Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category
Location Based Marketing Gets Textually Active
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
While the talk of the town is still social media (even if it’s a day late and more than a dollar short for some), creating a seamless experience with brands is quickly becoming the focus of many an internal marketing team. In Andy Boyer’s last post he took a look at the tide of users logging into the Facebook environment on their mobile devices (HINT: It’s a big, big number). Here, I’m looking at the recent launch of location-based mobile marketing campaigns and seeing how they tie in to larger campaigns.
If you’re keeping up with the news, you’ve probably seen the story from location-based marketer Placecast (owned and developed by 1020 Inc.) which is working with the likes of Sonic, American Eagle Outfitters, and REI to integrate their ShopAlerts application into their wider marketing campaigns. The North Face Inc. also just launched a campaign to drive foot traffic to their brick and mortar stores in New York, Boston, San Francisco and here in Seattle.
As more and more companies are looking at social media and other new tech-propelled forms of reaching targets many are making the OR mistake and only putting one horse in the race. Where companies small and large are making a splash is in creating a seamless brand experience by using traditional, social, and mobile media to reach their brand loyalists where they are and in a way that resonates with them. Here’s a look at a couple brands doing this well:
American Eagle Outfitters
AE, a lifestyle clothing brand is aimed at college-age men and women, is always working to keep up with current marketing trends. Their presence in the social media world is anchored by a strong presence in Facebook and Twitter, but by adding a text-based element they are able to bring customers through the doors.
The North Face
As one of the leaders in advanced outdoor gear, The North Face operates at the higher-end of the retail spectrum and has a varying array of customers from advanced mountaineers to sporty urbanites. Their presence in social media plays well with their changing Web presence and reflects the current campaign pushes of the time. However, The North Face, along with Placecast, just launched a mobile location-based text campaign meant to draw already interested brand loyalists into their stores for even more gear.
In addition to their text campaign with Placecast, The North Face recently launched an iPhone application aimed at providing snow conditions for those headed to the mountains called The North Face Snow Report.
But, Where are the Numbers?
Oh, we’ve got numbers for you. Participants who opted into receiving updates from several major retailers including Sonic, American Eagle Outfitters and REI had this to say:
- 60% said that they found the lociation-triggered messages to be cool and innovative
- 79% said it increased their likelihood to visit a store
- 65% made a purchase as a result of a ShopAlerts message
- 73% said they would definitely or probably use the service in the future
From those numbers you can see the power of opt-in services that are delivering right-sized messaging at the correct targets. The users are already connected with the brands and are receiving information that they’ve already deemed “worthy.” It’s not like having a person stand on the corner handing out fliers for your store to every passersby – it’s targeted.
So, as we continue to move further into the world where marketing truly can reach anyone, anywhere (given, of course that the technological infrastructure is there), I think it’s important to realize that no new technology or tactic is the silver bullet. It’s not traditional advertising or social media. It’s not in-store or mobile – the list goes on. Speaking of that list of location-based services, looks like it’s about to get one name longer very soon. It’s about creating the seamless experience for users from store to online store to community to mobile that builds brand loyalty and gives back in the end.
What Channel is Your Phone Turned To?
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010There was a time when you used your remote to change the channel. Now more and more often, the remote and channel are the same device.
Pew Research released a report that claims 33 percent of cell phone owners now access news on their cell phones. So we’ve finally figured out what the people who aren’t Facebooking or texting are doing with their phones – they’re reading the New York Times or Perez Hilton.
The Pew report discusses, “two significant technological trends that have influenced news consumption behavior: First, the advent of social media like social networking sites and blogs has helped the news become a social experience in fresh ways for consumers. People use their social networks and social networking technology to filter, assess and react to news. Second, the ascent of mobile connectivity via smart phones has turned news gathering and news awareness into an anytime, anywhere affair for a segment of avid news watchers.”
