Don’t Vote For Me: Blogger Competition and Community

by ciaran on November 2, 2010 · 46 comments

“Vote for Me!” contests abound on the web – vaguely promising recognition, rewards and droves of traffic for brands and bloggers alike. Don’t be duped.

In fact these contests are salting the social media earth. They are killing communities, undermining authenticity and devastating the influence of otherwise influential bloggers.

Is Competition a Bad Thing?

On the surface, “Vote for Me” contests do seem like a good idea.  Traditionally contests are designed to bring contestants reward for their achievements and recognition of their popularity. Everyone wants to win. Competition can be a driving force for good. We all benefit from a healthy amount of competition.

On the internet, however, when brands engage in “Vote for Me” competitions with the bloggers they are working with,  there are rarely any real winners. Not the bloggers who participate and certainly not the brands.  These campaigns degrade both the bloggers they seek to recognize, and the brands that seek to use them to build their communities.

I’ve Been Nominated! Will you Vote for Me?

It’s very flattering as a blogger to get nominated for an award or honor. Blogging is a lonely sport and comments can’t come fast enough. If there is one thing almost all bloggers are hungry for, it is recognition. Whether they are being recognized for their talent as a writer, their influence over their readers, the size of their following… it’s heady stuff.

So heady that some bloggers might be tempted to cheat.

Most “Vote for Me” contests being run by brands are not strictly monitored. Votes are usually tracked by email or IP address and these types of votes are easily faked and/or bought. Dig only a little and you will find online voting sites that range from the seemingly innocuous to the clearly sketchy. Google “voting bot” and you’ll find yourself down a rabbit hole.

I’ve peeked in on the administrative side of these contests in years past and seen good blogs go bad. It’s impossible to say whether it was the owners intent to cheat or that of their most rabid fans entering up to 2000 votes with email addresses in alphabetical order, but certainly enough to convince me personally that cheating is not uncommon.

Ignoring that, if you can, and assuming the contest in question is indeed legitimate and voting secure, there are still serious problems that make “Vote for Me” campaigns a bad idea.

When a blogger asks their entire twitter, facebook and blog following to visit a link, register, and vote for them – not once but multiple times in case they missed someone three hours ago – they alienate their readers. They exhaust themselves and run out of valuable time to create actual engaging content.  Proving your influence and soliciting the votes to win a contest is difficult time consuming work that requires real campaigning. No matter how large your following.

Typically what happens is this:

On the first day everyone visits. On the second day their real friends click through. By the end of the week even the blogger’s own mother is not opening their emails.

Asking  friends to drop what they are doing to click through and register and vote burns social capital. Asking friends/followers for their help with your campaign burns even more capital. Votes don’t come for free. Votes are a favor that the bloggers pay for by cashing in on their popularity.  The price of the vote is a piece of their influence. They’ve literally “spent” it.  There is risk associated. If a blogger over estimates their value to their readers, and those readers lose patience with the nonstop demands, the blogger may lose some of their followers forever.

Have you ever unfollowed, or been tempted to unfollow someone who makes too frequent requests? You’re probably less likely to ever read that blogger’s blog, follow them on other forms of social media or engage with them after this has occurred.

But Blogger Contests Drive Big Traffic to My Brand’s Page!

From a brand perspective “Vote for Me” contests hosted by a brand seem to make sense. The bloggers have turned their readers into an army of click monkeys all clicking through to your site and your numbers are soaring through the roof while you sit back reading the Radian reports. Your boss may be really impressed with your ability to deliver results. But don’t get to comfortable, chief. What you’re missing about that traffic is that there is no reason for them to ever come back again. They’re doing a favor for someone else by coming in the first place. That favor’s now spent.

Earlier this year I was at a an impressive brand event that with several  other mom bloggers. Many of these women were already acquainted and good friends and very excited about the brand, and about their special group status. It was an honor simply being chosen to preview and promote this brand. There was bonding, camaraderie and a real sense of sisterhood.

Then the brand created a “Vote for Me” contest, in which they pitted their new advocates against each other, in an obvious attempt to drive quantity traffic to their site.

The women didn’t want to compete with one another. They also did not want to alienate the brand. Or lose. The prize was sweet, but the bragging rights possibly sweeter for some. It was a conundrum for all involved. One that dredged up the sort of unfortunate, ego-affirming, backstabbing tendencies that are the Kryptonite of an authentic, closely-knit community.

Some of the bloggers dropped out. Some stayed in.The page hosting the contest drew great short term traffic. Numbers that probably made the pr/marketing team proud. For the moment.

Although they may have been patting themselves on the back, I would not call their campaign successful. Ultimately the campaign for votes had nothing to do with authentic interest in the brand. It did nothing to further the community the brand had set out to establish with the bloggers and their overtaxed, vote-weary readers. This is ultimately a shame, because a lot of money was spent and aside from the “Vote for Me” contest, they did just about everything else right.

What happened to the community?

