Facebook Fraud?

I just came across this article on AdAge, highlighting a recent youtube video from Veritasium.  It's a nine minute video, but totally worth your time. As we delve deeper into the social media game, we are discovering what's really working and what is just "paid" likes with no engagement.  You may be thinking twice before paying Facebook for fans.

There are many different facts cited, one I found interesting is, "The US Department of State spent $630,000 to acquire 2 million page likes and then realized only 2% were engaged. http://wapo.st/1glcyZo"

Top 10 Insurance Companies Making Branded Video

There is quite a mix of different branded video campaigns going on in the Insurance category.  We've picked our top ten.

These companies are proving that they know their customers and are working towards an integrated marketing campaign.  There are people on GEICO's Facebook page searching for the camel t-shirts from their "Hump Day" commercial and Progressive is even selling "Flo" halloween costumes.. talk about viral.

This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, interaction with subscribers, and the variety and creativity of the videos that offer a sense of the company life and mission.

1. Farmers Insurance
"We are Farmers! Bum, ba, bum, ba bum, bum bum!"  Farmers Insurance YouTube page is chock-full of helpful and funny videos.  They have a playlist called "15 seconds of Smart" (perfect for Instagram) that has funny, cute, and helpful safety tips.  Overall, they have a great variety of videos on their YouTube channel that shows off their company voice.



2. GEICO
GEICO's YouTube site is fun to search through.  You can just keep letting the commercials play. I'm sure this team has a great time coming up with these.

The only thing I wish the site had were some videos with helpful tips and videos that introduced us to more people who work for GEICO than just the Gecko and Maxwell the pig.  Maybe they could be interviewed by one of the mascots.  Also, I think some good customer testimonials wouldn't hurt either.  As far as the funny goes though, definitely the best of the bunch.



 
3. State Farm
One of the few insurance companies on this list that makes sure their videos don't just live on YouTube, but also on Facebook.  There are lots of videos on getting the most out of State Farm's website and helpful tips to protect yourself and those around you.  There playlist topics range from Teen Drivers Safety to Turkey Fryer & Cooking Safety to Testimonials.  Lots of good content and help to be found in these videos.




4. Progressive
The Progressive culture is strong.  By now, everyone probably knows about Flo, the Progressive mascot.  She has her own Facebook page and I can tell you after reading both the regular Progressive page and Flo's page, it's good to be Flo.  Even the complaining customers can't stay angry at Flo.  Their YouTube page has a lot of Flo videos, but they're mainly commercials.  I think it would be fun to have more videos with helpful information for Progressive customers and some meaningful short docs of how Progressive has helped specific customers.  Maybe even some funny shorts with Flo out on the street interviewing people, ala Jay Leno's "Jaywalking."




5. Allstate Insurance
Allstate does a great job of introducing us to their employees through short interviews.  A company that shows how much they value their employees, gives the feeling that they also care for their customers.  They also have some older playlists with helpful tips from boat safety to how to check the oil in your car.

 


6. American Family
American Family has loads of helpful videos.  Many of them are animated, more like a slideshow, giving helpful tips.  Their latest campaign is about "sharing your dreams" and that American Family will protect them.  What person can't connect with that idea?



 
7. Esurance
Esurance is another company that is doing a great job of getting their videos play beyond YouTube. Their Facebook page shares a lot of video.  They even have a link called "Meet Esurance," where we get to meet one of their sales and customer service trainers.

Their YouTube page is loaded with goodies, including more videos introducing us to their employees and cute animated "how to" videos (how to parallel park, how to change a flat tire...).




8. Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual has a Winter Olympics campaign going on right now.  They're making sweet and inspiring short documentaries of some of the latest Olympians.

They also have a good variety of videos, including short safety videos, videos on careers at Liberty Mutual and videos on how they've helped rebuild businesses after catastrophes like the destructive tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma this past summer.





9.  MetLife
Of course MetLife has the adorable Peanuts ads, which the kid in me can watch over and over.  But they've got more than just cute cartoons.  They have videos with explanations of benefits as well as my favorite, short documentaries focusing on some of their customers.  Their site feels like they're just entering the social media video world, but they're off to a great start.





10. AAA
AAA has a variety of helpful videos, from travel tips, all the way to the correct way to hold a steering wheel. They have a whole playlist just on winter driving tips and, in these frigid temps, I'm sure they come in handy.  AAA has the best variety of video content of all the companies featured here.  I personally love the videos on buying a car, because I never know the right questions to ask.

