Turning lemons into lemonade in social media - is that even possible?  The American Red Cross proves that it is.

With the influx of social media usage, we are all too familiar with the story of a rogue tweet.  For example, we’ve seen a community manager accidently updating a professional account with personal information, sarcasm not quite jumping across the 140 characters, and a business not understanding how to use the channel.  But according to the American Red Cross, this doesn’t have to lead to the social media #fail blog.

Don’t believe us?

Check out what @RedCross did on Twitter recently.

First, a social media specialist tweeted this:

Obviously not what the American Red Cross wants to tweet. Immediately the Social Media Director received a number of emails and quickly deleted the post. 
What happened next?  From past examples of business blunders, we’d think @RedCross would be scorned for such a tweet, but that wasn’t the case.
Quickly the American Red Cross tweeted this:

Did they really tweet a joke in response to that?  This is an impressive way to spin the conversation around, @RedCross. Kudos!

Furthermore, in the spirit of this tweet, beer brand @dogfishbeer perpetuated the positivity, generating donations for the American Red Cross using hashtag #geetngslizzerd.

What!? An extremely positive result to a potentially disastrous tweet? Who would have thought?

Based on recent history, we would definitely say “no,” but this example proves otherwise.  I’m extremely impressed with the foresight of @RedCross to put up that tweet.  This is a great example of how social media continues to evolve and surprise.  If you have a community manager that sends a “rogue” tweet, learn from this and turn lemons into lemonade.

Facebook has done it again: an update. But unlike previous updates, this one was a complete fan page overhaul.

As a business using Facebook fan pages, you probably liked quite a few features already:

•    Longer updates that include thumbnails, links and insights to views.
•    The option to add new customized tabs to look more like a webpage.
•    The chance to develop your own custom applications for more consumer click throughs and interaction.
•    The ability to easily share information from your website to Facebook through consumer updates and simple social plug-in installs.

The possibilities for marketers to reach their consumers on Facebook seemed endless. Then you realized your marketing was limited to Facebook advertising and your fan page, giving you no chance to interact, browse or use Facebook like a user does.

That large negative is no more.

Facebook now allows pages to interact across Facebook.  That is, the admin of the fan page can now surf Facebook as the page and “like” other pages, or the admin can be distinguished from the page and comment on their own fan page.  (Before the admin used to always be attributed to the page so they couldn’t comment on the page at all.)  How companies utilize this increase in interaction will be interesting to monitor in the coming months.

Facebook fan pages now resemble profile pages more so than the ‘traditional’ fan pages we are used to.  With the same updated photo viewing across the top of the wall, smaller profile picture and the tabs being moved to the left-hand column, you’d be hard pressed to know you’re on a fan page at first glance.

Facebook has once again given marketers an overwhelming reason to use their platform to market and connect with consumers.

We believe this is a great opportunity for businesses to become more engaged on Facebook.  Twitter has always been the platform for direct customer interaction, and now Facebook has inherited this ability plus the option to customize your page.  We’ll learn what will become the ‘social norm’ for fan pages.  Facebook will always continue to evolve over time, but this is the first major overhaul to fan pages in quite some time, and the new functionality is a true game changer.  As with updates, it will take time to see how this shapes Facebook for marketers moving forward, but we are excited to see the transformation and can’t wait to interact more with our fans on Facebook!

It's that time of year again.  Time to enjoy gatherings with friends and family, sharing in holiday traditions and celebrating the New Year! Digital Cement would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season and a Happy New Year!  We hope 2011 is a great year for everyone!

The DC Round Table blog started just a few months ago, but the posts have been informative, fun and hopefully eye opening.  We love what we do here at Digital Cement and look forward to bringing you more great content in 2011.

Happy Holidays!

The Digital Cement Team

Yesterday afternoon we were treated to a screening of the Social Network.  It was an afternoon full of friends, popcorn and a good movie.  Though here’s the thing about movies, everyone has their own opinion, so here is the Digital Cement office review of The Social Network.

