Facebook has passed 800 million users (which Facebook measures as users that have logged in during the past 30 days). That means Facebook has added about 50 million users since July. For marketers, it’s becoming essential to have a presence on such a giant platform. But some recent changes are going to make it harder for marketers to get the visibility they want. In other words, they’re really going to have to work for it.
The recent list of changes announced by Facebook will put more pressure on advertisers to come up with compelling content and integrate themselves further into consumers’ lives. Going forward, the “Like” button will have a smaller role in marketing.
A big change is that Facebook has added a control in the top right of each story that users can check to unmark a top story. Facebook will use that information over time to automatically edit the feeds. Since users now have more control over their news feeds, brands with boring or irrelevant updates will have lower visibility.
Just getting people to ‘Like’ a brand is now a thing of the past. Now, it’s about getting people to take social actions enabled by that brand. Consumers will be creating a digital autobiography in which brands will have to integrate themselves.
The change will require new thinking from marketers. The Facebook marketing model of old tried to accumulate as many fans and “Likes” as possible which is little less relevant now. Marketers will have to work harder to earn their place in news feeds. Content will need to take a step up. This means marketers will actually have to deliver something of value to a customer rather than just spamming.
If you haven’t heard of Angry Birds or Farmville, you have been living under a rock. These are just two of the many games that have transformed the trend of social gaming. Social gaming is playing games as a way of social interaction, via social networks like Facebook. Gaming is not only for the stereotyped teens, now moms, business execs, and retirees are reshaping the demographics of who a gamer is. The two top activities people do online is social networking and gaming, so its no wonder social gaming has become so popular.
Social gaming is not only keeping users entertained, it is also helping companies market and advertise their brands. Marketers use social gaming to reach a wide variety of people. It also gives them the opportunity to target specific groups of people by uncovering their preferences, habits, and acquaintances via social networks. This is where targeted advertising comes into play. Companies are leveraging their brands to create experiences that exist within the games to encourage engagement and interaction. For example, you can get a pair of Nike tennis shoes for your Avatar. The idea is to incorporate businesses and brands into the gaming network instead of overloading users with ads. By integrating brands into games, users will have the chance to interact with the brand instead of being attacked by numerous ad campaigns.
Social gaming enables an interaction to take place. This is the first step in attracting users to a brand, product, or service. By integrating brands into a game, it allows users to have fun with the brand and get to know it. If a user’s avatar wears Nike shoes, the user may be more inclined to buy a pair of Nike shoes for themselves.
Consumerism is a movement that seeks to protect and inform consumers by requiring practices like packaging, advertising, product guarantees, and safety standards. In theory it is also the outcome of producing greater consumption of goods for the benefit of the economy. Since we have become a society that is concerned with the state of our environment, consumerism has become eco-friendly. Green consumerism is a new movement that is concerned about products and services that are considered ethically made. This means with minimal harm to or exploitation of humans, animals, and/or the natural environment.
Green consumerism is interesting in that it focuses on us buying green products. Well how beneficial are green products to the environment if we don’t use them properly. An article written by Jacquie Ottman titled “The Next Frontier in Green Marketing is Responsible Consumption” pinpoints this issue spot on. The article provides an example: how is an eco-friendly light bulb eco-friendly if the light remains on after everyone leaves the room? They contradict each other. We may feel good about doing our part if we buy green products, but we need to focus more on the behaviors we conduct when we use them. It defeats the purpose of buying green if we are not using the products in an eco-friendly manner.
Going green is based on behavior. If we want to be buy eco-friendly products we must learn green behaviors. If we look at this issue from a business perspective, marketers of green products should focus on adding value for consumers and providing them with the needed knowledge of how to use the product. Buying green products and using them properly is how we will help save our planet. Green consumerism is on the rise and more consumers feel they have a personal responsibility to do their part to help the earth.
Millions upon millions of people have created their own presence via social media. It isn’t just a place for individuals to keep in touch with family and friends, it has also grown into an extraordinary marketing tool that businesses should take advantage of. Facebook and Twitter for example have upwards of 600 million and 400 million users respectively, providing businesses and marketers with a vast platform of people to market to. Marketing is an action businesses need to take to attract consumers to their products or services. Social media marketing is just a new form of marketing in the new digital age we are living in.
Social media marketing has many benefits for businesses. Here are 4 ways social media marketing can help businesses and marketers.
1. Increase exposure: If social media is just used at its simplest form by just minimally creating a presence and updating it on occasion, you are still creating exposure to your business. Social media marketing allows for your name to be seen. Since millions of people participate in social media, the more you use social media increases your chances for exposure.
2. Increased traffic: Social media marketing allows for traffic to be increased. One benefit of social media is that you can provide links to your website or anything else related to your business. By providing links and information for people, there is a higher probability of creating traffic as your exposure becomes more proficient.
