Archives for July 2011

July 29, 2011 By Brandsplat 1 Comment

5 Things You Might Have Missed — Blogging Edition!

We love blogging. We’ve seen the power of good blogs put companies on the map and we write blogs for businesses all the time. All of this blog love got us thinking: Why don’t we make a 5 Things You Might Have Missed List devoted to blogging? And so we did!

1.) The Return of the Blogging Teacher: This story tops our list not just because we think calling your own students “rude, disengaged, lazy whiners” in a blog is hilarious, but because the power of blogging and how it can come back to bite us has never been more beautifully illustrated.

2.) Emily Henderson Designs Blogging Gold: The winner of HGTV’s Design Star has a great design blog that perfectly preaches the design diva’s witty and wry sensibility. But Henderson makes our list for her video blog recaps of the current season of the show that put her on the map. Funny and approachable, Henderson blogs and vlogs as beautifully as she designs.

3.) Nuts About Southwest: So what if the Southwest airlines is so decidedly no-frills that it is sometimes referred to as “Greyhound of the Skies?” The company has a great blog that laughs with its passengers while giving all kinds of behind-the-airline type of info. Southwest is a great example of how blogging can expand our brands and keep us talking with our customers.

4.) Fill Up That Company Tumblr: We’ve yammered about the genius of Tumblr on these pages before but now we think you should listen to us. Big companies like MAC Cosmetics have taken to using the site for company blogging for the same reasons you should; it’s easy, it looks fabulous and it’s free.

5.) Oh Pioneers! Last but certainly not least, hit food and lifestyle blog Pioneer Woman makes our list — not for being new (it started in 2006) but for inspiring us to think big with our blogs. Author Ree Drummond started out blogging about her life on a farm and is now set to launch her own Food Network show this month. Couple that with a bestselling cookbook and we’re convinced that blogs can lead to very big things, indeed.

July 28, 2011 By Dawn Walnoha Leave a Comment

Google’s Tasty Marketing Recipe

This spring when Google’s Recipe Search came to America, many pondered the power of the tool. Some said it was flawed and would create a generation of cooks that didn’t actually want to learn how to read or cook. Others touted the search, which allows cooks to punch the ingredients in their refrigerator into their Google search and receive culinary possibilities. I stumbled on the feature while I was making dinner the other night and can see where both camps are coming from. On one hand, the search is genius because it inspired me to do something amazing using wasabi paste. On the other hand, the search results for the most part were pretty generic an uninspired. What fascinated me about Google Recipe Search, though, was how a tool for cooks and homemakers could actually be used by social media marketers and food bloggers.

Stay with me on this one: Let’s say your company makes dried spices and you post recipes using your spices online. So if you have these recipes in a widely-read and well-written blog, there’s no reason your ingredients shouldn’t end up on someone’s plate after they use Google Recipe Search. For food bloggers who perhaps write about tasty treats for a restaurant supply company or a bread distributor, placing a keyword-rich recipe on a blog as well as on a corporate Facebook page is one of those so-simple-it’s-genius ideas.

But why stop there? Food-based companies, cookbook authors and nutrition gurus also can join in on the Google Recipe Search goodness. The great thing about the feature is that users literally pick out the ingredients and get only the results using their specifications.

We’ve seen Google roll out these sorts of specified searches over the last two years or so with shopping, social media and now recipes. For blogging campaigns, article marketing and social media marketing, these innovations can only mean amazing things. Bon appetite!

July 27, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

3 Summer Social Media Marketing Don’ts

It’s recently come to our attention that many think summertime is the time of year to slack off on our social media marketing and putter away the brilliant online branding we’ve worked so tirelessly to build when the temperatures were much cooler. In two words: Um, no. So we thought we’d publish our list of summer social media don’ts as a seasonal reminder of what not to do on Facebook, Twitter and the rest.

