"With great power comes great responsibility." Social media gives brands the ability to reach a wealth of consumers, influence thoughts, and generate conversations. But these very elements which attracted marketers to the platforms in the first place have also fueled a plethora of PR nightmares. Recently, US Airways mistakenly tweeted a pornographic image to one of its followers and due to the reach of its Twitter account, the tweet spread almost instantaneously. The airline removed the post and tweeted out an apology but not before its reputation fell under rapid fire from the public firing squad. Mayday! Mayday!
We apologize for an inappropriate image recently shared as a link in one of our responses. We’ve removed the tweet and are investigating.
— US Airways (@USAirways) April 14, 2014
The industry requires an elevated level of self-discipline. Successful social and digital media marketers take the initiative to study new technologies and are constantly seeking out "the next big thing." Universities have been struggling with how to effectively prepare students for careers in the digital marketing field, because digital technology changes more quickly than curriculum can be written. The Internet of Things (IoT), described in the video below, is a new concept that is making a splash in the digital world. Forbes published an article discussing how both Syracuse and USC have been working to incorporate IoT into their respective new media courses.
Your reputation is in the hands of the public. Due to the nature of social media, consumers are in control of the conversations surrounding your brand. It is entirely possible for a company to put time and resources into developing a product only to have it be abused by users. The controversy surrounding the social app Yik Yak, outlined in this Huffington post article, is a prime example. Instead of reveling in the success one would expect after creating such a popular app, the Yik Yak team has had to combat negative press and shell out money to install security measures to prevent cyberbullying.
Your every move is being scrutinized. Due to my not-so-secret love for verbal sparring (reference my last blog post if you are confused), I've become a big fan of the Bravo TV show Million Dollar Listing. It's interesting to watch big shot real estate agents negotiate with millionaires, but I always find myself thinking how scary it must be to make your professional presence available for public scrutiny. But when it comes down to it, social media marketers put themselves in the same boat. By publishing content on the internet and promoting it on social channels, brands are opening themselves up for public condemnation. No matter how well a brand manages its social accounts, there will always be people eager to offer up criticism. I recommend investing in some Beats by Dre headphones.
Honesty time. This was the first year I created a bracket for March Madness, and I did so solely because I suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). The tournament managed to creep its way onto my social media platforms, and whether or not I wanted to be, I was immersed in numerous conversations about the topic. #WarrenBuffett #SelectionSunday #MM. I couldn't stand not being able to contribute, so I absentmindedly filled out a bracket and unknowingly sold my soul. In just a few short hours, I had caught the Madness.
Reasons for the 2014 March Madness epidemic:
The competition aspect: This is my personal favorite. Creating a bracket for the tournament allows viewers to have a personal stake in the games. They count the victories as their own and take the losses personally.
The social aspect: Ok, never mind, THIS is my personal favorite. My social media sites quickly became the perfect place to engage in a little trash talking, and I've always had a special place in my heart for some good verbal sparring. In addition, it was interesting to watch the Twitter ticker during the games. There would always be a spike in tweets after each incredible dunk, each questionable foul, each heartbreaking upset. It was like when you're at a party and everyone leaps up from the couch in awe or in agony...except it was with 241,000 of my closest friends, and I was doing homework instead of picking over party platters.
The easily accessible aspect: I will always remember the Wichita State vs. Kentucky game. It was a turning point in the standings. The majority of my friends had Wichita State going all the way to the Final Four, so a win for Kentucky would send their brackets spiraling down into the pits of despair, which is exactly what I was hoping for. My boyfriend and I were almost home from out of town, and nothing was going to stop me from witnessing the epic upset...or so I thought...until we hit gridlock traffic. There was a moment of panic, but thanks to the NCAA March Madness Live app, we were still able keep up with game. It was the most fun I've ever had in a traffic jam...eating fried pickles from Sheetz and watching my boyfriend's face sink as he watched his team lose to mine.
The fantasy aspect: We'll just leave it at this: Warren Buffett offering $1,000,000,000 to anyone with a perfect bracket certainly didn't discourage anybody from entering. #iwannabeabillionaire #sofreakinbad
PSA: Filling out a March Madness bracket will make you highly susceptible to mood swings. Social media will intensify these changes in behavior.
My March Madness emotional roller coaster:
When Ohio State lost on Day 1 and my bracket was no longer perfect and I lost a billion dollars even though the billion was never actually mine it felt so attainable I felt like it was but then it was stripped away from me bringing a new meaning to the term "upset"...whoa. See? Madness.
