Kanye West’s Top Tips for Digital Communicators

Make no mistake, Kanye West is a one-of-a-kind musician, performer and pop culture icon – just ask him yourself. He has created a personal brand that is all his own and, while his attitude may rub some the wrong way, there are a few lessons we digital marketers can learn from his experience.

Define Your Brand’s Personal Style

Whether or not you dig his shutter-shades and graphic Ts, Kanye’s unique personal style sets him apart from other artists. Just as there are always new musicians trying to make it big, hundreds of consumer brands are hopping on the social media bandwagon trying to get noticed every year. To cut through the clutter, find the online medium where your target audience is already engaged. There, showcase the personality of your brand and highlight the product/service offering that differentiates your company from others.

“He Went to Twitter”

If the one day every girls dreams about most is her wedding day, then I think it’s safe to say that the proposal is the second most important experience we wait for (and after spending this past weekend at a bachelorette party watching the Martha Stewart Weddings DVD and reading 100+ bridal magazines, I can say this with complete confidence). However, I don’t think any girl would ever dream of having the Old Spice man pop the question on behalf of their future betrothed.

According to this Mashable article, the groom-to-be approached the Old Spice Twitter account and asked if they would help him propose to his girlfriend. Shortly after the request came through, Old Spice threw together this quick video and retweeted the guy. His response: “SHE SAID YES!”

Why I Love TOMS Shoes Even More Than Before

Most girls will admit they have a weakness for shoes. I, however, am not one of these girls. I’d rather shop at Payless and I avoid wearing heels at all cost. But then I learned about TOMS and everything changed. Not only are TOMS Shoes adorable and comfortable, their business model is “one for one” – meaning for every pair of shoes I buy, they donate a pair of shoes to a child in a third world country. What’s better than buying a great product with the knowledge that you are helping out a needy kid?

Over the past few years, the company has developed a cult-like following thanks to grassroots marketing and strong word-of-mouth recommendations from people like me. Whether or not you have a closet full of TOMS shoes, I recommend taking a look at its latest social media campaign, which true fans will appreciate.

Smirnoff: Don’t get caught without one

The blogosphere is a-buzz with news about the latest (or maybe only?) viral binge drinking game. Known as Icing, the rules are as follows:

1) You hand someone a Smirnoff Ice beverage

2) The recipient must take a knee and drink the entire sugary drink in one sitting

UNLESS

3) The recipient has a Smirnoff Ice beverage on hand

IN WHICH CASE

4) The original participant must drink both.

5) If you refuse, you are banned from the game and everyone makes fun of you.

Blago’s Latest Folly

After being fired twice in the last year-and-a-half – including once by The Donald – former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojavich is making press again. This time, it’s for a social media campaign aimed to repair the reputation of the infamous politician-turned-reality-TV-personality.

Shortly after his corruption trial began in Chicago last week, Blagojavich launched a Twitter account as a means of rallying support and sharing his side of the story. While his comments have been sporadic over the past week, his agenda is clear based on some of the most recent messages:

Gettin’ Lucky on Facebook

I find it terribly annoying when a brand launches a Facebook page and then doesn’t do a darn thing with it. Particularly for consumer brands, there is not only a huge marketing opportunity for them, but a chance to closely engage with their constituents on a one-to-one level.

I was happy to see that Lucky Magazine has taken Facebook marketing to a new level with the launch of its Facebook Pop Up Shop. In partnership with the Home Shopping Network (HSN), the shopping pub introduced a virtual store for designers like Pade Vavra, Gerard Yosca and F+C.

Gleeful Over MySpace Promotion

Have you been looking for your big break? Well, here’s your chance. MySpace today announced an exclusive open casting call for the popular FOX musical “Glee,” which will accept video auditions until April 26th.

What I love most about this promotion is that it uses the best of social media to engage a core audience. I’m not a huge fan of “Glee” but I know for sure there are die-hard fans across the country who are likely chomping at the bit to upload their video content. While I will not likely submit a video audition myself, I’ll certainly forward the opportunity to some actor friends and encourage them to do so. Ultimately, I am doing MySpace and FOX’s promotion for them because they provided me with the tools and positioned it in a way that the average viewer cannot only relate to but participate in.

