5 Questions Help Filter and Align Social Content

Anyone managing a brand's robust social media program knows the pressure of pumping out continuous content.  

There are lots of ways to feed the content pipeline, like generating original material, re-purposing old content, tapping syndicated sources, re-tweeting, commenting on forums, posting news links, etc. Being flush with content isn't enough, however. It's important that every bit of content that's fed out connects back to the brand in a meaningful way.  

One way to keep content on-strategy is to use a brand filter against which all content - original or borrowed – can be judged.

Filtering brings focus and discipline to content management and an effective filter can simply pose five key questions:

1.     Does this content accurately position the brand?

2.     Is it relevant to our target audiences?  What value does it provide?

3.     Does this put the brand in proper, authentic context?

4.     Will it have traction in media channels that reach our targets?

5.    How does this content tie back to the business?  Does the message leverage brand news, a competitive attribute, keywords, or promote a measurable call-to-action?

 How do you align content with your communications and business strategy?  Do you use a filter? 

Game Over? Can PlayStation users trust Sony with their personal data?

Fans of virtual world gaming face real-life concerns about the security of the personal data they provide when purchasing a title online. Such is the case for upwards of 100,000 Sony PlayStation users who recently learned that Sony’s user data system had been hacked ...yet again. 

No doubt Sony will do whatever is needed to fortify its data system, but whether it can regain consumer confidence remains to be seen. Indeed, the gaming giant's competency at protecting personal information is now open to question; the company must be quick, transparent and forthcoming as it navigates this very real pr crisis.

It’s easy for people to put their trust in slick social media and online entertainment, especially when big brand names are involved. But anytime a much-publicized privacy breach occurs consumers are reminded that there's risk to handing over personal information to any company. 

Brands that routinely collect and store customer data put themselves at substantial risk, too. Public trust is precious and conditional; any failure to protect customer privacy can have swift and far-reaching consequences.  

Search and Facebook Marketing Surge

Search marketing will grow 16% this year to $19.3 billion and 74% of North American ad agencies say their clients use Facebook, according to a study released Wednesday.

The report, from the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, is based on an online survey of 920 companies carried out in February and March. The companies reported a rise in mobile marketing, which accounts for some of the rise in search advertising. Local search was cited as the most significant new trend, though the respondents said behavioral targeting is becoming more important as well. The survey also found that more marketers are outsourcing their SEO and social media to agencies.

For highlights see Mashable’s post about the study. 

5 Questions Help Filter and Align Social Content

Anyone managing a brand's robust social media program knows the pressure of pumping out continuous content.  There are lots of ways to feed the content pipeline, like generating original material, re-purposing old content, tapping syndicated sources, re-tweeting, commenting on forums, posting news links, etc. Being flush with content isn't enough, however. It's important that every bit of content that feeds out connects back to the brand in a meaningful way.  

One way to keep content on-strategy is to use a brand filter against which all content - original or borrowed – can be judged.

Filtering brings focus and discipline to content management and an effective filter can simply pose five key questions:

1. Does this content accurately position the brand?

2. Is it relevant to our target audiences?  What value does it provide?

3. Does this put the brand in proper, authentic context?

4. Will it have traction in media channels that reach our targets?

5. How does this content tie back to the business?  Does the message leverage brand news, a competitive attribute, keywords, or promote a measurable call-to-action?

 How do you align content with your communications and business strategy?  Do you use a filter? 

Mens e-tailer MrPorter.com crafts smart content to cultivate luxury tastes

I’m not much for clothes shopping, but I have a particular disdain for shopping suits. I find the experience numbingly dull, offline or online. 

So I have to hand it to MrPorter.com, the recently launched men’s luxury goods website that makes shopping seem like a stroll through a smart lifestyle magazine.

The website’s design is downright serene – spare and neatly organized around a mix of product and editorial pages. Instead of over-the-top fashion layouts Mr. Porter puts “style” in reasonable context with intriguing stories, informative videos and sharp features about real men of taste and substance. Indeed, the site succeeds at being relevant and "aspirational."   

