Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’
Spring Creek Group Joins Mediabrands
Wednesday, October 5th, 2011
Spring Creek Group was founded more than five years ago, during the emergence of social media in the form we now experience today. We have evolved and expanded our services for clients as content and social networks on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others have grown dramatically. Through it all, we have maintained a steadfast focus on opportunities to improve our clients’ customer advocacy and engagement. Simply put, our mission is to help customers better connect with each other and with the brands on which they spend their time and money.
Today, we are delighted to announce a major step in our continued growth and evolution as an agency. Spring Creek Group is joining the Mediabrands digital agency division of global media and marketing company Interpublic Group! You can read a little more about our exciting news here.
Spring Creek joins innovative digital agency leaders such as Cadreon, Reprise Media, and Ansible Mobile, and we will play a key role in the newly-formed Mediabrands Audience Platform (MAP). By joining Mediabrands and the MAP initiative, we are bringing our expertise in all aspects of social media marketing strategy and programs execution to our new agency partners across Mediabrands, including leaders in media planning and management such as UM and Initiative, as well as others. In addition to the opportunities that this move creates for us to integrate our social media services more tightly with our new agency partners’ offerings; it opens many new ways for us to introduce complementary services to our existing and future clients.
As a founder of Spring Creek, I am so very excited about this announcement and this new step forward in our growth. I believe that the strategic and - as importantly for me and my team – the philosophical ‘fit’ for Spring Creek Group within Interpublic’s Mediabrands agency group is perfect. They are extremely committed to helping us maintain our vision for the future of Spring Creek, while we also build a holistic digital media marketing services model through the MAP. Above all else, Mediabrands shares a similar set of values to ours. In short, we are thrilled about what the future holds for us, as well as for all of our clients and technology and software partners.
In closing I would just like to say THANK YOU to all of those client stakeholders, partners, and many others who have been so important and valued over the past 5 years. I owe my deepest personal gratitude to each of you who have been a part of our ability to arrive at today’s news, including everyone who has been a part of our SCG team. I am most excited about the myriad new ways this move opens new opportunities for client services innovation and social media strategic leadership for our entire Spring Creek team. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us this far… let’s keep it going.
Warm regards,
Clay
Fashion in a Flash: Amazon ventures into Event Sale E-commerce
Thursday, May 5th, 2011
Riding the wave of successful flash deal sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial, Fashion e-commerce websites dedicated to daily deals that flaunt their invite-only “exclusivity” are becoming increasingly popular. RueLaLa, GiltGroupe, and Hautelook are among the most popular of these sites. Yesterday, online retailer Amazon launched a “private fashion sale site” of its own: MYHABIT. Similar to other fashion flash-sale sites, potential members must request an invitation to partake in the get-it-before-it’s-gone shopping experience. However, unlike many of the fashion sale sites that begin in the morning on East Coast time, leaving West Coasters frantically scrambling for the fashion scraps, one of the most appealing aspects of MYHABIT is that deals don’t start until 9 a.m. PT/ 12 p.m. ET, giving East and West Coasters an equal opportunity to scavenge for their designer merchandise. Another big sell: MYHABIT also offers free shipping and free returns in the United States.
Amazon’s foray into the fashion world seems to be a natural expansion for the brand, yet it’s still a venture out of its comfortable world of practical consumer products such as DVDs and books. While Amazon.com does offer clothing, the e-commerce giant is tapping into a whole new niche market with the launch of MYHABIT and Amazon will need to prove its fashion savvy in order to compete with other sites that have already established their fashion authority. While Amazon is likely hoping to ride its reputation as a reliable online retailer, it will probably take a bit more than reputation alone to get the luxury consumers on board. The success of the site will depend on whether Amazon can reign in the coveted deals that will intrigue and entice the fashion community and also on how Amazon positions and markets MYHABIT, especially in respect to differentiating it from the competitors. Already set up on Facebook and Twitter, MYHABIT will likely be using these social networks to grow its community and drive people to the site. Through leveraging its e-commerce power, tapping into the niche needs of the fashion community, and using innovative campaigns to make a splash in a somewhat already saturated market, MYHABIT has the potential to send consumers scrambling for designer deals on the daily.
SCG ‘ombudsman’s note: we have worked with leading ecommerce companies on their social media strategies and programs, as have others in our city and sector. So while we have a front row seat to these new developments, as with all of our agency’s point of view publishing on our blog neither this post nor others are ever sponsored or promotional in nature.’ We take special care to make sure our content is fair and balanced and strive at all times to uphold the standards set forth in the WOMMA Code of Ethics.3 Lessons We Can Learn From Twitter
Thursday, April 21st, 2011Recently I came across an article on CNN exploring the validity of Twitter’s place in the social media market, and those questioning the status of its dominance. We know that Twitter is the darling of many journalists and in-the-know technophiles. It has a thriving, niche community. But can Twitter connect with the average consumer? Or, is it purely for the types who are willing to put in the time to learn how to manage multiple stream of information?
