5 Consumer Interaction Drivers learned from Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud is famous for making society’s understanding of the conscious mind versus the unconscious mind popular. The conscious mind is associated primarily with our current moment of perceptions and awareness, while the unconscious mind largely motivates the actions in our lives — even if these motivational drivers are only available to us in a disguised form. If you compare the mind to an iceberg, as Freud often did, the unconscious is the large mass unexposed below water level. Humans: We are complex beings, aren’t we? Now let’s fast-forward about 100 years: How do we use Freud’s principles to create extremely successful and engaging social and mobile marketing solutions?

Think about this short lesson from Freud the next time you make a restaurant decision from a Yelp reviewer, change your mind when opting in to a Web form, or decide to buy that pair of New Balance sneakers over Nike when presented the option in a social shopping application. Is it only because of a present perception you are aware of (price, fit, need), or does a possible unconscious motivator also propel you toward one direction over the other, which you can’t always put your finger on right away? In most successful and engaging marketing experiences, you’ll often tap into multiple parts of your mind, especially when it comes to socially connected mobile experiences.

At Stuzo, when architecting, designing, and developing mobile experiences (we’ll use both social and mobile in this post interchangeably, as the social Web is mobile, and vice versa), we’ve learned a lot over the years from Freud to create successful social and mobile engagements for leading brands. Here are our five tips for marketers to engage users to take action by tapping into their conscious and unconscious minds with the help of our friend, F.R.E.U.D.  Continue reading »

P&G Engagement @ Scale: Countless Little Interactions Enable Scale In Social

Behind every amazing athlete is an even more amazing mom. This is the clear message that is, and will continue to be, presented by Procter & Gamble during the course of this year’s London 2012 Olympic Games.

The problem faced by the largest global marketers in the social space is how to effectively leverage their global footprint, consisting of tens or hundreds of millions of consumers across markets and platforms, to successfully roll out an impactful and measurable campaign at scale. Smart marketers are addressing this problem head on by blending three separate disciplines – Social Program Design, Social Story and UX Architecture, and Social Technology Delivery – into one unified approach, by working with only with best-of-breed partners that can deliver end-to-end solutions at scale.

To get into the spirit of this year’s program, take two minutes and watch this amazing video, which touches on Procter & Gamble’s theme of calling the world to take the simple action of saying “Thank you, Mom.”

For those of you who watched the video – take a few moments to dry your eyes. You need those Puff’s tissues because of this emotional connection that is innate in most of us based on the role parents, specifically mothers, play in the development of us as human beings. The spirit of this video is what is being translated into Procter & Gamble’s social initiatives; to let individuals be the ones creating their stories of thanks for their mothers, and for mothers as a whole around the world.

One of the solutions for this year’s “Thank you, Mom” initiative involved providing each Procter & Gamble local market around the world the opportunity to engage their consumers in a lightweight manner through social channels. The ask on the consumer is easy – simply open your heart, provide a message thanking your mother and share this message across your network. It’s these opportunities for lightweight interactions that will create countless conversations in social to get the big marketing message across for Procter & Gamble this year. The “big idea” is now deeply rooted in sustained, simple interactions around stories. To deliver optimal results, social programs and experiences can no longer be designed without marketers having an intricate understanding of how to leverage social technologies and the art & science of storytelling through the Open Graph. The social experiences that deliver business results are those that are framed so that the interactions that happen within the experience result in lightweight stories that propagate widely and deeply throughout the social graph. Never before was this possible at such a massive scale, but Facebook, through its brilliant marriage of owned, earned, and paid media, now enables us to deliver engagement at scale in a measurable manner.

Stuzo | Dachis Group was there from day one, working hand-in-hand with Proctor & Gamble, Facebook and a variety of leading agency partners to bring the program to life. A set of managed services from codified UX guidance, to Open Graph Object and Story architecture, to the development of a scale-advantaged technology solution, with real-time optimizations and ongoing measurement dashboard build and analysis were provided by our dedicated team to deliver optimal business outcomes. The result was an experience that lived on Facebook, with data integrated on a social microsite, and connected with various YouTube channels. The experience enabled consumers to engage with the program across social channels so that they could include their very own ‘thank you’ to the important mothers in their lives. Consumers can create their ‘thank you’ using text, photo, video, or their computer’s webcam, and then post it simultaneously to mom’s Timeline and into a public gallery to be shared with the world.

Organic “thank you” stories flowing throughout the social graph, resulting in earned media turning to paid media and vice-versa, generating outsized amplification and business results for Procter & Gamble. Localized versions of the Thank You, Mom experience were deployed to dozens of individual markets’ Facebook pages, from the US to the UK, from Russia to India, to Japan and Latin America , and virtually everywhere in between – delivering a heartwarming scale-advantaged, global social activation for the largest global marketer during the worlds biggest sporting event. This is Engagement @ Scale.

