Archives for 2011

December 30, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

5 Things You Might Have Missed!

Not a whole heck of a lot happening in online marketing land this week as most of us struggled to get back into the groove after the holidays. But we still managed to scoop up a quintet of interesting, funny and innovative stories from the world of online and social media marketing. Here now is our weekly list of five things you might have missed!

1.) Say it with a frog: One little French restaurant in Moscow cooked up a tasty idea to get Russians to change their minds about French food. No press releases were sent out and there wasn’t a big social media launch — all they needed were some frogs. Vatel was looking to smash stereotypes about French cuisine, so it wisely sent tiny, live frogs with invitations to members of the media and local food bloggers. Vatel says 100 percent of the frog recipents responded and now the joint is, ahem, hopping.

2.) Written in cheese: Domino’s relased a funny app to celebrate the cheesy goodness of its New Stuffed Cheesy Bread with a font made entirely out of cheese. Fromage fanatics can compose a message with the gooey font and send it to their friends. Cheesetacular!

3.) Apple is thinking about your face: iPhone announced plans to dump the annoying number passcode system in favor of facial recognition software. According to a recently-filed patent, iPhone users soon will be able to simply look at their phone to unlock it. The feature is already available on “jailbroken” phones as well as on some Androids with Ice Cream Sandwich but we’re sure it’ll be Apple that takes facial recognition tech to the next level.

4.) A slippery social media slope (literally): Vail Resort has bought back its incredibly popular EpicMix app for the 2011/2012 ski season. The new version for IOS/Android allows skiers to use their smartphones as lift tickets, chat with friends on the slopes and see live stats from the mountain as well as photos taken by the resorts photographers.

5.) Amazon gets social, too: Social isn’t just for ski bunnies; top online retailer Amazon is looking to be the premier social shopping destination. New regime changes that brought in staffers from Quora signals a push forward on the social shopping frontier and, as always with Amazon, we can’t wait to see what the company does next.

December 29, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

New York Times Spams, Twitter Explodes

What we marketers love about social media marketing is the immediate opportunities to connect with our customers. But the line of communication works both ways. When consumers are unhappy campers, the first they do is voice their grievances on sites like Twitter and Facebook. The New York Times is the latest brand to be on the receiving end of a Twitter attack from ticked off readers.

Things at the New York Times got messy yesterday when an accidental spam email wound up in the inboxes of 8 million subscribers. The solicitation message, which asked readers to reconsider their home delivery service, was originally intended for only a small group of subscribers. Recipients of the email took to Twitter to ponder if the New York Times had been hacked, while others hopped on the networking site to voice their displeasure at getting such a message. Soon the Times and the whole mess was a top trending topic and big news story.

Digital missteps like this one are pretty serious, so the interest was high yesterday to see how the company would rectify its mistake. The Times quickly responded to the tweets, assuring readers that the message was just spam and that it should be deleted. The tweets back and forth showed that the Times was listening to its following and responding to the issue with the latest developments. By the end of the day on Wednesday, the PR team from the Times had put out the Twitter fire and business went on as usual.

The fact is that technical screw ups and miscommunications are bound to happen. And people are bound to get upset about said screw ups. But there’s a proper way to handle them and the NYT, as far as we can tell, did just that. So, readers, share with us: Did you get one of those messages from the Times? Have you ever had a brand reach out to you on Twitter to fix a complaint? Let us know!

December 28, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Newsletter 101: The Ron Paul Edition!

The digital newsletter is a great way to strut your custom content, expand the reach of your email marketing campaign and enrich your overall digital engagement strategy. Even better — it’s virtually foolproof; the only way that a digital newsletter could possibly destroy your brand is if you weren’t paying attention to the content and what was being printed was offensive, inflammatory and even racist. Thankfully, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul already made that mistake so you don’t have to! Paul recently displayed some truly dunderheaded brand management (or mismanagement, as the case may be) and we can all be a little wiser thanks to his idiocy.

First off, let’s get this out of the way. It doesn’t matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican or even if you vote for aliens. Paul’s mistake is not one of party lines but of a brand lacking any thought or strategy. In case you haven’t heard, Paul is currently in deep doo doo over newsletters he published in the ’80s and ’90s which featured the politician’s signature brand of straight talk. The problem with the newsletters in question is that Paul says he didn’t write the crazy racist passages that are now being quoted by every news outlet on the planet. Paul says a staffer wrote the articles in question and that’s the only explanation he’ll give. He’s even getting testy about it — he walked out of a CNN interview when questions about the newsletters arose.

Keeping far away from the icky content of the newsletters and even ickier politics involved, the big problem here is a loose cannon of a brand with zero accountability. If any of our small businesses acted like Paul and then didn’t accept responsibility, we wouldn’t be in business for long. The main marketing mishap here is that if Paul didn’t write those articles, then he took the sin one step further by not triple checking the content that has his name on it. Conversely, if Paul did write the wackadoodle articles in question, then he needs to fess up and accept his fate.

