Social Web Thing

Social Media weekly round up

Ben Cotton — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:00:41 +0000

Overview
This week I read a great blog by Justin Kistner who looked at Radian6 and how it is going to start integrating Webtrends and salesforce data into its offering. For those who are unfamiliar with Radian6, it’s an industry standard social media monitoring tool, but is going to be greatly enhanced with the ability to create, browse and hopefully close sales, as well as providing a whole load of analytics and web traffic data. All in all, it sounds like a pretty impressive CRM proposition.

1000Heads have made sounds about attempting to answer the million dollar question – how do you measure WOM? Whilst, little was given away in the post, I applaud anyone who seeks to improve social media and WOM measurement. It will also be a great piece of Intellectual Property for whoever manages to develop an industry standard measurement formula. E-marketer ran an interview with Ed Linde II which highlighted the millions of dollars IBM makes from social media, whilst Facebook scored incredibly low on a customer satisfaction survey, despite surpassing its 500 millionth member this week. I’ve also included an interesting post by Matt Cheuvront on the Y Generation.

Radian6 integrates Webtrends and Salesforce data
As I type this, I am getting ready to attend Radian6’s Rock Stars of Social CRM event. I’m excited for this event because they are announcing an integration with Webtrends and Salesforce. This is a big moment because it is the first vendor driven integration of social media monitoring, analytics, and a CRM, which are the core apps that drive the value chain of modern Enterprises. Yes I know this first paragraph is loaded with buzz words, so let’s take a closer look at what has me giddy like a school boy.

Getting to the heart of WOM ROI
This week I’ve been reading a timely article from McKinsey about WOM measurement which includes some interesting statistics. The article introduces the concept of ‘WOM equity’ which is described as ‘an index of a brand’s power to generate messages that influence the consumer’s decision to purchase’, and which is represented as the number of WOM messages multiplied by the average sales impact.

Case Study: How IBM Uncovers “Millions of Dollars” Worth of Sales Leads with Social Media
How successful can a B2B business be using social media? Fairly successful, at least in the case of IBM. We recently chatted with Ed Linde II, whose team is responsible for building Web assets to support the IBM.com sales channel and organic Web visitors, about IBM’s social media efforts and successes. He spoke about their Listening for Leads program, which he says has “uncovered millions of dollars worth of sales leads” so far, and is expected grow even more. Here’s a clip from the full interview available on eMarketer Total Access.

Facebook Among Web’s Worst in Customer Satisfaction [SURVEY]
The 2010 American Customer Survey Index conducted by ForeSee Results gave Facebook 64 out of 100 points in a customer satisfaction survey; that’s lower than any other business in its category. However, it’s not at the bottom of the social media heap; MySpace received one point less.

Use Gen Y Stereotypes to Your Advantage
What is the first thing you think of when you hear “Gen Y”? Almost unanimously, the first adjective that comes to mind is “entitled.” Yep, Generation Y is arrogant, conceited, ungrateful, and demands instant gratification. We know more than you, we’re better than you, so if you could just accept that, we’d all be a lot better off, and working together would be so much easier.

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How to protect your clients against cyber squatting

Ben Cotton — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:00:15 +0000

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been busy protecting clients from various forms of cyber squatting. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, cyber squatting is when someone uses the name of a brand online, often by taking a domain name, but increasingly by masquerading as an official source on social networks.

In order to mitigate against this, we always buy a variety of domains for clients, but as part of the planning process now have to think in terms of social networks and claim dozens of permutations of usernames that cyber squatters could use.

I’ve also had to be reactive after a recent client win by contacting Twitter to transfer a dormant account that used a copyrighted name. This is the other side of cyber squatting, where someone has already secured a vanity URL or Twitter handle incorporating a client’s name. This is an interesting scenario and both Facebook and Twitter have very clear policies on copyright infringement.

Whilst, this approach may seem somewhat overcautious, it has to become a routine part of reputation planning and management. By the time you wait for a crisis to occur, it will be too late. Someone out there will already be making a point at the expense of your client.

