alyssagardina.com blogs

How Social Media is Saving TV

agardina — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:32:00 +0000

Tonight, I'm watching the Oscars. And I'm watching it in a way I haven't in the past several years: live. I DVR everything - I DVR'ed the Olympics, I record baseball and I couldn't even tell you what night my favorite show airs. But tonight, I'm sitting through what seems like hours of commercials for one reason - Twitter. For me, to watch the Oscars on a delay would mean turning of Twitter and Facebook for the night - the humanity!

Instead of unplugging, ABC's got one more person watching their TV ads. The same goes for American Idol (I have my indulgences!), LOST and countless other shows that people love to talk about. Social media has changed the way people watch and interact with TV, and might serve as a saving grace for advertisers who can't get enough of the 30-second spot.

How Networks Can Take Advantage

A helping hand only helps if you take hold of it. Television networks can capitalize on social media's love of live in two ways:

Encourage audience participation by drawing attention to hashtags and Facebook Fan Pages. Note: this should not be invasive within the broadcast - Fox, I'm looking at you! Promote these integrations in the beginning of the broadcast or in promo spots.
Use social media to provide a richer viewing experience - extended or deleted scenes on YouTube, interactions with show stars on Twitter, trivia contests on Facebook. Be where your audience is, when your audience needs you.

What do you think? Has social media changed the way you watch TV?

NBC and token social media integration

agardina — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:02:44 +0000

Broadcast networks have taken Twitter integration to different levels. For Fox, it involved invasive "live tweets" from show stars. For NBC, it's apparently a token integration to appease both their audience and the athletes taking part in this year's Winter Olympics.

Leading up to the games, there was some confusion with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) about whether or not athletes could even tweet during the Games. It was finally decided that they could tweet - about their personal experiences, and with some severe limitations on what kind of photos and videos they could share.

Those regulations, combined with NBC's apparent reluctance to integrate user-generated content or social media sites, has severely limited the potential richness of their broadcasts. In an ideal world:

Athletes could tweet and share whenever they wanted. There's already live coverage, instantaneous news distribution and people constantly. tweeting. about. the. Olympics. It's not like athletes are going to break a story before Bob Costas can get his hands on it. Odds are, their insight and tweets about nerves, conditions and competition will add to the viewers' experience. Imagine a glimpse of a tweet from Bode Miller before his bronze-medal winning run - a TwitPic right on NBC, describing the emotions before a big race.

NBC would share athletes' and coaches' tweets with information or context. Right now, on NBC's Olympic Pulse page, they're posting tweets from athletes - without timestamps, geotagging or even specifying what country the athlete represents.

Share athlete's videos and photos from the opening and closing ceremonies. Grab a couple of athletes before the Games, recruit them as content creators and give them the tools. Let them lose at the Olympic Village and collect their content as they go. Post the stories, photos and videos as the games go on to show the story behind the competition. NBC makes a darn good dramatic mini-documentary, but that content could be so much richer if gathered by the participants themselves.

What do you think? How would you make the Olympics a richer viewing experience?

Social Media Isn't a Miracle Cure

agardina — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:25:53 +0000

I read a recent post by Alan Wolk, and his conclusion really stood out to me:

"I’ll leave you with this quote from a smart young guy named Matt Daniels 'Marketing has a bell curve–most companies create average marketing and achieve average results.' Why did we think social media was going to be any different?"

Why did we think that social media would be a cure all - a marketing or public relations tool that would make every company that touched it somehow more extraordinary? That it would be a Midas Touch that fixes bad brands, policies and products?

Right now, it might be. Companies are adopting social media slowly, so industry leaders might not be the first to use a tool. Snakeoil salesmen and defenders of inadequate brands can build an online reputation before their competitors even have a chance to sign up for a YouTube account. In the past, social media has given notoriety to the content leaders, not the quality leaders.

And I think that's going to change. Consumers are becoming more knowledgable about the power of social media and the transparency it provides. Companies are finally starting to "get it" and get online, albeit slowly but surely. Users are looking for good content, and it takes a strong brand, product and service to provide that.

