As social media explodes in popularity, both on an individual basis and as a marketing/PR/HR/customer service tool for companies, a lot of legal issues are popping up. It's such a relatively new field that there isn't a lot of precedence yet. Should employers monitor and regulate employee use of social media? Do they even have the right to? Last year ESPN told their on-air employees they could only tweet about ESPN related materials on their personal twitter accounts. What about copyright infringement? It seems to run rampant in social media - so is a Napster-like crackdown coming? And what about privacy issues? Google's new social network, Buzz, got hit with a lawsuit from G-mail account holders upset that the new network broadcast personal information without their consent. And these are just a few of the issues.
While many of the legal questions don't have definitive answers yet, I did get some answers at last week's Social Media Club Detroit meeting. Karen Evans, an attorney who also is a professor and program director at Lawrence Technological University, gave a presentation called "Law and the Social Web." While she did say that actual answers would vary depending on specific cases, she gave great general info on what you can and can't do on the social web.
As far as regulating employees, Evans says companies should let their employees talk, but they should monitor what's being said. For instance say there's a twitter conversation between an employee and her friend (or another employee) that reveals that someone in the company made a remark that could be construed as sexual harassment. Even if it's in jest, the company should look into it, so they can't be accused of ignoring a possible infraction. And even worse, if you say you're monitoring your employees and you actually aren't - a situation like this could come back to bite you.
Another problem for employers? If employees inadvertently relay trade secrets over social networks. This gets tricky for the company, because once trade secrets are out there, they're really hard to get back. And you could lose them. For instance, if your process of doing something is what sets you apart, once it's out on the social web, other companies can see it and start doing the same processes. You can't really stop them and your advantage is lost.
Evans told a story about using a company's name that's not your own in social media. She told of one person who took the twitter handle HJ_Heinz, mostly as an experiment to see what happened. He wrote tweets about ketchup and ketchup recipes and the like - nothing derogatory towards the Heinz company. This went on for awhile until one day he came in and found his twitter handle had been changed to NOTHJ_Heinz. Think this is a violation of his free speech rights? No, say Evans, only the government can violate your free speech rights. Corporations aren't held to that same standard. Plus, perhaps you were violating their trademarked name.
These are just few of the tidbits that Evans imparted to the crowd at our SMCD meeting (which are open to anyone, if you're interested). For a full set of notes on what knowledge she imparted, click here to go to the notes page on the SMCD Facebook page. And if you're a Detroit peep, consider becoming a fan. You'll get info on other upcoming speakers - all for free!
So, what social media legal issues have you encountered so far? What did you do? What were the results?
Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director & Yaffe Social Media Guy
I've talked before in this space about some of the things you can do to create social media success for your company. Here's a can't fail tip: create a community around something people are passionate about. The non-profit organization JoeOnTheMove has had phenomenal success as one of Facebook's quiet giants. In just 5 months, their cause page (Free Phone Calls For Soldiers) membership has grown from around 100,000 to just shy 1.5 million.
How did they do it? JoeOnTheMove is a charity who's sole purpose is to provide free or affordable ways for soldiers deployed overseas to have a few moments on the phone with a loved one back home. There are a lot of people who have a loved one in the services and each of them has a circle of influence in social media. So, when they join, it's not hard to get friends and family to join. Most of us know somebody who has somebody deployed overseas. And even if you don't, you can relate to the true human emotion of wanting to connect to a loved one that you are separated from. Tapping into human emotions is a key to any social media success. Just read some of the stories:"I want
to hear my husband’s voice. It kills me everyday not to hear my best friend's
voice. To hear him laugh, to hear him upset, even just to know that he is right
there listening to me is all I need some days. And there is nothing ruining a
moment like not being able to call. If I could have just five minutes without
worrying about a penny for every second I would cherish it." - Chris Snider
"As I fight to win the war my body is
raging against cancer, my son fights in the war against terrorism and those
who are against the freedoms all people deserve. We draw strength from each other,
knowing that family and their love is the backbone and the core of what is
important in our struggles. A terrorist is like a cancer that is trying to
spread through the body of the world, and as my son fights that I want to be
able to listen, share and support him in his challenging battle." - Debbie Peterson.