It has been interesting to see Facebook getting tough on cyber squatters which culminated in the closure of a page with 47,000 fans. Although, Facebook acted tough on this occasion, they reaffirmed to me that “a Community Page is not intended to represent the voice of a brand, public figure, or organization, but rather to serve as the best collection of shared knowledge about a topic.”

However, I understand that Facebook is in the process of enabling representatives of a brand with an official Page to claim Community Pages covering the same topic. This move will certainly ruffle a few feathers in the online world and may further damage consumer satisfaction, but it will most certainly keep brand managers happy.

As professional reputation managers it is important to demonstrate that we have planned for and mitigated against cyber squatting in order to prevent a repeat of the BP Global PR Twitter account, which will continue to haunt the oil giant for years to come, as a simple Google search for ‘BP PR’ demonstrates.

Whilst, prevention is always better than trying to find a cure, you can contact both Facebook and Twitter to resolve any issues around cyber squatting and copyright infringement.

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Social Media weekly round up

Ben Cotton — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 12:00:12 +0000

As part of my commitment to becoming a curator, as well as a creator of social media content, at the end of each week I will put together a round up of social media news articles and blog posts that have caught my attention, added to the debate, strengthened the business case for social media or otherwise proved insightful. You’ll be able to catch the social media round up on Social Web Thing every Sunday.

Overview
This week Old Spice stole all the headlines for their wonderful use of social media to engage and send tailored content to fans. This short burst of awareness raising activity has worked wonders for generating WOM around the brand, whilst they have won plaudits for the quick turnaround time in producing amusing video content. I have also included two stories about Domino’s Pizza and Ben & Jerry’s which really make the business case for social media and online engagement. In addition, Foursqare has redesigned it’s venue pages which will have implications for those in the industry, whilst Sunderland University student, Stephen Johnson wrote a great article in Behind the Spin magazine making the case for social media to be taught in higher education.

Old Spice: The Archetype of a Successful Social Media Campaign
Although Wieden + Kennedy had a very different aim than the homicidal “John Doe” character from David Fincher’s thriller Seven, this is probably what the advertising agency behind Old Spice’s latest marketing campaign must be thinking right now.

Domino’s UK Social Media Initiatives Help Increase Profits by 29%
According to Domino’s UK financial earnings report, the company has increased its pre-tax profit by nearly 29%, which equates to roughly $26 million. The UK pizza retailer attributes social media initiatives and its Foursquare promotion for the gains.

Ben & Jerry’s: A Bold and Digital Reality
It’s not every day that a client asks you to create something that is meaningful, innovative, creative and fun. Okay, with Ben & Jerry’s, it’s every other day. In keeping with Jerry Greenfield’s motto “If it’s not fun, then why do it” they have really outdone themselves this time.

Foursquare Tidies Up Venue Pages To Emphasize Tips
Foursquare, freshly flush with cash, is in the process of altering its service. They realize that the check-in model can only go so far, and they have to build utility on top of it. Part of that is changing the game aspect. Another part is the user-generated “Tips.” Today, those have been made a clear area of emphasis on Foursquare’s website.

Why learn social media at University?
The creation of Web 2.0 has changed the way people view and receive content online. It has given all internet users the power to self-create content which other users can view and contribute to.

Disclosure: Ben & Jerry’s and Domino’s Pizza are both Edelman clients.

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Facebook Fan Page Launched

Ben Cotton — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 11:00:13 +0000

As someone who helps clients manage their Facebook Fan Page and is constantly telling them how important it is to set their content free and make it ‘social’, I thought it was time for me to take some of my own advice – so I have created a Fan Page for Social Web Thing. For those who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of a Fan Page over a Group, the main benefits of a Fan Page are:

1. Fan Pages allow news and latest posts to be received via updates which appear in fans news feeds.
Importantly, feeds are social and can be interacted with in the form of ‘Like’, ‘Share’ and ‘Comment’. So people who have ‘Liked’ your page are also telling their friends – which is crucial for building fans and views from peer-to-peer recommendations. From a user point of view, this is a preferable method to receive communication, rather than via a ‘Message All’, which should be used sparingly.

