Although I didn’t see the Grammy Award show and advertisers implement as much social marketing during the awards show that I would have liked (would have loved to see a live Twitter feed on a screen there, for instance), there were cases before the show and during the show where conversation was taken into consideration:
Jon Bon Jovi courtesy bonjovi.com
BON JOVI- One of the most obvious social options that stood out was Bon Jovi’s decision to give the listeners the driver’s seat for the evening. Early in the broadcast, hosts announced that listeners should go to a website to vote for their fave Bon Jovi song. Viewers chose between three songs that had already been voted into the finals throughout the week before the Grammys. The winning song, “Livin’ on a Prayer“, was performed later in the broadcast.
CBS RADIO- Before the broadcast, CBS radio and Mashable reported that CBS had developed a streaming Internet radio station featuring Grammy-nominated singers and even a DJ to chat up the awards.
GRAMMY WEBSITE- Visiting Grammy allows fans to view/share videos and publicity shots of the celebs. In addition, the site pulls in blogs about the Grammys and their Facebook and Twitter feeds. Representatives from the show did facebook throughout the East Coast broadcast and there were a few tweets after the festivities as well. The site also included a Poll for viewers to vote on what they loved best about the broadcast.
WE’RE ALL FANS- Of course, there was the social site that was launched before the Grammys, We’re All Fans. The site allows fans to see some very fast social conversation (unsure if it was real time or not) about each nominated artist and hear their songs. In addition, fans could set up their own portrait through the site and share the site on their fave social sites. As a consumer, I found this site to be a little confusing and wondered about the purpose of it.
LINCOLN-The only Grammy advertiser that I saw who offered social marketing integration was Lincoln (I wasn’t glued to the TV and may have missed others. If so, please comment). During a commercial, they announced that their viewership will choose the band to play the next soundtrack for a Lincoln commercial. By visiting Lincoln, viewers can vote for the bad that they like the best.
Paris and Prince Jackson courtesy Grammy.com
MICHAEL JACKSON- Considering that Michael Jackson was the top person who trended on Twitter for 2009, I was surprised that his tribute didn’t trend tonight on Twitter (at least it didn’t on the West Coast). I suspect part of it was that the at-home audience felt a bit left out with the 3D components. Although some mentioned that there was a Target television commercial encouraging all to get 3D glasses, most I heard from had not heard of the need for them and therefore didn’t experience the full beauty of the tribute. Social marketing is just like any other marketing-if you require the consumer to put too much energy or time into preparing to hear your message, the message will be quickly lost.
Anyone else pick up on any Grammy social components that I missed? Please feel free to add them into the comments.
Genoa Lights, a successful Indy Lights Team, has made a move unique to the auto racing industry. They have decided to offer out partial ownership in the team much like the horse racing industry. Known as syndication, it’s a successful technique of ownership that allows all team players to benefit from funds and allows each owner to experience a potentially excellent return on that investment. In addition, it assists in drawing the best talent to the team, making winning more probable, and draws good sponsors too.
We recently met with the President of Genoa Lights (Speedway Stables), Mark Olson, to learn more.
Julie- Tell us about the past success of Genoa Lights.
Mark- The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights™ season definitely had great 
things happening. We were competitive everywhere, with:
- Fastest lap and new track record at Palm Beach International Raceway during testing
- Fastest lap at Homestead-Miami Speedway during testing
- Fastest lap at Kentucky Speedway during testing
- Fastest lap at Sebring International Raceway during testing
- 1.5 seconds faster than the next closest car in the rain at the St. Petersburg race
- Pole position speed in qualifying and a second-place finish at the Long Beach race
Julie- What happened after that?
Mark- In June, (after an inspirational finish in the Freedom 100 on “Carb Day” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway), Genoa decided to park the team and begin preparing for 2010. Genoa strategically decided to sit out the remainder of the season in order to preserve its resources for 2010 and beyond.
Julie- This ended up benefiting the team, from what I hear. Tell us more.
Mark- Yes, this strategy appears to have paid off, with several veteran drivers and a handful of IndyCar® teams looking at Genoa to be a strong partner in 2010.
Julie- What triggered you to try syndication?
Mark- I actually had the idea to syndicate car racing teams before I ever started car racing. My first exposure to syndication was in the spring of 03 while attending the Masters Golf Tournament. We were staying in Aitken, South Carolina, which is a big thoroughbred horse community. I went out to watch the early morning training sessions and had breakfast at the diner where jockeys ate. It made for some interesting eavesdropping. Since then, I have met several owners and learned more about the business. And somewhere along the way, I wondered why someone had never applied the syndication business model to car racing? The last three years have been spent working the kinks out of the business model.
Julie- What has been the response so far?
Mark- A lot of excitement. Everyone that I have personally introduced the idea to has been excited about the fresh approach, the opportunities and the numbers. Last night, over a holiday week, we sent out an introductory email to our fan mail list (about 550 members) and by morning we had 38 hits on the website. A 7% click through rate during evening hours during a holiday week is a great response for a typical email campaign and it gives us confidence to announce it to a larger audience. We are also using social marketing to spread the word.
