Posts tagged Social Networking

Social Media Showdown: Facebook Versus Twitter

Nearly a month ago, I posted on a recent (yet late) discovery— I had begun to realize the true power of the hashtag (#) on Twitter .

The power of the hashtag (#) was brought to light for me as I began to pay closer attention to television marketing efforts surrounding the iconic symbol.

The same has happened for me with Facebook – however, I like to think I am much more grounded in the practices of Facebook, as my foundation is stronger and longer on this medium than with Twitter.

Whereas TLC uses Twitter, the U.S. cable TV channel owned by NBCUniversal, BravoTV  uses Facebook links to encourage viewer participation through social media.

Nevertheless, the recent observations of differences in uses and users between the two social media platforms has caused me to take a deeper look into reasons why users might use one over the other.

Creating large followings on Facebook and Twitter have the potential to launch a brand to online popularity. And while both social networks are enormous in size and in opportunity, they are very different and must be approached in different ways.

From initial research and basic use, the differences are outlined relatively plainly—

  1. Twitter is Instantaneous and Related. Communication and flow of conversation seems to be more streamlined, and designed to foster a more fluid conversation. “Hashtag chats” create an in-site instant messenger that is utilized to discuss a particular brand or topic area that can be used by marketers to measure brand conversation.
  2. Facebook Brands. A larger percentage 45% (Facebook) versus 20% (Twitter) indicates that they follow a particular brand or brands on the site.
  3. Twitter Purchases. A larger percentage 67% (Twitter) versus 51% (Facebook) of users indicate that they will purchase the brands they follow on the site.
  4. Facebook Friendly. A total of 41% of Facebook users say that they log-in to their account daily, whereas only 27% of Twitter users say the same.
  5. Twitter is Active. Contrary to #4, 52% of Twitter users update their statuses every day. Facebook only has 12% of users to indicate the same.
  6. Facebook Builds Relationships. Facebook provides more room include your friends in your life—both personally and professionally—without even posting a status. Photo albums, lengthy bios and sections for special interests allow Facebook users to provide a more in-depth look into one’s “personal” space.
  7. Twitter Means Business. Brands flourish on Twitter. With the ability to fine-tune incoming messages, Twitter is a more brand-friendly space. The 140 character maximum limits posts to maintain less overwhelming and cluttered platform.

As a marketer, a brand leader, an independent brand—what do you see as the advantages/disadvantages of Facebook and Twitter?

In all, typically, the best mix is to utilize both platforms for maximum exposure and communication with audiences. What strategies do YOU use to maintain effective coverage on both sites?

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Hashtag Oops! Blunders in #PersonalBranding : #AshtonKutcher

The more I take a look at the world around us, the more I realize the importance of positive personal branding and the potential effects of negative branding on one’s personal brand.

Last week, I was taken back to the former Maple Creative blog – Marketing Genius – and a post entitled: Don’t Let Social Networking Damage Your Personal Brand

We all own personal brands no matter our status. We are all responsible for maintaining a brand standard that is representative of how we desire to be perceived. As people, the quality of our brands is influenced by our actions, our speech, our beliefs and values and such.

The interest in personal branding came in March of this year, following the Tiger Woods’ scandal. I was intrigued by the effects of one’s behavior on one’s personal brand—specifically from a more public, “celebrity” point-of-view.

Learning lessons about personal branding from celebrities can often be an unusually beneficial experience—not always for them—but for the rest of us. The personal brands of celebrities are regularly under a spotlight, with the media and the public dissecting every move.

Since the creation of the Twitterverse, celebrities have used the social media platform to connect with fans in a way that has never before been available. Wednesday, Ashton Kutcher, the seeming “King of the Twitterverse” had his fall from glory—with all 8.2 million followers reading closely.

On the brink of the Penn State firing Joe PaternoAshton Kutcher tweeted, “How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste.”

