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Lil B’s NYU Lecture and the Social Media Wunderkind

posted April 17th, 2012 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking

Lil B, the legendary Based God himself, hopped off of his Social Media throne last week into the real world to a give a lecture to 500 people in a crammed NYU auditorium to speak on absolutely every topic imaginable in an amazing extension of his cult-like Internet persona. The week before when the news broke that Lil B was invited to lecture the trending wheels almost fell off the bus; some were completely befuddled at the concept, the hip hop purists were thoroughly outraged, and the rest were beyond ecstatic, but how did a rapper with no major label backing and barely any official releases translate a cult following into over 400,000 Twitter followers, 60 million YouTube views, and a lecture at a prestigious university?

Over time Lil B has utilized Social Media to it’s utmost potential. Even back in the infancy of the new web, he was something of a MySpace pioneer with hundreds of different accounts chockfull of free music to download with an ever rotating and updated catalogue of absurd and relentless tracks. His success is a combination of an innate knack for promotion through Social Media coupled with extremely unique content that’s literally impossible for other artists to duplicate. The combination of these two ideas is really what’s driving the bulk of his success; if he was able to accomplish only one of those tasks he would never be as huge as he is right now, but because his prowess on Social Media is almost unmatched, he’s seamlessly translating his fanbase into real world venues.

via Pitchfork

That takes us right into the heart of his NYU lecture. Over an hour and a half he gave us unreal quotable material, life coach style affirmations, and a singular vision that’s savant like to some and absolutely awe inspiring to others. Over the course of the lecture he covered a massive laundry list of topics: adopting cats from the ASPCA, existential quandaries, the similarities between humans and insects, why we should stop hydraulic fracking, the first announcement of his California garage rock record, and that “Every single person you meet, look at them like a golden million dollar baby”.

His success though Social Media and it’s translation into real world venues is an amazing model for artists who are looking to expand their online presence and brand. There are a few key concepts that have led to his massive cult-like following.

First off, a major aspect is his singular unique vision and content; even if you were to promote yourself as much as Lil B does, without unique content it’s not going to have an inimitable mimetic quality that so much of his work effortlessly achieves. Secondly, Lil B is the perfect combination of an instantly accessible meme with a fully integrated Social Media promotional system backing him up. He’s amassed over 400,00 Twitter followers and over 60 million Youtube views simply from self promotion and word of mouth Social Media sharing. He personally responds to almost every fan that contacts him, while simultaneously releasing a new free mixtape of around 20 songs every three weeks, and on top of that one or two new music videos every week or so. Coupled with his incessant self-promotion, he has a devoted fanbase of fully enthused followers that add on another layer of promotion to what he already does, which reinforces the viral quality of everything he releases.

The reason he was asked to lecture at NYU is almost a byproduct of his success through Social Media. He has an entirely rare and singular approach to everything he releases, and his knack for Social Media has given him an unusually large audience for such strange and sometimes difficult material. On top of that he’s probably the only rapper to have invented a complete philosophy, meme, and movement in which to release and package all of his content, which has spawned an entirely new Based sub-genre unto itself. The NYU lecture is just another stepping stone in what will become a long and storied career for him, and we’re lucky enough to be able trace his entire journey through Social Media and the collective online community.

Below are links for a written transcription of the entire lecture, an audio recording, a really interesting version of the transcription as read through voice recognition software, and some of the most interesting quotables from the night.

