ONLINE MARKETING LESSON - Session 7: Digital & Social Marketing (PT 1)

Being able to reach current and future marketing leaders across the globe is an amazing opportunity and with advanced online technology, the pandemic lockdown hasn't limited students' ability to learn.  Having presented countless in-person lectures for universities including USC, UCLA, CSULB, ASU, San Jose State, and many more, I am confident my sports and entertainment marketing seminars based on real-world cases really drive home the art and science of today's brand marketing.   And as a recent graduate student having achieved my MBA online exclusively, I also understand that a combination of relevant content, high engagement, and easy accessibility can create dynamic opportunities to learn and grow.

Here's a segment from my recent online marketing session regarding Digital and Social Media Marketing.

Social Media Marketing

CASE STUDIES
What does it take to win in the social media space?  While content is king, there are several key components to ensure that your communications across social and digital hit the right audience, provide an actionable message, and most importantly drive ROI.

Earning a "like" isn't a KPI that any true marketer will value and while affirmation is nice, our perspective when utilizing social media is to approach the results similarly to traditional platforms, albeit one that is fluid and dynamic.  Simply put, we want to reach an ever increasing audience, provide content that serves a concise message, and has a CTA that is both actionable and measurable.

I use the "Three E's" when creating social media content. Entertain, Engage, and Educate.  They are fairly self explanatory but we want to ensure all three areas contribute to a post that serves a purpose.  If it becomes a viral hit, fantastic.  But more likely, a follower should want to be compelled to view your post, find a positive connection quickly, and understand the process to consume more of the desirable content.  Combine that with previous tips like star-power (see the chapter on STAR FISH), influencers, funny, shareable video, graphics and instant 'wow' factors, and topical relevance, and your posts should work to tell a story.  The Three E's work for developing online content and overall, we add a forth "E" for Evaluation.  Making sure the tactics resonated, have metrics we can compare and analyze, and determine best practices for future success.

Here are a few award-winning case studies I've championed that integrated social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and others) with celebrities, influencers, engaging content, and most importantly, ROI to drive a successful, measurable campaign.

CASE STUDY #1
With the launch of streaming service Rivit TV, I created a digital campaign that focused on driving users to the new platform via social media, search, and digital.  The campaign exceeded all expectations by utilizing a "reverse engineering" process to identify distinct clusters of demographics that most likely would engage in the various Original series.  Creating hundreds of bilingual assets including video, promos, BTS, and more and then seeding a paid campaign across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms drove over 40M impressions and over 1M unique site visits.  With an engaging influencer effort, we had an unheard of 50% full :30 trailer view and record-setting conversion with 4.6M followers.  Check out the recap video for more.

CASE STUDY #2
Utilizing social media and digital to support a larger-scale marketing campaign, we took to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms to drive awareness for former New Kids On The Block boy-band star Joey McIntyre's new series Return of The Mac.  To promote the show, we had a multi-city tour featuring meet-n-greets, in-store appearances with Comcast, and lots of media.  Utilizing NKOTB social fan groups, bloggers, micro and macro influencers, local radio, and other partners, we drove social media buzz with event pages, calendars, posts, tweets, videos, live streams, and other sharable assets.  Garnering millions of impressions via social media, the Return of the Mac tour was a huge hit.

CASE STUDY #3
On the Record with Mick Rock was an Ovation TV series that had the rock photographer dubbed "The Man who Shot The 70s" as the host of an artist-filled interview series.  In order to reach a younger crowd and make the show as relevant as possible, we created a social media video series "Minute with Mick" for our partner Verizon FiOS.  The goal was to engage followers in the classic debates of music including "best live performance," "best artist." and even a few age-old standard discussions like "Paul vs. John."  With a targeted push exceeding 10M impressions targeting a key FiOS demographic, dynamic graphics, music and quick-cut editing, partnering with social media influencers and music bloggers, and of course the larger-than-life Mick Rock, we exceeded all KPIs and drove viewership for the series by 1,600%  Social media can be an incredibly effective tool when done properly and as a marketer, the results I merchandise aren't just the likes, follows, or shares, but rather how we drove the bottom line for the company!

CASE STUDY #4
FX Networks' original series Light's Out starred Holt McCallany as former boxer Patrick 'Lights' Leary.  With the show centered around a possible comeback for the fictional boxing legend, we wanted to create a social media campaign that had everyone buzzing.  To create excitement, we engaged over 100 celebrities, media personalities, etc. to discuss Leary and his comeback as if the fictional character was doing everything in the real world from dating a Kardashian to attending a Super Bowl red carpet!  With celebrities like Drew Brees, Jordin Sparks, and George Lopez in on the stunt, we built significant social media traffic by "drafting" off of the celebrities' social followings, engaging their fan groups and high profile followers, and utilizing pop culture and lifestyle bloggers to seed the vignettes of talent discussing the character, we had the internet buzzing with a knock out campaign.

