Don’t try [...]]]> Rance Crain has an interesting post in Advertising Age: “Back in the Mad Men days, when the “pioneers of advertising,” as my old boss Stan Cohen calls them, ruled the roost, it was commonly held that a little exaggeration was not unreasonable to accentuate the selling points of the ad messages.”

Don’t try that today.

Between bloggers and Tweeters, your advertising “exaggeration” will be called out as a lie and your brand will suffer.

Consider these two recent stories:

On the one hand, Chevy Volt initially claimed a 40 mile range per battery charge. Check Twitter and you will find it is between 23 and 25.  GM has “revised” the claim to between 25 and 50 miles–still not quite in line with what consumers who use the product are reporting. The buzz on the Volt brand is not positive. Despite GM’s revision, angry tweeters and bloggers continue to attack the discrepancy. The lack of range and lack of “clarity” on the part of GM is one of the reasons depressing demand for the product.

Contrast that with Taco Bell and the “not beef” controversy. A law firm in Alabama sued the company claiming it was not actually using beef in its tacos–and it invested plenty in promoting its beefless claim to get major coverage from media major and minor. Taco Bell has shown that when your brand is honest and does a good job of getting the true story out there, it can weather a public relations storm. Witness how Taco Bell responded to a lawsuit charging the company with not using real beef. The company responded with an integrated campaign combining traditional public relations and newspaper advertising along with new details on its website, offering to give away 10 million tacos to people who “like” its  Facebook page and a straightforward  video on YouTube featuring Taco Bell  President Greg Creed saying, “Our seasoned beef recipe contains 88 percent quality USDA inspected beef.” In addition to listing the beef content, he provides a detailed list of the remaining ingredients. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

From Wikileak threats to Twitter snipes, the truth about your brand will get out. Exaggeration no longer sells, it repells.

The brand [...]]]> Burson-Marsteller released a study that claims 76% of blogs were off message. They analyzed more than 150 messages sent out by companies listed  in the Financial Times Global 100 and discovered a large gap between the official brand messages and how they were reflected on blogs, in tweets, and on other social media posts.

The brand message problems stem from a number of deficiencies by corporate marketing operations including:

1) Having no clear plan or objectives for communications on the social Web. An example here: Ziploc: Boring Doesn’t Work as a Social Media Engagement Strategy

2) Failure to understand that how social media is used is as important as what is said. More detail here:  Social Media Brand Engagement Rules:  Toyota vs Chevrolet

3) Failing to have a social media policy. A great library of social media policy examples from companies large and small that you can freely access, download, and adapt can be found here.

4) Not providing communicators outside of the marketing department with writing guidelines to explain how to write freely, but still stay “on brand.” This example from Diebold explains the brand’s voice. Diebold’s Branded Voice Guidelines. At Merriam Associates, we also include example messages so that people can see guidelines come to life (and re-use pre-written, pre-approved content.)

5) Lack of adequate control–things get “published” without enough oversight or double-checking. Once something is “out” it can’t be pulled back “in”. This article Viral Marketing Making Your Brand Sick is one example as is this mistake from Target from Halloween.

1) Light your shot—dark videos don’t invite eyes 2) Get the best sound you can—your viewers are likely listening through headphones 3) Use a tripod for Pete’s sake!!—You want to make visitors stick, not get [...]]]> Web pundits are predicting continuing growth in Web video. With that in mind, here is a round-up of advice for producing effective video:

1) Light your shot—dark videos don’t invite eyes
2) Get the best sound you can—your viewers are likely listening through headphones
3) Use a tripod for Pete’s sake!!—You want to make visitors stick, not get sick
4) Script and plan your story before you shoot—planning is what makes a video interesting and worth the viewers’ time (which is harder to earn and even harder to keep)
5) Shorter is better—think TV commercial not TV show, 30 seconds is better than 30 minutes
6) Talking heads are boring—get other shots and work them into your story
7) Don’t forget Web video needs the written word—when you post on YouTube, Facebook, even your own site, you will need a title, brief description, and keywords.
8) Post and link and post and link and post and link—get your video in front as many people as possible and link back to your site; it is about maximizing exposure and maximizing traffic

