We can expect to see some of these content marketing trends pick up steam in 2014.
Content marketing is storytelling. It is, essentially, what attracts people to our brands online. Last year, we saw a major explosion is the concept of content marketing. Now that it is an established practice, we can expect to see some of these content marketing trends take shape in the coming year.
Research by Content Marketing Institute noted that most business plan on increasing their involvement in content marketing in some form or another in 2014, particularly through the use of social media.
If you have not yet involved yourself in content marketing, or taken the time to learn more about it, now is a good time to start.
How do you plan on engaging in content marketing in 2014? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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Ever wonder how you can track goals in Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is an outstanding tool. With the right filters, goals, segments and understanding, it can be as powerful as many enterprise level softwares when it comes to tracking the success of your digital and social marketing.
But in order to get to that point, you need to know how to set the system up. Unlike many enterprise level analytics systems, Google Analytics requires quite a bit of manual labor.
While entire blogs can be (and have been) written about the intricacies of Google Analytics, this short video simply explains how to go about creating and tracking simple goals in Google Analytics. Have a watch and try setting some up on your account to see how they work.
Hint: It is best to create a separate view in Google Analytics when testing different functions in order to prevent any permanent changes or losses to your data.
https://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/google-analytics-change-goal-position-original-300x233.png00Corey Padveenhttps://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/logo-t2-300x138.pngCorey Padveen2014-01-10 11:16:432014-01-10 11:16:43How to Track Goals in Google Analytics [VIDEO]
When developing a social business plan for your brand, there are certain components that simply must be included.
As social business becomes the norm, brands are beginning to understand that in order to succeed, there needs to be a comprehensive social business plan in place before getting started. Simply diving headfirst into social media is no longer an option. If a company is serious about transitioning into the social era, then a social business plan is a must.
While every brand will have a unique social business plan that suits their goals, there are certain components that every social business plan needs to include. These six elements should be included in every social business strategy, or at the very least should be seriously considered when drafting a social business plan for your brand.
Social Media & Strategy Audit
What does your current involvement in social media look like? In order to create an effective and useful social business plan, you first need to get a good look at what your current activity on social channels looks like, and give yourself a good criticism.
You might be doing some things right, but look honestly at your work, figure out what you want to accomplish and determine where you might be going wrong. Sometimes, this is a difficult task for a business. After all, we never like to think of ourselves as doing anything wrong. When this is the case, it is sometimes beneficial to bring in an unbiased third party to conduct the audit.
The SocialSandBoxTM
Where do you want to have a presence? Determine what your brand’s SocialSandboxTM is going to look like by evaluating major (and minor) social networks and determining how they can help you achieve your goals.
You might find that some networks are better for helping you achieve certain goals. A keen understanding of every network’s strengths and weaknesses is going to be a must-have when determining this part of your social business plan, so take your time to learn everything there is to know about the major players (and there is a lot to know).
Content Strategy
Social media is all about telling stories that people want to share with their circles. Your content strategy is how your brand awareness is going to increase and, ultimately, what is going to be the driving force behind the success of your program. Figure out what people want to hear about, when they want to hear about it and where they are most likely to pay attention. The answers are going to shape your content strategy.
Social Competitive Analysis
You are not talking in a vacuum. There are billions of conversations already taking place and there is a significant likelihood that at least a few of your competitors are taking part.
In your social business plan, you are going to want to do some research into your competitors’ social business strategies and determine how you want to stand out and what you would like to do both similarly and differently. Analyze what they have done, what they have achieved and set benchmarks that compare to your industry’s standards based on what you have observed.
Data Mining
‘Big Data’ is the buzz word of the day and it can be an invaluable asset to your business – if you use it properly. In order to leverage your data and create Responsive Branding campaigns, you are going to have to properly mine it from the right channels.
Develop a data mining sub-strategy within your social business plan in order to effectively sift through the billions of pieces of data that exist in order to pull out what is most relevant to your company.
Measurement and ROI
One of the most crucial components of any social business plan is going to be the measurement and ROI criteria. These need to be established from the beginning of your transition into a social business. In order to determine if you are succeeding, you need to first determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) and then figure out how you plan on measuring success rates.
There are a number of tools and technologies that can be used to measure the tangible results, but with some returns, you might need to get creative. What is a follower worth? Well, for example, you can determine what percentage of social leads convert, what the value of a conversion is, then apply that ratio to each new fan or follower.
There are plenty of ways to measure your success with social media. You just need to figure out first what you are measuring.
What other components do you think need to be included in a social business plan? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
https://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/social-media-300x187.jpg00Corey Padveenhttps://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/logo-t2-300x138.pngCorey Padveen2014-01-08 06:15:572014-01-08 06:15:576 Components to Include in Your Social Business Plan
We can expect to see social business become even more popular in 2014, and these are some of the biggest predictions for social business in the coming year.
Considering social business is still a relatively new phenomenon, it is constantly evolving and we can only speculate as to where it will go next. 2013 saw the rise of the concept, and these predictions for social business suggest that we can expect to see it get even bigger and more widely understood in 2014.
Mobile as the Focal Point
We saw the rise of mobile in 2013, and that trend is sure to increase in 2014. As mobile devices become users’ primary devices (around the world) the importance of optimizing your mobile strategy for search and social is crucial.
Google’s Eric Schmidt admits that mobile has now won the race for the most important medium. For brands to succeed in the social and digital space, they need to be everywhere. This no longer simply means well-placed ads. Today, being everywhere means having a comprehensive mobile strategy in place that allows customers and leads alike to reach out to your brand and start a conversation.
Big Data into Actionable Items
A major buzz term in 2013 was ‘big data’. We all heard about it, and more and more people began to understand what it was, but leveraging big data was not on every brand’s radar. Why? Well, effectively, most brands just saw big data as a tool for large companies, and not something that SMBs could use. This will all change in 2014.
