@akaalex1586 I am on the East Coast this weekend:otherwise I'd definitely be there. Next week! I'll try and get my girlfriend to go though. in reply to akaalex15866 hrs ago
Guess who just had a birthday - YouTube! The video channel that has established itself as the ’standard’ when it comes to watching videos online, announced there 5th birthday, and that the platform has exceeded 2 billion video views per day.
As part of its 5th Anniversary, YouTube is launching the YouTube 5 Year Channel to help celebrate its story and retell the history of YouTube and how it first began. This is all part of a larger campaign just launched, “My YouTube Story” , where users can submit their YouTube story and explain how its community has impacted their lives. Documentary filmmaker, Stephen Higgins, has been assigned the task to help pull all these moments together on the channel.
It’s quite amazing what YouTube has become. In just five years time, it has more than 2 billion video views per day, nearly 1/3 the world’s population. In addition, there is more than 24 hours of video uploaded every minute to the site, every day! Also on the YouTube 5 Year Channel, you can see an interactive timeline of the key moments in YouTube’s growth - starting at the beginning, back in 2005.
What do you think of the new achievement, has YouTube made an impact on your life?
Internet video has changed the way we consume online media, with video watching have evolved in just 5 years with YouTube, we are still going through the juvenile moments, and most marketers are still trying to grasp how to properly use video in their marketing channels.
Justin Foster, Founder and President of the Video Commerce Consortium, and
Co-Founder and VP Market Development at Liveclicker, said “any retailer that is unable to, on a product level, drive conversion rates up at least 25% through the use of video, is not implementing video effectively.”
Recently, eMarketer.com released a study that estimated 66.7% of US Internet users—147.5 million people—are watching video online each month. By 2014, that figure is forecast to rise to 77% of Internet users, or 193.1 million people. In the same period, online video advertising spending will surge from $1.4 billion to $5.2 billion.
Surely there will be quite a bit of experimentation in 2010 with online video, but if you are not currently using video in your marketing programs - there could be a wide loophole you are currently ignoring.
When it comes to online video, Facebook always seemed to be one step behind the usual online video giants…not anymore! According to Nielsen’s latest VideoCensus numbers, Facebook has rose to No. 3 behind online video giants Hulu and YouTube in terms of total streams.
Facebook jumped from No. 10 last month - leap-frogging the likes of MSN, ABC Television, Fox Interactive Media, and Yahoo! The report said Facebook generated more than 217 million streams in October to more than 31.5 million unique viewers - this is up from 110 million streams to 23 million viewers in September.
As fast as Facebook has grown in the past year, the online video viewing aspect was never something brands, nor advertisers really drove too much interest to. However, this could open up a door to change. Facebook actually had more than double the number of unique viewers Hulu had for October - but do remember, Facebook caters to the shorter and more personal videos, as compared to TV show length videos that flood Hulu.
Facebook began their venture into large-scale video streaming when they partnered with CNN to present the President Inauguration in January, then opened up another live streaming event with the NBA All-Star Game in February - both events drew a high level of engagement across Facebook.
More recently, the Foo Fighters in October, held a live concert that was streamed across Facebook, Livestream and the iPhone, and delivered 2 hours and 45 minutes of their greatest hits to more than 150,000 viewers around the world. The video drew 440,000 total live streams, with a max of 20,000 at any one time.
Clearly Facebook is making their platform more friendly from a video streaming perspective, think what could of been from an advertisers’ standpoint if the Foo Fighters’ record label was to try and monetize that almost 3 hour long show…exactly. On top of that, the concert trended on Twitter at #2, (#1 was Halloween) and it was also #1 on Digg.
Music has not been the only source of featured video for Facebook, the early premier of the NBC (and Hulu owner) show Community was debuted through Facebook on the NBC Fan Page.
Overall, the number of total U.S. video watchers dipped to 138.6 million unique viewers from 139.3 million in September. However, the number of total streams rose to 11.2 billion in October vs. 11.02 billion in September. And the number of streams per person was up to 81 in October, compared to 79.1 in September, and the time spent per viewer was up to 212.5 minutes in October, compared to 195.2 in September.