After being barraged by criticism, Kutcher deleted the original tweet, tweeted an apology admitting ignorance of the story behind Paterno’s departure (he called himself an “idiot”) and then Thursday, posted a letter to his blog saying that he was turning over management of his feed to his team at Katalyst Media.

No doubt scores of other Twitter-happy celebrities — have taken away from one of the biggest Hollywood Twitter fails ever, the Two and a Half Men star’s Wednesday night tweet railing against the decision to fire Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, forced out amid the child sexual assault scandal involving a former assistant that has engulfed the university. Barker, 2011

Two Important Things I Have Learned About the Hashtag Oops from @aplusk :

  1. Do Your Research : Know what you’re talking about before you get on Twitter and share your [honest] opinion on the topic. There is nothing worse than jumping to conclusions or making irrational remarks based on ignorance of a subject.
  2. TOO Much of a Good Thing Isn’t Always a Good Thing : While initially, Twitter seemed like an ideal channel for celebs like Kutcher to share every detail about their personal lives with adoring fans – but when a blunder like this occurs, it causes one to reassess the necessity for sharing too much information.
  3. Don’t Beat a Dead Horse : Let it go. After you’ve went public several times about how sorry you are about what you posted for the world to read, we get it, you’re sorry. Irrational posts, videos and speaking engagements stemming from impromptu damage control that continues to drag on a subject can oftentimes make a person look even more desperate than they really are.  

What have you learned about the the Hashtag Oops from @aplusk?

What have YOU learned from other celebrity blunders in personal branding?

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Social Networking #PersonalBranding

Since embarking on my social media journey, I have been exposed to the degree that which social media truly connects us to the world on a daily basis.

Recently at Maple Creative, we have had an increase in the number of clients that require and/or would benefit from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as an integral layer in their organization’s marketing mix. After a lengthy meeting with SEO guru, Justin SeibertDirect Online Marketing – I began to realize all of the opportunities Maple Creative was missing by not effectively positioning the company in the digital universe. After all, we are an integrated marketing communications firm that is hired by our clients to perform the very marketing tactics and strategies that we, ourselves, are not implementing (which will lead me into a blog post eventually).

However, I could not help but begin to analyze my own personal branding efforts as a result of the SEO conversation. I wonder how many opportunities I have missed in reaching target audiences with personal branding messages. Oftentimes, we place so much emphasis on the company brand that we fail to effectively communicate about the personal brand.

As I began to research the topic of effective personal branding and the potential effects on one’s personal brand, I was taken back to the former Maple Creative blog – Marketing Genius – and a post entitled:

Don’t Let Social Networking Damage Your Personal Brand

By: Skip Lineberg

The following were actually posted by employees on social media sites from their workstations, during business hours:

“Staff meeting is over. Thanks for sucking the life out of me–again.” [Brandon]
Ummm, hello, Brandon. Are you really that unhappy? Are you aware that your message can be read as: Brandon is a reactive, whiny drama-king who lacks the gumption to leave a job that sucks?

“Just hanging out here on Facebook – waiting for them to give me something to work on.” [Allison]
Really, Allison? Did you leave your brain at home this morning? I’d suggest you will find it hidden underneath that sack of ambition, which you also forgot to bring to work today.

And this now-infamous example from NextWeb.com of a young woman who was fired by her Facebook-friend-boss:

OMG I HATE MY JOB!!! My boss is a total pervvy wanker always making me do $hit stuff just to pi$$ me off!! WANKER!!

Obviously, she forgot that she had Friend’d her boss. Do take a moment and click over to read the boss’ response, which is classic!

The stories of so-called professionals getting fired, suspended, or disciplined as a result of what they posted, Tweeted, updated, chatted, or shared on social media sites are becoming more frequent and more outrageous. An article last Fall on Mashable, citing stats from a Proofpoint study, indicate that roughly 1 out of every 8 companies (12%) have fired an employee for reasons related to social networking. The rate of occurrence has doubled in a year’s time.

