Social Media Usage During Conferences: #GetOnIt

Entrance fee? Check.

Dressed to the nines? Check.

Business cards? Check.

Up-to-date LinkedIn profile? Check.

When you’re attending a conference, you’re bound to have the above items checked off. However, have you considered being active on social media during a conference? Not only can actively engaging online in real time help you with your personal branding, but it can also assist you in expanding your network to a more like-minded audience.

Here are some tips to help you rock Twitter or Instagram while you attend your next event:

1. Be nice! Conference tweets are usually filled with words of encouragement, inspiration, and positive vibes. Share your thoughts or opinions on what’s happening around you, keeping the good energy going. Not only will the person you tweeted to probably read what you said, but by utilizing the conference hashtag, organizers and other attendees might see it and comment as well!

2. Get the hashtag right. There’s nothing more awkward than realizing you were using the wrong hashtag all along. Conference hashtags are a convenient way to find all conference-related things in one place.

3. Don’t be afraid to reach out to others who are covering the event on social media. Remember, social media is social for a reason. This is where the conference hashtag will be your best friend—click on it and comment, favourite, and retweet. I challenge you to take online conversation offline. Who knows, maybe that person will become your new BFF (and potentially a professional contact as well).

4. Don’t overdo it. It’s easy to get carried away by tweeting or Instagramming everything taking place at the conference. You’re there to network and listen to great panelists—find that happy medium so what you’re posting is valuable, but not so it takes away from your overall attention to the speakers.

5. Have fun on social media. Not everything you post has to be serious—feel free to showcase other sides of the conference too. Did you get a sweet swag bag? Take a picture and tweet it out to the organizers—show them that you’re appreciative for the free stuff! (Who doesn’t like free stuff, right?).

When you attend a conference next time, make your presence known—not only offline, but online as well. It can make a world of a difference in how you are perceived by the people around you.

Burger King: Igniting the Craze for Shelved Menu Items

There was the McRib. Then there was the Shamrock Shake. Then came the Chicken Fries.

Do you ever wonder why fast food restaurants continuously “bring back” items for a limited time? The reason is simple: quick-service restaurants need to give the everyday consumer reason to get excited and talking about their brand.

Lets take a look at Burger King. A couple days after launching the #ChickenFriesAreBack campaign, the company was garnering approximately 380 tweets a minute, while receiving nearly 150,000 social media mentions in the first 72 hours of the launch. A BuzzFeed list that also occurred that month helped boost awareness, as Burger King’s chicken fries appeared alongside other “extinct” foods (e.g. lime-flavoured Skittles, Planters Cheez Balls). There was even a petition launched on Change.org to bring back the chicken fries. You could say things were getting pretty serious.

This campaign illustrates to other fast food restaurants that traditional media is not the only means to generate buzz for a product. When consumers are informed that a product is being released, brand evangelists and loyalists recognize this and take to social media to spread the word. This amounts to the same, if not more, impressions as compared to traditional methods—and for a fraction of the cost!

Marketing the return of limited time menu items via social media has proven to be a no-brainer for several fast food chains, including Burger King. The CMO of Burger King, Eric Hirschhorn, expresses that the #ChickenFriesAreBack initiative is the company’s most social-focused launch ever—and the efforts are paying off.

The Burger King #ChickenFriesAreBack campaign demonstrates that this type of strategy can serve as a model for other fast food joints to create buzz surrounding their menu items. Which company will be next to follow in Burger King’s footsteps?

Luxury Brands on Social Media—To Be or Not to Be?

Since the inception of Facebook and Twitter, marketers have utilized social media to reach customers. As social continues to become a vital part of companies’ marketing strategies, luxury brands have refrained—favouring to remain exclusive rather then accessible to the masses. However, some elite brands are changing their outlook on social media.

Chanel has been on Twitter since 2011. However, the high-fashion powerhouse only recently began posting photos on its Instagram and already has 2.2 million followers—yes, you read that right. On the other hand, top-tier brands like Apple, Rolex, and Monocle are still hesitant to embrace social media.

In an interview with Andrew Tuck, Editor at Monocle, he states that the company puts 40,000 words every month in the magazine. Tuck explains that his marketing team is reluctant to allow tweets or Instagram photos lesson the exclusive appeal and VIP status of Monocle’s parties and events.

“Social media feels like a little too much exposure. For our brand, it seems just a little bit uncomfortable,” Tuck mentions.

Rick Liebling, head of global marketing at Unmetric, makes a solid argument when he says that twenty-five years ago, movie actors wouldn’t sign on to do a TV show, but now, that’s the space everyone strives to be in. Liebling asserts, “similarly, you are going to see luxury brands accept this change in culture.”

Will McInnes, CMO of Brandwatch, expresses, “These [anti-social] companies are resisting something inevitable.”

In my eyes, luxury and social media aren’t mutually exclusive. Top-grade brands are missing out on a massive opportunity to learn about their customers. In fact, 98% of affluent consumers (with an income of <$250,000) who intend to buy premium products use digital platforms to communicate, with an astounding 71% specifically employing social media.

