luis FREITAS

[FullSIX Portugal]

The Upload 2010 Conference in Portugal

uploadlisboa

Warning – this article contains mostly links to pages in portuguese.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the current state of the Web is the proficiency of the marketing professionals you come across in the market. You might be reading all sorts of interesting articles from renowned writers from across the Globe that are definitely relevant in a globalized social world – but most of the times you needn’t go further. That was my outcome when I attended the Upload 2010 Conference in Portugal.

The Upload Conference began in 2009, courtesy of the conjoint efforts of active Portuguese professionals – Virginia Coutinho, Vanessa Quitério, Bruno Ribeiro and Bruno Amaral. They envisioned a space where social and web aficionados could argue and discuss the current state of the web. They never had the pretension of teaching in an absolute fashion about the web – they know that we are all still learning. The conference included speakers such as Armando Alves, who showed the audience that “shiny things” like Augmented Reality are not considered strategy, and Paulo Querido, who described his vision on a future “liquid” web. Being exclusively composed by Portuguese speakers, the audience had a clear vision on the state of the current know-how amongst the web marketing professionals in Portugal, leading to the conclusion that, while the global marketing strategies for the digital world might apply on a worldwide scale, there are local nuances that should be discussed in each country. Throw in a Twitter Wall during the conferences at the event and you had a very social approach and a fabulous conference that was important in the Portuguese web marketing landscape.

The 2010 conference had a different vibe to it. Not only did it have a different audience from the first – more mature – but it also had two versions. One was more generic and included Portuguese speakers like Rodrigo Saraiva and Sara Batalha, who covered matters such as Social Media ROI and the under explored motherload that are consumer generated videos. The second one, a pro version, had speakers such as Brian Solis and Carlos Merigo. Listening to a Brian Solis lecture is a very insightful experience – more than depositing knowledge, his lecture clearly had intent on shifting the audience’s mindset. With a sociological approach to Social Media and the Web, Brian demonstrated and explained how there is a change of communication priorities; instead of a focus on the relationships of the consumer, we should actually focus on the interest graph that he shares with his peers.

There is another aspect on the conference that is as interesting as the lectures themselves – the aura of the 2010 Upload conference. 2010 was the year of the Social screw-up’s for the Portuguese market – almost every brand did the common mistake on Facebook, such as disregarding the Social Network’s rules or not worrying about an effective community management strategy. As more and more brands join Social Networks and shift investment to the online world, the lack of know-how or experience in dealing in such an environment led to a silent crash – not a noticeable one for most people, but one that those who work in the area inevitably felt. From lack of crisis management to pure negligence, Facebook pages and profiles were created for brands without a strategy, taking a more “see as it goes” approach. This was clearly felt at the Upload 2010, where the audience anticipated more knowledge on effective social media management and the speakers themselves had a more toned down speech on web strategy – it’s less about the wonderlands of the social media landscape and more on how to manage the resources found in the motherland.

Definitely an inspiring event – all I can say is a big kudos to the organization and i promise that, in 2011, I’m so there!

There are currently 0 comments. Why not join the conversation?

22 December 2010

Comments (0)

The Social Web Paradigm – Are companies shifting at the same pace as the ideologies for the new Web?

social paradigm

If you are into the social and digital web concepts, you have probably come across several posts and theories on how we should address consumers and how an effective social web strategy should be implemented. There are various theories that explain how, where and who you should talk to, most of them relying on adaptations of popular marketing abbreviations to create a simple way of memorizing them.

As I was reading one of those theories today, I started wondering about the paradigm we are facing for the current stage of the web – the purist theories versus the companies’ mindset. The truth of the matter is – are companies evolving as the web and their consumers are?

So, I decided to create my own abbreviations in order to show the difference between what the purists’ state and what the companies are searching for:

When theorists say UNDERSTAND, companies say IMPOSE:
The theories say that you should enter a Social Network with an open mind. Understanding an audience demands time and patience. It takes strategy to bring your brand into an open space such as Facebook. It means you must be ready for whatever comes from your consumers and understand just how 2.0 a social network is. What usually happens with companies is that they want to do a full, heads-on approach on the network with their ideologies firmly imposed on the consumer.

There is a middle point to this subject. Yes, you should understand and act according to the medium you are transmitting your message, but a company should maintain their brand DNA and give the consumer some of what they are already expecting from the brand. If Facebook is synonymous with Farmville and Photo Tagging, this doesn’t mean a company has to be fun all of a sudden. It just means you should know how to position your presence accordingly, without imposing your ideals in an absolute manner – but also without selling out to the medium itself. Consumers like strong personality brands who know how to exist without corrupting their DNA.

