Feb
14

Feedback Internships 2013

by Feedback

Feedback is happy to announce our 2013 search to fill our summer internship program!

Interns would be working with our research team on international ethnographic research and strategy projects with occasional opportunities for social media implementation depending on skill set.  Past interns have come from various backgrounds including Communication, English, Psychology and Sociology. Because of such diverse backgrounds we try to cater our internships to fit the needs and interests of each student.  We offer paid and for credit internships.

So, if you’re interested in working with us this summer or know someone who would –  submit a resume, cover letter, and any additional work of interest to brittney@feedbackagency.com for consideration. If you have any questions or require more information please visit our website and feel free to bug Brittney.

Nov
24

A Finger-Lickin’ Scholarship

by Feedback

What words come to mind when you think of KFC? “Fried chicken,” of course. “Double Down,” perhaps. What about “Social Media in Higher Education?”

KFC is offering a $20,000 college scholarship to a graduating high school senior who can produce the best tweet beginning with, “I should be a #KFCScholar because…” It’s a strategy that shows Col. Sanders’ commitment to education.

Each year, KFC gives away 75 student scholarships and this year, they are looking for the best tweet from a high school senior with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 (or higher). The best tweet will be selected based 40 percent on creativity, 30 percent on need and 30 percent drive.

We’re seeing about 100 tweets an hour with the hashtag #KFCScholar. For a ten-day contest, that equals to over 24,000 tweets. While I’m not a fan of the Double Down sandwhich (ick!), I’m thrilled with this brilliantly simple social media campaign. It engages the appropriate target audience, gives back to the community and promotes free marketing and advertising.

What more could a company ask for in terms of ROI… And what more could a high school senior ask for with an ROI of 140 characters for $20,000?

-Heather (@hmillar13)

Oct
08

Thoughts on OneTrueFan.com

by Feedback

A couple weeks ago, just prior to hopping on a bus for a cross-country tour, I fell in love with OneTrueFan.com. Now that some of the initial hype has died down, I thought I’d share how my first week with it went.

You should first know that this thing kind of blew my mind at first.

The canned description is that this is Foursquare for the Internets. In other words, a way to “check in” at just any ol’ website as you surf, thereby communicating where you go and tagging you as a “fan” of frequently visited sites and therefore the, “one true fan” of sites you’ve visited more than anyone else (like Foursquare’s, “mayor”). It also has patches/badges for browsing accomplishments and a point system that builds by visiting and sharing pages through Twitter, Facebook and more. It’s easy to lazily make this the web’s analog to Foursquare. It can be a lot more than that.

Step back from the mechanics, which require a downloaded plug-in for your browser, and you can see that in some ways this turns web analytics a bit on its head – in fact it reverses the magnifying glass, showing you the interesting detail beyond your simple history. It really forces you to take a different look at your browsing culture and personal identification.

As Co-Founder Eric Marcoullier (@bpm140) reflected openly in a Twitter conversation with me:

I pretty much always look at who visited the page before I read the article now. The context is fascinating.

During my first week I really stayed open with my browsing. I installed the One True Fan plug-in on my main browser and allowed auto-check-ins on basically every site I visited (in full disclosure I did hide check-ins on exactly three sites, for client sensitivity reasons). Doing this while on the AGLA Hiring Heroes tour was particularly interesting since my check-ins ricocheted between scheduling which tiny town we’d be in from Dallas to Los Angeles and keeping up with news and work from the world outside the bus.

There’s a stat dashboard I don’t visit very often, but does contain some sample activity:

And here’s the bar that subtly appears at the bottom of websites – it’s small at first but when moused-over shows:

I too found myself checking who else had been there, both from a crowd-sense and a breadcrumb sense. It doesn’t just include anyone with a OneTrueFan.com plug-in, but also anyone sharing these sites on Twitter, Facebook and more (lots more, coming soon, they promise). Yes, there are privacy concerns (that can be easily assuaged with just NOT sharing site visits or un-checking “auto check-in”) but it still makes for an interesting personal if not public experiment.

