Social Media for Startups: Checklist

We all know that starting a business can be rather difficult, especially in the finance department, so we want to make the most out of every tool available to help build our businesses. With that being said, the best tools available to help build a business are social media accounts. The most important rule of advertising is to be where your audience is. Now, it’s not as simple as creating a Facebook Page and start posting about your products or services, it takes a bit more thought into it. So, with the purpose of helping out startups, here’s a quick checklist to help you get started with some powerful tools like: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

YouTube
While your business may sell products or services. The video sharing website can be of great use to create promo videos or even educational ones.

One Direction's VEVO channel, it's five british Justin Bieber's...it was only fitting a channel was created for their millions of adoring fans.

Jenna Marbles, one of the most successful blogger/comedian/entertainer on YouTube. 

__Be sure to create a channel under your business’ name.
__Create content continuously. Once a week is manageable.
__Be sure to include video blogs where you talk about your company, present the team, do a tour of the office, and even do professional interviews with peers.
__Be active on the community and comment/subscribe to peers and/or potential clients.
__Promote your work, put up presentations, record consumer reviews, be creative! Just remember that videos should be 3 minutes long at maximum.
__Need more views on your videos? Try promoting them, with Google Adwords for videos.
__Show others that you’re an expert on the field! Try doing some “how-to” videos. They can become an asset for students and peers alike.
__Repeat with me: tags are my friends. Tags on YouTube work like SEO. Include key words on the video, and also synonyms and related words.
__Utilize YouTube’s Free Analytics Tools. They’re there for a reason, and they can help you better attract audience and keep track of the existing one. You can also analyze which videos were more successful and figure out a way to keep the momentum.


Twitter
You get 140 characters to engage. Twitter is the social media to get known and attract...followers. Mind you, your brand has to have personality and always be on top of things.

Taco Bell, it has really made a point of being the best 'engagers' and having a specifically funny brand personality.

Samsung Mobile, with over 260,000 followers it's the highest a product twitter page has.  

__You can either use your twitter for professional purposes or create an account under the business’ name. Be sure to not mix up personal and brand messages if you decide to do either one.
__Upload a cover picture. It has that option now.
__Retweets (RT) are a good way to attract attention, and also let everybody know a good review from a customer.
__Hashtags (#) are your friend! You can start trending topics or join the conversation. Be sure to be up to date with current events and see what can your brand say about it.
__Create your own short URL using https://bitly.com/ It adds branding to your tweet and engages followers.
__Promoted Accounts can get you new followers and build an audience.
__When looking to expand your message to new followers you can use Promoted Tweets, and help spread the word. It can even get you new followers.
__Always be professional in your messaging, and have a plan.
__Be active! Reply to messages and be engaged with your followers.

Facebook
We all know having a Fan Page on FB is essential nowadays. Some startup businesses even use their Fan Page as their main website. Facebook has over 700,000 active users to over 12.8 million registered, so there’s a chance to reach a lot of them. Only thing is, you need to have some basics down.

Gracias Mami PR is a local Fan Page that managed to gain more than 10,000 followers in two years by creating contests.

The Voice (TV Show) has a made good use of their Fan Page by creating shareable content. 

__Be sure to include contact information. Link to website (if any), to other social media accounts, phone number, address, and e-mail.
__Develop a profile and cover picture that represents your brand, or accordingly with your current marketing campaign. Don’t include offers or prices in either of them.
__Fill out all the information and tabs available. Include your company’s mission and services, also include any policy it may have for community management.
__Create a landing page for your visitors, and encourage them to like it. You can use FBML Static it’s easy and free.
__Post regularly, but be sure not to spam. Remember brand personality. If feasible, create a content calendar including supporting media of each post (remember to reference current events to spark conversations).
__Consider placing FB ads to drive traffic to the page, or announce a special offer. They’re cost effective and you can start and stop whenever you want.
__Keep the communication open. Create conversations, but don’t try to control them. If you have a negative comment, do not remove it. This causes fans to think it’s not a safe place to talk, it is an opportunity to address the issue publicly and counsel the fan.