We can expect to see a major shift in 2014 towards the use of big data by brands of all sizes. At t2, we coined the term and concept of Responsive Branding, which is in effect the leveraging of big data in order to create campaigns and marketing strategies that cater to the tastes and preferences of your audience. We can certainly expect this trend to increase as (simplified) big data provides brands with insights they would have never had.
Imagine knowing what your audience wants without ever having to ask? This is where big data is headed this year.
Repercussions of Social Media Marketing Myopia
Slowly but surely, social media has become a necessity. Brands – from small to large – that want to grow can no longer ignore the importance of social. A while back, we introduced the concept of Social Media Marketing Myopia. What is it? Essentially, the concept relates to brands that refuse to adopt to large-scale change, thinking that their company or industry does not need it. The results can be detrimental.
Now that we have arrived at an age where social business is becoming the norm, we can expect to start seeing companies face the effects of Social Media Marketing Myopia. Those slow to adopt will now be forced to expedite the process and implement a strategy in order to catch up with their industry.
A Rise in the Importance of Micro-Video
Microblogging started with Twitter. Twitter bought Vine – a micro-video publishing network. After Facebook bought Instagram, Instagram introduced Instagram Video, another micro-video network. Brands have warmed to the idea of micro-video marketing and audiences have started to enjoy it as well.
In 2013, we saw brands like Dunkin’ Donuts create commercials made entirely from Vine videos. As we head into 2014, we can surely expect to see micro-video marketing increase in importance.
Google+ Will Skyrocket
We have long said that Google+ can be a brand’s best friend. Why so many refuse to work with it is quite surprising. After all, search rankings are still of great importance, and we know that social signals factor heavily into improved search rankings. So, logic would suggest that the social network owned by the largest search engine on the web would be of pretty significant importance to improved search rankings.
This is going to become even more true in 2014. With the Hummingbird upgrade now in full effect and the age of traditional keyword search behind us, social and soft search will dominate the playing field. This means that signals from Google+ will become all the more important. Google has long said that they intend to shift their focus on the social layer of their model. This means Google+ (and YouTube) will be a brand and SEO’s best friend.
And there are our five big predictions for social business in 2014. What do you expect to see in the realm of social business in 2014? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
https://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/social_image-300x300.jpg00Corey Padveenhttps://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/logo-t2-300x138.pngCorey Padveen2014-01-06 06:15:472014-01-06 06:15:47Some Big Predictions for Social Business in 2014
It’s the new year and time to ramp up your social business with some resolutions.
First, let us start off by wishing everyone a very happy New Year. We hope that you enjoyed some well-deserved R&R and you’re ready to get started with a new year full of potential!
At the beginning of the year, it is customary to make a few resolutions to better our lives and the lives of those around us. Well, it’s always good to have some business resolutions in addition to those personal ones.
Below are the three resolutions that we think many businesses – whether yours is a fully operational social business or on its way – can benefit from.
Tell More Stories
Content marketing is all the rave these days. Though it is a term commonly used, it is not one that everyone fully understands. What exactly is content marketing? Simply put, content marketing is marketing through storytelling. Share content people love on as many media as possible, and watch it reach whole new audiences.
This year, a great resolution might be to tell more stories. Ramp up your content marketing and perfect it for your industry and your social business. Find out what your audience loves and create content to cater to those preferences.
Try New Media
Maybe you have a blog, a Facebook page and a Twitter account, but have always been afraid of video. Maybe you’re camera shy or don’t know what to talk about. Well, the new year is all about starting fresh, so why not give a new medium a try.
You don’t have to change the way you do business. In fact, almost nothing has to change. Try something and incorporate it into what you normally do (for example, sharing your blog posts to Facebook and Twitter) and see how it works for your business.
Who knows? You might find that the key to getting your brand out there is a new type of media you haven’t yet taken a chance on.
Be Different
A great goal is to find a way to stand out among the crowds. Do something you haven’t seen before. We’re not saying this is an easy thing to do. In fact, it’s one of the most difficult things for a business to do and it is why so many businesses have trouble expanding. But the good news is that the year just started. You have plenty of time to figure out a way in which you can be different and go out there to show your industry what it is.
What are some of your social business resolutions for the new year? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter! And happy New Year!
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Google updates its algorithm roughly 500 times per year, so we can expect some significant changes to Google in 2014.
Changes to Google are not uncommon. Very recently, Google completely overhauled their primary algorithm and introduced the world to Hummingbird. In 2014, we won’t necessarily see a move quite as significant (the last time Google implemented such an update was over a decade ago) but we can surely expect to see some changes to Google and the way we, as marketers, should adapt for it.
Focus on Conversation
If we know one thing for certain about Hummingbird, it is that it focuses on the conversational aspect of search. The assumption should no longer be that people are looking for, “Buy black winter hat cheap,” but rather, “Where can I buy a cheap black winter hat?”
The latter is referred to as a ‘soft search’ and this is the direction in which we need to focus our efforts as search and social marketers. Google made it clear when they introduced Hummingbird that it will integrate very heavily with Google’s social layer, which focuses on conversation in Google+ and other social networks.
In 2014, we should expect this focus to increase and optimize our content for these kinds of soft searches as opposed to focusing on keyword density (but that’s nothing new).
Focus on Social (Even More)
Expanding on that point about the social layer, changes to Google in 2014 will surely include an even greater focus on social activity. The reason why Google has transitioned to a soft search approach is because of how many people turn to social media in order to conduct their searches now.
When over 95% of people trust the recommendations made by friends and family, you know they are more likely to quickly post a question (like the winter hat example above) to Facebook while conducting their own research on Google. Considering links on social networks contribute (quite significantly) to improved search rankings – and we can expect that contribution to rise in the coming year – this should continue to be a focus for your brand in 2014.
Focus on Mobile
The world is going mobile. In fact, estimates suggest that by the end of 2013 (so, in other words, now) there will be more mobile devices than there are people on Earth. And by 2017, there will be an estimated 1.4 mobile devices on Earth per person. Suffice it to say that mobile is important.
