To celebrate the upcoming Webinar Wednesday focusing on Analytics, I’m proposing a little contest.

Over the years, not only have I compiled many, many, many monthly analytics reports, I’ve also worked with lots of different marketers, reviewing their monthly reports.

These reports can be very ‘canned’ or highly customized.  The reports can serve one purpose (just get it done so it can be checked off the to-do list) or multiple purposes (gut-check how email, PPC and other online marketing campaigns are doing, as well as understanding usability issues.)

What I am proposing, is that you submit your best monthly report to me at jbrazelle@serengeticom.com before the August 27th Webinar on analytics.  I will chose the best report and the winner can choose from the following prizes:

Option 1 - Free admission to the Analytics Wednesday Webinar (kidding, everyone gets that).
Option 2 - Free one-hour consulting about analytics configuration, what is important to measure, or you decide.
Option 3 - A Surprise!

The winner can choose how much of the report to share in the post dedicated to the winner.

So, if you are currently a marketer, an analyst, or even a business owner who puts together a monthly analytic report, please feel free to send it on!!

So, I got to thinking this week about what going “viral” really means…

Viral - adj. from the English virus meaning of or like a virus.

(I know, I’m a human lexicon. You should see me play Scrabul- errr… WordScraper.) But, being the product of pop-culture that I am, when I think of viruses - I always think of Agent Smith’s classic speech to Neo in The Matrix: “…[humans are] not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus.”

Viruses consume everything they can on their mission to spread as far and as fast as possible. They move so fast because they’re on a limited time frame. They are the original twenty-four hour bug. So, they spread as far and as fast as they can because they know they will die out shortly. Their purpose seems only to spread, disrupt, destroy, and in the process survive. (Viruses will even infect other viruses.)

Are viral marketing campaigns much different? Their purpose is generally to “infect” as many users as possible to spread the brand/product as quickly and as far as possible. Most viral marketing campaigns also seek to deceive or at least trick the user into thinking this viral marketing campaign is something other than a marketing campaign.

If it’s well done, it can be an engrossing, award winning experience. But, most viral marketing campaigns, like pyramid schemes, fall far short of their promised revenue for the client and can sometimes cost millions in backlash. Viral marketing campaigns in general, particularly the bad and/or thinly veiled ones, are a detriment to the landscape. They add nothing to a conversation except a deceitful attempt by a marketer to con the consumer out of a buck.

On the other flagellum, there are bacteria. Some bacteria cause sickness, disease, and death. But, if you’ve ever seen a woman over-sharing her digestive problems on TV, you probably know that there are some good bacteria out there too. They help us with digestion and a wide variety of other things. Yet, they can also spread quickly.

We should add something to the conversation online rather than sneakily weaseling our way into marketing something. We should create campaigns that are funny, heartwarming, or weird simply for the sake of the consumer and not to exploit them.

Arguably, there must be some business model behind why and how we do this so that we can at least break even. But, if we care more for our customers than their pocket books, we will have created long-term customers. And to take the analogy farther than it probably should go, the bacteria will live forever in their gut rather than quickly dying out after controlling the whole body.

Let us then devise bacterial marketing campaigns that interest, engross, and help the average person. Let us not just chase the almighty dollar, but let us build the community and, by extension, all of mankind through our marketing. Let us be at the forefront of a new marketing strategy that invites customers into a better way of living rather than forcing a product down their throat.

If nothing else I think we’ll all sleep better at night.

The answer to that is a resounding YES, especially when you take a look at the data in the latest Pew Internet & American Life Project memo on Search Engine Use.  They found that as of May 2008, the percentage of users that use search engines on a typical day has risen to 49%.   So, almost half of all internet users use a search engine on a daily basis to find information / locate products / research a company.

What about the makeup of the typical searcher?  According to the memo, this person is typically under 49 years of age and makes more than $50k per year - ideal demographics for most companies.

So, what does this mean for you?  It means that you need to make sure that your site can be found in the results for your company / your brand / your services, because if they’re searching, and you’re not there…

Summer is flying by and Back to School advertising campaigns are already out in full force.  My favorite is from JC Penny.

The campaign concept is “Updated Breakfast Club” and includes TV spots and a nifty microsite.  Utilizing a set that looks remarkably like the original library, updated characters (all ethnicities and cliques well represented) run through a variety of scenes.  It is all set to the tune of an updated version of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” which along with the original and four other variations like Rap and Alternative (again inclusive of varying interests/social groups) are available via a convenient link to iTunes on the microsite.

Even as an adult, I found the microsite engaging.  Users can pick which character they want to see more of, watch videos featuring that character, and choose new outfits for them.  It is like virtual paper dolls! 

JC Penny successfully hits their two target audiences – 1) Mom’s who loved the original movie and do most of the actual buying and 2) teens who want to be cool and will nag Mom to do the buying at very specific “in” stores. 

