Social Media

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The State of Social Media – 2012 Recap

Nielsen just released their social media report from 2012 and I thought I would share some the information from the report. Much of this will be from the actual report.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS COMING OF AGE
“Social media and social networking are no longer in their infancy. Since the emergence of the first social media networks some two decades ago, social media has continued to evolve and offer consumers around the world new and meaningful ways to engage with the people, events, and brands that matter to them. Now years later, social media is still growing rapidly and has become an integral part of our daily lives. Today, social networking is truly a global phenomenon.”

What’s driving the continued growth of social media?
“More people are using smartphones and tablets to access social media. The personal computer is still at the center of the social networking experience, but consumers are increasingly looking to other devices to connect on social media. Time spent on mobile apps and the mobile web account for 63 percent of the year-over-year growth in overall time spent using social media. Forty-six percent of social media users say they use their smartphone to access social media; 16 percent say they connect to social media using a tablet. With more connectivity, consumers have more freedom to use social media wherever and whenever they want.”

How is consumer usage of social media evolving?
“Social TV is on the rise. The skyrocketing adoption and use of social media among consumers is transforming TV-watching into a more immediate and shared experience. As of June 2012, more than 33 percent of Twitter users had actively tweeted about TV-related content. Some 44 percent of U.S. tablet owners and 38 percent of U.S. smartphone owners use their devices daily to access social media while watching television.”

“Social Care is transforming customer service. Social media has emerged as an important channel for customer service, with nearly half of U.S. consumers reaching out directly to brands and service providers to voice their satisfaction or complaints, or simply to ask questions. In fact, one in three social media users say they prefer to use social media rather than the phone for customer service issues.”

“Whether through a computer or mobile phone, consumers continue to spend increasing amounts of time on the Internet. Time spent on PCs and smartphones was up 21 percent from July 2011 to July 2012.”

Social Networking Is All About Mobile
“When it comes to accessing social content, it’s all about mobile—particularly apps. App usage now accounts for more than a third of social networking time across PCs and mobile devices. Compared to last year, consumers increased their social app time by 76 percent, spending more than seven times more minutes on apps than the mobile web.”

“While the social media audience via PC declined a slight five percent from a year ago, time spent increased 24 percent over the same period, suggestinging that users are more deeply engaged.”

A Look At The Top Social Networks
“The list of most-visited social networking sites is pretty much the same whether people are going online through a PC browser, through their mobile web browser or using an app. Mobile usage once again proves to be a key component of social as each of the top networks via mobile web saw significantly greater growth compared to its PC audience over the last year.”

The Spotlight is on Pinterest
“Pinterest has experienced exponential growth since bursting on the scene last year. Although that growth has leveled over the last few months, Pinterest had the largest year-over-year increase in audience and time spent of any social network, across PC, mobile web and apps.”

Why We Connect…Some General Feelings
This is an interesting look at some of the general feelings after individuals participated in social networking.

Twitter Drives Social TV
“Twitter has emerged as a key driver of social TV interaction. During June 2012, a third of active Twitter users tweeted about TV-related content, an increase of 27 percent from the beginning of the year.”

Social Care Is Growing
“Social care, i.e. customer service via social media, has become an immediate imperative for global brands. Customers choose when and where they voice their questions, issues and complaints, blurring the line between marketing and customer service. Brands should consider this evolution and ensure they are ready to react on all channels.”


Social Advertising
“Brands and advertisers looking to share their message on social might consider this: While a third of people find ads on social networks to be annoying, more than a quarter of people are more likely to pay attention to an ad posted by a friend.”

This information was compiled from the Nielsen NMIncite 2012 Social Media Report. If you would like to download this report, GO TO –> http://nmincite.com/download-the-social-media-report-2012/

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Jump like Felix and take a Red Bull Stratos risk!

We must take a chance…we must try something new.

We must take that risk and create content that has the social share impact. What do I mean…find ways to create and share content that connects with people at their core.