What do the Dalai Lama, Seth MacFarlane and Jesse Sullivan Have in Common?

So I haven’t officially attending a college reunion yet, but I’d imagine that very few people would be able to say that they have changed the world since the days of dollar shots at Humphrey’s. However, Jesse Sullivan, a fellow Saint Louis University alum, will certainly have bragging rights when the class of 2008 reunites back in The Lou.

This Is Our Moment

The election of Barack Obama showed us all that it is possibly to rally a younger politically-interested crowd. All you have to do is show that you can create a substantial social media presence and tack on a few celebrity endorsements.

Recently, the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund took the same formula and created the “This Is Our Moment” campaign. The program took the best tactics used by the Obama campaign and has successfully driven a strong following through grassroots mobilization to help encourage senators to pass the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act.

With the help of everyone’s favorite earth-friendly celebrity, Leonardo DiCaprio, and other well-known actors like Jason Long (the Mac), Jason Bateman (I miss Arrested Development), Emmy Rossum (the Phantom’s love interest), the NRDC rolled out an information-packed microsite, a series of web videos and an interactive blog. The site even has a customizable form letter that anyone can send to their senator, encouraging them to pass this bill.

To support these core platforms, the campaign has maintained a Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel and Flickr page, among others, to ensure news, information and its call to action was easily accessible. As for any grassroots campaign, an must-have function is the “SHARE” option. Through virtually any social media platform, users can pass along the information to their network with the click of a button.

While may other politically-driven campaigns appear to be very one-sided and authoritative, this campaign boasts a communal database of user-generated content. Viewers can upload videos expressing their thoughts on the bill and relevant environmental issues. All of this content is then aggregated and shared on the homepage.

Whether or not you support the cause (but come on, love mother earth!), this campaign is a great case study for grassroots social media that has resonated with the (seemingly) politically apathetic youth.

Bark, bark. Tweet, tweet.

Mattel

“Now even your Chihuahua can tweet.”

I kid you not, this is a headline currently found on CNN’s website.

Toy giant Mattel is launching a new product called “Puppy Tweets,” a device dog owners can fasten to their furry friends that will automatically update a Twitter account based on the dog’s activity. Possible tweets include, “I finally caught that tail I’ve been chasing and…OOUUUCHH!” and “Somedays you just gotta get your bark on.”

No, I’m not kidding.

As a person who offers strategic council to clients about social media for a living, I find something fundamentally wrong with a new canine-friendly product. To become an authority on Twitter, one must share information that is at least one of the following: 1) Useful (i.e. “ilili is a great choice for NYC Restaurant Week. You get HUGE portions!” or “Pinkberry is having a 2 for 1 deal today”) 2) Relevant (i.e. “Check out the top 10 YouTube videos from 2009 here: LINK”) 3) Unique (i.e. Check out my latest blog entry on this ridiculous pet product”).

It’s much easier to fall beneath the radar on Twitter if one only shares information that is mundane, irrelevant and/or unoriginal. I see the “Puppy Tweets” product doing just that.

Think about this concept of automatically generated tweets sent by your dog. First of all, the content is finite, as the folks over at Mattel have written the stock repository of potential tweets. The content has no potential to be useful, relevant or unique.

Second of all, the content is coming from a dog. Sure it might be funny the first time to see tweets from the perspective of a German Sheppard or Golden Retriever, but if this thing is going to shoot off updates every time the pooch drinks from his water bowl or chases after a squirrel I see the overkill kicking in sooner than later.

Lastly, I’d image the type of dog owner that would set up with Twitter account for their pet would be one of those people who walks their dog around Manhattan in a stroller and/or brings pictures of their puppy to dinner parties and talk about them like they are children.

Don’t get me wrong – I love dogs. But I do not need real-time updates from Fido included in my Twitter feed.