twitter marketing Archives

How the New Twitter Character Limit Offers New Business Opportunities

November 15, 2017/by Corey Padveen

The new Twitter character limit (280; double the previous limit) and their business offering is trying to attract a new advertiser.

It’s no secret that Twitter has had its fair share of issues when it comes to sustaining profitability – even steady revenues. For advertisers, there is plenty to love when it comes to Twitter (like TV targeting, for example) but there has always been a certain evergreen element missing when it comes to the microblogging platform; a certain je ne said quoi, if you will. On this week’s earnings call, it seemed like Twitter had finally offered a relatively new and unique solution to their revenue woes, largely having to do with the Twitter character limit.

What Is Twitter Offering?

Make no mistake: Twitter has tried and failed plenty of times in the last few years to attract advertisers the way that Facebook did. There have been unique structures, mobile-specific options (before Facebook commanded the mobile space) and omni-channel approaches (think Twitter TV targeting) that have all underperformed (even though some of them could have been game-changers had they been approached differently). But the current bilateral approach (or, rather, pivot) might be Twitter’s most ambitious strategy yet to attract paying customers.

Despite some of their innovative moves (again, I refer back to TV targeting, which I still maintain has huge upside when done properly) Twitter has not been a favorite for the casual advertiser. The network does, however, have a major asset of value, and that’s an algorithmic feed. In its nascent stages, marketers were fearful that this meant a major decline in organic reach, similar to what happened with Facebook. They were correct, but it has taken until now for Twitter to realize how to capitalize on this asset.

Now, Twitter is offering a monthly subscription plan for businesses and longer character limits. This presents a new opportunity for advertisers that don’t necessarily want to run a full-scale campaign but want more impressions on their important, business-driving messages.

How Can Businesses Use this Service?

With Twitter’s algorithmic feed, organic reach for businesses saw a predictable decline. By subscribing to this service, tweets can now reach a greater number of users without having to spend the time (and individual campaign budgets) building a campaign. Combine that with the ability to say more in a given tweet, and there is a lot that businesses can like.

With the right messaging structure for longer tweets, a fairly significant amount of information can be shared; just think about how much people were able to say in 140 characters. Doubling that means that you can really showcase your insights or share information about your business, and you don’t need to go too deep into the sales pitch as you might have considered with a paid campaign. This means a more natural, conversational style of content creation, and with the subscription service, a greater reach for those tweets and no need to pay on a cost-per-click basis.

What do you think about the new structure being offered by Twitter?

Looking Towards the Future of Twitter

March 22, 2016/by Corey Padveen

What exactly is in store for the future of Twitter? With a lot of changes, there are a lot of possibilities.

Twitter has been put under the miscroscope since they released some troubling numbers back in February. Sure, revenue and profits were up, but user growth had stagnated. (Not decreased, but not grown, either.) This led many to start questioning whether or not Twitter has a future as an independent, public company, or if a takeover is inevitable.

Since then, some significant changes have been made with regards to the structure and functionality of Twitter. A lot of these changes, one in particular, impacts how brands and businesses (small ones especially) can benefit from the use of the network.

Algorithmic Updates

Many brands have been enjoying significant organic reach and engagement for a very long time. Now, similar to what Facebook did, Twitter has changed its free-for-all structure (where everything you see in your timeline is ordered chronologically) and implemented an algorithmic structure whereby the order of your tweets runs according to their relevance and popularity.

This is great news for brands with a highly engaged audience – your content will be shown more often. This isn’t such great news for brands and individuals currently in the process of trying to build an audience. That just became significantly more difficult.

Slowly but surely, social networks are moving towards the pay-to-play model (as Facebook has and as Instagram is beginning to do). What does this mean? It means that in order to see your content reach more people and generate the engagement (and clicks) you’re hoping to receive, you’ll need to be willing to make an investment in advertising. This won’t necessarily be true to all brands, but it will be a universal law for the little guys trying to get content and accounts to appear to targeted networks.

How Algorithms Impact Twitter

As far as how these new algorithmic ordering updates will impact the future of Twitter, there is both a positive angle and a negative angle. On the negative side, users are not particularly pleased. That’s a pretty obvious one because they can read between the lines; they now know that an algorithm like this one means a lot less organic reach and a greater need to invest in advertising. For businesses, when something goes from free to paid, there’s a lot of tension.

On the positive side, brands and individuals are now much more willing to pay for these kinds of services. There are now over three million advertisers on Facebook. That’s not a huge number when compared to the total number of users, but it’s significantly higher than the number of Twitter advertisers. A move like this all but guarantees that Twitter will start to acquire new advertisers. But the thing they will need to keep in mind has a lot more to do with whether or not this comes at the right time.

When growth has stalled, you ask yourself whether or not you’ve reached the critical mass necessary to stay relevant for an extended period of time, and the answer to that question determines how viable a point it is to be making these changes.

Based on a recent interview with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, he doesn’t see Twitter going anywhere.