We are so worried about creating messages based on branded research, focus groups, and a lot of high dollar initiatives…when sometime we should let our gut lead us.

Janean Chun of Huffington Post writes, “The Austria-based company, founded by Dietrich Mateschitz in 1984, sold more than 4.6 billion cans of Red Bull worldwide in 2011.”

So what makes a brand like Red Bull financially back an initiative that takes a man into space to jump?

“…power of this marketing event lies in the synergy between the extreme event and the company’s existing marketing message. The jump ‘hits the brand message spot on, which is that Red Bull gives you wings.'”

Catharine Smith of Huffington Post writes, “YouTube’s live stream of the event racked up over 8 million viewers just before Baumgartner took his death-defying plunge.”

According to AllThingsD, “The previous record for a single Web video service: Around 500,000 concurrent streams, which Google served up during the Olympics this summer.”

According to ABC News, “Besides YouTube, the jump was shown by more than 40 TV stations and 130 digital outlets. Red Bull’s Facebook post-jump photo of Baumgartner gained almost 216,000 likes, 10,000 comments and over 29,000 shares within 40 minutes, and half the worldwide trending topics on Twitter were related to Red Bull Stratos.”

I do know about you…but I shed tears when he jumped. Why? I was standing there with him…LIVE. I felt the same emotion I felt when I was watching the landing of Curiosity on Mars. Remember when the whole Mission Control Room cheered out-of-control when they learned Curiosity was safe on the red planet.

Not only could I watch live, but I could interact with my friends and this extreme sports fan base in real time via the #JumpLive hashtag.

It was actually funny…my laptop battery was running down close to the time of the jump, and I was trying to find another television in the house that I could stream YouTube. Rose (my little girl) was watching cartoons in the den where YouTube could stream via my AppleTV. Finally found my back-up laptop charger so I could watch the jump.

As I watched him fall, I wondered…is he alive? No matter if he broke the sound barrier (traveling at a peak of 833.9 mph), I was relieved when I he replyed to mission control while he was free falling.

And when he landed…WE ALL CHEERED WITH FELIX.

Yes, we all jumped up and cheered with Felix when he touched down raised his arms in excitement.

How can we create content, experiences, situations with our audiences that inspire such emotion…and break away from just marketing a message.

Sometimes we just have to jump and take a risk…Felix and Red Bull did.

***Images from HuffingtonPost.com

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Too much creative can make you cry!

Yes…sometimes I feel just like Rose in the picture above. After weeks and weeks of intensive work…I am mentally exhausted. I pour myself into my projects many times working late into the night.

Being creative can sometimes be exhausting and overwhelming, yet extremely rewarding. Last Friday night, I was able to sit in a packed theater style auditorium and observe the audience watch what I created. I was able to watch them laugh and smile, get sad and cry…all at the right times…all at the right moments. Crafting stories is becoming a part of the story, so that you feel the emotion with the individuals inside the story.

The emotional roller-coaster of this creative exercise can be draining and mentally exhausting. Some of my best creative moments are in the middle of the night…and when I am in the zone, I will spend many nights working.

After projects are finished…I feel just like Rose.

REST IS A GOOD THING.

Today, I was chatting it up with some of my friends who are also clients. I was telling them I was loading family in the car, heading off for a few days in the mountains. Yep…little time to unplug. They said, “you just spent most of your summer on vacation.” Yes…I believe in working hard and playing hard. Our creative brains need to get away. We need to unplug. We need to make our little ones smile.

So…it is time to turn that sad face into a happy face.

We creatives need a creative break so we can continue to be creative. We have more stories to tell.

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Telling stories in annual reports…stories take the main stage.

This is a project I have enjoyed working on this past summer. This year, The Duke Endowment released their annual report using storytelling as the main communication initiative. I worked with them to find and tell stories inside each of the grants they support, exposing the audience to true core of this initiative.

