*Original photo by andrewestel. Mash up by Jon Ray.

What would make you start to watch TV again? It seems that everyone is a video content creator these days. With bandwidth forever on the rise, new video sharing sites popping up by the dozen and content aggregators like iTunes and Amazon, the way we view media will never be the same. Now with the writer’s strike, all you can see on television are reruns! Is there still a place in our hearts for content on TV?

I spoke with a colleague today who is looking to build an audience for an on-demand television station one of his clients has on digital cable. The show is focused on music, but willing to branch out into other areas of programming. The idea behind this is similar to HBO OnDemand and AOL Music Videos OnDemand. Rather than having to record each show via TiVo or DVR, the digital cable server automatically makes certain content available to you, the viewer, whenever you want to tune into the channel. It’s pretty much TV trying to be the internet, in a way. The advantage is that the content is broadcast in high definition, instead of a 320 x 240 pixel window.

The question is this:

If someone else made a video and put it on the internet, but that same video was available through HDTV OnDemand, which distribution channel would you most likely watch said video on?

Now, think about this:

If YOU made a video and put it on the internet, but had the opportunity to have it played in full resolution on digital cable OnDemand, which distribution form would you promote more, the internet release or the HDTV release?

And finally:

How inclined would you be to return to an HDTV OnDemand channel, regardless of the initial video you saw there, if you knew there was a huge selection of other content?

Here’s how I would promote this network:

Social Networks and Media

• Using various social networks, particularly those that focus on video, begin building relationships with budding filmmakers in certain genres that currently have only internet distribution.
• Hold a contest and allow these filmmakers to submit their video content to the network’s website to compete for a small production contract.
• Take all submissions and narrow them down to the top 200 videos, which would all be available through the HDTV OnDemand channel for 30 days.
• Encourage contestants to tell their friends to tune to the HDTV Channel and view their and others’ videos.
• Each video will be given a 6-digit video code. A viewer can then compile their favorite 10-20 videos and enter their code’s on the channel’s website.
• At then end of the 30 day contest, the top 10-20 video creators get a small production contract to produce five 3-10 minute videos (on approved topics) each with a small production budget provided by the channel. This would allow for up to 100 new videos each month that would air, OnDemand, in full resolution.

Traditional Media Production and Advertising

• Hire on an in-house production team to produce longer 22-minute shows that focus more closely with the channel’s Music and Lifestyle themes.
• Find sponsors and sell advertising on these long-format shows.
• Increase number of shows, based on amount of advertising sold.
• Use live broadcasts from well-known events as a way to promote the channel and build sponsor list.
• Run 10-second bumper ads before and after “user-generated” content. Allow “users” to pitch ideas for 10-second bumpers and upon sponsor approval, produce them for compensation.

Promotion

• Make the viewer the star. Shoot interstitial spots on location at events that let the people attending have their fifteen minutes (see. 30-seconds) of fame by introducing a video, promoting the channel, or commenting on the event. Then give them a VIP login for the channel’s website that allows them to promote the air date via various social networks and email.
• Let events promote the channel until the channel can promote events. To get started user generated and promoted content, along with sponsored events will drive traffic to the channel. The idea being that as you gain more and more viewership, the channel will be more effective in driving traffic to events. Thus, creating more value for event sponsors.
• Online widgets and applications will make promoting events and channel content easy. And daily, weekly and monthly updates to online widget content and contests will keep users interested and continually promoting the channel.
• A constantly changing roster of content creators will assure that content remains fresh. Every 30 days, viewers can vote off two of the twenty content creators and vote on two new creators to step in and take a crack at television production. The better the content, the longer they’ll have a steady production job with the channel. If eliminated, content creators can always resubmit next month to get back on the production roster. The fluctuating list of creators will ensure that everyone continues to promote their work and the channel.
• Create groups and forums that allow viewers to discuss videos and shows and suggest new programming. By creating an OnDemand network that is driven by user input, the network will build a huge community underneath it that is constantly promoting its shows and making them more compelling.

So, there you have it. If I had an OnDemand network, that is probably the approach that I would take with it. Why don’t some of you try and shoot some holes in that strategy? What would you do if you had your own HD OnDemand network? How would you promote it? Does anyone even watch TV anymore? It this idea better suited for internet-only distribution? Do I have any clue what I’m talking about? I want your input. Leave it in the comments section and let everyone know how smart you can be. : )

UPDATE: Thanks to Connie Benson, I’ve, in a round about way, had perhaps an epiphany and cleared my thoughts further in the comments section of this post.

Popularity: 74% [?]