Younger cell phone owners are more likely to look for news on their phones than from Katie Couric. In fact, according to the report, about 43 percent of those under 50 said they are mobile news consumers. And social media plays a big part, as more than 80 percent of respondents get or receive news via e-mailed links. But as Breitbart points out in their analysis of the report, the more things change, the more they stay the same. People’s #1 one concern is still the weather (72 percent), followed by current events (68 percent).
John Cook from Seattle’s own TechFlash found it worthwhile to mention that, “The authors of the study write that news has become omnipresent and people’s relationship to news is becoming portable, personalized and participatory.”
I think John is right when he focuses on the fact that news (and other information) is omnipresent. The “news cycle,” so to speak, is no longer valid. The classic product launch is a thing of the past. Making a big splash with a marketing or ad campaign is not effective unless there is credibility in the claim, and you can prove that the message is sustainable over time. There’s an effect in which every marketing action has an equal and opposite reaction. The more you promise, the more upset the crowd will be if you don’t deliver.
So how is this affecting the way news is being delivered?
“In one way it’s uplifting that over 60 percent of people using their phones for news are logging on to check current events. That goes against the passive news consumer we’ve heard about in TV for years,” says Cale Ramaker, an anchor at WOFL-TV in Orlando. “On the other hand it means all news outlets, in any median, need to refocus on not only delivering the news in multi-formats – but do it with an emphasis for the right now consumer.”
Cale’s point is valid. We now have more sources of information, more editors of the information, but also more opportunities to make critical decisions on whether the information is tainted. And seventy two percent of the survey’s respondents said that “most news sources today are biased in their coverage.” If the “objective” sources are biased, then the marketing sources are unbelievably easy to see through.
So at the end of the day, information continues to flow, and people can find it whenever and wherever they are. In fact, even if a marketing team lands an article with Kara Swisher, we may not read it there. We may get it via a friend’s Facebook post or Tweet while waiting for the bus.
We’re Getting in Shape Tomorrow at PR+Mktg Boot Camp
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010You don’t often hear the terms “Boot Camp” and “Library” in the same sentence. For that reason alone, we would have decided to take part and be a panel moderator at tomorrow’s big PR and Marketing Event. But when we found out some of our favorite people, including Betsy Aoki (@bing), Elliot Pesut (@alaskaair), Shauna Causey (@ShaunaCausey), Rod Brooks (@NW_Mktg_Guy), Ben Straley (@meteorsolutions), Scott Porad (@scottporad), not to mention too many others to list (about 40 overall) will be there as well, we had to sign up.
So come see Clay talk about Measurement and Analytics tools, and come say hi to Grant and I as we walk around soaking up knowledge. Hope to see you all there tomorrow.
I Didn’t Write This, My Personabot Did
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Last night’s SMC Seattle event at Swedish was one for the history books, or one for the future books, depending on how you look at things. The social media Twitterati were out in force, yet again, to sell out another SMC Seattle event which featured Gartner analyst Adam Sarner. Sarner’s talk focused on how the Web will look in the future as it relates to CRM – definitely an intriguing topic given the crowd on hand.
Basing the majority of his talk on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Sarner wove a tale of a Web-filled future where Personabots (automated, personality infused, self-learning, self-replicating, virtual representatives that will be used as a tool for facilitating life events) do our bidding in the virtual world, thus enhancing our actual lives in the meat space. Sound a little like the Matrix? My favorite example was a person sending out 10,000 Personabots on 10,000 speed dates to find women that the man would be compatible with. Sign me up— that’ll cut my bar tabs significantly.
If you can get past the actual thought of thousands of Rons running around the virtual world, the leap to a future where online personas become testing and learning grounds for not only how we as humans live, but how businesses and brands interact in that future environment the possibilities open right up. Sarner spoke a bit about how brands would interact with Personabots in these virtual environments and take on characteristics of those Personabots they come in contact with by using the example of someone noticing a tennis racket in the back of someone’s car and using that as a conversation starter. Much in the same way, Sarner sees these virtual brand ambassadors taking stock of traits, likes, and dislikes in Personabots and using those characteristics to communicate in the virtual world. When you think about it, it’s basically what Facebook is doing when serving you ads already except it’s you, not your Personabot who sees the ads.
