Google’s chief business officer Nikesh Arora also this week claimed the company did not see Google+ as simply a social network: ‘It is a platform which allows us to bring social elements into all the services and products that we offer. So you have seen YouTube come into Google+; you’ve seen Google+ with ‘direct connect’ go into our search business,’ he told the Telegraph.

‘We are trying to make sure we use social signals across all of our products… It’s not just about getting people together on one site and calling it a social network.’

Visualising Return On Influence (ROIn):

Allowing brands to easily visualise where, when and how their content is being shared enables companies to highlight key social influencers in their network. Unlocking powerful Return On Influence (ROIn) this means brands cam begin to monetise social media, one of the greatest challenges in the social media marketing sphere.

We take a quick run through the four key improvements for brand pages and what these will mean for your business.

1. Post Editing – Even the most diligent community manager has posted a typo or wrong information. Yes, it should never happen but it does. On Google+ brand pages added an edit function much to the rejoice of community managers.

2. Segmenting Likers – Large communities are diverse things. Among thousands of Followers/Likers, there is a wide array of interest. Google+ allows you to segment your community so that your posts are as relevant as possible.

3. Hangout with your Fans – Face-to-face connections are about as close a connection you can make with people when online. The Hangouts function gives community managers an excellent way to make a deep connection with their community. Expect to see weekly hangouts where members and managers meet and discuss how to improve the community.

4. Frozen Photo Strip – This one is a simple shift. In Facebook, the photo stream moves around. You can’t designate an order to them and it drives some people nuts. Google made them static. It’s a small change that can really add to the branding and image of a page.

Google+ Niggles and No-gos:

Despite the changes there are  still, some would say, shortfalls of the service. Apart from specific developer niggles we explain what Google+ currently cannot do:

1. Places – Considering the strength of Google Maps and in light of big scope for location based searches, you would assume that Google would implement to easily silence Facebook comparison critics.

2. Ownership of brand pages – Considering many people may be working on a page at any one time, still only one person can “own” or “post to” an account. There’s no way for a social media team, or a customer service team, to split up duties or on the other hand identify who is posting to the account. Google, take heed and creating a hierarchy of logins with certain privileges, please as trusting the sacred Google password to an entire social media team may just be too much for developers to bear.

3. Brand circles – Some argue Google have missed a trick not tackling the brand page as an alternative implementation of Circles, to combat irrelevant content for users. Rather than adding a brand to one of your circles, there was a suggestion that you would add yourself to one or many of a company’s circles that you found relevant.

The use of Direct Connect may overcome this. Tying Google search and Google+ pages together, Direct Connect allows users to easily find brands and pages they want to follow. Simply by adding ‘+’ to the front of the keyword in the search bar, companies can direct traffic to their Google+ brand page, which also helps the index of  your brand raising  it within search rankings as a result.

The verdict?

If brands are going to create a presence for themselves on Google+ they should claim their brand page ASAP. Owning a brand page can not only help elevate results in Google search, but by creating a unique page using the scrapbook icons – fixable, thereby avoiding Facebook’s pesky floating problem – A mention of your brand page from these key figures will and you’ll gain traction with influential bloggers and opinion leaders for true value amongst early adopters.

Google+’s main feat for brands, pitching themselves way ahead of Facebook, is the ability to track leaders of influence and points at which content or topics sparked discussion, via timelines. Utilising the services provided, brands should view Google+ as a professional platform as a thinking man’s Facebook or LinkedIn on dress-down Friday. Only by understanding how Google+ works will brands be able to create true value from  the platform.

A quick read of the free commuter newspaper I read yesterday morning mentioned Lufthansa complaint lines that don’t work, rude Eurostar staff, empty British Airways information desks and a general feeling of despair at BAA’s Heathrow airport. Last night as I feel asleep, BBC news informed me of a disastrous Southeastern train journey which took 6 hours to get from London to Kent and left 100 people stuck until 3am. The fact I still remember these details hours later is a sign that I will be less trusting of those brands and firms next time I may need to use them.

Passengers at Heathrow

In this day and age there is no longer any excuse for not having an information feed direct from your organisation, unless you really are involved in a government cover-up.

