The new GAP logo, was it all just a cunning viral marketing ploy?

Ever since GAP quietly introduced their new logo to the company’s web site for the first time on Monday morning, critics have been quick to voice their dislike of the new design, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites have been literally buzzing with reactions.

One Twitter user has even created a site where you can ‘make your own Gap logo,’ which is already making its rounds on the web (users have already created close to 5000 logos of their own).

But is the new logo just a clever move by Gap to spin some of the public outrage into a self-deprecating defence of its unpopular change? I definitely smelled a rat, a brand as strong as Gap doesn’t just release their logo without thought, warning, or a plan of action. Surely all their employees, stores, and partners would have had to been notified months in advance?

In response to the backlash Gap offered the following “Well, can you do any better?” response on its Facebook page:
So was it Gap’s original plan to crowdsource the project or more of a reactionary coping strategy than a well-laid marketing plan?

Either way, as a marketing strategy it has certainly done it's job. People who might not have shopped in GAP's stores, looked at their website or even thought about the design of it's previous logo are now talking about the GAP brand. It's a brilliant idea to keep the news fresh in peoples minds, and to engage them in your brand. You even have to 'Like' the GAP facebook page to leave a comment and I'm writing a blog about it now...genius!

Getting Social with Virgin Media

If Twitter can make mainstream headlines, is there a place for it inside organisations? Virgin Media thinks there is, and have used Twitter to increased collaboration and engagement at their company.

Collaboration is fundamental to employee engagement in organisations today where relationships have changed; hierarchies are disappearing; knowledge is more in demand; and individuals expect employers to provide tools that allow them to communicate freely.

Technology makes it possible for employees to connect and communicate easily and quickly across functions, hierarchies, divisions and countries. This sharing of ideas, opinions and knowledge generates incredibly valuable information, vital for informed strategic decision making and, ultimately, business survival.

“Getting social” is a hot topic at Virgin Media – here's how they transformed the way they communicate and collaborate internally using social media tools and techniques.

1. Intranet - This is the main online channel used internally to communicate.
2. The Grill - This is a live online web chat, 'grilling' someone within the business. Anyone in the business can ask the individual getting 'grilled' questions, and it is a great way to get views and opinions aired and shared within the business. It is filmed and recorded for the archive.
3. Forums - These are similar to the intranet, but sit separately within the structure. Although nervous initially regarding the time it would take to manage them, the forums actually self manage themselves and have needed very little moderation. They have proved effective because they invoke different responses from different people across the business.
4. Wikis - These are information wiki's across the business. They have grown into their own micro communities, as individual sections of the business build up their own 'local' knowledge communities. These engage people differently, because they are reliant on colleagues working together to populate them with information.
5. Twitter -With over 100 offices across the UK, Twitter has enabled connections at Virgin that wouldn’t have happened before. It has opened doors for people needing answers and support on a whole variety of topics – from IT support, to finding solutions to customer problems, to tips on where to get the best beer for those travelling to other offices. They have a 'locked account' (they simply protect their tweets) that currently has 430+ people (otherwise known as “Twits”) in their online community. employees join in on everything from twitpic caption competitions to sending out top tips, (“toptwips”) to help their community keep up with the latest developments on Twitter and other social media tools.
6. Blogs - They currently have 25 blogs being written within the organisation on a wide range of subjects. They actively encourage anyone to blog and share them within the Virgin Media network.

Virgin believe there have been five real benefits from using the multitude of channels as part of their communication strategy:

• Real-time feedback on real-time communications
• Social media has revolutionised the way they are able to reach out to diverse cultures across different geographical boundaries, and link many of them together, by giving them different channels to do this.
• It has helped them move away from just being an information 'top-down' company, by instigating all these 'bottom-up' communication channels. All employees now have a voice.
• The employees can choose which way they communicate with other employees, and how they share information with each other.
• Their employees are now taking responsible for their own communications and information which they are sharing with one another. They are not waiting for Virgin Media to 'tell them something' they are now using colleagues on the network to help instead.

