1. Netflix/Hulu/YouTube’s new content series. Could Internet video become the future of TV?

Netflix, Hulu and YouTube are beefing up the competition by launching new, original content over the next few months. The Huffington Post reports that the quality of online video is not up to par with that of TV, but it will get there in due time. The quality must improve if Internet video hopes to compete.

Laura Mitchell mentioned that the CES trade show was held in Las Vegas recently. At the show YouTube’s global head of content predicted that by 2020, 75 percent of TV channels will be transmitted via the Internet. YouTube already has plans to expand with hundreds of niche channels, and predicts that most interests will have a channel within the next few years.

How will this affect your company’s TV ad placement? Well it won’t, yet – but we will want to keep our eyes and ears on Internet video over the next couple years.

Can these online video giants become viable premium content providers? Have a look at the trailer below and tell us what you think!

2. Coca-Cola to dominate the Super Bowl. Will you interact with the polar bears on game day?

Coke is hoping to drive greater fan engagement during the big game with in-game animated TV spots and live-streaming video on the web. The main element of the campaign will be commercials and online video showing the iconic polar bears reacting to the game as it happens live. In hopes of reaching consumers on whatever screen grabs their attention, the brand will also be interacting with Facebook and Twitter users. Roughly 60% of the 100 million anticipated game-watchers will be interacting with their friends and foes online.

Check out the hype on Facebook and RSVP for the Coke Polar Bowl – if nothing else, your RSVP will donate $1 to the World Wildlife Fund.

3. Google’s new personal assistant app. Move over Siri. Meet Alfred.

Google has launched a new app called Alfred – a digital assistant that can learn what you like, how you like it, where you want it and when you want it. How does he do it? He learns from each user by asking a series of questions – future recommendations are based off of those answers and the answers from others with similar preferences. For people like me who can never decide where to get lunch, or what to make for dinner, Alfred might just be the perfect answer. Read more at alfredmobile.com or download the app and start teaching Alfred! You’ll never miss a place you might love again.

4. You choose the ads you see on TV, billboards and more? For a worthy cause, LoudSauce will help spread the word.

Depending on where you live, you may have seen Occupy Wall Street ads on television, ads representing the need for clean energy in the Boston train station, or billboard ads in North Carolina with a positive immigration message. These are the types of ideas and causes that people are raising money for on LoudSauce.com – a place where you can choose the campaign you want to promote and donate money to put that message on billboards, radio and even national television. Most people are not aware of the great causes and inspirational projects going on around them, and through this website groups can raise funds and spread the word. Check out all the messages seen in 2011, and browse the current campaigns raising money, like the next occupy ad below.

The advent of blogs and social media has given companies a new platform to share information. Prior to these platforms, many companies relied entirely on the news sections of their site to place important information. Announcements about awards, new hires and press releases lived online, and companies were able to keep interested parties up to date on the latest information.

Social media added another piece to the puzzle. Now you can not only post relevant information in blogs and news sections, but also let people know that you posted it. This is where the ball has dropped with many companies. Many businesses have adopted the practice of posting their news and information, but still haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon. These businesses are leaving great information about their company on their website, hidden from the eyeballs of their audience.

The process of engaging in new technology can be daunting, and for bigger organizations it can be a process that takes several years to sort out, which is okay. The social media landscape can be very good for business, but if you aren’t prepared, it can also backfire in a hurry. That being said the risk is worth taking.

Today, the decision to start posting important content online, needs to come with a plan to share that content through social media channels. The Internet is a massive beast full of hundreds of companies just like yours fighting you for the next big account or sale. If you are sitting on the sidelines completely, or worse yet spending time and money to post updated content and not share it, it is time to take that next step and join the social media fray.

The important thing to remember is you could have the greatest website with the freshest content, but if you aren’t sharing it on Facebook, Google+ and/or Twitter, people just aren’t going to stumble upon it. Google search of course does wonders and good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important, but there is something about social media that separates it and makes it a stronger tool. That distinction is the ability to truly connect with the people that love your brand or industry. By creating a strong connection, you build trust, and through that trust you will gain business.

An important fact to remember is that with the constant conversation online people ARE talking about your brand, company or small business. By sitting on the sidelines you have no ability to defend yourself or change their mind. Stepping into the fire, however daunting that may be, gives you the opportunity to connect with your customer and make sure that the content you are working hard to post online is getting out to the audience you want to reach.

