Worth more than a single view

by jen
Published on: May 25, 2011
Categories: Not how this works, Professional development
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Or: Grad-school-induced crisis of professional conscience

During my last semester at Hopkins, I worked on a final project with a small group. The assignment was this:

Create a video to promote the graduate program. Upload the video to YouTube. Promote the everloving HECK out of that video. Write a 10-page paper and give a 15-minute presentation about the experience and the strategy. The group with the most views wins five extra points added to each person’s final grade.

Given that lead-in, you might think my title is about the video we created and how it’s SO AWESOME that everyone should watch it twice and share it with everyone they know, right?

Nope.

The title is about you – my network, my readers, my audiences, and my friends. You deserve more from me than endless, shameless promotion of a video that has nothing to do with you, isn’t funny, and won’t make you cry.

(Don’t get me wrong. We made a pretty good video, for amateurs. The other teams went in other directions and I liked elements of their videos, but I think ours was at least tied for the best.)

My network is built of people I trust. People I respect. People whose respect I would like to keep. I had no interest in spamming them to watch my video more than once in order to win even five real points.

From the start, I had a problem with this assignment. Here’s my approach to digital communications strategy (roughly — each client is different):

  • Understand the company, the project, and the objective.
  • Understand the audience(s) — their needs, preferences, and online habits, etc.
  • Balance engagement/follow-up resource needs — what can the client realistically sustain?
  • Develop the strategy.
  • Create and promote the content across media and platforms.
  • Support the client and measure the success of the effort.
  • Rinse, repeat, etc.

Here’s the process for the final non-thesis project for my graduate degree in communications:

  • Consult with group. Discuss what makes a video popular — drama, emotion, humor, fart jokes, etc. Assess team members’ strengths. Start planning content.
    • Note that your options for “virality” are limited. Also note that “viral” is a reward for a good strategy, not a strategy on its own. Also note that you have zero ability to implement actual strategy, given that the assignment is to produce a tactic without a strategy behind it other than “Get lots of views.” Also note that there is no mechanism for measuring real success, such as how many more qualified applicants were driven to apply by the video.
  • Consult with client about vague objective.
    • Note that real objective (promote program, get more qualified applications) is not the same as the prize objective (get everyone you know to watch the video as many times as possible, even if they have no interest in communications or grad school).
    • Note that client is default client that, understandably, has no reason to prioritize the project.
  • Develop content. Recognize, dismayed, that you are limited to a school-sanctioned commercial, which means something student-y and edgy is…out of keeping with the school’s brand.
  • Consult with client, gain approval.
  • Post and promote video.
  • Get very good grade, but don’t win the extra points (the winning team, to be fair, deserved to win).
  • Drink heavily to mask the taste of having had to set aside EVERYTHING WE KNEW about credible, successful campaigns to meet the professor’s expectations.

That last bit is a bit of an exaggeration. We planned a happy hour, but we were all a little too wiped out to make it go. The best thing that came out of this class, aside from a good excuse to get myself a shiny new flipcam (!), was the knowledge that my classmates and I knew better.

Great content is critical, but great content promoted without context doesn’t meet anyone’s needs. I can’t exaggerate the overall value I got from the Hopkins program — ending my coursework with an assignment like this left me a bit sad.

On graduate school

by jen
Published on: May 18, 2011
Categories: Professional development
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(Cross-posted from 8junebugs.com)

My course work for Johns Hopkins* is complete — final grades are in, thesis is on track for a late winter defense**, and I have learned a great deal:

1
I can better formalize and verbalize what I believe about my profession and my own approach to my work. I’ve wrapped my arms around this bizarre skill set I carry with me and recognize its potential and value. My program and my peers were directly responsible for this.

2
There is a strong positive correlation between my concern about a final grade and my respect for the professor. When I can see that the prof is The Expert and cares about whether I get it, I want that A. When I think he is, perhaps, teaching the wrong class or faking it, I don’t really care if he decides to give me a B, particularly if his grading system seems unclear or arbitrary anyway. (It happens.)

3
Grad school reinforced my respect for proper teachers. Full-time faculty are committed to communications as a field of study, but they’re also committed to education. They’re good at it, and they care about it — when you shine, they shine. Adjuncts typically haven’t been trained to teach; some of them are good at it, and some of them aren’t. (It’s also hard to teach something you just do.) When you shine, some of them shine…but some of them see you as competition.

I am grateful for professors who can define and design meaningful assignments and give useful feedback. I am also grateful for the talented adjuncts who are taking a stab at teaching digital communications in real time — they’re doing it without a map.

4
I have little patience for “participation points” at this level. I sincerely thought Ms. Quan’s sophomore honors English was the last time I’d watch a teacher award real points for reading from the CliffsNotes. The students in this program are smart, driven, and not afraid to speak up in class — don’t force them to talk if they don’t have something to say just to get a tick in the gradebook.