Always remember that by creating a space in all these websites does not make you able to control the conversations that happen there. You can, however, participate in them. when utilizing these mediums remember that people do not want to be sold, that’s what regular advertising is for. These spaces are about the fans/viewers/followers. They do however want to know about the brand, otherwise they wouldn’t follow it. That’s why it’s so important to have a brand personality established, people want to interact with the brand.

If you decide to open multiple accounts remember that they all must follow the same strategy and have the same brand personality in all their messaging. It’s also recommended to cross promote the pages between them. Be sure to create content that’s shareable, and if you’re thinking of opening multiple accounts at the same time, I would suggest a contest. Contests and giveaways are the best way to attract customers and keep them engaged.

References:

• Evans, M. (2009). 34 Ways to Use Youtube for Business. Gigaom. Retreived from: http://gigaom.com/2009/07/28/34-ways-to-use-youtube-for-business/
• Preston, J. (2009). Twitter Essentials. Slideshare. Retreived from: http://www.slideshare.net/jasonp107/twitter-essentials
• Crossley, M. (2010). 10 Essentials for a Rocking Business Facebook Fan Page. Studio1c. Retreived from: http://www.studio1c.com/seo-and-internet-marketing/378-10-essentials-for-a-rockin-business-facebook-fan-or-group-page.html

Music’s New Stage: The App

With an ever-changing industry like music, sometimes you have to foresee some trends in order to maximize your business. As more and more businesses move towards a digital format, the music industry is now moving from digital to mobile, and back.

Thing is, the music industry operates differently from others, and while the fashion or manufacturing industries may be tapping into the digital era, the music industry was forced into it since home computers were invented and more so with the Internet. But now, it’s all about mobile, and although music has not been pushed there, it has found it can do wonders for the business.

To start off the greatest thing about mobile is that it’s a direct connection with consumers. It would seem that every company has a mobile application, or “app”, these days, and now so do bands and artists.

It’s a way for them to interact with fans and have them watch behind-the-scenes videos, buy music, chat with each other, and post any content knowing it will immediately be sent to their mobile devices.

The key to attract fans into downloading you band’s app is to offer something they couldn’t get on the web. Whether it be concert ticket giveaways or exclusive content, consumers need to have a legitimate reason to download an app, otherwise they’re not going t be engaged.

The app should also dedicate a section to music purchasing. Even if it redirects to iTunes Store, you want to give them the option to purchase the music easily. After all, it is a business.

Mobile is definitely a trending topic among businesses and it offers a great deal of opportunities for the music business. For an industry that often times is behind the trends or pushed into them, mobile is a trend where the music industry can take control of and capitalize on the opportunity at hand.

Resources:

http://www.thebiz.com.au/trends-in-music-industry.htm

Example of P!nk’s App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pink/id293680837?mt=8

BandApp: http://www.bandapp.com/builder/

A Quick Guide to Producing a Musical

It’s no secret I have a passion for theatre, and especially musical theatre. It’s really the ultimate platform for a performer producer or director to excel in every aspect. You’re not only dealing with the acting of a play, you’re dealing with vocals, orchestra and band, set changes, scene direction, etc. It really does require the best possible team to put on a great show. But, before the curtains go up, there is much planning to be done in order to produce a musical. I decided to make a “quick guide” or checklist to help those starting out in musical production.

Step 1: Choose the musical

The first thing you have to do is choosing what musical you want to produce or if you want to put on and original piece. Either way you have to take some general considerations when choosing what will be showing.

• Audience: Think about the public you want to reach, what type of musical would they be most likely go to see.
• Venue: Consider the theatre you want to produce in, their technical capabilities, the sound, the technicians available, and even the prestige of the venue. 
• Budget: Most musicals will vary greatly in costs depending on (mainly), size of the cast, set design requirements, and size of orchestra  (or band). Be aware of the seating capacity of the theatre and your ability to contact sponsors. 

