By Evan Gassman & Mike Schwartz

The big news in social marketing this week, especially in light of Facebook’s planned initial public offering of stock, is that General Motors has opted out of Facebook advertising because GM is “disappointed in the results.” The company had a Facebook ad budget of $10 million and reportedly is the third-largest online advertiser, with an overall budget of $40 million.

At the David All Group, we know Facebook advertising works because we have used the ads in highly successful campaigns for clients. GM obviously was not achieving such success, but the company should not necessarily blame Facebook. The problem is more likely with its Facebook content or possibly with its overall marketing strategy.

We have a mantra at DAG: “Move beyond the ‘like.’” Our chief creative officer David All explained that mentality in a PR Week article last year, and it is one that GM needs to take to heart while rethinking its social strategy.

Companies and brands often find themselves counting Facebook “likes” and trying to quantitatively determine how many they need to sell a product, drive a campaign or promote an issue. They measure return on investment based on how many fans they have. There is a better approach.

Brands should forget about impressions, conversions and sales for a moment. Social media offers them an opportunity to tell the stories of their brand, products and services. Successful storytelling will increase fan following — not because a company spends $10 million but because it engaged fans on a personal level and with interesting content.

Many brands have succeeded in this area, including GM rival Ford, which responded to GM’s situation publicly:

It’s all about the execution. Our Facebook ads are effective when strategically combined with engaging content & innovation.

— Ford Motor Company (@Ford) May 15, 2012

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at GM’s decision to abandon Facebook.

For starters, GM seemed more focused on building apps than building an engaged community. Studies have shown that Facebook users do not spend a lot of time using apps. Apps often are necessary pieces of brand campaigns — for Facebook contests, for example — but they are not a “silver bullet” to drive fan engagement. They should be part of a larger content strategy, one that includes a smart use of Facebook ads. (See another example of a successful Facebook ad campaign here.)

The bigger issue for GM may be its underlying marketing approach. According to TopCar.com, not a single GM brand is among the top 10 most popular car brands with women. Further, the company’s market share has dropped 2 percent since 2011. Consumers clearly are not as fond of GM vehicles when compared with other brands.

These statistics understandably may leave members of the marketing team concerned that their campaigns are not working and prompt them to try new tactics. In a sales-driven culture like GM, marketers want to see immediate and obvious impact.

But they need to remember that social communities like Facebook operate differently. They are not necessarily ideal forums for driving direct sales, but they are great for cultivating conversations about brands and engaging with consumers. Persistent and compelling advertising to Facebook consumers will yield long-term, positive results.

Two good litmus tests for marketing teams on Facebook are creating a realistic goal and determining whether your content and products meet expectations. Are you sharing noteworthy content? Is your product performing well on its own, or are you looking toward advertising to rescue it?

Questions like these are vital, and address the goal of moving beyond the “like.” Marketers should put content first when it comes to a social communications strategy.

Evan Gassman is an account manager at the David All Group. Mike Schwartz contributed to this post.

By Evan Gassman

It is great to have an active and engaged audience online, but brands also need fan bases that are their customer bases when they are selling or promoting goods or services. How can they drive sales? Can a viral video or picture sell a product on its own?

I asked myself that question after discovering “TableTop,” a new YouTube series hosted by Wil Wheaton, of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fame. The premise of “TableTop” is simple: A handful of minor celebrities play a featured board game with Wil Wheaton for 30 minutes. It’s essentially “Celebrity Poker” but with board games (a hobby of mine I noted here before).

Episode 1 of “TableTop” has more than 500,000 views and features the semi-popular board game “Small World.”

A half-million views is great, but did it inspire consumers to buy copies of “Small World”? After doing some research, I found evidence that the show’s popularity indeed has increased demand for copies of of the game.

According to the Amazon.com price-tracking website CamelCamelCamel, the price for “Small World” increased from $37.59 to more than $40 shortly after the episode’s premier. (Websites like Amazon change their prices based on consumer habits and make their best guesses to determine how much people are willing to pay.)