Right now, JoeOnTheMove is in the final stages of their Operation Valentines Connection campaign to raise $50,000 to provide free 5-minute phone cards to thousands of soldiers, so they can call their loved ones. It's a good cause and a good lesson in what makes social media work well. If you can tap into human emotions in an honest way and are truly looking to help someone out, you're way ahead in the social media world.
Another good company, Snyder’s Drug Stores, announced a couple of weeks ago that it is closing. I know because we sent out the press releases. Each press release listed my name, Michael Morin, as the contact for more information. We do crisis management for our clients, but this is one you hope you never have to do – going out of business. It resulted in a grueling couple of days on the phone with radio, TV and newspaper people throughout Minnesota, the US and Canada.
The whole ordeal was physically draining. But, it was more than that; it was sad… really sad. Snyder’s was a vital part of the neighborhoods where they had stores. Some of the calls I got asked me where the local seniors were going to turn to for their prescriptions. Another call talked about how Snyder’s had been delivering prescriptions to a paraplegic veteran. Now, what was he going to do?
In most of the areas, Walgreens bought the prescription lists and will take care of those who were loyal Snyder’s customers. In many markets, Walgreens is even taking over the existing store and will convert it. But, some neighborhoods will be without. And the big national chains won’t deliver the kind of personal service that took care of a local vet who couldn’t make it to the store. Many people won’t have the trusted pharmacist they’ve had for years. It’s a sad story that’s told over and over these days as regional chains fall by the wayside.
So, how did this happen? Was it a product of the recession that has hit small to mid-size companies especially hard this last year? Or was it part of the trend this past decade with larger competitors gobbling up the smaller chains all across the country? We’ve seen this happen to many Yaffe & Company clients the past 10 years. Michigan based Perry Drug Stores, a Yaffe client, was bought out by Rite Aid and then their local competition Arbor Drugs was bought up by CVS.
Snyder’s Drug Stores were founded by Max Snyder in downtown Minneapolis in 1928 and grew to become a formidable player in the drugstore category with over 80 stores in the Twin Cities, plus dozens of franchise stores in many other states. A merger 8 years ago turned out to be a bad move, resulting in bankruptcy. Then, in the past five years, three big competitors (Walgreens, CVS and Target) opened 60 new pharmacies in the Twin Cities. So, the weakened Snyder’s now had to compete against the big national players who opened stores at all the best intersections.
So, if Snyder’s had been able to stay relevant, adapt and remain financially strong, would they have been able to overcome these obstacles? It’s hard to say. If they had been strong enough to weather the economic storm that was 2009, who’s to say they might not have still been bought out by one of the big players like so many regional chains before them. The end result would have been better for the Snyder’s people, but would have been the same for the neighborhoods who believed in their local drug store chain.
Small and mid-size chains are disappearing all over the place. Is it the economy, the homogenization of America, merger mania or some combination of all? I’d be interested in hearing what you think.
We all witnessed an interesting phenomenon last week. The U.S. rallied it’s political strength, emotional celebrity clout and its spirit of giving to raise close to 54 million dollars for Haiti. In one week the U.S. orchestrated this massive relief effort: raising funds, getting water, food and supplies, medical doctor expertise including surgical theaters and expediting delivery of orphaned children who were mid-process of the adoption process.
Our participation in the Haiti disaster over the last week was truly remarkable.The U.S. television media organized multi-channel interactive access in presenting the real time situation, the pleas for help, the organizations where money should be sent and summarized how the money would be used, in graphic detail.Through the on-going media exposure using the most heart felt, engaging reportage, a stabilizing effort of relief and medical care was brought about out of complete chaos and disaster.We were even able to witness how the aid was beginning to repair the overwhelming damage.
But it wasn't just about mass media. The organization of new media channels for reaching out to each and every U.S. household with compassion and dignity brought the disaster vividly into all of our lives in a whole new way. Social media and the Internet have personalized the involvement among all of us. By connecting through these online channels, all of us could feel we were personally a part of the relief efforts and the aid given. Even children and young teens were establishing organized efforts for relief.