Consider how this lens, of our internet life, combines with other lenses. How our patterns and likes, our real-world favorites and virtual world favorites begin to make up our personal identity. Consider the generational differences and how OneTrueFan.com data could illuminate our perceptions of demographics… The mind blows.

Business, healthcare & higher education institutions… what if you could actually identify who your biggest fans were?

For more on One True Fan, here’s video of Eric from their Disrupt 2010 presentation:

OneTrueFan.com is in private alpha right now…

-Dean (@dbrowell)

Sep
20

Campus Social Media Blackout a Bust

by Feedback

“The (social media) blackout isn’t really that bad.  Anyone with a 3G phone can still view these sites on campus.” – Harrisburg University Student

I think it’s safe to say that we aren’t surprised at the results of Harrisburg University’s social media blackout experiment.  Reports are trickling in that the number of students who actually went cold turkey without any social media for the week averaged between 10% – 15%.  Students were found hiking to a local hotel to log into Facebook through the hotel lobby’s wifi.  And of course, anyone with a 3G phone could access social media sites.

As listed on the Harrisburg’s website, the goal of the social media blackout was:

“To get students, staff and faculty to think about social media when they are not available.”

Many are reporting that this experiment failed.  The most obvious observation is because trying to block social media in this day and age is nearly impossible.  And with only  10% – 15% of the campus “playing by the rules,” is this a true assessment of how the university’s population is affected?  Perhaps the university should have researched the campus first, as Feedback EVP, Dean Browell stated:

If the statement they want to make is that the students should re-evaluate their communication methods and the effect such methods have on their life, it would do great justice to their cause that they understand the lesson before it is taught.

Like we mentioned before, there were a lot of assumptions made without any research or in depth understanding of how/why certain audiences on Harrisburg’s campus communicate.  How was communication and productivity measured beforehand in order to reach a true assessment of this experiment?

Perhaps it was a public relations stunt.  If so, brilliant for getting your name out there!  Even if Jimmy Fallon did say on NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,

We all have smartphones, dumb ass.

- Heather (@hmillar13)

Aug
31

Higher Education Checks Into Foursquare

by Feedback

A few interesting higher education-related news today show the emergence of “place” and geolocation as an interesting angle and channel for communicating with and meaningfully engaging new students.

First up, the University of Oregon spiced up Welcome Week with an interesting use of Tips, a special school-only badge and a self-guided tour of campus. About Foursquare gives details:

As part of the “Grand Tour,” the Oregon Duck has left tips around campus that will highlight some features of campus that students may not know about…Students who friend the Oregon Duck and check in at all 10 locations with tips on Friday, September 24 can show their checkin history to redeem a real-life InDUCKted badge. The badge is good for 20% on Oregon Ducks sportswear at the Duck Store.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is using a microsite in conjunction with Foursquare to encourage students to visit alcohol-free businesses in the area. The effort includes special deals for the students checking in and promotional opportunities for the participating local businesses.

This isn’t the first time colleges have embraced Foursquare as a means to encourage students to interact with their environment. Recently Foursquare made custom badges for Harvard to correspond with custom tips, info and of course to allow officials to track participation.

“Harvard is more than classrooms and buildings. It is an interconnected community of people, ideas, and experiences, and we are actively pursuing ways to enhance those connections,” said Perry Hewitt, director of digital communications and communications services for Harvard Public Affairs and Communications.

What better assets to combine than a tech savvy community and a collection of buildings in an educational realm constantly under evolution away from brick-and-mortar. The concept of “place” online helps marry the importance of physical location with the information flow of the virtual space.

Oddly enough, despite the recent debut of Facebook Places, Facebook simply Facebook debuted Facebook Universities, a special Page dedicated for interacting with the facets of your educational community except for Place and dumps you immediately on the “Deals” tab – so you can interact with sponsored brands before you get to your provost. Sigh. We assume there’s more to how colleges can use Places and of course there will be check-ins regardless.

How next Fall will look for colleges and universities, when the hundreds of millions of Facebook check-in and Foursquare and others are only more rampant, will be the true test. How will your institution watch, research, strategize and take advantage of these trends? Throw us a line, we can help.

-Dean (@dbrowell)

P.S. We would like to lift up one of our favorite blogs, “About Foursquare” which is one of the quickest to deliver media sites on Foursquare developments. Check it out.