Starlit Citadel, a blog dedicated to board-game stores in Canada, also reported increased demand for not only “Small World” but for nearly every other game featured on “TableTop.” The blog calls this phenomena “The Wheaton Effect.”

“TableTop” is clearly inspiring consumers, but it’s far from “advertising” in the traditional sense. Its impact on board-game sales demonstrates that cultivating an online community, in addition to a traditional ad campaign, can benefit brands as a whole.

Another lesson is that brands that reward their online communities with high-production content, whether it is a video, photo or blog post, can boost sales or interest in their brands.

Has content ever inspired you to buy something? Do you think the “Wheaton Effect” can be applied in other industries? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Evan Gassman is an account manager at the David All Group.

By Michael Schwartz

Six months ago, in a blog post on the future of news, I discussed the ever-changing role of journalists and how media organizations could adjust to the landscape of digital content consumption. I referenced the introduction of Facebook “social readers” by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal as signs of truly understanding the shift to digital content.

But social readers clearly are not the answer for news consumers who want digital content. Usage of the readers is crashing and burning. According to AppData.com, the number of monthly active users of the Post’s reader application plummeted from nearly 18 million users to just 8.2 million in one month.

The data confirm that the challenge media organizations face in embracing and perfecting online news distribution is still a major issue.

PC World describes social reader apps as “the digital equivalent of inviting people to read over your shoulder. … When your friends try to click on the links to the stories you read, they’re directed to install The Washington Post’s Social Reader app — effectively giving it permission to share everything [those friends are] reading.”

That’s more information than many readers are comfortable sharing — and a higher hurdle to reading news than they appear willing to jump. What was once a medium for quickly distributing news on social networks has become an avenue for “viral disgust with the application,” according to CNET.

So what changed people’s minds about readers? Ryan Kellett, the Post’s engagement officer, tweeted an explanation. He said the collapse is the result of a change in how news is displayed in Facebook feeds. Facebook used to display a “double-double” item, where a few friend icons displayed above a list of four to five stories those friends had read. Now Facebook displays one “Trending Article” without a friend’s icon.

While Kellett’s explanation may explain a slight decline, it isn’t likely the cause for a halving of the number of monthly active users of the Post’s reader. Personally, I prefer The Oatmeal’s explanation, pictured here.

Michael Schwartz is an account executive for the David All Group. Follow him on Twitter: @SchwartzMS.

By Evan Gassman

Yesterday, Google announced a major design overhaul of Google+. Over the course of the day, 170 million G+ users will be treated to a completely new experience. But beyond the look and feel, what has changed?

Here are the changes that we at the David All Group believe will matter most to users:

Hangouts

Google is clearly trying to place more emphasis on its video “Hangouts” feature. Hangouts have been completely redesigned and now will have a suite of applications available so users can engage their audiences in different ways.

Users have been able to watch YouTube videos in hangouts for a while. Now they also will be able edit Google docs and share their screens with audiences. Other notable apps include SlideShare to share decks and Cacoo to share drawings.

More details on the updates to hangouts are available in this video:

Personal profiles 

Google+ personal profiles are getting a facelift. Most notably, users will be allowed to select either a “cover photo” or the old photo row. Unfortunately, our test of the new feature shows that users apparently cannot use animated GIFs as their cover photos.

The details about the updates to user profiles are in this video:

Brand pages

Google+ users now can switch between personal and work accounts by clicking the name in the top right corner on a Google product page. Simply click “Add Account,” and you can start seamlessly switching among two or more Google accounts. This is great for managers of brand pages who need such flexibility.

Brand pages are affected by the redesign as well, but the changes are the same as for personal profiles. If your company’s page utilizes the top row of photos, that will remain the same. You can opt to use a cover photo instead but cannot use an animated GIF.

Sharing

Sharing content is more intuitive in the new design. You can drag and drop photos, videos or links from anywhere into Google+ to share them with your circles of followers. Additionally, now users can “notify” their circles when publishing updates on Google+.