This event crystallized in my mind the future role of the United States in a global community. Utilizing our creativity, intellect and technological reach, as a nation we have the capacity to lift third world communities into self-managing democracies by empowering individuals with the tools for on-going sustenance.
Whatever one has to say about the all-encompassing and imposing nature of technology and media in our lives, we clearly saw how we can use our creative assets to further the benefit of global mankind.Technology allows for distribution of wealth in the most specific one-on-one terms.The scope of audience privy to the information is so vast because of technology, the burden in no longer on a select few.
As marketers, it is our responsibility to harness this power in the most effective ways for building brands and making a difference. Cause related marketing is such a powerful magnet with the appropriate strategic partners.It takes creativity, imagination, intelligence and humanity.It can only serve to make all of us look good and feel better - about ourselves and about the companies we do business with.
Guest blog by Joanie Abraham, Partner at Style Branding.
Mad Men, the popular ad agency show on AMC, takes place during the golden age of advertising creativity. TV was a fairly new medium, but people had worked with it enough to start doing some pretty creative things using the new nuances of picture and sound. Ad men with names like Bernett, Ogilvy and Bernbach were changing the world. Those times are long gone, but are we entering a new area of unprecedented creativity? I think so.
This new age of creativity is set in motion by two major factors. Again, we have a new medium that has been around long enough for people to start figuring it out - the Internet. And that new medium has spawned all sorts of new channels, including online video, social media, mobile, search and much more. Now add to that an era where the customer is more in control of things than they've ever been. It's no longer good enough to shout your message to a massive crowd. You have to craft your message into something interesting or engaging or useful. That takes more creative thinking - from more departments than just the one labeled "creative."
To play in this new pool and to engage on a more one-to-one manner requires creativity in all facets of your business plan. Your strategic thinkers need to be creative in their strategies. The media planning and buying needs to be creative. The thinking that goes into how your product interacts with the consumer at all touch points needs to be creative. And, of course, the messaging itself needs to be creative.
This all requires a lot more thought than before. It's not like there weren't professionals putting a lot of thought into your brand and it's marketing before. But, branding and marketing today requires a lot more innovative thinking. It's why even a smaller firm like us is going to market differently. For instance, the firm that is our Houston office, Yaffe/Deutser, actually does very little traditional advertising and marketing. They do a lot more consulting in areas where they can help companies think differently - in research, company culture analysis, how they deal with employees and their various constituencies, brand management and a whole host of other things that weren't being done by companies like us just 6 or 7 years ago.
For a creative person like myself, it's a great time. In a previous blog post, I already talked about how now is a good time to get back into radio, if you're willing to do something creative. Now, we're looking at all kinds of new possibilities. Instead of just thinking about how the TV ad will drive sales or promote a products USP, we get to think about how to engage people. Our direct marketing division, Yaffe Direct, has found that emails with a video component increase engagement, add over a minute of time spent on our message by the consumer and lift sales by 34%. So, instead of just concentrating on a sale designed to bring in a customer this weekend, we can create more interesting and engaging web videos like this:
RoomPlace Cinco de Mayo Web Video
So, what do you think? Are we really entering the next golden age of creativity? And is it one that crosses over many departmental lines? Who's with me?
Mike McClure, Executive Creative Director and Social Media Guy
Am I evil just because I'm an ad guy? I don't think so. But, much of the world does. I can't tell you how many times I've been someplace and the evils of advertising come up. I've been a youth counselor at my church and taken my youth group to a big rally where a video presentation on a giant screen talks about how advertising pressures you to be this kind of person or look like this or do that - DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THEIR EVIL MANIPULATIONS! I've been at group weight loss sessions (yes, I'm a fat ad guy) where they start talking about how evil advertising portrays the ideal body or makes us eat unhealthy food. Even some of our own (Dove's beauty campaign comes to mind) have turned on us, using advertising to decry the evils of advertising
Inevitably, when these outbursts of anti-advertising occur, the heads of those who know me swivel in my direction. I just give them a grin and move about my day. I'm sure there are evil plumbers and evil short order cooks out there too. They just don't get the publicity evil ad guys do. A few bad apples quietly spoil the bunch. A few bad apples with a camera loudly spoil an industry. Or something like that.
