There has been some debate lately about just how effective Twitter is as a business marketing tool. Though Twitter may be free to use, many companies pay a social media management company to monitor their account and they do not want to pay for something that does not get them results. Keeping this in mind, here are some suggestions on how to get the most out of your Twitter followers. (more…)
If you only read five awe-inspiring, toe-tapping, marker-moving stories this week, make it our weekly list of five things you might have missed!
1.) Sweet Screams: Fandango wants fans to scream their heads off on social media. According to ClickZ, “From October 1 to 18, Scream-Off fans can submit videos of their best ‘blood-curdling, skin-crawling screams’ on Instagram or Twitter, with the hashtag #FandangoScreamContest and @Fandango.” Fandango will pick a Scream of the Day and feature it on the site before moving it to the next round of competition. The best screamer gets a stay at the legendary Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where The Shining was filmed.
2.) IPOh!: Late Thursday afternoon, Twitter filed its paperwork with U.S. securities regulators in hopes of being a social media IPO that really delivers. Twitter is hoping that the ever-exploding mobile market will give it a leg up on Facebook. Social media marketers can expect Twitter’s decision to go public to mean a larger emphasis on advertising and mobile-friendly campaigns. But Twitter (or TWTR, as it will be known on the stock ticker) has a long way to go until it can bring in the ad bucks like Google or Facebook, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
3.) Drawn Together: Beer maker Steinlager wants its consumers to “be the artist, not the canvas” in a new spot which shows a mischievous young man who draws on his friends who have had too much to drink. The smart and funny commercial is accompanied by a “be the artist” app which gives users a chance to make and share their own ink masterpieces.
4.) Adstagram: We knew it would come to this… Instagram announced this week that it would finally start delivering on the promise of introducing advertisements into U.S. feeds. Only a select group of brands that are already Instagram users will get to show ads first. The ads will slowly start appearing over the next few months. In contrast, complaints about the ads have already appeared on pretty much every other social network.
5.) Bless You: Wrapping up our list is a little slice of online video creation that perfectly mixes “eww” with “aww.” The fine folks at Kleenex remind us not to get caught without a tissue by using people with signs telling their true sneeze confessions. It’s a simple, short and very memorable spot for a brand on the verge of a hipper, lighter digital makeover.
Social media experts seemed a bit confused by Instagram when it first launched back in 2010. Would people actually care about photo sharing? Moreover, could this kind of platform really be social? And could brands find ways to make Instagram work for them? Three years later, the answer to those questions is a resounding “Yes!” Instagram has fast become the darling of social media marketing, and a new study shows just how Fortune 500 use Instagram. Turns out, the Instagram habits of the big boys are things every company can try.
According to the study conducted by TrackMaven, the best time to post on Instagram is, well, anytime. Marketing types often think social media ends with the workday, but TrackMaven found that user activity stayed virtually the same on Instagram on weekends as it was on the weekdays. As far as filters go, Fortune 500s used #nofilter the most on their Instagram photos, but the “Mayfair” filter performed the best. Also, Fortune 500 companies seem to be loving Instagram’s version of Vine new video feature. Nike, Starbucks, Foot Locker, Apple and Ralph Lauren are the top five most active Fortune 500 brands on Instagram. Yet it should be noted that while 123 of the Fortune 500 companies have Instagram accounts, only 22 percent have active accounts.
For small businesses who want to get better at Instagram marketing, these are fascinating things to hear and chock full of lessons. For starters, post on Instagram all day, every day. Since photo sharing often happens from events (which happen whenever), normal business hours should be happily ignored. In fact, Instagram photos posted on the weekends have a better chance of getting “likes” with more folks off work and on their phones. Also, go crazy with the hashtags. As Mashable’s Jessica Lee puts it, “It’s often considered a social media faux pas to use more than two hashtags in a tweet; however, on Instagram, that rule can be thrown out the window. The data prove otherwise for bigger brands, showing that four to 11 hashtags can increase up to on average 77 interactions per Instagram post.” Lee also reminds us not to clog the bottom of the post with hashtags; rather, we’d do well to pepper them seamlessly throughout the post instead.
Finally, in order to have big-time rocking Instagram success, you actually have to use the darn thing! Pictures from trade shows, mouth-watering snapshots of the day’s specials and exclusive backstage photos make for great Instagram posts. Remember, the top five only became the top five because they were inspired by Instagram’s endless ways to connect by sharing amazing, funny and interesting original images.
