A little over a week ago I attended a marketing and technology conference, hoping to  A) see what the competition is up to and B) maybe learn a few things. As it turns out, I got to do both. We work very hard to stay current on social media marketing, and as a rabid iPhone user I’m already quite familiar with the mobile data hog trend that’s sweeping the tech world (as is my wife, she pays the AT&T bill). What did open my eyes were some numbers presented by Famous Rhodes, Director of eBay Motors.

Some facts Famous bright to light:

• Mobile phone internet commerce is fastest growing commerce sector
  • Smart phones went from 0% to 20% of mobile market in 8 years
  • Over 100 MILLION iPhones have been sold worldwide
  • 160,000 Google phones are activated every DAY
  • By 2013, 40% of internet traffic will be mobile
  • Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 models in the first weekend it went on sale
  • iTunes already has over 225,000 apps
  • Google’s Android has over 70,000 apps in less than one year

Those are BIG numbers. As a communications professional, my goal is to make sure as many qualified eyeballs as possible see my client’s message. The tough part is keeping a finger in a LOT of pies, from Facebook fan pages and YouTube video channels to forums, print PR, TV, newspapers, Twitter and more. The key to conglomerating all this info into a single channel isn’t the computer or TV like everyone predicted 20 years ago – it’s the phone. As it stands I check my email, twitter, facebook and website on my phone constantly. I think most consumers under 40 do the same.

That said, the key moving forward is to obtain an M-Commerce leadership position now, while the field is still young and growing. The video game and fashion industries have already taken a foothold, automotive is lagging behind. We have several new projects in development that will help clients put all data into a single channel available on any phone, and that’s the key to streamlining all the communication strategies into a single stream of information. Of course the info has to be fun and entertaining, otherwise what’s the point?

I’ll have more exciting news regarding these programs soon, in the meantime enjoy Pete, Roger and Keith doing their thing.

The last six months have been really interesting from a crisis PR standpoint. The combination of the public’s insatiable demand for information, the online media world’s never ending quest for clicks, and some unforeseeable circumstances have created some really interesting case studies on how a crisis can unfold and how companies should deal with them in the current new media landscape.

I know this topic has been done to death, but a month later now that the dust has settled, it’s interesting to see how things unfolded. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, the public had been clamoring for more info on the upcoming iPhone 4G, which Apple wouldn’t even acknowledge existed. Then, in late April, the news broke: Gizomodo, a tech blog owned by Gawker Media (which also owns two of our favorite sites, Jalopnik and io9), had possession of a top secret iPhone 4G prototype, dissected it, and they were telling all. Sounds like a hollywood gossip column piece.

As it turns out, an Apple engineer went drinking, forgot the prototype on his stool and an observant (but unscrupulous) passerby picked it up, figured out what it was, called a different tech blog, and when they passed called Gizmodo – who paid for it. They photographed the phone, posted the story, and it got so much buzz is promptly crashed the Gawker comment server. That same night, a lawyer from Apple swung by Giz editor Jason Chen’s house and picked up the phone. Then, the police raided Chen’s home, seized his property, and Apple made rumblings about theft and lawsuits. As it turns out all pretty much settled back down to normal, and Chen ended up scoring huge traffic for his site without anything more than a verbal slap on the wrists. Then the buzz began that Apple leaked the phone on purpose to generate buzz, a silly notion to anyone who has witnessed one of Steve Job’s well-orchestrated summer unveils at Macworld. This is a company that likes to control every minute detail of its message, so leaking a story to a snarky tech blog isn’t its style. Even Gizmodo says so.

At this point, the good news is the world is snapping up iPads like crazy and people are clamoring for the new 4th Gen iPhone. On the other hand, the company’s handling of the situation (denial, then a theft complaint resulting in a raid) makes the normally friendly feeling Apply seem pretty Orwellian. So… less than a week later when Ellen DeGeneres makes a cutesy little farse commercial for her talk show about how hard texting on the iPhone can be (she’s right… especially if you have fat thumbs), you’d think the Cupertino company would just roll with it. Nope… they made a stink with the network and demanded Ellen apologize. You can see the commercial and the apology here:

So… now the company has two killer products, one that’s selling like mad and another coming soon, and Jobs looks like Darth Vader piloting the Death Star. Not good. What could they have done differently? I’m sure the company has a few agencies on 7-figure budgets to tell them, but in my humble opinion they should have done the following:

1. Stick with “no comment” until the phone was confirmed missing

2. Once confirmed, own the mistake, admit it was a prototype phone, thank Gizmodo for finding it and returning it (even before they did so… put the pressure on) then make a statement explaining that every once in a while these things happen, they’re glad reaction has been positive, and thanks to Gizmodo for treating the phone with respect. Other changes are imminent, so this isn’t the final model, but everyone got a sneak peek.

Once the cat is out of the bag, ride the positive PR and buzz and move up the release date. Oh… and don’t put the smack down on the friendly dancing TV host. She makes a living being snarky and poking fun at things… why make the target on your back even bigger?

