Is Viral the be all and end all???

So online video isn't exactly new to me but as I delve into the world of YouTube to explore it further it turns out I now have a YouTube profile - thanks Google c/o Blogger - and I can create my own channel!!! Hmm perhaps not just yet - baby steps - but maybe one day - after all if Natalie Tran can do it????????

I also found that there is more to YouTube than trying to get your video to go viral.

Whilst I do believe that 'going viral' is great for low involvement products that have a broad target market and where reach and frequency needs to be high (and if it's the earned media type - even better), but where a brand is targeting a somewhat more niche market then I don't think viral is the be all and end all - but that's not to say that online video still can't be a great tool for your brand.

Video can be a great platform for your brand whether it be about providing information e.g. show your product in action

making announcements e.g. launch new products

or simply an alternative or additional channel for your advertisements (ok so this example isn't exactly niche but I couldn't resist after last week's discussion)

The tough part is driving people to your videos/channel in the first place and ensuring that it is relevant and engaging enough for them to want to share it - not necessarily with everyone but those who count. Here is a great post that recently appeared on MarketingMag.com.au - I found the part about understanding your objectives and more importantly distribution particularly interesting

Finding the magic formula for your online video strategy

What are some other ways your brand, or brands you know of, have used online video as a media channel?

Pinterest - where have you been all my life?

Ok so the title is a bit of an exaggeration... I am loving Pinterest at the moment because I'm finding it an extremely useful tool for decorating my first home, but really how long is this love affair going to last? Will I get over it once my apartment is furnished or will I create more boards and continue to use it as a space to bookmark the things which I like so that I can refer to them when I need/want to. I guess only time will tell!

Regardless, it did take me a long time to get to this point. In fact I only found out about Pinterest a few months ago from a guest speaker in my Direct Marketing class last semester and even then it wasn't until last week (after registering for it straight after class) that I actually started using it.

Now getting straight to the point this week - Pinterest & Marketing - how/can/do they go together?

Well this guest speaker (whose name I haven't stated or the company she works for as I have not sought permission) seemed to think so and so it seems should we if this infographic (c/o Mashable) she shared with us is anything to go by:



Just to reiterate - Buyers referred from Pinterest are 10% more likely to buy something and spend 10% more on average than visitors who arrive from other social networks - with stats like that is Pinterest the Pinnacle of Social Media for Marketers???

Perhaps from a product pushing perspective - like Kikki K have succesfully done here http://pinterest.com/kikkik/ - companies can create boards for different collections and Pinterest users can nominate to follow these companies and stay in the loop on all of their latest products.

And from an ROI perspective - from the company's boards individuals can either click straight on through to buy or pin it and come back to it later (either intentionally or thanks to repeated views on thier Pinterest boards). Either way thanks to all those clever measurement tools companies can see how much people are buying thanks to Pinterest. Of course, it doesn't capture the in-store purchases thanks to Pinterest but if the online is doing well then the in-store is a definite bonus.

And finally whilst I can't see how it can open up a direct dialogue like some of the other forms of social media, it can serve to give the company/brand personality - by having a board not only of their products but related products and interests shared by their consumers i.e. things they have pinned from other sites - and in turn give it credibility (see Lidia's comment to my last blog) and perhaps even a different form of engagement (see Wags comment to last blog)i.e. if a person re-pins their pins then they've made a connection!!

Ah Pinterest ... I'm starting to like you more and more...
Anyone else a fan?????

It's a bloggy blog world out there!

So contrary to what I said in last week's blog, I have been playing around with a few new platforms (as opposed to one per week) on what I shall refer to for the next 10 weeks or so as 'Social Media Saturday'. Even so, I'm still only going to blog about one at a time and this week, as I'm sure you've probably guessed by now, is about the wonderful world of BLOGS!

So let's see now...
Create my own blog - check!
Comment on other blogs and receive comments on my blog - check! check!
Subscribe to other blogs using an RSS feeder - check! (I think I even worked out what the difference is between a folder and a bundle....)
Trawl through non-company sponsored (UGC) blogs (c/o Pinterest) - check!

