Yaffe Tidbits

How To Do Local Blogger Outreach The Right Way

Getting bloggers to talk about your product is a tricky thing. Getting social media influencers to talk about your product multiple times is even harder - especially if you're a regional or local brand, rather than a big national brand. The Suburban Collection of car dealerships is doing it in the Metro Detroit area and doing it well. And here's how.

Each weekend, they give a car from one of their dealerships to a local blogger and social media influencer as part of their social test drive program. In return, they ask that when you tweet, facebook, foursquare or whatever, you use the hashtag they created for the program: #SocialTestDrive. They don't put any restrictions on what you write or blog about, which is the only way to do it right. They let their product and service speak for itself and trust that it will result in a good experience for the recipient of the vehicle.

The Suburban Collection has only been doing this for about four weeks now, but they are already seeing good results. After their first week, they sold a couple vehicles as a direct result of the program. One of the guys who bought after following the first week's social test drive online said he came in because the experience he witnessed through the social channels seemed to be a good one. He had had a bad experience at Suburban in the past, but after reading the posts, he decided to give them another try. This time, he had a real good experience. The vehicle he bought wasn't even the one that was being test driven that weekend. But, the experience he'd followed through social media seemed good enough to give Suburban another shot.

"Our goal is to just be a part of the conversation," says Zac Holmes, Online Marketing Coordinator at Suburban. "People hang out online, live there, interact there - that's where you'll find them. We wanted to reach out to them in the space they're already occupying and connect them to our brand."

One of the smart things Suburban is doing is the way they recruit the people to participate in their program. They do it by having the person who just finished the program choose the next one, giving them the additional perk of sharing the experience with their friends. Plus, they get a list of influencers already vetted for them. Who else would know the local blogger/social media influencer landscape better than those who are a part of it.

"People are a lot more likely to believe a review if you hear it from someone you know or follow, rather than from the brand itself," said Holmes. "It's more realistic when it's coming from them. We also wanted to put people in vehicles they might not try otherwise. This makes driving part of the buying experience - whether it's actually driving the vehicle or driving it vicariously through following along with the driver online."

I have first hand experience in how the process works, since I participated in their social test drive program last weekend, driving a hybrid Honda Insight from Suburban Honda. I had followed the previous weekend's driver, fellow social media and ad guy, Bryan Willmert, on his social test drive (mostly through Instagram) and had enjoyed his story. Then, to my surprise the following week I got a tweet from both Zac and the Suburban Collection asking if I'd like to participate. Obviously, I said yes. And it was a pretty good experience.

They gave me a choice of several different brands. Once I chose Honda, they asked what I was driving and suggested four different models that I might like to test drive. I was interested in checking out their hybrid, the Honda Insight. When I showed up, they walked me through the vehicle and how to work all the options. They shot a video of me with the car and sent me on my way.

It was interesting to see the interaction I got. On my first day (last Friday), I had to go downtown Detroit for a lunch meeting. I tweeted out where I was going and the car I was in. I immediately got feedback via twitter. One person I know tweeted me that they were a half mile away from my meeting, could I stop by while there. I swung by and let him take the Insight for a tool around the city. Once that was done another tweeted for "nexties" and another wanted to see it and we hooked up the following day at the auto show. So, the most immediate feedback came via twitter - including from people outside of my own followers, people who were following the hashtag, either promoted by Suburban or via previous test drivers.

Longer discussions, with more in depth questions, came on the Facebook messages/pictures I posted. And for shear volume, my Instagram posts seemed to get the most reactions - including again, from people I had no idea who they were. They were just fans of the car or the brand.

Talking with Holmes, who works with four of the Suburban Collection dealerships in the Detroit area (Honda, Acura, Ford and Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram), his group has enthusiastically embraced the program and plans to continue it with one or two social test drivers each week. Judging from my experience and the reaction to it, I'd say they're on to something. It's a good way to connect with your local community in a very real way and really boost your share of conversation online. So, think about it. How can you accomplish the same for your local brand/client?

Mike McClure, Social Driver

Tidbits You Can Use From Brand Camp 2011

For the third year in a row, I attended Brand Camp University Detroit last week and gleaned a little inspiration, a bit of knowledge and connected with some new people along the way. Here are some of the best tidbits from the conference.

