Tell Us How You Feel: Web Feedback and MoMA

Think back to the last time you went to a museum.

Did you walk away changed? Inspired? Disappointed? Maybe you felt the millennially-ingrained desire to express those feelings to your internet following a la Twitter or Facebook. These companies have acquired valuations in the billions due to their ability to capture user feedback and translate it into advertising dollars.

So, how can a place like a museum or historic site do the same? For an organization like the Museum of Modern Art, the answer lies not in monetization but in exploring the reactions visitors have to their hallowed halls. They’ve achieved this with their “I Went to MoMa And…” project. The virtual “wall” of “messages, drawings, poems, and ideas”, built in Flash, allows the user to casually peruse the way that real people have interacted with the museum. There are messages in differing languages, messages with unintelligible scribbles, messages of praise and messages of criticism. This honest showing of creativity, critique and humanity perfectly expresses the mission of the museum and the experience they want their users to have online. Many organizations strive to find the perfect blend of functionality, advertising, and viral capacity. With these individual notes being share-able (and currently spreading like wildfire), the MoMA has capitalized  on their opportunity perfectly.

We often tell clients that a website should include participation. Sure, everyone knows that social media is a must, but if you can include some element of feedback in your site, users will respond. The Web 2.0 movement has changed the way that we interact with websites; but more than that, it’s changed the way we interact with the physical, real-world places that we go. Creating an area of your site where users can directly view their own submissions or the left-behind messages of other users opens your web presence up from a static advertising board to a truly human area of discussion.

You can see a live example of a project The Bivings Group has done that incorporates this idea at Wearegolf.org, the home of the Golf industry online. You can add your name and your “tee” to a nation-wide map and share the way that golf has impacted your life.

So, the next time you’re thinking about how to get users not only onto your site, but IN to your site, try and find a way to let them show you, rather than trying to take their opinion from them. You may be surprised by what you find.

Snakes on a Plane, uh… on Twitter!

Yesterday I had one of those hand-to-forehead moments.  “Why didn’t I think of that?!!!”

Over the weekend an Egyptian Cobra snake disappeared at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, and as a 21st Century snake it decided to tweet its adventures – see @BronxZoosCobra.  So far it has gone on the Sex and the City tour, visited Wall Street, scarfed down a cupcake at @magnoliabakery, and had other fun.  Since Monday (March 28, 2011), it has amassed tens of thousands of followers.  Impressive.

What if the Bronx Zoo beat this snake to the punch and started tweeting from the cobra’s perspective?  While the tweets would definitely have to reference Charlie Sheen (duh!), report celebrity sightings, and banter with local journos, the cobra could also sneak back into the zoo to visit its animal pals, get some pop corn, cotton candy, or popiscles, or take advantage of buying discounted admission (on its iPhone as not to tip off scare a human cashier).

Don’t get me wrong. Cobras can be deadly, and they frighten many of us when we encounter them in person.  Further, it may not be wise for a tsunami, earthquake, or other disaster – man-made or natural – to start tweeting witty remarks, but in this case when a snake on the town is not a disaster or likely threat to anyone, an organization (the zoo or another related organization) could capitalize upon such an occurrence to capture the attention of tens of thousands of people and get some media coverage.

In fact, @SpaSally alerted the cobra to a spa deal, and it accepted the deal!

Earlier this year a hawk visited the Library of Congress.  What if the library of staffers started to impersonate it on Twitter?  Imagine the tweets:

• Gosh!  It is cold outside.  Good thing I am indoors!
• Does anyone know if @benschilibowl delivers? I am getting hungry! Watch out tweety bird.
• People get concerned when I swoop; I am just looking for a copy of Twilight.
• Why did I choose to visit the Library of Congress? It has free admission! #value
• I didn’t know that the Library of Congress had a baseball card collection! http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/bbc/ Go Nats!

The library could have capitalized on their guest.  Just as the Bronx Zoo could capitalize on its escapee.

It takes a little creativity and speed to beat those clever people out there on-line, but organizations can turn annoyances like these events into something positive.

Turning Customers into Brand Advocates

Building a great company isn’t just about making great products. It is about working to make every interaction with a customer a positive experience. From  marketing emails to the in-store experience to websites to 1-800 numbers to Facebook, there are more ways than ever for customers to connect with companies. All these touch points define what customers think of a brand.  For companies, they  are opportunities  to turn customers into brand advocates that actively spread the word about the company and its products. 