We try not to make wide-sweeping generalizations about what we think the future of computing and the Web will look like (we’ll leave that to Gartner), but you can bet we’re pretty excited to send our Personabots out into the wild virtual world to go skydiving.
Also, for those of you born in at Swedish (or have had a child there), you can join the Swedish Facebook page just for you: http://www.facebook.com/swedishbabies. Our very own Aaron Graham is a Swedish baby, so you’ll soon see him sporting his t-shirt.
Again, and we can’t say it enough, a big thanks to the SMC Board and Swedish for making this happen. After getting a chance to try out the Da Vinci robot, we’re trying to write a business case for buying one for the SCG offices. We’ll let you know how that goes.
For a snark-free look at the talk, check out Veronica Sopher’s post Jeramy Rich’s post on the SMC Seattle site.
Local company PM Photobooth was on hand to take wacky pictures – Aaron obliged.
Social Media by the Numbers
Friday, February 19th, 2010 
Blogs, the long-suffering workhorses of the Internet, are often thought of as an excellent way to communicate with others online. However, a “blog post,” when used to convey one’s opinion, comes with one inherent flaw: it requires the use of words, and words alone can simply not be trusted.
Fortunately, in the entire history of the world, numbers have never been used to lie or deceive any one in any way. That is why, periodically, we like to take a look at “Social Media by the Numbers” in order to cut through the empty rhetoric often present in the busy world of social media and get down to some serious and objective truth.
- Percentage of journalists in a recent study who say social media is an important tool for producing and reporting the stories they write: 56%
- Number of unique visits to Twitter.com in January: 73.5 million
- Minimum number of Olympic athletes who dislike NBC’s Olympic coverage, according to NBC.com’s own “Olympic Pulse” Twitter feed: 1
- Dollar amount of voucher offered to filmmaker Kevin Smith following his removal from a Southwest Airlines plane for being “too fat” to travel, which prompted a backlash via Twitter: $100
- Percentage of people, according to a CNN.com poll, who agree with Southwest Airlines’ decision: 58%
- Minimum number of photos of 9/11 hijackers that have been appropriated for Facebook advertisements regarding changes in Michigan’s auto insurance policy: 1
- Number of incarcerated individuals’ Facebook profiles that British Justice Secretary Jack Straw has requested be shut down, due to the fact that these profiles are being used to harass the individuals’ former victims: More than 30
- Altitude, in feet, which Toshiba UK launched an “ordinary living room chair” for an ad campaign: 98,268
- Number of class action lawsuits filed against Google due to privacy concerns over their new Google Buzz application: 1
- Percentage of social sharing on the web driven by Facebook: 44%
- Number of Facebook’s new environmentally-friendly “green data centers” that will be partially powered by coal: 1
- Breakdown of our emotional reaction to the “new social statement site” pleaserobme.com: 70% amused, 30% terrified
PRSA Luncheon – Following Up
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Thanks to all who attended the PRSA Luncheon today. It was a great panel and we’d like to extend our appreciation to our fellow panel members, Melissa Tizon from Swedish and Ricardo Rabago from PCC.
Also, as with most of these events, the great content comes out when the audience starts firing questions, so for that we thank you.
Below is the deck Clay presented during the luncheon for your reference.
We look forward to interacting with and collaborating with you all in the future.
The Real Winner of the Super Bowl: Google
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010It’s undeniable that the Saints and the people of New Orleans were the real winners of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIV, but there was also a different battle being waged— not on the gridiron, but in 30 and 60-second intervals between stints of athletic prowess – the commercials.
