Social network applications

While browsing through some recent news articles about how people use the Internet, I learned some interesting things. One study by the Pew Research Center has found that half of all adults in the U.S. now use social network applications. Another study by Wistia indicates that 64% of workers in the U.S. find video content compelling enough that they can't resist watching it at work - 42% even report watching it on their mobile devices in the bathroom! I shudder to think of what the implications are for productivity in the workplace at a time when we badly need to be stronger economically - but that's not the most interesting aspect of the findings to me.

Obviously many people find video content to be very compelling. Why is that so? The Wistia study shows that the #1 reason people are so drawn to video content is that it's easy to share - not what I would have guessed, but when you put that statistic together with the fact that half of all adults in the U.S. are involved with social media, it makes sense. The applications delivering the videos, such as Brainshark or YouTube, have built-in sharing capabilities that are very easy to use and the heavy involvement in social network applications means that there are lots of people available to share favorite content with.

If you own a web site, what does this information mean to you? I think you should add some video content to your multi channel marketing mix if it's appropriate - Webinar Resources can help you create, propagate and promote multimedia through many channels including mobile devices if you need guidance. I also think it's a good idea to make the other content on your web site easy to share. Stay tuned for Part II where I'll show you some examples of how to add social sharing capabilities to your web pages.

A new survey of 20,000 adults by BIGresearch shows that 13.2% own a BlackBerry device, 11.3% own an iPhone, 9.3% own a device running Android and 5.2% own an iPad. Among other things, these devices enable consumers to browse the web, view multimedia content, scan bar codes and QR codes, compare prices at the point of sale, download coupons and share information with their social networks. These are all intriguing possibilities for a business to explore as part of the multi channel marketing mix. But are the number of users of smartphones and tablet computers large enough to make the effort to cater to them worthwhile? At first glance those don't sound like terribly high percentages of users.

There is other data in the survey to consider. Perhaps not surprisingly, mobile device users are more likely than the general population to shop online. They are more inclined to research products online before making a purchase. And according to Gary Drenik, president and CEO of BIGresearch, "...mobile device owners are more likely than average consumers to give and seek advice on products and services."

The findings of this research lead me to conclude that campaigns designed to woo mobile users are likely to have a very good return on investment, and therefore are very much worth the effort! For example I've recently made a mobile-optimized version of my design portfolio. At Webinar Resources, we are developing a line of mobile-ready applications to support lead generation, multimedia content delivery, personalization and cross-channel communication. Here are a couple of examples of our mobile mix Mobile Replay and url shortener and QR code generator. We invite you to keep in touch with us via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or our newsletter to stay updated about our latest mobile offerings.

iStockphoto is a stock photo resource that I use frequently. When you complete a design that uses images from the iStockphoto collection, you are eligible to submit it to the Design Spotlight. The image I made to illustrate the concept of creating a webinar replay that can be viewed on a mobile device has been accepted into the Design Spotlight.

Mobile replays can be a great tool in your multi-channel marketing mix. Not only do they allow webinars to be viewed at the convenience of your audience, they have the built-in capability to go viral on social network applications. By including a guestbook, you can capture viewer information for effective lead generation.

Utilizing tools like iStockphoto gives you another source of valuable content that you can post and share with the community.  We continue to "fuel the conversation" at Webinar Resources with unique content creation, delivery and tracking solutions and services that drive customer aquisition.

Social media continues to gain in popularity. It is said that the decision businesses face about whether to add social media to their multi channel marketing now is like the decision to get a web site was ten years ago. You may have heard in the news recently that Facebook has overtaken Google as the most popular web site in the US. At the interactive marketing conference I attended last week, Connect10ns, Twitter COO Dick Costolo impressed us all with this statistic - every day Twitter adds 380,000 new users! Some corporations now employ dedicated social media staff - McDonald's has 9 workers just to handle customer relations on Twitter.

