♔ Social Media Case Studies (GB_V.70)

Coca-Cola is hosting a "Hangout" on Google+ streamed from their Archives storage space for fans to ask questions and meet with others who love the brand -  Coca-Cola Conversations

 

The ‘If you like Latvia, Latvia likes you’ Facebook Promotion (by Leo Burnett Riga) allows users to bake actual bread. For every Facebook ‘Like’ button clicked on the Latvia page, a wooden log branded with the Like symbol will be tossed into a real Latvian bread oven – Facebook

Trendhunter's ‘Top 20 Trends in 2012’ further evidences the marriage between analog and digital, brand minimalism, Goodvertising, and Augmented Reality -  YouTube

 

A top priority for brands in 2012, ‘Content Marketing’ encompasses new techniques and methods of sharing information, creating brand awareness, new customers and building loyalty. It starts by asking the question – how can your brand evidence itself as a thought-leader? Check out this great infographic of tactics employed – Infographic

 

The U.S. Navy is engaging with their main influencers -- mothers -- through an online private social community that connects moms of children who are considering joining the service with moms of active-duty sailors -  Ad Age

Domino's is attempting to harness the power of their community with their new idea-sourcing Facebook app called the "Think Oven." Fans can participate by supporting already-mentioned projects or by submitting their innovative ideas -  Creativity

 

Content Strategy – Content is the new brand currency.  So what’s your strategy?  Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation and sharing of content in order to engage current and potential consumer bases – Article

 

Mobile 'Gamification' + Reward platform 'Kiip' (founded by fellow-Canadian Brian Wong) extends real rewards for virtual achievements by delivering a value exchange through promotions and target users through game genre, demographics and location – Overview

 

Having 47,713,372 fans on Facebook apparently didn’t satisfy her appetite for personal validation. That’s right - singer, songwriter, pioneer in meat-based attire, general curiosity, and now social-media upstart Lady Gaga has launched a new (currently invitation-only) social-media site called www.LittleMonsters.com (which incidentally looks and functions exactly like Pinterest) - Website

 

The Modern World of Online Dating - If you watch shows like 'Californication‘ or ‘Sex and the City’ for example, characters seem to find sexual partners wherever they turn - from a bar, to a cemetery, to the DMV. That (apparently) was so 2011. Today, there's an array of digital tools and devices to help find love in places just as unlikely –Report

 

Farmers Insurance discuss their people-based (not product-based) Facebook engagement strategy -  DMNews

'Barskolan Bootcamp's' Facebook App - Presumably the more social you are, the better a candidate you'd make (for a job as a bartender.) Therefore, the 'Bootcamp' Facebook app (by Rodolfo) created a social game that gave users points for different types of social engagement - Overview

 

Gap is plunging into social media with Styld.by, a new digital catalog (compiled by AKQA) that sees it collaborate with six influential fashion and lifestyle blogs. The site lets bloggers from sites such as Fabsugar, Refinery29 and Lookbook.nu style key pieces from Gap's Spring 2012 collection in their own way. Every image is designed to be bookmarked, collected and shared through sites such as Pinterest and Facebook, while you can click on the 'looks' to go through to Gap's own website and buy the items – Website

 

'Shoot My Truck' - The latest 'Twisted Metal' Campaign - Who doesn’t want to shoot an ice cream truck with an M249-SAW machine gun!? The campaign (by Deutsch LA + Stink Digital) allows Gamers to register - either via Facebook or Twitter - for the chance to fire the gun for 30 seconds each over the course of two days - www.shootmytruck.com

 

Lexus Launches 'TORI 500' Swimsuit Model Campaign - The Lexus GS campaign called 'TORI 500' involves a racetrack shaped as the body of SI Model, Tori Praver, one of the models featured in the swimsuit issue. The overarching theme of the campaign is that the GS can handle all kinds of curves – Website

 

In honor of reaching one million fans on Facebook, Cadbury celebrated their community by building an enormous chocolate "like" button, sharing a video of how it was done, and choosing one lucky super fan to place the final piece of chocolate on the structure -  Digital Buzz Blog

Listen to music while you wait for the bus (courtesy of your car insurance company.) Located in Sydney, Australia, the interactive bus shelter stereo actually works, with the help of consumers' mobile phones. People use a QR code or URL where they can first ‘Like’ the NRMA Facebook page, then pick a tune to play through the shelter's speakers instantaneously as they wait - Picture Below.

