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Here’s my presentation as part of the Baker’s Dozen Social Media Takeaways panel at the PR News Social Media Summit, Friday, June 22nd, 2012.

There’s a battle brewing in the emerging space of personal, social media profile aggregation sites. For example, both about.me, a service of Aol, and DooID.Me (which also answers to DooID.com), an independent startup, offer users a convenient way to centralize their bios, create virtual business cards and gang their many social media streams — from Facebook to Google+ to Twitter to Flickr to YouTube to Tumblr, and so on — making it easier for your contacts to find and follow you all across the social web.

Both about.me and DooID offer similar website functions and features, with slightly different approaches to the user experience and the profile design tools they offer. At the time of this writing, however, DooID offers a wider array of more flexible features across the board — for design, content, links and functionality. Importantly, DooID also offers a well executed, mobile-optimized version with a QR code and a vCard downloader for convenient access and use on handheld devices. About.me does not yet appear to be geared for mobility.

How to choose? Why choose?

Like my approach to most other social media channels, I’m hedging bets by staking claims to both. Why not? They are free (at least for the basic functions). But the more flexible configuration and mobility factors compel me to adopt DooId over about.me as my personal page of choice.

Where do you net out?

Following its successful debut last year, PR+MKTG Camp East will return to New York on October 28, 2010 with a full line up of senior level speakers and marketing and PR experts. Representatives from some of the largest brands and agencies will lead a day of lively discussions on igniting the power of collaboration and integration to maximize your marketing and PR engagement strategies.

PR+MKTG Camp East is a highly interactive one day conference designed for senior marketing and PR professionals who want to increase their impact in today’s socially-driven media landscape. In addition to the New York conference in 2009, PR+MKTG Camp has also been held in Atlanta, Seattle and Chicago.

Dan Greenfield, event producer for PR+MKTG Camp East, says, “It’s a full day of immersion for participants wanting to get some added perspective and explore with peers engagement strategies that more effectively reach target audiences and key influencers.”

Greenfield also suggests that though integration is more critical than ever and is at the top of the priority list for many companies, many really don’t know how to do it.  PR+MKTG Camp East goes beyond methods and tools to focus on engagement strategies that integrate marketing, PR, customer service, sales and community moderation.

Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with speakers who are driving marketing, social media and PR efforts at some of the world’s largest corporations and best-known brands and agencies. Topics include assessing the current communications landscape, building a vision for integrated strategic engagement, executing a strategy for integrated engagement and establishing business impact metrics and analytics.

PR+MKTG Camp East will feature several speakers, including keynote speaker Ellen Stone, senior vice president of marketing at Bravo Media and an early adopter of social media.

The following are some of the speakers scheduled to lead discussions at PR+MKTG Camp East:

• Stephanie Agresta – EVP, Global Director of Digital Strategy & Social Media Porter Novelli
• David Berkowitz – Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation, 360i
• Peter Blacker – SVP Digital Media, Telemundo Network
• Allison Blass – Blogger, Lemonade Life
• Bonin Bough – Director of Digital and Social Media, PepsiCo
• Damon Burrell – VP, Consumer Marketing, MTV Networks
• Aaron Calloway – Brand Manager AXE, Unilever
• Frank Eliason – Senior Vice President of Social Media, CitiBank
• Peter Fasano – Engagement Manager, Dachis Group
• Sandra Fathi – President & Founder, Affect Strategies
• Shari Forman – Director, Online Communications and Social Media, American Express
• Harriet T. Hennigan – Marketing Coordinator, Alzheimer’s Association
• Jonathan Kopp – Partner / Global Director, Ketchum Digital
• Carly Kuper – Director Communications, Digitas Health
• Joe Kutchera – Author, Latino Link
• Dean Landsman – President, Landsman Communications Group
• Joseph Moran – Collaboration Solutions Architect, Cisco
• Matt Rosenhaft – Principal, Social Gastronomy
• Jeff Simmermon – Director of Digital Communication, Time Warner Cable
• Joelle Keane Tramel – Agency Relations Manager: IPG, Google
• Lloyd P. Trufelman – President & CEO, Trylon SMR, New York
• PR Newswire – TBD

PR+MKTG Camp East will be held at the Lighthouse Executive Conference Center, 111 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022.  Register at http://www.prmktgcampEast.eventbrite.com.