Social media is still a fairly new type of marketing tactic; it requires thought, proper leadership, planning and typical branding practices that go along with setting up any type of marketing plan. However, it is still a form of media that can feel an extremely negative backlash when campaigns go bad, more so than any other type of marketing campaign in the current age.
Let’s dive right in…do you recall when Dominos’ employees posted a video to YouTube of them doing unsanitary things to customers’ orders on camera. This one video went on a viral roller-coaster, and almost destroyed the brand overnight. It took many apologies and a strong effort by the CEO to speak to fans directly, using social media channels as his outreach tool. Almost immediately, a company-sponsored video was posted to the Dominoes YouTube channel that showed the CEO apologizing to the public in a very informal, candid approach.
It is moments like this that still add shock value to what social media encompasses. Triumphs and great successes in social media can be met with cheer and joyful praises when everything goes in a positive direction – where social media fans and followers triple overnight and bloggers pick-up your campaign like it was just mentioned on Oprah – these are the true victories of social media. However, one wrong move, one video, one comment, one posts that might send the wrong message, no matter the origin, can tear away your sanity and drive your campaign and brand through a wall overnight. All the blood, sweat and dollars used to guide your brand into social media bliss were just flushed away by that video someone posted, that comment that went up by mistake, that message that was taken the wrong way – social media can drain you the same way it might make you a star.
Because of the sensitivity surrounding social media, everything is not always ‘sunshine and lollipops’. Companies traditionally understand the value of crisis management, but as gossip and complaints can spread through social channels faster than the eye can blink, this new interconnectedness of consumers and complaints has brought about a renewed importance in crisis management – social media style.
Let’s use another example in crisis management, on August 13, 2008, a video was posted of a Burger King employee taking a bath in a kitchen sink of a restaurant. Within a few days, the video was viewed more than 800,000 times on Break.com and YouTube, and was picked up by major news outlets, both on and offline. The number of negative impressions that was generated by this one video was equal to many months of traffic to BurgerKing.com.
Burger King responded through traditional PR channels, talking to reporters and sent an email to news outlets that said:
“Burger King Corp. was just notified of this incident and is cooperating fully with the health department. We have sanitized the sink and have disposed of all other kitchen tools and utensils that were used during the incident. We have also taken appropriate corrective action on the employees that were involved in the video. Additionally, the remaining staff at this restaurant is being retrained in health and sanitation procedures.”
Their response was sufficient, but could have been delivered with a more personal approach and to a wider audience had they explored the social media channels as a additional outreach tool. Instead of just informing consumers with a positive response in traditional media, they could have done a better job to inform consumers who are exposed to the information in social media by pushing across a message with their own video response. Despite the fact that they told the traditional world of their response, consumers are still going to see the disgusting videos online through YouTube and other video channels – wouldn’t a company-created video response help alleviate the stomachs of those who might just fall upon the original video on YouTube…I think so.
Agreed, a positive, company-sponsored video won’t get as much play, nor be as viewed as often as the scandalous video would be, but by responding to the situation, it could have increased the possibility of reaching consumers where it truly mattered. So when someone goes to search for “Burger King sink”, your favorable and more informative video would be tagged with similar titles, descriptions and keywords as that unfavorable video – creating a quick reactionary tool that allows that video viewer to see the truth.
In an age of social media, it is best to think about fighting fire with fire when it comes to managing a crisis within social media. Press releases and emails to TV and print outlets are good and necessary, but won’t drive as much authority and interest as a social media driven response. With the speed of how quickly the viral age is turning, it’s important to understand that the world is moving at a much different pace then it used to – it’s time to keep up with that.
Becoming a star on the Internet these days does not seem as far fetched as it once might have been. Social networks have become a ubiquitous tactic in helping connect individuals with family, friends, and strangers alike. And over the past several years, a number of those random individuals have become overnight sensations – all thanks to the Internet.
Do we all remember Tay Zonday? After his composition “Chocolate Rain” became an overnight Internet sensation in July 2007, garnering more than 40 million views to date, this Minneapolis grad student went from no one to someone, in mere seconds.
He has appeared on the Opie & Anthony Show, G4TV’s Attack of the Show!, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Lily Allen and Friends, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Maury where he performed Chocolate Rain on national television just three months after posting his video to YouTube. He made the front page of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, the Toronto Sun, Chicago Tribune, Star Tribune, People magazine, and even has appeared on CNN for a televised interview. He’s made appearances on Fox News, and even made it on to an episode of South Park.