Either way, it’s a classic what not to do with a newsletter or blog or social media post. We’ve seen brands like Marc Jacobs get bitten in the back by not monitoring who is in charge of their social media postings. We’ve seen business blogs get mismanaged by untrustworthy sources. Companies big or small have to carefully and thoughtfully create content for their brand or, like Ron Paul, pay the price for not paying attention.

December 27, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Grandma Loves Facebook… But Does She Like it?

In the world of Facebook marketing, trends and new groups are being periodically targeted as “the next demographic to explode on Facebook.” Two years ago, everyone talked endlessly about the upcoming wave of senior citizens who were taking to Facebook like a fish to water. Naturally, the next question on everyone’s mind was: Will older people interact with brands on Facebook?

In a word, yes. Two years following the senior social media boom (as well as the Betty White-ification of the Internet), Facebook is still a senior’s playground. A study from SocialCode that came out over the summer found that Facebook users over the age of 50 are 28 percent more likely to click an ad within Facebook than younger people. A recent giveaway from Wal-Mart awarded a senior center a new technology suite specifically designed so clients of the center could use email and Facebook. And many senior organizations are even offering classes on how to use social media.

Yet this explosion hasn’t translated to page “likes.” The same study from SocialCode notes that Facebook users who are 50 years old or older are nine times less likely to like a brand… even after they’ve clicked on its ad. Even the Betty White-endorsed AARP has only rung in a little over 80,000 likes on its Facebook page, while its actual membership is estimated to be in the 40 million-plus neighborhood.

So what gives? If this is one of the most powerful age groups on Facebook, why don’t they interact with brands?

Perhaps we overestimated the senior social media boom and what they use Facebook for. While we hate to stereotype, we think the 410,000 monthly users of Bingo on Facebook is more indicative of what older people really do online. All kidding aside, seniors admit to using the site to share photos, keep in touch with family and play games. Connecting with brands doesn’t even make their top five.

So does that mean we marketers should leave grandma alone with her Angry Birds and forget trying to get her to like our brands? Tell us, readers, in the comments section below!

December 26, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Two Realistic Blogging Resolutions for 2012

Shoulda. Woulda. Coulda. That’s how many of us feel at the end of a year. And nothing in online marketing brings out regret like blogging for business. We wish would have posted more. We wish our blog marketing strategy was better. We wish we had any kind of blog strategy, period. Well, that was then and this is now; in 2012 there are a few simple things you can do to lift your blog up to brilliant and regret-free heights.

If you want your company blog to be read, forwarded and liked, the first thing you have to do is write the damn thing. In order for a blog campaign to be a success, there has to be an actual blog for people to read. (I know… This is a groundbreaking idea!) Yet seriously, it is that simple and that hard. Blogs take creativity and inspiration and time. But mostly they need to be written — so your first blogging resolution is to write your blog (or get someone to write it for you). This is a resolution you should make and keep at least five days a week. After a few months of this schedule, you’ll notice your hard work paying off.

The second resolution is an easy one that you can practice all year long. Get people to read the darn thing. “But how?” you ask. Shamelessly promote your company blog with social media marketing. This solves two problems: fresh content for your social media pages and traffic for your blog. Link your blog in emails. Guest blog on other sites relevant to your industry. And have your co-workers and employees forward and post your brilliant blog, too. Blogs should get people talking about you and your brand and get them to your website. So the best way to grab readers is to blog about events, topics and people that folks want to read about.

If you’re new to blogging for business, there’s never a better time to start than right now. You won’t be a blogging sensation overnight, so take your time, have fun and blog fearlessly without regret.

December 23, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Five Things You Might Have Missed!

As you hop head first into the holidays, let us fill your stocking with the latest in online marketing oddities, social media gems and video content delights. Our gift to you is our weekly list of Five Things You Might Have Missed! So enjoy — and whatever it is you’re celebrating, we here at Brandsplat hope it’s merry!

1.) Santa Puts Siri in His Sleigh: Here’s a rare Christmas-themed ad from Apple that has been the subject of oodles and oodles of blogs this week. Why? Because depending on how you feel about Apple products, the commercial is either a warm, holiday message or the perpetuation of the iPhone cult. Still, no matter how you slice it, showing Santa using Siri to find houses and keep track of his Christmas list is clever and perfect for the season.

2.) Unhappy Tweets: Despite its chipper demeanor, researchers at the University of Vermont have found that Twitter is not a happy place. The study reports that based on frequently used words, folks on Twitter are less happy than they used to be. Researchers note that a newsworthy event like a death or a natural disaster can affect the general mood of Twitter and the sour content of the tweets. This makes the list for reminding us to tweet positive or educational messages that make Twitter a happier place.