When I correctly picked 10 of the Sweet 16 teams and was sitting pretty atop my various groups, watching my friends' brackets crumble beneath me. This gave me the courage to start trash talking.
When Michigan State beat my champion, and I had to follow that tweet with this tweet less than 24 hours later. The excitement was short-lived.
Well, there went my bracket!
— AJC UGA (@ajcuga) March 29, 2014
When Florida lost and the rest of my friends' brackets were destroyed and even though I hadn't picked the champion, I could still sleep well at night knowing that I had never betrayed my school by rooting for the Gators. Y'all should be ashamed.
I'd like to close with this...who did these rankings and why was the championship game between a #7 and a #8 team? And whoever it was, can I sue them for $1,000,000,000?
Yesterday it was announced that Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are having a baby. You may not read the tabloids...you may not even be a fan of That '70s Show (gasp!). But you know about the baby. In less than 24 hours the news has made its way to you. Why? Because you're on Twitter. And somebody (many people), somewhere (everywhere) has tweeted about it. And you've seen it. Whether you're excited, skeptical, or indifferent, you've know it's happening.
With over 645 million users on Twitter and 58 million tweets each day, it's no surprise that when news hits the platform, it spreads like wildfire. News stories are shared almost as quickly as they unfold. This opens the door for newsjacking (brands tying breaking news into their messages). It's a delicate art. Some brands have mastered it, and some...have not. This is why virtually instantaneous news sharing serves both as Twitter's claim to fame and its Achilles heel.
The Good:
-Oreo's 2013 Super Bowl tweet in response to the Superdome blackout is the classic example of successful newsjacking.
-ZzzQuil's tweet conveyed its message in a way that was both interesting and relevant to its followers. Unfortunately, hoping for peaceful sleep is a lost cause now...there goes my chance at being a billionaire.
-While AT&T's tweet was not made in poor taste, people criticized it for taking advantage of such a catastrophic event. AT&T later removed the tweet and apologized for offending its followers.
-Entenmann's decided to increase its reach by using trending hashtags. Unfortunately, they didn't look into the meaning behind the hashtag #notguilty and ended up using the Casey Anthony trial to promote their brand. After discovering their mistake, Entenmann's also removed the tweet and apologized.
The Unfortunate:
In rare instances, we've seen news spread so quickly that the stars of the stories themselves don't know what's happening until they read about it on Twitter. Some of this year's Grammy nominees found out that they had won from the award show's official Twitter account during the pre-telecast. Talk about anticlimactic. And let's not forget about Darren Sproles. It's a sad day when an NFL player has to find out through Twitter that he is being traded.
WOW! "@ESPNNFL: THIS JUST IN: Saints now plan to trade RB Darren Sproles due to heavy interest. He will not be released.
— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 11, 2014
The stuff u find out on twitter
— Darren Sproles (@DarrenSproles) March 11, 2014
Not to be confused with the Pointless app, which is modeled after the UK game show and is not actually pointless by definition, the pointless apps that I'm talking about are the apps that brands develop just because they can but have no real purpose behind them.
Now, when it comes to social media, too many brands make the mistake of forming a strategy backed by the thought process of "What can I say that people will share?" This results in posts that are entertaining but that lack relevancy to the brand. I'm looking at you, Flo from Progressive.
I drank so much coffee today that I’m pretty sure I can taste sounds now.
— Flo from Progressive (@ItsFlo) February 27, 2014
Well if that doesn't make me want to buy insurance, I don't know what will!
Apps, on the other hand, seem to suffer from the opposite ailment. There are numerous apps out there that are consistent with a brand's image but that are sorely lacking when it comes to entertainment or utility. Longhorn Steakhouse and Pop Secret were reprimanded in a Business 2 Community article for creating apps that frankly are insulting to users' intelligence. I mean, come on, I can only flip a virtual steak so many times before I go crazy. #yallgonmakemelosemymind
Additionally, we are witnessing apps that are being developed with cutting edge technology but that lack a place in users' lives. For example, an article by Elite Daily describes the new app Spritz which enhances reading speed by emphasizing the Optimal Recognition Point of each word. The app is fascinating...addicting even (don't say I didn't warn you), but I find myself wondering what real-life situation actually warrants this kind of technology. I just picture someone sitting down with a good read, wanting to unwind after a long day, and suddenly...rapid fire! Not exactly my idea of a relaxing time. And what happens if you sneeze? Or blink? Can you pick up where you left off? Or is all hope lost?
