walk on: exploring the digital experience

Social Media/Online Communities

I've been swamped of late and have had very little time to write outside of work. One of the projects I'm working on right now is related to online communities and how to encourage activity, engagement and growth. There has been a lot of conversation online about social media/online communities and how brands should go down this road, if at all.

The interesting insight I've gathered is that social media/communities require brands to let go. Valeria has an interesting post on why it's difficult for Corporations to play in the social media game. Her conclusion is that so many people have to touch a corporate communications piece that it lacks a critical component: voice and opinion. What makes a community successful is that they own the space and can express their true and honest opinions.

That being said, I think if the right person, and corporation, come together and clearly look to establish an environment that fosters social media, interesting things can happen. Jeremiah Owyang of Forresters, has laid down plenty of material for getting the right social media manager on board and driving the program.

The business climate is ripe for innovation and reaching out using social media. The economic downturn will foster creative interactions as well as innovative solutions to problems. Things are not safe right now so there is nothing to lose by experimenting. That includes individuals and corporations.

I'm looking forward to experimenting, how about you?

 

Technorati Tags: Social Media,Jamey Shiels,Online Communities,New Marketing Concepts,Innovation

Join The Conversation

I'm about to dive into Joe Jaffe's new book Join the Conversation. I'm participating in Jaffe's concept to Use New Media to Prove New Media (UNM2PNM). As part of the program, I received a free copy of the book in return for my open and honest review of the content. A fair offer from an author that is willing to experiment with his own product and brand to prove a point...and generate conversation. 

I've skimmed the table of contents and am looking forward to the read. Flipping through the pages, I'm encouraged to see what appears to be case studies, applicable examples and materials that can be taken and put into action. The idea of a business book that provides information and tools that can be put to use is intriguing.

So between work, kids, home projects and all other things related to life, I'm going to try to knock this out and provide my review of the book.

 

Technorati Tags: Jamey Shiels,Joe Jaffe,Join the Conversation,Digital Marketing

The Influencer Debate

I've finally read the article in Fast Company about Duncan Watts and his disagreement with the Influencer theory made popular by Malcom Gladwell in the Tipping Point. I think it proposes an interesting debate, especially for the marketing community, about how ideas spread.

The discussion revolves around the value, or lack thereof, of individuals known as influencers and their ability to cause ideas to spread wider and farther than those ideas from the average Joe. Gladwell puts forth the value and critical role of the influencer and Watts proposes the power of the average Joe. Marketing has bought into Gladwell's theory and is resistant to Watts ideas. I have yet to form my own personal opinion but am looking forward to watching the discussion and testing evolve. 

What I think is interesting, is that the discussion is being distributed by a magazine that positions itself as an influencer. The commentary in the blogosphere is also being driven by a group that I would classify as influencers. It's a bit of a contrast to the theory that Watts puts forth. Here's a list of recent discussion:

Seth Godin, David Armano, John Moore, Guy Kawasaki, Gavin Heaton, Experience Curve, Boing Boing, Brains of Fire, PyroMarketing, Stephen Deny.

It's an interesting debate that I think will be tested continually in the near future now that the discussion is hitting the mainstream. I have a client that I'm working with that is investing resources in the Word of Mouth approach with these influencer. I'm going to watch the experience closely as I form my opinion for the long run.

 

Technorati Tags: Jamey Shiels,Tipping Point,Malcolm Gladwell,Duncan Watts,Influencers,New Marketing Concepts,Word of Mouth

It's In The Experience.

I've started a new gig at Fullhouse Interactive,

a full on interactive agency. There were two
things that attracted me to the organization. Their promise and their focus

The promise: It's in the Experience.

They've taken the promise and focused it into three areas.

First, it's in the experience our clients have working with us. We're going to be a partner with you. We're going to work to take your Brand to the next level and achieve the goals that have been set before you.

Second, it's in the experience of the end users for the products that we create. We're going to build digital experiences that engage the audience and help them to connect with your brand and participate in a one to one conversation.

Finally, it's in the experience the employees have working at Fullhouse.

I've been on board for about a month. The team and management for that matter, truly care about the clients and the relationships we have with them. We have several clients that have been on board for over ten years. It also translates into the work I've seen. Dramatic, exciting, user driven. Finally, they do care about their employees. The owners of the company are engaged and concerned about the well being of their people and go out of their way to make the effort to prove it.

I'm looking forward to a long tenure with Fullhouse and especially to living the promise: it's in the experience.

Technorati Tags: user experience,employee relationships,relationship management,client relationship management

Your Kids Can Be (Are) Interactive Producers

New educational sites such as Qubo and PBS that support television are giving kids the opportunity to use digital tools to create content that may end up on television. It is an interesting opportunity to engage children in the story line and allow them to go deeper with the characters they follow on television.

This idea also brings me back to the discussion that David Armano has posed regarding the digital natives and digital immigrants that he garnered from reading an article from the Times Online. Kids today think differently about information, not simply because of a generational shift, but also because of the knowledge of the unprecedented access to information as well as the connectivity of individuals in todays digital world.

