Reality Digital

Millward Brown’s Top 100 Most Valuable Brands

Millward Brown released their annual Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Brands report.

Looking through their list, I counted 20 brands that Reality Digital has worked with to build social media and social video web experiences in the past year. All of the 20 brands but one have also increased their Brand Value from 2010 to 2011.

In fact, if you look at just the brands that increased their value from 2010-2011 you will recognize that almost all of them have a strong social media presence from Google+ to Facebook apps to social integrations on their websites.

Adobe Discontinues Mobile Flash

It must have been a tough decision for Adobe to kill mobile flash. Not only did Adobe’s executives have a public fight with Steve Jobs and Apple about the use of Flash on mobile devices, but as technology is evolving and becoming more focused on mobile discontinuing Mobile Flash is sending a message that one of Adobe’s core products is not headed in the right direction.

We do not know if this was a business decision based on if a product was not as profitable as desired down the road or if their recent cutting in staff and recent refocus on Digital Media and Digital Marketing left Mobile Flash the odd product out, and we may never know.

Adobe is changing their mobile focus to HTML5. Here at Reality Digital, we have built mobile social applications with our Opus platform for clients from Fortune 500 companies to ad agencies and we have never been asked to integrate with Mobile Flash nor have we ever needed to use the Mobile Flash framework for a project. All of our social applications on mobile devices run on HTML5. There’s a simple reason — All mobile browsers can view HTML5 and not all of them can view Flash. We will dive into the technical aspects of HTML5 and it’s capabilities in coming weeks.

Our small sample-size may be part of a larger sample that Adobe has based their decision to discontinue Mobile Flash. It may be belated and may have been a reluctant decision, but Adobe has come to the conclusion that HTML5 makes more sense across all mobile platforms.

4 Benefits of UGC Video Mashup Campaigns

Video mashups are a fast growing trend that is quickly becoming the hot thing to integrate into brand campaigns. Whether you’re promoting a new product or incentivising customers to participate in a contest, UGC video mashups can boost your social media efforts to new levels and really drive consumer engagement with your brand.

Integrating UGC video mashup technology into your social media campaign yields several benefits. Here are four that customers often cite as key gains:

Brand Assets

For brands that are just getting started with an online video strategy, user-uploaded and user-remixed video is a great way to generate content that extends the brand through unique perspectives and creates a library of assets that can repurposed in later campaigns.

Engagement

The very nature of creating a video mashup translates into longer and deeper engagement with your brand and content. Between content creation, upload, editing publishing and sharing, typical engagement time with your brand can be 15 minutes or longer when all is said and done.

Word of Mouth

Video mashups tend to be viral in nature and are quickly distributed across social graphs. Contests are particularly great at generating traffic as contestants will share their mashups with friends and networks to garner popular votes while users can spend hours viewing and voting on entries.

Brand Reputation

Given that users take considerable time out to contribute, video mashup content tends to be positive representations of the brand, embracing creativity and exhibiting loyalty and favorable opinions. With content moderation, you can monitor and control brand-safety.

As with any other marketing program you execute, remember that video mashups are an extension of your brand. When designing a video mashup campaign or contest, be thoughtful in your choice of technology, UI, workflow and overall experience; it should reflect the reputation of your brand. Great content, a simple hook, and a persuasive call to action really drive the success of these campaigns.

High-quality video delivery and flexible, scalable technology are just as important as conceptual design when it comes to execution. And you’ll also want to consider how to moderate content, especially if users are allowed to upload their own videos and photos, add captions, record voice-overs, or upload soundtracks.

We offer several video mashup app solutions that allow users to remix professional content that is pre-populated by the brand and/or user generated content including video, audio and images.

Adobe Premiere Express™ is our flagship online video editor and remixer and includes a comprehensive but easy-to-use set of video editing tools and effects that can create mashups and remixes in a studio-like setting in-browser.

GridMasher™ video technology mashes two or more videos into one video grid, great for Rock Band-style collaborations or multi-track performances.

WaveMasher™ video technology stitches several videos together that play seamlessly after each other like an endless or looping wave and can be synced with one audio track.

Each app is skinned with your brand’s look and feel and can be customized with customer-specific workflow. Add to that hosting in multiple environments like Facebook, YouTube and/or a microsite and you have a lot of flexibility in implementation.