By Jane Leung, campaignlive.co.uk, Monday, 06 September 2010 12:17PM Be the first to comment

HONG KONG - Following Ketchum Greater China’s 30th anniversary, digital strategist Cynthia Chan and Ketchum Digital partner and global director Jonathan Kopp warns the industry against limiting social media to consumers or children.

During his interview, Kopp said that social media in China is rooted in social forums like BBS. Computers no long restricts internet access and mobile is causing a spike in internet penetration in the Chinese market.

He said two thirds of the Chinese internet population now rests on mobile connection. 11 per cent of the online population accesses the web only through mobile which is driving the web beyond cities, provinces and stereotypes like affluent, white collar educated users.

Using McDonald’s in China as an example, Chan said that online activities triggered by social media can easily translate to offline activities. Studies have also shown that the Chinese have a greater willingness to trust companies that engage in social media (like micro-blogging) than other parts of the world.

Marketers cannot expect social media to take off just because it reaches the targeted audience more directly and quickly. “Ketchum’s approach to digital is from an ‘earn’ media perspective. What typically happens is that digital developers try to have people come to their sites through social media,” Kopp said.

He continues, “It’s in the DNA of the PR people to find a storyline that is relevant to the audience and slip into the conversation that people have on social media.”Commenting on China’s positive take on branded content, Chan said, “Chinese internet users are not concerned about commercial branding in social media platforms, as long as the portals provide them with fun.” She adds that marketers in Hong Kong and the West however need to be more subtle.

Kopp goes on to say that the impact of social media in the luxury, pharmaceutical and financial industries is more sensitive but still feasible. “What we are seeing from our clients is that there is an enterprise approach for any business unit that has any reason to communicate to stakeholders.”

“Because today’s consumers are not distinquishing between that which is tradition or new media. To them, it’s all media,” he said.

Speaking on monetisation and ROI on social media, Kopp said, “If the question is how do you measure the value that you are getting out of social media, companies should flip the question and consider what value they are providing for their stakeholders if we want them to engage with us in social media,” he said.

Companies are more likely to achieve success in the social space if they approach it as constructive participants, offering something of value.

Read more from Campaign Asia

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk

It is widely believed that Facebook is going to announce on Wednesday a location-based service during its scheduled press conference.

If this is the case - speculators have guessed wrong about a Facebook location offering before - it will, of course, cause significant upheaval in this nascent but popular space now typified by Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl and others.

Let’s assume, though, that Facebook is indeed rolling out such an offering. Besides squashing the competition with its 500 million user base, it should also offer interesting new location-based ad opportunities to marketers.

Third Party Integration

For instance, it follows that Facebook will allow third-party applications to integrate with its location feature, much as third parties integrate other products such as quizzes or games with the platform. One could envision partnerships similar to what Foursquare has forged such as with Bravo Television.

A Big Stew

Facebook, though, can be expected to extend such offerings even further, supplementing it with existing services to create a big stew of location-based social content. Quizzes, social games, coupons, and even the chance to write product reviews a la Yelp, are all possibilities.

Facebook’s mobile users can expect to receive coupons and deals from restaurants and stores to which they happen to be close.

In short, says Jonathan Kopp, partner & global director, Ketchum Digital, “Facebook’s new location-based offering could empower consumers to cut out the middleman and make Facebook a one-stop shop.”

The New Online Store

It will also serve up a whole raft of new, valuable shopper behavior information for brands, he adds. Because Facebook’s location features add places to Open Graph - which already includes people and things - it’ll create a new opportunity for marketers to engage their customers - and those customers’ friends - on location, notes Kevin Barenblat, co-founder and CEO of Context Optional. “Depending on what features Facebook launches, a consumer may be able to like a particular store location, geo-tag their status update when they’re inside or check-in to receive special offers,” he says.

