360DigitalInfluence

So I was just having a bit of a muse. Working in an agency that has its roots in advertising, and what every advertiser holds in very high regard, creativity. And the product of that creativity is the very excellent ads that sometimes come our way. They’re funny, emotional, engaging, they evoke a sort of response from us to sit up and take notice.

There’s also creative content, like art, mixed media, professional content and it looks a certain way, in fact, it kind of ‘looks creative’.

But here’s where I start thinking about creativity. It’s the ability to offer a solution to a problem when resources are meager.

It’s a different kind of creativity that’s needed. With increasing technology, and lower barriers to entry in mastering the tools (like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Blogging, Social Media.. etc) Many more people are producing something of the same. It might have a different set of clothes, but essentially some ideas are pretty much alike.

You’ve gone for a hundred and one events, read thousands of reviews, pieces of news.. they talk about different things, but the form almost remains the same.

So when i say meager resources, it’s not just because we don’t have access to certain tools, but the professionalism of wielding those tools has become diluted.

Because of that, the sandbox of coming up with something really creative has become smaller. Think of it as having a sandbox, but you now have more people playing in that same sandbox as you.

So I challenge you, try to stand out, do something different. You have ‘less’ sand to play with now, how are you going to communicate your messages clearly and creatively, so that it sticks?

Ideas that bind

I’m really writing this for posterity. In my observation, this ‘thing’ called Social Media has been something that has been on everyone’s lips for at least the past two years, and I don’t think it’s going to let up.

You know it’s making waves, when titles such as ’social media guru’, ’social media strategist’ or ’social media practitioner’ start popping up. Although I think it’s a bit of an echo chamber, especially when it’s only used interchangeably amongst its pundits.

And what I want to see more of, is not a separation of social media from so-called ‘traditional media’, but a closer convergence of social media and media in general.

I say this because, media is increasingly digitised. most publications and broadcasts are produced digitally. Shot on digital video, typed on computers, art directed in photo-editing programs. The social media we know today is derived from digitisation of content.

I say “social media we know today”, because in Pat and my books, social media existed in the coffeeshops. I remember reading independent zines, printed, photocopied and “mass produced”. but digitisation has broken the barriers to entry in terms of publishing and transmission.

I harp on “The Shift” like it’s doctrine, because if you don’t understand that, you will never understand the power you wield as a practitioner of social media. The ability to share your opinions, and perhaps start and contribute to a tribe of mind. The ‘Shift’ has transferred some of that ability to regular folks. We have better access to technology that aids us in how we produce ’social content’. There is still a realm of the professional media producer, but for those of us who aren’t professional content producers, we are pro-sumers. consuming and producing information, on maybe an amateur level. (arguably some bloggers are considered professional.)

So what do you think social media is? If you think it’s just about bloggers, I challenge you that you might be sorely mistaken. Social Media is everywhere, consuming and producing at the same time. Sustaining itself, and spreading information to all the nodes on this planet.

The real question is, how do you plan your communications to best impact the number of people you want to reach out to?

Head on down to Managing Through Flu to stay up to date on all matters pertaining to the Swine Flu pandemic.

Our Health team in Hong Kong have developed a simple aggregation site that provides RSS links to Google News regarding Swine Flu, Twitter links to CDC Emergency that responds to public health emergencies and even a map tracker for reported cases.

It’s tragic that the Swine Flu pandemic is going around now. And even as Health Authorities scramble to quarantine the matter, we can help ourselves by not alarming ourselves with rumours and hearsay.

It’s especially important that in health crisis’s like these, we get official news and trusted information information regarding the situation.

Do comment if you want to share with how you stay up to date so that we can all benefit from information.

i’ve actually got quite a fair bit to share, but i suppose the details can be further articulated in later posts. what i want to share is perhaps key takeaways that i got from Your Blog™ as a blogger from each of the presenters.

Overall
i know the session was about marketing your blog, but a great sense i got from each presenter, was that they actually don’t make money from their blog, but rather, their blog was both personal branding and a marketing tool for who they are as people, as personalities.

my suspicion (correct me if i’m wrong) is that earning a living from blog advertising for personally owned blogs is a bit of a myth. Whether it’s a question of eyeballs or sustainability, all three bloggers who shared use their blogs as pieces of thought leadership, reputation and authority. Only Arti, who was an ex-journalist was paid for her professional writing skills.

Yongfook: 8 profound and live changing things that happened because of my blog
Yongfook was one of my original heroes when i first started blogging in 2003. Back then, he was still writing his crazy Japanese food blog posts, talking about dealing with isolation in a rural Japanese village, and i thought “I want that! I want a really fun blog!” And so that’s my key takeaway, even as Yongfook matured and evolved to his current lifestream, he’s always maintained that unique Yongfook personality.

