The opening keynote at ClickZ Live New York started off with an introduction from John Barnes, Managing Director, Digital & Tech at Incisive Media.
The featured speaker, Randi Zuckerberg (sister to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in case you’ve been off the grid for a few years) provided an overview of her experience at Facebook during the early days and highlighted what made the initial DNA of the company work to help it grow. She also shared some good humor and a list of 10 new media trends that are posed to impact consumers and the way we market to them.
After graduating from Harvard (Randi noted that Mark did not), she worked at Ogilvy in Manhattan when brother Mark convinced her to join Facebook as a start-up in California – to help with Marketing. Initial skepticism fell upon seeing the passion of the people working on Facebook and she was involved for 6 1/2 years.
From that time, Randi highlighted what she feels cemented early Facebook success. These are lessons for any company:
- Take a demand led marketing approach. Facebook followed a slow roll out strategy where they only opened at a few colleges, then more, then the military and then high schools and then the open public. For start-ups and new products, the slow, invite-only beta rollout can work pretty well and is often imitated.
- Crowdsourcing. Facebook realized there were things that needed to be done but couldn’t with current staff. Translating Facebook into multiple languages for example. The site was translated by users into Farsi in 24 hours.
- Put a strong company culture in place very early. Culture was one of the first things they focused on at Facebook. They figured out how to create a hot, hacker culture within Facebook and keep it going. One way they did that was with “hackathons” – creating fun, clever projects that were then presented to the Facebook team. Some of the hacks like Facebook chats and video messaging came from hackathons. Facebook realized that good ideas could come from anyone – not just the most experienced staff.
Randi shared that her first time on video was as a correspondent for CNN during the presidential inauguration. She wanted to create a CNN within Facebook and developed a TV show (Facebook Live). Katy Perry asked to appear on the show to launch a concert tour, which quickly sold out. A string of famous people followed. President Obama had a town hall meeting on the show as well. In the same week she hosted the President, had a baby and resigned from Facebook.
“Technology has added value to our lives, but it’s also made it more complicated.”
Technology innovations:
- Amazon delivery drones
- Google Glass
- Google self driving cars
- Lady Gaga to sing in space
What not to do on Facebook / Social Media:
- Humblebragger
- Obsessive food blogger
- Don’t be a #hash #hole
- Romantic public exchanges
- Overfiltered Instagrammer
- Vague posts
- The old person who just doesn’t get it
Top 10 New Media Trends:
1. All brands are media companies. Every single one of us is a media company. RedBull is a great example of this. RedBull is giving the media a run for their money with the content they produce. Another example is Beyonce using social media to release her new album.
Growing your brand with great content is the number one most valuable thing you can do for your customers.
2. The Internet of Everything. From wearables like Google Glass to internet enabled home automation devices like Nest (Recently purchased by Google for $3 billion), internet connected devices are increasingly becoming a part of our daily lives. Cars are another growing internet enabled “device” that will get a lot more development in the coming years. Wearable internet devices are also becoming more fashionable.
3. The Currency of Connections. Your network and the influence you have is one are very valuable things. Brands are beginning to recognize this. American Airlines lets those with high Klout scores in their Airport clubs for free. Ceasar’s Palace revamped their loyalty program to include gaining points from tweeting that you can cash in at one of their restaurants.
4. Social Selling. Stella & Dot have thousands of “stylists” that are not paid, but can go out and sell products on their own through their personal networks. LiketoKnowIt enables your Instagram followers to shop your products and many other apps and plugins exist to enable commerce within social platforms.
5. JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) over FOMO (fear of missing out). JOMO means checking out of social networks and actually living life. Tools to help you do that: RunPee is an app that will tell you the best time to leave during a move to go to the bathroom. RescueTime gives you a breakdown of your day to see where you’re wasting time and being productive. Anti-Social is an app that will shut down access to social networks (and there’s no way to turn it off).
6. Think Like a Maker. With the rise of 3D printers and the growing number of teens that aspire to being an inventor, this is a growth area. Interesting examples include: 3D printed ear, acoustic guitar, guns, memento of a fetus??? Custom Made is a community that can connect your idea with people that can make it happen. Creating an app is like being a maker. App Builder is a tool to make it easy to create an app.
7. Visual Takes Center Stage. Images are proven to be more effective and inspire significantly greater engagement on social content. Getty has released 35 million images for free. Dunkin Donuts uses images to celebrate their fans. Ben & Jerry’s uses imagery extensively in all their social content. Pinterest enables people to become experts or at least attract a huge following through curation of visual content.
8. Mobile for Time-Saving. Mobile apps are increasingly focused on saving us time. An upcoming Starbucks app will let you pre-order your coffee. Companies are making it easy to pre-order or pay on your mobile device instead of though a teller at the store. Apple Store Quick Scan is an example. Think of ways you can create tools to make it easier for them to do what they want to do.
9. Gamification for Motivation. People are relying on technology for feedback and motivation. Examples: Alarm clock app that donates money to charity every time you hit the snooze button. Nike Plus app notifies your social networks that you’re going for a run and when anyone likes your update, the app plays applause. Or Gym shamer, which posts when you don’t go to the gym.
10. Find Tech / Life Balance. There’s a big trend in digital detox. Randi shared an example of a hotel that will take your phone and computer and lock it away during your stay. Also, there’s an increase in retreats without electronics. Randi practices a digital shabat on the weekend – unplugging on Saturdays.
Overall, it was an interesting and entertaining keynote. I’ve never met Randi Zuckerberg and she was an extremely interesting person. Having a dream of singing on Broadway get derailed by Harvard and Facebook only to result in her now singing one of the leads in Rock of Ages is a pretty impressive journey.
You can find more about Randi Zuckerberg at:
Community: dotcomplicated.co
Business Book: Dot Complicated
Kids Book: Dot
Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/randi/
Are there any new media trends that you would add to this list?