Have your say

Would you consider using Twitter internally to help employees collaborate and communicate? Why or why not? Virgin as a brand is young and innovative, and the corporate culture encourages experimentation of new technologies, but how would you convince leaders of a more conservative organisation to allow employees to try something like Twitter? Let us know your thoughts below!

Next Week: 10 top tips on how to begin to incorporate social media platforms into your communication strategy.

Don’t Tweet That! 10 tweets that will get you into hot water...

Leading on from my last blogs look at the Nestle Facebook disaster, I thought I’d follow up with a few words about one of its biggest rivals, the mighty Twitter.

Time and time again people have posted things to their corporate Twitter feed that has really blown up in their face and surprisingly, the big corporate machines have been just as guilty of this as the rest of us. So I've rustled up a few tips to help you stop your tweets turning into 140 character time bombs that explode into twittersphere.

In all honesty, I look at Twitter in the same way that I look at other sources of written communication - books, blogs, magazines, websites, social networking - they all have a purpose and can be used effectively but each presents it's own dangers as well. This is a huge challenge for companies.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter can definitely add value to any business that uses it well. It is a great way to reinforce your brand, share news and important information, gather feedback, advertise and most importantly, start a dialogue with your customers and prospects – and the only cost is the time of the people involved with managing your Twitter account.

But it's surprising just how many organisations don’t use them effectively and there are some who don’t even seem to think before they tweet. Surely, before you’re going to say something publicly that will reflect on your company or brand, you should take just a split second to think about what you’re posting? I know the first thing that pops into my head isn’t always something that I’d want to broadcast!

Here’s a little list I pulled together for corporate tweeters:

The Definitely Do Not Tweet List!

1. Don’t just use twitter as an advertising medium – it doesn’t work that way. Twitter is designed for relationship building. The most successful corporate accounts provide insights and value to the general listener.

2. Don’t complain about your colleagues or clients on Twitter. If they don’t read it someone else will tell them about it, trust me, it will get back to them!

3. Don’t get defensive about negative criticism of your company or it’s services, use the opportunity to show those listening that you care about what they think and try to resolve any issues they have.

4. Don’t post about any confidential company affairs or finances. This can get your company in a lot of trouble and will almost definitely leave you without a job.

5. Don’t publicise any private issues or jeopardise the company’s working relationships.

6. Don't #hashtag every topic. After a while, your topics will just be ignored and you will be un-followed.

7. Don't tweet about any issues you have with a co - worker or your employer or anyone else for that matter – try talking to them about it! This just makes both you and your company look really unprofessional (not to mention a tad passive aggressive!) not such a good look.

8. Don't tweet your eating habits. Seriously. Just don't do it.

9. Don’t think having an anonymous account or user profile makes any of the above okay.

And Finally...

10. Don't use completely unrelated hot topics or events solely as a PR opportunity to further your own name and social media rank and position, people will see straight through it.

To illustrate this last point, I leave you with this example, posted by the official Google Maps API twitter account, just after the news broke about the death of the ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson. It's a pretty insensitive attempt to use some completely unrelated news to attract people to their website, which they have since deleted:

Tune Up Your Social Media Talent

Last Year, 11.8 million people tuned in to watch “Britain’s Got Talent” when the now infamous 'SuBo' made her screen debut . But in just a few days, the video of that same show on YouTube had generated more than 80 million views. That’s TV 11.8 million, YouTube 80 million. Anyone who grew up with television as the quintessential mass medium may need to take a moment just to absorb that fundamental shift.

2009 was a banner year for social media. Fuelled in large part by the impressive growth of Twitter and LinkedIn and the adoption of both by major brands and recognisable individuals, it's safe to say that social media truly went 'mainstream'. And more and more people have a nagging suspicion that things like Susan’s YouTube video are stark examples that social media tools really are changing the way that we communicate.

Through social media tools, a business can stay connected to a larger number of contacts and the networks they belong to, have access to the information and opportunities in those networks, and do it better and faster. Social Media Marketing provides businesses with a powerful tool that doesn’t need an overwhelming amount of complexity to be useful.

Here are five tips for companies looking to take their social media efforts to the next level in 2010.

