The Social Media Honeymoon is Over
June 20, 2011 at 3:37 am | Posted in Blogging, Branding, Digital Strategies, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter | 1 CommentTags: Facebook Plateau, Social Media, Social Media Douchebag, Social Media Rock Star
I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time now. So here goes…
Like you, I’ve seen a number of blogs and article criticizing social media “experts”, “gurus” and the like – and they are well deserved. Social is hardly new – and though it is still new to some, that’s ok. Some people are new to driving, oysters or gardening. This hardly makes these practices and interests unimportant. We’re simply seeing the demise of the 1st wave of social media as the answer, and all the excitement and opportunity within the social space that must inevitably stare ROI right back in the eye (pun completely intended).
Some humorous examples of these criticisms here, here and here.
It didn’t help that (some of) this 1st wave of social media types took to calling themselves rock stars. It made some sense at the time – remember when Facebook had “Fans”? And with the dizzying rates of new users, various social start-ups and “game changing” events – who can blame them.
But this time is long gone now. Trending is great. Lots of Followers and Likes are fantastic. But it’s hardly enough to be remotely noteworthy any longer. Social media is a marketing channel – like any other. Its digital. It can be really cool. But it needs to factor in some ROI. Big time.
Those of you who’ve read me for a while know this – I’ve spoken on my position previously, once or twice.
I’m a little weary of brands that position social so close to the core of their digital assets – I’ve seen a number of TV ads that give a Facebook page as the digital destination. There are an increasing amount of articles featuring stories of Facebook plateaus and user rates that are dropping.
Social is hardly “done for” – but the role it plays and the impact it has, is having and can have is changing. Social is what we make it, every post, tweet or status update.
Social is a place – a dynamic place. But it’s not the only place. Use it wisely…
Sponsor and Brand Impact: Photo Tags on Facebook
May 12, 2011 at 2:02 pm | Posted in Facebook, Social Media, Sponsorship | 1 CommentTags: Facebook, Photo tagging, Sponsorship
Yesterday, Facebook announced that users can tag Pages in Facebook photos. This is kind of a big deal and can provide a profound effect on sponsor activations in the social space.
The first impact falls on your sports brand as fans can now tag your Page in their photos. Consider fans’ photos wearing team jerseys/apparel, or photos in your arena… the ability to tag your team Page layers a new level of visibility and engagement.
The second impact falls on your sponsors. Activations can now involve your Page tagging a sponsor’s Page in a photo – situations like this provide:
- A passive social marketing opportunity
- An increase in using images of/with sponsors
- A greater focus on product placement
- Cross page promotions – Sponsors tagging your Page on their photos
Up to now, most sponsored activity on Facebook has been located in status updates or tabs. Photo tagging presents a new opportunity to include images as an important asset to include in your social media kit.
Facebook Pages Upgrade: What You Need to Know
February 10, 2011 at 10:21 pm | Posted in Facebook, Social Media, Sponsorship, Sports Marketing | 1 CommentTags: Facebook Pages, Sports Marketing
New Facebook Pages are here.
If you are a Page admin – you will have seen the “Upgrade” button by now. Facebook is providing the option to upgrade now, or wait until March 10 when all Pages will be automatically upgraded.
Tip #1: Have a look at the Preview
Get a sense of what your new Page will look like by taking the Preview. Everything will still be there, but organized differently. There are a number of Admin friendly tools available to get to know and understand. Recognize that this will take some time. Do some learning before you proceed.
Tip #2: Tell your fans in advance about the upgrade
Don’t just flip the switch, tell your fans at least a day in advance about the coming changes. Facebook has a bit of a history of changing things and people not liking them. So give your fans some fair notice that their Page will change – I say THEIR page, because it is absolutely theirs. Also, don’t position this as “Facebook is making us do this”… Yes, the changes are coming no matter what, but don’t blame Facebook. After all, this platform is providing you with a media rich space to engage and sell to thousands of your fans! Be ready for negative feedback and handle it promptly and publicly.
Tip #3: Where’d my Tabs Go?
