Displaying posts categorized as "Social Media"

Social Media

3 Twitter Rumors and What They Could Mean for Brands

David Clarke is CEO and co-founder of BGT Partners, a 2010, 2011 and 2012 Ad Age Top 15 Best Places to Work in the U.S. honoree. BGT creates interactive marketing and technology solutions for global corporations that strengthen brands, develop more engaging relationships and transform businesses.

With increased competition for ad dollars, Twitter is making a big push this year to become more attractive to advertisers. It has invested in a redesign, as well as brand pages, but that may not be all the social network plans to unveil.

According to a recent Ad Age report, the company is looking to add new experiences to its platform, in the hopes that the move will entice brands to spend more ad dollars.

Although Twitter hasn’t officially confirmed these rumors, it’s worth taking them seriously. See below for the three possible changes, and what each could mean for brands.

1. Open Platform

Facebook and Apple transformed their businesses by opening their platforms to third-party developers. The move allowed independent developers to create new ways for consumers to engage with brands. As a result, we now have multi-million dollar businesses built around these apps.

 

If the rumors are right, Twitter is heading in the same direction by opening its platform to developers.

An open Twitter platform would allow brands to create deeper interactions with consumers through custom experiences. This would not only be an opportunity for developers, but also for brands — especially those with strong Twitter presences. For example, if you’re using Twitter as a customer service channel, then a customer service app could potentially streamline the way you handle customer support.

That said, apps on Twitter will face inherent challenges. The Twitter stream is the main attraction, and most people don’t visit brand pages directly. Plus, popular Twitter browsers such as TweetDeck and HootSuite are built around the Twitter stream, which deals another blow to the power of brand pages. Perhaps custom apps can find a way to drive more traffic to brand pages, but it seems doubtful.

2. T-Commerce

Social commerce was hailed as the next big thing in ecommerce. Several brands developed ecommerce integration on the Facebook platform, hoping people would want to purchase while on Facebook, but it never really took off. Gap, JC Penny, and Nordstrom closed down their Facebook shops because customers preferred to shop on the main websites. This probably had more to do with the poor Facebook ecommerce user experience than with Facebook itself. Most of these early f-commerce attempts were simply developed without an understanding of how Facebook could add value to the shopping experience.

 

Now, Twitter is rumored to try its luck with social ecommerce for brand pages. Will it be successful?

Fundamentally Twitter has to succeed where Facebook failed. Twitter ecommerce, or t-commerce, has to create a significant added value to make it more compelling than shopping from a traditional web store.

“It’s likely that Twitter’s ecommerce solution will include a deep integration with Square, the mobile payment company Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey established in 2009. It’s possible that t-commerce will be a mobile-only service that uses location-based technology and one-click payments with your Twitter name. That would add significant value to Twitter’s mobile user base, especially when you consider that 50% of Twitter’s users are accessing Twitter on mobile devices.

3. Contests and Sweepstakes

Lastly, Twitter is rumored to introduce contests and sweepstakes for brand pages to create deeper brand engagement. That said, brands have been pushing contests and sweepstakes on Twitter for some time, and given the viral capabilities available with retweeting and hashtags, it will continue to happen.

 

Will an official change by Twitter be groundbreaking? Probably not, but it’s likely that these changes will allow brands to more efficiently manage and execute campaigns on this social network.

From Mashable.com 

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Category: Apps, brands, Facebook, Online, Social Media, Twitter
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PinView: New App Turns Facebook Into Pinterest [basically]

 

 

 

This visually enhanced format of the Facebook profile plays up images in the newsfeed, timeline and friends page, displaying users’ latest updates in a grid-like format. The beta application gives users the option to browse Facebook as they would browse [a] Pinterest board.

You can sort through the latest news and updates by viewing everything or filtering results to include only photos or video.

