Category Archives: Brands

Ten Tumblr Tips to Optimize your Fashion Blog

Posted on by

Tumblr, a microblogging site and social networking platform has over 60 million blogs running on it currently — including individual blogs to blogs by brands. Brands have come to utilize this platform as a simple-easy-to-use tool for their content needs. Blogs range from informative, technical, financial, news-worthy, lifestyles, and more. The blogs that do the best are those with unique and fresh visuals such as instagram pictures and the like. No wonder it’s a perfect place for a fashion blog.

The following are ten quick Tumblr tips to get started on one of the top platforms for distributing and sharing content..

  • The Right Domain: start with a domain that either represents your brand or the niche area of which your fashion brand will focus upon. My tip: either keep it to one specific niche or a couple unique ones that are related yet will emotionally connect to a few different target markets.
  • Pick a theme: Choose a Tumblr theme that is not the same as everyone else’s. My Tip: Pay for one or customize it in-house. Tumblr’s API is very user-friendly.

Kate Spade Tumblr Page

  • Follow: Tumblr is a community with a built in audience – make sure you play nice and follow people and follow back – regularly.

To read the other 7 tips I offer, check out my original post on the Startup Fashion blog here! And let me know what else you would want to learn about Tumblr in order to optimize your content and blog in the comments below.

How Top Boston Colleges Are Integrating Social Media

Posted on by

My eighteen year old sister types papers on an iPad, has a Tumblr blog, Tweets everyday, and knows the latest music and fashion via Pinterest and blogs before most. A newbie freshman about to enter a college in Boston – she expects her college to keep up and be ahead of the curve when it comes to social media. She’s only one of many who expects such.

Luckily for her – and many other students, colleges have realized the stretch of road ahead of them and have hopped on by effectively using social and integrating it into their campus and curriculum at a fast pace. Boston being a central hub of college students has led the way with 4 of its colleges in the Top 25 of the Top 100 social media colleges in the United States.

Of those colleges include: Harvard University, Emerson College, Berklee College of Music, and MIT. A few things to note on why they shine when it comes to social media:

Harvard: The Harvard Social Media Dashboard gives a taste of all the University’s efforts in social including up to date videos, tweets, and more from each of its accounts. Each of its different channels and different accounts – whether it’s for alumni, research, a grad program, or the undergrad — have different strategies involved regarding the social output and the content generated for sharing with their audience. Harvard demonstrates that even if there are multiple channels and accounts, social media can be optimized effectively if the effort is put forth correctly.

Emerson College: Their social media classes are one to note of, as there are local guest speakers from the industry, social media strategy projects for local places, and other hands-on applications for students to learn, apply, and utilize as assets.

Berklee College of Music: The Berklee Music Network allows students the opportunity to collaborate, share, and find music, jobs, influencers, and friends all in real time. Music isn’t just about performances on a stage when social media can help lead the way through posting music online and sharing through different channels.

MIT: The Sociable Media Group demonstrates the mix of social and technology at the fringe of discovering what’s next. MIT known for being techy and savvy, demonstrates this even in the socialsphere.

Although Suffolk University was not in the Top 25, it must still be given recognition for its curriculum and conferences. Suffolk put on its first annual social media conference which was about bridging the gap between education and the workforce. It brought the likes of many influencers from around the nation demonstrating that the University was pushing ahead in social media and adapting to what’s new, at a fast pace. Along with its social media classes for undergrad and MBA program, Suffolk is also well on its way.

In short – it’s about ensuring that the students are continuously challenged through the school environment and through a curriculum that is ever-changing — since social media never stands still.

NOTE: This post was originally written for Social Media Club. My original post can be found here. 

Further Reading:

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/02/local-colleges-ranked-in-top-25-for-social-media/

http://www.studentadvisor.com/top-100-social-media-colleges

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/downtown/2012/07/emerson_bu_harvard_among_top_

How to: be a Fashion & Digital Marketing Expert (Interview: Michelle McCormack)

Posted on by

I had the pleasure of interviewing friend, fellow fashion lover, and digital marketing expert, Michelle McCormack, CMO of Fashion Project in Boston, MA. Let’s take an inside look into what brought her to where she is today…

StUF: What brought you to Fashion Project and FNO?

Michelle: It’s been an organic process of just ‘showing up’ and working every day. I left Hill Holliday in 07 > started LoveTheCool, a digital strategy company back when social media was learning to walk (still is) > early Twitter adopter > started Secret Boston and built a pretty passionate local community > decided to bring FNO to Boston w/ my old Vogue friend and colleague Rich Villani who I worked with in NYC > leveraged Secret Boston and the skills I learned living on the social web for a few years > did agency level work with no money > got noticed by press and have been asked to speak at various conferences > got on the radar of lots of people offering me jobs with Fashion Project being the best fit.

StUF:  What marketing goals and strategies helped you take FNO from an idea to an event, which was so great, it’ll be taking place again this year?

Michelle: I leveraged Facebook like crazy. I started the FNO Boston Facebook page and leveraged Secret Boston to begin building the community. Within a week – one week! – Rue La La called me and asked to sponsor. I then hammered the FNO Boston stream with editorial content – stuff people who are into fashion love. Within that I had little predictable updates that users could look forward to: “Yay or No Way”, “I have a crush on”… etc. There’s so much noise on the web, giving predictable content to users is a relief and gets you noticed. Within all that editorial content I’d slip in FNO promotions, like retailer updates… where I’d post what retailers were planning and tag them. Retailers came to depend on us.

To read the rest of my interview with Michelle and her insightful tips on digital marketing, check out my full interview on the startup fashion blog here. 

 

Three areas in Facebook’s Business Model to Question

Posted on by

A social network born out of a dorm room has come a long way over the past 8 years. Here are just a few stats to show its immense growth:

  • 901 million monthly active users (March, 2012)
  • On average more than 300 million photos uploaded to Facebook per day (March, 2012)
  • An average of 3.2 billion Likes and Comments generated by Facebook users per day (March, 2012)

Despite its growth and ability to integrate in many aspects of our lives, Facebook has some areas us marketers question. Is it really a social network or an ad network? If it’s for marketers, then where are the advantages for marketers?

Facebook Ad Reach is Minimal

Although most brands have planted themselves on Facebook by adding Fan Pages, switching to Timeline, and perhaps even gone down the road of paid advertising, it isn’t always so simple to reach fans. Facebook doesn’t make it simple, nor do they give the reach once thought or expected. Most brands unless they truly engage with their consumers (shares, comments, likes, etc) will most likely reach 17% or less. In short, to get to fans not only must your brand have mouth watering, tantalizing content – but you need to fork up the big bucks and pay to reach your audience as well. The content is one thing, the money is another.

It has become more evident as even some brands have decided to put less effort into this ad network instead of putting all their ducks on board. “In mid-May, just ahead of Facebook’s IPO, GM’s marketing executives said they would pull $10 million in advertising from the social network after judging the efforts had “little impact” in reaching consumers.” Are they just the first of many?

Mobile: Who Will Dominate?

“Analysts also think Facebook will face difficulties deriving revenue from the growing n
number of Facebook users who access the site using mobile devices, through which Facebook derives much less advertising revenue than through a desktop PC. Facebook rivals Google and Apple currently dominate the mobile arena.”  Although it’s key to have content mobile optimized, I know that I am even less likely to look or participate in ad content while I am on the go. As long as brands are not putting all their eggs in Facebook ads and Facebook content then the brands are marketing and strategizing correctly. There are so many other ways to get your content to where your audience wants it and where it wants it. Depending upon your brand platforms like Tumblr and YouTube may be better assets and drive more search traffic to that content. Mobile is great, but only if your content actually reaches your audience when they want it and where they want it.

Instagram Acquitision

Was this acquisition about being a “friend or foe?” Some wonder as now Facebook is looking into their own photo app for consumers – which looks quite similar to that of Instagram. I was initially impressed that Facebook had purchased such a great asset as Instagram – a photo app which so many upload to, view, and share on a consistent basis. Photos have such rich content that words cannot match at times – and Facebook realized the opportunity when they purchased the app. However, will they keep Instagram running and giving its audience what they want or will they use it as ammunition for their own photo app?

Facebook isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but there are definitely pitfalls for marketers and consumers alike. Which platform will your brand turn to next? My 18 year old sister (the new generation) said it best…”Why would I spend time on Facebook, when there’s Twitter, Instagram and so many others…”

Note: This post was originally written for socialnomics and my original post can be found here.
 
Additional Reading:
http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/05/12069407-facebooks-problem-ads-arent-grabbing-users-analysts-say?lite 
Image Credit:
http://www.laferle.com/tag/quitting-facebook/
http://softsupplier.com/tag/facebook/

How to: Establish a Guest Blogging Policy

Posted on by

Content is significant to every brand and their marketing strategy — but content creation takes time, effort, planning, and well-equipped writers. Some brands have the staff to write and whip out content continuously, while others seek outside sources. And some prefer both. When hiring guest bloggers to write for your brand, there are a few things to keep in mind when pulling together a guest blogging policy… 

1. Have a go-to person internally: When you have a blogging staff, there should be a marketing manager (of one form or another) who can manage them, assign content topics, review and edit the posts, and publish accordingly. Most of all they should be there to answer questions and make sure the content is staying on strategy.