This post was originally published for the Dachis Group Collaboratory.

Key Takeaways from the Facebook Marketing Conference: Timeline, Stories, & Marketing Products

This post has also been featured on the Dachis Group Collaboratory and Stuzo Insights.

“If the original Facebook was the first five minutes [of a conversation] and the stream was the next 15, what I want to show you today is the rest –- the next few hours of a deep engaging conversation.” – Mark Zuckerberg, f8 2011

On September 22, 2011 we were presented with some groundbreaking platform updates and partnerships, which would shape the way we engage in social channels as end users, technical solution providers and marketers. Notably, a major release at the time was Timeline for Facebook users.

Working in the area of brand marketing, I find this quote from that release rings just as true with the announcement of the the brand Timeline and new products at fMC (Facebook Marketing Conference) in New York on February 29th.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, opened the event by sharing some moments in which connections through the Facebook Platform have had a dramatic impact on government, family and institutions.

Chris Cox, VP of Product, echoed Mark’s original sentiments in his keynote today – this time expanding from the f8 presentations, discussing how the Facebook evolution more directly relates to brands and marketers.

Mike Hoefflinger, Director of Global Business Marketing at Facebook, delivered a compelling keynote, which gave a deeper overview of the platform changes and clearly marking Facebook’s positioning going forward from today. His delivery addressed the major announcement that Timeline is now available for brands and is “the richest, most customized marketing canvas we’ve ever built.” The point he clearly presented is that more and more Pages are going to become “mission control” for businesses to engage with consumers across all areas of the platform. We also received an overview of the new advertiser solutions to help brands achieve scale across the platform being offered from Facebook which we will provide an overview of later in this post.

Brand Pages Product and Timeline Updates

Below are some of the updates being released as part of the new brand pages product. This includes an entire page redesign and functionality updates, giving brands Timelines.

- Friend Activity is now surfaced on a brand’s Timeline. If someone likes or comments, stories of how your friends engage with the brand are surfaced. A more relevant and personal experiences can be delivered for each user of the page by being able to see how their friends are engaging.

- A new views and apps section helps users navigate to other parts of your page. “Tabs” which were formerly on the left hand side of the page have been replaced with the ability to select “views” across the top of the page. The photo application always shows as the first app option, and the page owner can control which other 3 immediately show to users in the same row with a custom designed icon. In total, through an expanded list option, up to 12 views can be surfaced to the users.

- The composer now provides the ability for brands to “pin” a story. These pin anchors posts at the top of the page by default for 7 days, unless refreshed. Marketers are still encouraged post frequently through their content strategy, while having one main story featured throughout the course of the content calendar.

- Page posts can be “starred.” Starring makes a post go full width across the Timeline to prominently feature the story. Posts can also be “hidden” from the public view, but still visible in the admins Activity Log.

- Milestones are now an option in the composer. Page owners can add an event, with a mandatory photo to feature relevant or key moments in the brands history. These have a larger story format and help highlight defining moments.

- Page owners can now change dates on posts to populate and manage timeline.

Brands can now assign a Cover Photo to show at the top of their Timeline. This large creative canvas area, set at 851×315 pixels provides an opportunity to create an immediate visual impact. It’s important to note that there are policies for brands related to how to use the platform and the Cover Photo, which includes limitations on using this creative area for promotional messaging and certain calls to action. The profile picture still exists, and is the consistent representation that is used when the brand icon is shown throughout the platform.

There are also a handful of updates when it comes to administering a page as an owner. These include the “Activity Log,” which can be used to manage Timeline and posts to control Timeline content. Also announced is a new “messaging” option for users to connect directly, and privately, with page owners to create a one-on-one dialogue. User Insights management and notifications options are also enhanced in the administration area.

As a page owner, you can preview and push your Timeline live at anytime. Note that your page will automatically roll over to Timeline, if not performed manually, on March 30, 2012.

New Advertising Products

“This is where marketing on Facebook is going to feel like the rest of Facebook.” – Mike Hoefflinger, Facebook’s Director of Global Business Marketing

Continue reading »

Insider’s Guide to Facebook Pages [White Paper]

Recently I had the opportunity to collaborate and provide insights for Clickable’s The Insider’s Guide to Facebook Pages. It provides industry analyst coverage to identify winning strategies for Facebook to work effectively for businesses.

A Facebook Page gives a voice to any public figure or organization to join the conversation with Facebook users, according to Facebook. With nearly a billion Facebook users, maintaining an effective Facebook Page is a critical consideration for all businesses and agencies.

