The first article I found was "Study: Measuring social media word of mouth drives restaurant traffic". This article was very interesting. In the article they talk about how restaurant operators know there is a correlation between successful social media marketing and ROI, but they have a hard time determining exact ways of figuring it out. They know word of mouth is what helps to make restaurants successful and they know using social media helps WOM, but they are not entirely sure how to interpret the data.
The second article I found was "Tips from Canadian Startup Founders on Measuring Social Media Success". In this article there are many tips for measuring social media marketing success. One CEO states, "It's all trial & error at the end of the day", and I believe to a large extent that is right on the money. It sounds to me like there are no hard and fast rules to measuring the success of social media marketing because this is something that is always changing and there's no set way to really measure it yet. I seems there will be many different ways to measure the success of social media marketing depending on the different kinds of businesses.
The third article I found was "The Problem With Measuring Digital Influence". This is an interesting article. They bring up a lot of different problems with measuring digital influence on businesses. They also propose ways to optimize data interpretation.
My understanding of measuring social media marketing is that it is a very new practice. There are different ways to measure depending on what type of business you are looking at. People have come up with different ways to try and measure the effects of social media marketing, but there is no exact science in place as of yet. There are too many other determining factors involved to get a clear, concise measurement of the data for any one company. As one CEO said, "It's all trial & error at the end of the day". I'm sure in the coming years there will be developments in this field as research into these questions continues and before we know it there will be a set of standards to measure the success by.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Week 13 - 2nd Case Study
Ok, So Who Doesn't LOVE Hershey's?!?!
My second case study is going to be on Hershey's. In looking at their main web site I see that they are on Facebook and they have a Twitter account, but oddly they have no tweets. They also have a Hershey's Kisses Twitter account and that one seems to be the active account. Their Facebook page is very interesting and they have 5,646,823 likes!! They really seem to have a lot of interest going on on their Facebook page with recipes, contests & a lot of customer input. They are very interactive with their following and that is something that builds a good relationship, which builds loyalty. They allow and encourage customers to post recipes and to pin up pictures of items they've prepared with Hershey products. An example of a good way for them to continue to gain followers is in this post, "Who does your family trust with all of the baking for the holiday season? Tag them in the comments below and LIKE this post if it is you!". This will get the people who already "Like" the page to tag others who maybe aren't aware of it and most likely cause THEM to "Like" it too. Brilliant!Christmas Time is Here!
On their Kisses Twitter page there is a flurry of activity for the holidays with recipes and a lot of follower interaction. People are sharing recipes with each other and there are even pictures of the delicious desserts! There is even a cookie swap going on. I think keeping the followers engaged and active on the sites increases the word of mouth traffic and keeps increasing and increasing the sites exposure. I'm sure Christmas is their biggest holiday between all of the baking and the filling of the stockings. I think keeping the name "Hershey" on the lips of loyal customers is keeping their popularity high and keeps people out there buying their products. I, personally, am a self proclaimed chic-oholic so I will be a loyal customer until the day I die;)
Another cool thing they are doing is they are having people RSVP for a specific date & time for a Twitter cookie exchange. I think that's brilliant too! How fun! That will really get people in the holiday mood.
Things that Make Them Popular
I think the things that make their social media sites so popular are, first of all they are chocolate! Secondly, they keep their customers engaged and involved. The customers are interacting with the company AND with other followers creating a camaraderie that will leave people feeling good and coming back for more. I think a big part of social media success is based on the way it makes people feel. If they are having good feelings and getting good information they are much more likely to return again and again.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Week 12 - Case Study
Well, I was going to do my case study on Hostess, but then they went out of business. Lol! No, but seriously, after hearing of them going out of business I was curious as to whether they were using social media and how they were using it. All I have to say is B-O-R-I-N-G!! Did they go out of business because they didn't use social media well? I doubt that, but it was interesting to see that their social media was very boring and not very interactive and to know they went under.
Do businesses do well because of social media or are the businesses that are already doing well have the best approach to social media because they already have an outstanding marketing department? And a great customer base for a great following in social media? Kinda like the social media version of the question, "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Clearly in the Zappos example they truly benefited & grew, in part by using social media so well. But how do we judge this for a company like, say, Skittles??
