05 February 2009

Posted at 11:53h in blogging, broadcast, daniel oyston, engagement, response by

Today I'm going to talk about Daniel Oyston and his entry into the Australian marketing blogosphere. It started early last year when Oyster first sent feedback to the Marketing Today podcast. He followed that up with further comments over the next few months, adding value to the conversation each time. In October, he started his own blog. He was soon commenting on a number of different blogs, adding insight and thought to each post. Building up his online presence, he established networks and from that his own posts started receiving a lot of attention. He contacted me personally and we had a number of emails back and forth about beer and funny internet memes. He still sends me random shit he thinks I'll like. And he offered to host some images on a server he had access to. In less than six months, he's been able to do what I've been trying to for nearly two years. In just this short a time, he's blog is held in incredibly high regard. I believe that while his content is remarkable, his community driven approach and the rules of engagement he followed have attributed to his success. I think if you asked Oyster whether this was a strategy he set out to do or if this was just what he thought was common sense, logical and how a decent friendly guy would act, his answer would be the latter. Brands can learn a lot from this. The way Oyster first monitored the environment, began to put out feelers and ultimately engaged with the right influential people was superb. Brands should use this example when conducting social media response and broadcast....

23 November 2008

Posted at 14:57h in adspace pioneers, broadcast, julian cole, response, social media by

"Social media is more than just advertising", said Julian Cole at the Digital Marketing & Media Summit on Friday. So quotable that I wrote it down to blog about. I realised that without even intending to, I accidentally drew the line as to what is and isn't advertising when it comes to social media marketing, based on my two social media strategies. The first is Broadcast, which is in a sense advertising and marketing focused. The second, Response, however is simply customer service. Not everyone needs to market and advertise their product. But everyone should be engaging in and developing good customer service....

15 October 2008

Posted at 20:37h in bloggers, broadcast, facebook, social media, youtube by

After identifying two approaches when it comes to social media marketing, yesterday's post discussed the first strategy of Response. The second strategy, discussed below is Broadcast. Above the line is from marketer's point of view. Below it, is from the consumer's. Produce Before anything, the marketer must firstly produce content. Ideally this should be of something remarkable and with a high social currency value. This could be a video, Facebook application, podcast, blog or any even a press release. Publish In order for the content to be seen it is published on sites such as YouTube, Blogger or Facebook. In some case a microsite can be as effective. Ensure the barriers of viewing are low and that the content is easily spreadable. This can be done through a number of means such as allowing embed links for videos or giving consent for consumers to mashup your content. Seed Seeding your published material should not be done in an interruptive manner. Spamming is definitely not an option here and one step wrong here could ruin a whole campaign. It is vital that this is done in a way that adds value to a conversation, do not seed where you are not welcome or even encouraged to do so. And most importantly, be transparent, open and honest. Pull New media is not about pushing content onto consumers who don't want it. Ideally you want them pulling it from you. The Internet has allowed this to become a easy and automated process with technology such as RSS, email newsletters and even YouTube subscriptions. After seeding the content, consumers should have the option to subscribe to a feed or service. This should be consented and with the ability to unsubscribe. You know those consumers who sign up to your feed will be among the most loyal and passionate. Spread Once the consumers are pulling your content, it will begin to spread. Buzz will be generated and depending on the medium you might even some get some consumers producing user generated content. Blendtec used this approach in October 2006 and it continues to remain a success with over 114,000 subscribed users on YouTube. If I ever decided to get a blender, I know which brand I'd purchase. If you're interested, also take a look at Julian Cole's Social Media Marketing Framework and Laurel Papworth's definition of Social Media. Be sure to check out my other approach Response. Please feel free to offer any thoughts or critique. ...