The Social Media Blog - Methodical Madness

6 ways to write a better brief

The other day, I read a great article from AdAge on the importance of  a well-written brief. It struck a chord with me because I am a firm believer that an effective brief is critical to the success of any project or campaign. In fact, nothing at The Duffy Agency is executed without a brief. 

In the article, a marketing consultant, Casey Jones, shares his experience, “The norm is partial, incomplete and sometimes no brief at all.” Unfortunately, my experience has been similar. Some people think a brief means only a paragraph of information. It doesn’t. Some think it’s just a list of a product’s features. It isn’t. A well-written brief is akin to a well-defined map. It clearly guides the team and ensures that the final outcome is achieved in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

 

To formulate a brief that will not only help define your message, but also add value to the strategic and creative process, here are a few tips.

 

1. Choose reality over the abstract
   
   The more specific you can be with your target demographic, the better your brief will become. To say your target is  anyone with a mobile phone would probably be too broad. Even using the word “target” may be too abstract. Abstract concepts don’t buy products, people do. So, define your target as an individual.  What’s their gender, age, education? Try creating a full bio for your target. Who is this person? What’s their name? What do they look like? Look through stock photography and create a visual of the person. All of this will help the team visualize who they are talking to and develop better creative.
   
   
2. It’s all about their needs
   
   One of my favorite sayings is that people don’t need drills; they need holes. The product or service must satisfy a motivating need in order to sell. When developing the needs of your target audience make sure you are not confusing the drill for the hole.
   
   
3. Play mind games
   
   A person is not a blank slate waiting to receive messages. They are an amalgam of all their experiences and knowledge. Use this to your benefit. What pre-existing knowledge, experience or feelings will influence how they interpret your message? Has the target had a bad experience in the past with your product? Is there a new feature that fixes a perceived problem? Btw, perceived is the key word here. How your target perceives your brand makes all the difference in how you will communicate with them.
   
   
4. Make a good impression
   
   If a customer was exposed to the message you created for only a few minutes and walked away, what would you want them to think about your brand? Be clear and concise in your offer. Bounty paper towels has done this brilliantly for years. What do we all know about Bounty? It’s the quicker-picker-upper. It will quickly clean up spills and will do so faster than any other brand. What promise do you make to your customers? And does that promise fulfill a need?
   
   
5. The proof is in the pudding
   
   When creating any type of messaging, what proof are you offering so that the target believes it. And remember, just because it is true does not make it believable or convincing. You could say that your motor oil is better for high performance engines. Or you could say that your motor oil is better for high performance engines which is why 75% of all NASCAR drivers use it in their racing cars. If you are better, faster, more economical or whatever your claim, make sure you use target-relevant facts to back up your claims.
   
   
6. Add some definition
   
   For your campaign, messaging, ad, social media program, etc. to be successful you need one important ingredient: a definition of success. Ask yourself, if your campaign is 100% effective, what will happen? What will your customer do? Success may be an increase in Web site hits. Maybe success is the number of people retweeting your content. Regardless of the goal, just make sure you establish one. As Yogi Berra once said, “You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.” 

Obviously, there are other things to keep in mind when developing an effective brief depending on the brand and objective. What pieces of advice would you give? What do you find lacking in the briefs you’ve seen? Let us know in our comments section.

And of course, if you would like The Duffy Agency to help you with developing your next brief, don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

Happy Holidays from The Duffy Agency

Everyone at The Duffy Agency would like to thank the readers of this blog and all our colleagues and clients for a tremendous year. And in that same spirit, we wish you the happiest of holidays and a healthy and prosperous 2012!

We also wanted to share with you a special holiday gift: a holiday poem inspired by Dr. Seuss. Click below to read it. We hope you enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Dear John Letter to Google+

Dear Google+,

Let me start this off by saying that it's not you; it's me.

Really. I think you're great. These last few weeks have been really fun. Your simple elegance is breath-taking and you are so easy to get along with.

I can't deny that I was attracted to you at first. You were so new and shiny. Call it "the grass is always greener" syndrome. Or simply call it "social lust." Sure, you were a bit more modern, a bit younger, a bit flashier and brought some things to the table that I had not seen before. You seemed wild and exotic. But eventually,  as we spent time together, I realized that you didn't really offer me anything new.