Overnight it went from close knit to unraveling.  The unease of competition and the need for each of the advocates to force their (often shared) readerships to choose a favorite amongst them, drew lines between the bloggers, and compromised the loyalty they felt for both the brand and each other. The idea that they had to be silent and comply with the contest in order to get ahead with the brand was another source of stress for these women. Nobody likes being pressured.

Recently I heard an uplifting (albeit unconfirmed) story about a certain controversial Top Mom Blogger list that was about to be released. The members of the list were told about making the list but also told they had not been ranked. It was up to them to gather the votes needed to generate their ranks. They refused. Not just one or two of them. Not just the best friends. All of them. Whether they liked each other or not, whether they agreed about politics or breastfeeding or what kind of car to drive, they agreed about one thing. Competition can kill community. I’d like to believe this story is true!

Competition is not a bad thing. But when it comes to Blogger/Brand “Vote for Me” contests in the name of building communities -  it’s simply bad business.

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Come to my Party! 10 Tips for Great PR & Blogger Events

by ciaran on July 19, 2010 · 1 comment

With bloggers getting more and more invitations to brand based events, information sessions, and retreats, the competition to bag a well known blogger has become somewhat fierce. Certain brands, and certain PR firms are well known for throwing great events, just like certain friends are known for their great parties. What makes a great PR/Blogger event? The answers are simple, subtle, and sometimes, surprising. Here’s a list of things to consider when planning any brand/blogger event.

1. The guest list

This should be obvious. Get a group of friends together and your gig is going to be fantastic. Get a group of rivals together, and you get a recipe for tension. So how can you avoid tension and awkwardness? Start with your key players and ask for their recommendations. Just like you wouldn’t seat two arch rivals next to each other at your dinner table, don’t invite them to the same event.

2. The invitation

Last minute invites are occasionally unavoidable, but in general you should allow a minimum of two weeks notice for local events and four for events where you will be asking attendees to travel. Avoid an invitation with multiple attachments and a complicated rsvp format. Evites, Pingg or another online form of invite such as Eventbrite (that allows all pertinent info to be retrieved online, remotely) are always a good idea. Be sure to include all pertinent info about location, parking, dress code and what will be provided for children in terms of facilities, refreshment and entertainment, if children are included

3. The purpose

Why are you hosting this get-together? Is it a product launch? An information session? Sneak peek? Public Service Announcement? Charitable function? Cause marketing is currently in vogue and so many events have a charitable component, however, it can get confusing when too much gets heaped on a single event. A Ginsu knife demo benefiting the local amputees club to celebrate the opening of a new Benihana? Too many purposes. Pick a maximum of two purposes for the event and make your message simple and clear.

4. The location

Location, location, location. Is your event someplace that people want to go to? Is it a little exclusive, beautiful, or famous? Will attendees get a rare behind the scenes look at something? Or is the location familiar and comfortable to attendees? How difficult is it for them to get to? Will you make special arrangements for anyone who has trouble getting there? What’s the parking situation? A good host always arranges for convenient (free) parking for their guests.

5. The time

Is your event scheduled right around the same time that kids get out of school? Does it conflict with a blogger’s full time work schedule? Schedule your daytime event between 10 am and 1pm for the best attendance by bloggers with school aged children to attend without their kids.  Afternoons and weekends are better hours for events where children are invited to attend with parents. Evenings and cocktail hour are a good time for adults only events. If you are inviting bloggers with young children, and allowing them to bring children to the event, consider offering childcare and/or providing accommodations where they are likely to be comfortable with kids in tow. It goes without saying that holiday weekends are not generally a great time to throw an event. If traffic is an issue in your area, that should also factor into your planning.

6. The activities

Just because something is a fun activity, doesn’t mean it is a good idea for your event. For example, learning how to create spa treatments with common ingredients found around the home is a fun activity. But not necessarily a great activity for a spa visit, when you are there to learn about the products and services offered by the facility. All of your main event activities should specifically highlight the thing you are trying to promote. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. In fact…

7. The Fun

What’s a party/get together, without fun? One of the hallmarks of a great PR/Blogger event is that nobody notices they are being marketed to. They are too busy having a great time. Getting participants to engage with the product, service or mission is the key. Whether this is accomplished via a hands on cooking demonstration, a friendly game console competition, a test drive or a combination of all of the above, it’s vitally important. In the Spa example above,  bloggers might: pull straws to test one of several possible spa treatments, vote on their favorite massage oil scent (to be taken home in a gift package), take a quiz about the different forms of massage (for a gift card prize), and/or merely be left to enjoy what the spa has to offer without being overtly directed and marketed to.

8. The information

Of course you want your guest bloggers to leave your PR gathering with a great deal of knowledge about your product or service. How else will they spread the word to their readers? Make sure that there is a representative at the event who is qualified, knowledgeable and able to answer questions about the thing you are trying to promote. The last thing you want to do is weigh down your bloggers with too much information or irrelevant info. Keep your literature bite sized and succinct and be sure to make everything available and easy to access online or via a memory stick in electronic form.

