Lessons Learned For Today and the FutureM

Last week, I had a great opportunity to mix and mingle with marketers as we navigated through the world of technology. Digital media will always be about bridging the gap between the real world and the virtual world, while contributing to the overall ROI, and making a true connection with the audience.

The forces came together to kick off the FutureM week of events at the Harvard Faculty Club with the Gravity Summit. It was located at the Harvard campus where the social media platform Facebook was born. The event broke new ground bringing a great group of speakers and attendees from across the country. People showcased their marketing stories using social media showing how big brands have made a few “Friends” and “Followers” along the way. Executives that contributed were from Bing, Mr. Youth, former CNN reporter Rick Sanchez, Audi, CFO of Hootsuite and others. I listened and tweeted away with new tips to share. Here is a link to a list of presentations that might be useful for you.

Respect, Recognition and Reward!

At the Gravity Summit, speaker Doug Clark, GM of Social Media and Customer Engagement for Audi, provided some solid advice to marketers. He shared a story of a woman that was a fan of the Audi TT Quattro sports car. Women are a great demographic for the brand. They made one woman’s wish come true with a car! Doug and his team followed the story of one special lady and listened to her interests and desire to drive the car. The company decided to drive to her door with the Quattro for her to take it for a spin! This is one great example using social media. Audi listened to its influencers and took the right action to create the right opportunity. As Greg Shove, CEO of Halogen Media shared also at the Summit, “Find the most interesting person, or activity that can take on a life of its own on your behalf and watch it grow.”

Stop. Collaborate. Listen to Your Audience.

Matt Britton, CEO of Mr. Youth said, “Friends want to connect with other friends, collaborate and have control of their privacy.” Why is that concept so hard for some companies to understand that same notion online? It’s how we want to connect and relate to each other in the real world so why should communicating online be any different?

As Audi’s Doug Clark presented his approach and I provided my comments:

• Offer a seat at the table - Welcome your audience
• Open doors – Make it easy for one to engage without barriers
• Create a win/win – Make it something rewarding for both parties
• Recognize a need – Determine your customers needs or wants
• Be quick to respond – Learn to take action and be agile
• Learn from audience – Take action based on new insights
• Listen and engage – Keep your ears/eyes alert searching for comments
• See yourself through the eyes of the customer – Put yourself in their shoes
• Be honest and authentic – Say it from the heart, and always be true to yourself and your brand

The Theme at FutureM was MOBILE
“Hi, I’m Human. Remember That?”

"App-tizers" to Choose and Make Real Connections with Customers

It’s not just about calling a friend, but rather a connection to “reaching out and touch someone” with new tools and social media tactics. Yet, so often I keep seeing marketing professionals trying to fit in with the wrong approach. Good examples include QR codes and checking in with Foursquare to check-out. Some disruptive technologies and changes are good, but remember to listen and learn from the natural daily actions, behaviors and what people want.

Chris Mahl, Chief Brand Alchemist of Levelup and SCVNGR, spoke at FutureM’s event and suggested for marketers to recognize, “What are the noticeable behaviors, what does your audience respond to, and make sure to treat your customer as an individual.” People need people, convenience and value – not a quirky gimmick or a link that just drives you to a website with no proper direction. You need to make it personalized to drive impulse and purpose.

John Caron, SVP of Marketing for Modiv Media, noted when marketing mobile, or for marketing anything for that matter, you must remember, “Reach, relevance and recognition.” When creating or defining the attributes of you product and/or service, be sure to consider those three aspects as part of putting together the message. Listen to what your audience seeks and the unique connection to you or your business. Regardless of the new toys we have available to play with today and into tomorrow, we all have strong emotions and there is a difference in how we all want to be treated, recognized and valued as human beings.

Falling On Deaf Ears: Facebook and Google+ Battle It Out

Are Marketer’s @ the Mercy of More Social Media Mediums?

The introduction of Google + has forced Facebook to make some major changes. We will see if both can compete together, or who will eventually rise to the top. It certainly puts pressure on marketers to discover new ways to introduce new content. It’s good to expand one’s knowledge and reach, but not at the expense of the business will suffer or devote resources to the wrong channels. Businesses will be competing for attention of audiences on Facebook and Google+ as they navigate new waters. It’s not about following trends, but finding the RIGHT FIT for you and your audience. It’s about incorporating some fundamental best practices, but at the same time adding the human element to the experience.