1. Start small. It is best to start your Social Media transformation slowly. Let the change take its course without forcing it. If your company has several brands and products, pick one and start from there. Use this as the stepping stone for the Social Media transformation in your company. You can only change so much inside your organisation, so choose your battles wisely.

2. Find the right people to handle the transformation. You need sufficient manpower to successfully prepare your organisation for embracing Social Media. You need to find the right people to handle this endeavor, otherwise it will inevitably fail; the people behind this effort should be passionate - passionate and enthusiastic about building a relationship with your customers and your target market. Do not delegate this task to the person with the least responsibilities. This job needs specialisation and passion, not just free time.

3. Sync the technology. Your marketing or PR people should have the right resources in order to turn your plans into reality. Otherwise, find a new agency. Your agency should be able to understand Social Media, because only then will your efforts become successful.

4. Set and follow goals. You should have set goals as soon as you signed up for your Twitter and other social media accounts. In fact you should have had goals before you even signed up for your first social network account. Having goals will allow you to use social media effectively because you have a guide.

5. Don’t obsessively count fans and followers. It’s not the quantity of followers you have, it is the quality of followers that really matter when using social media for business. Stop obsessing about the number of followers you have and instead focus on really developing a strong community around your brand.

6. Commit to the whole thing. Using social media for business requires time and commitment. Make sure you really commit to updating your social media accounts. Some individuals and companies start a Twitter account and then abandon it without full understanding how it can really help them. You might encounter some problems or troubles as you go along but just keep going. There is no perfect social network and you just have to keep working on what you started to get the best results.

7. Check out the competition. Social media will provide you with opportunities to learn more about your competitors as well as your industry.

8. Plan for the long term. Granted that your initial efforts worked, where will you take it? At the beginning, you should start small, but you should plan big in case your plans do work. Your plans should go beyond making Social Media part of your organisation; instead, your plans have to be long term—and everyone in your organisation should be prepared. Using Social Media means putting a premium on the role of the customers in your organisation. This can be daunting and unsettling, so proper planning is required.

Brrism #3: Who Are You?

The Lowdown

On Wednesday evening, I had the privilege to attend the third #Brrism (“it’s Brrizzle for Social Media”) at Pervasive Media Studio with a bunch of likeminds and social media folk, from various organisations and backgrounds.

Mostly creatives of some sort, the group of about 25 were a colourful collection of writers, bloggers, trainers, designers, social media geeks, photographers and more. Many were just getting started with Twitter and Linkedin, and others had been with “social media” since its conception in the late 90s.

Facilitator Michael Corbett (@KobB) hosted the first Brrism in August this year as a social media meet-up based on a central theme (with a few ideas for breaking the ice and networking) where attendees could then self-organise during the meeting and discuss related topics of interest.


The Hoedown

Wednesday’s meeting was based on the theme of identity and how one presents oneself online, and therefore began with a “Who Are You? Hoedown” designed to break the ice and get everyone talking about what they do. All participants had a name badge complete with organisation and self-appointed tagline, with the idea being that if people could correctly guess your job, then your tagline was therefore an accurate representation of yourself.

I carried “Jack of all trades – master of fun!” – Based more on myself as an individual, than the organisation I work for. (Although that’s pretty fun too).

After this initial icebreaker, we then formed groups to discuss several topics offered by members of the group. My group for example was “Google Wave; is it just a massive timesuck?” Of course, these topics were quickly strayed from, but resulted in equally interesting debates.


The Slowdown

The group then reformed as one, and discussed some of the behind the scenes action of Brrism and where to find information on events.


After a brief tidy-up session (Pervasive Media Studio kindly provides the space to Michael and Brrism for free), the majority decamped to The Watershed and continued discussing the event.

Brrism was an excellent opportunity to meet fellow social media aficionados and discuss everything from post-apocalyptic fiction, to older generations using Twitter (case in point: @ivybean104).

For more info on Brrism, visit the blog or the wiki and follow Michael Corbett on Twitter. You can also follow the #Brrism hashtag on Twitter. And hope to see you at the next one!