Twitter’s Plans

It’s all about ‘live’.

We’ve seen several instances where Twitter reported more accurate news on current events faster than most mainstream news sources. That combined with products like Periscope makes it a real contender for top dog in the live events and streaming business (if you don’t already consider it to be in that position).

According to Jack Dorsey, “Twitter has this amazing ability to make the world feel a whole lot smaller, even though you’re not physically next to someone, and you’re actually experiencing the same thing, even though you’re not aligned. It feels like true, true connection.” That connection is something Twitter is looking to make the most of moving forward, and the focus seems to be largely on improving the experience of the users that are already there rather than focusing solely on user acquisition.

Whether or not this plan works remains to be seen, but optimism and an apparent road map are good signs.

10 Ways to Increase Your Twitter Followers

November 27, 2013/by Corey Padveen

In order to get your message out there, you are going to want to find ways to increase your Twitter followers.

While we are constantly told that it is all about quality over quantity, it is hard to deny that it looks good when a user has thousands of followers. It adds a degree of credibility and engrains within us this idea that they must be sharing interesting content if so many people have chosen to follow their account. So what can you do to increase your Twitter followers without having to use any black hat techniques?

Following these ten simple action items is a great way to help you start boosting your Twitter activity and increasing your brand’s Social Equity.

1. Fill out your bio.

Tell people about yourself. You are given a chance to let people know what they are getting when they follow with your bio. Don’t let it go to waste! It also adds credibility to your profile.

2. Be creative with your header.

When Twitter revamped their layout, they added header images. A lot of users leave this area blank, but a creative one can be a big reason why someone decides to follow your profile. Don’t let the space go unused.

3. Link your account with other channels.

You should have your Twitter feed on your blog (with an option to follow), it should be linked to your Pinterest profile, your Google+ profile and there should be a tab with your Twitter feed on Facebook. Basically, no avenue should be left unlinked to Twitter.

4. Embed your tweets.

It is very easy to embed your tweets on a blog post or your website. There is no reason why you should not be taking every opportunity to further promote the great content you are sharing on Twitter.

Read http://t.co/yc7nY3anBl to see how small businesses should use #SocialMedia

— t2marketing (@t2marketing) November 22, 2013

5. Take advantage of conversations.

You shouldn’t be tweeting to no one. Take advantage of the @ option and tweet to people. When people receive your tweets, they will be more likely to both a) engage with you and let their followers see what you are saying, and b) follow you.

6. Follow your followers.

Having a huge ratio of followers to following might work for celebrities or internationally recognized brands, but for individuals and SMBs, you are going to want to follow those who follow you. In addition to seeing great new content populate your feed, you will also expand your reach in the Twittersphere.

7. Use trending hashtags.

You can always see what hashtags are trending when you look to the left of your Twitter screen. If there is something that interests you, or something you can share, do it with the trending hashtag. There are thousands if not millions of people using and following that hashtag while it is trending. Increase your Twitter followers with its strategic use.

8. Keep your content fresh.

It is no secret that a lot of people and brands recycle their tweets. There is no shame in that, particularly when you are trying to increase clicks through to your content. But keep your content fresh. Change the wording and make sure that the links and content you share are going to still-relevant content. (Your followers should not be clicking to a link about buying trends from the 2008 holiday season.)

9. Ask questions.

Starting conversations of your own is just as important as joining in other people’s conversations. Ask your followers questions and get them to engage with you. People love sharing their opinions, for better or worse.

10. Keep it short and simple.

140 characters may seem short enough, but the truth is that if you keep it even shorter and simpler, you can improve your engagement. As sad as this reality might make you, people do not want to spend time reading through long tweets filled with multiple hashtags and links. Keep it to one of each and short enough that people can respond.

Try out some of these tips and see your follower count rise!

What are you doing to increase your Twitter followers? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

8 Annoying Things Brands Do on Twitter

October 21, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Twitter is a great platform for communicating with your audience, but try to avoid these annoying things brands do on Twitter!

Twitter is a pseudo-broadcast medium – that means that on Twitter, more so than most networks, we can drive traffic to landing pages and soft sell our product. That said, there are still a few annoying things brands do on Twitter, and you should avoid them at all costs.

Stagnant Automation

A lot of individuals and brands automate the messages they send out from their Twitter accounts – it’s not a secret, and if it is done properly, it is not a bad strategy. That said, if you are simply pumping out links and calls-to-action, and nothing of substance, you are going to lose the attention of your followers (and your followers themselves).

Ignore Replies

It is a lot of fun to see that someone has sent you a message. Imagine how great it would feel to have an ongoing conversation! A lot of brands make the mistake of ignoring their followers when a reply is sent. Engage!

Endless Links

Again, Twitter is a pseudo-broadcast medium. That does not mean that you should be sharing nothing but links to your followers. They want something with substance. Show your followers why they should keep following you with great content.