As mobile devices become smarter and more user-friendly, people will increase their use of their mobile devices and slowly move away from their desktop. Not to mention the fact that in the developing world, mobile devices are much more readily accessible than desktops. One of the major changes to Google in the coming year is going to be an increased focus on mobile.
Ensure that your website, app and all of your content are optimized for mobile in order to ensure that it is easily shareable and discoverable. Over the course of the year, Google will be sure to incorporate mobile readiness into search rankings in a much bigger way.
Focus on Google+
The fact that there are still detractors from the platform is mind-blowing. This is a social network owned an operated by a search giant that openly tells people to focus on social media. What better place to share your content than on that platform’s social network?
Every year, Google+ becomes more important to search. Bit by bit, Google is transforming their business structure to become a more social company. Doesn’t it behoove your brand to be active on the networks they own?
These are just a few of the changes we can expect to come from Google in 2014. What will you do differently? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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Creative holiday video campaigns are always something people look forward to, and 2013 did not disappoint.
This year, quite a few brands decided to take a crack at the viral route and create a holiday video campaign that they felt would touch the hearts of the millions that watched and make these brands top-of-mind – if they weren’t already. But there is something different about marketing during the holidays that not every brand understands.
While the holiday season is make-or-break for many companies, it is also a time of giving, sharing and coming together. So, the aggressive salesperson angle will usually fall flat. This is the time of year when creativity needs to reign supreme, and these five brands did exactly that.
Instead of approaching the season as a time to sell, they approached as a time to give, laugh and, perhaps most importantly, make people feel good. The holiday video campaigns put together by the five brands below are certainly among the best this year, and some of the best we have ever seen.
Have a look and pick your favorite!
WestJet Christmas Miracle: Real-Time Giving
This is as heartwarming as it is impressive. A lot of thought went into creating this brilliant campaign and it does a lot to make you seriously consider abandoning all other airlines for WestJet.
John Lewis Christmas Advert 2013 – The Bear and the Hare
As noted above, this time of year is all about friendship and coming together. John Lewis, a UK-based retailer, made the millions of people who watched this video feel something very strong without using a single word.
Heineken – Carol Karaoke
Taking chances isn’t necessarily the first thing one thinks of when asked what comes to mind at the holidays. But Heineken managed to make that the focal point of this holiday ad.
Apple – Misunderstood
With an alternative perspective on today’s glued-to-your-phone culture, Apple helps people relate to technology on a much more personal level with this moving ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImlmVqH_5HM
K-Mart – Show Your Joe
Last but certainly not least, we all love to laugh. This funny advert from K-Mart leaves viewers with a chuckle again, without the use of a single word. It takes great creative minds to make people react without a blatant call-to-action.
And there you have it! These are five of the best holiday video campaigns of the 2013 holiday season. Which one is your favorite? Did you love one that wasn’t listed? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
https://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/social_logo_youtube.png00Corey Padveenhttps://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/logo-t2-300x138.pngCorey Padveen2013-12-18 06:15:522013-12-18 06:15:52The Best Holiday Video Campaigns of 2013
Your landing page is the first impression people get of your business when they click on an AdWords ad, so stick to the best practices.
For anyone who has ever looked into running an AdWords campaign, it is no secret that Google tries very hard to filter out the “bad eggs” by forcing users to adhere to certain guidelines. That extends to landing pages. But even if your ad and landing page are approved, you still need to ensure that you have stuck to some landing page best practices in order to drive conversions with your campaign.
Your Homepage is Not a Landing Page
Technically, your homepage is a page on which visitors can land, but that does not make it a suitable landing page.
You should not be directing people to your homepage. Generally, people click on an AdWords ad because it relates to their search. You are advertising a product, service or bit of information about something relevant to the person searching on Google. Send them to the page that is most relevant to that search’s keywords.
If you expect people to start searching through your website after you have directed them to your homepage, you’re wrong. You’ll see a much higher bounce rate and lower time on site and pages viewed if you place the burden of finding relevant information on the visitor.
Include a Clear Call-to-Action
It might seem sales-y, but if you do not provide people with a clear means of getting in touch with you or letting you know that they want to take the next step, they won’t.
The process needs to be made as simple as possible. Show them a clear space designated for their email address, name, phone number or any other bit of information you want to collect. Again, make it as easy as possible for visitors to take the next step will result in a much greater likelihood that they do.
Give Plenty of Information
People hate being confused. There is a reason why Google best practices for ads does not let advertisers create ambiguous ads with lots of flash. (For example, an ad that reads, “Do you want to make money NOW?!?!” will certainly be rejected.) The same concept applies to your landing page.
Put yourself in the shoes of the visitor. You see an ad that looks enticing. You click on it. You arrive at a page with lots of big text and flashy images, but everything is cryptic in nature. Sentences like, “Looking for the next big thing?” and “You could retire when YOU want!” will scare people off. They scream scam.
Focus on providing people with as much information in the simplest format possible. They clicked on your ad because it appealed to what they were looking for. When they get to your landing page, it should tell them what you are offering and give them a chance to find out more. (See the CTA best practice above.)
Test Your Landing Pages
You should always test different landing pages to see what strategies work best. Little things like the placement of your call-to-action can make a big difference in your conversion rates.
Let each page remain active for enough time in order to determine what is working and what is not, then take what you have learned into account when creating a new campaign or landing page.
Allow for Social Sharing
When you include social sharing buttons on your landing page, you give your audience the opportunity to do some of your work for you.
If you are running a cost-per-click or cost-per-acquisition campaign, your costs can start to pile up. If you give your audience a chance to share your content to social networks, or invite their friends to sign up for your service, you are both cutting your AdWords costs down and creating brand advocates to create awareness for your new product or service.
Follow these landing page best practices in order to get the most out of your AdWords campaigns. The ad is just the first part of the process!
