Affinitive’s Social Media Playground

Marketing channels, such as Word of Mouth Marketing and Online Marketing, are expected to grow to an astounding 27% of overall marketing expenditures by 2012, up from 7% in 2002, according to a new research study recently released by IBM Institute for Business Value titled "Beyond Advertising: Choosing a Strategic Path to the Digital Consumer".

The findings prove the changed landscape of the advertising marketplace and the necessity for companies to adapt in order to compete. The report reveals that companies are shifting spending away from traditional advertising in favor of more interactive and measurable ways of reaching consumers.

The study cites the four major trends that are emerging:

• Influence of the Digital Savvy Consumer – Today’s consumer is more more digitally savvy and wants to be engaged online. This year, 76 percent indicated they had already watched video on their computers (up 27 percent). Thirty-two percent indicated they had viewed video on a portable device or mobile phone (up 45 percent). And interest in mobile video content has more than doubled in a year, to 55 percent.
• A shift in advertiser spending – Advertisers are responding to this new breed of digital savvy consumer. Results show that Sixty-three percent of global CMO's expect to increase online/interactive marketing spends while 65 percent expect to decrease traditional advertising.
• Digital migration of platforms – The emergence of digital forums such as social media and online video are blurring the lines between advertising and marketing in a move to what the study calls "brands-actional" advertising.
• Emergence of new capabilities –“Moves, by both new entrants and existing players, are driving new types of industry innovation, and accelerating the pace of change."

"To succeed - especially in the current economic environment - media companies will need to develop a new set of capabilities to support the industry's evolving demands, which include micro targeting, real-time ROI measurement and cross-platform integration," says Saul Berman, IBM Global Leader for Strategy and Change Consulting Services and co-author of the study.

P Diddy talks Twitter on Ellen DeGeneres (YouTube)

In what will certainly become a smashing viral success, P Diddy, a relatively newcomer to Twitter (@iamdiddy), educates Ellen DeGeneres (now on Twitter - @theellenshow-  although at Press Time has yet to "tweet").

In typical Diddy fashion he pronounces himself the most popular man on Twitter [112,820 followers - all #s as of 3/11 @ 5 p.m.] although Shaq: @The_Real_Shaq, [280, 948 followers], Ashton Kutcher @aplusk [290,534 followers], and non-celebrities (although arguably Social Media celebs) such as Pete Cashmore: @mashable [221,189 followers] and Kevin Rose: @kevinrose [263,953 followers - and the guy who got Ashton & Demi to tweet] have more "followers" than he does.

Whether he's the king of Twitter or not, the trend of celebrities using Twitter as a platform to speak directly to their fans is certainly a viable (and smart) usage of the "tweeting" capabilities. In the same way that brands like Comcast: @comcastcares and Jet Blue @jetblue have communicated effective and important information and solutions to their consumers, strengthening their brand image.  Celebrities can utilize Twitter to clear up rumors, make big announcements, seem more accessible to fans, and ultimately strengthen their brand - which is what is also compelling to us as marketers and branders - the tweeter can now be the driver of their own brand message.

In the clip above Diddy butchers the explanation of Twitter calling it a "mass e-mail" which it certainly resembles, but isn't. But the fact that he is on Ellen, explaining Twitter, and going out of his way to disclose the ways he utilizes it is what is important.  His excitement about it as a communication tool is the excitement I hope to instill in all of my clients.

I believe that we can officially say that Twitter has gone mainstream.

Note: Although I jab at Diddy's explanation of Twitter, I find it tough myself to explain it in less than a paragraph. Does anyone have a succinct explanation they use? Do share!

Last Monday the social media industry was all atwitter over the news of Skittles' new official site (or lack there of.)  While reviews were mixed in terms of execution (and originality), I think most agreed it was an A for effort and one of the more progressive social media moves from a brand so far this year.

This week another candy giant, Snickers, has decided to do nearly the opposite and shut down a super-cool user-created brand experience.