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Jul
29

Facebook Questions: Details, Advantages & Institutional Concerns

by Feedback

This week Facebook launched, “Facebook Questions” to a limited number of users. In essence the Questions service easily posts a public question from the same spot you might normally post a basic update. A question using Questions is completely public, although answers will likely contain responses by both Friends and non-Friends.

As AllFacebook.com explains,

“Right now the product will only be launched to a beta group, however Questions will be rolled out based on how the beta test performs. There are a number of significant features within questions that are not provided by competing services (i.e. Quora). For example, users will be able to add photos to a question, create polls, and browse through questions based on categories. One other substantial feature that many Page administrators will welcome, is the ability to ask questions directly from a Facebook Page.”

The addition also meant a slightly re-worked publishing tool for users posting status updates, links, etc. While not normally a very big deal, some rightly point out that the simple status update or wall-writing (even on someone else’s) now requires two clicks before posting, which could impact the number of posts.

What does this mean for institutions such as healthcare, higher education?

The answer is first not to be afraid of new features, but be mindful of how they could be used.

The change will be advantageous for institutions keen on engaging audiences by allowing a Page to ask open-ended questions as it normally might, only in a more visible medium as the questions will appear in the public repository, not just on your Facebook Page.

The most obvious concern for many will be how the general public uses it to poll their friends and beyond for decisions, possibly slanting their Questions obviously to the positive or negative. Where currently a Facebook user might simply post on their wall, “I just moved to Chicago, where should I take my toddler for her first checkup, anyone recommend a doctor?”, this question now can now be posed to a waiting public who may answer with verbosity. Or, when in shopping mode for institutions of higher education, a teen who has narrowed their choices might poll openly which of the two or three they should attend.

This last point should also signal an opportunity, however. Here is your chance to demonstrate thought leadership and ANSWER questions as well.

How Facebook Questions challenges general sites such as Quora, or industry-specific sites such as WebMD’s Exchanges, only time will tell.

Some rightly note that many of the Questions being asked right now as it launches in beta are all about Facebook and Facebook Questions.

Questions will be an interesting animal to watch from a monitoring standpoint as we judge adoption levels.

-Dean (@dbrowell)

Jul
26

Higher Education, Meet Social Media

by Feedback

“… the longstanding notion that colleges can carefully shape and control their public image is antiquated.” – President Brian Rosenberg, Macalaster College

Like it or not, with the influx of new media and viral marketing, higher education can no longer control its message or perception. In essence, hardly anyone can control public perception anymore. What organizations can do, however, is try to influence that message and communicate/market in the most strategic/effective way.

After working in higher education myself for over ten years, I think it’s safe to say the means of communication and marketing has changed … an obvious understatement. From marketing the institution to prospective students, to communicating with current students/faculty/staff to engaging with younger and older alumni alike, higher education institutions have had a difficult time embracing new media to attract and sustain communication with their constituents.

Higher education marketing and communication strategies must adapt to stay afloat and compete in today’s economy. How many print brochures do you think the average junior/senior in high school receives from prospective colleges and universities? If you stripped away the college logo and tagline, could you decipher major differences between the marketing materials and what they are trying to “sell?”  How many juniors/seniors in high school read the newspaper … in print?  Remember your audiences and respect how they are communicating in today’s world.

Luanne Lawrence, Vice President of University Advancement at Oregon State University said in response to their new media campaign, “Powered by Orange,”

“It’s scary to relinquish control of your message. But when you build a loyal community, it does your work for you.”

Right now, my two favorite social media campaigns for higher ed are yielding amazing results. Oregon State University’s social media campaign caters more towards prospective students and influencing the reputation of the university by including all constituents. The campaign launched last spring. School enrollment has soared, first-time donations by alumni were up and visits to the OSU website grew exponentially.

Macalaster College happened into a social media frenzy. A seemingly innocent self-parodying video on YouTube, “President’s Day at Macalester College” initially designed to attract and engage alumni, ended up reaching over 55,000 viewers. Annual fund donations spiked. The self-proclaimed non-technology savvy college president had a change of heart. President Brian Rosenberg of Macalester College had never blogged, tweeted, and he wasn’t on Facebook. He learned first-hand how new forms of social media “have more potential to connect audiences across both generational and geographic boundaries than do virtually all previous forms of communication.”

