Social Media was Made for Social Movements

Some may say that big brands need to stay out of the spotlight when it comes to controversial social issues such as gun control or abortion. Needless to say, certain brands and groups (cough, cough, NRA) need to do a better job of controlling their social presence, but many others know when it is right to partake in the situation.

Last week, as any Facebook enthusiast may have noticed, many users changed their picture to a red image with two parallel lines. The image of course represented marriage equality as the controversial topic moves up the chain in Washington. Certain big brands such as Bud Light, Smirnoff and others decided to join in. You know what I say? Good for them.

Earlier this week, I iterated to my fans that journalists need not be afraid to ask the tough questions. Well, brands need not be afraid to enter the heat of social movements. If you believe in something, what better place to show your passion and enthusiasm than Facebook, the social network everyone and their mother are on?

Brands, organizations and even government use social media to advance their social agenda all the time. In fact, in a touching presentation at WOMMfest Seattle, Derek Belt, social media specialists in King County shared the story how he use both traditional and social media to connect with participants and shine a light on Dec. 6, 2012, the night King County became the first jurisdiction in the country to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on voter approval. The Storify is all you need to feel the true meaning of the night. It is definitely worth a look.

We won’t know until later if the marriage equality logo will have any effect on the larger issue, but to those of you who felt compelled to act; right on. When you feel so passionate about anything in life and you have a channel to scream that enthusiasm, use it. And by the way, this applies to you brands out there as well. 

Don’t be Afraid to Ask the Tough Questions

As a content editor and curator, I get the privilege of talking to some of the brightest minds in the marketing industry. Afterwards, I get to put their words together into a thoughtful, and hopefully, educating story. This is by none by favorite part of my job and why I love what I do.

Last week, I was interviewing an upper-level marketer from 22squared, an agency out of Atlanta. Like any other interview, I prepared my questions beforehand. One that I was nervous to ask dealt with whether or not social media advertising is really worth it or if marketers just spend the money so they don’t lose their budget the following year. Keep in mind, social media advertising is a large portion of this man’s job, so I was somewhat stepping on his toes.

Nonetheless, as any good journalist will tell you, to get good answers, you need to ask good questions. This, my friends, was a good question and you know what; I got a good answer.

His response was, “not only can I tell you that it is worth it, but I can tell you exactly who is seeing your ad and who is not seeing your ad. Anyone who challenges me or asks what my ROI is, I say bring it.”

In the journalism world, that statement is quotable. He not only accepted the question, but was thrilled I asked it. It shows I am not afraid to challenge the status quo, even in an industry that shines on consistency, and my interview rewarded me with a personal answer.

Like any interview, the objective is to first teach your fans something new and second to shine a light into the mind of your respondent. Asking tough questions gives your readers an even closer look into interviewee’s head. This tactic could be questionable in some industries, but when it comes to marketing, the payout if well worth the investment. 

The Gift of Passover

This past week, we celebrated Passover, the Jewish holiday that recognizes our freedom from Pharoh and journey out of Egypt. I was fortunate enough to be invited to my sister’s in-laws where they hosted second Seder for over 25 people.

It was loud. It was long. At times, it was boring. However, the reason I say the gift of Passover is because of the family values that reminded me why this holiday is so special.

Each and every year, my sister’s husband and her in-laws both hold their own Seder at the same table. How you might ask? Well, when you have a table for 25 people, the two ends are not that close.

At one end of the table is Joey, my sister’s father-in-law, hosting the big Seder. At the other end is Zvi (sister’s husband), my sister, myself and their five children. The attentiveness these kids show there is unbelievable. Considering this Seder could last upwards of five hours and the oldest child is only twelve, that is saying something.  

The joy on these kids’ faces while hearing a story they also have heard hundreds of times is astounding. The fact they try to envision themselves leaving Egypt on the way to freedom shows how much they believe in G-d and the story of Passover. The sheer patience they have to withstand this process each and every year demonstrates their commitment to G-d.

