The week after the New York Times report sees more discussion on tensions and duality, including the divide between journalists and marketers, the soft skills marketers need most, a major deal between Facebook and Publicis, the majority of marketers think Facebook is ineffective, Twitter has a perception problem, LinkedIn and Twitter using peer activity to spur action, Pinterest opens its data feed to marketers, why you need to hustle content, what makes videos go viral, negative online reviews and the law, the announcement that shook the social media industry and more, it's This Week in Digital.
A roundup of relevant links affecting our industry.
Each week, I compose a newsletter that includes a series of links about current events and trends in the worlds of technology, social media, mobile, digital communications and marketing in order to keep leaders up to date on changes, newsworthy items and content that might be useful in their jobs.
If you have additional links, sources or ideas that might be helpful, I'd encourage you to add some via a comment below. And if you’re on Flipboard, you can get these links by subscribing to the This Week in Digital Magazine.
Industry
- As digital ad budgets grow, spending on direct response digital tactics is outstripping branding objectives. (eMarketer)
- There's overlap, tension and duality everywhere in marketers' and communicators' worlds. According to Nestle digital chief Pete Blackshaw, the key is to manage that duality. (AdAge)
- While it's clear that more analytical skills are necessary in marketing leaders of the future, which soft skills are the most important for marketers? (MarketingCharts)
Platforms
- After missing the opportunity to buy them, Facebook is reportedly building a Snapchat competitor. (The Verge)
- Not resting on its failed merger attempt with Omnicom, Publicis Groupe has struck a major deal with Facebook. Recall last year that Publicis and Twitter made an ad arrangement for TV. (AdAge)
- While marketers put a lot of effort into Facebook, it turns out that 57% of them think that effort is ineffective. (Mashable)
- Twitter's problem is not growth; it's perception. (Quartz)
- In an effort to get back into the music business, Twitter was in discussions to buy SoundCloud, but now that deal is off. (Mashable)
- But Twitter isn't giving up on TV; it's turning on features that notify user when their friends are watching various programs. (re/code)
- Here's a map that charts the emotions of the world in real time via Twitter. (AllTwitter)
- Appealing to psychology and attempting to urge action, LinkedIn is showing users how they rank with respect to their peers. (Slate)
- Pinterest has raised another $200 million and is now valued at $5 billion. (Forbes)
- Anonymish app Secret is now global on Android and iOS devices. (re/code)
Measurement/Metrics/Big Data
- The floodgates are open - Pinterest is opening its data firehose to marketers.(WSJ CMO Today)
Legal/HR
- KlearGear.com has been trying to collect $3,500 from a customer because it included a Non-Disparagement clause in its Terms to prevent any online complaints about its products. A court has ruled in favor of the consumer. (Consumerist)
Content
- Journalists tend to be storytellers and marketers focus on product details and business goals. With that contrast, here's a lesson on how to ease the journalist/marketer tension inside brand newsrooms. (Contently)
- As a follow-up to last week's New York Times report, here's something that many content teams might need to consider: why you need to hustle content. (Super Hype Blog)
- A look at just what makes videos go viral. (NY Times)
- Tom Fishburne reminds us exactly why it's important for brands to understand and use the language of the platforms they're participating in, or to put it in the words of Hugh McLeod, "If you talked to people the way advertising talked to people, they'd punch you in the face." (Marketoonist)
Essential Reading/Watching/Listening
- It's university commencement season, and to celebrate that occasion, NPR has an app/site with some 300 great commencement addresses, going back to 1774. (NPR)
- The New York Times isn't the only organization that needs to think digital first; the public relations industry could use a jolt as well. (SHIFT Communications)
- The ebook Social Brands: The Future of Marketing looks at some key elements that help brands to be social, not just do social. The full report is embedded below, but some top-level takeaways are worth noting as well. (We Are Social)
- Social equity drives brand equity
- Communities have more value than platforms
- All marketing must add value
- Go mobile or stand still
- From selective hearing to active listening
- Experiences are the new products
- Civic-minded brands are best placed to succeed
Bonus Content
I generally don't like to focus on myself too much; my goal with these updates is to provide value to you in exchange for the time you spend here. The exception is when something profoundly significant in my personal or professional life happens that can be useful.In this case, as you've probably heard, I left Ford Motor Company. It has provoked some great discussion out there, but there's also some hyperbole and overreaching. For my money, there are two extremely thoughtful and thorough articles about where the industry is heading: Brands Should Bring Their Social Media Home by Frank Eliason and Social Media Road Trip: Right Turn at the Sign by Richard Binhammer.
And if you'd like to read a more in-depth view from me, AdWeek ran a quick interview with me with a couple of worthwhile quotes that have been getting shared widely:
Q: Where do you see social media heading after these last six years?
I think it's at a critical juncture right now. With all the commentary that's been going on about Facebook and the loss of organic reach, obviously, how the paid component to social evolves is critical. Outside of Ford and looking at the industry overall, it saddens me how social has been co-opted by marketing to become just another mass advertising/marketing channel. I think the promise of social is about relationship development, and I have always said that. All the talks I've given about Ford's progress has concentrated on attention and trust. While advertising can get you the attention by interrupting people, it's more important to build relationships with customers and other people you want to reach. And I think communications and marketing and customer service have to band together around social.
Q: So are you, in part, saying earned trumps paid in terms of effectiveness? When we think about our platforms, we always think of paid, earned, owned and—a new term we have started to use—rented. Sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube—we don't own those. We are using other people's property. So how we bring them all together and make them play appropriately is important. It's not about putting all of our eggs in one basket. And it's going to continue to get more complex before it gets easier.
