Twitter: The Next Generation.

Last week, Twitter held its first developer conference in San Francisco, Chirp. While this in itself was a big step for the 140 character social media site that a majority of the advertising and marketing community still doesn’t fully understand, the announcement that came out of this conference is where we see Twitter finally making a move towards making money for itself. This is big news for the tiny company that had more ambition than direction when it was first established. Here’s how the advertisements will work: Twitter will algorithmically assign the most effective ads to your stream. This targeting will be based on what you Tweet about, who you follow and the general gestalt of your realtime Twitter existence (taken from Dave Pell’s blog on forbes.com) Some skeptics have raised the point that this could make Twitter go the way of the dinosaur, with users jumping ship to another similar site based upon being fed up with unwanted adverts, but I do think that Twitter has really made a great case for keeping people aboard. These “advertisements” will be actual tweets. With this, people will be able to reply, re-tweet, and interact with these advertisements. If a company’s ad-tweet does not get enough interaction with the Twitter population, it will be removed and they will be forced to put up something new in an effort to get a response from the masses. So, this will definitely help Twitter control those annoying ads that we have become all to accustom to on Facebook (lonely and single ads, anyone?).

This is a big first step for Twitter towards making a company that has an estimated worth £650 million to start to generate some cash flow of its own. I, for one, believe that the tactful way in which they have planned to integrate this with their existing infrastructure provides more of a benefit for its users than a headache. The constant worry on Twitter was wether it could last. With this step, depending on how the “masses” view it, could mark a strong turning point for the social media site that just weeks ago was seen as a passing fad.

Another announcement that came out of Chirp was the fact that Twitter has now begun acquiring third-party software hosts, starting with the acquisition of Atebits, which makes Tweetie (currently only for the iPhone, but a Blackberry version is in the works). This is a good thing for users, but could be a troubling thing for the many third-party software developers that have capitalized on the freedom given by Twitter pre-Chirp conference. Twitter has always worked well with others, with 75% of its users coming tweeting through third-party software applications. One of the benefits of this is that a Twitter owned application will create less confusion with new users but also could potentially offer benefits of exclusivity in the future. Good for users, but bad for software developers. An acquisition like this could prove to the end of the “playing nice” era for Twitter. It is a safe bet, but much too soon to tell. All we know for sure is that Twitter has emerged from a time with no clear future and taken a stance as a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Connectoholics, Anonymous

The Social Media World Forum last week had me pondering a lot of things when it comes to the ways in which we as people communicate with each other on practically an hourly basis (and that is even being generous). We constantly need to see what other people are saying, not only to us but to others. When it comes to social media websites, this can mean communication to everyone or no one at the same time. While social media is a great new tool for marketing and PR companies, it is also a fantastic personal tool, hence the “social” aspect of it. Take a look at your facebook “friends.” I would hedge a bet that the percentage of people you actually talk to (in person or on the phone) on a quarterly basis would be around 25%, even less in some cases. The fact is we are fascinated with the idea of seeing what other people we sort of know or knew a long time ago are up to.

What I see as the main idea under this is that we all have a strong need in this day in age to be connected to everyone we possibly can in any medium we can get our hands on. This be twitter, facebook, linkedin, foursquare, email, skype, ect… (the list goes on). Think about this scenario: you are traveling to multiple countries without your laptop. You have a cell phone that does not have internet or any other way to connect to social media sites (i.e. text). You will be gone for at least two weeks. How much do you think you’ll miss online? My guess is a ton. We go even eight hours without checking in to facebook, twitter, ect…, and we have missed hours worth of communication. There is no way we can keep up with the barrage of information that flows every second on these grand social media sites. Even I have experienced the harsh effects of communication withdrawal, and this is being without internet access for close to ten hours.

To go along with this, I read the other day that facebook topped google as the most visited site for a week (7-13 of March). This means that facebook is now the most visited site in the world. And to think that I was just arguing that google was the new force to be reckoned with. Looks like google buzz isn’t anything to “buzz” about. But this just goes to show you how much people yearn to be connected to their online community. We not just checking facebook or twitter once a day, we are checking it about as rapidly as we check out email, even more so. We are addicted to the idea of being connected. We need to have the newest news story, the fastest sports update, the quickest response time; instant everything. News stories that may be hours old seem, well, old to us in this age of “quicker than instant.” Now the question to ask ourselves is, “how would we live without it?”

Staying Power?

With the Social Media World Forum starting in London on Monday, I am reminded of the past social networking sites that have gone the way of the dinosaur (see this very humorous video article on Friendster). With such an emphasis being put on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, I often think of the social networking sites of the past that had much more clout than they do now. For instance, Friendster was once widely popular in the United States, far surpassing any rival at the time, where as now, it draws 90% of its audience from Asia (as this Time magazine article explains ever so nicely). So, at this time, Myspace began to take most of the traffic directed from Friendster. This was less than five years ago. In the past year, Facebook has overtaken Myspace as the top social networking site in the United States and just a month ago surpassed 400 million users worldwide.