As you might recall, Snickers first introduced "Snacklish" in 2006 with terms like 'Hungerectomy,' to mixed reviews.  Now they're back, and a bit less medical-sounding, like Master P-Nut and Snackalicious.

And until a few hours ago, you too could have created your own Snacklish Snickers logo.  Located at http://www.snckrz.com,  the simple interface allowed any visitor to type in a term or phrase and magically transform it into the signature Snickers typeface.  At the time of this post, the site currently has an ominous countdown to shutdown and a twitter stream of all the unhappy customers who enjoyed this unique brand interaction.

I played around with the app myself a bit before it shut down, and plan to use my personal "PatrickCourtney" Snacklish logo to send to my snicker-loving friends.  If only my friends could then visit the site and make their own.  A huge missed opportunity by Snickers.

The twist is, both Snickers and Skittles are owned by Mars.

Mars, I thought we were in the social media trust tree, with the nest, are we not?

Facebook recently revamped it business pages and while it provides new opportunities for brands, there are also new challenges.

The primary change is that a majority of the page is now taken up with the "wall", which consists of status updates and comments by fans. This is obviously a direct response to Twitter and the success it has given brands in engaging their followers in direct communication.

The biggest drawback is that pages now have the exact same layout as user profiles. Previously, many brands were able to highly customize the content and look of their pages using the large area available for images and multiple large application boxes. Now, there is only a small image on the upper left corner and a few small application boxes down the left column. As on a profile, the rest of the applications have been relegated to a boxes tab that many fans probably won't take the time to explore. While it is possible to change settings to have new users start on this tab, once someone becomes a fan of a page, they will always start on the main wall.

The consequences are clear. Brands will not be able to rely on rich graphics or flashy widgets to create engagement and reinforce identity; the focus in now on the conversation. Brands that update their status will have it appear just like friends' updates on their fans home pages where they will be able to "like" and comment on it. With the imminent redesign of the home page, this conversation will only gain prominence and become the primary way for brands to engage fans and grow virally through the social graph.

The challenge will be for brands to use these new touch points for communication effectively. People will not accept passively receiving broadcast information like an RSS feed of blog posts; they require real engagement and two-way conversation. Brands will need to find real people to convey their voices and identity. There have already been successful examples of this on Twitter such as Zappos and Comcast.

It will only become more complex maintaining and managing a brand's conversation as it moves away from a brand's own site to the distributed web. As more sites and services open APIs, new tools and meta-services will be created to facilitate this for brands as FriendFeed and TweetDeck have only begun to demonstrate for consumers.

How do you get people excited (and talking) about your great new product or service while it’s still in development? Here are five tips that have proven successful:

Tip #1: Motivation

If you are truly starting “from scratch,” with no existing customers (let alone an existing CRM system or even an email list), you’ll need to think about what will motivate a group of consumers to want to learn about your new product or service. Consider the use of an incentive to attract a group of prospective consumers. An incentive could be tangible (free T-shirt, entry into a sweepstakes), or intangible (the chance to help test out a new product, the opportunity to interact directly with product developers and like-minded consumers). Think about the type of consumer you are trying to attract and what they would value (what would wealthy middle-aged men care about more - a free T-shirt, or some frequent-flier miles?) You can build an experience around your product or service by providing an exclusive online community to allow these like-minded consumers to interact and share in the experience.

(Note that at this point you are not “rewarding” word of mouth; the up-front incentive is simply a way to get consumers to “hear you out.” They shouldn’t be obligated to do anything beyond this step. The consumers who stick around are the ones who truly want to learn more, be engaged and become product experts.)

Tip #2: Education

Discovery is a key element in triggering conversations. People want to be “in the know” - education provides them with “social currency,” since they will have valuable information/knowledge that their peers do not. Education also allows you to articulate your key selling points and better ensure that they are accurately passed along. Quizzes are a great way to engage and interactively educate your consumers. If you have a prototype/beta version of your product, provide a set of testing instructions and solicit feedback through the use of surveys.