I fall firmly into group #1 and loved the ads, to the point where I will probably visit JC Penny for some of my kids’ BTS clothing needs this year.  However, as Nan (and many other experts and research) will tell you, teens are an incredibly brand loyal bunch, so there is no guarantee that the concept will work on group #2.

Is there a trend that is slowly developing of users moving away from using AOL’s AIM?  I don’t have hard data - so, this is a unscientific post. But, based on my friends’ usage and other young professionals I’ve heard from - the answer is a definite yes.

Being a 20 something, do you really want to have a massive list of contacts from college or all the way back to high school or even earlier (many of whom you really don’t care to hear from) IMing you?  The likely answer is no.  That is one reason why I believe a growing number of young professionals have stopped using AIM altogether.

Where are many of these young professionals turning to?  Google, of course.  Just as we became accustomed to using Google for search, many are turning to Google for other needs as well.  Virtually everyone I know has a Gmail account, and for most it has become their primary email…that is when email is actually used instead of Facebook, but that’s a whole other topic.

Along with Gmail comes the ability to use gchat which is what many young professionals are now using for IMing…or more appropriately called gchatting.    It’s very simple and can be used directly in Gmail or by downloading Google Talk.

And best of all - it doesn’t have your long list of “friends” from college, high school, or for some middle school.  I suspect this will be a growing trend as more and more young adults enter the work force and start a new chapter in their lives.

So, will the term IMing be replaced by Gchatting?  Who knows, but based on my unscientific data it would seem like it’s moving that way.

So, you’ve made the subjective decision that a particular user is a troll. This user is not just an aggravated customer, an ignorant new user, or an over-passionate process evangelist; but rather a viscous and determined upsetter of the social order on your site. (For more info on identifying trolls see Part 1: UnMasking the Trolls Among Us. So, what do you do?

Well, there’s no easy answer and any true troll who really wants to mess with your site will always find a new and inventive way of doing it. So, how do we stop these hairy beasts from harassing your users and causing civil unrest? There are a few things you can do.

The general wisdom on the Internet is that you should not “feed” the trolls, and this is usually the best course of action. A true troll is only there because he’s getting a rise out of you or your users. If his (or her) antics/attacks don’t register any emotional reaction - then, he will probably move on to a site that will let him cause mayhem. This can best be demonstrated by using the old saying: “Never mud wrestle a pig, you get dirty and the pig likes it.”

What does feeding a troll mean? It usually deals with responding to the troll in kind. Getting angry or aggravated at the troll will only make him happy (like the pig in the mud). If you’ve labeled a user as a troll, you should have already contacted them several times to explain the proper norms for your site in a polite and friendly manner. If they continue to deviate from those norms, then it is best to ignore them or at the very most, send them canned responses that you have vetted for tone through a colleague.

There are, however, (at least) two instances when ignoring the troll might not be in your/the site’s best interest.

1. …If the troll posts wildly inappropriate content like porn on a kid’s site (to state the most obvious example of wildly inappropriate) or content that could mislead new users. Then, you should not ignore the troll and leave the content up, but rather remove it, isolate it, or correct it so that it cannot continue to harm other users. If the content is merely aberrant and unharmful, then it’s probably best to just leave bait where it lay and stay out of the troll’s trap.

2. …If your site is large enough or has enough turn-over that the troll could easily bait other users, particularly new users, into feeding him - you may need to take steps to prevent him from harming those users. These steps could include banning his user account or isolating his comments/posts in such a way that only he or a limited number of people could see them.

The danger here is that you may aggravate him into stepping up his efforts to disturb you. It’s also quite easy on most sites to set up new accounts under a different name/email making the account ban less effective than one might hope. Used judiciously, this can be an effective way of deterring trolls.

The long and the short of it is…you cannot always stop people from being evil. All you can do is try to protect yourself and your users and give them the best online experience you can.

For further reading, check out the Wikipedia Essay: What is a troll? which thoroughly discusses trolls from a Wikipedia editing point of view.

This summer, Hard Rock opened their first amusement theme park. There were so many things that were done right - from a ’soft’ opening to make sure everything ran smoothly to a phased approach to building and launching new rides and attractions.

So, many people were surprised that the crowds never really did materialize and that recently they had announced lay-offs and cut-backs in the operating hours.

Very few companies have the luxury of getting things 100% right in the launching of a new product or service. There are bound to be tough times and mistakes. But, the key to success is to stay in the game.

By ‘cutting losses’ by reducing the operating hours, Hard Rock Park is taking a big risk. Sure, it is expensive to keep the park open. But, by taking the ‘easy’ way out and not trying new things, it sends a very negative message.

In Howard Mann’s ‘Your Business Brickyard’, he introduces the concept of sprinting through the finish line.  Sprinters and runners are taught to envision the finish line five steps beyond where it really is so that they accelerate through the finish line. He advises that businesses should operate this way too.

