Infographic: American Idol Social Media Showdown

Another season of American Idol has come and gone and surprise! The winner is Phillip Phillips! Yes, American Idol has added yet another WGWG (that's "white guy with guitar" for you) to their growing list of WGWG winners.

From L-R: David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee Dewyze, Scotty McCreery and the newly crowned Phillip Phillips

I'll be honest, I stopped watching AI the moment Taylor Hicks took crown in Season 5. Such a letdown, especially following the amazingly talented, beautiful and down-to-earth Season 4 victor, Carrie Underwood. Still, I kept with the times, reading the news and occasionally chancing upon it on TV.

It was one of these "occasional chances" that made me decide to watch AI again. It was top 8 or 9ish by then and I heard Jessica Sanchez sing. Holy smokes, I thought. This is it. She wasn't perfect. Her renditions of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" were okay at best (Steve Tyler was being nice). Her stage presence needed work, unlike Joshua, Skylar and Phillip, who were naturals. But she had raw talent, she was young, passionate and more importantly she was marketable.

Online, the signs pointed to her victory (let's forget the whole "Saved" debacle, which was totally staged anyway). Check out this infographic I made summarizing Jessica and Phillip's respective social media profiles before the finale:

It's clear that Jessica has a larger, or at least more socially active, following. So why did Phillips win?

It's a simple answer that many businesses tend to overlook. As important as social media is, it does not necessarily represent offline behaviour. First, a handful of Jessica's fans are likely non-Americans. Second, just because someone shares his or her opinion online, doesn't mean it will translate to concrete actions.

I wish I didn't have to say I was disappointed with the results. After all, Phillip Phillips is a very talented man in his own right (and hot to boot). Still, with AI's ratings steadily dropping since Season 6, a fresh new winner might have been just the boost it needed.

Til then,
Mae

Facebook, Marriage and Organ Donors

First things first: Congratulations to Mark Zuckerberg on his wedding with long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan! For those who haven't heard, the couple tied to knot in a simple surprise ceremony on May 19, 2012.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Priscilla Chan, who just earned her medical degree at the University of California last week, has no doubt been a inspiration to the world's youngest self-made billionaire; the most recent example being Facebook's decision to incorporate the new Organ Donor feature in Timeline.

"Starting today, you can add that you're an organ donor to your timeline, and share your story about when, where or why you decided to become a donor... (Facebook) can be a big part of helping solve the crisis out there."—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, May 1, 2012

 

Since the announcement, tens of thousands of users have already signed up to be organ donors. Finally, an online act that can actually potentially make a difference, as opposed to meaningless (and often unrelated) Facebook memes! An act that not only announces your support, but gives you the opportunity to do something about it if and when the need arises.

What do you think? Will this be the end of slacktivism? More importantly, will you sign up to be an organ donor*? 
*Note: this feature is not yet available in Canada

xoxo
Mae

Related links
Organ donation: Facebook's priceless offering
Mark Zuckerberg wife: Priscilla Chan Profile

Crappy Facebook Ads

Today I want to talk about crappy Facebook ads and tips on how to improve them.

Wrong-sized / Text-filled / Blurry Images

With over 50,000,000 singles ready to mingle, not one could provide a decent-sized photo for this ad. Ad images are 110 px wide by 80 px tall. If your image is square or vertical, Facebook will resize it and you end up with an ugly empty space that shows you're too lazy to crop or resize your image.

 

You know what's hell? Trying to read the tiny words in this tiny wrong-sized image. Since the specs are already so small, don't choose images with so much text in them.

 

Is that supposed to be a home or the cliff where Scar killed Mufasa?

Tip: Choose clear, recognizable images with little or no text and correct dimensions. Your image should entice people to click the ad, not to squint or give them headaches. 

Irrelevant Image or Copy

Whoever chose this image must have been drunk with Molson M. What does it have to do with the ad? If you drink beer you'll become a dancer?

The "not for kids" angle might work on TV where there's time to build up the humor and deliver the punch line. However, it just seems contrived in a Facebook ad. How does announcing "Negotiating is NOT for kids!" convince us that your advice is worth listening to? Plus, the folks at Karrass have obviously never seen kids throw tantrums in the supermarket.

Tip: Your image and copy should compliment each other. Copy should be convincing, straight to the point and clearly state how the product or service can benefit the consumer.

Redundant Redundancy

The brand name makes up the entire title, which is already in the web address. The web address is reiterated in the copy because apparently we're blind and missed it. It's repeated yet again in the image, in case we still haven't figured it out.

 

I think this one is intentional though! haha

Tip: You have 25 and 135 characters max for your title and body, respectively. Don't waste it! Unlike Google, people don't go to Facebook to search, so spewing out information is not enough. People go on Facebook to socialize or to be entertained, so use catchy adjectives to grab their attention.

Vague / No call-to-action

How do I participate? Do I answer a survey? Do I join a contest? Why do I have to be a 45-year-old male?

What?

Tip: Vague copy may entice people to learn more, but since Facebook ads are pay-per-click, you pay every time someone clicks your ad. Therefore, you want quality clicks, not just "What does this mean" clicks. Hold off enough information so people will want to learn more, but provide enough so they know what they're getting into. 

