Advice From Some Leading American Social Media Practitioners

Some good tips in this Techcrunch video that ties in with what we preach at Bua Consulting. Start with the business, its strategy and objectives before you even think of the tools....

This week we conducted a workshop with an independent film production company with regard to developing an online marketing strategy for their upcoming production. (More on this in future blogs)

While conducting our research prior to the workshop it struck me that the internet, and its potential for innovation, has been under-utilised by the smaller independent production companies in this industry to get a leap on the big players. Having said that there are some notable examples of innovative use of internet to generate hype, awareness and to build community around movies. (By big and small players)

Read the Wired article for more on Indie use of the web (we covered one below)

Below are some good examples from Mainstream and Indie productions:

1. Snakes on a Plane: This movie was perhaps the first to make extensive use of the web. Fans were given access to a Wiki where they could contribute to the script, fans also created posters and short movies online. This created significant hype before the movie was launched. IN addition a telephone campaign was launched where fans could send a semi-personalised message from Samual L Jackson to a number of their choosing.

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^{http://snakeplay.pbworks.com/}

2. Cloverfield: More recently the movie Cloverfieldwas supported by an internet campaign that sought to play out the story of the movie in the online world. Characters on the movie had their own blogs that were updated to correspond with important dates in the movie. Fictional products used in the movie were given their own corporate websites and fans were even asked to provide feedback for the development of new products. News postings were also put on YouTube to cover some of the major events in the movie. This was an extremely clever way to build up the sense of anticipation about the movie and was a truly immersive campaign for fans.
The movie also made use of more mainstream ideas such as widgets with embedded video, which were used to create a viral campaign, allowing fans to post the widget on their webpages, blogs and social networking pages.
http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/2008/01/17/movie-marketing-madness-cloverfield/

http://www.cloverfieldmovie.com/

Created websites:
http://www.slusho.jp/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KarNwKx5mGY

http://jamieandteddy.com/

3. Starwreck - Finnish director Timo Vuorensola released a Star Trek/Babylon 5 spoof on his Web site in 2005.
Star Wreck proved to be the beginning of a journey into related short films, fan productions, chat boards, and a role-playing game. Between sales of DVDs, merchandise, and TV rights, the franchise netted upwards of $400,000 — enough to fund his next movie.

See http://www.starwreck.com/ for more

Do you have any good examples to share? Contribute your thoughts in the comments box below.

by Mike E. Belicove

Social networking sites and services such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have followed the same path to the business world that blogs did only a couple years ago: They're all online hangouts that evolved into sophisticated branding, lead generation and sales tools for business. And with the right approach, they are an ideal way to quickly--and cheaply--promote your startup:

Facebook offers several applications and advertising solutions for promoting your website, products and services. For example, you can create a free group based on any topic and invite customers and Facebook members to join. Group content, which is usually created by Facebook members, lacks hard-core marketing messages and makes a strong soft-sell tool.

Creating a Facebook page for your company means you can share information about your business with Facebook's 220 million members. As they interact with your page, stories linking to your profile are shared with their friends--so news about your business can go viral.

You can also pay for premium advertising, which allows you to target those who are the best match for your brand. For information about paid advertising and other business solutions (many are still free), click the advertising link at the bottom of any Facebook page.

I recommend starting with a Facebook page that can function as your home base, then expanding from there.

On Twitter, instant messaging meets social networking as members share what they're doing right now. Each post or "tweet" is limited to 140 characters, and can be done via computer, cell phone or desktop app like Seesmic.

Tweets have a short shelf life, so don't expect them to drive substantial sales or replace a website or blog. Twitter is better for company announcements, spotting trends, conducting polls and posting on new products, services and in-the-moment specials. Visit Twitter.com to get started, and remember to include strong calls to action in your tweets.

LinkedIn provides a more traditional platform for business networking and is more useful for business-to-business relationships and harvesting talent. You can create a company profile to use as a research tool that helps other LinkedIn users "find the right companies to work for and do business with." Are you Socially Acceptable?

Most social networks enable you to integrate your website or blog, to some degree, with the network. On Facebook, for example, you can use the "connect" feature (on the advertising page) to connect your startupís site to a memberís Facebook account.

For LinkedIn, you can add a button to your website or blog that will let visitors click to your profile. Just go to LinkedIn, click Edit My Profile, then Edit Public Profile Settings. Under Public Profile, click Customized button to access HTML code to put into your website or blog.