Written Transcription

http://www.thefader.com/2012/04/12/based-scripture-the-full-transcript-of-lil-bs-lecture-at-nyu/

Audio Recording

http://soundcloud.com/trent-walker/lil-b-at-nyu

Voice Recognition Software Version

http://soundcloud.com/regular-music/the-full-transcript-lil-b

Quotes from the Lecture via Pitchfork

“I’m the first rapper to adopt a tabby cat. I adopted it straight from the ASPCA, you feel me?”
“When I was younger, I didn’t even know how to walk. I was so self-conscious.”
“Every single person you meet, look at them like a golden million dollar baby.”
“I was having these big ant problems in my house. As I was studying these ant colonies. It’s like man, they have their own communities too. I’m there with them.”
“I’m out here trying to get my Mitt Romney on.”
“You guys are the first to hear it: I’m actually releasing my rock album. This is gonna be some garage punk. This one’s for the rebels. Look out for the Lil B rock record, California Boy.”
“Let’s stop fracking. Who knows about hydraulic fracking? I’m like whodie, get that oil out the ocean!”
“Real talk, you guys are about to freak out because I got a song with one of the biggest artists on Earth coming.”
At one point, Lil B laid on a table and imitated himself going to sleep, whispering, “Honesty, integrity, friendship, passion…”
“Until further notice, I’m paying taxes and I’m loving it.”

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Television and the Interactive Realm of Social Media

posted April 11th, 2012 & filed under digital trends, marketing/advertising, Miscellaneous, Serious Stuff, social networking

Every aspect of our lives have completely merged with Social Media, including the entertainment we take in and how we interact with it. Out of all the mediums television has definitely seen the most seamless integration with a huge a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and tons of different websites that solely focus on fan participation. The viewing experience has taken on a completely new level of interactivity in addition to the benefits of essential marketing and research tools only available on Social Media.

One of the major changes that has come with Social Media integration into television are fully interactive viewing experiences. There are shows that have premiered in the last few months where Social Media has allowed the viewer to actually become another character on the show. One of the best examples is the recent NBC reality show Escape Routes. It’s an Amazing Race style series that pits teams of two against each other in urban locales as they go on scavenger hunts to accomplish different tasks, but the major difference is the viewer at home can help out the teams with their missions in real time, through Social Media as a virtual teammate. The competitors on the show update their whereabouts and specific tasks while getting assistance online from the viewers at home who become virtual team members and if you’re local enough you can go to the city they’re in and help them out with the tasks, which completely breaks down the wall between a passive audience member and actually becoming an part of the show.

Escape Routes is one of the best examples of a fully interactive and immersive television experience, but lots of producers have integrated Social Media into different facets of their shows. Watch What Happens Live, a late night talk show on Bravo hosted by reality show dilettante Andy Cohen, takes questions from Facebook and Twitter followers in real time that alter the show’s content and sometimes get a rise out of otherwise stale guests. Bravo has been one of the early adapters of Social Media presence for their stable of reality show franchises. They encourage their most prominent cast members to maintain weekly blogs that expand on each episodes weekly storylines, and they air what they call “Social” editions of some episodes that have pertinent tweets from the cast members commenting on the storylines as the action unfolds on screen.

Beyond integration with Social Media into a show’s actual storyline, producers and creators have turned to Facebook and Twitter as another gauge for a show’s success. Before the Internet one of the only ways for a network to grasp the popularity of a show was through Nielson boxes, which are doled out to a mix of different demographics to get a numerical gauge of actual viewership. Social Media hasn’t made Nielson numbers irrelevant, (they’re still the main way that advertising revenue is determined for networks), but Social Media has become a different type of barometer that can sometimes even save a low rated show from cancellation. One of the best examples is the cult favorite absurdist NBC sitcom Community. Even though it was shelved midway though it’s third season, the outpouring of support from its dedicated and mostly younger fanbase was enough for the network to let it finish out the last 12 episodes of its season and then make a final decision after that.

Series creator Dan Harmon attributed this turnaround to a new television audience that does most of their viewing online in unmeasured venues outside of the Nielson system. In an interview with The New York Times Mr. Harmon said, “The most coveted demographic, and most coveted of that demographic, these very smart, upwardly mobile, college-age kids just don’t watch TV anymore.” Social Media has become such a huge factor in not only changing the television experience, but also as marketing research for show developers and networks who can get tangible real world opinions from their actual audience instead of the sometimes unrealistic Nielson numbers. The Internet has completely reshaped the entire entertainment industry, and especially television has gone through a complete transformation in every venue, from the couch, to the computer screen, to the boardroom.

