Because let's face it, you can never have too much marketing genius
Marta Kagan is Managing Director, US, for Espresso, a full-service marketing agency specializing in "brand infiltration"—a cost-effective blend of social, digital and experiential marketing tactics designed to ignite conversations and fuel word-of-mouth.
Caught wind of this excellent graphic of the current "web solar system" via @TPLDrew's post (thanks, Drew). Depending on your industry and target market, the relative size and proximity of the orbiting "planets" may shift, but overall, this is an infinitely more accurate picture than the "my-company-website-in-the-center" version that most folks believe to be the truth.
Think about it.
How do you find anything these days (well, besides maybe your car keys)? 1. Google it.
2. Ask a friend for a recommendation (either in person or via social tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).
3. Google that recommendations.
4. See a YouTube video or blog post as top search result. Go there.
Get my drift? Your company website may be the 4th, 5th, or 10th place someone goes for info. 25% of search results for the world's top 20 brands are user-generated content (like the stuff you find on blogs, YouTube, etc.). YouTube recently surpassed Yahoo as the world's 2nd largest search engine.
The Earth is not flat and your website is not the center of the universe (or even the solar system).
The fact that we're spending a cumulative total of 5 BILLION minutes a day on Facebook is, well... kind of mind-blowing. The fact that Facebook's fastest-growing demographic segment, 35-54 year-olds, is doubling roughly every two months is, well... a sign of the times.
It's hard to imagine that someone can look so good in... whatever that is she's wearing??? and be a super-social-media-star too. Amazing.
Ok, sarcasm aside (but only for a minute), I am quite impressed with how Ford Models is using social media to engage with fans, attract new talent, and promote their brand. A well-utilized Facebook fan page, a very nicely executed YouTube channel, their own Ford Models TV channel, the virtually ubiquitous Twitter account... the only thing that seems to be missing (for now) is Flickr? And perhaps a widgetization strategy (yes, I just made that word up... ya wanna make something of it?!).
I did find it slightly disturbing that you have to be UNDER 21 for them to even look at a picture of you. Yet another reminder that I'm getting old.
Had the distinct pleasure of presenting a modified version of What the F**k is Social Media at an event last night in NYC. Threw in as many f-bombs as possible.... but I'm not sure it mattered b/c there was a "party" in the room next door complete with half-naked Cirque du Soleil (but more erotic) performers competing for attention.
I love seeing companies think outside the "display ads on social networks" box and use the medium the way it was intended: to spark conversation and more importantly, to actually LISTEN to those conversations. Hallelujah!
In the 2 weeks since the site launched (go to http://www.fiatmio.cc/ to see it for yourself), 67,000 visitors have submitted 1700 ideas and shared 40,000 comments on Twitter—ideas like bamboo car-seat covers, outlets to charge laptops, biometric car-owner id systems, and more.
According to AdAge, Fiat plans to ask users for branding and marketing ideas down the road as well.
Hey, Ford, how about taking a page out of Fiat's book? You've already got a leg-up on the other US automakers... go ahead and leave them in the dust.
Over the weekend, a client sent me a link to this video with a note that read, "Looks like this guy lifted half your What the F**k is Social Media deck. Do you know him?"
No, I don't know him, though "coincidentally," we both live in Boston and "coincidentally" use the exact same data and language to convey our thoughts on social media. Hmm...
My first instinct was to give the video's creator the benefit of the doubt by posting the following note on his blog:
"Erik, I’m surprised and disappointed to find no reference/credit given to the What the F**k is Social Media presentation that I published over a year ago, given that almost half of the video cites the slides in my deck verbatim. Was that an accidental oversight perhaps?"
Erik replied almost immediately with an enthusiastic "Awesome presentation!" note that went like so: ..."if you haven’t seen Marta Kagan’s “What The F**K is Social Media” presentation, it’s amazing! Many of the same eye-popping facts are contained in it – as well as many more. Plus, it does a much better job of providing insight than my video which is designed to grab attention. Kagan’s presentation informs, check it out!"
He then followed up with a note which implied in no uncertain terms that he'd never seen nor heard of WTF is Social Media until I posted on his blog.
Now maybe it's just me, but I find that extremely hard to believe. For starters, Erik's "sources" for the data points that mimc data in my deck [verbatim] don't add up. Take this one, for instance:
"By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers….96% of them have joined a social network" - Source: Grunwald Associates National Study - Info highlighted on Trendsspotting Blog
If you actually look at the post he's referring to on the Trendsspotting blog, the 96% data point refers to 9-17 year olds, not Gen Y (15-25 year olds) and makes no mention whatsoever of the Gen Y vs. Boomers generational shift.
That's because the actual source of the data is not Grunwald nor Trendsspotting—it's the 2007 Pew Research study on Generation Next.
The give-away to Erik's plagiarism is that he presents "his" data in the exact order, with the exact language used in WTF is Social Media—even capitalizing Baby Boomer and Gen Y (neither of which is grammatically required).
Later, Erik makes the bold statement that "Social media isn't a fad. It's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate." Verbatim, slide 18 from my deck.
See why this makes me cranky?
Yesterday, I posted another comment on Erik's blog pointing out the above examples and adding that he owes credit not just to me, but to Jeff Brenman (creator of the wildly popular Shift Happens presentation) and to Karl Fisch and Scott McCleod who did the "Did You Know" videos—all of which he also borrowed heavily from to create his video. I pointed out that I don't mind at all when folks borrow any or all of my materials to create their own—so long as they provide credit. (That's the whole idea of Creative Commons, is it not?) However, in this case, not only did Erik not provide proper credit, but he had the gall to act as if the discovery of my work was a happy coincidence, rather than a major time-saver and source of inspiration.
*Sigh.*
Anyway, that follow-up post is "still being moderated," though I did notice that Erik took the time to at least add a mention of Fisch & McLeod's Did You Know video right after the 'mention' of WTF is Social Media. Again—without giving credit officially... just a "this is cool, you should check it out" type of thing.
I've gotta give him credit. He has big balls.
And the most irritating part of all this? Mr. Qualman just published a book on how social media is changing the way we live and do business. He's a "recognized expert" on the subject... who seems to have forgotten its cardinal rules.
Another factoid that proves our nation squanders its resources: "Last year, UNICEF announced that humans need about five gallons of clean water a day to survive.
In America, we can easily use 400 gallons per household, per day—two to three times as much water as other developed nations."
So we can afford to waste 400 gallons of water per household, per day, but we're freaking out because we may have to give up another slice of our paychecks to support healthcare that will insure every American?
There is an old saying: "You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes." This is precisely why Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® asks men to literally walk one mile in women's high-heeled shoes. It's not an easy feat, but it gets the community talking, and lets be honest, it's very difficult to talk about gender-based violence.
Espresso is [proud moment!] the Agency of Record for The White Ribbon Campaign to Walk A Mile in Her Shoes®. Better yet, our team of burly Account Execs is putting on a pair of heels (or two) themselves. Sponsors and spectators welcome :)
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