The Best Storyteller Wins. Hajj Flemings kicked off the day talking about storytelling. He asked if we ever knew someone who wasn't as qualified as others, but always seemed to get the job or make the sale? It's probably because they're a better storyteller. The fact of the matter is, when you're looking for a job or trying to sell your product/service, there are a lot of others out there that seem to have the same qualifications or product specs. What makes you stand out? It's your story and how you tell it. Does that person have a more compelling LinkedIn profile? Does that brand have a more compelling story?

People make emotional connections with stories. It's all about making yourself stand apart by finding what's different about you and telling that story well. And your story has to have all the elements of a good story. There has to be something that the protagonist overcomes, obstacles to be hurtled. Victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. Or failure turned into triumph. Look at your brand proposition (whether you're the brand or your product or client is). How can you make a compelling story out of it.

Brainstorming Producing a Drizzle? Try Rolestorming. Josh Linkner introduced a concept I like a lot - the idea of rolestorming. The idea is to try brainstorming as a different character or person. In traditional brainstorming, people often hold back on their best ideas, either because they're afraid to share them or because they figure if it was a good idea someone else would have said it. The way to bring down this inhibitions, is to have everyone brainstorm as someone else.

Linkner said they were brainstorming something at ePrize and nothing much was coming out of it. Then they decided to brainstorm as if they were each a character from Mad Men. Suddenly the energy in the room went up and the ideas started flowing. Instead of thinking like yourself, you start thinking about how someone else would approach it. For instance, if you were rolestorming as Steve Jobs, you'd come up with big, grandiose and outlandish ideas. If you were rolestorming as Charlie Sheen, they might be crazy, even illegal ideas. Rolestorming as villains like Darth Vader or Dr. Evil are particularly fun, said Linkner. Sure some of the ideas are way too out there, but out of those ideas the kernel of something great can grow

If You're Starting a Business, You Need a Kitchen Cabinet of Advisers. Melinda Emerson, also known as the Small Biz Lady, talked about needing your own kitchen cabinet of advisers to help you make sure your business is set up to succeed. First, you need a supporter. This can be a spouse, a relative, a friend - someone who is going to give you emotional support and be your cheerleader. Secondly, you need a mentor. This is someone who can give you advice and show you the ropes. Then you need a CPA or a lawyer, who can make sure your business plan is tight and meeting sound business standards. The final two are an entrepreneur and a potential customer. These are all people who are already invested in your success and will be able to support you in different ways, giving you different perspectives.

GMC Trucks Have the Best Use of QR Codes I've Seen.  John Gasloli from GMC trucks showed us how they've completely integrated QR codes into the new GMC catalogs. They use them for engaging their customers with inspirational 4-minute documentary style videos. They also connect to some really great mobile tools via QR codes. For a more in-depth post on their program, read my post on the Social Media Club blog.

It's a Passion Story, Not a Product Story. If you want to build communities and conversations around your brand, it has to be tied to people's passions, not the product. Nobody wants to talk about brands, they want to talk about things they are passionate about. Your brand can be part of their passion stories though. Spike Jones spoke about this. For instance, he pointed out that you wouldn't think their would be a community built around WD40. Then Jones read from a post where a guy was talking about how he has been spraying it on his bait since he was a kid and how it's good to spray on wasp nests on his car, because it doesn't wreak the paint. It's stories about the guys passions that involve the brand. Jones also talked about orange-handled scissors. Nobody would be passionate about them. But people are passionate about scrap booking. That's where you could build passion stories.

Those are just a few of the things I took away from this year's Brand Camp University. How about you? Did you go? What made an impact on you?

Mike McClure, 3-Time Camper

What Inspires You? TEDxDetroit 2011 Had It

Inspiration. That's the word I hear most when people are asked how a TEDx event is different from other events and conferences. The people you meet and the ideas they share are inspiring. They touch you on a deeper emotional level. They represent the great things that humanity can do, whether it's in technology or the arts, whether it's a spark of inspiration or just pure human perseverance. And yesterday's TEDxDetroit delivered all that in spades.

So, what inspires you?

