What are “top stories” exactly?  Where’s the old picture viewer?  Why did they put that black box around my photos?  It seems like every other week Facebook is launching some goofy change or moving things around or adding some strange interface that no one was asking for but everyone now must figure out. Why do they do this instead of just keeping things the way they are?  Here are 5 possible explanations – Facebook may not be as guilty as you think.

1.  Facebook doesn’t want you to forget who’s in charge.

They’re in charge.  You’re using their free service in exchange for them feeding you ads and mining your data.  That’s how Facebook pays their bills so you don’t have to. They need to keep you on your toes every now and then and make you mad just for the heck of it… why?  Same reason parents need to ground their kids sometimes or dish out overly harsh punishments that don’t fit the transgressions. The kids need to be reminded who’s in charge.  Don’t get greedy.  Mom and Dad rule.

2.  They need you to talk about them even if it’s negative.

It’s been said that tolerance is far worse than persecution because at least persecution is a sign of interest.  If Facebook gets negative feedback or press from it’s users it’s still ok as long as its not too frequent. Why?  So you’ll say the word “Facebook.”  It needs to stay a household name.  If you’re mad at it that’s still ok.  There’s a fairly precise formula you can use to find the sweet spot of how often someone should get mad at you for maximum yield. Facebook knows it and they want you to be mad at them every once in a while. Your anger is the Ying to their Yang.  I’m guessing that Facebook wants you to be ticked off at it about 4 times per year.

3.  They’re messing with you to see how big of a deal certain types of changes are.

Facebook probably already knows which major changes they’re going to keep or not but they still launch them all anyway because they want to watch the dialogue unfold amongst Facebook users. This is smart. This is like if you own a Taco Bell franchise, dress in plain clothes and then instruct your cooks to purposefully make orders wrong so you can overhear customers talk about it.  This will help you know if other changes you’re planning are going to be worth it or not or how much manpower to invest in quality control.  It’s worth a lot more to make people mad in a controlled environment where you can eavesdrop on them than out on the range where you’re not in a power position over them.

4.  Facebook jumbles things up just for the heck of it.

Ever get bored with how your living room is laid out?  Ever re-arrange your office for no particular reason even though it was fine the way it was?  Moving stuff around for no reason is a perfectly suitable reason in and of itself. Why?  Because it’s better to have friction than to be dormant. It’s better to have things in motion than at rest.  This is the law of the information age; The new darwinism is merely constant self-reinvention so that you out-survive your competitors (those that never change).  It doesn’t matter if your change is for the better or not, it just matters that you change.  Irrelevance is the ultimate suicide for technology companies.  Your chances of survival go up by 500% if you make negative changes rather than no changes at all. It’s the law of the digital jungle.  Being the school bully still makes you more popular than all the nice kids who’s names you forgot from middle school.

5.  The internet needs to constantly feel new.

This goes along with the last point.  You always need to feel romanced and captivated by your online experience.  Fresh, funky, shiny, new.  If you’re not getting that from one social network then you’ll go find it somewhere else. So Facebook and others need to continue making their experience feel new to you. They’ll try new features, moving stuff to new locations, new partnerships, technology platform crossovers, mobile experiences, partnering with Hollywood, etc… whatever it takes. But the point is if they aren’t constantly manufacturing something “new” they die off.

So if you don’t like Facebook’s new changes then relax- They’ll change it all to something else in a couple months.  But don’t get too comfortable if you like those changes because they’ll just change them again. Why?  It’s the self-replicating trap of the information age- Only the new shall survive.

- Jon Barnes

Thoughts?  Post a comment.

Embed On Website

Embed some of your videos on your website.  Make sure your home page has video content on it but beware of embedding too many videos on one page (increased page load times).  If you have a video on each of your main top navigation pages you’re doing great.  Additionally, make sure the Youtube icon is present in the Footer or navigation of your site so that visitors can get to it in 1 click from wherever they are on your site.

E-Newsletter

Feature one of your videos in every email newsletter you send; sort of like a feature column in a newspaper.  Write a sentence or two about it and then either embed or link to the video.  Also make sure you have your Youtube icon link in every newsletter along with your other social media icons and channels.

Email Directly To Strategic People

Nothing beats a direct and personal communication.  Personal emails written from one person to another get read. Period.  Take an hour and send personal emails to some of your most important partners and connections and insert the link to a relevant video in each email.  This goes a long way and is well worth the time it takes to make it personal.

Before And After Presentations

If your company has a staff meeting, leadership retreat, pitch, presentation, board report or other in-house or outward focused presentation then make sure you start or end every presentation with your video content. If people are nodding off after 10 minutes of your PowerPoint show I guarantee you they’ll perk up when you say, “And now let’s watch this short video.”  It works every time.

