What with all of this Google, Apple and Twitter news this week it seems like it has been an eternity since we’ve heard a peep out of the bombastic yet reliable Facebook publicity machine. Well, fear not. I was able to dig up the latest in Facebook dirt in the suddenly neglected (yeah right!) social media superstar’s life.
For starters, this spiffy, little study showed that Facebook as well as Twitter both experienced a big bump last year in use on more…
The good folks over at the Pew Center’s Internet and American life project along with the Project for Excellence in Journalism conducted a survey to find out where and how Americans get their news. The results that were released yesterday and splashed all over any website that would sit still (bravo, Pew, bravo!) won’t cause any of us online junkies to fall out of our chair. As expected, TV is where most Americans still get their news with the Internet running a close second and more…
The Patient: MTV, the little cable network that changed television and music forever.
The Ailment: MTV suffers from Brand-nesia, a condition in which a well loved brand forgets what and who made them famous to begin with. MTV also suffers from a social media overdose, chronic pointless video abuse, and multiple marketing personalities.
Prognosis: Not so hot. Jersey Shore notwithstanding, MTV’s buzz making machine has nearly run out of steam. If a newer, fresher look and hipper demographic isn’t targeted soon, the network will continue to be a joke.
Recommended Treatment: Once upon a time, MTV set the bar for coolness and told us which artists to love and what music to buy. Even shows like Beavis and Butthead told us when to laugh. Today, however, more…
The already crowded lives of social media mavens might have just become a little more complicated. In addition to regularly updating our Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Myspace pages and waiting for the official launch of Google’s Buzz, Microsoft just announced Outlook Social Connector. The beta site is an add-on that yanks information from social networking sites. Microsoft Office users as well as beta users of Office can download the software to connect with more…
The Patient: Merriam–Webster, America’s go-to guy for dictionaries and thesauruses since 1828.
The Ailment: Merriam Webster suffers from a jumbled online presence and a scattered social media strategy that undercuts their fantastic line of products.
Prognosis: Hopeful. With a strict streamlining of the website, an aggressive public relations plan, and clear vision for social media, Merriam-Webster should remain the country’s premiere reference guru for another century or two.
Recommended Treatment: The worn out red Webster’s dictionary has long lived on the shelves of students. Everybody knows the brand and it’s omnipresence is so ingrained that it would be safe to assume that the brand is fine and not going anywhere anytime soon, right? Wrong. If the recent shake ups at long standing publishers like Rand McNally has taught more…
The upkeep of social media marketing can be a tricky thing. A recent article in Ad Week pondered the future of Twitter. With the loss of about a million users last year and the average account updating numbers in a slump, media watchers are quick to bury Twitter in a plot next to Friendster and move on. Digging a little deeper in the article, however, reveals the real truths about all social media, not just Twitter. Those sad numbers are not the entire story as they include only visitors to the traditional website and not mobile users which make up the majority of the Twitterverse. The general consensus of large and small business alike when it comes to social media marketing is that full-time care is needed otherwise the venue becomes useless. Twitter, like blogs or email marketing or mobile marketing, requires constant care and upkeep. Businesses who stay in contact with their more…
A recent article in the New York Times noted that Americans spent 14.7 billion dollars on Valentine’s Day purchases, down from the 17 billion spent in 2008. Retailers expect this year’s sales to dip even lower. The solution? Create affordable Valentine’s Day options for every budget and use social media marketing to get in on the act.
Below are three companies that are showing their customers love by using social media marketing.
New England Confectionery Company, creator of those chalky yet oddly tasty conversational Sweetheart candies has a special Twitter and iPhone app that allows candy lovers to create virtual candies with custom messages that they can share with the rest of the Twitterverse or keep private. The free app gives Sweethearts a modern makeover while allowing the brand to remain a holiday classic.
Hoping to speak to the bitter single girl crowd; LAB records has launched a Facebook group entitled, Say No To Valentines 2010: Help Portia Conn Hit Top Ten! The concept is simple: take one edgy girl with guitar, add jaded rocky lyrics, and serve to angst ridden teens everywhere. LAB invites Valentines loathers and Portia fans alike to join the group and stream her new single on their Facebook pages. The small label is wisely utilizing social media and holiday promotion to speak to their core audience.
Department store giant Macy*s is also hopping on the Twitter wagon with their “sweetest tweets” campaign. The retailer is in search of gushy tweeted love notes posted on Twitter from Feb. 1 through Feb. 13 to be entered in a promotional contest that features diamond jewelry giveaways. Valentine’s themed tweets are Macy’s modern replacement for traditional fill-out and win postcards and something anyone can do while pretending to work.
