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You Too Social Media Conference

Blog Date
Author(s)
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Mobile Marketing
Analytics
User Experience
UX
PR
Public Relations

Videos:  #1 - Conference;  #2 and #3 - Videos used by Michael Pranikoff in his presentation

With an all-day conference like the You Too Social Media Conference, there is so much information, that I can't cover everything. Here is what I will share: 

  • the high points of each talk I attended
  • materials produced by the You Too Social Media Conference organizers and attendees (They maintain ownership of these photos, video, slides, and website content, so contact them directly for permission to use these materials.) 
  • what I sent out via Twitter during the day, and also some tweets from others attending that further reflect the spirit of the day 

You Too 2012 Conference
Click on photos to enlarge

As background, you can view the content from the www.YouTooSM.com website from the day of the April 13, 2012, conference in these PDF files:

You can also follow You Too Social Media Conference 2012 at @YouToo2012 to learn more about the day.

“Mobile Marketing – Today’s Opportunities, Tomorrow’s Challenges” 

Opening Plenary - Scott Chapin @ScottChapin of Marcus Thomas @MarcusThomasCle 
Scott Chapin @ScottChapin of Marcus Thomas @MarcusThomasCle

Scott Chapin presented a great overview of today's mobile world and areas to watch in the future. Watching what is happening now in the following areas will (hopefully) prepare you for tomorrow’s challenges. 

  • Don't forget the simple text message. Ask yourself if your target market is using this communication method, then explore how to use text messaging to connect with people.

    I suggest you see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Text_Marketing

  • With the huge growth in tablets in a variety of sizes, the definition of what we mean by mobile, and designing for mobile devices, have changed. 

  • HTML5 on mobile – not replacing mobile apps, but does offer new opportunities. 

  • Be aware of the evolution of data collection. Scott started the day with what ended up being a reoccurring theme for the conference:  Today's professional has access to more data for analytics that can and should be used with more sophistication.

    As an individual, you also need to be aware that companies have more data on you – it can be scary! 

  • QR codes – Often used wrong, but still have great potential to connect your audience. 

I highly recommend that you take a look at the facts listed in Scott Chapin's "Mobile Marketing – Today’s Opportunities, Tomorrow’s Challenges" slides. (Scott's slides are also online.)

Scott Chapin

“Audience Evolution - Where Does the Audience Find Your Media?”

Breakout #1 - Presented by Michael Pranikoff @MPranikoff, PR Newswire
Michael Pranikoff @MPranikoff, PR Newswire

I liked how Michael started his presentation the way all presenters talking about social media should – by stating that he is not an expert in social media (I and others believe that if someone tells you they are an expert, you should run the other way). 

Michael noted that there is a huge increase in the use of video today.  This fact, combined with the growth of mobile devices, many of which do not support Adobe Flash video, indicates the importance of using HTML 5 video. 

He shared how a YouTube video of an Audi car going through the snow was picked up by Audi company and worked its way into one of their ads. 

Michael also challenged the traditional news media to go where their audience is today by using participatory journalism. I suggest you see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

Also, it is important to ask yourself what action you want visitors to take after reading your content. Be sure your content really is focused on facilitating that action. If the visitor to your site doesn't know what you want them to do in the first section they see, than re-write it! 

Michael recommended following three principals - Make your content....

  • Accessible

  • Easy to view 

  • Easy to use 

Michael identified three areas of engagement: 

  1. Intimacy
  2. Influence
  3. Interaction
What type of contact gets more sharing?
Rarely Shared Frequently Shared
Free trials New data
Product info Funny
Product Documentation Infographics
  Survey Results

On a personal note, Michael's list of what people share does mirror what I think I often share. While I am a person who says I am interested in stats, I am more likely to share with others and look closer at the stats if they are in the form of an infographic. I believe it is just human nature to look closer at facts if presented in a visually appealing manner. 

Be sure to look at Michael Pranikoff's "Audience Evolution - Where Does the Audience Find Your Media?" slides.  Compare slide 17 to slide 18 – today the marketing funnel is now MUCH more complicated!

Michael Pranikoff's Slide
Click on photos to enlarge

 

Audience Evolution How Does The Audience Find Your Media? – Online Marketing Summit Feb 2012
View more presentations from Michael Pranikoff

 

Choose the communication channels where your audience is located. Your audience will always be in motion, so look where they are going.