Mystery

What’s worse than always including a link with your posts? Posting nothing but links! For those that do not understand how Twitter works, let’s all get on the same page: nothing says spam like a link with no other content. Tell people what they are clicking through to!

ALL CAPS

Even the heading above is annoying. Seeing a tweet pop up written in all caps might do the job of grabbing my attention, but for all the wrong reasons. Grab attention with brief, enticing messages, not loud, annoying caps.

Retweets Only

There are a lot of people out there who share great content on an ongoing basis, and it might seem like a good idea to retweet that content to show people what you find interesting. But this strategy should be included with your original content. Let the world know what you think. Then throw some great retweets in there as well.

Rapid Fire

Have you ever found yourself sitting on Twitter, watching the tweets go by when all of a sudden your stream is flooded by a dozen tweets from the same account? Few things irk people more than this ‘rapid fire’ style of tweeting. Not only does it annoy your followers, it also hurts your brand. A tweet does not have a very long shelf life. If you expect your content to get any exposure, sending it all out at once is not going to be your best bet.

Spellign Erorrs

If there is one thing that hurts your image, it is spelling and grammar errors in your tweets. Proofread your content. It is only 140 characters. There is really no justifiable excuse as to why your tweets have these errors in them. It simply looks lazy.

Can you think of any other annoying things brands do on Twitter? Tell us about them in the comments below or on Twitter!

The Numbers Behind Twitter [INFOGRAPHIC]

October 10, 2013/by Corey Padveen

The numbers in this infographic help explain why Twitter’s IPO is such big news.

Last week, the biggest news to come out of the world of social media was undoubtedly that Twitter announced its IPO. The microblogging platform is looking to raise $1 billion, and the numbers behind Twitter help justify that price tag. One of our loyal blog subscribers shared this infographic with us.

For a long time, a certain stigma has been associated with Twitter by those that did not (and do not want to) understand it. It was seen as a hub for celebrities to tell the world what they were eating, and devoted fans to reach out to them. Anyone familiar with the network knows that this is not the case.

The numbers behind Twitter, showcased in the infographic below, explain why the network is worth every penny that it is looking to get. There are over two billion searches on Twitter every day. On Thursdays, the popular #ThrowBackThursday hashtag has the potential to reach over 30 million users. A proper Twitter strategy can mean major reach for the right brands.

With the new advertising features Twitter has rolled out, business applications are certainly growing.

Take a look at the infographic below and let us know which fact or figure you find most interesting. Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Source: The Numbers Behind Twitter

Interesting Vine Statistics [INFOGRAPHIC]

September 16, 2013/by Corey Padveen

We do not hear too much about Vine statistics, but there are some interesting ones available.

Last week, Dunkin’ Donuts premiered a commercial made entirely out of Vine videos. We don’t hear too much about Vine – at least not since Instagram video was made available to the public. Still, there are plenty of very interesting Vine statistics featured in this infographic.

Six seconds can be a very long time. There is a lot you can showcase in just a few seconds of video. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many can a video be worth? Still, people rarely talk about Vine even though it can still be used as a powerful part of a marketing strategy.

Of the Vine statistics below, we are most inclined to focus on the fact that since Instagram launched its video service, 37% more Instragram videos are shared on Twitter (Vine’s parent network) compared to Vine. That said, there are still some pretty interesting Vine statistics here, and they should be incorporated into any strategy when it comes to the network.

Which ones do you think is most interesting? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

3 Steps to Getting Started with Twitter

September 3, 2013/by Corey Padveen

What are the 3 key steps every brand should take when getting started with Twitter?

When you are getting started with Twitter, there are a few steps that must be taken in order for your page to look and work for you.

Below are the three steps that every brand should take before really getting started with Twitter marketing.

Complete Every Section

You create your Twitter account and are walked through several steps before you can start tweeting. These are not for nothing!

It is important that you fill out every one of your sections for several reasons. First, sharing links in your profile will help increase the ease with which followers can click through to your website or blog. Your about section also help with Twitter searches and SEO. With the right use of keywords in your Bio, it will be much easier for users to find your page.

Geo-targeting your tweets (and account) can be a very beneficial tool for local businesses trying to garner international attention. The ability for users to look you up by proximity means that it will be much easier to build a geo-targeted audience and help them find you.

Personalize Your Page

You have the option to include a profile image, a background image and a header image on your Twitter page. Take advantage of all three!

You can add valuable information to your background on the left-hand column. You can include specials, calls-to-action, your physical location(s) and anything else you would like your audience to know. Your background image can be an extension of your profile bio, or an image that tells the audience more about your brand.

Your profile image is your headshot. This is the first thing people see when they look at your profile and you don’t want to appear as nothing but an egg. The general assumption is egg=spam. Nothing hurts your brand more than having users think you’re a spambot.

Lastly, take advantage of your cover header image. Put something together that is both creative and a resourceful use of the space. Like the background image, your header is an extension of your profile, and allows you to do more than a short 140 character tweet might allow.

