I have a few clients who make a living creating sonic brands for commercials, products, moments in movies, events, and more. It fascinates me how music and sound affects us as humans. I mentioned the term sonic branding online the other day, and it sparked a very intriguing discussion about how sound affects the brain. Music has long been known to have ties to memory, emotion, and behavior. Is it any surprise that marketers and others have tapped into that over the years?

Where did the term sonic branding come from? I’m not sure – that’s just what I’ve always called it. It seems to make the most sense. That’s what it is, after all – auditory branding of a moment in time. If you follow Ze Frank’s premise that branding is the emotional aftertaste left after a shared experience, which I do, this isn’t a great leap of logic.

From Ze Frank’s web series, The Show, August 29, 2006:

If the concept of sound interacting with the brain and all of the possibilities that entails is new to you, you may enjoy some of these books on the topic (disclosure, I use Amazon’s affiliate links to help feed my enormous book addiction):

The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination

The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit

There are many more books on the topic, but those will give you a good start. If I missed your favorite, add it in the comments below!

If you are a business, being on the leading edge of geolocation and mobile technologies will be key to your success. I wish someone would explain to me why on earth the grocery stores (VRM) have not banded together to make a cross platform mobile app for WinMo, iPhone, Droid that lets me tell the app which store I’m in, have it know my reward number, and then let me photo-scan barcodes for discounts and easy check out. We have the technology, stores just fear data sharing. Trust me, consumers WANT the ease of not having 20 store cards in their wallet. An application like Blippy that tweets your purchases could make the experience even more fun for shoppers who opted in to it, and meanwhile I could go to Stop and Shop for groceries, Body Shop for makeup, Irving for gas and PayLess for shoes in one day and only need to remember my phone, instead of a wallet full of store cards or a keychain so big it won’t fit in my pocket because of the keychain card version. If you are truly tech savvy, you are getting your business listed on mobile and geolocation applications proactively to take it to the next level.

End users have different concerns. No matter who you are, having geolocation settings turned on can make your life interesting if you try to, say, call in for work sick and then pop up at home online. But “how to get fired” jokes aside, If you are a woman, or a minor, geolocation technology has inherent drawbacks for you. If you are, for example, a woman who is fleeing an abusive relationship, you need mobile technology in the form of a cell phone to ensure your safety. Most abusers don’t honor restraining orders, should you be able to even obtain one, and you need a way to call for help. But if your abuser is tech savvy, you can see how geolocation can also come with inherent risk (this is true of many social web tools for women and children in this situation, by the way, but geolocation is the topic today).

If you are a minor, mobile tech is part of your daily life by now at nearly all income levels, in some way. This is helpful, and a fantastic tool for the future, but adding in geolocation creates another risk issue. That of predators (of all types, not just sexual predators) who can monitor a minor’s location if the minor does not take the proactive stance of a) turning off geolocation whenever the option is allowed b) having parents or a guardian who will take the time to check and make sure the feature is off and c) avoiding the use of tools that utilize geolocation and don’t offer an option to turn it off.

Communities online can offer their own inherent challenges when it comes to geolocation and mobile. Take popular yet frivolous internet game Foursquare for example. In this case Foursquare allows you to enter a new location with as much or as little location data as you’d like. This is fantastic – it allows people to play the game and to include somewhere like their office, without being in danger if they work alone. Sure, Foursquare also offers a way to check in and not show anyone your location at all, but a) what fun is that? and b) the users we’re about to discuss will eventually complain if you do this too often.

In Foursquare’s case, a few weird, over zealous users can really spoil the bunch. They (not the application creators) act like the app police, ordering take downs of frivolous locations like “My Couch” all over the country, and reporting any location with a vague address (like “corner of Vine and Temple St”) all over the country. Never mind that this is something Foursqaure allows, that it is a game and is supposed to be fun, or that for some it’s a matter of safety – they are the hall monitors of the internet. To remove the ability to be vague when needed, or to have the application be fun, is detrimental to the application’s success and can have adverse consequences for the user.

Foursquare is just an example of how users of the technology can contribute to the problem overall. In the end we are in charge of our own safety online, yet for some the knowledge of how to be safe just isn’t there. It is my view that application providers need to make it default to opt out of geolocation as this becomes the norm, need to make sure the settings are obvious to change privacy levels and the rules of use are clear, and need to do a little policing of overzealous or bad-apple users whose tactics may put other less savvy users in challenging positions.