And that's the rub.

I don't know that I am ready to break-up with my current social network.  I've been going with that other site for so long now (coming up on 5 years) that I'm just more comfortable with them. We've shared so many memories together. Pictures. Videos. Games. Even a poke or two. Plus, my entire family and all my friends really like my current social network. It'll be hard to get them to switch their minds and embrace what you have to offer.

I know this may come as a shock. But from what I understand, I am not the only one that feels this way. Your appeal has been dwindling by the day. And recently, I've even heard that members of your own family have disparaged you in public (albeit accidentally). How can I love you if even your own parents don't think your worthy of their time?

I know that maybe if I spent more time with you, I would change my mind. But that's just it. I don't have the time for another social network—at least not the time it takes to develop a proper relationship.

Not that you care, but I think my current social network noticed my wandering eye. They've really done their best to improve our relationship (although it still seems very needy at times...wanting to know what I am doing every second). They've even given themselves a makeover to make me more interested. And I have to say, it's working.

Perhaps if we met at a different time in my life things would be different. And maybe they still can be. I'm not completely closing the door to any future with us. So, I'll keep tabs on you just in case.  

I wish you nothing but success.

My warmest regards,

~ Kevin

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

The lasting legacy of Steve Jobs

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

Let me start by confessing that I am somewhat of an anomaly in the advertising and marketing world. And it's not because that I am a copywriter who has absolutely no interest in writing the great American novel. Nor is it because , as a creative, I actually relish working within the boundaries of the brief. No, it's none of those things. In fact, it is far worse.

You see, I am a PC.

In an industry littered with Apple fanboys (and girls) and a reverence for Apple products that borders on idolatry, I sit with my over-sized black HP laptop somehow managing to make a living despite using a clearly less stylish and, as I've been told throughout my career, inferior operating system.

Now there is no doubt that Apple computers are nice. They're sleek. They're light-weight. They're stylish. In other words, they're everything I am not.  But that is not the reason I don't use an Apple. Truthfully, it just good old-fashion sloth. I have been using a PC for so long that it's just more comfortable. And yes, I know that Apple computer are 1000% easier to use than PC's. I've also been told this for years by people who make the Republican party look like amateurs when it comes to sticking to the talking points.  I consider this assertion that operating an Apple is somehow written into our DNA along the same lines as someone who grew up in France telling me that speaking French is the easiest thing in the world. Meanwhile, I sit there not knowing a word of French telling him that, in fact, English is the easiest language. My point is that I could very easily argue that a PC is more intuitive. But I won't.

So why am I telling you all this. Well, as a technological pariah, my instinct is to shun anything Apple—and at this point, truthfully,  it's just out of principle. But even with all my natural inclination to hate all things Mac, I can't but help admire the life and mourn the passing of Apple's great visionary, Steve Jobs.

In my mind, there are two specific aspects that made him probably one of the most influential people of the last hundred years. The first was that he never let the impossible stand in the way of a good idea.

A few years ago, I read an article about how Steve Jobs worked with his development team. He would come to them with the craziest ideas. They would tell him what he was talking about was impossible to build. And he would tell them he didn't care—just build it.

The other great trait that he possessed was the ability to understand not only his customers, but people in general. In fact, of the many accolades that will heaped upon Steve Jobs in the coming week, from technological savant to entrepreneur to envelope-pushing visionary, it can't be overstated that his prowess as a marketer was second to none and his style of marketing should be something we all try to emulate.

In 2009, while participating in a panel discussion at SXSWi, I saw Mark Cuban say that giving customers what they wanted was a bad idea. Initially, I thought he was just being provocative. But he had a good point. He argued  that if all companies did was give people what they wanted then there would never be any true innovation. People, he reasoned, don't know what they don't know.