Hint: your profile image should be 150x150px (shows up at 80x80px), your background should be 2500x1600px with a 200px left border, and your header image must be 520x260px.

Segment Your Followers

Twitter Lists are a very under-utilized resource that can be very beneficial to your Twitter strategy.

When getting started with Twitter, create lists and segment your followers right from the get-go. If you find potential customers, put them into a list. Industry influencers should make up another list, and so on. When your followers are all given a clearly designated segment, you can send targeted messages to each. You can send promotional tweets to engaged potential customers and share an informative blog with your industry influencers.

Lists are a great way to drive targeted traffic from Twitter, and few brands use them effectively. Don’t miss out on the many uses of lists!

Keep these three steps in mind when getting started with Twitter and you will find that the network is about much more than sharing more than people might want to hear. There are many business applications to Twitter and these three important things will help you derive these benefits.

What other important beginner steps can you think of for Twitter? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Social Media Case Study: Examples of Vine by General Electric

August 22, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Video clips are becoming an increasingly popular feature of social media marketing, and there are several examples of Vine used both well and poorly by different brands.

Ever since Twitter’s acquisition of Vine earlier this year, we have seen different brands sharing examples of Vine – sometimes used in an innovative, excellent way, and other times we feel as though they missed the mark completely.

In some cases, when companies use Vine and other short video tools as part of their social media marketing, we can have both good and bad examples of Vine by the same brand.

General Electric tends to use Vine quite often. They have done some very unique and exciting things with the tool, but there have also been instances where they missed the target by a mile. Below is an example of each with some explanations as to why one works while the other falters.

Vine Used Well

On Pi Day (you know, March 14th, or 3.14) General Electric decided to wish everyone a Happy Pi Day with a quick Vine of an endless Pi-themed pie.

https://vine.co/v/bd1xMduMTp9

Why It Works

It is easy, clean and gets a friendly message across is a simple way. While there is a lot you can do in six seconds, you certainly don’t want to do too much. If you’ll recall, The Wolverine tried to pack a two hour movie into a six second Vine. This makes it hard to follow and instead of conveying everything, you end up with nothing that resonates. General Electric hit the right note with this Vine. People who knew what it was for were very appreciative, and it was clear enough that some people probably learned about Pi Day as well.

Vine Used Poorly

Even if you are right on target 99% percent of the time, that still leaves one in every hundred that will not work. This was the case with Inventor’s Day and General Electric’s attempt with Vine.

https://vine.co/v/bvdXevrLW5p

Why It Doesn’t Work

First of all, if you listen to this Vine with sound, you are wondering what in the world is happening. The biggest issue here is that the concept might make sense in theory, but the execution is all wrong.

The Harlem Shake videos were short to begin with, but they work on their own because of certain key features, namely the music and style. They cannot be condensed into six seconds. The issue with this Vine by General Electric is that it is clearly forced, and trying to take advantage of a popular concept for the sake of relating to a mass audience.

The idea does not work organically, and it shows. The key to a Vine is to do something intelligent that fits into the parameters. For this case, it simply did not work on Vine.

What other examples of Vine used both well and poorly can you think of? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

20 Interesting Twitter Statistics [INFOGRAPHIC]

August 19, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Twitter has gone through some big changes and the value of the network has been shown in a remarkable way, and these Twitter statistics show just how important it is.

Last week, Carl Icahn sent out a pair of tweets worth approximately $17 billion. Why? He mentioned that Apple was undervalued and the company’s stock shot up to levels it had not reached since January of this year.

It is no secret that Twitter is an extremely powerful channel. As a pseudo broadcast medium, it allots businesses certain privileges that other networks do not, that the ability to direct network traffic to sales-oriented landing pages. You can also engage with audiences in real-time conversations very easily, and you can manage your brand’s reputation and prevent issues from spiralling our of control.

Of the statistics in the infographic from Wishpond below, perhaps the most interesting one relates to the fact that the last valuation of Twitter put it at a healthy $10 billion. One wonders how last week’s events will change the value of the company, and how the structure of Twitter’s model as it applies to companies might change in the coming years.

Take a look at the fun Twitter statistics below and let us know which one you find to be the most interesting/shocking. Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Social Media Case Study: Standard Life

August 8, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Standard Life provides savings and insurance services and has been doing so for nearly 200 years – nothing so exciting to warrant a social media case study, right?

Social media is everywhere. Whether you are a major cutting-edge tech firm or a staple of the insurance business, social media has a place in your industry. Despite the long standing of Standard Life, Craig Johnston, in an interview with econsultancy, explained how and why the insurance giant decided to dive into the world of social media marketing.

Though the company took a crack (with some success) on Facebook and YouTube, they have found their true social media calling on Twitter and LinkedIn. Why? The marketing team took the time to develop a strategy, target influencers and reach out to very specific audience. The results have been outstanding.