“Why”, you ask? To make Facebook’s never ending timeline stream easier to view!  As someone who is not afraid of Facebook’s constant formatting changes or of Social Media evolution in general, I think PinView is a fun and refreshing way to view your FB world. For those of you who have ever signed a petition begging to get the old Facebook back I suggest you stay away from PinView if you’re not looking to completely melt down today. FYI though, the changes aren’t going to stop so you should probably just sit back, relax and get into it :)

 

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Category: Apps, Content, Design, Facebook, Social Media
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Morgan Cameron Ross & Branko from Dinosaur Bones spread the TOMS Movement

Morgan Cameron Ross and Branko from Dinosaur bones both pledged and went One Day Without Shoes with us on April 10th.

A big thank you to Brad Conrad [our videographer] for the event for putting together such a great piece.

 

Spread the TOMS movement and see how you can get involved with One Day Without Shoes 2013 !

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Category: brands, Event, Social Media, Video
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With Help From Facebook Timeline, Viddy [Instagram for Video] Becomes Top Free iPhone App

With the skyrocketing popularity and billion-dollar sale of Instagram, there’s an ongoing race to apply Instagram’s wildly successful photo sharing model to mobile video. There are a number of startups vying to claim the “Instagram for Video” title, with Socialcam, Viddy, Klip, Mobli, and even the infamous Color all in the running. Yet, today brings evidence that Viddy may now be the one to beat, as the social video sharing app became the top free iPhone app on the App Store — with much of that growth emanating from its new Facebook Timeline app.

Viddy, which celebrated its first birthday on April 11th, enables users to shoot, customize, and share 15-second video clips directly from their mobile devices. Its video creation platform allows users to choose from custom video overlays and audio effects from their favorite musicians, movies, and celebrities, and share their short video clips across across social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTubes.

The startup closed a $6 million Series A round back in February from investors like Battery Ventures, Greycroft Ventures, Qualcomm, and Bessemer Ventures, bringing its total funding to $8.2 million. Viddy saw over 40 million app views in January, thanks to the effort the startup has put into recruiting celebrities and influencers custom premium Video FX layers, giving artists, movie studios, etc. a way to promote their brand through mobile video.

Today, Viddy’s community is 8 million-strong, according to Viddy Co-Founder and CEO Brett OBrien, but the app has seen an even more significant bump in growth since launching its Facebook Timeline app in February. For some quick background, back in January, Facebook announced a new product called Actions, which saw it partnering with over 60 startups to give them the ability to add their “stories” through apps created specifically for Facebook Timeline. Actions basically create a new way for your favorite apps to present their structured data, with Facebook turning their content streams into visually engaging experiences.

The new Timeline features have been a boon for video apps, as Colleen reported earlier this month, and Viddy is no exception. Since launching its Timeline app in February, Viddy has seen over 15 million interactions with its content on Facebook, with over 1.7 million users signing on. Viddy also says that it’s averaging 300K new registered users per day, an average that has seen a significant bump since February.

The race for the “Instagram for Video” crown is on, and Viddy is looking to take the lead.

For more, check out Viddy on the App Store here. More on Facebook Timeline video apps here.

 

From: Techcrunch.com

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Category: Apps, Facebook, Online, Social Media, technology
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A Creative Social Media Marketing Mini Case Study: Sharpie

Looking for some inspired and innovative social media marketing ideas from the guys/gals who are getting it right? Check out this feature on Sharpie’s social media successes.

Giving credit where credit is due!

Sharpie

Sharpie is the permanent marker company. Through social media and other marketing efforts, this company has taken an ordinary commodity and turned it into a common noun.

Sharpie excels on Twitter, but they also make good use of their blog and Instagram and have even formed their own community. Here are some things to learn:

Mix up your background images. Notice how Sharpie incorporates various images. Over the last four weeks, they have had at least the following three images on display.

Spotlight your customers. Smart businesses know that satisfied, loyal customers drive their business. One way to increase loyalty and retention is to focus attention on your customers’ creativity. Sharpie does this through sharing samples of customers’ artwork.

