By Diane Charton, managing director at Acceleration Media

Many brands will only begin to consider the importance of Online Reputation Management (ORM) tools when they sail into a reputational storm that rages in social media channels. But as powerful as ORM is for crisis management, it can also deliver massive benefits to any business that uses it in a more proactive manner.

ORM is the discipline of monitoring and analysing the reputation of a person, organisation or industry as represented by the content across all types of online media. It’s about listening to and engaging in the online conversation and measuring reputation among online communities.

Here are six ways that you can use ORM as a tool to build your reputation online and understand your customers, rather than only using it reactively and defensively.

1. Understand what makes consumers tick
Consumer research is costly and time-consuming. Often, consumers will tell you what they think you want to hear in surveys and focus groups than what they really think and feel. But with ORM tools, you can listen in on your customers’ candid conversations about what matters to them and what they are looking for from brands such as yours. Social media is an up-to-the-minute guide to consumer trends.

2. Competitor analysis
You can use ORM tools to listen to what consumers are saying about your competitors. This information can provide you with valuable insights into your strengths and weaknesses compared to your competition. This is the sort of information that can help you in your product development, marketing and customer support strategies.

3. Build an early warning system
If you are proactively monitoring what customers are saying about your brand, products and service, you can often nip issues in the bud before they blossom into major reputational crises. A quick reaction to a consumer who found your TV ad offensive can prevent the complaint from snowballing. And a few Tweets about long waits at your call centre may alert you to a problem your customers are experiencing that has caused call centre volumes to rise. You could possibly resolve the problem and issue a statement before it turns into a crisis.

4. Gauge consumers’ reactions to your marketing campaigns
If you have spent a lot of money on an online or offline advertising campaign, you can watch social media discussions to gauge what consumers think about it. You can use this information to adapt existing campaigns on the fly, to take advantage of positive momentum, or change course if the campaign bores or offends a significant part of your target market. This information will also be valuable for your future campaigns.

5. Shape your social media strategy, policies and guidelines
It’s easy to set up a Facebook page or a Twitter account, but harder to understand how successfully you are using these tools to engage with your customers. Are you improving buzz and sentiment about your brand, or are you alienating and irritating customers? Is your social media strategy effective in reaching your customers and getting them to engage with your content? ORM can help you to measure just how successful your social media approach is in meeting your business goals so that you can adapt it if necessary.

6. Identify and influence your advocates and detractors – word of mouth spreads quickly
With ORM tools, you can identify people who talk about your brand a lot – your advocates and detractors alike – and get an idea of just how much influence they have on others.  From there, you can look at ways of influencing them to keep saying nice things about your brand or try to swing your critics over to your point of view.

Closing words
In much the same way as word-class companies use traditional reputation management to proactively build their image even when there is no crisis, organisations should be using ORM to enhance their online reputations by engaging in conversation with their customers outside of complaints and crisis situations. Any organisation that wants to maximise its return on investment from social media should be using ORM to listen to, engage in and measure the online conversation.

Growing up I had an Alsatian named Smokey. Smokey was different. He was more intelligent than most Alsatians. Even so, much to my brother (the cat man’s) dismay, Smokey was a dog

My four year old brother didn’t like dogs, so he tried to turn Smokey into a cat. His training of Smokey started with the most simple of cat-like behaviours, meowing. Over the next few weeks my brother tried his best to get Smokey to stop barking and start meowing. But he couldn’t do it. And until his last day on earth Smokey barked like the dog he was

And the reason for that was simple – Smokey was a dog. I don’t mean to liken people to dogs, but there are certain similarities. We’re all made in a certain way and are good at different things. I’m a copywriter by profession, that’s what I do. My brain is wired for it. Just like a financial guy thinks in numbers and a designer in pictures, I think in words. So why then do people think that creativity can be taught

I agree that raw talent can be refined, moulded and nurtured, but Cyril from accounts is never going to be Simon from the creative studio (unless he was in the wrong job to start with). We all know the story someone approaches you with enthusiasm and says, “You have to meet my sister/aunt/son, they’re so creative and so good with colours! Painted their entire house in different shades of orange, would you consider taking him/her on in your design department? No formal design training but he’s a quick learner.” Or “my brother wrote our dad’s obituary. It was great, can you take him on as an apprentice writer?

