Social Media Marketing Archives

December 20, 2013 By Dawn Walnoha Leave a Comment

What Beyoncé Knows About Social Media Marketing (and You Don't)

What does Beyoncé do when she’s not busy getting everybody pregnant with her newly-released secret album? Oh, not much… just using social media to change the way we market.

At midnight on Thursday, Queen Bey wowed the entertainment world with the news that she was releasing her fifth solo album. The self-titled work represents a first in many categories — including, in a nod to the visual aspect of music entertainment, more videos than songs — but will be remembered for its stealth: No one outside of her recording label, Columbia, knew to expect it. And where did she break the news? On Instagram, with a short promotional video for the project and the one-word caption “Surprise!”

That’s it. No weeks of dribbling out singles, no media interviews, no daytime talk show appearances.

According to a press release from her label, Beyoncé herself was behind the change. Columbia called her decision “an unprecedented strategic move by the artist to deliver music and visual content directly to her fans when she wants to and how she wants to, with no filter.”

“This unique approach allows music fans to be the first to listen, view, engage and form their own opinions void of any middleman,” the release continues. “Stripped of gimmicks, teasers and marketing campaigns, this project is truly about art before hype.”

Regardless of where you stand on whether the lack of pre-release marketing is a gimmick all its own, the popularity of appealing directly to consumers through social media can’t be denied.

“I didn’t want to release my music the way I’ve done it,” Beyoncé is quoted as saying in the release. “I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak directly to my fans. There’s so much that gets between the music, the artist and the fans. I felt like I didn’t want anybody to give the message when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it’s ready and from me to my fans.”

And her fans, of course, ate it up. On Monday, Apple reported that her album has become the fastest-selling album ever on the iTunes Store with an unprecedented 828,773 albums sold in just its first three days. In addition, it broke the U.S. first week album sales record with 617,213 sold and soared to No. 1 in 104 countries.

But what does it say about the state of consumer-centered marketing? Simply put, consumers are eager to play a central role in spreading the word about their favorite brands.

“This is very much in line with what’s happening right now in marketing, which is this idea of marketing without marketing, or anti-marketing, where you appear to be just delivering your product directly to the consumer without any mediation,” Jason King, a musician and professor at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, told National Public Radio. “This seems like a direct gift from the celebrity to the consumer.”

A gift that keeps on giving, judging by the 1.2 million tweets posted in the first 12 hours. Why not let your army move your product? But what do you say, readers? Are you convinced that relying on your brand’s social media followers to be the main drivers of your marketing efforts will pay off? Let us hear from you in the comments section!

August 22, 2013 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Is What We Read More Important Than Who We Are?

For a brief minute, social media marketing seemed to be a golden ticket into giving marketers a better look at who consumers really were and what they really liked. Facebook pages filled with “likes” for favorite brands, tweets mentioning interests and Pinterest boards chock full of lusted-after items give the illusion of really getting to know a consumer. Yet many think when it comes to content marketing, we should really be asking consumers what they’re reading instead of analyzing their status updates.

The webpages we visit, the blogs we read and the things we search for say far more than social media ever could, says the Guardian’s Jonny Rose.

“By tracking consumer interactions as they browse and engage with content, brands can begin to reveal current and evolving interests, inclinations and needs — sometimes before the individual knows themselves,” Rose says.

Technology referred to by Rose as “content analytics” gives brands access to invaluable insights — but how?

“Content analytics technology analyses pieces of text and makes it understandable and readable for computers. It allows computers to understand the topics, people, places, companies and concepts in the content, sentiment towards aspects of the content, and the language of that content,” Rose says. “This, in turn, means computers can track an individual’s interaction with a piece of content and collect and draw trends about that individual’s tastes and interests.”

If this sounds Big Brother-ish or a little creepy to you, you’re not alone. A lot of folks are startled by the amount of information that advertisers have access to. But others would argue that content marketing analytics helps companies get a more truthful look at the person they are trying to reach. These analytics have also been a long time coming; by now, most people know that when they’re online, they are communicating with brands, whether they want to or not.

Regardless of opinion, these kind of analytics are unavoidable.

“Whether you are browsing to kill time, entertain yourself or researching for a friend, what you are reading right now is incredibly indicative of who you are as a person — and this is immensely useful for brands,” Rose concludes.

But what do you think, readers? Are content marketing analytics helpful or a borderline invasion of privacy? Tell us in the comments section below.

August 21, 2013 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Vine Marketing: Nailing the 6-second Commerical

Tired of hearing social media experts go on and on about Vine? Well, get used it. The mobile app, launched in 2012 and acquired by Twitter shortly thereafter, has just begun to generate the kind of buzz it deserves, and brands are finding all kinds of ways to make it work for them. But what is Vine exactly, and how can small businesses use it in online marketing?