Feature case studies. Sharpie makes a subtle double-play on their blog. First, they tell stories about their customers (and what customer won’t go tell their friends to see them featured online?). Second, they use blog posts to inspire creativity from their fans. It’s as if they’re saying, “Who can top this Sharpie Snow Leopard?”

Start your own online community. This strategy won’t make sense until you reach a certain size, but at some point you may decide to take your audience from the public social networks and create your own unique community. Social Media Examiner recently did this with Networking Clubs. Sharpie invites their community to engage through art challenges where users vote for the best submissions.

 

At socialmediaexaminer.com you will find 6 more mini case studies just like the one featured here. Credit to Phil Mershon for the insights and for inspiring me to share them with you.

 

Let me know what you think by Tweeting @RTAJennifer.

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Category: Advertising, brands, Content, Design, Facebook, marketing, Online, Promotions, Social Media, Twitter
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3 Tips for Effective Social Media Contests

Justin Palmer of Palmer Web Marketing has run dozens of social media contests for his clients, and gaining “likes” and “followers” is something he does with relative ease. So, for any company that wants to run a social media contest to gain new business, Justin has the following advice: Don’t.

According to Palmer, contests and giveaways are effective at bolstering social stats, like the number of followers. The problem is that these followers turn out to be less likely to engage with the page again. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Social contests can be highly effective, if they are done correctly, and under the right circumstances. Here are three tips on how to ensure that.

1. Have a Goal

As is the case with nearly any marketing effort, social media contests must have a clearly defined goal in order to generate any value at all. Most marketers think they know their goal, and it usually follows the formula of, “I want to raise my followers on social by X amount.” Unfortunately, this approach is fundamentally wrong, and few companies seem to know it.

While it is nice to have a large number of followers on various social channels, it should almost never be the end goal of a contest. Companies need to delve a layer deeper. As Justin said, followers gained from contests alone are unlikely to have much interest in the business beyond the prize.

So, what do you ultimately want out of your contests? In most cases the answer is money. That’s why you need to measure your actual ROI in terms of new leads or conversions from the contest. Other goals could include, conducting research, or revealing a new consumer base. The point is to determine what you ultimately want to achieve through your social efforts and measure the direct impact of the contest.

Bullet Point Branding CEO, Bryan Fulton, had a lot of followers on social media, but needed to find out more about his niche customers. In particular, he wanted information on potential leads in the cosmetic field. He offered a free lipstick pen to the 500th follower of a contest. Based on the specific nature of the prize, he was able to determine which clients were interested in the product. He had a clear goal and was ultimately able to meet it.

2. Develop a Target

Having a defined target is just as important as your goal. Many social contests cast a wide net hoping to draw in as many people as possible. This is counterproductive because it forces the business to cater to an audience that either only cares about the prize or doesn’t really care at all. It is more effective to align a target audience to a specific goal and market the contest to them.

For Volusion — an ecommerce platform — most successful contests were the result of the specific nature of Volusion’s targeting efforts. In this case, the audience was “mompreneurs.” Volusion knew that this was a growing ecommerce audience, and that many of these women would appreciate sharing their stories. Part of the contest involved having the women describe themselves and the reason they started their business. Many moms participated in the project just to tell their stories, and one participant even described her entry as “therapeutic.” Because of Volusion’s successful targeting strategy, they tapped into a rapidly growing market, and gained many faithful clients.

 

3. Pick the Right Prize

Most contests feature a prize that can best be described as shiny. Think the latest tablet, vacations, or just good old-fashioned money. Marketers assume that a lot of people will be drawn to this, and they are correct. The issue is those people just want a shiny prize. In general, there are three types of prizes that companies offer in contests: third-party prizes, a product from the business running the contest, or intangibles.

 

Of the three categories, third-party prizes are the most common, and the most misused. Stephanie Cicarelli, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Voices.com, ran a contest in January 2011 that featured an iPad as the main prize. Normally this would be dangerous. However, the goal of the contest was to get photographs of singers in their studios or recording environment submitted to Voices.com. The mass appeal of the iPad was reason enough for many contestants to submit photos where they otherwise might have preferred privacy. In this case the appeal of the third-party prize was leveraged for a direct, tangible win.

