Edit and place Tenthwave op-ed "Outsourcing Your Voice" op-ed in Mediapost

Outsourcing Your Voice: Lessons For Brands

by Jaime Hoerbelt, Aug 23, 2012, 8:00 AM

JAIME HOERBELT

Jaime Hoerbelt is social media strategist, tenthwave.

Who’s controlling your brand message?

Recent high-profile Twitter blunders from Progressive Insurance and online store CelebBoutique underscore the challenges of outsourcing your voice as a brand.

Not too long ago, every brand communication was painstakingly crafted in a boardroom or executive suite. Now, in the age of social media, control of a brand’s message can be in the hands of countless social media experts, consultants, freelancers, or even interns. They’re communicating with consumers multiple times a day on Facebook and Twitter, which raises two problems: maintaining consistency in an integrated marketing plan -- especially when social media is outsourced to social media agencies or consultants -- and establishing an authentic brand voice that can keep up with the consumers’ demands for unlimited access.

In order to successfully outsource your voice, here are some key strategies:

1. Find a way to blend your brand knowledge and social meda expertise
Unlike most other media channels, your brand voice in social media must be flexible -- you have to appeal to fans on an individual level and respond quickly to their comments. The challenge is maintaining a consistent tone while still being timely and multidimensional. There are several ways that brands try to stay true to their voice -- with varying degrees of success.

The first way that brands have established to adjust their communications is by working with a social media agency, which handles all of the daily interaction with consumers. The second way is by creating an internal department to handle all of the social media communications. The third way is a hybrid between the two -- the brand has a social media team internally but works with an agency in creating concepts and execution.

The first two approaches are fairly common, but have their drawbacks. On the plus side, an internal team has instant access to customer service, public relations, and legal resources to answer questions and draft appropriate messaging. However, the internal department may lack expertise in with managing multiple diverse communities, analyzing the latest methods in benchmarking and measuring ROI, and often the awareness of what other brands are doing to push the envelope.

The third approach is ideal because it combines the talents of both the brand team and the social media agency. Brands that do this successfully often keep certain aspects of community management in-house, like customer service, but rely on the social media agency to help set benchmarks, to increase engagement, or to come up with campaign ideas.

For example, an agency and a brand will work together in the real world by splitting up certain social media tasks and joining forces on others. Customer service and public relations are owned by the brand. Social media strategy and campaign concepts are created by the agency. The editorial calendar is written and published by the agency, but establishing what trending topics are brand appropriate, deciding which products to focus on and defining social media objectives are ultimately up to the brand. This collaborative process allows for the best balance of expertise.


2. Inflexible messaging never sounds authentic
It’s easy to fall into standardized, robotic messaging to keep a brand’s communications in check. However, fostering fluid conversations with consumers gives the brand more power than it takes away. Consumers can spot the difference between a company that is passionate about speaking to them and one that is afraid. They will rally behind brands that they can make a more meaningful connection with -- and rally against ones that sound like machines.

One brand that is doing a great job of balancing control and authenticity is Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. This hospitality chain successfully encourages regular engagement among fans without sounding repetitive or formulaic. When a fan posts about how great her stay was, Four Seasons asks for photos from her trip. When another fan asks where he should stay in Canada, the chain offers smart, timely advice. Not only is Four Seasons sparking engagement, it’s encouraging sales in a natural way that doesn’t speak down to the consumer. Four Seasons positions itself as a resource for brand-loyal travelers -- a valuable network of people to be communicating with regularly.

The lesson is clear: It’s no longer enough for a brand to use social media purely to push out commercial messaging. Today, corporate entities must put systems in place that invite genuine two-way communication with consumers. They also must ensure that the communication is true to the brand and sounds personal. A brand can do both by collaborating with a social media agency and holding its voice to same standards as their customer -- their Facebook fans and Twitter followers.

Arrange Tenthwave's work on Facebook/CNN's voting app in Mashable, goes viral

Working with Facebook's public relations department and collaborating with my client, we were able to get huge play for Tenthwave and their work on Facebook/CNN's new voting app, "I'm Voting." This included negotiating prominent play for Tenthwave in Facebook's blog post on the launch.

