Facebook as a customer review board

Ever since the start of e-commerce, businesses have been trying to beat the system and load sites with fake ratings and false reviews to boost their product.  Even though some sites have safeguards in place to counter automated reviews, little can be done in stopping actual humans from creating reviews in exchange for compensation. I have lost faith in the legitimacy and authenticity of most customer reviews out there.  Why?  Because I can list off 5 friends who work at local Bozeman companies that either write fake reviews for products they've never used or incentivize other people to write similar reviews.  I believe most consumers are becoming wary of such reviews too.  I also believe that Facebook is the only website out there today where 'mostly' authentic product reviews can be found.

Sure companies can still incentivize people to like their page or post comments and photos in support of their products.  But, what customer reviews lack, that Facebook does not, is proof of authenticity and realness.  When Facebook fans post on a business page, they are posting as REAL people.  To verify this, other fans can click on that persons profile picture that takes them to their personal page.  Those fans can then peruse that persons profile, videos, images, etc. to gain more insight about their involvement with the brand and product (dependent on privacy settings) thus, creating legitimacy.

Not everyone is entitled to their opinion

Recently, some of the short films I've created for Sitka Gear have come under scrutiny from a handful of viewers. They've commented on my 'poor' choice of music (they'd prefer something more traditional/country), editing style, lack of kill shots, and a lack of 'grip and grin' shots. In an industry that severely needs a face lift, I've been bringing something new to the table, yet, some criticized me for it. I am confused...

Today I read one of Seth Godin's blogs titled, 'Is everyone entitled to their opinion' which hits upon the criticism I am facing and why I shouldn't pay any attention to it. Below is the blog:

Is everyone entitled to their opinion?

Perhaps, but that doesn't mean we need to pay the slightest bit of attention.

There are two things that disqualify someone from being listened to:

1. Lack of Standing. If you are not a customer, a stakeholder or someone with significant leverage in spreading the word, we will ignore you. And we should.

When you walk up to an artist and tell her you don't like her painting style, you should probably be ignored. If you've never purchased expensive original art, don't own a gallery and don't write an influential column in ArtNews, then by all means, you must be ignored.

If you're working in Accounts Payable and you hate the company's new logo, the people who created it should and must ignore your opinion. It just doesn't matter to anyone but you.

I'm being deliberately harsh here for a reason. If we're going to do great work, it means that some people aren't going to like it. And if the people who don't like it don't have an impact on what happens to the work after it's complete, the only recourse of someone doing great work is to ignore their opinion.

2. No Credibility. An opinion needs to be based on experience and expertise. I know you don't like cilantro, but whether or not you like it is not extensible to the population at large. On the other hand, if you have a track record of matching the taste sensibility of my target market, then I very much want to hear what you think.

People with a history of bad judgment, people who are quick to jump to conclusions or believe in unicorns or who have limited experience in the market--these people are entitled to opinions, but it's not clear that the creator of the work needs to hear them. They've disqualified themselves because the method they use for forming opinions about how the market will respond is suspect. The scientific method works, and if you're willing to suspend it at will and just go with your angry gut, we don't need to hear from you.

If these two standards sound like precisely the opposite of what gets you on talk radio or active in anonymous chat rooms, you're right. Running your business or your campaign or your non-profit or your sports team based on what you hear on talk radio is nuts.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com

Leveraging Public Content

In many cases, a lot of content(videos, blogs, articles) is released into the public domain. Marketers can leverage this public content and share it with their fans on Facebook. We leverage public content multiple times per week. Obviously this shouldn't come to you as any surprise. Why wouldn't you share relevant videos, blogs, or articles to increase engagement on your businesses Facebook page?

About one month ago, Facebook changed it's layout to TIMELINE. Timeline is is a new kind of profile that lets the user highlight the photos, posts and life events that help tell a story. One big change that the layout gives to business pages is the option for fans to send the brand/business page a private message. This not only allows fans to interact more directly with the brand, but also allows us the ability to leverage content through other FB brand pages. Let me elaborate...