SO WE ASK OURSELVES;
Do businesses do well because of social media or are the businesses that are already doing well have the best approach to social media because they already have an outstanding marketing department? And a great customer base for a great following in social media? Kinda like the social media version of the question, "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Clearly in the Zappos example they truly benefited & grew, in part by using social media so well. But how do we judge this for a company like, say, Skittles??
TASTE THE RAINBOW!
Skittles has a Facebook page, a Twitter account and a Google+ account. They are also on Youtube. All the major players of the social media world are included. They use social media in a very fun way and it seems they are trying to keep their name and awareness out there in cyberspace. Part of Hostesses problem was lack of brand awareness. I think they felt everyone knew who they were since they'd been around for 82 years, and we do/did, but unless & until their name is brought front and center it's easy to "forget" about them. Notice the flurry of active sales once people heard the American icon, Hostess, was going out of business?? Skittles is keeping their name out there and keeping their name related with fun. The interaction keeps the brand name on people's minds and that is what helps get the sales. It keeps them from being forgotten. In this day & age we have almost constant stimulation from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed at night. It's a rush, rush world and you either have to roll with it and keep up, keeping people interested or fall behind and be forgotten.
Skittles was popular long before this massive social media age we're in, but in order to stay popular they need to keep the awareness going.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Week 11 - Twitter
TWITTER AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
First of all my Twitter account can be found here @sandy41692448.
The three organizations I reviewed that use Twitter to market their products are PlayStation, Xbox and Dunkin Donuts. I feel all three are using Twitter very well to market their products, but based on followers Playstation is in the lead (1,450,818), Xbox is second (742,382) and Dunkin Donuts is last (182,887). This could mean popularity or it could just mean Playstation has had a twitter account longer than Dunkin Donuts has. As fair as the content they tweet, I feel all three are doing well. It appears they all post several times a day and the gaming accounts tweet about new games coming out or information about games that are already out and the donut account has free give-a-ways. All the sites have people tweeting their opinions about the brand (I only saw good tweets) and that is valuable as well. I would have to rank the gaming sites higher than the DD site mostly because with gaming a whole different society exists and donuts & coffee are really just donuts & coffee. Not too much to get excited about.
EFFECTIVE USE OF TWITTER
In my opinion some guidelines for the effective use of Twitter are:
- Keeping things interesting & fresh. If there is information people want/need to know they will stay interested.
- Make sure people get something out of it, whether it be a give-a-way or simply information. This will keep them engaged and ready to hear your next tweet.
- Answer questions and address feedback in a timely manner. This will allow the followers to feel like what they think matters and their ideas & opinions count.
- Transparency. In this day & age it's the best practice.
ANSWER TO QUESTIONS
Is Twitter better suited for some organizations than others? Yes I think Twitter is better suited for some organizations than others. Twitter would not do as well for marketing at the company I work for since we offer members-only services. It would help with brand awareness, but there is a process involved in becoming a member and there are bylaws that members must adhere to so the tweets on the site would have to be limited since only members can have certain information.
If so, what about an organization makes it well suited for Twitter? I think an organization that is well suited for Twitter is any organization that targets the general public. Getting their idea or information about their products out there is a good thing when it's not information governed by rules or bylaws.
OTHER SITES
The other pages I'm following are TV show pages and Entertainment pages. These pages offer info for people interested in the show and also a place for fans to gather and speculate on what might happen next. The Entertainment page keeps people up-to-date on what's happening in the world of who's who. A world that is so far away from our own it's almost always interesting. They definitely keep people coming back for more!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Week 8 - Youtube Videos
My Evaluation of Three Youtube Marketing Videos
EarthWool
The first of the three Youtube marketing videos I'm going to evaluate is for EarthWool. I found this video entertaining because it was dramatic and you want to wait and see what happens next. In the end it was humorous, which I think is a good draw for people and it helps them remember. It is a cute concept because things are not as they seem in the end and it would be a low budget video to produce.
Ray-Ban
The second Youtube Marketing video I'm going to evaluate is for a Ray-Ban Sunglasses reseller. I found this video to be informative, but very dry and boring. I don't see this as a video I would recommend to a friend solely based on the video. I can not see it going viral, which is something that is desirable when it comes to Youtube video's. That means it's getting a lot of exposure and that is good for business.