When theorists say DIALOG, companies say SPEECH:
A Social Network is all about dialog; it’s about having a direct door to your consumer and actively engaging in a conversation where you can get all the necessary inputs to take your brand one step further. This is all fine in theory, but when companies see their walls flooded with complaints and trolling, then the whole dialog part is completely put aside and unilateral speech comes into the game.

Unilateral speech works best when you want to broadcast compelling content to your followers. Inevitably, however, being on a Social Network comes down to the fine art of balancing what you should reply to or should not for that matter: what is a relevant complaint that should be used as an opportunity to enlighten your consumer and what is just a plain rant on the brand that should be pushed aside to get lost in the ‘older section’ of your wall? There is a delicate balance to it, but one point is sure: dialog will happen on your pages and companies should be able to use it to their advantage. So, get ready to talk, know what to answer and don’t be afraid of what might be said – be afraid if it is said in a place you cannot see and react to.

When theorists say INTERESTING CONTENT, companies say YES, OURS IS ENOUGH:
There are several ways a company can behave on a Social Network – be it as customer support; content extensive; relational; or any other type of page. But one thing is for sure – the content has to be interesting in a way that creates engagement and sets the mood in the consumers’ apprehension of the page. One of the main reasons someone becomes a follower is by watching their friend interact with a companies’ page content – be it via Like, Share, Retweet, Comment, amongst all the ways of interacting. So if you are just promoting the same old content that your brand has and that you are absolutely sure that everyone will love, let the results speak for themselves.
Be bold on your approach to content. Sure, both theorists and companies agree on the importance of content, but are both speaking of the same type of content? Develop a strategy that includes what sort of content you will be exposing your followers to – be it from the brand, partners or even random obtained items that you can use to set the mood to your page. Posting a widely seen Youtube video can sometimes do the trick – but please, do it only if the video has RELEVANT context to the company. Once again – it’s all about careful thinking and middle points.

When theorists say INTERACTIONS, companies say FOLLOWERS:
If you read the previous paragraph, you already knew this one was coming. KPI’s are always necessary to evaluate a companies’ performance – and of course, online KPI’s are the best as they are “measurable”. But one of the clashes between theorists and companies is which metric counts more. While theorist will state that it’s all about the interaction you obtain from your consumers (taking into account a considerable amount of followers at a given time, of course), companies will always focus on the number of followers they can obtain. Are 10,000 fans who don’t act on your page more valuable than 5,000 who like every post?

Well, the answer to this one, in my opinion, lies on the stage of the brand presence online. A brand has two stages when entering a Social Network – first is to obtain a minimum amount of followers as defined by the preliminary strategy; and the second is to obtain a regular amount of engagement data from the content placed on the page. In the second, the number of followers will grow as users engage with the content – but the mindset is completely different. So guide your pages towards the stage you are in at that point and focus your KPI’s accordingly.

When theorists say ANTICIPATE, companies say REACT:
This should probably be on the top of the list, but I’m not really following an order. Going into a Social Network requires thought and planning; it requires knowing where you are, why you are there, and what you are doing. So “anticipation” actually means to develop a strategy before you click the “create page” button. It also means predicting consumer behaviors by knowing your own flaws and clearly talking about them with you follower base, before they have the time to snap at your company. What happens at this point is that most companies are working in a reaction method – “let’s see what happens and react accordingly”.
Once again – no clear answer for this one. While sometimes it makes sense to wait to see how the case develops, other times it’s just a way to make the snowball grow. But one point is certain – a companies’ page should have two important factors. One is a mature strategy on why/ where/ who/ how they should be on the Social Network that serves as the main guideline to whoever is managing the page itself. The other is a watchful eye – which means pay attention to what is being said on you page. If you can anticipate, do it. If it’s something you know will be answered/solved by itself, then let it be. If it’s something you can stop, react.

And finally, when theorists say ENJOY THE RIDE, companies say RESULTS NOW!
Probably one of the most interesting discussions to date requires a complete shift in the mindset to fully understand it. Online marketing has brought to the table “measurable”, “real-time” results that companies can use to evaluate their ROI. This is true when applied to a campaign website with an online campaign that is in full force for one month. The same applies to the companies’ website – with several activations and contents that go on for a year, for example. But when it comes to a Social Network it doesn’t work the same way.

Most theorists have a hard time explaining the steep follower curve a page has. You start small, grow to a certain point, hit a plateau, grow again and so forth. And there are so many variants that it is almost impossible to predict a steady growth. We’ve seen pages that, with little or no campaign, have an immense growth in a very short time – usually pages whose company has a very high target affinity and brand love. Then there are other cases where the page has a variant of growth dependant on the campaigns and type of promotions associated. Finally, there are also cases where it simply doesn’t grow, no matter what you do. The answer to the latter comes in two parts:

1. Look at your page as a long-term engagement. Promote, engage, spread, activate. Act according to the growth you obtain. Analyze the time of the year, your product’s relevance. Do not expect to sell Christmas gifts in July?. “Enjoy the ride” might sound a little too relaxed, but the truth is that you should maintain the page with some apprehension and understand that brands have different growth patterns. You just have to discover which one is right for yours – and also how much time does your specific pattern takes.