And that’s just the beginning of it! Singer John Mayer mimics Zonday’s keyboard riff with his guitar in concert regularly. Even Green Day drummer Tre Cool recorded a cover of Chocolate Rain, which he posted to YouTube. He’s even been mentioned in episodes of The Office, 30 Rock and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
And this is from a YouTube video, a YouTube video!? Think of it, one day a college student decided to sing some strange, yet catchy song, records it, and ends up becoming an overnight star. Comedy Central, Dr. Pepper, Intel, the rock band Weezer, NASA, Warner Brothers, and BBC have paid Zonday to appear in a variety of promotions.
Zonday is just one of many YouTube celebrities who happen to have corporate sponsors, and are paid for product placement in their videos online. Some have even quit their day jobs or changed careers to accommodate their YouTube filming schedules. And a handful of individuals are also official “YouTube Partners,” meaning YouTube cuts them a share of ad revenue.
Some might think of this notion as absolutely foolish, some might think of it as a form of humble genius – nonetheless, they are stars, overnight sensations that have proven their worth in numerous inescapable maneuvers.
Those mentioned above hold our deserved scrutiny, but they are from years past. Ergo, who shall we take notice of now in 2009? Who will be the next Tay Zonday to speak highly of? - Leaping on to the national stage and then slipping back into anonymity, this seamless performance seems to act as a contagious flu anyone might catch.
And in 2009, only can a deceased cat, a 48-year-old Scottish woman and Dominos pizza employees have so much in common. For just a brief second, we read, watched and spoke about these individuals at some point - all thanks to the Internet, and the instant-celebrity, be it a person, video or website might deliver us.
Drum Roll Please.
Here are just a few of those viral sensations that have struck 2009 in more than just simple terms: (some personal grading was also applied here based on impact)
Keyboard Cat
This sensation began with a video clip of a decade old cat appearing to play the keyboard. Add in a video-savvy 22-year-old to the mix, and marry that clip with another of a person falling down an escalator – you have stardom my friends.
This one video attracted the attention and interest of millions, including comedian Stephen Colbert. The AP reports Brad O’Farrell, syndication manager for MyDamnChannel.com in February 2009, put the keyboard cat into motion. Since that point in time, hundreds have taken the keyboard cat clip and combined it with a video clip of an embarrassing accident – the result is absolutely hysterical in some cases. The keyboard cat’s (aka Fasto, who’s said to be long dead) performance is meant to play the person “off the stage.”
This is a great example of how users can take a moment someone creates, and ‘recycle’ the content on their own to produce user-generated content that allows users to decide the hilarity behind who the keyboard cat will “play off” next. Rating: A+
Susan Boyle
If you have not heard of Susan Boyle, chances are you’ve lived in a cave for the past 6 months. Her melodramatic tale began as a 48-year-old reality show contestant for the U.K. reality TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.” When this very sweet, and very unassuming individual belted one of the finest versions of “I Dreamed a Dream” for what would eventually be the world, never did she see the stardom marching her way. Camera crews and interviews on several major news broadcasts, including the NBC Today Show – caught Boyle off-guard and soon she was thrown into a newly found fame courtesy of the Internet.
And even though this unemployed Scottish church volunteer did eventually lose the contest, the online video of her debut performance was downloaded more than 200 million times, and had the paparazzi camped outside her home, and had Oprah and Larry King begging for interviews.
Rating: B+ (Sorry, she lost…can’t give you points for that.)
25 Random Things About Me
This 2009 e-mail chain-like fad fascinated Facebook users and took them to another level. Chances are if you are on Facebook, at some point you saw this pass into your inbox. And you either loved or despised the forwarded message, reluctantly giving in or galloped to quickly toss into your trash bin. The overall point of the fad was to share 25 random things about yourself, and then forward it to 25 other Facebook users.
PC World Magazine estimated that more than 5 million motions of the chain letter forwards populated Facebook pages in just one week. The fad grew to such a massive following; a Facebook user spoofed it with a “25 Things I Hate About Facebook” video. Facebook quickly followed up with the user, Julian Smith, and worked with him on other videos.
