Facebook on Advanced Best Practices for Brands

During a rare visit to Asia, four vertical marketing experts from Facebook HQ in Palo Alto presented to a packed room in Hong Kong today. With specialists in automotive, retail and tech, the panel focused on helping brand managers and marketing executives understand how to leverage the platform beyond day to day page management.

Mike Fox, director of global vertical marketing at Facebook, kicked off the panel with some tips for how to move marketing and communications efforts toward the concept of Social by Design. According to Fox, all brands must build their presence from the ground up, keep it simple, put friends at the center of their messaging and scale, scale, scale.

He also mapped out four 'dimensions' for social marketing impact, namely connect, engage, influence and integrate.

The panelists downplayed the importance of apps, saying that most brands are lucky to get 2% of their fan bases engaging with apps. Of course, this doesn't mean brands should shy away from developing applications for the platform, but rather, brands should focus on who they're looking to engage and ensure they are engaging the right people.

Two other points that really resonated for me:
1. Brands must have an 'always-on' strategy as well as a campaign-based strategy. It's not one of the other.

2. Planning a social media strategy in silos (consulting, creative, build) will inhibit brands from reaching the continuum of Social by Design.

Of course, we wouldn't be at a Facebook event in Asia if someone didn't ask about China. According to the panelists, it's a 'non-goal' for now, meaning it will be a while before Facebook can enter China in a meaningful way while still staying true to the platform.

And last, but not least, a preview for what's to come on mobile! Well, not exactly, but a hint that the platform is reorienting itself around mobile with an experience that will begin to reward behaviors coming soon.

All in all, I wish we had more time. Just as the questions started going, our hour was up and it was off to the next event of Social Media Week. It's always reassuring to hear 'straight from the horse's mouth,' and I look forward to seeing more growth on Facebook here in Asia!

Announcing...

After several months of planning and global coordination, it's with great pleasure that I welcome the launch of Social@Ogilvy, Ogilvy & Mather's new cross-discipline social media marketing practice.

As Facebook pointed out during a panel this afternoon in Hong Kong, the first stage for many businesses is one of experimentation, setting benchmarks and seeing what's possible. In other words, it's the 'social media' stage.

Next, comes the 'social marketing stage' - one in which benchmarks are set and brands begin to grow in their sophistication on the platform, potentially branching beyond just page management to leverage the platform in new ways, such as through apps and Facebook Ads.

Several brands, however, are one step further. It's the stage of 'social business.' That's the stage in which social has made its way to the heart of the enterprise, having permeated not only through marketing communications, but through all other departments.

This is what Social@Ogilvy is all about - bringing social media beyond marketing communications to enable sales, facilitate customer care, and impact CRM. It's something Ogilvy has been doing for a long time, but for the first time today, we are calling it by an official name.

Interested in learning more? Connect with Social@Ogilvy online in the following places...
Blog: social.ogilvy.com
Twitter: twitter.com/socialogilvy
Facebook: facebook.com/socialogilvy
SlideShare: slideshare.com/socialogilvy

Facebook on 'Social by Design'

Social isn't new. It's been around now for years, and yet, I still find myself in scenarios in which colleagues and clients want me to 'make something go viral.' This happens all the time!

Facebook recently hosted a Creative Garage at Ogilvy Hong Kong, providing us the opportunity to 'hack' multiple live client briefs with the best and brightest. The preface was simple: before coming up with a big idea or creative concept, think of what user behaviors you might leverage. In other words, what are people already doing online in a social context that might work for your brand or campaign?

Ogilvy PR APAC Named Top Digital Consultancy of the Year!

Working at an agency is not about fame or glory; we're always behind the scenes. When fantastic work is recognized, however, it's nice to celebrate our accomplishments.

On Sunday, The Holmes Report named Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide "Digital Consultancy of the Year." From the report:

With 1,000 people across 38 offices in 16 countries, Ogilvy remains by far the dominant player in the Asia-Pacific market, by most measures twice the size of its closest competitors. That makes it difficult to maintain the same rate of growth as smaller agencies, but one reason Ogilvy continues to expand is a commitment to innovation, underscored by the rapid development of its digital influence business, which more than doubled in size last year.

Top quality digital and social media work is supplemented by a commitment to thought leadership. Regional practice leader Thomas Crampton maintains one of the best blogs in the region, and is a frequent speaker at local events, and the firm has produced Asia-specific content focused on the growing importance of digital and social media in the region

Key additions in 2010 included a trio of digital leaders—Tim Ho, Xie Qing, and Andrea Fenn—in markets across the region, ensuring that digital and social media elements are seamless integrated into local programming.