This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s reality. Pay attention to your audiences. Embrace new media … and accept the fact that the old adage of “controlling your message” is obsolete.

- Heather (@hmillar13)

May
14

Anna and Heather’s Social Media Picks of the Week – Higher Education Edition (05/14/10)

by Feedback



Pick up any college brochure or catalog; delete the brand names and the map … can you tell which college this is?

Seth Godin, author, blogger and CEO of Squido.com, recently blogged about the “Coming Meltdown in Higher Education” (as Seen by a Marketer).”  Some of his insights certainly provide food for thought:

  • Most undergraduate college and university programs are organized to give an average education to average students
  • Accreditation isn’t the solution, it’s the problem.
  • One reason to go to college was to get access.  Today, that access is worth a lot less.

His article has sparked lively conversation online and with those on both sides of the fence. The conversation has been, at the very least, interesting and entertaining to read.

Dubbed the “most comprehensive university social marketing campaign seen to date” – OSU’s “Power of Orange” campaign

OSU built a strategic social media presence on Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn and multiple Twitter accounts. What’s “Powered By Orange?” Here’s the answer from the PBO website:

“It’s you – the network of alumni, students, faculty, staff, friends and fans connected to Oregon State University. It’s the positive impact you make every day in Portland and beyond – on the economy, the environment and the community. Use this Web site to tell your story and connect with the other practical idealists who are Powered by Orange.”

Since the campaign’s launch, enrollments have soared, first-time donations by alumni are up and visits to the OSU website have grown exponentially. Luanne Lawrence, OSU’s vice president of university advancement said that they are letting social media drive their decision making,

“We stripped our budget and rebuilt it. It was the hardest thing we had to do. Fifteen to twenty-five year-olds are rebuilding every aspect of the industry, and I’m listening to them.”

Watching the Web Watch the UVa Murder Case

In a time of tragedy and a lot of questions left unanswered regarding the death of UVa’s women’s lacrosse player, Yeardley Love, social media seems to have found a way to respond with patience and maturity. The sports blog, Deadspin, known at one time for its vindictive and unprofessional posts, proved a firm and respectful grasp of the situation by shutting off comments on the UVa story when they veered towards bad taste.

Editor, A.J. Daulerio said, “It was more a message to think a little bit more next time around.”

There also wasn’t a single negative comment to be found when a Facebook page was set up in Yeardley’s memory. Instead, there has been an outpouring of compassion towards Love.  The number of likes on the Facebook page jumped from 4000 to 13,000 within 14 hours … and two weeks later, there are over 66,000 likes.

Social media addiction: Worse than you think

One student blogged the following: I started to feel isolated and lonely…By 2:00 pm I began to feel the urgent need to check my email, and even thought of a million ideas of why I had to. I felt like a person on a deserted island…. I noticed physically, that I began to fidget, as if I was addicted to my iPod and other media devices, and maybe I am.

Two hundred University of Maryland students agreed to live 24 hours without any social media – no cell phone, iPods, or computers. The results of this study actually found that students suffered from the same physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms as alcohol and drug addicts when they went without social media and their cell phones for 24 hours.


Self proclaimed middle-aged, balding college President learns valuable social media lessons

President Brian Rosenberg of Macalester College has never blogged, tweeted, and he’s not on Facebook. However, as he stated, he learned first-hand how new forms of social media “have more potential to connect audiences across both generational and geographic boundaries than do virtually all previous forms of communication.”

After a seemingly innocent, self-parodying video on YouTube, “President’s Day at Macalester College” initially designed to engage alumni reached over 40,000 viewers on YouTube and annual fund donations spiked, the self non-technology savvy college president has had a change of heart:

“I have begun to learn about the nature and power of the social media that are reshaping the way we communicate with one another and should be reshaping the way organizations of all kinds communicate.” – President Rosenberg

-Heather (@HMillar13) and Anna (@alucas9)