How Does Social Media Create Value for A Marketer?

Social media works differently than traditional advertising.  It creates value in part through engaging those already interested in the brand, and encouraging those people to share their brand enthusiasm with others.  And, when people do pass along indicators of brand affection, this influence in others.  Marketing Evolution has quantified this pattern of impact for the first time in 2007, and termed it “The Momentum Effect.”

This research has been highlighted in a slew of books, and featured at the Word-of-Mouth conferences, and paraded around by social media advocates as quantitative proof of the value proposition for social media.  The research has been broadly replicated for many different brands, in many categories.  While social media can take many forms, and the value of each differs across the spectrum, there are common principles of the Momentum Effect visible in just about everything social.

Here is the original paper: MomentumEffect_RexBriggs

Here is a somewhat primitive video explaining the social media (we originally did this for internal use only, but if you’d rather watch for 10 minutes than read, it covers all the core materials as in the paper).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aX-VA0soIM

 

 

Forecasting Social Media Impact: The TMR Tool we will announce at Internet Week.

Ad Age got the scoop on our product announcement at Internet week.

http://adage.com/article/digital/media-firms-roll-tool-measure-social-media-s-roi/227911/

This is a big deal in terms of channeling the wild west into respectable marketing planning society. I’ll blog more about exactly how it works after the announcement is “public” on Monday. You can get a sneak peak from the Ad Age story.

Systematically Reducing Energy Consumption

My wife and I moved into our house about three years ago.  It was an energy guzzler.  We considered Solar, but with the number of years to get to break-even, we thought we should first look at whether we can start by reducing waste first.  And, of course, being a researcher at heart, the only way to gauge the extent of our success is to track it!

Using the data pulled down from P&G, our utility company, I reformatted the data to focus on cost (since that is what we cared most to control).  I used the iPad Numbers App, because I wanted to see what it was like to chart in Apple’s spreadsheet program.

First, our change over to LED and compact florescent lights (CFL) has made a difference.  We found the payback from our old school lights to LED on sale at $10 a piece is within a year for those rooms or lights that are on almost all the time (like our Kitchen, and entry lights).  Even the $80 LED dimmable can light replacements will pay-off faster than solar.

The CFL is much less expensive — it is easy to find a deal for $0.99 lights.  I don’t like these lights as much, because of the mercury and they seem sort of ugly.  But, from an ROI stand point, they are hard to beat.  The other thing that is an good ROI is getting the kids on board for conservation.  (Kids please turn off your lights when you leave for school in the morning).  Though, that is tougher to get done than it sounds!

While electrical cost has dropped a lot, gas has not moved much.  This is mostly driven by winter heating.  And, our next step will be to look to better insulation.  The cost has dropped a little, which was probably our switch from gas range to an electric induction range.  (iPad App Note: Numbers was kind of a hassle to get the data selection for charting, and to get the colors I wanted.  I wanted the color to be consistent for the year across the charts, but gave up after a few minutes of trying to get Numbers to cooperate).

Conclusions:  Faster ROI will be found by controlling energy costs with investments like CFL/LED and better insulation, and conservation compared with adopting solar.

An App A Day: Converting Microsoft Word Doc to PDF for Mark-up

Apps: GoodReader + Pages

Here is the situation: You’ve just received a word document, and you want to add some notes, or make some edits for a colleague to see. Problem is that Pages, Apple’s iWorks word processing App, isn’t great for comments. And, Good Reader let’s you read a word document, but not mark it up. (And, for some strange reason, Good Reader won’t let you convert the word document into a PDF). So, how to you get from Microsoft Word to marked-up pdf?

First, take the Word doc (either in email, or in a App like dropbox or box.net) and hold you finger over it until “open in” shows up. Open in “Pages”.

Now, in Pages, tap on the top left, and return to “My Documents”. Below, you will now see a few symbols. The first one “send to” (with the arrow shooting out of the square”) is the one to tap. Email the document.

Next, you will see that you can send it as a PDF (or pages or word doc). Select PDF, type in your email address, and jump over to your email program.

Now, in the email program, you can tap and hold the PDF document, and select “Open in Good Reader”.

And, finally, you are good to go. You can mark-up the PDF document to your hearts content!

(Now, why Good Reader doesn’t do the conversion for you is beyond me, but this work around only adds a minute or two of pointless tapping, and then you’re on your way).

News & Entertainment Apps

1. Things to check out, if it strikes your fancy, in the category of new and entertainment Apps

• Wired Magazine (they have a free copy) and it is good just to see what can be done with the eMagazine
• Economist — great for roadtrips in that you can download the audio, and press play and it will “read” through the magazine article
• Netflix – the app isn’t as good as it could be, but when you use it in combination with the netflix website, it works well.
• Kindle — automatically makes anything you have on your kindle available on your iPad, and is a great reading experience… (Though, I prefer the kindle itself as a pure ebook reader).
• Friendly — Reader for facebook, see post in social media on Friendly and other apps.
• CNBC (great for financial news, stock quotes)

• Jonathan Adams recommended the Grey’s Anatomy App, because “it has watermark technology that saves your place when you leave and come back” (and presumably because he likes Grey’s Anatomy.  Though, knowing Jonathan, he may just think the technology is cool!).