More detailed advice from previous posts:
Good enough video:
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/03/when-%E2%80%9Cgood-enough%E2%80%9D-web-video-is-great/

How Web video differs from TV:
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/02/ten-ways-web-video-is-different-from-tv/

Video scripting:
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/01/web-video-six-keys-to-writing-scripts-for-video/

Ideas for Web video:
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/10/a-dozen-ideas-for-web-video-and-beyond/

And a series from a Fortune 500 corporate executive speech coach:
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/03/web-video-message-prep/
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/03/web-video-preparing-your-delivery/
http://merriamassociates.com/2010/03/web-video-thinking-about-the-visual-presentation/

When thinking about the content of your video, it is important to consider goals, the needs and interests of your audience, and your central theme: your main message. All communication has a purpose. In your video, make sure you tell [...]]]> Kayla Schwartz, speech and presentation coach, and media trainer, talks about preparing your web video message.

When thinking about the content of your video, it is important to consider goals, the needs and interests of your audience, and your central theme: your main message. All communication has a purpose. In your video, make sure you tell your audience what action you want them to take and why they should take it. You’ll need to involve your audience and speak to their values if you want to motivate. Be vivid, specific and personal.  Say “you”, not “they”. Remember, you are speaking directly to someone, not talking in the abstract. It pays to write your ideas down and spend time to distill them into the most concise and targeted form you can. That way, you’ll get the greatest possible benefit from your video statement.

While your message is the foundation of your communication, how you deliver it impacts its effectiveness. Here are five things to focus on when you deliver your message: 1. Connect with your audience. The person watching your video should [...]]]> Kayla Schwartz, speech and presentation coach, and media trainer, talks about preparing to deliver your web video message.

While your message is the foundation of your communication, how you deliver it impacts its effectiveness. Here are five things to focus on when you deliver your message:
1. Connect with your audience. The person watching your video should feel you’re speaking directly to them.
2. Body language counts. You always want your behaviors and your physical self to be consistent with your words. Be open, relaxed and natural, or you may appear dishonest. People will feel uncomfortable while they watch you.
3. Use your voice.  Vary pacing and tone.  Don’t speechify. Aim for a conversational, personal, direct style of speaking so your inflection naturally modulates according to how you feel about what you’re saying.

4. Don’t forget to breathe and pause. The first thing that goes when we’re nervous is our breathing. Speak slowly enough that you have time to breathe in between sentences. Pause in between ideas. It not only gives you a chance to breathe, but it adds weight to what you say, and provides structure to your talk.
5. Practice practice practice! You want to be entirely comfortable with what you’re saying so you can look and feel most confident.  If you do nothing else, run your communication by yourself or in front of someone else three times before you go to the shoot.

Once you’ve prepared your content, your physical self and your delivery, you can be your most effective, powerful communicator – in any setting.

Your setting matters.  The environment of your talk enhances the message you are conveying. Pick a place that is relevant to your message.

Similarly, the way you look impacts your message.  You want to appear [...]]]> Kayla Schwartz, Speech and Presentation Coach, and Media Trainer, talks about the importance of what the audience will see in your video.

Your setting matters.  The environment of your talk enhances the message you are conveying. Pick a place that is relevant to your message.

Similarly, the way you look impacts your message.  You want to appear open and honest, so don’t hide behind a desk or a lectern.  Don’t use closed in or nervous body language.  Allow your body to be as natural as possible.

Look your best.  Get a close shave. Powder down the shine on your face. Don’t wear jarring patterns. White or black are too harsh for video, so wear medium tones. Avoid jewelry that visually distracts or making jangling noises.

Attention to these details adds value to your message. Your visual presentation will add credibility and relevance to your message.