Shoe: Awesome NikeID Shox. Personalized with “Megan McQ” On back of the heels. (Real picture coming shortly) Did I mention they are Awesome?

So I just got back from my fist time playing volleyball in about a month due to a few injuries.

While I was playing this evening, I became aware that I am not as quick as I used to be, even in comparison to just a few years ago. I can’t do the cool things I once could (i.e., pancake/roll–see below), but this could be because I don’t play every day for 2 hours a day year-round. I also have to play with contacts now. Ouch.

In fact, I’m only approved to play once a week less any additional injury. (It’s a good thing I think the number “3” is the number “1”—let’s keep that between you and me).

For me, this realization that ‘every day we’re getting older’ was a ‘carpe diem’ moment. I didn’t touch a ball for about four years but I’m glad I’m back on the court for as much as I am able to be. (This was a shameless plug for insisting that you follow your dreams, no matter how far-fetched you may imagine them to be, bla bla, etc. I’ve found I’m typically my own worst road block.)

On another note, the best part of this evening was getting to break in my new pair of NikeID Shox. They are actually supposed to be running shoes but I need to break them in slowly, and I think my actual court shoes may not be supportive enough for my broken foot.

Despite a few moral issues I may have with Nike, I have to tell you I like Shox. I also think that Nike made an amazingly brilliant decision to allow for personalization of various shoes. With their NikeID Web site, I can customize virtually every element of a variety of different shoes. From the ’shox’ color to the color of my shoe laces–I even had the left heel personalized with my first name and the right heel with my last name. Pretty neat, huh?

In social media marketing, there’s a high debate that’s questioning the best way to determine if your campaign is successful. While this is one of the many issues that our industry seems to disagree on, I personally think that a campaign is successful by the amount of conversation that is generated about your company, product or message. (There are various ways to monitor for conversation and I’m sure this blog post may very well end up on a monitoring report about the company later this week.)

But I was thinking about it, and what a better way to generate a WOM conversation than by being able to create off-line user generated content (UGC)?  I can share my own individual story about Nike by purchasing these custom shoes. My shoes embody Nike’s corporate story. And since birds of a feather flock together, the people with which I converse with will ask me about my *totally awesome* shoes, and I’ll tell them to check out the site.

Win-Win. I get great shoes, Nike gets great publicity.

The same UGC concept holds true for other successful campaigns. President Obama’s campaign (Note: this blog is not politically affiliated) was very successful in garnering interest in his party for the election by having individuals create and display their own personalized version of his logo, among other social media tactics.

According to a white paper by Edelman entitled the Social Pulpit:

The MyBO Web site contained videos, speeches, photos and how-to guides that gave people the raw materials they needed to create their own compelling content in support of Obama. In return, supporters created more than 400,000 pro-Obama videos and posted them to YouTube. They also wrote more than 400,000 blog posts on the MyBO Web site.

In Obama’s case, this was all digital UGC. But the fact of the matter is that this digital UGC transferred from online to off-line action on election day. Pretty neat, right?

In essence, UGC may be one of the more important elements of determining if a campaign is successful. And that’s what I thought about while playing volleyball.

PS: Yes. I’m making social media connections while playing volleyball. Deal.

PPS: This was not a sponsored post.

Images via Gauntlet and  Planspark’s Photostream

The Blog-off contest at Community Marketing Blog ended on the 30th of May.

Over the course of the two week competition, I ended up posting 3 times. These posts ranged in scope. One covered mobile advertising (or ‘app’vertising). It discussed the recent trends in the mobile marketing industry and how companies can increase brand awareness through effective mobile applications.

The second post talked about journalism in the social media era. I talked about how traditional journalism is being replaced by citizen journalism and how I thought this was a good thing in terms of marketing and branding campaigns. Citizen journalism increases transparency and strength of message from influencer bloggers.

My third post talked about the importance of digital monitoring due to digital WOM (word of mouth). It also touched on how companies must understand their online digital conversation before they engage their customers online.

I learned a lot from this competition. I’m proud of the conversation that was generated in the comments as well as how many people read the posts!

In my next post, I’ll talk about some of the ‘blogger best practices’ and my strategy for the competition.

