1. Convince and Convert. Jay Baer is a great speaker, and is really knowledgeable about implementing social media and online marketing for business.

2. Dan Zarrella. Dan fancies himself a “Social Media Scientist”, which is cool, because he seems to be the one person who attempts to make social media the least bit scientific. We all know it’s a bit of an art form, sort of hit/miss, but Dan has the data to back up his science claim. Once watched a Facebook Webinar he hosted, and it was great.

3. Social Media Today. This is more like a collection of blogs, rather than one person blogging. Users can create an account, log in, and share any blogs they’ve written. Great moderated content, and many knowledgeable contributors.

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For today’s Friday 5 we thought it would be nice to provide some link-love to some of the useful resources we’ve found for UI and UX design. It was difficult to narrow this list down to just five but with careful consideration we were able to weed out some of our other favorites. Some of the more notable include Jakob Nielsen’s Website, Wireframes Magazine, and I ♥ Wireframes.

1. iPlotz – Create web site wireframes and collaborate with users online
   iPlotz offers free plans as well as paid plans that start at $15 per month (as of the time of writing). The interface is nice to use but has a slight learning curve due to the toolbar icons with no supporting text. What we really like about this tool is the task-related project management and collaboration features; moreover the ability to run the tool online or offline via Adobe Air gives it a cool factor. Overall iPlotz is a great addition to any UI toolkit.
2. Axure – Web site wireframes, web design prototypes, and specifications
   Consider Axure RP Pro the full blown UI designer’s tool on steroids. Axure RP Pro does everything from full interactive prototyping, wireframing, collaboration, flow diagrams, and even provides a developer API. What we really like about this program is the ability to employ masters for reusable elements within a given wireframe negating duplication. The program is currently available for both Mac and PC but is not cheap at around $600 for a perpetual user license.
3. Naview – Create easier navigations through web navigation prototypes and testing
   Currently in beta, Naview helps to design and build web navigation prototypes quickly and easily. What looks like a really cool feature is the ability to test your prototypes using surveys. Unfortunately the free plan doesn’t offer built in surveys. What we like the most about this service is the awesome speed that you can create an interactive prototype: we had one up and working in approximately five minutes. Check out our mock-navigation from this publicly shared prototype.
4. UI-Patterns – User interface design pattern library
   UI-Patterns is a repository of design pattern references and guides as well as a user-driven collection of inspirational designs. We really like UI-Patterns for their ability to provide a unified source for UI related information including rated screenshots, a blog, great taxonomy features, and library of problem-solution recipes. There isn’t much more to say about UI-Patterns except that it is an invaluable resource for any UI architect.
5. Product Planner – View and create user flows, viral loops, and more
   Product Planner is a library of flow models and a tool to create your own. A unique feature of this tool is the ability to reuse existing models and incorporate them into your own flow diagram. The speed of this tool makes it truly indispensable and like Naview we were able to create a flow model in about five minutes. Check out our mock-flow model from this publicly shared diagram.

Did we miss any great resources that you’d care to share with us? Please feel free to leave us a comment below or drop us an @ on our Twitter accounts if you’d like. @online_branding or @sensorybranding

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1) Search.twitter.com: Use Twitter’s search function to find conversations about whatever you’re into. Gardening? the iPhone 4? World Cup? Iced Tea? Whatever suits your fancy, you can seek out and follow other users based on conversation content. Similarly, type a # (”hashtag” in Tweet speak) before the search term, and see tweet conversations indexed under this topic. Want to learn more about hashtags, what’s popular long-term, and what’s trending? Visit The Hashtag Wiki to see a hashtag index. Follow users who participate in hashtag conversations about your favorite topics, and chances are they’ll follow you back.

2) Hootsuite.com: If you manage more than one twitter account, using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck is a must! That being said, even if you only tweet from one account, Hootsuite makes meeting potential new followers a cinch. Use the Hootsuite search function to search twitter for anything you can think of, and click “Save As Stream”. Do this for as many terms as you want! Now every time someone tweets the word you indicated in your search, it appears on your Hootsuite dashboard. Check your columns regularly, follow people with valuable content related to your preferred topics, and tweet away with all your new followers!

3) #FF: If anyone sends out a tweet with the #FF hashtag, be sure you pay attention! #FF stands for Follow Friday, and it’s great. A list of usernames will accompany the hashtag. These are personal recommendations of other people to follow. Click the usernames listed in the tweet, check them out, and follow away!  Most good tweeters will reciprocate the follow, so watch for the double F on Fridays, and watch your network grow.

