I came across a great Facebook wall post today while managing some Facebook ads. In 22 minutes they got the attention of at least 200 people…just by being simple and appealing to a basic interest.

We can all learn something from this minor success. How will you build the appeal of simple everyday pleasures into your social media campaigns?

More than a few times the topic of social media trends have come up in discussions with my clients. A common concern is the rapid turnover of social media technologies. Will Twitter or Facebook really matter in five years? What about ten?

Whether or not it exists in even one year doesn’t really matter. What does matter is its root concept.

Let’s take, for example, Twitter. Twitter not only forced us to pare down our messaging but to convey its essence. It forces us to be more concise and to communicate the message clearly and effectively. You only get 140 characters to make or break your message. You have to learn to use your words carefully and wisely!

Another example is Facebook. It serves as an escape and connector for many of its millions of users today. Does your content provide as an informative escape? What type of voice do you use to communicate with your audience? A popular marketing study noted that people are more likely to listen to their friends than they are commercial marketing and advertising messaging. Are you positioning your social media voice for success?

It is not so much the individual technologies you should learn in-depth but instead their driving forces and the way they shape your marketing communications. Learn to hone these skills and your message will transcend even the most fickle of Web 2.0!

Say what? “Vlog?”

In a sea of tweets, email newsletters and banner ads, you may need something a little more dynamic to set you apart from the rest. Vlogs are great for quick updates, short informational pieces or interviews with industry leaders.

For those of you who need that broken down, a vlog is simply a video blog. It is simple to execute for recently purchased computers equipped with webcams and decent microphones. There are tutorials on how to record video with a PC and with a Mac in case you need to get familiar with the hardware first.

We’ve got a few suggestions for anyone considering taking the vlog route:

• Be confident on camera
• Try not to wear white or other bright colors
• Find natural lighting if possible
• Choose your backdrop wisely. Find an interesting location and mix it up!
• Look into the camera, not into the screen
• Upload it to a video sharing website and cross-post to your Twitter, Facebook, email newsletter, Stumble, Digg etc
• Don’t forget to tag and properly identify your video online
• Keep it between 45 seconds (announcements) and 5 minutes (interviews).

Here is my 7th logged vlog. I break a few of my rules, but hey–I’m still learning too. Enjoy!

They been expanding the meaning of their brands by positioning themselves within the lifestyles of their consumers. Instead of just selling singular products, they provide resources and products that make a difference in the daily lives of their customers. Their family of brands are stewards of comfortable living and aim to help people all around the world achieve that through their various product lines.

They have expanded the meaning of their brands and have in turn achieved massive growth in the global economy: their brands are recognized worldwide and illicit a sense of comfort and home. By expanding their brands in such a holistic fashion, they have essentially built themselves into the lifestyles of their customers. And, by doing that, they necessarily become inextricable with their customers’ daily lives, which builds a sense of indispensability. By targeting lifestyles and not specific demographics per se, they are able to build a following that is monumental, recurring, and loyal.

Their company employs a number of strategies that help them expand the meaning of their brands. They are involved in the global community (via sponsorships, donations and activism); they are committed to outreach in education, animal rights, food and nutrition…and even the natural disaster in Haiti. By showing active involvement, they demonstrate that they do indeed care about their customers and consumers well beyond the point of purchase. They believe that by improving the human condition, they are helping the world, and that is evident by the work they do. There are obvious benefits of targeting a new consumer segment this way: they not only increase market share but increase their customer-based brand equity in doing so.

Some of the ways in which this company gains understanding of consumers’ needs and to create better products, as well as building long-term relationships with customers include:

-Community involvement (brand building in PR and marketing outreach for worldwide causes and disasters)

-Focus groups and highly targeted and personal research (market research, demographic research, working with individual families to track their daily lives)

-Permission marketing/advertising (if you know your customer intimately, you will be able to customize marketing tools, communications and outreach so that the company-consumer connection is interesting, compelling, fun, and informative…and that customers will ask for more.)

-Holistic marketing: looking at the brand from the user’s perspective (as in the case with one of their products and (BIG HINT) “looking at the world through a baby’s eyes”)

-Better measurement: Although perfect metrics are difficult to construct, they learning to use their market research data to the benefit of the company and consumer as much as possible (tracking barcode scans, surveys, etc)

-Experimentation (Try new products, brand extensions and upgrades…listen to market feedback and take it seriously, as in the case of Tampax)

-PR/Media (product placement, mobile advertising)

If you guessed P&G, you were right!

How well does your brand build long term customer relationships and follow market trends?

Remember: Your brand may not have the same budget as P&G to extend your reach and market penetration in the same fashion…but you can definitely implement some of these strategies at little to no cost!