If you’re brand new to Twitter marketing, you’ve picked a perfect time to join the social network. Much of what Twitter users discuss is what’s currently happening in the world and there is a lot to talk about right now. From ObamaCare and the government shutdown to new episodes of buzzed-about television shows and from football to baseball, Twitter is on fire with hashtags relating to the things we are all talking about. Used correctly, hashtags can help brands join the conversation while potentially introducing themselves to a new legion of followers.
At the writing of this post, the following hashtags were trending on Twitter: #TheGovernmentShutDownBecause, #Netflix, #Halloween, #Buctober and #America. If you haven’t used hashtags, that list might make zero sense to you. And that’s okay. Hashtags are simply ways to tag things others on Twitter are talking about — a way of joining and inviting others to join similar conversations. #TheGovernmentShutDownBecause, for example, invites Twitter users to fill in the sentence with their own one-liners, funny memes or opinions. (This one, which referenced the Nickelodeon show Drake and Josh, was the top of the pack, by the way.) But you don’t have to be born in the 2000s to take part in the conversation. Hashtag #Buctober is a shout out to the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Local brands like Pittsburgh eatery Primanti Brothers used #Buctober to encourage fans to come in after the big game. Trending hashtag #Halloween gave brands like ABC Family, American Apparel and Random House a chance to start trick-or-tweeting early with followers.
The key with hashtags is to strike when the iron is hot. Sometimes hashtags go on for days, but most peak in popularity in a matter of hours. Also, only use hashtags that relate to your brand and social media marketing story. If you sell cards, then #Halloween would be an easy one for you. If you sell tires, however, the hashtag of #Netflix might be a harder sell. But maybe you can make it work! For huge companies and mom-and-pop shops alike, hashtags and how we use them rely 100 percent on a brand’s creativity. Hence, the sky is the limit.
Readers, what recent hashtags have made you laugh, roll your eyes or get involved? Also, which companies rock a great hashtag? Sound off in the comments section below!
Just because we love you, we promise that the following post will not, under any circumstances, make mention of Miley Cyrus, complain about iOS 7 or include Instagrammed pictures of the salad we had for lunch. Nope, our 5 Things list simply features the best stories from the worlds of digital engagement and online marketing that you might have missed. And really, what else do you need?
1.) Gravity Defied: A groundbreaking technological thriller like the new movie “Gravity” should have an incredible website, and that it does. The site allows visitors to put on their own spacesuits like the ones George Clooney and Sandra Bullock wear in the film and try to make it back to the spaceship in an online and mobile app game. It also features that creepy music you hear in the trailers along with videos guaranteed to freak you out.
2.) Haunted Hilarity: Nightmare Fear Factory, a Canadian-based haunted house attraction, is back with more funny photos of folks getting the crap scared out of themselves. For the third year in a row, the company posted shots of visitors to its haunted house in all of their freaked out and frightened glory. The shots are a viral hit every year and a perfect example of a smaller company using images on social media to really scare up new followers.
3.) Tweeted and Booted: Twitter marketing rocks for back and forth with customers, but only if you’re open to it. Mark Leiser of Scotland claims that UK discount airline easyJet refused to let him board after he tweeted a pointed critique of the airline. Leiser says an employee of easyJet told him, “You’re not allowed to talk about easyJet like that and then expect to get on a flight.” Naturally, easyJet says it would never deny boarding to a passenger based on remarks made on social media. Either way, the Twitter era continues to prove that how we respond to customer complaints has never been more important (or more visible).
4.) The Return of Rob: Dior scored a triple using Twilight heart-throb Rob Pattinson in a new campaign. First, the hashtag #DiorRob has gone viral with vampire-loving people everywhere. Second, the online videos for Dior featuring the star have racked up a combined nearly 10 million total views in less than a month, making them the most popular commercial currently on the Internet. Third, #DiorRob has single-handedly revived a men’s fragrance line. Maybe Rob’s popularity, like his vampire character, really will live forever?
5.) Bad Kitty: We wrap up this week’s list with another Halloween branding story. After blogs crucified Wal-Mart for carrying a child’s Halloween costume provocatively titled “Naughty Leopard,” the chain has apparently pulled the item from its stores. The costume ticked off more than a few parents and feminists so Wal-Mart’s move was probably a good one. Yikes. And we thought Sexy Big Bird was scary.
Every once in a while, a Twitter marketing effort — usually a hashtag or promoted tweet — takes social media by storm. If the hashtag is popular enough, traditional media takes notice, and before you know it, we’ve got a bona fide marketing phenomenon on our hands. Burger King fired up one for the record books yesterday when it introduced us to #Satisfried.