We’ve powered several video mashup contests and campaigns for major brands over the past few years. Check out realitydigital.com/video-mashups.html to learn more about the solution or contact us for a demo.

What is HTML5 Video and Why Does It Matter to You?

HTML5 is the latest version of the HTML standard for rendering content on the Web. Amongst the many improvements included in this version, its new video embed capability is one of the most interesting features for us here at Reality Digital. The new language allows us to embed video in any webpage for playback in any HTML5-supported browser or device without the need for third-party plugins like Adobe Flash or QuickTime.

Why Would HTML5 Matter to You?

The biggest advantage for our customers in supporting HTML5 video is the ability to deliver video content to Apple iOS devices, which currently do not support Flash-encoded content (FLV format), without additional iterations of a site, app or player. Android-based mobile devices that do not support Flash are also benefiting from this update.

Our social media and online video platform has historically encoded video content to FLV output and served Flash-based video players for the playback environment. Now with HTML5 video, we can deliver high-quality video content to browsers on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch; end-users can play that content right in the browser without requiring the Flash plugin or opening an external video player.

Ultimately HTML5 support means our customers who are launching video-centric contests, social media campaigns, and online video communities benefit from greater adoption, increased reach and improved engagement in a more seamless viewing environment, no matter what browser or mobile device their end-users are on. We’re thrilled to expand our platform with this capability and have already implemented HTML5 video for several customers.

HTML5 video support is standard in the Opus platform and Opus API and is available today. Check out realitydigital.com/opus.html for more information on our social media platform

What’s a YouTube App and Does My Brand Need One?

With over 144 million unique visitors this past September according to comScore, YouTube represents a massive opportunity to spread awareness about and encourage engagement with your brand. Aside from uploading a branded video to YouTube, and hoping timing, relevancy and popularity take it viral, what can a brand do to promote itself within this network?

YouTube Brand Channel and Masthead Ad Apps

YouTube offers several ad programs that make a lot of sense for marketers exploring online video marketing, but it’s the Brand Channel and Masthead Ad offerings that tickle our fancy here at Reality Digital. Both environments allow marketers to insert “gadget” (or small web apps) that offer deeper functionality to users.

According to YouTube, gadgets can be pretty much anything. But given the audience profile and online video environment you’re working with, interactive apps that enable deep engagement with UGC video make a lot of sense. If you’re looking to run a UGC video contest, or want users to interact with your brand via online video, you’ll want to look seriously at a custom YouTube App in your Brand Channel or Masthead Ad. The more time you can get those 144 million visitors to spend in your channel or ad environment interacting with your brand, the better the conversions down the line.

Reality Digital’s YouTube App Solution offers brands several capabilities and benefits:

• Develop interactive, immersive UGC video apps and create video content for your brand
• Integrate webcam/mobile upload and video editing and remixing
• Run entire contests without leaving the channel or ad unit environment
• Moderate UGC videos before publishing to YouTube to keep your brand safe
• Embed branding in UGC videos with bumpers and watermarks

We’ve powered several big contests and campaigns for major brands on YouTube over the past couple of years. Check out www.realitydigital.com/youtube-channel.html to learn more about the solution or contact us for a demo.

Social Media Strategy – Part 4: How will you monetize your social media program?

Today’s blog post is part four of a seven-part series of key planning questions everyone should ask themselves when developing a social media strategy.

In Part 3 of our Social Media Strategy blog series, we covered why it’s important to have a plan in place to drive traffic to your social media program. The next step is to determine if and how you will monetize your initiative.

Monetization of social media can take different forms, from online advertising to subscription models, but social media can also be a branding exercise or a means to remain current and competitive. Look at your overall business goals and determine whether or not monetization makes sense in your social media program.

If considering online advertising, for instance, would your site or app make enough impressions, turn enough pages, or generate enough video plays to make the impact of ad revenue dollars significant? Would your audience even want to see ads on your social property? The answer can go either way. A niche online community with an active user base could very well generate the traffic needed to make ad integration worth it, especially when relevant ads are served. On the other hand, monetizing a video remix contest promoting a new product with other brands’ ads is probably inappropriate.

Click here for other examples of social media monetization models and check out our new and free Strategy Guide: Getting Started with Social Media. It includes seven additional planning questions you should ask yourself before launching into your social media initiative. Good luck!