2. Fan Pages are public, whereas Groups require a login. This means search engines can easily index Fan Pages.
This is significant and will have a positive impact on the SEO of Fan Pages, leading to more views and interactions to your Page. From a client and Page administrator perspective, this is very important in helping to grow your Page into a success.

3. Facebook Fan Page can secure a vanity URL.
This is a benefit for both user and administrator and it’s great to see Facebook making Pages more viewable, memorable and social – which in turn will lead to greater and more meaningful interactions. You can apply for a Facebook vanity URL here.

4. As someone who is obsessed by data and always looking for patterns, numbers and behaviour from which to draw insights, Fan Pages offer administrators some useful statistics.
Whilst, these are helpful, it should be noted that Facebook Insights are far from perfect and there often seems to be inconsistencies within the data. It would be brilliant for us data crunchers if Facebook manages to iron out these problems and provide something similar to the WordPress or Google Analytics offering.

5. Lastly, Fan Pages include links which are publicly displayed, so as someone who is utilising a Page to promote a blog, Social Web Thing’ s SEO benefits from Facebook.com linking to it.
This is mostly a secondary benefit, however, anything which increases search for both user and administrator should be investigated.

Whilst, this post focuses on the benefits of a Fan Page, in order to let people know about your blog, website or other digital embassies, it is best to create an ecosystem of social media platforms around whatever you are trying to promote. By this I mean, Social Web Thing is the focal point, supported by a Facebook Fan Page and my Tweets, the reader can also share this content via the same platforms, posts can be bookmarked on Delicious and sent by email to reader’s friends. In addition, Social Web Thing readers can sign up to receive posts via email, as well as add the blog to their RSS Reader.

This is the Social Web Thing ecosystem and most bloggers are unaware that they create a network around their blog to disseminate latest posts. Do think about how you promote your blog and website and how you can go about strengthening this ecosystem.

In order to create successful long-term relationships with readers, fans and customers, it is important to make content that is sharable, as well as making it easy for people to consume it in their favoured way. Do get in touch if you’d like more information on creating or managing a Facebook Fan Page or social media ecosystem. You can ‘Like’ the Social Web Thing Fan Page here.

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Councillor’s Blog Launched

Ben Cotton — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:16:14 +0000

Over the past six weeks I’ve been working with Councillor James Bond, the newly elected, Independent Councillor for the Headstone North Ward to launch his blog – Bond with the People.

Headstone North or North Harrow as it is widely known, is the area that I grew up in and James is well known for his sterling work at the local train station. When James stood for election as a councillor, it was heartening to see his campaign bring the local community together and engage in politics, which culminated in James ousting the Mayor of Harrow (apologies for the Foursquare reference). It was inspiring to hear James’ story of wanting to serve the community and follow in his late father’s footsteps. So much so, that I wanted to help.

Once James was elected, I eventually met up with him after his extensive induction period and explained how a blog could be a great tool for him to tell people what he’s up to as a councillor, share his thoughts and most importantly, create a place where local people can engage in conversation with their councillor – all of which I’m convinced will help generate trust.

James’ election campaign was very much a traditional offline campaign, however I think his communication can be enhanced by taking an integrated, on and offline approach – and his blog is one part of this.

James seemed delighted to receive the offer of help, so I set about securing the blog domain, populating it with content and have recently produced a blog policy and initial guidelines for James to follow. For the foreseeable future, I will continue to manage James’ posts, moderate comments and come up with more in-depth guidelines. It is important to point out that James will be writing all the blog posts himself, I’m merely introducing him to some tools which I feel he can utilise as a councillor.

Once you meet James, it comes across immediately how dedicated he is to the people of North Harrow – James in not a careerist or subject to party whips, he just wants to serve the local community. I’ve been delighted to get involved with politics at this hyperlocal level and try to help James communicate with his constituents.

Whilst, the world of politics at Westminster Village can seem miles, if not worlds away, it has been a pleasure to get involved in politics in this small way. It has been interesting journey for me personally, as I’ve gone from never having to voted to now assisting a local Councillor in a matter of weeks. You can find out more information about James from Bond with the People.