No one knew this better than Steve Jobs. He always seemed to be 5-10 years ahead of the rest of us. But not in an arrogant sort of way. More like someone who goes ahead of the pack to blaze a trail that makes it easier for the rest to follow. And in a career that spanned 4 decades, Steve managed to also build one the biggest and most sublime brands  the world has ever seen.  There is no missing Apple products. From the first Macs to the iPad, they all have a certain look, feel and emotional draw.  People love their Macs. They love their iPhones. This is something you don't see with PCs. PCs are more utilitarian and less, well, cuddly.  I mean, I like my HP...but I don't think I'll be getting a special haircut expressing my adoration.

Nothing made the genius of the Apple brand more clear than a viral video that may the rounds a few years back entitled "What if Microsoft designed the iPod package" (oddly enough this video was produced by Microsoft.)

Even from the cold, dark recesses of my PC world, I marvel at the sheer consistency of the Apple brand experience across products, packaging, and even architecture. I mean, Apple stores are massive but not cluttered. They all have about 3-4 products but they have hundreds of them on display so everyone can play with them. It's a fun and enjoyable experience going to an Apple store (next to Chuck E. Cheese it's one of my kids favorite places).

I've "talked" before about what we can learn from the way Apple markets its products.  So I won't bore you by repeating them (bore yourself by reading the post).But suffice to say that Steve Jobs never let his customers guide his product development. He let his imagination and intuition guide it.

He developed one of the first truly social brands and tapped into the idea of creating a vocal and passionate community. He was authentic and engaged with his customers. And in turn, they became willing zealots in the Church of Steve. But he never rested on his laurels. He was always pushing for the next thing. He sought perfection and possibility. And when Steve Jobs marketed his products like they were the best thing since sliced bread, that was usually because they actually were the best things since sliced bread.

Steven Jobs was a once in a generation person. His brilliance has changed the way we communicate and interact. Forever. And the only thing worse than losing such a brilliant mind, would be not to learn from the trail he blazed.

So from a staunch PC users (who now owns an iPod, iPad and soon iPhone), I bid a fond farewell to Mr. Jobs and only wonder what could have been if he only had a few more years. 

Share your thoughts about Steve Jobs in our comments section.

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

This time, it's personal

Social media asks a lot from both consumers and the brand. So, before you start putting yourself out there, make sure you are ready for the relationship.

In the old days of advertising (pre-2005), campaigns came and went. You'd run them for a while and then see how they were being received by the marketplace. Based on that, you'd either continue or scrap it and try something else. Marketing campaigns were almost like spaghetti. You'd cook it up based on best practices , throw it against the wall and see if it stuck. (I realize this is completely oversimplifying the process, but you understand what I mean.) Stopping a campaign had no real consequences.

Social media is different.

With social media, your goal is to create a community around your brand. And this changes the terms of the relationship between consumer and brand. With social media, consumers invest a certain amount in a brand. Brands are no longer asking for your attention; they are asking for your time. It's a more personal relationship. In fact, just look at the lexicon of social media: "liking" brands on Facebook and "following" brands on Twitter. These are very personal expressions.

And like any personal relationship, breaking up has definite repercussions.

Sure, you may think you can still remain friends, but no one likes to be dumped. And when you stop a social media campaign and abandon a community that has invested time and energy into that relationship (especially suddenly and without warning), there are consequences.  From a brand's perspective, the worst of these consequences is the lost of trust.

Business strategist, Fred Reichheld, talks about the value of trust in his book The Loyalty Effect. Trusting a brand builds loyalty to that brand, and loyalty to a brand brings sustained profitability. In fact, research shows that loyal customers are more apt to continue buying a brand even if the price increases. Once a consumer loses trust in a brand it is almost impossible to regain it. And if you do, it is a lot harder the second time around.  

In other words, social media is a commitment—not a campaign. And as such, it should be well thought out beyond your immediate marketing goals. Now, some of you may say that the commitment/campaign debate is just semantics. But if you develop a social media presence with the idea that it is just another campaign, you may be missing the point.

If you want help developing your social media strategy—one that will stand the test of time—feel free to contact us at The Duffy Agency.