The biggest change to the layout is that the Tabs are now organized under the profile pic – they are more like links now (and consistent with Profiles). You likely have some sponsored content in these tabs – it’s a good idea to reconnect with your corporate partners and talk them through this new layout design. There are new features that enhance sponsor integration, and tabs remain intact as well.
Here’s some other new features:
- Pages will now be able to interact with other pages, much like individuals do. A page can “like” a page. Sponsorship marketing opportunities here…
- Live notification when fans post or comment
- Photos are displayed prominently at the top of the Page
- The ability to feature or promote staff
This is going to take some getting used to, but I think its clear there are more tools available for teams now to engage and monetize. Some of these new features provide excellent sponsor integration opportunities… so get ready what comes next! I will break these down in the coming weeks.
In the meantime – Here’s a Manual for the new Pages.
What’s The Deal with Facebook Deals?
November 4, 2010 at 4:44 pm | Posted in Facebook, Foursquare, Marketing, Mobile | 1 CommentTags: Facebook Deals, Foursquare, Location, Sports Marketing
Yesterday, Facebook announced the launch of Deals. So what is this and why does it matter?
Facebook Deals is focused on mobile and location based social media. You will recall a while back when Facebook announced it’s Places feature – now Deals layers on the ability for Places users to see what kinds of offers are around them as they check in on their mobile device. So for example – on your next trip downtown, you check in at a Starbucks and can see that there is a deal nearby you right now – perhaps a sale on team jerseys at the team store. In you go, and pick a couple jerseys up for holiday gifts.
The value is clear – but consider that a mere 1% of mobile users use any kind of check-in technology right now. So, what’s the big deal?
- Potential – Facebook has over 200 million active mobile users right now. Even 1% of that number is significant and it will likely grow.
- Risk – There is an apprehension for a lot of users surrounding the security/privacy issue of check-ins. Will it be widely adopted just as Tweets and Facebook status updates were? Time will tell…
- Behaviour – In a previous post, I shared the fact that mobile internet use will outpace desktop use by 2015. The mobile battle is underway, and the race to “own” the location services/market is on.
Current location players such as Foursquare, representing a respectable 7M+ users, offer more of a game element with badges and mayorships in addition to the feature of deals and special offers. It remains to be seen how they will respond to Facebook Deals (apparently, new features will arrive at years’ end/Q1 2011).
Lastly, what should you do about this now? My whole position on location has been a wait and see policy. In the last few months, I’ve been a heavy Foursquare user as the announcement of Places and the growth of the Foursquare platform merritted attention. I cautioned sports marketers to include location opportunities in promotions and social projects, but not to focus on them – and for good reason. This is a constantly evolving space (BTW – if your team still has a myspace page, you can take it down now), and investing too much time, energy and (hopefully) sponsor activation dollars may not add up.
The take away – claim your venue or location properties now – here’s how. Keep watching this space and your physical neighbors for what happens and evolves here. This matters.
Drill Down: Social Media Solution Selling
October 28, 2010 at 2:39 pm | Posted in Business Development, Facebook, Sales Methodologies, Sports Marketing, Twitter | 2 CommentsTags: Facebook, Social Media, Solutions Selling, Twitter
I’m all for short, sharp, blog posts. I touched on some big issues in my last post, and some of the bullets need to be drilled down.
Probably the most important aspect of social sales is determining what the goals of the sponsor/partner are. There are several variables involved and a number of factors to consider. For example…
Does the sponsor have an existing social presence?
What is their strategy? Do they even have one? Is the existing focus on customer service, or loyalty, or engagement? Something else? Do you they look to you for thought leadership? Are they in social because they feel they need to be or because it’s part of their marketing mix? What is the size of their current social population? What platforms do they use (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc…)? What kinds of resources are responsible for running/administering their social media activities? How does social fit into the rest of the organization?
What are the goals of the social sponsorship?
What will make the promotion successful for the sponsor? To grow their friends/followers? Drive traffic to their website? Awareness of new products/services? Launch a social media campaign? Brand/team alignment? Track the promotion via key words or coupons? Is the social component tied to existing activations? How long should it run for? What sorts of initiatives have they done in the social space before and what were the outcomes?
These are all important considerations and “must ask” questions required to build successful deals. Again, these aren’t rate card/commodity sales – they are solutions.