CASE STUDY #5
Pop TV (CBS) wanted to drive viewership for the original series Hollywood Darlings starring 90's child stars Jodie Sweetin, Christine Lakin, and Beverly Mitchell.  On the set of their promo shoot for Season 2, we engaged the cast to discuss their favorite childhood '90s toys growing up.  The combination of nostalgia and talent personality, combined with visibility gained from YouTube influencers, was the perfect formula to make the Hollywood Darlings YouTube campaign the highest network partnership effort YouTube TV had seen to date.

TWITTER AND THE NFL ARE BIG FREE AGENCY WINNERS

With Roger Goodell tweeting about the deal between the NFL and Twitter to broadcast Thursday Night Football, it looks like the next generation of consuming sports content is in full swing.  While the two players already had a working relationship, there are several reasons to be even more excited about the teaming of two blue-chip draft picks.

ALL-PRO PLAYERS
One thing we know is that the NFL is a juggernaut that doesn't make distribution or partnership decisions without significant strategy and foresight.  By all accounts, Twitter was not the highest offer and other teams (including Amazon, Yahoo, Verizon, etc) all bid between 30-50% more.  The partnership between the social media platform and the NFL was based more about opportunity than just plain revenue.  Like a veteran player accepting less money to play for a Super Bowl contender, the league made a strategic versus financial move.  And with Twitter's 350M users, it makes sense for the NFL to sure-up its roster by covering digital/social media with one of the top players out there.

SALARY CAP
Simply put, this is a win-win deal.  As much as the NFL wins with the ability to add a popular distribution channel, Twitter is also a big victor as they practically steal the rights.  $10M to broadcast the Nation's number one sport equates to a small OTA attendance clause in a QB's contract. By comparison, the NFL will get a total of approximately $450 Million from CBS and NBC for the rights to broadcast 10 games in 2016 and 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal.  Based on those deals, Twitter would have still scored a decent contract at $10M PER GAME! 

At only one million dollars per week, which the social media platform must easily spend in weekly marketing/SEO, they are able to become a destination hub on Thursdays.  Its a fantastic deal and also allows for the creation of more shoulder programming with Periscope, in-game highlights, live Tweets, etc.  Aligning with the NFL and having the most valued commodity in the world of content (NBC's Sunday Night Football was the highest rated series in America) makes this deal unbeatable.

OFFENSIVE GAMEPLAN
Like Sean Payton in film study, the NFL explores every angle and the best way to strategically position 'the shield'.  The league sees where there might be holes in the distribution secondary and they attack those areas to strengthen their game plan.  While its no secret that the league wants to be ahead of the curve for the next generation of 'cord-cutting' fans, the right platform is indeed key.    The NFL is well-covered on television with deals for that same Thursday Night Football package split between CBS, NBC, and their own NFL Network.  And with larger deals for broadcast rights with partners including ESPN, NBC, Verizon, DIRECTV, etc., there is no shortage of players on the traditional (and mobile) platforms.  So shoring up the OTT/digital special teams solidifies their roster.  This move was a no-brainer and inevitable.  We just didn't know what the name on the jersey would ultimately be.

FINAL SCORE
While only time will tell if this is a Super Bowl winning deal, it looks like both parties have scored.  They each addressed a free agent need and teamed up to provide desirable content across one of the most powerful social media platforms.   This is no Hershel Walker trade where only the Cowboys won big.  Its a true win-win with a big-time QB adding an All-Pro receiver to the offense.  Now let's see if the scoreboard will light up, in real time, at 140 characters per score!

How The NFL Marketers Deal With Injury

While I am the first marketer to take advantage of buzz, topical events, and clever marketing ploys, I do have to give the NFL "the finger" for this one.  And I love the game, the league, and the players so believe me it isn't my first thought to jump on the NFL.  But as you might have heard by now, Arizona Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson lost part of his finger in the game against the New Orleans Saints last weekend.   (Check out the pics on TMZ)

Up until that injury, my friend and Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott held the distinction of being the only player to have literally sacrificed a digit for the game.  It has always played into Lott's tough guy persona and I will now concede that Johnson can be added to that space, especially since he didn't know he was missing the end of his finger until he took off the glove and the finger tip stayed in it!