What is the single greatest thing about DVR? Some of you may disagree with me, but I would say the ability to fast forward commercials! It’s music to the everyday TV watcher’s ears, and a game-changer for the advertising industry.

Now that many viewers can fast forward through traditional 30 and 60 second TV spots, advertisers are looking for new ways to engage with consumers. One newer medium is an interactive element still found on your TV — called bugs.

What is a bug? Well, it much more attractive than the insects we are used to seeing. Think back to watching a TV show on the CW, USA, BRAVO or a football game on ESPN, a bug is that little logo or icon (sometimes moving or with changing text) found in the bottom corner of your screen. Typically these bugs are promoting new or upcoming shows on the network, giving the viewer additional knowledge about the game or show, or encouraging viewers to visit the show’s website to learn more about the show.

Advertisers are looking at bugs as valuable real estate and are finding intuitive ways to incorporate their brand into shows. For example, Microsoft Bing has found a way to insert a bug into the popular CW show Gossip Girl by displaying a bubble that reads “The TV to Bing about series.”

But that’s not the end of it; viewers may see an increase in engagement through the use of bugs. For example, a bug may ask viewers to go online to vote for their favorite character or to poll what they think will happen in the next episode; however, the trick will be to tie the bug back to advertised product.

One way to tie a bug used during a popular TV show back to the product could be by adding further value to an already running product placement in that show. Bugs can reinforce product placements by linking the viewer to the product website through a QR Code or a quick fact about the product. For example, if I see a fabulous coat on an actress and would just like to know who the designer is, bugs are a great way of getting that information out.

Although bugs are currently not very common, be sure to keep an eye out to see where this fun, new advertising medium goes in the next year.

Have you seen a “bug”? Let me know! I’m loving these little guys and would like to hear about what else is out there.

While browsing websites online, looking for inspiration to write this blog, a photo of one of my favorite musical artists jumped out at me. “Oh! What’s Jay-Z up to? And who’s that old, short guy smirking next to him? Is that…Warren Buffet?” At first, it seems like a strange combination. Is Warren Buffet making a cameo in Jay-Z’s next video? But the connection between these two gentlemen quickly dawned on me – entrepreneurial kings. And they’re merging their strengths to television, not for a news special or 20/20 episode, but to create a cartoon for kids.

Buffet originally created Secret Millionaires Club as an animated Web series, but now the show is making its TV debut on October 23^rd. The show teaches children about money, personal growth and business. In one episode, “Cancel my Reputation,” the Secret Millionaires Club learns how “to build a good reputation and why it’s important.” The episodes range in topics from the importance of not cutting corners, listening to your customers and having a mentor. An animated Buffet serves as a character, offering insight while still letting the gang resolve their own problems.

The TV series will open with a bang. Enter Jay-Z, who guest-stars as a businessman who praises hard work at school and gives tips on how to be successful. Awesome. Hopefully he will talk about how to start your own record label, entertainment company, clothing line and become part owner of a basketball team, too.

As I was reading the article, I thought the concept behind the show was great; to my knowledge, there’s not a TV show like it. But when I went to the website and saw the stock ticker going across the page, I thought, “There’s no way at age eight I would have had anything to do with this.” I could imagine my dad encouraging me to watch it, and then it turning into some sort of punishment. Plus, if someone said “Jay-Z,” to me, I would have thought they were mixing up the alphabet.

Educational programs are an excellent opportunity for a company in any industry to educate kids, but does it really work? Are kids drawn to purely educational marketing? Tying a celebrity to the education program can definitely add interest, but how many 6-12 year olds can relate to Jay-Z? When using a celebrity to endorse your program, make sure the advocate is relevant to the audience and appropriate for the topic. I think Jay-Z is a great spokesperson for business-related topics, but would be better at reaching high school and college students and young adults.

I think educational programming is extremely important, but also very hard to pull off successfully. I watched classics like “Magic School Bus” and “Bill Nye the Science Guy”, but it’s hard to say how a serious, financial cartoon will go over. What will it take to get kids to tune in? Or is Buffet yet again making another million dollar, smart decision with this cartoon?

My colleague, Molly Schenkel, and I traveled to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) conference in Boston last week. Here are 8 key trends I took away from the event.

1. Cross-Platform. 3 Screens is Minimum.

It’s the norm for consumers to be watching TV, using their laptop and playing on their smartphone. With this newfound level of multi-tasking and fragmented focus on any one device, it becomes even more difficult to break through the mass-media frenzy, and if your message is only available on one platform, you’re missing a large segment of your target audience.

