OK, I’ll admit it. The great weather has an impact on my productivity. I’ve been doing things, just not things I can contort into social media relevance. So forgive me as I indulge in a little personal photo-blogging:
This seal at the New England Aquarium knows just how I feel on those hot days…
The class I completed in December 2007 was an independent study on “Marketing Your Media On the Web.” It looks like this material will be used to teach a Media Studies in the Fall 2008 semester at the New School, which makes me very happy.
You can see the majority of the material I posted, in the form of a class syllabus, on the social media project wiki set up by my advisor.
After examining the ways various media makers used the web and social media for marketing, I also came to several overall conclusions:
The basics are still important. A web page that is attractive and easily navigable is still important, although a blog can be used as an effective home page. In addition, search engine optimization (SEO) is still a priority to ensure that search engine requests find your site or organization. A frequently updated blog adds to one’s search engine rank as well as providing new content, both reasons why a blog is an extremely useful tool. As a supplement for those who can afford it, some Search Engine Marketing (SEM) ads can also be helpful, but are not necessary. Marketing that’s not web-related, like attractive and complete press kits, are still also important (although the web helps with distribution).
Social media is not just a trend and must be utilized. Especially for the independent media creator or small business, getting the word out through social media channels is required. As more and more sites add social components – from comments to user profiles to user reviewing features – learning how to navigate through these types of systems is increasingly important.
Cut out the middleman. Digital distribution and social media for promotion allow independent media creators to deal with the world on their terms.While record labels, book publishers, movie distributors and art galleries still have value, it’s now possible to build a reputation and a career without dealing with them. While social media marketing takes time (although not much money), the rewards for artists who value their independence (or don’t want to sign away any rights to their work) are available. Having the option to succeed independently increases the negotiating power of artists who choose to work with the more traditional model, especially those who can bring a significant audience of loyal fans with them.
Fans and enthusiasts have never been more important. Fans’ word of mouth have always been an important component of marketing, especially for independent media creators. With the power of the web, fans can form more extensive communities, spread the word more efficiently, and be more creative in their support of the artist they admire. Whether it was musician Matthew Ebel’s (http://matthewebel.com/) fans creating a collection of his live shows for purchase (with money going to Ebel’s PayPal account, http://virtualhotwings.com/), writer Scott Sigler’s (http://www.scottsigler.com/) fans bumping his book to the top of the Amazon horror charts by all buying a copy on the same day, or painter Duane Keiser’s (http://duanekeiser.blogspot.com/) fans who bid on his small “Painting a Day” paintings and supply him with a steady income, I was continuously surprised by the dedication of the fans. One of the core features of social media is putting power back into the consumers’ hands, and these media consumers have used that power to give the artists they admire a reputation and an ability to make a living.
Not money, but time, required. Most social media tools are accessible at low to no cost. However, building up the connections with fans and creating online community around an artist’s work takes a great deal of time. Many forms of social media are still new, and the early adaptors, especially those with a creative idea, are able to stand out. The tools and platforms available are still in flux, producing more opportunities for creativity, but requiring time spent keeping up with trends (and learning tools). While very little technical skill is required, time and persistence are resources that some artists may not want to use to devote to marketing rather than their craft. (However, depending on the medium, signing with a professional middleman doesn’t guarantee that they will spend sufficient funds or time in promotional efforts, either. For example, most authors are advised to hire their own publicist to supplement the small amount of marketing a publisher will provide.)
What do you think? Anything to add?
This poor blog has been neglected while I finished up my last class in the Media Studies Program at the New School. It’s been a wonderful experience, and a chance to learn so much about media in general and social media in particular.
My last class was an independent study on “Marketing Your Media on the Web.” I looked at film/video, music, text, fine art and photography to explore how media makers are using the web and especially social media to promote their work. I also looked at related themes in social media like reputation and user-generate content. The end result was written up in the form of a class syllabus. I promise to post it online soon, for any interested parties to take a look.
