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  1. Exclus1ves.co.za Community Building Campaign – A Case Study Posted in Community Management, Digital Strategy, Heavy Chef News, Social Media, Twitter, Videos, Concocted by Mike Perk February 7, 2011 7 comments

    We’ve had a lot of Heavy Chefers asking us to share what World Wide Creative did for the Exclus1ves FlashMob Firesale campaign. So we’ve put together a video case study highlighting the objectives, the thought process, the execution and most importantly the results! Read Further

  2. ORM And Building Your Community Online – It’s All About Hanging With The Cool Kids Posted in Community Management, Online Reputation Management, Concocted by Lauren Potgieter November 8, 2010 2 comments
    Recently, our Heavy Chef girl Yolandi, wrote an article on the fiery Gossip Girl series and how to create and maintain a community in an environment that is cut-throat and competitive. This made me think about my days back in high school and how reputation was a key ingredient to teenage politics. Just as every girl or guy had their own reputation to manage in high school in order to have more friends, so do brands have their online reputation to manage in order to have more followers/likes/interest. One of the ways in which you can build your community and more importantly, maintain the trust of your community is by using online reputation management and keeping an intently close eye on what others are saying about your brand. Let’s take a trip back to our high school days and see what the popular kid had to do in order to be so adored.
    The popular kid isn’t always the bad seed.
    Do you remember that one guy or girl that represented the epiphany of rebellion in your high school years? Sure, he or she was great for a few weeks, but when they got into trouble, there was no one around to help. It is true that brands get more attention when they are being criticised, but the term “all publicity is good publicity” is not necessarily true when it comes to online reputation management.
    The popular kid always knows what is going on in his or her school
    Bad or good news, the queen or king of the school knows exactly what is going on in their territory. In order understand and follow your ORM, you must be omnipresent and make sure you have tabs on everything that everyone is saying about you. There are various ORM tools that will make this job easier and when you know what others are saying about you, you are able to take in this praise or criticism and transform it into something that can work for you, just like the popular kid in school makes sure that all news concerning them is turned into good news.
    The popular kid encourages “gossip”
    In terms of high school politics, gossip has many negative connotations, but in terms of building your community online, gossip can merely be conversation. Just like the kids in the school yard listened to a piece of information intently and passed it on to others, so does an ORM strategy let you listen to what others are saying and pass that information on. An online community is built by sharing of information and engagement – just like the popular girl or guy grows their followers by providing them with juicy tales and encouraging them to pass on the message.
    The theme that revolves around building a community and maintaining an online reputation boils down to terms such as relentless engagement and fierce interaction. Strive to be the popular kid – maintain your reputation, keep people talking and keep your followers happy.

    Recently, our Heavy Chef girl Yolandi, wrote an article on the fiery Gossip Girl series and how to create and maintain a community in an environment that is cut-throat and competitive. This made me think about my days back in high school and how reputation was a key ingredient to teenage politics. Read Further

  3. The secret to building a sustainable Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Fred Roed November 5, 2010 9 comments
    The secret to building a sustainable online community
    There are so many online community campaigns popping up across the globe right now. It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Facebook pages, Twitter promotions, everyone seems to be doing it.
    Take a closer look though and you’ll be able to spot the ones that will work over time. The secret? Sustainable online community campaigns have a cause.
    At World Wide Creative we’re working on a wide variety of campaigns right now – from Virgin Mobile to Honda, Exclusive Books to The Just Cause. The first thing we try to do with each client is to figure out what is the ‘emotional driver’ of the target audience. Without knowing this, it’s very hard to create a sustainable community campaign. The fact is, you can create as many tactical maneuvers as you can muster, but they will fizzle out unless you can tap into the real heart of your customer.
    The cause is not always obvious. This is what I mean:
    ·If you’re marketing cars, your cause is not mechanical (it’s the feeling that car evokes)
    ·If you’re marketing alcohol, your cause is not the booze (it’s the lifestyle that the booze conjures up)
    ·If you’re marketing phones, your cause is not technical (it’s the freedom of communication that you’re given)
    ·If you’re marketing cologne or perfume, your cause is not smell (it’s the confidence or empowerment that the cologne induces.)
    As a brand, if you can tap into your cause effectively, you may achieve the ‘Holy Grail’ of community management… where your audience doesn’t just interact with you, but with each other.