As marketers, we must stop talking about mobile/digital vs. traditional – that’s not how consumers think; instead, consumers consume media interchangeably across different devices – your messaging program must be device-neutral and work on all types of screens/devices. It must also capture their attention at relevant times with proper engagement tactics.

 2. One-to-One is Expected.

“If you’re not talking to me, I don’t hear you.”  This sentiment rings true as we think about how consumers expect personalization and relevancy. Segment like you’ve never segmented before. Technology makes this easy; don’t take the lazy one-message-for-all route or you’ll simply be ignored.

3. Social Media is about Community, not Sales.

While a few retail giants have found ways to generate sales from social media communities, it’s not the norm. Unless you’re one of these giants, use the platform for what consumers want – to build relationships and entertain. Be personable…people don’t want to be friends with shoes or chickens, but they will follow and engage with brands that relate to them and provide great value. Give your customers a reason to interact with you in all available channels.

4. Context is King, not Content.

“The amount of content generated from the beginning of time until 2003 is now generated every 48 hours” – Gary Vaynerchuk. There’s no way to stand out by simply generating fresh content – it has to be relevant to a specific audience segment. It has to have personality and a unique angle. Draw people in or they’ll drown you out.

5. Know each Customer’s LTV (Lifetime Total Value).

All customers are not created equal, and all customers will not create equitable lifecycle value for your company. Use the magnitude of data available to identify the lifetime total value of each customer (LTV) and then focus your efforts accordingly. Send your highest LTV customers a little something special on their birthdays; send your lowest LTV customers a birthday postcard.

6. Real-Time, NOT Right-Time.

If you take the time to monitor social media conversations, be timely with your entrance into the conversation. Customers want their questions answered in real-time, not following a thoroughly planned (and delayed) response. Be quick to respond and always search for ways to provide an element of surprise. Customers love to feel appreciated.

7. Put Location-Based to Work.

Location-based technologies and platforms provide a whole new way to deliver messages at the right place and the right time. You want to reach customers when they are at critical decision point, and proximity is often a key factor in this decision-making process. Real-time location marketing (also referred to as geofencing) is paving the way for how media will be delivered in the future.

8. Loyalty & Retention.

Thank your customers and thank them often by rewarding frequent visits. That’s all. It’s simple and goes back to the beginning of time. Don’t underestimate the power of saying thank you with a treat along the frequent purchase cycle.

For those in the travel industry the value of traveler reviews cannot be overstated. Whether gearing up for a cross country flight or booking a one night stay just a few hours from home, travelers everywhere turn to recommendations from friends, family, and, yes, even online strangers, in an effort to minimize hotel hassles or potential vacation nightmares.

Sites like TripAdvisor  and others have carved out nearly unmatched name recognition with travelers looking for hotel and destination reviews. But, combine that well-established user base with  crowdsourced content and new digital technologies, and you create the opportunity for travelers to not only influence visitors in the planning stage with post-trip reviews, but also through real-time information while on their trip.

For those unfamiliar with the term, crowdsourcing involves “outsourcing” the collecting of information, feedback and ideas to an already active and accessible community, giving you more information and content from a variety of personal sources. A buzz word in the advertising industry right now, crowdsourcing has helped establish new company constructions like Victors & Spoils, an entire ad agency using crowdsourcing for creative ideas, and even helped to solve a molecular puzzle in the fight against AIDS.

If users and consumers can utilize the sharing of information to solve problems like these, using crowdsourced content for travel would take the experience of planning a vacation from a personal choice to a collective discussion. Vacations could be even better thanks to recommendations from your own friends or live alerts about events happening at your destination while you’re there.

And some marketers are already on the pulse, anticipating future travelers’ needs and meeting them with crowdsourced content. One example is Trippy, a new travel service launched earlier this month. Using crowdsourced vacation information from your own Facebook Friends, Trippy is able to pull in tips and recommendations from those within your own circle to help you plan vacations a bit more easily.

Even Ogilvy Worldwide’s Public Relations department got in on the crowdsourcing trend by prompting readers to book their next trip using crowdsourced content.

As more users post vacation tips, photos, reviews and recommendations on sites like TripAdvisor and as mobile devices allow consumers greater access to that content any time, the opportunity for marketers to reach out and engage in the travel conversation expands. Creating a space for visitors to meet digitally and share trip ideas will only increase the value of your destination in the minds of your most social travelers.

