social media :: Tracy Tuten

A Digital Day Off – Battling Techno-Addiction and Experiencing the JOMO

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on August 27th, 2012 in contact comfort, facebook, mobile apps, social media, technology

How many times a day, maybe even each hour, do you feel compelled to check into the digital lives of others? How does it feel when you are truly disconnected, off the grid? Could you be addicted to digital contact?

Jenna Wortham explains her sense of anxiety at being separated from her phone and, consequently, digital connectivity in an insightful article in the New York Times. Fortunately for Jenna, it turns out the cloud of disconnectedness had a silver lining – the JOMO. JOMO stands for the Joy Of Missing Out. Jenna learned that by sacrificing digital connectivity, she found herself relishing her sense of self in the moment. The point – we can be so wrapped up in the lives of other people and our emotions about what is for them but isn’t for us that we miss the joy of living. A blogger, Anil Dash, wrote about JOMO in July – you can read that post here. Dash compares the joy of missing out to the fear of missing out. They are emotions tied together by opposite sides of the same coin. In fear, we seek out information on the experiences others are having (and that conveniently we are always privy to thanks to mobile, social apps and smartphones), lest we miss an opportunity. And when we learn of that missed opportunity, we find ourselves filled with negative emotions – jealousy, self-doubt, and regret. Dash wisely advises that we consider how we really wish to spend our time – Does connectivity equate to happiness in our lives? Might we choose to devote ourselves to an event knowing we will miss out on something but also knowing we can relish the experience of the choice we made? This is the joy of missing out.

But what if you can’t make that choice? What if the joy of missing out is beyond reach because of an addiction to constant digital contact? Kelly McGonigal, a professor at the Stanford Business School, researches addictions, especially techno-addictions. In a recent interview, McGonigal explains what a techno-addiction feels like.

“There is a common feeling, whether it is a drug or food or shopping or technology. If you pay attention to what is happening in your mind and body, you notice a free-floating anxiety, and then a sense of urgency, especially when separated from the object of addiction: “I have to have it now,” or “I have to keep clicking or checking.” It’s more like panic than a positive desire.”

McGonigal points out that our brains have adapted to the modern world by recognizing that we need information just as we need food. The tendency to feel the sensations of addiction comes from a survival instinct to ensure we eat. In today’s world, information is crucial to survival and our brains know it. Still, McGonigal believes we are subject to overcommunication and learning to control the urge for digital contact is beneficial.

How can we be free of techno-addiction? Like approaching any addiction, just being aware of the sensations you experience when you have a craving is helpful. McGonigal says,

“Surf the urge. Pay attention to what it feels like in your body and to your breathing. Think of the urge like a wave you are going to surf, and breathe through it. Like a wave, it will crash and dissolve. Cravings sustain themselves when your brain and body believe you are going to give in. As soon as you make a commitment not to, it begins to change how the brain is processing the craving. This approach has been shown to help people conquer all kinds of cravings, from food to cigarettes.”

The second bit of advice is to set up a system for doing without constant connectivity. Be without. And that bit of advice brings us to the opportunity I wanted to share with you today.

The Reconnect Project wants to see what a person can do creatively in a day without digital connectivity. You can read more about the project here. The Reconnect Project believes that good can come from a 24-hour online blackout. That’s right – a whole day off the grid. Other than being digitally disconnected, the only other requirement is that you do something, anything, creative.

The Online Blackout will take place September 2nd. September 3rd you are invited to submit your stories, images, songs, etc. about your day of digital freedom to the Reconnect Project Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/reconnectproject.

Get ready. Take a (digital) day off. Live in the moment. And remember to surf the urge and breathe through the impending panic. Once the wave crashes, experience the JOMO!

It’s Tough Being a Kid: These Brands Can Help

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on August 21st, 2012 in advertising, brands, social media, YouTube

Starting just a few weeks ago, BFG 9000 and its client, Ragu, earned a lot of attention in living rooms, online, and certainly among the ad-centric press. The object of interest? A new ad campaign for Ragu called “Long Day of Childhood” sets out to position Ragu as the comfort food of choice for tweens and teens.

Mike Dwyer, U.S. foods director for Ragu-owner Unilever, discussed the decisions behind the campaign with Ad Age. You can read more about it here.