Congratulations to the Asia-Pacific 360 Digital Influence team! This is an award well-deserved.

I'm Moving to Hong Kong!

It's official - my husband and I are moving to Hong Kong! I'm excited to embark on a new phase of my career in which I will take on the role of Regional Strategy Director, 360 Digital Influence, Asia-Pacific. What a mouthful!

The demand for digital continues to grow at an amazing rate, in nearly every region of the world. I am honored to join Thomas Crampton, Scott McBride and John Stauffer in APAC and can't wait to meet the rest of my new colleagues from halfway around the world. Here's a glimpse of the social media equivalents I'll be working with in China (thank you, Thomas!).

To all of the wonderful colleagues, bloggers, companies and clients I've worked with in the U.S. - please keep in touch! Though I am sad to leave San Francisco, I look forward to the challenges and learning opportunities that lie ahead :)

The above photo is from Goway.

2011 CES: Is It Still a Man's Show?

I had the pleasure of attending the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on behalf of a client this year and was both excited and scared to face an onslaught of crowded spaces and long cab lines. Despite the worry, I have to admit: I had a blast at CES!

Though I wasn't able to see as many celebrities or play with as many gadgets as I had hoped, I did enjoy spending some time with real women in tech (like the awesome mom and tech bloggers you see in the above photo). Read my take over at Ogilvy PR's Womenology blog on "CES 2011: Where are the Women". I share my conversations with Mia Kim, founder of Popgadget, and Beth Blecherman, founder of Silicon Valley Moms Group, TechMamas and co-founder of CoolMomTech.

Why I Liked The Social Network

After 'boycotting' The Social Network for months, I finally allowed myself to be dragged to see the movie along with my friends from Ogilvy PR. I'm not the biggest fan of Mark Zuckerberg, so I wasn't keen on supporting a movie about the guy. I'm SO glad I put my biases aside!

The truth is, it's amazing to watch just how quickly Facebook grew and how it was nearly impossible for the founders to keep up with it. One day, there was no Facebook, the next day, there is one. Months later, there are a million users on Facebook in multiple countries. It's incredible.

Having been in college when Facebook was created (I actually 'boycotted' it then, but was finally swayed to join by friends who couldn't stop using it) to now working as a digital strategist who uses Facebook daily to reach and connect with people - you have to hand it to Mark and team. They've changed the world. Plus, the movie trailer has a great soundtrack!

I encourage you to check out the movie while it's still in theaters. It's very well done, the characters are pretty well developed (I don't know if they're portrayed truthfully, though), and I found myself wanting more at the end.

When Birds of a Feather Flock Together - #360DI Summit

Great things happen. At this weekend's 360 Digital Influence Black Belt Summit in Washington, D.C., 50+ strategists from N. America, the UK and France convened to discuss the latest trends shaping social media marketing and communications.

After two intense days of brainstorming, redstorming and thunderstorming, we all left a bit pooped. Chris Graves, Ogilvy PR global CEO, helped uplift the crowd with a thought piece on influence.

As a social media marketer, I spend day and night thinking about influence. How to inspire a group of consumers to learn about a product? Share a post with a friend? Write a positive review? Conducting business is contingent on the ability to influence potential customers. It's no surprise influence lies at the center of any social media program.

Graves touched on several interesting theories behind influence and human behavior:

1. The Strength of Weak Ties
"Individuals with few weak ties will be deprived of information from distant parts of the social system and will be confined to the provincial news and views of their close friends," (The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited, by Mark Granovetter; download the full paper to read more).

Pope Jumps on Blogging Bandwagon

This just in: The Pope is encouraging priests to leverage digital media to spread the Gospel. The rest of the story is available on Yahoo! News via Associated Press.

I think this is a really cool move, particularly given the conservative nature of the papacy. Given how successful President Obama's campaign has been in creating a movement via social media, it is not that surprising that the Pope would encourage Catholic practitioners to connect with their followers online, too.

Josh Sternberg says: "Religion has always been at the forefront of new communication technologies; think Martin Luther and his 95 Theses that were printed with the newfangled printing press; think Jerry Falwell and his use of the newly-launched cable satellite system."

For more on religion and social media, check out:
Social Media & Religion: Even The Pope's Online! (by Josh Sternberg)

Paying It Forward - How Do You Build Community?

I was surprised by my co-workers yesterday with an office celebration for my birthday (which was technically Monday, but I worked from home that day to edit some videos and therefore wasn't in the office to receive cake, flowers and singing on my actual birthday).