Apple iPhone
The third Youtube Marketing video I'm going to evaluate is the iPhone 5 Trailer. As usual Apple does not disappoint. The video is stylish and innovative. It leaves the viewer in awe and wanting to touch the product & use it & own it. It draws them in and makes them feel like this product is a must-have experience for everyone. The simple design of the video, yet display of all the features, is a winning combination and I feel this was the best out of the three.Summary
In summary I would say a good Youtube video is one that captures the interest of the viewer and this can be done in many different ways. You also need to be informative without being boring and you need to deliver a concise view of the product and what the product is/does/looks like. The things that get people talking are the things that are going to bring awareness to the product and have friends of friends telling their friends to go and watch the Youtube video or posting the video on social media sites.
Week 7 Facebook & Google +
Effective Use of Facebook for Marketing
The first site I will use in my comparison of Facebook sites used for marketing is the site for Pretzel M & M's. This site sent a free sample to anyone who liked their page and filled out a very short name & address form. Everyone LOVES to get stuff for free, ESPECIALLY CHOCOLATE! I did this and within about a week my free sample came in the mail. I would rate this Facebook marketing site very high because they gave out free samples to let everyone try their new product. It's not like M & M's are going out of business anytime soon or need heavy marketing to become successful, they are already there. But when they roll out something new it's important to get the word out and offer something for free to people who may be skeptical about paying money to try something they might not like. They got me to try them and I happen to LOVE the new pretzel M & M's.
The second site I would like to use in my comparison of Facebook sites used for marketing is a site one of my Facebook friends uses to market her business called Conquer Entertainment. In my opinion this is not a good marketing plan because she is using her personal Facebook account as a personal Facebook account AND as a marketing tool for her business. I feel the two should be separate. I don't think it's fair for her to be pummeling all of her "friends" with business information against their will. I am friends with her on a personal level, but have no interest in her business venture. She is constantly sending out messages for people to come to this seminar or that presentation and I got so frustrated I changed her setting so her stuff no longer shows up in my news feed. That kind of sucks because I am interested in her as a friend and am interested in what's going on in her life, BESIDES HER BUSINESS, but now I will not see any of it unless I choose to go to her site and weed through all of the solicitation BS she has posted. I would rate this very low, probably the lowest because I don't think it's fair to put your friends through that. If she wanted to promote her "Business Facebook Page" as a separate site and then her friends could CHOOSE to go like it and be involved that would be different but I don't feel I should be subjected to this unsolicited.
The third site in my comparison is The Chronicle Telegrams site. I really like this site for marketing because they publish a lot of great information & news and they also take comments from members of Facebook. Having that voice is a very valuable asset in a customer. It makes the public feel empowered & like their voice & opinions are being heard. That will keep people coming back for more. I would rate this one as pretty good.
Out of these three sites I would say Pretzel M & M's is first, The Chronicle is second and my friend's site is third.
Facebook & Google +
First off I must say kudos to you Professor Zellers for getting the word out. I'm very familiar and used to Facebook, but have only heard of Google + in passing so this assignment has given them the opportunity for me to check it out. I don't really know much about Google +, but according to this site, "Facebook may still have a significant edge over Google+ when it comes to personal pages, but Google+ is gaining on Facebook when it comes to business pages, according to a recent article by MarketingProfs."
The site also has a list of the top 10 brands using Facebook & Google + and the amount of +1's on Google + and the amount of "Likes" on Facebook. Android is brand #1 and it has more +1's than "Likes", but to me that's not surprising since Android is a Google brand. The Google + page for Android looks sorta similar to a Facebook page, but to me it looks less familiar. I know that isn't supposed to play into this comparison, but it's hard for me to be objective when I'm so familiar with Facebook and all of its elements & content. Even from a business standpoint it's hard for me to look at them both as equal because I have greater knowledge of one and not the other. Anyway, based on my research Google + is gaining ground on Facebook for brand pages.
One of the main reasons Google + is becoming more popular for business is the prospective possibility that brands that have Google + pages will get higher rankings in Google searches based on that information. That is an advantage Google has over Facebook. To me that doesn't make the pages themselves better when it comes to business, but it does give the businesses a reason to sign up and use the pages.