Intel has been recognized as one of the top 10 most innovative companies in the world by Fast Company for their enhanced use social media to engage with fans -  Fast Company

 

Ford Fiesta's 'Fiestagram' Photo Campaign - Ford gave weekly prizes to the best photos and will feature them in real-life galleries and live digital billboards across Europe. The final prize was a new Ford Fiesta. Simple on-brand message and well executed mechanics. A pretty simple, but smart (and well integrated) social campaign (by Blue Hive) to promote the car's features – Video

 

Here’s a good report on game changers by Wolff Olins on ‘FIVE BEHAVIORS THAT ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS’ -http://gamechangers.wolffolins.com/

 

The Fujitsu 'Profile Pitch' LinkedIn Campaign pits you (and your CV) against the world (allowing you to aggregate a series of scores based off your qualifications, network and experience.) Team up with your contacts for a team challenge and see how you stack up. Nice use of the LinkedIn API and kudos for trying something different – Website

 

Kraft Foods is creating personalized Valentine's Day videos and dontating 100 boxes of Macaroni & Cheese for every tweet they receive with hashtag #VoiceofLove -  Brandchannel

DeVry University shares how they created a community of encouragement with the help of their most inspiring students and alumni -  Vimeo

 

Here’s a solid campaign piece (by McCann Erickson, Helsinki) for Finland’s HIV Foundation/AIDS Council that uses Facebook ‘Places’ nomenclature to cleverly illustrate their point. Notice the text at bottom say’s “Bill Johnson and 19 others were here” “Adrian Bruce and 26 other were here” and “Jane Williams and 34 others were here” respectively. What do you think? See below or visit Website

How to measure social media success - Too many businesses have approached social ROI backwards. Instead of doing the calculations before taking action, many businesses spend time or money to get Facebook or Twitter presence and then look at metrics after the fact. – Globe-Mail

 

Seattle's Best Coffee has launched a new Facebook contest that lets their fans create their own custom drinks for a chance to win coffee and a future spot on the menu -  PSFK

Nissan is giving their Facebook fans a voice in the building of their new sports car. The car's design will be crowd-sourced through fans' comments, likes, and wall posts -  Social Media Influence

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'Shoot My Truck' - The latest 'Twisted Metal' Campaign

Who doesn’t want to shoot an ice cream truck with an M249-SAW machine gun!?  Admittedly this is not a synopsis that we ever expected to be writing, but it is precisely what Sony PlayStation has set up in the Nevada desert to celebrate the re-launch of the Twisted Metal gaming franchise. 

The new game (which refreshingly drops any clichéd, colon-ridden titles) is promising to set things right and launches, perhaps ironically, on Valentine's Day. The campaign began with a viral call to arms hosted on a dedicated website, shootmytruck.com, as well as on the PlayStation YouTube channel. It stars game director and self-confessed 'alleged psychopath' David Jaffe, who explains how he's 'here to tell you about the epic return of gaming's most sick, depraved franchise. It's Twisted fucking Metal on the PlayStation 3'.  

Gamers were able to register - either via Facebook or Twitter - for the chance to fire the gun for 30 seconds each over the course of two days. For a grand finale, three lucky, trigger-happy participants will be given an extended 90 seconds to finish off Sweet Tooth's ride, eventually blowing it to smithereens in front of a global audience tuning in via a live video feed.

With more excessively potty-mouthed prose, he proceeds to explain the simple, brutal mechanics of the campaign, which centers on a real M249-SAW machine gun mounted on a control desk in the middle of the desert. The gun is aimed at a perfect replica of the hot-rodded ice cream van belonging to game character and talisman, Sweet Tooth (whose head also happens to be a flaming skull). However, the weapon is hooked up to a remote, online interface, which means that anyone around the world with an Internet connection is capable of taking control and letting rip into the van or a selection of other unlikely targets.