This 2009 sensation had a prolonged spike in mainstream media, and did help Facebook further its popularity. Rating: A
Dominos Pizza Videos
In May, videos of Dominos pizza employees violated public health laws when they decided to have ‘fun’ with people’s food while preparing it and recording the entire segment on video inside the Dominos pizza kitchen.
Their antics, which eventually made it to YouTube, sparked a PR nightmare for Dominos pizza, where the company made a public apology from the CEO online via YouTube.
This drew the eyes of several million people, damaging the brand greatly overnight. But, like any other Internet sensation, these moments are short-lived, and what was once a wildfire, seems almost like it never happened.
In the end, an interesting study was done by MediaCurves.com, where they obtained American’s perceptions of the event’s apology, as it revealed that 65% of respondents who would previously visit or order Domino’s Pizza were less likely to do so after viewing a “prank” video. The results can be seen here
Rating: B-
Runners Up:
The Obama Puppy: The moment President Obama promised his daughter’s a puppy, the world had no choice but to care. Bo, the Portuguese water dog eventually made his way to the White House and the ‘online’ world went into a frenzy. Online polls, kennel associations, blogs, and users across all social platforms scratched and clawed to want to help the Obamas pick the breed. Rating: B
The AIG Bonuses: When the world found out that $165 million was paid out in bonuses by insurance giant AIG, the world fought back. Both the public and government officials were outraged by the event of a crumbling company to release bonuses of this size after receiving more than $170 billion in taxpayer funds to stay afloat. As in the case of the Dominos Pizza event, this saw a large spike, then quickly bottomed out and lost interest. Rating: B+
Conclusion.
There is one interesting point about viral sensations that strikes me, the time involved. People seem to obsess for a short period of time, and then poof…it’s off to the next ‘hot’ thing. In this tiny village we all live in, there is nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, nowhere anyone won’t find you. The Internet, in an exceptional way, has transformed our lives into ‘live’ events. We can record, we can tape, we can see what others are doing and transmit that event quicker than ever before, to a stage where the entire world can view. Some might argue this and describe our ‘personal space’ as being lost and violated – It’s hard to disagree. But, in reality, it has been, and apparently we are OK with that. There is a reason we share our lives on the Internet with both friends and strangers, why each of us try and climb the plateau and look over to see who might be looking up at us on occasions. When taking this into perspective, it’s all relative, whether your Joe the Plumber or a big brand like Microsoft – there is point to all of this madness. You want to see me, and I want to see you. We might be trying to play those subtleties off on occasion, but in the end – why fight it? Enjoy the self-absorption, swagger with the best of them and remember, narcissism will always get you somewhere in this world.
When it comes to social media marketing, what isn’t hot these days…Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace…the list keeps going. And when considering using these social branding channels, these aren’t just another set of marketing toys to play with, remember, these are your brand’s identity. And with hundreds of millions of people scouring these sites for information daily, your connection with a potential customer needs to be seamless.
One aspect of any social media campaign that should be approached is to connect the dots within your marketing channel. There are a number of brands that dive into social media with a lack of experience in launching within the space.
So, let’s put on a little scenario. Brand A has product X and creates a Facebook, Twitter and YouTube page. They take the time to pamper the process and create lasting value behind these pages, through effective videos, messaging, images, and interactive content that brings value to the brand. Excellent!
Now, next question: How are you sharing this content with your users?
Send out email blasts
Integrate the link within your email signatures
Run an online media campaign around it
Develop a PPC strategy for it
Link the channels to your blog
Integrate with direct mail, pamphlets, & brochures
But, what haven’t you done yet?
Connect the Dots.
When building a social media strategy, it is crucial to connect a brand website with external social media properties. There are simple and advanced ways to do this:
1. Place simple calls-to-action on the homepage
This allows users to have a stronger connection to any social properties. A user’s relationship with your product hinges on these particular moments. We are opening a door here by allowing users to quickly share and disseminate content across their own personal networks.
Allowing this opportunity for a user sets a clear goal for them. First, they are not confused by the ‘impostors’ that may be lurking on the web. These are the unofficial channels of a product, many of which exist. These channels have unclear and more than often, incorrect information listed - which hurts the brand’s reputation in the end.
