As brands of all shapes and sizes battle for more online space, we investigate what really drives us to be social.

So we thought of no better person to ask than Christiaan Van Vuuren, or you may know him better as the Fully Sick Rapper. As a means to beat boredom while battling Tuberculosis in isolation at the Sydney Hospital, Christiaan created his alter ego and plunged head first into the social media world.

Ironically, his stint in isolation has seen him more connected than ever and today, six months on, apart from connecting daily with thousands globally, he’s launched his own merchandise, raps weekly for Campbell Live, is giving those in the fashion industry a run for their money and is working with the World Health Organisation to help raise awareness for Tuberculosis.

Christiaan and I in the isolation room

The real question is, who is whose audience? While Christiaan has built a captive audience from his hospital bed, perhaps his success lies in being the captive audience himself? Read on to learn more about how staying better connected with your audience is the secret to social media success…

Q: Christiaan, with 19,000 Facebook fans, 3,000 Twitter followers and 1.2 million hits on YouTube, you’ve had little trouble attracting new friends from all around the globe. Tell us a bit about the dynamics of these relationships?

A: Most of these people are people who just enjoy the content but some of these people are patients, others are the families of patients, others are rehabilitated drinkers and drug users, others are self-quarantined self-proclaimed social misfits. They like to see my positivity in the face of adversity, and they help bring me something that has been most important in my overall healing process - which is the perspective to stay positive about my situation and embrace it. I think we provide mutual support.

Q: Why do you think people are picking up your content, following it and forwarding it?

A: Probably because it’s just someone having fun, in a situation that would normally be really shit! Probably also because they relate to the feeling of pure boredom.

As far as following my vids, I think it’s fun for people as there is a distinct progression from each vid to vid. As I learn to play around with new effects, my recording quality improves and I am even starting to get the help of hospital visitors. The fact that this is all happening from a hospital room is interesting, because my creative output is limited by what I can get away with physically inside an isolation room!

Q: Would you describe the relationships that you form on each social networking platform as being different from one another?

A: When I entered hospital on the 9th Dec 2009, I didn’t have a single account across any social media. Now I’ve got two Facebook pages, two MySpace pages, a Twitter page, a branded YouTube account, as well as accounts across six other video sharing networks.

Facebook has been ideal in managing and maintaining close communication with a large number of people, ranging from a bunch of hardcore fans, to just my friends who get a laugh out of the things I post.

The YouTube audience is made up of subscribers and random users. Random users are obviously a very wide group. I receive all sorts of comments, and these trend very heavily to whenever a new article or piece of main media references the Fully Sick Rapper.

YouTube subscribers are however a different community entirely. They can be nit-picky, and they expect to be entertained. To them, YouTube is just another TV, with access to a far wider variety of entertainment on demand. They will click and change and stop and start if their interest is lost for mere seconds. Building and holding onto subscribers is actually quite intricate and a bit of an art form. There appears to be a hierarchical system in place, with several key players and gate-keepers among the community. Basically, channels with smaller numbers of subscribers team up by featuring each other’s channels within each other’s pages, in order to receive more subscribers.

As for Twitter, I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t quite mastered it yet!

Q: How have you fuelled the momentum and any advice to brands on how they can kick-start social media campaigns?

A: I reckon it’s the talkability of my situation that has led people to finding the videos in the first place. If you have great content, you have to create (or allow for) a spark that will drive people to take their own initiative to check it out. You could have the best one minute video in the world floating around online, but if nobody sees it or there’s no story to it then it won’t be passed around.

The Facebook and Twitter pages have their own organic growth through the network.

I update the Facebook page twice daily, with photos, links, content, and just general odd thoughts. This assists in also driving an instant audience to any new content that I post across other sites and pages. If the Fully Sick Rapper is featured online with any other media, then it is as simple as dropping a link on my Facebook Page, and there will be a string of comments and hits driven to the page in which the article or mention has appeared. Since this is also linked with Twitter, it is a very powerful and instant launching tool for any new content that I upload. At this stage, with the 19,000 fans I have on Facebook (which grows by about 500 people per week) I can receive 150,000 page impressions off any single posting within two days. That’s pretty cool.

I also strongly believe that when you can, having a personality rather than an object would make for far more effective use of social media for campaigns. It can be an entirely fictional character, but social media is essentially designed for, and most effective as, a platform for human to human communication, so it’s important that characters or personalities have entirely real human characteristics and traits. Who wants to be friends with a stick of toothpaste, or follow a packet of chewing gum?

Without sounding like I’ve lost it officially, I put on a different voice when I’m the Fully Sick Rapper, I write things I normally wouldn’t, I take on more social responsibility and I probably show way more skin than I would normally be comfortable in showing, and in many situations I react and interact differently than I normally would. But the Fully Sick Rapper is still a human being that interacts with everyone, just an animated version of me.

