Quiver & Quill

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Online Coffee Co. 1st avenue in Seattle

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I’m impressed with Chris Brogan’s Grasshopper group on Facebook. It’s grown into a hub of social media networking and resourcefulness. Its 825 members recommend job candidates, blogging strategies and must attend events. Chris has done an excellent job moderating the group: arranging group phone calls, sending reasons why people should connect and sparking conversation on the discussion boards…not just inviting people!
Here’s a recent job post on the group discussion board:

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Smart idea to create scarcity with a virtual product (i.e., a Facebook gift).

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I went out in Seattle last night with a group of friends in their mid-twenties. We grabbed drinks at a friend’s house before driving downtown.

We waited for our friends to get ready in a well-decorated common room with a mini-bar, brown leather coaches and a computer in the corner.

Three attractive girls ran over to the computer.

“You need to add me to your top friends. Sign on Myspace and now and do it!”

The three girls hovered around the computer. They pulled up their profiles, commented on the hot guys that left them messages. They sipped their drinks and threatened to leave embarrassing public comments on each other’s profile pages.

It was baffling to me that three “hot girls” with drinks in their hand were hovering around a computer. A few years early, I touched the computer at similar gathering. I think the same girls teased me for it the entire night.

I walked over to them and asked,

“Do you use the Facebook?”

They looked at me with a puzzled expression: “WhatBook?”

“Facebook. It’s like Myspace but less sketchy,” I replied.
“Never heard of it,” they answered. “That most be a ‘Boston’ thing one of them teased.

I was thinking, “When I come back here in a year, you’ll be using Facebook.”

What I said was, “Yea. It’s a Boston thing.”

Picture from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32192214@N00/186039126/

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I am running my first Facebook poll. I am paying .25 cents per response on a text messaging poll, and I am targeting the 25-34 demographic, which is the only demographic able to see this poll. While it’s not a scientific study, we’re polling Facebook users who are arguably more technologically savvy than non-Facebook users, and the sampling isn’t precise, it’s still a great anecdotal piece that nearly 76% of 25-34 year old’s polled text, and 23% use text more than phone.

I love Facebook polls. Any time technology lets you actually reach out and touch your target customers, I think that’s cool.

*the last question is cut off above. The whole sentence reads: “I text at work, in the shower and in the gym.”

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If you’ve ever wanted to watch 20 minutes documenting ever step of a LASIK eye care operation, narrated by an attractive blond celebrity, now you can–and from the comfort of your own Facebook account. The folks at LASIK did an great job of using Facebook to identify leads and change perceptions about the surgery.

People are curious about how LASIK works.

They have questions, and the site answers them in the form of short webisodes documenting OC’s Kristin Cavallari experience. While watching you can leave comments on the discussion board, browse pics of Kristin, or become a member of her LASIK group.

The discussion board is public. Half of the people on it are insulting Kristin and her “fake” webisodes. The other half are running to her defense:

“She’s documenting her story for other people…she’s trying to help people out,” said Kylee, a High School student.

If you’ve had LASIK, you can share you story as a video testimonial for a chance to win $5,000. Doing so takes you to a separate microsite: Reality Lasik. Here you’ll find more webisodes, and a brilliantly executed “locate a doctor” feature. I am surprised they did not use a unique tracking number for each doctor.

Is the campaign successful? Looks it. Here’s what I would measure to know for sure:

• Page views on the microsite and Facebook page
• Video plays on the microsite and on the Facebook page
• Total Tell-a-Friend forwards sent, received and converted
• Site update sign ups
• Surveys with new LASIK patients to see if Facebook influenced their decision
• Mentions, or shout outs, of Reality LASIK on Facebook profile pages, blogs, and other online communities.
• Entrees into the Reality LASIK contest
• Most importantly…is the client (LASIK) happy?

Compelling content (video) drives this campaign. People on the Facebook identify with the Kristin and are curious about the procedure. They are welcome to comment about the advertising, and it’s integrated nicely into the Facebook site and separate microsite.

So nice job LASIK team…although I’m still too squeamish to touch my eye!

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I appreciate this banner advertisement, which I discovered on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s web site. The phrase “entirely at our expense” is more appealing than the word “free.” I associate free with spam, and “at our expense,” with a waiter at a four star restaurant paying for their mistake with my meal.

There’s too much copy on the ad, and I don’t think “so smart, so easy,” contributes anything. I have mixed feeling about the word ‘click’ on the banner ad…I prefer a more active word like “get” 4 issues at our expense.

I would move replace “so smart, so easy” with “free offer” in small black type to create a contrast between a phrase, which the interested user can deceiver, and two words, which may quickly grab the eye.

“At our expense” is a very clever phrase, and something I intend on trying.

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Cyclist Underneath Taxi by J. Russell

I was standing at the train station in Harvard Square when I first saw the sign: send a text message to report a crime.

The ad is apart of the Boston police’s new Text a Tip program. There’s a lot of reasons this program makes sense:

• Connecting with young people, who have witnessed a crime, using a familiar communication channel
• Providing a safe reporting atmosphere (even though texting wouldn’t be completely anonymous if your number is attached to it).

While I imagine this will increase the amount of tips (leads) about crimes, what percentage of text leads turn out to be legitimate…? And how will this number compare to other channels?

The advertising campaign is executed pro bono by Hill Holiday. Has Hill Holliday considered selling the sponsorship rights to the bounce back message on the text? For example, when you text your tips, what if Dunkin Donuts sent this message: “Thx for helping to make the community safer. Enjoy a free donut on us. Coupon code: 1232324.”

Here’s what happened when I texted the tip line: “Your tip best fits into which category? A violent crime. B. Drugs. C. Gang Activity. D. Others. Reply with A, B, C, or D to continue.”

Text is often casual—every day speak abbreviated—should the police respond in text slang–or more formal language?” This response reminds me of a standardized test. People are used to quick, simple snips of content — does the length of the response work against it?

Nice work Hill Holliday! So, when does the Boston Police Myspace page and Twitter account launch?

See other sources:

• Experience Mobility
• Hill Holliday Blog
• Clubtexting

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