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10 Social Media #Epic #Fails

Ben Cotton — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:00:13 +0000

I’ve put together a presentation deck of 10 Social Media #Epic #Fails. It’s something I have been working on for a while and for the presentations I give, it often helps to include a few examples of people who have failed to grasp that social media is public, permanent and immediate – often with awful consequences. I have taken an employability focused approach and hope the deck highlights the fact that boundaries between private and public and personal and professional are being blurred.

Unfortunately, it was not too difficult to come up with this list. If truth be told, it could have been a top 100. Despite the large list, it still amazes me how few people are familiar with the privacy settings of their favourite social networks and the impact this will have upon their digital footprint and Personal SEO . I always urge caution and advise people not to say anything they would not like their grandparents to hear or alternatively, think along the lines that you don’t own your Facebook page, Mark Zuckerberg does.

In addition, I’ve decided to break with tradition and put this list into a presentation deck. I normally put together written lists, which generally prove popular in terms of views. However, we often tell our clients the importance of making content ‘social’ so it can be shared, commented upon and embedded elsewhere. So I thought I’d start following some of my own advice.

I’d be interested to hear your views on the deck and please do let me know of any other stories of people who have committed social media #epic #fails or indeed, great successes.

10 Social Media Epic Fails

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Landing a Job in the Digital World

Ben Cotton — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 08:51:52 +0000

I gave a presentation this week entitled Landing a Job in the Digital World at Leeds Metropolitan University. The deck focused on using an e-portfolio, blog and social media to record achievement, note experiences and network with industry professionals.

I was privileged to be asked by Iwi Ugiagbe-Green to speak at an institution where I spent 5 great years as a student and then employee. The audience was made up of current students and graduate trainees who either have an e-portfolio or are giving it some serious consideration.

Iwi is running a project called Pebble-pad PDA use Placement Pilot Scheme (PUPPS) which records the experiences of people using Pepplepad software. I’ve played around with Pebblepad before and it is a good piece of kit that enables you to make an e-portfolio quickly and easily. However, it does all this behind a closed (invitation only) door and lacks a vanity URL facility. So whilst, Peppblepad is a great tool for educators to record thoughts and reflect, it could be enhanced to improve its use as an employability tool.

Anyone who knows me well, will vouch that I’m fascinated by recording achievement and, generally, I feel universities should do more to encourage students to record their work and experiences – and help them to put this online. I’m adamant that this is the way forward and if done well, will significantly boost a graduate’s employability prospects. I was delighted to hear what Iwi was up to and she presented her e-portfolios which she has used for professional development.

As I mentioned in the presentation, graduates are forever being told ‘it’s a tough world out there’ and ‘you need to stand out from the crowd’, but are given very little specific guidance. So I included a fantastic example, by Laura Tosney who produced a video application for a job at 33 Digital – so good in fact, I’ve embedded it into this post. She knows how to stand out from the crowd – and she got the job.

It was also great to have a chat with Iwi and discuss where she sees e-portfolios being utilised at Leeds Met, as well as the other issues, such as personal privacy, client confidentiality and how much information do people really want to give away online.

I would argue that the horse has already bolted for the Y Generation and we all have extensive digital footprints. Instead, we should look to enhance not minimise our digital footprint with some Personal SEO techniques.

Below is a copy of the presentation – if you attended the session I would delighted to hear your feedback or any questions you may have. You can find out more of my thoughts and presentations on e-portfolios here.

Landing a Job in the Digital World

View more presentations from Ben Cotton.

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An Introduction to Social Media at #SDVision

Ben Cotton — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 18:29:04 +0000

I gave a presentation this afternoon entitled An Introduction to Social Media at the annual Supporters Direct conference. The event held at the smart IET was an opportunity for supporters up and down the country and beyond to come together and talk about sports club ownership. For those who are unaware of what SD does, essentially their aim is to bring about responsible, democratic representation for supporters at their clubs, often by buying a stake in them.