Last week I dipped my toes into the world of Pinterest. Launched in March 2010, the website recently graced the list of Time Magazine’s “50 Best Websites of 2011.“ The website allows users to create theme pages displaying relevant photos that the user has “pinned” to their page.

Think of an artist’s mood board that you might see at an advertising agency – photos taped or pinned to the wall to create a look or feel for a campaign – and take that digital. Users can create boards of any desired theme. Currently, I am working on a wedding board. Other common boards include home décor, clothing, travel, crafts, and so on. Instead of magazine clippings crammed into a file folder, I have one easy, clean, and digital place to drag and drop any ideas that pique my interest.

You can log into the program through your Facebook account. It also allows you to find friends from Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo! or Gmail. Frequent pinners and trend-setters are featured on a Tastemaker section.

When “pinning” items to your boards, you can re-pin from other users’ Pinterest board, or you can pull images from the Internet using the ‘Pin It’ tool installed on your toolbar. All photos are given credit and accompanied with a link to the original source.

Beyond a personal hobby, I can see many uses for Pinterst. The travel industry could allow pinners to create a whole virtual travel itinerary, retailers could keep an eye on what trends are hot and could pull them into a look book. Our artists here at L&S (thanks Katie Fritz and Sarah Pitts for introducing me) have already been using the boards for collecting interesting fabrics, designs, typefaces, and design inspiration.

What about campaign deliverables? Think of presenting a post-campaign report visually, in a way that the client could share with other stakeholders who want a quick way to see a high level overview of the campaign. I am excited to explore the possibilities.

We all have our secret obsessions. One of mine, sadly, is economics. It’s so intriguing to me—market forces, supply, demand, economies of scale. You name it. Now this isn’t to say I’m an expert, but I like to throw on my economist cap every once and a while.

What I like most about economics is it applies to more than money. Economic principles can be applied to everyday life—everything from sports to religion.

So when I ask myself, “Will Google+ become a powerful tool in a people’s social arsenal, like Facebook and Twitter? Or will it fade from our memory like jaiku or Google Buzz?” I can’t help but think about the economic principle that people respond to incentives. With more than 10 million users of its beta version, Google+ must be giving users some incentives to check out the new social networking platform.

Part of the Club

Google’s first incentive is the feeling of exclusivity. You must be invited to test the new service. Whether we like to admit it or not, we enjoy the feeling of being the first in our circle (pardon the pun) to test something new. This incentive of being one of the first is a powerful force in attracting new visitors.

Fresh Start

Google is also offering new twists on social media favorites as another incentive to join Google+. Facebook has been around for awhile and, as a result, we’ve all built up a quite the pile of “friends.” So many in fact, we scratch our heads as we try to remember how we know the first five people in our news feed. Google+ gives users a chance to start fresh. As tech journalist Chris Mims commented, “I’m ignoring everyone whose name I don’t recognize, simple as that. Some types of networks have a value in direct proportion to their selectivity.” Google+ gives us a chance to start over and organize our social web.

Circles

Speaking of organizing, Google+ allows users to place contacts into partitioned groups called circles.  Google CEO Larry Page said, “Our goal is to make sharing on the web like sharing in real life,” he said. “In real life we share different things with different people.” Each post or comment for example can be shared with the group(s) of your choice. The chance to start fresh and the chance for more control may give many the push they need to test the waters of Google+.

Free

Nothing screams incentive louder than FREE. Free group video chatting is what made my ears perk up when I first heard rumblings about Google+. My four closest college friends and I have been group-chatting on Skype for the past six months. Separated by hundreds of miles, we work to keep our group dynamic with bi-weekly chats on Skype. We love these chats, but aren’t so found of the subscription fee needed to bring us into the same virtual living room. Last week, we all eagerly signed onto Google+ and started a “hangout,” as Google has coined them. The video quality was impressive and the price was even more attractive.

Enhanced basics

Finally, let’s face it. A platform trying to woo people away from something as widely accepted and, frankly, addictive as Facebook must not only deliver, but also enhance the basics. Google+ offers the basics, including features like profiles, chat, +1 (Google’s version of a like button), stream (Google’s news feed) and photo sharing. It even incorporates an RSS like feature called Sparks right into the home screen. Sparks allows you to select interests and pulls in stories from across the web so you can read and share knowledge with your friends.