What other best practices can you think of when it comes to running a Google AdWords campaign? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
https://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/landing-page-side.png00Corey Padveenhttps://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/logo-t2-300x138.pngCorey Padveen2013-12-17 06:15:322013-12-17 06:15:32Landing Page Best Practices for a Google AdWords Campaign
Late last week, Instagram launched Instagram Direct and now the world wants to know how it compares to Snapchat.
Instagram Direct comes just a short while after Snapchat turned down Facebook’s almost surreal offer of $3 billion. Well, if Snapchat thought they were holding all the cards, it seems as though they never considered Facebook’s contingency plans.
Instagram, as we all know, is a mobile photo-sharing app. Originally, users could tag friends in captions and make their profiles private. This was the only way to privatize the public network. Now, with Instagram Direct, users have the ability to send pictures to a select group of friends that only they can see. Sound familiar?
Well, if it does, that’s because the premise is very similar to Snapchat’s model. The difference rests in the fact that Snapchat’s appeal is the disappearing nature of images sent. They will only stick around for at most ten seconds (or thirty, if you are using the Story function). However, Instagram offers a few things that Snapchat does not and vice versa.
The Similarities
When one looks at Instagram Direct, it is clear that the feature was designed to compete directly with Snapchat. Users can take pictures, select a group of friends with whom to share the images, reply to images shared and filter their friends lists with both services.
The popularity of visual content is no secret. (There is a reason why Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion and offered Snapchat $3 billion.) Offering users a way to communicate with pictures? Priceless. It makes sense that apps like Instagram and Snapchat are so popular. But it is the differences that will determine a winner in this battle for photo-conversing supremacy.
The Differences
Snapchat images disappear. That is perhaps the biggest appeal of the app. You can feel safe knowing that any picture you take will disappear from viewers’ sight in at most ten seconds. With Instagram Direct, images will remain archived in a conversation. The benefit here is that Instagram Direct is designed for an actual, ongoing conversation to take place between a select group of friends either through comments of shared images. On Snapchat, images might be fun to share, but there is no way to like them, comment on them or maintain an ongoing conversation without simply sending a disappearing image back to the original sender.
As for editing, Snapchat allows users to post comments directly on an image and draw with their fingers. Instagram Direct allows for filters to be applied (as with traditional Instagram photos) and captions to be written. Once again, in terms of a conversation, Instagram opens up the possibility of conversing either through images or written responses. Snapchat, on the other hand, relies on a user responding with an image.
Snapchat is still ad-free and that makes people happy. Instagram has started sharing ads, and that makes people sad. (Or mad, if you have had a chance to read some of the comments.) But the reality of the situation is that these apps are businesses. Billion-dollar businesses need revenues. Ads generate revenues. Apps need ads. Snapchat had the option of remaining ad-free (for now) and integrating with Facebook as a free feature of the network. They chose to decline the acquisition request and are now left to figure out how revenues will be generated. Instagram will presumably make its money from ads on the public feeds, and Instagram Direct will remain ad-free so that friends can have uninterrupted conversations while staying on the network.
The Winner?
Time will tell.
Snapchat might see this move as an attempt by Facebook to quash the photo-sharing app after they rejected their offer. At least, that is how they will see it for now. Hundreds of millions of snaps might be sent every day on Snapchat, but you have to wonder if the investors that just fed Snapchat with another $50 million are a little nervous now that they see this new feature on Instagram. There is no revenue being generated by Snapchat and now there is what appears to be a very serious competitor emerging.
Do you use Snapchat? Do you plan on using Instagram Direct? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
https://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/instagram-verge-_0859_medium.jpg00Corey Padveenhttps://t2marketinginternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/logo-t2-300x138.pngCorey Padveen2013-12-16 06:15:172013-12-16 06:15:17What You Need to Know About Instagram Direct and Snapchat
One of Google’s latest social media patents promises to make the automated features of social media so realistic, you would never know the difference.
Late in November, Google received their latest social media patent. According to the filing, the new platform is designed as, “A system and method for automatically generating suggestions for personalized reactions or messages.” What does that mean? Well, for individuals and businesses, Google is now making it possible for you to be active on social media without ever being active on social media.
The program is designed to adapt to your voice and activity trends in order to react to posts, share content and essentially run your social profiles without you ever having to do a thing (once it has gathered enough information about your activity, of course).
No matter how you look at it, there are going to be two basic, extreme schools of thought: those that love the idea and feel as though it is going to make running a social business easier, and those that hate it. (NOTE: Those that hate it are probably the ones with an actual social business.)
The Secret to a Successful Social Business
It might not sound like a secret, but it seems so many people are still in the dark when it comes to understanding what it takes to run a successful social business: work. Hard work, investment and dedication are the most important tools you will need in order to succeed with your social business.
So many people know that social media is crucial to the longevity of their brands, but they keep looking for shortcuts. Shortcuts will not get you anywhere. Using a tool that automates your brand’s presence on social channels might work for Google rankings, but it won’t work for customers.
Bringing automation into the mix is exactly why so many people have moved away from conventional customer service avenues (like the phone and even email) and towards social. And how often are we shown examples of an “Epic Fail” when a brand sends out an automated response on Twitter? People want to interact with people. Even when it is a big brand, the human component that social media offers is why people continue to choose it over other means of communication.
Creating Your Voice
There are some forms of automation that work. Some brands choose to automate tweets in order to ensure that important messages are seen by the broadest audience possible. For those that use Hootsuite, some brands might choose to upload a content schedule for a number of networks. This is all fine once you have established your voice in a market. But it is the real-time responses and comments that people react to most.
Recycling your articles might be a great way of getting fresh eyes on old content, but if social has taught us anything, it is that real-time marketing is where you find your greatest success. People want to see that your brand is active on social channels. They do not want you to simply be present.
Running a social business is a serious commitment. No matter how many shortcuts are created, people are still going to want to talk to you. It is hard for any brand to call itself a social business when they are actively trying to avoid the social part of the term.