2. Build an Online Community Channel Within a Channel
This is a bit more work, as it requires building a channel on your website that captures the true meaning of all your social networks. This could include a live twitter feed, a Flickr gallery, calls-to-action that connect your Facebook, MySpace, Blog, etc. This builds a user’s confidence about the brand, and removes any falsehoods that might exist in the social space otherwise.
By building in this access to the social properties for users, we build the relationship from a more personal connection. We’ve eliminated the falsehoods that might live within a user’s mind, and connect users with accurate and efficient channel sharing capabilities.
This stems from an idea called relationship management. Companies often think of how to effectively build awareness to their social channels, grow their fans, followers, friends, etc. This is often part of what is coined a Phase I build-out for any social media program. Included in a Phase I build-out is an integration strategy, and connecting the dots between social properties and a brand website, often done during this phase - is a must-do.
I’ve seen the mistake more than often where brands build-out social channels, but fail to harness the conversation where they already receive the most traffic - their very own website.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about social media or just online marketing general.
Late last week, our team at Overdrive Interactive released the first version of the Social Media Map. This map is designed to help marketers and random people alike view the components of the social media landscape and determine how it can be best leveraged for their marketing or personal branding needs.
“We know how complex and overwhelming the social media landscape can be,” said Harry Gold, CEO of Overdrive Interactive. “We wanted to map it all out, so that marketing professionals can use it as a guide to what we believe are the most important social media tools out there. The power of social media is growing exponentially by the day, and now is the time to harness it.”
The map details the ‘key’ social media websites that Overdrive believes you should know about. As a key component in putting that list together - I can’t stress enough the importance of what we did with this social media map.
Our efforts to bring you the most up-to-date social media strategy for you company is key in our mission of social media branding. You have all heard me talk in the past about various websites that come and go, and the social media websites that seem to be flashes in the pan - but remember, they are all relevant in someway. They are helping us shape society on the Internet, and the way people, brands and identities communicate with each other.
Think about the various social engines that are present in the social community; micro-blogging, social bookmarking, groups, life-casting, travel, wikis, B2B social networks, blogs, and more! Many of these have become key points of interest in your daily Internet life, and many of you might still be wondering what certain websites do, and how you can utilize them. That is where this social media map comes into play - for you to see what type of ‘expressions’ on the web you might be curious about, and how you can get started involving yourself in them.
Soon, we will have an interactive version on the web - so stay tuned! Although for now, head to http://www.ovrdrv.com/social-media-map to download your copy today & take part in the revolution!
I came across a viral branding website yesterday for a popular television show on HBO, Flight of the Conchords. The TV show is about two men that live in NYC doing sketch comedy and singing their comedic folk songs inside a once a week half-hour show that looks at the everyday happenings of the two main characters, Bret and Jemaine
The idea.
Take a concept of the brand and distinguish it as a ’sensation’. I know that might sound complicated - but it’s really so easy, and I don’t understand why other companies aren’t utilizing their ‘usable’ assets for something similar.
This is exactly what the Flight of the Conchords are doing with their new micro-site - “Lip Dub Video Fansterpiece.” The concept is to learn the lyrics of one of the songs the two main characters sing, and then you are supposed to videotape yourself lip-synching the song, and then upload it to the website - where you might be added to a final “Fansterpiece” that will air on HBO. This content is being advertised only on social channels, and is completely viral - meaning this is not having any media or TV dollars spent on the campaign.
The contest was launched in mid-November, and will last until the new season of the show starts in mid-January.
Simple. Simple. Simple.
I can’t get over how simple this is, but how effective it has become. They don’t give away any lavish prizes, you don’t win a trip to any special destination or big lump sum of money - just about 10 seconds of a small amount of fame.
At the same time, they do a great job of implementing bookmarks or sometimes referred to as chicklets. These are the type of calls-to-action that include the ability to post the “contest” to Facebook, Digg, Twitter, Delicious, and you can also email to a friend. These are all tactics in “spreading” the word-of-mouth further into the social networks.
The video service they are using is YouTube, making it ‘free’, as well as very viral! This allows HBO to spread their contest through the social channels with little to zero promotion on their part, which was their full intention.
Statistics.