Brizzly Beta: Brilliant

We received a beta invitation code to Brizzly last week and thought we’d give it a go. Not just for social media research reasons, but because we felt compelled to, given our location in the South West of England…

Brizzly is a web-based Twitter client similar to Hootsuite (our current Twitter client), but dedicates a lot more screen area to your Twitter Home Feed, and pushes groups (Direct Message Inbox, and Sent Messages etc.) to the left bar, with Trending Topics and pop-up Direct Message events on the right.



Obviously, as it’s still in Beta, there are a few creases to iron out, but on the whole it’s pretty streamlined with some good features.

So let’s have a look:

Features

• Trending Topics (TT’s) - are editable and updateable in real-time, meaning you can click on a TT and change the description yourself, and then watch for updates from others. It works on the “Wikipedia principle” and as a result, remains largely accurate. If Brizzly admin feel it’s getting out of control, then a lock will occasionally appear preventing further editing.


• Media embedding – when anyone posts an image or video (typically on Twitpic and YouTube), they appear embedded below the Tweet so that visiting the link to see the content is no longer necessary. (Unless of course you want to leave a comment on it.) This is a great feature for us, though sometimes it can be a little tricky if someone has uploaded media NSFW (Not Suitable For Work)...
  
  

Image courtesy of @FirstDigg

• Accessible ReTweeting – For anyone with Hootsuite, or other client, then this is already old-hat, however, if you are still using Twitter, this will be invaluable. Below any Tweet are the options to “Reply”, “Retweet” or “Favourite”, so you don’t have to copy and paste to ReTweet, or write your recipient by hand for a reply.


• Groups – If you have lots of followers Tweeting about different subjects, you can add them into a group and view them one at a time.


• Real-time updating – Again, you’ll be impressed if you currently just use Twitter. Brizzly updates whenever you are “idle” i.e. not watching a video, typing a message or browsing Tweets.


• Multiple accounts – Manage more than one Twitter account from tabs at the top of the Brizzly interface.


• Link-shortening and lengthening – Brizzly will automatically shorten links from your submit box when posting a Tweet, and will automatically lengthen them in the home feed if there is enough space.

We're impressed with the way these all work together to make a great Twitter experience. It certainly saves us time when Tweeting and makes it easy to read other's Tweets. And we've yet to miss a Tweet thanks to a yellow box that appears around new ones.

In case the Brizzly team are reading, we’d like to suggest a few features that we’d like to see, and no doubt some of these are in the pipeline anyway.


Improvements

• A follower list – This is where Hootsuite also falls down for us, as we have to follow-back new followers by opening Twitter itself. It’s not possible to do so in Brizzly or Hootsuite at present. Seeing as this is one of the most important things you’d want to do, we’d expect to see it here.


• Scheduled Tweets - One of the best things about Hootsuite is that you can schedule a Tweet for a later time and date. We'd like to see the ability to do this in Brizzly.
  


• A choice of accounts to ReTweet from. On occasion we find a great Tweet on our home feed, but would prefer it to be Tweeted from another one of our accounts. This can only be done by copying the Tweet in question and memorising their account name, then changing accounts with the avatars and then pasting. Unless your accounts both follow the person in question, and even then, it’s a case of scrolling down and finding their Tweet.

• Different colour backgrounds for each of your profiles, or the ability to add a custom image background. When you scroll part-way down the page, the avatars are no longer visible and it’s possible to forget which account you are in, and post a Tweet from the wrong one by accident.

• Fixed end columns – At the moment, the left and right columns only stay in place as you scroll, if there is a DM visible on the right. If you close the DM, the bars then scroll with the Tweets and disappear off the top of the screen. In Firefox 3.5.2 anyway…

• Instant updating of new DM’s – This works most of the time, as you will see a DM pop-up from time to time. However, sometimes a log-out and re-login is required to see new ones.

• A list for adding followers to groups – At present, you can add followers to a group by creating a new one, and typing in the follower’s name. Admittedly, a drop-down does appear when you type a letter, but this is slightly flawed, as some followers do not appear. What we’d like to see is a grid of followers in alphabetical order, or a scrollable list in addition to the drop-down box to make choosing followers easier.

As we’ve mentioned, it’s still very much at the Beta stage, so we’re giving it a fair trial for the next few weeks. So far impressions are great, and with some improvements it could well be the Twitter client of choice.