Would you use a product like this? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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The use of Pinterest and social media by Kotex proved to be one of the most successful and innovative social media campaigns run to date.
With the major announcement yesterday that Pinterest would now provide analytics to its business users, we thought an appropriate Case Studies this week would involve the use of the social network. And what better Pinterest-themed Case Studies than its use by Kotex last year to celebrate women’s inspiration.
The Campaign
As the world of social media exploded with the introduction of Pinterest last year, the first network of its kind, dominated almost entirely by women, Kotex and their social media marketing team had the brilliant idea to run a social media campaign centered on the women of Pinterest.
The brilliance lay in how they decided to design the program. Effectively, Kotex sought out the 50 most influential women they could find on the social network after reviewing thousands of accounts and their followers, and began searching through their boards to determine what inspired them. After that, they put together customized gift boxes inspired by these women’s boards, and reached out to these influencers on social media to share these gifts with them. They asked for only one thing in return: to repin the gift.
The results were far greater than what Kotex could have hoped for. Not only did nearly 100% of the 50 women comply with the simple request, but they went above and beyond. These women posted pictures of each component of the gift on both Pinterest and Instagram, made comments on Twitter, Facebook and reached out to their extended networks to tell them all about this wonderful gesture by Kotex.
By the end of the campaign – well, the end of Kotex’s analytics of the campaign, without measuring the extended secondary reach that the virality of the campaign created – Kotex had measured over 2,200 interactions and nearly 700,000 impressions. That’s quite the reach from contacting only 50 people directly!
Take a look at this video for a more comprehensive breakdown of the campaign:
The Lessons
There is a lot we can learn as marketers from this campaign. But when we consider the fact that this social media campaign relied heavily on a viral effect, we think the best lessons to pull from the Kotex Case Studies relate to the importance of influencers.
Find Your Influencers
Kotex knew their demographic and the audience they could reach, but they knew that referrals are so much more powerful than direct marketing. It was for that reason that the marketing executives at Kotex went looking for their social media influencers on Pinterest.
These were women who had a reach far beyond that of Kotex alone. And they were women with an audience that filled two vital criteria: the audience was made up of the right demographics and the audience was highly engaged with these influencers. When you can turn influential people into brand advocates, you can rest assured that you are going to generate quite a bit of new business. But in order to find these influencers, you need to keep this next lesson very much in the forefront of your thinking.
Influencers Can Be Anybody!
The women to whom Kotex sent gifts were not on any Forbes power list, they were not First Ladies and they were not Manhattan socialites – they were normal. (Well, that is not to say that these other women are not “normal” but you know what we mean.) These were every day women who happened to build a large and highly engaged following on Pinterest by simply being active and posting content their followers loved to share. It took a lot of insight for the marketing executives at Kotex to understand this.
When it comes to social media, industry influencers are no longer part of a closed off group comprised of the economic and social elite – anyone and everyone has the ability to be an influencer. Marketers need to keep this in mind.
Small Gestures Go A Long Way
The gift baskets sent by Kotex did not include fancy electronics, or high-priced jewelry. They were simply made up of small knick-knacks that Kotex knew these women would love because they did their research. Kotex could easily have sent them gift certificates for a lifetime supply of Kotex products, but rest assured, the returns would have been far fewer.
The reason why there was such a high response rate and such a viral effect was because Kotex customized these gifts to the tastes of the recipients. They did not need to include lavish, overpriced items because they knew that what they had included was worth much more. A little research into their industry influencers resulted in the numbers you see above. So remember, a little thought can get you a lot further than the easiest option.
Create Limitless Campaigns
Kotex asked these women to do one thing: repin the gifts. A simple request. But the beauty of social media is that these women decided, on their own accord, to take the Kotex campaign to the next level, and involve virtually every avenue of social media they had access to. Kotex created a campaign that had an inherently viral element to it; by giving these women individually-inspired gifts and making them feel unique, it was only a matter of time before they shared the experience with their communities. Furthermore, Kotex did not give these women an ultimatum. The gifts were not a bribe, they were simply gifts with one small request. Giving these women the freedom to do what they wished with regards to sharing the gifts and experience with their communities led to them immediately taking the opportunity to boast about how special they felt thanks to Kotex.
Don’t Hope to Go Viral – Work Your Way There
Kotex was lucky that the campaign was as innovative and original as it was. At the time, Pinterest was the newest, hottest social network and Kotex was the first brand to take advantage of it in the way that they did. First-mover advantage worked wonders for the Kotex brand, but we cannot all hope that our social media campaigns will go viral the way the Kotex campaign did. So, when putting together your next campaign, reach out to your influencers, but don’t neglect the average customer or social media fan. After all, by targeting influencers, the ultimate audience whom you hope to reach is the average user, so make an effort to reach out to every person you can. Brand loyalty is brand loyalty wherever you find it.
The Kotex example is one of the finest uses of Pinterest and social media to date. As marketing on social media continues to evolve, it is certain that we can expect other campaigns to catch on as virally as this one did, but with regards to the use of influencers, it is hard to think of another example as perfect a Case Studies as this one.
How are you reaching out to your influencers? What methods do you use to determine who your industry influencers are? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
Social media turned the Old Spice brand into a personality with which people were eager to engage.
In the last few years, Old Spice has become a crowned jewel of social media. Their campaigns consistently skyrocket and the brand has developed such a distinct personality that anyone familiar with the brand can recognize one of their campaigns almost immediately. What is most fascinating about their branding, you ask? Well, perhaps it is the fact that, unlike Rome, it was built in a day. (Well, not a day, but you get the idea.)
In today’s Case Studies, we aim to explain how Old Spice used social media to quickly (and quite successfully) create a virtual personality that led to the explosion of their brand in new markets and demographics.
The Background
In 2010, Old Spice created the character that has widely become known as “The Old Spice Guy” and the campaign developed an instant following. When a second commercial aired with the same praise and hype, Old Spice decided to go the social media route, and did something brilliant: they never broke character.