This is only going to worsen as GPS/location-based apps (like Foursquare and Brightkite) that run on our iPhones and Blackberries tell the world (and our employer) where we are.
Remember: In many cases, your phones are paid for by your company so it’s not hard to imagine the following exchange in the all-too-near future–

Boss: Dave, you weren’t really attending your aunt’s funeral yesterday, now were you?

Dave: What do you mean?

Boss: Well, unless they had the funeral at Wrigley Field, it looks like you enjoyed a Cubs double-header.

Dave (now perspiring): No way. I swear.

Boss (tossing a screen print at his soon-to-be fired employee): Dave, it’s all right here on the GPS report that we get from your Blackberry. And you might want to think about turning off Foursquare when you’re playing hooky – from your next job.

Do you know your company’s social media policy? Are employees allowed to spend time on sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or YouTube while at work? Or are such practices forbidden?

We can complain about “Big Brother” policies by employers. We can cry about how it’s wrong for management to “spy” on us. But here’s what it all boils down to: when you are on company time, you are on the company dime. The employer makes the rules and, when you accept a job, you accept their rules. So don’t allow your social media activities to undermine your success. Be smart and be informed – or your next Tweet may be in search of a job!

A related video of a presentation by Skip Lineberg and Emily Bennington, co-authors of Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job. The video is titled 7 Things Your Boss Wants You To Know – it briefly discusses the importance of personal branding, along with a myriad of other important workplace lessons:

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Twitter Me This

Since my latest quest in life is to become a social media “expert”, I decided that I had better jump on the wagon and join Twitter – @carriebowe - follow me!

I had withheld the desire to do so for quite some time. I figured that Facebook, WordPress and LinkedIn were enough to take up my time – but the best way to become better at anything is to do it, and to do it often.

My goal is to immerse myself into the world of social media – so that I may understand it more fully – in hopes to become a strategic consultant and the “go to gal” for all things social media.

All tips, tricks and advice is welcome and much appreciated!

Here’s to a new journey in life – The Queen of All Social Media - here I come!

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Who Do You Trust? You Might Be Surprised…

My last post on privacy made me realize, that although I and others have concerns about the security of our information, at the same time we are so willing to trust the same media that we attempt to protect ourselves from.

We as consumers sign up for mailing lists, memberships, submit our credit card information over the Internet for purchases and give out our contact information for many different reasons…

…and while emerging media are certainly “emerging” in regard to consumer trust, overwhelmingly, more traditional media and methods still reign supreme –surprising to me, even with the younger “Internet” generation.

According to the results of a Nielsen Online survey, published by eMarketer, word-of-mouth still proves to be the most powerful and trusted method to reach 20-and-under Internet-using consumers, with ninety-two percent (92%) indicating “completely” or “somewhat”.

Not surprising is the impact that the Internet is playing in establishing trust for these young users—consumer opinions posted online (72%), brand Web sites (69%) and e-mails signed up for (67%).

What is surprising to me is the part that traditional media still plays for these younger consumers—newspaper article, ads in newspapers, brand sponsorships, ads in magazines, on TV and on the radio all had a significant response.

The platforms that really need to work on establishing credibility and earning consumer trust are the media we’ve been discussing throughout this course—emerging media. Online video ads, banner ads and mobile text advertising were among the lowest trusted forms of advertising tactics.

It could be that these methods are simply newer, so it will take more time to gain trust and establish a trustworthy reputation.

So the next time you entertain advertising, on whatever medium it rears its head, ask yourself…who do you trust? You might be surprised.

 ***

 The marketing moral of this story—regardless the force of the “new media” movement, do not completely abandon traditional media for advertising your product or brand, instead integrate newer, emerging methods with those proven traditional media to create a well-balanced mix for a comprehensive integrated marketing campaign.

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Having Words…Words with Friends

Technological capabilities and restrictions, along with evolving audience preferences and media capabilities has required marketers’ to find new ways to reach target audiences, has led them to explore the possibilities with mobile marketing and advertising.