You don’t hear people say to doctors, “My friend can peel an orange in 10 seconds, how about you teach him to be a surgeon.” So why do they expect it to work in the creative fields? But my absolute favourite is the “designer, copywriter, 3d animator, photographer hybrid”. This guy or girl is so multi-talented that they are a one-man agency. It’s just a pity that they don’t have any clients (because they could be traffic and client service too).

This leads me to another point about wanna-be creative people- their outsides. According to these eyesores, wearing creative fashion, listening to creative music, following creative trends and using hipster-slang makes one creative.  It doesn’t. It makes you no more creative, than wearing a bomber jacket makes you a fighter pilot.

So, finally, where then does creativity come from? It comes from within. You either have it or you don’t. If you are one of those rare few who were born with a creative gift then nurture it. Nourish it, mould it, shape it and use it to its full potential. But whatever you do, don’t like dye your hair purple just to show it off.

Written by: Jared Kushner GM of 00h12 Advertising Agency

“Cloud computing” is a technical term for something that most internet users are already familiar with and using on a daily basis. Basically, it means computing services and tools are housed on the internet (in the cloud) rather than locally on physical hardware. It’s a revolutionary idea because everything is stored and processed on the web rather than on the individual’s computer, meaning that hardware requirements shrink while capacity grows. If you use an online calendar, photo-sharing site (like Flickr or even Facebook), file storage service (like Dropbox) or mobile device that lets you sync your content, you’re part of the cloud.

It’s no secret that businesses of any size must be online to succeed these days – but marketing businesses especially can benefit from the features of cloud computing. Here are four ways in which the cloud can and will transform your marketing business.

1. More affordable

Buying and maintaining hardware costs a lot of money. Even a basic low-end server – a device that lets employees share documents, create backups and connect remotely – will set you back about R20,000, and that doesn’t account for maintenance, running costs or repair. On the other hand, an online file-sharing and hosting tool like Dropbox offers 100GB of storage for about R160 a month – and it also allows you to access files from anywhere, to perform backups, to share content  with your fellow marketers and to recover files that may have been deleted accidentally.

Many cloud services are completely free (and almost all have a basic free service – SugarSync offers 5GB free to everyone). Those that have monthly costs are usually very reasonable. You needn’t be stuck with a bad or expensive service.

2. More versatile

Many marketing businesses – especially the new ones – are characterised by growth, uncertainty and shifting requirements. Static hardware installations, or even software purchases, can be fine for a specific period of time, but if you find you need to turn your business on its head, they lose all their value.

That’s not the case with cloud-based services. Not only is there a massive range of different tools and services to choose from, but each category also has many competing products, prices, functionalities and uses. Swapping from one service to the next is usually trivial, so you can adapt your tools to your marketing business, not the other way around.

3. More secure

Hardware is notoriously finicky – if a hard drive or a server crashes, weeks or even years of work and data could be lost. Hardly any marketing business performs sufficient backups – time and storage are usually constraints – and backups can be just as prone to failure. Local storage and internet connections are also typically unencrypted, making it easy for data theft to occur.

Data stored on the cloud is generally considered to be much more secure because it’s harder to lose (most services perform their own backups) and there are many service providers that offer strong encryption or privacy features. Of course, errors and leaks can happen – but it doesn’t hurt to keep your vital data stored off-site that won’t be destroyed if your premises are flooded or burnt.

4. More mobile

A characteristic of many new businesses is that they aren’t tied down to a single office or location. Their founders and marketers are constantly on the move – at meetings, attending conferences, pitching to financiers, travelling to promote the business or the products – so instant access to vital data and services from anywhere is a must.

Cloud-based services make this possible because they are housed remotely – all you need is your login and a suitable device (a smartphone will do). Most services will update automatically to display the latest information, so you can see, for example, if your schedule has changed or if files have been updated. Marketers can be more efficient if they telecommute, and this also reduces the strain on the business’ infrastructure. Collaborating with project teams and experts around the world becomes effortless rather than impossible.

Harnessing the cloud enables whole new way of doing marketing, but it’s also a valuable addition to any existing marketing business – small or large. Whether you become more efficient by adding just one remote service to your repertoire, or if you move your entire business onto the web, the cloud has a world of potential to offer.

Source: GetSmarter

“Most CEO’s believe that marketers lack business credibility. Moreover, they feel marketers are not the business growth generators they should be, and are not focused enough on effectiveness.”

