How do you make something go viral?

I’m cheating a bit and doubling up another post with the Albion Blog, but thought this was worth a mention on here also. On Wednesday morning this week I was overcome with geeky excitement when a picture I posted ‘went viral’.

As much as I hate those words, and find it difficult to comprehend when clients ask for ‘virals’ – It was great to see the power of online word-of-mouth succeed again. I just wonder if this had a company logo in the corner it would have done half as well. Have a read of the full post I wrote here.

The England Muppets

10 things I’ve learnt in the world of Digital and Agencies recently…

These ’10 things I’ve learnt‘ posts are fast becoming the most popular thing I write on here, which, number 1 says a great deal about my copy writing and number 2, means I’ll aim to do a few more in the future.

So here goes:

1.     It takes a serious amount of effort, enthusiasm and dedication to stay engaged in a long term campaign. Reminds me of this post I wrote a while back.

2.     The ipad and similar tablet-based devices WILL change internet useage behaviour to a huge extent. And, Apps for these and other mobile platforms are the thing of the future. Useful ones that add value and make everyday life easier are the future.

3.     Tissue meetings or chemistry meetings, or least keeping your client close through creative development, is vital. The days of the ‘big reveal’ with creative ideas or elaborate design work are a thing of the past (except sometimes in pitches when it’s inevitable).

4.     Facebook will just keep changing things – deal with it. Progress is impossible without change.

5.     And while on the subject of Facebook; the uptake of the new ‘Like’ functionality into external websites is amazing, if not a little scary.

6.     Clients will change there mind a lot. Why? Because they can. Its the account handler who can adapt to and manage change effectivley who’ll gain respect. Read more about what clients want from agencies here.

7.     Social networks are THE most powerful way of reaching out to your target audience. Brands are now even driving call- to-actions from expensive TV commercials to social network destinations instead of corporate or campaign websites. This is a MASSIVE sign of the times.

8.     If anyone ever doubted the power and influence of Twitter. Have a read of this.

9.     Quirky web design and user experience gets attention. Check out this site for Canadian agency, Grip. But, there usually is a HUGE trade off  between engagement and practicality.

10.     The agency selection debate continues…still. Now add so-called ‘Specialist‘ social media agencies or ‘conversation agencies’ to the mix with digital, advertising, creative, integrated and all the other pigeon holes. Still I stand by this thought.

10 things I’ve learnt in the world of Digital and Agencies recently…

Digital Direction & Tangible Results

How refreshing. A group of clients that really seem to get what modern agencies are driving towards. Taken from a study in the US, with input from the likes of Nestle, Pfizer, Kraft Foods and Colgate-Palmolive, the extract below really caught my eye. Good Agencies are here to deliver digital direction and produce tangible results. And now ‘the client’ has said so, it must be true.

What the client wants from Digital Agencies...

10 things I’ve learnt in the world of Digital and Agencies recently…

Last time I did this it proved quite popular. I had people emailing me saying they agreed or disagreed with what I had learnt which made me laugh  – a guy in Belgium even took my list last time and wrote his own thoughts on it. So here is my latest 10…

1.  Some brands are still struggling with the power of social media. It’s not a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate – watch this video and tell me you don’t agree.

2.  You can spend a fortune driving users to a website, have the best content in the world, but if it’s not architected in a simple, easy to digest manner, you’ll lose them instantly. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

3. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Mobile advertising is about to kick off. Just ask Google.

4.  Agencies should stop trying to define an idealistic agency model and concentrate on just creating great digital work that pushes boundaries.

5.  Using digital channels to reinvent traditional marketing and advertising is the only way forward. Digital should now be a given, not a USP.

6.  A great idea can come from anywhere – whether that is the most experienced creative or the most junior graduate – Or even an end consumer? Collaboration is the key.

7.  Google Wave wasn’t all I expected it to be.  But I’ve been told to be patient.

8.  Every agency should abide by AKQA’s mantra – Don’t let any work go out of the door if it if it doesn’t hold up to these two requirements: It needs to Capture the imagination and People should want to share it.

9.  There is a hell of a lot more to digital than building websites. (I knew this one already,  I’m just appreciating it a bit more now).

10.  If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail – Preparation is key to everything you do in agency life. It’s our job to do the leg work and make life as simple as possible for our clients.

10 things I have learnt in the world of Digital and Agencies recently…

Digital Agencies: Drag your clients into the Social Media age

I read a great article by Social Media Consultant, Joanne Jacobs, the other afternoon on Selling Social Media. It really got me thinking about the significance of not only educating, but forcing our clients into building their digital marketing strategy around the web 2.0 phenomenon that is changing the way we are communicating.

Social media is not just a group of new technologies. It’s not just a Facebook fan page or sticking some social networking bookmarks at the end of a blog post.  It’s a completely new way of thinking… and it’s our job to make sure our clients ‘get it’? – No one said this was going to be easy.

Taking Twitter as an example – you’d be forgiven for thinking that is just a new way of shouting messages to the customer base like an RSS news feed. It’s not. It’s a robust tool to listen, engage and connect on a personal level with the ‘real’ people who are buying your product or service. It’s all about conversation. But getting your client to really understand this is an art form in itself.

Adopting a social media strategy is a huge learning curve. It takes time and patience to get it right and will provide even the most open-minded PR manager a migraine. But ignoring it and hoping it goes away just isn’t going to happen. We need to drag our clients into the social media age – but more than that, we need them to embrace it with both arms open – not just dip their toes in the water.

We’re here to aid our clients in the creation of conversation through social media, digest everything and provide them with statistics to show them exactly what’s going on out there.

Hardcore social media heads are getting worried about monetising social media and weakening its power. They’re insisting it’s not a ‘sellable product’ – but in Joanne’s words – “Try staying in business for the next five years without it.”

Every type of digital agency needs to take note as social media changes the digital landscape – Design & Build agencies at the flexibility and customisation options of new platforms, Media agencies at new ways of advertising and so on. The quicker we are in convincing our clients that Social media is here to stay, the better.

Drag your clients into the Social Media Age