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Not since radio in the 1920s and television in the 1960s has a medium played such a significant role in a presidential election. In February, copywriter Erin McCarthy discussed how social media, particularly Snapchat, was changing how voters follow election results, but social media has also transformed campaigns themselves in ways that were unimaginable just a few elections ago. In 2004’s Bush vs. Gore contest, Facebook had just launched nine months prior and Twitter did not come online until 2006. Four years later, social media would go from an election non-factor to a powerful voter engagement and outreach tool. In 2008, a relatively unknown Barack Obama mobilized millions of voters, primarily through Facebook, and went on to defeat two political veterans, front-runner Hillary Clinton in the democratic primaries and Senator John McCain in November’s general election. In 2012, President Obama continued his social media dominance by taking his ideas straight to voters, posting nearly four times the content of Mitt … Continue reading
Posted in: social media campaigns, social media strategy
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In the paid advertising world, it’s easy to determine your ROI if you’re using analytics to track all of your efforts. But when it comes to social marketing, there are so many metrics and variables it can make your head spin. Not to mention that each social channel provides different data and definitions for metrics. In Facebook, specifically, it’s all about getting fans (or page likes) and building long-term relationships with your fans. There are numerous strategic ways to find relevant Facebook fans – both from paid advertising and organic reach. It can be hard to put a value on engagement metrics, but a report states that the average value of a Facebook fan is $174*. So, say you were able to get 25 new page likes this month — that would equate to a value of $4K! Implementing a strategic social campaign, with both paid and organic tactics, can help build relevant Facebook fans for your page. Here are … Continue reading
With greater focus on social media as a marketing channel, many companies are using it to reach their audiences. But what are the real benefits of using social media for your brand? Here’s a few that come to mind: Amplified brand awareness: The sharing mechanism on most social media channels becomes the vehicle, which transports your content and brand name in front of an expanded audience. Higher visibility for your content repository: If only one piece of content gets shared, that can bring visibility to older content pieces, which may be valuable but is in need of marketing visibility. As a result, one piece of content can introduce your audience to other great works that you have. Engaged customer base – Social media is one marketing medium that goes to the roots of marketing: word of mouth. For brands, this can be a way to reach the right audience who, as a result, become brand ambassadors by liking/sharing your content and … Continue reading
A friend and I were finishing up a late dinner Tuesday night when we realized the New Hampshire primary was just about finished up. Curious for the results, I pulled out my phone to check. But I surprised myself with the first place I looked. Not Google. Not CNN. Or Twitter. Or The Times. But Snapchat. I suppose that’s no surprise if you recognize the distinct ghost above (who actually has a name! It’s Ghostface Chillah). Here’s why: Snapchat’s live coverage of significant events is unlike anything that has ever existed. It is revolutionary in the world of storytelling. Imagine a story told from the eyes of 100 different people. That’s 100 different perspectives. 100 different angles. 100 different emotions. All in real time. Here’s how Snapchat’s live story feature works: The Snapchat story event is the sum of 10-second bits all put together in real-time by people — normal people — who are actually there experiencing the events. They’re in chronological … Continue reading
Posted in: snapchat, social media campaigns
Not long ago, Abu wrote about how social media is being adopted by big name manufacturers. The GE and John Deere examples he shared show that some manufacturers are doing an amazing job with their digital marketing efforts. Data from a recent MarketingSherpa Benchmarking study shows that investments in website design, SEO and social on behalf of manufacturing marketing are all expected to rise in 2012. For success in these marketing ventures, it’s important to implement and integrate your strategies with a purpose. Let’s take GE as an example. GE is doing a wonderful job with its social. The website is well done, the visuals are great and GE is telling compelling stories about its products and services. Images and branding both on the website and associated social channels contribute to the seamless integration between the two. Let’s look at some different views of their homepage: An ongoing campaign — “GE Works” — is at the center of the whole … Continue reading
Anyone who has ever spent more than a few hours in Pittsburgh has probably seen it: the view from Mt. Washington. Rising above the city on the south side of the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, the steep hill provides a breathtaking view of Pittsburgh’s skyline. Far below are the city’s many modern and historic buildings, bending streets and colorful bridges. Boats glide up and down the rivers, trains wind through the hills, a million lights twinkle as far as the eye can see. When you stand on Mt. Washington, you are looking down on one of America’s great cities, nestled in some of the most dynamic terrain in the country. (In fact, USA Today named the view from Mt. Washington the second-most beautiful view in America!) This past weekend, I had the pleasure of taking a friend from Germany up to Mt. Washington. This was her first trip to the United States, and she knew almost nothing about Pittsburgh. … Continue reading
Posted in: Search Marketing, social media campaigns
I have to imagine that @sweden’s citizen-driven Twitter “experiment” is waking up many a marketing director’s concerns about social media—ergo their brands—in the hands of the masses. As part of its Curators of Sweden campaign, Sweden’s government-sponsored tourism agency turns the reigns of the @sweden Twitter account over to a different citizen each week. This week, Sonja Abrahamsson’s tweets have taken their followers on a magic carpet ride. Everyone from Mashable, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes weighed in on the controversy. Even Stephen Colbert riffed on it on The Colbert Report, causing over 4.7MM Twitter users to campaign for him taking over the account for a week (#artificialswedener). Because of Abrahamsson and her gaffes (or trolling?), many are calling this “experiment” a colossal failure, while a few say it is absolute brilliance. Having worked as a digital marketing consultant for many tourism directors over the years, I felt an immediate concern for the future of tourism social media efforts. … Continue reading
It was a dark and stormy brainstorm session. Ideas were flying. “What if we could connect them to people who came before them and then show them the ones they could influence after?” “What if we use a narrative device, juxtaposing past stories with current stories. The platform could provide a dramatic backdrop for the rhetorical argument.” “Will anyone fill out a form? Let’s not make them log in.” Marketers worldwide are hard at work dreaming up campaigns and interactive whiz-bang features that will inspire or impel users to engage. As someone who waves the social media flag in the new world order, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we want people to get involved, share their enthusiasm with others, be our brand ambassadors. And sometimes we’ll settle for just liking a pretty picture or new yogurt flavor. And therein lies the problem. All the world’s a stage. We’re scattered, untethered, bouncing like … Continue reading