Arti Mulchand: Write Right
Key takeaway: You don’t have to use long flowery language to be a good writer. A good writer communicates clearly, gives readers content that is easily understood and makes a point. One good method to sustain reader interest, is by ’scattering gold coins’. Give them a good reason to read the next paragraph. Always.

Design Sojourn: How to be a __________ superstar
Key Takeaway: Managing your blog’s branding / personality so that you’re not an expert, but an authority on your given subject. My personal take on Brian Ling’s insight, is that it’s hard to be considered an expert in the field without actual accreditation, but being an authority is more feasible, valuable even perhaps. It allows you to share your opinions confidently, while always being open enough for discussion. Sometimes it’s not always about having the final say in things and have your words treated as ‘gold’, but being regarded in your area of interest / field of expertise. And you can play your cards right, is to share knowledge, share good things, invite different opinions, distill for further insights and maintaining both online and offline relationships. So those Technorati links that add to your authority? There’s some truth to that system!

Toysrevil: Eh, You Singaporean Meh?
Key takeaway: Original content. Toysrevil is the embodiment of passion when it comes to sharing knowledge, opinions on all things toys. But what really struck me, was how he puts his personal stamp on each picture he takes of a toy. In some sense, there is only one such picture in the world, they each tell a story, and convey important information for those in the toy scene. Each picture is uniquely his, and i believe that has helped add fans to his growing fan-base.

All’s well that ends well
And those were the key takeaways i got from the speakers! I’m sure everyone’s got an opinion and some key takeaways! May i invite you to share what yours were if you were here at Your Blog™ with us?

Here’s an interesting report done up by ZDNet, a news site / blog that covers the beat in the Technology industry. It’s called “Is Social PR For Real? Which Agencies Get It?”

A timely article, with some great research insights from internal PR directors / managers followed by chief marketing officers / vice presidents of marketing and small business owners as some of the world’s major economies start slowing down and anybody in a decision making position is held even more accountable on the budgets that they spend.

More than ever, Return On Investment (ROI) will be a deal breaker and a key tenet to effect real change to any business or organisation.

Do good communications practices ultimately affect your bottom line? You bet it does! In today’s increasingly mass commodified and audience fragmented world, reaching your audience and having a relationship that transcends transactions builds customer loyalty, advocacy for them to tell others about you. You want to be that ‘go-to’ resource when a customer has a need, and you want to sell them the best possible product that you have to better their lives.

But this isn’t really about that.. we’re going to talk more about some of the insights found in the ZDNet article.

These were some of the key points i picked out from the report:

1. Agencies do not fully follow through with what was promised during a new business pitch.
Only 20% strongly agreed and 18% agreed that their agencies achieved this. A vast majority 30% somewhat agreed and a good 26% agreed with the claim.

Credit: www.zdnet.com

I suspect this also comes from the ‘fluid’ nature of social media, or perhaps a lot of it comes from over-promising and making unrealistic strategies and tactics. While everyone is hungry for new business in these times, more should be done to keep both clients and agencies accountable on deliverables with accountable measurement.

2. Agencies do not necessarily understand how their communications work past getting news coverage and actually affecting a client’s business
Yes, something we can all be guilty about. Good public relations is more than just generating news coverage (quantitative), but it is about projecting a positive image of the clients you represent (qualitative)

Credit: www.zdnet.com

In our line of work, both qualitative and quantitative share equal importance. But as audiences become extremely fragmented, it’s harder to see media as mass communications anymore. I think a smart move any of us can do, is to think very strategically and produce quality content to the publics that matter first and foremost, before trying to reach the world. Pool your resources together to communicate the things that matter, to the people that matter.

3. Clients really expect agencies to know social media

This is great! 78.8% of clients understand the importance of having a social media campaign and expect their agencies to know it as well! While I hesitate to say that agencies should know more about social media than their clients, I’d like to think that it’s not the knowledge gap in a new medium that allows an agency to work with its clients, but MORE about how the agency is a valued partner and comes up with workable social media campaigns that understands the industry their client is in, what drives their clients business and then HOW social media can work for them and their customers.

Credit: www.zdnet.com

4. Clients know enough about social media to get by
This is another good sign. About two years ago, clients and agencies were starting to experiment with social media. Today, a good 39.8% know enough to get by, and 37% have a good grasp about how social media will contribute to their business. Nothing gets me more excited when I speak to clients who do not just name drop social media buzzwords, but are actually talking about strategy, credibility, transparency and forming relationships with their people that matter.

Credit: www.zdnet.com

5. Clients would like free social media training
A good 46.5% said they would attend if they didn’t have to pay for it, and a good 35.4% said they would attend regardless.