The Final Frontier

The question for marketers is if Google can use its prowess as a search engine giant coupled with its new knowledge of our social preferences to serve consumers ads they are truly interested in. Google will have to make this incentive palpable for advertisers to convince them to shift advertising dollars from Facebook. But for a company whose  share of the search-advertising market has jumped to 75 percent from 50 percent over the past three years, this may prove to be a small hurdle for Google.

As with any product, time and market forces will tell which platform will thrive. I’ll be watching and weighing the incentives to see if Google+ can rise to the level of Facebook or if the two will co-exist, each with their own pluses and uses like Facebook and Twitter do today.

What did you #AskObama?

Did you ask him about economics and the job market? Did you ask him about clean energy? Did you ask him where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

If you didn’t tweet any of these questions, rest assured, someone else did. On Wednesday, July 6, Twitter was bombarded with thousands of #AskObama questions, and the President responded to them in real time on TV.

According to Mashable, more than 61,000 questions were asked and a total of 94,000 tweets were sent to President Obama’s first Twitter Town Hall. Twitter Co-founder and Executive Chairman Jack Dorsey moderated, and the event lasted only an hour.

Now that’s a lot of tweets and questions to get through in a short amount of time, but think for a minute. What’s Twitter’s core mission?

To get to the point in 140 characters or less.

Speaking of character numbers and trending topics, did Obama answer the questions effectively and quickly last Wednesday? This issue is being debated by columnists at The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Two of the three sources are skeptical of his ability to be short-and-sweet, Twitter style, and the other believes the long-winded answers were unavoidable. Even at an event of this nature.

We all know politicians are good at expounding. They’re good at explaining in full and adding extra stuff, so maybe this is a time to once again remind ourselves of the beauty of brevity.

In a world that’s constantly on information overload, people can only handle so much. Remember that.

Being brief is not easy. It forces speakers and writers to focus on key points. It forces them to think about take-home value and the one thing people will remember in 15 minutes. Ragan’s PR Daily posted the 8 Steps to More Concise Writing, and they’re tips all politicians, public relations professionals, copywriters and the general public should live by in this world of excess information.

Maybe it’s time to start communicating on Twitter’s terms. What is it that you really want to say? What is your point? During the next town hall I may have to ask, “How would you put that in 140 characters, Mr. President? #AskObama”

Over 2.5 million sites having integrated the Like Button and 10,000 more add to that number each day, showing consumers must like it. Now, another online giant, Google, has adopted the idea and is incorporating it into their search algorithm, allowing it to influence search results.

But which one is better? Stemming from my own curiosity, I took an in-office poll to see how many people use the respective button. Since the Google Plus 1 button is relatively new compared to the Facebook “Like,” I wasn’t too surprised at the results. 89% of respondents said they have used the Facebook Like button while only 2% reported using the Google Plus 1 – meaning Google has a lot of catching up to do.

According to the Google Plus One Blog, the main difference between the two is “Google +1 is an annotation system which reinforces the interactions between organic and paid results, web pages, and your Google contacts…therefore it acts as a collective rating system helping results be more trustworthy, but not adding the social infrastructure.”

As more people begin to use these tools for sharing online content and opinions or as a way to personalize searches, the question is how will this growth affect their influence? For example, when the Like button was first introduced I trusted it for recommendations, but now it’s everywhere. Today, many Facebook pages have incorporated the Like button as a way to unlock content; therefore page visitors click the Like button to see the page, not necessarily because they like the brand.

Simply clicking a “Like” or “Plus One” doesn’t require any commitment and as more people begin to use and exploit these tools, they may lose some of their influence over consumers.  However, the adoption rate of these social media tools doesn’t seem to be slowing down, so as you incorporate them into your site think about how they can give people a platform for sharing and liking your product or service. Look for ways to make these online recommendations go farther by taking out the gimmicks.

Chances are you’ve clicked the “Like” button on Facebook a time or two.

You’ve “Liked” your friends’ statuses and photos. You’ve “Liked” articles about current issues and celebs. You’ve even “Liked” relationships when they become Facebook official.

On Tuesday, June 28, it’s time to “Like” something different. It’s time to click the “Like” button and help an organization change lives in South Dakota.

Feeding South Dakota, a hunger relief organization, is a finalist in a nationwide contest sponsored by Toyota. Toyota is giving away 100 Cars for Good. They’re giving 100 cars to 100 charities for 100 days. Each competing organization was asked to complete a video saying why they deserve to win. Facebook viewers will vote on who gets the wheels.