Prizes that come from the business itself can be just as desirable as a third-party product, with the added benefit of less up-front expense and the creation of brand advocates. Also, since the prize comes from the business running the contest, some targeting is already built-in. Powderhorn Mountain Resort featured a contest that asked visitors to upload photos of themselves enjoying the resort for a chance to win a free season pass. This was effective because their target audience already loved the business, and it encouraged winners to return again.

The final prize category, the intangible prize, requires some creativity to use effectively yet can produce a massive ROI. SpeakSocial, a marketing firm that focuses on the innovative use of social media, ran a contest to drum up support for a new sushi restaurant, Roll-On Sushi Diner. The contest allowed participants to submit ideas for the name of a roll that would be served at the restaurant. The winner would have both the name of their roll and their real name featured on the restaurant menu. The prize cost absolutely nothing, yet opening day was an enormous success.

 

From Mashable & Curtis Finch. 

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Category: Advertising, Content, Online, Promotions, Social Media, technology
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6 Ways Social Media Can Bring Your Next Event to Life

1. Create an Online Hub For Social Content

Make sure there’s a single destination where attendees and interested parties can go to get all the information they need about the social media components for your event. Mobile World Congress provides a great model by including the preferred event hashtag, relevant Twitter handles, Facebook pages, YouTube channels, and Google+ profiles on a single page.

 

Also, be sure to think about how to drive people to this page. One way is to make it part of the online registration process. Remember, early promotion is key.

2. Hash Out the Hashtag Strategy

Every event should have an overall hashtag that follows the basics of good Twitter etiquette, including being unique, descriptive, and short (ten characters or less). Events with multiple breakout discussions should consider creating individual hashtags for those sessions. Most speakers and panel moderators love having unique hashtags for their talks, as it provides a real-time feedback loop. It also allows those unable to attend a particular session to follow along and get involved virtually.

 

But creating the hashtags is only half the battle. In most cases, the audience needs to be constantly reminded that these hashtags exist in order to ensure they’re using them consistently and appropriately.

Provide reminders both online and offline. Announce the hashtag at the beginning of each session, including keynotes, and consider having them prominently displayed throughout the session. At South by Southwest, breakout session hashtags were included on both the online and printed schedules that were available to all attendees.

3. Prominently Display the Discussion

The most successful social media campaigns merge what’s happening online with what’s happening offline. Setting up Twitter walls throughout the event space is an effective way to entice attendees to get involved in the online discussions stemming from the event.

If you’re running a smaller gathering, consider creating a virtual welcome wall near the registration area so that you can say hello to attendees on Twitter as they check-in. When attendees see their username displayed on the screen, next to your hashtag, they’ll be encouraged to get involved.

There are a number of vendors that provide Twitter wall functionality, including Socialping, Visible Tweets and TweetWally. Each offer varied levels of customizability and analytics. Just be sure to think through filtering options and map out a plan for the worst-case scenario, like a hashtag hijack.

4. Curate and Share the Best Content

The most successful events generate thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of pieces of digital content. Luckily, there are tools like Storify that make curating the best content—Twitter updates, photos, blog posts, video—dead simple. Last year’s inaugural Napa Valley Film Festival provides a good example.

Just make sure to dedicate someone who knows how to craft a compelling story to be your event social media curator, and make sure the curated content is distributed via other social channels and made available on your hub page.

5. Surprise Attendees by Going Retro

With so much focus on online content and digital conversations, going back in time can really stand out. Consider taking the best social media content and turning it into a newspaper that can be handed out to attendees. Yes, a newspaper. It’s similar to what Mashable did at this year’s SXSWi with the The Mashable Times—and is guaranteed to get social media users talking and tweeting about it.