Credit: www.zdnet.com

While ZDNet recommends it would be in our best interest to not charge for training sessions, from an agency point of view, media training for clients usually comes at a cost. I believe social media training is equally important. Public image isn’t nurtured overnight, same thing as a social presence. Your avatar can be considered your public image on the social net, and such training is a worthwhile investment and accelerator if you don’t have time to pore through all the myriad of “How-To” posts from blogs.

But, i’m willing to see the flipside to this. It’s just one more thing to pay for isn’t it? Perhaps possible ways forward is to package this as part of a programme, keeping costs lower. In business, I guess most things are negotiable.

(And who says we don’t give away anything for free? Check out Ogilvy On Recession, a free resource of insights and thought igniters on how to work smart in the downtime.)

6. Most agencies recommend the tools to drive social media
Worrying. 29% of clients agree somewhat that agencies make the tools the centerstage when it comes to social media / PR campaigns. Add 14% that agree and 8% that strongly agree, that’s almost a total of 51% of agencies who are trying to pull a fast one with shiny, free applications created by other people to get new business.

Credit: www.zdnet.com

Once again, it’s not the tools that drive social media, they are the means to an end. What ultimately makes a campaign successful is the strategy and content that netizens get, and perhaps a close second, the relationships that at least get you into the door to pitch a story or idea.

Summary
In closing, it’s great to see more clients stepping up and understanding social media. Having that knowledge allows you to see through an agency’s smokescreen of buzzwords, fancy charts and overwhelming statistics.

Then it’s the agency’s turn to show clients just why we’re so great to work with. Whether it’s through strategic acumen, industry knowledge, media relations, creative ideas, professionalism and accountability. A working relationship doesn’t have to be purely transactional, but a valued relationship that sees both parties growing as our audiences continue to grow as well. Y’see PR2.0 isn’t about the social media, it’s about the culture adopted by both clients and agencies responding to a changing audience.

Wow. Pat and I just had a great time learning from Chris Graves, President & CEO, Asia Pacific, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. That’s a pretty big role, if you consider that my position is somewhere really low in the food chain. But you know what’s the best thing? Chris doesn’t behave like that.. He embraces you and talks to you as a person, and that translates into the way he talks to his clients, journalists, bloggers and colleagues.

There’s just something about the way he engages you and tells you stories.

I think it’s a culture thing, and something within Ogilvy to embrace storytelling. Storytelling is a truly wonderful tool for any communicator. It allows you to paint beautiful pictures with words, and it conveys your ideas much clearer because the person you’re communicating with, sees it too.

Despite all the buzz about ’social media’, ‘analytics’, reports, trends, facts and figures.. they all feed into what we do in the communications industry. Whether you’re a journalist, blogger, advertiser, content producer or PR practitioner.. we’re in the communications business of distilling complex ideas and making them simpler so that more people can understand them.

Do you think you’re an effective communicator? If not, why not give storytelling a shot? Be curious, ask questions, find insightful nuggets that set your story apart from someone else. Even if you have no story to tell.. that’s a story to tell! Why are you so quiet? Did something make you feel this way? What happened?

It’s not fluff. You help people understand! That’s a truly remarkable skill when we’re talking about imparting knowledge, helping to shed light on problems and conveying great solutions that can help society.

I’ll leave it that today, but be on the lookout for the videos we interviewed of Chris today. He answered some great questions from the blogosphere.. and just pick out the way he says things, how he conveys his message. There’s so much to learn, and I hope you’ll get something out of it. Look out for it after the weekend -)

Not to be outdone by Tania (good internal competition keeps us on our tippy toes of the razor’s edge), i recently came across Sacha Chua’s Gen Y Guide to Web 2.0 at Work.

It’s only 14 slides, absolutely no death by powerpoint, and drawn in the most charming of ways.

starting a blog isn’t rocket science (or a lot of money). If you’ve got something to say and want to start connecting with other brilliant people, i suggest you take the plunge and be smart (not just inane) with your blogging and start learning from others like you, and sharing with others like you!

Not a client of ours here in Singapore, but very very impressive (to me at least!)

I love the way EA identified a user-posted glitch on their Tiger Woods’08 title, and instead of spending hundreds of thousands buying advertising space on television networks, promoting it in banner ads or even spamming you on facebook, simply posted a video response.

Posted just SIX DAYS ago, it’s been viewed 1.6 million times, and dare i say, counting, EA shows us it’s not too difficult to find the opportunity and use it to your advantage.

i believe this keen eye for the opportunity, and the execution of the response, the content behind it and the transmission methods were all due to keen insight into the audience they wished to connect with.

don’t believe me? i think this trailer for their upcoming game “Battlefield Heroes” demonstrates that they understand the changing consumer landscape in the way “inside jokes” or “culturally specific” references are used.

the product is another hint of genius in it’s entirety. making a high quality, credible game available for free online FOR the consumer / fan, is a gift of love to the people who love you already. check out their site to know what i mean http://www.battlefield-heroes.com

it reminds me of when Southpark made all their episodes free for public consumption. it’s a new business revenue model, they’ve almost become their own network.. a micro indie channel perhaps. maybe they’ll sell the content cheaply to other internet tv stations like Miro or Joost, and they retain their creative licenses as well. a lot to chew on, but i think these two ideas show us how nothing’s really set in stone these days. www.southparkstudios.com

Many people I meet ask me what exactly is Digital Influence? And why does it stem from Public Relations (PR)?