“Mobile advertising remains one of the most exciting developments in the mobile market today and one which opens the door for marketers to target their customers and prospects more directly through an entirely new channel…” –Cristy Burgan, VP of Marketing Solutions, Acision

One form of mobile advertising is advergames –also known as mobile games, which are designed “to feature specific products in starring roles. The primary benefit of advergames is that they can create extremely immersive experiences for key demographic audiences.” WVU, 2010

- As discussed in a previous post on mobile marketing - Marketing on a mobile phone has become increasingly popular since the introduction of SMS (Short Message Service). And mobile marketing has certainly reached beyond kids and teens: “Given a choice of consumer electronic devices, boomer Internet users overwhelmingly chose PCs over mobile phones (51% and 21%, respectively), while the opposite was true for Gen Y and Gen X (47% and 38%), according to Accenture.” FuorDigital, 2008

More than a year after launch, there are 74,031 apps in the iPhone App store. Not exclusive to the Apple iPhone either, makers of competitor “smart phones” now offer a variety of cellular phone models that allow users to access cell phone applications.

Recently, I have become acquainted a cell phone application that has integrated mobile gaming, advertising and socialization through the Scrabble-inspired game, Words with Friends—that many call “the best word game application of today”.

The best part for marketers is that the FREE version allows third party advertisements to interrupt game play.

For users, compared to its competition, Words with Friends has some distinct differences and some lacking features; however, the speed of the application and the bounteous player group are enough to create a buzz and explode its popularity.

After registering (presumably for database marketing purposes), you are matched with a random opponent or you play a friend. Game play is essentially identical to Scrabble—creating words and scoring points.

Push notifications, offered by the mobile nature of the game, contribute to the active nature of the applications’ users—it creates a fast-pace that induces users to move quickly.

To be honest, I never really liked Scrabble—but for some reason, I cannot get enough of Words with Friends. 

If you can’t wait to try it, my player name is MizzBowe—it could be fun…and I need the practice.

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Keeping It Real

The focus of our lesson this week was marketing via social media. Companies, following consumers are present on social networking sites now more than ever.

In fact, in 2006 marketers spent over $280 million on advertising and marketing on social networking sites in the U.S., and an additional $70 million internationally.

In light of the economic downturn, however, marketing dollars have reduced across the board. What is not slowing is the increase in market share internet marketing is taking away from more traditional marketing media. In a new report, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that internet marketing with be 36% of all marketing dollars spent by 2013.

And while marketing dollars toward social media increases, many companies still lack the necessary tools and understanding of how to effectively position themselves in the growing digital environment.

In terms of Facebook, the most common mistake is whether to create a profile, a group or a fan page—in general, profiles are ideal for regular users with an individual identities and should never be for commercial and marketing purposes—and actually, this is a direct violation of Facebook’s TOS. Experts have differing opinions about fan pages versus groups. There are certainly pros and cons of each.

My boss, Skip Lineberg and I got into a brief conversation on this very topic. It is vital for companies and non-consumer entities to grasp the most valuable methods in reaching audiences on social networking sites—in Skip’s own words, they need to work on “Keeping  it Real”.

Along these lines, research for this week’s discussion post uncovered Sarah Evans’s opinion business’ online identity—

“…your online personality is not only part of your overall brand, it becomes an interactive experience for you and your business… Just as you create branding guidelines and key messaging guides, so too should you dedicate time to creating your social media personality. There are multiple combinations that you can use to increase your brand visibility and converse with your customers.”