2. Set the bar / expectations: The marketing manager should set the expectations from the start regarding content quality expected for the blog on a consistent basis. Perhaps have the guest blogger do the first post as a test post to see if it fits the requirements and meets the bar.

3. Topics: Some content managers may prefer to have a content bank of ideas for writers to choose from or even specific titles per week/month that must be written. While others may prefer to have broader outlines of topics and have the writers choose as long as they are within a certain spectrum. This level of content strictness depends upon the content strategy implemented within the brand and how the relationship between the writers and manager work.

4. Deadlines: As with any marketing and content calendar, an editorial calendar is key in order to set deadlines for each writer. A deadline should be set with plenty of time for review in order to make edits if and when necessary prior to publishing.  

5. Sources: Ensure that each writer sources their content in order to avoid issues of plagiarism and/or questioning of validity. Protecting the brand name is important and any writer would protect their own writing as well through sources. 

6. Photos: All photos should be credited as well in order to ensure credit is given where credit is due — especially if it is not purchased. 

7. Formats: Each blog has their own type of formatting – whether it is subheadings, a thumbnail image, a certain font, or whatever it may be. Ensure you give proper style guide instructions prior to the writer starting so they are aware of all requirements beforehand. 

8. Republication: Determine if you want to allow your bloggers to be allowed to republish their posts. If so – determine if it’s an excerpt, whether they have to link back, and/or if they have to wait a certain amount of time prior to doing so (ex. 14 days or 30 days).

9. Payment: Determine prior to the test post whether and how much you will pay each guest blogger. Payments are normally done per hour or per post (ex. 50/hour vs. 150/post).

10. Disclaimer: What if a blogger goes rogue? What is he/she writes something that becomes questionable? Protect your brand’s “behind” and ensure that each post has a disclaimer that it was authored by a guest blogger. It may still be backed by the brand, but it was not written by the brand.  

Additional Tips: Give your bloggers some incentive and credit:
Allow each blogger to have a chance to be seen.

  • Link to their blog, website, twitter handle, etc.
  • Give them credit upfront through an introduction with their bio.
  • Consider including a photo.
  • Give them credit or recognition via Twitter when promotion the post (or whichever social channel your brand chooses to leverage).

Most of all don’t forget to update as needed – requirements, policies and guidelines change just as content and social media changes. Keep your writers posted of updates and consider asking them for their opinions on how things can be improved.

Note: This post was originally written and posted on Social Media Club. Find my original post here.  

Additional Reading:

http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.htmlhttp://sportsprblog.com/blog/2009/07/19/tips-developing-a-blogger-policy/
http://menwithpens.ca/how-to-create-guest-post-guidelines/
http://pointblankseo.com/guest-blogging-guidelines
http://www.mediaemerging.com/2011/06/02/what-to-include-in-your-guest-blogger-guidelines/
http://blog.straightnorth.com/how-to-craft-editorial-guidelines-for-a-guest-blogger/

Image Credit: Bigstock Photo

What is the Future of Mobile Payments

Posted on by

First people feared giving your credit card number over internet versus giving it to an operator on the phone…now we are using the phone to swipe your credit card via an online app. Funny how things become so easily integrated. According to Pew Research, “Within the next decade, smart-device swiping will have gained mainstream acceptance as a method of payment and could largely replace cash and credit cards for most online and in-store purchases by smartphone and tablet owners, according to a new survey of technology experts and stakeholders.”

Are you one of the early adapters who has already explored mobile payment options such as Starbucks or Level Up?

The Benefits:
Starbucks: According to Venture Beat: “The coffee chain has processed more than 42 million m-payment transactions since its Mobile Pay platform was launched in January 2011, Van Grove tells us. Back in December, Starbucks reported that “there have been 26 million mobile transactions to date,” so evidently the growth rate is accelerating.” What can we learn from Starbucks? Consumers like what’s simple, easy, and not a big diversion from their regular habits. What makes life simpler? Using a cell phone app which is easy to access, program, and keep track of. Starbucks demonstrated this with finesse, which can be seen from the growth discussed.

The Issue:
Just at Starbucks? Multiple locations and uses would be nice – rather than having multiple apps. LevelUp tries to resolve this issue with their mobile payment app. Not only can you sync up any credit card, but it can be used at multiple places of business. My favorite part is that you earn money to spend at locations when you use the app. Why pay directly with a credit card when you earn rewards from a simple to use app? 

Perks / Rewards
Speaking of perks and rewards…most credit cards also have these when you spend a certain amount. Do mobile app rewards match up to loyalty rewards of say, an Amex card? I guess it depends how you view rewards and what rewards you prefer. I look forward to the day that Amex has a mobile payment app of their own which sync the rewards available — and can be used anywhere, anytime, with the touch of an app button or a request to Siri.

Apple – The New Warden?
And then we have Apple who may be coming out with the iWallet. According to Mashable, “If implemented, the system would allow parents to control how much their child is able to spend, where those purchases can take place and what types of transactions will be allowed.” In short there would images that could be shared and notify the parent on what the child is purchasing – from dvds to alcohol.

Heading to the start line…
Others aren’t far behind either: eBay has jumped in the ball game with PayPal, andMastercard is not far off with experiments in the lab with nifty QR Codes. Who will be first? Who will be best? Will 2020 be the year that Mobile Payments take over? Will it be sooner? There are lots of questions, and more answers come each day. Share your thoughts in the comments below.

NOTE: This Post was originally written for Social Media Club and my post can also be found here. 

Image Credit: Bigstockphoto.com
Additional Reading:
http://mashable.com/follow/topics/mobile-payments/
http://mashable.com/2012/04/17/mobile-payments-2020/
http://mashable.com/2012/03/09/iwallet-apple-patent-iphone/
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mastercard_shows_the_future_of_mobile_payments_is.php
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/03/23/with-paypal-here-ebay-jumps-into-the-mobile-card-payments-fray/
https://squareup.com/

 

Three Examples Why LinkedIn is stronger than Facebook

Posted on by

Facebook may have over 910 million users, but it still has stealthy competitors such as LinkedIn. LinkedIn may not be where most individuals share their photos, check their newsfeed or share their daily status updates — but it is where businesses can flourish, B2B kicks butt through lead generation, and  ”likes” can have more weight.

Businesses Flourish

Facebook is a great place for businesses and fans to share content, but the types of content vary from all different spectrums: from Justin Beiber to brand news to business strategies to the Red Sox to pictures of  cat. In short, business content that is relevant to marketing, B2B, finance, etc may get lost in the clutter that is the Facebook news feed. On the other hand, the content on LinkedIn is largely related to marketing and business, and has a higher chance of being seen on the channel. It is purposefully designed for business-minded folk who want to share relevant content. In addition, it is a great platform for brands to distribute similar content and where many followers will look to find information on a brand, what they offer for a product/service, and the content related to it.

B2B and Lead Generation

So it is evident that LinkedIn is great for business content and businesses. But what else? “David Meerman Scott stated that LinkedIn’s conversion rate is now 2.60 per cent, less than what it was back in January, but this is far greater than its nearest rivals Twitter and Facebook, which has 0.67 per cent and 0.39 per cent respectively.” So what, you ask? In short, LinkedIn has competitive percentages when it comes to B2B lead gen due to the ability to target content, optimize for SEO, focus CTAs and utilize both company page and groups.  In addition, those who are visiting LinkedIn are visiting in order to post, read and/or comment on business content. The leads are prime for the picking.

“Likes” Have More Weight

On LinkedIn, people are more careful on what they post on their site, who they “link” to, and what they like, comment on and/or share. It is a site where people are judged for who they are career-wise. In short, if someone “likes” your post or comments on it or shares it — it holds greater value than it would on Facebook and Twitter where Likes and ReTweets are a dime a dozen normally. A recognition on LinkedIn = how many Likes or ReTweets? That’s still up for debate, but in my opinion, LinkedIn has a bit of a lead.

Last piece of Advice

LinkedIn may be a great place to invest in for businesses and those that are business-minded; but it is also easy to goof up if relevant content is not posted appropriately. Invest time to research first, target your content appropriately and grow your page within the channel over time. It is not an overnight success, but the trick is to maintain quality versus quantity.

Note: I originally wrote this post for Socialnomics – my original post can be found here. 

Additional Reading

http://thenextweb.com/asia/2012/02/21/growing-faster-than-facebook-linkedin-passes-1-million-members-in-indonesia/

http://writingontheweb.com/2012/02/21/the-pros-of-linkedin-vs-facebook-for-professionals/

http://www.simplyzesty.com/social-media/linkedin-4-times-better-than-facebook-twitter-for-b2b-leads/

https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30030/LinkedIn-277-More-Effective-for-Lead-Generation-Than-Facebook-Twitter-New-Data.aspx

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/02/16/why-linkedin-is-more-valuable-than-facebook/

http://www.donhalbert.com/10-reasons-why-linkedin-is-better-than-facebook-and-twitter/

Content, Content, &…more Content

Posted on by

In the days of “content being king” many brands have recognized both the importance and value of content in their marketing strategies. Simply put, marketing without content is like peanut butter without the jelly. Now that would be a sad little sandwich.