One of our clients is Sitka Gear. All of Sitka Gear's video content is contained on Sitkafilms.com. When a new piece of video content is created we share it through Sitka's blog and Sitka's Facebook page. The ability for it to become viral and spread the Sitka culture and message is limited with only two means of distribution. Every short film on sitkafilms.com is loaded full of gear and products from other companies, not just Sitka products. TIMELINE now allows us, the managers/distributors of this content, to contact other FB brand/business pages and ask them to share these videos on their pages. The idea itself is not revolutionary, but does makes a ton of sense. Before, we, the managers of the Sitka FB page, had no way to easily reach the managers of other pages to leverage content. Now by simply going to these other brand pages we can private message them about sharing these films on their pages.

The beauty of the films on Sitkafilms.com, is that other FB brand pages WANT this type of content to share. These films are well crafted, aesthetically pleasing, and shed a new light on an industry that has been severely lacking in video content. This new medium to contact page managers and get them to share our content helps them, helps us, and helps our content creators. I expect this approach to increase sitka films viewership ten fold.

Check out the latest addition to Sitka Films. Dustin Lutt's 'Utah Lion':

Utah Lion from Sitka Films on Vimeo.

Senioritis

Wow does it hit hard! Only 7 weeks left in my college career and I'm struggling to find motivation to do ANYTHING school related. I think I need a prescription for a two months supply of Adderall.

Very soon I'll be able to sing 'SCHOOLS OUT FOREVER'! and get started on some BIG projects.

Seth Godin - The Map Has Been Replaced By The Compass

The map has been replaced by the compass - Seth Godin

The map keeps getting redrawn, because it's cheaper than ever to go offroad, to develop and innovate and remake what we thought was going to be next. Technology keeps changing the routes we take to get our projects from here to there. It doesn't pay to memorize the route, because it's going to change soon.

The compass, on the other hand, is more important then ever. If you don't know which direction you're going, how will you know when you're off course?

And yet...

And yet we spend most of our time learning (or teaching) the map, yesterday's map, while we're anxious and afraid to spend any time at all calibrating our compass.

Retrieved from: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

As a student and intern, I've noticed that some of the ideas stressed in business school seem to be increasingly less relevant to what is happening in today's business world. Clearly we are building a strong foundation through schooling, regardless if what we are being taught is a bit behind the pace. I wonder how much nation wide college curriculum's will be changing in the coming semesters to meet the ever changing business world?

The Power of Video

Online video marketing is a relatively new and POWERFUL tool for businesses in today’s market place. Video is a medium that enables the benefits of products or services to be demonstrated visually. Video is also a great medium for sharing the culture of a brand and establishing identity. When done professionally, online video marketing can reach a large audience, connect with audiences on an emotional level, and increase the credibility of a brand - ultimately leading to more customers and more sales.

A huge part of my internship has been in the sharing of my hunting experiences through short films on Sitka Gear’s website. These films revolve around the experience and the beauty of the animals we hunt. They promote products, but more importantly, the culture of Sitka. Below is my featured piece for 2011, Immersion.

Immersion from Sitka Gear on Vimeo.

Targeted Advertising

Preview:	Mystery Ranch Backpacks NICE Frame! Like· Steven Drake likes this.

Say we want to target a group of potential customers through a Facebook advertising campaign on Mystery Ranches FB page. Our target market is people who live in the US, between the ages of 18 and 55, who typed 'hunting' as one of their FB interests, who are college graduates, who are connected to the Wild Sheep Foundation (one of our other clients), and who are not already connected to Mystery Ranch Backpacks. Through FB's advertising software, we can get a close estimate of the number of people who fit that description - 660.

Estimated Reach

660 people

• who live in the United States
• between the ages of 18 and 55inclusive
• who like #Hunting
• who graduated from college
• who are connected to Wild Sheep Foundation

This is a very powerful and FREE tool that tells us exactly how big a particular segment of users is on Facebook. Further, through FB advertising, ads are directed to ONLY those people in the selected target market. To track your ad campaign FB provides free analytic reports (graph below is a sample overview of a report)

Unlike traditional forms of media advertisement, Facebook advertising is directly targeted, trackable, and offers viewers a 'call to action' that takes them back to the companies home FB page where they are introduced to the brands message and culture. This 'call to action' makes FB advertising very potent at gaining new customers.