Let's face it, there have been good marketing campaigns by bad companies. But they don't stick nearly as well as campaigns for companies that provide something that customers want, need and keep coming back for. Just like all the Super Bowl ads in the world couldn't have saved Cash 4 Gold, all the Twitter followers online won't help your company if you can't meet expectations.

Social media won't be the thing that cures you, but transparency could be the thing that kills you.

Is your company strong enough to make the cut?

Learning to fit your life

agardina — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:26:23 +0000

We're all busy. We have work, family, hobbies, exercise, cooking, networking and, of course, sleep! During that time, social media and technology are constantly evolving. You could stay up from dawn 'til dusk just reading blogs about Internet marketing. What's a busy marketer to do?

Luckily, there are resources, articles and insights almost everywhere you look:

Blogs - I spend hours every day going through blogs. I comb through mine in Googe Reader and on my iPhone using Net News Wire. Because the RSS feeds are aggregated in one place, I don't miss much if I have a busy day. Plus, wih Google Reader's share and like functions, I can find new blogs from my friends' recommendations and skim through blogs that update hundreds of times a day.
Podcasts - Podcasts are like blogs-on-the-go. They provide in depth insight on a variety of topics, and you can listen to them anywhere: in the car, at the gym, while on the train. Podcasts come in two forms: audio and video, so you can choose which media works best for your routine.
Email Subscriptions - monthly, weekly, daily - whenever you get them, email newsletters & subscriptions often offer highlights from some of the web's best blogs and publications. My favorite, CMO, sends me a list every Friday of some of the best social media and marketing stories of the week.
YouTube/Online Video - if you need to know something specific, YouTube has a plethora of interviews and screencasts to help you out and give you advice.
Forums - Forums can be subject specific, location-based, or even as all-encompassing as Twitter and Facebook. Yes, those are most definitely forums to me. Where else can I tweet that I'm having Drupal problems and, minutes later, have offers of help from several developers?
Books in all forms - ebooks, audio books, books made of paper and dead trees. They can provide insight into strategy, trends and best practices. What am I reading right now? The Rule of Three (Affiliate). Next on my list? Trust Agents (I'm behind, I know!) (Affiliate)
Google - when in doubt, Google it. Odds are, you'll find an answer in a wiki article, Q&A site or a blog you've never explored before.

Make sure that learning fits your life. Follow a variety of resources via different media, and don't neglect your personal interests. Do you love wine? Watch Wine Library TV, read Dr. Vino and follow people on Twitter who share similar interests. Being well-rounded will help you in networking, in meetings and in creating content for your own site.

How do you make learning fit your life?

(Thanks to @twistedraisin, @karla_porter, and #teamCJ for their help!)

Disclosure above all else

agardina — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:59:11 +0000

We'll start this post with a little quiz (and if you follow media controversies closely, it's an easy one.) What is the mission of the organization "Focus on the Family"?

It's a vague sounding name. For all we know, it could be a group put together by Milton Bradley to promote game night and togetherness. However, that's not exactly it. From their website: Our mission is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible by nurturing and defending the God-ordained institution of the family and promoting biblical truths worldwide.

Have you heard of them? They're the group putting together an anti-abortion Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow. An investment of around $2.5 million, it's CBS's first advocacy ad sold during the big game, and falls in line with the network's new policy of accepting opinion advertisements.

It's controversial, for sure. But putting aside the ad's subject matter, there's a glaring problem. Instead of telling the organization's story, Focus on the Family has hired college football star Tim Tebow and his mother to tell theirs. There's little doubt that the name and mission of the ad's sponsor won't show up until the end - probably as part of some fancy graphic with small print at the bottom. As with all other advocacy ads, the focus is on one-sided opinions, with little or no disclosure as to the funding, purpose or background of the actual organization.

Regardless of your political, social or religious beliefs, an audience deserves to know who's holding the puppet strings: an insurance company making an ad against healthcare reform, a solar power organization dramatically depicting the dangers of oil - it doesn't matter. With the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning a ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections, disclosure and transparency may be all the public has left. The First Amendment protects our right to free speech, but it doesn't protect our right to concealment.