Twitter is still very much in growth phase – growing roughly 500,000 accounts per day – and it certainly has a ways to go before it catches up to that other social network.
However, the Twitter structure, that tricky 140-character “status bar” which is referenced in the article, is already influencing the way brands are thinking about how to successfully connect with their customers in social spaces, regardless of channel.
So, think it’s just a tweet?
In my estimation, there are at least three things you can learn from Twitter, today, that will improve your overall communications approach and build stronger communities.
- Brevity: You can’t market your way into people’s hearts anymore. Well, that might not actually be fully true, but what is true is that consumers have less and less tolerance for fluff, so you better get to the point. The 140 character limit is not a limiting factor, it’s a very real challenge to force you to mean what you say and say what you mean. Cut out the excess and get to the heart of what your customer should care about.
- Think Before You Write: There are a lot of variables to consider when you’re using Twitter. Should you create a bit.ly? Should you use a hashtag? Should you look up someone’s handle to mention them in the tweet? All of these things force you to consider a variety of variables which might impact the success of your message. If you’re not thinking about these things, you should start.
- Provide Credit When Credit is Due: Perhaps more than any other social network, Twitter is constantly citing and crediting the source of information. Through RT’s or @mentions, taking credit for someone else’s idea or resource is a faux-pas and you’ll likely get called out. Whereas, taking the approach of thanking someone for their @mention or their article engenders a lot of good vibes, which go a long way to making your social presence authentic and trusted. That will lead to improved sentiment and brand perception, and encourage others to become fans of your brand on social media.
While it’s still to be seen just how big Twitter will be in 5, 10, or even 20 years, does it really matter? We’re already seeing the way it’s impacting the way people are communicating with groups of people, now. We better continue to read the trends and think bigger about why these communications are connecting with people, instead of falling behind. Read the article for yourself and let me know what you think. What else do you think brands can learn from Twitter?
The Rise (and Potential Fall?) of King James
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
Unless you have been living under a rock for about the last 6 months, you have probably heard about the circus that followed Lebron James’ announcement that he would “be taking his talents to South Beach.” James announced his decision to switch from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat in a media debacle that will forever be remembered as “The Decision.” The backlash from Cleveland fans and the media were harsh. Footage of Cleveland fans burning James jerseys were shown on every news channel. Sports personalities were criticizing and judging him about the way he made his announcement, saying that he made it look like a self-indulgent spectacle that didn’t take into account the fact that Cleveland fans that have been so loyal to him for so many years. So now that James’ NBA season has started, the big question is: did he make the right decision?
From a marketing standpoint, there are many different ways to look at it. What novice NBA fans have to take into account is that today’s NBA is not what it used to be in the 80s and early-90s. Not only do players have to worry about winning, now many have to think about their “Brand.” That’s right, their Brand. And who can blame them? most of them grew up watching Michael Jordan rise from a relatively unknown in college to an NBA legend, endorsed by companies all around the world. Players were once told “Hey, if you make it big in the NBA and get some endorsements you could be a millionaire!” But now with the way players’ contract payouts are skyrocketing and endorsement deals are coming from all angles, there is no reason an NBA superstar can’t bea billionaire.
Yet even though Lebron has done nothing criminally wrong, there is arguably no one in sports (aside from maybe Tiger Woods) that has taken such a hit to their brand image. Q Scores, a company that tracks the appeal of celebrities, showed that James’ likability dropped from 4th among active athletes to 78th-, behind even Ben Roethlisberger, who was recently suspended by the NFL for inappropriate sexual conduct. While this could be looked at as bad news, some say that from a marketing and business standpoint, “The Decision” was sheer genius.
Since followers of the NBA could see James’ free agency coming a long time ago, his next destination became the “it” conversation, and has stayed that way for about the last year. There is possibly no better evidence that the Lebron James’ brand is thriving than by simply examining his presence in the social networking arena. James first opened his Twitter account two days before “The Decision,” and while not everyone is a supporter, he now has over 900,000 followers. With almost 4 million Facebook friends, there is no doubt that more and more sponsors will come running to have James be the face of their company.
Yet, some aren’t so quick to forgive. Just ask Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban what he thinks. Cuban has gone on the record to state that James orchestrated the” greatest public humiliation in the history of sports.” This coming from a guy who regularly sticks his foot in his mouth at just about any opportunity. Cuban goes on to say that leaving Cleveland, a city that molded its very identity around James, was so selfish that it could never be forgiven. Adding a monetary value to the debacle, Cuabn believes James lost over $1 billion in brand equity and maybe, more importantly, -his legacy.