9. The “Thank You”

Sometimes the thank you for taking the time and trouble to listen to the pitch, is a “gift” given at the time of the event. Something along the lines of free admission to a theme park, show or museum, a wonderful meal at an exclusive restaurant. But many companies also offer a follow up perk such as a return pass, product sample or complimentary service. It is important to note that these perks are generally not perceived as payment for attending. They need not be expensive or of great value, however they should show some thought and consideration. Tip: Under no circumstances should excess trade show materials (pens, caps, corporate tees) be passed off as “swag” to bloggers.  A handwritten note with a couple of decent chocolates would be preferable.

10. The follow up

It’s appropriate to follow up with the blogger after a couple of days. If they have not posted within a week, a brief note to offer materials, and inquire on their story is also appropriate. Offer support materials and assistance. Do not nag. Remember that bloggers are not obligated to post, but it is your job to assist and encourage them. Hopefully you have made such a positive impression with your awesome event, that you won’t need to follow up more than once!

A final note about competition: It’s never a good idea to pit your guests against each other on their blogs following an event. Contests like “whoever gets the most comments on their post wins x prize…” may foster short term buzz, but with possible negative long term associations that won’t benefit your brand. You want authentic traffic and a positive sense of community amongst your brand enthusiasts. So keep the competition, if any, low key and fun loving at the event and not on the blogs.

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Characterizing the Conversation: Finding Meaning in Twitter Hashtags

by ciaran on June 24, 2010 · 1 comment

Lately everyone and their sister has a Twitter hashtag. Events, brands, conferences, launches, contests and more. If there’s a campaign afoot, there is a hashtag for that. Hashtags are a clever invention – literally a hash (#) mark followed by a word or phrase, and are used to track “trending topics” on twitter and to identify and filter parties and discussions happening on Twitter. For example, the conference I am attending this weekend is #EVOCONF .  As I write this post, hundreds of Twitter users who are attending, curious about attending, or conversing with attendees, are using that tag.

While popular, hashtags are also the source of much controversy. The main question being, why bother? What is the point of this hashtag we are using? To be sure, a lot of hashtag use is gratuitous and without purpose. But many hashtags are carefully considered and even more carefully tracked

Brands, groups, institutions and individuals all use hashtags to count the number of impressions that their discussion has spurred. It’s a way to demonstrate the reach of Twitter and how many people may have heard a particular message. When a brand decides whether or not to sponsor a scheduled chat that already exists, they look at raw number of impressions. When companies and individuals work with PR and marketing to create a campaign or event of their own on Twitter, they also use raw impressions as the measure of success or failure of that event (at least the online portion). And therein lies the problem for which Twitter is criticized.  Raw impressions, although similar to the measurements used for tracking exposure in other media (newspapers, magazines in particular) is just not enough for those who expect more from social media.

I tend to agree. It’s difficult to measure success or failure from these numbers. For starters, there is the sheer number of followers that are not real humans, the clutter of all the noise, and the transient and fleeting nature of a Twitter stream. While raw impressions give you a good idea of how big (quantity) a hashtag’s use is, this data is not useful for measuring how effective the hashtag is (quality) at achieving its goal – be that goal marketing, community building, spreading a message, or tracking trends. So why use hashtags at all?

In order to provide any sort of informed answer, it’s necessary to look closer at the way hashtags are being used successfully.  As we invent ways to mine, measure and interpret the data that enables us to to define success, we’re moving beyond the oft criticized raw impressions measurement.  We’re now able to include data from sites that weed out “true followings”, giving us a more accurate picture of who is really listening.  We’re taking a closer look at party participants and how they have participated. These metrics give us a new understanding of the impact of hashtag conversations, and far more data on which to base our strategies.  One such measurement that I am loving are the hashtag “Characterizations” pioneered by Hashtracking.com.

If you went to a party or event in person,  would you tell people about it afterwards in terms of raw number of attendees or would you recount the lively conversation, the notable people who were there, and what interesting news you might have learned? Raw numbers might indicate success, but not if guests had little to say to one another, recognized an unpleasant stink and only stayed long enough to grab a goody bag and run

Hashtag characterizations give us valuable insight into the nature of a hashtag conversation and break them down into four categories:

Social hashtags: Have a high degree of discussion and interactivity – this is the most community oriented type of hashtag and a marketers dream. These conversations are characterized by looking at the number of @messages associated with a tag and delving deeper into how many impressions were cast via conversation, and by whom. Such analysis can also be invaluable in helping to identify natural brand advocates and community leaders.

Broadcast hashtags: Have a high degree of re-tweets by participants and less interactivity. These type of hashtags may be viewed as spam but are in fact an excellent means of quickly dispersing information in case of emergency and/or as a public service. It’s essential for brands to monitor if/when their  hashtags ventures into Broadcast territory, as the messages being spread, may quite likely be perceived as spam. Damage control may be needed.