Here is Google’s example of the enhanced sharing experience:

Ready to get started? Click here to see a quick tour of the redesign and create a Google+ account if you haven’t already.

Evan Gassman is an account manager at the David All Group. Follow him on Twitter: @EvanGMan.

By Evan Gassman

Years ago, the term “board games” had an overtly negative connotation. These types of games were bad Christmas gifts, kept in shrink wrap in a closet until someone remembered they were there on a rainy day without power.

In 2012, all of that has changed. Now thousands of “designer board games” are being released every year, and audiences across the world are meeting to play them. The former white elephant gift is now an international hobby with a large fan following.

Some of these games have soared in popularity. I discovered this when I stumbled into Labyrinth Games & Puzzles in downtown Washington, D.C. After the staff taught me to play a popular card game called “Dominion,” I was hooked. Other popular mainstays in the board-gaming hobby include “The Settlers of Catan” and “Carcassonne.”

Admittedly, the fascination with board games is still very niche. Lorien Green sought to bring these designer games to the mainstream via a new documentary, “Going Cardboard.” When I discovered she is not a documentary filmmaker by trade but rather someone who specializes in my field of online communications, I invited her to take part in a Twinterview to discuss board games and social media. She agreed.

My main question was how Green is promoting her film, especially with her full-time job? “As soon as that film launches,” she answered, “you are your own marketing and PR department. And social lets you afford to do that.”

Perhaps Green’s inherent understanding of social media explains how she funded her project. Rather than go the traditional route to create “Going Cardboard,” she used Kickstarter, a site that enables donations for nearly any project imaginable.

“It all folds back to social,” she continued. “If someone sees a screening [of “Going Cardboard”] and loves it, they may tweet or [Facebook] it.”

Green did not make this film for “gamers.” Rather, she hopes non-gamers see the film and become interested in the hobby. Social media can play a pivotal role in her mission. A piece of introductory content like “Going Cardboard” appeals to a mass audience and can “go viral” across various channels.

As an aside, I find it amazing that someone who is a social media manager by day made a documentary in her spare time. “Anyone can make a documentary if they have a subject they are passionate in and the drive to see it through,” Green said.

I will be watching “Going Cardboard” at a screening this weekend at the “Penny Arcade Expo” in Boston, so I will post my thoughts afterward. Until then, you can read my whole interview with Green via Storify.

Evan Gassman is an account manager at the David All Group. Follow him on Twitter: @EvanGMan.

By Josh Margolin

If you’re passionate about social media and you were in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, hopefully you attended the Social Learning Summit 2012, which was hosted by American University’s Social Media Club. As club founder Alex Priest said: “This year’s conference was better than the last. And it’s all thanks to the devoted members of the Social Media Club.”

The conference covered topics ranging from how to utilize social media in online marketing for entrepreneurial startups to how social integration is influencing journalistic practices. Speakers also addressed the use of social channels for personal branding — the “digital you.”

Bennett Richardson, an account director at the David All Group, offered keen insights into the formal and informal methods of personal branding and career building. He discussed how to successfully network and seek jobs via networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. “You should strive to create your niche and find your specialty,” Richardson said.

Rachael King, a marketing professional, offered this advice: “Don’t let LinkedIn be a copy of your resume.” She shared her own creative uses of social and professional networks, including the use of Pinterest boards to create a “living, breathing resume.”

The summit speakers included tech startup executive managers, investigative journalists, nonprofit organizers and long-time academic professors. Conversations tended to focus on the most expansive and influential social media.

Hints of complexity and contention emerged at the summit amid debates over best practices in social media and the overall implications. Panelists argued over the legitimacy of journalists disseminating unconfirmed information via Twitter and over the efficacy of social media in various advocacy campaigns.