Overcoming Great Odds To Do Great Things.We heard some truly amazing stories of people who beat the odds or overcame some of life's big roadblocks. Bobby Smith told us how he grew up in the poorest areas of Jamaica and how he came to own America's largest fencing training company, En Garde, right here in Detroit - a business that is teaching area kids a lot more than the sport of fencing. We heard Tara Michener's story about how she overcame getting beat up and bullied to run a business that helps today's kids deal with those very same issues. We even heard how successful Detroit entrepreneur, Josh Linkner, was told that his ideas were terrible and wouldn't amount to anything... by his father. But perhaps the biggest beating the odds tale came from Baby Einstein creator, Julie Aigner-Clark.

Julie was a mom who just refused to listen to the inane sounds of a big purple singing dinosaur when her child was born. So, she made her own videos of things that her baby seemed to like watching and played classical music as the background. What started as something she did in her basement with hand puppets, hard work and a little luck, turned into a huge multi-million dollar company that got bought out by Disney. But, she wasn't through - Julie also beat the odds by beating cancer - not once, but twice. The second time it was stage 4.

Young People Achieving Incredible Success.If you are inspired by hearing how today's youth is creating their own successful businesses with hard work and innovation, TEDxDetroit had you covered. Look no further than 22-year-old design student, Veronika Scott. She had a class assignment to design something to fit a need. So, she spent time in a homeless shelter talking to the folks, sometimes 3 times a week, to develop something that would fit their needs. What she came up with is a coat that converts into a sleeping bag. The class ended, but she hadn't perfected the product yet and she didn't want to let the people she'd been working with down. Eventually, she employed a couple homeless women to do the sewing. By the time the Red Cross asked when she would be able to produce 20,000 for disaster relief, she know it was no longer a class project. It was a calling. It was a business she was meant to run. Now she has her own building in Detroit where she runs her own business.

And if 22 isn't young enough for you, there was also 9-year-old Sebastian from Muskegeon who created a lemonade business he runs at the local flea market. It has become a booming success and he gives a portion of his profits to local charity. Seems like a fine, upstanding and inspiring young man.

Old People Making a Comeback.So, what about people on the other side of their lifespan? They hae inspiring stories too. Randel Chalton, Director of Tech Town Detroit shared how, after early business success, he faced a downturn where he had failures. He said he'd lost confidence in himself and his ability to do great things. But, he learned from his failures. When he had a new idea, but not a lot of money, he looked for the lowest cost place in America to start a business. That led him to, you guessed it, Detroit. Randel says Detroit gave him confidence and he sees Detroit's confidence is coming back too. He said we're going to rebuild Detroit, one job, one company at a time. Now, his Tech Town Detroit is made up of 255 businesses and touches 3000 lives.

Detroit & Michigan On The Rise. Perhaps it's stories of the area or region rising like a phoenix out of the ashes of the economic downturn that brings you inspiration. There were plenty of those stories, too. Besides the ones we already mentioned, we heard Matt Dibble talk about how Detroit's small pond is about to become a big sea. Mark Salamango from Robot Town Detroit told us how our technical advancement and automotive know how is putting us at the forefront to build the robot master race... I mean, lead the world in robotics. 

We also heard about on one guy with a wacky dream to do fun stuff with a few friends and a city that was willing to work with him turned Grand Rapids dying town image into one of fun and innovation. Rob Bliss did it with fun projects like the world's largest pillow fight, creating the YouTube sensation lip dub movie and having 30,000 people show up downtown to participate in the throwing of 100,000 paper airplanes. We later heard from even further north as Bob Southerland of Cherry Republic told how they took the biggest cherry producing region in the country and kept if viable by creating a whole new range of cherry products when cherry consumption began to wane.

Changing The World. If none of that is what inspires you, we heard some truly changing the world type stories. The most powerful was probably the talk delivered from En Garde's Bobby Smith. He didn't just talk about training kids to enjoy fencing as a sport. He talked about how he uses that to gain their attention and then teaches them skills they'll need to advance in this world. He teaches them things like financial literacy, empathy, alternate fitness, health and nutrition. "Fill up a kid's backpack with hope or the drug dealers will fill it up with blocks," said Smith. He also said, "I look at kids, not as bottles to be filled up, but as candles to be lit." Meaning, don't just pour knowledge into them, but inspire them to shine brightly.