Since the website launched in mid-November - the main website where they utilize the videos, the YouTube channel that was created for the contest - has seen nearly 8,000 views since the project launched on Nov. 13. I know those numbers are not monumental, but you have to think about the ‘trickle’ down effect from this contest alone.
On the microsite, you also are able to access the Flight of the Conchord’s Facebook and MySpace pages. Their current Facebook page has a more than 245,000 fans, and they have a little over 25,000 friends on MySpace. These channels were setup well before the contest started…but both channels have seen an increase in activity in fans/friends since the middle of last month.
So What?
Well, I tell you this information because it’s important to consider the outreach of a ‘viral’ campaign, such as this one, and what it can do for a brand. Chances are, many people are going to submit videos to try and appear on the channel, and many more people may just watch the videos other people create. Either way, their creating a ‘buzz’ about the show and the new season, interest of not only current fans, but new fans of the show are found through the ability of allowing others to easily spread the contest into the social content networks, such as Digg, Delicious, Twitter, and so on. They attach links to the show’s page on the HBO website, as well as create easy access to the show’s MySpace and Facebook pages.
Through a viral campaign like this, you should explore your brand further to see what kind of similar outreach you may be able to do. This is social media branding 101 friends - don’t take something as small and ‘funky’ as this to be something silly - when in all honesty, they spent next to nothing to engage new fans and current fans of the show - to stay tuned to the new season, maybe buy the DVD, purchase some apparel, or some other Flight of the Conchords related materials. It’s genius.
The point is - you need to think about social media branding if you have not already. Agreed, for some brands social media might not be the way to go - but as they say so often - “don’t knock it before you try it.”
Chances are, I think it will.
For more information, and if you have any questions on viral or social media branding - feel free to contact me @ nicholas.cifuentes@gmail.com
You always knew it was going to happen eventually – colleges and universities nationwide using social media to find new students. Looking for that edge to find the top candidates, schools are reverting to social networking sites, message boards, online video and podcasts to bring the talent!
It makes a great amount of sense to do such a thing. You have to go where the audience is, and with millions of people going on social networking websites daily, it’s only obvious to attack such a market.
I used to be a college student, and working in social media, sometimes feel like I still am – but that is the medium where you KNOW students will go daily. There is less chance they will open a college/university email, newsletter, mail brochure, or go to high school college fairs – chances are – you will absolutely find them on Facebook.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling said that nearly 29 percent of colleges use blogs as recruitment tools, while the percentage of colleges using online chat rooms jumped 12 percent in 2002 to nearly 35 percent in 2006.
Alliant International University recently ran a Facebook ad for its Center for Forensic Studies. The ad targeted users with bachelor’s degrees in psychology that watched the show “Criminal Minds.” And because Facebook allows you to target users in ads using the specific information they list in their profiles, such as favorite TV shows and education – this allows advertisers to target very specific users.
Through the ad, Alliant asked users to take an online quiz to find out how much they knew about serial killers. The answer page gave them the choice of joining the forensic program’s Facebook group or linking to the program’s home page.
When all was said and done, almost 5,000 people took the quiz and nearly 500 of them made it all the way to the how-to apply page on the university website.
Now, some experts have said that allocating too many resources, (aka $$$$$), to social media efforts does not prove its return. I beg to differ – not that I have evidence to prove such a statement, but based on the basic philosophy behind social media and its effect – clearly there is only a win-win situation involved here. Such as this, if your going to establish a blog network to promote recruiting – make sure your website is up to par with what you are doing on the social media side. The last thing you want to do is have a kick-ass blog, and then turn students to a poorly built college/university homepage.
If you are going to operate podcasts and video through places such as iTunes, YouTube, etc…make sure you try and implement that technology on your regular website as well. This is where branding becomes an issue – and a possible students views the entrance page on the blog, video, or podcast area as great, and then quickly ‘bounce’ as soon as they reach your regular website.
One example of a college website that does it well, in terms of how their ‘regular’ home page/ entrance page looks is Bryant University in Rhode Island. They successfully integrated a ‘tour’ entrance page, in addition to their normal homepage, that uses their current students into a ‘video-friendly’ format that ‘pops’ in terms of functionality and is useful for actual information necessary for a student to make a decision – taking them to the ‘regular’ admissions home page. Schools should consider this outline when thinking about organizing their recruiting approach.