This was the key finding of a recent survey*, conducted by global consultancy, the Fournaise Marketing Group. The survey interviewed over 600 decision-makers in large corporations and small-to-medium enterprises across Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States. As marketing consultants, Yellowwood decided to assess this current perception and uncovered some critical insights that can help marketers be relevant tomorrow.

We looked at how our needs as human beings (and as consumers) have changed over time. That people are social beings remains a fundamental truth. They desire connection and to interact with others in a meaningful way. This is not new. However, what has changed dramatically is the scale and nature of social connectedness. This has shaped and fuelled our sense of self-determination, expectations of choice and sense of control over our own lives. There is no greater evidence of this shift than in the changing dynamics of romantic relationships…If one reflects back to the the early 1900’s, courtship was very formal and choice of life partners was limited (think of Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’); but in 2012, romantic relationships are defined by casual sex and living together, i.e. trying it out before committing and the sense that if things don’t feel right, don’t commit – unless you really want to be there.

It is this same sense of self-determination that is reflected in consumer behaviour today. It is not that consumers simply have more choice. It is that they demand more choice, more interaction and more power over their buying decision. They also know that they have the option to change at any given time. Brand loyalty can no longer be taken for granted any more than a marriage-for-life.

Today’s consumer relationships are multi-faceted, emotional and unconscious. The consumer is empowered, in control and actively shaping and sharing any interaction with us.

Brands that are getting it right today focus on what they do and how they do – not on what they say. They embrace technology as a powerful enabler. The behaviours underlying their success include:

1. Finding ways to get the attention of consumers amidst an enormous amount of noise:

There is a deluge of content out there – with brands competing fiercely for the attention of consumers. Winning brands find innovative ways to engage consumers in a positive way and for longer periods of time. For example, McDonald’s placed a digital billboard in Sweden that allowed people with smartphones to play a virtual game of ping pong. Players who lasted longer than 30 seconds won McDonald’s coupons. Adidas placed branded punching bags in Chinese subway stations, so commuters could express their frustration in a healthy way. According to Adidas it was the “first advertisement in history that you can kick, punch and trample at will”.

2. Frequently interacting with consumers in a meaningful way:

Brands that are winning search for insight into consumer passions and demonstrate that they share those passions. They find ways to create stronger, more meaningful connections. These brands supply high interest, newsworthy, content and facilitate meaningful conversations.

The best example of this must be Burberry who investmented significantly in digital technology that helped drive consumer engagement. Burberry ended the year 2011 with close to five million Facebook fans, almost 200,000 followers on Twitter and over four million channel views on YouTube. The www.burberry.com website, known as Burberry World, through the use of dynamic audio-visual content, is a place to engage, entertain and interact, in real time and in 14 languages. The use of live-stream technology enabled Burberry to share the Spring/Summer 2011 women’s wear show with over one million people across more than 180 countries. Partnering with Twitter ahead of their show at the London Fashion Week, Burberry enabled people online to see the collection before the models hit the runway and allowed consumers – through the use of instant digital purchase capability – to buy directly from the runway.

3. Investing in social circle familiarity:

Brands that find ways to facilitate closer connections between friends or other interest groups become part of those social circles and form bonds with consumers that are hard to break or replicate. Tapping into a growing tendency to watch TV whilst also chatting with mates via social media or mobile phones, Heineken launched StarPlayer, an iPhone app that enables fans to interact in real time with the nail-biting action of the UEFA Champion’s League. The app allows players to predict what will happen at key moments in UEFA Champions League matches to score points. StarPlayer works in real-time with players invited to forecast the outcome of corners, free kicks and penalties and to have the chance to guess when goals will take place. Different point scores are awarded depending on the likelihood of the outcome.

4. Valuing intimacy or closeness:

We know that consumers are more likely to consider and be loyal to brands to which they feel connected. For example: IKEA came across a Facebook group with over 100,000 fans called ‘I wanna have a sleepover in IKEA.’ The company turned their dream into a reality through a competition that picked 100 lucky winners and hosted a sleepover at their store.

5. Disclosing more:

Leading brands have an open conversation with consumers. They are proud of their successes, but also ask for input from consumers and are transparent about their shortcomings. For example: the fast food chain, Domino’s, used a huge billboard space in Times Square to live-stream customer feedback (good and bad) via Twitter.