That’s your queue. Mark your calendars and go to www.facebook.com/toyota to “Like” the Feeding South Dakota video on Tuesday, June 28. The goal is to win the Toyota Highlander so Feeding South Dakota can deliver more meals to the hungry and ultimately get more MPGs, Meals Per Gallon, in the state.

Be an active part of this effort by voting and sharing the news with your friends. See you on Election Day!

It’s time to fess up. You are not just sleeping with your spouse. You also sleep with your smartphone.

According to a recent report released by the mobile service provider iPass, more than 60 percent of workers keep their mobile device in the bedroom at night, and more than 45 percent keep it within an arm’s reach. For this study, iPass surveyed more than 3,700 mobile employees from 1,000 companies across the United States, and the statistics are shocking. The stats prove that work never sleeps, and neither do those employed.

The infographic “Smartphone Pillow Talk” shows that 58 percent of workers wake up during the night to check their phone and of those respondents, 11 percent find themselves awake every night to monitor their e-mail inbox or check Facebook.

It’s clear that people today want to be connected, but what’s even clearer is that employees are willing to work during all hours of the day. No longer is home life and work life separated. The line is completely blurred.

In a 24/7 kind of world, no time is off time. News and work updates can be viewed instantly during any hour of the day, and that is the expectation. We want the all-access pass to information, and we’re willing to sacrifice good sleep for it.

Public Relations, like the mobile employee, never sleeps. PR is all about building beneficial relationships, earning trust and generating reputation, and these things don’t always happen between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. They are constantly happening. And since the advent of the smartphone, PR is becoming increasingly relevant and important.

If you don’t have PR strategies in place, think about what can happen. A customer can run into issues with a product late at night and then feel the need to tweet or Facebook it. PR professionals know that at any moment a business’ reputation can be tested, so having a planned response is ideal. PR is about strategizing, but also about reacting and conversing with real people in real time. And if companies are missing that in the mix, they’re missing key, ground-level interactions.

Remember when you’re up at night checking your iPhone or Blackberry, so are your clients and customers. Chances are they’re talking or thinking about brands and companies (maybe even yours), so keep a PR strategy or two on your nightstand for good measure.

The Internet and social media have fundamentally changed the pace of business, compressing time and rewarding speed. News breaks over minutes, not days. Companies can develop or refine products and services instantly based on customer feedback or events in the marketplace.

As a result, public relations has changed forever. Traditional media outlets are no longer the inpenetrable gatekeepers. Citizen journalists (whether they think of themselves that way or not) are reporting more updates from more locations than professional journalists could ever hope to cover. And businesses have an unprecented freedom to share their stories directly with key audiences – customers and potential clients.

This shifting landscape provides business with an opportunity never before seen. It’s called Real-Time PR… the mindset of finding and engaging with emerging story lines before they become old news.

Real-time PR was the topic of April’s L&S Boot Camp Webinar. Lawrence & Schiller’s Dave Haan, Director of Public Relations, and Lindsey Philips, PR Coordinator, presented the three “D”s at the foundation of real-time PR:

• Detect conversations about your brand
• Deliver the right messages to the right audiences
• Decrease your response time

I think back to my time in college when a group of my sorority sisters and I would sit in our living room and watch Grey’s Anatomy every week. Two years later and miles apart, we still get together to watch our favorite TV shows, thanks to technology.

Cell phones, texting and social media all play a role in creating the next generation of couch potatoes – the social couch potato. TV viewers have an even greater opportunity to interact with others during popular TV shows by blogging, tweeting and texting their thoughts and reactions to the television drama.

Social TV engagement is a reality. Take the record number of over 4,000 tweets per second during the final plays of Super Bowl XLV. The combination of technology and social media is an obvious benefit to viewers as it gives them the opportunity to update friends and comment on the game in real-time.

But it doesn’t end there, with new applications such as IntoNow and GetGlue gaining popularity, iPhone and tablet users are able to “check-in” to TV shows, movies and even commercials – similar to how foursquare allows users to “check-in” to various locations. These applications allow others to see what their friends are watching and when, as well as to be able to recommend shows and “invite” friends to watch them. 

Take a look at this video and see how the GetGlue iPhone app works.

Today, we don’t need our friends lounging next to us to enjoy watching TV with them. With new devices and mobile applications we can share what we are watching and our experience with them regardless of proximity. I’m predicting that as these applications gain in popularity, the social couch potato will thrive in the days ahead.