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Clever marketing and advertising is not necessarily effective marketing and advertising. I love the idea behind this campaign, but I don’t feel that the brand is incorporated closely enough into the viral message. Regardless, it’s loads of fun to send to friends. That being said, what does this viral message make you want to buy? Where will you buy it from?

A better approach to this type of campaign was the Wedding Crashers Official Movie site. While it is no longer online, it was a similar concept, but allowed you to interact with the movie’s trailer. After watching, not only was it hilarious, but there was no doubt what movie it was promoting.

How could this viral message have been slightly altered to give more prominence to the brand that paid for its creation? Would a closing Christmas jingle with the brand’s name cleverly thrown in have done the trick? Perhaps the logo directly in the background, written in the snow? Or, is the PR generated from this campaign enough to make this campaign a success? You tell me.

Does the marketing you create serve yourself as a creative, or your client as a brand?

Watch the viral message here.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Lately, I ‘ve been sounding like a broken record. Every time I meet with a new client, I find myself saying the same things over and over again. I hear the same questions, “What is Social Networking?, What is Social Media?, Why do I need to get involved? Can’t I just use regular advertising?” In an attempt to capture the answers to these and other questions regarding social networking and social media, I am putting together a video presentation that I can e.mail or message to prospects and clients looking for more information about some of the services my company offers.

Here is a working script that I have written for the video spot. Use your imagination, as the video will have a great deal of visuals to explain all of the things I talk about below. I’d love to hear your feedback. What parts do you like, what parts do you hate? Am I on the right track? Does it paint a clear picture of social networks and social media? What am I missing?

Your feedback is greatly appreciated! Also, if you haven’t already, check out Chris Brogan’s blog. He is writing 100 useful blog posts in a row about the tools, techniques, and strategies behind using social media for your business, your organization, or your own personal interests. Should be a page turner (I mean window scroller…I mean…what?).

The working script:

What is a Social Networking and Media Campaign?

Hello, internet! This is Jon Ray from whoisjonray.com and as you may or may not know, the way we produce and receive media is changing. No longer can companies blanket their message over the masses and expect people to respond favorably. There are just too many other brand messages to compete with and not enough people are listening to traditional forms of advertising and marketing. Society has been programmed to ignore traditional advertising and marketing and they’ve gotten pretty good at it. The question now becomes, “If my message isn’t being heard, how can I gain traction in a world teeming with competing brand messages?” And the answer is “People.” Start listening to people and you’ll be amazed at what they say.

For too long, advertising and marketing campaigns have been void of a personal touch. In the old world of media, brands could get away with avoiding personal contact with their customers. The best advertising won out and it wasn’t really necessary to reach out on a more intimate level. But, those days are over.

Today’s consumer looks for brands that are remarkable, but more importantly people that are remarkable. Today’s consumer wants to see the face of the company they are buying products or services from, they want their opinion heard. Whether your service or product is good or bad, your customers are talking and people are listening. Millions and Millions of people are listening. What are your customers saying about you? Are you listening? Have you joined the conversation?

We’re designing social networking and media campaigns that drive traffic to your business, while allowing you the opportunity to communicate with your current customers and future prospects. There’s a giant new community out there and we think you should be a part of it. Our social networking and media campaigns will put you front and center.

So, what is a social networking and media campaign and why is it a valuable tool in your marketing strategy?

Well, first off, let’s talk about what social networking is?

We all know what a network is. It’s any netlike combination of filaments, lines, veins, passages, nodes or the like. A group of transmitting stations linked by wire or microwave relay to broadcast the same program simultaneously is a television network. Our transportation systems are a network of roads or railing. A network of veins and arteries is found in the human body. Networks are everywhere and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.

So, what is a social network? A social network is a network of people tied together by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friends, kinship, dislike, conflict, trade, web links, airline routes, etc., etc. The list goes on and on and on. Because many social networks are searchable and allow you access to this information, it’s never been easier to find the right conversation to join. You can even start your own. Social networks can help you target a specific demographic with your marketing, spread word-of-mouth praise for your company, raise public awareness about one or all of the projects you are working on, find new markets, design and develop your next product, streamline your workflow and most importantly get to know and understand your customers better.

Here’s how it works: I log into the social network of my choice or multiple social networks and setup a profile. Now, I search for people I know and see that Dusty has a profile too. I click ‘add as friend’ and now Dusty and I are e.Friends. Now I have a question about software development. In the real world, I might call Dusty and ask him if he knows anyone that can help. Dusty would refer me to Stacy, who might refer me to Zander, who would refer me to Larry and Larry would answer my software development question.