Websites, email, SMS, Twitter, Facebook… the list of possible contact points for many of those helpless, stranded, weather victims is now almost unbelievable, yet it seems as if the snow has paralysed not only the roads outside but also the information highway.

The funny thing is, a clear, honest, up to date online news feed could also very easily be used by those self-same evasive members of staff who never seem to know what’s going on in the organisations they work for. Can you imagine BA staff showing users how to follow the Twitter feed for all the London-New York flights, to get free SMS updates? In one fell swoop you would clear a vast chunk of constant questions while leaving staff free to help those who were not just asking the same 50 or so FAQs. Not only that, but good brand sentiment travels just as fast as bad – as BA travellers at airports, homes and offices around the world tell their peers they are being kept up to date via BA Twitter for all their enquiries. This would generate long-tail conversions to the BA brand, as next time they think of booking a ticket they would remember the good things they heard about BA last time.

It’s easy to be communicative when you have something to sell or something to crow about. But if you really want to help your customers, build relationships with them and keep them loyal, then why not try being more communicative when you have a problem?

As the industry matures and becomes increasingly sophisticated, guidelines are key to protect both consumers and marketers and to make sure that everything is open and transparent. Long-term, industry self-regulation is vital in order to negate the need for legislative solutions driven by political expediency.

Both in the US and now in the UK, WOMMA have defined a Code of Ethics and a set of Standards of Conduct in order to set an initial framework through which this self-regulation can take place. Much of this framework is common sense, such as the rules involving advertising to minors. A core element of the Standards however, revolves around disclosure of either identity, relationships or compensation. In short, marketers are expected to ensure that any online contacts they use for promotional purposes are honest and up front about who they are, how they are connected and how they have benefited. Examples of this could be a blogger who had received items to review or who had been given free items as promotional competition prizes.

It makes sense that the onus should lie with marketers themselves to regulate their contacts and activities – much as they would clear any other element of a campaign. Equally, key advocates and influencers shouldn’t really have a reason not to be open about being brand ambassadors. However, WOMMA are clear that the purpose of the Standards is not to stifle editorial opinion but rather to make it obvious to consumers when bloggers have a connection to brands or agencies. There is no reason why disclosure should be either complicated or obstructive: it could be as easy as saying: “I was sent this by X”.

During the seminar some of the discussion talked about the idea that in the near future blogs could include a standard “disclosure and relationships” section which clarifies how they work and what marketing they are connected to. Further debate centred around how marketing messages on Twitter could be identified with hash tags such as #ad and #spon (for advert and sponsored respectively).

WOMMA’s work is very much a work in progress so far, but it’s important for the industry to have both a position to debate and a set of guiding principles to aim towards. It’s also a good indicator of a firm’s reliability – after all, if all things are equal, wouldn’t you rather work with a company which has signed up to an industry wide set of ethical guidelines, rather than a company which has no position at all?

The WOMMA Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct can be found at http://www.womma.org/ethics/code.

If you would like to have an informal chat to Benn about ethical Social CRM or WOMMA UK and the work they carry out, contact him here: http://www.neoco.com/benn.

At first, social media tended to be lumped in with any other online or digital activity carried out by external agencies. As it gained momentum some agencies (including Neoco) began to specialise and to develop strategies and tools in order to best use these new methods of communication and to track and measure results. Gradually social media evolved into Social CRM as both brands and customers began to directly engage through these new two-way channels.

Unfortunately, as the tools have become more commonplace and the activity has become more familiar, so the work carried out by the specialists in social media has become devalued. Some firms are now choosing to move their social marketing fully in-house in reaction to budget cuts and a false sense of understanding – precisely because these tools are so widely used. A basic assumption is made that just because it’s easy to register and use sites such as Facebook and Twitter it’s easy to manage a brand’s social strategy. However, this is where the problems tend to begin. Firstly, in the majority of cases social is left in the hands of the marketing team’s most junior exec. There is a false sense of belief that the younger the person is, the more ‘in touch’ they are with all things Facebook. This makes no sense as the most inexperienced person is by definition most likely to make a mistake and in social media, that mistake could be broadcast globally within minutes.

