I stumbled across this a few days ago and thought it was well done.

“It’s What THEY say it is”

It’s all about the idea. And this is one . . . key for any agency that we were going to be working with: it’s about the idea, being media agnostic and figuring out where do you take that idea to best fit it into the marketplace.

One of the things I like about Ogilvy’s thoughts is how they make it clear that social media isn’t owned by one department or the other. That ownership volley is what costs too many companies precious time. It’s much easier to rally the business units that want to step up and commit resources and budget.

The other thing that stood out is Ogilvy’s Social Enterprise Change Framework. There’s simply not enough frameworks out there to anchor how companies can begin thinking about an interactive strategy. Hell, I still reference Forrester’s POST methodology for some of the sessions I’ve run. What the Ogilvy framework smartly outlines are the steps required for brands to establish “Centers of Excellence” – yes the COE is back. And it actually maps really well to the challenges I see in the marketplace. Without sharing the burden – ok,tasks – companies are easily victimized by the silo effect and just can’t scale social media expertise across the organization.

The “Action” step in the diagram shows how talent needs to be peppered throughout the organization. Which lines of business to start with can often be the most daunting exercise. It’s hard to look inward and admit your customer service sucks needs improvement, although half the Twitterverse probably already knows it.

And while “action” is the right word in this context, I’m seeing companies act with more preciseness these days, as if engagement strategies were planned for long-term sustainability. I know, what a concept, right? Part of it’s from earlier social media war wounds  and part of it’s due to the listening capabilities that are now utilitarian. What the Ogilvy whitepaper also largely underscores is how twenty-ten will be year that social media’s shiny new object affliction is finally cured.

Ogilvy Enterprise Social Media v1 0

Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

One of the other quotes that stood out was John Batelle’s prediction that the microblogging interface would change and “look nothing like a microblog.” I’d guess that has  a lot to do with the interface disappearing in some respects. By that I mean interfaces will be accessed through all sorts of services, applications and embedded widgets. And in a sense I think it’s already changed pretty drastically.

The other thing that almost everyone seems to allude to is how social media will become more entrenched in the inner-workings of companies – from their external communication practices to the way business systems are built, designed and deployed. 

That last part is why you hear so much about “social business,” which is a really tough thing to distill into something folks can understand.

If you stray too far to the technical, toolset, or process side, you sound like a business process re-engineering (BPR) evangelist. Jump over too much to the “social media” side and you quickly run the risk of being categorized as too fluffy or someone trying to socialize things that really don’t need to be social.

2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters, by TrendsSpotting

I ran across one of Denuo’s recent projects this morning after the agency followed me on Twitter. It’s launched a program called Betacup, with the goal of eliminating the waste of disposable coffee cups. The way they’ve launched it is a living case study of online community and social activism.

They’ve made it really easy to get involved, stay involved and spread the word about something they’re passionate about. I noticed they’re also using a fund-raising platform called Kickstarter, (below) which is nicely integrated into the Betacup site.

It’s great to see a socially responsible effort that’s not just a campaign, but a narrative of what one agency is really doing to spur change. Bravo.

Betacup from the betacup on Vimeo.

Posted via web from George Dearing dot com

Image by George Dearing via Flickr

• “Information Wants To Be Free” – The Razorfish FEED report [BBH Labs]
  (tags: socialmedia marketing media research brand)

And you wonder why most CMOs have such short tenures.

via mullen.com

via imediaconnection.com

It still surprises me when people describe Twitter only in the context of personal updates. You’re right, nobody cares what you’re doing 24 hours a day. Usage is evolving, but it still ain’t’ about your Cheerios.

Posted via web from George Dearing dot com

Image by curiouslee via Flickr

It’s not surprising that Paul Worthington’s (@pworthington) #2 has to do with baking innovation into every crevice of he organization. He accurately notes how smart companies always ensure things like innovation map back to the larger forces shaping the brand.

The Nike+ example he references shows how a product innovation can reinforce a brand’s reputation, in this case Nike’s competitive DNA.

Within the frame of the purpose for the brand–the core value that the brand brings, successful brands place innovation at the heart of what they do. What uniquely separates these brands is how their innovations are always true to the purpose of their brand. Take Nike+ for example. This isn’t just an innovation that anyone could have delivered–it is absolutely tied to the Nike area of purpose around participation and competition"
[via fastcompany.com]

And in my continuing “this should be branded on some marketers and PR people’s heads,” I thought this quote nailed it.

Successful brands apply a long term sense of purpose, rather than an ever changing cycle of campaigns and positioning statements.

• Gartner Says Consumer Location-Based Services Market Will More Than Double in 2009
  "according to Gartner, Inc. Despite an expected 4 per cent decrease in mobile device sales, LBS subscribers are forecast to grow from 41.0 million in 2008 to 95.7 million in 2009 while revenue is anticipated to increase from $998.3 million in 2008 to $2.2 billion in 2009."
  (tags: gartner mobile data geo GPS tools mobile+computing)

  

• Razorfish Study: Brands Must Do Better in Social Media [MediPost}
  "The findings revealed a paradox, though, in that 62% say they don't seek out brand opinions via social media but 71% share recommendations on products and services on social sites at least once every few months."
  (tags: razorfish digital+strategy brands social+networking agnencies strategy)

  

• destinationCRM.com [June '09 Issue On Social Media in CRM]
  Compilation of articles on social media in CRM.
  (tags: socialmedia software media networking crm social+networking destination+CRM)

Image via CrunchBase

• FT.com / UK – Sun Valley set to consider paid content
  "Newspapers gave away their best product online a decade ago, but are now struggling with the issue of charging readers. The question of how best to avoid similar difficulties over monetising content has polarised the media groups which will be represented in Sun Valley this week."
  (tags: paid+content media newspapers television hulu twitter youtube)

  

• Twitter: 25 More Media People You Should Follow [AdAge]
  Good list of media and ad execs from AdAge.
  (tags: media twitter advertising communications adage follow socialmedia resources)

  

• Advertising – 20 Questions, an Exercise the Ad Agencies Dread – NYTimes.com
  "Does Microsoft get a refund if one of its television commercials showing a computer buyer choosing a PC over a Macintosh is followed by a commercial for Applebee’s?
  (tags: advertising media brands agencies)

• The Year The Newspaper Died
  "..23 of the top 25 newspapers reported circulation declines between 7% and 20%."
  (tags: business media trends newspapers 2009)

  

• Internet Companies and Ad Agencies Find Some Common Ground [NYTimes]
  Analysts say the rivalry between Microsoft and Google may also play into their overtures to the ad industry. While Google has dominated the search business, Microsoft introduced a new search engine, Bing, in late May. It has lifted Microsoft’s share of online searches in the United States to about 12 percent, according to comScore, a research firm, from 8% for Microsoft’s previous engine.
  (tags: microsoft google advertising search digital+strategy)

  

• Enterprise 2.0 conference follow-up [Being Peter Kim]
  Good preso on some internal enterprise 2.0 case studies.
  (tags: enterprise2.0 business collaboration community peter+kim e20 socialmedia)

I like Yakob’s slide set below and some of the points he makes in his blog post on the  hype and chatter surrounding social media, particularly this one aimed at brands.

So, looking at a short term ROI when assessing the value of social media is antithetical to the emerging reputation and gift economy that operates there. You need to take a longer- term view. Brands need to pay it forward in social spaces.

Be Nice Or Leave

View more documents from Faris Yakob.