Step 2: Choose your team

As a producer you must choose the initial production team. There are six important roles you must fill: Stage Manager, Director, Vocal Director, Music Director, Choreographer, and Set Designer. More than a team this will be a support system of sorts. One thing you need to remember is that creative decisions taken by one, affects the work of another. For example, if the Set Designer decides to add a step to the stairs, the Choreographer needs to adjust; the Stage Manager must make sure the lighting is correct, etc. Strive to maintain a positive work environment, and be aware of industry gossip (some of these people have already worked together). Last, but certainly not least, sponsors! The more the merrier and be sure to build relationships with each and everyone. Draft a proposal as soon as you can, and start distributing as soon as you finish Step 3.

Step 3: License the work

To produce and perform a musical on stage, you must obtain a dramatic performance license. If the title is available, a dramatic licensing agency, such as MTI, will sell a license to perform the musical in exchange for royalty fees (per performance), and a rental fee (for copies of the score, script and libretto). These agencies are very strict. I advise to red the agreement carefully and comply with every step, to ensure a good relationship for the future.  

Step 4: Cast the show

This step is a team process. You’ll mainly need the Choreographer, Vocal Director, and Director to cast the show. Whether closed or open call, there are different tasks to be made to ensure attendance to the casting.

• Find a big space with the needed equipment.
• Set up a communications plan to make the call, and specify what you’re looking for.
• Prepare a form for participants to fill out when they get there.
• Coordinate a cycle system in which participants go from acting, to singing, to dancing (which ever order you choose).
• Don’t make hasty decisions and only give constructive criticism.

From personal experience I would advice to have a small interview before going into the cycle. This helps you get a sense of whom the participants are and it also calms them before they perform. Also, evaluate your options along with your team and announce to the participants when you will be contacting them if they are chosen. It’s common courtesy in Puerto Rico to send out a thank you letter or email, to the participants that were not selected, for attending the audition.

Step 5: Market and promote

Just as you would a new product, marketing a musical needs to have all the components of a traditional marketing plan. As Randall Ringer says, “A general rule of thumb on Broadway is that only 30% of shows actually make back their original investment.” So there’s a lot of pressure on marketing and selling the show. What you want to do is hire a Public Relations firm and have them work the communications plan. Why a PR firm and not an Ad Agency? Because PR is what’s going to drive ‘buzz’ around the production and that’s key to building a fan base. You’ll definitely need to place some ads in trade magazines, newspaper, and maybe even a billboard or two, but shows mostly sell on ‘buzz’ and hype created on the web. Be sure to have a photography session with the cast and also during previews so you can later use for the ads, to send to media, and basically build a word of mouth. From experience I can say, that the week before opening night is crucial to selling the bulk of the show, so plan your communication accordingly. Remember to always target your communication! You want the message to get to the right people, the ones who’ll come to the show.

Step 6: Raise the curtain!

If you’re thinking the work is over on opening night, think again. This is theatre! Be prepared to deal with technical difficulties, in-show mishaps, staffing dilemmas, and box office nightmares. It’s going to be very difficult, there are going to be long days and sleepless nights, but it’s worth it. You’ll love every second of it, and once it’s done you’re going to want to do it all over again.

I hope this quick guide gives you a some sort of direction on producing musical theatre, and although I’m not an expert I’m available to offer advice if you have some doubts. Break a leg!

Resources:

http://www.mtishows.com/content.asp?id=3_1_0

Ringer, R. (2011). Marketing the Broadway Musical. Narrative Branding. Retrieved from: http://narrativebranding.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/marketing-the-broadway-musical-or-the-people-in-the-picture-on-broadway/

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-hold-auditions-independent-musical-4744684.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Hold-an-Audition

The Final Word in Entertainment

Working in the communications industry you quickly learn that neither you nor you client has the final word on any decision, that’s up to the Legal Department. Shattered ideas or impossible adjustments to documents frustrate people sometimes, but the Legal Department has to do their job, and that is to prevent liabilities. The same happens with communication’s cousin, entertainment. I sat down with Rafael E. Silva Almeyda, Attorney at Law specializing in the entertainment field, to discuss some major points anyone who wants to get in to the entertainment industry must know.