As marketers, advertisers and public relations professionals, it's our ethical responsibility to disclose our biases and agendas.

Do you agree? Is honesty always the best policy?

Why #FollowAMuseum was a social media success

agardina — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:28:31 +0000

Today, museums, organizations, visitors and enthusiasts around the world celebrated the first #followamuseum day. Organized by Jim Richardson of the blog Museum Marketing (UK), the campaign asked Twitter users to share their favorite museums to follow and discover new ones as well.

By all accounts, this campaign was a success. As a person who tweets for a museum, I was fortunate to see our replies stream fill up with people suggesting us as a museum to follow, new followers saying hello and retweets of content we were sharing that had nothing to do with the #followamuseum hashtag. According to Social Mention, #followamuseum was mentioned once every 13 seconds. The event organizer estimates that there were over 6000 tweets with the hashtag today. So, why was it successful?

It mobilized preexisting advocates. Nonprofits have an advantage when taking part in conversations on social media. For better or for worse, many people feel passionate about their cause. Fans of museums had an incentive to promote their favorite museums on Twitter: by providing this information, they demonstrated their involvement with the museum's mission.
It provided focus in a cluttered medium. Hashtags are primarily used to tag tweets on a similar subject. The #followamuseum hashtag could be followed in Twitter Search or via a third party application, allowing museums & users to easily find and follow new organizations.
It engaged on a worldwide scale. In preparing for the day, the organizer did something very smart: he created a directory of museums on Twitter. Rather than relying on disparate Twitter lists and Twitter search, he centralized the cause and organized the museums geographically.
It united organizations that share a common cause. Museums have very little to lose in promoting one another. Odds are, not much business is lost when a visitor chooses to go to one museum over another. Frequently, it's beneficial for organizations within a city to promote each other, in hopes of growing cultural tourism. All day, museums were sharing their favorite counterparts on Twitter and thanking each other for mentions.

What could other industries do with a #followa_______ day? There could be days focusing on educational nonprofits, on colleges, on... wineries. Essentially any industry that's populated with distinct Twitter users that share valuable information could have one.

Why good design still matters

agardina — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:03:39 +0000

Social media is about conversation, relationships and transparency. Where traditional media broadcasts, new media interacts. Yet, there are several foundational elements these two forms of marketing have in common. One of those is design.

As an Internet marketer, I love good content. However, good content on a bad page might get you ranked high in search engines, but it's probably not retaining your visitor long after that. When I say new media and traditional media require good design, this includes:

Information architecture - website visitors, magazine readers, television viewers - the most entertaining advertisments or campaigns in the world won't have any effect if your audience doesn't get the information they need. Before launching a Facebook Page, sending in an ad or burning to DVD, ask yourself (or someone else) - what's the ultimate goal? Does my audience need to know more about my nonprofit/corporation? Do I want them to go to my website? Make a phone call? Come visit?

Eye-catching elements - A beautifully-worded, eloquent blog post isn't part of an effective campaign unless thare are people visiting your page. Eye-catching doesn't necessarily mean visually stunning - it could include an effective headline or tie-in to current events. Design your content as well as your campaign.

Branding - If you are a nonprofit or corporation starting out on social media, know your brand. The same goes, of course, for traditional media, but it's remembered there a lot more often than online. Know your mission, vision, purpose, stakeholders and calendar inside and out. In design, emphasize your logo, brand colors and personality.

Beyond these elements, good design always considers the user experience and pass-on value.

What does good design mean to you? And, in this world of new and diverse media, how can it endure?

Social Media Challange: What I've Discovered

agardina — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:18:35 +0000

I've been taking part in the Social Media Challenge for just over a week. During that time, other participants have shared interesting blogs and intriguing posts, and my Google Reader reading list has doubled. Interestingly, I've not only added posts that fit the Challenge's requirements, but also other blogs that may be more popular, but somehow never made its way onto my RSS reader.

Here's some of the more interesting things I've discovered because of the challenge:

Reading other people's blogs really encourages you to write. When I was reading the same blogs everyday, I wasn't being inspired. The content was solid, but it was repetitive. Now that I'm reading a wide variety of blogs, I'm finding more information that I want to explore myself.