Top 10 Universities Making Branded Video

By Megen Musegades |  Executive Producer, Branded Filmworks

Most universities have a ways to go to break into the viral video age.  Perspective students are going to be relying on social media more and more to help make their higher education decisions.

Recent research shows that online video users are expected to double to 1.5 billion in 2016, (Cisco) and 92 percent of mobile video viewers share videos with others (Invodo).

Universities are going to want to hop on board the video train. We were happy to see these early adapters putting so much creative and thoughtful attention to their videos.  This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers and the variety and creativity of their videos that offer a sense of what their university community is about.

1. HARVARD UNIVERSITY 

Harvard is very good with diversifying their content.  There seems to be a little bit of everything on their YouTube and Facebook pages, offering a good sense of "college life" at this prestigious East Coast University. For each post on Facebook, there are many shares, likes and comments, helping to make this University number one on this viral video list.




2. STANDFORD UNIVERSITY 

Standford's viral video strength lies on their facebook page, their facebook fans love to comment and share their videos.  However their YouTube page is also chock-full of great content, including videos of campus life and news from the work of their professors and students. 



3. FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY

Full Sail University is an art, music and film school.  With that said, it is one of the best sites in this group for really showcasing their students work.  Due to the fact that many of their students work involves video, that may make it easier to do.  The whole online community Full Sail creates, shows perspective students what they can expect.



4. UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

The University of Phoenix is an online university and is doing very well.  As an online school, it would make sense that it's students look to social media for school information.  It's YouTube subscribers aren't nearly as large as some of the other universities on this list, but their social interaction is strong.  Also, many of their videos have had views in the hundreds of thousands and even some in the millions. U of Phoenix partnered with NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and are making a series of his time there.

5.  MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MIT)  

MIT puts all of their courses online for people all over the world to view free of charge.  They also have a separate, easy-to-use site to help you find everything you need to know and more about MIT.

6.  ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY 

Arizona State University captures student life very well on both their YouTube Channel and Facebook page.  They have a wide variety of video programming.



7. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

The University of Michigan's YouTube channel is probably the most organized and easy to use of all the ten listed here.  They've combined their landing page to include all their channels into one.  It really looks like you've tuned in to the UM station.




8. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

While the majority of facebook posts are sports based and their most popular youtube channel with over 10,000 subscribers is their athletic department, Texas A&M knows what their subscribers want and get a lot of interaction on both sites.




9. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

The University of Pennsylvania does a great job with their youtube page.  Their videos are well-rounded and offer a good sense of what the University has to offer.  There's also lots of feedback on their posts.



10. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Louisiana State University's YouTube page shows the schools sports pride, but it also has a nice section featuring different events happening.  Including the first ever open house of the libraries special collection section, showcasing some of the rarest historical artifacts and literature.

Top 10 Hotels Making Branded Video

By Megen Musegades | Branded Filmworks

Most hotels have a long way to go, but these top ten are setting a good example. There are some unique and charming web series online.

This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers and the variety and creativity of their videos that offer a sense of their company life and mission.

1. JUMEIRAH HOTEL & RESORTS

Jumeirah Hotels are luxury hotels based in Europe, the Middle East and Far East.  One quick look at their youtube channel and you will see they're not joking around with luxury.  Each hotel looks like a fantasy.

In their latest video, they partner with Red Bull.  "To celebrate, Infiniti Red Bull Racing's 750bhp Formula One car became the first to run and do donuts on the Burj Al Arab helipad.

Burj Al Arab's distinctive sail shape makes it an icon of modern Dubai. Its duplex suite-only accommodation, host of private butlers, chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, Mercedes and helicopter airport transfer service cause it to be constantly voted as the world's most luxurious hotel."




2. HYATT

The Hyatt is good about adding videos often and giving viewers a solid idea of what is important to their company.  One of their campaigns is called #InAHyattWorld.  The campaign centers on mini documentaries of Hyatt employees helping out strangers with little things to help make their day more pleasant.  In this video, they hand out umbrellas during a rainstorm.  They also have a video where employees open doors for people all over the city, and another where they offer free juice refreshments on a warm day.




3. FOUR SEASONS

The Four Seasons looks like they encourage their staff to participate in their social media efforts by adding a variety of helpful tips and information on the cities each hotel is in.  This keeps their youtube page up to date and full of useful information.  They have a nice series called "Concierge Recommends" and while I wish the quality of the sound was better, the concept is good.