            The first thing that came up from the conversation was the need for people, especially artists, to sit down with a lawyer before they venture on with a business deal or sign anything. Silva explains that a lot of problems artists and personalities face come from binding themselves into contracts they didn’t even read thoroughly.  “If they expect to get somewhere, they better start reading and getting an attorney to look at things before signing anything”, commented Silva. He went on to suggest that if artist or personality should get into some legal issue, he or she should never make any statements for it could be used against them either in trial or public’s perception.

            Any production, artist, event, etc., should be treated as the business they are and Silva makes a point that an attorney should be there from the very beginning. “That’s when trouble starts…everyone thinks they know what they’re doing when in reality they don’t know the first thing about contractual obligations.” One of the biggest cases he has worked on was on a defamation case made against a TV personality in Puerto Rico. He was on the defendant’s team and they managed to win that case. He went on to explain that, “law is mostly interpretation. You find yourself a good interpreter and you got yourself a tremendous lawyer.” What he meant by that is that there are tough situations to deal with in the entertainment industry, but we may not necessarily be the best to handle any or every situation. It’s not what you know; it’s whom you know.

The more he told me about how he does work with his clients the more I thought it was the same process at a communications agency. Every single item that either comes in or out has to be approved by a legal council. It does take extra time out of the deadline but it serves the purpose. Negotiating deals with fees and ownerships can be confusing for someone who is not fluent in legal lingo, but the best recommendation is for the artist or executive to simply write down what do they expect from the deal and give it to the legal council. In turn he or she will revise that the contract has these specifications and also raise flags with what he or she thinks may be issues in the contract. “The best advice I could give to someone entering the entertainment industry is to not sign anything before an attorney sees it.”, concluded Silva. 

From Marilyn Monroe, to Rebecca Black, to Lord Voldemort

When it comes to the entertainment industry, the scandals and battles are rarely about entertainment. Like almost every other industry or situation, it’s always about money. From Intellectual Property (IP) of Marilyn Monroe, to Rebecca Black’s copyrights to her single “Friday”, and even the Voldemort & Poppins licensing for the epic showdown at the London 2012 Olympics; it’s all about who gets the money, and who’s to be paid.

When it comes to an iconic figure such as Marilyn Monroe you would think that the use of her image is up for the public because, how can you copyright a person…when it’s deceased? Well, the company Digicon thinks it is entitled to, not only use her image but also put her to perform. You see, Digicom created the VM2 (Virtual Marilyn) and plans to use it to put on a concert. Just like Tupac Shakur performed at Coachella this year. However, Marilyn Monroe Estate is not too happy about the situation. They claim that Digicom use of the technology is an infringement to copyright and trademark laws, even though Digicom had licensed the rights 15 years before. The Estates position is that the rights of usage of imagery and name could be possible as long as it differentiate it from the actual Marilyn Monroe and it did not confuse the public. And by utilizing it to “act and model” which was Monroe’s actual careers, it would lead to public confusion.

I can’t speak for the general public but I for one will not be confused with a hologram of a long deceased movie actress. I think Marilyn Monroe’s Estate is looking to prevent the use because it would lead to a substantial gain to Digicom (of which they wouldn’t get anything). They could very well, license it later to another company and state that they get royalties for the same use. Because this technology is so recent, cases as this one would have to be settled at court and establish a precedent, if they so choose to file a suit. However, to me it’s just a matter of a “bad play” the Estate made not thinking about the possibilities of VM2, and Digicom should be allowed to use their technology as they see fit.

Going from Hollywood royalty to the Nation’s favorite song to hate, “Friday” from Rebecca Black is no easy task. But Black’s mother made it easy by sending a letter to Ark Music Factory denouncing the copyright infringement she alleged they did, made it clear that this case wasn’t that far apart from VM2.

