I’ll admit it. After weeks of hearing about and being warned away from Chatroulette, I visited the site. I had some friends over a couple weeks ago and, when the conversation turned to Chatroulette, I suggested we check it out. Besides being mildly traumatizing, the experience got me thinking.
If you haven’t heard of or visited Chatroulette, here’s a quick primer: Andrey Ternovskiy, a 17 year-old high school student from Moscow, founded the site in late 2009. It’s basically an old school chatroom mixed with Skype. The novelty lies in the “roulette” aspect: visit the site to chat with a random (and yes, sometimes naked) stranger. Don’t like that person? Just click a button and you’ll get paired with another one (but there’s no clicking back to the last person).
Sometime in February the site became the latest mainstream internet phenomenon. That’s not to say everyone uses it. Everyone just talks about it. Who does use it?
So who will you meet on Chatroulette? 72% of the site’s users are male. 45% are people age 18 – 24. And many are using the site for, um, less-than-scholarly activities. Which is why you probably don’t want to check out the site on your work computer. And why you may also want a trigger-ready finger to click “Next.”
That said, Chatroulette’s uses go beyond the obscene. Some examples: video, video. Plus, while I don’t think companies should stifle the fun with marketing messages, I think the site poses some opportunities for creative marketing efforts. Here goes:
Position your company’s logo or icon in front of a webcam and leave it up on Chatroulette. Make it eye-catching. Make sure the url to your website is visible. It’s like a billboard – people probably won’t stop and look at it for long, but your logo will get some face time. Plus, it’s free (and takes about zero effort).
Create a game or puzzle like this person did. Go for simplicity and cleverness, but also make sure your logo or brand message makes an appearance too.
Get a Chatroulette celeb to rep your brand with a t-shirt, hat, etc. while on the site.
Make a Chatroulette contest. For instance – put the prize (iPad!) in front of your webcam and leave it up on Chatroulette all day with a sign that says “Visit [your website url here] for a chance to win this.” Or, announce that you’ll be on Chatroulette during a certain timeframe and that you’ll be giving a special discount code or prize to people you come across that are wearing a t-shirt with your company’s logo or using your company’s product.
Tie it in with your other marketing efforts. You know Burger King’s creepy King mascot? Now imagine that you ran into the King on Chatroulette. Wouldn’t you tell your friends (or perhaps share the news on Twitter)?
What are your ideas for marketing on Chatroulette? Let us know in the comments.
12seconds is a great place to create video status updates online. You create videos through your webcam or your mobile phone’s video input. With 12 seconds to say your piece you’ve got to be quick and creative. Sounds limiting? That’s what they said about Twitter. Your brand can gain a lot by setting up an account.
1. 12seconds has wisely tied their service directly into Twitter. Your video updates can go directly to your Followers without creating an extra link. Services like TwitPic and 12seconds are the sort of difference-makers that can help add depth and personality to your account. Text-only is so 2008!
2. 12seconds integrates as smooth as silk with Tweetdeck. You can watch your friends’ videos directly inside this Adobe Air application, record new videos to share and even retweet your favorite video updates.
3. Celebrities often herald the masses when it comes to emerging technologies. Check out the bump that Ashton Kutcher just gave to Twitter. We’ve got Shaq in our corner. His first update has already received 12,000+ views in its first day on the site. Don’t be surprised if the site’s membership sees a huge increase in the next few months.
4. With a new social media platform there’s a chance to establish thought-leadership prior to the rest of the crowd showing up. With a little ingenuity and imagination you could be the Gary V of 12seconds and have the first case study of video status update success written about you.
5. Often in these embryonic stages there is less competition for viewer’s attention. On Facebook you’re competing with millions of other companies to the stimulate the rods and cones of the 400 million eyeballs (200 million users X2) on there. With 12seconds if you create something quirky or of value there’s a high probability that you’ll find your video in the Featured section or in the Popular section of the site.
6. Whoa! I forgot one of the best things that 12seconds just rolled out. They now offer the option to throw a link to something you want to promote like a product release, event or new service offering in with your video. Give your elevator pitch with a 12omercial!
7. There are some really useful features built in to help you interact with your customers and prospects in a meaningful way. You can react to other users creations with videos, props via the “bump” feature or just plain old text comments. If users like it when someone just sends them 140 characters imagine how they’d feel if a rep from your company sent them a fun little video? Higher Level Interaction = More Trust.
8. You can embed your best video to your site. This ability can spice up the social media savvy of your main corporate site. It’s all about buying into this channel and throwing up a flag that you’re committed to it. Users respect that and will show you love for it.
9. Everyone’s boss loves metrics. 12seconds feels your pain and gives you stats on your impressions, views, embeds, mobile views, downloads, RSS feeds and retweets/mentions. All that would look good on an ascending chart in a PowerPoint presentation, right?
10. It’s about the meta-data. 12seconds allows you to add both tags and your location to each video. One can anticipate further integration that would add a more in-depth location-based element to the service in the future similar to BrightKite. These extra details make your entries more search-friendly and create deeper connections with your audience. This location-based element would be particularly important if you’re a local business or a retail with brick & mortar locations.
11. Did you know that worldwide more people own cells than computers? Estimates have the figure at over 4 billion. Wow. Is your brand ready to go global? A service like 12seconds helps you to not only be everywhere but to have fans creating videos everywhere. The more mobile devices with video technology and better video support we have the more media that will be consumed and created on them. Why not corner that market now?
So in case you hadn’t heard we’re throwing a party with our friends over at LoneRider Brewing Company on March 12 from 7 pm – 9:30 pm at their brewery here in Raleigh. Haven’t RSVPed yet or need details? Everything you need can be found here: http://www.amiando.com/lonerider.html
1. So like any good Tweetup we now have a Twitter hashtag. Please include #lonerider whenever you tweet about the LoneRider Tweetup. New to hashtags on Twitter? Check this video out to LEARN MORE.
2. We now officially have a catering sponsor. Our friends at The Q Shack will be providing a variety of tasty appetizers. They’re picking the perfect matches for Shotgun Betty and DeadEye Jack as we speak. More to come on this.
3. We created a goofy video for LoneRider here in the office. More entries are on the way but you can preview the videos before we pick the winner on our YouTube Channel HERE.
We hope to see you all there! This event is free and open to the public. Please INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!
Nothing seems to bring out the creativity of ad execs like beer. It’s a fun product that seemingly would sell itself. The trouble is that the market is crowded. That’s when commercials can really make their mark and set brands apart. Here are my favorites. Think you can make a great beer commercial? Prove it HERE and submit an entry to LoneRider Brewing Company’s Commercial Contest.
Didn’t see your favorite in my list? Post a comment with a link! Oh and don’t forget to enter the LoneRider Contest. We’re giving away beer!
Posted on April 5th, 2010 by Hannah
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