The great Ronnie Lott in action

But should the NFL embrace this and actually, um. point a finger to it?!  As a league that has come under fire for their handling of injuries including serious head trauma and even the symptoms of depression that may (or may not) have lead to the suicides of several prominent players including Junior Seau, is it wise to embrace this latest injury?

The late Junior Seau

I pose the question because the Arizona Cardinals are embracing the situation.  Rather than shy away or even approach the incident with a matter-of-fact strategy, they have decided to make fun of a pretty heinous accident.  Today, the official Arizona Cardinals social media pages are bragging about their new foam finger souvenir...

Now don't get me wrong, I once told Ronnie after a great personal appearance for hundreds of fans that I wanted to "High FOUR" him (to which he gave me a "look" that only terrified WRs and RBs have seen up close) but I'm also not representing a brand on the hot seat.  It's a funny little attempt to capitalize on the publicity of the gruesome injury but having worked with disabled players in need, being close with retired players who have had injury lawsuits against the league, and even having provided services for Gridiron Greats, lead by HOFer Mike Ditka and former All Pro Kyle Turley, I understand that injuries are no longer a laughing matter.  How can the NFL settle a $700+ million lawsuit with players over injuries and then make light (and actually promote) that exact situation within the same month?

I reached out to Kyle and he had a strong opinion about it, as expected.  Kyle said, "That doesn't surprise me at all.  It's ignorance.  They (the NFL) will claim they have no responsibility and frankly, just must be void of conscience.  The NFL has some of the brightest minds in their PR and Marketing departments so they had to have thought this through and decided to do it anyway.    The Cardinals obviously care more about buzz and sales versus player health and safety."  

Would it be ok if Marlboro made black-lung balloons?  Jim Beam had branded drunk-driving crash helmets?  Or Smith and Wesson had target t-shirts?  I'd like to think that maybe those marketers wouldn't be so quick to embrace the worst possible results of their product.  I'm all in favor of being creative but you also need to be smart!  Because nothing says "hysterical" like the local mortuary sponsoring "free casket" night for the first NFL player who dies on the field.

Maybe the NFL should call a penalty on the Arizona Cardinals and give them a one-and-a-half finger salute.

Randy Rovegno To Speak at LMU's Social Media Class

The Surfer's Guide To Marketing author Randy Rovegno will be speaking to students at Loyola Marymount University Tuesday September 24th at 3p.   Working with Professor Andrew Rohm and his Social Media class, Randy will bring his expertise in the world of brand communication and showcase the need for students to position themselves positively utilizing the same tactics and strategies as classical consumer packaged goods.

Having recently presented a similar social media branding lecture to high school athletes at the San Diego Hall of Champions, Rovegno will bring his humorous approach to marketing set against proven tactics that he has utilized with consumer brands like ESPN and Sprint.  With his proven strategy of combining interesting case studies along with the latest trends in the social space, Rovegno will treat the students of LMU to a fun session that works in the practicality and real-world functionality of today's environment.   With the goal of having LMU students walk away from the session armed with the direction and tools to create their own ideal social media positioning and digital footprint, The Surfer's Guide To Marketing writer will have the undergrads "Tweeting," "Liking,"and posting their support for the session... in a professional, positive light worthy of any classically trained marketing executive!

Author Randy Rovegno with student athletes at the San Diego 

Hall of Champions Social Media Seminar

Radio Interview On The MO SHOW

Here's the latest interview with author Randy Rovegno.  Click on the link and simply play the clip.  Randy comes in at the 20 minute mark.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/moradioshow/2013/09/04/mo-radio-show-on-sports

BOOK EVENT

Last night I attended a mixer for Entertainment professionals in Santa Monica and spoke about "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing"   As the presenter for the session, I was able to reveal some of my tips and tactics that have served me well across my career.  Along with explaining some of my favorite case studies, we were able to have a productive conversation to address issues and opportunities in the world of Entertainment.

The group discussion included a significant amount of time on social media and how networks and studios tend to produce the same, ineffective strategies that garner flat results.  In "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" I encourage marketers to create a relevant story, provide continuous and dynamic content, and reward loyal followers.  Simply providing basic facts to the followers and community that has an affinity for your brand isn't going to grow your business.  It's imperative that you give this ideal market the utmost attention as they've already bought into your brand and thrive on innovative or novel information.