More often than not, new product launches and other initiatives really don’t have the success that was hoped for or even expected. Because of this, you can’t simply execute and hope for the best. You must have a back-up plan or as Howard describes the ‘five more steps after the original finish line.’

For Hard Rock these steps could include:
Contests
An Ambassador-Loyalty Program
An Ambassador - Referral Program
Word-of-Mouth Program
Alternative Advertising Programs (Social Media)

All of which, when done correctly are highly measurable which creates the ability to test and shift spending from one non-performing initiative to a better performing one.

I really like the concept of ’sprinting through the finish line’ when applied to business because it forces you to come up with a contingency plan before you actually get into crisis/reaction mode.

So, next time you think about a product launch, a new promotion or campaign, think past the ‘just do it’ and come up with your next five steps.

So, you’ve done some buzz monitoring, and you’ve found out that on a fairly well known forum in your field - which is visited by your customers and potential customers - someone has trashed your company / product / service offering / customer services / CEO / etc.

What do you do next?

There are a several approaches you can take:

1. The Ostrich approach. If you stick your head in the sand, it’ll obviously go away… right?  Wrong. Not responding shows that you’re either not listening, or that you consider the conversation beneath you.
2. The Bull in a China Shop approach. You blunder into the conversation without really listening, disparaging everything the user said as wrong.  You don’t become part of the conversation - trying to just shut down anything negative.
3. The Cuckoo approach. You sneak into the forum under false pretenses - i.e. pretending to be a satisfied customer - rather than disclosing that you’re representing the company itself.
4. The Worker Bee. For whatever reason (corporate policy, etc), the company doesn’t respond, but employees in their spare time do. It shows a willingness from some in the company, but as it’s not ‘official’ - there’s an element of the Ostrich in there.
5. The Labrador approach. Open, honest, and trustworthy. Your response states that it’s from the company. You reply in an honest manner, stating when you’re wrong and when the poster is wrong, and suggest ways to correct the issue if further steps need to be taken. Then, you actually follow through.
6. The Weasel approach. As per the Labrador approach, except there’s no follow through, any promises made of improvements, or changes to products or processes are empty and / or false.  This will eventually be seen as such, which will then undermine the validity of your future statements.

So, which animal do you want your company to be? Obviously, in an ideal world, we’d all say Labrador.  That’s the intent that most people have when they start out responding to issues. But, when emotions or corporate policy get involved, that Labrador starts to morph into one of the other creatures.  Most notably the Bull emerges when dealing with people either just trying to get a rise out of you (Trolls, or maybe even competitors disguised as Trolls) or people who have decided that they really don’t like your company - and nothing will change their mind.

If your company forbids any social network interaction, then they’re going to be the Ostrich.  There is also the potential for employees to be Worker Bees or, if the policy would make them fear for their jobs, Cuckoos.

So, in order to be that faithful Labrador, you need to make sure that you are honest, open and transparent (hmm, maybe I should have used a Paris Hilton analogy, since we can get HOT out of those 3).

Sure, you can still have a corporate policy that prevents you from saying certain things or responding to certain issues, but be honest and open about that too, and people will understand.

If you’d like to hear more on the topic of Reputation Management, there are still a few spots left for our 2nd Wednesday Webinar, which this week is on this very topic, so sign up for our Reputation Management Webinar here.

When I saw the coverage of the forced apology by US Olympic cyclists for wearing smog masks at the airport (because of warranted air quality concerns), I thought Streisand Effect.  I had just read about the Barbra Streisand effect in Groundswell and it basically states that there is no removing anything from the internet…and the harder you try, the more widely it will be distributed.     

US Olympic Cyclist in Beijing

Take the cyclist example.  Once the photos were out on the wire, they were gone, distributed to millions and no apology is going to take the image of the harsh black mask (couldn’t designers have made it in a lighter, softer, less obvious color? But I digress…) out of the minds of the public, nor out of image searches. 

What the apology did do is give more press to the Beijing smog issue.  A better approach would have been to just let the issue die down quietly.  As Nan (also quoting Groundswell) told a client last week, “trying to take something off of the internet is like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.”  And trying to cover up a monumental smog issue with an apology is laughable.

Yesterday, Google launched a new services called Insights for Search.   It builds off of Google Trends, but allows you to dig deeper into the search query data to compare search patterns by location, categories, and time frames.   

The tool works by first having you select how you want to compare the data.  The options you have are by Search Terms, Locations, or Time Ranges.  You can then filter the results by the two selections that you did not choose as well as by specific categories.  This allows marketers to get very granular data - specific to who their target audience is and where they are located. 

The tool also shows you search phrases that are currently seeing a spike in search phrases -  that ultimately, relate to the search phrases your currently researching.  This will help PPC managers find new keywords that they can potentially capitalize on before other marketers begin to bid up the costs.    

Overall, it seems like an interesting tool that will provide excellent data that can be used by marketers to bolster their search campaigns and better understand searcher behavior.