Just as their music never goes out of style, their look is as hip now as it was back then. It kind of reminds me of Jack White and his former band the Raconteurs. Many of today’s indie artists also don a Beatles-esque look.

The lyrics, “Come together right now over me,” is such a fitting statement for social media. Don’t you think?



The Beatles meets the digital age. What a wonderful union indeed!

When I was on You Tube the other day, I was struck by this prominent  display ad on their home page.

I don’t know why, but I clicked it. To my surprise, I really enjoyed watching the video! It was really clever and creative.

If you are wondering what I am talking about, I’ve embedded the video below. But you do need to listen to the song. It’s not quite the same experience when it is on mute.

The fact that I decided to write a post about Bounty’s Paper Towel Gang shows that yes indeed, paper towels can be a fun conversational topic.

This is part of Bounty’s campaign, “2,000,000 Views To Help Clean Schools.” If the 2M views are reached by January 31,2011, Bounty will donate $200,000 worth of paper towels to schools in need of cleaning supplies.

According to their Facebook page, research shows a connection between academic achievement and school cleanliness.  Who knew?

Social Media is Fun When There is No Pressure

No kidding. We all know how effortless social media can feel when we are doing it for personal reasons.  Think of how sites like Facebook is an addiction for some people.

When social media is done without expectations or pressure, we are in a different state of mind where our actions flow.  This is when sharing and creating posts is fun and effortless.  And we find a sense of fulfillment in being able to connect with others in a convenient and easy way.

Some people have been able to create sizable audiences because  of how much they enjoy creating content and having people respond positively to what they have to say.

So then, businesses started asking themselves, if social media is so easy and effortless, why not harness the power of online conversations for their own brands?

Social Media is Not So Fun When There Are Expectations

When social media becomes work and money is at stake, fun and effortlessness seem to really diminish.  What used to be fun becomes more of an obligation.

I’m sure you’ve had the experience of looking up brands on Twitter and finding that these companies might only have about 100 followers or so. And their last post was probably quite some time ago. Many companies really don’t have a dynamic online presence, the way we might imagine it to be.

Why Does Social Media Seem More Difficult When It Comes To Business?

There is a lot for brands to think about

• Using social media for business purposes does require strategy and direction.
• There are PR issues that need to be considered.
• Also the messaging needs to strike a balance between self promotion and personalized conversation.  Being overly promotional is a turn off for many people.
• Audiences need to be clear about how they can benefit from a particular brand’s offerings.  Quite a bit of strategy is needed to carry this off without sounding like a spam bot.

Quality social media strategies require a lot of small details. Collectively these add up to the  ideal outcome.

On a day to day level, they carry the illusion of being a waste of time, when there are so many other pressing obligations to handle.

A Happy Middle Ground?

How do we take the fun, carefree, connected, engaged online social personality and channel it into brand campaigns? I do believe that a happy middle ground can be achieved when we learn to shift our perceptions and trust in our inner resources.

A Frame of Mind for Social Media

Having the right frame of mind every as you work on a campaign might sound frivolous to most people.  But if you want your online presence to be better than those of most people, then give this concept a chance.

The social media frame of mind for business objectives requires:

• that you  get excited about what you offer and finding ways to be conversational about it
• putting  yourself in your customer’s shoes and relying on your gut instincts to hone in on the human aspect of how they relate to your brand

Instead of first turning to tangible solutions, like the latest new platform, app, or software product,  it is wiser to first  invest in truly effective strategies that focus on how customers think, feel and want.

Once you understand what your audience needs, then think about how technology can improve experiences for both you and your audience. For more ideas on this,  read  this article by Mike Corak, VP of  Tallwave,   “Content Strategy First, Shiny Objects Second.”

Keep this in mind. The things that have gone viral often did not start out with this intention, nor was there much strategy and direction in mind.  Most of the time, they are done with a free spirit and the enjoyment that ensued was able to compound and spread.

The ideal frame of mind is the one you are in when you are posting and sharing things without any type of pressure.  The challenge is tapping into this state to create quality business campaigns.  This is where brainstorming comes in handy.

For inspiration, do a search on successful social media campaigns. In most cases, you’ll find that establishing a true connection with people was the pivotal factor.

Once you have mastered the art of transitioning between the state of creative social nirvana and organized action, then you can have all the fun you want with selecting the right technology for your specialized needs.

With this balance established, your focus will be on giving to your audience through quality conversations and offerings. And likewise the people who follow you will have more reasons to reciprocate and support your endeavors.

I don’t know why, but I often say or do things that are (by sheer coincidence) related to other events that I had no knowledge of.  I get this feedback from other people quite a bit.