Standard Life wanted to use Twitter as a means of providing additional resources and to engage with influential advisors. Well, after creating a functional content strategy and targeting the 30 users they deemed most influential to their target audience, they managed to garner nearly 67% of them as followers, and are now sharing content with them (and their clients, future prospects) on a regular basis.

On LinkedIn, Standard Life also wanted to reach out to influencers, so they created a private group for advisors and reached out to several they found to be most influential. By speaking to these individuals on a personal level, they managed to persuade many of them to join the group, which prompted several others to join (without an invite) as well.

There are quite a few great points that marketers can learn from this program.

Find Out What Works

This goes for both your industry and your brand. Facebook has a billion users so it must be the best network for you, right? Not necessarily! Maybe you will find that YouTube is where you generate the most referrals and social media success.

What is important is testing each market (with a clearly defined strategy, of course) in order to determine which one is going to work best for your business.

No One Is Bigger than Social Media

This is not saying that social media should replace your other marketing efforts. However, as we pointed out in an article about Social Media Marketing Myopia, thinking your brand is above the consumers’ preferences will leave you clamouring for business you once took for granted.

Insurance may not be the most exciting field, but there is still room for a social media presence. Johnston and his team realized this, and it is important that other marketers realize it as well.

True Value Rests with Brand Loyalists

The longevity of a company rests with its brand advocates. When word-of-mouth spreads far beyond product evangelists, you can feel safe in the future success of your brand. As Johnston notes, “The funnel has now changed so we are always trying to drive advocacy. Companies have to offer customers free stuff, such as information and advice, to add value and help encourage a purchase.”

Showcase your expertise and keep them coming back and wanting more.

What other examples can you think of where companies in relatively unsocial industries found room for social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Case Studies: Examples of Vine by General Electric

August 22, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Video clips are becoming an increasingly popular feature of social media marketing, and there are several examples of Vine used both well and poorly by different brands.

Ever since Twitter’s acquisition of Vine earlier this year, we have seen different brands sharing examples of Vine – sometimes used in an innovative, excellent way, and other times we feel as though they missed the mark completely.

In some cases, when companies use Vine and other short video tools as part of their social media marketing, we can have both good and bad examples of Vine by the same brand.

General Electric tends to use Vine quite often. They have done some very unique and exciting things with the tool, but there have also been instances where they missed the target by a mile. Below is an example of each with some explanations as to why one works while the other falters.

Vine Used Well

On Pi Day (you know, March 14th, or 3.14) General Electric decided to wish everyone a Happy Pi Day with a quick Vine of an endless Pi-themed pie.

https://vine.co/v/bd1xMduMTp9

Why It Works

It is easy, clean and gets a friendly message across is a simple way. While there is a lot you can do in six seconds, you certainly don’t want to do too much. If you’ll recall, The Wolverine tried to pack a two hour movie into a six second Vine. This makes it hard to follow and instead of conveying everything, you end up with nothing that resonates. General Electric hit the right note with this Vine. People who knew what it was for were very appreciative, and it was clear enough that some people probably learned about Pi Day as well.

Vine Used Poorly

Even if you are right on target 99% percent of the time, that still leaves one in every hundred that will not work. This was the case with Inventor’s Day and General Electric’s attempt with Vine.

https://vine.co/v/bvdXevrLW5p

Why It Doesn’t Work

First of all, if you listen to this Vine with sound, you are wondering what in the world is happening. The biggest issue here is that the concept might make sense in theory, but the execution is all wrong.

The Harlem Shake videos were short to begin with, but they work on their own because of certain key features, namely the music and style. They cannot be condensed into six seconds. The issue with this Vine by General Electric is that it is clearly forced, and trying to take advantage of a popular concept for the sake of relating to a mass audience.

The idea does not work organically, and it shows. The key to a Vine is to do something intelligent that fits into the parameters. For this case, it simply did not work on Vine.

What other examples of Vine used both well and poorly can you think of? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Case Studies: Standard Life

August 8, 2013/by Corey Padveen

Standard Life provides savings and insurance services and has been doing so for nearly 200 years – nothing so exciting to warrant a Case Studies, right?

Social media is everywhere. Whether you are a major cutting-edge tech firm or a staple of the insurance business, social media has a place in your industry. Despite the long standing of Standard Life, Craig Johnston, in an interview with econsultancy, explained how and why the insurance giant decided to dive into the world of social media marketing.

Though the company took a crack (with some success) on Facebook and YouTube, they have found their true social media calling on Twitter and LinkedIn. Why? The marketing team took the time to develop a strategy, target influencers and reach out to very specific audience. The results have been outstanding.

Standard Life wanted to use Twitter as a means of providing additional resources and to engage with influential advisors. Well, after creating a functional content strategy and targeting the 30 users they deemed most influential to their target audience, they managed to garner nearly 67% of them as followers, and are now sharing content with them (and their clients, future prospects) on a regular basis.

On LinkedIn, Standard Life also wanted to reach out to influencers, so they created a private group for advisors and reached out to several they found to be most influential. By speaking to these individuals on a personal level, they managed to persuade many of them to join the group, which prompted several others to join (without an invite) as well.

