Opinions And Ramblings By Adam Kmiec On All Things Media

Unique Visitors.  Time Spent On Site.  Repeat Visitors.  Bounce Rates.  These metrics and so many more and quickly becoming less a means of determining how well your site is performing.  Unique Visitors was supposed to tell us about the reach we were generating, while things like Time Spent on Site and Repeat Visitors was all about “engagement.”  And of course, the Bounce Rate told us how appealing our site was; if you will it spoke of “interest” to the visitor.

So the formula and approach for measuring success was simple.  We run a bunch of TV, print and outdoor that has a URL in it.  Of course that URL is written in minuscule font and only up for 1/2 a second during the spot, but I digress.  All these people see this URL and of course say, hey, I’ve been itching to visit a site about erectile dysfunction, so they type it in and come to the site.  After all this is a sequential process, right?  I mean we’ve only seen the path to purchase funnel a billion times over our careers.  And then after you visit the site, you’re of course going to spend gobs and gobs of time getting all the information you need.  Then, even though you have all this information you’ll of course want to come back multiple times to read all this information again and again.

Perhaps, my favorite misconception is that more time spent on site is better than less.  I’ve seen situation after situation where the reason time spent on site is so high is because the site is to difficult to navigate that you can’t find what you’re looking for.  I think you’re starting to see the lunacy of this model.

Today, though, the means for how we evaluate the performance of a site are even less relevant because simply put, people just don’t want to spend on your website.  They’d rather hang out on youTube, Facebook, etc.  This is why brands are rushing to build real estate on those sites.  So great, you’ve built a Facebook Business/Fan page.  You have 100s of thousands of followers who spending time “engaging” with your brand on Facebook.  Well, doesn’t it reason that if they’re spending time with you there, it’s coming at the expense of spending time on your website?  So, why is it so difficult to wrap our heads around the idea that previously key metrics, like Unique Visitors, should be decreasing?

Despite the obvious reasons why these data points are less important, we still rely on them to tell a story.  Why?  Simple, because those are the numbers being used internally by brand managers (and the like) to indicate their success to their superiors.  The same KPI report being used today, is the one that was used last year, the year before that and 5 years ago.  Internally, people have been conditioned to evaluate performance a certain way and it’s too difficult, daunting, challenging, time consuming, etc. to get them to change.

However, change, they must.  And it’s our duty to help them change.  If you don’t take it upon yourself to help guide the conversation and evolve how performance is being measured, you just might find yourself getting fired for not meeting a goal that’s impossible to meet.

I’ve been a horrendous communicator lately.  I’ve been using twitter direct messages when an email would be better.  I’ve been using text messages when a phone call would be faster and offer clearer communication.  I’ve opted to use Google Chat when a face to face exchange would be more productive.  For a person that’s in the communications business, I deserve an “F” in how well I’ve been communicating.

You know what the problem is?  There’s simply too many tools and platforms out there.  We’ve gotten lazy and instead of using the right platform for the right message for the right person, we simply use the platform/tool we’re currently spending time in.  Would it really be that hard to open up another tab and switch from Facebook to email? Or from email to Google Chat?  Of course not.  But, many times we don’t.

The tool(s) doesn’t make you a better communicator.  The tool enables you to communicate.  It’s a means to an end.  It carries the message.  And as we all know there’s a big difference in receiving a hand written thank you note an emailed one.  If you want to be a better communicator, don’t just rely on what the message is…think about how you’re distributing it.  Consider your audience and your intent.  In short, simply pause and give some prudent thought before you simply decide to video chat your client while you’re wearing only a pair of shorts…because they were online at the same time.  I think you’ll appreciate it and your client will as well.

Facebook is already dominating the second screen and if you believe the data, they are a big time player int he 3rd screen.  But, that area they don’t own is the first screen.  Of course, by the first screen, I mean the TV.  If Facebook were so bold and the FTC allowed it, they would buy a company like DirecTV.  That’s not going to happen anytime soon, but one avenue they could pursue is acquiring Tivo.

It’s a natural fit.  Facebook now has the like button…

…and for years Tivo has had the Thumbs Up button.

But, this goes beyond iconography. This goes into the heart of the simplicity with which we can tell a company we enjoy something. The Thumbs Up is simply a universally accepted means for indicating you like something.

So imagine taking Facebook’s open graph approach and bringing it right into your living room? Imagine a situation where you indicate that you Like “House” on Tivo…well now Facebook has the means to serve up that contextual content to you when you login to Facebook.com. This of course works in reverse. If you indicate you like “CSI,” “NCIS,” and “Numb3rs” Facebook might recommend “Law and Order” to you.

As crazy as that sounds, I haven’t even touched on the fact that with Tivo you can now stream in on demand content, photos and videos from places like YouTube.  Tivo already has the perfect structure, platform and partnerships in place to make this the right move for Facebook.

If Facebook is really hell bent on world domination they’re going to need to figure out a why to own the first screen. Buying Tivo gives them the means and the first step to making that happen.