4)Twitter Lists: Lists, as Mashable puts it, “… aren’t just static listings of users, but rather curated Twitter streams of the latest tweets from a specified set of users”. Many of the people you already follow have made lists based on topics or professions, and you can easily follow any list you want. The trick is to be sure to follow individual users within the list, then wait for the followbacks!

5) Bloggers as tweeters: Chances are you subscribe to a number of blogs (if not, get to it! See my previous post and get your RSS on!). And any blogger worth their keywords is going to make a tweet or two. Be sure to click the Twitter icon on your favorite blogs and follow their tweets. Follow their followers too, and soon you’ll have more twitter friends than you know what to do with!

6) Fill in the blank: Okay, I realize this is the Friday 5. But I couldn’t help but include a 6th item on the list. Tag, you’re it! Leave a comment with the tips and tricks that you use to help grow your twitter network.

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Image from Time on CNN

Brand values: Every company has (or should have) them. What does your company stand for? Have you taken time for brand cascading to make sure the whole company understands brand values and knows how to “live” them? What happens when brands lose sight of their values?

Over the course of a few short months, we have witnessed an unprecedented spate of apologies and contrition from the CEOs of some of the world’s [previously] most reputable brands: Toyota, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and, most recently, BP. All of these brands were shown to have failed on the very attributes their vaunted brands were built upon: Reliability for Toyota; Financial acumen for Goldman Sachs; Health for J&J and Environmental Leadership in energy for BP. Does this mean that branding is just a marketing “snow job” that pulls the wool over people’s eyes? I think not.

At one point in time these companies actually lived by their brand values and became successful because they delivered on these values. However, I do think it means that companies can become so large and successful that they grow estranged from what made them successful in the first place, either by inattention or because they feel they can be even more successful by cutting corners (never a good brand strategy!). The smart organizations will take heed of the misfortunes of the above mentioned companies and reaffirm in word and deed their company’s commitment to their brand values. Some may even choose to conduct a brand cascading project to re-align everyone around their brand values. These companies will protect their valuable brand reputation and equity.

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The Swagger Wagon music video rounds out the ironic hilarity of their “Sienna Family” series. Toyota introduces us to the average young family, reluctant to admit that they need a minivan, and showcases their never-ending ’style’ and pride in owning a Sienna. Sure, the videos mention the Sienna and it’s convenient features, but the parental jokes in the films are so funny, we sort of forget we’re watching commercials. That’s the epitome of good online marketing. With over 2 million views on the ‘Swagger Wagon’ music video alone, and multiple thousands on the other shorts on their YouTube channel, it’s clear that Toyota has validated the viral value of corporate YouTube videos.

Now I only wonder… how has the recall affected Sienna’s sales, even with clever videos and funny marketing?

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Some of these stats include:

• One in eight Americans who married last year met online
• 96% of Gen Y’ers have joined one or more social networks
• 80% of companies are using social media to recruit talent
• Generations Y & Z consider email passé

The real question may not be, “Is social media here to stay, or a fad?” but rather, “How will social media evolve over time?” Check out the video, and let us know your opinion.

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Image courtesy of PSDGraphics.com

As branding strategists, it’s sometimes our job to make the unpleasant more palatable with creative advertising, marketing, and brand strategy. Some of the most mundane terms we hear every day are really nothing more unpleasant ideas, masked with marketing or branding euphemisms. “Erectile dysfunction” is really “impotence”, “The Peacekeeper” actually is the “MX-missile” and “previously owned” actually is “used”. A “credit card” actually is a “debt card” (and, yes, that’s still different from a debit card). This is particularly poignant, since countless consumers and businesses got into trouble in the recent past when “credit” was abundant and doled out with seeming abandon.

A factor that contributed to the ensuing pain of too much debt lies in the euphemistic term “credit” which sounds positive and desirable. We hear about how good a high credit score is, how good it is to have credit, etc. But make no mistake, credit is nothing other than debt or the potential for debt. “Credit” is a term invented by lenders to help them market their debt products; Products that put you in their debt. Consumers and businesses would do well to remind themselves that credit is nothing but debt and to think “credit” as “debt” whenever they hear the term.

So what if we were to re-brand credit? Give it a dose of our own medicine, and reverse ‘credit card’ to ‘debt card’. Do you think it would help to encourage a bit more caution for consumers and businesses?