Though I promise not to prolong my birthday too much longer by blogging about it repeatedly, when yesterday's offline surprise turned into tweets, Twitpics and Facebook posts, it made me want to blog about community and how companies go about building them.

This weekend, I blogged about how Anthropologie builds community by bringing customers into the Anthro lifestyle. Along similar lines, Catch Up Lady recently blogged about how Patagonia builds community for the eco-conscious outdoor enthusiast. I was also privileged enough to hear Kristian Bush from Sugarland talk about building community in a declining music industry through homegrown YouTube videos and authentic fan interactions. I think it's also safe to say that Apple has not only built a community, but a whole culture around its brand.

2010 Ford Fusion Launches with American Idol Houseparty

Ford Motor Company* has been receiving some really good press about about My Ford Touch (video demo here), which was shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show last week. Ford has been leading the automobile industry in building intelligence into automotive systems, but it's also pretty progressive when it comes to social marketing.

For example, I attended an interesting presentation by HouseParty during the WOMMA Summit last November that covered how Ford leveraged an existing sponsorship with American Idol to drive customer conversations and brand immersion across the social Web. The HouseParty case study made me think of a tupperware party on steroids, but the results were quite intriguing.

My Birthday Tag Cloud Card

If you're like me, you've got an email folder labeled "NICE!" in your inbox where you store personal and professional notes of praise and appreciation that can be easily accessed in the event of a rainy-day-major-disaster-freak-out.

Photo by @photo and posted on Flickr

As a birthday present, I received something even better from my friend and former colleague, Bret Clement.

He sent me a tag cloud e-card that incorporates nice comments about me from old emails that is pasted over one of my favorite recent party photos (me pictured with Christine Ngo and a cardboard cutout of an Intel bunnyman*.)

What a nice DIY treat to brighten my day! Bret's birthday tag cloud reminded me how effective this medium can be for highlighting major topical trends in any given piece of content. I often use the tag cloud feature of Radian6 to help decipher what words are most commonly associated with a specific topic, brand or service.

Living the Anthropologie Life

This is the second year I've received my Happy Birthday coupon in the mail from Anthropologie, except it's way more than a coupon. It's a necklace with a birthday candle charm (see left) PLUS a coupon.

The moment I opened the padded envelope from Anthropologie, I was both excited and touched - how sweet of them to think of me on my special day!

The back of the card has the following message:

This little gift is for you and only you and cannot be turned into chocolate, flowers or cash. It's a one time treat, gladly accepted in our retail stores (not online), so bring this note, along with your Anthro card, and enjoy!

Heck, yeah, I'm going to use this! Why? Because Anthropologie sells me more than clothing and accessories. It sells me an experience and I want to live the Anthropologie life.

Weddings and WoM: 5 Wedding Planning Tips From a Soon to Be Bride

Ooh, this cake looks yummy! I'm thinking of getting a similar one myself (though it will be square).

Oh, right... I'm getting married for those who weren't already aware!

Though the wedding industry has seen a decline in the past year or so, word of mouth (WoM) marketing must be peaking. I can tell you this first hand - who else would you trust to help you plan one of the biggest events in your life other than your most trusted family and friends?

Well, perhaps a wedding planner, but not all of us have the funds to hire a professional! Plus, I like handling the details myself.

So, for those ladies and gents steeped in wedding blogs, DIY books and online wedding communities, here are my WoM recommendations for planning your special day. Please feel free to comment with additional tips and tricks as I'm still in the planning process, myself!

Building Authentic Customer Communities: American Express & Meetup

During the WOMMA Summit in Las Vegas last week, I attended a session with American Express OPEN to learn about their nation-wide Meetups geared toward bringing small business owners together to learn, share and grow.

With over 7 million registered users, American Express OPEN Forum is an online "trading post" bringing together small business owners to share advice, insights and ideas to facilitate the types of connections needed to re-energize the economy. Of course, the more small businesses grow, the better American Express fares, too.

Despite featuring content by Guy Kawasaki, Anita Campbell and Mashable, OPEN Forum wasn't seeing large adoption among its target audience, so American Express partnered with Meetup to provide 30 local small business Meetup groups across the country with curriculum and financial support to help them perform better in a down economy.

My first week at OgilvyPR

As I look at the calendar, my first week at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is long gone. I've already been with the firm for just over two weeks, and it already feels like I've worked there for six months. Here's why:

1. The people at Ogilvy are really amazing. I've received an incredibly warm welcome that has helped me ramp up fast. (In particular, I especially have to thank @rachelpolish and @christinengo for their guidance and mentorship.)

