Monthly Archive for September, 2008

No One Cares About Your Brand More Than You

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 29, 2008
in Branding and social media
. Comments

The above statement might not seem like breaking news, but when you look at the way a lot of brands act, it might be less understood than you think.

In a post that should be required reading for any digital marketer, Alan Wolk tells everyone, “Your Brand Is Not My Friend“. He maintains that unless your brand is a “Prom King” (coolest kid in school, market leader, etc.) that most people don’t want a relationship with you. So please Folgers, stop trying to friend him up on Facebook! I agree with most of Alan’s post, and even came to a slightly similar conclusion myself in an earlier post. But it goes a little deeper than that.

Regardless of how cool your brand is, and how fanatical your fans are, the bottom line is that no one cares about your brand more than you do.

Now, I hear you out there going “Hey, wait a minute! What about the notoriously rabid Apple fanboys? Or the Zune guy? How about the Makers Mark Ambassadors, or Fiskateers, etc. etc.”

I know those are only a handful of examples, but think about it. Who do you think cares more about Makers Mark? One of their loyal fans in the Ambassador program or someone who’s last name is Beam? Same deal with the Fiskateers. I know they love those scissors and all the other products they make for scrap booking, but I’m sure that the Fiskar brand is more important to their CEO or Founder. The Zune Guy? We all know how that ended. And then Apple, with its fans that hold the brand in some sort of (almost creepy) holy regard. Who do you think Apple matters more to? The guy who never leaves his house without his iPod and MacBook or Steve Jobs?

My money’s on Jobs.

And this all means that you cannot hire an agency/consultant to do your social media for you. They can teach you, they can guide you, they can help you get started, they can participate, but that’s where it ends. The ownership has to be on your end. Because no matter how smart, your account manager doesn’t have those years of experience in the kayak industry that you do. They don’t understand the competitive landscape for protein powder or sneakers like you. Social media is all about connection, and if it’s not actually you out there connecting, then what good is it? If I’m a lifelong backpacker, I want to hear from your product manager who is out there testing your new packs on trails, not your consultant who tells you the best way to get outdoorsy links.

There is no quick way to be really successful in social media. Hiring someone else to do all your other dirty work or the thing “you don’t have time for” isn’t the answer. You have to care, because if you don’t no one else will.

Something To Think About

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 23, 2008
in Blogging and Communication
. Comments

Recently, Technorati has started releasing parts of their State of the Blogosphere 2008. They make a point to show that a big chunk of bloggers are “the kids” as in “Oh, it’s just what the kids are doing nowadays!”. But as Geoff Livingston points out, more than 50% of US bloggers are 35+. That’s a pretty substantial population, by my account.

So while there’s a lot of talk about the “net-generation” and “digital natives”, at the end of the day, the “older” crowd is still just as important. The beauty of the internet is that it’s the great equalizer. Any random person with a blog can become as important/relevant as anyone on CNN. It also means that any 47 year-old soccer mom could be the most important person in your blogger outreach.

The moral of the story is: We can’t afford to leave anyone out.

Why You Should Hire My Mom

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 20, 2008
in ANM and Life
. Comments

Today is Barbara McDonald’s birthday. And for her birthday this year, I’m going to do something different. I’m going to tell you why you should hire her to do your PR.

Although she has a degree in Special Education from Rowan University and had worked as a teacher for several years, her skill set goes far beyond education, branching into community building/leadership, online public relations, and event organization.

In the early days of America Online (I’m talking the 2.0 days, if you can remember them) my Mom knew that this whole “internet” thing was going to be something big. She got a job with AOL as a Community Leader and played a key roll in developing the (at the time) thriving AOL community, and also moderated live-chat events with many big name guests (even Bill Nye the Science Guy!).

AOL eventually phased out many in their community leader program, and my Mom, still on the front edge, began a career in the fledgling field of internet PR. She was brought aboard an alternative health company named J2S2 which was later renamed Healant. With J2S2/Healant she was in charge of organizing many of their online efforts including the early days of online press releases, developing key contacts within other major sites, growing the online alternative health community with her company as a major player, and even helping to organize major events online such as the Great American Smoke-Out.