6. Consider a Good Comic

Live drawing continues to be a trend at major industry events. Samsung hired caricature artists to show off its new smartphone at CES. And SXSWi featured multiple live drawing activities, including a collaboration between UNIFIED, StumbleUpon and @visualhero to create and share visual recaps of the event’s biggest talks.

Let’s face it, some people are more visual learners and this type of activity could be useful for events with complex material. Similar to session-specific hashtags, recapping a specific talk with illustrations provides a reference point for those unable to attend. If done properly, it can be part of the arsenal of content to be shared from the event.

From Mashable.com.

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Category: Advertising, brands, Content, Event, Facebook, lifestyle, marketing, Promotions, Social Media, Twitter
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Facebook Acquires Instagram & Androids Get to Play

By far the largest acquisition in the 8-year history of Palo Alto-based Facebook, the purchase comes just weeks in advance of when the world’s largest social network is expected to launch a US$5-billion IPO.
 

“Ahead of its blockbuster initial public offering, Facebook Inc. bolstered its photo-sharing features Monday by acquiring photo-sharing mobile app Instagram in a US$1-billion cash and stock deal.

By far the largest acquisition in the 8-year history of Palo Alto-based Facebook, the purchase comes just weeks in advance of when the world’s largest social network is expected to launch a US$5-billion IPO, which would be among the largest public stock offerings in the history of the United States. Instagram had previously raised about US$47-million in venture capital funding, suggesting a massive windfall for the startup’s early investors.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal-owned tech news site AllThingsDigital reported Instagram raised another US$50-million in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital and valuing the San Francisco-based company at about US$500-million.

News of the acquisition sent shares of Shutterfly Inc., which offers a rival technology to Instagram, tumbling more than 8.5% to US$27 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange shortly after 1:30 p.m. ET. Redwood City, Calif.-based Shutterfly went public in 2006 and currently boasts a market value of approximately US$1-billion.

The move to integrate one of the most popular photo-sharing applications hearkens back to 2007 when erstwhile social networking leader MySpace paid US$300-million for Photobucket‘s technology. MySpace has suffered a precipitous decline since News Corp. paid US$580-million for the company in 2005, eventually being sold off for a mere US$35-million last year”.

From Financial Post. 

Apparently, some iPhone users aren’t happy that Android owners are finally getting Instagram. CNET’s Emily Dreyfuss examines the insidious tone of the ensuing tweet war.

“Since Instagram became available for Android users yesterday, a lobby of “but that was OUR app!” tweets are starkly highlighting the rift between iPhoners and Androiders.

Vocal iOS fans are unhappy that Instagram is no longer exclusive to them. Suddenly, their club is letting Android users in! How could it be?

The allure of exclusivity is understandable. As a Droid Incredible owner who sat on the sidelines as the Instagram app became increasingly popular, I felt a pang of jealousy and longing whenever I looked at my iPhone-owning friends’ beautifully saturated pictures. I can only imagine that they felt a similar little pang of satisfaction knowing their pictures were “special” in that they weren’t replicable by everyone”…

 

For the full article head to CNET.com.

As an Android user myself – I am pretty pumped to finally have the opportunity to ‘vintage-ify’ my pics. And if it comes at the cost of a bit of elitist upset – right on. Can’t we all just be buds though?

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Category: Facebook, Online, Social Media, technology, Twitter
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Jack White Releases New Song Via Balloons

A pioneer and all that jazz… Jack White releases his third single off of Blunderbuss via helium balloons. As an experiment “exploring non-traditional forms of record distribution” the found balloons instruct the finders to submit photos of themselves with locations and dates all of which are pinned on a map at Thirdmanrecords.com.

 

From Pitchfork.

“And you thought that 3RPM compilation was going to be hard to hear: On April 1, Third Man Records released 1000 helium balloons into the air with a flexi-disc of “Freedom at 21″ fromJack White‘s forthcoming solo LP Blunderbuss attached to each one.