While other kids are screaming, eager fathers are asking tough questions about the holiday, mothers are clearing the table, it’s as if this is the one place one earth everyone wants to be. To them, this family time, while also remembering the story of our ancestors, this is heaven. These are the people they don’t just live next to, or even with, but the people who they choose to spend each and every day with.

The holiday might bring extended family together, but in the end, they are already together because they choose to be. We should all be so lucky to feel the same way about our families.  

Our Obsession with Cats Shows Facebook is Not Your Cash Cow

Facebook is not a platform to sell your services or products and this point could not have been made clearer than with a recent photo I decided to share on WOMMA’s Facebook page last week. In case you missed it, here it is.

One week later, this image has garnered 107 shares and 87 likes. Since I have been at the helm of WOMMA’s social media channel (One year), this one image has been by far the most viral and engaging post I have ever shared, paid or organic. With all these platforms giving preferential treatment to the big advertisers, that shows something.

In the end, this is why I tell everyone and their mother that the social media giant is not made for selling your product. Consumers share and interact on Facebook so they can either feel part of the crowd or because they want to show off to their friends. That is why this image generated over 100 shares. Those 107 people wanted to be the one person in their group who could say they found the next viral image. To put it likely, they wanted to show off.

And who could blame them? With the rise of Grumpy Cat (if you haven’t heard of him, just check out any SXSW recap and he will undoubtedly be mentioned) and numerous other cat videos, why not connect our obsession for being socially connected with this feline?

Compare this post to any other WOMMA post related to the blog, an event, or even thoughtful images that link back to the blog and the engagement doesn’t even compare.

People do not go on Facebook to see what brands they like are doing to make money. Consumers go on Facebook to see what their friends and family are doing. If they happen to see something posted by a brand that would resonate well with their group of friends, they will share it.

So the next time you decide to share a link to your event page, think again. 

Klout Announced for Businesses: So What?

Two weeks ago, Klout, the online influencer platform, announced that they are rolling out their services for brands. Despite the announcement, which to be honest, got the exact publicity it deserved, brands shouldn’t put much thought into the change.

For those of you unfamiliar with Klout, the platform gives users (and now brands), a Klout score from zero to 100 based on their ability to spread messages across social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and so on. Klout also identifies users as “influential” on certain topics like technology and marketing.

The idea for brands to start using Klout is to help then identify these influential users and hopefully encourage them to spread the brand’s news, essentially, creating an advocate. 

According to their website, “the science behind the score examines more than 400 variables on multiple networks beyond your number of followers and friends. It looks at who is engaging with our content and who they are sharing it with.”

I give Klout credit for at least mentioning that the score has much to do beyond the numbers of likes and followers. To be honest, if it didn’t have that one line, I am guessing half as many users would be on the network. However, to me that is just not enough.

Let’s say I am the word of mouth marketing master of the world, but maybe, I don’t like Twitter. I choose to only spread my voice offline or with news articles on LinkedIn. Given the fact that I don’t share everything online or with a few of the major networks on there, my Klout score might be lower than expected. See something wrong?

The other issue I have with Klout is the fact that our entire society feels the need to attach a numeric value to everything we do. It’s sad enough that CMOs and Presidents still like to concentrate on the number of likes, followers, and pins, but now, some want to just put an overall number on their social media marketing. In the real world of marketing, companies and marketers do not do this. Ask any real thought leader in the marketing arena and I guarantee they put little if any thought into one’s Klout score.

Brands looking to find influencers don’t need a system like Klout. They need only the same tactic that has worked for hundreds of years and will continue to do so in the future. Build relationships with your fans. Listen to your fans. Find out what they like to read and then guess what? Read the same and garner a relationship with those writers. Instead of looking at Klout, look at your advocates.

There is no need to research influencers on platforms like Klout. Just ask the people who really know your brand. 

