Social Media Hall Monitor

The old guard is skeptical. Social media is bad.

"If I don't use it or understand it, then it can't be good."

But all the evidence seems to be pointing to the fact that social media can work as a marketing vehicle. Brandweek cites a study that shows people are influenced by brands that use social media, have visited brand e-commerce sites linked from social media sites, and have actually had conversations about brands on social media sites.

"...46 percent of social media users have recommended or talked about a product or brand on Facebook, and 44 percent have done the same on Twitter."

Despite the positive things that could happen to a brand using social media, companies continue to ban it. It's clear that more than half of CIOs don't have an interest in the success of their employers marketing efforts. They are missing the point. Most ban it for fear that it will distract employees from their duties, but many things can distract people from their duties. Businesses that feel the need for "network hall monitors" might need better employees, not social media bans.

New Aspirational and Me Too

An article on Brandchannel points out a new advertising phenomenon in China...aspirational advertising. "Baidu Ad Shows Chinese Brands Shifting Ad Strategy From Product To Image" gives an account of how Baidu, the Google of China, is ditching the features and benefits strategy for a more ephemeral strategy. Ads by Nike and Levi's that coincided with the 2008 Olympics introduced the Chinese to the aspirational style. The Chinese advertising industry is still catching up to the aspirational advertising methods as celebrity endorsement and logo/product tactics dominate the landscape.

China rose quickly to become the world's second largest advertising market as the Olympics ramped up. A New York Times article from 2008 suggested that the advertising during the games only served to confuse people. Official and unofficial sponsors looked to edge each other out but only contributed to the clutter. The Western tactics showcased during the Olympic games left some people confused.

“The sameness of the ads is the frightening thing,” said Terry Rhoads, managing director at Zou Marketing, a sports consultancy in Shanghai. “You have to wonder about the ad agencies.”

You do have to wonder. Advertising is the art of making products more appealing and to stand out. Baidu should take the high road and not give in to the Western style that will soon become "me too" in Chinese advertising.

Seven Questions

I had the opportunity to get perspective on the current digital advertising landscape from Darren D., a Senior Internet Designer, from what he refers to as a "multinational manufacturing company". For the safety of our interviewee, I've decided to keep his identity anonymous.

BT: Tell me about your career trajectory.
DD: Pretty standard non-management development and design path. Starting working as a freelancer in my field about 12 years ago, and have been steadily moving forward into increasingly stronger positions.

BT: What is your current role?
DD: Lead web designer at a multinational manufacturing company.

BT: How will social media change advertising in the next 5-10 years?
DD: Social media is, at its core from a business perspective, advertising. The difference is that the new media marketers have thrown out the bullhorn and take a more perceptible and personal approach. Given the current direction traditional advertising is heading for the same tar pit that many magazines and newspaper are currently thrashing about in. Advertising will be more like crowdsourcing, and less like one guy on a soapbox at Speaker’s Corner in London’s Hyde Park. Online banner ads are already starting to evolve into more interactive pieces of stand-alone media (like Burger King’s Augmented Reality Dollar menu banner), that will be able to engage visitors in a useful or meaningful way rather than just hoping for an impression.

BT: What developing technologies will become the next big thing in advertising?
DD: Augmented Reality is really taking off right now, and has the potential to be extremely influential in ways that marketers and companies could have only dreamed about even a year ago. The biggest technological advance will be ubiquitous computing and having people always on and always connected. Being able to interact with your customer base in real-time when they may not necessarily be in your store or on your website is opening exciting avenues of advertising and engagement every day.

BT: What is one of your favorite advertising programs of all time? Why? (not your own)
DD: Simple. Outpost.com TV ads from the early 90’s. Pure Gold.

These few ads were so far outside of the realm of what anyone had been doing before that it made it near impossible for anyone to not know who outpost.com was. They were unique, edgy, and really done well. They thought about the details, even to the point of having a tag at the end to where you should send your complaints after seeing the ads.

BT: What are five websites/blogs you couldn’t live without?
DD: Reddit.com, SmashingMagazine.com, Flickr.com, Dailywtf.com, CodingHorror.com

BT: Who would you rather take to lunch: Steve Jobs or Bill Gates?
DD: Bill Gates.

I share Darren's interest in augmented reality. While I understand the concept, the technology, and the current utilization, I feel its potential is not even understood yet. Virtual guided tours of the city or museum, multiplayer games, and augmented advertising may crop out of this new technology.

I'd never heard of outpost.com, understandably so, as the site is dead and now redirects to frys.com. Who knows when or why outpost.com went under. It's hard to imagine why the site went away with sweet commercials like this, this, and this. Pretty cool stuff for it's day. Notice the AOL keyword reference at the end of the ads...too funny.

Social Media - Time Wasted?

There are two sides to most arguments, and the social media vs. worker productivity issues is no different. Every now and then a group of analysts, who probably collectively have 4 Facebook friends between them, scheme up an obscene monetary figure that represents the amount that businesses are losing due to social media. A BBC piece recently suggested UK businesses are losing up to 1.4 billion pounds ($2.3B). Firing back on the other side are workers, barely able to pull themselves away from the latest Twitter trend, who contend that social media has "real marketing value". Other research isn't so conclusive. OK, somewhere in the middle there is the truth. How can a company combat and encourage social media at the same time?

Here are some suggestions that I would recommend based on my experience in establishing social media program for my company.

• Set clear rules and regulations as it relates to social media in the workplace.
  Who can say what?
  When can you do it?

• Encourage the "bean counters" to get involved in social media.

• Make company spokespeople show their activity online.
  Who are you talking to?
  What are you saying?
  Why are you saying it?

• Track results, both hard statistical sales results and more ephemeral outcomes.
  Google analytics and goal conversion
  Scout Labs to measure trends and attitudes

A top down adoption of social media as a tool is essential. A bottom up acknowledgement of the proper use of social media is essential.

I think to properly utilize social media effectively organizations need to understand how to funnel information accordingly. Upper management should be funneling pertinent information down the chain so that those who are actually broadcasting social media messages are on task. The funnel should filter out everything that isn't relevant. Sometimes the most important things aren't the most relevant things. Social media practitioners should be aware of this and should have the authority to decide what is relevant and what isn't.

From the opposite end, workplace social media users should be aggregating interactions and funneling the most important things up the ladder. Issues of product safety, customer service, and the like should be of utmost importance. Trends, and not singular instances, in product design feedback should also be passed along.

Arguments will always exist for and against the use of social media in the workplace, but an adoption of a standardized procedure should help enhance any business.