“Curse you, Facebook! Just when I think I’ve figured out how to use the features on here, you go and change everything again…arrgghh.” – Comments by Keri Singer’s Facebook Friend

“At least give us the option of having the old feed. I HATE the new layout. Might be moving to Google+.” – Comments by Facebook profile Amanda Lee Brock.

Since its start, Facebook has been offering new options and they are having security issues around profiles. Today’s new launch includes different new options for your “News Feed” and last week was the “Subscribe” feature. As the service expands and competition arises, more companies need to be nimble. Facebook and Google + must constantly better examine their approach. They must give the right guidance to customers and attempt to be more authentic with their communications. Yet, we still find people getting annoyed with Facebook and distrust the changes with other social media services.

Similar to any personal relationship: It’s about listening, learning and building trust online with your audience. Otherwise, there is a chance people could leave you looking for something better.

WikiLeaks About You

Facebook Wants to Be Your Best Friend

At first there were applications on Facebook with games, surveys and much more to click on, or a friend invited you to participate and play. In the beginning, very few people knew that answering the questions to finding out“Where in the world you should live,” or your “Top favorite soft drinks,” companies were gathering information about you and your friends. Then there was Facebook Beacon that was criticized right away by the media and turned off audiences bringing up issues around personal privacy. People were automatically opt-in by “the face” to share your face with others in the advertising community. Through the introduction of FriendFeed, Facebook Connect and now called the Facebook Registration Login, a tool that allows one to access websites with a universal password and username, as well as shares the places where you go with your friends online.

It also gives Facebook and its advertisers access to information everywhere you go on the web with your friends. As society adopts new social media environments, does it impact your decisions and participation across the web, as more personal information could be shared with advertisers or other sources?

Social Media Peer Pressure

As more websites decide to make it a requirement to sign-in using Facebook’s Registration Login, or one’s Twitter account to use certain services online, it’s as if this is social media peer pressure. Initially, many people created profiles on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites to learn the tools and connect with others. For some it was the trend, if my friends are doing it, so should I. More companies need to explain better the value and purpose as to why one should sign-in with their Facebook, or Twitter accounts. It’s important to give one an option to choose not to use their personal accounts in order to reap the same benefits. In the long-term, is it really just an effort to provide you better service, or could these new conveniences put you at risk to another form of spam, taking the real social aspect away in the future. The blurring of the lines between one’s personal, professional, virtual vs. real persona, maybe coming together in one place. Our daily roles as a worker, daughter, son, brother, sister, mother, father, companion, or something else are different in the ways we interact with others. One may not want to share certain data with everyone we come into contact, as well as with one large data warehouse. For many signing into these new web and mobile services, one wonders if he/she actually understands the reality of sharing my pictures, my comments, where I’m located, or other things that I like, or mention on my pages. Is it just my friends, or with someone else? Does that bother you? People believe it may just be to their protected environment of “friends,” but other places are gaining access to their information.

Berkman Center For Internet & Society

As new technological advancements occur, there are conversations being discussed to protect the rights of others and keep people informed. Harvard’s Berkman Center For Internet & Society addresses some of these issues and has raised awareness through its events, fellowship program, and research to bring clarity to consumers in this new digital age. The Berkman Center’s mission is to explore and understand cyberspace; to study its development, dynamics, norms, and standards; and to assess the need or lack thereof for laws and sanctions. Also, we should all start to think about more personally the ways in which we communicate on the web and how we use our smartphones.

The Power of People in Numbers

We have the power to say something and stand up for our rights. Yet, in this new digital age people don’t even understand the implications of joining certain sites or sharing information with others until it maybe too late. Some people’s frustrations, or lack of understanding the need, value, or benefits of the service can lead to closing of one’s Friendster, MySpace, or Facebook accounts. It’s interesting to see the digital revolution change the way in which society becomes reliable on new forms of technology that impacts our lives, and we give more permission to others that seek profits that could impact our rights. Many governments complained of the threat of WikiLeaks and shut-down the site, while founder Julian Assange is facing jail time.

How do you feel about leaking out more personal information about yourself, your friends, or family to the rest of the world without you knowing and potentially having no control over it? Is it just a matter of convenience, or is Big Brother actually watching YOU!