This is not a “fear this technology” or “scary scary internet” post in any way. I advocate caution online and offline, but in the end this is a “how can we make this cool new frontier safe for everyone?” post. Because in the end, this technology is not coming, it’s here now, and we need to work together to make sure it is safe and easy to understand and useful for all.

SXSW Interactive: “Online Presence: Asset of the Future“

Leslie Poston (Uptown Uncorked, Film POP!, Twitter for Dummies Co-Author) and Jim Keenan (Avaya, A Sales Guy) will be talking about the near future, and how your online social presence will become a must-have asset, a life-long living resume that will determine your success in relationships, careers, education and more. It will break down barriers and create unheard of opportunities – if you leverage it well. This panel is based on our upcoming book: “Online Presence: Asset Of The Future” and will involve statistics, case studies, methodologies and a lively Q&A component. VOTE FOR THIS ONE HERE. Get others to vote by sharing this URL: http://bit.ly/sxswasset – THANK YOU

SXSW Interactive: “Self Hate Isn’t Sexy: Gender, Race & Tech“

Leslie Poston (Uptown Uncorked, Film POP!, Twitter for Dummies Co-Author) is joined by Rakiesha Chase (Social Butterfly Experiment) and other panelists TBA to discuss how gender and race opportunities are two recurring themes in technology. Are we part of the problem, or part of the solution? This panel is about moving beyond the usual “we’re oppressed” quagmire discussion and into real, workable solutions, starting with ourselves as individuals to effect change in tech and social media. VOTE FOR THIS ONE HERE. Get others to vote by sharing this URL: http://bit.ly/sxswsexy – THANK YOU

SXSW Film: “Social & New Media: The Cheaper Film Promotion Alternative“

Leslie Poston (Uptown Uncorked, Film POP!, Twitter for Dummies Co-Author), Amy Greenlaw (Film POP!), Chase Bailey (“The Libertine”, “Crooked Lane”) and Mark Constance (“Terminator 3″, “Being John Malkovich”, “Losing Jerry”) will discuss promoting independent film. Long gone are the days of small budget Independent films toiling in obscurity. Just like small businesses, Independent Films are embracing Social Media and New Media technology as a low cost way to promote their films. Come listen to our experienced panel discuss new ways to grab eyeballs for your project. VOTE FOR THIS ONE HERE. Get others to vote by sharing this URL: http://bit.ly/sxswindie

Please note: we are competing against nearly 3000 other panels for votes. SXSW is a popularity and interest driven contest. Every vote really does matter. Please feel free to tell your friends, your colleagues and the universe about this post and about these panels, and get out the vote. We are excited to go to SXSW with these bright ideas, but we can’t do it without YOUR help!

We’re going to have a band, Rick is going to roast a pig for us and serve all the fixin’s, and there will be a cash bar for alcoholic beverages (coffee, tea and water will be included with the BBQ). We are seeking sponsors (partial sponsorship is ok). The sponsorships will be used to pay the band and pay for the food. Rick is generously donating the venue space for free.

This Social Media Breakfast NH will be a slightly different format. Instead of having speakers, we are inviting you to bring your family to this afternoon of networking and fun. Sponsors will get the benefit of being part of the marketing for the event (we’ll make sure you get lots of exposure in the coming weeks). They’ll also get to take the microphone briefly to tell us a little about why they sponsored and what they do as a company.

I’m looking into getting shirts made for what we hope to be an annual event at varying venues across the state. If I do get shirts done (it’s pretty short notice), the sponsors will also have logos on the back of the shirt.

So, the sign up page will be going up shortly. If you want to be a full or partial sponsor, please email me directly or use the Google Voice button in the right sidebar to leave me a message.

This will be a blast, and a great way to celebrate and network before everyone get back to school and fall routines. Even CEOs get to play “hooky” once in a while – it makes us human.

The venue:

I didn’t talk much about the book while we were writing it, on purpose. Having three authors plus feedback from Wiley on a project was a fun, sprawling process. Toss in a few “minor” Twitter changes over the course of writing it and you have some added challenging components to the mix.