Social Marketing Consistency
September 16, 2010 at 10:27 am | Posted in Branding, Digital Strategies, Facebook, Twitter | Leave a commentTags: Branding, Social Media, Sports Marketing
When I start a social media project with a team, one of the first and easiest things that sports teams should do with their social media sites is focus on digital and social consistency.
Your social spaces should have as much of the same look and feel as your website. This is a lot easier to do with Twitter, but there are ways to make your Facebook page fall into line with your website.
Just like the rest of your marketing efforts, your social spaces should reflect the same level of consistency in appearance. Here’s an example:
Check out Minnesota Wild‘s website and compare that to the Wild’s Twitter profile and the Wild’s Facebook page.
If they don’t look the same – the first question should be “why”? In most cases, there hasn’t been enough attention placed on integrating the look and feel of these platforms. Social media has moved from an after-thought or value add space to a front/center position. So by now, if a teams’ social spaces do not share a consistent look it reads as sloppy or second class. The only reason that a teams’ social spaces do not share any consistency is because that is a part of a larger strategy at work.
Checking In on Facebook Places
September 2, 2010 at 1:27 pm | Posted in Facebook, Foursquare, Sports Marketing | Leave a commentTags: Facebook, Foursquare, Goelocation, Sports Marketing
Pun intended, for sure.
It’s been a couple of weeks since Facebook launched its Places feature – a geolocation function that let’s users identify their location within their social networks. I’ve seen a number of posts and articles by sports marketers about integrating Facebook Places/FourSquare into their promotional mix.
Here’s my 2 cents…
While I will agree that Places/FourSquare presents some interesting and engaging opportunities, my own experience has shown that it’s still the early days for these tools.
FourSquare does have a growing user base, but I’ve found that it still requires a fair amount of education to enable fans to use it effectively in promotions. I’m not suggesting to drop the idea of using it, but right now, my opinion is that the time required to educate and inform is greater than the benefits or rewards.
Moving forward, I would look to include a geolocation feature to a promotion, but would probably hold back on building a promo that only focused solely on that platform. Start small, and look to enhance social projects with a check-in element. For example, if you were building a promo that supported a multi-location sponsor in your market, you could offer a tiered prizing/award structure that offered something for check-ins as well as for entries for less savvy,yet still socially aware/active fans.
Ultimately, the last thing you want to do is create a digital divide. Don’t forget, there are a number of privacy concerns that were raised with this launch. So start small, measure and assess your results and continue to plan from there. Be prepared to teach your fans along the way.
Facebook Saturation and Web 3.0
July 22, 2010 at 10:55 am | Posted in Facebook, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Facebook, Web 3.0
As Facebook plows on towards 500 million users, there will be an estimated 6,859,480,895 people on the earth by August 1st, 2010.
So, about 1 in 13 earthlings have a Facebook profile. You get a pretty clear picture that Facebook is quite simply, A BIG DEAL – whether you like it or not.
All this rapid growth has got to stop somewhere, right? Correct. In fact, probably pretty soon. The number of Facebook users will continually grow, but likely not at the same rate. It will begin to level off – then what?
What comes next has already arrived. Recent announcements at the F8 conference back in April showed us that the web was becoming more social in its very nature. You might remember my blog post from a year ago regarding the rise of Web 3.0 – the semantic web.
What Facebook brings across the web now is “meaning”… how the content of the web is presented to the user along with its specific impact to the user’s own experience. We see this in the form of “Like” buttons. When a user reads a story on CNN.com or NHL.com, they can see how many of their Facebook friends liked it. This is what I mean by meaning… its how the web content relates to the user now in a specific and personal way. And there will be more of it… new layers of meaning, and in deeper ways.
Facebook is also changing how people use the web – it is moving from search engine as starting point to social network as starting point. You’ll also notice that Facebook now has “Community Pages” – Facebook is slowly, but surely becoming an online repository of everyone and everything. Like an immense encyclopedia, not only presented with facts – but with what those facts mean to people.
Now, that is a big deal.