As it turns out, the video was captured with a rig like the one used by Helivideo; basically a high-def Canon 7D mounted on a radio controlled helicopter. It works for the government with the predator drone, so why not the car industry? See the video below:

Aerial video with a Canon 5D , 7D helivideo.com from Eric AUSTIN on Vimeo.

Having been on shoots with real helicopters, I can attest to the fact that its outrageously expensive and the results are not always predictable. Poor weather, camera shake, and the fact that engine and rotor noise drown out ambient noise are all risks when working with a full-size chopper. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to work with Helivideo soon, it seems like a fantastic option that will revolutionize the promotional video market for the transportation industry.

First and foremost: I know there are companies out there that develop and make money with those cutesy little social networking games like Farmville. Strictly speaking, I’m not a fan. I don’t care how many pigs you bought or chickens you traded, and don’t really want it cluttering up my news feed. However, there are a few companies out there doing an excellent job using Facebook to help further their business. They key here is that they don’t push a specific product or try to tell you anything – they use Facebook the way it was originally intended when it was a social tool developed by a few Harvard students – as a fun, entertaining branding tool. The best corporate Facebook pages I’ve seen weren’t even profiles, they were fan pages.

A company with an active fan page that gets updated regularly, has an energetic fan base that posts and replies to content daily and grows constantly is a powerful thing. Again – not to sell X number of widgets through SALE SALE SALE! type tactics, but by developing a relationship with an audience so they look forward to and enjoy your content – and by extension, your brand. We do that through on-the-scene video clips, guessing games, behind-the-scenes photos and more. Comp Cams does an excellent job with their fan page, and I have to give a big tip o’ the hat to Chris Douglas and his crew for the work they do – if you haven’t seen it, log into Facebook and search Comp Cams, it’s worth it.

Now for my rant – having recently been inundated with a few hundred resumes before hiring a few new staffers, let me float this out into the ether: to all of you under the age of 30 hoping to one day gain work in the real world: over-sharing on the internet is not a good idea. I have friends, family and even some business associates that insist on sharing totally inappropriate stuff on Facebook on a regular basis. No, I don’t care when you’re eating chicken. I don’t want to hear your racist political statements, and I don’t want to see a picture of you hammered in the bathroom. Please keep in mind this content lives forever on the web and can one day bite you in the ass. A status update is not a note passed in homeroom, it can’t be thrown away. Same goes for your business fan page: have fun, make it entertaining, but be weary – it will live forever.

To wrap things up, I’ve got a link to a fantastic story about how to best utilize Facebook for business written by Ayelet Noff at at TheNextWeb.com. From tips on increasing exposure to making the most of your content, her story – 10 Steps to Create The Ultimate Facebook Fan Page for your Brand – is a great read. Enjoy.

Until Next Time,

Dan

Since he just settled a lawsuit with the GOP I thought it appropriate to kick this post off with a little Jackson Browne. Hope he doesn’t sue me. Sorry about the long delay, I’ve been workin’ hard hustling media for a few new clients and I’ve neglected my little corner of the interwebs.

So here’s the deal… I’ve mentioned in a few previous posts that an uncanny number of my aged-challenged friends and family have been hopping onto the Facebook bandwagon. Even big media outlets have noticed. In a way, that’s a fantastic thing because it means all demos are becoming comfortable with social media. However like most trends of the past few decades, where the Baby Boomers go, big business will follow. And, like MySpace before it, Facebook is in the process of revamping its advertising program to accommodate new ad packages.

Facebook actually only became the reigning traffic champ about a month ago, but most marketers started shying away from the platform as far back as a year go, when the NewsCorp buyout caused a seismic shift in who was actually using the site. Until Rupert got his hands on it, Myspace was essentially a gathering place for young people. After the massive ads went up and started alienating people, waves of users started shifting towards Facebook. For a short time record labels and movie studios Myspace pages helped bolster the site’s traffic, but the magic is gone and Myspace is essentially a trade show hall filled with companies showing their wares and exhibiting their hipness to a non-existent crowd. So Myspace is essentially dunzo.

Now it looks like Facebook might be going the same way. According to recent PC Magazine/MSN story, people are flocking to Twitter from Facebook. I can’t say I blame them. Facebook is still an excellent platform for reconnecting with old friends and promoting companies and/or clients. The problem is the new site design bombards people with so many updates and such a deluge of information that any self-respecting page with more than a few hundred friends can’t effectively keep news or updates on the front page for more than a few minutes. So…. unless you’re literally sitting at your computer checking your wall all day, you’ll probably miss a load of info. Twitter essentially takes the update portion of Facebook and throws away the rest.

Now I’m not a huge fan of using Twitter for PR purposes unless you have a dedicated tweeter that knows what they’re doing and only broadcasts relevant, interesting info. It will be interesting to sit back and see how things play out, but my gut instinct tells me that Facebook will be irrelevant in two years, and a new platform will have taken its place. What do you think?

