And, his outstanding Social Media Revolution video which hit YouTube last year generated about 2 million views.
If you haven’t seen SMR 1 don’t worry, check out Q’s new Social Media Revolution 2 video below which launched a few weeks ago and has been updated with more fascinating facts.
Next time someone tells you that Social Media is a fad, send them a link to Q’s video!
P.S.: The facts blaze by, so if you’re interested in Q’s key facts in text, click here.
For anyone looking for a new job (pay attention college grads) or trying to get that next big sale and running into a roadblock because you can’t get the attention of a key decision maker, check out this brilliant job search strategy by copywriter Alec Brownstein.
This chart shows that nearly 30% of U.S. consumers use their cell phones and/or computers at the same time they watch TV.
And, I have to say that I’m guilty on all three counts and possibly four, because I can hold a conversation at the same time – at least I think so – but, don’t ask my wife!
The integration of marketing messages across platforms is becoming more critical by the minute – as well as the ability for Brand’s to create clear, easy to understand and remarkably meaningful communications.
Keep this chart in mind the next time you try to pack 60 seconds of vanilla milkshake copy into a 30 second television commercial!
In an earlier post, I reported that it was great to see the Gen Y kids driving the tremendous outpouring of financial support for Haiti relief via texting.
Think about this campaign for a moment. It has achieved some amazing accomplishments – in a short period of time – since this devastating earthquake hit Haiti just last week on January 12th:
$24 million has been raised via $10 individual donations to help the Haitian people – 1/5th of the amount the American Red Cross has raised to date – breaking all records by a huge margin. Reference note: After Hurricane Katrina – a mere 4.5 years ago – the ARC only received $120,000 via texting – and Katrina occurred on American soil!
The ARC has built a valuable mobile text database for future marketing communications and financial appeal efforts
The ARC’s core donor base skews older and texting gave the Gen Y folks an easy, quick and convenient channel to offer their support (marketing lesson – treat different people differently)
The campaign execution of the ARC and its mobile firm partner mGive was flawless – amazing too – considering the fact that they started to work on the texting campaign the evening of the earthquake
The viral goodwill spread of the “Text ‘HAITI’ to 90999″ campaign in Social Media channels such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter (100K tweets/retweets)
I’m far from being in the Gen Y segment, but I did text a donation to the ARC and will tell you that it was easy for me to participate. As important, I felt comfortable donating because of the supportive and reinforcing messages I saw on TV news and various high profile broadcasts such as the NFL playoffs and the Golden Globes.
Also, after texting the shortcode “HAITI” to 90999, I was asked me to respond “yes” to confirm my donation and then I received a nice comforting thank you too – nice touch.
This overwhelmingly positive experience led me to spread the ARC’s good word and to feel more comfortable using this channel in the future.
Strong brand promise, ease, convenience, simple message and trust are the hallmarks of success for the ARC’s texting campaign and they could be put to good use for your brand’s future success too.
I’m totally tracking with him and have dialed up my recommendations to clients that they need to create more value and more transformational quality experiences for their customers.
Brands need to recognize that when the economy does return to the positive, consumers are going to be more conservative in their spending, looking for more value and more unique, quality experiences than ever before. They do not feel safe with their careers or finances now and I doubt the majority ever will again.
Lastly, one other trend that we all need to dial up, recognize, learn, test, implement etc., is the “easiness” trend which is being driven by consumer’s lack of time and resulting in technology advances especially in mobile marketing and television entertainment and its Web-based convergence. More to come on this trend and Web 3.0 (see Jessi Hempel’s January 8th article in Fortune Magazine) advances in future posts.
Throughout the year, I’ve been using WordPress more and more to build a variety of Web sites and have been super impressed with it.
Not only is WordPress easy to use for non-programmers, but it is so search engine friendly that my clients have easily realized double and triple digit increases in Web traffic.
I’m always on the lookout for new Web technologies and in the world of Content Management Systems, I just researched WordPress a bit more to see if it was too good to be true because there are so many out there (see list here).
My concerns were put to rest after I caught this video of Matt Cutts who works for the Search Quality group in Google, specializing in search engine optimization issues.
“Straight From Google: What You Need To Know”
WordCamp San Francisco – May 30, 2009, by Matt Cutts
In this video (see about 3:10 minutes in), Matt states that if you want to do better in Google, “WordPress automatically solves a ton of SEO issues.” and that it is such a fantastic piece of software that, “WordPress takes care of 80-90% of your Search Engine Optimization mechanics.”
Matt’s word is good enough for me and I encourage you to watch this video for additional SEO tips. I’ve been a big Google fan since its birth and it’s quality people like Matt Cutts that keep me loyal.
This effort by the Charter for Compassion is a fantastic demonstration of the strength Social Media and I hope and pray their good work succeeds. What an uplifting example of the power of marketing, of the Internet and of individual concerned people. I love the fact that you can view the video in multiple languages.
To quote their YouTube site, "The Charter brings together the voices of people from all religions. It seeks to remind the world that while all faiths are not the same, they all share the core principle of compassion and the Golden Rule.The Charter will change the tenor of the conversation around religion. It will be a clarion call to the world."
It's an excellent example of social media marketing at its finest and kudos to Director Jesse Dylan and Producers Priscilla Cohen, Theresa "Sparky" Pomeroy!
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