Sharpie has a blog at http://blog.sharpie.com/, which states that it is “a dedicated space where we can showcase some of the really fun, cool, creative stuff that gets made using Sharpie markers.”

People are encouraged to contribute their ideas and creativity.

Bert DuMars, vice president of e-business and interactive marketing of Sharpies’ manufacturer Newell Rubbermaid, said of the blog, “We didn’t want to invade and ruin much of the social media stuff going on around Sharpie. We just wanted to push it along a bit.”

And push it along they have, by displaying Sharpie art created by their fans.

 “Customer surveys showed that Sharpies were fun and creative, but the site, because it was a product site, was not so much fun,” DuMars said. “So that led to the idea of a blog about creativity and art. The blog is about showcasing additional uses for the pens.”

Organizations today should try to create online engagement around their service or products, like Sharpie, that keeps people coming back for more and is not a hard sell of their products.

It is important, however, that companies do not become too involved. DuMars remarked that too much involvement could have stifled what was already occurring among fans.

Digital promotion often means that companies have to give up some of their control to consumers. But consumers can do some of their work by promoting organizations on their own.

Many YouTube videos have gone viral on their own. Sometimes unexpected sensations are created overnight.

Digital promotion means more risks, but it can also mean greater payoff.

Information and quotes from David Meerman Scott’s book The New Rules of Marketing & PR were used to write this post.

It is also easy to have digital tools cross-promote each other. For example, an organization’s Facebook page could have a link to its YouTube video. The YouTube video could in turn encourage viewers to fan the organization on Facebook.

Many digital promotion tools are free or inexpensive and highly effective if utilized correctly. Today’s modern business needs a strong online presence in order to stay viable in the current competitive market.

Beyond having a presence in a social media group and search engine optimized web site, companies should actively participate in forums and blogs that deal with their industry.

In this age, information is everything. Instead of hard-selling products online, companies should use digital tools to showcase their expertise and talent and position themselves as experts and thought leaders. Credibility carries lots of weight when it comes to consumer decisions.

Nike is using digital tools to its advantage and keeping its online presence on the cutting-edge. One of its online tools, Nike +, offers lots of useful applications to runners and allows them to communicate with each other. Nike + has in essence built an online community of runners.

Other companies should do the same and create something interactive online that keeps people coming back and wanting more.

Digitalization has changed the rules and made the sky the limit when it comes to promotion.

Visit Nike’s web site at www.Nike.com.

Facebook’s hope is that the “Like” button will drive traffic from other web sites back to its online community. Other web sites hope that the button will drive traffic to their sites as well as allow them to better target consumers based on their interests and preferences.

More than 70 companies are currently planning on installing “Like” buttons, including ESPN.com and Fandango.com.

Zuckenburg also stated that more of Facebook’s technology may be offered in the future to fulfill Facebook Inc.’s goal of redesigning information on the Web.  

It is no secret that Facebook has been revolutionary. It has mastered linking people to each other and now hopes to break new ground by linking people to their interests.

Zuckenburg referred to this linking as “the most transformative thing we have ever done for the Web.”

The “Like” button will also allow web sites to better cater to people and give them a more individual, unique experience.

The internet is becoming increasingly personalized and this is just the beginning. More of social media’s techniques and tools will continue to be integrated into mainstream web sites.

The individual is gaining more and more power. Time Magazine even named you the 2006 person of the year.

It is all about you after all.

Information from a Wall Street Journal article titled “Facebook Taps Consumer Card” was used to compile this blog. Read the article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704133804575198270167901364.html.

Social media can:

1)      Position organizations as experts: Organizations should monitor the online communities in their industry and regularly comment in such a way that they set up their company as an expert source on the topic. Instead of promoting their product, organizations should promote their expertise and ideas. This will lead to positive attitudes toward the organization and increase its credibility.  

2)      Help with reputation control: Sometimes dissatisfied customers choose to rant by blogging or posting negative remarks. Often, one negative comment will lead to many more as other people tell of their similar experiences.

If a company is monitoring blogs in their industry or about their product, they have a chance to respond. If these remarks go unnoticed by the organization; however, their reputation could take a big hit.