Love it, loathe or fail to understand it, Vine isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Vine is a smartphone app that lets users create and post short videos — short as in a max of six seconds — which then can be shared or embedded on social networking. These tiny videos are easier to share and download given their size. Like YouTube’s early days, initial content has ranged from grating to nonsensical. Skateboarding, cats, skateboarding cats, weird old people making faces — you know, the kind of things that are the cornerstones of online video creation. Yet the longer Vine grows, the more brands are finding ways to creatively use the micro-video format. Oreo, Urban Outfitters and Lowe’s, for instance, are a few companies with the budget and talent to make effective and memorable videos on Vine.

“The good news is that almost any business can find a way to use Vine, but those that are great at storytelling are the most likely to be successful,” writes Yael Grauer for Business2Community.com. “Communicating via video works best for brands that have already identified how their story connects with customers. And as always with video or images, visually-appealing products or storylines win the day: The challenge is to fit a story into six seconds, say marketing experts, so some creativity is required.”

In other words, when it comes to standing out in the already crowded Vine jungle, creativity and an already high visibility are key ingredients.

Readers, what’s your take on Vine? Is it the next YouTube? Or the decline the of online video innovation as we know it? Sound off below!

August 9, 2013 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

5 Things for August 9: Blog Marketing, Watery Billboards and Applebees

Need a longer lunch break? Want more people to read your blog? Can’t find your keys? Our weekly list of the best content marketing stories you might have missed can help! We have five stories that could very well answer your most puzzling questions when it comes to social media and online marketing. When it comes to things like finding your keys, however, you’re on your own.

1.) On Trend: It feels like there has been a never-ending supply of new Facebook stories this summer, and here’s one more you might have missed. On the heels of its hashtag rollout two months ago, Facebook is trying out another Twitter-born application: trending topics. Facebook told Mashable on Wednesday, “Today we started running a small test that displays topics trending on Facebook. It is currently only available to a small percentage of U.S. users who use Facebook’s mobile web site (m.facebook.com) and is still in very early stages of development,” a rep for Facebook said. Good idea or just another Twitter knockoff? Tell us in the comments section.

2.) Blowup Dolls and Burgers: Applebees is back with more inflatable dolls in hopes of inspiring folks to take a longer lunch break by leaving a stand-in behind at the office. Sounds ridiculous, but two styles of the dolls, “The Overachiever” and the “Cubicle Queen,” have already sold out on Amazon. It’s a clever and successful stunt. Still, it’s hard to say if these blowup buddies actually inspire people to eat at Applebees.

3.) Get Your Blog Noticed: Forbes published a fantastic list of easy solutions to blog marketing earlier this week. The list is worth a read since it gives 14 blog marketing and content ideas that every business can put into practice immediately.

4.) A ‘Pizza’ the Action: Domino’s is investing in startups while generating some huge buzz with Pizzavestments. The program, covered by tons of blogs this week, hands out $500 Dominos cards to 30 startups who probably spend a lot of late nights munching on pizza while working. #PoweredByPizza is the hashtag the company is using to inspire Twitter users to share their own tales of pizza-assisted genius.

5.) We’ll Drink to That: We close out this week’s list with a billboard in Lima, Peru worth celebrating. UTEC, a tech and engineering school, looked to solve Lima’s drinking water problem by creating this billboard which captures humidity and converts it into drinking water. Since the billboard went up 3 months ago, this magical billboard has created a whopping 9,450 liters of drinking water.

January 3, 2013 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

Social Media Marketing: The Sequel!

Think back to that long ago and far away time when social media marketing simply meant doing a couple of Facebook posts a week or tweeting every now and again. If that was a long time ago for you, then congratulations! Your social media marketing has evolved. If, however, “thinking back” to those prehistoric times means recalling your feeble marketing efforts from earlier today… well, you might have a problem. See, the one thing we’ve learned about social media is that it’s ever-changing, and in order for marketing to be effective, we have to keep up with the trends. The question is this: How do we keep social media marketing fresh in order to avoid getting stuck in the past?

Think of 2013 as a whole new chapter for social media marketing. How big brands like Banana Republic, Virgin Airways and Diesel do Facebook and Twitter today vs. how they did it back in 2010 is truly night and day. For one thing, the old “blasting of the trumpet” approach to social media is over. Brands are now using the platforms to get feedback on product images, to chat about current events and to inspire followers to be more creative. Facebook marketing, for example, has moved from sales to informational. Last-minute schedule changes for airlines, restaurants posting the evening’s delectable dinner specials and non-profits uploading photos to illustrate how donations can help are but a few ways the channel has shifted for small businesses. The numbers didn’t lie; Facebook doesn’t translate into direct sales. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a powerful place for your following to keep up on the latest news from your brand.