Resources:

Escape Routes

http://www.escaperoutes.com/welcome

http://www.nbc.com/escape-routes/

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/03/07/ford-teams-up-with-nbc-and-emmy-award-winning-reality-producer-for-prime-time-tv-reality-show-escape-routes-436412/20120308ford01/

Bravo

http://www.bravotv.com/

http://www.bravotv.com/watch-what-happens-live

http://www.bravotv.com/blogs

http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/the-dish/get-social-with-the-real-housewives-of-atlanta-tonight

https://twitter.com/#!/BRAVOANDY

Community

http://www.nbc.com/community/

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/arts/television/nbc-brings-community-back-to-its-passionate-fan-base.html?pagewanted=all

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Why is The Hunger Games Not So Hot Abroad?

posted April 6th, 2012 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking

With the amount of publicity The Hunger Games has been getting in the US and its record breaking box office numbers, I was naturally curious to see if it was getting the same reaction across the world. Even though I haven’t seen the movie, Rolling Stone and other respected publications have been giving it extremely good reviews. The Hunger Games also had a huge marketing push localizing its content across different regions including

1) Region specific Facebook pages and a Facebook game

http://www.facebook.com/thehungergamesmovie/app_234281223336412

2) Region specific Twitter accounts

3) Region specific Tumblr pages

http://hungergamessingapore.tumblr.com/

http://hungergamesphils.tumblr.com/

http://hungergamesthai.tumblr.com/

On the other hand, the new blockbuster Wrath of the Titans doesn’t have a Twitter account, and only utilized region specific Facebook pages and a Facebook game, which actually ended up being a pretty smart move considering the Facebook adoption has been much more successful abroad than the Twitter campaigns. Beyond the box office totals that show how much more weight Wrath of the Titans has overseas, the Google Search Volume Index numbers were also much stronger last week vs The Hunger Games in regions like Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Greece, Thailand, and Romania.

So why did The Hunger Games flop abroad when they clearly had a stronger and more viral marketing campaign than Wrath of Titans?

Could it have been the cast? I’ve read numerous blogs that were dissatisfied with the lack of ethnic casting and the fact there were no Asians or Latinos in significant roles. Maybe it was the storyline? Many blogs were critical that the plot of The Hunger Games was a little too similar to the 2000 Japanese cult favorite film Battle Royale, where a former high school teacher at the behest of the Japanese government kidnaps his former ninth grade class and forces them to kill each other on a remote island until only one is left standing. Oddly enough the Wrath of the Titans storyline is nowhere as sophisticated and has received overwhelmingly horrible reviews. Let’s face it – the world loves American films for their action packed special effects, and maybe not so much for our derivative storylines.

There’s also the fact that very often a film as distinctive as The Hunger Games doesn’t always correspond well on a cultural level in other countries. There are tons of films that are blockbusters in the region they’re conceived in but when they come to the states it’s hard for them to match that success, and frequently they’ll even do poorly outside of their own country.

So much of what makes The Hunger Games a hit in America might actually be the same thing that’s inhibiting its success across the pond. A lot of the plot deals with a futuristic, post-apocalyptic version of North America in the context of a reality show satire that might be hard for foreign markets to fully immerse themselves in without a prior understanding of current American entertainment and political culture.

It’s also based on a series of novels that been criticized for their simplistic writing style that are teen-centric in their focus and reference points. It might be possible too that the foreign mainstream markets have a different palette that this film underwhelms. Certain regions might not have the best grasp of the English language, so some intricacies of the storyline that are lost in translation could potentially make for a less enjoyable film. It’s hard enough predicting a successful film in one country, and being able to create something with equal popularity around the globe becomes another feat entirely.