3. Lead Generation: If you think just teens and college students are using social media you are wrong. Businesses all over the world are using social media for marketing. This provides businesses with another way to generate leads and interact with them. Social media networks also provide a wider reach and database of people who could be leads.
4. Advertising: One of the main benefits of social media is that most sites are free. This gives companies the ability to have their name present without spending a dime. The best part of using social media for advertising is that users that know and like you are automatically endorsing you.
Marketing via social media is a great way for businesses to get noticed. It is easy to get started as well as easy to maintain. Social media is changing the way we market businesses, products, and services.
Super Bowl number 45, the biggest TV event of the year, is only a little over a week away. As we are preparing our parties and getting our adrenaline going for the big game of the year, we are also getting psyched for all of the commercials. Those 30-second attractions that we all look forward to are already underway and totaling over 45 minutes worth of advertising. The average cost for a 30-second spot is about $3 million, meaning companies are making a big attempt to put out the most innovative and exciting commercials possible. Social media is also participating in the Super Bowl, making ads last longer than 30 seconds. Companies are using Facebook fan pages and Twitter to continue the advertising, as well as using YouTube to replay the commercials.
Car makers are dominating the line up this year, but favorites like the E-Trade baby and the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales are back to hopefully make an impression on viewers. Some advertisers who cancelled appearances in the past couple years are back to regain attention. GM is hoping to draw people into Chevrolet and PepsiCo is planning seven commercials this year. Movie trailers will also be seen during the Super Bowl. Paramount will be promoting upcoming releases such as Rango, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Super 8, while Disney will be promoting the next Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars 2, and Warner Bros. will be promoting Part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Pizza Hut will make their debut this year as they try to reel in some extra sales for the game. GoDaddy will be present during the Super Bowl as they will reveal their new GoDaddy girl. Doritos, Best Buy, Motorola, and Snickers will also be making appearances in the commercial lineup.
So on February 6th, get the snacks and drinks ready for an eventful night of football and commercials!
Mobile tags (also known as 2D barcodes) are stepping out into the spotlight as the new way to engage customers. What looks like an optical illusion is actually a barcode that is designed to attract the attention of customers, inviting them to try, discover, share, save, and interact with brands. These tags are apart of a new concept in marketing called mobile marketing.
There are two types of mobile tags: QR codes and MS tags:
A QR (quick response) code is a matrix barcode that consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. These codes were created in Japan and used for tracking vehicle manufacturing. Now these codes are used in applications such as commercial tracking and convenience-oriented functions aimed at mobile users. The intention of this code is to allow its contents to be decoded at a high speed.
A MS (Microsoft) tag was created by Microsoft and features small, brightly colored triangles in geometric patterns. These tags were designed to work with the capabilities of a typical camera phone. MS tags can connect almost anything in the real world such as information, entertainment, and interactive experiences using a mobile phone.
So how do these tags work you ask? These codes can be found on products, posters, ads, packages, boxes, the list is endless. Using a mobile phone, download the application to read tags. When you see a tag, using the read tags application, point your camera at the tag, and within seconds the information will be unveiled. The tags are filled with encoded information and links, that when scanned by a mobile device, it is revealed to the customer. Tags can be linked to whatever the business wants a customer to know. Whether its their homepage, other related links, or a site specifically made for the tag, the capabilities of what these tags can do is limitless.
Why use these tags? The usage of smartphones are growing exponentially. 285 million Americans are mobile subscribers, which is 91% of the population. By integrating mobile usage and marketing, mobile marketing is becoming a great way for marketers to increase brand engagement and meet customer needs and expectations. Tags are able to be fully customizable to fit the individual needs of businesses. They also provide the ability to:
integrate print advertising with mobile devices
manage customer experience
measure campaign effectiveness
maintain brand identity
maximize information delivered
These tags allow offline pieces to connect with online experiences. The ability for marketers to customize these tags result in personalized interactions with customers via a mobile device. Mobile marketing will continue to grow as mobile usage does. Keep your eyes peeled for these tags and remember its not an optical illusion.
Red and green have taken over this October and spread into November in an early effort by companies to start their holiday advertising campaigns and introduce their festive packaging. Cosmetic makers, coffee shops, and cookie makers are just a few examples of companies participating in the eagerness to start the holiday season.
MAC just introduced their new holiday collection called Tartan Tale! They used a Scottish and British look to their packaging by using a plaid print. Although the red and green Christmas colors are not present in this holiday collection, MAC decided to use a different approach in spreading holiday cheer by using poetic new looks.The holiday collection encompasses posh, punk, ancestral, anarchic, noble, and royal glory.
Coffee shops are putting their spin on holiday cheer this season. Caribou Coffee and Starbucks have introduced their holiday decorated cups early this year. Two days after Halloween the red cups and holiday menu were launched for Starbucks. This holiday menu includes their famous eggnog latte, gingerbread latte, and Christmas blend coffee. Caribou Coffee has introduced their festive cups for the holiday season and has added some drinks to their menu including: spicy milk chocolate mocha, ho ho mint white chocolate mocha, and their reindeer blend coffee is back on shelves. Caribou Coffee also features holiday gift packs and sets.