Luckily most brands have not forgotten the relevant ingredient.

Created Content

Ok, so content. Check.

But what kind of content are we talking about. Content doesn’t just mean a blog post or a whitepaper per say. Yes, it can be created content such as these, but it also includes items such as a facebook post, a Tweet, a YouTube video, a photo on Instagram, a board on Pinterest, and so on.

Just look at brands like Burberry who realize the need for being on the platforms which their audiences will engage with them on. They provide these consumers the content they want: visual elegance, updates on new items, events, and more. They took note on the content their audience desired, and made it happen.

Without content, your audience will move on, be bored, and feel that you have no true value to offer them.

Curated Content

Not all content must be created from beginning to end. Curation is a helpful tool for things like giving your insight on a topic, sharing great tips by an influencer, giving industry examples, creating a reading list, etc. The key point is to ensure you don’t just share the content and slap it on like it is yours. Give credit, give your opinion, and demonstrate why it was worthy to share in the first place.

A great example are brands who RT and share other brand’s blog posts or opinions because they believe it also valuable for their audience. They are demonstrating they aren’t afraid to share others’ content over their own. It demonstrates that they believe valuable content exists in other brands and companies too. Why not share if their audience will find it valuable?

Branded content

Brands used to slap their name to piece of content and call it theirs. Now it’s about creating content that engages their target audiences — branded content. Brands such as Nike and Dove understood this and made the investment to develop deeper and more meaningful content for their particular audiences.

Content creators are excited to work with big brands such as these in order to create videos, web series, digital experiences, and more, which will not only entertain but also inform and entice consumers to engage with the content. Netflix, Hulu and others which were known just as distributors of content before…now also create. They allow brands to share and tell their stories in a unique and forward-thinking fashion.

Seeing brands go that second and third step is refreshing. It’s not just about that youtube video but about leading the audience to engage during and afterword, whether it’s through an app experience or a content or whatever it may be. That extra step divides the weak from the courageous.

Great Example: Gwenyth Paltrow’s GOOP
Parting Tip
Ensure that all your content is mobile-friendly…especially on social sites. It would be unfortunate if your consumers couldn’t read, enter a site, write a comment, or share your awesome content just because it wasn’t viewable on a smartphone.

Are you prepared in this content-driven world? Strategize now.

Note: this post was originally written for Social Media Club –  my original post can be found here.

Additional Sources:
http://www.buddymedia.com/newsroom/2012/03/l2-buddy-media-hospitality-brand-hotel-digital-iq/
http://adage.com/article/guest-columnists/time-marketers-invest-branded-content/228877/
http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/02/coca-colas-content-strategy-lessons-for-marketers/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/fashion/22iht-rbrand22.html
http://www.collings.co.za/2012/01/brands-as-content-curators.html


5 Companies Who Lead the Way in Social Media

Posted on by

Social Media…a not so new concept, yet one which can still allude many brands if they do not strategize their content appropriately for each channel in regards to how it fits their brand. But we’re not here to criticize, we’re here to learn from the ones who take advantage of social media and elevate their brand to another level.

Facebook
Victoria’s Secret converted to the new Timeline ahead of the curve and wow does that timeline grab your attention. With over 18 million fans and over 200 thousand people talking about the brand…you have to take a second glance (not just for the pictures). The brand took advantage of the picturesque platform, made it interactive for fans to engage with the contact, offer coupons, notify consumers of real-time sales, and more. It captivates not only the female audience but the male audience to imagine, dream, and bring to reality what could be. The story has been unfolded, and the brand fully utilized Facebook Timeline to do so.

Social Media Case Study: Victoria Secret was ahead of the curve with Facebook’s timelineTwitter
Zappos may be an obvious win here…but perhaps it’s because they really do take their brand marketing to heart. The brand has been humanized by their CEO, Tony Hsieh, who lets his own personality shine through the brand name. How many CEOs do you know who take the time to do such, especially through social media?

YouTube
Blendtec, demonstrates with 190 million views and 400 thousand subscribers, that even a blender can be entertaining. Who knew?! The brand took a brave yet awesome take with social content…they leveraged humor and experimentation to make their videos fun to watch and create a viral effect. I am impressed by their leverage of humor, as it is way easier said than done. Would you blend your iPhone? Watch them do it instead!

Early adopters

Burberry, a brand known for evoking desire and lust for fashion, transcends their fashion leadership to the social sphere. They adopt early, and adopt well. While doing research a while back for the Google Plus brand pages, I saw that Burberry was one of the first to take advantage of the channel and demonstrate it could bring style and allure even to a channel that was too new to be adopted by most at that time. My favorite part? The GIFs used for the images…catches your eye before you even get to the heart of the content.

Keeping it local

Four seasons known for its luxury and decadence, takes a simple and relaxed approach to its social endeavor. The brand chose to simplify and localize its Twitter and Facebook channels. There is a fan page and twitter account dedicated to individual hotel locations in order to optimize the care needed for local guests and the language in each region/city. Luxury care simplified for local effort.

Takeaway

It’s about a few things:

1. Listen for the latest greatest ‘shiny toys’

2. Don’t just jump in to all of the social channels; Gauge which channels are going to best fit your overall content strategy and help to amplify it

3. Use social media to augment your marketing efforts in a real-time, community driven effort

4. Humanize the brand

5. Show your consumers you are there for what they need; not what you need

6. Make it fun; see: Blendtec example

Note: This post was originally written for Socialnomics and can also be found here. 

Additional Information:

http://mashable.com/2009/02/06/social-media-smartest-brands/
http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands/
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/9-companies-doing-social-media-right-and-why/
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/03/20/luxury-brands-using-social/
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/07/04/meet-the-top-20-brands-on-facebook/

Five Simple Ways Marketers can take Advantage of Pinterest

Posted on by

So in case you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon, just have, or are wondering what all the hype is about, Pinterest is still sizzling. It’s a fun and useful tool that brands can use to their advantage in order to show a more visual side to its consumer market.

Now here’s what’s really important…how to truly capitalize on Pinterest and all it’s glory:

1. Integrate with other social networks: Allow your target market to see you on all the places they play. Share your new pins on your Facebook page or Tweet them out. Consumers don’t always know you are present on the latest social networks, so the more you promote your presence, the more traffic you may receive, even if just for mere curiousity.

2. Show a more visual side to your brand: Take the time to prepare aesthetically pleasing visual content to share. For example if your brand produces blog posts, such as tech, then make sure the pictures which will direct back to those posts are eye-catching. If your brand has consumer products to share, then ensure the photography behind it is something your target market will want to like, comment on, re-pin, and/or follow.

3. Use instagram: Be creative and use fun photography such as instragram to highlight certain boards. Pinterest focuses on visual beauty; the more you can make your pictures exciting to view, the more engagement you may receive from consumers as well as other brands.

4. Ensure the pins are items people will want to re-pin: When you are pinning your items to the different boards, ensure the link goes to something on your website, blog or other social network. It should help drive traffic to your other brand sites, and additionally be something your consumers will want to share their own followers on Pinterest by re-pinning your content.

5. Marketing Campaigns with Pinterest. Brands can utilize Pinterest  (along with Facebook and Twitter) to do creative campaigns which may include…

  • contests: For example, allowing consumers to create images to be featured on the pinterest page
  •  voting: For example, allowing consumers to vote on their favorite item on a specific board, or picking what other boards they would  like featured.
  • how-to: Feature how-to demos, videos, posts, and other items in order to let consumers get better insight into your service or           product.
  • audience-specific: For example having different boards with content specific to different audience groups. This will allow for more targeting rather than just focusing on one consumer group at a time.

Last but not least, make sure your brand doesn’t forget to let the public know you’re there. Use the Pinterest widgets for your website and other channels.

Wish List

Although Pinterest has taken off and many brands have already established their presence…there are always improvements that could be made. In my opinion Pinterest would be even more valuable if it had analytics within it for brands to monitor in order to improve their boards and pins. In the mean time brands can focus on the referral traffic through google analytics, which is helpful to know which pins are really of interest to their consumers.

Sources:

http://sproutsocial.com/insights/2012/02/pinterest-marketing/

https://www.socialnomics.net/2012/01/22/five-brands-engaging-like-pros-on-pinterest/

http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/9-tips-boost-your-business-pinterest.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577227542820850590.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

Three Creative Ways of Using Google+ Hangouts

Posted on by

There are so many shiny new toys in the social media sphere…sometimes we can’t keep up. Google has a tendency to test out new ideas (remember Google Buzz?) and this time around they have spun out Google Plus Hangouts. It’s an opportunity for individuals or businesses to utilize this virtual “hangout” to communicate with others in their community or business via video. The only disadvantage that appears right away is the restriction of 10 people per hangout. However, when it comes to meetings and having the chance to build a deeper relationship among community members sometimes fewer can be beneficial.

How individuals are taking advantage of Google+ Hangouts

Individual users are being creative and using hangouts for a face-to-face experience for hobbies like photography and cooking. It is a simple way to make your personal life more interesting with people who share your interests. It’s also an opportunity to join communities that you may not have realized existed…whether it’s with people locally or not. Google Plus Hangouts allow individuals to stay in closer touch with their circles and/or to expand them in a more personal way.