Traditionally Facebook ads consisted of an image, title and body copy, all planned in advance and submitted to Facebook. About two months ago, Facebook  gave advertisers and page owners a new way to promote their brand. With sponsored (a.k.a. purchased) stories, brands can now pay to promote stories about their brand or Facebook pages.

Here’s how sponsored stories work:

1. You must have a Facebook page for your business or organization.
2. You pay for these just like traditional Facebook ads. You can also target ages/geography and set daily and campaign budgets the same way.
3. The new sponsored story ads show up on the right side of people’s pages, similar to regular Facebook ads.

Sponsored stories can be shared with Facebook users in one of two ways:

The first option, as the example on the left shows, is to have each new wall post on your organizations’ Facebook page linked to ads. You will still have control because your organization is writing the wall posts, but it’s much less formal than a regular advertisement. For any pages that continuously post new content, this is the best option. You can create top of mind awareness and build intrigue with new wall posts.

The second option is to have page ‘likes’ pushed out to friends of the people who have ‘liked’ your page. Since I have ‘liked’ the L&S page, all of my friends within the age and geography parameters set for the campaign will see the sponsored story.  For an organization that doesn’t post as regularly, I would recommend this option, especially if your focus is to build a fan base. This type of Facebook promotion is similar to a referral. My friends are more likely to ‘like’ a page, when they see I have ‘liked’ the page.

As marketers, it is important for us to get into the conversations of our target audience. Sponsored stories, although not organic, are a step in the right direction. Watch a video from Facebook featuring this new product.

Whenever I have a new ache or pain, I tend to venture online to do a little researching on what could possibly be ailing me. This has become a common practice for many people today. Health websites like WebMD & Patients Like Me are frequently visited by curious individuals.

Interestingly, according to a study done by National Research Corporation, 41 percent of respondents are using social media as a health care resource. And this absolutely makes sense – our social network is typically who we turn to when it comes to many issues, including health.

In addition, a vast majority of the survey respondents, 94 percent, actually turn to Facebook for diet and exercise tips, as well as health education multimedia. Being able to access a broad range of health information is not only valued, but also widely utilized.

The prevalence and importance of Facebook is incessantly regurgitated in marketing circles. However, it is a valid point and nod to the fact that the social media platform has become an important part of people’s lives. It has also become a game-changer for marketing strategies.

Preference is given to a health care organization’s Facebook page over its traditional website due to the ability to quickly interact, communicate and view the conversations and postings of peers.  A plethora of information is all in one convenient location, right alongside your online social community.

Health care organizations need to consider these findings and work towards expanding their social media presence. Providing education, tips, events, videos and conversing with followers are all possible via social media.  Creating a community and being a resource for patients via social media will build an even stronger communications network.

In a lackluster economy where corporations have a reputation for being greedy, and job hunters have been put through the ringer, it is refreshing to see many companies take a new approach to giving back.

What exactly do I mean by that?

One trend that continues to grow in 2011 is how companies are investing their time and efforts into executing “Random Acts of Kindness.” These random acts can be anything from giving personalized gifts to people on the street to sending care packages to Twitter users having a bad day.

Why would a company do this? First, because it’s an awesome idea, and second, because there are many ways for this to reflect favorably on a company. Secret is a great example – they’ve created a Facebook page focused on bringing out the best in high school girls. That’s going above and beyond the traditional call of duty for a deodorant.

But don’t take my word for it – look at these other examples of how a simple random act of kindness can turn a consumer into a loyal, brand advocate!

This video is an example of how Heineken expressed its gratitude to their Facebook fans for getting them to one million “Likes”

One Million Heineken Hugs

This video is in Spanish but you’ll get the message – even if your high school Spanish is as rusty as mine!

Gifts In Flight

Social media allows the people who make up an organization to connect with the people the business serves. You want your employees to talk about your company and build relationships through social media platforms, but you also want to be clear about what is acceptable online activity. Hearing from various speakers at the Ragan Conference on Social Media for Public Relations and Internal Communication in Las Vegas last month has convinced me of the importance of implementing social media policies in every organization.

What They Are

Social Media Guidelines outline the purpose of, how best to utilize and what to steer clear of while using social media. They clearly define how your organization wants social media to contribute to the overall mission of your business, while setting common sense expectations about how you want your employees to act online.

You might be thinking these guidelines will only add another page to your already thick employee handbook, but with the lines between personal and professional becoming increasingly blurry online, it will be in the interest of your organization’s bottom line to protect your reputation and employees.