If you’d like an invitation to Brizzly, just follow us on Twitter @sticky_media, and send us a DM with your email address, or leave us a comment below. We’ve got 10 invites to give away.

Brizzly have changed the way codes are given out, and now we can only send invites to an email address rather than provide a link with a code. We hate spam as much as you do, and will never send you anything you don't want.

Are you measuring Social Media ROI? 84% of professionals aren’t.

Now that Social Media has established a place in our society and has proven to be a “fundamental shift in the way we communicate” and not just a passing fad, the inevitable question has been asked…


How do you measure Social Media ROI?

Whilst many businesses have embraced the power of social media for marketing by conversing and listening to followers, just as many businesses have shied away from the concept, at least for the time being.

According to Equation Research’s “2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report”, 37% of brand marketers claimed that “there is no established way to measure effectiveness”. And 37% responded that they didn’t know enough about Social Media to begin using it.


Even more interesting then, is the statistic claiming only 16% of professionals worldwide currently measure the ROI of their Social Media marketing.

Luckily, help is starting to emerge on how to measure ROI in this new arena. (And advice on not measuring here… and here)


Check out our quick list of resources:

• Mashable - How to Measure Social Media ROI for Business
• ComputerWorld – What’s Your Twitter ROI? How to measure social media payoff
• BtoB – You CAN measure social media ROI
• And Interactive Insights Group – ROI Superlist

Have you found any more great resources, or have any tips for professionals? Should the question be "WHY measure social media ROI?" Comment below...

"New Scottish Time" - Hoax? Or legitimate finding?

News has broken on the interwebs of a possible geographical miscalculation from back when time zones were designated, meaning most of our clocks are out by 20 minutes.

Read the PR release here: http://www.prlog.org/10312906-edinburgh-researcher-discovers-time-is-more-relative-than-we-thought.html

Right now, social networks are all a-Twitter with the story and the hashtag "#watson24hour", the Twitter page of Mark Watson's 24 Web Show. #stephenfry is also credited with early posts: "The source for new information on time appears to be #watson24hour" (3 Hours Ago) and "Can it be that it's 20 mins earlier than we thought it was? That GMT has to be recalculated in light of new evidence? So I'm hearing..." (4 Hours Ago).

So far, the claim has not been verified as legitimate, and even Wikipedia is maintaining a page on "New Scottish Time" as marked for "speedy deletion" if it turns out to be a "blatent and obvious hoax".

Sticky Media will continue to keep its collective ears to the social media wall.


[Update] Further to our thoughts of a hoax, anyone digging to Mark Watson's 24 Show, will find the following posts and a reference to the tasks page -

By: admin
Posted: 18 Aug 2009 12:24 UTC

The show has begun! Welcome to all.

We are currently deciding what to do about the fact that the show started 20 minutes late.

By: admin
Posted: 18 Aug 2009 01:42 UTC

We have decided to change the world's reference time zone to New Scottish Time. This time is 20 minutes behind the current reference time, GMT. See the tasks page for more information.

A hoax after all. But a clever one at that. We're off to catch up 20 minutes of work.

Is Social Media a fad? - Social Media Revolution [Video]

Check out this brilliant vid about the growth of social media and comparisons with traditional media:



The guy behind the video, Erik Qualman can be found at Socialnomics.net, and followed on Twitter @Equalman.

Also, see the similiarly styled "Web 2.0 - The Machine is Us/ing Us", a popular video from 2007.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

So it’s Friday afternoon and that means that my first week at Sticky Media Group is nearly over. I’ve written some Blog posts, critiqued a few websites and pondered over more social media than you can shake a creative stick at.

In between scribbling on sticky notes and working out how to record a voicemail message, I’ve been busy finding great addons and apps for social media platforms. So, allow me to share a few of the good ones with you so I can feel warm and fuzzy.

Apps for Twitter

There’s a whole host of apps and add-ons out there for improving the way you use social media, including connecting your accounts on Linkedin and Twitter using TwitterFeed, right through to saving your Tweets for a later time using TweetLater, and TwitRobot.