So now the big fish in the pond is Facebook (being valued by this article at upwards of $10 billion). We definitely need to ask ourselves this: does Facebook have staying power in American and European markets that Friendster and Myspace have failed to show? This question can really be argued for and against. I would tend to lean towards the ‘yes’ end as far as Facebook’s staying power, yet we must always try and learn from the past or we are “doomed to repeat it.” Where can Facebook succeed in the American market where these other sites have failed? Now, the qualifier I would put on this is that Myspace did not necessarily “fail,” but it did take a big hit in its clout with other social networking sites. Myspace has brilliantly re-designed itself to become a huge host for musicians. The amount of free music that is available on Myspace is next to none, and it provides an excellent forum for new, up-and-coming artists to showcase their work to the world; all free of charge. Also, we cannot forget that Myspace users are among the most engaged users out of all social networking sites. Friendster, as I pointed out eariler, merely shifted to another, albeit, powerful market.

As LeeAnn Prescott points out in this article, “There’s no denying that Facebook is winning the game thus far – but that doesn’t mean another site can’t jump in and take over. MySpace’s decline is living proof that a major shift can occur in the course of 2 years. But for now, all eyes are on Facebook.” So again, can they make it last? Where I am inclined to say “yes” is based upon the fact that Facebook’s appeal is marketed to a much broader range of individuals. It is simple, easy to use, and, for the most part, honest. We are connecting with our Mothers and Fathers and even our Grandparents on Facebook. I just do not see how easily another social networking site can come in and swoop away over 400 million users. When something gets too big, then it becomes unbeatable. But only time will tell for Facebook. While only two years ago, Facebook was trailing to Myspace in US makets, we suddenly see it number one with a bullet; so the question we should be asking ourselves is not “Will it die?,” but “What’s next?”

With next weeks Social Media World Forum, I hope to be able to bounce these questions around to the experts of the industry and determine where the future lies for social media and networking.

Social Media Technology: Embrace the Change

Next week we are due to visit the Social Media European Forum in London. We signed up to this conference, as like many other marketing and PR agencies, to remain successful; new technologies need to be embraced and integrated into current marcomms campaigns and we need to be aware of the trends. There are many conferences and seminars around  the UK showing you how to use linkedin, twitter, how to blog etc. However after conducting research on 3000 businesses, we are now finding that 50% of SME businesses are now already using social media technologies within their business to some degree. Whether this is effective or not is another issue entirely and a different debate. However, as a marketing agency  we not only have provided training courses in social media , but also actively use it for many of our clients and as part of their marketing mix.

So after much internet trawling and searching for cutting edge conferences that can provide a holistic view of this hot topic, we believe the Social Media Forum is unique in that it is providing examples of global best practice using social media and including some of the big brands to discuss this. Furthermore, if your business specialises in a certain part of social media, such as cloud computing, mobile or social TV, there are going to be specific areas of expertise. We personally are going to be at the enterprise section, looking to discover the latest technologies that can be used to manage and monitor social media as well as listening to the great line up of speakers to discuss their social media strategy. We have already seen that the social media market is experiencing extreme growth, from $500m in 2008 to an expected $5billion by 2012. Social Media is an exciting way to reach new customers, all online. If you have time to spare, come along to the conference, more information can be found here www.socialmedia-forum.com. See you there!

Passion of the brand

On Tuesday night, we were treated with a very passionate, edgy, and exciting presentation from Paolo Volpara (former CEO of Leo Burnett). What was interesting with his presentation is his emphasis on using passion and creativity to create a “brand.” When I think of “Brands,” immediately what comes to mind are things like: Nike, Coca-Cola, Apple, ect. If we take a look at what these companies have done, we see that they have used passion and creativity to create long lasting brand appeal.

Let us take a hard look at Apple. When you think of Apple, you think: simple, attractive, and trendy. I would bet that most people have at least one sort of Apple device. The passion that this brand has created is quite amazing. People seen using a NON-Apple .mp3 player are usually scoffed at. Why is this? It is because Apple has created a brand in which it is attractive and trendy to be seen using an iPod. Other devices are seen as cheap, generic, or not as effective; even if they are just as good, if not, better than the iPod in terms of functionality. The thing that keeps the iPod on top is the brand: Apple. They are passionate about what they create, which shines through with the products that they continually produce.

Now where does this passion come from? It comes from the people that are employed at Apple as well as the people they employ to market and advertise their products. From a marketing standpoint, it is all about discovering the passion and creativity of the client through their beliefs and values and effectively communicating that in any advertisement or marketing scheme that is produced on their behalf.

Now, with a marketing company, your service is marketing for others. Where the passion and creativity comes into play is where you put your special spin or touch on everything that you produce for your clients. Now, the trick is to not lose sight of the vision of the client, but rather combine their vision with your touch to produce something that is utterly fantastic. You want people to be able to say, “Yeah, that campaign is by Panik!, and it looks wonderful!.” People need to be able to see what you have that sets you apart from the rest of the pack, and that is what your voice or style will be.

