June 9, 2013 by jgbsocial

Social Speak vs. Broadcasting

I always stress the point that social media is a communication tool more than anything. If you look at social channels as a means of broadcasting then you will fail. Why? Because it is about talking, conversing, listening. Not push push push. If I’m at a party and walk up to a group of people and there’s one person talking all about himself and not listening to anyone else, I immediately walk away (and after hearing a person like that, typically straight for the bar). It is a back and forth. And people will listen to you if you listen to them. The ONLY way a connection is made is by both parties involved listening.

So, next time when crafting messaging around any content for your brand, remember, social speak is how we talk in real life conversations. Not what you see on a billboard driving down the street.

May 27, 2013 by jgbsocial

Why #SocialTV Will Rule the Future

by: Jamey Brown

With Microsoft’s new release of the Xbox One, a lot of conversation has been going back and forth about social tv and what it means for the future of television watching. But what is social TV? Why does that term matter? Why is it better (or worse) than the tv experience we have currently? Below are the reasons why social media integration will enhance the experience of television watching:

1. Closer to 100% Interactivity: at some point, down the road, television will be a full back and forth with the viewer. Decisions, routes of plot, episode sharing, etc. will all be standard practice. With Xbox One (and many to follow) harnessing social tv as a main leveraging point for its system, it is encouraging the market to shift its viewing experience in this direction – getting closer to a 100% interactivity conversion.

2. The 3rd dimension of television will be filled… by the viewer: this is the obvious “marketable” piece of the puzzle, and tv networks, like Bravo, are already well on their way with this strategy. Making the viewer a part of the show, a contributor, a sayer in what should happen, is an essential in keeping up. It is a win-win for both the show, network and the viewer. This is the duh! for social tv strategy.

3. Advertising will expand its reach: Yep. Advertisers now have another place to plug what they want to say. Do we want this? To be honest, I’m not sure. I always support advertising if it is creative and has the market in mind (genuinely). That being said, this probably wouldn’t be the case for 75% of advertisers on social tv platforms. I’d be afraid of countless push advertisements that genuinely piss me off.

4. You won’t know it’s happening: if something is shifting, especially something as monumental as a global common experience, the way you know it is working is if it rarely comes up. Large movements and shifts that are done well ease the market into a way of experiencing; they don’t cut a hard turn and hope for the best. It’s that moment you realize “oh damn, I am skyping while I am watching Netflix“? Yes, that very epiphany is what every marketer dreams of, but I can assure you, we aim to make experiences better, not worse.

So, start expecting a lot more conversation about social tv and its impact on various future experiences. But, once you cut through all the fluff, notice the genuine pros and cons of what the experience is and how it can benefit (or not benefit) that experience. Lots of conversation surrounding this will be “big idea speak” so hone in on the points that are concise and piercing because those tend to be the ones that make the most sense.

Don’t go too far either, the next piece coming will be the flip-side to these points. Because with every positive comes a negative, right?

April 21, 2013 by jgbsocial

We Humans Sure Do Love Repetition

by: Jamey Brown

When pushing out content or messaging it may seem repetitive to you, but the more frequent that message is pushed out (during the campaign duration) the bigger the reach will be.

Do not go overboard (and you will feel it when you go over the line), but repurpose your content and messaging so that it can reach a variety of users in your audience.

Remember, when you feel thoroughly annoyed by pushing out the same content, that’s the same time you have just made a decent impression in the market.

April 7, 2013 by jgbsocial

Don’t Let Content Overwhelm You

by: Jamey Brown

This morning as I arose with the sounds of Atlanta’s Midtown outside my window, I already had social on the brain. Today is a busy day in terms of monitoring certain communities and tidying things up simply to be prepared for this week. So, per usual, I got up, flipped on the coffee and plugged in.

Right now, at this very moment, I have six tabs open. One is Gmail. Four are social networks. The last one is WordPress (I guess technically another social network, but let’s not pick over small cookies). With this plethora of content at my fingertips, how do I filter it all to what I want? How do I not have a panic attack because there’s. just. so. much.? Well, it’s easy, manage yourself, not the networks.

Right now, I have too much content available at one time. Space things out into small segments of time. Overload can be detrimental.

Schedule what you want to get out of the next hour. I need to reply to some e-mails. I need to check my Google+ Communities and I need to monitor two specific LinkedIn Groups. These three things are priority for the next hour. So, I can remove my Twitter and Facebook tabs for now (and the WordPress one after I finish writing this on my break! Ha!)