Back in fall of 2011, Black was introduced to Ark Music Factory. “Black’s mother, Georgina Kelly, reportedly paid the company $4,000 to record the song and produce the accompanying video for “Friday,” a song pre-written by Ark founders Patrice Wilson and Clarence Jey.” (Moss, A. 2011) This payment, however, only covered a fraction of the costs involved in this single. 4k can’t get you really far as far as music and video producing in L.A. Nevertheless, Black’s mother alleged “that Ark failed to provide Black with the master recordings of her song and video […], has been exploiting her likeness […] without permission, has falsely claimed she is exclusively signed to Ark, and created an unauthorized “Friday” ringtone.” (Moss, A. 2011) Ark’s response? They quickly said, that the mother would receive the material, quoting “they can have it all”. However, Ark’s lawyers are question the validity of their initial agreement, and they are currently trying to see if, in fact, Black is entitled to the song recording rights. If she is or she’s not this could mean a great deal of money mainly from digital downloads will be owed to the other. If they were to enter the legal battle, chances are the costs for it would be higher than the actual profit from the song. So, different from VM2’s case I don’t think one or the other is right or wrong. They should be smart enough to get to an agreement before the America starts to hate a new song, and “Friday” will monetize no more.

From Hollywood royalty, to America’s most hated song, to… battling nannies and wizards? If you tuned in to see the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics you may have noticed the fact that Mary Poppins had a duel with Lord Voldemort. And when you hear cases like VM2 and Rebecca Black’s “Friday”, you start to think, how was this possible? Are there copyrights or trademarks for fictional characters? Well, the answer is yes. The more important question is, how did Danny Boyle handle all the licensing?

Dealing with fictional characters is very different from an artist, to say the least. As we know, copyright law protects the material where these characters appear, but not necessarily the characters themselves. For a character to be copyrighted Dan Nabel explains that, “In order to achieve trademark protection, a fictional character must function in the minds of the public as a “source identifier,” such that if someone other than the trademark owner used the character, there would be a likelihood of consumer confusion.” Here’s the point where Digicom and the Black family have to take notice, even though they’re dealing with music and imagery. Boyle managed to take on a whole production seen around the world with an array of artists, characters, imagery, etc. that complied with the requirements of the law and the IOC (International Olympics Committee). What usually works, and this is no industry secret, is to do things on time and contact the correct people. For example, in Voldemort’s case there’s two licenses you could request, the Voldemort created for the movies from Warner Brother, or the Voldemort depicted in the books from J.K. Rowling. This event was to highlight the work created by brits, so they licensed the Voldemort from Rowling. The opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics is an example of how a production of such magnitude can take place with all their paperwork in order, and if they could do I believe Rebecca Black can straighten out a contract and Digicom can resolve their issues with VM2.

They key learning from all three cases is that licensing is a must in every case. The best advice anyone could give is to trying to always state their negotiations in writing and consider every last detail, from licensing to most importantly the handling of profits. Have that contract signed by both parts, and if necessary, notarize it. When it comes down to it, Marilyn’s Estate is only looking for a way to cash in in VM2, Black’s mother is upset about money from different sources not getting to them, and thankfully Boyle paid the respective license owner their due fee. Like I said, it’s almost never about the entertainment. It’s about the money.

Sources:

Nabel B. (2012). IP Lawyers are Collateral Damage When Mary Poppins Battles He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named at London’s Olympic Games. Law Law Land Blog. Retrieved from: http://www.lawlawlandblog.com/2012/07/ip-lawyers-are-collateral-damage-when-mary-poppins-battles-he-who-shall-not-be-named-at-londons-olympic-games.html#more-2248

Gardner, E. (2012). Marilyn Monroe Estate Threatens Legal Action Over Hologram. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/marilyn-monroe-estate-hologram-legal-334817

Moss, A. (2011). Rebecca Black 'Friday' Controversy: A Serious Legal Analysis. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/rebecca-black-friday-controversy-a-175069