Video has steadily been climbing the ladder of importance by both consumers and marketers. Rich media has the ability to strengthen a brands recognition among consumers and is proven to be much more engaging than a static website or advertisement.

A recent study done by metrics firm comScore and VideoEgg, a rich media advertising network found that brands that integrated video into its marketing campaign increased favourability, ratings, recognition and engagement.

“We believe engagement is what truly drives brand metrics,” said Troy Young, VideoEgg president. “The results have important implications for brand advertisers seeking to maximize brand lift, and further validate our focus on delivering the right mix of creative. . .to optimize online brand engagement.” (more…)

Brand ambassadors and influencers are a critical part of building and growing a reliable fan base and following. Many brands look to the number of followers a particular person’s profile may have, however this might be another case where looks can be deceiving.

A brand ambassador is someone who represents your brand in a positive, fun or creative way and carries the mission and messaging of your brand out to the public. Today’s brand ambassadors rely on social networks and user-generated content (UGC) to engage participants, and can exist is some ways you may not have thought of. (more…)

So your brand has embraced social media. You’ve created a strategy, you hired the right people to do the job. You’re listening and responding and leveraging the data that is most valuable to you. And now you have even managed to engage your employees. Uh, oh. This is where management starts to sweat and brings out the ol’ social media policy.

Between all the best practices, webinars and articles written about what to incorporate into your company’s social media policy I have noticed an overwhelming trend toward the “don’t” list. (more…)

The content monster is kind of like Cookie Monster in that he always wants more. However it isn’t so much the filling of content that keeps the writers spirit’s low - it’s the lack of comments.

As participants in the social space everyone’s aim is to encourage sharing and explore discussion. Think of the content as the hunger and the comments as the cookie. Whether you write something every day or every week or every hour - without the comments you just don’t get the same satisfaction. (more…)

NOTE: This article was written by guest blogger Duncan McMonagle, Journalism Instructor at Red River College. The opinions shared here are that of the author and not ICUC Moderation Services Inc.

The Winnipeg Free Press, whose dead-trees edition has been hemorrhaging readers for two decades, is learning how to use social media: Tweet it and they will come.

It’s succeeding the old-fashioned way, by covering a city council meeting. (more…)

Whether you are running a contest, an online audition or a community assignment, attracting UGC submissions can be a challenge. Here are some tips that you can apply to your campaign to draw more content from your website visitors. (more…)

With all the hype of location based sharing this year there were bound to be a few who question the safety and even necessity of the new trend toward super-transparency. A new website called PleaseRobMe.com may only aggregate publicly shared check-ins, but its name may have a greater impact on participants. (more…)

Early this week I read an article about protecting your reputation online that fell nicely into some conversations I have been having with employees at ICUC Moderation Services and people interested in what I spend the better part of my days talking about - social media.

Since social networking really requires that we are all so transparent and open to sharing, does it have to mean that we display our entire lives online? Do we really want to create an open forum for people to discuss our lives while we simply watch and listen? Don’t we get enough of that from our friends and family? (more…)

Audi has recently produced a social media effort in connection with its third consecutive Super Bowl that will focus on the benefits of clean diesel technology and highlight the company’s A3 TDI model and is simultaneously stirring a little controversy.

The A3 TDI went on sale six weeks ago according to Andrew Lipman, spokesman for Audi. The campaign objective has set out to educate consumers about the impact of their everyday actions on the environment.

As one of Germany’s oldest-established automobile manufacturers, the company has produced a series of videos for its Green Police YouTube channel, as well as a Twitter page. The group of faux police officers demonstrate the protection of the environment in both the television and social media stages of the campaign. (more…)

To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, The Washington Post asked their readers how Dr. King had inspired them. The newspaper invited users to submit a video response sharing which of the famous activist’s words they thought were most memorable, or explaining how Dr. King had affected their lives.

Many citizens went to YouTube to reenacting Dr. King’s famous speeches. The videos are displayed on YouTube’s homepage as well as on washingtonpost.com. Participants could visit the YouTube blog or The Washington Post site to submit their video using YouTube Direct. Once the videos are posted, others have the opportunity to respond to the content and share their thoughts about the day. (more…)