For a new chapter in Twitter marketing, turn up the social factor. As a platform, Twitter has made it easier than ever to talk to folks with your exact interests, so take advantage of it and schmooze your heart out. Even mega companies are slowing down and using Twitter to playfully banter back and forth with followers — and you should do the same. Mentioning new followers, re-tweeting articles from a friend’s feed and tweeting fun or provocative discussion questions are a good way to get the conversation going. Naturally, you and your brand are on Twitter to pimp your brand’s awesomeness, but don’t forget to have fun.

Should your social media marketing sequel want to move into the trendy visual arena, choose wisely. While Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr have each respectively been the “next big things” in social media, nothing lasts forever. Carefully shop and browse visual social media platforms before committing and come armed with a solid campaign plan before you start posting. It’s easy to get swept away with how great your images look on these channels, but if you’re not committed to posting regularly and with a purpose, they should be avoided.

January 18, 2012 By Brandsplat Leave a Comment

BBQ Bashes Blogger, Gets Burned

Every so often, a tale of social media marketing gone wrong comes along that is just so ridiculous, we simply have to talk about it. And the twisted tale of Boners BBQ and its Yelp-fueled social media meltdown certainly falls into that category.

At the beginning of the month, Yelp reviewer Stephanie S. and her husband visited Atlanta’s Boners BBQ and ate what she described as a mediocre meal in her review. But the response she received from the owner of Boners was anything but mediocre. On the restaurant’s Facebook page as well as in a tweet, owner Andrew Capron fired off the following response: “NOT WANTED! (Stephanie S.) left a waitress 0.00 dollars on a $40.00 tab after she received a Scoutmob discount. If you see this women (sic) in your restaurant tell her to go outside and play hide and go f— yourself! Yelp that b—-.”

Whoa. Naturally, the web exploded with responses to Capron’s super negative reaction to what is described as only a “so-so” review. Stephanie S. told the Huffington Post that she did leave a tip “and my review was not scathing by any means. The response from Boners BBQ has just been astonishing to me, especially since it came from the owner of the business.”

Meanwhile, outraged Atlanta diners and Yelpers have come to Stephanie’s aid and verbally trashed the restaurant on its Yelp page. By Wednesday, Boners’ bad behavior was the subject of many a national news story and the company was forced to put out the raging fire. Capron once again took to social media to apologize. Capron posted “Dear, Stephanie S.- We are truly sorry, it was a boneheaded move on our part. But more importantly- it was rude to you and an inappropriate use of social media.” Capron goes on to say it was wrong to “abuse” her opinion and even offers to refund her money or give her a free meal.

The little Atlanta barbecue joint found out the hard way that playing with social media fire will get you burned. We’re guessing this “boneheaded” mistake is one that Boners won’t repeat anytime soon.

Now, about that name. Boners? Complete with the tagline “Put a Little South in Your Mouth”? Really?

September 6, 2011 By Brandsplat 1 Comment

A Campaign to Cheer About

It’s always amazing to see a brand from the past leap out of obscurity and embrace digital branding, social media marketing and viral marketing to a stage a full-fledged comeback. The most recent brand to do that is Cheer. Remember Cheer? Yeah, us neither. But parent company Proctor & Gamble has been unstoppable when it comes to embracing new media and Cheer is its latest online marketing triumph.

The interactive YouTube video first exploded last year when several European brands took the medium to new heights. Cheer took a cue from foreign advertisers and partnered up with indie band Strange Talk. Cheer hid colorful outlines all over the band’s video for its song “Climbing Walls” and encouraged viewers to click. Lucky clickers won prizes from Cheer. Released on August 15th, the video was such a hit that Cheer ran out of prizes and Strange Talk racked up nearly 375,000 views. Not bad for a band nobody had heard of and a brand everybody had forgotten about.

A branding comeback can’t solely rely on video success, so Cheer has also taken to social media. Facebook is a hit with, well, everyone, and stay-at-home moms are no exception, so it makes sense that P&G relies heavily on the channel to speak directly to the buyers of its products. But Cheer is targeting an even younger audience in with its “Dig it. Get it” campaign. Obviously looking for “likes”, Cheer is hoping hip laundry lads and lasses will like the brand and enter Facebook photo contests which promise tickets to SXSW and other hip goodies. The brand wants its Facebook friends to submit colorful photos of themselves looking their most clean and shiny. The winning pics will be used in a Cheer campaign. And as if that wasn’t enough, P&G gave Cheer a chic graphic makeover with a new logo.