Social Media Strategy – Part 3: How will you drive traffic to your social media program?

Today’s blog post is part three of a seven-part series of key planning questions everyone should ask themselves when developing a social media strategy.

In Part 2 of our Social Media Strategy blog series, we explored the importance of selecting the right social media tools for your audience, as different groups adopt various social media tools at different rates. The next step is to determine how to drive traffic to your social media program.

Oftentimes this is one step in planning that many marketers forget about or pay less attention to, instead focusing on the shiny, fun stuff like site design or app functionality. Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come. Any social media initiative, whether it be creating a Twitter or Facebook profile, or launching a UGC contest or a custom brand community, should be tightly integrated with your other marketing programs and have its own mini go-to-market plan.

You may be thinking, “Oh gosh, more marketing programs to support my social media program.” Isn’t social media supposed to support my marketing efforts?? Sure, but think synergistically versus silo. Driving traffic to your social media program could be as easy as including “Follow Us” links in your weekly newsletter or a pod on your website advertising your new contest.

Take time to plan out how you’ll address the announcement of your new program and how you’ll continue to drive traffic back to it through viral features, new content or other social activities. Once the ball gets rolling, and you have a social program that is relevant and well-executed, your customers’ social networks will take over, sending new and repeat visits to your social media program.

Click here for sample questions on how to drive traffic to you social media program and check out our new and free Strategy Guide: Getting Started with Social Media. It includes seven additional planning questions you should ask yourself before launching into your social media initiative. Good luck!

Online Video Remixing and Mashup Trends

Type the keyword acapella into YouTube and you’ll find over 160,000 video clips of people reinterpreting a popular song. Type video mashup and you find millions of clips where people have mashed two or more videos into one. What’s hot in the UGC video world lately is the next generation of user generated content: remixing other people’s content to create new original content.

For some of us, this is not a new concept. But given that user generated content as it relates to the world of social media is only about five years old – the first video sharing sites launched mid-2005 – remixed video content as UGC is relatively in its infancy. Where is this generation headed? Remixing video, online.

Over the last year, we’ve seen the adoption of online video editing take off. Tools that were once only available to professionals in a studio are now accessible online to the average user and are much simpler to use. Add the fact that it’s easier than ever to distribute videos and go viral these days and you have the equation for some innovative and fun social marketing tools that get really capture people’s attention.

Early adopters MTV, Pepsi, Hyundai and the NFL have all executed successful campaigns involving video mashups and remixers in the past couple of years, enabling their fans to edit and reimagine branded and licensed content and even inject user generated content into the mix. These projects were immersive environments that did a great job of deepening user engagement with branded content in the guise of fun, innovative video remix contests and campaigns.

Our Adobe Premiere Express Service product, developed exclusively in joint with Adobe, gives users access to Adobe’s video remixing tools in on online community environment powered by Reality Digital’s social media platform which manages the ingest, publishing and social sharing of user remixed content. To learn more about video mashup solutions go to: www.realitydigital.com/video-mashups.html.

Social Media Strategy – Part 2: What audience are you trying to reach?

Today’s blog post is part two of a seven-part series of key planning questions everyone should ask themselves when developing a social media strategy.

In Part 1 of our Social Media Strategy blog series, we explored the importance of connecting your social media initiative to your overall business goals. The next step is to determine who your social media program will target.

“Well, my social media program’s target audience is the same as my target customers, right?”

Yes, but there are nuances. Not everyone uses social media in the same way, nor do they always use the same tools. Your audience may be active on Twitter, but not on Facebook. Or your customers may prefer to read news about your company versus watching a video clip about your latest product.

Different social media tools attract different audiences as well. Twitter users engage in short, brief, 140-character bursts while members of a niche community site tend to consume longer-form content like blogs and video.

It’s important to gather intelligence on your audience and put on a lens that filters for social media habits. This data will guide you as you decide what social media tools to put resources behind and will increase rates of success and adoption.

For sample questions to help you dive deeper into your audience analysis, check out our new and free Strategy Guide: Getting Started with Social Media. It also includes six additional planning questions you should ask yourself before launching into your social media initiative. Good luck!

Social Media Engagement Styles: Which one is right for your audience?

