Crazy for Pinterest

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The social media world is abuzz with the media wonder Pinterest, founded in 2008. It’s the latest and greatest in the social media realm — a visually-pleasing “virtual pinboard” of photos, videos, and comments on various topics of interest; organized by users like you and me. Being a visual person, my boards are filled with eye candy galore: branding, information graphics, beautiful packaging, fashion, mouthwatering foods, travel destinations and pretty much anything else that catches my designer eye. In the process of playing on our virtual pinboards, users are also generating buzz and increasing traffic for brands like Whole Foods and Etsy, just by linking our pins to their websites.
 
So why all the fuss? Traffic, traffic, traffic! Pinterest attracts more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined. It’s growing like crazy and if you haven’t started using it, you should really consider asking for an invite. It could just help you or your company increase traffic — and potentially — business.

Global Pecha Kucha Week 2/20–2/26
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Just as open mic night is a chance for the urban poet to read aloud and twitter a window for the aspiring blogger to write, so is International Pecha Kucha Week an opportunity for creatives to show their work and network with like minds.

Next week, in 474 cities around the world, Pecha Kucha nights will commence utilizing the 20 x 20 presentation model — 20 images shown for 20 seconds each, to keep ideas and conversation moving. The event is a tradition devised in Tokyo in February of 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture. Their goal was to provide a venue in which young designers could meet, network and show their work publicly.

Job searchers, new converts, veteran designers—don’t miss your opportunity. Restrictions beget art. Interactivity is everything. Find your city and meet your kind.

Not your Mom & Dad’s Super Bowl Advertising
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The Super Bowl advertising landscape is a different frontier than it once was. Ads now cost an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot—up from $37.5k in 1967.They are also estimated to reach over 111 million viewers in 2012 compared to over 24 million viewers in 1967.

The numbers are interesting, but what has changed in the last 45 years aside from cost and the number of viewers? The biggest change has occurred in the last few years as a result of mobile phone and social media advancements. To give you an idea of the dramatic shift, nearly half of the 70 Super Bowl advertisers this year put their spots online in the days leading up to the game—a significant increase from last year when only a handful of spots were released ahead of time. Bluefin Lab also tracked 12.2 million social media comments during the Super Bowl, which is a 578% increase from 2011. Plus, mobile apps like Shazam were being featured during the halftime show and in commercials to engage consumers with free and exclusive content like never before.

What does this mean for the future? The drive to engage the audience not only via TV but in the real world and on the second screen (mobile, tablet, PC) will only increase in the years to come. The incremental cost to have a fully integrated campaign across multiple channels is minimal compared to the $3.5M for 30 seconds of air time. Plus, multi-channel engagement has the potential to leave a longer lasting impression with consumers than a 30-second TV spot. If brands and agencies aren’t thinking of creative ways to engage their consumers using these innovative new channels going forward, they will be left behind.

Step Up With Stand-Out Apps
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It’s no secret how inundated mobile app stores have gotten — the App Store features about 500,000 apps and Android Market 300,000. So how do you get yours to stand out in front of consumers against all the rest?

A recent report by Distimo showed that featured apps receive increased revenue: 41% on the first day and 22% on the second for the App Store. In the Android marketplace, the numbers were 7% on the first day and 29% overall. The same study gauged what discounting an app can do for sales. Surprisingly, the report showed that it actually lowered revenue. Find out more here

So how do you get your app featured? Although you can apply for the honor, the best approach is just to make your app good. Make it pop, make sure it works well, create a compelling user experience, make the design incredible and plan your marketing in advance. In short, build it well and they will come.

A few elements that successful apps share are a recognizable name (often), a clear benefit or purpose, eye-catching design and a smart interface. They also work as promised. Hey, you stand out visually and conceptually, but it won’t get you anywhere if your product doesn’t work well.

A few words of advice about app marketing from the experts out there: plan ahead so you’re prepared when your app launches, promote via social media channels, have a website to back up your offering, and ensure your app is a recognizable part of your brand. Positive buzz, good reviews and sales or downloads are sure to follow.

The Digital War (Currently on Hold…)
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Imagine the Internet as you know it censored. Sites you regularly visit have been blacklisted and are now blocked by your ISP. While the scenario seems extreme, it was inherently probable if the proposed SOPA bill had been passed as originally written.