Julie- How do you foresee working with multiple owners, keeping communication open and making everyone happy?
Mark- The team owners will be able to attend (in person and via conference calls) our weekly team meetings where we will discuss operational issues, sponsorship, drive status, logistics, and the other day-to-day stuff. The owners also will elect a three member advisory board to assist in the day-to-day direction of the team.
We don’t expect that the team owners have the experience to actually run the team, although they may. But we feel it’s important that they are actively involved in the process, understanding all the moving pieces and buying in on the decision making.
Further, the systems will be in place to handle all of the event-based logistics. The team owners and guests will have VIP status to all the events and there is a ton of organizing that goes hand-in-hand with that. But we will get it all covered so team owners don’t have to.
Julie- Where do we go for more information?
Mark- Fill out the Information Request Form. We will get back to you quickly with any questions or concerns you might have.
Those of you on Twitter recently saw the addition of “Lists”. And although there was of course a learning curve and a little confusion at first, lists have now become a great way to organize your followers. Being listed has also become (alas) somewhat of a status symbol.
Why a status symbol? Well, when a follower has listed you it means that they want to be able to easily find your tweets. When they click on the list that they’ve made, it brings up all the tweets of everyone that they have placed on their list.
Other people also have the ability to follow that entire list. So if you want to follow people in the auto racing industry, for instance, you can easily find lists where people have already organized their racing peeps and follow that whole list under your account. This will save you a ton of time.
It also means that they have categorized you. Of course, that can be good or bad. Yesterday I realized that one of the lists that I am on is called “sort later”. Someone is procrastinating-and for once it’s not me.
You will see that some of the top dogs on Twitter (such as Guy Kawasaki, founder of All Top) are listed many, many times (Guy’s count is at over 9,000 lists). New Marketing guru, Chris Brogan, is listed over 4,000 times.
As you grow in relevance on Twitter, you will be listed more. And to do this, I recommend that you are genuine, that you interact with peeps and that you tweet information that is informative to your followers. And-don’t forget to make your own lists. Peeps will see that they are there and appreciate it.
Follow us on Twitter
Friend us on Facebook
Link with us on Linked-In
Social Marketing Group on Facebook
From left: PR Support Kat Spellman, Womentorz Owner Melinda Knight, VP Communications Jen Cannon, PR Support Julie Bonn Heath
We had a grand time at the Womentorz launch party in Seattle. All of the inventions featured on Womentorz were featured and Zeitgeist Coffee staff members were skilled hosts.
We had a ton of giveways, good food and great convo. Sisters of Sizzle also joined us to MC the party and entertained us with hilarious costumes and banter.
One of the best parts for me, of course, was tying in the social networks. We had many people join us via Twitter, chatting with the #womentorz hashtag during the launch party. And we also had the inventors that couldn’t join us in person call in via Skype (one at a time, of course) to chat with the attendees. Jen even walked the laptop around the place so that they could see all the happenings and feel more involved. Both were great methods to include people from afar.
Sisters of Sizzle
Shortly after the launch party, we held a virtual launch party on Twitter with ResourcefulMom and it was a rousing success. Womentorz became a trending topic (in the top 10 subjects people were tweeting about) and many Twitter friends who joined us walked away with amazing gifts from the Womentorz website. Over 3,500 tweets included the Womentorz hashtag within an hour’s time period. Wow! The best part, of course, is that it was tons of fun! Thanks to Amy for her assistance with the Twitter Sitewarming party.
We were recently named one of the top 60 PR peeps to follow on Twitter by Social Media Today. We came across the list by accident, via a Google alert, but were pleased to be included. There are a ton of good PR peeps on the list, we agree. So if you are looking for great ones to follow, see this list.
I am astounded at number of companies I see that are looking for an intern (often unpaid) to fill their social marketing needs for themselves or for their clients. Please don’t get me wrong-I have nothing against interns. In fact, I have had some talented ones and adore them. But companies are completely missing the point: the best social marketing is orchestrated via a plan, and should be a coordinated marketing effort by someone experienced in social marketing. If done right, it will compliment the marketing taking place elsewhere and marketing is always more effective when all components compliment each other.
In less than a year, I have gained almost 10 k followers on Twitter. Now, there are other people who have gained more of a following than in close to that same time period. I am certainly not THE authority on Twitter following. But there are others, on Twitter about the same length of time, who have a thousand followers or less. Some may intentionally be keeping it small and some may not have a goal of a large following, but it is a difference that should be noted.
I’ve seen the same thing happen on Facebook. With the right components and interaction, a group or page in a year’s time can grow with very solid numbers. If those components aren’t used, groups and pages will sit with a few members and not accomplish the marketing goals that the company wants to see.
Gaining a large following, if that is your goal, takes time, dedication and some expertise. And when you are paying someone with experience, you are not just paying them to tweet on your behalf-you are paying them to:
- Build a market for you online.