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

What the pharmaceutical industry can teach us about social media

Social media marketing has grown faster than most any other business discipline (and I use the term "discipline" loosely) in the last 50 years.  And like many new disciplines, it has been going through growing pains. Social marketing has always had its critics. Some celebs have even announced it death. But this is to be expected with any new discipline. What's happening today in social media marketing is reminiscent of the trials and tribulations of the pharmaceutical industry in the late 19th century.

Back then, chemistry and industry came together and created well-known brands such as Merck, Bayer and Pfizer. It seemed there was no ailment that modern science could not cure. Unfortunately, this also gave rise to snake-oil salesmen selling tonics and potions to cure everything from headaches to hair loss, with no real idea what they were selling or how to properly use it.

There was such a rush to be first to market that proper research was often pushed aside—sometimes with disastrous results.  Bayer, for example, created a brand new product to help morphine addicts kick their habits called Heroin (yes, Heroin was a brand name, but thanks to the Treaty of Versailles we can all use it now...so to speak).  The only sign of efficacy people looked for was if it made you feel good. If it did, they reasoned,  it must be curing you. That's how we end up with cocaine-laced pain medications.

Social media marketing is going through a similar process. Since its inception, much of social media's efficacy has been based on anecdotal evidence with little thought to research and true causation studies.  In fact, if you look at some social media marketing reports, the numbers seem very promising on the outside, yet a bit more in-depth study reveals serious flaws in their research (read our " Don't believe everything you read about social media" post) .

That's why it was refreshing to listen to Dan Zarrella's The Science of Social Media Webinar this week. What Dan does best is take aim at, what he calls, "unicorns and rainbow" advice from social media experts. In other words, he tries to put science behind the hyperbole with interesting and sometimes surprising results.  For example, according to Dan and the numbers he's looked at, the idea that "engaging in the conversation” is important, really isn't. The most important thing, as we've all heard before, is publishing interesting content. Dan will also be the first to tell you that his research is not iron clad, but he makes the best inferences based on the data he can collect. But the promising part is that the marketing industry is starting to look at social media with a more critical, research-focused eye.

Social media has a bright future but it is still in its infancy. And despite what you may hear, social media is not a magic tonic that will cure all your marketing ills. It can be an effective part of your overall marketing program, but it takes more than just showing up. Like a 19th century patient downing elixirs filled with opiates, simply creating Twitter accounts and Facebook pages may make you feel good, but is it really fixing the problem? Social media—like any marketing effort—takes serious thought, thorough research and a solid strategy.  

At The Duffy Agency, we have a motto that says "we don't guess, we know." What that means is that when we develop any type of marketing campaign, we never assume; we take the time to find out. The same is true with social media. Your social media campaign needs to be based on strategy not just tactics. And if someone tells you all you need to do with your social media marketing is simply show up and "engage in the conversation," watch out. They could just be trying to sell you something.

(By the way, if you would like help with your social media marketing feel free to contact us.)

What do you think? Is there too much hype in social media and not enough fact? Let us know in our comments section.

 

6 Essential Parts to Any Content Strategy

In today's social media driven marketplace, we all know that content is king (and actually, to be more specific, optimized content is king). And to develop the best optimized content, you need to start with a content strategy.

Of course, there are entire books written on the subject of content strategy (two of my favorites are Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson and Content Rules by Ann Handley and CC Chapman). However, I thought it would useful to give you some basics that you need to think about when developing your content strategy.

1. Purpose
   It may seem like a no-brainer, but the first thing you need to ask yourself is why are you developing the content in the first place. This is the "why" of content strategy. What do you hope to achieve with the content?  If the answer to that question is "tell people about my product or service," then you also need to ask yourself, does your audience want to hear about your product or service?
   
   
2. SEO
   Search engine optimization is a critical part of any content strategy. All the content you put on the Web, from tweets to web site copy, should be optimized and helping your audience find you through search engines. How do you determine what words you should be optimizing for? Well, that's for another post. But once you have developed your list of keywords, use them in all your content.
   