The first site I will use in my comparison of Facebook sites used for marketing is the site for Pretzel M & M's. This site sent a free sample to anyone who liked their page and filled out a very short name & address form. Everyone LOVES to get stuff for free, ESPECIALLY CHOCOLATE! I did this and within about a week my free sample came in the mail. I would rate this Facebook marketing site very high because they gave out free samples to let everyone try their new product. It's not like M & M's are going out of business anytime soon or need heavy marketing to become successful, they are already there. But when they roll out something new it's important to get the word out and offer something for free to people who may be skeptical about paying money to try something they might not like. They got me to try them and I happen to LOVE the new pretzel M & M's.
The second site I would like to use in my comparison of Facebook sites used for marketing is a site one of my Facebook friends uses to market her business called Conquer Entertainment. In my opinion this is not a good marketing plan because she is using her personal Facebook account as a personal Facebook account AND as a marketing tool for her business. I feel the two should be separate. I don't think it's fair for her to be pummeling all of her "friends" with business information against their will. I am friends with her on a personal level, but have no interest in her business venture. She is constantly sending out messages for people to come to this seminar or that presentation and I got so frustrated I changed her setting so her stuff no longer shows up in my news feed. That kind of sucks because I am interested in her as a friend and am interested in what's going on in her life, BESIDES HER BUSINESS, but now I will not see any of it unless I choose to go to her site and weed through all of the solicitation BS she has posted. I would rate this very low, probably the lowest because I don't think it's fair to put your friends through that. If she wanted to promote her "Business Facebook Page" as a separate site and then her friends could CHOOSE to go like it and be involved that would be different but I don't feel I should be subjected to this unsolicited.
The third site in my comparison is The Chronicle Telegrams site. I really like this site for marketing because they publish a lot of great information & news and they also take comments from members of Facebook. Having that voice is a very valuable asset in a customer. It makes the public feel empowered & like their voice & opinions are being heard. That will keep people coming back for more. I would rate this one as pretty good.
Out of these three sites I would say Pretzel M & M's is first, The Chronicle is second and my friend's site is third.
Facebook & Google +
First off I must say kudos to you Professor Zellers for getting the word out. I'm very familiar and used to Facebook, but have only heard of Google + in passing so this assignment has given them the opportunity for me to check it out. I don't really know much about Google +, but according to this site, "Facebook may still have a significant edge over Google+ when it comes to personal pages, but Google+ is gaining on Facebook when it comes to business pages, according to a recent article by MarketingProfs."
The site also has a list of the top 10 brands using Facebook & Google + and the amount of +1's on Google + and the amount of "Likes" on Facebook. Android is brand #1 and it has more +1's than "Likes", but to me that's not surprising since Android is a Google brand. The Google + page for Android looks sorta similar to a Facebook page, but to me it looks less familiar. I know that isn't supposed to play into this comparison, but it's hard for me to be objective when I'm so familiar with Facebook and all of its elements & content. Even from a business standpoint it's hard for me to look at them both as equal because I have greater knowledge of one and not the other. Anyway, based on my research Google + is gaining ground on Facebook for brand pages.
One of the main reasons Google + is becoming more popular for business is the prospective possibility that brands that have Google + pages will get higher rankings in Google searches based on that information. That is an advantage Google has over Facebook. To me that doesn't make the pages themselves better when it comes to business, but it does give the businesses a reason to sign up and use the pages.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Week 6 Blog about Blogs
Classmate Blogs
One blog post I found interesting is here. In this blog there is a very creative picture at the start, which really draws the attention. It gives the viewer great interest for the rest of the blog. The rest of the blog is also very good. This person used great examples and statistics. The flow was nice and it held the attention of the reader. The only thing I didn't like was that this person did not insert their blog link as a link on the discussion board so the reader has to copy & paste to view it. There was also some wording errors towards the end, but otherwise very good!
The second blog I found to be very good is here. This blog is very eye catching and I like the designs used. The way this person writes is very entertaining as well. Not dry or boring. Which brings me to the content portion. They included a lot of good points and comparisons were a nice touch. I felt the blog was informative and well thought out.