2. Although Social Networks are a world-wide phenomenon, the audiences are real people who live in the offline context. Which means each audience, according to their country, has a different approach to what they expect a brand to do on a Social Network. Countries that are less digital have a tendency to look for brands online for promotions and prizes, while the more digitalized countries are already looking for brand experience beyond the prize. The path is sure to go from the first to the latter, but develop your strategy and plan your growth also according to your target audience and their country. This means that some strategies might be fantastic for a company in one country, yet disastrous when applied to another country.

Theorists and Companies will always have a discussion on how to approach the online targets in the Social Networks. It’s a healthy conversation that leads to a more engaging and interesting online world. The trick is finding the middle point between these conversations and having the coherence to, while maintaining the DNA, adjust and plan for the open space that is a Social Network.

There are currently 0 comments. Why not join the conversation?

10 November 2010

Comments (0)

The Types of Facebook Fans

I’m not going to mention just how big Facebook is nowadays…not gonna even go there! It’s no wonder, given this social network’s pull, that most brands are moving towards it at the speed of light. Many are moving so fast, in fact, they’re not even sure where they’re headed. The first thing they think about is…how do I get a lot of FANS?

Well, the first thing they should think about is how does one become a fan. Explaining this to a brand might be difficult, as most marketers will say “because they love us.” Well, brand love just ain’t what it used to be. Users will not gather around a brand just because it is there – well, some will and some brands do have that effect. But let’s look at a more strategic optic – what sort of fans are out there and what mechanics work best to attract them?

In a broad sense, there are four types of fans – the unconscious, the grabber, the seeker and the lover. Each of them has a different motivation and requires a different approach. Let’s look at each of them:

The unconscious – These users see a friend who has become a fan of a page and just click on it. Most of the time they become a fan simply because their friend did. Other times they’ll become fans because the page name looked fun/odd/curious. Regardless, they become fans. But the odds are, you won’t get a peep out of these users – and they won’t come back to the page that often. Getting these users demands two efforts – spreading your page to a database of dense users with many contacts (who are a reference) and/or, sometimes, simply coming up with a fun/odd/curious name for the page itself.

The grabber – The prize winners. They will go for every freebie/campaign you create. They join because they’ve either become aware that the page had a campaign offering something to the fan base or saw on a friend’s wall a reference to that campaign. Anyway, they join in an effort to win a prize. The good thing about these users are that they will follow the page – as long as it keeps on pumping out the freebies/promotions/etc. Getting this user is easy – just create a campaign based on Facebook’s mechanics.

The seeker – These users actively seek pages pertaining to specific interests. Although very subjective, these users can be categorized into a group as not all users ‘actively seek’ pages in Facebook. Seekers look for interesting content because they become active followers, commenting and participating in the discussion. They’re the best type of fan you can get. To gather users such as these, the page has to be very content focused and have a strong update scheme that keeps users coming back for more, which means no dead moments with just weekly updates. Another strategy is cross posting – finding related pages where you can post content from your page to generate curiosity.

The lover – Quite simply the user who goes to a page simply because they love the brand. Not much a page can do to get them – simply having users join so the page shows up on the wall feed – or better, doing a campaign using Facebook ads and taking advantage of segmented user data.

Most users don’t fall into one of these categories specifically – most of us identify with each of these segments at one time or another. To effectively get a user to join a brand page we should devise a strategy that plays on all these levels. But one thing’s for sure – it’s not the number of fans you get that matter, but what you do with them and how they react to your stimulus.

There are currently 0 comments. Why not join the conversation?

8 April 2010

Comments (0)

TheyMakeApps – A Map on the APP World

theymakeapps_header
It’s a fact that mobile is one of the big trends for technology and lifestyle for 2010 – specially due to the rise of applications via iPhone and the subsequent follow up done by competitors to engage their audiences on their mobile devices. The Mobile Phone is becoming less a phone and more an application desk that connects the users with the world around them. This means that the whole choice process for the purchase of the new mobile phone has new key variant – application viability and potential. True, every year there has been some buzz regarding the mobile technology and how it will impact society sooner or later. So it is natural that the demand for professional mobile developers is rising – and ad agencies all over are up for the run.