   
3. Subject matter
   Once you decide why you want to create content, you next need to get a handle on what you'll be creating. It is important to remember during this phase that it is not about what you want to say ("my widget costs less than the other guy's widget"), it's about what your audience wants to hear ("I don't care about the cost, as long as the widget is environmentally friendly"). This is where we advise clients to take a step back. Before you start "talking," take a moment and listen. Research blog, groups and  other sites where your audience is already having conversations. Find out what they want and what matters to them. You'll develop more engaging content if you first understand what is of interest to your audience.
   
   
4. Tone and style
   Content is a chance for you to create a personality for your brand. How you say something can affect your brand as much as what you say. For example, a laid-back, surfer-dude tone would probably not work well with a financial institution. On the other hand, if a surf shop's content sounds like the financial report from the Wall Street Journal, then that probably doesn't help either. This is where a professional copywriter can help. A way to help visualize the tone of your copy is to think about an actor. For example, should the tone of the copy sound like Wilfred Brimley, very matter-of-fact and straight forward, or more like Tom Hanks, friendly and conversational. Most people have a reference point with movies and understand how different  characters would sound. This type of exercise can make it easier to imagine what the tone of the content should be.
   
   
5. Distribution and Repurposing
   This one seems pretty straight forward. Where will the content appear? Is it for Facebook or your web site? Will it be used in direct mail or banner ads? But something else to consider is the distribution lifecycle. That is, where will the content appear over time. With all the different media channels available to your audience—Twitter to TV—you may have to distribute content over several different channels in order to reach your target. So, when you think about distribution you should also think about how the content can be repurposed for all your media outlets. For example, a whitepaper could also be broken apart into blog posts, which, in turn, could turn into Twitter updates and Facebook posts.
   
   
6. Maintenance
   Your audience (and search engines) love fresh content. To ensure that your content does not go stale, you should create a schedule of how and when your content is updated. You may find that some content is better served once a week, like a blog post. In terms of how often and when to actually upload content, I suggest you check out Dan Zarella webinar on August 23.

Again, this is just a brief overview of some things you should be considering when developing your content strategy. But I'd like to get your input. What are some other things a good content strategy should contain?

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

Is Twitter really helping your brand or your employee's brand?

Does your company have its own Twitter account, e.g., @AcmeCorp? Or do you rely on an employee to use their own personal Twitter account to act as the voice of your brand? If your answer is the latter, then you could be setting yourself (and your brand) up for a social media fail.

A few weeks ago, we did a social media audit for one of our clients. We asked them about a company Twitter account, and the client told us that that a marketing manager named Susan (not her real name) took care of that. Upon further investigation, we found that Susan was using her own Twitter account to tweet for the company.

Susan is a typical social media guru. She's in her mid to late twenty's (I'm guessing...I didn't ask her exact age) and has been the company's main social media manager for about 3 years. Her bio on her page sings the praises of her company (she describes it as "fabulous"). Her tweets are centered around her company's industry, as well as social media in general.  She engages with other Twitterers and gets retweeted often by a core group she interacts with the most. All-in-all, she if offering great content to her followers who number in the low thousands right now.

On the surface, you may not think there is anything wrong with this. But here's the rub: what happens when she leaves the company? And according to statistics from the Department of Labor, she will. In 2010, the average years of tenure with a company for a woman her age is 3 years. In fact, since the median years a woman over 25 stays in one job is 5.0 years, she will probably have up to 7 different jobs in her lifetime.

Although her followers may know she works for a certain company, her face and name are splattered across the company's Twitter account. The result is that Susan is building social equity for herself and not for her company's brand. So what happens to all her followers when she leaves the company? Most likely she will take them with her—and continue building her personal brand at another company. (Btw, for more information on personal branding, check out How to Manage Your Personal Brand by Sean Duffy on TalentZoo.com)

So what is a company to do?

What we told this client was that they had to create a social media policy that protected and built equity in their brand and would mitigate any effects if an employee left.  

Step 1
Create a brand or company account (E.g., @AcmeCorp). This would be the main account the brand would tweet from.

Step 2
We also suggested our client create Twitter handles for relevant employees (e.g., @Susan_AcmeCorp) that the company issues. Our client would have the password and more or less "own" the account. The policy should further state that this is the only account they can tweet from during work hours.

