Khloe Kardashian’s Wiki page defines her as an ”American businesswoman, TV personality, radio host, socialite, model.” Based on a recent encounter with her, I would add master storyteller to her Wiki descriptors, having recently stumbled across the opportunity to observe a reality show in the making. My key learning was that making a reality TV show is not unlike what we do every day as storytellers: take loads of data and try to cobble it together into a cohesive and compelling storyline.
While visiting my brother’s nano-premie babies in the NICU of Children’s Hospital Dallas, the hospital PR director called up to say that Khloe Kardashian was on-site and wanted to come up and visit a couple of babies. Not just any babies — my brother’s babies because they’d been born weighing one pound and are now thriving. Khloe came on the scene some 15 minutes later via a back elevator, preceded by producers handing out releases to anyone and everyone on the floor, and followed by a big camera, fully rolling. We had not been warned that Khloe (who is, in fact, NOT an amazon!) would be accompanied by a crew shooting footage for her new show, “Khloe & Lamar in Dallas” (premieres Feb. 19 on E!). While she cooed over the babies and chatted away with my brother, I took a backseat near the producer so that I could ask him my burning questions about reality TV. Here’s what I learned:
• These cameras capture between 12 and 14 hours of footage per day of Khloe; they follow her everywhere.
• The footage is not scripted: writers/producers don’t create scenarios for her to fulfill; she just lives her life how she wants to live it (only on camera).
• Two weeks before the show airs, this producer and two writers guide the editing of the footage. They troll through hundreds of hours of footage with a goal of piecing together a compelling story, based on classic storytelling elements: tension between “characters,” good guy-bad guy dynamics, scenes that include genuine and raw emotion, “turning points in relationships,” etc. (Sound familiar?!)
• They then make recommendations to Khloe for the cuts they want to take and the commentary they will need from her. She ultimately makes the decision for what’s included and what’s not, with a goal of including “only the most authentic moments” because her “credibility depends on authenticity.” (Sound familiar?!)
Khloe and her crew soon departed, on to some Dallas hot spot for the night. I thanked the producer for the fascinating info, mumbling something cryptic about our being kindred spirits while thinking about how our jobs continue to change to accommodate audiences who increasingly want to be entertained rather than informed. Like this producer, our ability to tell compelling stories entirely depends on the quality of the footage we’re able to capture. And like reality TV, success means that we authentically communicate “reality,” the reality of business challenges and triumphs as well as the reality of how people experience products and services.
Like her and her sisters or not, watch their shows or not, their audience appeal is undeniable. Millions of viewers tune in weekly to to get the story (Truth) behind the headline. THAT’s what I call storytelling chops!
This post was co-authored by Jen Grant and Tac Anderson.
A new report from Jeremiah Owyang at Altimeter Group has some interesting facts we thought you would find interesting.
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide’s Jen Grant was interviewed as part of the research. Watch a short video of Jen and Tac Anderson discussing the report.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Some things that came out of the research was that the average global brand has 178 distinct social media accounts. And that although 70% of those interviewed felt that their social media efforts were obtaining their objectives, only 43% of people said they had a documented social media strategy.
Developing a social media strategy is a great opportunity to step back and reassess your overall Marketing and Communication strategy. at Waggener Edstrom we’ve developed a system we call the Social Influence System (PDF). Jeremiah recommends five steps to follow if you want to really master your social media management:
- First prepare the company internally, and conduct audits to verify readiness.
- Determine which of the five social media management use cases, defined in this report, the company aligns to.
- Select vendors based on business needs, not marketing.
- Tap into services, support teams and outsourced community management services.
- Roll out internally in a systematic way that starts with education, training, mock workflows and thorough testing.
Altimeter also identified 5 main use cases for social media management.
The other thing that came out was that social media management systems are still lagging behind market needs. However, part of the problem is the proverbial cart-before-the-horse. SMMSs are developing products and solutions before the end user (brands and agencies) has fully articulated what it needs.
Our takeaway from this is that brands still need to focus on some of the fundamentals. Make sure you have a strategy. And just as important make sure you have the internal processes in place to effectively execute.
For us the report was a good reminder that we’re still in the early days and we need to make sure we take the time to work out the processes before we jump into worrying about the right tools. Attack it one step at a time. Don’t feel like you have to develop a plan to organize and manage all social media profiles in one shot. Step back and select 5-6 accounts to test your internal processes and strategies with first before you roll out with all of them.
Here’s the full report.
A Strategy for Managing Social Media Proliferation
Sally Hogshead’s hair is on fire (she is redheaded, tall and on a mission). She hits the stage and sucks the oxygen out of the room. Think you are a fascinating person? Don’t flatter yourself. Compared to Ms. Hogshead everyone at the WOMMA Summit 2011 was wondering if we were “interesting” enough to carry her bags. Sally knows how to get people talking, brands excited + deliver the “unexpected” = the essential oil that I believe is in the DNA of every remarkable creative idea.
Sally is a well-known speaker and author of “Fascinate,” “Radical Careering,” and the creator of F-Score Test. She has held a creative director office at several major ad firms in the U.S.: Wieden + Kennedy, Fallon McElligott, Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Under her own shingle she is a trusted brand innovation consultant, helping companies develop messages that persuade and captivate. Clients past and present include Nike, MINI Cooper, Aflac, Cole Haan, Target, Coca-Cola and Godiva.
When I spoke to Sally on Thursday I found myself nervously trying to capture and remember her quotable nuggets. Here are just a few:
“Creativity is not a platform, it is a tool that takes time. It is called a breakthrough for a reason.”
“Control every deliverable on the innovation process and sell up. Help people visualize your idea.”
“Don’t rush the creative process. You need to live in agony — that is where the best ideas get challenged and refined. If you try to find alignment on everything you will come up with a camel. As we all know a camel is horse designed by a Committee.”
“Take a piece of your customer into every product discussion, every campaign and every social influence program.”
When I go to these conferences I find myself listening to a Chris Farley-like motivational speaker who pushes me toward the lunch cart. This year WOMMA was lifted by Sally’s appearance because “Word of Mouth Marketing” as we know it is shifting, and doing so quickly. Social influence tools are no longer want-to-haves by big brands but essential need-to-haves. Making an impression and fun whimsical engagement are okay now. I couldn’t help think that the traditional measures and analytics will be meaningless soon if creative coming from wonderful agencies, like the one I work at, don’t show how conversion impacted sales. Your ideas must fascinate and inspire a proved action. As Sally Hogshead points out “if your goal is to be comfortable, it’s not big enough.”
This year’s WOMMA Summit in as Vegas was a smash. Amazing brands (McDonald’s, Nestle, Unilever, Mercedes) and the best agencies gathered to consider where our industry is taking us.
Some top topics were:
- The focus is no longer on the tactics to engage audiences – we are now focusing on the science of influencing behavior and methodologies, and the sourcing of data to understand that behavior has become a big area of focus.
- Infrastructure and resourcing for the support of social media is an area where many companies struggle.
- Measurement has become a key focus area for all brands in order to prove the value of their online efforts. Measuring the ROI of social media is still not a linear process.
- Paid, earned, and owned are in transition but companies are beginning to optimize their integration so that the impact of one can drive the impact of the other.
- Universal truth – Globally friend/family recommendations are still the most influential source for consumers.
- The future is mobile. Companies will succeed or die by their ability to transform for greater mobility by 2015.
- Consumers expect that companies do good and companies can use their scale and leverage social good for impact.
Would love to hear from other attendees about other trends you heard!
Subtitle: What I learned at BlogWorld L.A.
Write it. Just hit publish.
Those were my closing thoughts during a workshop I gave on how to utilize the real-time Web for better storytelling. We get so distracted by processes, editing, review cycles and proper tone that we miss the boat. We miss an opportunity to tell a story when telling that story is most vital.
Being able to tell a story is more than the words you use. Sometimes, just writing from the heart is the best way to ensure that people listen to your story. There’s no strategy that enables you to tell a story. While at BlogWorld & New Media Expo, I had a fair number of informative and enlightening experiences.
I got to meet Cloris Leachman. Thanks to Amber Osborne, aka @MissDestructo, for taking this great picture.
I got to attend my first-ever Kings game. Here’s the view from my seats at the game. Thanks to Brian at shareasale.com for these tickets!
And I even got to learn something along the way. The main thing I learned is that at the end of the day, the stories we get to tell are just content. Creating content is fun. Being able to start a new email or a new blog post or a new tweet is fun. Getting to tell stories for a living is amazing. If you happen to be able to make money from the stories you tell, that’s even better.
My workshop focused on how to create a strategy and utilize the technology available to tell better stories faster. While I was telling my aunt (who happens to be a newspaper publisher) about this, she asked me “How is this different from journalism?” Without hesitation I smiled to myself and said “it’s not.” My background is in reporting, so telling a story, quickly, is a skill I’ve been able to make work for me.
It’s just content
At our hearts, we are all storytellers. We want to connect our clients and business groups with customers, reporters and shoppers (they’re all “influencers”), and we want to do it with soul and passion and adept skill. As communications professionals, there is nothing more fun than telling a great story.
I was surrounded by food bloggers, mommy bloggers, tech bloggers and even bloggers who blog about blogging. All of them, though, are storytellers creating content. As communications professionals, we tell stories. We work with clients to create messaging and compel people to act. There are countless pieces of research on how to appeal to emotions and how to optimize for search. You can A/B test your headlines. You can put a picture above the fold or you can add a video.
But at the end of the day, your story is just content.
At BlogWorld, CC Chapman shared the story of a site created by the U.S. Army to tell the stories of soldiers on the front lines and returning from home. Go spend a few minutes reading their stories.
These are human stories told without editors and without a content calendar or SEO in mind. Whole platoons can write from the front line in Afghanistan. No filters or editors at all. And the Army is adamant about the blog having a human voice. If the U.S. Army can speak human, you can too.
Measure twice, cut once
The old carpenter’s adage seemed to ring true here as well. Being able to prove your mettle was an underlying trend at BlogWorld. From back-channel debates on what constitutes science to super smart people like Tom Webster presenting enough stats to melt your mind, the emphasis on measurement and analytics was clear. Here at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, we place an emphasis on measuring actionable metrics and using them to influence the decisions you make.
Having the tracking systems in place that show both where traffic goes and whether the goals you have in place are accomplished is vital to the continued success of your content strategy. Content and storytelling doesn’t have to be all for profit. Telling stories and communicating with an audience is great in and of itself. Being able to track performance and metrics, you can create actionable plans for future content strategies.
Products such as Ripple Effect and Narrative Network® make deciphering the streams of information easier. It’s up to you how you want to act on it.
There’s perpetual discussion about the ROI of social media. The person that tries to claim that social media doesn’t have an ROI is seriously flawed. If you can’t track, test or convert on the content you’re creating, you need to rethink your strategy. Everything has a metric. ROI means being able to track the outs of what you’re putting in. It may not have a dollar sign in front of it, but it does have action.
So, just publish. Just tell a story. Just remember to tell the story you want to tell and tell it the best you can.