3.) Watch This Top Ten: Here’s a year-end list you’ll wanna watch — the ten most watched ads on YouTube. You might have seen all of them already, but the list deserves a gander to get a glimpse into the trends and viral content from the year that was.

4.) But the Google is So Delightful: Of the online holiday-themed time killers from last week, Google’s “Let it Snow” Easter egg was certainly one of the most entertaining. The snow-globe effect dusted upon the search engine when the words “let it snow” were entered brought smiles to even the crustiest tech and marketing snobs.

5.) Slip Sliding Away: Finally, this helpful and kind of hilarious video from TomTom rounds out our list for having a great song, a timeless message and priceless footage of drivers acting the fool in the snow.

December 22, 2011 By Dawn Walnoha Leave a Comment

Will Facebook’s Timeline Turn Out to Be a Goldmine for Marketers?

Like the unpredictable weather or the follies of a local sports team, Facebook updates have become one of humanity’s favorite things to complain about. Generally speaking, people aren’t big fans of change, so when your cozy social media blanket looks and feels different, all hell breaks loose. Last week, Facebook unveiled its much-discussed and prematurely hated for no good reason Timeline. While regular folks are bemoaning the look and usability of Timeline, marketers are wondering what impact, if any, will the change have on social media marketing?

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has touted Timeline as a tool to share life experiences, while haters have labeled Timeline as the final death to online privacy. But what the heck is it, really? Timeline, according to ReadWriteWeb, “turns the profile into an illustrated browsable history of a user’s entire life, with major milestones and little moments smartly chosen by Facebook’s algorithm.” The look of Timeline is more graphic and less cluttered with Facebook’s blue and white branding. And that’s the good news. Facebook has need a facelift for some time and this new one will entice folks to spend even more time on the site. Also great is the user-controlled history that can be shared. Users have the ultimate say on what information is put on their timeline and when.

And that is also the bad news. Some Timeline critics claim that the app has the potential to take over-sharing of user information to new heights. There has been some concern that marketers will now have access to even more details on Facebook users lives, likes and loyalties.

The biggest negative we can see with Timeline, however, is that brand pages won’t have access to the new look. Social media marketing clients are now stuck using Facebook Pages and its ever-constrictive confines. Pages are become less about small businesses being able to spread the word about their companies and more about solicitation to advertise on Facebook.

But readers, you tell us what you think. Is Timeline a hit or a total miss? Let’s dish about it in the comments section below!

December 21, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Dissing the Discount: What Slankets Can Teach Us About Email Marketing

We’re all for digital engagement that uses email marketing to give their followers exactly what they want. Online retailers and deal hucksters who sling out the goodies have to practice a delicate balance of staying ahead of trends while giving discounts on cool items that inspire folks to whip out their credit cards. We don’t use the word “art” lightly when we talk about well-done email marketing because most of the things that land in our inboxes are anything but artful.

We started thinking about the potency of email marketing because of the Slanket. Surely you remember the Slanket, the precursor to, but less popular version of, the Snuggie? The blanket with sleeves but without the catchy marketing campaign popped back up on periphery when it showed up in our daily deal email from Living Social. Surely you remember Living Social, the less cool, but slicker-looking, version of Groupon? It’s the holidays and the best they could come up with is a deal on the Slanket? Living Social ran a half off deal on the Slanket this week after a week that also included discounts on Botox, gourmet popcorn and bowling. While all of those items are super, they don’t exactly inspire us to smartphone our way into debt.

The point here is that with email marketing — and all of our online marketing, for that matter — brands have a teeny tiny amount of time to get consumers to respond. And folks won’t think you’re giving them a huge deal if you’re offering things they don’t actually want. But more than deals, the content of our email marketing messages matters. We spend time and money on newsletters and email campaigns in hopes that people will be engaged enough to visit our websites, buy our services and products and talk about us on social media. Churning out messages with no soul or personality doesn’t do our brands any favors. In short, do we want our emails to be a Snuggie or a Slanket?

We could go on and on about how bad email marketing is the Internet’s version of pollution. Instead, we want you to try this: Go through your email and junk mail and see which messages actually catch your eye. Make notes about what interest you and what doesn’t work. And then come back here and share your findings!

Archives for 2011

5 Things You Might Have Missed!

Follow Us

Newsletter 101: The Ron Paul Edition!

Follow Us

Grandma Loves Facebook… But Does She Like it?

Follow Us

Two Realistic Blogging Resolutions for 2012

Follow Us

Five Things You Might Have Missed!

Follow Us

Dissing the Discount: What Slankets Can Teach Us About Email Marketing

Follow Us