2. I've been thrown right into the mix, and I love it. From Day 1, it's been go, go, go!

3. Between multiple in depth trainings, dinner with @jbell99 last week and lots of creative brainstorms, I feel like I've been a Digital Strategist for much longer than 12 days.

7 Ways to Live Better Online

No matter how organized and put together I feel in my professional life, managing my personal life can be a real struggle. I'm talking about staying on top of finances, exercising, eating right, sleeping well, running errands, etc., etc. There’s always more to be done and it’s hard to reach 100% productivity when you just want to relax after work and on weekend.

There is plenty of advice out there about how to manage or share things like photos, videos, and hobby lists with friends and family and how to catalogue your life with a blog or vlog, but what about all of that normal day-to-day "stuff" that can easily fall off the radar and out of order? If you're one of those 76% of Americans with Internet access, here are seven ways you can live better online:

1) Groove to music with DropPlay – Self-acclaimed as the free online equivalent to iTunes, DropPlay lets you stream music from YouTube and share songs and playlists with your friends through Facebook. Although YouTube audio quality isn't always the best (particularly with regards to live performance recordings), Drop Play can help make recommendations based on other recent selections and you don't have to download a desktop client to use it. Even better, it's completely free!

Will Social Media Enable the Digital Panopticon?

I attended a webcast, "Reconsidering Social Media," last week hosted by the O'Reilly media team and found myself pleasantly surprised at the philosophical turn of the conversation. I bet the Enlightenment philosophes turned over in their graves as we had a webcast "salon."

How did I get from social media to the Age of Enlightment? Trust me, the parallel is there. For starters, Joshua-Michele Ross brought up how the Enlightenment movement advocated freedom, liberty and progress at the very same time as the birth of prisons and asylums. In other words, the Enlightenment championed progressive ideals while institutions began to lockdown individuals and develop ways to control and manipulate society.

The panopticon is a prison 'in the round,' where the guard tower is at the center of a circle of cells (see above image). The idea is that prisoners can't tell when they're being watched and will therefore self-regulate their behavior to avoid additional punishment.

Marketing to your loved ones: The Ultimate Women's Hormone Guide

I found this really funny and decided it had to be shared! Of course, I would vote to replace "Here, have some wine," with "Please, thank you, sorry!" Let me know what you think.

The Hormone Guide
Women will understand this!
Men should memorize it!

Every woman knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, co-worker or significant other!

DANGEROUS	SAFER	SAFEST	ULTRA SAFE
What's for dinner?	Can I help you with dinner?	Where would you like to go for dinner?	Here, have some wine.
Are you wearing that?	You sure look good in brown!	WOW! Look at you!	Here, have some wine
What are you so worked up about?	Could we be overreacting?	Here's my paycheck.	Here, have some wine.
Should you be eating that?	You know, there are a lot of apples left.	Can I get you a piece of chocolate with that?	Here, have some wine.
What did you DO all day?	I hope you didn't over-do it today.	I've always loved you in that robe!	Here, have some wine.

Blogging Air Force Style

I recently contributed a post to The Page Wonders blog called "5 Things You Need to Know About Social Media Marketing and PR," which discusses the "underbelly" of social media and offers some humble tips for how to prepare yourself (and your company) for stepping into social media.

One point I make is that using social media for PR and marketing can easily take 2.5x the time a traditional PR campaign would along. If you're wondering how social media can possibly be so time-consuming, take a glance at the diagram at the left (thank you to Jerry Owyang for publicly posting this). This elegant flowchart outlines how the Air Force conducts blog monitoring and response (one of the social media programs we also run at Page One PR on behalf of many clients).

Case in point, just as you might monitor print and online news publications for coverage of your business or organization, when you delve into the realm of blogs and blog comments, the gloves come off. Not only do you have to determine whether to respond, but you have to determine how and consider the consequences.

Lisa Hoover at Computerworld wrote about "The newcomer's guide to social networking" today and also discussed the various intricacies that come along with social media for business. One of her takeaways: not every business needs to use social networking tools to communicate and/or promote itself effectively. I don't know that I agree with this, but I think it is less about the tools you use and more about whether you want to conduct business transparently or not.

One thing I will say - social media requires a lot of content. When I say this, I mean both producing and digesting content. Of course, you don't have to monitor social media channels to see what others out there are saying about you, your industry or other things that will pertain to your business. But then, why invest time in social media if you're not going to at least dedicate some time and resources to being social?