There are quite a few great points that marketers can learn from this program.

Find Out What Works

This goes for both your industry and your brand. Facebook has a billion users so it must be the best network for you, right? Not necessarily! Maybe you will find that YouTube is where you generate the most referrals and social media success.

What is important is testing each market (with a clearly defined strategy, of course) in order to determine which one is going to work best for your business.

No One Is Bigger than Social Media

This is not saying that social media should replace your other marketing efforts. However, as we pointed out in an article about Social Media Marketing Myopia, thinking your brand is above the consumers’ preferences will leave you clamouring for business you once took for granted.

Insurance may not be the most exciting field, but there is still room for a social media presence. Johnston and his team realized this, and it is important that other marketers realize it as well.

True Value Rests with Brand Loyalists

The longevity of a company rests with its brand advocates. When word-of-mouth spreads far beyond product evangelists, you can feel safe in the future success of your brand. As Johnston notes, “The funnel has now changed so we are always trying to drive advocacy. Companies have to offer customers free stuff, such as information and advice, to add value and help encourage a purchase.”

Showcase your expertise and keep them coming back and wanting more.

What other examples can you think of where companies in relatively unsocial industries found room for social media? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Case Studies: Oreo

May 23, 2013/by Corey Padveen

It is tough to say what story was bigger in Super Bowl XLVII: the stadium blackout or Oreo’s real time brilliance.

The most memorable moment of the 2013 Super Bowl was not a last second touchdown, or a heartbreaking finish, but rather a lengthy blackout that broke Twitter records. And what took place on Twitter from the brilliant marketing minds at Oreo was a simple post that blew social media marketers away.

Hundreds of millions of people were watching when the power went out in New Orleans. Twitter began flooding with activity from confused fans and viewers. It wasn’t long before a simple tweet from Oreo became the focus of the entire event, and the focus of marketers, bloggers and news sources for the days that followed.

The tweet was retweeted over 15,000 times, Oreo’s follower count increased by roughly 8,000 and their Facebook post (of the same image) received over 20,000 Likes. Oreo, in the midst of an Instagram campaign, also saw their Instagram follower count increase from about 2,000 to 36,000 after the game – the majority of whom joined in on the campaign after seeing the tweet and/or Facebook post.

The real-time marketing efforts of Oreo were simple, inexpensive, impromptu and the results were outstanding. Below are a few of the key takeaways marketers can learn from this little effort from Oreo that went a long way – very quickly.

Social Media Never Sleeps

Granted, Oreo posted their image during one of the busiest social media events of the year, but the fact remains: if you are running a social media program, you should know that it is not your typical 9-5 gig. A presence on social media needs to be ongoing and engagement with your audience should always be a focal point.

Be Ready When Opportunity Knocks

The marketing team at Oreo was not sitting in a control room waiting for a blackout to occur at the Super Bowl. (Though we are sure there is no shortage of conspiracy theories!) This was a spur of the moment post, and one so topical that it was literally the only thing on anyone’s mind.

Commentary in real-time on ongoing events is always going to receive more recognition than a post that is late to the party. That is not to say that you should have posts waiting and ready to go for any and all events, just don’t miss an opportunity when it comes knowcking, because when it comes to social media, events like this are few and far between, and pass rather quickly.

The Soft Sell is Key

This is a sales ad. Whether or not it looks like one, the goal of this bit of quick-thinking is to get you thinking about Oreo the next time you are in the market. Social media is all about the soft sell. Creating an engaging personality for your brand is what drives sales on social, and that is exactly what this ad does for Oreo. It is quirky, fun, and gets Oreo on the mind.

An ad like this turned thousands of people into brand advocates, and the proof of that is in the shares, likes, comments, retweets and other types of engagement. Remember, when it comes to selling on social media, you want to create content that engages others to share your brand’s message, not just you.

Some quick thinking created a tremendous Case Studies for Oreo. A little bit of effort and ingenuity paid off big time, and others took note. Just a short while later when Poland Spring faced a similar situation, they tried a similar response, but were nowhere near as successul as Oreo. They simply weren’t quick enough.

What did you take away from this Case Studies? Have you changed your strategy since this took place during the Super Bowl? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Social Media: Week-in-Review, May 11, 2013

May 11, 2013/by Corey Padveen

In case you missed some of the topics we covered this week, here is the social media week-in-review!

4 Tips for Creating a Great Facebook Ad Campaign

Facebook Ads are everywhere. Whether we notice them or not, we are always seeing ads pop up on the social network; they have just done a pretty good job of making them look like business as usual. So why do we click on some and not others? Find out how you can increase click-through rates on your Facebook Ad campaigns with these great tips!

The Importance of Mobile in the Marketplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

Mobile marketing is of ever-growing importance. Every year, it is becoming more crucial that marketing strategies incorporate some facet of mobile, or risk missing out on a massive, engaged and growing audience of potential customers. Find out why mobile marketing is so important in this great infographic!