♥ The Modern World of Online Dating

If you watch ‘Californication’ or ‘Sex and the City’ for example, characters seem to find sexual partners wherever they turn, from a bar to a cemetery, to the DMV.  That (apparently) was so 2011.  Today, there's an array of digital tools and devices to help find love in places just as unlikely. 

The phenomenal growth of online dating has dramatically changed our concept of finding a partner, and what was a stigma ten years ago is now a thriving business worth over $3.15 billion (USD) worldwide. It is also business-like in itself, with online daters finding increasingly methodical or niche platforms to refine the search.

It is instant and mobile too. Geo-location apps such as MeetMoi and Sonar mean daters can theoretically find a prospective partner in real-time, anywhere.

With the Wedding Crashers app this could even include the wedding of complete strangers. Inspired by the film of the same name, the app locates nearby nuptials, as well as details on dress code and guests. With weddings anecdotally being one of the top places to meet a partner, it'd be a great story for the grand-kids.

For travelers, KLM's 'meet and seat' service lets travelers add a social media profile to their check-in information, allowing other passengers on the same flight to pick a seat mate of interest. 

Meanwhile, Swedish dating site Restdejting provides a dinner date with a difference. Members find partners to dine on their shared leftovers by listing the ingredients they have and what they are missing. The users then choose a date based on how well their ingredients go together. As well as a perfect solution to dining alone (not to mention waste management), it is also an interesting way of presenting yourself. In this environment, are you what you eat?

Scouting for partners through existing groups rather than a sole-purpose group (a dating website) suggests just how sophisticated the process of online dating now is, and how it can be seamlessly integrated into existing communities. Hitch Me, for example, has combined networking with romance through the launch of a dating service specifically for Linked-In users.

As such, finding a partner shifts to the status of added benefit, rather than sole objective.  Gaming is a great platform for this. World of Warcraft is just one example where avatars can interact, and within an objective based other-world, let the players get to know each other. Games on Facebook work too. The Words With Friends game is the most recent (of many) to bring about a marriage.

Offline, how about retail space? An IKEA store in Shanghai recently experienced some trouble with a group of senior citizens who began to meet regularly at the furniture store's café for unauthorized matchmaking sessions. The opportunities in what demonstrates a high demand from a particular demographic - the fastest growing client base in the global online dating scene -  are clear.

But for anyone still thinking 'is there anybody out there?', there's an app on the way for you too. The intergalactic dating app allows you to a) search for life outside of earth and b) discover if your soul mate is, in fact, an alien.  Two birds with one stone, really.

So, (as it’s the day before Valentines), we wanted to alert you to the myriad of ways to get your shag on.   Now go forth and multiply. ;)

✔ SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT STRATEGY 101

Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation and sharing of content in order to engage current and potential consumer bases. Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty. More - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_marketing.  Here are ten steps to improve your content marketing and drive awareness around your brand or product.

1. Determine Organizational Goals

Ask yourself: What is my goal, and how is my content marketing plan going to help me accomplish it? These are things that need to be thought out before determining your content. By doing so, you can tailor your content marketing plan accordingly.  Each goal should be measurable and have a deadline by which you perform this measurement. For example, increase website traffic 25% by Jan. 1, 2013.

2. Identify Target Audiences

The next step is to figure out exactly whom you are targeting. This means researching everything about the audience to whom you will be delivering your content. Ask them questions, research website traffic data and determine their demographic information, including age, gender, education, location, etc.  From there, you need to figure out what your audience is interested in, both online and offline. What are they reading? What are they talking about? What are their likes and dislikes?  In this step, it is helpful to think like one of your clients or customers. Envision that you’re writing for one specific person, and then tune in to his thought process in order to succeed. Above all, listen to what that person wants, which is not necessarily the same as what you want. After all, you want him to be receptive to your content.