Facebook App Helps You Share Political Views

Want to wear your political allegiance proudly on your Facebook profile this election season? You’re in luck — Facebook and CNN have released an app helping Facebook users easily share their stances on the candidates and campaign issues with the power of Facebook’s Open Graph.

When users first load the app, they’re asked to commit to voting on Election Day. If they do, they can share that commitment to their friends’ news feeds, perhaps creating some peer pressure to get others to vote as well.


Then, users can answer a series of questions about their political leanings, favorite candidates and stances on various issues, including the economy and healthcare, the responses to which can also be shared with friends in their newsfeeds and tickers.

“With Election Day right around the corner, it’s time for everyone to get involved, understand the issues, and make a commitment to participate,” wrote Facebook’s Politics & Government Team in a blog post. “We believe that the power of friends –- the social dynamic that creates a societal impact — will result in a more involved citizenry that turns out on Election Day, informed about the most critical issues facing the nation.”




“Everyone’s talking about politics and the election on Facebook to begin with,” said Drew Rayman of Tenthwave Digital, which developed the app. “We wanted to see how we could create an app that lives on Facebook and lets users talk about the issues that are important to them and see what the rest of the nation is talking about. Politics has always been discussed on Facebook, but this is really the first shot over the bow in allowing such a huge social community to get involved and speak their mind to a much larger platform.”

Users can also choose to have their answers anonymously gathered by the app, creating a wealth of social data about Facebook users’ political leanings organized on a state-by-state basis. Any user can access that data on the app’s interactive map. Additionally, CNN will treat the app as a “second screen” experience for its politics coverage, asking viewers to submit answers to questions via Facebook and referencing users’ posted opinions throughout the election.

“If a user opts-in, they’ll share their sentiment in a way that will contribute to CNN’s understanding of people’s opinions across Facebook,” said Rayman. “After the election’s over, we’ll have a world of data that may tell us some very interesting things for next time.”

The app, which can be accessed here, is available in both English and Spanish-language versions.

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 Facebook's "U.S. Politics" blog post announcing the launch of "I'm voting."

Friends Make Election 2012 Better: Tell Your Facebook Friends ‘I’m Voting’

by U.S. Politics on Facebook on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 1:59pm ·

Former Speaker of the House Tip O’ Neill used to say that all politics is local. Today all politics is social – and the 2012 campaign is shaping up to be most social in history. With that in mind, Facebook and CNN are thrilled to launch the “I’m Voting” app -- an interactive and uniquely social tool that will make it even easier for the people who use Facebook to make their voices heard this election cycle.

The app, created by platform developer and digital marketing agency Tenthwave Digital, allows users to both make a commitment to vote, and to choose the candidates and issues that matter most to them – the economy, health care, immigration, foreign policy (see screenshots below).

Here are a few highlights of the “I’m Voting” app:

• Social by Design -- The app is social by design, helping people see where their Facebook friends stand on certain issues. The Open Graph enabled app allows people to keep their views private or share with friends through Facebook Timeline, News Feed, and real-time Ticker.

• Visually Engaging – The app lets people see how many of their Facebook friends have joined them in supporting particular issues or candidates – and those commitments are displayed on an interactive map.

• Mobile and Second Screen – The app, which is available on mobile and desktop devices, will serve as a “second screen” for CNN’s on-air and online content. CNN will utilize the app to ask Facebook users about the important issues driving the national dialogue, and then report on their answers.

• English and Spanish – The app will be available in both English and Spanish in an effort to reach and engage a broad community.

Tenthwave Digital previously collaborated with Facebook on deep interactive experiences like “Stop Bullying: Speak Up,” and “A Nation Gives Thanks” -– an app that honors the contributions of the U.S. military.

With Election Day right around the corner, it’s time for everyone to get involved, understand the issues, and make a commitment to participate. We believe that the power of friends – the social dynamic that creates a societal impact -- will result in a more involved citizenry that turns out on Election Day, informed about the most critical issues facing the nation.

Let’s all make the commitment: “I’m voting.”