This Clickable white paper examines winning strategies to make Facebook Pages work for business. It includes expert interviews and profiles of leading Pages management vendors. Key focus areas include:

• The Role of a Facebook Page in the Digital Marketing Ecosystem.
• How to develop a complete approach to Facebook Pages, from privacy and permissioning to content calendars and response strategies.
• Budgeting and allocating resources for Facebook Pages.
• Measuring the success of your Facebook Page.
• Partnering with a third-party vendor to develop custom Facebook Pages, Tabs and Apps.

Credits to Max and team from Clickable on putting together an insightful report. You can download the report by clicking the image below or directly on their site.

Facebook Timeline Cover Image – Where’s Waldo

Increased user engagement by 350%

Download your own waldo.

Project Showcase: Procter & Gamble “Thank You Mom”

P&G is making it possible for people to make a difference in the lives of Special Olympics Team USA athletes in their journey to the upcoming Special Olympics World Summer Games 2011 in Athens, Greece by visiting P&G’s Thank You Mom Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thankyoumom. For every visitor that “likes,” shares or leaves a comment on the page, P&G will donate $1 to support Special Olympics Team USA’s journey to Athens up to an additional $250,000. The site also features information about Special Olympics, heartfelt stories from the moms of Special Olympics Team USA athletes and an opportunity to create a unique family tribute video.

Continue reading »

eBook and Interview: How to Use The Open Graph to Connect with Your Market

I recently had the opportunity to contribute as an author and speaker to the Spring 2011 Facebook Marketing Update: How to Use The Open Graph to Connect with Your Market. This eBook was compiled and sponsored by HubSpot and includes great information on recent Facebook updates, new opportunities for brands and publishers, along with tips & tricks to most effectively engage consumers in the social landscape.

The eBook is free for download:

You can also access a follow up webinar hosted by HubSpot where we answer questions from the readers:

Sharing Content with the Facebook Like Button

Facebook Page Redesign and iFrame Tabs Offer New Engagement Opportunities for Brands

I originally published this post on the Stuzo Insights blog.

On Feb 10, 2011, Facebook announced breaking news that will ultimately provide better methods for brands to engage and communicate with their customers. These updates include a revamped UI of the Facebook Pages product and the ability to deploy iFrame tabs.

The New Facebook Page UI and What it Means…

At first glance, most users will recognize the new Page looks very similar to a user profile page. Here are some of the notable updates included in this release and what they mean for Page owners:

• IFrame Tabs are enabled: This is a feature we have been excited for at Stuzo! This provides the strategy, development, user experience and creative teams more flexibility in implementing branded experiences on Pages. Formerly many experiences had to bounce to a Facebook Canvas Page or require additional clicks for the user to engage with appropriate content. The release of iFrame tabs will now allow for more streamlined and engaging experiences directly on the Page. Here are just a few examples of the features which we are currently working on: The ability to customize the landing view based on user location or referral source, dynamically updating the view based on the piece of content they are attempting to access, loading of flash elements and interactive front-end features which formerly could not initially load on tabs (note: the auto-play of media items is still disabled, and rightfully so). As a Preferred Developer Consultant, we ensure all programs adhere to Facebook Page Policies and we are helping steer clients in the right direction for their particular strategy. You can access the updated Page Policies here.

• Left-nav formatting: The horizontal tab navigation items have been moved under the profile picture. Along with this the profile picture dimensions have changed from 200×600 to 180×540.

• Recent photos display: Matching the recent profile page changes, a brand can now showcase their 5 most recent photos published at the top of the Page.

• Branded voice: Page administrators can now have a voice across the platform in representation of the brand by linking their Facebook account to the Page. This means a Page can now interact with other users and Pages.

• A Page now has a News Feed: Now that a Page owner’s account can be logged in as a “Page,” they have access to a News Feed similar to regular users. This will allow Pages to curate their own content and have the same abilities as a content consumer.

• “Everyone” wall filter: Fans can now also get more exposure with these recent updates. Wall filters now have 2 options, “Posts by Page” or “Everyone.” This gives users the option to see the most interesting stories first.

• Page “Features” are enhanced: A Page can show other Pages they “Like” in the left sidebar, and also feature “People.” This can help put a voice and personal connection to those who communicate with users on a Page.

• Notifications: Admins of a Page can now receive email notifications when a user posts a comment. Most larger brands are using a third party Publisher tool at this time, which may take this into account. However, this is a good feature for new Page owners to quickly and effectively respond and interact with their users.

• Mutual friends and interests: Users can now see the Pages and friends they have in common with your Page.

Continue reading »