Lecture hashtags: Center around one or a few “experts” who are the draw for the hashtag event or who are popular participants in the topic. This is measured by looking at who casts the biggest shadow impression-wise and also who has used the hashtag the most and/or is the most “popular” attendee, getting the most @mentions.  Lecture Hashtags are a good strategy for many types of twitter conversations, both information and market driven. They are a good way to draw in curious onlookers who want to learn more about a topic or brand, but who are not already a part of the community. Social conversations may become a lecture when certain individuals distinguish themselves as leaders. This can be a good thing or a bad thing (worst case scenario – a hashtag is maliciously “hashjacked”) and definitely something brands will want to monitor in real time.

Special Interest hashtags: Most commonly witnessed as “trending topics”, but do not have the high degree of interactivity, re broadcast, or expert participation that other hashtags enjoy. They represent the (often brief) intersection of a thought, deed, product or event, within a group of people who might otherwise have little in common. There is no specific call to action or community within these tags.  They exist almost as a stream of consciousness, giving us a rare window into the popular psyche.

I would argue with any naysayers not to throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet when it comes to Twitter hashtags. With just a little more information we are able to tell so much about our hashtags. About our campaigns, our communities and our modes of modern interactivity. I’m really thrilled to be a part of this new social science. As geeky as it sounds, it’s very exciting to look at Twitter hashtags with the above filters.

Disclosure: I have based my above theories on the data acquired via Hashtracking.com which is the venture of my spouse, Brian Maso. He is very shocked to discover after 16 years of marriage, that I am, in fact, such a geek and a data head. It’s all about the tools! If you haven’t checked out Hashtracking.com yet, please do! I’m proud of his work. And endlessly fascinated as well.

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Online “Events” and Call in “Opportunities”

by ciaran on June 1, 2010 · 10 comments

The debate between bloggers and PR rages on and I have a new gripe. I’ve written about the need for brands to evaluate their working relationship with bloggers, and for bloggers to closely examine what they are being asked to do, why and what’s in it for them.

At times it seems like no one is listening.

My latest complaint is the spate of “Call in Opportunities” and “Online Events” I have been invited to. To me these translate as “Cheap Date”. At the very least, if you want me to write about your product, feed me. Entertain me. Woo me a little, would you?

I do realize that conference calls are an accepted practice in the world of Journalism. People with paid writing jobs who are short on time to travel, do call in for the 411 on a new product. It makes sense. It’s expedient, they have an article to write, an assignment to finish.

Bloggers are not journalists (take that debate elsewhere, and go with the assumption here). Bloggers do not have a paid job, or an assignment to finish. If they take time out of their busy lives to learn about a product, service or project, there is no other incentive, award, reward, compensation, motivation etc for the time they spend listening to what is essentially a pitch. If they do choose to write about it, there will be no payday.

When bloggers attend a live event to learn about a new product, service or project they are usually fed, entertained and/or gifted with product. They get to spend time with friends. They have a pleasant day out. It’s not for everyone and there are bloggers who would spit in your eye before they attended a baby gizmo info session (Jessica Gottlieb, I am not linking to you because of anything specific, but I am thinking of you!). And good for them. We all have to decide what our time is worth.

What I cannot for the life of me understand, is why someone would spend an hour or more of their lives to sit (mostly) silent and alone in their own homes, and listen to a schpiel, so that they can then spend another silent and solitary hour writing about whatever they were just sold so that they can be free advertising for a brand. Call it an event, call it an opportunity. I call it getting screwed. Someone is being used terribly. Shame on the brands who request this and shame on the bloggers who go ahead do it. We know who you are. You cheapen yourself. Have a little self respect, people!

I’m sure there are notable exceptions – call ins with a celebrated author, call ins where you have a chance to win a $100 gift card if you sit there obediently, post diligently and win the lottery. Maybe you just are lonely and have nothing better to do than call in. Maybe you think you really are a journalist, if you do this stuff for free.

Check your tax returns though. You might be missing a paycheck.

If you want me on your conference call, you’d better make it worth my while. Entertain me. Feed me. Pay me. I’m not that cheap of a date. I wouldn’t advise my clients to hang out with anyone who is and I wouldn’t advise you to sell yourself that short either.

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And then the “Mommy” Bloggers Win

by ciaran on March 15, 2010 · 32 comments

Last week I got a call from a reporter writing an article for the New York Times. We chatted briefly. She wanted to confirm a quote from me, something I’d mentioned while paneling with Stephanie Schwab, Stefania Butler and Amie Adams at Mom 2.0. I was flattered. Many of my friends were also quoted in the article.

Not everyone was so happy when the article came out.

The complaint asserted by more than few people, was that the article was condescending. That it belittled mom bloggers, despite (curiously) the fact the the author herself is one of them. Many women read the title of the NY Times article as a judgement. “Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand” - my (and everyone else’s) emphasis on the “too”. In an era of epic female self loathing over the unattainable goal of Supermom, that one word was enough to douse the entire article in gasoline. Throw in a quote from a mom whose spouse considers her blogging an “expensive hobby” and we have ignition. Is this controversy real? Or manipulated? It’s easy to predict the reaction to such fightin’ words.

Posts have ensued – angry posts, some of which you can find listed on The Secret is in the Sauce website. In fact there is a whole facebook group dedicated to speaking out about this article.