Slowly, the proliferation of the Old Spice brand on social media began to pick up steam, and, as if by divine intervention, Old Spice did not seem to slip up in any of their steps along the way, creating a set of guidelines that any marketer should adopt when attempting to create a social media personality for a brand.
The Lessons
Be Original
People are always intrigued by something they have never seen before. Until their campaign, no one had ever seen a brand persona like the one Old Spice had created. Of course, since the dawn of marketing there have been mascots and spokespeople, but never a brand personality so bold that clients and fans were eager to engage with it.
Originality is much easier said than done, of course. It is not every day that you are going to wake up with an idea that no one had ever thought of before. Countless brands have attempted to do what Old Spice has done in the last couple of years, but few have been successful. But thinking outside the box is exactly what made Old Spice so successful, and that is the first step to creating a winning social media campaign.
Be Consistent
The second, and possibly the most important step that Old Spice took was maintaining brand consistency across every channel onto which they expanded. Have a look at the Old Spice Twitter account. You’ll notice that the witty, charming and larger-than-life personality they originally created a few years ago exists there as well. The same holds true for their other social media channels. Brand consistency is one of the most crucial aspects when it comes to developing brand loyalty. After all, how can fans recognize your brand instantaneously if there are major differences between your channels?
So remember, once you have that winning edge, maintain it on every level of your marketing, particularly in social media where you will be engaging with your audience. Which brings us to the next takeaway…
Never Stop Engaging
Commercials are one thing, but ongoing, personalized and genuine engagement with its fan base is what led to the ongoing success of Old Spice’s social media efforts. As with any campaign, Old Spice knew that eventually fans would move on and grow tired of the standard promotional commercials. So what did they do? They (once again) never broke character and engaged with their fans through personalized responses (whether they were tweets, videos or posts) in a timely and comedic fashion.
This kept fans coming back, asking questions or making comments in the hopes that “The Old Spice Guy” would respond to them. What did this mean for the Old Spice brand (as a company)? It meant increased brand loyalty through the strategic use of social media. As we noted above, people fell in love with the personality Old Spice had created on social media, and this kept them coming back to the brand on social media, and anxiously awaiting more content. As far as the business side of things was concerned, it meant a very quick 107% increase in sales.
Avoid Selling on Social Media
Last but certainly not least, Old Spice avoided selling their product on social media. Of course, posting commercials that are meant to advertise the product is different, but as far as engaging with fans goes, Old Spice kept to entertaining and shied away from selling. People like personalities, not salespeople, and Old Spice recognized that. And it was the right thing to do. After all, the personality they created took care of the sales, which is clear in the numbers above.
Old Spice showed that creating a personality on social media that engages with its audience (Old Spice was engaging with fans that ranged anywhere from celebrities to Twitter users with less than 100 followers) can build brand loyalty faster than any other form of marketing. Listening, engaging, consistency and originality were the four cornerstones of the success of Old Spice on social media. This is not to say that any idea is going to skyrocket the way Old Spice’s campaign did, but it never hurts to try something and see what happens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z10Hrsx7FBY
Which of these lessons do you think will be most helpful in building your next campaign? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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Twitter marketing can be an excellent resource, but only if it is done properly.
Time and time again we stress the importance of a strategy when it comes to Twitter marketing and other forms of social media marketing. Where Twitter marketing differs, however, is in the approach you take to promoting your brand. As we never tire of pointing out, Twitter is not a realm apt for self-promotion. And if you approach the social network as a place to simply tout your brand and aggressively pursue conversions, you will be disappointed with the results. So how can you go about conducting your Twitter marketing in an efficient manner so that you get the most out of all the social network has to offer from a business perspective?
Below are three pointers that should help you get the most our of your Twitter marketing efforts. Twitter can be an exceptional tool for driving business, but your strategy must be in line with Twitter best practices in order to see the best results.
1. Establish Your Goals and Measurement Criteria
There is an entire world of untapped leads and potential clients on Twitter, and heading into the social network blind may leave you stumbling to get on track. Therefore, before embarking on your Twitter marketing campaign, you should first define both your goals and how you plan on measuring said goals. If you jump into Twitter expecting that your first tweet will garner dozens of retweets and loads of conversions and followers, you’re going to be disappointed. (Unless of course you’re a celebrity, in which case we appreciate you reading our blog!) Your strategy needs to include a few key criteria. Below is a list of things to consider when launching your Twitter marketing campaign.
Who is your target audience?
Are you looking for followers in a geo-targeted area or worldwide?
Are you hoping for conversions on a website or at a location?
Once you’ve answered these questions, it is time to get a little more specific.
Do you already have a set of followers? If so, how would you categorize them? If not, how do you plan on acquiring them?
If you are looking for followers in a specific location, how do you plan on finding them?
What do you consider a conversion from Twitter? Is it s click through? A download? A subscription? A purchase?
Are you hoping to use Twitter to increase your current business or start something new?
The answers to these questions are essential before you begin marketing on Twitter. Once these goals are defined, you can establish your measurement criteria. This is a little trickier, because in order to measure the success of your Twitter marketing, you need to have answered the third question in the second set of bullet points above: What do you consider a conversion from Twitter? Once you have this answer, you can set up the appropriate criteria for monitoring the success of your campaigns.
2. Design Your Messages Around Your Niche
As you begin building your audience, you are going to want to keep them captivated. One devastating mistake many marketers often make is sending out nothing but self-promotion. While you might be the expert in a given field, constantly telling people about it and ignoring engaging content will get you nowhere. You will want to design your messages around the niche you wish to target in order to keep them engaged. Below are a few helpful tips to consider when drafting your messages and content.
People love advice and garnering knowledge, so share what you know to showcase your expertise as opposed to simply stating that you are the expert.
Quick, entertaining content is a great way to engage with your followers. Share fun facts and quirky anecdotes that people want to see.
Focus on a designated subject or theme that stretches across all of your messages. Keep your content on track so that the niche audience you build stays engaged.