Now, let’s see how that formula is applied to social networks. Now that Dusty is my e.Friend, I can see who all of his friends are and who their friends are and so on and so on. I see that Larry is a software developer, so I send him a message directly, rather than being routed through two other people before Larry can answer my question. Thanks, Larry! Social networks streamline how I find people and information. But, we’re just getting started.

Let’s say that I want to share information on how my company can save you thousands of dollars a year off your electricity bill by installing features that make your house more energy efficient. I write something up, put together a video or make an audio recording and then upload it to my profile. Now, everyone that is one of my e.Friends can see that I’ve uploaded new media content and they go to watch it. They are excited about how much money they’re going to save and want to share it with their friends, so with the click of a button they add it to their profile and favorite it. Now, all of their friends can see that they have new content, so they go and take a look at it. As more and more people get excited about saving thousands of dollars every year off their energy bill, they get your video out to more and more people, who spread it along further and further. By utilizing these social networks, I’ve given my media content the potential audience of hundreds of millions of people.

Now let’s say that I have a company. I can create a fan page or profile for my company and then invite people who watch my video to become a fan. Not only does this boost my self-esteem, but it now allows me to communicate on a more intimate level with potential prospects and all of their e.Friends can see that they are now a fan of my company. My fans can even invite their friends to become a fan of my company too. And why wouldn’t they? My fan page has all kinds of useful information about green building, being energy efficient, saving money and the world! People can ask me questions about how my company operates, start an open forum about subject matter related to my company and even make suggestions as to services and products I should add. If my content is compelling and I have enough of it, I can keep prospects in front of my brand name for hours at a time and when they do finally call or message me about purchasing my product, I’ll already know who they are and they’ll be a much more qualified prospect than a random person off the street would be. I sure am grateful for all the business my e.Friends keep sending me!

I know what you’re saying, “But, Jon. I don’t have any friends and that makes me sad.” That’s okay. We’re here to help! Now that you’ve got a profile on one social network, we’re going to get you setup on all kinds of other social networking sites and make you popular. One way we’ll do that is by creating compelling content and distributing it all over the web. We’ll use that to drive traffic to your social network profile and get you some friends. But, don’t just sit there like a bump on a log and think that compelling content alone is going to make you the popular kid in school. Sure, compelling content is important, but compelling conversations are even more important. So, that’s what we’ll do next. We’ll get you set up with a blog that will allow your proverbial voice to be heard. Once your blog is kickin’ we’ll scour the web for other blogs or people that are talking about similar issues and subject matter. Once we find them, we’ll comment on some of BloggerA’s posts and add to the conversation. We might even link back to your own blog and continue that conversation there. Now that BloggerA has been conversing back and forth, we could invite him to become our e.Friend or even a Fan of your company. There are links to the social networks that you belong to on your blog, so BloggerA might add you as a friend before we even ask. Now that you and BloggerA are buds, we might mention him in a couple of the posts we write on your company’s blog. In return, BloggerA writes about your company in one of the posts on his blog. Thanks BloggerA! Fortunately for us, BloggerA has 500 subscribers to his blog and now, they all think your company is really cool. So, now they subscribe to your blog too. Some of them even become your e.Friend and now you have lots of Fans. As you get to know each e.Friend they begin talking about your company in their blogs and telling all of their friends how great your company is. Now you have a lot of subscribers to your blog, even more e.Friends, a lot of fans and they’re all talking about your company. Suddenly, you have more traffic going to your website and more business than you know what to do with! Well, that’s a good problem to have!

So, so far, so good. You’ve beefed up your staff to handle the influx of business you’re getting and everyone seems to like your company. You’ve even found that the conversations people are having with you has not only improved your customer service methods, but has made your entire workflow easier. With all the extra time you’re saving and money you’re making, you decide you want to reach out to even more people and figure out how your company can help them too. So, you decide you want to buy some advertising. WHAT!?! “Jon, you said advertising was dead, belly up, cold, defunct, extinct, inanimate…oh, sorry, am I rambling?” “Isn’t advertising against the rules?” No, being lame is against the rules. Advertising can be a good thing if it adds value to the community. So, how do we add value…with compelling content and a listening ear.