Whether you decide to to use Twitter, Facebook, a blog, an online community or any combination of these to connect with your customers, your social media presence becomes a significant part of the face and voice of your company. Through communications and marketing, businesses can position themselves as the friendly and helpful local hardware store or the cool insider who has access to all the deals and discounts. It’s the same with social media but even more apparent as social media interactions happen in near real-time.

It’s important to develop a style and stick to that persona from the onset of your social media initiative as you engage with your users. But what engagement styles are there and what fits your company’s persona and business goals? Here are a few question to get your brain going:

• What is your company culture and how does that affect what tone you take in social media communications?
• How much time and resource can and will you put into the program?
• What level of transparency and accessibility are you comfortable with?

Once you have a good idea of what makes sense for your situation, take a look at this excellent Mashable article, HOW TO: Pick the Right Social Media Engagement Style. The author explores five distinct personas ranging from “The Beehive” to “The Friend” and tactical examples of how to bring those communication styles alive in your social media interactions. These personas should cover most situations, but there are others and hybrids. Pick one and really try to stick with it. In doing so you’ll build trust and a sense of accessibility with your audience.

Here at Reality Digital, we strive to take on “The Resource” persona by sharing relevant information from the industry and our own experience with our customers and followers. Check this blog weekly for more social media how-to’s and follow us on Twitter (@realitydigital) where we share articles on the latest in the social media industry.

Social Media Strategy – Part 1: What are your business goals?

Today’s blog post is part one of a seven-part series of key planning questions everyone should ask themselves when developing a social media strategy.

Social media continues to be a hot topic and is quickly becoming a mandatory piece of the marketing mix for B2B and B2C companies in all industries. In order to remain relevant in the eyes of your customers and stay competitive in your sector, you should plan your social media strategy carefully.

Social media as a marketing program must be tightly integrated with other marketing efforts in order to reach maximum ROI. And as with all marketing initiatives, it should tie back to your greater business goals for the company. Revisit those goals first and then determine how social media tools can effect them.

You may be thinking, “Okay, that makes sense, but which social media tools do I tie to what specific business goals?” There’s no set answer to this because different social media tools provide different results and routes to success. Some tools are more geared towards brand awareness and interest while others can impact buying decisions more directly. Some provide both and it may time a bit more digging and thinking to determine the best approach.

Check out our new and free Strategy Guide: Getting Started with Social Media for examples of tying social strategies to business goals and six additional planning questions you should ask yourself before launching into your social media initiative. Good luck!

MP3 Audio Streaming: How to Integrate It With Social Media

When you think about social media, what type of media content first comes to mind? Did you answer video or text? Fair answer. Text was the primary means of communication in “primitive” social networking and now online video is the current darling of social media enthusiasts everywhere. Audio content, however, has been around for forever and it’s something you should consider when figuring out the mix of digital content you’ll distribute through your social media program.

What counts as audio content?

Music, mashups, podcasts, audiobooks, audio recordings of presentations, mix tapes… Okay, well maybe not the last one in this particular application (or maybe it would in your situation), but you get the picture. As a business or brand, you create content in multiple formats today and that includes audio. It’s important to remember that people consume content differently as well, given their situation, access to technology, and so on.

Integrating Audio with Social Media

As a technology company dedicated to putting the “media” back into social media, we define the idiom “social media” as the socialization of media. “Media” encompasses any digital content – including video, audio, images and documents – that can be shared across the Web and used as a means of communication between peers. When thinking of integrating audio content into your social media mix, treat it as you would video and make sure it resonates with your target audience. Here are three ideas:

• Online Radio Station Whether it be music, podcasts or audiobooks, an online radio station is a great way to stream your audio content to audiences in a protected format. You can even monetize your content by running advertising or charging subscription fees for access to your station.
• Vocal Contest Host a talent search for the best karaoke singer or voiceover actor. You can then publish the entries to your website where users can listen and vote for their favorites.
• Music Sharing Community Music is an easy one to socialize. People love listening and sharing the latest hits, “liking” their favorites and leaving comments. You can publish original music or allow users to upload their own tracks to an online radio station. It doesn’t necessarily need to be around music though. Business can share podcasts or HR departments can distribute audio training, too.

Yesterday we announced support for MP3 audio streaming on our Spotlight online video platform. This new capability enables you to publish and stream music, audiobooks, podcasts and other audio files to websites, blogs and intranets. It’s also easy to add commenting and ratings to the custom player. Take it for a test run at http://spotlight.realitydigital.com. The free 30-day trial is a perfect way to see how MP3 streaming might work for you.