See all the ways to contact Michael Pranikoff at: http://about.me/michaelpranikoff

“Developing a Best Practices Approach to Social Media Measurement” 

Chuck Hemann @ChuckHemann, Director, Analytics at WCG
Keynote - Chuck Hemann @ChuckHemann, Director, Analytics at WCG

Chuck Hemann started his talk by stating that he is a math geek and not a PR person. Chuck Hemann was kind enough to share his "Developing a Best Practices Approach to Social Media Measurement" presentation video online, so I will not add the notes I took here.  

I will say that the point that stood out from his talk is in the video at the time point of 00:27:10. That point is: you must create a Response Matrix for Online Conversation. “Go do that for your company right now!” stated Chuck. See slide 19 Chuck Hemann's "Developing a Best Practices Approach to Social Media Measurement."  

 

Chuck Hemann presentation

"User Experience Design and How It Intersects with PR in a Mobile Technology Campaign" 

Panel Discussion

PR & UX Panel Discussion

Panel about User Experience (UX) and Pubic Relations (PR) included: 

The biggest take-away I received from this panel presentation is that if companies want to be successful in the online world, they will need to pull talent from different disciplines: PR, marketing, UX, programmers, information architecture, etc. 

“Which is more important? The phone or the experience of the phone?” asked Karl Fast.  “Engineers build it, UX makes you love it!”

Stefanie Moore stated that UX leads to PR problems (complaints). Professionals who address UX issues in the early development stages will help prevent some PR difficulties in the future. Thus, these are presentable PR problems and demonstrate the importance of having UX as part of project plan.  

UX ties into what people are doing instead of what they say they are doing. Stefanie Moore presented how UX professionals use eye tracking and other methods of observation.

Big issue: poor mobile experience! Damon Herren said that the fact that only 64% of mobile users get their tasks accomplished should be a wake-up call for companies who have an online presence. Companies need look at how to better improve the mobile experience.

Damon Herren presented four tips to improve user experience on mobile devices:

  1. Know thy user
    Understand their behaviors. 

  2. Don't shrink the experience
    Instead of shrinking the current website content, companies should prioritize it. This goes back to step #1 about knowing your user.

  3. Make it finger friendly
    Make buttons large enough. Ideal size for a button is 9.2 to 9.6 millimeters. 

  4. Minimize User Input
    When online forms are needed, ask for the minimal amount of fields to be completed. 

See Damon's slides for some great information on where people are using mobile devices.

“The Fear of Analytics”

Breakout #2 – Presented by Matt Bailey @MattBaileySays, Site Logic @SiteLogic
Matt Bailey @MattBaileySays, Site Logic @SiteLogic

People look at standard reports on analytics software and assume that they are important. Matt Bailey challenged us to question whether the reports meet our companies' needs. You must customize analytics reports to show the data your company really needs. 

Don't do what Matt described as “Caveman Analytics,” using only the old standard reports of: 

  • Page Views
  • Hits (People often don't know what this means.)  
  • Top Pages
  • Monthly Visits
  • Time on Site

You need to write down your company's social media goals and then only look at the analytics that relate to these goals. 

Matt then did a good job of defining terms used in analytics. Here are some from my notes: 

  • Unique Visitor - It is not even a person. If someone visits the same website with different devices, this will be seen as several unique visitors.
  • Cookies - Used to track you. 
  • Visitor Sessions - How many times the website is used. 
  • Referrals - Know where people came from. 
  • Bounce Rate - Why did you leave as soon as you got to the website?
  • Conversion Rate

Matt also shared some analytics examples. See his slides 28-34 of "Analytics According to Captain Kirk: The 'Red Shirt' Phenomenon."  (You don't have to be a Trekker to understand the example and humor.) 

Here is photo I took at the conference that I think shows an important formula. 

Matt Bailey's Slide

Select this link for information on Matt Bailey's book:  Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day 

 

“What’s it all mean? What’s next?” 

Wrap up - Panel discussion 

The data avalanche is not going to stop. There is more coming!!! Luckily, more tools are hitting the market to assist with analyzing data.

Post-Conference Gathering

Post You Too 2012 Conference social. Fun people here at Ray's Place

Thank you again to The Akron Area Public Relations Society of America @AkronAreaPRSA and the Kent State PRSSA Chapter @prssakentf for having me as their guest for the conference and the post-conference gathering at Ray's Place. I put this blog post together as a thank-you and to share with others who could not attend in 2012. 

Links

Websites: 

Materials from You Too SM Conference: http://www.youtoosm.com/youtoo-2012.html 

 

 

Conference photos

Official Flickr YouToo Social Media Conference 2012 photos: