Today it was announced that YouTube, one of the biggest search engines in the world in and of its own right, has changed its algorithm, rewarding videos that people “watch longer” with higher video search rankings. In an nutshell, “watch time” is now worth more than “view count” in the YouTube algorithm.

YouTube’s video discovery features were previously designed to drive views. This rewarded videos that were successful at attracting clicks, rather than the videos that actually kept viewers engaged. (This short-sighted focus led some video marketers to use “cleavage thumbnails” to attract clicks.)

“Now when we suggest videos, we focus on those that increase the amount of time that the viewer will spend watching videos on YouTube, not only on the next view, but also successive views thereafter,” Meyerson said. “If viewers are watching more YouTube, it signals to us that they’re happier with the content they’ve found. It means that creators are attracting more engaged audiences. It also opens up more opportunities to generate revenue for our partners.”

The shift in YouTube’s algorithm reflects the attempt on the part of search engines to reward follower engagement across all social media channels. The takeaway: want to see your videos rank higher in video search? Make your videos more engaging and give viewers a reason to stick around.

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We’ll be taking a holiday break here at the 435 Digital blog.

To spread a little cheer I’m presenting a few clips from the top 15 holiday  movies of all time as voted by Chicago Tribune’s Red Eye readers. It’s an eclectic collection. But for me, the holidays are about waking up every day with the kind of enthusiasm George shows at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

The beauty of posting on a blog is that I can post movie clips instead of simple stills – isn’t that grand? And YouTube, Vimeo and other tools make that easily possible.

Put your thinking cap on and think about what you can share with your friends, family and customers online this season — but don’t dally when you’re meeting in real time.  Have  a great holiday!

A Christmas Story

It’s a Wonderful Life

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If you don’t get off Facebook much, you might want to meander around Kickstarter and see what’s playing front page. Your friends or your kids have probably sent you to this service that provides a great set of tools — from video to messaging to marketing advice — to help you fundraise for your project.  There’s one caveat. You have a deadline for raising your nut and if you don’t make it, you’re out.  A stroll around Kickstarter is always amazing , often moving and usually inspiring.  Seeing others creations might give you some ideas for your own.

This week, I stumbled upon a Kickstarter project: Good Ol’ Freda.  Freda Kelly was the secretary for The Beatles from the early days at the Cavern Club until 1970.  She’s still a secretary and until now has been mum about her life with the fab four. Now she’s opened up her scrapbooks to a filmmaker and they are looking to raise $50,000 by Nov. 12 for their film project.  Shes offering all kinds of goodies in exchange for your donation.

Another place to easily get lost in a wonderland is YouTube. And not just in the old music video section.  There’s real talent at work here making excellent niche TV shows that are better than the best of Hollywood, precisely because they are so deeply engaging with their audiences.  A fan girl friend recently pointed me toward Issa Rae’s “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl,” which Rae creates and stars in.  The production values and acting are very good. But the writing is superb and funny.

Or if you are feeling geeky, you can head on over to the Twit netcast network, “Netcasts you love from people you trust.” Here you’ll  find some inspiration for that underused conference room, that yoga studio that’s empty during the day or the slow time at the café in the afternoon. Set up a stage and some talkative folks and you have a TV show. OK.  The folks on This Week in Google aren’t every day people — they are some of the  Internet’s most prominent thinkers —  but you never know what talent lives in your building or up the block.

I was bungling around on Facebook and found actor friend Don Bender  is involved in a new online theaterical production by Jamil Khoury, Silk Road Rising, which he says is engaging theater onstage and online around important issues.  His play, Mosque Alert, is about  ”Two suburban American families living in Naperville, IL -one Christian, the other Muslim- find their lives torn apart by a proposal to build a new mosque in their community.”

Khoury says:

In the hopes of generating deeper engagement around this issue, I have designed a ten-step, interactive, on-line, new play development process that will assist me in developing and writing my play “Mosque Alert.” Viewers are encouraged to both influence and assist me as I pen this new play.

My ten step artistic process allows each participant to act as co-creator throughout the entire development cycle. I like to think of it as a spiritual convening of the individual with the art.

Each of these is a narrowcast co-creation with a passionate audience. It’s the way the future of the Internet is rolling out. There are millions of  ideas blossoming. Yours could be one of them. If you know who your people are, you can find your idea. It can be as simple to execute [the writing wasn't simple] as a humorous tweetalogue  like Dan Sinker’s Mayor Emanuel, which started as an anonymous satire of then Chicago Mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel and ended up as a book. Or it can be as elaborate as a traveling global round robin musical like Playing for Change, which made its name with Stand by Me.  Take some time to stroll around and fire your imagination. Let us know what you find and most important what you and your colleagues dream up for yourselves.  We’d love to hear about it.

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With tools like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal, a nonprofit  can update their sites with a few clicks. In my experience, I’ve found many nonprofit executives think their website and social media presence has to be expensive and complicated, and they don’t take advantage of the passion of their  fans to populate their YouTube,  Flickr and other channels. I suspect that the reason large size and budget is not necessarily an indicator of  effective use of social media has more to do with internal politics than anything else.  Internal politics is also likely the reason for relatively scant use of Twitter by  the surveyed nonprofits.

After looking through the results, I had additional questions, which Craig and  collaborator  Allyson Kapin of RAD Campaign answered for me.

Q. When you were doing this study, how were you measuring effectiveness?
A. We wanted to know if the top nonprofits, ranked by net income, were the ones actually being the most effective with social media. We looked at how active they were on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, how many followers they had, how often they engaged with “their people” on these social platforms and to some extent, where we could see the data, if their followers/likers were being engaged by “Liking” and commenting on their Facebook posts, and retweeting  them on Twitter.

Q. Give the simplicity of adding SM media, why are so many NPOs NOT using all the buttons? Is it because of the complexity of their website build outs?
A. Nonprofits are strapped for resources. Many don’t have the budget to have web developers and social media staff to manage their website and social media presence. However, in this day and age, it’s very important that nonprofits carve out some time and resources to address this.  This is where their supporters are and spend a chunk of their time.

Q. Did this research provide any insights into what the challenges are for NPOs in using social media?
A. While our data did not look this per say, we do feel that the biggest challenge here is staffing and resources, which I mentioned above.

Q. Did this research help you understand ways that would be cost-effective and easy for NPOs to improve their social media presence? And will you be sharing those understandings?
A. We recommend that nonprofits utilize 5 key strategies to improve their social media presence.
1.      Provide engaging and relevant content about some of the great work you are doing.
2.      Don’t be wonky. Social media is about being “social”.
3.      Foster conversations. Ask your followers/likers for their opinions.
4.      Be responsive. This is about building a community.
5.      Practice dipping in and out of social media in 10- to 15-minute increments.

Q. It seems that those NPOs — like the Red Cross — that have a critical mission seemed better able to develop a critical mass and a conversation in all channels. Did you get any feedback relevant to that?
A. The Red Cross has at least 2 social media staffers who do a great job engaging people on social networks. They understand the space and how to connect with people, particularly in natural disasters — as we all witnessed during the earthquake in Haiti.  They are also incredibly responsive to the community, which is so important.

Q. What about fundraising? Did you look at those tools and their effectiveness?
A. No this study did not look at that.

Q. This survey seemed like the first step in a deeper analysis, ie. it did not really draw any conclusions. Will there be a second round in this research?
A. The biggest take-away from the study was that income doesn’t necessarily increase a nonprofit’s interactions on social media. Some of the most engaged organizations on social media are not the one’s with the highest income on the list, yet they are doing a good job with their social media. Why? Because they are fostering engaging conversations and interactions.

We are releasing another infographic in early November that looks at nonprofit verticals ranging from Veterans to Environmental organizations and how they do social media.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Among the survey’s findings:

• 92% of the top 50 nonprofits have at least 1 social media presence on their homepage.
• The most followers that an organization has on Twitter is 840,653 (PBS).
• On the other hand, the organization following the most people is following 200,522 (The American Cancer Society)!
• The American Red Cross was the first organization on the list to create a Twitter account.
• Food for the Poor is the most talkative organization on Facebook, and has posted 220 posts over the course of 2 months.
• The organization with the highest net income, the YMCA, only posted 19 times to Facebook in 2 months, but has over 24,000 Fans.

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That’s why family-owned businesses are poised for success when they join social networks. They don’t need crash courses in customer service and brand management. They’ve been doing that for decades.

Of course, it’s necessary to first understand the technical logistics and unwritten rules of social media. For a few pointers, we talked with two family-owned businesses that have been particularly successful: Garrett Popcorn and Abt Electronics. Here’s what their social media strategists had to say.

Customers love sharing their memories

Garrett Popcorn opened for business in downtown Chicago in 1949. Its caramel corn quickly became the stuff of legend and a Chicago tradition. Today, Garrett Popcorn ships its tins nationwide and celebrities openly gush about it. In December, Halle Berry went as far as to fake an orgasm over Garrett Popcorn on The Tonight Show.

“So many people have a history, a story with Garrett,” says Michelle Molise, who manages Garrett’s social media strategy. “They might remember how their parents made them stand in line for Garrett popcorn when they came downtown for holiday shopping in the 1950s. Everyone asks what our secret is after all these years. The secret is that we still create it the same way we did decades ago. It’s all still made in hand batches so it’s always as fresh as possible. People have come to find comfort knowing that the consistence is there for 60-plus years.”

Molise uses that multi-generational love of Garrett to extend its  brand online.  Social media strategist Alecia Dantico launched both Garrett’s Twitter and Facebook profiles in 2009. Today, Molise and her colleague, Elizabeth Hammel, manage Garrett’s profiles. Luckily for them, much of the content they share has already been created.

“A lot of our fans are already sharing their stories about Garrett with each other on Twitter, on their Facebook profiles and in their blogs,” Molise says.  “People are sharing little anecdotes about how they’ve tagged-teamed waiting in line or how they might drop off someone at a store while somebody else circles the block. These stories are being told and we’re able to find them through general searches.”

Once Molise and her team find a post about Garrett, they reach out to the customer directly. “We’ll write something like, ‘We love your post and we’re going to put in our Facebook page.’ Or it might be  ‘We’re so glad you had a wonderful time, these are wonderful photos,’” Molise says. “If we can, we’ll try to raise that little echo chamber of sharing about how much people love Garrett.”

Of course, fans new and old will naturally share their love for Garrett on Facebook and Twitter. Wrote one fan on Garrett’s Facebook page, “My aunt told me about this popcorn over New Years vacation when she was here. I’ve never tired it but I am ordering a tin for myself for Valentine’s Day…ALL MINE : P Goin to enjoy it.”

Tweeted another follower, “Bring on the blizzard! My Big Game Bundle from @garrettpopcorn arrived earlier today!”

Reputations are everything

David Abt opened Abt Radio with three employees in 1936 in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Now called Abt Electronics, the store has more than 1,000 employees and occupies 17 acres of land in suburban Glenview. Its website, Abt.com, ships electronics and appliances nationwide, often with free delivery.

Yet some things don’t change. Abt is still family-owned and known for both outstanding customer service and sales reps that aren’t aggressive. Jennifer Arocena’s job is to extend that reputation through social media, particularly on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Arocena dedicates one of her two computers to Facebook and Tweetdeck, a desktop application for Twitter.  This way she can monitor what customers are saying about Abt in real-time and respond where needed.

“If it’s a customer service question, I’ll look up their information in our system and see if I can quickly help them out,” Arocena says. “If it’s a sales-related question, I’ll connect them with someone who can best answer their question.”

She’s usually able to resolve the issue or answer the question the same day. If the issue or question is in-depth, Arocena asks the customer to email her directly so they can talk offline.   “I certainly don’t want them putting their own email or phone number out there for everyone else to see,” she says.

At the same time, Arocena says that she strives to be transparent online. That way the other people following Abt’s Twitter handle or Facebook page can see its commitment to customer service.

“Last month, a customer was having some issues with our installation and posted about it on our Facebook wall,” she says. “I tried to help the customer out by letting him know the status of his install. Later, another customer said he loved the transparency of seeing how we interacted with our customers.”

The old rules of customer service still apply

Lately, Arocena has focused on growing Abt’s Facebook fan page. A sweepstakes during the holidays attracted many new fans, and now Arocena is experimenting with other ideas.

“A couple of weeks ago, I asked our Facebook fans if they wanted us to create an Abt storefront on Facebook,” Arocena says. “Most fans said they wouldn’t be interested in a storefront because of security and privacy. They would rather see the promotions on Facebook, then go to Abt.com and shop there.”

Her goal is to build a real–albeit online–relationship with both Abt’s current and potential customers. “When you come into the Abt store, you don’t have a pushy sales rep coming at you,” Arocena says. “Our advertising and marketing campaigns are not in your face. We are here for service, here to educate the customers and give them the best prices we can. We want to do the same online through social media.”

Garrett also focuses on using social media to talk directly with customers—not to make a sale. “We want to learn from our customers,” says Jack Aiello, vice-president of marketing for Garrett. “We don’t measure ROI in dollars. We measure it in customer service.”

Every week, we feature businesses who “get” the web. Recent profiles include Threadless, Metropolis Coffee, Wow Bao and Bright Pink. Know of a business we should profile? Let us know via Twitter at 435Digital.

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I am sure you all have seen the viral video, “David After Dentist.” But, if you haven’t stop reading right now and search it on YouTube. See what I just did there? I shared the experience with you. Millions of others have been doing the same thing and now there are T-shirts and scrubs for dentists being made in honor of David.

Check out this segment by “The Young Turks,” the largest online news show in the world, covering news, politics, pop culture and lifestyle. Here, they talk about the video posted by the DeVore Family and how the licensing deals and partnerships with YouTube will inspire others to utilize the viral video and partake in the entertainment of sharing the experience.—HANA YI

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Wrong!

Tipp-Ex Pocket Mouse White Out created an online advertisement that allows viewers to “white and rewrite” the ad story in as many ways and as many times as they want to. An interactive advertisement’s goal is to make you think, “wow, that‘s pretty freaking cool.” With a scruffy man out in the wilderness, a bear and a few props, this video does just that.

Accompanying this share-worthy video are widgets to post it on Facebook, and Twitter. Nearing 10 million views on YouTube you know it’s being passed around.

Don’t forget to click “shoot the bear” or “don’t shoot the bear” when it appears on the screen.

Enjoy!—HANA YI

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Fashion retailer, French Connection, launched a YouTube boutique also known as the YouTique. It features fashion videos and “click-on annotations” that link directly to the site where users can purchase items from the videos. Here French Connection has taken the most engaging platform of advertising, the viral video, and used it to lead viewers to the place of purchase. This easy-to-watch, easy-to-share, easy-to-shop vehicle will more than likely entice their target audience: fashion savvy shoppers.


The YouTique showcases items currently in stores and even categorizes ensembles by event. By doing this French Connection brings the store and the runway to your home, puts fashion in motion and sets the bar for YouTube shopping.

Who will be the second to use YouTube as a gateway to purchases and bring their brand to life?—HANA YI

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