How To Get Started with Twitter for Your Business

Twitter has become a popular social media tool amongst marketers over the past couple of years. Whether it’s a global brand keeping its consumers engaged in its brand and products, a customer service department monitoring customer sentiment, or even a mobile food truck broadcasting its menu and whereabouts that day, businesses have found real ways of integrating Twitter’s social network into their marketing strategy.

If you’re considering adding Twitter to the mix, here are some basic things to think about:

Is Twitter right for my business?

Ask this first. Is your customer or fan base even using Twitter? Do a bit of research to see if it even makes sense to start a Twitter account. While wildly popular, not all demographics are on Twitter and active. It may not be worth the work of building up your following if there just isn’t enough volume there in the first place.

Ask yourself why you want a Twitter account. Doing it just because everyone else is has one is not a good enough answer. Figure out what business objective you’re trying to achieve and how tweeting impacts that.

Also ask whether or not you can apply adequate resources to the program. Depending on your objective and the size of your company and your audience, one person managing the program an hour a day may be enough. As your following grows, more content is generated and the time and effort that person needs to adequately monitor and respond will increase quickly.

What content would I tweet?

What content is most appropriate for your following? This goes back to your original objective. Whatever your reason, craft tweets that will give them a reason to follow you, interact with you, and introduce you to their network of followers.

Content can be as simple as the standard 140-character tweet to links to branded videos, images, articles, blog posts, contests, microsites… you name it. As long as it’s relevant to your audience and objectives.

Some other considerations around content. Is this a branding exercise? Post content that positions you as a thought leader or innovator in your industry. Looking to keep your company top of mind with customers? Tweet content that keeps followers entertained or engaged. Want to be seen as the resource for your community? Post and repost articles that are educational and relevant to your audience.

How do I build my following?

As in many things social media, just because you build it does not mean they will come. You’ll need to come up with a mini-marketing plan for acquiring and retaining followers and actively manage your account in order to see growth.

Start by adding a Twitter link to all communication channels where it makes sense to do so. Your website, newsletters and email signatures are all great venues to increase exposure for your Twitter handle.

While people start to follow you, look at following others to expand your network. Build relationships with those you follow by commenting on and reposting their tweets to your network to build relationships. It will all come full circle in time. Soon you’ll have an expanding network of people who act as influencers, spreading your content to their networks.

Remember, this social media tool only works if your customers are on Twitter and if you actively participate and engage with them. Once you have a significant following, you can use Twitter as a communication channel to drive traffic back to your social media community, corporate website, or social contest.

If you’re looking for online video and social media solutions that syndicate to Twitter, Reality Digital can help. Visit www.realitydigital.com to learn more about our social media platform and unique social media solutions.

4 Tips to Increase Blog Traffic

So how do you draw people to your blog? Increase readership? Assuming the content you’re publishing is relevant and timely, here are four tips to get the most out of your blog program and drive traffic back to your corporate site:

Tip #1: Integrate

Don’t just link your blog to your corporate site, integrate a blog feed into your homepage so the latest content is easily discoverable. Also consider featuring a blog post on your site as a way to draw attention to an important issue your customers face and highlight how you solve that challenge for them. If the content is relevant and the title is catchy, users will click through.

Tip #2: Optimize

Focus on one or two keywords or phrases per post and incorporate them throughout the entry where they make sense to improve discoverability in search engines. Think about what’s important to your customers and focus on topics and keywords around that. Also check your blogging platform to ensure it is optimized for search engine results.

Tip #3: Socialize

If you have an established Twitter network or Facebook fan base, consider syndicating relevant blog posts to these social networks and use links to drive traffic back to your blog. Valuable information is always appreciated by your peers and quickly goes viral in these environments.

Tip #4: Distribute

Feature a blog post or two from your CEO or other departments in customer newsletters. Because of your relationship and relevance to customers, this audience is most likely to click through to your blog and consume that content.

Whatever you try, keep track of metrics in each program and adjust as you go. Even simple tweaks like headlines or length of content can make a difference. Then rinse and repeat.

If you’re looking to integrate a corporate blog or customer blogs into your online property, Reality Digital can help. Visit www.realitydigital.com to learn more about our social media platform for businesses.