Samsung announces cellphone aimed at bloggers, citizen marketers

Samsung is set to launch a new cellphone in Europe that comes with a pretty interesting feature; the ability to create videos and upload them straight to YouTube.

Samsung Electronics will launch in Europe this month its Mobile Blog 3G Phone (SGH-L760), which allows users to upload content directly to blog sites online such as YouTube, UBlog and Buzzet. Digital Chosunilbo reports.

"The mobile blog function's speedy data transmission will distinguish the phone from other handsets. The phone will debut in Germany and Spain this month and next hit the Southeast Asian market."

Karl follows this up at Experience Curve with an excellent discussion of what features he'd like to see in cellphones to make the blogging/vlogging/podcasting creation process easier.

I think this is a seriously uptapped area of the market. If the Samsung phone, or another later, would allow the creation of videos that can be posted directly to the owner's blog, that would obviously be a huge shot in the arm to the growth of vlogging.

As I commented on Karl's blog, the spread of the use of these social media tools is hinging on how easy it is to create content with them. Podcasting is a perfect example, as I love the medium, but the creation process is horribly complicated and takes far too long, even after you've created a few episodes. In my mind, any product that makes it easier to create content with blogs, podcasts, videos, etc., is going to be a hit. And honestly, I would have thought we'd seen more of these type of products on the market by now.

Afterthought: What if all of your company's managers had cellphones that allowed them to create video and upload it directly to your company's intranet site? How could you see this being utilized?


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Company Blog Checkup: Kleenex

Thanks to Mark Goren for giving me the heads-up about this week's entry in the Company Blog Checkup Series; Kleenex's Let It Out blog. The blog is a bit confusing, because instead of being centered around Kleenex, it's centered around Kleenex's current 'Let It Out' campaign. So that means that the blog's life is likely tied to the length of the current campaign.

As always, let's start with the blog's content. The first problem is obvious; there's no pictures. None of the posts have pictures, and there also isn't a picture of the blog's writer. The subject matter of the posts is designed to start a conversation about sharing stories between the writer and readers. The writer attempts to talk about a subject or tell a story, then she encourages the readers to give their feedback, and 'Let It Out'.

Here's an example in this post about the power of forgiveness: "Have you forgiven or been forgiven? How did it change your life? What has been the impact in your life of this powerful emotion? I hope you’ll share because the power of forgiveness is a lesson worth learning from as many examples as possible."

I see a big problem with this approach, in that strangers don't typically want to 'Let It Out' to people they don't know and trust. Now if Kleenex had taken the time to create and build a vibrate community of readers for the blog first, then it could work. But I don't think that's something they have yet, considering that the 15 posts left since May 1st have garnered a combined 15 comments.

As with many other company blogs, posting is sporadic. Normally there's a new post every 3-4 days, but occasionally there will be a lapse of a week or more between posts. Again, perhaps the best way to grow your blog's readership, is to post regularly. This cannot be stressed enough, but I see so many blogs that don't follow this very simple step.

As for comments, the blog's lone writer, Maria, does a pretty good job of replying to them. For example, this post had 6 comments, and 3 of them came from Maria. Some of the comments are little more than a canned 'Thanks for letting it out', but still, Maria does a better job of addressing comments than most writers have so far in this series.

Finally, let's move to the sidebar. First, there's a very nice section for 'Meet The Writer', which gives a quick bio for the blog's writer, Maria Niles. This is a great touch, and one that I've mentioned other company blogs lacking in the past. But again, there's no photo of Maria. If the idea of the blog is to get readers to 'Let It Out', it helps if they can see who they are 'letting it out' to.

There's a section for 'Blogroll', but then there's no blogs or sites there. Hmmm.....the only thing there is an RSS button, and one for My Yahoo and My AOL. If you click on the RSS button, it takes you to another page that details exactly how to subscribe to the blog's feed. Nice touch!

Overall, Kleenex's 'Let It Out' blog is an average effort suffering from a few very common, and very correctable problems. First, Maria needs to start adding photos to posts, that alone would make the blog much more visually appealing. Then I would get on a regular posting schedule, 3 posts a week minimum, Tuesday-Thursday to start with. And finally, build out the blogroll with links that will interest readers. The big problem I see with the blog is that it is tied to the product's campaign, instead of the product itself. Going this particular route only works if the blog has a vibrant and enthusiastic community that is willing to support the concept. I just don't see that here.

On last thing, maybe it's just me, but I couldn't access the blog directly, I had to first select my country, then click on another link on another page to get to the blog. That's 2 hoops to make your readers jump through, when they were expecting none. Not good.

If Maria or anyone from Kleenex wants to discuss this Company Blog Checkup with me, feel free to leave a comment here, or email me, or both.

If you're a company that would like to hire me to do an extensive checkup of your blog, you can click here for more information on my blogging and social media consulting services.

And if anyone can think of a company blog that they want me to do a checkup on, feel free to email me, or leave a comment here as Mark did!


Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Company Blog Checkup

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The Viral Garden's Top 25 Marketing Blogs - Week 64

Here's the standings for Week 64:

1 - Seth's Blog - 10,272 (+181)(LW - 1)
2 - Gaping Void - 3,879 (+100)(LW - 3)
3 - Duct Tape Marketing - 2,681 (+155)(LW - 4)
4 - Logic + Emotion - 1,354 (-56)(LW - 5)
5 - Diva Marketing - 1,118 (-20)(LW - 6)
6 - Daily Fix - 1,039 (+8)(LW - 8)
7 - What's Next - 1,022 (-10)(LW - 7)
8 - Converstations - 978 (-10)(LW - 9)
9 - Church of the Customer - 901 (+95)(LW - 11)
10 - Drew's Marketing Minute - 817 (-35)(LW - 10)
11 - Jaffe Juice - 795 (-3)(LW - 12)
12 - Influential Marketing - 755 (+5)(LW - 14)
13 - The Viral Garden - 710 (-74)(LW - 13)
14 - Servant of Chaos - 646 (+8)(LW - 15)
15 - Brand Autopsy - 638 (+15)(LW - 16)
16 - Hee-Haw Marketing - 622 (No Change)(LW - 17)
17 - Branding and Marketing - 584 (-8)(LW - 18)
18 - CrapHammer - 528 (-5)(LW - 20)
19 - Marketing Headhunter - 522 (+4)(LW - 23)
20 - Coolzor - 513 (-66)(LW - 19)
21 - Community Guy - 499 (-26)(LW - 21)
22 - Flooring the Consumer - 497 (-25)(LW - 22)
23 - Customers Rock! - 481 (-24)(LW - 24)
24 - CK's Blog - 458 (LW - UR)
25 - Shotgun Marketing - 445 (-28)(LW - 25)



I'm now a believer, the Z-List is definitely biting back. We're now coming on the 7-month window since the first Z-List was published, so most of the shedding is probably done by now. I also decided to pull Creating Passionate Users from the Top 25. The blog hasn't had a post in months, and for some reason Technorati isn't updating its link count. So if Kathy starts posting again, CPU might make a return. In the Top 10, Daily Fix and The Church of the Customer are the big winners.

Past the Top 10, Marketing Headhunter had a big week to jump 4 spots to #19, and CK's Blog rejoins the Top 25 at #24.

Biz Solutions Plus, Conversation Agent, Tell Ten Friends, Marketing Nirvana, and Own Your Brand! are nipping at the Top 25's heels.




Next update is next Wednesday.

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Company Blog Checkup Series

One of the more popular features of The Viral Garden is the Company Blog Checkup series. In each Checkup post, I cover a different company blog, examining all aspects of the blog to determine how effective it is. I review the blog's content, posting patterns, how the writers deal with comments, and all visual elements. The idea is to give companies feedback on their blog from the reader's point of view. I measure how good of a job the blog does of giving the reader the information s/he will want and need.

I am now also offering extensive blog checkups for companies and small businesses that need an in depth evaluation of its blog. This service is available in two versions:

1. - Remote. A detailed analysis of your blog, judging its content, visual appeal, posting schedule, and the ability of your writers to effectively use comments as a tool to provide and encourage valuable feedback from your blog's readers. All analysis is aimed at positioning your company blog to give the reader the best and most relevant experience as possible. After receiving my detailed report including an analysis of your company blog, I provide you with a one hour phone consultation to completely explain my report so that you understand all of my findings and recommendations. Price for this service is $1,500.00.

2. - On-location. With this service, I provide the same detailed analysis of your blog that I do in my remote service, and then discuss my findings and recommendations with you on-site. The big advantage to this service is that I can work with your writers in person to coach them on how to create content that readers will respond to. And when your readers do respond, I show your writers how to effectively respond to comments your readers leave. I also demonstrate how you can track what others are saying about your company on their blogs and sites, and how to properly respond to posts and comments they leave. Price for this service is $4,000.00 plus travel expenses.

Please keep in mind that with each of these services, the report you're supplied with will be customized, and far more in-depth (typically 15-20 pages) than what you find in a typical Company Blog Checkup post. If either of these services sounds like what you're looking for, or if you need more information, please email me.

A focal point of these reports will be showing you how to grow your blog's readership. I will employ the same tactics and strategies that I have used to grow The Viral Garden's daily readership to its current level of over 3,000 readers. Here is how The Viral Garden's readership has grown over the lifetime of the blog:



Here's a complete list of all the companies and small businesses whose blogs have been profiled in the Company Blog Checkup series so far.