Yes, the storied Super Bowl commercials were out in full force again this year, aiming to bring laughter, thought, and that sudden urge to reach for one’s wallet through the TV screen and into the real world. Where typical Nielsen ratings and surveys drop off, the world of social media will step up to fill the data void.
Using Radian6, we tracked Tweet volume of the top brands using a combination search of “Super Bowl” + “Brand Name” and here’s what we found . . .
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Chatter surrounding Google’s first-ever television venture, dubbed “Parisian Love,” overshadowed that of even the second-place finisher, Doritos, which ran more than four ads total during the game. Brands such as Audi, Bud Light, GoDaddy.com, and others saw continued success via the buzz and heightened talk around their brands in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. One advertisement that got a good deal of attention around the Web but didn’t translate into quite as much of an actual reaction on game day was the Focus on the Family 30-second piece featuring Heisman Trophy winner/ Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother Pam Tebow.
Looking at brand mentions on game day, we were able to expand beyond Twitter to blogs, forums and other social sites to pull in brand mentions from a wider spectrum. The numbers collected go on to back up their heightened ranks in the Twitter mentions and show that those ads deemed important enough to tweet about were also important enough to be shared through other social media tools. The numbers broke down like this:
In order to see how the discussions moved through other social media channels, we widened our search for a period of 72 hours after the game and found some interesting aftershocks that we attribute to a second wave of users seeing and talking about the ads.
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Likewise, you can see the downstream effects of social sharing in the number of brand mention and YouTube video views for some of the most-popular ads. The Super Bowl ad game isn’t just a one-time impression number in the days of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, but instead is a game of staying power and resonance with users.
Audi clearly benefitted from the long-tail discussion of their Green Police spot in the days following the Super Bowl as it jumped in the rankings and pushed Tebow’s Focus on the Family spot off the top five.
So, while the Saints may have taken home the Lombardi Trophy, Google can sit back and enjoy their social Web win with their first foray into television advertising. Not only did they see the largest volume of Tweets the day of the game, they also saw the largest aftershock in the following days. In fact, for every tweet mentioning Google since the Super Bowl, they also received .7 discussions via blogs – that’s a pretty good rate.
So– well done, Google. But we already can’t wait for next year . . . who knows, maybe the answer to “Who Dat?” will be the Seahawks.
Doing it Right: Bundle is a Sharable Look at How We Spend Money
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
I’m a sucker for these money-related sites that track your spending. I’ve been with Mint.com for years and use their iPhone app so much that Bank of America’s site is probably jealous. If Bank of America would offer mobile banking for Washington and Idaho customers, then I’d probably be using their app, but they don’t.
Naturally, when I heard about Bundle, the joint venture between MSN Money, Citi, and Morningstar (not the makers of vegetarian frozen foods), I was interested in seeing not only how I fit into their little classification system, but also in comparing myself to the average Seattleite.
Digging deeper on the left hand side navigation gives you a look at spending in the major buckets. You can hover over each and “Go Deep” to find out more.
Here’s a look at what the tool brings up for single Seattle males with no kids between the ages of 26-35:
Share and Share Alike
While the practical application of this tool is still not yet seen (beyond providing a way for the three backers to gather and share data) the way they promote social sharing and discussion is extremely well done. Below the “fold” there’s a “become a fan of Bundle on Facebook” box, not just a small little icon. The “capture a share” button in the upper right hand corner uses Facebook Connect or Twitter Connect to publish out the latest data that you’ve pulled. Nearly every action that you take on the site creates an opportunity for sharing.
Last, but certainly not least, Bundle goes mobile with their VICEtracker application for the iPhone. This isn’t as full-fledged as the Mint.com application which actually ties to your bank account, but it does let you pinpoint your vices and share your progress toward cutting back with trusted friends through Facebook Connect.
In a time where sharable content and data that you can pivot to create your own narrative is taking the lead, Bundle is more than just a time waster; it’s a social tool that just might turn some heads.