Perhaps social media is a great way for you to animate your brand, and breathe life into the unique brand attributes that you have worked so hard on building, developing and sustaining.

I should be on the books. Currently taking Fully Sick conference bookings!

Q: You seem to have built a captive audience, but you’re clearly very responsive to them. How are your fans interacting with your content, is it passive or are they providing you with inspiration?

A: It’s a completely two way process. I feed them with random pieces of information, vids, pics, and then react according to the reactions that I get back from them. They are involved in the new videos, because I read all of their comments and take in what they request for future content. On my Facebook page, I write back to every single note that my fans place on there. If someone says good morning, I thank them and say it back. If I go off on a tangent and notice that my interactions are dropping, then I change what I’m carrying on about and go back to something that keeps people interacting. Because I like having them there and I like to keep them interested!

Plus, it helps because I can lose it every now and then in my isolated environment and I need to remember what’s ‘funny’ crazy and what’s actually clinically insane.

Q: Obviously you’ve had some amazing support from the general public but you’ve also been interviewed for TV, blogs and you’re reporting for Campbell Live as we speak. How has this interest developed and built momentum?

A: Off the top of my head, the story of me being in hospital and creating these videos was picked up by 10 National News, The Weekend Today Show, The Morning Show, Today Tonight, Sky News, JJJ, 2GB, MMM, SBS Radio, Canadian Music TV, Canadian Morning TV, Canadian National News, Irish National News, US Local News, Israel National News, NZ National News, Brazilian National News, Al Jazeera, Fairfax, and countless digital news sources and websites online. If you googled “Fully Sick Rapper” or “Christiaan Van Vuuren” on the 8th December 2009 not one of those links would have appeared. Now they are in the hundreds of thousands.

There are definitely key moments where the story gathered fast momentum. A couple of these include when it was run as Todaysbigthing.com appearing on Collegehumour.com (where the videos have had a further 400,000 hits) and subsequently picked up for an interview by Mashable.com.

Q: What are the opportunities and also drawbacks from all this media?

A: I think that there is a fine line between maintaining an audience that understands you’ve got a story to tell and enjoys watching you pop up, and an audience that sees you as shamelessly promoting yourself for the purpose of capitalising on it.

I have not done any kind of capitalisation by way of media, because everything I’ve done I have done for free, and I’ve done both for the company (purely just enjoying having a chat), for the intention of raising awareness of TB and the dangers in MDR TB, and to have a good laugh about it! There have been countless times so far that I’ve been able to have a laugh in here on the phone to friends, who have told me that they are in their living rooms dancing around on their TV screens watching me with a bin on my head.

Q: You’ve just put together some tough competition for the Rosemount Fashion Week, what was the thinking behind this?

A: I just wanted to start playing around with some other things. Play some different characters and stuff around a bit based on a current topic. Fashion Week just happened to be on, so I just decided to do a Zoolander’ish fashion piss-take and get it out there to celebrate fashion week.

Q: What’s next on the agenda for the Fully Sick Rapper?

A: I feel blessed to have stumbled across something that I really enjoy doing and which I would love to pursue. I am currently in the process of writing a series of webisodes with my brother Connor. As far as the series goes, “The Fully Sick Rapper and The Side Effect Project” is an epic unreality show, packed with crazy stunts and pop culture spoofing. These are stories of madness, brotherly love and rivalry.

Thanks to: Christiaan Van Vuuren
Posted by: Carmen Campbell

It’s been said that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’* and one brand that’s decided to follow this mantra is, Slow Cow, with its new relaxation drink. Everything about the branding would suggest it’s yet another energy drink, but it is in fact the antithesis.

In recognition that there’s a growing market of people looking to respond to their daily stress with more natural remedies, rather than passively react with an unhealthy concoction of caffeine hits, Slow Cow is just one of a growing range of relaxation drinks coming onto the market.

Meet Slow Cow and Mary Jane:

Slow Cow

On first glance it may look like another Red Bull, but Canadian derived Slow Cow is advertised as ‘an acupuncture session’ in a bottle. It includes eight natural ingredients that are said to help with concentration, memory and learning, without feeling drowsy, with ingredients such as L-Theanine, found in tea, Valerian and Hops.

And to prove it’s a strong competitor for the energy drinks market, it’s mirroring Red Bull’s sports events marketing with its sponsorship of the FAZZT race team.

Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda

As the name suggests, this brand promises to deliver ‘euphoric relaxation and focus to a stress-filled life’ and highlights the immediate calming sensation you will feel.

Also made from herbal extracts and promising to be good for your mind and body, this brand is clearly targeting the younger adult.

Look out for more ideas like this as this is a trend we’ll be seeing more of – brands supporting consumers wanting an antidote to a stressed world. The question is, where will brands take their marketing campaigns – extreme sports or yoga forums?

*Charles Caleb Colton

Thanks to: Slow Cow, Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda
Posted by: Carmen Campbell

Part of the attraction for consumers in the digital world is the notion that with greater interactivity comes more freedom and flexibility to find the information they need. Not what the media or advertisers think they need.