Written by Sheri Wallace House on August 16, 2010 -

I was privileged to attend both BlogHer Business ’10 and BlogHer ’10 this year, and this series of articles summarizes the sessions I felt would be most relevant to brands that I represent. To read all the articles in the series, click here.

At BlogHer Business ’10, Ketchum hosted a session devoted to understanding consumers’ interactions with brands, specifically in social media. Speakers were Kelley Skoloda, Director of Ketchum’s Global Brand Marketing Practice and author of Too Busy to Shop; Kristin Suppelsa, Vice President and Manager Communications Support, Liberty Mutual; Jonathan Kopp, Partner & Global Director, Ketchum Digital and Beth LaPierre, Chief Listening Officer at Kodak.

Forget Multi-Tasking!
First point in understanding women as consumers? Forget words like “busy” or “multi-tasking”. Women today are so busy that you can probably call it “multi-minding”. While we, as women, control 85% of consumer purchases, we are also powerful, tech-savvy and we have a voice. And, we aren’t afraid to use it. Connecting with us isn’t as simple as adding a makeup mirror in a new car model.

Quick. What’s your best guess for the first thing a female consumer is most likely to do when we perceive a company isn’t listening to us? Will we make a complaint, not buy the product, take some time to research the company or do nothing? If you guessed “not buy the product” you’re right. The most likely response to a consumer’s perception that a company isn’t listening is to simply not buy the product. As a brand, you don’t even have the chance to respond to a complaint, instead that money just walked away. This response is probably in large part due to the busy lives women lead and their lack of extra time to make a complaint and resolve it.

Skoloda’s advice is to realize that if you’re not communicating you won’t even have the chance to fix the relationship. Building a community and brand strategy have to be consistent, and permeate throughout the brand, not just be something that “social media handles”. Many campaigns fail to stay consistent on this message.

Kopp suggests that the customer has always been armed. Social media is just giving them rocket fuel. The average number of friends on Facebook? 130! Suddenly your words matter a whole lot more. 23% of women’s time online is spent in social media. You have to connect. Social media is becoming a dominant force in marketing but customer service and catering to the customer are still king. Listening to your customer is king. It always has been. You’re just doing it a bit differently.

What’s New?

Kopp (and many other marketing experts at the other sessions I attended) believe that social media and mobile are in their infancy. He believes that with 150 million users of mobile technology, you should be thinking now about how your brand is going to work in the mobile space.

LaPierre has a really telling job title. “Chief Listening Officer.” If a company the size of Kodak is realizing the importance of listening to customers in social media, your brand might also pay attention. She explains that Kodak has always had company representatives out in the field, traveling with photographers to listen to what could be improved, what features were needed and what the company could do differently. So, having a Chief Listening Officer is just the natural extension of listening to customers wherever they want to talk.

Who is Your Customer?

Kodak names their target customer. Her name is Katie and she’s got a story. What’s your customer’s name and story? Recognizing that not everyone uses social media, Kodak has also come up with customer stories for Katie’s mom and daughter, both of whom want different products and want to interact differently with the company. LaPierre explained that not only is it a lot easier to talk about real people (hence the customer names) but it’s easier to think about trending when you have a customer’s story and life in this detail.

She also added that customer service is only going to become more important in the social space. Right now Kodak has one Chief Listening Officer, but in the future there will probably be 10 listening officers as demand warrants.

What Does Social Media Dictate?

Suppelsa talked about the Responsibility Project as a way to engage consumers who were reluctant or just not interested in discussing insurance. As the project grew, so did the branding from the Liberty Mutual side, but not without a lot of impact from social media. Obviously, if someone has a unique policy or claims question or issue, that is taken off line, but by dialoging on responsibility in general, the brand has drawn consumers to the conversation.