First on the list of “do’s and don’ts”—Keeping it Real. The entirety of the list includes a list of steps companies can take to efficiently utilize their online presence:

  1. Be transparent and authentic. Be human: Social media for business is about return on engagement. Connect with people, build opportunities through dialogue which would not have otherwise occurred, then connect them with your business.
  2. A profile pic is worth a thousand tweets: A major part of your social media personality is your avatar and your profile bio. The first rule for avatars and bios is to stay consistent across social platforms. If you’re sharing information from your business account, decide whether you want your avatar to be your company logo or the face of the president. Each sends a completely different message and requires a different messaging and branding approach.
  3. Leaving a legacy: Your social media personality becomes part of your brand’s legacy. Don’t brand your personality for the day, the month or the year. This is serious stuff. What you post stays around for a pretty long time and the information (good and bad) isn’t too hard to find. This means what you share today should reinforce your brand tomorrow.
  4. Don’t be a social schizo: Multiple personality disorders do not work well in social media. If you confuse, you lose. If you are a business expert one day, a media maven the next and live news feed after that, people will ultimately stop connecting. The same concept applies across multiple networks—Keep the same personality for each
  5. Social climbing not the best approach: It makes sense to engage the “big dogs” of social media, but it’s even better to connect with other quality audiences. Spending too much time looking for the big fish may take away from an entire school passing you by. Go grassroots and begin to build your personality one social media platform at a time.
  6. It’s not a one-stop shop: There is no one-size fits all personality for your brand…social media isn’t an opportunity to reinvent a brand, but to widen the reach. People should get the same experience offline as they do online
  7. Return on Engagement: tracking traffic, RSS feeds, subscribers, fans, linkbacks

Like any other measure to expand a companies’ presence—be it online or offline, extensive research, careful planning and continual evaluation will ensure a more successful, valuable and significant execution and meaningful outcome.

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In the midst of a crisis, “Meet the Family”

Toyota announced the recall of 2.3 million vehicles…the models that Toyota has stopped selling accounted for one of every 10 new-vehicle sales in the United States in December and 57 percent of Toyota’s sales in 2009. But the recalls are hurting Toyota’s entire lineup…Edmunds.com, which publishes car-buying advice, said Friday that it expected sales of the Toyota brand to fall 75 percent while sales of the eight models were suspended. Bunkley & Maynard – NYTimes, 2010

As consumers, when our experiences outperform expectations, we get a pleasant surprise with a release of dopamine, a chemical associated with interest and happiness. But the nature of our brains is such that this boost is relatively short and mild. When our expectations are not met, a downward spiral that is stronger and longer occurs; this is one of the worst scenarios a marketer can face. Our brains unconsciously assign personality traits to organizations and brands, so this downward spiral in the brain can evoke feelings of betrayal in situations where trust has been built. Tangwall, 2010

Atop of the video testimonials of customers and employees who drive the cars that they build, limited-time discounts and complimentary extended maintenance plans— One way Toyota has moved to overcome damage that these negative feelings and emotions that have impacted the company’s reputation—humor.

In the midst of their largest recall ever, Toyota has produced a series of catchy television and viral ads for their 2011 Sienna minivan.

 

This light-hearted, comedic look into the life of a Toyota Sienna family certainly caught my attention. The commercials and videos are for “Mom and Dad”—reaching an atypical demographic with the uses of viral marketing.

Perhaps Toyota is taking notice of the growing number of non-Gen Y users on the Internet, and involved with digital media. If these statistics are any indication of the demographic shift, Toyota seems to be on the right track in reaching its target audience Smith, 2009

  • Facebook reporting nearly 45.3 million active US users in the last 30 days
  • Facebook growing in every age/gender demographic. Fastest growing segment: Women over 55, up 175.3% in the last 120 days.
  • Facebook growing faster with women than men in almost every age group. Women comprise 56.2% of Facebook’s audience, up from 54.3% late last year.
  • 45% of Facebook’s US audience is now 26 years old or older.

Companies use many public relations tactics when faced with reputational “damage control”. Certainly, these ads alone are not what will improve product quality and restore target consumer faith in the brand—but perhaps it’s a step in the right direction.

What do you think?

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Social Media: Poll

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- What’s the Big Deal? (cont.)

While I partially understood the power of today’s emerging media, the influence that we have allowed these media to have on us is the staggering realization that I was faced with, in the statistics that were uncovered in researching for the previous post.