6. Illustrating powerful consumer knowledge:

Leading brands win the game by being relevant. This ranges from showing deep insight into consumer’s lives to completely personalised offerings. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars proudly presented the Year of the Dragon Collection, a commemorative offering in preparation for this festive Chinese celebration. The limited edition models were sold-out within two months.

Powerful brand traits like these can only be born of marketing departments that are themselves socially connected with consumers, other business functions and partners in real relationships. They are marketers who have:

•       learned to engage consumers according to today’s rules and etiquette

•       invested in the ability to create content-rich campaigns, feeding the consumer’s ever-increasing need for timely, relevant and compelling content across a variety of media

•       built internal relationships as well as they do externally…the same rules apply

•       integrated listening with analysing and doing, seamlessly, continuously, always closing the loop

•       empowered themselves to be the consumer champion, not just the custodian

•       become the internal community manager or executive producer, facilitating a singular strategy for engaging consumers across all functions

It is critical in today’s era of information, choice and consumer empowerment that marketers connect the business with its consumers, helping the organisation to be human. Businesses that become truly engaged with consumers will value marketing for creating and directing real brand relationships that result in sustainable business growth.

In order to build valuable customer relationships it is important to stay on the latest trends and have knowledge of the market. Below are the latest trends.

Content marketing

Right now budgets for content are going up. “90% of B2B Marketers Use Content Marketing to Grow Their Businesses. Blogging is up substantially over last year (65% vs 51%) as well as Video Production (52% vs 41%) and White Paper Creation (51% vs 43%). Traditional print media continues to slide, with Magazines and Newsletters now around 30% and 20% respectively. A fresh look and content is important cause the customer first sees the layout after they are going to read it. It is important to attract the customer first and then engage them with the information available.

Figure 2 Percentage B2B marketers who use various social media to distribute content(2011,marketinginstitute.com)

Smartphones

Africa is on its way to be a well developed and economic country. Especially when it comes to phones. In 2011 according to the financial results of Vodacom there was an increase of two hundred percent in smartphones in twelve months. That means that the rates of purchasing a smartphone doubled in that year. Of those phones 70 percent were BlackBerry´s. Since 30 June, there are 3.7-million active smartphones on Vodacome’s network.

“MTN, the second-largest network in the country, has 2.6-million smartphones on its network at the end of June. And Cell C, latecomer to the BlackBerry party, has over 100 000 BlackBerry customers.” (2011, memeburn.com)

There are a lot of different ways to advertise on a smartphone. According to mashable there are five mobile trends to watch. First of them is do not underestimate the importance of text message. “With approximately 90% of the U.S. population owning cell phones, according to CTIA’s semi-annual wireless industry survey, and 98% of those phones being SMS-enabled out of the box, SMS is one of the most popular communication methods in the world.”(2012, mashable.com)

Figure 3: Mobile Content Usage U.S.A.

The second one is Rich Media Advertising , Rich Media is a term which is being used when different types of media are coupled. Mostly this is done  in an interactive way so it becomes an experience for the customer.(2011,groenkennisnet.tv)

The third trend that should be watched according to mashable are the mobile apps versus the mobile sites. “What does this mean for companies and organizations? If they depend on their web presence in any way, it’s important to start thinking about mobile now… checking  how their website looks and works, or doesn’t, on mobile devices. Mobile internet use is growing faster than nearly anyone realizes.”

As the fourth trend mashable says company’s should develop an interest in Geo-Location. “Geo-Loaction is many times related to GPS technology, but we should know that this is just a technology that allows the geo-location.

The term, geolocation, refers to the ability to determine the position of an object or a person by their geographical coordinates (latitude (North and South) and longitude (East and West) they will determine the lateral angles of the Earth surface) on a normal map through any of the available technologies. These technologies will determine the way in which we acquire the information necessary for the geo-location, through the identification of the IP of a device connected to the Internet, the network provider or mobile device GSM network or through GPS receiver placed into the device.”(2011, onbile.com)

The fith trend according to mashable to pay attention to in 2012 is ‘the growth of mobile video’. “Lastly, with the explosion of Internet video consumption, it is assumed that mobile video will also be largely adopted in the coming years. While video isn’t a huge focus for advertisers right now and many cite broadband and technology inadequacies as barriers, many predictive stats tell the story of video’s increasing importance.”(2012, mashable.com)