Another nice web series they have is the wedding series.  They film different couples' weddings that take place at their hotels and turn them into mini documentaries that help showcase the hotel, but also share the couples story, which is ultimately what makes viewers keep watching.





4. HAMPTON INN

Hampton has made up a new word, "Hamptonality", to show off their special type of hospitality.  The latest videos posted on their youtube pages are stories of football and football fan give-aways.  Searching a little further back you can find videos on how they're helping improve their communities, Hampton staff volunteering to help at the Boys & Girls club in Atlanta, or the story of how they opened their doors to people displaced by Hurricane Sandy.  However, my favorite video from Hampton is this sweet documentary about TJElevatorFan and what they did to make this child feel important.




5. HOLIDAY INN

The Holiday Inn recently put in lots and lots of benjamins to improve their hotels.  Along with the renovations, they've added a musical web series to show off the improvements.  They took real customer reviews and turned them into song.  Some of the videos are as short as 16 seconds, which can be used for Instagram, and others are a bit longer, like this one showing their new, almost sound-proof, rooms.





6. BEST WESTERN

Best Western has a variety of web series, including one with Cesar Milan offering tips on traveling with pets to showcase their pet-friendly hotels, but my favorite series is their Best Western Indie Films.  Best Western is a franchise, so they decided to showcase the different individuals and/or families that run some of the hotels.  It's a great way to showcase the care and attention that goes into even an economically priced hotel chain.




7. W HOTEL

The W likes to push their music and fashion interests in many of their videos, but my favorite is their Four Stories series.  It is clear from their videos and facebook presence that they're looking to attract the "cool crowd" or at least those who want to be part of it.  They know their target demographic and they execute their strategy well.

For the Four Stories web series, the W Hotel partnered with Intel and chose four short screenplays out of almost 1000 submissions.  Four Stories was created  "to identify and support rising visionaries in filmmaking, and provide them with a platform to share their talent with audiences around the world."  Of course the films were shot in various W locations.  The one below is directed by Actress/Writer/Director, Lake Bell.




8. KIMPTON HOTEL

Anyone who's stayed in a Kimpton hotel knows they have a unique, fun touch they put on things.

Their videos do a good job of showcasing who they are as a company and what's important to them.  I hope they keep building their page with more "how to" videos.  Also, their "Meet Mat" commercial with the Ron Swanson-like mustache yoga mat is adorable.  More of that please!



9. HILTON HOTELS

Most of Hilton's videos are more or less beautiful tours of their different hotels.  They have the most facebook fans of any of the hotels we've included in this top ten list.  Their last video was posted about three months ago.  They helped kick off Market Days as part of their "Stay Hilton. Go Out" campaign in Chicago and had a concert featuring Steve Grand.

Hilton has so many subscribers, they will hopefully keep adding more videos like the concert and maybe take note of the personal videos that Best Western and Hampton are making that they can add to their mix.





10. SOFITEL

Sofitel has been good about adding videos often, showcasing a different hotel every time.  They were also one of the few hotels listed that had a link to their youtube page on their facebook page.

While it's great that they keep adding new videos, they are a bit boring and more like moving slideshows.  Hopefully they're working on adding a more personal touch to up-coming videos.

The Growth of Branded Video According to Unruly

Top 10 Clothing Retailers Making Branded Video

By Megen Musegades |  Branded Filmworks

Many clothing retailers are hopping on board the branded video community.  Most retailers feature videos of models showcasing their clothes. We went in search of retailers that offered a more thorough look at their company culture and also those who had an easy communication with their subscribers, making everyone feel like they're part of the same community.

This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers. We also looked at the variety and creativity of their videos.


1. LEVI'S

Levi's has a good amount of YouTube subscribers with strong interaction.  Their page is organized well, offering videos on Levi's Culture, Women's Style, Men's Style, Collaborations and Events Videos.  Levi's videos do a great job of making you want to be a part of their cool club.



2.  MR PORTER 

As an online store, Mr Porter has got it down.  The culture they share on their youtube page alone makes you want to order everything on their site.  The epitomy of cool, their videos make you feel like if you follow their rules, you will be a successful artist/banker/writer/you name it.







3. PRADA

Prada's latest short is directed by Wes Anderson (director of such quirky films as Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums,  Fantastic Mr. Fox). Need I say more?  Their videos show a classy brand that doesn't take itself too seriously.  At least it shows that they like to have fun, serious fun, and their subscribers and fans love it.