3. Develop Key Messages

What exactly does your audience want/need to hear? In general, determine what will differentiate you and your product, as well as what will help you to achieve the goals you have set. The end result should be one to three main messages, each with one to five sub-messages that offer a bit more detail.

4. Decide on Overall Content Marketing Strategies

There are three different types of content marketing strategies: long-form, short-form and conversations (e.g. sharing).  Long-form includes blog posts, articles and press releases — basically, anything longer than a couple of sentences. Short-form includes tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates and graphics. Conversations and sharing includes participating in and driving conversations through blog commenting, link sharing and comments on videos. This type helps to encourage discussions between other thought leaders within your industry.  You can stick to one of these forms of content marketing, or you can use all three. They are each effective on their own, but they are also powerful when used together.

5. Draft an Editorial Calendar

Developing a plan is one of the most important steps to content marketing. However, it should be flexible. After all, things can always change.  This is where an editorial calendar comes in. It should include strategies, specific tactics, suggested headlines, content deadlines and allocated responsibilities. This is a fairly major undertaking, but you’ll be thankful for your hard work once it’s complete — and you’ll save time in the long run.  Not sure where to begin? Check out The Content Grid V2 by Eloqua and JESS3 - http://bit.ly/jJ0vTQ

6. Develop Content

In order to even begin the marketing aspect of a content marketing plan, you need to develop the content you are going to use. It needs to be unique and different. Go back to your key messages and subtly incorporate them into the content without overtly selling your product. Content marketing is about creating trust through education and information, not using traditional sales tactics.  The infographic “Is Your Content King?” (http://visual.ly/your-content-king) is a great visual of how important content is, especially for your marketing plan. 

7. Establish Relationships

It’s time to start building a relationship with your target audience. This means tapping into existing communities by sharing and commenting on their content, as well as establishing your own communities across various social networking platforms. Remember, content marketing isn’t just about you. Like all relationships, you should aim to give more than you receive. Be sure to use the 80/20 principle: 80% of the content you share should be curated (in other words, not your own) and 20% should be your original content.  Find brands that have successfully made a name for themselves, and mimic the steps they’ve taken — but make sure to add your own unique flare.

8. Spread the Word

Determine industry keywords that are not only relevant to your product, but also are going to generate enough buzz. Search engine optimization (SEO) can play a huge role if you research thoroughly. For example, make sure the tags you’re adding to your blog posts are going to generate traffic, since this can help you get found in the first place. I’m a huge fan of both Scribe SEO and InboundWriter to help you accomplish this.  Also, spread the word through Twitter, Facebook, e-newsletters, etc. But be careful not to force your content where it doesn’t belong. It may seem like you’re trying too hard, and in turn, people may not be interested in what you have to say.  Eloque came out with a free ebook (http://slidesha.re/rgsvJ8) ‘The Grande Guide to B2B Content Marketing’, a helpful read when it comes to content marketing. Plus, it’s useful for deciding which platforms you should employ and how to effectively use them.

9. Measure Effectiveness

Although this is one of the last steps, it’s one of the most important. By measuring the effectiveness of your content, you can determine whether or not your plan needs to be altered, or whether it’s working in the first place.  Keep an eye on pageviews, retweets, Likes, +1’s, shares and so on. Anything your audience can take action on is something, you need to pay attention to. Figure out how well everything is working — or why it’s not working at all.

10. Rinse and Repeat - Change the Plan As Needed

If something isn’t working, change it up. Be sure to pay attention to results, and then use them to your advantage.  The most important thing to remember about content marketing: It’s all about building connections and improving your audience’s product loyalty.  One of your goals should therefore be for people to recognize your product based off of the content you’ve been placing both online and off. For a more in-depth look into how to create your content marketing plan, check out Heather R. Huhman’s "Content Marketing For Dummies" Cheat Sheet (http://bit.ly/jZhtY9).

Lastly, if you’d like some help developing a content strategy for your brand or product, Goodbuzz can help.  Contact us today for more info at info@goodbuzz.ca