The marketing folk at Mr. Porter use email well, I think. I receive several each week that simply flag something new about the site. It's all very low-key and since I like the website I generally save the latest e-mail to open at the weekend. 

Mr. Porter is doing many things right. Yes, the website is properly optimized but what's more the site's content is extraordinarily sticky. According to Alexa.com visitors to Mrporter.com devote roughly four minutes per visit, viewing 5.5 unique pages on average and spending roughly 41 seconds per page view. Wow!

I tip my hat to you Mr. Porter, sir. Well done.  

Transmedia storytelling engages audiences who want to be heard and validated

Digital Media Wire recently posed five questions to  Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment and a leading figure in the emerging field of cross-media storytelling called "Transmedia." 

DMW’s Q&A is a very good read; here’s a sampling of what Jeff said:

“For me, transmedia narrative is a kind of subset of cross-media content. It's the technique of conveying messages, themes and storylines across multiple media platforms in a way that is both artful and coordinated with care.

With transmedia you're not repeating the same story on a movie screen, a TV screen, a novel and a videogame. You are using each one to tell a complete piece of your story, and combined they can all become a deeper, richer and more immersive experience.  Different aspects of the story or story world are created to play to the specific strengths of the medium.

From a business standpoint, much has been said about how transmedia can help build franchises and maximize return on investment for entertainment properties. The toughest aspect of getting transmedia right is that you have to build two-way communication into the apparatus of your narrative.

Everyone talks about Star Wars to exemplify good transmedia, but I love talking about Glee, because what makes transmedia so unique and relevant is that it is fundamentally about telling stories to a generation of people who want to be heard, and who are used to being validated for their participation. That's what interactive media is about in essence: response.”

On April 25th in Los Angeles, Jeff Gomez, together with Digital Media Wire, will host the first in a series of transmedia workshops on how to use and leverage the most effective transmedia techniques.

Peter Gruber's new book about the "Hidden Power of Story"

Great video Q&A courtesy of Harvard Business Review: Peter Guber, chairman and CEO of the Mandalay Entertainment Group, explains how to establish an emotional connection with any audience. His new book Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story (March 2011, Crown Business) is sold on Amazon.

Incidentally,clicking the anchor text above will take you to my new Storyful page where I took a crack at curating material for this post. I must say, excited as I am about the storytelling potential of curation services like Storyful and Storify I've yet to find one that is easy to use. It's surprising that Storyful does not offer a quick tutorial because the site is not very intuitive in my opinion. I'll continue to putter with it to see what I can do with a bit of practice.

Are you using curatorial tools and if so what's been your experience? Any recommendations?

"Vook" at the future of multimedia book publishing

I sensed impending doom while roaming my local Borders bookstore this past weekend. It’s been rumored that Borders will go bankrupt and sadly I believe it will - based on what I saw. Signs of the retailer's struggle abound. 

Border's midtown Manhattan store's once hefty art section has been reduced to a dim, colorless nook wedged beneath a non-working escalator. Not long ago its music and film departments  buzzed like a beehive; now each stands eerily quiet and nearly depleted of inventory. Elsewhere seemingly full shelves are stocked with expected titles, but little in the way of selection. To really browse books these days one needs to go online. 

Amazon isn't to blame for Border's demise. Technology is fundamentally changing the book publishing business, from how titles are conceived and packaged to how they are marketed and delivered. Global sales of e-readers such as the Kindle are projected to reach $8.2 billion by 2014, according to the Yankee Group, a Boston-based market research firm. Indeed many books in the (very near) future will be electronic, multimedia productions best "experienced" on portable e-readers, tablets, smartphones. 

One pioneer in multimedia publishing is a company called Vook, which enhances well-written stories with audio and video features, interactive web links and social media. (Vook Demo) Vook launched in October 2009 with four debut titles, published in partnership with Atria, an imprint of Simon and Schuster: Promises, a romance by Jude Deveraux; The 90 Second Fitness Solution, a fitness book by Pete Cerqua; Embassy, a thriller by Richard Doetsch; and Return to Beauty, a health book by Narine Nikogosian.

For more about Vook and the state of book publishing and retailing read this recent blog post on WSJ "Digits."