Momentum
The Content Marketing Blog
If You Build It, Will They Come?
Jan 7, 2012

6 Do's and Don'ts For Framing Your Social Enterprise


One of the benefits of working for a platform provider like thismoment is that we are often involved in projects at the early stages of development. Big Brands are starting to invest Big Bucks on the usual suspects - Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

The challenge is that many brands believe that because these platforms are viral, it’s simply a land grab; all they have to do is create an experience and people will find them through day-to-day social interaction.

Of course, common sense would dictate that, just as in the Gold Rush of the 1800’s, simply staking a claim doesn’t necessarily mean there’s “gold in them thar hills.” While thismoment certainly benefits from selling pick axes to the social gold miners of today, we benefit much more as our customers become successful in building out brand experiences with staying power across the various social platforms. [...]

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Social Media Marketing’s Future is So Bright…
Dec 20, 2011


2011 is at its end and social media marketers across the globe are all looking forward to 2012, and why not?
• The social media share of the advertising pie is clearly getting bigger.

And, as the advertising pie itself returns to real growth (hopefully), social media’s importance will increase exponentially.


• Consumers and businesses are relying on social media more and more for research, recommendations and brand communication.

• All of us SMM experts, gurus, mavens, and ninjas are rapidly becoming influential, mainstream marketers instead of “specialists.” (Check out your Klout scores!)

• At this point, your companies and clients have probably signed off on a bigger budget for next year’s SMM and expectations are sky high.
Our future is so bright, we’ve gotta wear shades, right?

There is only one small problem: no one knows what is going to happen in the space in 2012.

Consider this:

On January 1, 2011,
• Google+ didn’t exist. 
• Instagram had one million users (in 3 months!) and had just doubled in size to four employees

• Myspace was still considered a necessary evil

• Facebook Timeline was not even an idea yet.

• Fewer than 300 YouTube Brand Channels had launched in 2010 and each required a media spend 

• Tumblr was coming off a two day service outage

• With a $41M VC round behind it, iPhone app “Color” was about to launch with its goal of “nothing less than to become the ultimate local discovery tool.”
As 2011 draws to a close,
• Google+ has 50 million plus users 

• Instagram is the top mobile (only) social media network, with more than 15 million users

• Facebook Timeline just launched on a global basis with brand timelines soon to arrive

• YouTube Brand Channels has a fresh redesign and are open to businesses without a minimum media spend

• Tumblr has doubled in unique monthly users (approaching 40 million/month) and is logging approximately 50 million posts/day). [...]

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Social Media Lessons As Taught By Holiday Films
Dec 15, 2011

One of my favorite holiday traditions is the influx of Christmas-themed movies, and while the movie buff in me cringes a little (another Tim Allen Santa Clause movie!?), the little kid in me rejoices in the lights, colors, comedy and lessons Hollywood wants to show us. 

A few years back, Four Christmases, featuring the “so money” Vince Vaughn as Brad and America’s sweetheart Reese Witherspoon as Kate, was that very movie.

Brad and Kate are a couple who, despite looking to avoid the holiday with their families, are forced to spend Christmas with each of their divorced parents. This leads to four separate households, with four separate families and four separate sets of idiosyncrasies.

 


Ultimately as viewers, we're treated to the hilarity of such events as Brad being attacked by MMA-trained brothers and Kate being overwhelmed by her mother’s estrogen-packed home. 

The underlying message of the movie comes around at the end, which shows us that the holidays are best when spent together.  Now, I know what you’re thinking:
"How does that have anything to do with Social Media?" 
It’s actually a very easy analogy to make if we replace the movie characters with the problems we see everyday. 
- The brand (Brad and Kate) has a problem
- It needs to be everywhere, talking to everyone, and keeping everyone happy
- There are a bunch of different platforms (homes) that it needs to work within; and
- There are various audiences (families) to please
 ...Ultimately leading to a lot of extra work on the brand’s part.

What we’ve learned here at thismoment, Inc. [...]

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"Marketers have much to gain by including sales in the content marketing mix. Get to it!"
—Marc Cowlin
"Emotional posts drive an average reaction rate of 0.5%, which is more than double that of informational posts... "
—Jason Falls
Tim Tebow and the Importance of Being Nimble
Dec 12, 2011

This past Sunday, the Denver Broncos extended their nonsensical streak of wins to seven straight.  

For those who don't have a Denver-centric frame of mind and may not know, the Broncos were led at quarterback by Tim Tebow - a controversial player with a pristine image (not only because of his devout faith but also because of his poor mechanics).  Throughout his conquests, Tebow has been equally trashed and praised by opposing players and the media alike.  