“It can be tough being a kid,” Mr. Dwyer said. “And when it’s tough being a kid, mom and dad want to comfort their kids and the way they do that is through meal time, and Ragu sits squarely in that space,” Mr. Dwyer said.

What could inspire an ad like this one? Nothing like the truth. According to the article, the idea originated with Gerry Graf‘s 8-year old nephew, Henry! Though one of my advertising students today suggested that the recent popularity of the Fifty Shades of Grey book series among the Ragu target audience may have played a role. Might there be more action upon which young ones might walk in these days?

Advertising Age asked – How exactly will this campaign sell pasta sauce? Sauce aside, the video has garnered plenty of views on YouTube, as of this writing nearly 1.5 million. After a long day of childhood, what’s a mom to do? Give’em Ragu!

Could selling appeals based on the emotional needs of stressed children be a trend? Just today, Adweek published a review of a new campaign for DFS furniture which seems based on a similar concept. The spot, called Sitting Pretty, tells the story of a young boy who has what for many young people is a typical day and yet a tough one. As Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home,” and our young protagonist agrees wholeheartedly as he and his dog settle into a comfortable spot on his family’s DFS sofa. If your problem is a hard day, DFS furniture is “making every day more comfortable.” Adweek offers kudos for the beautiful execution and storytelling in this spot.

Are these campaigns effective? Can comfort be the new sweet spot for adult purchases motivated by a child’s needs?

Social Media is where it’s at… but can you be more specific?

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on March 1st, 2012 in brands, social media

Most people have become comfortable with the idea that “social media is where it’s at”, but now it’s time to educate further. With platforms like Facebook and Twitter being at most businesses’ top of mind awareness, the ‘impulse buy’ (so to speak) of an organization has previously been to implement social media marketing strategies on Facebook or Twitter as quickly as possible. But will this offer the best ROI? In part, it depends on the company and the strategy.

A recent article written by Urs E. Gattiker on SocialMediaToday.com posed the following question: “Facebook: Why is Nobody Listening?” According to Gattiker, “Facebook status updates are similar to broadcasting a message to an empty football stadium.” This is a painful statement for any social media marketer to read! Unfortunately, for those who cringed when they read it, Gattiker provided the research to back this up: A June, 2011 study by Parker & Brian that was based on 400 million Facebook fans indicated that only 3.5 to 7.49 percent see your status and just 0.25 to 0.90 percent interact with the status update!

It’s important to note that the numbers presented above are overall statistics and don’t apply to every brand on Facebook; however, they do apply to most. For example, Red Bull has just under 27 million “likes” and provides intriguing content like games, apps, and redbull.tv… but still their engagement hovers around 1.5% (according to Gattiker).

Red Bull has a relatively high level of engagement on Facebook, but is it enough?

So what should brands do? Ignoring the trend toward social media marketing for businesses is not recommended, but enlisting the appropriate amount of help may be. Consider the following:

Who is constructing and implementing your campaign? Does their fee match their experience or are they simply running your campaign because they’re “on Facebook all the time anyway”?
What kind of in-house training has your staff received? While it might not make budgetary sense to bring a social media marketer onto your staff full time, investing in training for your current staff that covers development and implementation of strategy may be a more feasible option.
Where is your target market? If your target market is on Facebook and you can provide them with engaging content, then by all means spend time and resources to develop your campaign there. However, if you’ve found your customers to be more engaged on your blog and that’s all you have time to maintain, consider making that your focus instead.

How do you assess where to grow your brand’s social media presence? What platforms have you had success with?

What is Pinterest?

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on January 18th, 2012 in social media

Pinterest is a social media site that was developed in 2010 and allows people to follow friends based on their interests. While I am new to using it, I have friends who absolutely rave about this site, saying they get lost on it exploring the things they love.

The Pinterest.com website explains, “Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.”

To join Pinterest, you must first request an invite, which you can do by simply visiting Pinterest.com and clicking on “Request an Invite”. Like many social media sites that grow exponentially by accessing friend information (with your permission) via your Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail accounts and connecting you to those you are already friends with, Pinterest also makes you feel right at home by connecting you with other friends that use the site.