Do not bombard you followers with links and promotional content. Once in a while a message like this is fine – but this should under no circumstances be your starting point.
Engaging content should be the focal point in drafting all of your Twitter messages. One goal that should always be present is to convert your audience members into brand advocates. We can’t all be Coca-Cola or Harley Davidson – we have to work to get our fans coming back. And, as with all social media, content is king when it comes to boosting your audience.
3. Narrow Your Audience with Twitter Lists
Twitter Lists are a fantastic way of segmenting your audience into appropriate categories. Say you have a thousand followers. Great! But not all of them will be following you for the same reasons. Some might follow you because they are in the same industry. Some might follow you because they are interested in your online product or service. Others might follow you because they live in your area, and are already physical customers. Each of these three categories will respond to your content differently. Lists will help you engage with all of them in the right way.
Once you have segmented your followers into lists, you will be able to design campaigns and messages to go out that are geared towards engaging with one of these groups specifically. The industry members might not be interested in your sales and promotions, but they might find some of your industry-relevant messages much more useful. Your physical customers may have no use for online promotions, but they might jump at the chance to collect in-store offers promoted via Twitter. Take this into account when setting up your campaigns, and use the Twitter Lists to your advantage.
These are just a few of the best practices when it comes to Twitter marketing. Over time, your Twitter strategy evolves and some of these points change and disappear while new ones are added. But to get the most out of your Twitter marketing when you are getting started, these pointers should certainly help.
Can you think of any other best practices when it comes to launching your Twitter marketing? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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When it comes to social media success, knowing the best practices is crucial.
Time and time again, we stress the importance of following certain best practices when it comes to your social media strategy. Sometimes it can be hard to keep up. But, regardless of how much there might to keep track of, it is vitally important to the success of your social media campaigns that you follow best practices so as not to lose out on possible successes.
While these rules might be modified or discarded over time – depending on what you are looking to get out of your social media program – there are some that will always remain. The infographic below details 36 rules of social media engagement and conduct. While some of these may seem simple or even trivial, they are there for a reason. Over time, as your program evolves, these rules should be your constant. Keep in mind that while social media might be changing, people (your customers), in general, stay the same. So have a look at these social media rules of engagement and see if you could be doing anything differently.
Can you think of any social media rules that are not present here? Which ones do you think are the most important when it comes to business? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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You might have great content, but if you are not choosing the right SEO keywords for optimization, you might not get anyone to see it.
There are plenty of SEO tricks and tips when it comes to getting found on search engines using targeted keywords, but the only way to ensure that your results are not only growing, but qualified, is to have an SEO strategy in place when it comes to selecting your keywords. One of the trickiest parts of building a social media strategy is that most people have no idea how search engine ranking positions (SERPs) are determined, nor do they know how to go about maximizing their efforts when it comes to increasing their SERPs. Below are a few of the best practices we have observed when it comes to choosing the right keywords for SEO on your website.
1. Don’t Go Overboard
While you might think that optimizing your site for dozens of keywords is your best option for maximizing SEO, the reality is that too many keywords will dilute your results and won’t help your SEO for any one category. We have found that optimizing for five keywords is the golden ticket when it comes to SEO. So, while your industry might have hundreds of keywords to choose from, try and keep it simple in order to avoid missing the mark entirely. Ultimately, you want a keyword density across all of your content between 2% and 5%. What is keyword density? This is the number of times your keywords are mentioned in relation to the total number of words in you content. So try to keep that in mind as well when drafting your posts.
2. Love Your Industry, Not Only Your Brand
Industry keywords perform much better than specific brand keywords. You might think that the more you mention your specific brand, the higher it will rank. While this is true, people might not be searching for “Acme Car Repair” – in fact, the majority of searches will not. So you are better off optimizing your content for the generic “car repair”, and other industry keywords as opposed to simply optimizing for your brand. While the ultimate goal is for people to be searching for your brand specifically, it may not start out that way. Not all of us are a Coca-Cola or a Harley Davidson, and may not have an internationally recognized brand name. So focus on the generic and allow your brand to reach the top of those results organically.
3. Do Your Research
Before choosing any one keyword, it is important to know whether or not you are choosing the right keywords. In keeping with the previous example, you might think that “automotive repairing” is the right keywords for your brand. But without the proper research, you might not realize that “car repair” has not only more global search results, but less competition density. How can you figure this out? The Google Keyword Tool allows users to search for keywords for free, and helps you choose the best keywords for you industry along with other suggestions for comparison.
The image above shows a comparison of these two keywords in terms of monthly Google search results along with some additional suggestions for other keywords. Studying this data will allow you to choose the best keywords when it comes to drafting your content for SEO.
4. SEO is an Ongoing Process
SEO is constantly evolving, and if you optimize for a set of keywords today, it might not be the same tomorrow. (Well, it might be the same tomorrow, but you know what we mean.) This holds particularly true for seasonal industries. Say you are living in the Northeast – the search term for “cheap winter tires” will be much higher during the winter months than in mid-July. So be sure to update your content regularly (corporate blogs are a great way to do this) and do your research on a regular basis in order to ensure that your site’s SERP does not drop over time.
5. Speak with the People
While your car repair company might be full of experts using complicated mechanic jargon throughout the course of the day, that does not mean that your average customer will have any idea what that means. As a result, he or she will not be searching for those terms when trying to find you. Optimize your results on a global level and avoid using complicated internal terms so that even the least savvy customer stumbles upon your page. Expertise is a great thing to have, and will result in increased business, but optimizing for terms that most people do not use will never help your SERPs.
Can you think of any other keyword selection tips that will help boost your SERPs? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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When it comes to social media marketing, engagement is crucial, and Facebook is one of the best avenues to get the most out of it.
Despite the fact that Facebook is apt for social media marketing and a key source for customer engagement, several companies are not approaching the social network in the right way when it comes to business. Below is a set of 4 tips you can use in your social media marketing strategies to improve your Facebook engagement and get the most out of the social network for your business or brand.