My take on it was different.

Personally, I found other points of the article more interesting, and oddly, inspiring. History-in-the-making inspiring.

Central to the story is Tiffany Romero of The Secret is In the Sauce and her “Bloggy Boot Camp”. Tiffany is described in the article as:

“A summer-camp director from Los Angeles, she steered the proceedings with the good-natured sass of a sorority social chairwoman and the enthusiasm of a, well, summer-camp director. (She went barefoot for much of the day and said “You guys!” a lot.)”

The article also makes reference to women “splayed” at laptops, sipping breakfast cocktails from brightly colored “plastic sippy cups”. Splayed and Sippy Cups. Alliterative. Begging the question:  What kind of business model is this? Hardly the sort to take seriously? Women who go barefoot, who splay, who drink from sippy cups? And yet, like Google, Zappos, and Facebook whose quirky, unconventional cultures are inseparable from their corporate success, Tiffany Romero is a success. A true role model to many.

Make no mistake, at this moment scores of parents are clamoring for their kids to gain entry into the summer camp that sorority social Tiffany runs. It’s one of the oldest, most successful, and most respected camps in the highly competitive LA market. This summer camp is a thriving business that allows Tiffany the time to run her blog empire and spend scads of time with her kid. She is the modern Superwoman.

If I wanted to look for it, I’m sure I could find plenty to object to in this article. However, I choose not to. This argument is not going anywhere.  I’m not fond of the title of the piece and feel my lunch coming up at the characterization of Tiffany, but I’m going with a quote from Gandhi, that puts it all in a positive light.

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win”

Traditional media, marketing, and business professionals are clearly having a problem with the rise of social media. Moms are an easy target. Straw dog easy. The mom blogger community is a large and diverse one. It’s easy to pick fights from within, to stir up controversy, to pour some gas and light a match. We don’t need another conflicted author from the NYTimes to whip us into a frenzy about new media vs old and working motherhood. As mom bloggers pass from the “make fun of” stage to the “fight” stage you can expect more of this. But it will get better.

There is no question in my mind that mom bloggers, perhaps as part of a larger force of social change, will “win” in the end. Mom bloggers are too prolific, prominent and influential to ignore. Mom bloggers are a modern, dynamic force. Don’t believe it? Take a look at this impressive list of things that mom bloggers are doing, compiled by Liz Gumbinner of Mom 101.

Feeling slighted by the NYTimes? Surely a sign that mom bloggers (and the 23 million women who engage with them, according to the article) are doing something right. I raise my brightly colored plastic sippy cup in a toast of congratulations.

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Advocates, Enthusiasts and Advertising: Bloggers on the Brandwagon

by ciaran on February 15, 2010 · 22 comments

Not a week goes by without a blogger proudly proclaiming that she is the latest (Cheese Brand) mom, (Store Name) ista, (Clothing Line) ambassador or (Game Co.) evangelist. We’re all aware of the awesome power of bloggers to spread the buzz about brands. Bloggers, like celebrities, have the ability to reach a large audience. In some cases their audience is even more coveted than that of a celebrity because it is associated with a highly specific demographic, is trackable, and is vitally engaged.

It’s an exciting new trend in marketing, and one that many brands and bloggers are eager to participate in. The question is, how should brands and bloggers work together?  What can a brand expect (or ask for) from a blogger representative? What about remuneration?  Is it reasonable for bloggers to demand pay in return for advocating a brand? At what rate? At the end of the day, what’s the difference between advocacy and advertising?

History:

We can thank Walmart for kicking off the current trend of brands using bloggers as advocates and spokespeople. But we cannot thank them for establishing a market standard for such programs. In the groundbreaking Walmart blogger program, participants were not paid by the company for their participation. Instead they received perks and opportunities that could be attributed to their association with the brand, including traffic bumps, travel and education opportunities, product samples and the certain cache of being “chosen” and identified as an expert of sorts. The Walmart program was unique, and copycat programs have abounded. These programs have varied wildly in their implementation practices and their blogger compensation policies.

As brands continue to seek out and label bloggers as their own, and bloggers continue to vie for the privilege of being associated with a brand, things are bound to get confusing.  Savvy bloggers are starting to put a significant price on their advocacy while others seem all too willing to simply “give it away” to the first brand that asks. Certain brands are finding themselves caught in the midst of bidding wars for  the “best” bloggers, while others fail to see the need to compensate bloggers at all. It’s a jungle out there, for both bloggers and brands. More discussion and transparency is needed to clarify roles and rewards. We’re all desperately in need of some guidelines.

Ambassadors, Advocates, Enthusiasts, Brand name”istas” – Roses by any name?

Without getting too bogged down in semantics, it’s important for bloggers and brands to understand the not so subtle difference between an enthusiast and an advocate. Too often these roles are confused. Further obfuscation occurs when we layer on cute terms ending in “ista”, or “diva” and use attention diverting labels like “ambassador” and “evangelist”. Call your crew what you will, all of these important sounding titles boil down to either advocate or enthusiast. These two roles are not the same and are not to be confused.