Possibilities for Businesses with Google+ Hangouts

1. Dell 

It’s been reported that Michael Dell of Dell Computers has been very interested in Google+ Hangouts, especially for the ability to group video chat in order to assist customers with tech and customer support needs. Unfortunately the capabilities do not work with Dell currently and the restriction of 10 users appears to be a hindrance as well. For now it appears it’s a no-go but Dell hopes that will turn around one day so they can utilize the technology Google has offered with Hangouts. The company believes video chat for tech support could lend a great hand in real-time and personal support for their customers.

2. NBC Philadelphia: 

Television has definitely jumped on board and realized that social media doesn’t have to be a threat to news-telling, but a great cross-promotional tool. NBC Philadelphia has recently used Google+ Hangouts for both weather and even more recently a chat with President Obama. The weather team hangout was to allow viewers to chat with the team up close and personally and ask any weather related questions they had. This demonstrates the team giving a closer look behind the camera and showing an even more human side to the team.

Even more recently, NBC Philadelphia hosted a hangout with President Obama. Unique? Yes. Cool? Definitely. The President spoke live and answered submitted as well as live questions during the hangout. It was an opportunity for some to ask questions that had perturbed them such as employment issues. Social media can be a tough venue, especially with all the different opinions and questions that can easily rise. I commend the president for taking the chance, opportunity and demonstrating his willingness to be there on a more personal level.

3. Tearfund 

Tearfund, which is a nonprofit known for disaster response and advocacy, used Google+ Hangouts as an internal communications tool. It helped their team talk to staff who worked from home, or were off-site. Hangouts assisted Tearfund in doing briefings, staying on top of their objectives, and communicating more regularly with their teammates.

In short, there are many possibilities to interact, grow within communities, enjoy hobbies, have meetings, interviews, and/or build relationships on a more intimate and personal level. There are definitely other tools out there, which have similar functions, but being that Hangouts is a part of the Google ecosystem of Gmail, Apps, and more…it just makes it that much easier.

What would you use a hangout for? How would you use it for your business? 

 

Note this post was originally written for Social Media Club, and the original post can be found here. 

Sources:

http://www.tearfund.org/en/about_us/how_we_work/

http://9to5google.com/2011/09/29/black-eyed-peas-hosting-backstage-hangout-via-google-hangouts-tomorrow-night/

http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/

https://plus.google.com/115181052736294416606/posts/TrJuQDBwjZS

https://plus.google.com/115181052736294416606/posts/YNGiC9V4XLn

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/obama-google-plus_n_1242816.html

http://www.reelseo.com/dell-google-hangouts-video-chat-customer-service/

Five Brands Who Rock it on Pinterest

Posted on by

Pinterest, a virtual pin board, is no longer just for individuals who pin what they love for potential home decorating, weddings, and recipes…it has become a mecca of fashion, design, consumer engagement, photo sharing, and more with brands and consumers alike. It’s a phenomenal platform for consumer brands to share what they have to offer in visually pleasing ways, as well as demonstrate appreciation for users who already talk about the brand, by re-pinning what those consumers already pinned. Whether it’s showing consumers taking part with the brand, introducing new products, campaigns, themes, or pictures iconic of the brand itself, Pinterest definitely has some legs to stick around when it comes to consumer-brand engagement.

Below are five brands, which have made other lists, and I believe are utilizing Pinterest for the value it can offer and showing their fans and consumers they aren’t just a brand name, but care to be involved with their consumers, offer cool content, and engage more personally…

1. Gap

The Gap on Pinterest has a few different boards including products they make, a focus on denim, but what sparked my interest was the board which was just about repins from other Pinterest users, “popular Gap images on Pinterest.” It’s a great way for the brand to engage with users as well as demonstrate the brand’s appreciation

2. Whole Foods

Whole Foods  takes it to a whole other level when it comes to sharing content via Pinterest. Not only do they talk about holiday preparations for food such as the not too long ago Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, but they also provide other inspirational boards. They aren’t just talking about food they have and offer, but creative spins on food as well as forging there way into adjacent categories which would be of interest to people who care about food, cook often, and put real effort into the preparation that goes into it. Hat tip to Whole Foods for not just talking about their own products.

 

3. Nordstrom

Nordstrom has gone beyond the regular department store image and demonstrated to consumers they care to offer more than just being a brick and mortar retailer. On their Pinterest page, Nordstrom does categorize products they have now, but they keep it current, looking forward, and fresh. In addition they offer holiday gift ideas and even feature popular brands such as Ugg and Toms, both of which have demonstrated they are not a fleeting trend. However, I do think it would be cool if Nordstrom would take a step further and crowdsource some content for boards such as people wearing Toms or giving holiday gift tips from Nordstrom. Perhaps make it a contest in order to make even more contagious.

 

4. Travel Channel

The cool thing about the Travel Channel on Pinterst is that avid watchers of the channel will be pumped to see stuff categorized for their interests. Interested in street food or animals from around the world…search no more. Want to get to see a personal side of the channel and its people? Check out some behind the scenes pictures which they bucket away and pin on a board just for those special seekers. The pictures are vivid, personable, and fun. Perhaps another board could be one of people’s travels or food they’ve tried from around the world…engaging a step further with consumer generated content.

 

5. West Elm

The numbers I look at first when I go to a brand page on Pinterst is whether the brand just pins, or do they also “like” and “follow” others on the platform. West Elm has some of the most “likes” I’ve seen among brands. Not only do they show different interior design ideas, but they also have a board for fashion and interior design savvy, Etsy, as well as a board for a personal take – Smile Booth. This board allowed West Elm to show its employees during parties, as well as guests, consumers, and fans of the brand. I always believe in humanizing the brand, and having a board like this one is definitely a good example.

Note: This Post was originally written for Socialnomics, and my original post can be found here.

5 Simple Tips for Using Tumblr

Posted on by

Recently I started utilizing my tumblr blog for unique, fun, and classic fashion I love, why I love it, and why it’s more unique through a digital scope. I love the simplicity of the platform and how it’s so convenient to post, even via the iPhone from my beloved instagram app. Lets just say, it’s my new love affair along with Instagram, of course.

1. Find your niche

As with any blog one starts, a focus point is key in order to not have a hodge podge of random topics and items. If you have a specific focus, then people will come to expect your post to be a source for information on that topic and hopefully one day come to trust it as an expert source or one just for fun to peruse. For example, Bergdorf Goodman started a tumblr for a few focus points, which include location, inspiration, visual and the team. It’s a great source to get to know the brand on a more personal level and dive deeper into what Bergdorf has to offer, aside from a retail establishment. It’s a source of iconic fashion, fun design ideas, and more. I especially love the “on location” segment which allows for an inside look into the brand, the models, and what it takes to get things “just right.”

2. Share or not to share

One of the best features (in my opinion) is the fact that you can so easily share your Tumblr blog on your social channels. It’s so smoothly integrated with platforms like Facebook and Twitter. For example, if you are on the go but want to share a quick post, do it from your phone, post, and poof: it’s immediately posted on your Twitter stream and Facebook Timeline. How much simpler could it get? And if you’re into (1) efficiency as well as (2) sharing your cool posts … tumblr makes it that much simpler for you.

3. Comments and Questions

Opt in and allow your blog posts to have comments and questions. Engagement is key when it comes to blog posts being visible and seen past your own computer screen. However, not only should you allow comments/questions, but you should respond in return as well as comment on other people’s blogs. It shows it’s not just about you and your own blog but also about the community of the platform and the people who appreciate the subject matter and people who contribute to it.

4. SEO it up

As with any blogger, you want your blogs to found, read, and shared by your audience. SEO plays a huge part in that, so optimize it to the best of your ability.

  • Keywords: Having rich keywords through your content, title, metadata, and URL are essential in order for those searching for that topic to come across your post. Not sure which keywords are the right ones? Check out Google Adwords keyword tool for some good starting points.
  • Meta Data: Google weights heavily on title tags so make sure your keywords are making it in there.
  • URLs: Your topic and keywords should also be in your URL in order for people to know easier that your post is about what they want to read up on, check out, and share.

5. Have fun – use instagram

I am a huge fan of integrating instagram along with my Tumblr. It makes for cool photography, great visuals, and a quick on the go post, such as me in my old office wearing my fave corduroy Toms shoes…

Check out mine – and tell me what you think. I am always looking for new insights, tips, and tricks. Share what you love about Tumblr in my comments below.

Five Google Plus Tips and Tricks for your Personal Brand

Posted on by

Like many people I was definitely hesitant at first about whether or not to utilize Google Plus? Another social platform? Another place to have to keep up with? But since I am a Google Fanatic with my Gmail, Docs, Calendar and more…and not to mention a complete digital geek…I had to join. Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way from my own ventures and others who have shared…

1. Profile Picture

As we all know not all social networks make it easy for you to upload your avatar pics. Google Plus can have issues with resolution when uploading. Suggestion: make sure the picture you choose has higher resolution so it’s more clear.

2. Manage your Contacts

So many people, so much to share, so much hassle? Google Plus allows you to make it simpler so you can share with whom you want to share, when you want to share. For example, you can make one group for family, one for close friends, one for coworkers, and another for industry experts. Therefore you can share pictures of your dog with friends, while your blog post with others in your industry. Or whatever suits your fancy.