Resources:

Global Box Office numbers

http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-hunger-games-wrath-titans-dr-seuss-lorax-306653

Hunger Games Promotional Pages

http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/

http://www.facebook.com/thehungergamesmovie/app_234281223336412

https://twitter.com/#!/TheHungerGames

https://twitter.com/#!/HungerGamesUK

http://hungergamessingapore.tumblr.com/

http://hungergamesphils.tumblr.com/

http://hungergamesthai.tumblr.com/

Wrath of the Titans Promotional Pages

http://wrathofthetitans.warnerbros.com/index.html

http://apps.facebook.com/wottgame/

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Are Human Billboards the Next Big Thing? A look at Italian Vogue’s Haute Mess

posted March 26th, 2012 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, Trends

via Fashionista

There’s been quite a controversy these last two weeks about the recent Vogue Italia “Haute Mess” cover story. The photospread featured flashy clothes and over the top hairdos inspired by urban culture and was criticized for its racist undertones by a myriad of websites and blogs, including Jezebel, Fashionista, and New York Magazine, which also ran an interview allowing editor Franca Sozzani to explain her vantage point and conception behind the photos.

via Fashionista

Beyond the fact that the editorial could definitely be viewed as derogatory, what was really surprising is how Vogue Italia exactly replicated images from various blogs such as No Way Girl and Yum Yucky without giving proper attribution or even referencing them as inspiration. If you look closely some of the images are nearly IDENTICAL, and basically too similar to have happened by accident. I understand in the age of the Internet that almost everyone pulls references from various online sources, but creating content that isn’t original and is simply recycled is just wrong, and it only breeds laziness.

Another interesting component in the editorial that peaked my interest was their use of a variety of corporate logos. Some of the women were completely branded and incorporated them into their overall style and aesthetic. Since 2008 I’ve been following the trend of people using logos as a fashion statement, and I had created a project in which companies could pay for models to be branded in their signature logo and color scheme from head to toe. I had the idea after seeing a surging trend of tattoo advertising, where individuals would tattoo logos in their bodies as a way to earn money.

via The Next Great Generation

With brands wanting to be more and more a part of our lives, and combined with the massive reality TV phenomenon of the last decade, it won’t be long until “regular” people are paid by brands to advertise their products. Seeing these over the top “ghetto hairdos” made me wonder how long it’ll take for this trend to actually come full circle. I really think that in the very near future it won’t be surprising if some of the younger demographics start wearing brands for sponsorship value, both as a way to earn money, and possibly for the ironic detachment of embracing corporate interests instead of rejecting them which was the common stance in previous generations.

Here are some other examples of people embracing corporate logos:

This is an interesting blogger who claims he’ll wear your brand for money:

http://vonahn.blogspot.com/2009/02/ill-wear-your-clothes-for-money.html

A woman wearing an all Louis Vuitton suit

http://nowaygirl.com/latest-fashion/everything-louis-vuitton/

The Mike Judge film Idiocracy predicts that people will be sponsored by brands:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

Artist Ryder Ripps and his fascination with the brand Under Armour

http://ryder-ripps.com/UNDER_ARMOUR/

http://www.thecreatorsproject.com/blog/wtfashion-trend-net-artists-wearing-under-armour

References:

Vogue Italia

http://www.vogue.it/en/magazine/cover-story/2012/03/over-the-top

Jezebel

http://jezebel.com/5891683/new-vogue-italia-story-pokes-fun-at-poor-blacks-and-latinas-seems-kinda-racist/gallery/1

http://jezebel.com/5894844/vogue-italia-editor-invites-everyone-who-thought-cover-story-was-racist-to-seek-psychiatric-help

Fashionista

http://fashionista.com/2012/03/vogue-italias-haute-mess-editorial-racist-or-not-the-debate-continues/

New York Magazine

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2012/03/franca-sozzani-talks-about-her-haute-mess.html

No Way Girl

http://nowaygirl.com/

Yum Yucky

http://www.yumyucky.com/2011/03/gallery-of-ghetto-fabulous-edible-hair-dos.html

Toilet Paper Entrepreneur

http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/managing-focus/tattoo-advertising-brands-that-permanently-market-on-your-body/

The Next Great Generation

http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2011/04/would-you-tattoo-your-favorite-brand-on-your-body/

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Social Media in Asia 101

posted February 27th, 2012 & filed under digital trends, marketing/advertising, Miscellaneous, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology

For the last few weeks I’ve been working on a project in Asia and during my travels I’ve learned a few interesting things about the Social Media landscape in Asia. For starters, the Social Media consumption in Asia is greater in some markets than it is in the US. Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines widely use Facebook, and the mobile internet market share is also much larger in these countries than the global average.