1. KISS: Keep It Short and Simple
People, particularly experts in a given field, feel as though Facebook is the perfect place to showcase their talent and boast about their services over a competitor’s. While Facebook is a great place to capitalize on watchful eyes, it is the wrong place to bore potential leads to tears with long, drawn-out posts explaining what you do and how you do it. This is a step best left to the lead nurturing phase of a relationship, and it is the wrong way to approach social media marketing. In fact, a recent study shows that the optimal number of characters for an engaging Facebook post is 80. By keeping your posts short, to the point and full of engaging content (Point 3) people will feel more compelled to engage with your brand and find out more about you. While you may be able to write paragraph after paragraph of self-touting information, Facebook users are not looking for that. So, to sum up, keep it simple!
2. Nobody ‘Likes’ a Showoff
That holds true for both the real world and the world of social media marketing. Social media is about being social, and one of the least social things a brand can do is post content that is purely self-promotional. (This holds true for parties as well, by the way.) LinkedIn is a network designed around the concept of promoting services and expertise, and Facebook is not. Like we mentioned above, engagement arises out of commonalities, not from promotional posts. Share information, ask questions, and get visitors to your page interested in carrying on a conversation.
3. Engagement Only Happens if People are Encouraged to Enagage
We noted above that you’ll need to post updates with engaging content. Now you may find yourself, asking, “Well, how can I have engaging content that is short and simple?” There are two answers to that question that have proven effective and easy to use: questions and pictures. Images and questions prompting an answer have the highest engagement rates of any for of content on Facebook. By asking short questions or prompting a comment like, “Provide a caption for this image!” people are seeing far more engagement than they do with other types of posts.
4. Do Your Research
Those first three tips are a cakewalk. They’re easy to follow, easy to employ and do not require much more work than simply following the given steps. This last tip is a little bit trickier. If you want to capitalize on views, shares, comments and other engaging aspects offered on Facebook, you’ll need to do you research to find out when your optimal times to post might be. Luckily, Facebook Insights offers tons of great information that can help, but you will have to find it, study it and adjust your Facebook strategy accordingly.
If you follow these four steps you are sure to see quite a bit of improvement when it comes to your Facebook engagement. Can you think of any other helpful tips that will add to you engagement levels? Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!
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How can you go about maximizing your twitter marketing efforts to get the most out of the social network?
Twitter is a phenomenal resource for any kind of business. The real-time conversational aspect that it brings gives it a certain unique feel and a environment apt for engagement, but what are some Twitter marketing techniques businesses should adopt in order to get the most out of it? Below are some of the top Twitter marketing strategies businesses can employ in order to capitalize on all that Twitter has to offer to businesses.
1. Be Authentic
Don’t automate your posts – no one wants to hear what a machine has to say as it randomly generates messages using your pre-loaded content. People follow you to hear what you have to say, so tell them! If you decided to take the stage, and hundreds or even thousands of people came to hear you speak, would you simply play a recording a leave? Probably not. And if you did that, di you think they would stay? Also unlikely. So share what’s on your mind and engage with an audience that is eager to hear what you have to say.
2. Engage!
People like to converse and be heard. As a brand, it is your responsibility to listen to the customer and engage with them wherever possible. Nowhere is it more possible than on Twitter! As we noted above, Twitter is an avenue build for real-time conversation. So when someone is engaging with your brand, it is always in your best interest to address their comment, be it positive or negative.
3. Avoid Self-Promotion
Sure, the end goal is to convert these leads into clients, but endless self-promotion is nauseating, and the only thing you’ll succeed in doing is alienating your brand. We noted this in an earlier blog post and we are sticking by it. Social media is not for self-promotion, but for brand promotion thriugh engagement. When people are loyal to your brand, they will convert into customers.
4. Create a Relevant Database
It might be nice to see that you have thousands of followers and are following thousands of others, but this might not mean you have an account full of quality. If the goal is sales, then you will want to have as many targeted followers as possible, and the same goes for those you are following.
Can you think of any other best practices when it comes to Twitter marketing? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
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Google Analytics is an outstanding tool. With the right filters, goals, segments and understanding, it can be as powerful as many enterprise level softwares when it comes to tracking the success of your digital and social marketing.
As social business becomes the norm, brands are beginning to understand that in order to succeed, there needs to be a comprehensive social business plan in place before getting started. Simply diving headfirst into social media is no longer an option. If a company is serious about transitioning into the social era, then a social business plan is a must.
Considering social business is still a relatively new phenomenon, it is constantly evolving and we can only speculate as to where it will go next. 2013 saw the rise of the concept, and these predictions for social business suggest that we can expect to see it get even bigger and more widely understood in 2014.
Big Data into Actionable Items
Google+ Will Skyrocket
First, let us start off by wishing everyone a very happy New Year. We hope that you enjoyed some well-deserved R&R and you’re ready to get started with a new year full of potential!
Changes to Google are not uncommon. Very recently, Google completely overhauled their primary algorithm and introduced the world to Hummingbird. In 2014, we won’t necessarily see a move quite as significant (the last time Google implemented such an update was over a decade ago) but we can surely expect to see some changes to Google and the way we, as marketers, should adapt for it.
Focus on Google+
This year, quite a few brands decided to take a crack at the viral route and create a holiday video campaign that they felt would touch the hearts of the millions that watched and make these brands top-of-mind – if they weren’t already. But there is something different about marketing during the holidays that not every brand understands.
Instagram Direct comes just a short while after Snapchat turned down Facebook’s almost surreal offer of $3 billion. Well, if Snapchat thought they were holding all the cards, it seems as though they never considered Facebook’s contingency plans.
Late in November, Google received 
As the world of social media exploded with the introduction of Pinterest last year, the first network of its kind, dominated almost entirely by women, Kotex and their social media marketing team had the brilliant idea to run a social media campaign centered on the women of Pinterest.