Understanding the Facebook EdgeRank Algorithm

Many of us have heard about the Facebook EdgeRank algorithm, and some of us may even have an idea of what it is. But like any proprietary algorithm, the details are often scarce and it is unclear what the exact function is. In this article about the Facebook EdgeRank algorithm, we aim to explain, simply, how it works and what you need to know about it when it comes to marketing.

Case Studies: Volkswagen

Volkswagen India was hoping to leverage the Indian market on their quest to becoming the largest automotive brand in the world by 2018. The marketing minds at Volkswagen decided, after some very careful planning, that their best avenue for success was LinkedIn, and their efforts paid off greatly. Find out why in this week’s Case Studies.

Social Equity: Big Value in Company Pages

Company pages, channels and accounts are available on nearly every major social network. We often take them for granted, but the value that company pages add to our business is pretty impressive. Find out about the benefits of company pages in this week’s Social Equity segment.

Have a look through some of these great articles, enjoy your weekend and have a relaxing and happy Mother’s Day tomorrow!

Case Studies: Best Buy

May 2, 2013/by Corey Padveen

The Best Buy Twelpforce program has taken the brand from a major force in local retail to an industry leader on social media.

Everyone knows about Best Buy, and everyone knows about their expertise. But a few years ago, Best Buy was faced with a challenge: How does a giant in electronics retail go beyond the walls of a store and engage with an audience, provide ongoing, real-time support, garner brand advocates and build their own brand on multiple channels in the most efficient, measurable way possible? The solution: @Twelpforce.

Twelpforce is Best Buy’s Twitter handle for their online community. Essentially, the Best Buy team provides support and answers to thousands of engaged users who want access to the Best Buy experts.

In this week’s Case Studies, we look at what Twelpforce has accomplished, and what genius lay behind the concept that led to it being such a huge success.

The Concept

How is Twelpforce designed? Essentially, it is a handle to which all Best Buy employees have access. Questions about anything and everything electronics-related can be sent, and the Best Buy team answers them as quickly as possible.

With thousands of employees actively engaging with the Twelpforce platform, there is no shortage of experts that can answer a customer’s question without ever trying to close a deal. Thus, people can be comfortable knowing that they are getting a genuine, qualified response from someone who truly knows what they are talking about without being worried that they have fallen into a sales trap.

The Genius

When it comes to Twelpforce, there is a lot for Best Buy to proud of. Tens of thousands of questions have been answered since the program was founded and it has been a continually growing success. Below are a few features of note from the Twelpforce program.

Focus on Conversation

If this Case Studies proves anything, it is that conversation is always better than monologue. In the first year of the Twelpforce program, Best Buy noted a 20% drop in customer complaints online. By engaging in active conversations with their clientele and providing simple, straightforward answers, Best Buy managed to boost customer morale and shrink complaints.

People like to talk to someone, with thousands of people ready to answer, conversation was inevitable.

Use Your Whole Team

People might hesitate to look at every employee and ask them to participate in a public, unfiltered conversation. Understandably so; particularly when you have a company as large as Best Buy. But the benefits to this tactic far outweighed the risks.

Limiting your engagement to a small team detracts from the purpose of a program like this. The goals, as noted above, are to start a conversation, and when you are simply providing support, there is nothing exceptionally unique. By involving the expertise of their whole team Best Buy accomplished two things: first, they ensured that questions would be answered promptly. Second, they ensured that no question would go unanswered, as they had a veritable “expert” in every field imaginable!

A 20% drop in complaints proves this was the right move.

If You’re There to Help, Help!

One of the most crucial aspects that led to the success of Best Buy was that they did not use their social community as a direct sales tool. Of course, if someone is asking about Best Buy-related products, then they can be driven to a landing page that helps them out further. But as far as sales go, that is not why people engage in a conversation with Twelpforce, nor would that angle have led to the same amount of success.

Twelpforce was designed to Tweet help (Twelp). By steering clear of the sales angle, Gina Debogovich, Community Manager at Best Buy noted the following: “Factoring in call deflection and sales influence, our online community engagements provide around a $5MM benefit to the organization.”

What strategy do you employ when it comes to engaging with your online community? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!

Case Studies: KLM Airlines

March 21, 2013/by Corey Padveen

This week’s Case Studies focuses on one of the most socially innovative airlines around: KLM.

When it comes to social media case studies, airlines often prove to have some of the most impressive, influential and trendsetting results. Yet, despite all of the data that supports the adoption of innovative social media marketing initiatives for airlines, few seem to be as willing to go the distance as KLM.

KLM’s social media program is brilliant…and they know it. When it comes to converting social media fans into paying customers, KLM is among the most successful brands around. In fact, on the KLM Facebook page, there is a section that breaks down their social media campaigns, explains how they went about executing them and posts the results. Effectively, they are their own Case Studies as to why social is important to business. But our focus is a little deeper than that when it comes to our weekly case study. We aim to pull out the lessons marketers can learn from the KLM social media program as a whole.