Take your time. Content is much more effectively absorbed if you actually slow things down a bit and digest what you are reading AS you read it. Say it back to yourself.

Take small breaks. Now this does not work for everybody, but I am much more effective if I review something for 30 minutes and then take a 5-10 minute break. Rinse and repeat this and you will be surprised how much you get done by the end of the day.

Breathe. Remember, there’s always a tomorrow. Knock out what is priority for the next 24 hours, breathe and begin to schedule into the week.

What are some other content management tips you’ve found to be useful?

March 30, 2013 by jgbsocial

6 Reasons Why “Driving Traffic” is Vital

by: Jamey Brown

On my way home for Easter this weekend (from Atlanta to Athens, Georgia) I had to stop, turn off the main highway and go around, through a gas station, and get back onto the main highway about 500 feet down the road. Why? A water line had busted, thus forcing cars to have to go around and reconnect to the same road a few hundred feet further down. Pulling through the gas station, along with all of the other cars, and back onto the main highway I thought, “I was redirected here. And now, I am in front of this gas station and I am a little hungry…” The bottom line: I was driven, directed to a destination where I could potentially make a purchase for something I wanted. Now, I understand gas stations are a hard comparison because they offer various things (as opposed to an ad that offers a specific product or service), but the real life metaphor got me thinking…

Cost effective social ad buys must be specifically targeted. The more targeted, typically, the better results.

Aim for the enthusiasts. In the end, they will convert and convince more than anyone else.

Make sure your destination is inline with your ads. User confusion ends in click-offs and no conversions.

Monitor your campaigns daily. Be it traditional Facebook ads, promoted posts, Twitter trends, etc. Always know what’s doing well and what’s not.

In conjunction with the above, adjust your ad images, copy, spend, interests, demographics, etc. based on what is working and what isn’t.

Rinse and repeat. If you had a successful ad campaign that had a high CTR and a plethora of page views and visits on the destination you wanted, then repeat that strategy! Be wary though, some adjustments might need to be made as all campaigns aim towards different people.

What have you found to be a successful way to drive traffic to the destination you want?

March 29, 2013 by jgbsocial

YouTube’s Facelift, Just In Case You Forgot

by: Jamey Brown

YouTube’s made some channel changes. Drop a “like” or “dislike” in the comments section.

March 27, 2013 by jgbsocial

A Letter To My Family (the 25 Years of Age Update)

by: Jamey Brown

So I got to the office early today. Poured my coffee. Turned on my computer. Teed up my to-do’s list. And began clicking. But this morning was different than other mornings – and you can ask my coworkers, I cherish my early morning time. This morning I could not stop thinking of what it is I do and why I do it. Sometimes we get so caught up in doing what we love we don’t have time to actually love it. So, I switched over to my personal e-mail account and decided to write a letter to my family (which, sadly, I rarely do). Below is what I wrote, with inspiration from Chris Pirillo - following is the response from my father (the best man I know):

Hi Family,

You know, I grew up in the world of sports and hard work. Sweating was what equalled success. And believe me, that is the mentality I still have, and always will have. But today, my interests have shifted – not changed, just altered (bc I still love cracking some beers and watching a Braves game and obviously a UGA game. That will never go away). But now, I consider myself a “geek” and a “nerd.” Deep down that’s what I enjoy on a daily basis. I enjoy digital media, social media, screenwriting, nerding out with movies, tv shows, certain comics. That being said, I think what makes the difference, what makes it a career, is the business side that goes along with it – the drive to get others talking about it and connecting with the zealots out there. Rallying people for a cause, expo or brand is what I love to do. And today, that is best done by storytelling – a gift I think I have. I lack in a lot of areas (don’t we all?), but I feel I am here right now, right here to do what I am doing. Many people can’t say that with an honest face. Moving aside from my genetically passed down philosophical points of view, I wanted to share a quick 2 minute video. Please watch with full sound (the music is good). I have been following this dude for a while and seen him make his career. How did he do this? He unapologetically loves what he does and has made a thriving career for himself. Yet with all the digital and tech in his life he lives in beautiful Seattle with his wife and values relationships – real, connected relationships. He values how digital and tech can help better our real life relationships and day to day activities. That is a hard combo to find. Therefore, I find this as genuine inspiration. So again, please watch below with headphones, let it sink in and cheers to change and loving what you do.