I love how they used an integrated communications approach on so many facets:

1) They use artwork to paint the picture of the initiatives. As you look through the report, everything appears to be painted on a canvas.

2) The report has an online version inside their website with video as a major component. Each video is a story from inside the grant The Duke Endowment supports. I love this approach, because it paints a visual picture how the grant truly impacts individuals.  This done by allowing the person to tell their story using their own personal narrative.

3) Love the printed report that is colorful and integrates QR codes linking the audience from the printed story to the video.

4) Finally, they distributed through their network using an email blast along with making the videos unlisted on their YouTube account. This is done so they can effectively track the analytics. They know that the views on the videos will be coming directly from the email blast via the annual report online.

5) I love commitment to video specifically the use short documentary storytelling. I work closely with their communications team to find, create, and produce the video content. They were very committed to telling rich stories, allowing each video to maintain their voice using the subject’s own personal narrative.

Quick Links to learn more:
1) The Duke Endowment’s Online Annual Report – CLICK HERE
2) The Duke Endowment’s Printed Annual Report – CLICK HERE
3) The Duke Endowment’s YouTube Account – CLICK HERE

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Passbook & NFC: Social Commerce in small town South Carolina

So Wednesday morning, I received my new iPhone 5 in the mail. I am a gadget freak and yes I upgraded from the iPhone 4s. One of the new features released with the new iPhone (iOS6) is the the Passbook application. This allows you to find businesses that offer incentives to use your iPhone as your wallet.

So I downloaded the Starbucks application and immediately created an account and loaded $25.00, sort of like buying a pre-paid credit card, except using your iPhone. Off I went to carry out my morning errands, and as I passed Starbucks in Anderson…I thought I might have to give this little application a try.

So I walked in and ordered me a Pumpkin Spice Latte with no whipped cream, hmm! It feels like fall outside. When it was time to pay, I asked the cashier, “How do I use the Starbucks application on my iPhone to pay?” She told me to open the application, push the button to pay, and a barcode appeared on the screen. She then used her scanner next to the cash register to scan the barcode on my screen, and POOF…transaction complete.

It deducted the $4.91 from my phone and off I was on my merry way with a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I was so excited, I opened Facebook and checked into Starbucks by writing this status update:

I immediately called my wife to share my experience. After she listened to my gadget success story for the morning, she scolded me and said…”You need to buy local. Stop going to Starbucks and walk across the street from your office downtown and go to Figs. Figs is the new coffee, ice-cream, soda shop downtown Anderson owned locally.

The Digital Divide
Hmm…I wonder, do they have a little application for the phone so I can pay? Do they have a check-in option on Facebook so I can share my love for their store? Hmm…let me go see. So off I went to Figs, and noticed a few things. Great food, great shop, nice ownership…limited social interaction. Well, they are new…but this leads me to my though process. Buying local in socially connected community has a HUGE barrier to cross when competing against big box groups. You are probably thinking…well, tell me something you do not already know.

Ok, back-up…notice what happened Starbucks. They have an app that allows me to use technology to not only purchase with my phone, but they made it easy to take part in the social share. The check-in location rapidly appeared in Facebook allowing me to share my little success with technology.

The digital wallet leading to the social share…big business leads the way in social commerce. So how do the little guys compete? What is going remind me about Figs over Starbucks for coffee (other than my wife screaming buy local)? Figs is kind-of a outlier, they have only been in business for a few months. They are still trying to establish their digital footprint.

So, I took a walk through downtown Anderson and spent some time using my Facebook and Foursquare apps to see if retailers had check-in points established. Most were established including having those check-in points connected to a social outlet like a Facebook page.

But the part that is missing for most of these small retailers is the digital tool for commerce.

Passbook and NFC
Passbook on the iPhone is a brand new concept and Starbucks was one of the first to take part in this concept. Passbook was Apple’s alternative to NFC (near-field communication).