3. Sharing with Relevant Contacts

As stated above you can decide how you group your contacts so its easier to share what you want to share. Here I am emphasizing that this is great so you don’t share irrelevant content to all groups. For example your close friends may not care about a post related to your job, or vice versa. If you want the right exposure for that cool “tip post”….share with those who will actually respond and comment and be excited to read it. Share and share relevantly.

4.  Cutting Through the Noise

Too many items in your feed? Tired of seeing certain people post about the same old thing? Turn down the “volume” and cut through the chatter. Mute a post from the notification window. Simple, and way more manageable.

5. Take it on the Road

Want to keep up with your Google Plus circles but not at your computer as often?There’s an App for that! You can also get notifications via text on notifications.

Bonus!

Want to know how it measures up against Facebook? Check out this sweet Infographic…

Who are you? A google plus fan? Still an Avid Facebooker? Or both?

Note: This post was originally written for Socialnomics. 

Top 5 Social Media Tools Companies Use

Posted on by
We all know the three most popular social media apps in our toolkit are: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But what else are companies using to have an edge and be more efficient and productive in their social media efforts? How are they actually Tweeting? How are they monitoring? Here are five tools that were found to be popular and widely used among brands and businesses!

A. Cotweet

What’s awesome: Web-based social media engagement, management and reporting solution that helps companies of all sizes engage, track and analyze conversations about their brands across the most popular and influential social communities today, Twitter and Facebook.

Not so awesome: There can be issues with lag time in Tweets being posted and there is a lack of autofill of Twitter names for tagging in tweets and hashtags.

Companies that use it: Whole foods

Price: Standard for $600 or $1500/month for the Enterprise Edition (unlimited users, unlimited accounts). This is what I’ve read through other sources. The website does not tell exact prices unless you consult a sales agent.

B. Radian6

What’s awesome: A social media engagement tool that also lets you to find out who the top influencers are for your product/service category along with tracking conversations and engagement impact on your brand.
Not so awesome: The CRM capability would be great to have and thanks to their new integration with Salesforce, it is possible now via the integration.
Companies that use it: Dominos
Price: Radian6 dashboard pricing starts at $600 per month. They also offer a 50% discount for registered and qualified charitable organizations. Contact Sales for more info.

C. Tweetdeck

What’s awesome: Ability to listen, monitor, respond, and engage efficiently and effectively on your social platforms from one dashboard or on the go.
Not so awesome: Lacking Google Analytics integration and the ability to save draft tweets to schedule for later (why many have switched to hootsuite).
Companies that use it: NBC
Price: Free

D. Seesmic

What’s awesome: You can monitor mentions with ease by utilizing one dashboard for all your social platforms. Cool perk? Integration with Evernote and other nifty apps!
Not so awesome: Lacking theme support and push notification features for smartphone app.
Companies that use it: Samsung
Price: Free

E. Klout

What’s awesome: Determine your “influence” and compare/contrast with others in order to see how far your brand reaches and how your social networks like Twitter and Facebook impact that influence or target larger influencers in your target market to spread the word. Cool integration with Google Reader for blog influence too!
Not so awesome: Measuring of ROI regarding perk program for influencers appears difficult
Companies that use it: Audi
Price: Free
This post was originally written for Socialnomics. 

5 Small Busineses Who Do Facebook and Twitter Right

Posted on by

There are so many businesses throughout the country, often times the smaller ones are overshadowed by the larger ones. However, we cannot forget the little guys, the businesses who are kicking butt, but just aren’t all over our radar as Microsoft, Apple or Verizon may be. These small businesses are utilizing social media such asFacebook and Twitter to keep their target audiences well informed of their product/service and are showing it’s not about the deep pockets completely, it’s also  about the dedication and putting your all into a company/business you love and of course using the tools at your fingertips to reach your audience.

Here are five of my picks for small businesses utilizing Facebook and Twitter like they own it!

(1) Notch Session Beer: Founded by Chris Lohring of Salem, MA, Notch provides low ABV % beer for those who love a great tasting beer, without falling off their stool after drinking. Not only has Notch provided a killer tasting beer, but it has done a great job at going the extra mile with their social media resources. For example on Twitter, Notch does not just post about their beer constantly and ad nauseum. They provide fun facts, news, and invite their fans to in-person events to try the beer at local pubs (aka a “session”). Thus, Notch does a great job at utilizing Twitter to promote live events and engage audiences on and offline. In my opinion, Notch is just beginning, watch out folks, and don’t spill that beer!

2) Naked Pizza: A “natural” pizza offering with 10 grains and probiotics and more. Who knew pizza didn’t have to be all bad for you? That’s a great excuse to indulge in my opinion. And aside from the fabulous pizza, Naked Pizza has shown that social media can spread news like wildfire and arouse the awareness of both potential and current consumers. For example, when Naked Pizza was looking to open up in Dubai (spreading its wings), they decided to actually “talk” to people (in person and via social media such as Twitter) and get their thoughts and opinions on food and health. The idea of consumer involvement is not new, but it’s essential to the success of companies and their products/services. Consumers love to be involved and share their opinions and they will find a way to do it, even if you don’t give them that avenue personally. So, why not (like Naked Pizza) immerse yourselves with the consumers and find out what they really want. In the mean time, check out this cool video of how Naked Pizza did it via Twitter.

3) Coffee Groundz: A coffee shop that understood the awesomeness of free Wi-Fi and embracing tech and social like Facebook and Twitter. The coffee shop quickly became for social-media-aholics and the like due to the atmosphere, the culture, and of course, the coffee. This coffee shop does not just provide a great venue for drinking coffee, doing work, and catching up with friends, it also allows you to keep posted on what’s going on with the shop via Facebook and Twitter. For example (as seen below) they post events such as musicians who will be at the coffee shop. Like the Facebook page? Love that musician? Attend the event? Buy some coffee (or other yummy item)? I think that sounds like some fabulous Facebook ROI.

 

4) Roger Smith Hotel: The Roger Smith Hotel in midtown NYC is known for its devotion to the arts and embracing social media, and as of late become a go-to hotel for many social media VIPs and geeks alike. Why wouldn’t you want to stay at a hotel which embraces social media, has a great roof deck and a staff which is not just polite, but inviting, gracious, and off the charts engaging with each and every person who walks into the hotel (either in person or via Twitter,  Facebook etc). Not only do they useTwitter to interact, but there are special Twitter rates available for rooms. Awesome ROI and perks! I have also had the personal pleasure of meeting Adam Wallace, Director of Digital Marketing at Roger Smith, and can say without a doubt, that Adam, along with others at RS are dedicated to how social media touches each potential and current consumer, as well as in person. Have questions, hit up @rshotel and ask away.

 

5) Krista Photography: Krista, a Boston wedding photographer is not only delightful in person, but her photography is thrilling to view. She captures the emotion of every wedding, child, and special event in each individual photo. Impressive and breath-taking at the same time. And as a smart businesswoman she realizes the potential of utilizing social networks to show her photography, engage further with current clients who like seeing their pictures online, and illustrate to potential consumers that she is the photographer they want, and the pictures tell all. When looking on her Facebook Fan Page, you can see some great visuals of weddings, head shots, and more. Krista realizes that Facebook is not just for chatting with friends anymore, but a great tool to for her consumers to view, discuss, and comment on her work.

 

After delving into these intelligent and great businesses above and how they have dedicated themselves to utilizing social media to further their awareness, engagement, and conversion of people to customers I am inspired and look forward to seeing how these businesses continue to grow via their social media efforts. Now I have a desire to pick up a camera, grab a pizza, a beer, coffee, and chill on the roof deck of a great hotel.

Note: this post was originally written for oneforty, which was acquired by Hubspot. 


Graphedge Offers Detailed Twitter Analytics and Follower Analysis [Product Review]

Posted on by

The company to keep on your radar: Graphedge. Why? They went live a year and a half ago and are providing great analytical tools for marketing agencies and marketing departments for brands across the nation. They have two tools that are great to have in your back pocket (and another one coming out soon), which can assist with Twitterfollowers (Graphedge Followers) and Twitter campaigns (Graphedge Pro). Want to know more? I had the pleasure of getting the inside scoop when I spoke with one of the awesome Graphedge peeps, and now I’ll share the scoop on their two products and how they can help you and your brand marketing.

Graphedge Followers:

Fun Fact: Was developed because of pain points consumers had regarding tracking Twitter for clients. Agencies wanted it, Graphedge made it.

  • Quick and simple sign up – Pay and you have the product.
  • Unlike other products which may just identify a Tweet and how far that Tweet went, Graphedge goes beyond the individual Tweet because that they believe tracking each  individual Tweet is futile and time consuming. Instead, they help agencies and brands look for a pattern. Graphedge Followers does an aggregate of all the Tweeting that you or your competitor (or whoever) has done recently and measures the metrics in response to those aggregate averages. Thus, it measures the engagements and correlates those numbers to actions you are taking. Basically, it goes beyond most free tracking products available.
  • This product also has the ability to track the lifespan of every individual follower.
  • Great to see who’s following you, dropping you, and why they are dropping you. Thus, you can see when you were dropped and can correlate with what was going on during that particular time span and see what went right/wrong in order to revise any marketing strategy if necessary.
  • In short, it helps to build a clearer picture of what’s going on in Twitter for you or your client, your brand, etc.