“Great movie, especially considering it’s mostly dialogue. Jesse Eisenberg did an excellent job as Zuckerberg.  I was reminded of my job at DC when we saw all those <p> and <i> tags while he was writing his blog at the beginning.” Craig McCutcheon, Front End Web Developer

“Interesting movie to watch especially for those who don’t know the back story about facebook already. I enjoyed Justin Timberlake’s character as Shaun Parker (founder of Napster) as that threw some drama into the plot!” Laura Cooper, SEM Specialist

"I loved the dialogue, and think they did a great job casting the actors.Really engaging movie." Erin Gray, Project Manager

“I thought that the movie was good overall, with Jesse Eisenberg getting that nervous nerd vibe down to a T.  You wanted to like him, but you couldn’t quite get there.  Justin Timberlake was acting too hard and it could have been anyone to play that role.  I think my favourite was Eduardo, he stole the show from Justin Timberlake and he was great in every scene.” Joyce King, Project Manager

“I was impressed with the movie.  I couldn’t believe how they took this story and made it so intense.  I went in thinking, this is the way it works when it comes to big ideas sometimes everyone wants a piece of the pie, but then it was a true eye opener.  I am the social media person here at Digital Cement and I thought I knew the story of Facebook, but my knowledge seemed to be missing a few details, like Eduardo, a pretty important character.  I can’t imagine losing your seemingly one and only friend like that.  Overall as a movie it was entertaining and enjoyable.  Not sure I’d see it again, but kudos for the first viewing.” Jill de Larzac, Social Media Specialist

“Excellent movie.  The writers did a fantastic job on the dry wit and interrogative conversations of Mark Zuckerberg.  Jesse Eisenberg delivered them effortlessly!  A movie full of "talk" that was actually interesting and entertaining!” Carrie-Lyn (CL) Abraham, Senior Marketing Solutions Consultant

This was our take on The Social Network, what was yours? 

Google does it again.  Creates something I didn’t know I needed, but now love. Sure, Google Instant is not totally new (Yahoo! apparently came out with a beta version in 1995) and it’s probably not all roses for everyone.

But, personally, I think this is one amazing new addition to the already established powerhouse of search.  (I tried saying “Yahoo! it” or “Bing it” but they just don’t have the same ring) The instant search that launched this week can now ‘predict’ what you want based on web history, cookies, etc. While it hinders random search, overall I think the consumer will like it. However, it could mean big changes for business.

Many businesses large and small already use Google to drive traffic to their website, whether it’s through organic or paid traffic. Keywords have been diligently researched and placed within ad copy and on web pages to help their chances of getting seen when something in particular is searched.  With Google instant, the user doesn’t even have to finish typing a word and tons of results appear. This means businesses will have to rethink how they conduct their search campaigns if they want to be seen.  For instance, if a consumer types in “K” as they search for K-Mart and Kohl’s comes up, they could apt  be encouraged to check out what Kohl’s has to offer and skip on the original K-mart hunt.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming weeks.

What do you think?

-Jill

Direct agency Digital Cement is expanding and we’re looking for someone just like you.  Well, that’s assuming you’re a passionate, hardworking, fun individual!  We’re looking to fill six positions immediately:

• Account Director
• Project Manager
• SEM Specialist
• SEO Specialist
• Senior Value Analyst
• Strategist

To get more details visit the jobs section at DigitalCement.com!

Cheers & Good Luck!

Jill

Social media, mobile marketing, digital marketing, blogs and cross-channel Integration – all of these are buzzwords you hear on a daily basis from the marketing industry; but it’s what you make of them that’s important. 

Today at Digital Cement we went through a creative exercise for a campaign and started talking buzzwords.  The conversation quickly went to specific examples of great social media, mobile and digital campaigns – I’m sure we can all name a few – but what does it take to enjoy the same successes?  To make a splash it’s about paving your own way, creating compelling creative and cultivating a story that is different from the rest.

Marketers are often told, “We went to a conference and we need to integrate the brand in more digital channels. Do it.” This is a bit of a daunting task, and you may start by checking out past campaigns and competitors’ profiles. In the end, you just need to get it done and it often happens with no real planning. Unfortunately each channel has their own set of ‘unwritten rules’ and we’ve all heard of the companies that crashed and burned, especially on social media!

I believe that when buzzwords are thrown around it’s not a matter of looking at campaigns, it’s a matter of taking what you have to offer and making it the best within the channel you choose.  Don’t jump on the social media train because everyone else is, don’t build an app when you don’t need to and definitely don’t fall for a buzzword that doesn’t mean anything to your brand.  Go to the channel that you’ll succeed in, or do the proper research to understand where your brand or company fits in.  Listen, learn and create within that channel to make yourself memorable to everyone.