Mrs. Fields, maker of delicious cookies and sweets, is sprinkling some holiday spirit into their cookie packaging this year. The holiday line includes customized tins, baskets, and reusable gift boxes featuring the signature red and white colors Mrs. Fields is known for. Snowflakes, snowmen, reindeer, and Santa are some of the holiday designs you can find in Mrs. Fields merry and jolly packaging.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of extreme I think of sky diving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing; anything where a serious injury is a possibility. Carrots are one of the last things to come to mind.
But that isn’t stopping “A Bunch of Carrots Farmers” from launching their baby carrot campaign.
The group is launching a campaign called “Eat em like junk food!” The commercials are pretty funny and are obvious parodies of other junk foods you can buy like chips and candy. The question is, Is witty packaging and commercials enough to encourage people to give up actual junk food for healthy food hiding behind junk food packaging? In the next few months we will be keeping tabs on the results and post them here for you to see.
For the time being extreme baby carrots is at least making the headlines all over the internet.
The stats are enormous. Twitter recently has surpassed 20 billion tweets and Facebook now has over 400 million users, 175 million of which log in everyday. It’s no wonder why all of the marketing hype centers around social media. It’s growth is fast and relentless yet experts are still trying to figure out how to be as opportunistic as possible in reaching an audience that is spending a huge amount of time social networking. The focus has shifted for businesses and advertisers to try and join in the online conversations. After all, there’s no sense in spending marketing dollars on television commercials for example, when consumers are using commercial time to engage in more social networking, unless it’s the Super Bowl.
A recent Nielson study reveals that social networking eats up twice as much time on the web as any other activity. Facebook and Twitter account for 22.7% of time spent online with the next closest activity being online gaming, 10.2%. The stats also show the degree to which social networking is taking the place of other forms of online communication. Both email and instant messaging have seen a significant drop as an online activity. Here’s the full stats from the study.
So what does it take to convince company to start marketing using social media? If you’ve been thinking about getting your feet wet for a while, now is the time to put your toes in the water! You don’t have to completely dive in but with growth like this, you owe it to your marketing strategy. Businesses shy away from social media largely because there’s so much out there and the results are hard to quantity. So start with the basics:
1. Create a Facebook profile: Try to connect with ‘friends’ that are relevant to your business. Most likely whether you’re B2B or B2C, your customers are already on Facebook. It’s relatively user friendly and not cumbersome to manage.
2. Open a Twitter account: Tweeting is fun and easy- it doesn’t take a lot of time out of your day. Again, you might find that your customers have already joined the Twitter universe.
3. Start a company blog: Blogging can be a great benefit to a business by increasing customer and visitor loyalty and driving more traffic to your company’s website. Decide on a focus for your blog, and write awesome content that will keep people coming back.
There are so many great resources online that will help you begin your social media endeavor and down the line, sharpen your social networking skills. Check out Mashable and Social Media Examiner.
There is a lot of buzz and mixed reviews regarding Twitter’s new ad program called Promoted Tweets. The program delivers contextually relevant ads in a user’s search results. The Promoted Tweets will appear at the top of your search results based on the context of your search terms much like Google’s AdSense program.
The first advertising partners that are going to invest in testing Promoted Tweets include: Best Buy, Red Bull, Bravo, Sony Pictures, Starbucks, and Virgin America.
Twitter says the messages will be clearly labeled as “promoted” and will function just like any other tweet with the ability for users to retweet (repost), reply, or bookmark the message. In fact, what users do with these Promoted Tweets may be crucial to the success of Twitter’s new advertising program. Further, if people don’t interact with a particular Promoted Tweet, it will disappear from the search results. The company is also considering pushing Promoted Tweets into your Twitter stream even if you’re not following a specific advertiser.
Both users and companies are split about the program. 26% of companies say they would try the program without knowing the cost of advertising. The companies interested would pay $50 per month on advertising through Twitter to see its effectiveness. 43% of the companies were unsure while 31% had no interest at all.
42% of users lacked confidence in the program and seemed to think it would be no better than spam. 31% are reserving judgement until they can see the Promoted Tweet in action. On the flip side, 27% believed this program was a sensible model to bring ads into the Twitter universe. Here’s what some of the users are saying:
“Great, twitter is going to inject spam into timelines .”
“I don’t understand why a company like @Starbucks gains more from buying a twitter sponsored ad than from just interacting with customers.”
Whether or not Promoted Tweets will be thought of as spam or relevant messages depends largely on how users respond to the ads. Moreover, how users respond will determine the program’s success. Companies are not going to pay for advertising if there’s no interaction taking place.
