Eating, drinking and breathing social media day-in and day-out leaves you thinking that the entire world cares as much about the latest and greatest online channels as you, and they are using them to interact with their friends, colleagues and family the way you and I do.  I mean, you're reading this blog, so you must be fairly blog-savvy, and who isn't on Twitter?

Oh, that's right, almost nobody.  It's true that 3 million people are Tweeting (which is remarkable, given there were only about 500k in February 2008), but that leaves another 298 million people in the US who aren't.  But that's changing...

A recent Forrester Research survey, which I read about in an AdWeek article, highlights the growth and changes in social media adoption.  While growth is slowing in some areas, people across the board are becoming more comfortable with the various tools and channels available to them.  This may be a reflection that people are much savvier now about web-based applications than even a year ago, or that social media is increasingly embedded into web applications.

Regardless of the underlying reasons, social media is becoming mainstream.  For marketers, it poses all kinds of new questions and challenges about how to truly reach and engage customers.  What do you think are the biggest issues with social media, and what do marketers need to consider?  And how can companies be effective when entering the world of social media?



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There is an ever-present metric that looms over meaningful engagement. It is an artifact from the industry that long ago accepted its flaws, but continues to sell campaigns and drive efforts to make brand messages measurable.

We have sufficient data to suggest the recommendation of a trusted colleague, friend, or family member is more influential over purchasing decisions than that of traditional advertising or media editorial. [92% compared with 48% and 42% - WOMMA] These relationships are built upon trust. The pulse of an online community is regulated by that underlying economy of trust that gives credibility to every participant's contribution to the conversation.

Trust is not a factor in calculating impressions.

Measuring sustainable word of mouth about a brand that is both meaningful and relevant to a community means focusing on the velocity, engagement, and adoption of a messaging strategy, and less on the estimated impressions resulting from the placement.

There is a place for reporting impressions. However, this should only be one metric with which a brand measures its success in building long-term relationships and sustainable word of mouth marketing and social media strategies.




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David Armano of Critical Mass discusses the concept of "micro-celebrity" in his Brand U.O presentation and outlines five essential components for elevating your own brand.  His "5 B's of Building Brand U.O" include the following:

• Be Ubiquitous: Create multiple streams of "you"
• Be Social: Effectively manage your "social systems"
  
• Be Interesting: Write, photograph, share, giv
• Be Remarkable: Do something worthy of remark
• Be Yourself: Let your personality shine through

Armano's insights are increasingly relevant considering the proliferation of celebrity built on social media, web 2.0, and a host of other Internet related buzzwords.  The most enjoyable part of Armano's presentation, however, is the transcendent nature of his "5 B's." 

Analyze any celebrity with longevity regardless of era or available media outlets. Thinking of someone?  They probably are a unique individual complete with connections and creations worth discussing.  My immediate example is pre-Internet Jazz musician Miles Davis, a man persevering through LP's, radio, and dance halls to TV and cassette tapes.  Davis contributed to countless recordings (Interesting) prior to reaching celebrity and even stalked jazz legends like Charlie Parker until they agreed to provide tutelage (Social and Ubiquitous).  His unique sound (Remarkable) changed Jazz on several occasions, most notably through the Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue, and Bitches Brew (More Remarkable).   Miles protested injustice toward African American musicians resulting in jail and battle wounds (Yourself).

Thanks David for help defining the intrinsic personal aspects of notoriety.



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The world just keeps moving faster and faster, and social media has taken center stage as companies try to figure out how to adopt and use the new tools of communication.  I am keenly interested in listening to next week's Bulldog Reporter discussion "Using Social Networks for PR: How to Tell Your Story in Online Communities Like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Beyond."  It will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 12:00 pm CDT.  (Disclosure: Paul Rand, Zócalo Group's CEO, will be a panelist).

We have found in the last 12 months a profound and rapid shift in how PR and advertising views and utilizes social media, so it will be interesting to hear some very different perspectives.  Social Media Watch posted a good summary of the conference call.




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To coincide with Britney Spear's adoption of Twitter and reclamation of her "singing" career, I would like to announce a personal milestone of my own: My Third Obligatory Post about Twitter. Obligatory Twitter Post #3 also known as The Spam Years discusses the cultural shift sparked when Internet platforms are adopted strictly as PR tools. 

Britney's Tweeting is no secret with hundreds of posts and tweets professing the micro-blogging service's official entry into the toolkit of mainstream PR professionals.  With Britney's 3,620 followers accrued in under two weeks, the mainstream proclamations are probably accurate but the larger problem of remaining transparent via an online platform remains.  Notable online personalities Gary Vaynerchuck and Fred Wilson stressed the importance of personal ownership with online media.  Fred noted that both he and Gary respond to their own emails and tweets stating 'I cannot imagine someone else answering an email sent to me.  So it's not happening. You'll either hear from me or you won't hear back at at [sic] all."   

The suggestions from Wilson prompts the following questions: Are personal responses a reasonable request for global brands? What is the threshold for relationships on Twitter? Gary and Fred are definitely pioneers in online branding, but do not possess the massive public recognition of Britney Spears.  Even if Britney attempted to maintain her social media presence, the task is probably too daunting for someone expected to learn dance moves, lyrics and make public appearances.  Enter Lauren...the Twitter Britney.

Britney's marketing team recognizes the potential time investment of tweeting, blogging, plurking, flickring, etc so has decided to attach "Posted by" at the end of all media.   Removing personal identity from Twitter could transform the service from a conversation tool with broadcast capabilities to a broadcast tool with conversational potential.  Profile from Obama, Senator Clinton, McCain, etc also faced this problem.  Mass amounts of followers make listening and participation nearly impossible. 

So is there still value in Twitter as a broadcasting tool?  Or does the account persona need to be maintained by stunt doubles able to answer accurately on behalf of Britney or Barack?  I am still uncertain...but have hope for the latter.  Wondering if television, radio or other communication outlets experienced a similar transition when corporate control entered?



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