Most viral hashtags start with a great name and #Satisfried is no exception. The clever pun was concocted to promote Burger King’s new Satisfries, a lower-calorie, lower-fat french fry. According to USA Today, Satisfries have “30 percent less fat and 20 percent fewer calories than BK’s current fries. (And 40 percent less fat and 30 percent fewer calories than McDonald’s fries.)” They also have a rocking hashtag. Released on Tuesday, #Satisfried was tending almost immediately. One Twitter user chirped, “Whoever came up with the term #Satisfried is a genius. A genius, I say.” Others used #Satisfried to talk about the hazards of fried foods while others employed the hashtag to profess their love for Burger King. The hashtag effortlessly transitioned from marketing to conversational piece, which is what every Twitter marketer hopes for.
Yet Burger King wasn’t just content with a great hashtag. In celebration of #Satisfries, the company got chatty with Twitter followers who used the tag, posted tons of photos of the product, answered questions about Satisfries from the Twitterverse and generally played every Twitter card in the book in hopes of getting people excited. The long-term popularity of the product is impossible to predict at this early stage, but we think Burger King’s efforts are paying off. Food bloggers are already praising the product and the media frenzy continues to rage on.
Readers, what promoted Twitter hashtags have you found to be particularly clever and which ones are less than appetizing? And while we’re at it, will you try Satisfries?
Hooray for Friday! If the week flew by and you wonder what the heck happened, fear not. We scooped up some of the most inspiring, most entertaining stories from the world of online marketing and put them on a little platter we like to call 5 Things You Might Have Missed.
1.) Instagram Slam: In lieu of swirling rumors about his sexuality, actor James Franco did some of the best social media marketing of the year when he posted Perez Hilton-esque photos of himself on Instagram. The phony pictures are littered with Hilton’s signature Microsoft Paint graffiti. In one fell swoop, Franco managed to take a pointed and well-deserved jab at online gossip hounds while establishing himself and his brand as an online force to be reckoned with.
2) Hope Floats: We enjoy a twerking fail video just as much as anyone else. But we also love when online video creation can be used to enlighten us on campaigns helping make the world a better place. This video for Hope Soap, a campaign to help kids in South Africa remember to wash their hands, does precisely that. The project distributes bars of soap to areas in need. Each bar contains a must-have toy that kids can only get to once the bar is all gone.
3.) The Power of 4: Kit Kat is suddenly the coolest candy bar on the planet. Not only did the brand recently pair with Google Android, it’s also come up with a mobile-centric site that has a good time making fun of smartphone and technology ads.
4.) SMS not RIP: If you’re looking to expand your mobile marketing efforts, this piece from ReadWrite might help fire your imagination. The post says that although overall text usage is down, SMS is still an incredibly effective way for brands to reach and touch followers.
5.) Oodles of Doodles: Closing out the list this week is the Doodle Project. According to the New York Egotist, “The Doodle Project is a collaborative doodle video where each frame was passed on to a different illustrator, designer or artist.” The result is a mind-boggling and beautiful piece of video art that bridges the gap between design, advertising and online filmmaking.
Social media marketing is a must to promote branded videos. Links to your company’s newest videos on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the like are the easiest way to get your amazing online video creation in front of audiences. Posts with original videos make for dynamic and viral social media gold, so there isn’t a reason not to do it. Yet for our money, no social media channel is better for video marketing than Google+.
For starters, Google+ is incredibly YouTube friendly (naturally, given both channels are part of the Google family). This ease means original videos posted to Google+ can be added instantly to a brand’s YouTube channel. For anyone who has ever spent an entire day loading a video to YouTube, this is fantastic news. Also, videos uploaded to YouTube and then posted on Google+ look and sound great given there are no compatibility issues. And with Google+ Hangouts On Air, you can actually create live content which can also be saved to your YouTube channel. Hangouts On Air are used by tons of brands of all sizes for things like interviews, product reviews, conference coverage and live Q&As with followers. In fact, these hangouts can become a live event in themselves, potentially driving folks to your brand’s channels. If you’re good at rolling live and have a game plan for an entertaining segment, Hangouts On Air are a real solution for fresh video content. Finally, Google+ has dozens of ways to promote videos throughout the platform. Communities, for example, are terrific spots to place videos in front of handpicked audiences with interests in what you and your brand do. From bookworms and weekend warriors to travel lovers and fashionistas, there are Communities for everybody.
Finally, posting videos on Google+ has a distinct edge that the other channels won’t ever have: It’s Google! This means every time you create content for Google+, your company has just given its SEO a shot in the arm. Videos — and everything you post on Google+ — winds up in Google searches for your business.
Readers, have you used Google+ for videos? Tell us your love stories (or tales of woe) in the comments section below.