BMW and it's Viral Video

If you haven't seen the fake 30 minute documentary about the town in Germany that's trying to launch a BMW over the Atlantic Ocean, you should. It's well done, it's interesting, and it's warranting new stories nationally. Here's the CNN coverage.
There are, as usual, the naysayers who discourage BMW from being "too out there" and "confusing their audience" and it's with those people that I take issue.
Here's the thing.... it's okay if companies don't take themselves too seriously. Just look at the press that BMW is receiving because of this video. National news stories? Check. Virally passed along video that's wildly popular? Check.
Surely, there are plenty of companies who have tried to make a viral video and failed and it's true that it's something to keep in mind but it shouldn't stop anyone from giving viral video a try.

Facebook Gets Generous With Visa?

I recently saw an article about the new Visa application on Facebook. It's been created to help small business owners connect online and get this: the first 20,000 small business owners get... wait for it..... $100 in free advertising.
Now, in the regular world this might actually be something good but on Facebook $100 of free advertising is like going to a store, picking out a $13,000 couch and them giving you $2 off. Not too helpful.
Being a LinkedIn advocate, I think the effort to include small businesses on Facebook is a good one. However, small businesses don't have much of a place on Facebook because they a) don't have the funds to advertise with any kind of consistency on it. b) Facebook isn't set up as a business networking site.
In the race for monetization, I see this move by Visa and Facebook as a plan to expand their demographics base which isn't a bad idea but in my humble opinion, they need to have more perks for the small business owner in order to attract that audience.

We Couldn't Resist

Mashable had it first, but we couldn't help having a good giggle over this....

Paying For Bandwidth Usage?

The New York Times has reported (and we've been hearing rumblings for a while now) that some internet providers will be charging "heavy users" higher monthly prices to access the interet and even 'gasp' slowing them down purposely.
I'll give that a moment to sink in.
That means that a lot of people in the tech industry (and certainly most people who would read this blog) will have to ante up extra money each month to continue to use sites like hulu.com, Youtube, and Netflix. Anyone sending large-ish photo files (pics of your vacation), or downloading iTunes will be considered a "bandwidth hog".
I see a few problems with this new idea. Similar to the "$15 to check your first piece of luggage" rule that the airlines are implementing, it's basically price gauging the consumers. Not only that, with the internet, they are charging or "slowing down" the users that populate and use the most successful sites. The argument that a lot of tech industry experts are making is that it will deter the innovators of the web from producing and sharing new work (such as apps for Facebook, Google,etc.).
Unfortunately, they are already trying this new plan in Texas and it will likely spread throughout the country.
Don't worry though, if you go over your bandwidth amount, they'll just charge you overage fees reminiscent of the cell phone overages that used to be so common.
Here's the link to the Time Warner Cable comment page.

Make It Relevant

Prospectiv recently released results of a survey of nearly 800 users of social networking sites. According to their research, over half of the respondents are not being served relevant ads when on the social communities they belong to, and over half of the respondents feel the quality of their experience at the social community would improve if they were served more relevant ads. Jere Doyle, Prospectiv’s CEO, reports “…members of social networking sites are open to offers and promotions as long as they are targeted to their interests…the web publishing industry seeking to monetize their online communities (needs) to improve ad relevance…”

The Prospectiv research found that 58 percent of the respondents report seeing very few ads and offers on social networking sites that match their interests and preferences. And, another 29 percent of respondents said none of the ads match their interests and preferences.

Over half (or 56 percent) believe the quality of their online experience would be improved if social networking sites provided more targeted advertisements and offers tailored to their specific interests and preferences.

So what type of offers would the participants respond to? 62 percent would respond to one-off coupons and discount offers from brands and products they buy; 24 percent would respond to e-newsletters featuring coupons, discounts, news and tips about favorite brands; 14 percent would respond to invitations to join interactive e-mail groups, online forums and social networks for sharing and communicating.

85% of the respondents said they will be more likely to join a free social networking site that is supported by advertisements and offers targeted to their interests rather than a paid social networking site without commercial advertisements.

(Our approach at Sway when working with brands is to do research with the target audience to determine where they are spending time online and what content they are most interested in as it relates to a particular product category. We then work with niche social communities to place the content that will appeal to the users of the communities.)

Tag, Your Brand is It

Operating on the premise that "a brand exists entirely in people's heads," Brand Tags is a super-simple, super-intriguing site about how people instantly react to top brands. If you check it out, take note of how many of the images that flash through your head have to do with websites, videos, online conversations, contests, etc. you've seen or participated in on the web. It might be more than you think.

Proof That RSS Feeds Are Everywhere

Yes, RSS feeds have finally made it to the bathroom. This one supposedly prints out random news headlines on your toilet paper so that if you really are that busy.....

Success With Social Media

The number of times that we here at Sway have heard "we want our company to do something with social media" and all of the bloggers out there claiming to have a foolproof answer has spurred this post.
Nick O' Neill of The Social Times' answer is to start a blog and add video. This is a good idea provided you have a company that has plenty interesting content and talented enough writers to keep it up. While O' Neill has a great plan that in some cases would help companies gain some traction in the social media sphere, I think it's dangerous to recommend anything as a magic bullet in social media.
The real key to success in social media starts well before you pick up a video camera, buy a domain, or spend a cent. The beginning of social media starts with your goals for social media. What are you trying to do?
This is the first question that we ask our new clients at Sway. We could say that yes, video is a great idea and a popular one. Yet if your company wants to boost its e-mail database, maybe video isn't the first way to achieve success.

1) Write down what you want to accomplish with social media. This shouldn't be in loose or vague terms. Exactly what do you want people to DO when they bump into you on a social network or see your video? How many new e-mail addresses would you like?

2) Describe your demographic. Who are you trying to reach? Do they really hang out on Facebook? Do they read blogs? Do they shop at Neiman Marcus or Wal-Mart?

3) Make your plan, or call Sway and we can help you devise your plan but be ready with the answers to these questions because it makes all the difference to your success level in social media.

When Social Media Crosses That Invisible Line.

Just for fun, and because it's Wednesday, I've compiled a few sites that will make you laugh. Or should make you laugh. Also, it proves that there is in fact a social community for every single hobby and interest out there. No really.

The first one is www.nextlifemeeting.com and it helps you to meet people in your next life and helps you pull some of the criteria from your past life.

The next one is http://www.msnusers.com/ferret. This site allows ferret owners to talk, post pictures, and give awards to the err... best ferrets.