Social Media Blog by Michael Brito
Insights into the social web & real
time community engagement
time community engagement
Move over influencers; advocates are more valuable to brands. It’s a fact. And I won’t try to make the case with research on how consumers want to engage with brands on the social web because we all know that’s the case already. I don’t have a problem with influencers at all; and have been vocal in the past about some of my own influencers. All I am saying is that customer advocacy bring more life and longer term value for a brand. Here’s why:
Influencers can be bought; but may not always deliver
Well, not really. What I am trying to say is that influencers don’t really care about your brand. They may have a crush on you or find your product useful; but they are too busy being influencers – tweeting, blogging, and recording webinars to really care. Of course they love getting free trials and new products before they hit [...]
You follow 100K people and they all follow you back.
You follow 100K people and 200K follow you back (this person has more influence than the previous).
You have a low (follower/followee) ratio because you un-follow the majority of the people who you previously followed.
You go to the local grocery store and a random person shouts “Hey, I know you! I follow you on Twitter and RT everything you share”.
You have a personal Facebook Fan Page (it doesn’t matter how many people like you either. The mere fact that you have one is all that matters).
Your twitter CTR is 38% on all the links you share about YOU.
Others randomly RT YOUR Klout score (keyword – RT)
You get invited to speak at every social media conference (even if you have to pay for your own travel, you still have influence).
You check in to a random location on Foursquare and it turns into a [...]
So this past 4th of July weekend, I decided to take my wife and daughters to Santa Monica for a short vacation. We stayed at the Sheraton Delfina for four nights and it was very pleasant. The hotel staff was nice, the room was phenomenal and we had a great view.
And of course, being the great social media practitioner that I am, I checked in on Foursquare the day I arrived.
Just today, I noticed that the hotel started following me on Twitter. I reciprocated and then got this message a few hours later.
I have been working at Edelman Digital for 7 months now and still think it’s been the best career move I have ever made in my life. I am amazed at the people I work with day to day and learn so much from them. The collaboration, sharing, support and encouragement inspires me every day to give 110 percent. With that said, I wanted to share some job openings, specifically here on the West Coast. For a full list of job openings, you can go directly to the web site. I currently work out of the San Mateo office but have colleagues in each of the others and the leadership in each is top notch!
Love to see non-profit organizations like Earthjustice embracing social technologies. Each time someone “checks in” at an Earthjustice poster in the San Francisco BART stations, one of Earthjustice’s donors will give $10 to support their cause. The ads, featuring images of Lake Tahoe, oil rig platforms, and the little furry endangered pika, can be found throughout the BART stations coming this summer.
According to a recent study released by Vitrue last week, Facebook Fans are valued at $3.60 each in earned media for brands. Not everyone was happy with the study and a few even poked holes in the formula and assumptions made. I also wrote about it here if you’re interested. Despite the formula flaws, I do think it’s a good start to something many marketers are looking for – i.e. what’s the return on investing budget and human capital on a Facebook fan page? In fact, working on the brand side for many years, this question arises daily. And, the reality is that we may never know the true value of a fan because human behavior changes all the time and technology isn’t quite there yet; not to mention the possible privacy implications. I do feel that calculating fan value needs to involve more than just impressions. For now though, [...]
We saw it at CES. It exploded at SxSW. People checking in everywhere, all the time. While tools like Foursquare are great for social media users like myself, the question I always ask myself is whether or not it can provide long-term value for a brand? I asked the same question a few years ago about Twitter and the answer so far has been yes.
I think most agree that Foursquare and other location-based services are excellent for in-person events so I won’t ramble too much about it.
Now if I worked for a Peets Coffee, Starbucks (client), 24 Hour Fitness (client), Best Buy or any other retailer in a highly populated city; I would be all over Foursquare like a politician with an area code exemption. What a better way to create incentives for customers or loyalty programs for early adopters and influencers. It’s been a little slow catching on and [...]
Consumers interact spontaneously with each other; and the brand is the core focus of each interaction.
Your content is being shared all over the interwebs without you even asking.
The meaning of your brand evolves; and you embrace it.
Consumers develop a new language around your brand and you learn it.
Consumers find and promote new uses of your brand and you don’t sue them.
Normal users become brand advocates and you love them for it.
A community is born and you participate in it.
Fluffy stuff I know; i just felt inspired today. I usually try to write something of value so that anyone who reads this can take actionable steps to facilitate change within their organizations. Sorry. : (
Note: these ideas are a combination of my experience working for big brands and my perception of community building on the social web.