I am very excited to have the book in stores, finally. We will each be (and in fact, have been) doing some promotion for the book individually and together when possible (we are spread out over three states). If you want to order the book, please feel free to click the link in the side bar, this link here or visit your local book store. If you want to talk to one or all of us about doing events or promotion around the book, you can contact us individually. Find the spearhead for the project, Laura Fitton, @pistachio on Twitter. Find Leslie Poston (me), co-author, @geechee_girl on Twitter, and find Michael Gruen, co-author @gruen on Twitter. You can also drop me an email for promotional activities.

What have we done to promote the book so far? Laura is speaking at Jeff Pulver’s #140conf today, and has several promotional and speaking events planned around the country. Michael has spoken at the NYC Book Expo recently. I’ve just been filmed for a new TV show in Maine which will air July 1 or thereabouts (most likely on WPXT, but stay tuned), and will also be on another station here in NH soon (project not wrapped yet, will announce here once I can). You can also hear me speak at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce on June 18th. I also have some blog and print interviews lined up that I will link here as they happen.

Also, many, many thanks to Laura Fitton for wanting me on her co-author team with Michael Gruen. It was a blast to write a whole book about my favorite tool and favorite toy. It was even more fun merging our very different uses into one book to help YOU, the reader. If you look at our Twitter accounts, you can see that you are getting the blended best out of three ways you can use Twitter for yourself and your business – I think that ended up making the book a richer, more comprehensive guide (and proved a point I make often about Twitter use being a la carte).

Enjoy!

In order to truly tap the new possibilities that the social web offers for your business, you need to turn the way you think of ROI on its head. In the past, ROI has been a direct effort-to-money correlation. Marketers and companies could predict how many real and direct dollars would result from a certain off line ad campaign based on known factors like seasonal shopping habits, location, target markets and more.

The New Capitol

What sets ROI in a social media environment apart is the change in capitol. Where old ROI used to be direct money returned on invested time or budget, the new ROI is not money. The new capitol for any business is human capitol. Human capitol is abundant on both the enterprise side of the fence and the customer side of the fence. Instead of thinking of every thing you do as making money, think of it as cultivating people.

Engage and Listen

Ideally, you want to think of everything you do for your business in terms of engagement and listening. Marketing is no longer a soapbox with a captive audience. Now that your audience can find (and share) the information they need anywhere, anytime, the customer no longer believes everything they are told by a company. They talk to each other, to perfect strangers, to friends and family. They have access to reviews and product information, both good and bad, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your success depends on the information they choose to filter out and how they filter it.

First, learn to listen to your customer. Customers you have or customers you have yet to earn, they are communicating with each other and with you right now. Use the tools of social media to find out what they are saying about you, your products, your customer service levels, and everything else related to your brand. Don’t defend or excuse while you listen. At first, just take notes, pay attention, absorb the good and the bad.

Once you have a feel for your brand perception, you have a better idea of how to enhance the positive and embrace the negative. That’s right – embrace the negative. Instead of worrying about how to control what people are saying about your brand, use the negative feedback as a way to address problems. Fuel your growth by letting go of control and harnessing the power of people as the new ROI.

Everything The Goes Around, Comes Around

In order to get involvement, engagement, interaction, innovation, conversation, community, feedback, and the other benefits of the new ROI, including indirect revenue, you must give back to the community you are building online. People don’t exist in a vacuum. Give back more than you plan to take. Be accessible. Listen, and when you speak, offer value. Let your customers become personally involved with your brand and reap the benefits of human capital as ROI.

Social media users reject outright being sold to online. To think you can make a FaceBook account or start using Twitter solely for the purpose of trying to direct sell or spam your customers would be a mistake. A better use of your social media time is to find out how to give your customers what they need and want by interacting with them. Toss your ideas out and get real time feedback. Ask for their ideas, and listen.

The new ROI is reshaping what it means to do business. Companies that don’t innovate will be left behind in this new economy. I’ll be talking in more detail about tapping and measuring the new ROI at Jeff Pulver’s Social Media Jungle on November 13th in Melville, NY. Check back next week – I’ll be posting the full details of the discussion as well as my slide deck and links to any footage of the event.