Marketers Urged to Keep Hot Topics on Social Media Sites
Harnessing what people in cyberspace are saying about your company or product to achieve your objectives was a recurring theme Monday at the one-day seminar Advertising in Social Media in New York.
But unfortunately, the only company that doesn’t filter out negative comments is Sun Microsystems, according to panelist Peter Hirshberg, chairman and CMO of Technorati, which tracks and organizes blogs for marketers.
“[Sun Microsystems] give up control; they don’t edit what people say,” said Hirshberg, adding that the company’s responsiveness to constructive criticism has its benefits.
“Its customers appreciate that the company has a spine,” he said, adding that the company’s CEO Jonathan Schwartz, a prolific blogger himself, believes not filtering negative comments gives it a competitive advantage. It’s especially helpful when product managers can respond quickly to a perceived problem, Hirshberg added.
He thought it was somewhat disheartening that even journalism Web sites, such as The Washington Post’s, don’t do it. Virtually all of Technorati clients opt for a check-off: “approve/disapprove” in determining what gets posted.
“People are talking about us. There’s a real opportunity here,” Hirshberg said, urging brand marketers to “not get defensive” and “leave in the controversial” items.
Greg Verdino, vice president and director of emerging channels for Digitas, commented on another panel. “Because we’re marketers, we’re used to controlling the conversation. That’s not a conversation; that’s a monologue.” He further noted that “social media” without “social” is just “media.”
Hirshberg noted the active online “audience is different from the traditional media audience. They’re also producers: 57% are also creators of content. And the audience thinks of themselves as having audience.”
Panelist Henry Copeland, founder of Blogads.com, said that readers of blogs are loyal and ignore other media. The average person stays on for 20 minutes and returns three times a day. His firm sold its first ad on a blog in September 2002. Its ads now appear on 1,300 individual blogs catering to more than 50 special-interest niches.
Copeland advised that marketers not “pretend” to engage in conversational marketing, but rather fully immerse themselves in the culture and perceive it from the perspective of the participants.
It’s possible for commercial messages to seamlessly get integrated in social networks with the blessing of all concerned, as evidenced by a few case studies presented.
Panelist Ian Schafer, CEO of the Deep Focus, an agency which provides digital marketing and promotional solutions for the entertainment industry, explained how his client New Line Cinema tapped a kids’ social network for the release of the movie “The Last Mimzy.”
The Web site had never before worked with a marketer on an integrated campaign, thus provided the opportunity “to create real estate,” noted Schafer. An avatar in the shape of a bunny—at the crux of the movie—was created for the kids, who could receive an exclusive plush stuffed animal tied to the movie. Some 62,000 of the plushes were claimed. But, more importantly the viral effort succeeded in generating buzz for the movie. The presence sparked 750,000 message board posts of the network’s members reported seeing the film the opening weekend.
Harper Collins also recently found success utilizing viral media. Panelist David Roth-Ey, the book publisher’s vice president and editorial director, described the intricacies behind a campaign for a book “The Average American Male.”
“We had only had $10,000 for the marketing budget,” he said, admitting that very few authors get that kind of treatment. “Publicity is the name of the game because it’s free.
“Print advertising has had a mixed track record for us,” he added.
The money was largely spent on producing three short videos, depicting what goes on in the head of a companion when he picks up the check during an expensive date, or meets the parents of his long-time girlfriend.
The videos were posted on YouTube and MySpace, and immediately became popular. They then showed up on another file-sharing site, Break.com, although edited together without the tag promoting the book. Then, the Wall Street Journal wrote a feature about the campaign, and it was also covered by CNBC. In total, the videos received 4 million views. The book has now sold 40,000 copies.