B&H Photo-Video, Inc. illustrates this point. Several angry customers started posting that the company’s email notification system didn’t work and the tone toward the organization was negative. A B&H employee was a regular contributor to the online community and was able to respond. He acknowledged the problem and apologized.

After that, the posts became much more favorable toward the company.

David Meerman Scott writes in his book The New Rules of PR Marketing, “one guy with one post changed the whole tone of the thread and the reputation of B&H.”

Scott also states that organizations shouldn’t wait until negative situations emerge to get involved in blogs and forums online. He says that actively taking part in online communities will generate sympathy and patience among customers when problems arise.

3)      Provide a forum to test new ideas: Anyone who is in the business of ideas, especially authors and public relations consultants, should take advantage of the opportunity to test new ideas within online communities. Scott writes in his book, “The Internet is like a massive focus group with uninhibited customers offering their thoughts up for free!”

Read David Meerman Scott’s blog at http://www.webinknow.com/.

Their web site http://www.bk.com/ , lets people choose how much fun, food or king content they want displayed on the site by using sliders. The web site states “have BK.com just the way you want it.”

Genius?   I think so.

Instead of having viewers search for the information they desire, the information is brought to them. And instead of segmenting target audiences on their own, Burger King has viewers self-target on their web site using the sliders.

The result is less work for the company and a more interactive experience for the visitor.  

Another Burger King promotional site, http://www.bk.com/en/us/campaigns/subservient-chicken.html ,allows people to type commands to a person dressed in a chicken costume. True to its name, the chicken is subservient to numerous requests such as “jump,”  “be angry” or “read a book.”

Essentially, Burger King is placing power in the hands of its customers.  People like being in charge and using things tailored to their specific needs. Burger King realizes and is capitalizing on these revelations.

Burger King saw an increase in chicken sandwich sales within weeks of the Subservient Chicken campaign’s launch.

The Barbarian Group, which played a key role in this campaign, reports that the initiative “validated these lines of thinking: you can “talk to” the Internet populace. You can take risks with your message. You can get the word out without necessarily blowing a lot of money. And that you can utilize the relationships – electronic and personal – between people and groups to spread ideas and messages, and it can still work even if the message is, at its core, commercial in nature.”

Organizations can easily adopt some of Burger King’s strategies in their own promotional activities by giving the consumer a sense of power and making their web sites interactive and hands on.

So take some chances and start a conversation with some internet browsers. And above all, give the people what they want.

Read the Barbarian Group’s take on Burger King’s Subservient Chicken campaign at http://www.barbariangroup.com/portfolio/burger_king_subservient_chicken.

Organic and simple videos are being viewed as more credible than polished, complex ones. This recent trend toward authentic videos means there’s no need for extended and complicated editing.

 Free social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook make video distribution a breeze.

Companies should embrace this new easy and inexpensive aspect of online promotion.

Organizations should not; however, use online videos to hard sell their products or as another medium to play their commercials. In his book YouTube for Business, Michael Miller states people “will not go out of their way to view something online that they try to avoid otherwise in the real world. Unless you have a clever, Super Bowl-worthy commercial that people want to see again and again, keep your ads to yourself.”

It is also important to constantly post up-dated and fresh videos. Keep content original, interesting and timely.

There are 2 effective approaches to online video production.

1. Promote products in a fun way. Use humor, shock appeal, oddity or entertainment value to hook audiences.  The best videos go viral and reach millions.
2. Provide useful information.  Give product demonstrations, take a stance on a controversial matter or post instructional videos. This technique can position an organization as an expert in their industry or about an issue.

Online video applications extend beyond promotion and can be applied to internal employee communication as well. Training videos or messages from executives can also be posted on YouTube.

The possibilities of online videos are practically endless…so grab a camera and start filming.

Much of the information for this post was found in Michael Miller’s book YouTube for Business. Watch some of his instructional videos at http://businessvideoblog.blogspot.com/.

In today’s information-driven society, it is imperative for organizations to go beyond using their web sites strictly as promotional vehicles for new products and for providing their background information. In order to gain exposure, companies must follow Scott’s suggestion to use their web sites as a way to provide useable information and unique ideas to the public. This can be done by putting company products or services into a larger context by giving people valuable how-to advice and publishing idea-saturated content.