1.) Don’t Panic — So sales are slow and all of your clients are out of town and nobody is responding to your clever status updates. So what? It’s no reason to launch into promotional overdrive by flooding social media with infomercials dripping with desperation. Instead, just keep up the good work… and remember, social media is only as effective as the messages we send out. So stop sending out “the sky is falling” messages and you might just be pleasantly surprised.

2.) Don’t Go There — There’s plenty of unsavory topics to sink your teeth into these days. From overdosing stars to money-grubbing moguls, it’s hard to resist flinging Internet mud on Twitter and Facebook. But that kind of thing is best relegated to boozy dinner parties in private, not on company social media accounts. With our social media accounts, we want to keep our noses clean and out of other people’s business.

3.) Don’t Fall Out of Touch — Everybody needs a vacation, obviously. But to fall off the social media map is a big mistake. Recent studies have found that brands who get dropped on social media are usually the ones who fail to keep their content fresh. This isn’t to say you should spend your days in the sun Twittering instead of relaxing. There’s definitely a middle ground. If you can’t update while you’re away, turn it over to your most trusted, workaholic employee.

July 26, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Chatty Cathy, Meet Blogging Betty

We recently dished with a friend who has the tiring task of wrangling well-meaning volunteers at a local non-profit arts organization. It’s a juggling act that your average HR bear couldn’t stomach, since volunteers have to be handled differently because they are helping your organization for, like, free. So lots of times, according to our friend, this means swallowing some strong personalities and smiling through it. In regard to a particularly talkative type, however, our friend came up with a stroke of genius which has not only helped their social media content but helped keep a chattering volunteer busy.

Our buddy turned little miss chatty Cathy into the company’s social media diva. The formerly motor-mouthed mama now turns out tweets, blogs and Facebook posts for the non-profit, which had previously experienced a tough time in staying consistent with social media upkeep. Being reformed “talks too much and passes notes” kids ourselves, we love channeling real life conversation into digital engagement. Naturally, it makes sense to have the person who always has something to say be in charge of posting your company’s message online. These types are more likely to engage with followers in lively conversations.

And while part of what makes social media marketing so much fun is the fact we get to talk to our customers and find out what’s on their minds, there is a fine line between delightfully conversational and downright annoying. Make sure your chatty social media maven knows how to rein it in before you give him or her the keys to your Twitter or Facebook kingdom. Lately, we’ve seen dozens of disastrous results when a blabbing and belligerent employee takes over Twitter to wreak havoc. From big clothing companies to airlines, the wrong person in charge of social media can cause complete PR nightmares.

But if you have a lovable, trusted and well-spoken big mouth who needs something to do, social media and blogging might just be their dream job and could be great for your brand.

July 25, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

You Might as Well Face it — You’re Addicted to Groupon

A little over a year and a half ago on these very pages, we pondered the power and appeal of Groupon. At that time, Groupon was a well-timed social and marketing stroke of genius which seemed to simultaneously tap into our collective broke-assedness and our love of bragging about saving money. We had a feeling it was here to stay and didn’t really bat an eye when the stampede of LivingSocials, DailyDeals and the like swarmed the Internet. It appears there is enough room for all of them as we are a nation hooked on saving big. We’re so addicted to Groupon and all of its money-saving clones that we’re sure some Janice Dickinson type will enter Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Rehab next season for online deal dependency.

Yet those of us in the marketing and digital branding universe wonder if shoppers actually return after the deal is done, if Groupon actually helps or hurts a brand’s image and if the days of denying our clients’ requests to come up with a daily deal marketing strategy are officially over?

Consider this: A recent Harris poll found that 68 percent of daily deal site users reported using the websites for impulse rather than planned purchases. Translation? They weren’t planning on going to the Olive Garden ever again but, what the hell, they got a Groupon for it! But another study from Rice University found that only one in five Groupon users return to the business they purchased the deal for. So, no, chances are people won’t return to your business after the Groupon glitter fades.