Graphedge Pro:

  • Sign up and Graphedge also works with each agency/brand in order to assist with the campaign they are working on. Hands on assistance in order to guide and execute.
  • The campaign product (in comparison to the Follower product) is in greater granular detail.
  • It captures every single Tweet in order to look and process. Thus it is not just about counting up Tweets, but goes deeper into the sentiment analysis of each Tweet.
  • Great for finding the influencers in your market and using them in your campaign efforts.
  • Find out how your company/client Tweets are spreading and what impact each Tweet is having.
  • In short, this product gets to the root of the analytics behind your Tweets and how you can revise, expand, and/or improve your campaign.
  • In the words of Graphedge — “The Campaign Tracking tool captures every tweet for a series of keywords. From this set of data we create metrics about the tweets, the users who tweeted them, their sentiment, when they tweeted, etc. For select clients we generate a credible  ”Estimated Impressions” metric, which clients use to calculate ROI and/or CPM. Emphasis on “credible”… competitors’ methodologies for generating these numbers are frequently dubious and/or opaque.”

 

Try out Graphedge for yourself, if you are an agency and/or marketing department for a brand that is looking for a unique and in-depth analysis tool for your or your client’sTwitter handle. And if you have tried it, share your experience and how you feel the product benefited you or could be better.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: this post was originally written for oneforty, which was acquired by Hubspot. 

Interview: Julia Roy of Manilla

Posted on by

During SXSW in Austin, Texas Julia Roy, VP of Marketing at Manilla, and I took some time during brunch (and yummy bloody mary’s) to chat about her new career and why consumers should check out the cool and useful online application.

ME:  Why did you choose to work for Manilla?

JULIA:  I wanted to go back into the start-up world and do something that I really believed in. The app is something I would personally use and it adds tremendous value to people’s lives. I also wanted to see something from the ground up. Up until Manilla I had worked with some very big brands, and they already have a presence online. So you would normally augment whatever kind of sentiment and things they are already implementing. BUT, when you are at a start-up like Manilla, you have to strategize how you would use social to take a brand from “nothing” to “something” – I wanted to tackle that challenge.

ME:  For the readers out there, tell us why they should check out Manilla.

JULIA:  It would save you a lot of time! Right now you spend a lot of time managing your bills and it is a large consumer problem. Some people have a range of twenty different accounts including banks, credit cards, travel, rewards, and subscriptions. You get some in mail, some in email and with all the different ways you receive and pay bills, you can easily lose track. For example, you could have gotten this trip to SXSW for free if you  kept track of points! In short, Manilla helps you keep track. It’s not a social network but a personal application to help you manage your accounts.

ME:  And it’s free for consumers?

JULIA: : Yes Free!

ME:  That’s awesome. And we consumers definitely like Free. Could you explain more about the customizable options and capabilities for consumers?

JULIA:  It’s very customizable for user ease with reminders however far apart you want. You can also add your own accounts and Manilla will have any of those available for you. In addition if you don’t see one you use such as a store credit card, we can build that account as needed and/or on request. Typically we can build any request within a week.

ME:  Since I am a social media geek and I know you are too, how are you utilizing social media for Manilla?

JULIA:  We are using social for customer service and engagement. We are mainly focusing on Facebook and Twitter to start with. For instance, we don’t have a lot of video content yet, so YouTube is not a focus for us. The point is to make brand “real” and it’s a large challenge for a company like Manilla because we manage very personal information and in turn must be professional and build trust first on social networks. If you are working all day long and you suffer from back pain, visit our website for more info.

Social is also a conduit to make sure we are responding to people talking about our brand and engage with them. We also run contests and promotions such as the 5K to people who sign up for the beta version!

ME:  5K? I want. I want!

JULIA: Continues to ease her mouth which is on fire from the bloody mary’s.

ME: So if you had to pick one tool you couldn’t live without when handling Manilla, what would it be?

JULIA:  CoTweet because it makes managing convos so much easier! Like Manilla manages your accounts, CoTweet manages my social.

ME: Going back to Manilla and it’s sheer awesomeness with convenience and organization – what is the one thing consumers should know about its advantage and asset?

JULIA: It will get you “Sys-te-matized!”

ME: Chuckling. Systematized?

JULIA: Yes! Manilla helps you get systematized! Psychologically all these bills and items to pay can crowd your mind and inhibit your ability to enjoy and relax. So Manilla helps you organize so you can relax and know Manilla is doing it for you.

ME: I like it!

The interview wrapped up with “cheers” over our bloody mary’s and a fabulous brunch. I definitely suggest each of you to check out Manilla for yourself. If you ever have any questions, definitely hit up @mymanilla for the answers!

Takeaways from “All Marketers are Liars”

Posted on by

Last time I was in NYC, a good friend of mine insisted I borrow his copy of Seth Godin’s “All Marketers are Liars.” Knowing I am a marketing junkie and social media geek, he felt that this book would be right up my alley. He couldn’t have been more right!

A few points I took away from this insightful book…

“Stop trying to find the formula that will instantly make your idea in the winner. Instead of being scientists the best markers are artists They realize that whatever is being sold is being purchased because it creates an emotional want, not because it fills a simple need.”

From my own experience, this could not be more true. How many times have you bought a product because you want it, and justified it as a “need”, but it’s really a “want?” Example: I decided to buy an iPad. Did I need this when I already have a Macbook and numerous other Apple products? Probably not. However, I realized I would be attending SXSW and may not want to carry around my laptop. An iPad would be perfect for this, right? I can throw it in my purse, go to the sessions I choose to attend, and then out and about afterward with ease. This definitely was not a “need” but a “want” in order to be comfortable and feel that I could take part interactively via Twitter, blogging, Facebook, etc. In addition, it’s an Apple product, which is so much “cooler” right? Furthermore, I hate being left behind in technology, and when it comes to the newest and latest and greatest, I must be a part of this right? Emotional want. Not a simple need.

The marketing team for Apple are without a doubt exceptional. They make each product cool and sleek and an immediate “want.” But how did I connect myself to this enough to purchase it when I didn’t need it? In this case, Apple made me a loyal consumer. I am a complete Mac user (convert from Dell a few years ago) and love the simplicity and ease of use of their products. The innovation is always above and beyond and makes you feel like you are in the “in group.” Does this mean I have an inner need to feel included and part of the cool group? Was this the route of my emotional want of this product? Perhaps. My point? Marketers such as Apple are able to demonstrate and create a want emotional enough within us, that we buy their product. Is this a science? Some argue yes. Godin, says it’s an art. I say, a bit of both.

Do not spend all your time on just your website. “Every point of contact” is what matters. Be consistent. Be authentic. Cover all the possible impressions and allow the consumer to make them into a coherent story, you win.

In short your story is what the consumer believes it to be. It’s not your story, it’s theirs. You, the marketer, may try to “sell a story” but in the end its the consumer who convinces themselves why they “need” such and such product. For example, in Godin’s Puma example he notes, “The way Stephanie felt when she bought the Pumas was the product. Not the sneakers…” Again it was the emotional connection to why the consumer buys the product. Maybe it will make her feel prettier. Maybe it will make him feel richer. Maybe it will make her feel thinner. Whatever the reason, there is a deeper connection to why a person chooses to buy a product, and although the marketer can do a great job at “selling” it — it’s the consumer who really “sells it” to him or herself. Case in point: my iPad.

Godin did a great job in this book and really made me think of myself as a consumer when trying to think as a marketer. In the end, we’re all selling something whether to ourselves or to someone else. Maybe all marketers are liars after all…

Marketing Ahead of its Time

Posted on by

So I stayed in last Friday night and saw that Minority Report was on HBO…thinking “Oh I’ve seen this before, I can keep this on in the background while I catch up on work.” Silly me. I immediately got sucked into the awesomeness that is this movie — having not seen it in years. But it wasn’t just the action and plot that had me watching — it was the marketing within the movie. Great job Spielberg…you caught my “eye”!

In the movie, every time Tom Cruise’s character walks by a digital ad, it is catered directly to him due to recognition through the character’s eyes. It states his name and acknowledges his interest in certain products (previously) and asks questions re: future use. For example, there was a virtual Guiness ad asking about his thirst. Made me thirsty, for sure.

As Tom’s character walked into the Gap to grab some clothing (and at this point he had new eyes – see the movie for explanation) and a voice welcomes “him” and asks about the pair of pants that were purchased last time and if “he’ would like another pair. My question…impressive or intrusive? I was impressed by the marketing used in this movie when it was made in 2002 (obviously it was meant to be far into the future, but still). The geo-location used, was not via mobile but your eyeballs. How crazy is that? I think it’s kind of intrusive at times. For example, if you’re walking into a store and the last item you purchased was a “personal” item – would you want that stated out loud for all to hear in the store as you enter? Would their be restrictions on what is said? Could people opt out? Thoughts to consider as we get deeper into geolocation through mobile…and maybe one day our eyes?!

What are your thoughts on this? Please share!

How do you “watch”?