Music That Fires The Imagination & Lifts The Soul. If arts and music is what inspires you, there was plenty of that at TEDxDetroit. All of it amazing. We had the innovative rapping of Detroit CYDI (Can You Dig It) who invited the audience to tweet them one word. Then as the twitter stream went across they screen they made up rap lyrics on the spot using the words people tweeted. And they did it well!

 

But, for me, the most inspiring musical moment was the last one. The children's choir from the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences came out and performed an amazing rendition of Detroit State of Mind - a rewrite of the hit New York State of Mind. Those kids gave me chills and they brought the house down with the loudest, longest standing ovation of the day.

There were plenty of other inspiring moments, talks and people at this year's TEDxDetroit, but this blog has gone on long enough. Thanks to Charlie Wollborg, Terry Bean and their outstanding crew - it was truly an inspiring day.

So, what inspires you?

Mike McClure, still glowing in the Detroit state of mind.

The Runway Meets Social Media

Monday marked the first-ever Tweetwalk. For those of you scratching your head in confusion, Tweetwalk was birthed by the ever-classic British brand, Burberry, in order to combine fashion and social media. It was debuted at this season’s London Fashion Week.

Burberry tweeted to its 539,243 followers, “Excited to announce the first ever #Tweetwalk Show. SS12 looks will be on Twitter before the runway. Follow @Burberry today at 4pm #LFW”. The clothing brand known for its upscale style and easily recognizable plaid fabric teamed up with Twitter so that those not as lucky as people like Kanye West and that new girl from Transformers 3 who were sitting front row for the fashion show could experience it even faster than “real time”.

Tweeters and fashion lovers who followed the @Burberry account were able to view photos of the models before they hit the runway. As the models lined up backstage to display the looks before the audience, the official tweeter for the day took a photo of each model in their perfectly pressed and highly styled outfits and tweeted them out before they were displayed on the runway.

“We are thrilled to create the first ever “Tweetwalk show” in partnership with Twitter. Twitter is instantaneous and I love the idea that streaming a show can be in many different forms. This collection is all about the most detailed hand crafted pieces and fabric innovation, creating a beautiful physical experience that is communicated digitally in dynamic and diverse ways and I love balancing those two worlds,” said Chris Bailey, Chief Creative Officer of Burberry.

Above is a screen shot of what tweeters were experiencing during TweetWalk.

The presentation was also streamed live via the website but still, those who followed the Burberry Twitter stream were able to see the looks before anyone else. Because fashion week is so exclusive and home to celebrities, wardrobe stylist, top magazine editors, buyers and bloggers for an entire week, allowing the general public to see a collection before those sitting in the very arena its being debuted in is total new age. But how will this affect the future of Fashion Week?

Fashion Weeks occur all over the world including New York, London and Milan and the best of the best are invited. These people view the collections designers spend months, even years creating so that they can report back to the general public about their finds. So if other designers follow in the footsteps of Burberry, will there be a need for Fashion Week anymore? Designers could save lots of money by having their social media teams tweet and Facebook their collections rather than creating a huge production to show off their new garments. I highly doubt that will ever happen but there is certainly something to be said for Burberry’s attempt at breaking fashion and social media barriers.

How do you feel about Burberry’s innovative way to share its collection with the world and what do you think the future holds for social media and fashion?

  Jessica Mosley - Admittedly addicted to anything related to fashion.

Simple Ways to Curate Content for Your Company

Part of any content strategy for your brand should include curating helpful articles, blogs and other sources of information your community would find useful. Sure, you need to create your own content, too. But, unless you have a huge staff dedicated to content creation, you need to curate content from other sources.

Where do you find all this content that will connect with your clients and potential clients/customers? There are several fairly easy ways to keep content ideas coming to you. It may take a bit to set it up, but after that it's a matter of sifting through what's coming in and sending back out what will be most interesting to your audience.

First off, you need to look at who you're trying to reach and what kinds of information would either be interesting or helpful to them. For instance, I curate content for The Yaffe Group twitter feed. The audience here is people interested in marketing, branding, strategic solutions and in general, ways to make their business better. This group would include our clients, potential clients, business owners, business marketing department and fellow marketers. I choose from a wide variety of topics that provides information that will help these people run their businesses better.