Social media gives companies customer insight. When companies launch a luxury product, they can track conversation surrounding it by analyzing social media metrics. Burberry’s digital offering alone has helped propel its retail revenue to £528m over the last Christmas quarter, a growth of an astonishing 14 percent!

Luxury brands fear that they are losing prestige and exclusivity by being accessible online. However, as learned from Mercedes Benz, brands can be accessible but reserved, unique, and calculated at the same time. GenerationBenz.com is an invite only forum where few young customers can provide personal feedback on vehicles.

Premium brands should embrace social media to further connect with influencers and generate authentic engagement. Social media is open to everyone. If you are not representing your company on these social communities, somebody else will represent the brand for you.

IHOP’s Twitter Strategy is on Fleek

I think it’s safe to say that when you think of IHOP, you think of pancakes.

I think it’s also safe to say that when you think of pancakes, you don’t think of a teenage hip-hop fan.

That may now change.

A couple weeks ago, IHOP tweeted the following:

“On fleek? What does that even mean?” I remember asking myself. A quick Google search informed me that “on fleek” means “on point.” Thank you once again for having my back, Urban Dictionary.

Wendy’s first used the word “fleek” to describe their food, followed by Taco Bell:

Most recently, IHOP jumped on the bandwagon. By observing IHOP’s Twitter feed, it’s evident that the pancake chain has completely changed it’s voice—one that appears to resonate with the intended younger audience—which can be observed by increased levels of engagement. The number of retweets and favourites are off the chain! (Here’s to hoping “off the chain” becomes the next “on fleek” now).

Digital marketing experts at IHOP, Kirk Thompson and Darrin Kellaris, addressed the “on fleek” tweet by stating its Twitter voice was working since it was authentic.

“There has been a refinement of our Twitter voice. We’ve gotten more specific, more targeted about how we speak,” Thompson said.

It seems to be working. IHOP’s “Pancakes on fleek” received over 25,000 retweets and 18,000 favourites. The refinement of IHOP’s Twitter voice wasn’t random—it was a carefully thought-out strategy Thompson and Kellaris crafted with MRM/McCann, IHOP’s digital agency.

Kellaris recognized that “Twitter for [IHOP] skews younger so it’s important to talk the talk when it comes to that fan base.”

In the past 60 days, IHOP’s Twitter following has grown a staggering 18 percent. It seems as if other fast-food companies have identified the importance of connecting to their intended target market, as even Burger King has come on board honing a younger voice on Twitter:

Is this change in voice for brands “on fleek”? For the time being, engagement levels have spiked, but will the sudden growth be sustainable? Only time will tell how brands will continue to remain relevant in the forever changing landscape of digital marketing.

Snapchat Transports Users to India

You know something is a big deal when you look forward to it more than your birthday. For me, that something, is Diwali—the “festival of lights.” This ancient Hindu festival signifies the triumph of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and light over darkness.

On October 23^rd of this year, Snapchat users around the globe got a glimpse of Diwali festivities thanks to this transitory picture-sharing app. Snapchat introduced a collections of snaps appropriately titled “Diwali in India,” commemorating the five day Indian festival.

What was special about these snaps was the fact that the collection was part of Snapchat’s “Our Story” feature, which can be found in the “Live” section under “Recent Updates.” This feature allows users to collaboratively post pictures and videos taken at the same live event on a common thread for the entire Snapchat community to view. Any user present at the event within a particular geolocation can have a hand in adding to the content stream. Snapchat then proceeds to curate this content and create a story surrounding the event. This feature protects the user’s identity as it does not reveal who captured the image or video, it only displays that they were taken at the same event.

One of my favourite snaps from the collection:

VP of Communications at Snapchat, Mary Ritti, states, “We receive a lot of hours of content and curate to create the best story.” Ritti notes, “It lets people feel like they are actually at the event, even if they are across the world.” Snapchat illustrated just that on Diwali. Not only was the company monitoring and listening to conversations on social media channels, they were doing their part to amplify positive sentiments from users.

Below are some of Snapchat’s retweets from users expressing their appreciation for the “Diwali in India” collection.

Snapchat users in India did a remarkable job of capturing footage of fireworks lighting up the dark night skies, traditional prayer ceremonies taking place, as well as vibrant rangolis adorning the entrances of homes.

Ritti mentions that the company receives a substantial amount of requests asking to cover unique events around the globe that are of great significance to users. It’s amazing to see how a platform like Snapchat is taking actionable steps to ensure requests from users are being delivered, and this time, the result was allowing users all over the world to get a dose of Indian culture.

Since Snapchat launched its “Our Story” feature in late August of this year, the platform has hosted several music festivals and sports games. Brands and events can now use “Our Story” to broadcast live-streamed videos and photos to reach a mass audience, creating an opportunity for monetization. Snapchat has taken the concept of engaging users to a whole new level—including those that aren’t physically there. Hats off to them!