And thanks to the company leaders that have provided their feedback, including:

"...the Dell digital media team would be delighted to brainstorm with you if you have the time. The deeper we get into this new world of ours the more we know we have to learn." - John Pope, Dell Digital Media


"Tremendous post, Mack. You hit all the right notes with this post and your feedback is along the lines of the changes we've planned thus far." - Mario Sundar, LinkedIn's Community Evangelist


"Mack, Thanks for your most excellent post about our blogs at Kodak." - Tom Hoehn, Director of Marketing and Customer Experience/Kodak.com


"I too found your review of the HomeGoods Openhouse site very positive and insightful." - Cathy, one of the authors of the OpenHouse blog

Eight Easy Ways to Grow Your Blog

My latest article is up at Marketing Profs, entitled 'Eight Easy Ways to Grow Your Blog'. It's a freebie article (yah!), and is aimed specifically at small businesses/companies that are struggling to get their blogs off the ground. Many such businesses are bootstrapping it already, and they don't have the time or money to hire SEO consultants or web designers to come in and tinker with their blog. They need no-nonsense tips they can easily put into action themselves to make their blogging efforts more successful. That's what this article provides.

Here's a quick overview of the Eight Easy Ways to Grow Your Blog:

1 - Post regularly. Probably the easiest way to grow your blog's readership, but it can be the hardest to follow, especially for a small business/company. Make sure you put your writers on a regular schedule going in. I also talk about which days are best to post, and how to space out your posts.

2 - Develop a comment policy. Decide how you will handle comments, if you will post them automatically, or moderate them. And if you moderate them, you need to develop a plan for approving them as quickly as possible, and during non-business hours.

3 - Reply to comments. Listen to the feedback you are receiving from your readers. Readers want to know that you are paying attention to their comments, and by replying and acknowledging them, you are showing your readers that you appreciate their efforts. And more comments leads to more comments.

4 - Showcase readers who make special contributions. Do everything you can to make sure that readers that frequently comment, or link to your blog, know that you appreciate them. It's just common courtesy, and when you have a reader that's going out of their way to be a faithful community member, you cannot do enough to encourage and reward that behavior.

5 - Build your blogroll with your readers' interests in mind. Remember your blog isn't for you, it's for your community. Treat it as shared space, and tailor your blogroll to the interests of your readers, as well as your own.

6 - Offer unique content aimed at your blog's target audience. The majority of my target audience is fellow bloggers with an interest in marketing and social media topics, and companies that are looking to enter this space. So I first created the Top 25 Marketing Blogs list, which serves as a reference for both bloggers and companies, then I created the Company Blog Checkup series, which serves as a reference for companies on how to improve their own blogging efforts.

7 - Make your blog's feed available for RSS subscribers. Both steps 7 and 8 explore the importance of giving your readers the ability to consume your content in the form(s) that are convenient to them. Feed readers such as Google Reader and Bloglines are becoming increasingly popular, so you should set up a FeedBurner account ASAP and get your feed out there. Then once you have done that, you can add popular chicklets that will make it easier for readers to subscribe to your feed.

8 - Offer email subscriptions to your blog's content. FeedBurner offers this service as well. You have to remember that not everyone has the time to check your blog more than maybe 2-3 times a week. Offering email subscriptions gives these infrequent readers the ability to stay up to date on your postings. I added this option here at the end of April and my number of daily email readers is already equal to 10% of my actual traffic to the blog.


You can view the entire article which includes 'action points' for each step by clicking here. Hope you enjoy it!


Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Blog Marketing

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Are you utilizing pictures properly on your blog?

Bloggers, especially company bloggers, can sometimes forget how important pictures can be as a promotional tool. Someone who does an excellent job of utilizing pictures as a promotional device on his blog, is Roger von Oech, creator of the Ball of Whacks.

Roger does a great job taking pictures of people enjoying stimulating their creativity with his Ball of Whacks. These pictures basically serve as a third-party endorsement for the product, which is incredibly powerful. It's one thing for Roger to blog about how everyone loves his product, but when he can marry that claim to pictures from people that ARE enjoying the Ball of Whacks, it's an incredibly powerful selling tool.

And a byproduct of his blogging and pictures, is that now other bloggers want to post their own pictures on their blogs of the Ball of Whacks. Luc of Mindblob fame did that a few days ago, posting about how on a recent trip to NYC, that he made a point to seek out the Ball of Whacks. Cam Beck and Gavin Heaton have also posted their pictures after receiving their Ball of Whacks.

All of this started, because Roger was smart enough to start blogging, and to become a trusted community member. Him developing that equity with the community leads to others wanting to find and help promote his products. And of course, the great pics he has of others enjoying the Ball of Whacks certainly doesn't hurt!

How can you better utilize pictures in your blogging efforts?





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It's time for Burn Notice to go social

In the past I've written about how in certain cases, a character-blog for a TV series can be a great way to build excitement for the show. And with the summer season comes another prime candidate, the USA Network series Burn Notice. The series follows a spy who, in the middle of finalizing a deal on foreign soil, calls in to clear the deal, and discovers that someone has issued a Burn Notice on him, meaning he's been fired. Now being fired when you are a spy is a bit more complicated, since the government immediately wipes out any record of your existance. Our hero, Michael Westin (played by Jeffrey Donovan) has to find a way to try to put his life back together, get some money, figure out who he can trust, and also find out who burned him.