Wired.com states, “NFC chips in smartphones let you pay by waving your device over a scanner at the store. The chip is tied to an app that is tied to your bank account and credit card. Volià, no more cash, no more wallet.”

“Passbook lets you keep in your iPhone virtual versions of some items you might normally carry in your analog wallet or bag: boarding passes, movie and sports tickets, coupons, and gift cards. Passbook stores these items as barcodes, but some wondered if Apple would tie NFC to Passbook to make direct payments possible.”

Matt on the Nerd Wallet blog shares his thoughts:

“While loyalty programs are popular amongst customers and merchants alike – the number of loyalty memberships in the U.S. exceeds 2.1 billion – it’s not clear how effective these programs are. According to a white paper published by COLLOQUY, 17% of U.S. consumers felt that loyalty programs were a “very influential” factor in their purchasing decisions and an even smaller 12% said they “strongly agree” when asked whether it pays to be loyal to a favorite brand.”

So is NFC and Passbook just another coupon”ing” option or loyalty program? Or is the combination of NFC/Passbook concept on your smart phone as a one-stop shop for your to purchase and share with your friends. Connivence makes us happy and we love to share within our social outlets when something makes us happy.

Social Commerce & Economic Development
So how does a small coffee shop in little ole Anderson, SC compete with a Starbucks and their Passbook app? Well…first of all, building these applications are expensive and you have to find a a company that has the experience to build these types of mobile commerce tools. I am not sure if Figs would have the budget to have one of these applications built, and it probably makes no sense for them to do so…especially given small town word-of-mouth always prevails.

BUT…from a digital concept, local business should team up and build one mobile application for those local retailers that can add to the pot. Imagine an initiative in Anderson, SC where a group of local retailers teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce and local Economic Development groups like Innovate Anderson or Upstate SC Alliance to find the funding to build a one-size fits all.

Yes…this would be an economic development tool for small town Anderson, SC. Access to digital tools that not only power commerce but power the idea of the social share, building online reputation for a town trying to attract more growing businesses.

For those who want to read more about developing apps for Apple’s Passbook –> CLICK HERE. 

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Let the Map’s Battle Begin! Google vs. Apple!

So I am getting ready to make a broad prediction and generalization. As a communicator in the digital/social space, I am surrounded by people predicting that mobile is the future…especially in the social space.

I think that MAPS on a mobile platform is going to be a large part of that conversation. Specifically MAP applications on our iPhones, Droids, etc. MAPS is a game that many tech groups (Apple, Google, Bing, etc.) are investing millions/billions of dollars.

With the release of iOS6 today for the iPhone and iPad, Apple just launched itself into the MAP Game competing with Google. They want to find better ways to connect consumers to local “brands” as a part of their search revenue stream.

I love this article by Entrepreneur.com talking about the competition between Google and Apple when it comes to the MAPs game.

“Expect new ways to market using your location. 
Apple is already planning a Quick Route function as part of its local search function that can lead customers to stores. Not to be outdone, Google is offering packages for automated business listings, and promotional services as part of its Places for Business product as well as turn-by-turn navigation for bicycle commuters.

And where Google and Apple go, so goes Microsoft. The company announced its most aggressive upgrade to its map imagery in July. This will be offered as part of its MapPoint 2013 software product that ties in not only geographic data to maps, but population information and research content aimed at showing businesses location-based opportunities and marketing trends.”

AND THIS…

“Maps need to become part of your search strategy.
Smart businesses will be proactive on how mobile users find and interact with them on maps. Among the new features that businesses can expect to exploit are the expanded role for social content and the ability to offer location-based deals.

Apple’s Maps application is stressing local reviews and search content from Yelp, which announced in June that it will be directly built into Apple maps. Google recently upgraded its Google+ integration for maps with Google Map Maker, which builds local content added by users into its maps. And earlier this summer, Microsoft announced new integrations with Nokia as part of its interactive features on Windows phones.”