With this in mind, we have come to the attention of the launch an interesting platform – TheyMakeApps – in which you can find a portfolio of the best App makers you can find close to you (or not!).

theymakeapps_body

While being a simple idea, TheyMakeApps is quite ingenious. Most agencies have been up to their hairs in finding ways to answer to the client’s demands regarding mobile applications for their brands (and as part of our Big Bet for 2010, the demand is only sure to rise) so the agencies can have one of two solutions – either develop the know-how inside the company by hiring professional App Developers or by hiring App Developers per job. In any case, where do you find someone with such specific skills for something as important nowadays as mobile applications? TheyMakeApps solves the problem by providing a directory of App Developers by Geographic localization and even price range. You search for the App Maker of your liking, check his portfolio and contact him – all in the same website.

For now the big focus of TheyMakeApps is the IPhone – which is the granddaddy of Mobile Applications, thus has the biggest Programmer Base. But it’s looking for the opportunity to spread to other Platforms like the Blackberry, Android or Palm that, while a little more difficult to enter at this moment, are very relevant on the global mobile business. But one thing is for sure – this is another strong indicator on the strength of mobile applications today and how the App Making skill’s importance is growing. So if you are an App Maker or know someone who is, make sure you direct them to TheyMakeApps – I’m sure they’ll thank you.

There are currently 0 comments. Why not join the conversation?

18 February 2010

Comments (0)

Place Your Bets 2010 – Location Based Services + Augmented Reality

Location Based Service

In the beginning of 2009 we placed our bet on Twitter as the up and coming new trend for the year. One year later and guess what – it’s still booming (actually it might be a little stagnant at the moment, but nonetheless, still showing impressive numbers). It’s time we do the same for this year – and I’ll put my money in Location Based Services using Augmented Reality.
First things first – what is a Location Based Service? LBS are services that use the mobile phone’s location via GPS to exactly pin point the users’ location. Through this information you can basically direct your communication in the most relevant way for the consumer.
The perfect example for recent LBS is the recently implemented upgrade for the Google Mobile Search Engine that allows users to give permission to Google to access the phone’s location and give them search results related to their coordinates. For example – you’re in Lisbon. If Google knows this and you start writing “museum”, you will get results related to Museums in Lisbon. This is genius while still being very simple.
The fact is that LBS aren’t new news – they’ve been around since 2001 but like almost every technology during the 2000 decade, it hasn’t been explored to its full potential. And with the advancements in Mobile Phone technology, practically ever phone comes with the necessary technology to further enhance the user of these services.
With Augmented Reality this has become a lot more interesting. Augmented Reality, as you might know, overcomes real image you obtain over your camera (like your mobile phone camera) and overlays it with a information layer that adds contents to what you are seeing. And using LBS only sweetens the experience.
Take two examples in consideration. The first one is Layar. Available for Android and App Stores, Layar adds a layer to you phone camera based on the service that is most relevant for you at the time. The service you can pick varies on the country you are in, as service providers vary. One example that is quite spread out in every country the app is available is Wikipedia.
Imagine you are walking around in Rome. You have no idea what to see or where things are. Sure, you can use a Map, but you are still confused on what is what. You simply grab your IPhone or Android Phone and access Layar. Layar will pinpoint your location via GPS and ask you what service to use. You pick Wikipedia. If you now aim your camera in 360º degrees, you’ll have an arrow pointing out to the monuments around you and with a small subtitle saying what it is and relating to an article on Wikipedia about it. Pretty useful, if you ask me.
Layar is already quite well known, but our next example isn’t – Google Goggles. While using the exact same mechanics of Layar (Pinpointing your location and giving you relevant content) the way it does is a lot less limited – as it doesn’t require you to use a service provider but Google itself.
So imagine you are walking around a supermarket. You get a phone call – “We need wine for dinner – and make it a good one!”. You go to the wine section and find one you think was well reviewed by a friend. With Google Goggles you simply open the application and take a picture of the wine. Using an image recognition technology via Augmented Reality, Google will match the picture with its own image database and give you back the results – be it wine reviews, the brand website, etc… This can be applied to buildings, clothes and even famous paintings. Sure, it’s still very beta, but its potential cannot be ignored.
So my bet for this year will rely on LBS using Augmented Reality. The potential for brands impacting their consumers where they need the most – outside where all the noise is – is huge. Imagine this – a brand places a product poster with an indication for the consumer to take a picture to know more about it. Depending on where the picture is taken, you can give feedback to the consumer and direct him to the nearest store to see the product while giving him a digital voucher for the purchase. You can also create scavenger hunt-like activations using a whole Mupi network. And these are just very basic off-the-head applications to it.
Some might say that it is still early to consider this technology as mainstream. And I agree. But consider mobile phone releases and the rotation associated with this type of product and we’ll all agree that phones with these capacities are quickly spreading. Now it’s up to the brand – will they be the pioneers or will they be the followers. It’s all up to their strategy, of course.

There are currently 0 comments. Why not join the conversation?

18 January 2010

Comments (0)