You can also create sub-categories within this group.The Yaffe Group has expertise in a number of fields, including health care, education, retailers, non-profits and others. As I curate general marketing, branding and strategic materials. I also curate specific content aimed at these particular specialities, because there's a higher propensity for someone within those categories following us (and being a potential client).

Use eNewsletters to find content. One thing you can do is go out and find a number of eNewsletters that curate content in the specific fields you're looking for. I subscribe to over 20 daily and weekly eNewsletters for our content. Then, as they come in, I scan through to find articles I think will connect well with my specific community. A good place to start when looking for eNewsletters is SmartBriefs - they have daily emails in over 100 different topics.

Load up your Google Reader or RSS feed. Another way to find content is to search out the top blogs in your area of interest and subscribe to them. You can easily add them to your Google Reader or RSS feed. Then, check these lists occasionally and find what posts would be of most interest to your community.

Create Twitter searches & lists. You can use Twitter's search function to search a category, hashtag or key words. Try several approaches and see what yields the most potential links to interesting content. Then save those searches as a list or column in your Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. Also, create a list following other accounts that post interesting content in your areas of interest. For instance, I have columns on my Tweetdeck for companies in each of our subcategories (hospitals, retail, etc)

These are just a few simple ways to keep a constant stream of content coming your way. They take time to set up, but once you do, you can spend a few moments here and there throughout your day checking for killer content you can share.

Do you have your own simple content finding methods? I'd be interested to hear what other ways you're pulling in content that connects with your community.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Group Chief Content Provider

 

Ad of the Week: Stella Artois Black Diamond Trailer

It's a film noir trailer. It's an ad for a special edition beer. It's an invitation to a special "in real life" event. And above all, it's our Ad of the Week. Today we look at a beautifully shot film noir trailer for Stella Artois limited edition Black.

It invites you to be a part of the film/theater experience. You are both spectator and actor if you get tickets to this London event. It involves two lovers, a thief, a traitor, a curse, a diamond and you - all set in a  film noir straight out of 1960's Paris. Talk about engaging your consumer. Apparently Stella Artois did this once before, last year, with great success. Last year's program was called The Night Chauffeur.

Now, they are drawing on the same team from accliamed immersive theater producers Punchdrunk to put together this year's interactive event that takes place both online and in various locations across Shoreditch. Only a few thousand will be able to take part of the experience live and in person. But the online portion allows many more to be a part of the experience.

  Stella Artrois - Black Diamond Trailer

I found today's ad of the week on Creativity magazine's website. If you have a suggestion for ad of the week, just leave it in the comments here, Or on twitter. Or Facebook. Or via email to info@yaffe.com. However you like.

Mike McClure, Wishing I Lived Closer to London

How One Hotel Uses Foursquare to Connect With Guests.

Not a lot of hotels are using Twitter well, much less paying attention to Foursquare. Those that do, tend to use it to push out specials and not much else. On a recent family vacation to Chicago, I discovered one hotel that was doing a pretty good job of using these social media tools.

We were staying at the Comfort Suites right in the heart of downtown Chicago. Being the self-avowed foursquare addict I am, I got up in the morning and checked in to the hotel on foursquare. Much to my surprise a short while later I got a tweet from the hotel (@CSChicagoHotel) which said, "Mike, thank you for staying with us! I'm Natalie, here until 5pm - let me know if you need anything."

First off, the fact that they were paying attention to their Foursquare checkins and using it as an opportunity to connect with guests while they are still there was a great step. Then, that they gave me a real human person's name, how long they'd be there and asked if she could help in any way - that's using the tools to turn a customer into a fan. I tweeted back that I loved my suite, we had found it on a discount hotel site and I was very happy with the great value we'd gotten. Natalie tweeted back, "Yay! Happy you found us. Isn't the weather fabulous today?"

Again, they didn't try and sell me anything. Didn't try to get me to sign up for their frequent guest program or anything sales-ish. Instead, she just continued to have a conversation and connect with me further. I hadn't been following them, so I followed back at that point. Then, having seen that I was now a follower, she sent me a DM (direct message) saying, "Mike, so glad you're enjoying the hotel, need anything, feel free to email me" and then gave her email address. I didn't need anything at the time, but it was nice to know I had someone there who cared and would help me out if I needed something.