And from BBC.com:
“As the internet goes mobile, there’s a huge amount at stake for both companies, and maps are a key weapon in the battle to be top dog. The nascent mobile advertising industry is heavily focussed on location based services, so owning the dominant mapping system could prove very lucrative.”

The communicators that will prevail in this social/digital space will be the ones that recognize the power of MAPS, research the impact on their organization’s revenue opportunities, integrate into the communication plan, and be open to innovative third party applications.

So think…how can we as communicators for large, medium, and small organizations think in terms of MAPS to connect with the consumer. How can we leverage these technologies that individuals are using everyday to connect with find and connect with our brand?

Let the wars begin!

***Image from Entrepreneur.com <– THANK YOU 

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The interview…the art of listening and the need for transparency

As I sit here and work on a story for the SCMission2012 project, I am reminded the importance of listening. Many people have many different strategies when conducting on camera interviews for stories. I can remember working with a seasoned journalist who would spend hours outlining his interview questions, making sure he delivered the right question at the right time.

For years, I have never taken a list of interview questions with me to an interview. I rely more on the art of listening when trying to capture comments for a story. I spend lots of time researching the person, the cause, the initiative, and the purpose behind the story. I spend time thinking through the relationship between the person and the story. But when it is time to roll the camera, I let the conversation direct the questions.

The camera is intimidating for many people and sometimes it means that everything we ask will end up in the final version of the story. I guess the digital age has taught us that anything we say can end up on YouTube. So the approach of asking questions based on the conversation can be concerning for most interview subjects.

A few weeks ago, I was working on a story where the interview subject was not expecting a series of questions. Specifically, I started with a series of warm-up questions to allow us to get acquainted with the camera. Conducting an on-camera interview is all about relationship building and trust. This person thought that the initial series of questions were going to end up in the final story, thus revealing something that the person felt was a little to personal for the story.

A few days after the interview, this person called me concerned. I re-assured this person, that these questions were not going to end-up in the final story and I was going to delete these comments from all the digital copies.

We have to listen and we have to be transparent when conducting interviews for video use. We have to explain our process and provide our intentions in a transparent manner. We have to listen and we have to be prepared. The camera is there to capture moments very personal for people and our burden as storytellers is craft the story with utmost compassion.

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GoPro and Audi GET IT! It Takes a Culture Change!

I just read a blog post from Mickey Plyler concerning the future retirement of Clemson’ Athletic Director. In his article, he built an argument articulating what the new leadership will “have” to look like when Mr. Terry Don Phillips retires.Regardless who follows, big shoes to fill.

Plyler states in his blog:
“Social media has become a bigger part of athletic departments across the country and Clemson needs an upgrade. Schools are trying to control the message more now than ever and Clemson needs a progressive thinking business person that understands how to create a brand in the modern business world.”

Guess what Mickey…this applies to more than just Clemson Athletics, it applies to many large organizations across the country. As I sat through a strategic meeting for a large organization yesterday, this all day conversation surrounded social media. To quote a person in the room…“It is a culture change.” I agree.

Organizations are having to trudge through a culture change from the leadership all the way down to those who are on the ground level. And it is not just social media or even the digital media strategy, it is an integrated communication approach. Social and digital media are no longer just a tool in the tool box, they are integrated strategies that warrant just as much, if not more, attention that your traditional marketing efforts. (This statement depends on organization and audiences goals.)

To be blunt, it is time for organizations to start curating content ONLY for social and digital efforts. Why…the audiences are looking for this content.

Look at Audi and this year’s Super Bowl, they created content specifically for the social space. They used the #SoLongVampires hastag in the Super Bowl ad that received over 2 million YouTube views and tens of millions of Twitter impressions a week after the ad appeared during the game.