    There are so many online community campaigns popping up across the globe right now. It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Facebook pages, Twitter promotions, everyone seems to be doing it. Read Further

  4. Homer Simpson’s Community Blog: The Wireframe Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Sachin Ranchod October 29, 2010 1 comment
    We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing community management on the Heavy Chef blog and we decided that it was time to put some of the theory into practice.  To do this, we’ve developed a home-page wireframe for Homer Simpson’s community blog.
    Wireframes are often described as the stickmen of web design – they are simple mock-ups of a web page that allow us to quickly determine which elements need to appear on a page and their relative priority.  The wireframing process is usually the first step after you have taken the time to understand the website requirements from both the business and user perspectives.
    The idea for the Homer Simpson community blog was to create a place for Homer and his friends to write about topic which interested them (i.e. beer, donuts and TV).   Based on these topics, Homer then wants to build a community of like-minded people (starting in Springfield) with the goal of getting them to discuss the pressing issues around beer, donuts and TV.
    Navigation and banner

    We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing community management on the Heavy Chef blog and we decided that it was time to put some of the theory into practice.  To do this, we’ve developed a home-page wireframe for Homer Simpson’s community blog. Read Further

  5. How blogging helped build my Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Jason Bagley October 26, 2010 5 comments

    Blogging is dead. Long live blogging. You’ll hear these sentiments being thrown around often by bloggers and ex-bloggers all the time. I’m in the long live blogging camp because without my blog, I would not have gotten to where I am today in terms of my company, business partnerships and even friends! Read Further

  6. Gillette and their Community Management – the best a customer can get Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Concocted by Lauren Potgieter October 22, 2010 2 comments
    When we think of good examples of community management, our minds automatically wander to
    brands such as Coca Cola and Apple, of which the public cannot help but sing their praises. There are
    however, quite a few companies that have stood on the sideline and slowly created a community
    that is engaging and responsive, whilst not being overly zealous with their brand approach.
    One brand that is getting their community speaking is Gillette. Unlike other brands that are all
    about the show, Gillette has the perfect combination of engagement – not too scarce and not too
    over-active. They have taken an activity that men dread doing on a daily basis and have created
    conversation around this chore.
    We know that community management cannot simply focus on one area and Gillette spread
    their community activities across all their resources. On their Facebook page, they have created
    conversations around the “art” of shaving and recently got Daryl “Moose” Johnston to answer
    questions from Gillette Facebook fans. On the Facebook fanpage, they ask questions, post quirky
    did-you-know facts and generally interact with whoever is willing to talk. Their Twitter page sings the
    same tune as they encourage their followers to be creative and send in videos and pictures of their
    experiences. This approach gives a light hearted and creative feel to the fanpage and encourages
    the public to submit content and converse about content submitted – perfect for encouraging
    community.
    Their website lets you choose the type of beard you have and then shows you the best way to shave
    with their razors. They have also created the Gillette Success Lab, where you create a profile that will
    give you additional advice on how to obtain a smooth shave and what products to use.
    Even though Gillette’s Facebook might not compare to the number of likes of other big brands, with
    only 312,042 in comparison to Coca Cola’s 10 million and nearly 6 000 followers on Twitter, they are
    definitely doing something right and getting their target market (which are males aged 14 and up) to
    share their experiences and open the channels of communication between brand and customer.

    When we think of good examples of community management, our minds automatically wander off to brands such as Coca Cola and Lady Gaga, of which the public cannot help but sing their praises. There are however, quite a few companies that have stood on the sideline and slowly created a community that is engaging and responsive, whilst not being overly zealous with their brand approach. Read Further

  7. Effective online community management – 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Fred Roed October 21, 2010 9 comments

    At World Wide Creative we get a fair amount of requests for things like ‘viral campaigns’, ‘building communities’, and, of course, ‘a site sorta like Facebook crossed with YouTube’. Read Further

  8. Top 5 things to avoid when engaging with your Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg October 20, 2010 6 comments