Posted on by

Aside from my social media geekdom and love for being out and about in our great city of Boston — sometimes it’s nice to just be a couch potato and watch some “good” TV. Now I do not mean “reality” tv shows…(no offense to all my friends who love Jersey Shore and the Bachelor) — I prefer Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, True Blood, Friday Night Lights, and other “real” shows.

Like the social media world, the TV and Movie world has many many many options for our “viewing” pleasure. Got your hands full with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Yelp, Quora, and all the other myriad of sites? How do you view your favorite shows and movies? Sometimes I am not sure where to start – like with social media – there is so much to keep up with – every minute there’s a new site, app, option to chose from. For viewing, we have Netflix, Hulu, DVR, On Demand, iTunes, surfthechannel, Red Box, and even those dvd rental retail stores — remember those? Do you prefer free, or the paid options? Do you have one or two or three?

I weighed my options:

1. On Demand and/or DVR: holy expensive on Comcast. I pass.

2. Hulu – I stick to regular Hulu (over Hulu Plus) and watch for free. If I miss a show – I’ll watch it the next morning (unless it’s House and then I have to wait 8 days..ouch!). And as long as the buffering isn’t having issues, I can watch wherever there’s wifi. Perfect.

3. Netflix – monthly subscription — cheaper then retail renting and can watch however much I want online or via mail. Awesome. And I have the app on my iPad now too. Loyal subscriber.

4. iTunes – want a season sooner than it’s available? This was my savior when I wanted Mad Men Season 4. Downloaded – on my Mac, iTouch and iPad and ready to watch when and where I wanted. Kickass.

5. Surfthechannel — not the best quality and you can only watch for 72 minutes at a time — but you can get almost any season of almost any show. I caught up on multiple shows this way!

6. Purchase or rental — my suggestion is go to Best Buy when they have their kickass sales and buy them. On Black Friday I got Mad Men and Heroes for ridiculously cheap (10 bucks a season!) – it was like taking candy from a baby (imagine I said this in Robin William’s voice from his Live on Broadway skit).

7. Red Box – I have yet to try this option but I hear great things including cheap and convenient. Can’t beat that, right?

There is also: casttv.com, myeasytv.com, xfinity (for those who have a subscription) and others out there…

What do you prefer? Any other fun/cheap/free/easy ways to view shows/movies? I love the ease and flexibility of Netflix but like in social media – am always exploring new and kickass options.

Zipcar: At your Fingertips “on” and “offline”

Posted on by

Are you familiar with Zipcar? Well let me ask a simpler question – do you own a car? No? Zipcar is the solution. When I was in college (not too many moons ago), my best friend and I wanted to rent a car to go away for the weekend (as much as we loved Boston, it was nice to get out of the city once in a while). BUTTT….as many know, you need to be 25 to rent a car (and not get charged up the ass). Solution: Zipcar. The alternative car rental service, which allowed you to rent at 21 (awesome) and didn’t make you go to a car rental location (and abide by silly restraining open/close hours) – even more awesome. And as many fellow “zipsters” know – it gets better. Most likely a zipcar is located right around the corner of your apartment/job/gym/school for your utmost convenience. Whether for a couple hours to run to Wrentham Outlets for that “shopping spree” or head to the beach or the slopes – my zipcar membership became “clutch.” It may get pricey if you rent for longer periods of time – but for me, the convenience was worth the extra cost — especially with the gas and insurance included. High Five!

My best friend and I – who lived together for multiple years during and after college – used Zipcar anytime we needed a “getaway.” We tried out the Mini (cute for the beach), SUVs, hybrids, and the always reasonable Honda. Kind of an awesome way to test-drive to see what car you may want in the future too.

To this day, I am pleased with my membership because I am a woman of having things at my fingertips (convenience is key). And being a social media geek, I am all about having my news, info, and chatter at my fingertips too. So as I randomly tweeted today “@Zipcar Been a member since I was 21 (ok so that’s almost 7 years)… had some great trips and memories. cc: @juliaroy” — I was impressed by the fast and speedy response by the “person behind the handle.” The community manager was friendly and interested to hear more. So hear I am, Zipcar — telling you more. I am impressed by your product, service, and now even more with your friendly banter online – in “real-time” – just the way I like it.

And as promised here are a few pictures from my adventures back in college. :)

How to: Use Twitter for Customer Service

Posted on by


Companies today realize (or are realizing) that customer service is more than the in-person and over-the-phone help that it once was. Today, your brand has the free tools available to help  in “real-time” and prove to your current and future consumers that your customer service rocks and you truly care for each consumer on an individual basis. Want to be the next Zappos with their witty and real-time quality customer service via Twitter? Keep reading!

Zappos has shown its consumers that each one will receive the care and service they deserve. As seen from the image above, “@xtraRegularRyan” had a convo with @zappos_service on Twitter after a purchase was received. This conversation after the fact demonstrates that the consumer was not only pumped but ecstatic to share this news. Could that be a loyal consumer? I think so!

As Frank Eliason commented in Social Media Examiner, “Be human about it. Let your team service your customers. Let them do what they do well and allow them to be who they are.” That’s exactly what Zappos does on Twitter– the customer service teams not only assists customers with what they need, but they have an actual conversation with them – whether it’s about “growing a mustache” or whatever suits your fancy — being “human” is key to building a customer relationship with your brand and maintaining it.

What tools can help?

Hootsuite: Keep track of what your consumers are saying on yourcomputer or while you’re running from meeting to meeting via iPad or smartphone.Hootsuite allows your company to manage Twitter and other applications on a simple platform where you can monitor multiple conversations/accounts at once. Afraid of a consumer question or request getting lost — Hootsuite helps you keep keep it organized! (p.s. Also integrated with Zendesk!) Hootsuite has 2 pricing plans: Basic = Free: Pro = $5.99/month

Zendesk: A web-based service to help you engage with your consumers in a simple and effective way. It has Twitter integration which allows you to connect easily with your consumers/tweeps (we really need a Twitter word for consumers….). You would be emailed and can accordingly manage customer service requests in order to respond more efficiently – whether you answer yourself or have another member of your team do so. A great tool to make sure your customers are kept happy because you can respond to each request rather than getting lost in your inbox. Zendesk has a Free Trial with 3 pricing plans: Starter: $9/month; Regular: $24/month; Plus: $49/month.

MarketMeSuite: is more than just a social media marketing dashboard forTwitter and other apps. It allows you to have unlimited accounts, schedule tweets, focus on following and unfollowing the right users, geolocation, among many other fun options.  MarketMeSuite has 3 pricing plans: $5.99/month; $59.99 a year; $99.00 (pay once for lifetime).

CoTweet allows you to focus on specific conversations so you know when is best to respond; track exchanges and assign them to certain departments (like Zappos who has a customer service twitter account, @zappos_service,  separate from the regular zappos account, @zappos) in your company so you can ensure that your brand “humanizes” its engagement and you can even include signatures so you know who’s responding (aka stay organized). CoTweet has a standard version for free and an enterprise offering for $1500/month.

p.s. Both MarketMeSuite and CoTweet integrate with Zendesk too!

Radian6: Known to power the likes of Dell and others in assisting their community listening, engaging and monitoring needs. Radian6 helps companies keep track of what’s being asked and said in an organized manner in order to ease the process of answering and commenting to your consumers on a regular basis. In addition, Radian6‘s Engagement Console allows you to listen more efficiently and has a sweet interface too! Radian6 asks you to Register for a Demo before getting pricing details.

Valuevine: A nifty tool to listen to what consumers are saying about your brand and also share promotions with target consumers. Has helped retailers realize the importance of Twitter and Facebook in social media marketing and the ease and use of both in listening and engaging with their target consumer. Valuevine asks you torequest a demo before receiving pricing information.

Tools such as Radian6, CoTweet, and ValueVine are great Social CRM tools for your company to utilize. What is Social CRM exactly? Many social media experts have their own versions for this definition, but here’s a great simple explanation– It is CRM for the social customer. The customer who is “savvy” and gets his or her information via the social channels such as Twitter and Facebook. Therefore, your company must be “savvy” as well and be able to engage he or she on those channels by listening, conversing, and monitoring. Tools like the ones above assist with keeping track of conversations so you have a better handle on responding to the customers’ needs and can also get to know each customer more personally by having a record of what social platforms they are on and what they are commenting and questioning.

Here are two more Social CRM tools at your disposal:

BantamLive is a contact management system plus Twitter client that also allows for Social CRM in order to track and engage contacts on social platforms. The tool has many integrations including Twitter, Google Apps, and others. It even includes some light project management features appropriate for small businesses. The best part of this tool though is its ease to keep track of your leads on the social platforms, get details about them and then engage each in a personal manner. And as we know, each consumer wants to be treated in a personal and unique manner.  BantamLive has a Free Trial and 5 Pricing Plans: Personal for $19/month up to $140/month for a deluxe business plan.

Sprout Social: Their tagline is “turning social connections into loyal customers.” What company wouldn’t want “loyal customers?” The tools appears to cater toward the smaller brands and agencies who want a tool that is a bit more affordable. In addition, Sprout Social helps to organize your social networks in one easy to access place, helps organize messages by current and potential customers in order to respond and engage in real-time, and helps you measure your social reach and potential success with your target clients. Awesome!  Sprout Social has a Free Trial and 2 Pricing Plans: $9/month for Personal and $49/month for Business.