- Provide their expertise on the best way to do that and the best places for your company to have a presence.
- Provide branding of your company or clients.
- Consult with you on the best way to accomplish the goals and the best way to tie the social marketing in with other parts of the plan. (priceless)
- Sometimes provide online customer service as appropriate.
- Have a hand in the quality of service your company or clients are providing.
- Provide a “front-line” and immediate presence/impression of your company or your client.
My friends, it is so much MORE than tweeting. Trust me on that. If you truly want impact and results from your social marketing, invest the dollars. It will pay off.
GMA producer on the right and Julie on the left
Today we welcomed a Good Morning America Weekend team to the Cannon Beach Farmer’s Market. The producer was extremely complimentary about our little town and was enthused to discover that we are very friendly folk. She said, “and I don’t think it’s even because we are with Good Morning America!” It was quite funny as we reassured her that here on the Oregon Coast, we are truly genuine and friendly people.
Off course, I tweeted all about the experience and my followers enjoyed hearing about the farmer’s market and the visit.
In addition to the Farmer’s Market, the camera crew and Producer visited Haystack Rock (extremely low tide today), Indian Beach (great for surfing) and Ecola State Park. They also visited with local artist, Richard Gorsuch. They said they were able to get great footage of Haystack Rock in particular.
We will keep you updated to let you know when the segment will air.
Thanks Good Morning America Weekend for the visit! Hope you truly enjoyed your time here.
Haystack Rock
There is only one day a year when beach parking is allowed in Cannon Beach. That is on Sandcastle Day. The sheer overflow of cars on the streets would likely close the town down so it is allowed that one day as visitors pour into town to see the amazing creations made of sand.
I have a formal complaint. Sandcastle Day is always held in early June and the last three years in a row, it has been a cold experience. Take today for instance. It was overcast and chilly. And of course on the beach you can increase the chilliness ten-fold when you take the wind into account. I have personally heard people say they don’t attend because of the chill and I admit that I always go home sooner than planned for the same reason. My sister in law with small children agrees.
Why do they have it in early June? Well, Cannon Beach schedules it then on purpose. They want to bring in tourists during this time when tourists often don’t come because of the risk of colder weather. Who wants to plan a trip to the beach and have it rain all week? Very few.
It does work of course. Sandcastle Day is a big event here and there are people that attend every year and spend their money in Cannon Beach.
But attendance has been dropping the last few years and because many I talk to say that the weather is a deterrent, I am seriously wondering if this marketing move on the City’s part was the best one. (I should note that I don’t believe that is the only reason for the dropping attendance-there are other factors I won’t discuss here).
Granted, weather on the Oregon Coast is never a guarantee. But I can tell you that you have a much better chance of sunny skies in August and September.
So why not make it a certain weekend every year a little later in the summer? I wonder if attendance would once again increase?
P.S. These pics are from previous years as my camera broke this week.
A conversation with a major network this past week really got me to thinking. It’s been a little while since I have 
been on TV and when I am, I rely heavily on my improvisation skills, people skills and natural wit. =)
Preparing other people for television appearances is part of my job when my clients are heading for a TV spot, whether it be for a commercial or an interview. And when I look at the industry, I don’t see a lot of information out there that can help prepare people for being on camera. I see a need there–especially when I see Twitter friends like ResourcefulMom (Amy Lupold Bair) post: “I’m getting ready to go on TV! Is there anything that I should know?”
It made me want to laugh. Not at Amy of course. But just because it’s an unusual, but glorious experience for most people. And unless you are on TV a bunch, you will probably get slightly high in the afterglow of it. It’s a bit like being on stage, you see. And most anyone enjoys being center-stage here and there. You won’t get the applause immediately afterward (unless you, for instance, trip on a cord going off set), but people will see you, and if you become a regular you become high risk of being recognized at the grocery store. Which means that you shouldn’t run up to the store in sweats and a ponytail-unless you really, really want to.
Before I digress too much, I must say that there are likely books on this subject that I am not aware of. And if not, one should be written for sure. I certainly cannot post all of my TV Tips in one post. But today I would like you to be aware that most everyone on camera occasionally or for the first time really needs to look at any nervous habits that they brought with them and cut them out.
Common nervous habits on TV, especially when being interviewed, include:
- Foot bouncing
- Playing with hair
- Playing with anything
- Nose rubbing
- Picking cuticles or nails
- Continuous shifting
- Crossing/Uncrossing of legs
- Clearing throat
- Verbal repeats that make you look DUMB like “Um”, “Ya”, “Okay”, “Uh huh”…over and over again
I suggest that before filming, you take a tip from Speech 101 and videotape yourself either making a speech or in a practice interview. Have family and friends be an audience if you want. When you are done, watch it several times and make a note of any weird or nervous actions/speech patterns. Then videotape another segment. The more you watch yourself, the more aware you will become of what your nervous habits are. It is the first step to controlling them when you are filming.
Please help me get rid of any nervous ticks I have by commenting after you watch the video below. Thanks!