What is SOPA? The Stop Online Piracy Act is an anti-piracy bill, currently on hold, that would have given intellectual property owners (movie studios and record labels) the right to pull the plug on foreign sites against which they have a copyright claim. I’m not in support of piracy by any means but consider the outcome for the companies along the breadcrumb. If Sony Music, for example, claimed that a site in Indonesia was torrenting a copy of Foster The People’s new album, they could demand Google remove the site from its search results, that PayPal no longer accept payments to or from the site, that ad services pull all ads and finances associated with it, and most dangerously—that the site’s Internet Service Provider prevent people from visiting it.

Prior to SOPA/PIPA, the DMCA Safe Harbor Rule was in force. Unless the site was actively participating in copyright infringement it couldn’t be held liable for the actions of its users (completely reasonable if you ask me). SOPA/PIPA could have gone as far as policing images. What’s the big deal? Let’s take it a bit further. Imagine you’ve shared an image on Facebook (in good fun) not knowing the image was a copyright violation. Facebook would have been liable for the copyright infringement even if they complied with the DMCA takedown request. Seem fair?

This bill could have destroyed sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. that allow a medium of free speech to people of every country. SOPA/PIPA would have allowed the take down of sites via DNS blocking simply because they could potentially enable copyright infringement. In a nutshell, all that was required was a single letter claiming a “good faith belief” that the target site has infringed on its content. Once Google or whoever received the quarantine notice, they would have 5+ days to abide or challenge the claim in court. The wide-ranging consequences of this act could have been absolutely massive.

We can all breath a sigh of relief now but don’t get too comfortable surfing the internet in your snuggy, because Congress is busy trying to figure out an answer to the age-old question of piracy—and it’s most likely going to effect us all.

Boosting Brand Trust With Social Media
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In this era when social media marketing is hot, the thing, king — companies have a grand new opportunity to communicate directly with their customers. And one of the real benefits of this personalized, day-to-day contact is the chance for brands to respond to customer questions and concerns, and gain their trust.

Online, judging trustworthiness is a complicated venture. For most consumers, it boils down to how real and respectful the messages are, how the company listens to feedback, and how fast it responds. According to Fleishman-Hillard’s 2010 Digital Influence Index, consumers trust brands that provide “real-time responses.” So when communicating with your public via social networking sites, remember that time is of the essence. Delays can have the opposite effect you’re going for; pushing away the customers you’re trying to reach.

A social media presence can also personalize your brand, get excitement going and let you show off your expertise. When venturing out, you may want to avoid these pitfalls: curt responses (you don’t care about the customer), neglected pages (you’re not on your game), a too-formal tone (you’re old-fashioned).

So by all means, start that blog! Post those clips. Get a conversation going with your customer-base and let them see what your brand is about. As a consumer yourself, you know—the brands people are crazy for may start with a great product, but they’re nothing without service you know you can trust.

Social Networking’s Worth the Risk
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Social Networking's Worth the Risk

Managing Facebook and Twitter identities for Seven Design clients, I’ve had the horrifying experience of logging on and finding porn ads or complaints posted to the main wall. I’m not going to lie to you; I broke into a sweat and considered making a dash for the delete button. If this scenario is your worst nightmare and it’s keeping you from a foray into the realm of social media marketing, I can pass on what I’ve learned: giving up control of the conversation about your brand can bring you a world of new opportunities.

Above all, the era of social media marketing brings our community of fans, potential customers, competitors and complimentary brands into a realm where we can interact in an authentic way. Gone are the days of speeches, dictations, announcements, press releases. Welcome to blog posts and responses, wall posts, chats, bulletins and decisions by committee. Hello to having direct contact with your consumers—what could be better?

Let’s say a new customer has a poor experience with your brand and posts a negative review on a consumer review website. You may say it’s a PR nightmare, but it’s also a chance to show what your brand is made of. Why not thank the customer for the feedback and say how you plan to address the issue? With a world of others watching, you’ve shown that your customers matter to you, you’re responsive and you’re constantly striving to do better. These instances can also help you identify and fix potential problems with your product or service—for free.

So fear not, fair marketer. Log on, sign up, set up and let the dialogue begin. Being a brand manager or business owner you know: you have to take risks to reap rewards.