Click –> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZTnfpcMiuww

Just had some time to give you all a 25 years of age update,

Your son

RESPONSE FROM MY DAD 30 MINUTES LATER BELOW

I am pleased that you are able to do something you are passionate about, and have the work ethic you have developed-maintain it as you will need it throughout life. The fact that your primary interests and focus may have changed is part of life-but I have never cared for a “classification”-it implies being one dimensional which I don’t think is good or healthy. Follow your passion-enjoy what you enjoy-but remember this statement (I can’t take credit for it) – “To label me is to negate me”.

Be a compilation of ALL of your interests, past, present and future- your influence upon others will be heightened.

We’re proud of you, son.

DAD

First off, I think it’s safe to say my father is awesome. Secondly, I know it is hard to do what you love and make a career out of it. You are going to have horrible days and you are going to struggle and be unhappy at times. But as long as you are working hard at what you love doing then it is always worth it. Always.

- Jamey

March 24, 2013 by jgbsocial

5 Ways You Can Effectively Harness YouTube

by: Jamey Brown

YouTube reaches 1 billion people per month. Let me repeat, YouTube reaches 1 billion people per month. That’s almost 15% of the world. YouTube is dominating the world, literally. So how can this massive reach be activated correctly? Even as a social marketer it is still hard to sometimes wrap my head around how YouTube can generate leads, create brand awareness and encourage or produce sales. It is still seen as a nesting hub for multimedia content for brands – not all, but many. Here are 5 ways that YouTube can be creatively used to further brand awareness, create good word-of-mouth and generate sales.

1. Include CTA’s in the video itself – ask your audience to take action in the comment thread below. Or better yet, in real life. You’ve made the effort to produce this video content, so get as much out of it as you can. Activate your audience visually. Trust me, it sticks.

2. Create branded playlists – YouTube hosts all genres of videos. If applicable, create playlists for specific purposes of your brand. For example, if you are a bakery brand that bakes a diverse group of foods it would be smart to have quick “how to’s” playlist of each food (ie. cakes, breads, etc.) By doing this you will create a hub that your users can continue to come back to and use as a source. Retaining users and being seen as a leader in your industry are huge wins.

3. Properly brand ALL aspects of your channel – everything from your skin to your channel picture should be sharply branded. Along with this, make sure your channel is integrated with ALL of your other social platforms. This information lives in your Channel Art photo and will allow users to browse your other branded networks with just once click.

4. Tag, title and link each video… correctly – this is the “no-brainer” of the group. Always make sure your keywords are applicable to the video. Make sure they are ACTUAL words users type in to search your product – put yourself in the seat of the average person searching something within the ballpark of your product. Also, title your video with good keywords that people will actually search. Put your creative ego aside and title your videos for results, not shininess.

5. Don’t be afraid to engage - when subscribers (or non-subscribers) start commenting, engage back! Keep the conversation going just like you would on Facebook or Twitter. A brand voice needs to exist on all platforms, not on only certain ones.

Create a catchy trailer video (Bonus) – when users land this will be the first thing they see. So, make it concise and make it connect.

What are some other ways YouTube can be harnessed effectively?

March 14, 2013 by jgbsocial

What Is Bottom Line Social Media?

by: Jamey Brown

This industry lends itself to a lot of fluff, talk and show. Naturally, social media is the combined worlds of imagery, writing and creative thinking. These are essential in not only social marketing, but branding as well (which we all know comes before anything else). But what does all this creative fluffiness do? What are the real results? And how do they actually happen? Below are a few Bottom Line Social Media points I’ve encountered so far.

- ROI can come in various forms. Don’t just think traditional here. Depending on your goals beforehand, engagement can be a form of ROI. And obviously, there is traditional ROI – those good ol’ greenbacks. Typically, the more engagement, the better your numbers will be. Before you are dead set on what kind of ROI you want in the end, make sure your goals are laid out correctly in the beginning phases.

- Consistency = growth. This is a bold statement, but I stand by it. Why am I so sure of this? Well, if best practices are in place and you are consistent and planned with your strategy and tactics, then your community will grow. Remember, growth takes time.

- Delegation is vital. This goes hand-in-hand with consistency because your team must know WHO is publishing and resourcing content. The Community Manager position is in high demand now, thus increasing its appeal and need for companies in all industries. Confusion with managing a community can be devastating because the brand/company message can be jumbled or worse, completely lost. Don’t let confusion be part of your social team. Delegate a specific Community Manager and potentially an Associate Community Manager who is part time. Make them the gatekeepers.

- Bonus: Best Practices. Make sure you have your brand’s social marketing best practices memorized and in line. Or better yet, do your research and write them yourself. Social media is an industry based in being able to constantly practice what your preach 24/7.

What are some other bottom line social media points you’ve learned?