Social Shopping Helps Drive Traffic to Retail Sites
Friday, February 5th, 2010There’s been a lot of talk around ‘Social Shopping’ lately. As a topic of particular interest and importance to Spring Creek Group, we’ve tried to share our insight and opinion regarding this fast-growing trend. You may have read our Pre-Holiday Season article, 5 Hot Social Shopping Trends to Watch For, or the interview with SCG Principal Clay McDaniel, Find out how social media can save you money. Both pieces discussed the topic of social shopping in both terms of the effect and benefit for the consumer as well as the retailer.
We all know, or are becoming increasingly aware, that social shopping is on the rise, and we know most large retailers have some kind of social media presence, and likewise, most retailers are realizing the benefits of having this presence in order to better reach and engage customers. But, what we do not always know is the actual impact social networking has on these major retail brands.
Hitwise, a leading online competitive intelligence service, has compiled some useful data on how the top 500 U.S. retailers reached consumers on social networking channels, specifically around the Holiday Season when online shopping is typically high. The category, “Social Networking and Forums” drove 37% more traffic in 2009 than the previous year and made up 13% of overall traffic sources to the retail company websites.
Additionally, “During the holidays over 2% of the traffic to Facebook (the 2nd ranked website in the US) visited a website in the Retail 500 immediately after,” Hitwise research director Heather Dougherty wrote.
Keep in mind, Hitwise isn’t measuring all retail activity occurring within this category as many companies’ social shopping approach isn’t always to direct users back to their websites but instead to make direct sales. But, these figures do still offer a better idea of social shopping’s growing significance, and give us a more confirmed sense of where social shopping is going. This in turn can help us as consumers know where our favorite brands’ advertisements and campaigns may be likely to live, so we can then look to these channels for deals, bargains and first hand information. And it can help us as Marketers to not only know who and where our brand ambassadors are, but to connect, listen and engage with them as well.
Read more about the results here:
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-dougherty/2010/01/social_network_impact_for_reta.html
Mashable Article Follow-up: 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Social Media Contest
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
I am always excited when given the opportunity to contribute to various industry publications. Most recently, I wrote an article which ran on Mashable about how to conduct a social media contest to help drive engagement and deliver value to your brand. In 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Social Media Contest, I touched on the most pertinent strategies and best practices social media marketers should know and consider when developing online contests for their company and/or clients. Like with any topic of this kind, there is a large quantity of information to be covered. However, due to time and word count limitations, we cannot always include as much information and advice as we’d like.
Thankfully, diligent readers have contributed extremely valid comments and questions that bring up excellent points and raise additional issues about running a social contest; particularly around Rules & Regulations and channel guidelines.
It’s always in your best interest, prior to launching a social contest, to establish clearly communicated and readily available Rules & Regulations on behalf of the company that are in accordance with any relevant state and federal laws governing sweepstakes and contests, and to provide clear guidance regarding protection of PII/Personal Information. If you have a micro-site or sub-domain set up where the contest is going to be managed, then dedicate a specific page on-site for this document. If not, and the contest is designed to live entirely within the social media realm, then providing the Rules & Regulations via a dedicated blog post on a managed blog or via an owned and managed third-party domain is preferred over solely posting them to the social media site.
In addition to formulating your own guidelines, be familiar and within the parameters of the specific channel guidelines where you plan to promote the contest. For example, Facebook has developed and continuously revises its Terms of Service and Promotions Guidelines regarding third party sponsored promotions. This is a useful resource that I encourage anyone who is considering using Facebook as a platform for an online contest to read over: http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php.
If interested in a more in-depth response to these issues, read my answers on the comment thread at Mashable. If there are any other issues or aspects of social media contests you’d like addressed, please feel free to leave any comments or questions below.
For those of you planning to run a social contest, I hope the tips provide some useful guidance. Best of luck!