The Campaigns

Featured on the KLM Facebook page are seven of their most successful social media campaigns. These campaigns include everything from “KLM Surprise” whereby special gifts would be presented to passengers who checked into flights using Foursquare or Twitter, to the “KLM Tile & Inspire” campaign whereby Facebook fans were asked to convert their Facebook profile picture into a Delft Blue tile and complete that tile with an inspiring message to be used as part of a mosaic design on a KLM aircraft that would travel across the globe. Below are two videos breaking down these campaigns.

KLM Surprise

KLM Tile & Inspire

Each campaign was equally inspired and generated similar results. For the two campaigns above, KLM reaped some considerable social benefits. The breakdown of the two featured campaigns by the numbers is below:

KLM Surprise Analytics

Foursquare	17.528 followers
Youtube	154,722 views
Twitter	1.597 followers
Tweet reach	2,6 mln

KLM Tile & Inspire Analytics

Created tiles	120.000
Number of countries where tiles were created	154
Views of the 2 videos	1.3 million
Number of destinations the 777 flew to	23

While the analytics are impressive enough as it is, the fact that KLM went on to further convert many of these fans is all the more notable. But what we wish to focus on is what KLM did that was as innovative and bold as it was simple and calculated.

The Lessons

Be Bold (But the Right Way)

KLM has had far from a conventional approach to their social media program. From presenting new meal options using Facebook videos that introduce the “chefs” (the “KLM A La Carte” campaign) to the controversial “KLM Meet and Seat” campaign that gave passengers the ability to preview their seat mates based on social profiles, KLM has dared to be innovative with each of their social media campaigns. But it is important to keep something in mind: the marketing execs at KLM knew exactly what they were doing, and these risks were as calculated as any.

By understanding the lead to conversion process, the KLM executives were able to put these campaigns together using careful market research, amalgamated and improved data from their own failed exploits (discussed below), and a clear understanding of the sales process for both the customer and the brand. You don’t garner new customers from social media by doing the same thing as everyone else (hence, the “Be Bold” part of the lesson) but you certainly won’t find them if you scare them away (and that covers the “Right Way” aspect). So keep in mind that for a social media campaign to work, you need to impress your audience and have the data to support your seemingly daring decisions.

Never Be Afraid to Try Something New

Social media is still in its infancy, and social media marketing even more so. There is no shortage of innovation out there, and with the ever-changing landscape of social media, you should never be afraid to be first to market. Your first-mover advantage will be huge when people see you doing something that no one has done before. KLM understands that and they have capitalized on it at every turn.

The airline only jumped into social media in 2009, but in these short few years they have managed to try their hand at virtually every campaign available on social media. Whether it is a Facebook campaign, a Foursquare promotion, a YouTube contest or a Twitter “Live Reply” campaign wherein the airline responded to user tweets using up to 140 REAL people to spell out the message, you should never be afraid to try something that has never been done before. When it comes to social media, people want something they have not yet seen.

Try, Fail, Fix, Repeat

No one knows failed experiments better than KLM. Sure, they might have the budgetary luxury of making these mistakes, but over time they have learned exactly what they should not be doing in order to perfect their social campaigns. And on a smaller scale, you should never be afraid of the mistakes you make when it comes to social media. As we noted above, this is an incipient form of marketing; people are bound to make mistakes. But when you do, note your errors, redraft your campaign taking that into account, and start again.

For KLM, one of their big blunders came in 2011 when they offered a promotional gift to the first 50 male and first 50 female “Likers” of a post. Within minutes they had 1,500 “Likes” and no way of knowing which came when. Oops! But what is important is that KLM recognized their mistakes, fixed them and, more importantly, accepted their failures. And that brings us to our final lesson.

Humility is an Underrated Trait

People appreciate humility. It is a humanizing trait, particularly when it comes from a company as large and reputable as KLM. That is why the last important lesson to pull from KLM is that, while you might be a big brand, social media is a place for you to simply be a voice in the conversation. While an image needs to be maintained, you can be a little less corporate and little more fun when it comes to social (respecting professional boundaries, of course). As we never tire of pointing out, social media is about exactly that: being social. Not only does KLM have a post on their blog detailing some of their yearly bloopers, but they also make an important point in their step-by-step guide on running their social media program:

“Not that campaigns always need to be global and spectacular. Many of our establishments have successfully launched their local pages, and we’ve learned that the power often lies in simplicity — like showing the interior of a cockpit, or thanking someone for notifying us about broken lighting on our KLM sign. Our creative editorial board delivers a daily dose of captivating, engaging posts through our various channels.

Social campaigns have won us several awards, but it hasn’t been one success after the next. We’ve certainly had our share of bloopers. But rather than hushing them up, we decided to make them public and take them as a learning experience. And as it turned out, people liked us even more for it.”

Well said.

What lesson do you think is most important in the case study of KLM? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!