For skeptics observing the release date and expecting another Insane Clown Posse collaboration, rest assured that Third Man are perfectly serious about their intentions,writing on their site:

Envisioned as an experiment exploring non-traditional forms of record distribution and a way to get records in the hands of people who don’t visit record shops, the label was sure to use biodegradable latex balloons and all-natural twine in the process.

Accompanying the balloons were custom postcards with instructions for the finders to submit photos, discovery location and the date on which the record was found, all of which will be incorporated into a website where fans can access the information at www.thirdmanrecords.com/balloon

Statistics for similar balloon launches show a recovery rate of approximately 10% so it’s quite possible that less than 100 of the 1000 records launched will ever be discovered. Whatever the numbers, the “Freedom at 21″ flexi-disc will surely be a highly sought-after collectible for years to come.

Also, not surprisingly, Third Man have some unique releases planned for Record Store Day on April 21. There’ll be a 12-inch release of Jack White’s “Sixteen Saltines” that claims to be the “world’s first playable etched record,” featuring a rendering of the label’s logo on its B-side (which also contains White’s cover of U2′s “Love Is Blindness”). An even more limited version of the single will be released on clear vinyl filled with a “psychedelic blue liquid” — another Third Man innovation.

Third Man’s other Record Store Day releases include Karen Elson‘s new single, a cover of Jackson C Frank’s “Milk and Honey” pressed onto appropriate “milk and honey” colored vinyl and a physical release of Jerry Lee Lewis‘ instore performance from Record Store Day 2011. They’re also reprinting the White Stripes‘ “Hand Springs” and “Red Death At 6:14″ on red vinyl; both tracks have been out of print on vinyl for a decade.

Third Man Records permitted one of their operatives five minutes away from the drawing board to explain more about Jack White’s airborn release; check it out below”.

 

So rad. What a guy!

 

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Category: Advertising, Event, marketing, Music, Online, Promotions, Social Media, sustainable
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One Day Without Shoes Event – Toronto/Vancouver

This Tuesday, April 10th we’re going One Day Without Shoes So Kids Don’t have to.

 

One Day Without Shoes is national event held in multiples cities across the globe, and for the first time in Toronto & Vancouver.

The day is focused on creating awareness by having people like you & me give our pledge by going ‘One Day Without Shoes’.

Our goal is to raise awareness to the fact that millions of children can not only afford shoes, but are forced to walk barefoot everyday while being at serious risk of transmitting numerous diseases on their feet. This is not a problem that we can necessarily relate to, but it is a real problem, to real children that we can help eliminate.

We’re helping this cause by organizing an event both in Toronto and Vancouver on April 10th (the official date for One Day Without Shoes), which will be held outside in high traffic locations (Dundas Sq in Toronto, and TD Plaza in Vancouver).

The event will feature an array of activities such as a video tent showing the One Day Without Shoes documentary, a craft / pen pal area where kids / parents can write messages to be inserted into shoes going to 3rd world countries, free food, free tote bag printing, as well as a music tent where we’re looking to engage people in a unique and personal way.

Event Details:

Toronto:
7:30 am – Meet at parking lot at Queen and Soho (Across from the black bull) – For a barefoot walk around town
3:00 pm – Event starts at Young and Dundas Square
8:00 pm – Event Ends

Vancouver:
7:30 am – Meet at Robson and Howe at the Art Gallery Steps for a barefoot walk around town
3:00 pm – Event starts at TD Plaza – Granville Ave and Georgia Street
8:00 pm – Event Ends

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Here’s how you can Connect With Us:

Hashtag:
#withoutshoes

We will be LIVE all day on Twitter so Tweet your #withoutshoes pictures, statuses and event experiences to:

@RTAJennifer
@RTASarah
@TOMS

RSVP for our Toronto Event on Facebook.

RSVP for our Vancouver Event on Facebook.
http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/

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Category: Event, Facebook, Fashion, lifestyle, Online, Social Media, sustainable, Twitter
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