The series so far has basically been your standard private-eye fare. But the ongoing subplot to Burn Notice is Westin trying to figure out who put the Burn Notice on him. The series pilot ends with Westin returning to his apartment in Miami to find the front door open, and the apartment littered with pictures that someone had taken of him at various spots throughout the course of the episode, with a 'Welcome to Miami' brochure sitting in the middle of the pictures.

And this would be the perfect jumping off point for a character-blog for Burn Notice. Between episodes, USA could run a character-blog where Westin details the detective work he is doing to try to find out who got him fired. If the network is smart, they could give the readers just enough to give them an idea of where the plot is headed, without giving it away, or penalizing viewers that don't read the blog. USA does have a writer's blog set up for Burn Notice, but so far it only has one entry, and of course they don't allow comments. They even have a blog for one of the characters, Fiona set up, but it too only has one post, and doesn't allow comments. VERY dumb.

Or if USA wanted to REALLY show they get it, why not create a profile for Westin on Twitter, and have him post his findings 'in real time'?

In the end, a character-blog and/or Twitter page for Burn Notice would be a great way to build excitement about the show, and generate discussion among fans. Which will lead to more excitement, and more viewers.








Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Burn Notice

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So what's the deal with LinkedIn and MyBlogLog?

While taking an impromptu blogging break last week, I did decide to spend some time with both LinkedIn and MyBlogLog. Both services/sites seem like they have 'some potential', I'm just not sure what it is.

And it's funny because almost everyone I talk to about LinkedIn says that very thing. That they think there is SOMETHING to LinkedIn, but they aren't sure what that 'something' is, or how to utilize it. In my case, I see where some of my contacts have 500+ contacts, and I think that they must know something I don't, and stick with it.

I did go through and add several people I know online to my contacts list last week, and will continue to do that. But I noticed that you have the ability to 'recommend' people that you have worked with. So I thought that it only makes sense to go through my contact list and leave recommendations for the bloggers that I know and admire their work. Kinda hard to know exactly what to say sometimes so that you hit on your contact's high points and make sure you detail their strengths to others. I'm going to keep trying to add more contacts and recommendations this week, and I wanted to specifically thank Toby and Lewis for recommending me over the break!

And I definitely need to overhaul my profile, so I won't even get into that yet. I did notice that some people had set up links within their profiles, and I tried to do the same with simple HTML coding, but couldn't get it to work.

I also see potential for MyBlogLog, but aren't sure how to tap it either. I absolutely LOVE that it puts a human face to your blog's visitors! That alone is worth learning more about the service. And I noticed that they have added your blog's feed to it's page. For example, here's the page for The Viral Garden. It shows the blog's feed, community members, newest members, and who has visited the blog recently. I don't see an area for members to leave comments, or maybe I just don't have any yet. Then again, there are messages on my profile page, so maybe that's the only place to leave them.

So here's what I need from you:

1 - If you have figured out how to tap into the potential of LinkedIn, please explain to me what I am missing. What are your tips for writing better profiles, and what benefits have you seen from your presence on the site?

2 - If you have figured out how to tap into the potential of MyBlogLog, please explain to me what I am missing. Do I need to be joining more communities? Leaving more comments? What are you doing to use MyBlogLog to grow your own community?

That's it, and I think you can really help the rest of us that are asking these same questions, because I can see great community-building elements to both sites.

UPDATE: Mario posts at LinkedIn's blog about how consultants can use LinkedIn to grow their business. Perfect!



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So now blogs are dying?

First we had to deal with 24/7 overhyping of services/sites such as Facebook and Pownce, now we are hearing some bloggers like Scoble and Shel say that blogging could be in decline.

Scoble says: "What I meant was that my friends who blog who are NOT A listers are seeing their traffic go down — even Maryam has noticed this. I theorized that was due to social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Jaiku, and Pownce’s rise. Most of the non-A-list bloggers have been showing up on those places in droves. After all, if you are only writing a blog to tell your family what your new kid is doing then something like Facebook is a lot better for that."

Er, or it could be this magical thing called 'summertime'. I seem to remember most bloggers saying their traffic fell about this same time last year.

Shel goes the more sensible route with: "I had noticed that my number of visitors had been steadily dropping for the last couple of months, even though my topics and frequency of posting had not really changed much. Technorati was still ranking me in my usual range.

This puzzled me. Technorati really measures a blog in relationship to all the others. If my ranking and so-called "authority" was holding steady it mean that everyone else was experiencing the same thing. I started asking other bloggers--only a small handful--but they all told me that they were experiencing some slippage over the past couple of months."


Personally, I'm not seeing it. My traffic to the blog had been at or near record levels for the entire year, up until about 3 weeks ago, when it started tailing off. Since the same thing happened last year at the same time, I attributed it to the gorgeous weather outside, more than anything else.