The next common mistake is to launch into social media without any sort of long-term strategy or agenda. Without a defined goal it is impossible to put in place KPIs or other means to measure success or failure along the way. With no way to tell if anything is actually working, brands often become too tactical and forget the two-way nature of social in favour of trying to steer or control the conversation. In addition, the lack of planning often means that companies have not thought about the tone they want to adopt or set out clear guidelines for how they interact online. Online communities quickly see through brands which are trying too hard or don’t engage honestly with users and this can soon lead to further problems.

Once things do go wrong, in-house teams are often left floundering, unequipped to deal with the wide new range of potential conflicts and issues. This is the point at which the prior lack of planning can be devastating and brands can find themselves reacting overly strongly to the slightest perceived threat or criticism. Naturally this tends to make situations worse and minor mistakes can quickly escalate.

This isn’t to say that in-house teams don’t have a role to play – of course they do. They have the knowledge and the long-term planning for the brand which is key to making any strategic decisions. Social CRM is a specialised field though, and it’s important to recognise that outside experience is required to make it work and to avoid the pitfalls. It’s also important to understand that it is a continuous process building relationships and not a one-off plan to get more contacts.

At Neoco we help our clients define their Social CRM strategies right from the beginning. We help them at the initial stages of high-level planning and thinking to make sure that they are clear about their online goals and how to achieve them. Once these goals are in place we help the client to find an appropriate tone of voice and to set out the brand guidelines which will determine how and what to respond to. We can also help to train in-house resources so that moderation can be carried out by the client directly. We make sure that content is relevant and up to date to help foster two-way communications and we help to create special online activities which will keep customers engaged. Finally we track and measure the results, making sure that the client’s goal is reached and making changes where necessary. When this is over… we start again, looking at the results from the previous campaign and setting new Social CRM goals and targets. As campaigns evolve, so do client relationships with their customers, but this can only be truly achieved with the correct skills and knowledge.

A free iPhone App offers a map of all the spots across town and an augmented view to help people find spots near them. The campaign brings London’s rich history to life through a simple experiential event.

So far so good… I obviously had to check out the website www.youarehere.com. First impressions where really disappointing and the online element just didn’t achieve the same level of engagement as the rest of the campaign. From a design perspective the ‘page’ is cluttered and content hierarchy is unclear. I was expecting a whole microsite around the campaign with more photos and content – maybe real stories from people associated with each photo. In fact it’s just a poor landing page – they may as well had not pushed the URL on all the posters as heavily. It’s a shame because there is a really big opportunity to add a further level of engagement online through user interaction and social media. I’d have liked to have seen an online platform for discussion and information exchange – helping to paint an even richer background to each of the spots and events, from local peoples knowledge.

I just wish the online element was stronger, or even just more clearly sign-posted. Don’t get me wrong the iPhone App is simple and fun, but trying to find it in the App store was difficult. Maybe I was having a stupid moment! I tried searching for ‘Museum of London’ first – nothing. Then ‘You are here’ – nothing again! Finally I realised the small print on the landing page which read “Just search for Streetmuseum on iTunes”. OK I downloaded it but this third campaign title was a little hidden and why they couldn’t highlight the App name more if it was so different (especially on the posters), or even hyperlink to the iTunes store (like I have).

Overall it’s a real shame because the thinking behind the idea is beautiful, the offline execution is done brilliantly, and the iPhone itself is good fun. In summary ‘must try harder next time’.

Understanding online

What are your thoughts on Benn’s idea’s?

Barack Obama and his support

The digital agency behind Barak Obama’s online election campaign, Blue State Digital, has been appointed by the Communication Workers Union to help it in the fight against the privatisation of Royal Mail.

Blue State Digital is developing campaign elements that it hopes will help persuade the government to reverse its plans to partially privatise the public company.

A spokesman for the CWU confirmed that the agency have been tasked to use tools that will “drive the protest message quickly and effectively”.

The agency, which is hoping to woo the Labour Party and win its digital business, will be running online petitions and developing a social networking strategy.

The CWU is also looking to build its email database.

Blue State Digital’s appointment comes as another player enters the bid to buy a 30% stake in the beleaguered publicly owned postal company.

De Post La Poste, a Belgian private equity backed postal group, will now make a bid alongside buyout firm CVC Capital Partners.