Buzzwords have been around for ages. At one time, they included “radio” and “television.” Channels have changed, message delivery has changed and being more direct and interactive takes center stage.

What recent buzzword has caught your attention and why?

Cheers!

We've seen the Oscars, the Grammys, the Tonys, even the Daytime Emmys but no awards show season would be complete without the inclusion of the Brickies!

Last night Digital Cement let loose, noshed and celebrated the 2nd Annual Brickie Awards.  This is our night to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts, special talents and hard work of our co-workers.

This year's awards included The Mister Bright Side - which went to our 'eager beaver' project manager Marc Boileau for his amazing personality, work effort and true passion for the industry - and the Octopus Award - given to our application development manager,  Alina Stanca for her ability to multi-task like no one's business.  Twelve awards in total were given out, with one being a team honor for our creative team.  To see their handy work check out, www.digitalcement.com and the fantastic fun buttons!  The night was a smashing success and we're already looking forward to the 3rd Annual Brickie Awards!

Snapshots from the evening:

"Pre-dinner/awards fun"

"The Team Award - Equipped with a Uni-Cat!"

"Enjoying the night out!"

"Our Mr. Bright Side"

"The beautiful awards all hand painted by Joyce"

"Post Award Ceremony Chatter"

Thank you to all who organized the event!

Cheers,

Jill

When many businesses look into using social media they try to find the "big idea" or find a new way to promote their business, but to be successful they don't have to.  I am a social media specialist, but I am also a consumer who uses the channels available to me to talk to the brands and companies that I have questions for - this is a common use of social media by consumers.  I don't expect anything earth shattering, if I have a question I don't need anything free, just answers.  Recently I had an exchange with the Twitter handle @Overstock, and I could not have scripted it better myself.  The person in charge of this account helped and answered my questions beyond my expectations.  See for yourself:

There are so many posts available telling businesses how to build a social media presence and make it successful.  Yes, you do need to learn the tools, but like this example and many others - do what you do best as a company and stand out that way.

Thank you Overstock.com for a great customer service experience!

Cheers,

Jill

In the first place

Recently, I was out for breakfast with a colleague /mentor of mine whom I respect tremendously for being so passionate about the good, the bad and the ugly of the advertising profession.

On this particular morning our conversation ended up on the bad side of the coin. We were discussing the lull (in our humble opinions) of really great and inspiring work over the last six months.  By the time the eggs were finished, we’d racked it up to clients being more conservative with budgets or less willing to take creative risks with the budgets they have.

However, this line of questioning led us down a different path to a startling realization: If making inspiring ads is what brought us into the business in the first place and it’s no longer happening, then what is it that keeps us going? After gumming it out we concluded that we don’t do it for the hundreds of millions of dollars, the diamond watches and Rosedale mansions--rather it’s the thought that that next great idea is always just around the corner.  It was a simple/obvious conclusion that I’m sure is at the root of why any person gets into the advertising business but as intrinsic as it is, it’s still a desire that needs a little nurturing once in a while.

At Digital Cement, we have a great list of strong clients who push us daily for great work and for that we are thankful. But no matter what, sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a rut and not pumping out that great work we dreamed of doing on our first day in the business. To counter that and to nourish the aforementioned “desire” to push, we at Digital Cement created the Ripple Works program. Ripple Works is based on the idea that great work begets great work and great people.

So how does Ripple Works work? Basically, we’ve created room in everyone’s week to work on passion projects. From experimenting with new technologies to creating ads for a local restaurant or charities or whatever, Ripple Works provides a bubble where we have permission to push our thinking and creativity. With no budgets to worry about and with no boundaries but the ones we set upon ourselves, we have managed to make several pieces of advertising that we are proud of. And, it’s led to new business and to more great hires. Essentially, Ripple Works works.

Thinking back to that breakfast chat and after mulling over the words on this page, I guess if we feel work isn’t great then we, the agencies, are the ones who have to change it. I’ll be the first one to say that it’s not always easy to keep the passion ratcheted up all day, every day. But by providing the opportunity to help people remember why they came to this profession in the first place, we can hopefully get one step closer to creating that next big idea.

-Guest Post from Rob Gendron, our Associate Creative Director