After the 2012 Super Bowl, Murrey Newlands wrote: “Capitalizing on vampiremania, they showed an Audi driving up to a vampire bonfire party and accidentally frying the vampires with its powerful headlights! The vampires immediately turned to ash, (unlike TrueBlood vampires who for the most part slowly burn to death once exposed to the Sun).”

They built excitement for their target demographic around the Audi brand, and it is still paying dividends with over 7 million YouTube views to date! That is what I can integrated marketing.

Look at GoPro and their photo of the day initiative on Facebook.  Each day, they share a photo of the day from one of their fans using their GoPro camera. LOVE IT! Talk about engagement, they have over 3 million fans and people love their product. This effort is all on Facebook.

Organizations are learning that it is no longer “just” a push marketing mentality. Brand management involves building community and leveraging word-of-mouth efforts. For the first time, social and digital media efforts provide an opportunity to engage digital word-of-mouth and a measurable outcome. We can build a community and track success. We can build sustainable efforts leveraging online tools and use them in specific tactical methods, then look back and see how we performed.

Organizations are also learning…they must take control of their own brand. Ed Bennet who manages web operations at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) understood this strategy. He brought all web/social/digital efforts in-house. He built a team, he built a culture, and how is a leader in the hospital digital media space.

The Clemson Family is a large family and they engage in many online communities. It is obvious if you look at the Clemson University main Facebook Page and Alumni Page.  And even though many organizations like Clemson Athletics have built many online communities, it is now time to really see if they can build sustainable efforts. No more just pushing the message to a group, but engaging in online conversation.

It is a culture shift, not only for leadership but for those working these efforts on the ground level.

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Olympic Spoiler??? This blog post comes to you right on time!

Ok…so the image above was captured at 2:48pm Tuesdayand this article was written at 1:32pm Tuesday afternoon, EDT. Yes…

“The U.S. women’s team has won the gold medal in the gymnastics team final with a superlative performance and an overall score of 183.596. Russia scored a 178.530 to take the silver and Romania won the bronze with a score of 176.414.”

Ok…who cares other than the fact that this is the first time since 1996.

“Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman delivered impressive floor routines to clinch the first team gold for the U.S. since the ‘Magnificent Seven’ won in 1996.”

It is a big day for the US…well, kind of?

Of course, since the Olympics are broadcasted on NBC via tape delay…most Americans will not be able to see this victory until Thursday evening. Well, most Americans…I guess?

Since Huffington Post and most news outlets posted this huge announcement via social media…the Twitter-verse has been exploding with excitement and people complaining about it spoiling the fun Thursday evening.

Tweets from around 3:08 Tuesday afternoon…people still talking spoilers. And even have moved on from talking about the Women’s Gymnastics spoiler.

So here is my question…will you be interested to see the viewership statistics for the television broadcasts and compare them to the NBC/YouTube live streaming viewership? People have the option to watch it live during the day online or watch later on their television.

This world phenomenon is going to have to solidify the distinction between television viewership and online consumption. Also…how much social media has played into the reporting of the Olympics in real time via Twitter, Facebook, and other social outlets?

I am looking forward to Nielsen to release the viewership comparison between online and television and relevant  the impact from the social outlets. NBC Television scored big numbers for the opening ceremonies “with 40.7 million people tuning in for the opening ceremony, making it the most-watched opening ceremony for a summer or winter Olympics ever.” But what about days like today when something big happened in the middle of the day. It will be interesting to see the comparison!

Or will the social space sharing the results in real time turn into a tremendous marketing opportunity for NBC to capture viewership in the evening. People will want to see it with their own eyes.

You think it is a spoiler when Huffington Post and other media outlets posted immediately on their websites that the Women’s Gymnastics Team won?

Spolier alert…maybe people are moving to online viewing and social consumption for real time information. And maybe the networks and media giants have figured out how to leverage the social/digital space to attract audiences to watch on television? I am looking forward to seeing if people enjoyed the real time results via online versus waiting to watch the old tele.

***Image credit…HuffingtonPost.com