-- Facebook Politics & Government Team

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 FURTHER PICKUP FOR TENTHWAVE:

ALLFACEBOOK - "Facebook, CNN Launch I'm Voting App."
THE NEXT WEB: "Facebook and CNN launch 'I'm Voting' App.'"

Develop and place Tenthwave's "Shopification" op-ed in Advertising Age

 

 

It's Time to Gamify Online Shopping

Games Let Brands Reach Far Wider and for Much Longer Than Traditional Coupons

By: Eric Schwamberger Published: July 30, 2012

Brands and retailers have always supplemented marketing plans with promotional games, contests and sweepstakes. The most-popular loyalty programs use points and group mechanics to reward and motivate the most-valuable audiences. 

Now it's time for the next level of play: gamification of the shopping experience in retail, consumer packaged goods and e-commerce. We call it "shopification." This means inserting game dynamics into shopping behaviors to make thinking about shopping a regular activity that puts products top of mind and makes the shopping experience more rewarding. 

What motivates the gamer inside us? Solving meaningful challenges, gaining and demonstrating status, getting special access and expressing individuality. Those same motivations are embedded in the culture of shopping, and we're finding new ways to unlock those motivations in shoppers. 

How does this look in practice? One example is a campaign by Birds Eye and Birds Eye Voila! in which the brands are rewarding website members with badges, points and coupons for participating on the site and in its social activities. Included is a "Here's One, Share One" program, where members received a coupon for themselves and an additional one to share with a friend on Facebook. During a 10-week launch, which is nearly complete, Birds Eye expects to distribute the same amount of coupons as a traditional national insert, but with the new-media benefits of improved customer relations and countless brand mentions and referrals for its products. 

These sorts of techniques have five big advantages over traditional coupon marketing. 

1. Through social-media outreach, we can distribute the same amount of coupons as with a traditional free-standing insert -- many times at a higher redemption rate -- with little effort and no required media costs to the brand. 

2. We can put the brand message, product idea or discounts in the hands of highly targeted consumers, based on demographic, interest, geographic and behavioral triggers. 

3. As opposed to the singular anonymity of the traditional coupon-clipping experience, the engagement that accompanies shopification rewards consumers for taking desired actions such as sharing coupons, learning about a product or making recommendations. It makes the brand and the coupon more valuable, through that trusted referral. 

4. As downloading the coupon can require being a fan, follower or member of a customer-relations management (CRM) program, shopification can dramatically grow your brand's Facebook following and CRM databases. Every coupon distributed through shopification tactics can minimally equal a fan or CRM member. And every fan or member should mean hundreds of branded impressions and program activations per year. 

5. Unlike traditional programs, the sharing generates branded message impressions for those who do not participate, when they see their Facebook friends' activity. The best part is that the message being shared isn't "our brand is discounted." It's an endorsement of your brand by their friend, accompanied by a gift they will feel more obliged to try. 

Shopification tactics for many brands will not provide as immediate a gain as the quick free-standing insert, but that can change easily if they are dedicated to growing a social following. As the community grows and becomes engaged with a brand by participating in fun and rewarding social games, agencies will be able to deliver immediate results with zero lead-time, no media investment and no required effort other than directing customers to act and download. 

Even at a smaller scale, the value of shopification does not end in the weeks following the activity. With the additional Facebook fans and CRM members gained, the brand has hundreds of opportunities a year to remind shoppers about its products' benefits and uses. This can drives purchase frequency, friend recommendations and customer trials for years to come. 

It's impossible to predict how shopification will look in five years. But it's hard to imagine a future for brands without it. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Schwamberger is partner-strategic services at Tenthwave.

Client Tenthwave explains their role in the annual Doole4Google contest

Better Know Your Internets

Cute Overload: When Google Doodles and 7-Year-Olds Meet

How one NYC agency helped Google collect and index its 114,000 Doodle4Google submissions.