Step 3
If they leave the company, our client will review their followers and make sure their company account is following all the employee's followers. Then they can cancel the ex-employees account and not lose the social equity.  

Developing a social media policy is not an easy task. It takes balance. Too light-handed and it amy not protect your brand. Too heavy-handed and employees may start feeling like Big Brother is lurking over their shoulder. However, without a social media policy to addresses these statistically-likely scenarios, you may find out—too late—that your employees have spent more time building their own brands and not yours.

What do you think? How can companies safeguard their social brand equity without being too oppressive.

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

Is Google+ just the next Google Wave?

As most of you know, the new social networking site from Google, Google +,  went live on a limited basis at the end of last month. Since that time there has been a scramble in social media circles to get invites. But recently, it seems that invite ration has opened up a bit. In fact, according to +Paul Allen, Google+ will be approaching the 18 million mark soon.  

But in my mind, the question remains, do we need another social network and will Google+ succeed in the long run?

Google+ certainly has many unique features. The best of which is the "circles" feature. If you are like me (and if you were you'd be a tall, goofy-looking Irish guy), you might categorize your social networks. For example, Facebook is more for friends and family, LinkedIn is more for business and Twitter is more for, well, everyone. With Google+ you categorize people into circles— you can have a friends circle, family circle, business circle, etc. Google+ allow you control over who see your posts, from everyone to a single person. Now, you no longer have to worry about business contacts seeing posts about a party you went to the evening before. This also alleviates the problem of business contacts trying to friend you on Facebook (if you feel uneasy about that). On the one hand, you don't want to ignore a friend request and possibly offend a business acquaintance. Yet, on the other hand, you don't necessarily want clients to have access to the more personal aspects of your life that you might share with family on Facebook. By the way, I'd expect Facebook to steal this "circles" idea very soon.

There are also other features like Hangouts, Sparks and Huddles. Mashable, as usual, wrote and excellent overview of all the features of Google+.

Whether Google+ will succeed really depends on its user base and how extensively it grows. Very few people have the time to manage another social network. In fact, I'd say most of us have a hard enough time with the Big Three (FB, LinkedIn & Twitter). So Google+ will have to replace something. It does has the horsepower and feature sets to replace all three. But it won't. At least not completely. Inertia is a very strong force. People have already invested their time and energy into the Big Three, so breaking that strangle hold is close to impossible.

And what about that investment in time. You probably already have a slew of pictures and videos on Facebook. You have written and received recommendations on LinkedIn. You've already linked your entire life to Twitter for easy sharing. Are you willing to walk away from that now? I'm sure that LinkedIn and Facebook will not make it easy to transfer data to Google+. In fact, Facebook has already blocked tools that would allow for easy migration to Google+.  Moreover, I know there are people (non-tech friends and family members) that have a hard enough time with Facebook and will never switch. And if they don't switch how can I?

Right now there is a lot of buzz about Google+ (not to be confused with Google Buzz). Google fanboys love it, of course. But there was also a lot of buzz about Google Wave (R.I.P.). There was the same accolades on Web sites. There were the same pleas on social media channels asking for invites leading to the inevitable eBay sales.  Google+ will probably have more staying power. If nothing else, it's a bit more familiar and intuitive than Google Wave ever was. There are also a lot of cool new features. Of course, nothing so proprietary that Facebook or LinkedIn couldn't steal these ideas.

Personally, I like Google+. I also think that it can help tie all the loose ends of social media into one nice, managable package. But it's ultimate success still comes down to your friends and family.

Will they start using Google+? And if they don't, then do you actually have the time, energy or desire to maintain another social media site?

What do you think? What do you love or hate about Google+?

 

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.

Social Media Summer Survival Guide

After a long, cold winter it is with jubilation and exhilaration that we welcome Summer 2011. Just think: warm summer breezes, the smell of foods cooked on the BBQ, lounging at the beach, cooling off with frosty-cold beverages. What's not to love about summer? 

What's that? You still have to work? 

Well, have no fear. As with most things in life, there is an easy answer for your summer-time blues. Simply watch our Social Media Summer Survival Guide, and you'll discover how you too can enjoy summer and still not "miss" a day of work.