Ways to Work Faster with the iPad

I am going to share some tips about how to actually increase work productivity with the iPad.

Much of the iPad use is less efficient than using a laptop. It takes longer to type on the iPad, enter info, etc. But, since the iPad is so easy to bring with you to place one wouldn’t bring their laptop, it extends the number of minutes/hours one can be productive.

This post shares a few things I have found that actually save time. Integrating the iPad into your work habits takes some “rethinking.” And, I make no promises of extra time on the beach, but these tips have been measured side by side, and found to increase my productivity.

Tip 1:
1. Stop creating example sketches in PowerPoint – Use AirSketch and screen capture instead.

Sometimes I need a picture/graphic to describe and idea. Before the iPad, I’d turn to Powerpoint to mock up the graphic, then I’d cut and paste it into an email, or word doc. But, i’ve found that buying a stylus for the ipad, and the AirSketch app is way faster.

Here is how it works.
Think of AirSketch as a whiteboard. You can bring in screen shots, pictures, or just freehand. With a click of a logo, what ever you are drawing on airplay shows up in a regular web browser on your computer. Just grab a screen shot of what you’ve just sketched, and drop it into an email, word doc, or whatever.

You can also email it as an image, or a pdf. Now, AirSketch doesn’t include type font, which would make it better. You can use NoteShelf, Note takeHD, Notes Plus, etc. as a more sophisticated sketching and typing tool Apps, (but they doesn’t broadcast to a webpage – which is really where some of the time savings comes from).

2. Use the iPad w/Keyboard Dock as another screen
Using the ipad to keep my calendar open, and to jot off quick emails is a time saver because I can keep my two screens I use for the main focus of my work, and not lose time switching over to outlook to see how much time I have before my next call.

And, when I need to jot off a quick note, the keyboard makes it much faster than the virtual keyboard. It also works great as a handy calculator, and jukebox (with iPod playing from the ipad rather than my laptop).

3. Reviewing docs with a stylus & Good Reader
This one is only a tiny bit more efficient than Microsoft Word editing feature, but it feels a hell of a lot better on the eyes, and more natural, to me at least. I like to be able to add an arrow, or circle something, and I can’t really do that on the laptop. Editing a PDF is an easy as holding the finger on the page, and picking “Draw/Freehand”. I then typically tap on the screen again, select note, and type in a short comment. Good Reader also allows the user to highlight and mark-up. Mark-up includes insert, cross-out. Try each mark-up and email it to yourself to find out the formats you like best. I personally had some problem with insert, so I usually highlight and add a note instead.

Social Apps: HootSuite

iPad app makes it easy to use Twitter, Linked-in, etc.  I use HootSuite for twitter.  I can see mentions, track your home feed of those you are following, see direct messages, and easily store favorite tweets.

If you use Hootsuite to shrink URL, it will then track the pass along.

Social Apps: Friendly

Friendly is a better way to view facebook on the iPad. Get to messages, birthdays, and photos with ease. And, bigger font, easier to read, and no ads.

Works very well with a wifi connection. Tends to hang on the cell connection. Great way to interact with facebook in a more APP like setting.

Travel Apps: Kayak

Need to find a flight, Hotel, Rental car?  Kayak works well on the iPad.  Not sure where you want to go?  Click explore and find the cost of flights to all kinds of location.  Hmm… I could bail out of here and hit Vegas for $170 or, to NYC for $310…. could be fun!  If I select “ski” under “what” it gives me Utah in July, which is a bit dubious… but hey, I like the idea of selecting from Golf, Beach, Gambling or Skiing, or narrowing down the climate range of where I might want to go by temperature.  It feeds the wander lust in all of us.

Travel Apps: GPS Drive HD

This week I will be addressing using the iPad as a travel aid.  And, what better place to start then replacing the Hertz Never Lost with a GPS App.  Yes, Apple offers a map, and it can do directions just fine.  But if you want to replace the never lost with turn by turn directions from the unflappable voice you know and love, try GPS Drive HD.

You can use the GPS without voice at the low cost of the app alone.  Or, For about 20 per year, you can get all the nagging from the voice about redirecting because you failed to heed her (or his) advice on when to turn.  If you are used to this voice from never lost, and used to paying for it each time you rent a car, the 20 fee will pay for itself very quickly.

Of course, it is not perfect.  Just like never lost, it takes the driver some very strange routes.  Trying to get to a Trader Joe’s on my way home this weekend, it took me into a neighborhood that dead-ends behind trader joe’s.  I pointed out to my wife that the GPS is right.  All she had to do was scale the 10 foot high concrete wall separating the neighborhood road and the trader joe’s.