As sort of a sequel, I was intrigued to further explore just how deep this influence extends into the dynamics of our everyday lives—more specifically for consumers, companies and in the workplace.

 

Consumers—While a majority of the statistics presented in the previous post were in relation to this community group, even more information was uncovered that highlights the importance of emerging media in today’s society.

According to the Neilsen Company, the majority of time that consumers spent online in 2009 was dedicated to social networks and blogs, with online games and instant messaging close behind.  In fact, the global average for time spent on social networking sites per person has grown to nearly five and a half hours per month—an 82% increase! And while Twitter was the most popular social networking site for company use, Facebook was the most popular choice for consumers.  

This statistic remains true for the online shopper group of consumers as well. according to the “2010 Social Media Report” from ForeSee Results, 69% of online shoppers regularly use social media sites. The overwhelming winner in terms of shopper presence was Facebook, with more than one-half of respondents using it regularly. YouTube took the second spot, with former giant MySpace far behind its rival. Only about one in 10 online shoppers surveyed used Twitter.

Even in consumer decisions like purchasing an automobile has been largely impacted by the role of interactive media. A Yahoo! Search Marketing Proprietary and Confidential study shows that 88% of consumers considering a vehicle purchase used the Internet to research the product online before stepping into the dealership, and 79% said that they used the Internet to research the dealerships themselves. According to the responses, social networking tools was cited as the number one tool that consumers used in “pre-shopping”—compared to their previous purchase (2002 on average).

Companies are no doubt realizing the tremendous benefits that come from involvement in methods of emerging media. And as these media evolve, so does the level of involvement and the tactics that which they employ.

Such can be seen in a global survey conducted by McKinsey of marketing executives from around the world. The study shows that when it comes to marketing, things are changing—companies are moving online across the spectrum of marketing activities, from building awareness to after-sales service, and they recognize online tools as an important and effective component of their overall marketing strategies.

 The emphasis that marketing executives are placing on these emerging media is also made apparent—according to a forecast by Forrester Research, interactive marketing expenditures will reach $55 billion by 2015, accounting for 21% of all marketing budget spending.  

While consumers logged most of their time online last year on the social media platform Facebook, the most popular choice for Fortune 100 companies was Twitter. In fact, Twitter surpassed blogging as the social media platform of choice – at least among the Fortune 100.  A recent analysis compiled by Burson-Marsteller and Proof Digital Media found that the largest 100 companies in terms of revenue as compiled by Fortune Magazine’s annual Fortune 500 were active on three key social media: Twitter, Facebook and Blogs. 

The study found that these companies are transforming their uses of and for social media—54% of the Fortune 100 were using Twitter to reach out directly to stakeholders, while 32% were using a blogs and 29% were actively using a Facebook Fan Page to engage.  Despite the perception that Twitter is the newest kid on the block among the three platforms, 76% of Fortune 100 companies that were using just one social media channel were using Twitter over Facebook and Blogs.

Workplace procedures are even being affected by the increase of use and popularity of emerging media. The competitiveness of U.S. firms is a direct result of the productivity of its workforce.

From a productivity point-of-view, there are obviously many benefits and opportunities that emerging media brings in application to a workplace setting—from internal and external communication, to marketing, purchasing, inventory, sales delivery and service.

From the employee point-of-view, the workplace of today demands that forms of emerging media be used on a daily basis for communication and overall productivity (relating to the list above)—utilizing such things like E-mail, Web sites, mobile communication, digital audio, pod casts, mobile computing and blogs.

In relation to employees, and prospective employees—another interesting way to measure the importance of emerging media is to look at the value placed on the skills required to operate in the emerging media workplace. Ball State University conducted a study of human resource professionals that found that respondents indicated a willingness to pay wage premiums to acquire and keep workers who have these skills.

Embracing and utilizing these media have caused and continues to require our understanding and such media to continue to grow. It has been made apparent to me “What’s the Big Deal”—most all facets of our everyday lives are somehow impacted by the growing media landscape. It is a big deal, and will continue to be.

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