Ancillary: You want to award points for participation? Fine. Award extra credit every time a student makes a point to which you respond, “I think you’ve nailed the issue right there.”

5
It’s really, really difficult for even the most well-intentioned people to accurately judge the abilities and profile of digital communications professionals. “Interest” is not the same as “expertise and experience” — in the 5 classes I selected for my discipline, I’d say I had 3 “expert and experienced,” 1 “interested,” and 1 vaguely interested (that was the one who “taught” that blogging was five years old).

6
This latest round of formal education has obliterated one key assumption I’ve clung to since the age of 5 — that I love school. It turns out I loveloveLOVE learning, but have apparently outgrown or mistakenly attributed my affection for “school.”

Or maybe it’s that school hasn’t caught up to the time [TEDTalk VIDEO] in which I’m learning.

7
I’m totally not afraid of stats. There’s no way one or two classes trumps eight years of working with killer statisticians, though. I’m a strategist, not a researcher.

8
I have a much stronger interest in video than I had before I walked into 1717 Mass Ave. I still prefer to leave it to the experts, but I’m better able to work with those experts and give credit where it’s due. Because, holy crap, video editing takes an obscene amount of patience.

I’ll stop with 8, as I usually do. Overall, this has been a great experience, one that forced me to look up from my desk and jump-start my professional growth. I am still enrolled, still working through my thesis, and still very, very grateful I was able to take on this degree.

(more…)

NextCity: nextJen moves to Oakland

by jen
Published on: April 26, 2011
Categories: Introducing..., What's new
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Well, hi there! I’ve been on hiatus for a while now, during which time your local neighborhood communications professional has up and moved to a different neighborhood.

I’m still settling in and sorting the office supplies — and, it must be said, still sweating through a master’s thesis — but I’m doing a bit of work here and there (mostly there). I’ve switched from DC to Oakland and from full-time employee + part-time consultant + part-time grad student to full-time grad student + part-time consultant. I’m planning on working full time again once I’ve defended, to the best of my ability, a content analysis of the current state of social media policies at all kinds of organizations.

Yes, academic writing about social media is as painful as it sounds, but it needs doing (in a robust, methodological fashion) and I picked that digital communications concentration for a reason.

Meanwhile, now that I have all my personal California paperwork in order, it’s time to get nextJen officially moved to the city by the City by the Bay and get back on track with this here website, which was sorely neglected during my last months in DC. Absent any audience objections, I’ll be talking a bit more broadly about communications (digital and traditional), running this little business of mine, and other small businesses and new ventures that catch my eye. I haven’t decided yet if this will remain a sideline to a day job or become the day job, but I’ve got be honest with you — I’m feeling a little fired up these days.

And by “a little,” I mean WHOA, I love what I do!

Geolocating your value

by jen
Published on: January 14, 2011
Categories: Geolocation
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(…and by “Coming Soon,” I meant “When I come up for air after submitting another draft of my master’s thesis.”)

Overheard during a social media strategy presentation, delivered by a technology guy with some marketing background: “Are you guys on Foursquare? You should check it out. You can get badges and become mayor. I’m mayor of the office!”

Point of order: Some companies have reason to maintain tight security. They don’t broadcast their locations, they don’t put the company name on the building or the building’s sign, and they may try to keep it out of the building directory. Consider this a classic example of knowing your business, your company culture, and your audience before you jump onto a new social tool.

You know what, though? He’s right. It is fun to check in, but people check in for different reasons — and some check out for some of the same reasons:

#1
Gaming is fun! I like to get achievements!”
vs.
“Why is this fun? Badges don’t mean anything.”
—–
#2
I  like to keep track of where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing!”
vs.
“Dude, I stopped for a coffee. Why does that need to be recorded somewhere?
WHAT IF THE GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING?!”
—–
#3
I’m at San Francisco Airport. I wonder who else is here? Maybe we can have dinner together!”
vs.
“I just want to get to Milwaukee. I need a bottle of water,
a magazine, and a pack of corn nuts.”

It’s kind of hard to not make the “anti” side sound curmudgeonly. We’re not curmudgeons — and I count myself among the antis because I use geolocation during only certain situations — we’re just…skeptical. We need to be convinced of the value of checking in here, there, or everywhere. As geolocation gets more sophisticated, and as marketers think more creatively, the value proposition of telling the world (or a select portion of the world) where you are and what you’re doing grows for each audience.

(more…)

Places, everyone, PLACES!

by jen
Published on: August 20, 2010
Categories: Geolocation, What's new
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Facebook’s location- based Places functionality — or, if you like, Facebook’s answer to foursquare (4sq)– is ALIIIIIVE. Mashable, per usual, gave a good rundown of the basic functionality early on.