As Lars Asbjornsen, VP of Online Marketing of Robert Half International stated: “Social media can alert you to customer-service complaints before you heard them in traditional channels. And that’s how most CFOs are using social media. Ignore the customer complaints on social media at your company’s peril.”

So, “listen up”, “respond well” and in “real-time!”

 


10 Branding & Marketing Tips from “Mad Men”

Posted on by

I have recently become obsessed with the show Mad Men and watched Seasons One through Four in about a month. Crazy? No! Dedicated? Yes! While watching the well written, directed, and addicting show, I couldn’t help but relate it to my life and career in marketing. Here are a few of things I took away from the show…

(1) Just because you think the slogan/pitch is awesome, does not mean it is. It takes practice (and many errors) to get things fine-tuned and “awesome.”

(2) Don Draper is the Man.

(3) Having your brand featured on Mad Men is kickass brand exposure and awareness.

(4) Losing a large brand, could potentially lead to losing other brands unless you react and turn the situation around quickly.

(5) If the story is making your brand look bad – change the story.

(6) Traditional Media can still be effective if used well.

(7) “Sex sells.”

(8) How your consumer views your brand may not be the same way you view your brand.

(9) If you are a secretary on Mad Men you will get laid and/or married.

(10) An efficient and creative marketing/Ad team is not only important, but essential.

And did I mention, Don Draper is the Man?!

Brands who Blog: Win

Posted on by

Some blog to talk about their thoughts and feelings regarding things in their daily lives, others blog about their wedding plans, some about their cooking adventures/endeavors, many about their career focus, and others about their life passions and hobbies. Whatever the reason, I truly believe that the chance to express oneself is key for both individuals as well as brands.

It is a perfect “tool” for brands to “humanize” themselves and show their audience that there are “real people” behind their name, not robots clicking away.

1. Humanizing a brand is unbelievably important to show one’s audience a personal touch. For example give your brand’s audience a chance to get to know the team behind the name. Holland-Mark does a great job at this when they share cool facts about their interns, holiday party photos, and other things you wouldn’t normally know.

2. Engaging one’s audience after a post has been published is a crucial step. This way you can have an actual conversation after your blog has been tweeted out like BostInnovation does on a regular basis and build a loyal readership/consumer/fan.

3. And, then hopefully building “loyal” relationships which will stand the test of time  — like withstanding brand backlash such as the Toyota fiasco, Dominoes youtube mess, and others.

So whether blogging for personal or brand reasons – take the time to go a little deeper and share a personal side and allow your audience to get to know the person(s) behind the name.

T

The Necessity of a Brand Audit

Posted on by

Conducting a brand audit on your brand is not only smart, but necessary. Having recently conducted a brand audit for my MBA global branding class on Sony’s brand (focus on electronic products), I was able to realize the importance of these audits to a brand’s success and future. You may think your brand is doing well and that consumers are happy with the product because sales seem lucrative, but is that truly the case? Do consumers really see your brand the way you see it? Are they loyal? Do they regard your brand as a quality service/product? Do they understand your brand message and logo and equate them to your brand accordingly? Are you sure?

These questions were just a few we investigated for Sony and we realized there was inconsistency regarding the brand message “make.believe” and what consumers perceived of Sony. In addition, from a survey we conducted, most did not even equate their new product “Google TV” with Sony. Yikes!

Although a brand audit can be extensive here are a few of my main recommendations:

1. Have a consistent brand message (Ex. Sony has the Sony Style and Sony logos)

2. Make sure your target market is aware of the connection between your logo/slogan and your brand (Ex. Survey: consumers did not understand connection between make.believe and Sony products)

3. Investigate if your target market thinks what you think of your brand (Ex. Survey: Consumers felt Sony was over-priced for what they offered)

4. Check to see if your target market believes your service/product is “quality” and why they do or do not purchase your product/service (Ex. Survey: consumers did feel the products were quality and have felt so since the “walkman“)

5. Compare and see what your competition may be doing better (Ex. Sony Survey: Apple is big competition and great at innovating)

6. Determine if your target market loyal or not loyal to your brand (Ex. Survey: It’s a toss up)

7. Find out if consumers feel an emotional connection to your brand (Ex. Survey: no specific emotional connection)

7. Revise accordingly.

Thus if you want your brand to do well, you should stay on top of what is perceived about your brand, how consumers “feel” towards it, and consistently innovate your product/service/campaign.

Isn’t branding fun? :)

Repeat: Good Customer Service = Loyalty

Posted on by

As I entered Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square with a girlfriend of mine, I was impressed with the layout, decor, and atmosphere. Then the hostess spoke – and it was all ruined. Just kidding. Actually the two hostesses were delightfully polite and were able to seat us sooner than we expected. We took seats at the oyster bar further back — which gave us a great view of everyone who entered and was seated — and of course of the delicious oysters being shucked. The bartender who served us was not only kind and knowledgeable about the oysters, menu, and wine list, but very attentive, well-mannered, and a joy to be seated near. And by the time we were stuffed and ready to be rolled out of the restaurant, the chef came out to speak with us. Now I must say, I felt slightly like royalty at this restaurant, and it was only my first visit.

What’s my point, you ask? Great customer service is key to bringing about a loyal consumer. Everyone who I encountered in the restaurant was polite, friendly and a pleasure to speak with. There was not one person who did not smile and say hello. Thus, whatever brand you may be – a hotel, a retail store, a website, a phone company, a law firm, or a restaurant — customer service is not only a key point in consumer loyalty, but a necessity. As I had mentioned in my previous post about Amazon, it was the “service” that made me “loyal.”

Thank you Island Creek Oyster Bar – you have a fan in me. And to all those out there who wonder how they can win over more consumers who will speak praises, just walk into this restaurant and learn.

Communication of Message

Posted on by

“How to communicate a brand message” for a product takes effort to be creative. 3 creative methods that I researched for the Sony brand (for a global branding study) include:

1. Creative Product Placement: Honda did a fabulous job at placing its CR-Z in a Facebook game in order to create brand awareness. It was also a very unique way for its audience to engage with the brand. In addition, HP placed its computers in Project Runway, which was a great way to show how easy the computers were to use and how cool they were for designers and others who love to geek out.

2. Consistent Spokesperson: Sony has had an issue with being consistent with its brand message. Using a consistent spokesperson could be helpful as Apple had done with Justin Long in its successful “Apple vs. PC” ads. Can you blame Apple for being named “Marketer of the Decade?” Although Sony used Justin Timberlake for its 3D TV ads, it was short-lived. It may behoove the brand to find a new “cool” spokesperson such as from a popular TV show like Glee. Just a thought.

3. User Generated Content: Nowadays UGC has become the norm and many brands are taking advantage. Sear, Chevy Tahoe and FreeCreditReports.com are just a few of the brands who have utilized UGC. For example FreeCreditReports.com had a summer long contest where bands would compete to become the new band for the ads. The winner would debut at the 2010 mtv awards. How cool is that? Sony could do something similar like having contestants produce songs and the winner could appear in a Sony Studios movie.Therefore, keeping the promotion of “innovation” consistent and utilizing the brand message “make.believe” where what you can imagine can come true.

In short – communicating a brand message requires effort, creativity, and consistency.

Starbucks to Offer Wine & Cheese

Posted on by

As I was taking a break from my work and perusing Twitter, I came across a tweet from Scott Bauman: “Starbucks to offer wine and cheese?? http://bit.ly/aKHiD6 Is this the precursor to jumping the shark?”

At first I thought “wow, that’d be a great idea”…as I imagined myself having a glass of cabernet sauvignon while working on a paper or composing a blog post or reading a case. Then Scott, pointed out, “If you really want what Starbucks is “creating,” why not patronize local restaurants, not mega chains?” That got me thinking a bit more.

Is this extension of Starbucks going to harm the brand? Will the loyal coffee consumers and patrons of the comfy couches be dismayed? I like the idea of having the choice of coffee or a glass of wine while doing some work or reading a good book. However, it might be more suitable for a mom n’ pop cafe to offer such in a small neighborhood than the large chain.

As a fellow Starbucks consumer, I am torn about which way they should go with this idea and am definitely interested to see how the Seattle idea turns out.

What do you think this would do for the Starbucks brand? Will this keep you more loyal or turn you towards a different coffee shop?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Customer service can make or break a brand

Posted on by

Customer service is key to a brand having loyalty by a consumer — at least for me, that’s the case. For example, recently an item I purchased via Amazon was not delivered. My online status said “delivered” but said package was not on my doorstep. I immediately thought “crap! Someone took it!” — “now what?” Well I phoned Amazon and asked if they knew what happened, and they realized it was accidentally delivered to the wrong address. I was dismayed because I was really hoping to have the item that day. What did Amazon do? They promised to have the item delivered by end of business the next day. I was relieved and the matter was squared away within less than 5 minutes. Unbelievable — I got a person on the phone, she was polite, she answered my questions, and fixed the problem! Is it sad, that I was surprised this actually happened? Sad, indeed. An even bigger surprise was that my package came within 12 hours – I had it the next morning! All I can say is, Amazon – you rock! I am a loyal consumer, and will not falter (unless you fail me – but please don’t!)

Customer Service – the bedrock of customer brand loyalty.