If it’s trends and hot topics that capture your attention, try Twist to see the latest Tweets on news subjects. Twitter’s own “Trending Topics” is also a great spot.

Useful Tools

We all know fitting links into 140 characters requires a bit of creativity, namely using URL shorteners like Tr.im and Bit.ly, but now try StumbleUpon’s latest offering: Su.pr. This one allows you to increase your web visibility on StumbleUpon and allows viewing of shortened links in the Stumble bar.

And finally, something almost completely unrelated that amused me today: Twitter Pigeon.

Have a good weekend, and let me know your most useful social media apps and websites in the comments below.

5 Tips On Recruiting The Perfect Person Using Social Media and 5 Tips On Getting The Perfect Job Through Social Media

Afternoon readers. As you may be aware, there’s a recession going on. And in the true spirit of money-saving, many companies are turning to advertising for free on social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin to name a few) to save those all-important pennies.

This growing social media phenomenon can work to your advantage whether you’re a recruiter, a job-seeker, or simply using Twitter or Linkedin for your business.

Have a look at our handy tips below:

1. If you’re a recruiter, create a Twitter profile, a Linkedin Profile and Group, a blog, and a Facebook Page for your company. This way you can reach a massive user base of potential recruits. We’re going to assume you already have a website!

2. If you already have said profiles, are you using them effectively? Keep your tweets around 100 characters so that your followers can RT (Retweet) your posts to their contacts with more info if necessary. Make sure you are including the link to the advertised job as a shortened URL so it takes up less of your 140 characters. You can use a variety of websites for this. We recommend bit.ly, as it comes with free tracking stats so you can see how many people have viewed your job posting. Keep your Tweets, Facebook updates, and Linkedin statuses concise, clear and refer users to more information on your website.

3. Cross-pollinate your posts on all of your social media profiles and blog. Posting on all of those may sound like a lot of work, but it’s easy to post your update on Twitter, and then connect it to your Facebook and Linkedin profiles and your blog, saving you time and effort. Check out TwitterFeed for connecting everything together using RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication).

4. Add connections from Twitter, Facebook, jobseekers on Monster etc., and then go one step further by being a little more creative… Search Twitter’s “Trending Topics” for keywords like “job-hunting” and “unemployed” and add people who are in the market for a new job.

5. Of course, it’s easier to get followers (connections, friends and readers) to come to you, rather than hunt them down yourself, but this will happen naturally once you have a solid enough follower-base, and as users find your status updates, tweets and posts through other people they subscribe to. Don’t forget to keep marketing your profiles using your websites, business cards, and company documentation.

And for the job-hunters?

1. Follow recruitment companies such as @MonsterCareers, and @UKHub (and have a look at their blog) on Twitter for up-to-the-minute job Tweets, and register on their main sites too. @NickWalrond also provides great links to articles on CVs, Professional Networking and other interesting career and business info. Also, check out TwitterJobSearch. This great tool uses Twitter to find job posts.

2. Get on Linkedin to find job postings in your area and use the search facility to find the kind of companies you are interested in. Don’t forget to build up your Linkedin profile and seek a few ‘recommendations’ from old bosses to make you gold dust to employers. On the same token, make sure you have an up-to-date and proofread CV.

3. If you have a blog, write about what kind of job you are looking for, and similarly keep followers, friends and connections in the know about what you are doing and what jobs you are trying to find. Chances are one of your contacts will know someone who knows someone and will get in touch.

4. On a similar note, subscribe to the Blogs of companies you’d like to work for and you’ll be one of the first to know whenever a job is advertised.

5. Whilst Facebook is used more for keeping in touch, job postings are put on the Marketplace fairly often depending on your location and you never know when you might find something promising there.

For more great tips and info, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to our Blog. And whether you are recruiting or jobseeking, let us know how you get on in the comments below.

In other news, the UK Government has launched a 20-page guide to Twitter today encouraging MPs to start using the service to keep citizens informed. [Source: http://bit.ly/kFzP2]

Someone’s got the right idea eh?


Posted by Ady Harold - Web Marketing Manager

If you would like to get in touch with Sticky Media Group please visit our web site for contact information and further details on our web services.