Never has it been easier to make video.
Technology has made this happen. Just about anyone with a flip cam or phone can grab footage, add titles with some free editing software, post it to YouTube (also free), and away you go.
As far as entertainment goes, the value factor can be extremely high. As far as the waste your time factor goes… it can be even higher. But the value in this medium is the immediate access it provides. Access into communities, individuals, thoughts, expressions, art, music, culture, and everything that makes us human. Video helps connect us on this human level that is not only gratifying but incredibly important.
When it comes to your business or organization this can play a huge factor in bringing your message across. Video ranks as one of the highest traffic drivers for Google. Just today I came across that Facebook is up to 20 million video uploads a month. The ‘viral’ potential is there.
However, like all mediums that touch the social web, it requires a very humanistic approach. Posting only commercials and your ads won’t work. But will work is experimenting. Remember video is a collaborative effort. It require both you and an audience to connect.
This can only be done by organic experimentation and the courage to try new things.
Take a look at what YouTube and Guggenheim are doing.
Putting into practice the collaboration/access combo, they are providing a contest in which anyone around the world can submit a video to be selected for their YouTube channel. 200 entries will be chosen and from these 20 will be selected to be viewed in the Guggenheim museum.
You can read more about the contest here.
Companies should consider videos. Just remember to be human about it and you’ll see the collaboration effect. The results will be access into the viewers world.
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social media Tags:
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expression,
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video,
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Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn’t truly understand Social Media.
Social Media is communication, and though I’m not a history major, I’m pretty sure people have been communicating since the dawn of time. Cave paintings were the first blog. Hieroglyphics the first tweets. We’ve always strived to communicate and have our message heard.
Communication is social media.
By communication I am referring to the internal desire to share stories, our history, news, what excites us, and what frightens us. These are human connections that drive our offline relationships, and it is the same connections that make up the social web.
The internet is simply the tool we use to communicate, and now technology has allowed us to break the 3rd and 4th walls into a new realm of connecting. You can talk to you neighbor down the street, or someone on the opposite side of the globe. Social Media defies geographic limitations.
Technology has enabled this to happen. But again, technology is not social media. Twitter, Facebook and other tools are inventions of technology. But they are just the instruments we choose to share our voice. The goal is still connecting. When Twitter disappears, rest assured we will find another way to connect.
So again, the tools are new, but they are not Social Media. Social Media is communication, and this is not new.
I keep harking on this because I’m very passionate about communication and what the Social Web is capable of. I don’t like to see companies or organizations fall into the deep side of the pool because they didn’t take the time to discover the rules that govern the social web.
Just remember the rules of engagement and honest communication that govern our offline relationships, transfer online. If you can get away from thinking of the digital landscape as bulletin board, you will be in a better position to humanize your brand. Then you will be able to connect with a far bigger audience than you imagined thanks to the social web.
Now that is something new!
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twitter
I am the business development person here at re:group. Recently my friend, Bryan, came by and asked about by social life. You see my husband died several years ago and some people seem compelled to ask if I am dating.
Well, being a marketing professional, I take a strategic approach to these things, so I explained, “In the past I was sort of co-branded with my spouse, so right now I am the process of a brand refresh. It started with Discovery, you know, review of assets, competitive audit, and key stakeholder interviews with my closest confidants.”
He had an odd look on his face as I added, “Then I moved on to build the brand platform. I was surprised at key appeals that were uncovered! Now in the design phase, I am working on a new ‘look and feel’, new hair, lose a few pounds, get fit and make a few tweaks, as they say in the business”.
Bryan smiled. “Oh I get it!” Jan chimed in, “You should go on line!” Things were getting out of hand so I continued, “The plan is to role out the new brand this summer. But it will be a soft launch, the media plan calls for SEO, natural search, none of this SEM/PPC for me. But I do think social technology will play a big role, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook will be huge networking opportunities. Twitter is a must. My Space, nope.”
I look forward to sharing the ROI in the near future, good, bad or behind schedule.
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branding Tags:
branding,
life,
positioning,
social media,
technology