After signing up and signing in, you will be prompted to pick a few categories that interest you (travel, education, art, etc.) and Pinterest will then suggest a few pinboards to follow to get you started. Almost instantly after creating my account, I received an email informing me that people I knew were following me.

Pinterest organizes pinboards into more managable categories.

Once your account has been created, you’re ready to start pinning! Pinterest gives you the option to view the pinboards of Pinners you follow (like the friends of mine that Gmail just informed me are also using Pinterest), Everything (here you’ll find a drop down menu of categories that might interest you), Videos, Popular, and Gifts (these are broken into categories based on price range).

To give you an example of how it works, a friend of mine had “repinned” a picture of a mason jar with the following description below it: “Homemade French Vanilla Coffee Creamer. Yes! Healthier – sans all the chemicals in most of the store bought stuff. . .and much cheaper too! Gonna try this with some other flavors as well!!” By clicking on the image from my login screen, I could see who else had pinned the image, share it via other social media sites, and explore it further by clicking on the link to its origin: www.mrshappyhomemaker.com. Of course, I also had the options to repin it to my own pinboard.

Are you on Pinterest? What do you use it for?

David Armano’s Six Social Media Predictions for 2012

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on January 6th, 2012 in social media

David Armano, EVP of Global Innovation & Integration at Edelman Digital has a keen eye for predicting social media trends, which he has shared over the past few years via the Harvard Business Review Blog Network.

One of Armano’s 2011 predictions was that social media would continue to move forward toward business integration. While most researchers in the field of social media marketing probably would have agreed with, if not hoped for, the manifestation of this prediction, there were barriers that existed a year ago that have only recently begun to deteriorate. Many businesses didn’t understand the value of social media for marketing. However, a study from Booz Allen and Buddy Media (published in October 2011 and cited on Armano’s blog post), indicated that “57 percent of businesses surveyed plan to increase social media spending, while 38 percent of CEO’s label social as a high priority.” Right on, Armano!

While some of his predictions were more accurate than others, one thing is for sure: Armano has his finger on the pulse of social media and is willing to step out and share his predictions. Below are his six predictions for 2012, in abbreviated form and in no particular order. Please visit his blog post (link located at the bottom of this post) for more information.

Convergence Emergence. “Trans-media” experiences like those created by Coca Cola and Domino’s will likely define “social” in the year to come.
The Cult of Influence. The tools and techniques professionals use to “score” digital influence and actually harness, scale and measure its results will be more important than Klout scores alone.
Gamification Nation. Game-like qualities emerging within social apps will broaden their reach to other areas like HR, government, healthcare, and even business management.
Social Sharing. Social sharing will expand its reach to be more closely aligned with e-commerce and web transactions.
Social Television. Reality television show voting via tools like Twitter, and participation on shows via “check-ins” will continue to grow as ratings rise for socially integrated shows.
The Micro Economy. A more social approach to solving business problems through a micro-economy will evolve.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree, disagree, or have any predictions you’d like to add? I personally feel that Armano has done a great job covering many areas in the broad spectrum that is social media and I look forward to seeing how his predictions play out. Be sure to visit Armano’s post to read the lively commentary on this subject shared there as well!

Top 25 Warning Signs That You Work in Social Media

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on December 16th, 2011 in social media

Jason Keath will help you determine if you work in social media.

Social Fresh, a website dedicated to the business of social media, recently posted 54 warning signs that you work in social media. Jason Keath (@jasonkeath on Twitter) informed readers in his post that although you may question whether or not you have this illness (his words, not mine,) running down a simple check list will help you know for sure.

One thing’s for sure, misery loves company. If you think you might have “it”, (A.K.A. “a job in social media”), I highly recommend passing this along to someone else you’re skeptical is afflicted with it as well. I know I shared a few laughs as a result. Have a great weekend!