Countries like China, Japan and Vietnam use different but similar platforms such as Weibo and Renren (in China), Mixi (in Japan) and Zing (in Vietnam), and Google+ is also slowly gaining popularity. It doesn’t have as much penetration as the larger more established platforms, but brands like Cathay Pacific and Uniqlo are among the first to create their own Google+ pages.

Overall, the Social Media behaviors vary in these countries because of their inherent cultural differences. One of the main reasons is because Asian culture is more shy and reserved, and it’s usually considered rude to promote yourself directly. Some of the main ways Social Media in Asia is utilized is through pop culture re-mashing, sharing photos of yourself out socializing with friends, learning about products online, and sharing tips instead of self-promotion and touting how great you are, which is definitely more common with Social Media in the US.

Even though there are some similarities, each country has its own specific behavior and Internet content usage patterns; here are some of the highlights of the Asian Social Media market:

Photo sharing – Photo sharing is HUGE in Asia; literally any occasion deserves photo sharing. The general audience doesn’t use tools like Instagram as much we do in the US, but instead they directly upload them into their Facebook pages. Although Instagram is slowly making strides in the Asian market. A great example is Candy Mafia, a Thai pop group, who avidly use Instagram, and pop groups in general have a huge Social Media presence. Beauty and Fashion sharing is also extremely popular online; I’ve seen users taking pictures of their new possessions from Louis Vuitton to their North Face collection. There are also entire Tumblr sites dedicated to sharing picture collages of pop stars and TV shows, along with a variety of different gifs.
Social Media Games – Social media games are used as stimuli to drive new users and gain reach within existing users, while actual content sharing is more popular among the more experienced users.
Bulletin board systems underpin popular Social Media behavior in China; more than 80% of their Social Media content is based on bulletin board systems.
Product Reviews – Online product reviews are increasing their influence on purchases in India, particularly for consumer electronics. 55% of Indians that read online product reviews have purchased products based on feedback. Consumer durables / electronics are the most common products that are purchased based on reviews (64% of purchases).
Tweeting: Among the Asian market, Japanese Internet users are the most avid bloggers globally, posting more than one million blogs per month, which is significantly more than any other country in the region. Japan’s adoption of Twitter also continues to grow, with unique visitor numbers increasing in the last year from less than 200,000 to more than 10 million. 16% of Japanese Internet users now use Twitter, compared to only 10% in the U.S.

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My Interview on WeAreNYTech.com

posted November 1st, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Miscellaneous, projects, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

I’m so excited to be featured in an interview for WeAreNYTech. It’s a really informative and comprehensive website that showcases some of the best people working in the technology industry in New York City. I was happy to talk about my background in digital marketing and the different projects I’m currently working on. There’s a transcript from the interview and a link below.

http://wearenytech.com/262-luna-vega-digital-marketing-consultant

You mention in your bio that at one point you just decided to make your childhood dream come true and start your own business. How did you come to the decision that it was the right time?

I have always been a perfectionist. It was important for me to get plenty of professional experience under my belt before starting my own business. I took me several years to work up the courage to take the leap.

I vividly remember the day I launched an extensive project for company I was working for at the time. If I had successfully managed and survived this project, I could undertake anything that came my way, I knew I was ready. I had earned the confidence needed to be an entrepreneur. A huge weight also lifted the day I finally quit my job, as if I was finally allowing myself to be me and go for what made me happy deep down.