What’s the difference?

Enthusiasts are identified. These are bloggers who are fans of a product or service and who already use the product or service in their daily lives. They have blogged or written about the product or service in the past, without any reward or motivation other than their own wish to share information about a favorite product or service. They likely recommend the product to their friends “in real life” too. Enthusiasts are assumed to be unpaid, but when recognized by a brand, may receive perks and benefits associated with their long standing loyalty. A good enthusiast is very influential to their readers but should not be expected to speak publicly on behalf of the brand, conduct contests for, or post materials supplied by the brand as these activities would only cast suspicion on them as true (uncompensated) enthusiasts. It can be tricky to identify enthusiasts, as not many bloggers readily identify themselves with products. But it’s not impossible to create programs that help brand enthusiasts self identify, and I have outlined an example of such a program at the end of this post.

Advocates are created. They may in fact begin as  enthusiasts but the very fact of their advocacy implies education, training and authority on behalf of the brand. An advocate can be likened to a spokesperson, but perhaps with slightly less training in public speaking. Nevertheless,  a good advocate should be able to answer questions about and speak knowledgeably about a brand. Advocates, are generally assumed to be paid for their spokesmanship, in a similar fashion to a salesperson or public speaker who performs a service on behalf of a brand. Advocates for a brand may perform specific functions such as tweeting, posting (this may be original or brand supplied content), attending events, guest posting on other sites, submitting video and hosting contests. A good advocate is already an enthusiast or other natural fit for the brand, has a loyal following that is influenced by their decisions and recommendations, including those that are of a (disclosed) paid nature. It should be obvious to all reading this, but advocating for multiple brands decreases a blogger’s credibility as an advocate, and thus decreases the desirability of the brand on that blogger’s following.  It is therefore in the best interest of bloggers to be picky about advocacy programs, and brands to be picky about bloggers.

What Brands Can Do When Creating Blogger Representative Programs:

  • Decide early on whether you want to start an advocacy or enthusiast program. Try not to confuse the two.
  • Decide how participants will be rewarded or remunerated. Be realistic about your expectations and consider the amount of time, education and commitment required for the blogger to perform their role for you successfully.
  • Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of all participants in the program and provide support materials, guidelines and necessary tools for all participants. Make it clear who participants should go to with questions or concerns.
  • Select your candidates carefully, looking for natural matches who are not overly affilliated with multiple brands and programs.
  • In cases where your needs are unclear, and/or you lack funds and resources to identify and train advocates or enthusiasts, consider purchasing an ad or running sponsored posts on relevant blogs and sites.

What Bloggers Can Do

  • Ascertain whether you have been asked to participate in a program as an enthusiast or an advocate.  Are you ready and willing to align yourself with this brand. How will this affect your own brand?
  • If  Enthusiast: Ask yourself if you are in fact an enthusiast of this product. Have you spoken, written about it in the past? Will your readers view your enthusiast content as a sign of “selling out” or will they see your recognition as a brand enthusiast as natural, given your long standing enthusiasm for the product?
  • If Advocate: Ask yourself how much time and effort you are willing to lend towards advocacy, and at what price. Be realistic. Do not devalue your time and efforts.
  • Consider the impact of your participation in this program on any other programs you currently participate in, or wish to participate in.
  • Evaluate the amount of time involved vs. rewards offered. Rewards may include non paid benefits such as additional opportunities, travel, product, conference sponsorship, traffic to your site and “bragging rights”.
  • Get a list of the specific actions required of you as an advocate/enthusiast: These should including all tweets, posts, contests, videos, speaking appearances, education requirements, pitching on behalf of the brand, and making contributions to other sites, if required.
  • Speak frankly with the brand about what is expected (and also what is not desired) from you as an advocate/enthusiast. Make sure you understand the boundaries of your role fully.

How a Blogger Enthusiast Program might work:

  1. Bloggers are invited to participate in a competition showing their enthusiasm for a brand
  2. “Winners” are recognized and rewarded with product and traffic linking back to their site, recognition in print and other media, being invited to contribute to a brand’s site.
  3. Brand might follow up with advertising on the Enthusiast’s site, other rewards or recognition.

How a Blogger Advocacy Program might work:

  1. Brand identifies advocates based on their influence, demographic, topical relevance, notoriety  and/or status as an enthusiast
  2. Advocate receives education and training about the brand and their role in promoting.
  3. Advocate recieves specific guidelines and information about the program they will be participating in.
  4. Brand creates a detailed contract for advocate’s services which may include any of the following:  brand advertising on advocates site, sponsored/dedicated posts, videos, contests posted on the advocate’s site, posts to twitter, facebook or other social media sites.  Additional advocate duties may include appearances at live events, trade shows and conferences on behalf of the brand, and the advocate’s general goodwill efforts to spread buzz about the brand by using their own network of connections both offline and on.
  5. Brand creates a start/end date for the program and clear payment guidelines for duties performed.