The main site for the Digital Death campaign is Buylife.org. Today they were able to announce their accomplishment of reaching the $1,000,000 mark. 

With your help we raised over $1,000,000 to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. Your generous donations will help bring critical care and medicine to the millions affected by this horrible disease. But so many more still need help. Please continue to BUY LIFE – the one thing none of us can alive without.

Here is a screenshot from their homepage today.

A Dose of Realism

The NY Post article mentioned that the stars were frustrated by how long it was taking to reach the 1M mark.  They thought it would take 24 hours to a week at the most.

I am not sure how they reached this conclusion. But this type of scenario is all too familiar in the world of marketing.  It’s natural for people to want to know how long it will take for a campaign to accomplish it’s goals. It’s also common for marketers to come up with projections that only amount to wishful thinking.

The truth is that most projects will experience delays, especially when it comes to getting people to act.

Because of this, I wrote a previous post about anticipating realistic outcomes.

Lesson Learned:  No one can serve as a fortune teller before the start of a campaign, unless the exact variables and results have been repeated numerous times in the past. Also there is a dynamic called the Law of Unintended Consequences, where “actions of people…always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended.”- Rob Norton, author and consultant.

Behaviorism Helps Explain

Most of what happens in the world of marketing and social media can be explained through the findings of research psychology. These arenas have yet to coalesce.

The word “research” is not one to be taken as sheer fluff.  Experiments in this area involve researchers who repeat trials over and over until a result is statistically reliable (not due to chance). The principles of behavior have been studied in this fashion. They weren’t just made up.

According to these theories, behaviors are universally driven by the consequences that follow. If you want to increase the frequency of a particular behavior,  it has to be met with a consequence that is valuable to the subject.

The Digital Death campaign wanted internet users to make donations within a short time frame.  In this scenario, there was no consequence for the targeted behavior (texting to donate).

“I am not going to tweet unless you donate” is contingency called extinction, when you with hold a consequence altogether.  According to research,  this will reduce the likelihood of a particular behavior, instead of increasing it.

A Celebrity Campaign That Illustrates Positive Reinforcement

Twitchange is a charity auction site powered by celebrity influence.  Participants donate. In exchange  their favorite celebrity retweets, follows or mentions them, depending on a bidding process.

So the behavior of donating receives the positive reinforcement of being acknowledged by a famous celeb. This works in alignment with behavioral laws.

This probably explains how the Haitian relief campaign managed to receive over $1.5 million for emergency tents after the earthquake in Port Au Prince. More

Lesson Learned:  Behavior operates according to dynamics that have been studied by researchers. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Create strategies that make sense according to behavior principles.

Final Thoughts

Yeah, I am a little disappointed that the celebrities of the Digital Death campaign didn’t hold their ground. But I guess there is a bright side to many things in life. Even if Stewart Rahr gave the pivotal contribution, at least the targeted level of donations became more quickly available to help AIDS victims.

The concept is unique and evocative.  The actual results however,  have  not been as impressive.  According to PR Junkie, the campaign brought in less than $200,000 during the first week.

See the full article here.  To give you a heads up, it’s quite harsh. Alan Pearcy who wrote the post had this to say:

Amid the current social media frenzy, it’s completely unfathomable to think how wrong this campaign went–just terribly, terribly wrong. Nauseatingly wrong. Someone should be fired wrong. Yes, that wrong.

Creative Just to Be Creative?

Even though the campaign is quite clever and different, and I do think the comments above are a little mean,  I will agree with PR Junkie.

Creativity could have been used to have the celebrities ask their social media followers to contribute, instead of dying digitally. As of today, about $420,600 has been raised. The celebrities will not return to their social media profiles until the one million mark is reached.  Read more in this article by USA Today.

I can’t imagine a fan wondering to themselves, “Wow, I didn’t see a tweet from Kim Kardashian today, something must be wrong.” Nor can I picture this sequence of actions:

1. Wondering why the tweets had stopped

2. Investigating the answer as to why the tweets stopped

3. Stumbling upon Buylife.org and deciding to make a donation.

Highly improbable. Direct requests from someone like Alicia Keys would have been more effective at getting people to donate.

But on a more positive note, I think there are many people like myself who are  now aware of World Aids Day/Keep A Child Alive campaign because of the Digital Death event.

Much like with advertisement  billboards, it is difficult to know what the numbers are behind this awareness.

In the world of communications, creativity cannot be left unbridled.  Good ideas need to be aligned with direction and campaign objectives.

Research psychology has defined a  framework called ABA (applied behavioral analysis). It is simple and effective. Any situation can be viewed and modified using this framework to generate real and measurable results.