Turning the Unsexy into Sexy

There are many brands out there who will just say “people don’t care about talking to our company and as long as our products work, we are fine.” In translation, they are saying “we don’t care about social media because our product is unsexy and why waste our time."

One brand that refuses to buy into this losing behavior is Tide. Yes, I said Tide, the laundry detergent. Despite being a staple in households around the world, Tide is taking the home care brands to cleaners (well, maybe not the cleaners) when it comes to social media engagement. As my friends at Unmetric noted last week here, Tide has increased their Twitter followers by 43.5% in the last two months. Second on the list was Purex at 29.7%.

However, as any semi-educated social media professional knows, those Like and Follower numbers mean very little if people are not interacting with your content. Well, Tide understands that. Over 50% of their tweets are replies to their fans. That, my friends, is a product not caring about selling, but pleasing their fans.

The next question that should fall off your tongue is how do they scale it? As a big brand like Tide, how long does it take to respond to their fans? Tide cleans it up.

Tide is able to respond to about 60% of their tweets within 15 minutes. When the shelf life of a tweet is four minutes, that response time moves up in significance. Widening the gap, they respond to 80% within one hour. Whether it’s a premium listening program or a massive social team, they make it happen.

So what does this all mean? Does any of this activity lead to additional sales?

To be honest, we outside of Tide headquarters will never know. But let’s ask an obvious question. If it wasn’t, would they keep investing so much time into it? My answer is a resounding NO.

Unsexy does not give brands the excuse to back off online engagement. Unsexy does not give brands the excuse to not look into new ways of encouraging fans to spread their message. Unsexy brands, just like unsexy clothes, have the ability to turn their reputation around. All you need is a little bit of creativity and devotion to get the job done.

And yes, I made that reference with laundry. You can tell it is not my strong suit.

Facebook’s Relaxes Cover Photo Rules

As my loyal fans read on Tuesday, Facebook has been busy changing things up on the biggest social network out there. But some of the changes that didn’t get the recognition it deserved were the changes made to the cover photo.

Up until this month, users had many restrictions when it came to the most dominant image on your page. Some of those restrictions included:

• Images with more than 20% text
• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off”
• Contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section
• References to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

Now, all but one of these rules magically disappeared fromthe Facebook manifesto. The only restriction that remains is the first one; no cover photo may contain over 20% text.

Let’s ignore the fact that Facebook failed to announce these changes (rumors are they went into effect as early as March 6) and discuss what it means or does not mean for marketers.

Facebook is listening to the people who help drive up that stock price. Marketers know the ads platform is anything but perfect, yet many of us still spend the dough. Add in that fact that Facebook is almost always changing the Edgerank algorithm and you have some pretty pissed off consumers waiting to spend some cash.

Throwing us a bone, Facebook decided to give up the most dominant visual on every personal and professional Facebook page. This gives marketers more power and leeway to sell their brand. But should we use it?

I will say it now and say it again; Facebook is not a platform for selling, ANYTHING. It is a platform for cultivating and enhancing your relationships with your fans. Look at any brand page and the posts, images and videos that get the most action are the ones that have very little to do with the brand itself. The posts that get the most engagement are those involving actions that are encouraging and entertaining after sharing it with your friends. It’s the visual masterpieces that we all like to show off. It’s the videos that have people think “WTF was that person thinking.” It’s the poll questions we all can’t wait to shout at the top of the mountain. It’s the stuff brands don’t really care about, but do to show that they care about their Facebook fans.

Next week, I am going to prove this point even further as I look at one of the most popular organic Facebook posts in WOMMA history, but in the meantime, readers of this blog should realize that despite removing these restrictions on Facebook cover photos, marketers should change NOTHING. Do not sell to your Facebook fans. The most effective calls to actions are still useless if you are showing them to an uninterested audience. Chances are, your Facebook fans don’t really care about your product or service. They only follow you for the next deal or the next great Gangnam style video they can share.

Despite the removal of these Facebook cover photo rule, do not change your Facebook marketing strategy.