Month: October 2012

Categories
e-Marketing

Cries for Help on Yelp: The Solution?

It is said that 78% of consumers trust peer reviews. It explains why companies pull hairs over their Yelp or Urbanspoon reviews. Online review sites simplify the research stage in the decision-making process for empowered customers. Yet, the foibles of user-generated content – ambiguous credibility, unwarranted negativity – persist to create challenges for the very businesses that rely on it. Rogue reviews running rampant have always been a problem since the inception of these sites. Yelp has come forward with a possible deterrent to regain legitimacy for user reviews. It has implemented a new “consumer alert label” that will appear on the pages of offending businesses caught faking or buying reviews. It’s a logical move for Yelp, but I wonder if this actually makes it easier for business reputations to be damaged. How easy would it be for a nasty competitor to “buy” a review for its rival? The rival’s page would be tarnished with the consumer alert, which is much more alarming, in my opinion, than a couple of negative individual reviews. Yelp has good intentions, but where there’s an ill will, there’s a way.

Categories
Social Media

Bodyform Reveals the “Truth”

I am guessing by now that everyone and their mothers have seen Bodyform’s “apology” video to one duped Richard Neill, but it is still worth discussing because it really is a beautiful example of social engagement. It would have been easy to ignore the complaint, or arguably just as easy to respond with a few curt words. But Bodyform went above and beyond with a short video that was basically begging to go viral. A conversation-prompting Facebook question, a personalized reply on Twitter – that’s all standard stuff. But a satirical video from a maxipad company that performs double duty – leveraging conversation while poking fun at the very basis of marketing in the feminine hygiene product industry in which it belongs? That’s new. So it’s no surprise everybody suddenly stopped and paid attention… for once. Who said we consumers are a tough crowd to please?

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I’ve laughed at the video with my friends, and it’s already been a hot topic of discussion in two of my other classes. Now that’s what I call conversation.

Categories
Music

Goulding Goes Google+

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The music industry has consistently unveiled refreshing and innovative ways of digital marketing. I recall Radiohead’s adoption of the “pay what you want” pricing model for their album, In Rainbows; Arcade Fire’s interactive music video; and more recently, The xx’s audio streaming visualization map. Ellie Goulding is the next big name to harness the power of social media to reach fans.

To promote her new album, Halcyon, the British songstress reached out to listeners through Instagram and Google+. For her first single off the new album, a lyric music video was compiled using Instagram photos submitted by fans. It’s an admirable way to stimulate engagement and personally connect with many fans at once. And I imagine it must feel pretty good to have your photo chosen and immortalized in one of your favourite artist’s music video. Following this, Goulding announced the world’s “first digital album signing”, hosted on a Google+ Hangout – essentially a group video chat – with select fans. These fan-appreciation efforts showcase the powerful match between social media and the power of participation in order to promote to the masses, all the while retaining some degree of a personal touch. Ellie Goulding demonstrates this flawlessly, and has set quite the bar for the rest of the music industry.

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Categories
Social Media

KitchenAid’s Social Media Mix-Up

Once something’s on the internet, rest assured that it’s going to be there for keeps. During late night’s presidential debate, one of KitchenAid’s social media managers mistakenly tweeted a distasteful joke about President Obama’s late grandmother. Although the offending tweet was deleted as quickly as it was posted, KitchenAid’s gaffe failed to slip under the radar. Considering that last night’s debate was “the most tweeted-about event in U.S. politics” (with over 10 million tweets dispatched for the 90-minute debate), numerous users had already read it – and shared it.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this type of incident has occurred. Social media damage control has plagued the likes of StubHub, Chrysler, and even the American Red Cross.

The lesson here is a simple one. No matter how social media-savvy your employees are, it’s best to stride on the safe side. Always log out of your personal account. Better yet – don’t mix work with play, especially with social media managers such as HootSuite. These easily avoidable examples of brand-damaging blunders speak for themselves.

Categories
Advertising

Tumblr: A Brave New World

Advertisers have long staked their claim on the social media behemoths Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Tumblr has been on the scene since 2007, but it’s only until now that marketers are meekly exploring the option of advertising on the platform.

One of the earlier promotional uses of Tumblr was for The Hunger Games film earlier this year. A fashion Tumblr site was created to coincide with the movie’s release, called Capitol Couture. The selection of Tumblr as the film’s promotional platform was no mere accident. Firstly, the intended target audience already held a strong fan presence on the microblogging site (this wasn’t just with Hunger Games; Tumblr plays home to virtually every fan community of other movies and TV shows, past and present). Secondly, the inhabitants of the film’s dystopian setting dress in bright futuristic ensembles. Tumblr also happens to host a lively fashion community, so it was a fitting choice to settle down there.

The Tumblr blog doesn’t merely consist of content from the movie studios – for instance, flamboyant images of  haute couture designs that happen to echo the costume designs in the film were “reblogged” to diversify content. The Tumblr and Hunger Games was a good match: it was a relevant and intelligent way of getting fans that were already there to interact with the Hunger Games universe in a familiar medium order to build hype.

Tumblr excels at brand advertising. Skepticism taints the modern consumer’s perception of push marketing strategies. We are ever aware that companies are trying to sell us something we might not need or want. And so up comes the resistance. Suddenly we’re no longer paying attention. But we humans are hardwired to be drawn to narratives. Tumblr is all about “visual storytelling”, which is what makes the site so compelling. In this way, brands aren’t necessarily selling anything… anything tangible anyway. It could be a lifestyle, or simply a feeling. There may not be a direct measure of return on investment,  but the interactions gained and interest piqued could bring your brand to the forefront – and keep it there.

 

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