During the conference we learned about a community-centered online apparel store called Threadless. Members of the Threadless community submit t-shirt designs online which are then put to a public vote. Some of the designs are selected for printing and sold through an online store. Creators of the winning designs receive a prize of cash and store credit. Threadless was described as "being social before there was social media". I was reminded of another example of social media behavior from my own past before there were social network applications or even general access to the World Wide Web - Mail Art.

Mail Art began in the DADA era of the early 20th century and had a resurgence in popularity in the 1960s and beyond. It's not easy to describe but I would place it in the the conceptual art category. Mail Artists exchange art with each other on a one-to-one basis through the postal system, and also create collaborative works of art by mailing in pieces to a central aggregator, passing around pieces to each other that are added to in turn, or sending pieces in to group shows. Participants in shows and projects would usually receive something in return for their participation, such as a catalog, a printed collage, a special rubber stamp, or a commemorative "faux postage" or "artistamp" stamp sheet. For example some old Mail Art stamps of mine were featured in a artistamp show in Budapest, Hungary a few years ago and I received an exhibition poster by mail.

One of the things that makes Mail Art conceptual is the fact that it's not supposed to be sold, it's supposed to be exchanged, and participants in shows and projects do not pay a fee to take part, nor do they have to be professional artists with art world credentials. Some participate with the idea of transforming the art world, but whether that goal is important or not one of the payoffs for participating is the community aspect - it is a way of making "pen pals" all over the world, of being a part of shows in places thousands of miles away and collaborating with artists you'll never meet in person. It's common for Mail Artists to alter works created by others and pass them on - this is very reminiscent of today's digital content creators who "remix" YouTube videos, graphics, fonts and other electronic assets. In the pre-Internet days communities would form around major and minor photocopied 'zines that could be ordered by mail or picked up in shops that sell small press and "underground" publications. Now we are familiar with communities forming around web sites, on Facebook, and even with conversations guided by Twitter hash tags.

With the rise of the World Wide Web, my participation in Mail Art dropped off because my desire for community building, creative expression and collaboration with people in far-flung areas of the world has been satisfied in other ways, although other Mail Artists have embraced the web as a way to leverage their activities. Perhaps social media has had the spectacular successes that it has because social media applications cater to needs that are built deep into human nature. A recurring theme throughout the Connect10ns conference was the natural desire of your customers to express themselves and tell their story - your marketing efforts will be more successful if you provide your audience with an outlet to satisfy that urge.

A quick review of the 4 Planning Phases of Successful Events includes:

1. Phase 1: Planning
2. Phase 2: Pre-Event Efforts
3. Phase 3: Event Delivery
4. Phase 4: Post-Event Efforts and Outcomes

From the beginning of our webinar series on hosting more successful events I've been driving home that a successful event isn't just about "butts in seats." There can be larger, more targeted objectives you and your organization can reach with the right planning and execution.

I'm a firm believer that Planning and Pre-Event Efforts at the start of your event can make your event more successful and run more smoothly...but it's the Post-Event Efforts that not only can bring closure to the event but also can be your way of connecting in an ongoing way and measuring your ongoing success.

Your Post-Event Efforts can help you keep the ball rolling between you and your targeted audience. It gives you the chance to thank the attendees (event those who didn't' attend), share important points from the event you wanted to make sure they got out of it and provide an ongoing relationship builder that keeps you and them in contact in the future.

Whether it's audio only, video web conferencing or face to face meetings, your Post-Event Efforts are very similar. Depending on the goal of your events your post event efforts should be part of your customer acquisition process or a customer service effort to keep key customers. It could be about seeking more donations or educating donors on how to take better care of themselves. The event itself was a chance for you to connect and share valuable content.

After the event is over you can use multi channel marketing techniques to stay in touch with those who attended. Email, phone calls, direct mail, social networking applications, face to face follow ups and more are all tools you can use in your multi channel mix. Find out which channel(s) your attendees prefer and use that channel to follow up.