It's going to be challenging but fun to develop content for this audience in the future as well as seeing the content they develop.

What brands do you see taking advantage of the opportunity to engage their brands and allow people to produce content with them?

Experience Links

Karl Long has a great post that links to a slideshow Peter Merholz of Adaptive Path has just posted a presentation on the topic “The Experience Is The Product

 

David Armano has posted a great widget with video highlights from the recent Forrester's Conference. Great content.

 

Scott Weisbrod has a nice piece at Experience Matters on developing client relationships. Critical to our business.

 

Tangerine Toad has an insightful bit on the digital revolution.

 

 

Technorati Tags: digital experience , digital media , interactive marketing , user experience design , creative thinking , client relationship management

Engagement Is Key

I'm readying an article by Jeremy Nedelka at marketing xfactor on social networks. From a communications standpoint, the following section on engagement, jumped out at me. I'm not sure why marketers attempt to throw traditional media items at social networks in an attempt to market to them. As marketers we need to identify the unique opportunities within the context of that network that give users the ability to reach out and communicate with one another about our brands. As the item below states, these users are willing to engage with our brands if we do it in the right way.

The content sounds like it should be commonsense, but sadly very few campaigns are implemented as such. My question is this. Is it a lack of understanding by the agency or the client? Where does the disconnect come in?

Following clipped from Marketing XFactor - a 1to1 Media Publication.
Engagement is key
These social networkers are willing to interact with a brand or marketing campaign on a social networking site, if presented correctly and if they add value to the user. Forrester's Marketing on Social Network Sites asked social networkers why they engaged with a brand through their profiles. The top three reasons were because they felt an affinity with the products, wanted to learn more because the brand was associated with a friend's profile, and because they wanted to receive a promotion or discount.

 

"The issue with social network campaigns is that often the ads are designed as an extension of traditional Internet advertising, instead of making them specifically for a certain network," Li says.

 

She recommends looking at what the business objectives of using social networks are before entering. "There are five reasons to use social networks for companies," she says. "To listen better, talk in a different way, energize sales, support customers, and embrace a community for product development."

 

Some of the most successful uses of social networks have been adding "backstage" elements that customers normally wouldn't have access to, like new product previews, or having executives answer questions directly. In many cases using social networks is only one part of a Web 2.0 strategy.

 

"You have to look at blogs, wikis, community forums, and discussion boards," Li says. "It's a highly fragmented space because no one has traction in every category.

Inspired by Information

Mitch Joel posted a video called Information R/evolution. It's produced by Michael Wesch out of Kansas State, the same individual who brought us Web 2.0...the Machine is Us/ing us.

 

 

I've watched it three times just to begin to soak it in. It makes me reflect on my expectations for strategy, user experience design and usability among other things. How we structure information on the web creates an amazing opportunity to communicate. 

I don't even know what to say. Amazing, just watch it again...

 

Technorati Tags:  information architecture ,  user experience design ,  information revolution ,  digital experience

Who Needs Conversation

I've been struggling this past week to find focus and inspiration to write something. I was sitting down to read a book and enjoy a copy of coffee from newly opened Nervosa in downtown Milwaukee when it found me.

I'm finally reading the Cluetrain Manifesto. I'm sorry that as a digital marketer that it has taken me this long to get to it. On the bottom of page 8, Christopher Locke makes the following statement:

"But this whole gamut of conversation, from infinite jest to point-specific expertise: who needs it?

Companies need it. Without it they cannot innovate, build consensus or go to market. Markets need it. Without it they don't know what works and what doesn't"

BAM! Right in the face. In the context of The Age of Conversation and my attempt to explore expressive branding it's all right there. All the conversation the book has created and the experience of taking those learnings to applications in my work, personally and with clients; the statement is simple, powerful and pure truth.

To express your brand you need to engage in conversation. You cannot innovate, you cannot grow, you can not understand what works and what doesn't. In this digital age, it is a requirement to converse.

Millenials and Expressive Branding

Brandweek has an interesting article on the results of a study of teens and brands. From an expressive branding standpoint, it clearly points out how important product and brands are in how kids express themselves to the world. 29% [of respondents] claim "having cool brands makes me feel cool" and that they are "obsessed with brand names." It's a key factor in how expressive branding by an individual plays a role in marketing to them. Teens are quick to identify when they are being marketed to and "sold".

The challenge falls to Companies to identify how their brands allow the teen audience to express themselves. We need to look at the interactive and conversational marketing tools that are available that empower the audience to connect with our brand and use it as part of the tool set they use to express their individual persona.

Expressive Branding is an issue that the Gen Y, and younger group will be closely identified with. It started with the Brand Called You concept put out by Tom Peters and Fast Company ten years ago. This new consumer coming up is connected, aggressive and expressive in who they are and what they want. We need to engage and listen if we want to compete.