The first step is to identify the behavior that you want. Then look at the real life context of this behavior as it is happening at the moment. Consider these three sequential components

The Antecedent

Think of this as a signal for the behavior to occur.  Examples of antecedents on the web include basic links, display ads, headline titles and Twitter/Facebook posts.

The Behavior

After the antecedent, of course, comes the actual behavior. Desired online behaviors include clicking on links, making purchases, sharing content, commenting etc.

The Consequence

Behaviors need to be reinforced. This is the most important part of ABA. It can make or break what you are trying to accomplish. Consequences need to be rewarding in ways that matter to the individual. Also they need to be provided on a regular basis. This is the only way to get desired behaviors to occur with greater frequency.

Examples of consequences: the acquisition of helpful or valuable knowledge, feeling recognized,  the discovery of an ideal product, service or connection.

Using ABA

These concepts are deceptively simplistic. But don’t be fooled. Understanding these concepts on a mental level is completely different from applying them in real life strategies. Every encounter that customers have with your brand should be positively rewarding and meaningful in ways that are important to them. Every one of these instances cultivates an ongoing a mental and emotional association with your company.

This is why regular content and conversations through social media matter are important. They provide more opportunities for audience members to interact with your brand. But it is up to you to determine what elements are reinforcing for the people you are targeting and to provide this on a consistent basis.

I follow them on Twitter and came across a link to one of their videos explaining how to select the right frames for different face shapes.

I think it is important to note this video. It provides viewers with a personable, interactive experience, while showcasing the product. This is quite different from a more direct sales driven approach of just displaying the items along with their prices. It’s inviting, not pushy.

Another video features Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson in an artsy vignette which highlights Oliver People’s eye wear in ways that are subtle and charming.

In addition to their videos, Oliver Peoples has a lifestyle blog which engages the viewer much like a glossy magazine.

Blogs and videos are very simple solutions available to everyone. One of the take away lessons we can learn from Oliver Peoples is that the difference is in how well they are executed. The end result should make people want to stick around.

Pencils

Pencils are cheap. They are readily available. Most of us think of them as a tool for writing. But they can also be used for drawing too.

Anyone can create this.

(image courtesy of JamesJean.com)

But what about something like this?

The Piano

Of course, the piano is considered an instrument, not a tool. But nonetheless, it is something that requires skill.



Beginners start off learning simple tunes like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. With practice and a sincere passion for music, it may be possible to sound more like this.

There are countless examples beyond the ones I gave above. But I didn’t want to let this post get too long.  The lesson is this.There’s more to the advanced levels than just technical prowess. It takes imagination and inspiration to come up with results that make us go, “wow!”

Back in February, I wrote about a company called Threadless as an example of a social media campaign to learn from. They harness the power of collaboration with their customers to create products that sell.

And if you follow my tweets, you will also learn about other successful campaigns. Cultivating the intangible in an extraordinary way is how you get the most out of tools and instruments. It’s an inner game.

With this said, I’d like to leave you with a quote by Spike Humor, a speaker, author and consultant.

Understanding these principles will help you make effective decisions for your social media strategies.

The basics of network theory are quite simple.

Components

Networks are made of nodes. Nodes can be thought of as people. In social media, they would include our Twitter followers, Facebook fans etc. When nodes connect, they form clusters or hubs. The entire network is held together by the connections (i.e.interactions) between the nodes.

A collection of non-interacting nodes does not constitute a network.

Strong Networks versus Weak Networks

Strong and weak networks are defined by the number and strength of their connections. Strong networks have lots of strong connections among members. Weak networks can  have lots of weak connections.

Weak networks, made of casual connections with many individuals, yields more value to members because more information can be shared. (i.e. the strength of weak ties, Granovetter 1973). In other words, it’s more advantageous to be connected to lots of people who aren’t necessarily your closest, dearest friends.

Check out these links if you’d like to explore more details:

• http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Social_network
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpersonal_ties

The Value of Influencers

In network theory, certain people (nodes) are more influential than others. As influencers, they are connected to lots of other people. Familiar examples might include mom- bloggers, celebrities and high profile organizations. These types of individuals add immense value to networks. Not only do they have large audiences, but also their messages have a higher degree of impact on their followers.

What this all means

Building a network of people around your brand or idea is a way to build loyalty and trust. People are more likely to be receptive and share your messaging.

Forming a network is not solely about collecting numbers of followers, fans and friends. As we learned from network theory, connectivity is what drives value.