One brand that is doing a great job of using online interactions to build a cadre of brand advocates is the online clothing retailer Bonobos.  Beyond simply having a great website, Bonobos is using a myriad of tactics to recruit new customers and to deepen its relationship with existing ones.

• Any new customer can get  $50 off their first order of $100 or more by simply sharing their email address and zip code.  Further, Bonobos allows for all products to be returned at any time and pays for shipping on returns.  These steps make it easy for customers to try the company’s product.  It also shows that Bonobos is confident in the quality of its products.  
• Bonobos runs a unique referral program that encourages customers to spread the word about the company via word of mouth.  Existing customers can send their friends and family $50 off coupons through the site.  If your friend buys more than $100 in stuff, you get a $50 store credit.   The site includes tools you can use to email friends the discounts and post links about the discounts to Facebook and Twitter.  
• Bonobos customer service representatives (called “ninjas”) are extremely responsive and encouraged to show actual personality.  I had an order get screwed up one time, and in addition to correcting the problem right away they sent a free shirt for my trouble.  Mistakes happen, and dealing with them proactively and transparently is a great way to build brand loyalty.
• The company utilizes social media very well.  They have an active Facebook community and encourage employees to interact with customers through their Twitter accounts.  The company frequently posts Twitter or Facebook-specific discounts as a way of incentivizing customers to follow them.   They also write a blog that is much better than what you typically see from clothing companies.
• Bonobos continually runs games and contests aimed at engaging with brand advocates.  Promotions have ranged from photo caption contests to product naming contests to an NCAA tournament bracket where customers compete against employees. 
• The company does a great job with their email marketing.  In addition to simply sending out compelling emails (see example email below), they also segment their email list based on the customers engagement with the brand.  Bonobos sends out a weekly email to casual customers, while hard core brand advocates receive daily emails.  This kind of list segmentation is a smart way to satisfy loyalists while not turning off casual fans with too many emails. 

What Bonobos is doing is clearly working.  The company reports that sales tripled in the last six months of 2010.  Obviously having a good product is the most important part of Bonobos success.  But Bonobos proactive efforts to identify and reward brand advocates has also been a critical contributor to the company’s exponential growth.

Is it a Good Idea to Advertise on LinkedIn?

Should your company advertise on LinkedIn?

The social network boasts a largely professional user base, and is functions vary gratefully from its distant cousin Facebook.However,

Much like Facebook – LinkedIn Direct Ads allow you to target specific demographics (age groups, gender, location). They also allow you to upload a company logo or otherwise relevant picture to accompany your ad. In this way, LinkedIn sets itself apart from competitor Google – who offers only a string of keywords with which to find your target audience.

The biggest concern that we have with the ability of LinkedIn to generate a Facebook-like revenue stream is that that users simply spend less time on LinkedIn than they do on Facebook. Unless a company is looking to hire individuals, or you’re a new user who is setting up their profile – the likelihood that you’ll spend more than a few minutes a day on the site is pretty minute. Thus, a company looking to advertise for a particular event or product is better off reaching the same audience on Facebook with a cheaper cost-per-click rate and a larger possible audience.

According to Nielsen, LinkedIn’s monthly viewership is a small fraction of Facebook, MySpace, and even Twitter’s. Social media advertising dollars would therefore be more useful if spent on mediums on which a greater number of users spend a larger quantity of time (ie. checking out vacation photos on Facebook or refreshing your page for new tweet on Twitter). The professionalism of LinkedIn means that companies advertising job openings may have greater success on that site that any of the other social networking portals – however, if you are not advertising a position, your advertising money could be better spent elsewhere. As with most advertising, it’s important to pick your advertising channel properly, and tailor your message (and medium) to your audience.

The Bivings Report official answer for whether or not you should advertise on LinkedIn: NO

The Bivings Report goes to the DC MediaBistro networking event

On August 24th, @TylerGray and I attended a networking event hosted by @MediaBistro. This was one of several social media gatherings that our staff has attended over the course of the past several weeks, and we wanted to give you, our reader, a glimpse into what the events were actually like.

The below video is a short look into what the DC online media networking events often look like. We also took the time to interview a few of the interesting people we met at the MediaBistro event. Hopefully their unique jobs and innovate use of social media inspires others to think outside the box. Below is their contact information. If you would like to get featured on The Bivings Report at the next networking event, feel free to tweet @Bivings and let us know.

Thanks for Ruben Muska of Paradigm Companies and Kelly Barrett of the new startup Hy.Ly for sharing their interesting work!