Later that day, I stopped by the front desk and asked for Natile. She was there working the desk and we had a nice conversation. I told her I was impressed with their grasp of how to use social media tools. She said, yeah most of the hotels around there didn't get it. If they were using it at all, the were sending tweets to guests about their room specials. Which if you're already a guest a room special really isn't helpful.

When I was looking for a good place near the hotel to take the family for dinner on our last evening there, I contacted her and got a good recommendation for someplace good two blocks from the hotel that wasn't expensive but had an interesting menu. It was nice to see a company doing it right.

How about you? Has any company pinged you back after you checked in on Foursquare, Gowalla or Facebook Places? Who has impressed you by engaging you while you were still there?

Mike McClure, New Fan of Comfort Suites Chicago (and no, they didn't give me anything - other than a little attention - to say that)

Ad of the Week: Google's Amazing Chrome Campaign

One thing you probably don't know about me is that, despite the goofball exterior, I'm actually an old softy. Like my dad, who was the one blubbering like a baby at my wedding, I tend to get fully emotionally invested in what is happening in the now. And yes, I've been know to get a little misty over a well-executed commercial from time to time. Which is why I bring this up - the Google Chrome ads are among those who tell great human stories that can tug at your emotions, in a good way.

Google has become masters at telling very moving human stories in very simple ways. Two years ago I choose their spot featuring a simple boy meets girl story completely through on-screen Google searches as the best spot in the Super Bowl that year. This Chrome campaign ups that spot times 100! Each ad in this series tell a story of deep connections and strong love. In one case it's the love of a new father for his daughter, in another it's love for teens struggling with tough issues and in another it's a strong love between a mega-pop star and her fans. In each case, it works very well.

The first spot features new father, Danial Lee, creating a story chronicling the first 5 or so years of his daughters life in a series of "love letters" created through various Chrome features. He emails her, posts pictures, post videos, maps their home all to create a story he can share with her when she gets older. We come along on this journey through bad times when she was very sick in the hospital and good times like becoming a big sister. All accompanied by thoughts on how her dad was feeling at the time. It's very touching and anyone who has had a child can completely connect with this story.

 Google Chrome - Dear Sophie

The second spot deals with the "It Gets Better" project, which helps teens who are bullied in school for being gay deal with the issues they're facing. High school is hard enough. Being gay and a teenager can multiply those problems and has resulted in problems with teen suicide. "It Gets Better" is a movement that started with one inspiring video and has blossomed into thousands of web videos - addressing teens facing these problems and letting them know it does get better, you just have to hang on and make it through these tough times. The spot uses cuts from a lot of these videos, offering encouragement from both people who have gone through it before and from celebrities - ranging from Lady Gaga to Woody from Toy Story. Like the other spot, it's a very touching and moving story - told simply through screens shots of using Google Chrome tools. Extra props to Google for taking on a subject many brands wouldn't touch and doing social good with it.

 Google Chrome - It Gets Better

The last spot is one we featured (for a different reason) in a previous post. It tells the story of a deep connection between mega pop star Lady Gaga and her devoted fans. The spot sprinkles in clips from fan videos - singing along with her song, getting made up for concerts and expressing their love of Gaga. That love is reciplicated by Lady Gaga as we see her online, connecting with her fans in very real and personal ways. It feels very genuine and again has a deep human and emotional tie to the viewer.

 Google Chrome - Lady Gaga

Bravo to Google for creating such great stories that touch us in ways we all can relate too. I have to admit watching all three in a row to work on this post was cause for a sniffle or two. This is by far my favorite campaign out there right now. What about you, does it move you as well? If not, what campaign does connect with you on a deeper level?

If you'd like to make a suggestion for Ad of the Week, just drop us a line here in the comment section, Or on twitter. Or Facebook. Or via email to info@yaffe.com. However you like.

Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director and Old Softy

 

Did internet kill the video star?

Video killed the radio star in 1979. But did internet kill the video star in 2011? Take the Sarah Bareilles video “Uncharted” for example. For those who have not seen it, the video features clips of fans and even a few familiar faces singing along to the song in their webcams. Stars like Benjamin Folds of Ben Folds Five, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Tegan & Sara and Mr. viral video himself, Keenan Cahill, make appearances.  