With Facebook's "Suggested Posts" (a finely worded term for advertisers) there is now a non-organic element to users' pages.  Ads that pop up and earn an impression by simply being on your browser when you log on to Facebook at that time are going to dilute the messages you are attempting to communicate.  We concluded that its imperative more than ever with these distractions to bring interesting content to the table.  New character details, images, or even "cutting room floor" content that has never been viewed can become vehicles to drive your followers.  Give them what they want and your brand will be rewarded.

I was personally thrilled with the chance to discuss my career and marketing experience and meet some great future innovators.  The creative, passionate audience in attendance was more than gracious and we concluded the evening signing a few copies of "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing!"

More Athlete Controversy Makes Brands Question The Use Of STARFISH!

A client inquired about my chapter on STARFISH in lieu of the Riley Cooper situation.  If you haven't read "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" (and I can't possibly fathom why you haven't) STARFISH is my term for celebrities involved in corporate relationships, endorsements, etc.  We are currently discussing using professional athletes for a product placement campaign and the client brought up recent issues with Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, A-Rod, and even Johnny "Heisman" Manziel.   While I would never profess to be the celebrity expert to the extent of Super Agent Leigh Steinberg, whom we featured in "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing," I do have significant experience in sourcing the right STARFISH personality to drive a company's awareness and messaging.

Recently, I wrote an in-depth post about a similar issue with Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods so please feel free to read the post here.  But with this recent wave of stories making the news, it's difficult to avoid this discussion and as always, I tell clients to look at the individual and explore that specific STARFISH rather than just generalize.  I tend to use retired players due to their experience and availability but every brand, every event, and every STARFISH requires individual attention to determine their viability as a representative for your brand.

Much like a GM of a pro football team, you need to do your homework.  With someone like Riley Cooper (who recently made a racial slur that was caught on video) you could have probably gotten a feel for what kind of guy he is based on past record, his teammates, etc. When the video emerged, you can determine perhaps if it was an isolated incident or if perhaps he's not the best STARFISH to appear on the packaging of your product.  Obviously, in the immediate future, he won't need to be answering many calls from potential sponsors, but in general, you can get a feel for how a STARFISH carries themselves and represents themselves as a brand before they represent your brand.

Serious controversies like Aaron Hernandez, OJ Simpson, or Rae Carruth are not the typical situation most STARFISH get involved with so if we eliminate extreme cases, we can better dissect the risks involved with celebrity endorsements.  This offseason, there were reports about how over 30 NFL players were arrested since the Super Bowl and the world gasped!  Such an astronomical rate, right?  I would simply argue that these stats are not much different than that of the average 20 to 25 year old male.  Young men make more mistakes than the population as a whole and ask any insurance agent which demographic takes the brunt of playing "the law of averages" when determining rates.  While DUI, simple assault (bar fight), and other minor infractions are not acceptable under any circumstance, are NFL players dramatically worse than the average population in terms of most simple misdemeanors?

While someone like Johnny Manziel is obviously not eligible for securing endorsements as an amateur, would you be surprised that a 20-year-old famous guy in the social media age would have a few blips on the character radar? And let's be honest, his only "issues" involve maybe a few too many beers, sleeping in late, tweeting from sporting events, and going to a fraternity party.   In my day, that would have made him pretty much every other student in college not named Tim Tebow!  But seeing his reaction (which may even be a little justified with all the media piling on) would make me hesitant to recommend him for corporate opportunity if that option was available today.  I'm not defending any of the actions of players who end up in the news for the wrong reasons, but I just want to keep it in perspective.

Even when you do your homework, have worked with trusted STARFISH with impeccable reputations, or even have personal relationships, you might find yourself caught up in a celebrity's saga.  It's great PR when your STARFISH does something wonderful on or off the field.  After all, isn't that the purpose of even having the relationship?  Win the Super Bowl, donate to a charity, take time to mentor children in their community... it is all golden.  But even with a record of such service, it can all come into question when a player does something heinous... like leaving a $3 tip!

Obviously I'm being sarcastic when I bring up the Drew Brees "Tipgate" controversy.  Drew is also featured in "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" and I highlight his community service and overall positive stance as a role model.  But even a "sure fire" endorser of brands including Pepsi and Pampers can find himself mixed up in a debate and his recent $3 tip (on a takeout order that he picked up, BTW) is quintessential ESPN filler for the nine hours of debate shows they air ad nauseum.  There is no controversy here and I would argue that Brees is one of the most courteous and generous STARFISH out there.  Nonetheless, the Super Bowl MVP has been brought into a discussion that explores his character and doesn't revolve around touchdowns or completions!