    We have now discussed how to engage with your community and we looked at a few examples of successful communities. In order to build a successful community, there are a few things you should try to avoid. Here’s a list of the top 5 things to avoid when engaging with your online community: Read Further

  9. Can you use Facebook ads to help build your Online Community? Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Concocted by Ettienne Mostert October 19, 2010

    The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, ‘In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’ – John F. Kennedy Read Further

  10. Heavy Chef September: It’s about Community! Posted in Heavy Chef News, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg October 7, 2010 1 comment
    Heavy Chef September: It’s about Community!
    We had a rocking session in Joburg last week with Mike Stopforth and Alwyn Venter. Mike and Alwyn came to chat to us about community and managing a community online.
    With the explosion we’ve seen with micro-blogging, social networking and more, we’ve noticed a change in how brands interact and engage with their consumers. This on its own brought up a new set of rules for building and engaging with your community. Everyone is talking about how consumer behaviour has changed and how it’s still changing and evolving. Brands should know by now that they need to pay attention to these changes!
    Now, with the attention economy we are living in, people tend to ask “How do you stand out from the crowd online?” Our speakers, Mike and Alwyn elaborated on this and provided useful tips and guidelines for engaging with your community online.
    We’ll be posting their presentations soon so keep an eye out for them!
    Thanks to everyone who joined us in Joburg last week and special thanks to our sponsors as well!
    Cape Town folk, our next session is taking place end of this month and we’re asking ‘Is Blogging Dead?’ – NOT to be missed!

    We had a rocking session in Joburg last week with Mike Stopforth and Alwyn Venter. Mike and Alwyn came to chat to us about community and managing a community online. Read Further

  11. Engage relentlessly and build a Community online Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg September 8, 2010 2 comments

    I happened to catch an episode of Gossip Girl the other night and it had me thinking about engagement and building a community online. In this specific episode Gossip Girl was outing everyone’s secrets at once and causing a lot of havoc for the high school teens. What I noticed was that Gossip girl really has her community on the tip of their seats. Read Further

  12. Building an online community within Facebook Posted in Community Management, Social Media, Concocted by Ettienne Mostert September 7, 2010 2 comments

    Who really wants to be known by their endorsement of socks?

    Facebook users see ‘liking’ something as their personal stamp of approval. There is no other benefit to liking something other than an emotional payoff be it belonging or crafting your personal identity. Read Further

  13. Monitoring Twitter effectively to find and build a community Posted in Community Management, Twitter, Concocted by Jason Bagley September 6, 2010 1 comment

    So you’ve registered and setup your Twitter account for your brand / company and you now staring at your only follower. You. What’s the next step in finding and building that online community? Use Twitter’s very own built in tools!

    Read Further

  14. 3 Things Lady Gaga is doing right in Community Management Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg September 1, 2010 5 comments

    She’s the “Queen of Twitter” according to Famecount and she happens to be the first living person to achieve 10 million fans on Facebook.  Famecount lists Lady Gaga as the most popular online entity worldwide, with more than 16 million Facebook fans and 330,000 YouTube subscribers. She is breaking records on all social media platforms. How does she do it? Read Further

  15. 5 Tips for Building an Online Community Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Sachin Ranchod August 27, 2010

    Building an online community is definitely not an easy task. It involves a lot of perspiration leading to often unpredictable results. To make the process a little easier, here are 5 tips which we have picked up along the way: Read Further

  16. Three Key Stages of Growing a Community Online Posted in Community Management, Concocted by Fred Roed August 26, 2010 7 comments

    Community Building is something we’re very busy with at World Wide Creative (the digital marketing agency responsible for The Heavy Chef Project). We’re trying to build online communities around brands such as Honda, Virgin, Exclusive Books and even former South African minister Jay Naidoo, who, with his work on improving global nutrition, has become somewhat of a brand himself. Read Further

  17. What is Online Community Management? Posted in Community Management, Digital Marketing Basics, Concocted by Yolandi Janse van Rensburg August 24, 2010 3 comments

    Online Community Management is a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. It’s fun and everyone loves a party. To keep the festivities going everyone has a part to play. Let’s do some role playing!

    Read Further