Thank those who attended, share resources used in the event, give them a chance to evaluate the event and provide future event ideas and stay connected with them going forward. Continue the connection you started before your event, furthered by your event and fuel the conversations with relevant follow up tools that will maintain and strengthen the conversations as you go forward.

Remember to keep in mind three audiences: those who came, those who wanted to come (registered) but couldn't make it and those who weren't interested. Each is an opportunity to follow up and each has their own set of priorities you can assign to them.

We've been using on demand presentation recordings of our webinars as a great follow up technique to our events. These condensed replays gives us something to share and talk about with our prospects and customers. We've even created more effective landing pages that display relevant and personalized content for each of the attendees!  We also have enabled "mobile replays" of the webinars that can be viewed on many smartphones.   What will be some of the more memorable post-event efforts you'll use?  We will soon give you the opportunity to contribute to this blog to "share your story".   In the meantime, feel free to post your comments to this blog.

Do you have another process you use to plan and execute more effective events? I'd really like to hear about them.

Events are just one of the many ways we can do business. Be sure to explore the multi-channel mix for more ways for you and your customers to be successful.

Peter Muir
President, Bizucate Inc.
www.bizucate.com
pmuir@bizucate.com

I've previously written a blog series on how to get the most out of your online content in which I focused mainly on technology and social media and how it can help leverage your content to a larger audience. You can also get more exposure for your content by thinking strategically about social network applications.

We all know about the social media applications that are meant for a general audience such as Facebook and Twitter. If you have a wide variety of hobbies and interests as I do, you may be aware that many web sites that cater to a niche audience engage in community building by incorporating social network applications into their web sites such as personal blogs.

I supply blog posts and articles for several web sites, a magazine, and two e-newsletters. When I'm deciding on what topic to write about, I often will choose subject matter that is appropriate for more than one channel. Here is an example: I recently joined Weight Watchers. The Weight Watchers web site includes an online community and each member gets a blog for sharing his or her thoughts on food, health, fitness and other suitable topics. I have been writing a blog series for the Route 66 Association of Missouri called Fit and Healthy on Route 66 in which I describe my experiences on hiking and biking trails on or near historic Route 66. It seems logical that Weight Watchers members might also want to read these, so I've been posting excerpts from my articles on my Weight Watchers blog with a link back to the full article on the Route 66 Association of Missouri blog site. With very little extra effort, I've gained another link which is always valuable, and increased the potential audience for my content.

Whatever it is you're trying to accomplish online, whether it's personal, business-related or both, growing your audience will help you reach your goals, so use your multi channel mix to seize opportunities to do so whenever you can.

Several years ago I started a web site called John's Modern Cabins News as a personal project. The purpose of this site is to help along historic preservation efforts on Route 66, on of my personal passions. To that end, the site contains preservation news, suggested actions, a directory of promotional resources, and a free directory for historic businesses on Route 66 to help them get more exposure and thus stay vital and open.

I've recently relaunched the site because I have added an online form provided by Webinar Resources to make it easier for business owners to send me their information if they want to be in the directory. To promote the relaunch one of the things I'm doing is sending postcards to businesses that I think would be appropriate for inclusion. For some of the businesses I've have to search online for their street address - while doing that I noticed something interesting.

Quite a few of the businesses I searched for have web sites, but their web sites did not always come up first in the search results. In many cases review web sites such as Trip Advisor were the first result shown. Why would review web sites be first in the search results over the businesses' own web site?

One possible reason is that the nature of review sites is that they have a lot of content that is frequently updated. Search engines are known to favor such sites. Also, the more incoming links a site has, the more search engines will like it. A high profile site such as Trip Advisor is likely to have a lot of incoming links, so in order for a site to rank above it, a number of incoming links are needed to stay competitive. You don't necessarily need more links than Trip Advisor, but you need enough for your incoming links plus other factors such as your title tags and site content to lift your site above the review sites.