There are several types of online publications organizations can utilize. These include e-newsletters, e-zines, e-reports and e-books. E-newsletters often consist of news updates and alerts. They can be distributed on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. E-zines are commonly used to illustrate an organization’s expertise or involvement with an issue and are sent out monthly or quarterly. E-books and e-reports are typically used as a way to disperse extensive research or advice. These are often used as an incentive to encourage people to visit a web site and are only offered once.

Companies must realize that they are no longer providing news information solely to journalists, but that they are talking directly to the public as well. Online publications are an effective way to deliver idea and information rich content to the public.

Read David Meerman Scott’s blog at http://www.webinknow.com/.

The companies of today need to learn how to harness this newfound consumer power to positively promote their products. Doritos has utilized this power well.

The Holmes Report stated that, “The use of digital and social media, the enlistment of consumers as brand advocates, even the employment of user-generated content have become relatively commonplace over the past couple of years, but they were fresh and exciting and new when Ketchum partnered with client Frito-Lay to encourage loyal customers to create a Super Bowl ad for the popular Doritos brand. The campaign generated an amazing number of entries, including an extremely professional winner, and generated amazing buzz online and off that went far beyond the value of the ad itself. It also cleaned up at various public relations awards competitions, including the Platinum SABRE for the best public relations campaign of 2007.”

Ketchum’s website reports that, “‘Doritos Crashes the Super Bowl’ pioneered the power of consumer-created content by airing fan-made Super Bowl spots in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Doritos elevated the stakes by offering $1 million for the fan whose homemade Doritos Super Bowl ad could become the first-ever user-generated commercial to place first in USA Today’s ad meter. Public relations became the leader in driving submissions and ROI, and, at the end of the campaign, Doritos earned the number-one ranking in the ad meter, generated 1.4 billion media impressions, and helped increase product sales 16%.”

The success of the Doritos Super Bowl ads highlights the power of the consumer and the impact it can have on a company’s revenue when it is efficiently used.

Profitable, modern public relations practices depend on realizing the power of the consumer and equipping them with the necessary tools to promote the company.

Organizations should be increasingly welcoming customer feedback and involvement.

Watch a video that gives background about the fan-made Super Bowl commercials at http://newsroom.ketchum.com/multimedia-center/videos/doritos-crashes-super-bowl  .

SMNRs were created in order to make creating a story easy for news writers and commentators. It is a platform for organizations to give journalists all the pieces of a story so that writers have to simply organize them into an article or post.

The SMNR has not yet been widely accepted and is still in its developmental stages. And it is not without criticism.

I think the SMNR could lead to a degradation in reporting and investigating. Traditional news releases force reporters to dig around for facts and more context. SMNRs, on the other hand, often provide enough information to complete an article. It is important to remember; however, that this information is biased. I hope that journalists and bloggers will not lose their cynicism and question statements and “facts.”

See http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=32195 for an example of a SMNR.

Keep It Simple Sometimes less is more. Organizations often overspend to have their web sites overdesigned. Too many graphics or too much text can make web sites overwhelming. Keep writing short and blocked and include a few attention-grabbing images.

The Mayo clinic web site (http://www.mayoclinic.com/) is an example of good web site design. Its layout is clean, modern and professional.

Navigation Should Be Easy There should be multiple ways to return to the home page. A navigation bar should be present on every web page. Having both top and left navigation bars is a plus. Users should never get lost in a site. Navigation should show viewers where they are, where they have been and where they want to go. Pew Internet & American Life report that internet users most appreciate its efficiency. So make it easy for people to find the information they are looking for.

Search Engine Optimize The majority of people search for terms on a search engine instead of going directly to a web site. This means that it is imperative that web sites be search engine optimized, since few people look beyond the first page of search engine results, let alone past the first few listings.

Offline Promotion An article by Adrian Thompson suggests that organizations brand items that company employees would place on their desks. Desk calendars, coasters, pens and mouse-mats could all serve as a constant reminder of a company’s web site address. He writes, “The advantage of these items over traditional business cards is that they’re more likely to be kept, plus your contact/business information generally remains on open view, as opposed to being in a wallet, purse or filing system somewhere.” See http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/business-8-steps-success for the full article.