Beyond the Team: Social Media and Sports Management
July 20, 2010 at 1:07 pm | Posted in Branding, Content Management, Facebook, Marketing, Personal Brand, Social Media, Sports Marketing, Twitter | 1 CommentTags: Athlete Representation, Online Branding, Online Identity, Social Media, Sports Management, Sports Marketing
The list of benefits for sports teams to be active in social media is clear:
- Marketing
- Fan engagement
- Sponsorship activation
- Monetization/ROI
Who else in the industry can benefit and how?
The past few years have seen the athletes/players themselves participate in social media on their own accord. Shaq being one of the first and most infamous on Twitter. Dozens of pro athletes have followed and built huge followings along the way.
The key here is “on their own accord”. Athlete as celebrity status provides these players with the opportunity to comment on news and events, or anything else the rest of the Twitterverse chooses to tweet about. In fact, the recent experience surrounding Twitter and NBA free agency really proved the medium had arrived and mattered as traditional media took a back seat to the goings on.
The Next Wave: Sports Management Companies and Player Associations
Now that teams have incorporated the social space as an important part of their marketing mix, sports management companies and player associations would be wise to do the same on behalf of their clients. Online identity and brand are of huge and increasing importance, and there are opportunities for sponsorship, promotion and PR that are largely un-managed and underdeveloped.
I realize that every player out there may not wish to be updating their Facebook profile or tweeting about their pre-game preparations – and this is not really required, but it is savvy, smart and time to develop an online identity and brand strategy… now.
This should be a priority for sports management companies and player associations alike.
Micro-transactions and Future Revenues from the Social Space
July 13, 2010 at 10:10 am | Posted in Facebook, Micro-transactions, Social Media | 1 CommentTags: Facebook, Gifts, Micro-transactions, Social Gaming
Last week, Facebook announced that it was discontinuing its Gifts feature as of August 1, 2010.
I have previously blogged about important Facebook changes, but you can only come up with eye-catching titles like “Facebook Changes You Need to Know About” so many times… it is pretty clear that Facebook is a constantly shifting space and you need to stay on top of it both tactically as well as strategically.
Discontinuing the Gift Feature
In past posts, I had presented the idea of micro-transactions – small dollar value ($1 or $2) transactions – as a possible revenue stream for the social space. Conveniently, Facebook did a very good job of facilitating and sharing Gifts – small icons that users could buy (with $ or credits) and display on their own profiles or give to friends. This seemed straightforward enough, and a strong fit for sports marketers to leverage a team logo, a player or other aspect of their sport.
Micro-transactions could generate some fairly high numbers (once the initial outlay was built and in place) for strong sports brands with tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of fans. For example, a .5% conversion on $1 from 500,000 fans = $2,500.
Perhaps it was a good idea, but also a bit late. Gifting across Facebook was certainly more popular in 2005-2007/08 – add the recent economic downturn and it results in the closing of the gift store today.
Of course, teams can still continue with gifts on their own – but it seems that the gift/revenue legitimacy is now over; however, the concept of micro-transactions is still a powerful one and will have an increasing role in online revenue and also from the social and mobile space as well.
Micro-transactions
A familiar example of a micro-transaction is iTunes – $1 per song. Pretty easy to execute, and some serious revenues follow as a result.
Micro-transactions have been very successful in “free-to-play” online games represented by both the purchase of virtual items as well as in-game progression. Recent years have seen rapid growth in the popularity of micro-transactions in social gaming (consider famous titles such as “Farmville” or “Mafia Wars” on Facebook).
So how can sports marketers benefit?
For one, I am confident that social platforms will increase their focus social gaming. Sports games make very good sense and offer a wide appeal. While some of these opportunities will exist at the league level, imagine a social game in which you are able to manage “your team” as a GM. There could be integrated sponsor opportunities to give your players more energy by providing them with Gatorade for a micro-transactional fee…
As DVRs (or PVRs in Canada) continue to erode effective messaging opportunities on TV via traditional advertising, product integration will increasingly show up in spaces where consumers spend their time or draw their attention. Similarly, consumers are spending more time on their smart phones and social networking platforms. This is not a “better or worse” type of situation or evaluation, but it is clear that things are changing (fairly quickly) and marketers need to adapt, not to mention, innovate.
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Carson McKee,
Digital wing man and social media consultant. -
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