 

Instead of a mash-up of piano shots, happy b-roll and Sarah Bareilles close-ups, “Uncharted” takes on new media to create a successful, fun music video. Sarah pops up on the screen only a few times throughout the video, but it works. She has given others a chance to express their love of the song and, well, their webcams. “Uncharted” becomes something very much relatable because who doesn’t love to sing along and dance to their favorite songs?  

Another artist taking the idea of incorporating fan-made videos into a project is Lady Gaga. Just in time for her third album debut, Gaga's Google Chrome Commercial has hit the airwaves. I may be a little biased because I am such a huge fan, aka Little Monster, but the commercial really has a cool concept.

The Google Chrome slogan is “the web is what you make of it” and that is exactly what this piece shows. As Google has become the number one search engine, this commercial features Lady Gaga googling her fans to see what they have put on the web. This too is relatable, not only to fellow Gaga fans but to anyone who uses Google.

 

The moral of the story is, we the people of the internet, are becoming the focal point in artist materials. It is a cool, new take on video creation that could be a stepping stone to something awesomely innovative in the future. It's the nextevolution from brands asking customers to create content, like the Doritos Super Bowl commercial. So the internet didn’t necessarily kill the video star, the internet just shifted the stardom a little bit.

How do you like the “Uncharted” video and Gaga Google Chrome commercial and the use of fan-made videos?

Jessica Mosley, Little Monster

 

4 Reasons Your Company Should Be On Empire Avenue

Running your company is serious business. Empire Avenue is the latest time-wasting game that's the hottest social media darling. So, why would you pay an employee real money to set up your company on Empire Avenue, where it can be sold for play money? Doesn't seem like a good use of someone's time, does it? Yet, I think there are good reasons you might want to consider it.

1. First of all, if you aren't familiar with Empire Avenue, it's part game, part social connecting, part social rating and part content aggregator. You set up your account and people or companies can "buy" stock in you. Your stock price is determined by how many invest in you and what you are doing on all your different social channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, your blog, etc). Your share price therefore becomes a Klout-like rating of your social worth, but unlike Klout, it's one you have some control over. A good primer on the subject is the "Empire Avenue: The Next Big Thing in Social Media" article on Smideo

1. Connect with Prospects and Potential Partners. Once you set up your company's account, you can buy shares of other companies and individuals you'd like to get on the radar of. Not only will they get a notice that you bought shares of them, but you can then send them "shout out" messages. Just don't be salesy in your shout outs. Like any social media, create a relationship first. Also, once someone buys your stock, your twitter stream will appear on their home page along with those of the other stocks they've bought.

2. Tell Your Brand Story. It's actually a good way to distribute real world info to your play world investors. One of the first stocks I bought was Ford. Shortly after I did, I got a message from them through my Empire account. It was a message from Ford's head of social media, Scott Monty, which started out, "Today, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) held an actual shareholder meeting. While we have yet to hold a (e)FORD Shareholder meeting for our Empire Avenue shareholders, we thought we might share what happened at the annual meeting in Wilmington, DE today." It went on to talk about some of the positive outcomes from the meeting and even had links to the proposals shareholders had voted on and another link to their sustainability report. I thought it was a brilliant way to engage their social shareholders in their larger message.

3. Create a Promotion. Empire lets you use shout outs and advertising through it's channels to promote your brand (you). If you're a company, you could use these to create incentives to buy your stock. You could even promote trial of your product by giving coupons for free samples to everyone who buys stock. Or you could create additional word of mouth by offering a promotional item or discount for any shout outs about your brand.

4. Show That You're Social Savvy. As a product, brand or website, you can show where you rank in the social strata by the price you're able to get for your stock. It acts as a sort of Klout score for your brand. In fact, just being on Empire Avenue now as an early adopter shows that you are a forward thinking brand that's aware of social trends.

I'm sure there are other reasons your company should carve out your own piece of Empire Avenue. Not the least of which, is that its just kind of a fun thing to do. Have you tried it yet? What other things have you have seen brands doing there? What other reasons do you see for a company to join in? Or for that matter, why should they stay away? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Mike McClure - For sale at Empire stock symbol mikekmcclure, ECD at The Yaffe Group (eStock symbol TYG)