Bad Targeting

This is an actual ad that appeared on my Facebook page. If done properly, Facebook ads are targeted to your specific demographic and interests. I suppose I'm in the correct location and age range, but this has nothing to do with my interests. I don't even drink!

Tip: Some ads can get away with general demographic or location targeting (ex. restaurants, holidays, movies) but some need to be targeted more specifically (ex. jobs, seminars, niche products). The more relevant your targeting is, the higher the chance you'll find a potential customer.

Too Much Exposure
I click Facebook ads for 2 reasons: (1) I'm actually interested or (2) they appear so many times that I want to punish the advertiser by literally making them pay. Other people probably aren't as mean as me, but it never hurts not to annoy potential customers.

Tip: Overexposure usually means your ad has been running too long or your budget is too big. Since Facebook ads are pay-per-click, a higher budget generally means your ads will run more often. If you have a small target market and a large budget, Facebook will expose your ad to the same people multiple times simply to exhaust the money.

Long story short, Facebook ads may seem cheap and risk-free, but can be costly if done incorrectly. So do it right and if you have questions, feel free to comment below!

Til then,
Mae

Related links:
Facebook Ads Best Practices

KONY 2012 Cover the Night #Fail

Hi all! Sorry I haven't blogged in so long -- I recently started my job as a Project Manager for October 17 Media and am currently working on a new deviation (check out my gallery!).

I want to share my thoughts on the latest news on KONY 2012. If you recall, the objective of the video was "to make Kony famous," an effort which "will culminate on one day: April 20, when we 'cover the night.' This is the day we will meet at sundown and blanket every street in every city [with Stop-Kony propaganda]."

Well, April 20 has come and gone and barely anything can be heard of KONY 2012 online. According to recent news (1 | 2 | 3) , not much has happened in the physical world either, with only a handful of volunteers showing up in each aforementioned city.

How did the most successful viral video of all time become such an on-ground flop?

The Backlash
Almost immediately after the video's release, word began to spread that the campaign was a scam. Turns out critics were right in saying that most KONY 2012 supporters were slacktivists. If their opinions can be easily swayed by a flashy video, then it can be reversed just as easily by well-written articles.

To Little, Too Late
As a response to said backlash, a second video was produced. Unfortunately, to quote BBC's Sherlock, "He planted that doubt in her head... You can’t kill an idea, can you? Not once it’s made a home there." Despite reaching 1.9 million views in 3 weeks, KONY 2012: Part II failed to make the same impact as the original.

Lack of Leadership
IMO, the PR team should have spent less on making a second video and more on planting volunteers to act as rally leaders in high-profile cities like New York and LA. Imagine if there was a persistent and passionate KONY 2012 representative in your city, proactively encouraging you to join the protest. I'd sooner listen to that than a couple of university students with extra time on their hands (no offense).

Seriously? On 420?
Last but not the least -- why April 20? Because it's easy to remember? Because there would already be large crowds of people at a common venue? Because they wanted to capitalize on every city's resident stoners? This Tweet says it all:

It just goes to show that just because something is successful online, doesn't mean it will translate well offline. Part I may have been highly effective in getting people to talk, but Part II (arguably the more important half) failed in getting people to do. And that, my friends, is the problem with online activism -- it's easier clicked than done.

Til then,
Mae

The Hunger Games and KONY 2012

I'm literally in the middle of reading a scene in Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games, but I had to blog about this.

NOTE: If you haven't finished the series, then I urge you NOT to read the next paragraph, because it may contain spoilers.

So I'm in the part where Katniss, having consented to be the Rebellion's Mockingjay, is being prepped for a propaganda TV spot against the Capitol. Even though she spent the last few weeks holed up in District 13's underground facilities, doing nothing but act moody and confused, the scene calls for her to stand in the middle of a bloody battleground and shout lines to her fellow fighters that they must keep going.

She is supposed to be with the good guys. And yet, they are doing exactly what the Capitol is doing -- brainwashing the masses and justifying their actions through makeup, costumes, fancy film-making and a heart-wrenching (yet staged) storyline.

If this does not sound like KONY 2012 to you, I don't know what does. I'm not saying KONY 2012 is staged, but there is a lot of dramatization involved. And in case you haven't heard, Invisible Children, the creators of the KONY 2012 viral video, has just released a new spot: KONY 2012: Part II - Beyond Famous.

The video is a direct response to accusations that KONY 2012 is nothing short of slacktivism. Now that Kony is famous, it is time to take action.

Can I just share how creeped out I am that Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games world is so strikingly similar to what is happening today? Numerous articles have been written about the series' themes -- dystopia, government control, voyeurism, big-brotherism, desensitization -- but most examples center on reality TV.

However, these themes exist beyond that genre and it doesn't always have to be the government or capitalists who are "controlling" us. Quite different from the Capitol's Hunger Games, KONY 2012 is much more akin to District 13's propaganda video.

And to me, that's scary. Because what if everything we believed in, our values, our morals, were never really ours, but were just handed to us, wrapped in pretty packages that pull our heartstrings and make us think we're doing the right thing? (I'm not even going to start with religion...). Isn't that even more disturbing than loving reality TV?

Anyway, that's it. "Rant" over. I'm gonna go finish that scene now.

xoxo
Mae