By Keith Privette in Guest Blogger find me tweeting out

Consumers have become content producing machines; I guess that is somewhat of an understatement! They blog, connect, chat, email, status update, tweet, write reviews, post pictures and videos, and comment on each other’s blogs (that should be a good start).  I have been noticing somewhat of a concerning path The Consumer is taking in this ever changing world of being connected to Businesses and the “gotcha mentality”.  The basic premise of the “gotcha mentality” is that people (consumers), bloggers, social media aficionados, and other businesses (I rarely see this one but it sure would add to the conversation) go in search of the missteps, failures, and chances companies take in this new world of connectedness and flame them any which way they can, for what?  In the very rare occasion it sparks a good discussion.  So Consumers time for skin in the game! Time to put your money where your blog is!

We the consumers have been rather vocal about wanting openness, transparency and honesty of the people we purchase and use goods and services from.  So businesses have listened to surveys, case studies, and market research and said “ok we can do this!”  So the venture into the world of social media and for the next six months every blogger, every reviewer, and social media aficionado produce mountains of content and noise about all the failure, missteps, and chances businesses take to be open, transparent, and honest.  Do you see the contradiction you have set up for businesses that are trying based on your behalf?  Now I am not saying businesses should not be held account and responsible for their actions, but there are proactive ways to really truly start building these communities you have asked for!

So, you’re following a business on twitter, have a RSS feed from a company’s blog, you a fan on a facebook page and following an industry tracking website.  With all these connectednesses there are ways you should be a proactive advocate to help build and grow these relationships!  We should implore the Honey tactics here!

The first thing you should do as a good advocate is DO YOUR RESEARCH! Not all things you read or see are what they seem at first glance.  Believe me I have caught myself leaping before doing this critical step.  This first step helps you understand perspective, both the companies and your own.

The second thing to do is reach out to the company in a very proactive and calm manner.  The channel you choose and how you approach this conversation is the best first step you can take for starting a dialogue to help the community you want to build.

The biggest advices I can offer is try and make it privately to give the dialogue a chance to happen.  If the company is on twitter use the direct message or DM.  Sometimes you may have to ask for a follow which is ok to ask for.  Locate the Contact Us on the company’s website and send them an explanation of your perspective.  If a fan on the company’s fan page on facebook you can send a message through your InBox.  All these are effective channels for communicating your perspective to a company you are choosing to help.  That is the key to this approach Help!  I am making the assumption as adults we know the best approach to the communication.

Now for the payoff, to make the full circle of engagement work to really grow and build these communities for success even in the midst of mistakes, missteps, and risk taking.  Work with the company about how to express the interactions to establish true openness, transparency and honesty.  If you have a blog write about your experiences with care, kindness, and constructive appraisals and encourage people to write comments to further the conversation.  Give a tweetout on twitter about the engagement you had with the company and direct to your blog.  Write a status update on the company’s fan page and include links to helpful information.  Lastly, if the company has a blog or something like it, encourage them to do a write up on the experience also.  Once they take this action use your community of followers and direct them to this write up.

Hopefully with these few tips we can all learn to interact to calmly discuss experiences and move away from the “gotcha” mentality.  These tips will really make this whole new world of the interconnectedness of businesses and consumers really become beneficial for all that are involved.  To be open, honest and transparent I have not always taken my own advice when it comes to these tips, but about a year ago I started thinking and acting in these exact ways and believe it or not, companies truly want our help in this way.  Businesses and people (yes one thing to remember there are always people behind the channels you are choosing to interact with, thanks John Bernier for that advice!) are very receptive when you approach the interaction and experience with care and calmness to make the products and services better for the greater good.  Now I know you may think this is fluff and feely, but I feel and think we all have a chance to “#chainreact” to really make a difference.

We need to start approaching these channels from a different perspective!

We’re in a golden age of technology and innovation right now. Truly, we are. Every day it seems there’s something new, bright, and shiny for us to salavate over. From augmented reality to QR codes and from gesture based navigation to location aware service we are seeing innovation happening everywhere.

The tough thing is sifting through all of these new bright, shiny, objects and figuring out which ones matter. It’s not a simple task. Each client, each brand, and each situation is different. Something like Facebook connect could be the perfect solution for brand X, but overkill for brand Y. I was in a meeting the other day where I was asked where are all the social media thingies for this plan? By social media thingies, which is clearly a scientific term, they meant:

• twitter
• Facebook
• OpenID
• A Blog
• iPhone App

Here’s the problem. That client we’re talking about sells multi-million dollar pieces of hardware to other businesses. They’re a B2B company that makes roughly 10 sales a year. Adding just 1 extra sale is a win.  Those tactics and approaches just don’t work with this business situation.

There are always constraints. Often we face a time and a budget constraint. In this situation, it was no different. Given the budget, we had to make a decision. Invest X dollars in twitter, Facebook, OpenID, a Blog, an iPhone app, and a host of other trinkets or redesign the site for maximum conversion.

All the bright, shiny, objects in the world are irrelevant if you haven’t covered the basic block and tackling and addressed the items capable of having the maximum impact – you lose. It’s that simple. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can develop your site in Flash, doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can develop an iPhone app, doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can crowd source, doesn’t mean you should.

Folks, I urge you to pause for a brief second and think about what the real objectives are. Then prioritize the potential solutions based on their impact and their feasibility (relative to budget and time). If you don’t you’ll just end up doing a bunch of things that while “cool” and “trendy” don’t solve the core problem.