During the yesteryears of the dot com craze, companies scrambled to get branded websites up more from herd mentality than from fully understanding why they needed one. For most companies at the time, websites were mostly used as a platform to broadcast their marketing communications to potential customers and brand evangelists. Today, there has been a tectonic shift away from broadcasting out to the consumer to inviting them in and allowing for them to play an significant role in branding and marketing efforts. We’re seeing a shift from the one-way communication model where brands blare out messaging to consumers (think old disruption-based media like television, outdoor, print etc.) to the two-way conversation model (think opt-in social networking, user generated content, blogging, etc.) where advertising and communication are taking place in real time.
One such company that has embraced this model and has transformed the way they communicate is Chik-Fil-A. For those of you who don’t know, Chic-Fil-A is famous for their “Eat more Chikin” campaign delivered by cows who started a quest to convince humans to choose chicken over beef. The humorous campaign started in 1995 and slowly has successfully integrated the two-way stance on communications. While the company has not abandoned traditional media, they have beefed up (sorry about the pun) their online media with a bevy of new outlets that enable their customers to take part in their marketing and communications. And they’re at it again. Along with a healthy Facebook and Twitter presence, Chic-Fil-A recently launched a microsite (EatMoreChikin.com) which, according to clickz,
“…is the latest attempt by the restaurant chain to turn its cows — well-known from TV commercials — into viral marketing thoroughbreds. Its launch follows the company’s successful build-up of one of the biggest Facebook presences in the restaurant niche.
Are you already a fan of the cows? Then you’re in for a treat this holiday season because according to a recent PRNewswire release, Chic-Fil-A is offering the coveted 2010 edition of their annual cow-themed calendar featuring spoofs on famous works of literature to discourage burger-eating throughout the country. Titles include: Ali Barbacue, Porter Pan, Jack the Flipper and The Three Brisketeers among others. You can pick yours up for six bucks at participating restaurants or you can order online. It’s a nice offering that makes for a great stocking stuffer. Hey, chalk one up for old media.
This recession is killing me. When I was recently hunting down a new iPhone case, I came across the very affordable iPhone Recession Case. At under a couple of bucks, you get all the fixin’s….it’s just the fixin’s are made out of cardboard. Case-mate, the geniuses behind the Recession Case, are taking the marketing of their product one step further by announcing the Recession Case Photo Contest. Anyone can enter and the winner will get an authentic 1980’s moped that they can tool around town on and sport that cardboard case in style. It’s easy, just customize your case and get your friends to vote on Twitter and Facebook and you’re on your way. Here’s the call to action on site,
You’ve heard of the recession case and you have bought ‘em! now is the chance to show the world your drawing skills and arts & craft skills on the recession case! submit a pic of them to the gallery and share with your peeps on facebook and twitter, the pic with the most votes wins a sweet Suzuki moped from the ’80s! so upload, vote and spread the word!
You’ve looked between the couch cushions and still can’t come up with the funds to purchase a case? Not to worry, because the recession-friendly Case-Mate people are giving away their trade secret template design you can download so you can make your own case at home-–just supply the materials yourself. Check out the gallery for some inspiration.
According to a recent press release, Wisk laundry detergent has just come out with a new app called Wisk-it that allows you to clean up those embarrassing photos on Facebook with the click of a button. Wisk is a real detergent company that’s been around since 1956 and are famous for the “ring around the collar” TV campaign that was a big hit in the 1970’s. I recently did a video post about how an automobile company manufactured a detergent to help sell a sporty new line of car. But here, we have a detergent company manufacturing an app that helps you clean facebook of those pics you wish would just go away. I think it’s a brilliant way to reinforce brand values of a company that’s all about cleaning. Here’s how it works.
• Once installed, the user is offered a removal request to send to the photo’s owner, such as: “Are you serious? Please wash this one away!” “Where did you find that photo???” and “This photo has got to go!”
• Want to get more personal? Users are also provided with the option to personalize the removal request allowing them the forum to plead their case on why this photo should never have seen the light of day.
• Once the owner receives the removal message, he or she is prompted to install the WISK-IT application and “wash away” the compromising photo. Users are also offered the opportunity to search their friends’ photo albums that may include problematic snapshots.
• All Facebook users can invite their friends to “clean up” their own Facebook image with WISK-IT.
Want to try it out? Install it here at wisk-it.com or if you’re not in the mood to clean, sit back and relax by clicking on the video below.