By Jessica Roy 5/23 4:59pmnShare1

The winning doodle, by Dylan Hoffman, Age 7. (googleblog.blogspot.com)

Last week, Google announced the winner of Doodle4Google, the company’s annual contest that solicits drawings from students in grades K-12. After collecting 114,000 submissions from kids all over the country, Google and some guest judges–including Katy Perry and Jordin Sparks–selected Wisconsin 2nd grader Dylan Hoffman as this year’s grand prize winner.

In response to the contest’s theme of “If I could travel in time, I’d visit…”, Mr. Hoffman whipped out his colored pencils and produced a sweet drawing of a pirate chilling on an island with his pet parrot. For that, he received “$30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook computer and a $50,000 technology grant for his school.”

“We opened some of them and glitter went flying,” Sheri Westfal, the senior VP of Tenthwave, a digital agency located in Manhattan, told Betabeat with a laugh.

For its fifth annual Doodle4Google contest, Google chose Tenthwave to collect, scan and build software that could easily cull and categorize the kids’s submissions. This wouldn’t seem like a big deal, except that all of the submissions were delivered via snail mail, so they had to be physically scanned and entered into the computer system before they could be catalogued.

“We did everything in an offline environment,” explained Ms. Westfal. “Everything has to go through old school mail because we needed a parent’s signature. So all of the entries were sent to the office in Melville, NY, and we knew we’d have to be able to have access to all the entries as they came in, so our staff opened every single entry.”

“The mailmen loved us, the Fed Ex guys all loved us. There was one day we got 40 buckets of mail!” she added.

The team at Tenthwave had to comb through the thousands of submissions and disqualify any that had used a logo or anything trademarked, as that was against the contest rules. Then they scanned the submissions into a computer program they built that allowed judges from all over the country–including Googlers, Tenthwave employees and the celebrity judges–to access submissions at the same time. They also built a safeguard so that Googlers could catch problems with submissions that the Tenthwave team hadn’t noticed.

“There could be things that maybe we didn’t realize,” said Ms. Westfal. “It could be an entry that was similar to last year or whatever–so we gave the Googlers access to be able to disqualify entries as well.”

The drawings revolved around the contest’s theme, but their subjects ran the gamut.

“We got lots of dinosaurs,” Ms. Westfal added.

The Tenthwave team started on the Doodle4Google project back in the fall of 2011, but the contest didn’t begin until January and didn’t end until March. Ms. Westfal said that people would come to the Tenthwave office in Melville just to drop off their doodles.

“They’d show up at all times of the day dropping off entries,” she said. “We were here late on the last night and we hear a knock at our office door. We go out there and there’s this little girl who had been dropped off and she had gotten lost and she was racing to get here because it was so important that she got her doodle on time. We accepted it, and thanked her.”

In the end, 50 state winners were picked, and Mr. Hoffman was named the national winner.

“These are little kids that are so talented,” gushed Ms. Westfal. “Every once and a while you would open [an entry] and you’re like, ‘How does a kid actually do this?’”

This might just be our jealousy speaking, but the winning drawing does seem curiously professional for a 2nd grader. But don’t worry, skeptics: Ms. Westfal assured us that all winning entrants must sign a document where they legally attest that a child did the drawing.

My client Tenthwave is profiled in Adweek magazine

Portrait: Tenthwave

Using Facebook's Open Graph, Tenthwave helped give bullies their due By Lucia Moses

 

 Specs
Who (l.-r.) Steve Caputo, managing partner; Drew Rayman, managing partner; Mike Mazar, partner; Eric Schwamberger, partner; Brian Hack, partner. Absent: Rob Kaplan, partner.

What Full-service Digital agency

Where New York office Created out of the merger of Strobe Promotions, RedStapler and Zezza Network, Tenthwave is something of a half-pint of the agency world. So when Facebook decided to develop an anti-bullying app, it seems fitting that they came to Tenthwave. The shop used Facebook’s Open Graph to find people who were most likely to participate, resulting in 1 million signing a Stop Bullying Pledge. Tenthwave went on to do more corporate responsibility work for Facebook, but it was the anti-bullying app managing partner Drew Rayman was most proud of. “I hate bullying,” he said. “I loved the opportunity to punch bullies back and give them a black eye.”