One thing that Paolo said that was quite controversial is that Google was not a “brand.” He saw Google as just another service that will go the way of AskJeeves, Yahoo!, or Altavista. The argument against that is quite strong. When you take a look at Google, they are doing things that none of their predecessors had done. They are now “powering” phones for T-mobile and other phone companies. They have made their own web browser, Google Chrome. Their email, Gmail, is probably the most powerful email around; and at 1GB for free, the best deal around as well. Universities have begun to partner with Google and Gmail to power their school email. Their name is synonymous with searching. People now use “google” as a verb. That is priceless advertising and PR. Google will be around for quite a long time. Where Paolo was speaking on Google is that he did not believe that they had the power to last like other great brands. I would think that we can begin to compare Google to a gigantic brand such as Apple. Google is now the place that most people will look when they are opening an email address. Whenever you search for anything on the web, you use Google. With Google maps, I don’t believe anyone goes anywhere else to find directions. Google’s passion is reliability, convenience, and simplicity. You go to Google.com and you have everything you would ever need right at your fingertips. That is long lasting power and brand recognition, all achieved through passion and creativity.

Open Coffee Club

panik will be supplying cupcakes again for the Open Coffee Club on 3rd March 2009.

See you there!

OpenCoffee

Leeds Twestival – 12th Feb 2009

panik were proud to attend (and supply cupcakes!) the 2009 Leeds Twestival, a celebration of Twitter! The idea behind it was that 175 other cities would all host a Twestival at the same time, to raise money for charity, and spend the evening Tweeting to and about each other!

The evening was a great success, with food, entertainment, excellent raffle prizes, and of course, a lot of Tweets!

Visit Leeds Twestival for more information about the event, as well as pictures and reports from the night!

Open Coffee Club

panik is proud to have been asked to provide cupcakes and be a sponsor of the Open Coffee Club on Tuesday 3rd February 2009.  The Club is a chance for a wide range of digital media and technical types, to mingle together over coffee, and generally make use of the fantastic facilities at the Northern Technology Institute (NTI Leeds).

Visit the event site for more information.

A report and pictures will follow, we hope to see you there!

panik tips – Branding, what you should know

In a nutshell, a brand is the supporting images and ideas such as the name, logo, slogan, design 

scheme, as well as the intangible assets related to a business which symbolise all the information 

connected to a company, product or service. A good brand will confirm the credibility of the com- 

pany, connect the target market’s prospects emotionally, motivate the buyer and concrete the users’ 

loyalty. Branding is not about getting your target to choose you over the competition, but to get the 

target to see you as the preferred solution to their needs. 

Here are our five must do’s when it comes to branding: 

 

1) Define your company/product/service 

The brand represents what the company is, so identifying some key points about the company will 

enable the brand to represent exactly what is intended. A few useful questions to ask are, what 

services are being offered? What is the company mission statement and aims? What does the 

company specialise in and what is the target audience? 

2) What do you want your brand to do for your company? 

Answering this question will help decide how to go about achieving the brand’s objectives. It may 

be a small business who want to gain more clients, or an international company who want to be- 

come the leader in their line of work. Knowing the underlying aims of the brand will help to shape 

the brand campaign and market strategy, however large or small. 

3) Know your target market: 

This is probably one of the most important things to consider when defining the brand. The best 

way to start is to conduct an informal market analysis, looking into the location of the business, 

what the target market knows about the current brand, how the brand is to be perceived, what at- 

tracts the target market to the brand and who are the competitors in the market. If the brand is 

wrong for your target market, your customers will soon let you know! 

4) Know what your competitors are doing…and then be different. 

There will be many things to face when designing a brand with the most important being the com- 

petition as well as issues such as location, financing, persuading clients etc. The best way to 

counter the competition is to spend time researching into them, finding out how they operate, what 

they do differently to you, how you would improve on what they do and what they do better. Once 

these questions have been answered, you are a lot clearer on what you need to do to get ahead of 

the game. Keeping up to date with the current market will also be a great advantage and this can 

easily be done online by registering for internet updates, trade publications, news alerts and elec- 

tronic newsletters as well as applying for their brochures and browsing on their websites. Differen- 

tiation is the key to competing in today’s marketplace and will therefore contribute to the brand’s 

longevity. 

5) Branding isn’t just about creating a logo… 

To view branding as naming, design or advertising is too myopic and will shorten the brand’s life 

expectancy. Consideration of all the other aspects linked to business such as quality, efficient pro- 

duction, high service levels, effective selling, strong supply chain etc will contribute to the effective- 

ness of the brand and appeal to consumers more. Markets are also dynamic, not static, so 

branding strategy needs to be flexible in order to adapt to external factors placed upon it such as 

consumer response. 

SEO – Often overlooked!

This week, panik has been concentrating on the SEO aspect of the business, working for a couple of clients to help increase traffic to their sites.  The key lesson learned in this task has been thus:

 - DO NOT underestimate the power of Search Engine Optimisation!

A bit of thought and effort applied in this area can really increase search traffic to your site.  You can very often bypass the expense of Google AdWords by utilising this method, and it’s surprising how many of your competitors are not capitalising on it either.

If you want an SEO Audit done on your website, contact panik – we’re currently offering this service for FREE, so make the most of it!