Is there any particular reason that you choose projects aimed at Gen Y, Hispanic, and Tween target audiences?

When I started my business, I quickly realized I needed to specialize. I dug and wrote down what came to me naturally. I had an affinity for pop culture, fashion, music combined with an internal flair because of my up-bringing (french/hispanic). Indisputably, my strengths rely in pop culture trend forecasting, and understanding the youth demographic. So I decided to apply this knowledge to the work I provide my client. A digital strategy is vacuous if you don’t understand demographic you are reaching out to. You can tweet and blog all you want but if no one cares about what you have to say than it’s a lost cause.

PluggedIn is a new project that you started that is a new web series where you invite your colleagues to debate digital platforms, relevant issues and new technologies affecting the New Media landscape. Where did the idea for this project come from and what were some of the challenges that you faced when putting the web series together?

My goal in 2011 was to create a video blog educating folks about the power of social media. It was hard at first as, everything had already been done. After going through a series of ideas, I decided to collaborate with my friend Trevz founder of thenewpop.com and create a debate show where our colleagues would size up issues in the Social Media landscape. I felt there was little constructive criticism out there about new technology especially from “real users”. It was time we gave a voice to the non techies and for them to provide their insight about which tool they like or dislike. It was important for Trevz and I to create a specific aesthetic for the show while making it entertaining.

Google + hangout launched not to long after we came up with concept, as a logical progression we decided to use the chat technology to host our debates. Producing this show has been one of biggest logistical challenges we have ever faced. It hasn’t been done before so we are literally making it up as we go along. We are constantly testing new video screen grabbing technology, accessing which browsers are better for streaming etc..

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Do You Know How Influential Your Brand Is?

posted November 1st, 2011 & filed under entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

It’s funny how various brands measure their success by how many fans or likes they have on Twitter and Facebook. It’s not unheard of for a brand to have thousands of fans and still get limited to zero engagement for their products. What is it that they’re doing wrong? Do they care about your message? Do they share content back with their peers and are they actually helping propagate the message?

Here are some great free tools to help figure out if your engagement on social media is sticking.

1. Klout – What is your Klout rank?

Klout is a great tool. It allows you to monitor exactly how successful your campaign is and it shows you data you can use to revise and improve your content.

http://klout.com/home

2. Edge Rank for Facebook

Edge Rank is another Analytics tool that you can use to monitor and assess the popularity of your campaigns and content on Facebook.

http://edgerankchecker.com/

3. Alexa and Google Analytics

Even thought they don’t refer back to Social Media, Alexa and Google Analytics are both great ways to measure if your initiative is successful. By seeing your SEO rankings and traffic generated you can get a good idea if your push is working. At the end of day, the purpose of Social Media isn’t to constantly blab about yourself, but to get users to come to your website.

http://www.alexa.com/

http://www.google.com/analytics/

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Facebook Stores: Your Very Own Social Media Pop-Up Shop

posted October 18th, 2011 & filed under entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology

For a lot of small companies figuring out different ways to get their product out there can become a challenge. I always recommend that start-up brands and even more established companies should have their own Facebook Store.

Why Facebook retail? Because the statistics are so strong in your favor. Facebook users spend an average of a half hour DAILY on Facebook. That’s more than any other website, and even more then some other social media platforms combined. It only makes sense to have your product accessible from where your potential customers spend most of their time.

You could even consider a Facebook store as your very own pop-up shop. It’ll becomes just another outlet to get people aware of your brand and eventually to buy your product. Another thing to keep in mind is that people are more likely to click on a Facebook link than on an outside link, and a Facebook store gives them the ease of being able to shop right from where they spend most of their time online.

Here are some great apps you can use for you template Facebook Store:

STOREFRONT: http://storefrontsocial.com;

http://www.facebook.com/ShopTabApp

SAM / Social Application Marketing;

http://www.wildfireapp.com/

http://www.snapengage.com/

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Kickstarter #101 – A few tips for a successful fund raising campaign

posted October 11th, 2011 & filed under entrepreneurship, marketing/advertising, projects, Serious Stuff, social networking, tips

For a while Kickstarters have been the talk of the town. Between Kickstarter, Indie Gogo, and a few other online fund raising sites, there’s definitely a huge variety to choose from.