Why is this important? Well, some of the reviews I read of the businesses I was searching for were not favorable. If someone reads a negative review before they even get to see your web site, that is bad news. There is no guarantee that the reviews are fair either. I read some reviews of businesses that I've patronized myself that in no way reflect my own experience.

Because you can't control what other people say about you, you have to take charge of your own online reputation. Search for your own business name if you haven't for awhile to see what people are saying about you. Be visible in as many channels as possible by strategically planning your multi channel mix. Make use of social network applications in addition to your own web site. Take advantage of every free link you can get. Push those review sites farther down the page so that people can at least get a good first impression of you before they read something negative!

The day of the event (DOE) represents a major influx of responsibility for both the organizer and the attendees. Organizers have to manage a myriad of variables to ensure a successful event from catering coordination to registration to setting up tech requirements, wrangling presenters and more. Attendees have fewer responsibilities but ideally they’re coming into the DOE with the desire to learn, network and/or do business. The multi channel marketing strategy focuses on distributing the traditional pressure of event days through the entire pre & post event campaign. Using the multi-channel approach can help make the DOE far less stressful and chaotic for all involved. Of course, planning & organization are both central to executing a successful event; here are some suggestions for managing the day of the event.

Begin at the very beginning. Before you plan or schedule the pre-event efforts consider what items you anticipate having on your “to do” list on the DOE. Then look at how you can distribute management of them in the pre-event stages so when you get to the day of the event there is less to worry about.

Examples

• Make sure you’ve set up a series of informational emails or a website for support staff and presenters. They should know what is expected of them; where to be at what time on the day of event, deadline for submitting, tech requirements for laptops and presentations, etc.
• If it is a large event like a conference, let attendees set their schedules early to establish presentation expectations and to cut down on people asking questions.
• Delegate the compartmentalized or smaller tasks, like catering and registration, to someone with fewer things to worry about on the DOE.
• Delegate the updates of social network applications during the event such as Twitter, blogging and Facebook updates.

Identify three main goals you have for the DOE. They should be tied to the larger goals of the full multi-channel campaign but focused particularly on the day’s events. Then make these three things your mantra. It will keep you focused and make decision making a little easier when you have already identified your priorities.

Examples

• To ensure attendees walk away with the information/material they came looking for.
• Make sure messages, observations and news from the event are captured for post-event newsletter/follow-up or to share with those who could not attend.
• Facilitate smooth running presentations to ensure everyone gets to present and/or learn.
• Help make networking as easy as possible for attendees and vendors alike. Assign a QR code to every attendee so they can simply scan to exchange information. Or, offer team with a local print shop to offer discounts on business cards so they have something exchange.

Maximize the multi-channel opportunity. Using new channels for communicating is just as relevant on the DOE as it is to support the pre & post-event variables. Keep in mind ways you can use them to create a more accessible and effective event

Examples

• Use SMS to send attendees a link to their event schedule on the morning of the event.
• Consider a live webcast or recorded podcast to share the event with those who weren’t able to attend. Webinar replays can be used as a review for those who attended as well as a customer acquisition process in your grand lead generation conference strategy.
• Place QR codes or Microsoft tags on presentations, collateral or exhibition displays to enhance attendee’s interaction with content.

To find out more about how to better use the multi-channel approach to events on the actual day of the event, tune into the June edition of Webinar Wednesdays, June 9th from 1:00-2:00 p.m. CDT.  Visit events.webinarresources.com/WebinarWednesdays to save the date and receive a reminder for the June 9th event.

And don't forget the May edition of Webinar Wednesdays on May 12th from 1:00-2:00 p.m. CDT. We will cover Phase 2: Pre-Event Efforts of Successful Event Planning.  Visit events.webinarresources.com/WebinarWednesdays to register for our May 12th Webinar Wednesday session.  You can view replays of past webinars at our Webinar Resources replay portal.

Peter Muir, president Bizucate Inc.
www.bizucate.com