We can buy social ads that are targeted by age, gender, location, interests, and more. Those ads can even be paired with related actions from a user’s friends. So, if Jeff visits your company’s Fan Page and becomes a fan, we can assume that Jeff’s e.Friends might be interested in your company, as well. We can buy targeted ads that will now show up in the news feed of each of Jeff’s e.Friends. Let’s say we’re still looking for people that want to save the world one energy efficient house at a time, but they need to live in the Austin, TX or surrounding areas and be a college graduate. We query the social network for profiles mentioning the environment or green living that are in the Austin, TX area. Now, instead of buying a bunch of ads and blanketing every profile in Austin, we can purchase ads to show up only on this targeted demographic of earth lovers. Ideally, this targeted demographic is much more in alignment with your company’s cause and therefore will be a much easier sales conversion. Because you’re not wasting money on unqualified ads, you can now spend more on generating qualified prospects.

“But, it’s still an ad, Jon and people don’t like ads. I don’t like ads. What say you to that?” That’s true, many people don’t like advertising, but the reason for that is because most advertising tries to tell you to do something. And people don’t like being told what to do. That’s why we design your social ad campaign a little differently. We use your ads to start conversations and ask questions. Running an ad that says, “Buy a Green House!” isn’t going to generate many leads. But, an ad that asks the question, “How would you save the world AND put more money in your pocket each month?” is a softer sell and would generate more qualified leads. With informative video and other content on your website and fan page, you’ll find that people actually start to chime in and give their opinion. Starting a conversation is the first step to closing a sale.

Advertising and marketing is no longer about telling people what to buy, it’s about starting your own conversations and adding to others. When, instead of telling a person to do something, you discuss it and figure out where they’re coming from, you’ll find that they hold you in much higher regard. Social ads can help you be a part of more conversations and if you’re listening, those conversations can lead to a lot of positive opinions, a lot of raised awareness and a lot of sales.

“So, Jon, what’s next?” Wash, rinse and repeat. Great! You’ve built a successful network of e.Friends and are converting each one into sales. Those sales are turning into referrals faster than you ever thought possible and business is good. Let’s keep that momentum going! We’re going to go through your profile and give it a good wash and rinse. We’ll constantly make sure we get rid of any extraneous or outdated material and then we’ll add new media. The more often new media is updated, the more often your company is in front of your prospects eyes. We’ll make sure that your company is always in the spotlight. Our social networking and media campaigns are designed with your ideal customer in mind. We want to like people so that people will like you.

Monitoring and adding to millions and millions of conversations online every day is a big job, but it’s one of the most important jobs out there for your company. If you’re interested in learning more about how one of our social networking and media campaigns can add value to your company, feel free to video message me on Facebook, YouTube, Kyte or Seesmic, find me on LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, message me on MySpace or Flickr, comment on my Wordpress blog, invite me to your event through Upcoming, e.mail me or just go old school and call me on the phone. Do people still use those?

Jon Ray
(512.785.9160)

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So, there you have it. What do you think? Your feedback is important to me, so I want to here your opinion, good or bad. Of course, if it’s bad, try not to be too mean. Constructive criticism is key! Thanks for reading and thanks for your help. We’re having a lot of success for our clients utilizing all of the tools available online these days. Now, we just need to figure out the best way to communicate that success without sounding too pompous. It’s quite the predicament!

Popularity: 95% [?]

If you’re not familiar with Flickr, then you’ve been living under a rock. Flickr is “the best online photo management and sharing application in the world,” according to their website and I can’t say that they are wrong, Flickr allows you to put all of your photos online and share them with an international community via their social network. But that’s not all it allows you to do. The following is a simple way to promote and drive traffic to your blog using Flickr.

Take pictures of everything
Flickr offers a free membership, but for a mere $24.95 a year you can get an unlimited membership…and you should. Once you’ve setup your unlimited Flickr account, you should start taking photos of everything. If you’re a good photographer (or at least know how to frame a shot) then you’ll have even better results. You see, not only is Flickr a way for you to share and host your own photos, but it’s also a huge database of photography that other bloggers (with your permission) can use in their own posts. The more photos you take, the more options other bloggers have available when accessing your photos.

The best photo in the world is worthless if not tagged correctly
Now that you are in the habit of taking good pictures of everything around you, it is important to make sure people can find them. I can take a great picture of my friend Brandon and Lindsey in the woods, looking like they are in love, but if I only tag it “brandon, lindsey” then I am limiting my audience significantly. Every time you upload a picture to Flickr add as many keywords as possible. When bloggers are searching for photos to use in their own blog, they are not searching for your friends’ names, but rather for situations, props, etc. You want to make sure you type in as many keywords as the photo can possibly portray. When listing keywords list whatever action, emotion, prop, product, costume, person, etc. is happening and you’ll show up in more user searches. Here’s an example of a photo I have on my Flickr account:

Keyword Tags:
happy sign sit n spin santa hat shovel dawn over zero suited productions xmas party 2006 christmas austin texas photoshoot raychel deppe jon ray jeff ray fun white elephant shovel

You’ll notice that I didn’t just mention the people in the photo, but also everything else in the photo. By doing such, I increase the odds of someone randomly landing on my photo through a search, than if I were to merely list names of people alone.