As a QPR fan, a club who like many, have sailed rather close to the wind in recent times, the concept of supporters owning part or all of their club has always interested me and I was only too delighted to help out after SD Communications Manager, Kevin Rye got in contact via Twitter.

As I mentioned in the presentation I think social media can be used effectively for people to congregate, communicate and mobilise around a cause or campaign, such as sports club ownership. I hope the session provided a useful introduction to social media and that the case studies and tools featured helped demystify some of the platforms out there.

I was also lucky enough to attend Dr John Beech’s session which looked at the tell-tale signs of a club whose finances are not as healthy as they proclaim. It was an insightful, humourous session and for those with an interest in football club ownership, I recommend checking out his Football Management blog.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed presenting and I must say it was an afternoon well spent, meeting passionate, committed supporters all in one place. There were many inspiring people in attendance and it is always somewhat humbling to meet those who freely dedicate untold hours to a cause close their heart. With regard to SD, it is great to see a democratic, co-operative, self-help movement that wants to garner grassroots support for genuine change and supporter representation. I look forward to working with them again in the future.

You can find out more about this year’s conference from the #sdvision Twitter stream. Below is a copy of the presentation – if you attended the session I would delighted to hear your feedback or any questions you may have.

Thanks is also due to my Edelman colleague and Watford supporter Matt Churchill for the hours of hard work he too put into the presentation.

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Research Internship at Edelman

Ben Cotton — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:00:57 +0000

Edelman has a paid internship available for somebody to work in Strategy One – the agency’s research division. The role is to ‘assist in the media research activities of client projects and expose current students or recent graduates to the field of media research and analysis.’

Whilst, I admit that I’m slightly biased, I think it would be a tremendous opportunity to experience the ‘other side’ of PR, namely the research, data crunching and analysis that helps inform strategy. It’s a vital part of what Edelman do and would be a welcome addition to any CV. In short, if you want to broaden your horizons and expand your CV – drop our HR team a line.

The deadline for applicants is 26 June 2010.

For more information on the role check out the Edelman website. There is also a range of other vacancies available at Edelman.

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Ben-cotton.com launched

Ben Cotton — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 11:00:41 +0000

I thought I’d let you know that my Lifestream, Ben-Cotton.com has gone ‘live’ after some initial beta testing. A lot of people have asked me, why have I produced this site, so hopefully this post will go some way to answering those questions.

To start with, anyone who knows me will recognise that I’ve always been an advocate of e-portfolios and am a firm believer that if done well, e-portfolios can highlight your work experience and skills, enhance your Personal SEO – and really boost a prospective employer’s first impression of you. In short, I think they can give you a real advantage at the start of your career.

However, I’ve been in the PR industry for a couple of years now and felt I needed something to reflect my current experiences, skills and thoughts. Basically, I felt that an e-portfolio showing work I’d completed in my final year at university, although had served me well, was somewhat outdated. I’ve always said that e-portfolios are a ‘live’ piece of work, something that evolves and this Lifestream is the simple evolution of mine.

I spent a lot of time thinking how should the next phase of my e-portfolio appear. I did my research and looked at what the industry thought leaders were up to, spoke to some colleagues, trusted friends and business people. From these observations and conversations I decided that I wanted a bespoke web presence that aggregated the social media platforms on which I was active, contained my latest thoughts, documented my experiences and importantly, would allow me to be easily contactable. The result was a Lifestream.

Once I had this vision, I enlisted the help of my good friend, Ash Mann to make this happen. Ash does a spot of freelance web work via his company Big Things and Little Things and he has brilliantly turned my requirements into a reality – as well as putting up with my many amendments along the way. It turns out Ash is also something of a WordPress whizz too, so i’ll be working with him a lot in the future.

Whilst, i’m currently very happy at Edelman, i’m sure this page will stand me in good stead. You never know what the future holds and in the long-term I may like to try some freelance consultancy work. Hopefully, this Lifestream will make a good first impression.

You can find out more about Ash from his blog, tweets and Linked In profile. He can also be contacted on ash[at]bigthingsandlittlethings[dotcodotuk].

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