Events And Fundraisers

Video is a powerful force when it comes to fundraising and mobilization.  If your organization is sponsoring an event or is somehow part of a fundraising effort make sure you incorporate your video content into every aspect of the ask.  Video is able to make the emotional connection (to people’s hearts and wallets) that a simple speech or presentation can’t.

Loop In The Hallways

Make a DVD loop of your video content and have it playing continuously in your office lobby or reception area.  If you’re hosting an event have that DVD loop playing at your booth, display or in the hallway or lobby of the facility you’re in.  Flat screen TV’s with built-in DVD or USB drives are fairly cheap and you don’t need a gigantic screen.

Press Releases

Create press releases for some of your most interesting video pieces and share the stories and personalities that surround them.  Write some quality press releases and, if you’re using a PR software tool like Vocus or PRsafe, embed or link your Youtube content right into the post.  Don’t forget to contact local news people directly and share this content with them as well.

Blog About Each Video

Write a blog post about each of your video pieces. It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, just embed the video and write a paragraph or two about the back-story surrounding that video.  What led up to this video?  What happened as a result?  How have you seen people respond to the video?  Don’t get technical with dates and details but try to capture the ongoing story that surrounds that one moment in time in your video.

Connect With Other Organizations

If you have video content that features notable business leaders, celebrities or politicians then make sure you deliver that content to the respective offices of the noteworthy people that appear in your video.  If you have a brief interview or feature spot with a congressman or community leader then make sure you send a link to their staff or PR person so that they can glean benefit from that content as well.  Additionally, if you have partner organizations or parent companies make sure you deliberately connect your relevant video content with the right people in those organizations for double yield.

1. Buy your name as a domain name and create a personal blog there.  Purchase and then forward all the .org, .net, etc. versions to that blog. If you’re not going to blog then forward the domains to your main company website.

2. Create social media channels and fully populate them with bio, links, information, etc.. Make sure you use your search keywords in the titles and About Us fields.

3. Get a strategy in place to create new digital content. Press releases, video, blog posts, articles, white papers, etc… If you’re not going to create/write anything then don’t expect to score high in your search engine results.

4. One short talking head video of you is better than no video content at all, plus video gets good returns on SEO.  Create a YouTube channel, upload your video and make sure you correctly SEO/tag your content.  If you can create a video each month you’ll be ahead of the crowd.

5. Login to your main website and add new content as often as possible. This is one of the main factors in Google’s ranking of your site.

6. Make sure in all your content that you use your search keywords in both the title and the content of the post/blog. (See our YouTube SEO blog post for more on this).

7. Use a PR posting tool like PRsafe to post your press releases.

8. Have a press kit posted and ready that includes: Approved headshot of yourself, your bio, experience, a few quotes and links to any pertinent sites or videos.  Create this as a PDF document or upload to PRwebsite.

YouTube

1. Fill in all the Channel information available:  About Me, Website, etc…

2. Brand your channel from a design perspective to be inviting and clean.

3. You can rearrange most of the boxes such as “comments” and “subscribers.”  Move them to where they look best or eliminate unnecessary ones.

4. At the top of the page above your channel select “Settings” and fill in all the tag and URL areas.

5. Make sure your videos have specific titles like “How To Fix A Lawnmower” and not “MVI_13.mov”

6. Use relevant keywords in the titles of your videos.  So don’t make a video called “yucky mess,” title it, “What A Mess: How to Change Your Lawnmower Oil”

7. Remember that a large portion of Youtube searches start with “How to…” Make sure you bear that in mind as you create your content and title your videos.

8. Fill out ALL the meta data for your videos. Write a precise and readable summary paragraph, use as many tags and keywords as you can think of and always insert a link to your website in the paragraph body.  NEVER LEAVE THE PARAGRAPH OR TAG AREAS BLANK.

9. Create playlists from your videos.  They’ll show up in search results just like another video.  Double the search results with no extra work.

10. Choose a video to be featured on your home page and set it to “auto play” so that every channel visit will also equal a view on that video.

11. Subscribe to everyone who subscribes to you.

12. Allow video responses automatically to your videos. It will create a direct link to your video from other videos.

13. Occasionally send direct messages with a link to one of your videos to other channels that have a large audience.  Ask for a shout-out or promotion.

14. Use the “post bulletin” feature whenever you upload a new video or have news. It sends a direct inbox message to all your subscribers.