Network building is more dimensional in nature as opposed to the linear strategy of aggregating quantity x to yield outcome y.  It’s like building a house ( a three dimensional form), where you are proactively constructing a desired environment. A home is one example of an environment. But  it can also be thought of as a set of conditions that fosters particular outcomes. In social media, having the right set of conditions will enable positive outcomes such as  word of mouth dynamics and  conversions.

Simplicity and Strategy

Network theory is deceptively simple. The fundamental ideas are easy to grasp. The real challenge lies in the actual creation of thriving networks, which is contingent on interaction. Strategic actions might include:

• reaching out to more influencers
• becoming an influencer
• combining offline and online tactics (e.g. events)
• enhancing the level of your offerings (giving people more to share and talk about)

Numbers and marketing are always going to be inseparable. I’m not saying that you should spend your entire work day aimlessly socializing online. However, there needs to be a balance between quantitative goals and qualitative strategies that contribute to overall brand growth.

Great social media campaigns  provide quality and engaging experiences for audiences on an ongoing basis. This is different from just shoving out (whatever) messages to as many people as possible.

Providing these ongoing and engaging experiences requires creativity. My last post was about social media being more of an inner game. Creativity is certainly a part of it.

Creativity can seem like a daunting, unattainable, fleeting quality to some.  Others might feel strange or intimidated if they have never thought of themselves as being creative. I’ve seen people get pretty competitive and egotistical over it, as in, “who’s the most creative of all?” Creativity is not a source of power that puts you ahead of everyone else. As kids all of us had easy access to it. It’s the conditioned adult mind that covers it up.

For now, let’s just focus on your campaign. If you are interested in coming up with fresh, ever evolving material practice these tips.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a great way to access ideas that normally don’t occur during the course of your regular day. There is no right or wrong way to do it. This is why I am noting the points below in bullets as opposed to numbers.

I personally like to use blank sheets of plain paper. But if you’d like, you can use a journal instead.

• Clear your mind of any thoughts and feelings centered on obligations (e.g. I have to come up with the greatest ideas and insights in order to be successful at this, or I am just going to get this over with)

• Write your question or focus at the top. Don’t pressure yourself to come up with great ideas. Simply jot down whatever comes to mind, no matter how unconventional or strange it may seem. Many times little epiphanies don’t even have words attached to them. They occur as little blips of insights that you need to translate into words. These are often more valuable than actual statements that come to mind.

• Pay attention to how these ideas feel to you in your gut. Do they feel like something that has been rehashed from another source? Do you experience a strong sense of conviction about them? It’s important to really be genuine and honest about how these ideas genuinely feel to you.

• Put away your paper or journal and let the ideas marinate in your subconscious. Revisit the ideas again the following day and again, see how these ideas and insights feel. You may come up with a flurry of other enhancements and new possibilities.  It’s really important to refrain from judging yourself or feeling fearful and constrained by other people’s opinions (i.e. “what will they think).

• Practice jotting down ideas and revisiting them as many times as you can. The more you do this, the easier the process will become. It’s really important to go back to what you have written down so that you can see it with fresh eyes and make any refinements and adjustments as needed.

• Enjoy the process. Try to put yourself in the exploratory frame of mind of being a kid as opposed to an adult trying to get to the next level. The more you can put yourself in this flow, the better the results will be.

Ideas for Tweets, Blogs and Other Content

Use the tips in the above to create new material for your campaign. As you’ll notice, my second bullet was about clarifying and writing down your focus. For your social media objectives, ask yourself what your audience would genuinely be interested in hearing or knowing about. New media is a two way dialogue, as opposed to just pushing sales driven messages.

Go ahead and practice the brainstorming tips above. See what ideas come about.

Another angle you can take is to go through your saved bookmarks and links. Write down, or note what qualities you liked about these materials. Are they humorous? Unique? Daringly honest? Ask yourself how you can incorporate these qualities within your own content strategies.

Maybe even start a compilation of links and sites you don’t like. Practice what you preach and use these insights in your own campaign.

Alternatively, you can also note all the links you chose to share with your friends or associates. What was it about this material that compelled you to do this? Does your existing content reflect these qualities?

Practice, Practice Practice!

If this all seems new to you, you might feel a great deal of resistance to these suggestions. The practice of brainstorming may frustrate the heck out of you. If this is the case, just put away whatever you’ve written. The important part happens each time you revisit your ideas and continue to refine them and align yourself with your gut instincts.

Commitment

Don’t just keep these ideas in the back burner. Incorporate them into your work process. Turn them into tweets, blogs, videos, podcasts, or whatever outlet you feel is important. You might find it necessary to schedule out your ideas. And once they are out, brainstorm some more!