Of course, this is another situation that comes down to having compelling content. But, if you take good photos consistently, then not only will you have the benefit of repeat viewers, you’ll be able to drive more traffic to your blog and/or website.

Added Bonus
Of course, people may only subscribe to your Flickr account, which is fine. Over the course of time, if you engage those people through Flickr’s messaging/commenting system, you shouldn’t have a problem converting your Flickr fans into your blog fans. But, if you’d like to speed the process up, you can always brand your photos with your blog’s web address or logo. This just jumpstarts any conversations you might have with someone about your blog.

Link Backs
Ultimately, you’re going to want to take pictures that people want to share, or that illustrate a point. Look at the topics that are hot in the blogosphere and see if you can think of a photo that would represent those topics. It doesn’t have to be complicated, only effective in illustrating a point. Provide photos like this often enough and you’ll have bloggers all over the web linking back to you time and time again.

So, pull out your camera and start snapping pics!

Popularity: 22% [?]

Social media has become an important strategy in helping our clients reach out to their customers and understand them better. Whether it be Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIN, YouTube or one of the many other popular social networks, each SocNet account allows our clients the opportunity to communicate with clients in the online environment they are most comfortable.

Many clients have mentioned to me that they don’t see the value in joining so many random groups of people. They think social networks are merely a way to send messages among friends, similar to e.mail. What they fail to see is the big picture, in that, social networks give you access to a social graph that makes starting conversations easier and spreading conversations even easier.

Social Graph Example:
Jon Ray joins SocialNetworkA and imports his contact list. Now Jon Ray has 300 friends on SocialNetworkA. Jon Ray meets Bob and they become friends on SocialNetworkA. Bob has 300 friends on SocialNetworkA, as well. Now when Jon Ray sends out a message, he not only has access to his pool of 300 friends, but also to Bob’s pool of 300 contacts.

Jon Ray (300 friends) + Bob (300 friends) = 600 friend message potential

Then, Jon Ray builds an application that demonstrates his marketing and video production services in a fun way, then he can invite each of his 300 friends to add the application to their profile. Now, each of Jon Ray’s 300 friends can ask their 300 (or however many) friends to add the application to their profile. And so on and so on…

The Social Starfish
I ran into the graphic above on Scoble’s blog the other day and I think it is a great representation of how all of these social networks work with one another to create more and more conversations. Each social network is pulling information from one network to display in another and vice versa. Of course, many people belong to all of these social networks, while some belong to only one or two. The biggest advantage I’ve found in the social network campaigns I’ve put together is that by setting clients up with profiles on social networks across the board, they are able to communicate with their clients in the online environment, in which, they are most comfortable.

We, as outside viewers, no longer have to go and find media. Now, it comes to us wherever we are most comfortable. I think that’s important to remember when you’re trying to start conversations with potential prospects and current customers. The more comfortable they are, the easier it is to engage them in valuable conversation.

Web 2.0?
I commented on Neville Hobson’s blog a few days ago on the challenges of explaining Web 2.0. Seeing as it somewhat relates to what I’m talking about, I’ll share it here.

I said:

Web 2.0 describes a way to have more conversations in a more efficient manner. As applications get more complex on the back end, they become easier to use by front end users.

The easier it is to have many conversations online, the smaller the barrier of entry for hesitant technology adopters (my mom, grand parents, 3-year olds).

Therefore, it seems that the number of conversations I can have online is directly proportional to the ease of using the current technology available.

Web 2.0 is a pairing of technolgy, all working with one another, that allow me to have more conversations using less effort.

Now, many would argue that Web 2.0 is far more in depth than that. But, regardless, we are already deep into a new era where consumers expect to have a conversation with you. They are out there everyday talking, the only real question is are you listening to what they have to say?

How are you creating conversations online? What are your customers saying to you and how are you responding? How many social networks are you juggling, right now? Has the time you’ve put into developing conversations online been successful, or are you still waiting to see results? I’d love to hear about strategies that you’re incorporating into your internet campaigns which are seeing success.

UPDATE: Had I finished my thought, I would have gotten to my ultimate point, which is that conversations lead to sales and marketing conversions. Hence the word conversions across the social starfish. Thanks to Jef Greilich for pointing that out and getting me to clarify.

Popularity: 38% [?]