Also, I’ll write a post and let you know who the winners of the contest are. If I am picked to be a permanent writer to the blog, I’ll have a press release with my bio sent out to 1+ million people on Linked-In and other prominent industry blogs. It will be very exciting.

Notice: This blog is not politically affiliated. This blog post does not support nor condone the political initiatives of any political party. This post is using the Web 2.0 features of the present administration as a positive case study of new media use.

Now that stakeholders have the opportunity to engage with one another on the Digital WoM forefront, it is the responsibility of the company to react to what the stakeholders are saying.

It is important to note that by “react” I don’t mean ‘talk back to’ or ‘defend your company’ to these stakeholders. By “react” I mean be cognizant of the stakeholder’s concerns and allow these concerns to be an element of future decision making.

Take for example, the Obama Administration. Obama understood that his stakeholders wanted an increased voice in the government. His campaign acknowledged this desire and encouraged individuals to add their own unique perspective on his campaign platforms through the submission of user generated content (UGC) on social media platforms.

Following his election into office, he established a White House blog that allowed for users to submit their opinions. He promised that the government would increase communication, transparency and participation. So far, the Administration has sought to uphold this goal, despite a few set backs.

My point? If the obsolete, stagnant and Mezosoic-esque government (see fig. 1.1) can acknowledge the needs of its stakeholders and respect the voice of its public, why can’t you learn about the platforms and their implications for your company?

Fig. 1.1

Uncle Bob: Hey Meg.

Me: What’s up?

Uncle Bob: What’s Twitter?

Companies all over are asking themselves this very question. And that’s a good thing.

With millions of people on the Web every day, there’s no doubt that people are talking about your company; their experiences, their praises, their critiques, their general opinion about your awesomeness, etc.

In sum, the digital word-of-mouth (WoM) conversation is already out there. Which is why it’s great that companies are echoing Uncle Bob when they ask, “What’s Twitter?”

It’s a difficult task to learn about new platforms that are revolutionizing the way companies do business. Especially because the new media industry moves so quickly.

If your company isn’t already in the new media space…how can you catch up?

The first step would be to learn a) What new media is, and; b) How the ‘important’ platforms function. This step takes time, but as with every new venture, it starts with a single step.

It’s important to note that it could be potentially devastating to your company’s brand to join the platforms and start using them, especially if you don’t know with whom you are conversing.

That’s why it’s great to ask questions.

UPDATE: 05.05.09, Ragan.com (a prominent communicator guide) posted an article by Geoff Livingston at The Buzz Bin on how to introduce your company to social media. The post sites that forming an internal blog to share and recommend sites privately may be a good way to become familiar with the sphere.

Word-of-mouth (WOM) is the strongest influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Take for example a conversation you had with Uncle Bob last Thanksgiving:

Uncle Bob: You know what really grinds my gears? Nationwide Oil Change, Co.

You: Why, Uncle Bob?

Image of "Uncle Bob"

Uncle Bob: Well, there was just nothing special about my oil change from last week. I took my car into my local branch for their signature service but they took nearly 6 hours to give me my car back. It was quite a horrible experience.

Now, apart from Uncle Bob’s Minnesota accent, there’s just nothing funny about this story–especially in terms of Nationwide Oil Change Co.’s bottom line.  While you had no personal interaction with Nationwide, you’re less inclined to frequent the store. The next time you need your oil changed, you’re more willing to try out the no-name shop as opposed to the large oil change chains (say that 3x fast).

New media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are creating new ways for customers to disseminate WOM. These tools, then, could have potentially damaging reputational implications for your brand, even if 9/10 customers have amazing experiences with your company.

One customer with a poor experience could tweet about it and could potentially reach hundreds of people. These people could become less likely to invest in your brand because ultimately, they trust their friends’ opinions over paid advertisements.

The point is, new media is changing the way companies interact with their key publics. There has been a paradigm shift from one-way traditional advertising and marketing to a more dynamic and integrated approach. Companies must leverage their online presence to engage with their public and increase brand recognition.

Of course, nothing in life is that simple. Which is why I’m writing this blog. I’d like to help de-mystify the new media space as well as analyze new trends and platforms from a reputation management standpoint.