Dutch postal company TNT and DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post, are also in the running for the 30 per cent share.

The government’s plans, which are being overseen by business secretary Lord Mandelson, to sell the stake off to the private sector have been met with heavy criticism.

Workers, trade unions as many as 100 Labour backbenchers have all condemned the move.

Yesterday, in an interview with The Observer, business secretary Lord Mandelson accused the CWU of using “scare tactics” that could cost workers their pensions and their jobs. Mandelson said that the strength of opposition will not prompt the government to back-track on its sell-off plans.

Hmm. I wonder if we should push the Buy British angle and encourage them to get their digital marketing through Neoco?

(creds to Brand Republic)

The recruitment agents weapon of choice

I’d like to think that I am nice enough, eloquent enough, and straight talking enough to always get my point across. I can in most cases deal with people well and I like to think that I can strike up a good rapport with them should I choose to do so. Now, obviously, the work place is an environment where one must try to be a) as informative b) as polite c) as honest as possible and for the most part this comes naturally. That is until recruitment agent’s call. Have you ever been in the situation where you are asked a question and you politely respond, only to be asked the same question again about 10 minutes later?

Don’t get me wrong some agents I love and they are on my list of lovelies, others are quite nice as I can say no thank you, I have a PSL that I’m happy with, and they get the message and call it a day, filing me forever more under no point in trying so don’t bother (YAY). Others however, and this is the big companies I’m talking about, decide to get every single member of every feasible team in the agency to call me at 10 second intervals to offer me all sorts of candidates, mostly IT (don’t get me started on that one, as when on earth was a digital marketing agency and IT company the same thing), and they keep going until I am frankly looking for their address on the web, some sort of weapon, and dialling for a cab to come over and recreating a scene from the film ‘falling down’.

This is such a regular occurrence that it poses the question what are my rights? If this was a stranger calling me at home, or an ex calling me over and over this would be harassment and I could take out an injunction. I have called back numerous times asking to be removed from databases only to be called or email again about 2 months later. I have been told that if these people are contacting me on behalf of a company then I literally have no way of stopping them other than being incredibly rude and frankly why should I have to be.

It is not only unbelievably annoying but it is such a waste of our time, as the poor receptionist has to make polite excuses all day and I still get emailed and have to respond.

We are a small but perfectly formed agency and therefore our recruitment needs are NEVER going to be huge and if they were I am certainly not going to be brow beaten into dealing with a supplier. Instead of investing time in sorting through endless, pushy agencies, Neoco has invested in building a ‘friends and family’ network so we can fulfil our needs from a relevant and reliable pool of skilled people, many of whom have come through our really popular, year round internship programme.

I appreciate that you have targets but unless you want to be one of mine, please please please do yourself a favour and think twice before you call me. My lovelies know who they are, so if your not sure then chances are you aren’t – so please call it a day.

IAB Engage 2008

This year’s IAB Engage Conference was yet again packed with impressive speakers. Digital Marketing professionals and advertisers came together on Wednesday to discuss issues from piracy to measuring engagement, from integration of TV and online advertising to the extreme possibilities of the future – we’ll be sending our robots to shop for us within ten year apparently, and our dreams will soon be infiltrated by product placement via our personal contact lens screens!!

The Keynote speakers, Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang and Rt. Hon Andy Burnham MP, were less controversial and engaging than some of the others guests but their presence was a testament to the high profile of the event. A real highlight was a presentation by Orange brand director Justin Billingsley who certainly made the case for making digital the starting point for any marketing effort.

As impressive as Orange’s campaigns are, it is clear that their creative ideas only work because they are based on a simple principle. Namely that digital marketing should aim to entertain, answer, or add utility before it aims to advertise. This is a great way to make sure brands are working with consumers and not at them and it’s exactly how Neoco approaches its work.

The theme of the conference was “who’s in control” which framed the discussions perfectly. More than one speaker argued that marketeers have the power to make the difference – good news for us! Recent Neoco campaigns, however, are a testament to the success of putting consumers in control. For my part, I can’t help thinking control is the subject of so much debate because it’s basically a redundant concept but perhaps that for another blog piece…