Within the business sphere, location-based services like Foursquare and Girls Around Me sparked debate that often boiled down to the user threshold for “the creepiness factor,” which tends to fluctuate depending on the social tool. Girls Around Me, in other words, is creepy because of its goal (identifying the locations of nearby girls or guys), but Foursquare is not creepy because the goal is to tell friends where you are, not to stalk strangers.

All of these discussions are evidence that social media channels continue to proliferate and evolve, which means conferences and events like SLS12 will continue to flourish. So mark your calendars for next year and maybe I will see you there.

Josh Margolin is a DAGtern with the David All Group. Follow him on Twitter: @JoshuaMargolin.

By K. Daniel Glover

The interest in Pinterest is at a fever pitch, and brands around the globe are eyeing the virtual pin board as a new social forum for connecting with their fans. It’s the next tool in the 1-9-90 online marketing toolkit. But first brands need to make sense of Pinterest.

The David All Group is here to help, as we have been with every new storytelling venue to hit the Web over the past five years. We just released “Pinterest 101,” a tip sheet for brands that is loaded with details about the network and advice on how to use it.

Want to know why your brand should join the “pinning” fold at Pinterest? We make the case with convincing data. Confused by the Pinterest lingo? We explain it to you. We show you how to get started and how to pin with a promotional spin without breaching Pinterest etiquette. And we close the guide with our top five pinning tips.

Pinterest has amassed more than 11 million users in a little more than two years, earning it the honor of being the fastest-growing website in history while still an invite-only service. Brands need to take steps now to learn how to make the site work for you, and our brief but informative “Pinterest 101” will get your creative juices flowing.

Download it now and let the pinning begin!

K. Daniel Glover is the editorial and research director at the David All Group.

By Hushmath Alam

The latest issue of PR News highlights the David All Group’s collaboration with APCO Worldwide and the Consumer Electronics Association to promote CEA’s innovation policy initiatives. This case study emphasizes how the team’s digital strategy raised awareness about CEA’s campaign and mobilized individuals to support policies touted by the group.

“As part of the CEA’s larger Innovation Movement,” PRNews noted, “the Declaration of Innovation campaign also sought to grow an active base of Americans around CEA’s key innovation policy issues, and energize and engage with its current members — many of whom had never taken action on behalf of the organization’s key policies before.”

“Our messaging was centered around how innovation is vital to who we are as Americans and to the success of the economy,” said Becky Boles, DAG’s vice president of accounts.

The following digital tactics promoted the message:

• Comprehensive Facebook presence — The Innovation Movement’s page “encouraged engagement” through a custom landing page, a tab allowomg fans to sign the Declaration of Innovation and a “Voices” tab that uses multimedia to present stories of innovation. Using these robust features, individuals learn about the movement, take action and engage in thoughtful discussions about innovation directly on the Facebook page.
• Engaging Twitter content — The @imovement account consistently posted interesting content with multiple calls to action, encouraged use of the #declareinnovation hashtag and guided followers to sign the declaration.
• Satellite media tour — Gary Shapiro, the CEO at CEA, announced the launch of the declaration on morning talk shows to spread nationwide awareness of the movement.
• Postcard distribution — Postcards with QR codes that led users to the declaration when scanned were distributed during Consumer Electronics Week. 
• Print and online advertisements — Ads featuring images of Thomas Jefferson and innovation policy messages were placed in politically inclined media such as the The Hill and Politico.

Though it was challenging to launch the digital campaign within four weeks, the team’s action-oriented approach to the campaign proved highly successful. The Facebook community grew by more than 1,150 percent, which led to increased engagement through “likes” and comments. Additionally, campaign efforts generated 5,500+ visits to the Declaration of Innovation pledge site and more than 15,000 YouTube video views. 

“The integrated campaign has yielded well over 36 million impressions between print, online and social advertisements, expanding the reach of the campaign message,” PRNews reported.

DAG will continue to work with APCO Worldwide to offer creative digital solutions that position CEA at the forefront of innovation policy. 

Access the full case study in PRNews here.