In 2009 we have seen an evolution of this consumer trend. Rather than people using search as their only tool to get information, people started to sit back and wait to be alerted by the things (be it a brand or a person) that are important in their lives.

The attraction? Relevance. Consumers want relevant information and they want it in a relevant delivery format.

Here are a just a few examples, but this is an area we will see evolving to new levels in 2010. Now is the time for your brand to start considering how it can alert consumers.

Mediclim.com is an email alert system that offers subscribers weather-related health alerts, specific to their disease, with additional email newsletters providing information on how to avoid problems and what to do if they do arise.

Kogi bbq alert Twitter followers when they are in their local neighbourhood.

Brazilian Transit Authority uses Twitter to let people know about traffic news in their area and invites people to share their experiences too.

This is an important trend to watch because it changes the relationship people have with brands to an even more intimate one. It also changes the way we, as communication specialists, approach audience targeting. No longer is it always relevant to build a target group by age or demographic. For this purpose, targeting parameters should also be built around psychographic dimensions like attitudes, behaviours and interests to ensure we are creating a target with a certain mindset and relevancy to the brand.

Posted by: Carmen Campbell
Thanks to: Kogi bbq, Brazilian Transit Authority, Mediclim and Trendwatching.com

They say love makes the world go round and we’re seeing a new breed of businesses advocating just this. From clothing companies, to FMCG, to community movements, here are just a few inspiring examples from around the globe, all adhering to the ‘Pay it Forward’ concept:

ARK

The brainchild of an 18-year-old Irish lad, clothing company ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) invites customers to undertake an ARK every time they wear the piece of clothing. It provides numerous examples of what an act of random kindness might be on the site, whether it’s buying a stranger a cup of coffee or helping a drunk find his way home.

Wake Up Sydney!

Wake Up Sydney! is a collaboration of like-minded people advocating a kinder way of living. Among more in-depth initiatives like its Courage and Fearless evenings, including talks from Buddhist Nuns, it offers free gifts in the form of ‘kindness cards’. These are posted in handwritten envelopes, complete with a personal message from the sender.

KINDED

The makers of KIND fruit and nut bars are now extending the brand’s vision to a more tangible expression with the launch of its KINDED website, encouraging individuals to surprise others with unexpected acts of kindness. These guys are embracing online capabilities to showcase kindness around the world, along with a promotion that invites people to get onboard the kindness train.

Beyond being kinder on a personal level, these initiatives demonstrate that with a bit of thought and creativity, brands can help facilitate a larger revolution.

Posted by: Carmen Campbell
Thanks to: Springwise.com, ARK, Wake Up Sydney!, KINDED

Thanks largely to evolving technology, change never stops and mashups are one small but growing consumer trend that is changing how people express themselves. Brands have also been embracing the mashup in their quest to build closer relationships with audiences.

A mashup essentially takes APIs from multiple websites and ‘mashes’ them to make a unique, innovative application.

A couple of examples of how brands are embracing the mashup:

Radiohead Reckoner Re/Mix

Radiohead openly embraced its audience’s desire to collaborate at an intimate level by selling ‘strings’ of its music separately and inviting people to create their own remix and enter this into a competition.

The interactivity extends beyond the micro site, allowing people to post their personal remix on their Facebook or MySpace profiles.

Crowdfire by Intel

Crowdfire enhances the music festival experience for people who attend by using multimedia to extend the experience to screens at festivals, and then online.

At the festival, you can upload your pics and videos and sit back while they’re viewed across the festival screens. After the festival, you can go back to the site to see everyone’s photos. Crowdfire acts as the aggregator of the material so people can go to the Crowdfire site and link their photos to their own social networking profiles like Facebook and Twitter.

Mashups aren’t the only way consumers’ relationships with brands are evolving, but they are an effective way of enhancing people’s feelings of intimacy with a brand.

Posted by: Carmen Campbell
Thanks to: Radiohead, Crowdfire

Are you the kind of person who finds it hard to make a decision? Well hunch.com might just be the thing for you.

Launched a month ago, Hunch is the latest in a long list of consumer generated sites. The difference is this one uses information you provide to establish the answers it gives.

Built on the premise that sometimes it’s hard to make up your mind, Hunch collects the wisdom and opinion of others to provide you with an answer to your most current dilemma. That might be where to have dinner that night or whether to break up with your long-term love.

But before you get any answers, you complete a short survey that collects information about you and assigns you to a certain ‘type’. You are then provided the opinions and advice of other people who have a similar way of thinking as you.

Interested in learning more? The guys at HeartHiTech’s have a pretty good review of its features here:

Hunch may or may not stick, but one thing that won’t change is how the exchange of information is continuing to evolve. Today the opinion of the masses challenges traditional voices of authority.

Thanks to: Hunch.com, HeartHiTech