But my number of daily feed readers continues to surge. Back in February, I was averaging roughly the same number of daily visitors as daily feed readers. Since that time, the number of daily visitors has increased only marginally month to month, while the number of daily feed readers has almost tripled. Comments per post are also up.

I've also talked to a few other bloggers and they are all either reporting that their traffic is either holding, or increasing. All seem to be seeing their feed readers increasing as well.

What do you think? Is the blogging bottom about to fall out, or is this silly nonsense that can be attributed to the fact that it's summer? Personally, I think this is mostly a few A-Listers fishing for links...


UPDATE: Shel adds in the comments - "Thanks for the reference. Just to be clear, neither Scoble nor I nor Hugh MacLeod have said anything about the bottom of blogging falling out. What I stated was that among bloggers I speak with, I have noticed a downtick, which now seems to be an uptick. I am not measuring visitors and subscribers, but Google Analytic numbers against Technorati. I don't much trust Alexis numbers, but they would indicate I've been going to Hell in a hand basket over 12 months. I was not ready to make this a public conversation when Scoble posted. That was because I'm not certain what I have observed means for me, or for the other 72 million bloggers."



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Viral Community News

First apologies for being out of pocket for the past few days, I decided to take a few days off. Thanks for the emails, and I promise to give everyone a heads-up the next time I go AWOL ;)

With that out of the way....on with the show!

1 - Drew has given us a special sneak-peek at the cover of The Age of Conversation! As you might have guessed, the visual wizard David Armano designed the cover, and the book will go on sale next Monday in eBook, paperback, and hardcover editions.

2 - Jennifer has a good article addressing the point of view of many companies that are hesitant to embrace social media.

"Well, in the words of one attendee "What if they say something bad about us?" What was my response? "They're going to say something bad about you anyway. By entering the social media realm, at least you have a chance to respond."

3 - G has launched a blog for Dune Restaurant. I think in this case, a blog holds enormous potential for growing Dune's business, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

4 - Jaffe has his latest episode of Across the Sound up with CK. I can't comment on the show itself, since I just started downloading, and won't finish until some time before Labor Day.

5 - Countering the massive Facebook hype (which has replaced the Twitter hype, which replaced the YouTube hype, which replaced the MySpace hype, which replaced...) Valeria asks if we are spreading ourselves too thin by trying to maintain a presence in too many networks/sites. Also, Asi posts that he tried Facebook, but he's saying goodbye. I may have to add my own 2 cents to this topic later this week.

6 - Karl did a great job in creating this video where he interviewed people waiting in line for the iPhone. And the video itself was created with a Nokia N95.



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New Word of Mouth blog to check out

Audrey just emailed me to let me know about the new blog NUWOM that her Northwestern class has started. The class is tasked with building and promoting the blog as part of a class assignment. The class is being taught at Northwestern by Andy Sernovitz. Sernovitz is the author of Word of Mouth Marketing, which I reviewed back in December.

So if you have the time, give the blog a look, or maybe even a link!


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Prince and Velvet Revolver promote new music by giving it away

Two of the biggest rock releases for this month are Prince's Planet Earth, and Velvet Revolver's Libertad. But both Prince and VR have an elaborate plan for boosting album sales; give the music away.

Velvet Revolver, the band featuring former members of Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N Roses, is streaming their new album Libertad for free at Clear Channel Music's website. Libertad won't go on sale until Tuesday. The band is also seeding tracks and videos from the album, as well as concert footage, on Best Buy's site and MSN Video, according to BlabberMouth.

But Prince is going one better and literally giving away Planet Earth. Prince announced in April that he would give an 'All-London' tour this fall with cheap tix that would include a free copy of Planet Earth. But fans in London won't have to wait till Prince's tour arrives to get a free copy of Planet Earth, all they have to do today is buy a newspaper. UK tabloid Mail On Sunday will come with a free copy of Planet Earth in each issue. The tabloid's normal circulation is 2.3 million, but that number will likely be larger today.

And in response, Sony BMG UK has told Prince that they won't distribute the album in the UK, since he's giving it away. The more things change...

Thanks to CK for the heads-up on Prince.



Tags:The Viral Garden, Music Marketing

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Viral Community News

1 - Chris tells us that the next Indiana Jones movie is finally shooting, and gives us some marketing news.

2 - Mike at ConverStations has been having a tough go of it recently, so make sure you stop by send him your well wishes.

3 - Drew has announced that his blog just received its 2,000th comment, and prior to its 10-month anniversary. VERY impressive!

4 - Big Ann Handley news, as first Ann makes her debut as writer for one of the most popular blogs on the internet, The Huffington Post. Be sure to stop by and congratulate her, as this is a pretty big honor. And in other news...

5 - Marketing Profs has relaunched with a new look. I like it, it's very clean, and I love the 'About Us' page.