Well, to better understand what Digital Influence is, is to appreciate that Digital Influence is a communications discipline. Much like what Public Relations is. We can communicate on behalf of our client, or we give them counsel and how they should communicate, and where they should communicate.

Why do companies have to communicate? To inform the decisions that you make on a daily basis (whether you’re a concerned member of the public, consumer, stakeholder, employee, employer, policy maker… etc) What we consume, is what shapes our perceptions.

Originally, businesses would use the mass media to communicate with the wider audience, but as the media continued to evolve into multiple channels, audiences started fragmenting due to choice.

Then came Web 2.0, faster broadband speeds and the rise of Social Media (Or the media that users share with each other, a bit like a social transaction - i hate that word.) [Pat Law has an excellent post about social currency to help you understand what makes media, social. Link]

With the advent of Social Media, businesses, brands, corporations and finally, the public could communicate with each other using a wide variety of social tools:

Blogs
Forums
Twitter
Plurk
Facebook
Myspace
Wikis
Vodcats
Podcasts

And you could finally have a real two way dialogue, which was what communications was always about. Messages are conversations. What we tell someone isn’t always what that audience will perceive, they will interpret it, and Web 2.0 has enabled the interpretation to be published by that same audience. Thus forming a dialogue.

What’s changing is the way people communicate. We’re no longer content waiting for the 930pm news, or the music the radio wants us to hear, what the TV guides want to show us, when they want to show us. We’re not at the mercy of reading the news the publications deem worthy for us to read. No, we want information on demand.

As communicators, isn’t this the space you want to be? Where the messages you have aren’t forced at people, but accessed on demand by the public? While you’re still thinking about that, the power of information is now with the people, and we are all informing each other. That’s what social media has enabled us to do, inform each other on an amplified level.

Digital Influence, we’re communicators, we’re where the conversations are at and helping brands form bridges into their communities, people who use their products, who become passionate about them, and in turn, brands should also be passionate about their people. -)

Recently, we organised an Open Room event at The Screening Room for bloggers to meet Yasmin Ahmad, the director of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports latest commercial, simply entitled “Family.”

It’s a simple commercial with one simple message. love that is found in the family.

Yasmin is indeed a true storyteller, who uses unconventional, or rather, imperfect characters to tell universal tales of humanity. MCYS could have chosen to tell the story in the usual way of featuring your regular nuclear family. Two parents, two children and a dog, but they chose Yasmin tell the story in a much realer way.

Watch the commercial and you’ll see what I mean:

The event had the bloggers arriving, before they were treated to Yasmin’s showreel of past work, some of which were fan favorites like Tan Hong Ming in Love:

After they had watched Yasmin’s body of work and the new commercial, it was time to meet the director herself.

I’ll let the bloggers tell you how they felt about the new commercial and their impressions from meeting Yasmin themselves, but here are some excerpts:

“The film doesn’t have such a family. It just consists of a father and a daughter. The family seems incomplete and thus imperfect and the girl a little spoiled yet I think it captures the way we experience our family relations for most, if not all, of us.”
- Ian, on the red dot

“There was a particular blogger who mentioned that because the majority of the population has a complete family unit, they may not be able to relate to the video - to which Yasmin humorously replied, “I watched ‘Finding Nemo’ … I laughed and I cried … But I’m not a fish!””
- Rinaz

“While I was chatting with some of the another attendees, she came in and we got introduced. I was told later that I squealed when she was introduced to us. I got to shake her hand! OMG I even got to take peekchers with her!! I think I might have even hyperventilated.”
- Min Tea

“The standard style of TV commercials promotes government campaigns in a traditional and mostly predictable way, the new Family TVC hopes to leave a deep impression on viewers with its engaging and emotive storyline. Instead of painting a rosy picture of a perfect family, this TVC seeks to touch the viewers deep inside.”
- Eastcoastlife

For me personally, it was a tremendous opportunity to meet and listen to the insights of a storyteller who is so human, down to earth and observant, it was no wonder her work always touches the hearts those it comes in contact with.

if the brand for this is the concept of love within the family, then I think we’ve succeeded in connecting it with her public.

Highlights

See you next Open Room! -)

More pictures at The Open Room Flickr Page