Despite any negative press, Tebow has always maintained a cool head and done a perfect job of responding to criticism he faces.  Should he fail to do so, he'd spoil the brand that his multiple media appearances, book, and various press conferences have worked so hard to cultivate.   

Take for example his response to Chicago Bears star middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.  When Urlacher was asked about Tebow's recent performance at quarterback, Urlacher replied that "He's a good running back," thereby alluding to a lacking of quarterbacking skills.  

When this comment was relayed to Tebow, he responded by saying "Coming from a really good player, that means a lot."  For a player that never disparages anyone and champions positivity, this response was completely in line with how he's built his personal brand.  Tebow's ability to think on his feet, deflect praise and turn trash talkers on their head demonstrates his uncanny ability to stay "on-brand". 

His quick thinking also highlights an important, oft-overlooked side of branding.  Whenever we think of brands and the image they create, we think about what's being pushed out by the company on a premeditated basis.  However, it's reacting to things that are inbound - whether it be praise, criticism, or some unfortunate circumstance, that can really help define a brand.  

As a company, being nimble isn't something that just happens, it's something that you manifest by way of your culture and the tools you use.  This is why having a social media content management system is important.  Even though you may be employing this type of tool for a specific campaign or product, you never know what sort of challenges may be hurled at you.  

By employing a system that allows you to quickly update content and messaging, you'll be prepared for the other side of branding - the reflexive side.  So while many people may not always find themselves agreeing with the Tim Tebow brand, we can all agree that he's done a great job of being nimble and sticking to it.

- Jared Holst
Strategic Account Manager

[...]

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thismoment Helps Brands Take Full Advantage of Newly Redesigned YouTube Channels
Dec 12, 2011

 



Thismoment's Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC) Customers to Benefit From Easier Discovery and Comprehensive Control of User Experience From Point of Discovery

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Dec 12, 2011) - thismoment, a digital marketing platform and YouTube brand channel developer, today shared its best practices for ensuring the best possible user experience on YouTube. In early December, YouTube rolled out a major redesign of its site, launching a new user homepage, upgrading channels for content producers, and updating the user experience of the site in general.

The new design offers brands numerous new features and benefits but as with all change, understanding exactly how to optimize the brand experience through these changes is of paramount importance.
Having developed more brand channels on YouTube than any other company, thismoment is helping brands make the Channel migration simple and efficient through its Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC).

"YouTube's new redesign is a fantastic step forward for content producers and brands who wish to establish YouTube as an anchor destination on the web," said Ankarino Lara, CPO and co-founder of thismoment. "Brands will find that they are more easily discovered through the new channel paradigm, and with the new tabs, brands now have an opportunity to do far more than simply post videos. [...]

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Thismoment Helps Brands Take Full Advantage of Newly Redesigned YouTube Channels
Dec 12, 2011

Thismoment's Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC) Customers to Benefit From Easier Discovery and Comprehensive Control of User Experience From Point of Discovery

YouTubeSAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 12, 2011) - Thismoment, a digital marketing platform and YouTube brand channel developer, today shared its best practices for ensuring the best possible user experience on YouTube. In early December, YouTube rolled out a major redesign of its site, launching a new user homepage, upgrading channels for content producers, and updating the user experience of the site in general.

The new design offers brands numerous new features and benefits but as with all change, understanding exactly how to optimize the brand experience through these changes is of paramount importance.

Having developed more brand channels on YouTube than any other company, Thismoment is helping brands make the Channel migration simple and efficient through its Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC).

"YouTube's new redesign is a fantastic step forward for content producers and brands who wish to establish YouTube as an anchor destination on the web," said Ankarino Lara, CPO and co-founder of Thismoment. "Brands will find that they are more easily discovered through the new channel paradigm, and with the new tabs, brands now have an opportunity to do far more than simply post videos. [...]

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Facebook Opens Timeline To The World (or at least Middle Earth for now)
Dec 8, 2011


At this year’s f8 conference, jaws collectively hit the floor at around 10:30am; roughly the time Mark Zuckerberg started scrolling through his beta Timeline.

As we sighed our Keanu-Reeves “Whoa” amidst all the candid photos of Zuck’s dog Beast, well-wishing comments from a friend’s wedding, and finally, a baby photo to mark the day of his birth, the audience saw something even bigger; a paradigm shift in the way people and brands can think socially on the web.

And now, two months after its announcement, it’s hitting the masses.

Latest Updates

While New Zealand is the first country to receive the Timeline rollout, Facebook has guaranteed a US launch is coming very soon. [...]

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"A UGC hashtag campaign without ROI is indeed DOA!"
—Dan Kimball