To link to Twitter, simply add a Twitter button to your site that links to your Twitter URL. Google "twitter button" to find a good selection.

Mikal E. Belicove is a market positioning, social media and management consultant specializing in website usability and business blogging.

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/use-social-media-to-elevate-your-companys-online-cred-mikal-e-belicove

1. Decide “who” you want as your customers. Unlike mom and dad where you don’t get to pick, here on the Internet, you do.

2. Find everything about “who” before you start a business. Visit forums, read blogs, think hard about where they are and what they are reading (or watching).

3. What are the things that your future customers don’t do but you like to… for instance I like reading blogs, but what if my target market likes watching videos instead?

4. Who is your competition? What are they not doing? For example if you opt to their newsletter… how often are they sending it you? Do they have a blog? Do they update the blog regularly? Are they on Facebook? Do they have a phone number on the website? Where are the gaps?

5. Sit down and ask yourself honestly that if your business solves a problem that this slice of market has? If yes… move forward. If no… look again at what you are planning to sell.

6. What makes you different from everybody else out there? Is it something you sell? Is it the way you sell it? Is it your story? Is being you is the difference?

7. Here is a piece of paper & my question to you: why should your business exist in this world with so many businesses already doing what you are doing? Write the answer down. Is it the best answer you can do? Can you tell me in 30 words or less?

8. Launch a Facebook Business Page before you launch your website. Most websites languish because of no traffic, no attention. Facebook Business Fan Page gives you instant traffic, instant feedback, and instant interest.

9. Name your page wisely.

10. Point traffic to your Facebook Business Page both organically and by advertising.

11. If you are coming from the corporate world and your day job did not had anything to do with marketing & selling – you are going to have some mental queasiness about buying advertising. I can’t help you get rid of it. Nobody can. Just acknowledge and know that it will be there. Ignore it.

12. How are you going to get leads? Where are your buyers found? And how can you show up there without annoying them?

13. Avoid the temptation to scream as in going to a blog or a Facebook Page and screaming your site and running as fast as you can. People remember you for warm handshakes and hugs you gave out not for loud screams.

14. Once you know how you are going to leads – what can you offer on your blog / Facebook Page / website or where ever you are asking this traffic to go to convince them to opt in to your list?

15. What is going to happen once they are IN – they opt in to your newsletter, left you a voice mail, fill out a form requesting more information? Are they getting something from you? What are they getting? Is it ready or are you going to build it once you have 100 people waiting?

16. How are you going to sell? Is there a process or is it all random? Do you have bullets, photos of products, PowerPoint, webinar, video? A system for selling your product or service (up sell, down sell, cross sell) that exists and is repeated over and over again?

17. I am sure you have a basic version. What can you offer in a premium version that probably 20% of your customers would be happy to buy?

18. Are they getting a thank you note from you once they buy? A hug? A cookie basket? What are we going to do to bring a little happiness to them?

19. How are you going to give them a gentle nudge to remember you once the sale is done to write something about you on Yelp or recommend your restaurant to all their friends on Facebook or Fan your Page up? An email or a card or a phone request or is it all going to be left to chance and fate?

20. How are you going to keep in touch with them once the sale is done? A newsletter? Something on your Facebook Page to keep them interested? An event online to teach them something?

21. Now look at every step and ask is this the best I can do to completely to blow my customer expectations away? How far apart can I stand from my existing competition that is already online and showing up in Google when I start? Two feet, 10 miles or three light years?

Article link: http://ijlal.com/things-to-ask-before-you-launch-your-business

Twitter grew 3,000 percent in April. Facebook hosted 61.2 million visitors in March. LinkedIn counts 20 million users worldwide.

With a potential audience that big, it’s no wonder savvy entrepreneurs are looking to unlock the secrets of social media as another way to get the word out about their businesses. Free access to many social media accounts (and potential clients) just adds to the allure. 

But is social media right for your business? Could it be a free substitute for a traditional (read: expensive) advertising plan? How much time should be spent in the care and feeding of all those profiles? The answers may surprise you.

“Traditional advertising and marketing is not dead,” says Olivier Blanchard, business strategist and principal of The Brand Builder Marketing. Blanchard advocates integrating social media into a more traditional marketing and advertising plan, “so you can have a healthy mix, much like a diversified investment portfolio.”