But what about blogs and marketing? 

There are a few ways in which a blog can be used as a marketing tool; the obvious one being - create your own blog - driving traffic to it from your website. Two, buy advertising space on a blog page which is relevant to your customers. Or three, there are ethical tactics you can use to try and get, again relevant, private bloggers to mention you on their blogs. There are of course other more questionable ways to get a mention too but a) legally if monies are exchanged the blogger is obliged to state this and b) why would you want to be in a place where you're not really wanted???

BTW - These are the three ways which I have identified, but if you know of any others then please share???

Of the three - I think a voluntary mention in a non-company sponsored blog is always going to be good for business, provided the mention is in your favour of course. After all it's what SM is all about - online WOM!!

Buying ad space on a relevant blog page - personally not my fave approach - I think we're all pretty good now at ignoring banner ads and side bar ads etc. (think Facebook).

As far as creating your own blog goes, I think they're great if done well which can mean a number of different things, but I think the most important thing is to blog about things that appeal to your consumer's interests, that is insightful, entertaining and most importantly of value. Don't just blog about your product.  Some really good examples are:

http://blog.modcloth.com/#
http://madewell.tumblr.com/
http://www.kikki-k.com/blogs/blog/were-loving/
http://aliceandolivia.tumblr.com/

So now that I've had my rant about blogs, what do you think? Yay or Nay???

Social Media & Me (a Gen X-er)

So I am a Social Media user.

I have been on Facebook since 2007, I have like over 450+ friends (most of which I picked up during my travelling days) and I probably LOOK at it on most days. I've also written a blog for a Spanish class, watched YouTube videos and relied on Wikipedia for information - basically only as required. I even created a profile in LinkedIn, and more recently registered with Pinterest and downloaded Spotify - but that's as far as I got.

Why? Because for the most part after spending all day in front of a computer, it's not something I want to do when I get home, unless it's to watch whatever TV show i'm into at the moment or film I've downloaded.  Even my Facebook time is pretty much limited to my mobile phone; when commuting or to put me to sleep once I turn off the light. I actually have to put an evening aside every now and again to go through my inbox(between the two of them I currently have 250 unread emails).

I also thought up until today that it was a Gen X thing but I've just found out that I am in the age group (and gender) with the most users according to this website (and the others which I came across). Although this site does go on to say that the 18-24 age group spend more time on there than the 25-34 year olds and that our biggest motivation is to stay in touch (I did say FB is the only one I use regularly).

http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/7704/age-not-gender-drives-most-social-media-use

But that's all about to change! Like it or not, right or wrong, SM is now very much a part of marketing and whilst I've covered many of the principles in previous classes, it's now time to embrace the different types of SM and better understand how they can be used in the art of marketing.

So essentially that is what my blog is going to be about; each week I'm going to embrace a new type of SM platform. I'm going to talk about my experience with it, look at what's happening out there with it but more importantly how it is or can be used as a marketing tool.

This week that new platform was Yammer which could simply be described as a Facebook Intranet, which like most intranet sites is closed to its members/employees and therefore not a place for advertising as such i.e. I personally don't think it would be ethical for Yammer to start selling advertising space 'a la Facebook' and posting it on the side bar of what is really a private forum. Or do you disagree???

That isn't to say that the internal productivity and company culture that Yammer promotes within an organisation 'a la Deloitte' couldn't be considered part of the marketing process too - anyone who took Strategic Brand Management will know what I'm referring to. If you haven't taken that class and you want me to expand on this just ask.

On the other hand sometimes company partnerships with member/employee benefits are promoted through intranet sites. So perhaps where these partnerships exist the company offering the benefits could be allowed to promote themselves on the company's Yammer feed e.g. a health club with centres around the world offers an exclusive benefit to Deloitte employees and is allowed to promote themselves and/or benefits on Deloitte's Yammer feed. By being allowed to promote on a company's Yammer feed the external company has access to a non-readily available channel but also one without the presence of competition. Perhaps a little far fetched but if the benefits they offer don't outweigh the channel benefits then it could be a win win for all. What do you think?