6 - Gianandrea has announced that he is following one of his passions, and will become partner in Dune Restaurant, located in the heart of Rome. G says there will likely be a blog soon (which again, I think would be perfect for tourists), but check out the restaurant's website. Is that not gorgeous? Very stylish, gives location, background, menu, everything. And I love the music! Congrats again G!

7 - Matt has the latest edition of Buzz Friday up.

8 - Gavin explains 'why you blog'.

9 - CK is announcing that she'll be appearing soon on Jaffe's Across The Sound, and is wanting everyone to let her know what they should discuss. So chime in!

10 - Paul gives a MASSIVE recap on the whole 'Hurricane Kohls' kerfluffle that he unleashed earlier this year. The bottom line is that the customers blame the employees, and the employees blame the customers. Yeah that's a healthy environment.



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iPhone and the magic/curse of 'perceived value'

Well today is ground zone for the massive hype that has surrounded the launch of Apple's iPhone. It seems everyone(well most everyone) is standing in line for hours for the chance to pay $500 to $600 for a smartphone.

A cool phone? Absolutely. A gorgeous phone? You betcha. But it's still a $500-600 phone.

And for the people that are going home with one or a pair today, they are likely just fine with that. Everyone knows that Apple is going to sell a TON of iPhones today.

Many people are making guesses at how many iPhones will be sold this year. I think that number depends on Apple's ability to capitalize on the perceived value that the iPhone has today, and convert it into ACTUAL value.

Today is all about the hype. Hype that has been building for months around the iPhone. But after the hype fades, will the value as well? Will the iPhone be buggy? Will the glass screen crack or break easily if dropped? Will AT&T's network be able to handle demand? Or will it and the iPhone perform flawlessly and be a successful product line much like the iPod?

We just don't know at this point. But what we do know is that Apple is going to sell a ton of iPhones today on what users are viewing as its 'perceived' value. That value will quickly expire, and then the device's actual value will come into play.

How the iPhone's actual value measures up to its perceived value, will determine its future.

Bonus link: Laura Ries chimes in on Seth's prediction that iPhone will sell 2 million units this year (analysts say up to 3 million will be in stores today), and more next year. Laura doesn't think it will be a long-term success, and offers to buy Seth an iPhone if it is. Seth might get an iPhone, but I don't think it will come from Laura.

What do you think? Will iPhone be a long-term success? Will it be the revolutionary product that the iPod is? Or will it fizzle after the hype dies?


Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, iPhone

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Company Blog Checkup: Stormhoek

Stormhoek is a South African winery that has done an excellent job of leveraging blogs to promote its brand. In 2005, the winery began working with blogger Hugh MacLeod of GapingVoid fame, and later launched a promotion where bloggers received a free bottle of Stormhoek, with no strings attached. The idea created quite a buzz in the blogosphere, and it resulted in the company's sales doubling in less than 12 months. Then the company followed that promotion in 2006 with a '100 geek dinners in 100 days' idea. Both ideas were great examples of a company utilizing social media in its marketing efforts. So of course when I started the Company Blog Checkup series, I knew that I wanted to review Stormhoek's blog.

First, let's start with content. You would expect that a blog about a winery would likely cover their offerings, as well as coverage of the wine industry. Mission accomplished here. But where the blog shines is in leveraging the blog itself as a promotional tool, as well as other sites. For example, Hugh links to pics of Stormhoek wine on Flickr, and then builds an impromptu promotion around it. He states on the blog that readers can get either free wine, or vouchers for cash off Stormhoek, if they will post pictures of themselves in the Tesco chain with Stormhoek. Then Stormhoek makes a point to post some of the pictures that readers have sent them, as well as posting an email from a customer. Great way to let the customers have a sense of input into the blog, and it also lets Stormhoek show pictures of their customers with their products. Very smart move.

But as with a few of the other blogs I have profiled so far, posting is sporadic. Stormhoek has only posted 4 entries so far this month, with the last one being on the 9th. A reader even left a comment to the most recent post asking why no one was posting. Yikes. There appears to be at least 3 writers for the blog, so I'd try to get each writer to commit to one post a week. It's very hard to develop a community for a blog without regular posts.

One final point on content, note that in this post, Hugh adds a link to the reader's site. Remember how I keep stressing about the need for companies to promote their readers, and link to them if they have a blog/site? This is a great example of what I am talking about.

Now let's turn to comments. Stormhoek probably does the best job of replying to comments of any of the companies that I have profiled so far. And I noticed that at least three different writers had left comments. This is so simple to do, and for some reason most companies miss the importance of comments, but Stormhoek is all over it.

Finally, let's move to the sidebar. The usual suspects are there, as well as links to.....non-company blogs! Ok not many, but some is better than none. Complete contact info is there, but I would really like to see a section clearly identifying who the writers are, and their bios, along with pics. And a link to some sort of page/site that tells customers where they can buy Stormhoek would be good too.

Overall, I think Stormhoek's blog is pretty stout. I'd like to see 3 posts minimum a week, and a section for the writers on the sidebar. Those tweaks alone would make the blog exceptional. Even so, the blog is already a great example of writers that are properly utilizing comments from readers, as well as promoting them via pics and links. Great stuff.