You’ve seen the kind of thing foursquare can do, right?

Facebook can do it, too. Wherever you go, they say, there you are…and now the internet will know all about it, if you choose to tell them.

Worried? Me, too, but not too much. Gawker has a set-by-step on how to limit Facebook Places’ impact on your life; e.g., don’t let your friends check you in without your permission. (Don’t forget the stalker factor, either.) View location-based apps with the same wary eye as other social functionalities — manage your online presence carefully and don’t broadcast anything you wouldn’t like to explain to your grandmother…or an interviewer.

Business-wise: Your location-based customer

Meet T. T is old-school social with new-school tools. She loves to be out and about with her friends and her family, and she loves sharing that with the world. T’s savvy about social media use, and when she’s got a concern about something, she asks for guidance. T’s already integrating 4sq, Twitter, and Facebook — her updates (one seen here with her permission) appear in my news feed because she has tricked out her smartphone to do her bidding.

T is the kind of customer or client you want in this networked world, especially if your business depends on foot traffic. She’s going to tell all of her friends that she’s shopping in your boutique or eating at your restaurant, especially if she has a good experience. And T’s friends trust her — they might meet her there or trust her judgment and check you out…and now they know exactly where to find you.

(Make sure she has a good experience, though, or she’ll tell everyone she didn’t. That’s something we need to remember as we rush to explore new marketing opportunities — it’s still going to come down to the level of awesome you can provide.)

Facebook’s racing for the top of the social media heap here. They’ve got blogging in the Notes section (FWIW, blogging was social before social was cool), messaging/chat, microblogging in status updates, photo tagging and sharing, and now location-based checkins. The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether your customers use 4sq or Facebook — what matters is whether “checking in” is a function that can connect your brand to your people, and then to their people.

Geolocation tools appeal to several sides of our psyche. Some of us (a lot of us, whether we call it gaming or not)  like to game and score achievements, online or off. Some of us like the social aspect, the possibility of meeting up with a long-lost friend you would otherwise not have known was in the same airport. Some of us just like to keep track of things — places we go, things we do, people we meet.

Coming soon: Why you might want to get your geolocation strategy from a communications professional who understands your audience’s drives and desires, rather than from the gadget dude who thinks it’s cool. (Pro tip: “Cool” isn’t a sustainable strategy, unless you’re a recognizably “cool” brand.)

My voice, your voice, his voice, her voice

by jen
Published on: August 10, 2010
Categories: I never edit in red.
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The best part — the hands-down, very best part — of writing and editing professionally is capturing and enhancing someone’s voice. Everyone has a voice. You have one, I have one, and the company that sells you your morning coffee has one. How you talk to your clients shapes their opinion of you, now more than ever; before a customer meets you or your staff, they’ll check out your website.

Last week, I took a bit of a chance on a client’s About Us page. I’ve known this client for a good while – when she told me about her new business venture, her excitement was totally contagious. She’s serving a clientele she cares about, a clientele I care about, and I wanted her enthusiasm to shine through that page. As a solo practitioner, her company’s brand is closely tied to her personality (which, I must say, is a blazing force to be reckoned with). When I rewrote her About Us page, I combined three things: The look on her face as she described her new business, the kind of atmosphere she wants to provide in her shop, and what I know about the community she’s serving.

Her response: “I LOVE IT!!!!”

That, right there, is what makes a good day into a great day. In three words, she confirmed for me that I’d captured her voice and made her sound exactly as she means to sound.

Years ago, a supervisor introduced me to a new hire, saying, “She fixes our writing.” Although that’s technically true — I can proof your copy to match any style you choose — it’s really the least I can do. “Fixing” is putting commas in the right place and keeping your participles from dangling (without chiding you for letting them dangle…gah). The rest of it, taking what you need to say and infusing it with how you want to be heard? That’s the value of real editing.

I have my own voice. You have yours. Both are valid. If I ever try to make you sound like me instead of like the best version of you, you have my permission to fire me.

Relaying or relating?

by jen
Published on: July 27, 2010
Categories: Missing the point
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Oh, Facebook. You have just made my passion (Engagement Evangelist) simultaneously easier and more difficult.

On July 23, Facebook took another step in turning the social network into a marketing channel by letting page owners contact people who liked their page. Let’s say I put a “Like” button on this post. You already know it’ll show up on your FB page if you “like” it. With this new feature, though, I could turn around and post content to your FB feed…for all your friends to see.

You can see the value for traditional marketing, right? Previously, you could hope that someone would like your page and suggest it to others, or that your “liker” had proactive friends trolling for something they would like, too. Now, liking = opening up a direct channel for some snowball marketing. Hooray! More pushing, less pulling! We can control pushing!