Though the platforms will differ based on the type of business, Sarah Granger, founder of a technology communications strategy firm Public Edge, encourages small organizations to have a solid website, e-mail list and a contact database before venturing into social media. 

Blogs: Write Your Way to Success
If you want to build customer loyalty, Kristi Colvin says start blogging now.  “Many platforms allow you to blog comfortably,” says the chief creative officer at We Heart and Twitterface. She recommends Tumblr for smaller businesses, “because it is customizable, extremely easy to learn to use, and has an additional component that allows you to follow people and re-blog their content easily.”

Colvin believes blogging takes disseminating information about a company a step beyond formal press releases, ads, marketing brochures and websites. “That is where the magic happens in social media.  A well-managed blog invites peoples’ perspectives and provides an opening for real relationships to be formed which is a critical aspect of great customer service, and a good user experience. It can be a stepping stone to brand attachment,” she says.

That attachment doesn’t have to equal a huge time commitment, but expect to spend an hour or two to knock out a post. The rewards are immediate: Blogs that are refreshed regularly get a boost in search engine rankings. “It also helps to establish you as an authority,” says Blanchard who suggests writing during evenings or on weekends to maximize regular working hours.

Twitter: To Tweet or Not to Tweet
Granger says she used to advise companies to start with a blog, but now suggests getting on Twitter first.  She also advocates engaging in conversation. Connecting with a business owner on Twitter “produces the necessary personal touch so many clients and customers prefer,” she says, and offers a time management tip for those tweeting entrepreneurs. “[Free] mobile tools such as Tweetie and Tweetdeck can make it a lot easier to keep up with the ongoing conversation,” Granger says. That way, a company announcement of a new product or promotion could be tweeted with a link back to details on the company’s blog or website, all while standing in a latte line.

The rapid-fire conversations on Twitter have the added bonus of giving entrepreneurs who’ve built a network, “instant answers to questions, feedback on brand elements, product ideas, etc.,” Colvin says.

YouTube: Be a Star
Another way to capitalize on the fast pace of social media is by posting videos on YouTube. With a little creativity and relatively low overhead (Flip video cameras can be had for as little as $100) uploading a short clip can be a rapid way to test the market. “Release freebies to capture a niche. Then find the demand and create the product,” says Steven Weathers, who documents his adventures in China on YouTube.

As founder of American English Circle, and producer and host of Foreigner Perspective, Weathers uses videos to help the Chinese learn English and to give Westerners a glimpse of life in Asia. By hiring students he spends around $10 per finished minute of video, less if he tapes himself. 

To learn how to create good content Weathers suggests watching some viral videos. The payoff? “You will reach a wider audience than with network TV,” says Weathers.

LinkedIn: Business Networking Made Easier
A glowing recommendation is a gold star for any type of business, so why not collect and post them for all to see?  It’s easily done on LinkedIn.  Creating a profile allows an entrepreneur to create an online career history, then to connect with others they’ve worked with. Obtaining a recommendation from a former colleague or existing client may help sway a potential investor or customer. 

Additionally, Kimberly LeRiche of JK Virtual Office Resources says, “LinkedIn provides the opportunity to connect with others who are also looking to create partnerships or to collaborate.” LeRiche also notes that LinkedIn has incorporated additional social networking capabilities such as special interest groups and open discussion threads. Digests from these groups can be delivered by e-mail to scan or read in-depth, depending on interest in the topic and how much time there is on hand.

The Bottom Line
Time is money, but Weathers says it’s all about how you manage it. “Previously wasted down time like sitting in taxis for 20 minutes or standing in a bank line for 10 minutes is now spent on my mobile phone, bouncing between Twitter and Facebook. It's getting easier and easier, and for branding an entrepreneur, I think it's golden.”

No matter what the platform, Blanchard says the true value of social media is found in the conversation.  “You are not necessarily going to get 150 comments per day, but you are engaging a potential customer or client in the way you wouldn’t in an ordinary day.”

From
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/134/boy-wonder.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/node/1207594/print

How Chris Hughes Helped Launch Facebook and the Barack Obama Campaign

This article provides a great insight into how Barack Obama and his team are using Web technology better than any political campaign ever has.

Barack Obama and Web 2.0 (190 KB)