Click for larger image

We developed a logo and branding scheme featuring specific medical/first aid visual cues that would create an immediate entry point for health care professionals, organizations and companies interested in CPR training. Once the fresh branding scheme was complete we re-launched the website with a similar look and feel with a full build out of features such as: home page slideshow, blog, social media components and video. Parallel to the site we researched, launched, branded and SEO’d a standard social media channel launch. We tied the pieces together and pulled everything back to the website. We also equipped CCSI to take over their content development by using a Flip camera and shooting client testimonials for YouTube. They’re off and running now and even have a special CPR video demonstration by the Philly Phanatic.  Here are a few words from CCSI President, Jim Spaulding:

“When we began working with The Munich Group we had virtually no web presence and very little branding. In a very short time they designed a great looking logo that we’ve been using for multiple marketing campaigns with great success. They also designed a very professional website that I am extremely pleased with. In addition to the website they initiated all of my social media so I can communicate more efficiently and market direct to new prospects. I would highly recommend The Munich Group.”

Take a look at their website, logo and social media build out HERE.

This was a fun project and labor of love for us because CEO, Jon Barnes, is an Eagle Scout and is always eager to reconnect with scouting related opportunities.  Secondly, the event was held at one of the coolest sites in Baltimore, The National Aquarium, which provided a unique back drop for filming. Below is one of the videos, this one featuring the Ellwein family and their story of how scouting has impacted their lives.

Success with your digital or print materials comes down to knowing beforehand what you want your audience to do.

Most businesses have a plethora of marketing and communications materials out there.  Chances are that your business has a website, a couple social media channels, printed promo packs, trade show handouts, trade show displays/booths, some video content, business cards, brochures and an office of some sort.  It’s a lot of words and images all rolled up into individual assets that you hope will lead someone down the path from not knowing about you to becoming a client. But here’s the thing. A lot of these materials will not be effective for 2 reasons:

1.  They were all created in isolation from each other with no deliberate complimentary components from one piece to another.

2.  They were not created in context (where will it be, who will see it) and therefore do not lead the viewer to a deliberate and clear next step.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.  All of your communications components fit into an inter-related web with varying degrees of overlap and interconnectivity.  Your website, brochures, print ads and business cards will all relate to and be seen with the other at some point. So you have to factor this in as you design your materials.  The questions to ask are:

• Where will someone pick up this material?
• Will they pick it up alone or will there be other things to take as well?
• Will they be taking these materials without the parallel experience of personal contact or with it?
• Will they be getting these materials in the mail, at an event or direct from my staff?
• How does the online component complement or enhance each piece of hardcopy?

The answers to these questions won’t matter if you design your materials in isolation from one another but if you’re taking into account all these factors and all the materials you have then it will make a big difference in your success rate.  To convert a bystander to a client normally takes multiple exposures, multiple approaches and a clear next step.  The more you can do to make your materials complement each other the better success you will have.  Now let’s walk through the “next step” component.

What Do You Want Me To Do?

Every potential client you have is asking this question in their minds as they’re reading your material, “What do you want me to do?”  For every piece of printed or digital communication you have you should know exactly what you want the viewer to do after viewing it.  For example, a potential client picks up one of your brochures at a networking event.  What do you want them to do after reading it?  Seriously, do you know?  It’s amazing how much business communication is not done with the end in mind but is created because, darn it, that’s just what businesses do.  Know what you want your materials to do.  And no cheating.  This is not a good next step for all your materials; “I want everyone who reads this to become my client.”  That’s too broad and it doesn’t make any sense. Get specific.  Here are some good examples of next steps for printed and digital assets:

• I want the viewer to go to my website and download the free resource pack immediately
• I want the viewer to watch my promo video on youtube immediately after getting the newsletter
• I want the viewer to fill out the free report form on my website as soon as they read my letter.
• I want the viewer to type in their email address immediately after seeing my invitation.

These are good examples of next steps because they’re completely measurable, specific and very easy to do.  They’re low on risk/commitment and high on benefit/yield for the customer.  You have to get in the habit of knowing where your materials are going to connect with a potential customer and what the action step is going to be. You’ve got to know it. And you’ve got to know it before you type 1 word or download 1 piece of clipart for your postcard or brochure.

Start with the end in mind and you’ll find that you need less overall materials and will gain a higher level of success with the ones that you do use.  The way to fail in this area is to spend thousands of dollars on printed materials but not be clear about how they’ll find a customer and what that customer is supposed to do after engaging it.  Get wise, think ahead and everybody wins.

It’s the negative space that matters.

• It’s not just about what you say it’s about what you choose not to.
• It’s not about using the right images it’s about knowing which ones to leave out.
• It’s not about writing a lengthy speech, it’s about saying what you mean in as few words as possible.

An expert communicator is someone who knows not just the right words to say but what to leave out.  An expert designer knows that a great design is one with a lot of negative space… a lot of nothing.  A good actor knows that it’s not about the lines you deliver it’s about the pauses and the space in between them. Poems are not words strung together, they are wide open empty spaces populated by the occasional oasis of text.  Here’s the bottom line for business folk:  Pick a designer or communicator who gets this.  Why?  Because this is how you move messages effectively and with deliberate grace.  Anything additional is just clutter and you need people who understand that “less is more” never went out of style to begin with.