But.

Social media “marketing” works best when we’re not fully in control. It works best as an electronic word-of-mouth because we trust our friends, not companies (although now we trust experts as much or more). Oh, sure, we trust some companies. But not very many, and even when we trust them, we don’t want to be marketed to at every turn. When we get nonstop marketing, we tune out.

Me? I (choose to) trust moo.com and mint.com and companies that seem reasonable about offering a product or service, providing a great experience, and then…leaving me alone. I also don’t mind being contacted by companies that reach out and sincerely want feedback, or the companies who give special deals to their “likers” (I miss “fans”) — that’s why I still sign up for email lists. Yay, birthday coupons! But I don’t then turn around and let them email all my friends.

Sure, some companies and brands build communities and manage them well. People fully committed to Apple or BMW or the GOP may want to spend some time interacting online with folks similarly inclined…so they join those communities, they interact, and then they log off. They don’t demand that all of their friends take part, too.

Think of it this way: When you sign up for something — new credit card, gym membership, store rewards — you hope (hell, by now you expect) that the company taking your information won’t sell it to marketers who will fill your online or offline mailbox with crap. This new feature of Facebook’s is a little like each of us unintentionally offering up our personal mailing lists to any company or organization we happen to “like.” Now your gym can shoot you a note about a new pilates class…and maybe shoot all your friends a sales pitch with your inadvertent approval.

How do you feel about that?

Mad props for the Ford Explorer Facebook Reveal

by jen
Published on: July 26, 2010
Categories: Companies doing it right
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When I look for a new car (and I can’t wait to look for a new car), I’ll give serious attention to Ford for the first time in my life.

My reason is going to sound BANANAS and trivial, but hear me out. What makes me add Ford to my list — and near the top of my list — is their commitment to and real understanding of social media.

It sounds nuts, right? Sort of “Oh, I like this company because…I use teh Twitter, and they use teh Twitter. Clearly, we are kindred spirits!”

Eh, not so much.

The key to Ford’s social media success is not that they’re on Twitter or Facebook — those are just the tools. What makes their social presence so freakishly successful is the trust they put in their customers from the day they decided to give social media a try…actually, from a number of days before they launched. They didn’t stick up a page and post a “Join us on Facebook!” button on their homepage and call it a day. Instead, they started listening to their customers online. They sought them out and asked for opinions and ideas. Using those ideas, they created vehicles much more in line with my values than, say, my grandfather’s Ford.

(They also, it must be noted, worked with serious talent at a great firm to make sure they did this right.)

Knowing that their brand really exists in the minds of their customers and potential buyers, they let the people in charge of the brand help redefine it. They started with the Ford Fiesta Movement and gave their customers a stake in the success of the model…and the brand.

Ford didn’t build a new channel. They built a partnership, and that partnership built a new kind of vehicle. Call it marketing if you want — I call it engagement, and Ford got major points for it.

They also got me, someone who’d planned on buying Hondas for the rest of her life.

Their latest move is today’s Ford Explorer Facebook Reveal, giving their social media following the first peek at the all-new Explorer. By launching a new model on Facebook rather than just through traditional advertising (they’ll have some commercials, but this is the real focus of the launch), Ford’s continuing to honor the partnership they’ve built in recent years. This networked, nosy, non-traditional audience is important to them; instead of saying that, Ford showed it by putting Facebook first in this launch. (Mashable’s got a great interview with Ford’s Scott Monty and Scott Kelly about the plan.)

This will be a good campaign to watch going forward, too. I’ll be interested to see how the Scotts and their team maintain buzz around the new Explorer in the six months between this launch and its availability to buyers. Given their resources, their commitment, and their level of executive buy-in, though, I have a feeling I’ll spend at least an hour at next spring’s NewComm Forum discussing Ford’s latest social media triumph.

Welcome to nextJen communications!

by jen
Published on: July 17, 2010
Categories: Introducing..., nextJen: origins
Tags:
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NextJen made its debut at a networking event several nights ago, where I gave a short talk on social media as a favor to a classmate and friend. The time was right to put my mouth where my money’s been all along, and it was a great evening of networking and (mind-bogglingly, humbly) accepting the generous congratulations of my peers and classmates on making this my official sphere.

Likewise, it’s time to stop talking about social media and online engagement on my beloved old blog and start putting those thoughts where people can find them…without sifting through my vacation pictures. (You’re welcome to check out that personal blog if you like, but you might find an f-bomb or two.)

So, hello there! Welcome to nextJen communications! Pull up a chair. Let’s talk about what’s happening in the digital space and how you’re ready to position your business and brand in this socially networked world.

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