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Archive for the ‘New Media’ Category

Moms {heart} Facebook & You Should Too

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

The brilliant folks over at MediaPost have a great section called Engage:Moms, and if you don’t have it all nice and snug in your Reader then you are missing out. One of their recent articles I found particularly interesting as it covers how Facebook is fertile ground to engage mothers and drive sales – a no brainer, right?

Wrong. Apparently some marketers are still in the dark about the solid benefits of participating on Facebook by means other than display ads. That seems odd to me, and I don’t mean that in a snarky way. I suppose I’m just so deeply entrenched in these social channels that I have a hard time understanding how people aren’t. Does that make me a bad person? Shoot, I hope not.

I’m not a mom (yet), but I will give you an example of one way that I use Facebook.

When I want to find a new restaurant, I don’t look in the Yellow Pages. First, I go to Facebook and ask my friends for suggestions.

“Anybody have a favorite sushi place I should try tonight?”

Within 30 minutes I have five or six recommendations. From there I turn to Yelp to see how these venues compare in price, and what the reviews are like. Then I find the one that best suits my needs and proceed to enjoy yummy white tuna sashimi (hopefully). Following my meal I thank my friend for the suggestion via Facebook or Twitter, and write my own review on Yelp. And thus the social circle of life continues…

According to the study and report on marketing to moms on Facebook, they found:

That more than eight in 10 moms log on daily, and three in 10 log on five or more times a day.
They use the site primarily to interact with others in their social networks – which translates into a lot of potential referrals.
75% of moms are fans of at least one company on Facebook, and parenting-specific sites are moms’ top picks.

I think the point here is this: if you are treating moms as consumers first, rather than as people first, you’re missing out on greater long-term engagement. Of course, this applies to more than just moms, but the article definitely got me to thinking about it. Why would you limit yourselves to just Facebook Ads? Start talking, start sharing and build a relationship that lasts more than five seconds.

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Tags: Facebook, MediaPost, Motherhood, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Yelp.com
Posted in New Media, Social Media | No Comments »

What’s Your Social Type?

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

I sat in on a pretty interesting webcast today sponsored by Fidelity Investments and hosted by InvestmentNews. The topic: Advisers and LinkedIn.

While the roundtable style conversation got off to a slow start (sorry!), the panelists seemed to find their respective grooves after a while, and some rather memorable insight was shared. Now granted, this wasn’t the first time someone has said this, but I got a kick out of this comparison offered by @RussThornton:

“Facebook is the backyard barbeque, Twitter is the water cooler and LinkedIn is like the chamber of commerce.”

I can’t help but agree. Facebook is a place for you to share updates, stories and the like with friends, family and new folks in a casual and laid-back environment. There’s even a way to send someone a digital hotdog with mustard and relish! Twitter is where you can make a few bold statements throughout the day to keep people updated and get them thinking—and talking. It’s a break from the routine that keeps your mind fresh. Just like when I was filling my plastic cup this afternoon and told a co-worker that I wanted to write a song called “Social Ladies,” which goes, “if you like it then you shoulda put a blog on it” (it would go platinum; you know it would).

Ahem, that leads us to LinkedIn, the chamber of commerce. Professional, informative and focused, this forum is often seen as go-to social platform for companies or individuals in the financial industry—and that makes sense. When you are looking for the facts and the nitty-gritty behind a potential client or partner, LinkedIn offers you the details you need, without their incredible lyrical skills.

So the question I leave you with is this: where do you fit in? Are you a grill-master that prefers to pull up a seat at the picnic table and gab away? Or do you fancy yourself a clever and industry-savvy chatter box, hanging by the cooler waiting for the next person to walk up and benefit from your witty wisdom? Perhaps you prefer the more modest party – suit, tie, pressed shirt and a nice business card?

Maybe you’re all of the above, in which case, you’ve probably got some status updating to do. Well, get to it then.

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Tags: Facebook, Fidelity, LinkedIn, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in New Media, Social Media | 2 Comments »

Too Much Truth in Advertising?

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Domino’s is certainly embracing the new “honest and open” parlance of marketing that the Social Media age has ushered in. Anyone that spent much of New Year’s Eve/Day in front of the boob tube probably saw the ill-reputed pizza chain’s new “Oh Yes We Did” campaign, in which the company’s employees address real consumer complaints about the terrible, terrible food-like products that they sell.

In a corporate feel-good moment, Domino’s resolves to make their food better, but will this newfound openness pay off, or are they overplaying their hand? The campaign, which began several weeks back, already has its critics. Among them is Adweek’s Barbara Lippert, who praises the video’s “weird, earnest honesty,” but also labels the spot “cringe inducing” for its graphic depictions of the just-as-gross-looking-as-before new recipes, as well as the hammy team-building that occurs among the chefs as they set about righting decades of culinary wrongs.

Ultimately, Lippert and others ask if the campaign – which includes the requisite landing page and Twitter presence – will really work. Do Domino’s core customers really care about the taste of the pizza or are they more concerned with the chain’s real unique selling propositions: the low price, ready availability and fast delivery?

Perhaps 2010 will tell. In the meantime, I believe it’s your move, Monsieur Hut.

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Posted in Branding, New Media | No Comments »

I’m Not Mad – I’m Just Disappointed

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Dear AT&T,

It has come to my attention that lately you’ve been a bit of a grump about the network usage. You say you’d like for my fellow iPhone devotees and me to cool it on the data consumption. Now, while I don’t live in New York or San Francisco, the mere fact that you are taking on your biggest fans has left me, well, displeased.

Here’s the thing: you give us this wonderful toy to play with, loaded with fabulous applications, abilities and magical wonders, and then ask (not even that politely) for us to limit our playtime?! How is that fair? These folks that you’re speaking to – the ones that you say are bogging down your network with their constant usage – they’re the ones passing along the good word about AT&T. They are the ones you should be keeping happy.

What’s the deal guys? If I can’t use the phone/network and all the fantastic things that come with it, then what’s the point of paying for it in the first place?

Sincerely,

Sad & Disappointed in Long Beach

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Tags: AT&T, iPhone
Posted in General Blogginess, New Media | No Comments »

The MOTHER of All SPAM Messages

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Most of us are aware of the dangers of e-mail scams that show up in our spam folders from bogus charities or a Nigerian prince. If you are too smart for that though, you wouldn’t have benefited from Mother London’s version of spam. The London agency sent an e-mail to hundreds of people offering up $10,000 to first person to reply back to them with their name and full bank information. Watch what happens when they bring the money to an individual who actually responded to the e-mail.

How’s that for a happy ending?

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Tags: Mother London, SPAM
Posted in General Blogginess, New Media | No Comments »

Archive for the ‘New Media’ Category

Too Much Truth in Advertising?

I’m Not Mad – I’m Just Disappointed

The MOTHER of All SPAM Messages

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