The moral of the story is don't get so app-y happy that you get ahead of yourself. If you're going to dedicate time and resources to developing an app, make sure it's worthy of being downloaded.
To follow up on my last blog post, I wanted to mention that I came across an article from Mashable that somewhat changed my opinion on Snapchat as a marketing tool. The evidence presented in the article suggests that Snapchat isn't just a fad but rather a social marketing medium with untapped potential. It'll be interesting to see if more brands will choose to incorporate Snapchat into their social strategies. Also, props to Gen Y for using the app for creativity rather than for sexting. There's hope for the future.
Moving along, when it comes to social, some brands just get it. And lucky for us consumers, these successful cyber socialites are not few and far between. Brands everywhere are making us smile, laugh, ponder, and converse. As an advertiser, I've studied many social media success stories. The following, however, are brands that I've personally interacted with that I feel deserve to be commended for their social efforts.
Burberry
Ladies and gentlemen, love notes are making a comeback. Rather than relying on sex appeal to advertise its lipstick line, Burberry teamed up with Google to develop an interactive campaign that would create an emotional and meaningful experience for the user. When I was in Cannes this past summer, I had the opportunity to try it out. Using the Burberry Kisses photo booth at Google Beach I was able to write a letter, seal it with a virtual kiss, and send it to someone back home. The campaign created a unique and touching way to get consumers to interact with the Burberry brand. Muah!
Google Beach in Cannes, France
WestJet Airlines
If you have to ask your friends/followers to like/retweet your posts, you're doing it wrong. When scrolling through your own newsfeed, you'd never see one of your friends say "Like my picture if..." (and if you do, then you need to seriously reevaluate your criteria for Facebook friend acceptance). Social media posts that come with instructions are just obnoxious, so when consumers come across a brand that utilizes this tactic, they're automatically like #swerve. WestJet, on the contrary, is a brand that understands that shares/likes/retweets must be EARNED.
"WestJet Christmas Miracle: real-time giving" received over 35 million views. For a solid week, I couldn't get on Facebook without seeing someone share it. The video went viral, because it involved a clever concept and provoked a warm, fuzzy feeling among its viewers. And who doesn't love that feeling around the holidays?
Pauley's Original Crepe Bar
If you're not an Athens resident, you've probably never heard of Pauley's. Pauley's is my go-to place for crepes, wine, and girl time. If you are an Athens resident and you've never heard of Pauley's...what are you doing? #Icanteven. Pauley's has been able to gain 2,000+ followers on Twitter partly because it does an excellent job of monitoring its social mentions.
I'm not exactly sure what motivated me to refer to my friends as "my babies", but that's beside the point. I didn't tweet at Pauley's or include them in a hashtag, but they still saw my post and responded. I've been following them on Twitter ever since.
In true Generation Y fashion, I decided to write a blog post totally dedicated to talking about myself. But to be totally honest, brands embarking on the social media journey should pay attention. Gen Y's were the early adopters of social technology, and I would dare to say that they are still the front-runners of this marketing revolution. It's true, we love to talk about ourselves. But if brands are smart, they'll listen.
What Social Media Means to Millenials
- Everything. We are the sharers (or braggers, depending on how you look at it). We crave attention and therefore want EVERY aspect of our lives on display. Facebook shows who we hang out with and where we go, Twitter shows our thoughts, LinkedIn shows our credentials, Pinterest shows our style (or what it would be if we could afford it), and our blogs are left to fill in the gaps (because each of us believes our life experiences should be published).
-We value thoughtful humor. Twitter wit earns you major cred.
- Snapchat was cool at first, because it made it acceptable to share pics that aren't actually worth sharing. Selfie Sunday! But then we realized that that meant other people would be sharing pics that aren't actually worth sharing. Thanks for the 10 second picture of your Chick-fil-A sandwich...
-If you can incorporate 90's nostalgia into your social strategy, you're golden.
That outfit, tho.
-Work hard, play hard is our mantra. But placing a high value on our work-life balance by no means makes us lazy. Traditionally, the amount of time you put into something has been thought to be equivalent to the amount of effort you put into it, but Gen Y's have perfected the art of multitasking. We can deposit a check, order a pizza, email a potential client, RSVP to an event, watch ESPN highlights, and blog about it all while sitting in Kinkos straight flippin copies. If we can finish a day's worth of work in half the day, why wouldn't we expect some free time?