Eventually she left J2S2/Healant to pursue her career as a signer/songwriter (which she had put on hold due to my brother and myself) and has put out one great album with another coming. Check out her music here on SoundClick.com

Professional experience aside, my mother is one of the best communicators out there. She’s extremely intelligent, diligent, ambitious, innovative, and if you think I’m outgoing, you should spend some time with her! I’m sure that she would be an asset to any PR team.

Recently she attended PodCamp Philly 2008, where I was speaking, and expressed her interest to get back into Online PR and I figured who better to throw it out to than my fantastic readers!

I know my Mom could be an asset to your PR team. She’s available to work remotely or in the Philadelphia area. If you’d like to talk with her, feel free to email her at BarbaraMcDonald@aol.com or you could email me and I could pass it along.

Thanks Mom! Happy Birthday!

Is Xbox Live A Social Network?

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 19, 2008
in Communication and social media
. Comments


Let’s look at some of the arguments from both sides. Ready? Go!

The case for “Heck yes, it is”

-You can have profiles
Xbox Live requires you to have a unique handle, or GamerTag (mine is Situation3), to exist on their network. With this profile you can choose an avatar, and edit your name, location, and motto (which is essentially useless). Pretty soon however, Xbox Live will be getting a major overhaul in this department, adding in avatars which fall in between something from Second Life and the Wii’s Mii character. It’ll be interesting to see how Microsoft utilizes the new functionality brought about by these changes to focus on the more “social” element of XBL.

-You can have friends
Just like with other major social networks (MySpace, Facebook, etc.) you can build and maintain a list of friends on Xbox Live. The process is fairly easy, all it requires is that you type in the name of the person you’d like to friend. You can even attach a text or audio message with your friend request, which is a great feature. Once you’re on their “friends” list, you can see when they’re online and which games they’re playing, join games that they’re in, send them messages, voice chat, and even look through their list of friends for other people you might know.

-You can keep in touch with people
Actually, you don’t have to play games over XBL. Once signed on, through the dashboard you can voice or text chat with your friends or send audio or video messages (if you have the camera). Obviously XBL is a gaming platform first, but with a worldwide member base, it might be cheaper to chat with your friends in London or Dubai for a couple hours via XBL than it is to call them over the phone.

The case for “Absolutely not!”

-You have to buy specific hardware
Unlike most social networks, you need to buy a few things to have access to Xbox Live. First off, obviously you need an Xbox 360. At $199 for the basic Arcade model, it’s cheaper than most computers, but even given that, it still doesn’t come close to the functionality of a simple PC.

-You have to buy a subscription
This is a deal breaker for a lot of people. In addition to buying the Xbox 360, you have to also purchase a membership to Xbox Live. If you go for the whole year up front, which runs about $50, it comes to a little over $4 a month. While this may be less than almost everything on the menu at Starbucks, it’s still more than most other major networks (which are free).

-All you can do is talk and play video games!
When it all boils down, this is totally true. Some will say that without the ability to share files or pictures, add aps, set up groups and group pages, etc. that Xbox Live falls short of the functionality that defines a social network today.

My Decision - Yes it is.

When you look at the arguments, the biggest factors against XBL being a social network is the higher barriers to entry when compared to traditional social networks. While I think this is certainly a differentiator and a worthy argument, I don’t think it’s a enough to discount XBL completely.

What say you?

Some Things You Can Get Better At

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 11, 2008
in Life and etc.
. Comments

I’m sure you’ve noticed, but there’s a whole lot out there besides social media and marketing. So in the interest of really improving and adding to your skill set, take a look at the awesome people below and get better at something. Right now.

Get better at being ahead of the curve with Cool Hunting
The team at Cool Hunting puts together frequent posts of all the new, interesting stuff that crosses their screen. It’s a great resource for trendhunters, enthusiasts or anyone else who just loves new stuff.