Are you a marketer or a blogger? Do you have thoughts and/or suggestions about how Brand/Blogger programs could be better administered? Please leave a comment!

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Bait and switch, the problem of mismanaged expectations

by ciaran on December 10, 2009 · 9 comments

Last week I wrote a post about my disappointment with Disneyland while visiting their “Holidays at Disney” display. In the post I detailed how crushed my children were to find that their holiday (Hanukkah) had little to no positive representation at Disneyland. I got a lot of feedback, ranging from sympathy and horror, to religious commentary about the secularization of Christmans, to anger about our “unrealistic expectations” of Disney and explanation from some about how holly and trees are for all holidays. Which was all somewhat beside the point I was trying to make.

I want to be clear here and move beyond Disney because I am not rewriting that post. But for the record, It wasn’t really about religion, culture or Christmas. It was about the expectations. The tragically, thoughtlessly mismanaged expectations.

When someone says “Holidays”, in the plural, I expect more than one holiday. A simple concept for most, but for Disney this year, a colossal fail. There is only one holiday represented in the park. Call it bait and switch, call it stupid, it really doesn’t matter. It all ends with a five year old in tears and a pissed off parent.

I hate to pick on Disney though, and they certainly don’t have the corner on stupid marketing moments. Messages that deceive are displayed on a regular basis in a theater near you. In the form of movie trailers.

A perfect example: the trailers for “Marley and Me”. Light hearted family comedy. Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, silly dog. Romping on the beach. Fun!  Those of us who’d read the book raised our eyebrows wisely, knowing something was left out of the trailer. Something big. The rest of us went to see a comedy that holiday weekend and came out sobbing and longing for prozac.

Movie trailers misguide us all the time. Dramas are represented as comedies, plotless masturbation is sold as epic drama or a legendary tale. In the case of “Where the Wild Things Are” we were served up a film positioned to be a touching literary classic. We took the kids. They sat through two hours  gratuitous dysfunctional family flatulence. In short, we thought Where the Wild Things Are stank. But perhaps I would have felt differently, if I’d been properly prepared. I might not have hated it so much if I had not brought my five year along to plumb the depths of conflicting human emotions, and witnessed his tears when the bird’s arm was ripped off. At the very least I could have made an informed decision to see the film with other adults only.

My poor five year old is going to be a savvy consumer one day. He’s already been disillusioned by Disney and Sendak. Who will he trust?

If you haven’t been disappointed in the theater, it’s surely happened in a restaurant. Who hasn’t ordered something off the menu that sounded (or even looked marvelous in a photo) only to be handed a plate of slop that seems completely alien to what you thought you ordered.  The “generous portion” of “fresh imported gourmet” delicacies turned out to be a bowl of three greasy supermarket olives. Oops.

The end result of mismanaged expectations is almost always the same. Anger. We get angry because we parted with cash and invested our time, and got our own (or worse, our children’s) hopes up for an experience we/they did not get to have. This makes us feel duped.

Worst case scenario we view the deception as deliberate, a bait and switch scheme designed to take us as fools, parting us with our money. The brand is then a bully/shyster in our eyes. A malevolent beast. We tell our friends. They tell their friends…  Best case, we think that the marketing, pr, sales, management etc are all pretty lousy at what they do to have allowed such a gross oversight to occur. Do you want to shop at stupidmart? Exactly. Neither do I.

Mismanaged expectations are dangerous and destructive to brands. It’s something to keep in mind at all times when you are working on a campaign, no matter the size of your company. We all want to highlight the positive and make our appeal as broad as possible. But in doing so, are we creating false expectations about our product or service? Are our claims and suggestions going to pan out as promised for the majority of people? Are the details being glossed over truly minor enough to be dismissed?

I challenge you to consider if your brand’s message and positioning  is going to mislead consumers. If it is deliberately doing so, I recommend you rethink that strategy. Karma exists, even in marketing. Social media has made word of mouth a more powerful and immediate thing. It’s not worth pissing off the people you want as customers. Ever. People are watching, waiting to comment. They expect more of you, and so do I!

Rest assured that I will call you on your campaign if your mismanagement of expectations makes a five year old cry. Particularly if that five year old is mine.

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R.E.S.P.E.C.T. What Your PR Means to Me

by ciaran on December 5, 2009 · 13 comments

If you’re a woman, have kids, and blog, you probably get a fair amount of these:

Dear (obviously inserted name here) Respected Mommy Blogger,
I love your blog! We’d love to tell you about our exciting new (offer, promotion, “club”, sale, program, fundraiser, premiere, launch, etc ad infinitum).

We’re hoping that your readers will be as excited about this (see list above) as we are. Do you think that you could do a post about (see list above) for us? Make sure to use this (trackable bit.ly link, coupon code, other information gathering device) when you post and let us know when your post is live.

Please make sure to post this on (x date) prior to the (see list above) and follow up with a post on (y date). Please be sure to include the attached (banner, stock photo, widget, gizmo etc) and link to our site.