Most brands aren’t too worried about this, though. For new businesses and companies that have seen better days, being part of Groupon means being part of one of the most read and beloved email marketing campaigns on the planet. There’s a cache of being part of the daily deal scene which most brands find hard to resist. But this doesn’t mean marketers should pimp all of their clients to Groupon just yet. Many big brands are coming up with their own daily deals advertised on Facebook and their own web pages, meaning forking over profits to a deal service may be unnecessary.

In the end, though, our addiction to Groupon is going nowhere. We’ll continue to chase down deals on bungee jumping and vegan crepes into the gates of consumerism hell as long as companies keep feeding our need.

July 22, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

5 Things You Might Have Missed

So many crazy, informative, strange, stories— so little time. Thankfully we’ve hand picked a bushel of the best things happening right now in online marketing, social media and branding.

1.) Your What Talks?!?: We’ll gracefully avoid making any “douchey” jokes and let the outspoken lady parts in this series of online ads for Summer’s Eve do the talking, instead. These frank spots for feminine hygiene branded with the tagline “Hail to the V” are either groundbreaking or highly stereotypical and offensive. Either way, it’s a totally talked about and list-worthy campaign.

2.) Twittering Presidential Wannabes: When the GOP presidential hopefuls took to Twitter to debate the issues on Wednesday, there were three things that stood out: A.) Twitter as a political debate platform certainly has its limitations. B.) In order for people to care about Twitter campaigns, they need to be properly promoted, and C.) Obama and his social media marketing have this whole thing in the bag.

3.) The Big Apple Handpicked by New Yorkers: MyBlockNYC.com is an awesome new crowsourced site which allows New Yorkers to give virtual visitors a real look at the city that never sleeps. The site is a creative and social look at tourism from the people who live in New York. And it’s a trend we hope spreads to other cities.

4.) Plus or Minus: This great editorial from the thoughtful folks at good made us think about who we want to add as our Google+ friends. Google+ has had an estimated 18 million visitors so far and the way we friend — and market — on the site is bound to be a topic we continue to discuss.

5.) Rocking the Brostache: Okay, we know this is a few weeks old, but if you don’t watch Hulu as much as we do you might have missed the hilarity of Gieco’s new commercial and accompanying “brostache” smartphone app. It’s the kind of funny digital and mobile marketing folks love from Geico and far be it from us to dispute the power of a virtual moustache.

July 20, 2011 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

It Ain’t Over ’til the Fat Lady Blogs

If you’re thinking “Nobody will ever read my company blog because it’s too weird/too boring/too specific,” take heart — there is truly an audience for everything. Want proof? I submit TheOfficialDonnaSimpson.com as evidence that any content has the chance of finding a following.

TheOfficialDonnaSimpson.com is a controversial website not because it features sexy girls or outspoken rantings from political nut jobs. No, this webcam and blog-based site is sparking debate and reeling in users because it features Donna Simpson on a mission to gain weight. Simpson has invited viewers into her world as she earnestly tries to become the world’s heaviest person at an unbelievable 1,012 pounds. Simpson has 500-plus paid subscribers who get a front row seat to watch the woman expand before their very eyes. She reportedly makes more than $8,500 a month from her website and has become a press phenomenon after being featured in last week’s Daily Mail.

If this sounds bat-spit crazy, that’s because it is. Not only could one successfully argue that Simpson’s site represents the very worst of the web, but it doesn’t bode too well for humanity. Essentially paying to watch someone kill themselves is the kind of thing that’s okay in twisted sci-fi movies but far from okay in real life. Nevertheless, Simpson does have an interesting business model that company bloggers can get some pointers from. Her site’s success proves that paid content is far from dead, that subscriber-based blogs with wacky niches will get talked about, and that yes, there is an audience for everything.

But let’s hear from you readers: Is a world that embraces TheOfficialDonnaSimpson.com a world you want to live in? What other bizarre video blog sites are must-see web viewing? And finally, how many of you clicked on the link just out of curiosity?

Archives for July 2011

5 Things You Might Have Missed — Blogging Edition!

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You Might as Well Face it — You’re Addicted to Groupon

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It Ain’t Over ’til the Fat Lady Blogs

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