Monitoring brand sentiment on Twitter told Liberty Mutual that their television ads were too depressing (the economy has been a Debbie Downer lately!) and so they developed new ads that portrayed the characters less in crisis with bleak outlooks but rather taking steps to make everything work out in a more positive way. When monitoring the community, Liberty Mutual takes the feedback seriously, and Suppelsa reports that consumers love seeing that their feedback counts.

When Bad Things Happen

However, what do you do when too much feedback is bogging down the process? Or, your company is subject to a recall or other PR disaster? All the experts urge brands to step back and look at the bigger picture when your brand takes social media hits. Balance the feedback without yielding to the pressure. Stay focused and put things in context. And, get perspective outside of your building. Whatever you do, don’t make giant decisions based on a few bad feedbacks or one nasty complaint. Look at what the majority of people are saying or feeling. Here’s where sentiment really counts. LaPierre said that she is often asked to talk about online sentiment after a rash of public complaints and it’s important to remember that no one really looks for the good when they’re focused on the bad. Before you overreact, look at all the sentiment, not just the jarring or overly negative.

Get Everyone Involved

While no one was advocating putting your new hires on Twitter to talk to customers, all the experts were unanimous in their opinion that your entire company needs to be involved in monitoring and engaging on social media. Social media can’t be a stand alone department. It needs legs in sales, marketing, customer service, claims and manufacturing. Kopp said several times that the companies who succeed are those that commit their plans to writing with the input of all the departments and really communicate about all aspects of social.

He used Best Buy’s Twelpforce as an example of using crowd sourcing to help with answering customer questions, and reported that it had been a success with sales up and returns down. (Read one case study here, there are several more online if you want to read more.)

From a smaller brand’s perspective, having a broader social media outreach can be as simple as asking several employees to share the load and work together as opposed to putting the responsibility on one or two people.

Best Piece of Advice

The speakers were asked for the number one best piece of advice. LaPierre said that her best advice was not to go it alone, and to instead work with employees to best help your customers. She also reminded brands to ask for input and opinions. Too many times, she said, brands forget to just ask. “Reach out to 10 customers on Twitter and just talk to them and see what they’re thinking.”

Kopp agreed. “You’ve got to listen,” he said. “It’s marketing malpractice if you don’t.” He added that enterprise social media is serious big business. Brands have to coordinate and organize, not just wing it. He also implored brands to get into relationship mode, not sell mode and finally to listen but don’t cede control to the crowd.

My favorite piece of social media advice? From LaPierre. “Don’t be a jerk!” How would you want someone to treat your mom? Be transparent and don’t sell.

Social media firms such as Syncapse, Vitru and now Fanscape have come up with formulas to capture the dollar value of a fan or follower’s worth. Most companies, though, don’t use such complex formulas. Instead, they have been proceeding on blind faith that a social media presence will pay off on the bottom line. While they are not inclined to want a specific number, some sort of valuation path would be welcome.

In part one, MarketingVox spoke with a few social media experts to find out what are the best ways to fill the gap between the complicated formulas of Syncapse et al and the fuzzy math used by the masses. In part two, we look at some of the mistakes they make with these methods.

Missing the Point

For starters , says Jonathan Kopp, partner & global director at Ketchum Digital, trying to assign a specific worth to each fan, friend or follower misses the point. “It is beyond dispute that organizations can derive great value, including ROI, from social media engagement - starting with listening to your audiences, then moving on to provide information and content that’s constructive, useful and valuable to them. But value must be determined based on the organization’s business and communications objectives and a clear benchmark from which to measure success.”

The Problems with Quantity

But let’s assume companies want to try - a la Syncapse or Vitru or Fanscape. The metric that Sherrie Madia, author The Social Media Survival Guide, sees companies using the most to track social media have to do with quantity (e.g., how many followers, fans, etc.). They tend to set large, arbitrary numbers as goals, she says, tracking “buzz” - the conversation or commentary that is generated as a result of a company’s social media efforts.

“And of course, they are tracking visitors to sites as a means of gauging a return.” The problem is social media is never about quantity alone. “If a company has 400,000 followers, but sees no increase in sales, does this necessarily count as “success?”