We’d also appreciate it super much if you would tweet the following message (something to the effect of “I’d drop my knickers for xyz”) and be sure to include the (link, coupon code etc).  We’re so appreciative of your help assisting us to get the word out!

Thanks so much,

XXX
(aka the intern who has no idea who you actually are, or what your blog is about)

It’s so easy to tell which girls went all the way in high school. They’re the ones who got this letter in their inbox, immediately said “sure!” and rehashed the email and six attachments on their blog. They also posted the tweet about how they’d drop their knickers. Everyone got the message. Or I should say, the ad.

When faced with this sort of email, I recommend what I’d like to call the “Gottlieb approach”. Send them a simple response along the lines of : “that looks like an advertisement, would you like to buy ad space?”

The difference between Jessica and most other mom bloggers (other than how controversial she is)? She gets paid.

There is a fine, and often treacherous line between a press release and and a request for unpaid advertising. And it can be hard for new bloggers to identify this. We all want to be admired and recognized. So when the star quarterback pats you on the bum and gives you a wink, it’s easy to get swept away. Next thing you know though, you could find yourself under the bleachers, doing unsavory things you know you don’t feel great about, and that you have to keep secret, just to stay on the guest list of the next great event.

Listen up and listen good: The star quarterback probably doesn’t know your name. He’s never read your blog. He’s not interested in how amazing you are. In fact he really doesn’t give a crap about you. He’s using you, for as long as you will “put out”. As will every PR agency and brand and parenting “network” if you give them the chance.

It’s easy to blame them for your victimization. But at the end of the day, it’s not just their fault. It’s your own as well. It’s important that you know your boundaries and stick to them. Just like you made a pact with your friends in Jr High that you wouldn’t go to 3rd base until xyz happened, make a pact with your fellow bloggers that you won’t post free ads. If you don’t respect yourself, why should anyone respect you back? If you settle for appreciation, you can never expect compensation.

If you are on the PR/Marketing side of this equation, and the above letter looks like something you regularly send out – shame on you! And good for you…I guess. I can’t blame you for finding the easy types who are willing to put out. That’s very economical of you. Also very sleazy. So while I congratulate you on your prowess I really can’t like  or respect you. You’ll be discovered in the end. Word gets around about sleazebags. Sure there will always be sluts to prey on, but you’re going to need a good girl eventually. Good girls know that a mensch buys his date dinner at least a few times before he tries to get in her pants.

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More on Mixed Messages: Car Memorial Stickers.

by ciaran on November 12, 2009 · 16 comments

I’ve got a bit of a pet peeve brewing. It has to do with those “In Loving Memory” Stickers that have been popping up on autos all over the Southland. The other day I saw a “In Loving Memory of Johnny” sticker on a beat up civic. Right below that decal, on the very same rear windshield,  was one that said “It’s all about ME!”

So which was it? Me? Or Johnny?

I don’t even get the memorial stickers in the first place. Why on the car? Why not on a tee shirt or a backpack or your front door? How about beer cosy? Cause Johnny… liked beer?

I’ve gone so far as to wonder:

1. Did Johnny die in the car?

2. Was Johnny hit by the car?

3. Is the car now a shrine to Johnny? Is there other Johnny memorabilia inside?

4. Perhaps the life insurance money that was collected upon Johnny’s death, paid for the car?*

*This would possibly explain the “All about ME!” sticker alongside the memorial one. Johnny’s kicked the bucket and paid for my car. Now it’s all about ME! So long Johnny and thanks for the car!

I suppose this is rather insensitive but there is a lesson in all of this. Make yourself clear. If your message is as muddled as a vinyl memorial sticker on the back of an old Honda, you’ve got problems. Johnny may be 6 ft under but make sure your message isn’t. Make sure that you are spreading that message in the right places, to the right people, and with clarity.

Because if you don’t? I just might make fun of you!

PS to the people I love: Please don’t ever put a vinyl sticker on a car for me. You can do better than that.

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Gross Me Out and Make Me Buy a Burger?

by ciaran on October 17, 2009 · 2 comments

I’m back with more commercial criticism. My latest “what were they thinking?” ad is from Jack in the Box and features a hungry young man surfing the corridors of a hotel, in the wee small hours, looking for room service leftovers to satiate his appetite.

One can only assume he is stoned. Jack in the Box is known for their commercials catering to the cannabis crowd. And they’ve gone into smoothie territory before.

This dude is so hungry, he resorts to the ultimate in gross out fare: The “Hallway Smoothie”. Instantly upon hearing and seeing this image, my stomach is churning.

Next shot, salvation, in the form of a 99 cent burger. I’m not sure about you, but my stomach is still churning when I see the burger. I am now forever associating Jack in the Box burgers with something that really resembles vomit. Right when I’d almost gotten over the notion of “e-coli in a box”.

My conclusion? You gotta be stoned to eat it AND to get this commercial. I’m not their Target market, but they have gotten me to talk about them. No such thing as bad press? The commercial is not up on the web anywhere that I have been able to locate, but as soon as it is, I will post it. In the meantime, you can pass judgement on more of their ads on the Jack in The Box website.

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