-If your website isn't mobile compatible, it doesn't exist in our eyes.
-We are connected to multiple social channels at once, so we don't have patience for time wasted. If you can get your message across in a 6 second Vine, go for it. Don't write an entire article when a BuzzFeed list will suffice. Lists are more approachable than paragraphs anyway, ya feel me? Speaking of patience, ain't nobody got time for your GIF to load.
-Male or female, we love a good Mean Girls reference. #fetch #shedoesntevengohere #allcarbdiet #youcantsitwithus #grool #onwednesdayswewearpink #imamouseduh #october3rd #yougoGlennCoco
Before I begin, here is Justin Bieber's new music video. I promise it's relevant. And yes, "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'" does apply when spelling his name...that's one rule he's managed to follow...
"Oh, no, no. Oh, no, no. She's confident." Try creeped out. Now historically when there has been conflict between advertisers and the public, it's been because advertisers have employed the Justin Bieber way of thinking: If I follow them, show up everywhere they go, and force them to listen to me, it'll really win them over! The history of advertising is chock full of instances where consumers have ignored advertisers and then advertisers have in turn found new (and usually more obnoxious) ways to reach them.
Some argue that the rise of social media has brought peace, because consumers are, more or less, able to choose which brands they receive messages from. However, as an advertiser myself, I fear that the emergence of social media has merely ended trench warfare in favor of nuclear warfare. The conflict is still there, and now the damage potential is much greater.
"Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It's yours to take, re-arrange, and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don't owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don't even start asking for theirs."
-Banksy
If Banksy's quote is the battle cry, then social media is the ammo in this war of the words. Too many brands are spending millions of dollars on their campaigns, logos, reputations, etc. only to be Kanye West'd by members of the public who are out to steal their thunder.
It's all fun and Games until someone loses a buy...
McDonald's is an Olympic sponsor, and for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games McDonald's created an interactive campaign for users to send well-wishes to the athletes. Cheers to Sochi
However, many people have been condemning the sponsors of this year's Games for not boycotting the event due to the Russian government's social policies, and they have gone to great lengths to sabotage the campaigns of every Olympic sponsor. In a classic case of hashtag hijacking, LGBT activists have used McDonald's' official Olympic Games hashtag, #CheersToSochi, to voice their political opinions and attack the associated brands.
Not only are the hashtags not being linked with the campaign, but people are using them to wreck the reputation of the companies that created them. The world of advertising has never seen something like this, at least not of this magnitude, because this kind of assembly was never possible before social media. These Games are not about going for the gold. They're about going for the jugular.
On a less sensitive note, a new coffee shop called Dumb Starbucks recently opened in L.A. While the shop does serve beverages, it positions itself as a satirical work of art that is protected by parody law. The purpose behind the shop's opening is still unknown, but the significance of the event lies in the amount of buzz that it has generated. Five or six years ago, the shop probably would have made it to the local news, but it never would have been gained this much attention. During the morning of February 10th, @dumbstarbucks had 5,000 followers. 24 hours later, the parody shop is up to 12.8K followers. Social media has given average Joes (Haha get it? Like a cup of Joe?) the ability to communicate their message to mass audiences.
Advertising is no longer just for the advertisers.
Super Bowl XLVIII TV Commercials: The Good, The Bad, & The Awkward
The Good:Budweiser's "Puppy Love"
This commercial had everything you could ever wish for in an ad: puppies, friendship, and Don Jeanes.
The Bad: T-Mobile's "Kill Your Contract"
Not to be confused with the "No Contract" ads from T-Mobile (which were actually clever), the "Kill Your Contract" commercial was, dare I say it, more mind-numbing than the game. We're already in a food coma from the copious amounts of party appetizers we've consumed. There's no need to spend millions of dollars to put us to sleep. No creativity, no imagery, no wit. It made T-Mobile come across as a brand that's lazy and careless with their media dollars. Kill your contract? More like kill your reputation. RIP
The Awkward: Dannon Oikos' "The Spill"
Oikos, I don't know what direction you're going here, but as Joey Gladstone would say, "cut, it, out!" Somehow Dannon Oikos managed to make a yogurt ad starring the cast of Full House more sexual than a GoDaddy ad. Honestly, I don't know what was more awkward: Bob Saget in a commercial involving implied sexual favors or Audi's Doberhuahua. Yikes!