And now here's the scoring:

Content: 26 (Out of a possible 35) - Some direct promotion, but usually the content is about the wine industry itself.

Comments: 18 (Out of a possible 35) - Few comments, but the writers do a decent job of replying to what is there.

Posting Schedule: 2 (Out of a possible 15) - 1 post in the last 5 months. Yikes.

Sidebars: 10 (Out of a possible 15) - Love the 2 sidebars and the Flickr pics set it off. But no pics and bios for the writers keeps this from being a perfect 15.

Total Score: 56 (Out of a possible 100)

If anyone from Stormhoek wants to discuss this Company Blog Checkup with me, feel free to leave a comment here, or email me, or both. And if anyone can think of a company blog that they want me to do a checkup on, feel free to email me, or leave a comment here!

If you're a company that would like to hire me to do an extensive checkup of your blog, you can click here for more information on my blogging and social media consulting services.


Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Stormhoek, Company Blog Checkup

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Company Blog Checkup: Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is blogging? They believe they are, with a 'blog' they are calling Life At Wal-Mart, their 'associate blog'. Wal-Mart has gotten themselves into hot water in the past (along with PR firm Edelman) for their deceptive 'Wal-Marting Across America' blog, so a well-run communication effort here would be muchly appreciated.

Unfortunately, that's the last thing we get from Life At Wal-Mart. First, let's look at the propaga....er....content. Apparently, Wal-Mart takes posts from employees from the corporate to store level as their source material. That's a good move. But the posts are such obvious attempts at PR-spin that it's laughable. Here's a few of the post titles:

"For the last six years my family and myself have had the privilege of working for Wal-Mart"

"There is not another company I would rather work for than MY Wal-Mart!"

"Thank you so much Wal-Mart for helping me in obtaining an education and developing personal skills that are priceless."

"I still can not believe everything that the company has allowed me to achieve"


The 'content' consists of an embarrassing stream of such posts, all praising anything and everything that is Wal-Mart. The posts themselves cover the topics you would like to see the company address; the work environment, customer service, and Wal-Mart's community service. But the content is so obviously pro-Wal-Mart that it's impossible to view it as objective, or the writers as credible. Also, the posting is very erratic, with only a few posts per month, and the author of every post is identified as 'Wal-Mart Facts'. Obviously, every post author should have their name at the bottom of their post(s).

So with a setup like this, you're probably interested in seeing how the writers handle what would likely be an avalanche of comments for each post, right? Well how Wal-Mart handles comments, is to block them. That's right, the 'blog' doesn't allow comments. A bad 'blogging' effort just took a massive turn for the worst. Just for future reference, if your company is considering launching a blog, and you do NOT want to allow comments, then don't blog. Trust me on this one.

Finally, let's turn to the sidebar, which is probably the 'high' point of the 'blog'. The 'blog' actually does a nice job of organizing the content by categories which are easily accessible on the sidebar (you can tell I'm trying to find something good to mention here, can'tcha?). The 'blog' also does a (shocking) good job of giving you company info, including store locations, employment opportunities, etc. No non-Wal-Mart links on the sidebar, which should shock no one at this point. And there is no sidebar area identifying who writes for the 'blog'. There should be a section for the authors, with a clear bio and picture of each.

Overall, this is not a blog, even if Wal-Mart wants to position it as such. This is a poorly-crafted PR tool to attempt to position Wal-Mart in the best light possible. In the end, it does the exact opposite. By leaving such incredibly pro-Wal-Mart posts, and blocking comments, the site is giving the impression that the company has something to hide, and is fearful of letting their customers have a voice.

And their concern is somewhat understandable, as Wal-Mart has as many detractors as any company in the world. But 'efforts' such as this only make that problem worse, not better. Wal-Mart either needs to completely open this site and make it a real blog, or scrap it. I doubt they will do either.

I came very close to not profiling this 'blog', because with every entry, I like to point out the good, with the bad. Almost every company blog hits high and low points, and other companies can learn from both. But Life At Wal-Mart is just a disaster. I can see no area where the blog does even an above average job.

Then again, that might be where Life At Wal-Mart can help the rest of us, as being the perfect example of what NOT to do if you launch a company blog.

If anyone from Wal-Mart wants to discuss this Company Blog Checkup with me, feel free to leave a comment here, or email me, or both. So far every company profiled in the Company Blog Checkup series has had at least one representative leave feedback, and I openly encourage Wal-Mart to do so as well.

And today will be a double-dip for the Company Blog Checkup, as I'll be profiling another company later, so be sure to check back!


Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Wal Mart, Company Blog Checkup

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The Viral Garden's Top 25 Marketing Blogs - Week 62

Here's the standings for Week 62:

1 - Seth's Blog - 10,091 (+134)(LW - 1)
2 - Creating Passionate Users - 8,460 (No Change)(LW - 2)
3 - Gaping Void - 3,779 (-2)(LW - 3)
4 - Duct Tape Marketing - 2,526 (-198)(LW - 4)
5 - Logic + Emotion - 1,410 (-46)(LW - 5)
6 - Diva Marketing - 1,138 (-70)(LW - 6)
7 - What's Next - 1,032 (-20)(LW - 7)
8 - Daily Fix - 1,031 (-5)(LW - 8)
9 - Converstations - 988 (-36)(LW - 9)
10 - Drew's Marketing Minute - 852 (-7)(LW - 10)
11 - Church of the Customer - 806 (+46)(LW - 13)
12 - Jaffe Juice - 798 (-50)(LW - 11)
13 - The Viral Garden - 784 (-24)(LW - 12)
14 - Influential Interactive Marketing - 750 (+5)(LW - 14)
15 - Servant of Chaos - 638 (-55)(LW - 15)
16 - Brand Autopsy - 623 (-45)(LW - 17)
17 - Hee-Haw Marketing - 622 (-54)(LW - 16)
18 - Branding and Marketing - 592 (-42)(LW - 18)
19 - Coolzor - 579 (+32)(LW - 23)
20 - CrapHammer - 533 (-57)(LW - 19)
21 - Community Guy - 525 (-53)(LW - 20)
22 - Flooring the Consumer - 522 (-52)(LW - 21)
23 - Marketing Headhunter - 518 (LW - UR)
24 - Customers Rock! - 505 (-47)(LW - 22)
25 - Shotgun Marketing - 477 (-66)(LW - 24)


Several of the Top 25 Marketing Blogs were down this week, but I think it's mainly more tinkering from Technorati, especially when you see that most of the blogs from 15-25 were down in the same 40-60 links range. Only Seth's blog was up in the Top 10, but Church of the Customer had a decent jump to move up to #11.

Marketing Headhunter returns to the Top 25, and makes a nice splashdown at #23.




Next update is next Wednesday.

Technorati Tags:
The Viral Garden, Marketing, Top 25 Marketing Blogs

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Eight Steps to Creating Brand Evangelists

My latest (premium) article is up for Marketing Profs, entitled Eight Steps to Creating Brand Evangelists:

Whereas many companies use traditional marketing tactics to send a one-way promotional message to customers, brand evangelists can communicate with customers in their space. This is a very powerful difference: It shifts the communication from being one-way to creating an actual dialogue; and whereas many people simply do not trust advertising, a recommendation from a fellow customer is credible.

But how can companies encourage their customers to become brand evangelists?

I've also added a link in my Articles I've Written section.

Bonus link: Want to learn more about creating evangelists? Talk to the masters.

Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Brand Evangelists

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What's your comment policy?

Earlier, I was spending some time on Monster's blog. On first blush, this is a pretty solid company blog. The content is focused on the job-seeker's needs, and the sidebar links to additional sources that would benefit the reader. The blog even has a link to the writers' Del.icio.us bookmarks!

Then I saw the company's comment policy on the sidebar, that reads as follows:

Comments are moderated; they should appear on the Monster Blog within one business day.

Is this a good or bad comment policy for a company blog? Dear readers, what say you?

Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing

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Asheville paper sets up social media site for Smashing Pumpkins stint

Over the last year or so, 'event-blogging' has become more popular. But the Asheville Citizen-Times is upping the ante as The Smashing Pumpkins roll into the North Carolina town for a 9-show gig.

Susan Ihne explains:

Music is not my forte. I had no idea who the Smashing Pumpkins were when they announced a nine-day play date in Asheville.

Thank goodness for Entertainment Editor Tony Kiss, who quickly put it in perspective: This is a BIG deal.

When the 8,478 tickets sold within minutes, I knew he was right.

And then with $20 opening night tickets scalping for $950 or more, I decided I’d never doubt him again — at least when it comes to music....So, when Kiss puts his seal on a big deal, we start planning.

Smashville.com

A couple of weeks ago, we launched a social networking site called smashville.com to connect band fans from around the world.

It’s where you’ll find our coverage — photos, video, audio and stories — of the band’s time in Asheville.

Fans are invited to share their thoughts in blogs, photos and video at the site throughout the band’s stay. About 60 have signed up so far.

Before each show, we’ll have a video of the smashing of something pumpkin. A ceramic pumpkin, a can of pumpkin filling, a frozen pumpkin pie, and a plastic pumpkin — whatever we can find.

The paper ran an article yesterday claiming there were 'about 60' members signed up at the time. I just checked and the site says there's 182 now. Members have already added numerous pictures and videos of the band, mostly concert shots.

I think this is another sign of how the social-media landscape is changing. People are more comfortable with these tools, and willing to experiment and play with them to see what happens. Good news for those that are willing to test the social-media waters, and another reminder that the clock is ticking for those who are still on the shore.




Tags:The Viral Garden, Marketing, Smashing Pumpkins, Music Marketing

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