Why You Need Them

Social media guidelines will help your organization avoid, or react more quickly to a variety of situations.

• An employee leaking confidential information in a tweet
• An employee admitting to illegal activity online
• Organization members making inappropriate comments about fellow employees

What They Should Say

A good social media policy needs to have three characteristics. It should be clear, concise and common sense. Social media guidelines should set expectations for employees and protect the company.

Do your best to keep the guidelines to one page. You want people to be able to remember and follow them. Also, avoid complicated, legal jargon. Set simple expectations that everyone from the CEO to the newest employee can follow.

Remind people they are responsible for what they say online. Although some employees may think of the Internet as “my space” they still represent your company. Their on-the-job professionalism should be reflected as they engage with others online. Conversations should be civil and respectful, no matter how heated an online debate becomes.

Ask people to identify themselves as an employee of your organization when they comment on industry-related items online. Also remind employees to be careful about sharing confidential information.

The size of your organization and the industry you operate in will shape the exact content of your guidelines. Take the time to research the social media policies of similar organizations as you begin the process. (See the resource section below).

At the end of the day, leave your organization room to breathe. Trust your employees to be responsible advocates for your organization. They are the face and voice of your company. If you are clear about how you expect them to act online and realize the positive impact they can have as brand advocates, your company will be well on its way to engaging customers online, because at the end of the day it’s all about relationships, on- and offline.

Who Has Them

• Social Media Governance
• Southwest Airlines
• Intel

This post is part of a series stemming from the knowledge gained at the Social Media for Public Relations and Internal Communications Conference in Las Vegas, NV.

Check out other conference-related posts:

Social Media Pioneers Gather in Las Vegas

The Red Cross Goes from #gettngslizzerd to #gettngdonations

Come on, admit it.

You’ve done it before. It’s alright.  You’re in good company. We’ve all done it. Yes, that’s right we’ve all made a mistake, maybe even more than one.

Mistakes are inevitable in life and they are unavoidable in social media as well.

So why do we try to cover them up? We delete tweets when we attach the wrong hyperlink. We delete Facebook posts when we misspell a word, and act like nothing happened. But why? The mistake has already been made and the world has already seen it. Why do we try to hide it?

I will be the first to admit that I’ve messed up. I’ve misspelled words, uploaded the wrong photo and linked to the wrong page. I’ve also tried to fix them as soon as possible. Deleting the original post and reposting a correct version.

Social media is all about creating and building relationships online. Transparency, honesty and the ability to admit mistakes is foundational to deepening those relationships. Instead of covering up social media faux paus, why don’t we admit them?

A real life example of a social media “oops” occurred while I was attending the Social Media for Public Relations and Internal Communications hosted by Ragan Communications and Public Relations Society of America in Las Vegas last week. In the closing session, Jackie Mitchell of the American Red Cross shared a situation she and her team around the country dealt with on Twitter during the course of the conference.

Jackie explained to us that several staffers at the American Red Cross are responsible for managing the organization’s official Twitter account. Many of those staffers use HootSuite to manage their multiple social media accounts. Late on Tuesday, Feb. 15, a Red Cross staffer posted, “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer…when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd” . The employee meant to tweet this through her personal account, but instead it was broadcast to the Red Cross’ 270,000 plus followers. Oops!

The communications staff at Red Cross was faced with the question of how to deal with the situation. They knew trying to bury the incident wasn’t the answer. Instead, they admitted their mistake, and tweeted, “We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.” Although the staff thought it was best to delete the original tweet, they publicly addressed the situation. They admitted their mistake, humorously I might add, and moved on.

Now you might think this is the end of the story, but it gets better. Social media is of course, social. So the VP of Marketing at Dogfish Head Beer spotted the rogue Red Cross tweet mentioning her company’s product. She laughed and reposted the tweet encouraging Dogfish’s followers to donate to the Red Cross. Their followers and other Twitter users passed on the message. Many stepped up and donated as well. Check out the buzz around #gettngslizzerd.

The Red Cross even set up a designated page in connection with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery encouraging people to donate a pint.

Hats off to the Red Cross for embracing a social media mistake, admitting it and continuing their mission of helping others. The story has been heralded as a social media PR success and has changed my attitude about attempting to fix mistakes on social media.

@lindsphlips: I am human. I make mistakes, just like @RedCross. #gettngslizzerd

Second in a series of blog posts stemming from the knowledge gained at the Social Media for Public Relations and Internal Communications Conference in Las Vegas, NV.