Hushmath Alam is a DAGtern with the David All Group. Follow her on Twitter: @hfalam.

By Michael Schwartz

As a team that helps brands and organizations tell their stories, we at the David All Group naturally are excited to hear about Facebook Timeline for Pages, which makes it even easier to tell stories and connect with fans on Facebook.

Facebook released a preview of the platform yesterday. Brands can publish their timelines now or wait until the platform goes live for all pages March 30. Here are five insights that will help brands understand how to use Facebook Timeline before it goes live:

1) Cover photo. As is the case with the new timeline for individuals’ profiles, pages will have cover photographs. This creates a showcase opportunity for brands, but you will have to abide by certain rules. Your cover photo can be up to 850 pixels by 315 pixels but cannot contain: contact, pricing or purchase information; references to possible Facebook actions such as “liking” or sharing content; or calls to action such as “Tell your friends.”

Nike created this beautiful cover photo:

2) Pinning and highlighting. You can use your timeline to keep the most important updates featured by “pinning” and highlighting them. Pinning a post will make it the first item on your timeline for seven days. This is a great way to showcase the best activity. Brands also can highlight posts such as photo albums to make them larger than others in the timeline.

Subway, for example, pinned a big update to showcase free cookies!

3) Milestones. Show your fans the most important moments in your brand’s history by creating milestones in your timeline. Start from the beginning and highlight the key developments that brought your company or organization to where it is today.

Starbucks returned to its roots with this milestone.

4) Administration panel. This panel helps administrators track page activity and performance. You can respond to posts, respond to messages, review all posts and see your latest insights. Some of these insights are publicly available when you publish your timeline.

Mashable’s admin panel allows the technology publication to engage more efficiently and track performance.

President Obama’s page insights are available for anyone to see.

5) Apps, not tabs. Facebook no longer uses tabs but has converted all tabs to apps. The top four apps are featured under the cover photo, with the photo app always featured first. Use the remaining three spaces to display the top destinations on your Facebook page.

American Express’ timeline promotes the three apps most important to its users.

While Facebook is not forcing the change to timeline yet, voluntarily making the transition based on strategic planning can help draw attention to your brand over competitors. But before you publish your Timeline, here’s what you will need to do:

• Create a cover photo that captures the essence of your brand.
• Update the “About” section so it fits under the profile photo.
• Optimize tabs for full-page display (760 pixels) and decide which three you will feature on your page.
• Devise a policy for answering private messages.
• And pick the key milestones in your brand’s history to display.

Michael Schwartz is an account executive for the David All Group. Follow him on Twitter: @SchwartzMS.

By Josh Margolin

In my mind, Nike always has epitomized a great company. However, until recently this perception stemmed predominately from its product line. Now I know that there’s more to Nike than its excellent sports equipment and apparel.

Through its creative advertising and innovative social products, Nike has created a culture of dedicated sports enthusiasm and hobbyist recreational activity. Before long the company that soared to new business heights on the motto “It’s gotta be the shoes” may have to update that slogan to “It’s gotta be the community.”

The development of Nike+, a technology that tracks running data and connects runners around the world through its official website, is a perfect example. As a sports enthusiast and avid runner, I was intrigued by this technology, so I created a profile to share my running statistics, tips, GPS coordinates and other details with interested users. I was hooked immediately.

Nike+ has led to an explosion of interactivity and synergy among runners who never before had a convenient way to connect and share their information. This is great for runners like me who consider running to be a social activity. While I occasionally enjoy the peaceful solitude of a solo run, I usually prefer the company and camaraderie of a fellow runner by my side to help keep me on pace and offer moral support just by being there.

Nike+ has completely transformed my running experience. Through the website, I track my running record, share my favorite running routes and even find others who may be interested in joint running opportunities.

Nike+ is only one example of how the company encourages its customers to interact with each other — proof that Nike is focused on more than pushing products. It is creating a culture around the brand. What better way to retain customers than to become part of their lives and identities!