Blogs about Social Media Marketing
The first Social Media Marketing blog I reviewed was this one. It was listed on another blog as number one in the top ten Social Media blogs. The first post I found interesting is found here where they discuss the 4 C's of the Conversation Company. This post is quite an eye opener when it comes to how, statistically, businesses are dealing with Social Media today. There is a lot of interesting information and statistics, most of which surprised me in a way. I knew that Social Media was fairly new, but did not realize it had not been integrated into more businesses. I would have thought once the news was out that it was big, plus the ease of availability, every company would have jumped on board, got their plan in place and started using this valuable resource.
The second post that caught my eye was here. This post was very interesting and entertaining at the same time. It talked about ROI (Return on Investment). The bar comparison was very informative and it all made sense! Using that analogy really shows how Social Media can work for companies and how it is worth it, but you have to put a plan in place and invest in Social Media to get something out of it. This post states that the ROI of Social Media is up to four times as high as that of a TV commercial. That's a lot!!
Blogs Used to Market
The first blog I'm going to grade in Marketing technique is The Giants Baseball Blog. This is a web blog to promote the San Francisco Giants and I will give this blog an "A" based on the information on the blog and this blog post on another site. There is a lot of valuable information, plus interaction with the fans. Very important stuff.
The second blog I will grade is the Ford F-150 blog. I'm going to grade this blog a C because it is not really active. Looks like the last post was just about a year ago. There is information, but not any interaction with members/customers.
The third blog I'm going to grade is the Ecoki blog. This blog is all about living a green lifestyle. I give this blog site an A because it is up to date, interesting and very informative. I actually found this blog site so interesting I will be exploring it more on my own! They have contests and are giving away free stuff which engages the customers and gets them involved. And EVERYBODY love free stuff!!
One blog post I found interesting is here. In this blog there is a very creative picture at the start, which really draws the attention. It gives the viewer great interest for the rest of the blog. The rest of the blog is also very good. This person used great examples and statistics. The flow was nice and it held the attention of the reader. The only thing I didn't like was that this person did not insert their blog link as a link on the discussion board so the reader has to copy & paste to view it. There was also some wording errors towards the end, but otherwise very good!
The second blog I found to be very good is here. This blog is very eye catching and I like the designs used. The way this person writes is very entertaining as well. Not dry or boring. Which brings me to the content portion. They included a lot of good points and comparisons were a nice touch. I felt the blog was informative and well thought out.
Blogs about Social Media Marketing
The first Social Media Marketing blog I reviewed was this one. It was listed on another blog as number one in the top ten Social Media blogs. The first post I found interesting is found here where they discuss the 4 C's of the Conversation Company. This post is quite an eye opener when it comes to how, statistically, businesses are dealing with Social Media today. There is a lot of interesting information and statistics, most of which surprised me in a way. I knew that Social Media was fairly new, but did not realize it had not been integrated into more businesses. I would have thought once the news was out that it was big, plus the ease of availability, every company would have jumped on board, got their plan in place and started using this valuable resource.
The second post that caught my eye was here. This post was very interesting and entertaining at the same time. It talked about ROI (Return on Investment). The bar comparison was very informative and it all made sense! Using that analogy really shows how Social Media can work for companies and how it is worth it, but you have to put a plan in place and invest in Social Media to get something out of it. This post states that the ROI of Social Media is up to four times as high as that of a TV commercial. That's a lot!!
Blogs Used to Market
The first blog I'm going to grade in Marketing technique is The Giants Baseball Blog. This is a web blog to promote the San Francisco Giants and I will give this blog an "A" based on the information on the blog and this blog post on another site. There is a lot of valuable information, plus interaction with the fans. Very important stuff.
The second blog I will grade is the Ford F-150 blog. I'm going to grade this blog a C because it is not really active. Looks like the last post was just about a year ago. There is information, but not any interaction with members/customers.
The third blog I'm going to grade is the Ecoki blog. This blog is all about living a green lifestyle. I give this blog site an A because it is up to date, interesting and very informative. I actually found this blog site so interesting I will be exploring it more on my own! They have contests and are giving away free stuff which engages the customers and gets them involved. And EVERYBODY love free stuff!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)