Tip #3: Co-creation

The best way to develop an emotional bond between consumers and your brand is to involve them in the process as early as possible. Activities such as providing feedback on packaging and marketing materials, helping come up with names and taglines, or submitting photos documenting brand interaction or product use are just a few examples. Provide ways for consumers to show off (and share) their creativity and newfound passion, and gain recognition for their work. Encourage them to make it “their” product. Consumer-generated content is a valuable by-product of co-creation and can build awareness for your product or service months in advance of any traditional advertising initiatives.

Tip #4: Anticipation

As you approach product/brand launch, you should have a group of passionate consumers who have developed a strong emotional connection to your product (in some cases, without having actually used or experienced it!). Continue to feed their passion - continue to involve them in product testing, chats with product managers and developers, first-look sneak peeks and insider information. The trick is to release information in “bite-size chunks” - enough to feed their enthusiasm over a period of time and reinforce your selling points, but not so much as to overwhelm them.

Tip #5: Recommendation

Congratulations - your new product or service has launched! This passionate group of people you have fostered are no longer “consumers” - they are your customers. Treat them well; they are your early adopters and evangelists. They will be the ones sharing their enthusiasm for your new product or service (chances are they have already been doing so for quite some time).

Publicly acknowledge and provide these customers with special status in your customer community since they have been with you from the beginning. Be on a first-name basis with these customers. Invite them to special events. Send them birthday cards.

Lastly, don’t consider this the end of your WOM “campaign” - consider it the beginning of your long-lasting WOM program!

I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m still a little amazed when I see the elderly chatting away on cell phones. It’s somewhat of a stark contrast for me because I remember seeing my grandmother’s rotary phone as a child and now I see her answering calls on her cell phone instead. And no, I’m not that old but I do remember the rotary phones (before Urban Outfitters made the designs a hip thing) while touch tones were also an option for making calls.

I definitely don’t underestimate the older demographics. I’m getting used to commenting on my cousin’s status on Facebook, then seeing my uncle’s comment under mine a few hours later. I’m getting used to seeing my best friend and her mom’s conversation on my homepage. I’m getting to the shrug-off point.

I know and I certainly see the older demographics not only adopting and adjusting, but integrating all this technology and weaving it into their daily lives... so what does surprise me is a recently released study conducted by The Barna Group that explored how technology is shaping different experiences and expectations among generations. Although the study does point out that "many of the bloggers, music downloaders and users of social networking websites are from the Boomer and Buster cohorts" because "Boomers and Busters represent about two-thirds of the adult population", the study seems to undermine their technical savvy. AdAge.com also recently pointed out this generation’s dominance on the big two, "As of January, more than 50% of Facebook users and 44% of MySpace users in the U.S. were over 35 years old, according to ComScore estimates."

The study breaks users down into four generations – Mosaics (18 - 24), Busters (25 - 43), Boomers (44 - 62) and Elders (63+) then categorizes each generation’s use of technology into Mainstream (technologies used by at least one out of every two computers users (50%+)), Emerging (Those used by at least one out of five but less than hald computer users (20%-49%)) and Limited (Technologies used by fewer than one-fifth of computer users (19% or less)).
So, what sticks out from this chart that doesn’t fit right with my personal observations as well as other recently released research surveys? These are the points that I question:

• Busters, Boomers and Elders fall into the "Limited" category for both having "posted a comment on another blog" and "maintain personal blog".
• Busters are only in the "Emerging" category for "watched a video online".

These are surprising to me because Forrester Research just released a report that show more than 60% of those in the Baby Boomers generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts and forums. It's true that they might not be heavily involved with content creation but as far as commenting and watching videos go, Baby Boomers are there and on the rise, "In 2007, the percentage of Boomers consuming social media was 46% for younger Boomers (ages 43 to 52) and 39% for older Boomers (ages 53 to 63). By 2008, those number increased to 67% and 62%, respectively."
In short, there is no doubt that the 35+ demographics makes up for many of the profiles and accounts created on social media sites but credit must be also given to them on their ability and usage of the functionalities of the sites.