Consider the recently proposed measure in Australia that re-brands cigarette packaging. The new “plain packs” would sport a large health warning such as “Smoking Causes Lung Cancer”, accompanied by a corresponding photograph of the ailment. This removal of attractive branding and euphemism reveals the reality to consumers. Do you think it will be effective? I believe so.

After all, who wants to be caught buying lung cancer or using a debt card?

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Photo courtesy of London Evening Standard

How can a brand like Goldman Sachs, seemingly damaged beyond repair after recent news, ever recover? I believe the answer lies in brand strategy.

There’s no shortage of coverage these days on Goldman Sachs and its Abacus CDO/CDS guaranteed double-dipping deal. Top management must be feeling like they’ve been thrown in a blender, spinning as they have over the course of a few weeks from a $4 billion Q1 profit announcement to an SEC fraud charge, shareholder lawsuits and public outrage. But will recent disclosures and events damage the brand in the long run, or help the brand? Most pundits seem to think the brand is and will continue to be damaged. But is that true?

The answer, I believe, depends on how one defines the business of Goldman Sachs. Maybe the current brand is damaged beyond hope of future brand profitability, but perhaps actively and strategically managing brand perceptions might do the trick. Historically, Goldman Sachs operated as an investment bank, serving its clients and profiting from the deals it put together. As an investment bank, it supported the continued growth of the American economy as a value-adding institution. So defined, the Goldman Sachs brand has been notably damaged by recent disclosures of past behavior. But arguably, that Goldman Sachs has been eclipsed in recent years by the new Goldman Sachs, which functions less like an investment bank and more like a producer and marketer of theoretical financial products (“synthetic CDOs” and CDSs) that add no appreciable value to the broader economy.  In other words, more like a gambler who plays both sides against the middle than a serious market maker and player.  Interesting approach to brand strategy. In this context, Goldman’s brand reputation, particularly among those who admire making money from nothing and without concern for any consequences, is likely increasing.

Goldman’s management, directors and shareholders now just need to decide what kind of business they want to be in.

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Image courtesy of Steve Rhode

After nearly 50 years of being the face of McDonald’s, Ronald may be being forced into early retirement. With creative advertising and brand strategy over the years, McDonald’s has managed to become the most dominant fast-food restaurant, and Ronald is recognized by 96% of American children. However, he is now being blamed for the rise of childhood obesity and weight-related illnesses, and some groups want him gone.

Their reasoning:  his favorable brand image is causing children to eat too much unhealthy food. Never mind that Ronald McDonald has been the face of the Ronald McDonald House Charities that have helped thousands of families whose children are suffering from cancer.  Suddenly he’s become the evil food clown and should be laid to rest. Corporate Accountability International has even launched their own website (almost a direct copy of the McDonald’s-owned site) dedicated to raising funds and awareness for their “Retire Ronald” campaign. Now the question: what responsibility should brands be expected to have when a brand strategy a bit too effective? Remember what happened to Joe Camel and Spuds MacKenzie?

We all agree that fast food is not the ideal meal for children (or adults). However, parents have responsibility in deciding what children are having for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ve never seen a  7-year old maneuver the family SUV to the drive up window to place his order. And if we decide to end the life of Ronald, what about other mascots like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, Tony the Tiger on Frosted Flakes, or the Keebler Elves?  Many of the companies that own these brands also do a great deal of good for people around the world.

Perhaps I’m a bit more passionate about Ronald because of personal experiences with the Ronald McDonald House Charities.  Or maybe it’s just because I have become a bit tired of people who don’t take responsibility for what goes on in their own houses.

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1.  Twitter. Track your mentions on Twitter, and respond when you can. Use Hootsuite to create an account, and save a search column for “Your Brand”, updated in real-time. Each time anyone mentions “Your Brand”, you see it. This requires constant monitoring, which not everyone will have time for, but it’s worth it if you can.

2.  SocialMention.com. Search for “Your Brand” in blogs, microblogs, networks, videos, photos, news, comments, or all of the above. It requires sorting through noise and irrelevant info, but the nuggets you find may be gold for your brand.

3.  Google Reader. Set search terms, receive Google Alerts, read RSS subscription updates. Easy as 1,2,3. Just remember to check it frequently!

4.  Technorati. It’s the world’s largest blog search engine. If you have a blog, claim it on Technorati as well.

5.  Get a monitoring report. Easy, effortless (literally), and worth it. Check out ePulse. Also, listen to the podcast.

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