Get better at rocking out with Walt Ribeiro
Walt, simply (and aptly) put, rocks. Head on over to his site if you’re in the mood for some great music (mostly guitar) lessons. And while you’re there, don’t forget to check out his orchestra compositions.

Get better at looking awesome with Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist)
What started as a way for Scott to share photos of people thought looked good, turned into a full-blown fashion phenomenon. With a lively community of commenters, a full page in GQ every month, and even his own Gap ad, The Sartorialist is a great resource for anyone trying to look a little better.

Get better at understanding design with Whitney Hess
If you’ve every been “out there” on the internet, you know there’s a lot of really bad user experiences to be had. Sometimes its a simple “Now, where’s the button to…” and sometimes it might be better if they scrapped the whole thing and started over. Check out Whitney’s Pleasure and Pain and learn how to avoid those situations yourself.

Get better at mastering the Jersey shore with Jen A. Miller
I’ve been going to the Jersey shore since I was 2 years old and I still don’t think I know 1/10 of what Jen Miller does. Shes got a great book covering all things Jersey shore and an accompanying blog that goes even more in-depth.

Get better at gourmet meals with Jaden’s Steam Kitchen
I’m not going to lie to you friends, I like cooking. Especially Asain food. Not sure why or how, but I think it’s the most fun. And I get a lot of recipes and ideas from Jaden. She puts a great sense of humor and personality into a place you don’t usually find it. Check out her site and blow your wife/husband/great uncle’s mind tonight at dinner.

Get better at maximizing your gym time with Strong Lifts
I love the gym, it’s sort of like my Zen place. Apparently for Mehdi at Strong Lifts it’s his place to kick ass and take names. Check out his site for easier ways to get stronger, lose weight, and just be healthier over all. Almost 28,000 rss subscribers can’t be wrong.

Get better at incredible customer attention with Frank Eliason (@Comcastcares)
Frank is one of the brightest spots in customer service today. Personally, he’s helped me 3 separate times. And I’m sure if you just start asking people on Twitter, you’ll really see how big his impact is. If you’re a brand, sit back and take notes.

Get better at picking the best wine with Gary Vaynerchuck
If you’re reading this blog, you probably know about Gary V. If not check out the interview I did with him and then go spend some time at Wine Library TV. Simple.

Bring the Thunder! 5 Questions With Gary Vaynerchuck

Published
by
Matt
on Sep 4, 2008
in Web 2.0 and social media
. Comments

When it comes to social media and wine, there’s no denying the force that is Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV. From his daily videocast and book to being featured on Conan O’Brien, Mad Money, Wired, Men’s Health, etc., he’s become the poster child for the possibility of social media. I don’t want to keep you waiting, so here’s my five questions with the one, the only, Gary VAY-NER-CHUCK.

1) What first turned you on to the potential of social media?

The fact that it was massively driven on interaction with human beings.



2) How did you figure out which methods were the best for reaching people?

This is something that is always changing… I saw all the buzz around Twitter, for example, when I was at FOWA in London a few years ago and identified right away how powerful it could be–the ability to reach an audience instantly and repeatedly without being spammy. But Twitter has struggled a bit with its rapid growth and tomorrow some other competitor could emerge that makes Twitter obsolete. By using the social media tools that are currently available you’ll develop the knowledge and ability to identify and properly utilize the next ones that come down the pike.



3) Is it ever hard to keep up the pace that you’ve become so famous for?

My natural tendency is to embrace chaos, and chaos is what it has been. Fortunately for me my work is my play, and that makes it easy to maintain this frenetic pace.



4) What new things are you really looking forward to?

Well my brother AJ and I with some help just launched pleasedress.me, which is getting a lot of attention. It’s a search engine for t-shirts and it’s going to distract me from wine-related business a little but I’m excited about it.



5) What’s the one thing that everyone does wrong in social media?

Lack of patience.



And there you have it. Simple, insightful, and still totally exciting. A big “thank you” to Gary Vaynerchuck and everyone at Wine Library TV.