Catching up on your RSS feeds gets a lot more interesting when you're driven to comment. I added another level to my personal Social Media Challenge - before I shared or tweeted a post, I'd comment on it. This practice has made me read more critically and take part in more online conversations.

I may never read every blog relevant to my industry and interests, but I can read a lot of them - and there are a ton sharing great information, written by people who really know what they're talking about. Maybe colleges should offer electives in Blog Reading 101 in addition to English Lit. Just sayin'.

If you're taking part in the Social Media Challenge, what have you learned so far? If you're not, catch up on all the posts we've shared!

Is Mashable the CNN of social media?

agardina — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:19:38 +0000

CNN is one of the most-watched and most-visited news providers in the country. On TV, they provide round-the-clock coverage of news, entertainment and fluff. Online, they have access to video and articles on news, entertainment and, of course, fluff. The 24-hour news cycle emphasizes quantity over quality, with in-depth reporting falling to the wayside in favor of anything that gets higher ratings.

And that works for them. Viewers can complain all they want about biased reporting or shallow headlines, but, in the end, it's the responsibility of the viewer to be an active consumer of information. Don't agree with one reporter? Look for other sources online. Educate yourself. Cast a critical eye on any and all declarative statement you question.

This same idea applies to blogs and social media. Mashable, an online social media news source & educational guide, has over 2.3 million followers, fans and subscribers. They are frequently the first to break Internet news and rumors, and their links fill the tweet streams of almost every person on Twitter. Mashable provides great information & tools, but the danger of the 24-hour news cycle remains. Their top user lists are chosen by individual writers, articles dictated by newsworthiness and other priorities, and polls filled with responses from (obviously) biased readers.

There's an ocean of analysis and how-to guides online, beyond the behemoth that is Mashable. By being an active participant in the world of online information, you'll contribute more, learn more and build better and stronger relationships. Mashable is the CNN of social media - a great starting point and overview, but not a source you can count on in any situation, 100% of the time.

Need some suggestions for some new blogs to read? Check out the Social Media Challenge (#smchallenge).

"Have the Intern Do It" - Worst Case Scenarios

agardina — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:53:22 +0000

"Have the intern do it" - it's a phrase often uttered in nonprofits, and is perfectly fine in most cases. However, those 5 words should never be associated with your organization's social media campaign, and here's why:

Would you have the intern do a live interview?
Worst case scenario: Your intern might not be familiar enough with your brand, mission or crisis communications strategies. A follower on Twitter says something negative about your organization, maybe a negative comment about an issue you support. Your well-meaning intern responds, maybe using a choice word like "incompetent" or "rude", instead of constructively responding to the comment.
How it could have been prevented: Interns rarely receive the in-depth training that staff do. Developing a social media policy, to be executed by employees familiar with any conflicts your organization has, can prevent this type of negative interaction.

Would your intern serve as your official spokesperson?
Worst case scenario: New to the position, the intern writes a beautiful blog post, advocating for your cause. The problem? Your name isn't Metropolitan Animal Shelter. You're the Animal Shelter of the New York Metropolitan Area. Now you've got hundreds of hits from a new audience, and you're going to fight an uphill battle trying to get that awareness to the right brand. Plus, you're missing out on any search engine bonuses you could have gotten, and anyone sharing that link is passing on that small mistake over and over again.
How it could have been prevented: You could have your intern review the branding guidelines, or take a more proactive approach. Either review your intern's posts before they go live, or have content created within the organization - by someone who is familiar with your cause & message.

Look 6 months ahead.
Worst case scenario: In the case of college interns, they may only be with your organization for a semester. If the social media campaign has solely been in the hands of your intern for the past 4 months, you might not know where it stands, who the intern has connected with, or what to do once he or she leaves.
How it could have been prevented: Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. If you'd like to involve an intern or temporary employee in your social media strategy, by all means, do! The more ideas, the better, but keep in mind that when they leave, it's all up to you.

Interns are amazing assets to any non-profit organization. But if you wouldn't create an advertising campaign by "letting the intern do it", why would you do the same with social media?