You might work in social media if…

Your parents keep up with your life through your Twitter feed.
You are actually using Google+.
You have sent a DM to someone sitting within 5 feet of you.
It’s been years since someone mentioned news to you that you hadn’t heard already. - Derek Shanahan
You verbally hashtag real world conversations.
You are the mayor of something other than your home. - John Hondroulis
You judge anyone with a hotmail email address as not so hip.
You own a t-shirt or jewelry with your Twitter handle on it.
You look down on anyone that does not own an iPhone.
You get distracted easi… - Dave Delaney
You look down on anyone that does not own an android.
You secretly judge blackberry owners.
You run into people you have not seen for years and they know everything about your life through Facebook, Twitter and your blog. – Inspired by DJ Waldow
You secretly judge QR codes that are on subway ads or in airplane magazines. – Inspired by Scott Stratten
You sign up to social networks before there is any desernable value, just to be an early adopter.
You have reached the friend limit on Facebook.
You know that there is a friend limit on Facebook.
Your mom just tells her friends that you work “on the internet” – Inspired by David Spinks
You checkin to a restaurant before actually speaking to anyone there.
You not so secretly judge anyone following more people than are following them on Twitter.

Study: 9 Drivers of Brand Sociability

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on December 5th, 2011 in brands, social media

“Socializing Your Brand: A Brand’s Guide to Sociability” is a global Weber Shandwick study that was conducted in partnership with Forbes Insights to determine a starting point for executives to develop their own best-in-class practices when creating authentically social brands. Results were released to the public last month (October 2011). Data for the study was collected online from approximately 1,900 senior executives from high revenue companies across 50 countries worldwide. Analysis of the data defined 9 drivers of Brand Sociability, which you can read more about in the infographic at the bottom of this post:

It’s not the medium – and it’s more than the message.
Put your brands in motion.
Integrate or die.
Make social central.
Listen more than you talk.
Count what matters – meaningful engagement.
Think global.
Go outside to get inside.
Be vigilant.

Although 54% of the executives studied believe that the rewards outweigh the risks when it comes to using social media to increase global brand awareness, 43% still believe the risks to be greater than or equal to the rewards.

“There is a disconnect between theory and reality when it comes to socializing a brand. All too often, brand managers clamor for the latest and greatest application and new technology, bypassing the need for clear business objectives, a true social orientation and programs that deliver real value to brand communities. To be a fully socialized brand, leaders need a new blueprint; one that factors in both proper internal structure as well as external programming that help people be informed and identified with brands they engage online,” said Chris Perry, president of Digital Communications, Weber Shandwick. “Organizations need to break down silos, operate strategically and integrate all marketing communications. Only then can a brand successfully and seamlessly engage in a real social dialogue.”

USA Network & Yap.tv Partner to Create Social TV Guide App

Posted by Tracy Tuten Ph.D. on November 29th, 2011 in mobile apps, social media

New app seeks to increase engagement amongst TV fans.

First, everyone needed a website. Then, as social media expanded and companies began to see profits as a result of engaging with fans and followers, industry leaders sought to incorporate sites like Facebook and Twitter into their online marketing plans. Most recently, the creation and use of mobile apps has become increasingly popular; USA Network will soon join the list of companies using this tool to engage viewers.

The Hollywood Reporter shared on October 17^th that “NBCUniversal’s USA Network has partnered with Yap.tv, a maker of a social TV guide app for mobile devices, to launch a USA-branded app for its shows and fans.” The app, said to be made available this month, was described by its partners as “the latest step in the fusion of traditional TV and social media.”

The app will combine the following USA TV initiatives to engage fans: Character Chatter and Facebook integration, instant polls, chat groups, cast photos, and “show rankings with Yap’s animated show guide, which allows users to see what their friends are watching and what other fans are saying about their favorite shows on social media.”

USA Network understands the value of an engaged consumer for expanded reach. Jesse Redniss, VP of Digital for USA Network, told The Hollywood Reporter that this is a goal they are constantly working toward. “Yap.tv gives our fans an innovative platform for personalizing their interaction and engaging with content in ways that allow us to continually evolve our social TV experience,” said Redniss.

Although Yap founder and Chief Marketing Officer Shawn Cunningham said that they chose to launch the app with USA because they “(have) probably done the best job at engaging fans already via social media,” he has big plans to provide other TV networks with similar opportunities to engage with fans.

Do you utilize apps to connect with brands you enjoy? What are your thoughts on the USA-branded app?

Archive for social media

You might work in social media if…

“Homecoming Freeboot Friday-Oct. 28, 2011″ by Sarah Caton

“Family Vacation” by Jordan M. Nolan

“Animal Kingdom” by Kelly McDade

“The Pencil Jam” by Brennan Hickey