4. MODCLOTH

Modcloth knows their fans well.  It shows in their youtube and instagram videos.  Their videos are not just models wearing their clothes. There are Make-up tutorials, DIY crafty videos and of course styling tips for every decade.  They are also doing a great job of keeping the videos coming every week, making you come back for more.




5. H&M

H&M has a lot of subscribers to both their youtube and facebook pages, however they've disabled the comments section on their youtube videos which makes it easier for the company to manage, but it takes away the community it's trying to create.  This is one of the reasons that, although they have the most subscribers of the ten listed, they're fifth on the list.  H&M does a good job of keeping the videos rolling out with interviews and events and fashion shows.




6. HUGO BOSS

Hugo Boss' youtube homepage is nicely organized and easy to use.  You get a clear idea of the fashion shows and the videos do a good job of connecting elegance with the brand.  They also have a webseries of a "behind the scenes" fictional love story called "Shanghai Affairs".  You can shop the outfits from the "movie".





7. J. CREW

J. Crew calls their youtube page jcrewinsider.  It makes you feel like you get to be part of the jcrew club.  They have a great variety of films.  They seem to post a series of films in waves.  Hopefully they'll start adding videos more frequently because they're fun to watch and offer a good glimpse of what it means to be a part of the J. Crew community.



8. GAP

GAP is another company that is starting to offer a more well-rounded youtube channel.  You can get style advice from costume designer Jenn Rogien, listen to musicians in their Back to Blue series and watch their latest documentary short series with Tony Bennett and a group of NYC students, supporting Arts Education.





9. ANTHROPOLOGIE

Anthropologie is doing a great job of creating a variety of videos that show the vibe their brand wants to create.  The videos make you want to leave your regular life behind and start cooking everything from scratch and live in a beautiful old farm house where you spend your time writing your novel.  Their latest video features window designer Ashley Nardone showing all the care and detailed attention she's put into her latest installation.




10. STYLEMINT

StyleMint has slowed down making videos unfortunately, but the ones they have made are fun. They have videos showing a variety of outfits for individual pieces, style advice from different people in the fashion industry, or my favorite, funny short and sometimes interactive videos staring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson.  Maybe StyleMint could take some advice from Mr Porter and start shooting mini documentaries of fashion-forward individuals wearing their items.





What are your favorite clothing channels and/or videos?

Dumb Ways to Die is Smart

I've loved this ad campaign for awhile and just came across this article on AdAge with a bit of a breakdown of the campaign and why it's been so successful.

Is Summer the best time to promote the "Little Guys"?

I came across an interesting article today on iMediaConnection.   It seams, that while the Fall and Winter commercial and viral video content seasons tend to be capitalized by larger companies, like car and electronics.  Summer is when the "little guys" may have an easier time being seen.

Many of the larger companies don't put as much money into advertising during the summer months, when television is mainly playing reruns.

One of the examples they talk about coming from the summer season was the viral ad for the new period subscription service, helloflo.com.  As of today, this video has over 6 million views.

To read the full article, (and you should, it's short), check it out here.

How can we help you.

Humans are wired for stories. May the best story win.

Just came across this from MarketingProfs.com and love this little tidbit I wanted to share with you.  Here's the full article, by Kathy Klotz-Guest,  if you're interested.

"Humans are wired for stories; we're storytelling animals. The resurgence in storytelling, the original social medium, is an important and welcome evolution for many reasons. Memorable stories scale in a way that facts alone cannot. And a multiplier effect is critical in marketing. Finally, stories cut through the tremendous clutter—much of it lacking context and meaning—created by the never-ending content explosion. Here's where stories pay dividends: According to a recent Stanford study, stories are remembered up to 22 times more than facts alone. In a world of noise, the best stories win."

Red Bull Stratos

Posted just two days ago, this clip from Felix Baumgartner completing his world record breaking jump from the stratosphere already has over two million views.  You can see it here, along with a link to the full documentary.




Interesting article on the Huffington Post about what this kind of marketing campaign can do for a company as large as Red Bull and as small as the shop next door.  Written by  Janean Chun.

Branded info from Ogilvy Entertainment

Making magic, using logic from Ogilvy & Mather

Lizzie Bennet Web Series

This is a new web series to me, but not to hundreds of thousands of others.  Apparently, as of this blog post anyhow, they still don't have a specific brand to make it a branded content series.  Seems crazy.  Here's a sample from the first episode, there are over 100.  In future episodes, additional characters enter the mix.