It’s hard to argue with the numbers, though. The top-5 gross ticket selling games already belong to the Heat, Heat merchandise sales are already up 500% from this time last year- doesn’t hurt that you’ve also got Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh next on the roster as well. NBA fans have yet to see how his recent move will affect his legacy; but as we have seen before (i.e. Kobe Bryant) nothing shuts up naysayers like some wins… except maybe a few championships.
The Tosh.0 Effect
Friday, September 17th, 2010
Surely by now most of you have heard of the relatively new show on Comedy Central show, hosted by Daniel Tosh, called Tosh.0. It airs every Wednesday at 10:30pm and has the main premise of commenting/mocking anything and everything viral. Most of the show is dedicated to making fun of videos that circulate through the web every day. Whether it’s a guy in awe of a couple rainbows or a kid freaking out after his mom cancelled his World of WarCraft subscription, you can count on Tosh.0 to analyze it, often in ways you didn’t think could be aired on TV.
One reason for the success of Tosh.0 has been its ability to receive its content and connect with its viewers by harnessing the immense power of social media. Tosh uses many different methods to connect with his viewers: he promotes user-submitted videos (most of which are men getting hit in the groin), answers Twitter questions sent to twitter.com/danieltosh during his show, and updates his blog on Comedy Central’s website on a daily basis. He says much of his outreach is met with hostility, especially in response to his raunchy tweets. He also jokingly states that he receives death threats on a daily basis.
Through use of social media, the show has been able to grow in popularity at a staggering rate. During the show’s first season each episode averaged 1.3 million viewers. Now in its second season, it has a weekly viewership topping 2.5 million.
Some have called Tosh.0 the new, and somewhat twisted, America’s Funniest Home Videos. Tosh.0 recently signed a deal for a 3rd season and with its large viewership, grasp of use of social media, and a seemingly never-ending vault of viral content, it is hard to think of Tosh.0 going anywhere but up anytime soon. Which is good because watching people fall in funny ways never gets old!
Bake (AKA Embed) Your Tweets and Eat Them Too
Thursday, May 13th, 2010Last week, Twitter released a new “hack” feature (http://media.twitter.com/blackbird-pie/) that allows tweets to be embedded in websites, blog posts, and so forth using html. No more screen grabs, no more cropping, no more image uploads.
Here’s what a few people are saying on Twitter, using the new feature of course:
http://twitter.com/adamwc/statuses/13383678914
Hey – check it out – I can embed Tweets now using Twitter’s Blackbird Pie. Awesome. http://media.twitter.com/blackbird-pie/ #fbless than a minute ago via Tweetie
Adam WC
adamwc
http://twitter.com/luigimontanez/statuses/13386076622
Cool idea, but incredibly long embed code: http://media.twitter.com/blackbird-pie/less than a minute ago via web
Luigi Montanez
LuigiMontanez
More important than your embed method of choice is how businesses can refer to and use tweets to complement their relationship building and branding efforts. What people say about brands is more important than what brands say about themselves, and thus embedding positive and even critical tweets can add value and create opportunities for genuine engagement.
If Twitter saw value in promoting its new feature, which it doesn’t need to, the company could do a Twitter Search (http://search.twitter.com/), find tweets that capture positive feedback like the former tweet above, and embed in a blog post to highlight what people have to say. Again, how people perceive Twitter and its features is more important than how Twitter perceives itself.
Embedding tweets voicing concern like the latter one above can (be selective and think it through) add value as well. For example, Twitter could capture tweets that critique the new feature (e.g. how it can be improved etc.), embed them in a blog post, and let their readers know that they’ll be addressing these and making updates accordingly. This would show that Twitter is listening, wants your feedback, and isn’t going to ignore it even if somewhat critical.
By embedding both positive and critical tweets when and where appropriate, companies can highlight positive perceptions of their product / service and likewise show that they’re addressing concerns head on.
Did You RT Me?
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Did you RT me? I RTd you. We’re all RT-ing each other.
If you’ve been living anywhere but under a rock these past couple weeks you’ve no doubt heard the retweet news and have probably also thought “what does this mean for me and my brand?”
While we’ve talked about our ideas on this a bit, University of Washington professor Kathy Gill (@kegill) took the time and effort to write a great piece about the retweet changes and what they mean for Twitter users.
She also pulled a great screenshot, if we do say so ourselves…
Facebook’s Legitimacy Problems: Are You Who We Thought You Were?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
A recent post outlined steps Facebook is taking in requiring page owners to prove their connections with the brands they represent on the ever-growing social networking site. What does this mean for agencies? What are the short-term and long-term impacts? How will this affect your brand? Let’s take a look.
