This is not a dealbreaker for a successful webinar, but as people get more comfortable with video, this will become a requirement.