The popularity of web applications with a social context has exploded in the last year. This session will look at how social interaction can be applied to a brands online presence to generate a deeper connection with the customer. We will discuss what can be learned from these interactions, how market research can be conducted, and how a brand can enter the conversation without turning its audience off. Presentation by Jason D. Schwartz of http://robberbaronblog.com at SXSWi 2007 Follow him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jschwa Book him for speaking engagements at: jason AT robberbaronmusic.com Credits: Campari case study originally by Richard MacManus at Read/WriteWeb. Background provided by Andrew Reeve.

1. Jason D. Schwartz [email_address] www.robberbaronmusic.com SXSWi 2007 Session

2. Jason D. Schwartz Background Consultant in the digital media industry Island Def Jam BET Interactive Marketing at an interactive agency for Fortune 500 clients Started Robber Baron Music, a digital music label www.robberbaronmusic.com Launching Social Race Social media site in the political space

3. Agenda Marketing on existing networks Case Study How-To Market research on existing networks Creating your own social media

4. Joining The Conversation Campari Case Study Source: 11/28/06 Richard MacManus at readwriteweb.com Campaign consisted of: Flash Website MySpace Profile YouTube Profile Flickr Account Del.icio.us Account

5. Website

6. Website

7. Website

8. Website

9. MySpace

10. Flickr

11. YouTube

12. Del.icio.us

13. Campari Results 170,000 PageViews 13.5% from social media sites 3,000 “Friends” 2,500 comments across the sites 92,000 views across the sites

14. Campari Results Niccolò Magnani, MRM Worldwide, “ What I like is that we created a community of people that we can further talk about red passion.”

15. Problems With The Campaign Fake profiles can be dangerous Transparency on the web is important If you lie, you will be found out Lonleygirl15 You may believe there is no such thing as bad PR Works better in the arts and entertainment industry To avoid problems disclose company sponsorship

16. Did They Connect? “ What I like is that we created a community of people that we can further talk about red passion.” The reality is that all of the profiles and accounts were deleted Violates terms of service You can probably get away with it, but expect a short run

17. How To Do It Update content frequently Don’t spam inboxes Keep on top of the community MySpace Design in CSS www.mikeindustries.com

18. Standard MySpace

19. CSS MySpace Full Functionality

20. CSS MySpace Broken Functionality

21. How To Do It Update content frequently Don’t spam inboxes Keep on top of the community MySpace Design in CSS www.mikeindustries.com Purchase a branded profile from MySpace or FaceBook

26. Listening To The Conversation Social media sites are populated with people describing their preferences Market researches pay people to tell them what they like and what sites they visit Social media sites make this same data public for free

27. Discovering Tangential Interests Good marketing comes from understanding your audience Its easier to cut through the noise in an uncrowned space The goal is to find the non-obvious place to reach your audience Don’t market a golf club in a golf magazine, market it at Home Depot

28. Using Del.icio.us Search Del.icio.us for the brand category Look at related tags

29. Using Del.icio.us Search Del.icio.us for the brand category Look at related tags Build profile of the target audience SEO Look up related items Enter top bookmarks into Similicio.us Build a list of sites to advertise, partner, and compete with

30. Del.icio.us Tea Results Terms for SEO and further research: Food, shopping, coffee, health, recipes, design, gifts Sites to partner or advertise with thinkgeek.com threadless.com treehugger.com lifehacker.com etsy.com

31. Using Technorati Finding a key opinion leader can be a valuable contact Search Technorati for the brand category Switch the search to blog directory Surf the results. The best may not be the highest ranked Look at what tags the blog uses Look at who else links to them

32. What To Do With Technorati Results Build a more detailed picture of your target audience Advertise on the blogs Offer a promotion Engage in link trading

33. Creating Your Own Social Media Tap into your audiences ability to create Chevy Tahoe create your own ad

35. Creating Your Own Social Media Tap into your audiences ability to create Chevy Tahoe create your own ad CurrentTV www.current.tv/make/vc2/vcam

38. User Generated Ads Tap into your audiences ability to create Chevy Tahoe create your own ad CurrentTV The downside is a loss of marketing control

40. Creating Your Own Social Site Do not create another social network for people to meet up Create something social that makes your audience’s interests easier Example: If you work with a wine company, create a site for people to share wine Same goes for a glass company whose customers probably drink wine

42. Creating Your Own Social Site Rather than buying an ad, sponsor an entrepreneur More interactive than a spot Engages your audience Creates a true community you can communicate with Sponsor a UI over hall or upgrade Get access to their user statistics (don’t abuse)

43. Conclusion Advertising in social networks can be effective, but does not create a community Think of social media as a place to discover your audiences interests Del.icio.us Technorati Create sites that make these interests easier and have your client sponsor This will create a true community and dialog with customers

44. Contact Info Jason D. Schwartz [email_address] www.robberbaronmusic.com I am available for speaking engagements and consulting in the digital space.