Prove It
Facebook essentially is providing page owners three ways to verify that they in fact have rights to develop and maintain a brand page and they can be found here:
- Add a badge or Fan Box widget to your Website – This is simple, really and can be done by sending a bit of code to whoever is code monkeying your site. It also provides a great focal point for driving traffic to your Fan Page.
- Add an official e-mail address to your personal Facebook account that can be used to verify your affiliation with the brand (this can also be that of an authorized outside entity like PR, marketing, advertising agency, etc.) – This is easy if you’re a recognized agency, but a little harder if your roles are mostly behind the scenes.
- Add another admin who has a legit e-mail address – This is probably the easiest thing to do. Simply add your client contact to the admins of the page, giving you instant legitimacy.
The Agency
For agencies that are building and maintaining Fan Pages for brands in the Facebook environment, this could be a bit of a sticking point as they have to work out, with their client, the level of visibility they want to have as to who is actually doing the legwork. However, in most cases, a client contact is already (or should be) and admin of the page so they can not only lend their legitimate e-mail address, but also their watchful eye to the account.
The Short Term
In the short term, proving the authenticity of these pages is going to create a bit of extra work, but the short-term rewards greatly outweigh the time needed to get your stamp of approval (is there actually a stamp of approval?). Like with Twitter, brands have always been able to make a case for deleting unauthorized accounts based on copyright law, but now Facebook is taking that a step further and actually making it easier to drive out those pages which might be representing brands in a less-than-authentic fashion.
By simply claiming your brand pages and legitimizing them, you’re essentially eliminating those other pages and, in some cases, Facebook may fold those pages’ fans into your fan base, giving them a legitimate source of interaction on Facebook— and you a broader fan base— in one fell swoop.
The Long Term
Long term, this seems like a strategy by Facebook to not only cut down on clutter and misinformation within the Facebook environment, but also a move toward offering brands added benefits for operating within Facebook. Don’t be surprised if these Facebook Fan Pages start developing multiple levels of functionality and complexity based on dollars spent on Facebook Advertising and direct buys. The team at Facebook is smart enough to make a move when they see an opportunity like this.
Unanswered Questions
While this is still a new(ish) issue, Facebook needs to provide a bit more information around the topic of what this actually means for brands. Will verified pages show up higher in search results, regardless of fan base and searchability? What’s the lag time between reporting a brand page and action being taken to remove that page? What are the criteria for moving fans from a page that might not be verified to the verified Fan Page?
Hopefully we’ll have answers to those, as well as the mounting pile of questions that will undoubtedly come out of this shift.
Spring Creek Group Rocks #Twtrcon
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Spring Creek Group made it down to Twtrcon and the 140smiles launch party in San Francisco this weekend, had a great time, and participated in a ton of great discussions and presentations. For those of you who missed it, here’s a quick rundown of what went on.
Saturday: The 140smiles launch party was kicked off by Operation Smile, hoping to raise enough for 140 cleft palate and facial deformity surgeries. The party was packed, and due to a poor AT&T signal (therefore no iPhones) and only intermittent Wi-Fi, the attendees spent a lot of time networking and getting to know each other, which was a good thing. Without having that 140 character limit to fall back on, the crowd got even more actively real-world social. By the end of the night, we’d spent hours talking with @davemcclure, @jacobm, @ericoverman (from Operation Smile), and @ginasmith888 (who ran a lot of the conference).
Sunday: At Twtrcon itself, Guy Kawasaki answered our question regarding how he feels about farming out his personal brand to assistants by saying that his ultimate goal is to promote his business, and since his Twitter presence is larger than Alltop’s, he’s satisfied to leverage it.
Engagement
Monday, March 30th, 2009Our Services
Social Engagement
and Campaigns
- Experienced “Social Media Marketing Engagement Leads” team.
- Social media outreach, content syndication, and marketing campaign social graph promotion.
- Personal, direct, conversational marketing to complement your existing media buying.
- Identification and outreach to key strategic communities.
Direct customer engagement programs, branded social media communities built and managed, and custom brand marketing campaigns driven through earned media, all designed and delivered by a team of Social media channel experts – We gather your creative marketing assets to syndicate and promote them around the web transparently as representatives of your brand. We design, build, manage, and maintain branded off-site communities in strategic social media locations of high value to your business and customers – typically in sites like Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Ning, Twitter, Hi5, and Live Spaces. We identify relevant blog posts, forum threads, and community conversations in which your brand or products feature prominently and engage consumers in ways that are always transparent and ethical, add value, solve problems, and that simply help connect people to useful information and content via personalized posts. Our Interactive Creative Content Team can plan and/or develop everything from branded backgrounds to sites and apps integrated with Facebook and other social media marketing platforms.