Here's the article from AdWeek.

Branded Content Takes Time & Planning

I was reading a blog from Joe Pulizzi on ContentMarketingInstitute.com and actually found this comment by Steve Faber the most interesting of the article.  You can read the full blog post here.  But basically Pulizzi talks about how brands are getting bombarded with all these different companies coming at them pitching their content marketing strategies, but how do they know which ones to choose.  Faber left this great comment.  During a time when everything feels immediate, videos seem to blow up over-night and companies wants to get a piece of it, Faber comes in with some realism, a good reminder that not everything happens in seconds and even those that seem too, have been at it for a long time.  Long-term planning and goals are important, getting real customers that aren't just "likes" on facebook are important.  Having true interactions with real people to build a solid customer-base that wants to share and "spread the word" is what content marketing is looking to achieve .
 
"One challenge we face with clients, especially those used to "traditional" marketing, is the long term view content marketing requires. Sure, you can get the occasional "one hit wonder", but brand building through content requires long term consistency. Not that brand building is the only reason to use CM, but it's often the outcome, no matter the initial goal, if everything's hitting on all cylinders.
We focus on planning, an oft-neglected part of the process. Goal setting, and a road map to achieve those goals is ignored by businesses that have heard all about the content marketing magic bullet. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way, as all too many discover, much to their chagrin.
It's funny that most organizations have no problems creating a marketing plan, and in fact, do so. When it comes to making a honest-to-goodness CM plan as part of that, well.... that's a whole different ballgame. So many are using the "hope something sticks" approach.
Thanks for highlighting the value inherent in using a CM plan. It's a critical success step in the process. It's not a loss leader, and agencies should treat it as such, although the lure of a long term project is sometimes too attractive to ignore." -Steve Faber

SEO & Social Media

Companies Are More Successful With SEO If They Integrate Social Media (Ascend2) 
According to Ascend2,  38% of companies that rated their own SEO efforts as "very successful" are integrating social media into SEO tactics, compared to just 2% of the companies that felt their SEO efforts were largely "not successful."

Recommended Video Sticks with Consumers Longer

I just read an interesting blog on "recommendations" of videos to friends.  According to Unruly, the impact of the recommendation on consumers is substantial.

Here's their quick breakdown.

• Viewers are more likely to enjoy a video when it has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (14 percent higher enjoyment).
• Viewers are more likely to recall a brand name when the social video has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (7 percent higher recall).
• Viewers are more likely to engage with an ad's messages when the social has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (10 percent higher brand association).

When to post Branded Video

You put in so much time and effort into making the perfect video.  You couldn't be more proud of the end result.  Unfortunately none of that really matters if no one sees it.

Luckily, Unruly seems to have figured out the best day.  They analyzed the sharing activity of the 1,000 most shared branded videos during the 52-week period leading up to June 7, 2013.   Here's what they found:

  *Sharing Activity was highest on Fridays (15.9% above average). With Wednesdays (+14.1%) and    Thursdays (+7.5%) the next most active.

  *Hold your horses, don't launch your video on Friday.  Analysis shows that the viral peak occurs on day two of the campaign.  Actually, 25% of all shares occur in the first three days.

Conclusion: Launch your video campaign on Wednesday!

*Check out this blog for the full article.

3 Basic Steps to Engage Your Audience with Branded Video

Posted by Megen Musegades

There are many ideas and helpful tips to help make a successful branded video, these are my top three.

1. Develop your why.  What makes you different.
• If you are stuck, ask your customers and/or your employees what they love most about your company.
2. Make your story engaging and easy to share.
• Keep it short.
• Connect with your customers at an emotional level, make them want to share.
3.  Use a trigger.
• Jonah Berger, the author of Contagious, says it well, When you hear the words "Peanut butter", you automatically think of "Jelly".  So peanut butter is a trigger, an advertisement for jelly.
• A great example of a trigger is Geico's Hump Day ad.  Every Wednesday, this commercial gets passed around online.  "Uh oh, guess what day it is!?!"

Kevin Allocca - YouTube's Trends Mngr talks Viral

This isn't specifically about branded content, but great points to remember before creating it.

ABC's Happy Endings webseries, gets branded

Further proof, if you're still looking for it, that video is the way to grow.  Here, Karin Gilford, Senior VP of Digital Media for Disney/ABC Television Group, talks about what a six episode web series did for Subaru.