Kickstarters are a great way to get some initial funds for a project, but let’s face it, you really need to get your project out there for it to successfully reach its goal.

Here are a few tips to using Kickstarters the right way:

1. Think about the nature of your project – Will it get people exited? What are you doing in return? If you plan on asking for funds for a new song or album you plan on writing, what will be the outcome once you finish the project? Your direct peers might have more of a vested interest in your project because they care about you, but people who randomly stumble upon a dozen Kickstarter requests a day might not be as interested about your upcoming project. Make sure you think about what your project really encompasses before you decide to launch it.

2. Be sure to advertise well – Make sure you make it sound like a promising and interesting project when you begin to advertise it. That way anyone who’s really interested in innovative and experimental projects will feel more compelled to help you raise the funds.

3. Think of a charity to give back to – Let’s face it, people are more willing to donate when they know it’s for a good cause. I think part of asking people for money also involves some kind citizenship or altruistic behavior. It’s the old rule of when someone helps me now I’m going to give back. You don’t have to abide by this tip, but it’s a rule of thumb I’ve always stuck by.

4. Proper Promotion – Once your fund raising project is launched now you need to start promoting it. Think of blogs, media outlets, and even local media outlets that could help you get the word out. Social Media can also be a huge facet in spreading the word on your new project. Just be careful that your promotion doesn’t come across as excessive spam. A good way to grab people’s attention is to make it a contest and ask for their kind help and a referral. Remember every dollar counts, and if you have a good story the word will spread.

5. Make sure you have some concrete examples of what you plan on raising money for - A solid example always helps people understand what goals you’re trying to accomplish. You need to make sure you can commit to the goal and seeing a little intro and explanation will definitely keep people interested.

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Social Media & Separating Yourself From the Pack

posted September 27th, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

As a digital marketing consultant, I’m fully aware of all the “social media” gurus out there and individuals preaching that “social media” is the holy grail for all of your marketing problems. Truth be told, social media is a great technology that has enabled the democratization of content, and it allows smaller entities to broadcast and rally their communities without having to knock at the doors of “big media”.

Sometimes what they don’t tell you though is advertising, marketing, and PR concepts still apply when using social media. People don’t just blindly engage with your ideas or concepts, they must be given a reason to care. Tweeting or incessantly Facebook posting about your brand & not engaging in conversations is still considered spamming. One of the most important aspects of this two way conversation is you still need to give people a reason to care.

People buy things based on a feeling or on a story. It’s important to always think about your community and the consumer. Once you understand what they want & figure out ways to provide it to them your job will become a lot easier. It’s also important to be original when marketing through social media. The attention span of Internet users keeps getting lower and harder to please the more we get bombarded with information left & right. That’s why it’s so important to consider how your company will get noticed through marketing. It’s necessary to think about your direct community and exactly how you’ll have an impact.

A great example of this concept I want to share is an article I read about a year ago and I still remember it to this day. It was about a teen who posted online that he would give people private concerts at their house as he trekked around the US. He would travel to a city and tell people he was in town and they would book him to get serenaded at their homes. I thought it was such a great concept, especially considering the out of the box method he used to approach marketing a concert in this day and age, when everyone’s Facebook inbox is overloaded with potential events. It even got him enough press to the point of being published in Ad Age. This is a great example of thinking outside the box and finding ways to separate yourself from your competition. I would love to hear your thoughts on different ways you can use social media for marketing and promotion.

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Archive for the ‘marketing/advertising’ Category

You mention in your bio that at one point you just decided to make your childhood dream come true and start your own business. How did you come to the decision that it was the right time?

Is there any particular reason that you choose projects aimed at Gen Y, Hispanic, and Tween target audiences?

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