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Questions About Social Media Monitoring & Measurement Platforms

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There are a lot of great technology partners.  You need to roll up your sleeves and test several of these platforms to see which one meets the needs of your programs or the needs of different clients.  My video addresses a few of the questions that you should have in mind as you are selecting your monitoring and measurement technology partners.

A quick disclosure, the companies that I mention are the companies that I’m using for clients.  I mention them because they provide good platforms and good service not because they ask me to blog about them 🙂

The Power of Video

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Video is one of the most powerful communications tools on the web.  There are a number of reasons why you would want to incorporate video into your communications toolkit.  I offer you my five top reasons, which include:

  • Personality
  • Body language
  • Ease of use and editing
  • Story telling
  • The short attention span

Review my top reasons and share with me why you’re using video and how it’s helpin you with your social media programs.

 

Video 2.0, Interview with Doug Simon

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VideoI met Doug Simon last year at the PRSA T3 conference in New York City. Doug is President and CEO of D S Simon Productions, which has been serving public relations and marketing professionals since 1986 by delivering their messages through video.  I thought it would be great to get Doug’s perspective on some of the questions that many communications professionals have regarding the use of video on the web and how to create video effectively to generate buzz in online communities.  Here are a few questions that Doug was kind enough to answer.

Deirdre: How are today’s organizations using video to build brand and create buzz?

Doug: Given the power of video there is really no limit on how organizations are using video to build brand and create buzz. We’re seeing multi-million dollar brand integration efforts tied in to Super Bowl spots, spoof videos as this take of the popular MAC commercial from a generic drug manufacturer shows http://tinyurl.com/9nmj7z, internal video news programs such as Prudential’s PruTube as well as informative, educational and popular “How-to” videos.

Deirdre: What are the practical first steps and things you should consider if you want to start video blogging?

Doug: If you are already blogging or planning to, adding a video embed code is as easy as posting a jpeg to a site. What you first need to do is think content just as you would if you were trying to gain a following with a new TV show. The first big decision is to identify who the on-camera person is for the show. They have to have personality and a point of view to gain a following. Next up are some PR basics. Who is your audience? What information will they be interested in? What is the style of the video? Popular choices are commentary, demonstration or interview formats. You can also do a more heavily produced piece. Another popular idea is covering events your organization is involved with. You will also want to consider creating a visual “bug” that will have your web site information so the video will drive traffic

Deirdre:  Do you need any special technology or equipment?

Doug: If you are producing the video yourself, you will need a camera that has a separate audio input. Canon and other manufacturers offer models in HDV format in the $700 price range. You’ll also need microphones. I suggest you consider purchasing professional grade wireless microphones which will allow you to insure excellent sound quality even if your vlogger is shooting the video of him or herself. You also want to get a tripod for a steady image.

Deirdre: Can you provide any cost saving production tips?

Doug: Sure. Commentary, demonstrations and interview formats are the least expensive to produce and they don’t take require a lot of editing. You might want to budget once to create a more produced opening. An example is the very successful www.willitblend.com campaign.. If you are editing yourself, you can use free programs such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

Deirdre: What distribution techniques would you recommend?

Doug: Distribution and promotion are critical to the success of the campaign. Plans need to be put in place to reach both internal and external audiences. First you want to place the video on a social media ready microsite with a unique url you can drive traffic to. Search engine optimize using Google’s Keyword Tool. There are five key promotion elements to what we call an Internet Media Tour that can get your content seen by the right people. Targeted web influencer pitching to earn media online with bloggers and media websites; viral social media placement to gain coverage on social media news sites; web syndication of the video content to sites including YouTube, Yahoo, MSN and others; distribution of the content through a multi-media release and B2F marketing where you distribute the content to “Family” and “Friends.” You will also want to consider creating a visual “bug” that will have your web site information so the video will drive traffic back to you when it is syndicated.

Deirdre: How do you measure video’s value?

Doug: Goals vary and in some cases you can tie your video initiative directly back to lead generation. In others you might look at how many web sites the content has been syndicated to. While video views can be an important measure you want to look at how high your video ranks on common search terms relevant to your business. When you control the content distribution for B to B and internal communications campaigns it is much easier to assess results because you can ask for and receive direct feedback.

PR 2.0 and Video

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When I wrote my last book, The New PR Toolkit, I talked about how visual PR would become one of the greatest ways to reach and to communicate to audiences.  That book was published in 2001 and I was spot on with my prediction.  For me, video is one of the best ways to get a message across with excitement, passion, and credibility all wrapped into a medium that’s able to deliver an abundance of targeted information.

I’ve been using a tremendous amount of video with my own efforts both for my company, PFS Marketwyse, and for my book, PR 2.0.  For the last year or so, my business partner, Jason Miletsky, who is the CEO and Creative Director of PFS and I have been experimenting with video. Not only are we helping our clients to understand the importance of the format, but also the value of video for our own marketing efforts.

If you go to the PFS Marketwyse website at www.pfsmarketwyse.com, you will immediately see video clips Jason and me discussing our background experience and information about our company. 

 Video Clips from the PFS MarketWyse Website

Video, as easy and fun as it is to produce, can also be challenging.  And, we certainly didn’t get our clips right on the first try.  But, if you can’t laugh at yourself then you’re definitely taking this industry a little too seriously.  We decided that our video mistakes would be a great way to show that experienced professionals are just as human as the next person.  We decided to post our video bloopers on the PFS site for the world to see.  Video for us is a great way to deliver the PFS culture and to show the human side of our company.  We are trying to get other members of our company to participate in the video clips on our website (but, they are still a little camera shy).

As for my book, PR 2.0, one of the first things that I did when I pitched my marketing ideas to Pearson Education was to send my acquisitions editor, Martha Cooley, a video message.  I noticed that after she received the message our website had a spike in traffic, mostly from the folks over at Pearson.  My editor and the Pearson marketing team liked my video so much that they asked me to tape a 4 to 5 minute video that described why my book is unique and some of my PR 2.0 marketing ideas.  I delivered the video in time for the sales force to view and I got the following feedback from my marketing coordinator, Megan Colvin:

   “This was an absolute hit with our sales force!  I have gotten emails all afternoon saying what an innovative way this was to present the plan.”

I have so many ideas for video to promote my book; the video marketing plan was only the first step.  Video is fun, effective and tells a great story.  Because of increased bandwidth, the problems of using video in the past no longer exist.  Now, video is easy to use and much less expensive to produce.  You may not be aware, but there are so many ways to use video.  There are simple things right now that you may be doing that could use video as a means to communicate a more powerful message. 

A few years ago, I never thought that I would be presenting my video bio for my website. And, I never would have imagined that I would have a video clip introducing the purpose of my book and myself to the Pearson Education sales force. Video has opened many doors for me and for my company. This is only the beginning!