Of course, anything involving social media is by necessity a living document (some call it the living web for a good reason). The day after I completed my class, the new issue of Wired arrived in my mailbox. It contains what looks to be a fascinating article in which David Byrne and Thom Yorke of Radiohead discuss the changes in the music industry, as well as a piece about Nine Inch Nails’ Year Zero Alternate Reality Game. ARG’s are a fascinating blend of viral content, collective intelligence and fan-based activity: all three components are required (along with a compelling story and a steady stream of clues). I’m not so sure that they’re the future of marketing, as one person quoted in the article said. They take too much effort and money to do well — and I’m sure, like all viral marketing, that many are done badly. But ARG’s do epitomize the potential of social media, so they are worth examining in detail.
What’s next for me? I have to see where luck – and my resume – land me in the New Year. I have a good feeling about 2008, though. Happy New Year, everyone!
I had a great chat the other day with Len Edgerly, a technology evangelist and podcaster whose niche is working with arts organizations to help them see the possibilities in online media. Len led the great Arts 2.0 talk at Podcamp that I discussed in my last post, and had a lot of good ideas for me.
Len has enjoyed meeting visual artists who exhibit work in Second Life. He also has lots of questions. How many are there? What kind of money do they make? What about musicians who play in Second Life? I hope to talk to some of them and see what I can find out.
Len’s also a published poet, and had some recommendations in the literary realm. Science fiction and horror author Scott Sigler has used “bum rush the charts”-style techniques to get his book up the Amazon charts (and also creates podcast formats of many of his books, available at Podiobooks.com and elsewhere.)
In a slightly more traditional vein, the Poetry Foundation of America has a podcast which includes interviews with poets about the meanings of their work. Len feels that the informal but intimate atmosphere of a podcast will make poetry (and other fine arts) more accessible. As more people listen and comment, the formal arts institutions will slowly become more responsive and less elitist.
Poetry comparisons continued as we discussed the “snack media” meme recently revived by Jeremiah. In a poem, every word counts. Online media needs that intensity. Shorter is better. The haiku – the new standard for art on the internet?
Arts organizations have some of the same issues that corporations do with social media. Letting go of control, letting the public have their say. But many participants at Len’s talks are also very excited about the possibility of these new tools. Len hopes arts organizations will take a more active role in training their members on ways to use these new tools and bring more creative voices online.
Thanks, Len, for sharing your thoughts with me!
Before Web 2.0, there was Web 1.0 – only no one called it that. But as soon as there were graphical web browsers – and possibly before – there were companies figuring out how to use the internet to popularize their brand and get new customers.
Companies soon began to create web pages. Clickable banner ads first came into use in 1993 or 1994 (the 1994 date is better documented), and are still very popular today. The advent of easy to use animation programs (today primarily Flash), added another element to these ads and also spurred the creation of various types of ads that expand over the web site. (There are also pop-up ads and other variations of ads that appear before, after, or in-between the web pages you want to look at.)
Email newsletters and ads sent to customers who have opted in (or didn’t notice the check box to opt out) are also still in use and can be effective. Combining email newsletters with blogs is a technique to bring a social media component to these standard tools.
Finally, search engine marketing (SEM) is a huge and growing business. This is the business that made Google its billions. SEM involves bidding for positions in the “sponsored” areas of search engines. Since most people don’t go beyond the first screen page when searching, SEM can be a cost effective way to get an ad at the top of the page. SEM is different from SEO, Search Engine Optimization, which involves using meta tags, keywords and links to boost a website’s search ranking.
While the focus of this blog and my study is on “social media” and Web 2.0, it’s important to note that these other advertising techniques are still very important and are driving a large percentage of the spending on online advertising.
Note: some of this information came from notes from COM CM651, “New Media Strategies and Design” at Boston University School of Communications, summer 2006, taught by Tom Fauls and Melissa Horvath.
Additional References:
http://www.justinmichie.com/free_articles/are_banner_ads_still_an_effective_form_of_internet_marketing.php
http://ecommerce.hostip.info/pages/710/Marketing-Internet.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_Engine_Marketing
http://searchengineland.com/
My first blog post on my very own blog.
I’m engaged in an independent study on using social media for media marketing, and this blog will document some of my findings, as well as other social media items of interest that I find along the way.
More will be coming very soon.