So what's the solution?  If you want to utilize STARFISH to drive your brand, you simply need to approach it like any other resource and do your homework.  "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" explores step-by-step actions and suggestions you can take to ensure you make the best decisions possible and aside from simply creating your own mascot character for a spokesman, there will always be a variable of human error when dealing with humans!

Oh wait, didn't the AFLAC duck get fired for insensitive jokes?

The Secret To Social Marketing!

Here it is.  Are you ready?  Would you like to know the fool-proof way to drive your social media communication?  There is only one thing you need to know...

There is no single proven solution.  In a world of instant weight-loss pills and a kitty-cat video garnering three million impressions in 24-hours, we are a society that wants instant gratification and instant results.  And I hate to say it, but the way to increase your views, "Likes" and Followers is through proven tactics that have driven marketing concepts for years.

The Surfer's Guide To Marketing focuses on different tactics to increase your social media presence and productivity, though just as its easy to tell a novice surfer to "Get on your board, paddle in front of a wave, and stand up" the actual execution is a little more tricky.  But integrating some of the basic protocol and techniques can ensure that you will be on your way to greater incremental results.

In the book, I ask if it is wise to let a kid with no marketing or PR background "drive" your Twitter or Facebook simply because the tattoo covered, facial pierced entry level employee knows how to "Tweet".  Would you let that same rookie produce a full-page color ad in the NY Times?  Certainly it's an extreme example but you get the idea that classically-trained marketing does hold a place in today's rapidly changing social space.  

So if the basics for surfing involve the right board, wetsuit, wax, tide/swell, etc. then we need to ensure your social media offering provides content, consistency, and engagement.  Simply put, you need to say something interesting that users want to hear, continue to provide informative and/or entertaining content on a regular basis, and ensure that your followers or fans can have some input in the conversation.  Those three areas are the foundation for any positive campaign.  

SAY WHAT?! The Surfer's Guide To Marketing features a Case Study of two television networks facing similar situations and turning to social media to communicate with their fans and (even more importantly) their disgruntled customers.  I won't fill you in on all the details here (because why would you need to buy the book?) but I will tell you that half of the social media battle is what you say.  The messaging between the two companies was very different in nature with one being straightforward and the other trying to dance around the issues and provide "fluffy" non-relevant content.  While you would assume which one had a more successful approach based on the set-up of strategies, I can tell you that BOTH wiped out worse than a Kook at Teahupoo!

REWARD ME! Other aspects of driving engagement centers around rewarding loyal followers and user-genterated interactions.  Simply put; people like free swag so I always encourage clients to provide giveaways, rewards for input, and brand sampling across all of the platforms.   Provide incentives to stay, combined with aforementioned solid story telling, and you have a formula to increase loyalty and impressions.

More intricate interactions including sweepstakes and user-generated content are great solutions if you make it relevant, organic, and fun.  Getting users to forward to friends in a user-voting effort is a great way to ensure you increase your footprint as long as the cause is something fans can get behind.  Not every invite to get involved is successful and there are many tips and secrets we discuss in the book, but from a ten-thousand foot look, creating a fun opportunity for your Followers to become part of the story is a solid approach.

WHO CARES? And now that we have the "what", let's also ensure we target the right people.  There are three major categories of social media users: Spectators, Participants, and Creators.  If you don't believe it, ask yourself which one of these three types of user you most resemble?  Do you simply see your friends' posts or ignore when they ask you to vote/give/forward, etc?  Then you are a Spectator who is exposed to the message but not actively participates.  Or, perhaps you will vote for your friend's singing video or share their post for their cause on your own Facebook page.  That classifies you as a Participant.  Someone who will engage to some extent and put forth an effort but are not fully driven to enter the contest or promote yourself.  And of course, the last area is reserved for Creators; the person who uploads their cutest baby in the contest or drives their friends to vote or enter.  Creating a campaign that draws in all three is the secret to a successful user-generated activation.  Make it interesting for the casual observer, relevant to a friend who will support the effort, and enticing enough that people will lay it on the line to become a disciple for the contest or promotion.

LEARN MORE! For more of the social media discussion including tips, tactics, and Case Studies featuring amazing brands and their successful strategies, be sure to pick up a copy of The Surfer's Guide To Marketing.

Purchase The Surfer's Guide To Marketing

The Surfer's Guide To Marketing is out just in time for summer!  Be sure to pick up your copy today.  It's an innovative, entertaining look at the various marketing tactics that have proven success.  From social media to celebrity integration, we cover everything small businesses and Fortune 500 companies utilize to drive their brand.

A few of the outlets to purchase the future best-seller include:

CreateSpace

Amazon