More to the point, Madia says, social media enables companies to track a host of other metrics, which, depending on a company’s objective, can provide far more value than, for example, 1 million fans, she says. Thus, she says, key metrics to examine include such variables as:

• length of engagement (how long users spend on your Facebook fan page)

• loyalty (Is your target audience engaging more than once? Are they retweeting your content, sharing or commenting?)

• bounce rate (while companies may see an encouraging click-through rate from an email to a community site, if the bounce rate once they arrive is low, then you may need to rethink your content/offer/engagement strategy on the landing page.

• And of course, conversion is vital “because at the end of the day, companies are trying to turn social media into sales.”

By Emily Glazer

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa, and star of Procter & Gamble Co.’s (PG) current Old Spice Internet ad campaign, is helping prove “webommercials” can go beyond just brand building online and actually move sales.

“The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign debuted at the Super Bowl six months ago. The buzz was so loud the campaign continued with a second commercial in June. Two weeks ago, P&G took the campaign online so Mustafa could get more in touch with his audience, answering more than 100 comments from Facebook, Twitter and Reddit with personalized videos on Google Inc.’s (GOOG) YouTube.

The payoff: Total sales for Old Spice Body Wash jumped 27% in the last six months, 55% in the last three months and 107% in the last month, according to research firm Nielsen Co.

Social media initiatives, which are relatively inexpensive since the sites are free, have moved beyond marketing, now driving sales and developing products among large corporations. Companies have seen sales increases through sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Foursquare. However, analyzing the success of a web campaign isn’t an exact science, and social media experts say measuring a correlation is most reliable on an individual campaign basis.

More than one-third of U.S. businesses have had success using social media to attract new customers, according to a Regus survey. In the U.S., 28% of businesses have set aside a portion of their marketing budgets for social networking activities. However, a 2009 study by Mzinga and Babson Executive Education found 84% of the companies said they don’t measure the potential return on that investment.

Other companies, however, not only have measured the success of their campaigns, they’re liking the results.

In April 2009, Ford Motor Co. (F) brought 100 Fiesta vehicles over from Europe and gave them to 100 Web users to test drive for six months. The test drivers were chosen from 4,000 applicants based on how “socially vibrant” they were on the Internet, said Scott Monty, who runs Ford’s digital media campaigns.

At the end of six months, there were 7 million YouTube views, 750,000 Flickr views and 4 million tweets of #fiestamovement, which had never been used before. But it also translated to sales: 11,000 people reserved the vehicle, which wasn’t even in the system yet. And there was a 14% sales conversion rate — or total number of orders divided by unique visitors — which is 10 times the usual conversion rate seen with reservations.

“What we saw was this amazing buzz, this incredible word of mouth, both digital and real-world…(that) has led to sales,” Monty said. “If we had paid for the advertising, I don’t think people would have paid attention to it as much.”

Ford did not pay the 100 testers but did cover gas for the vehicles and insurance costs.

Dell (DELL) has also been able to isolate sales resulting from its Twitter feed. The computer systems company’s social media has evolved from a blog three years ago to current use of Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and a YouTube channel. Its Twitter handle, @DellOutlet, has raked in $3 million in revenue, and Dell’s global reach on Twitter has banked more than $6.5 million in revenue all based solely on sales through Twitter.

However, some question the validity of metrics, especially when there are multiple ways to chop up social media. Companies can measure anything from driving awareness and comments to number of tweets or coupons downloaded, among many others.

“There’s no single standard [to measure social media] because the value must be defined by the organization’s goals,” said Jonathan Kopp, partner and director of Ketchum Digital.

Some companies, like Nokia Corp. (NOK), that use social media outlets even advise against measuring because there’s no standard.

“When you start digging into what [corporations using social media are] doing…you get little slices,” Nokia’s Head of Social Media Mark Squires said. “To put it politely, guestimation is four steps removed.”

-By Emily Glazer, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2913; emily.glazer@dowjones.com