Month: October 2012

A look into the future of social media

Post author By Ali Birston
Post date October 28, 2012
No Comments on A look into the future of social media

“Never be afraid to put aside a good thing to achieve a great thing.”

After attending a presentation this past week by Alfredo Tan (Direct of Marketing Solutions at Facebook Canada), I left with my mind spinning with ideas, inspiration and a better understanding of the evolution of how we as humans connect online. It was absolutely fascinating to hear directly from an insider from the company at the forefront of digital innovation, and after a couple of days trying to digest it all here are my top 3 takeaways:

1. Put people at the center

We are now in an era of online authenticity where people are open enough to create genuine identities online. It is these people who are the driving force of what we as marketers do online and therefore they should be at the heart of all of our decisions. Facebook fans are the most valuable customers and the power they now have to influence their friends is astounding.

2. Tell a story

The web is built around people, and there is nothing that engages people more than compelling stories. This has always been the case in human interaction, and is no different online. Social media platforms simply provide the opportunities for brands to thrive, then it is up to marketers to communicate their stories effectively to captivate their audience.

3. Move fast and break things

In the world of technology, staying one step ahead of the game is not enough. Facebook has certainly figured out how to be a leader in innovation and one of the key reasons is because of their ability to move quickly and learn quickly. To quote Zuckerberg himself, “if you never break anything, you’re probably not moving fast enough.”

There is so much potential in the digital space, if only we have the courage to put aside a good thing and take the leap of faith to achieve a truly great thing.

Tags Facebook, social media

Comm 464

Red Bull Gives You Wings – Literally.

Post author By Ali Birston
Post date October 15, 2012
No Comments on Red Bull Gives You Wings – Literally.

“Red Bull gives wings to people who want to be mentally and physically active and have a zest for life.”

To say that Felix Baumgartner is an extreme athlete that has a “zest for life” is an understatement. This 43-year-old Austrian skydiving expert recently broke three world records, becoming the first person to break the speed of sound barrier in a freefall. More than 8 million people watched his livestream on YouTube and the jump was shown by more than 40 TV stations and 130 digital outlets, making it not only a huge success for Felix but more importantly for the company that was able to push the limits of traditional marketing: Red Bull.

While Red Bull is already known for sponsoring extreme athletes and events, the exposure and hype built up about the Red Bull Stratos was unprecedented. Not only was the online community going crazy over it (I mean come on, half of the worldwide trending topics on Twitter were related to it), but as a future marketer I was too.

216,000 likes, 10,000 comments, and 29,000 shares all within 40 minutes, well that is pretty darn impressive. But in my opinion, what is more impressive is how incredibly strategic this was for Red Bull as a brand. This stunt was not only completely authentic to their brand personality, but was also a literal manifestation of their brand message “Red Bull gives you wings”, not to mention was a testament to their creativity and ability to push boundaries.

In a world with so much advertising clutter (especially online), this was certainly a lesson to be learned on how to stand out and create extraordinary buzz. All it really takes is an engaging story and the courage to take a risk and to take a stand for what your company believes in. If you’re still not sold, well just take a look at this and be prepared to be blown away.

Reference: Red Bull Stratos May Change Future of Marketing, Big Risk, Big Reward: Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull Deserve All The Marketing Buzz They Get

Tags Red Bull Stratos

Comm 464

Pinterest’s New Rival

After just discovering The Fancy this morning I feel both shocked, delighted, and annoyed. Shocked that I have been missing out on what seems to be the future of online shopping, delighted that a site so perfectly thought out and designed now exists, and annoyed that this may just be my new favorite addiction (adios Pinterest).

So what is this new site that has me so worked up? The Fancy is a platform very similar to Pinterest but with the unique feature that allows users to “fancy” items that they wish to buy and then directly purchase them. This site can be described as part wish list, part online magazine, part e-store and complete visual indulgence.

From a business and brand perspective, this click-to-purchase business model seems genius. Not only can users save the items they fancy to their catalogue and follow friends (similar to Pinterest) but they can also then purchase those unique items in a matter of minutes. Other unique features include a referral program that gives users credit when friends sign-up and make purchases, subscription boxes that for $30 send users $60 worth of products found on The Fancy site, and a partnership with American Express that gives users statement credits for purchases using their card followed by a tweet using the #AmexTheFancyOffer hashtag.

While The Fancy’s 2 million users mainly consist of younger women (between 18-24), I see huge growth potential both through adoption by other demographics and for brands who see this model as much more attractive in terms of direct ROI than platforms such as Pinterest and Tumblr.

Watch out Pinterest you may just have a new rival.

Reference: Viral Blog – The Fancy: The Future of Social Media?

Tags Pinterest, The Fancy

Comm 464

Clicks Don’t Matter

Are click-through-rates really a thing of the past? Just try convincing marketers of that.

Facebook’s new undertaking to convince marketers that click-through rates don’t matter is, in my opinion, quite bold. To most marketers CTR is presumably a standard measure of an online ad’s performance, or has been to date. However, with new research from Nielson showing only a 0.07% correlation between high click-through rates and actual sales I could just be convinced.

It’s hard not to be skeptical of this messaging, since Facebook’s display ads typically get fewer click-throughs, but it does certainly make sense to look beyond the click. According to a study from Datalogix, 99% of sales generated from online branding ad campaigns came from consumers viewing the ads, not necessarily interacting with them. Which if true, does seem to make the point that we should be looking at performance not solely in terms of click-through rates.

Facebook is now recommending marketers look at creating value through impressions, maximizing reach, and figuring out the right ad frequency, all of which supposedly create a “clear roadmap to success for digital marketers” according to Facebook’s head of measurement and insights, Brad Smallwood.

I would argue that when it comes to social media there is no such thing as a clear roadmap to success. I do think while click-through rates have their advantages in terms of measuring direct response to ads, it is important to look critically at advertising objectives to figure out if perhaps metrics should be looking at targeting upper funnel measures such as awareness and familiarity with the brand.

References: Facebook to Marketers: Clicks Don’t Matter, But Reach and Frequency Do, Facebook Says It’s Looking Beyond Click Throughs

Tags Click-through rates, Facebook, social media