RED LINE OIL RETAINS KAHN MEDIA FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS, OUTREACH

Red Line Synthetic Oil Corp. (Benicia, CA), which manufacturers a line of motor oils, gear oils and additives, has engaged Kahn Media of Woodland Hills, CA, to provide Red Line with North American media outreach and P.R. assistance. This includes targeted media outreach, social media marketing, new product debuts, events and special projects.

More specifically, Kahn is working with Red Line’s management on strategic planning initiatives, as well as the development and implementation of a social media marketing campaign. Kahn also will promote Red Line’s motorsports initiatives, including drag racing, sports car road racing and more.

You can read the whole issue here.

I’m not going to spend time in this post talking about “web 2.0″ or the importance of leveraging social media as a means to market your brand. I’ve said it all before, and frankly if you’re a)reading this post, or b)anyone born after 1980 you already know it.

Instead I’m just going to point out a fantastic article Charles Hull from Archrival wrote for MediaPost about developing Facebook apps to promote your brand. He’s right-on, if you can develop a fun, easy-to-use app that promote your brand without bombarding people with constant updates and notifications, it will become viral and produce the desired effect.

I can’t tell you how many brand-promotional apps I’ve tried that ended up making me angry because they either harvested my profile info to push content to my friends that didn’t opt-in, or slammed my inbox with junk. Those have the opposite effect and should be avoided. In any case, a good article so enjoy!

Scoble shot a series of videos for Fast Company on a fantastic startup called Involver, based in the Bay Area. Basically they have developed a facebook app that allows companies to promote their videos to specific demographic groups using a filtered push tool they’ve developed. Awesome stuff, check it out:

I’m a Stern fan. Always have been. So when Howard left regular radio for Sirius three years ago, I followed him. However I’m also an Adam Carolla fan, and used to love his rants on “Love Line.”

So for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, radio host Adam Carolla took over the Howard Stern slot. Then the network switched all the talk stations to a Top 40 format and they kicked Adam off the air… and he took to Podcasting.

Now, thanks to my friend (and fellow auto-file) Tony Huntimer, I’m hooked on the Adam Carolla podcast. Adam’s a car guy (I met him a the Monterey Historics a few years ago) with a BRE Datsun 510, a ‘72 911 RS and other cool rides in his garage. He’s also a social media fan, even if he wouldn’t say it like that. He has a fair number of “maven” types on his program… even though I don’t like using that word.

You’re probably saying: Podcast? People still listen to those? In fact, thanks to his built-in audience from the radio show, Carolla’s show is consistently the #1 podcast on iTunes. He has managed to maintain his profile using a garage studio ranting about stuff he thinks is interesting. The perfect example of how anyone can be their own media outlet.

Which brings us to my point. Adam’s most recent podcast features Scott Monty, who runs Ford Motor Company’s social media program. They’re doing some pretty cool stuff at the house of Henry, including the Fiesta Movement I’ve blogged about before. So on this podcast you get: Carolla, car talk, marketing insight, Ford’s social media plans, a little sugary PR-speak and some occasional profanity. Enjoy!

Adam Carolla Podcast w/ Scott Monty

I’ll admit, I’m not a huge fan of Twitter on a personal level. I understand its marketing potential. In fact, one of my clients uses Twitter to keep people updated during races and events to great effect. So it certainly has its purpose.

My issue with the service is that, like every other “hot new trend” in social media, once a few “gurus” start talking about how incredible something is and the masses flock to it, the results are rarely good in the long term for the platform. Need I remind everyone of the original uber-social media site, MySpace, and what happened in the months after Rupert Murdoch’s NewsCorp purchased it. They sold ad space to any corporation willing to write a check, made the site clunky and slow, and it has now lost the war with Facebook (badly) and just lost its CEO.

So with that in mind, everyone is Tweeting… even people who probably shouldn’t be. Ashton Kutcher and CNN had a race to one million followers, and everyone’s favorite cougar-bait beat the news network handily. The true winner in that battle, however, was Twitter. The race gave the site major mainstream media coverage – enough that Ms. Oprah Winfrey herself jumped into the Twitter fray.

Oprah’s first tweet was less than stellar (in all caps no less… reminds me of a former boss who send every message in all caps, fully knowing it meant he was screaming). It was the Tweet heard ’round the world, and according to HitWise, the site went bonkers. Below is the percentage of internet users on Twitter and what happened the day Oprah logged in.

That’s a 24% increase in ONE DAY! Crazy, right? So does this mean Twitter is the next big thing? Sadly, yes… until the general public gets so wrapped up in it that blundering, irresponsible corporate communicators jump in, handle the campaigns poorly (a’la Myspace, see above) and turn off the influencers. Then they’ll jump ship for the next thing, and the cycle will repeat.

In the meantime, some advice:

If you decide to sign your company up for a Twitter feed, keep it simple and relevant. No need to send everyone an update every time you get gas or buy a candy bar. Share images. Keep it interesting. Content is always king, especially when you have to compete with Oprah.