Super (Boring) Bowl
In addition to the TV commercials, this year's Super Bowl saw an incredible jump in social media usage. As much as I'd like to say that it was due to an increase in the popularity of online interactivity, I think it'd be foolish to not attribute some of the usage to the fact that people were simply bored out of their brains (in case anyone needs an indicator of just how boring the game was, Rugrats in Paris was trending on Twitter...). However, it's safe to say that the TV commercials also had something to do with the increase in social activity. The following infographic by Friend2Friend illustrates the increase in hashtag usage during the Super Bowl over recent years.
Brands are People Too
In addition to some brands using their TV commercials to drive people to their social platforms, many were engaging in friendly online verbal sparring in order to further promote their message. As long as everyone plays nice, this is an effective method of gaining popularity, because it gives brands a more authentic presence which generally makes them more trusted and likable.
Nice try. It's our secret ;) RT @VW: Hey @VictoriasSecret, if we get our #wings every time a #VW hits 100k miles, how do you get yours?
— Victoria's Secret (@VictoriasSecret) February 3, 2014
Well it's a new year, and I'm all about new beginnings. I'm not a huge believer in New Year's resolutions (my goal to eat healthier never makes it past January), but I do think it's important to focus on new opportunities. This is especially true in the SMM world, because technology is changing by the minute, and you don't want to be late to the party (it's socially and cyber socially unacceptable). So here's my take on the open doors of the new year.
Social Media Opportunities of 2014
Last year I traveled to France to attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and witnessed the introduction of a new category called "Innovation" that honored breakthrough technologies in advertising. Well now it's a new year, which means the Innovation category is, ironically, no longer innovative. But according to this article from Adweek, a new category has been born: Product Design. In addition the festival is modifying the Cyber category to include social media, branded technology, and branded gaming. This signifies that social is becoming more and more important. Brands are now being recognized on a global scale for their social strategies.
Remember that "sharing is caring." In real life this means that if you like someone, you might share your Barberitos Heavy D nachos with them (*remembers New Year's resolution and decides not to eat an entire plate of nachos alone*). But in social this means that if people don't care about your posts, then they won't share your posts. So use your social platforms wisely. Music festivals, a growing craze among us millennials, are perfect opportunities for this. I've heard from those who have attended that it's hard to articulate just how amazing the experience is.
"The lights looked like the music sounds. Does that make sense?" "No." Follow @JimmyTatro.
Thus they rely on pictures and hype videos. If brands can somehow insert themselves into the music festival hype, they'll become a part of the experience that is being shared.
"t-commerce" is the next big thing. H&M is releasing a Super Bowl ad that lets people with Samsung smart TVs use their remote to purchase products from David Beckham's Bodywear line that are featured in the commercial. If H&M combines their social strategy with this campaign (i.e. tweeting at the same time that the commercial airs), they'll be able to hit consumers on multiple platforms. And I mean, who wouldn't want to yank that tank top right off David Beckham? Heyoo!
The following is a list of general guidelines that I think we all agree should be followed when navigating the cyber social realm: The Unwritten Rules of Social Networking...Now Written
1.You should never judge a book by its cover, but you may certainly judge a person by his or her Snapchat timer. Snapchat is a photo messaging app and is the only social platform that I can think of where selfies are acceptable...#noshameintheselfiegame. However, sending a selfie set to 9 or 10 seconds is generally frowned upon. Sweet Brown said it best.
2. Random Facebook pokes are creepy. The poke war was a thing, but it has since faded away. Thank goodness. 3.Twitter is the perfect forum for hashtags and one-liners (Mitch Hedberg jokes in a Twitter account...perfection. Check it out: https://twitter.com/M_Hedberg). What Twitter is not: 1) your diary 2) your food journal. If you can appreciate any or all of the above (even you don't necessarily agree with them), then we are in business. Because #tbh social media is really just about using common sense. If you understand general social rules then you can be a successful cyber socialite. However, when you're representing a brand and you're given the task of incorporating social media into your IMC, it's a whole different ball game. Now not only do you have to have a voice but you have to somehow juggle maintaining consistency, stimulating consumer engagement, and delivering a message.
So, in an effort to learn how to best tackle the social media marketing monster, I'm using this blog as a place to study the social successes and buzz-worthy blunders of recent campaigns.