Truth is, most of us believe in our clients and try and put a positive spin on humanity in general. And we usually jump at the chance to use our powers of persuasion for good. It's rare that a good cause can't find some ad folks willing to promote their cause pro bono. We've done it over and over. Many of our corporate officers have been chairs of multiple charities. We've done scores of ads for charity, including this one for Forgotten Harvest.
Most recently, our Detroit office was involved in creating the theme and all the materials for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen's big annual fund raiser. SOCK (Support Our Capuchin Kitchen). The event was a big success, connecting emotionally with those in attendance and helping convince them to give a lot more than they did last year, even in this down economy in Detroit. You can read the full story here and see some samples of what we created for them.
Here's just one of the warm comments we got from SOCK committee member, Cathy Schmitt, "The Yaffe Group exceeded expectations. Never have all the parts of this event looked better. The theme was inspiring, and I felt as though the guests connected intellectually and emotionally with all of the services provided through the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. The video The Yaffe Group prepared truly captured the work of this extraordinary mission. The visible spirit of giving and receiving brought tears to my eyes."
Beats the heck outta being call an evil SOB. What have you done to use your powers for good?
If you're like me (and most of the work force today, really) you're wearing a lot more hats at work these days. Seems everyone's taken on extra responsibilities so their companies can do more with less. In addition to my "normal" duties as a partner, writer, producer, executive creative director and department head, I've added social media director duties. This includes leading the team on developing social media plans and ideas for our clients and our own company, running this blog, our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, podcasts, eNewsletter and a whole host of other things. This is not to say, "poor me." I'm sure you have a lot of extra things you're doing that you didn't do two or three years ago, too.
Whether you realize it or not, having more to do in your limited time builds up a layer of stress over you like plaque on teeth. You don't notice it until there's already a lot there. Today, I forced myself to go outside and take a brisk 40 minute walk at lunch. It's a beautiful, if somewhat cold, day in Detroit. And somehow the random play on my iPod knew just the right songs to play for a sunny day walk in November.
I always hate to take the time away, because I always have so much to do. Even if it's just catching up on online articles I plan to tweet during my lunch hour. But, the break was well worth it. Not only did I come back refreshed and with more energy to face the afternoon, I came back with a lot of ideas. Allowed to float along on song and sunshine, my mind pried loose all sorts of fresh nuggets from the crevasses of my brain. I came up with 6 blog ideas, a new system for tracking our social media programs and several ideas for client creative projects we're working on. And with my Blackberry's voice recorder I made sure I didn't lose any of them.
So, take some time off during the middle of your day. You may be surprised by how much you get done.
If you're into branding, social media, creativity, achieving goals or just life in general, here's a great reading list from the speakers at the 2009 Brand Camp University conference in Detroit.
First of all, every attendee got a copy of The Branded YU Life by Brand Camp founder Hajj Flemings, It is subtitled, Rethinking who you are through personal brand management. Since Hajj comes from a graphic background, it's impact graphically is as good as the written word. Hajj also recommended a good book on creativity called Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod.
I was lucky enough to win an autographed copy of speaker Mitch Joel's new book 6 Pixels of Separation, where he talks about how we are all connected by just 6 pixels instead of 6 people in this digital age.
Our next speaker, Rohit Bhargava, has worked with a number of the world's biggest and best brands. He used those experiences to write, Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity and How Great Brands Get it Back. He also has a free eBook companion on personal branding.
Apparently, CoversationAgent.com's Valeria Maltoni didn't have a book to pitch, but she had a great reading list of her own to pass on. She suggested Mitch Joel's book (listed above), TrustAgents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan, Twitterville:How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods by Shel Isreal, Me 2.0: How to Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success by Dan Schawbel, The New Community Rules: Marketing On The Social Web by Tamar Weinberg and World Wide Rave: Creating Triggers that Get Millions of People to Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories by David Meerman Scott.
And finally, there's the new book by passionate and inspiring speaker Ken Brown, A Leap of Faith: Going from Welfare to Faring Well. He randomly handed out copies of his book to the crowd throughout his presentation.
There you go, a good list of reading materials to get you through the winter (Northern Hemisphere only, Southern Hemisphere, consider this your summer reading list) and get you prepared to improve you brand, your career, your life and probably your vocabulary. Enjoy
Mike McClure. The man. The brand. The Yaffe Group Social Media Brandividual
With everything that’s going on these days, some say the system is broken. Others say it’s going through growing pains to evolve into something else. Whatever your perspective, it may be time to take another look at whatever your current system is. Looking at it from “outside” the system one can observe some very interesting characteristics “in” the system, especially with issues that can really stunt your company’s growth and adaptation to the media revolution that is taking place. When you operate “outside” the system the perspective is always on solving the problem without being hampered by the old adage, “we’ve always done it this way before.” Routine can be dangerous and even deadly if strictly followed. Whatever systems were in place before may not necessarily be the most masterful guides for the present, and valuable opportunities can be overlooked.
Today’s communication is all about “thinking globally and communicating locally”. National advertisers may need to use different, more localized channels for creating more personalized relationships with their customers. This means building a local network of national coverage. You have got to burrow through the blanket of national distribution in order to create the sense of intimacy.
In this day there should be no general sweeping dictates about how media is used. Each situation really warrants its own analysis. With the myriad of tools we have, coupled with endless options of distribution channels available, you won’t keep up if you don’t stay open to everything viable.
What’s viable? Anything works in new media that is informative, engaging, entertaining, respectfully speaks up to your customer or makes your brand look smart, charitable, honest, cool or just plain fun. In this brave new world of engagement, the brand becomes organic and that attracts a consumer’s attention. The more nimble you are, the better you hear and respond to what people REALLY want.
Look for those golden opportunities that set you apart from the crowd. Keep your ear to the ground and remember, everything is Fair Game
I set my clock early this morning and got up with the eager anticipation of an old time bride and groom on their wedding night. I live for mornings like this. My beloved Spartans had made the Final 4 in the NCAA tournament the day before. Like similar days in my past, I was expecting to find the stories splashed across the front page of my morning Detroit Free Press. I expected a full sports section dedicated to MY TEAM.
I got out on my porch and stood there dumbfounded. There was nothing there. Then, the realization hit me. Today was the first day the Free Press stopped delivering a daily paper. It will only come Thursday, Friday and Sunday now. Like other papers around the country, they are failing. Too many people these days, especially the young, get all their news online and are not buying papers any more.Me? I've read a paper every morning of my adult life. I turn 50 next week. The magic is gone. Like modern couples (who don't wait for their wedding day to consummate the relationship any more), there will no longer by any mystery and anticipation on my special days. So, I downloaded a few stories online and took them with me to read over breakfast (our home computer isn't a laptop). It wasn't the same. It was over way too soon.
Then it got worse. Before on days like this, I could listen to the local sports talk stations jabber on and on all day about every little nuance of my team's great accomplishment and break down all that was to come. Some months ago, the sports talk radio I listened to, WDFN, dropped all local programing, fired the local talk jocks and went all national syndicated programing. Part of the Clear Channelization of America. We have another sports talk station, but for whatever reason, their morning show doesn't talk about sports. They talk about local politics and local business and goofy morning talk prattle you can hear on every morning show in America.
It's maddening. Something has been lost. It's not just happening here, it's happening everywhere. In general, I love the digital revolution. And to be honest, I probably won't renew the trade magazines we subscribe to here in the office, because they sit in my mailbox for months at a time. I get most of my trade news and views through my own searches, through my twitter updates and through the email newsletters I subscribe to. That's part of the problem. I'm part of the problem. But is it a problem or something an old guy like me just needs to get used to. And more importantly, what's a local sports enthusiast to do? Will national brand name teams, college or pros, gain more prominence over local. Or will we just migrate to our favorite sites, our Facebook fan pages and Twitter sports follows? What do you think?