Nike’s Winning Instagram Strategy

Nike’s social media game plan is winning big time. TOTEMS, an analytics tool that tracks how brands compare on Instagram, places Nike at the top with 6.7 million followers and approximately 33 million posts mentioning the #Nike hashtag.

So what is Nike doing right that other brands can learn from?

For one, the company understands what type of content resonates with its Instagram followers. Nike does a fantastic job at mixing up its content. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the company was posting images of locals playing football in countries whose games were coming up. Yet, before the Croatia-Brazil game, Nike shared a photo of locals playing Picigin, a popular beach sport played in Croatia. This change of pace was well received by the company’s followers, as the picture received over 190,000 hearts on the social platform.

The brand also understands the power of showing gratitude to its fans. At certain milestones, the company will thank its followers for their unwavering support. The posts receive thousands of comments and hundreds of thousands of hearts, without the company incentivizing consumers for their engagement. Appreciation really does go a long way.

Nike continues to lead in Instagram marketing, as it has been one of the few brands to design campaigns solely for Instagram. Not only that, but Nike’s Instagram account truly fosters a sense of community. Despite having sub-accounts such as Nike Running and Nike Women, the flagship account keeps the sense of these communities alive with distinct posts.

Nike’s Instagram strategy has been wildly successful due to the fact that it involves the users. Some companies are afraid that users will not engage with a gratitude post, and thus, shy away from thanking their fans. This is a big no-no. User involvement is key on social networks as it allows for word-of-mouth evangelists for the brand. The company also keeps its posts topical and shares engaging content that extends beyond its own product. Other companies can find out a lot from Nike’s Instagram strategy. They should study it, learn from it, and implement it. In other words, they should #JustDoIt.

You Have Six Seconds. Your Time Starts Now.

A lot can happen in six seconds—but is that enough time to make a lasting impression?

With nearly 40 million users on the ad-free social network, marketers are getting creative with how they can utilize Vine to get their brand’s message across. I love that companies are leveraging Vine as a free marketing platform and creating their own videos. Lets be real here, how many companies really have a multi-million dollar marketing budget allocated for TV spots? Not many.

I have a very short attention span. I find myself checking my Instagram feed, text messages and emails even while writing this. I can watch a six second video without getting distracted, however (I know, it’s an amazing feat). That’s the beauty of Vine—if marketers are to use this platform, they are forced to communicate their story within a mere six seconds—and not one second more.

Take a look at the #OreoSnackHack campaign which does a great job at showcasing an innovative way to use its product:

However, unlike Facebook and Twitter, marketers don’t have the choice to select the “sponsored” or “promoted” option on Vine, but that isn’t stopping them from getting into the mind of consumers. Brands are finding a way around this by making use of a form of stealth advertising. Companies are scouring out the platform’s most popular users with social reach in the millions to “organically” push their products by incorporating them into their vines. The rate for these six-second clips can be anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000, taking into account the user’s social influence and target audience. This guerrilla marketing tactic is taking the marketing world by storm, as even big-name brands such as Coca-Cola and Virgin Mobile are experimenting with the short videos.

Below, big-time Vine influencer Jake Paul makes a comedic video on his attempt to steal a bottle of Coke from a friend. I know personally I perceive a message to be much different when coming from a “regular user,” as opposed to the company itself. In the video’s description, however, it notes that the vine is brought to you by Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke marketing campaign):

Gary Vaynerchuk, Co-Founder of GrapeStory, states, “[Vine] is kind of like a hit show. I don’t care if The Voice is going to be a successful TV show in three years. It’s successful right now. Thus, I should advertise on it.” I couldn’t agree more!

The Year the “Selfie” Stole the Oscars

Remember that time Ellen DeGeneres took a selfie at the 2014 Academy Awards? Of course you do.

Captured with sponsor Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 smartphone, DeGeneres’ tweet crashed Twitter, and rightfully so, by getting more than 3.3 million retweets within a day—a record-breaking number. Sorry, Obama, but your “Four more years” re-election tweet can’t compete with this star-cladded Oscar selfie.

Samsung should pat itself on its back—Publicis’ CEO Maurice Levy has valued DeGeneres’ selfie featuring A-list celebrities Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and others—at an astounding $1 billion dollars (yes, you read that right). Samsung marketer Levy says the value is based on the tweet’s massive sharing and popularity on social media.

Samsung capitalized on the post’s viral success by announcing that it’ll donate $1 to charity for each retweet it received. To this day, there’s still debate over whether the selfie was a paid stunt or an act of spontaneity. Although Samsung sponsored the Oscars, the fact the tweet was seemingly “organic” is major news. Whatever the case may be, it goes to show that social media buzz can be still created surrounding an event without resorting to the “Promoted Tweet” option.

Even though it’s “just” a selfie, DeGeneres’ tweet has proven to be a key lesson to marketers everywhere.

For one, we’ve learned the importance of having a varied digital marketing campaign that combines the elements of paid, earned and owned media. Ads have their place in social media marketing, but they aren’t always the most effective!

Marketers can also realize the significance of “spur-of-the-moment” situations. Even though Samsung sponsored the Oscars and had standard product placement of its smartphone throughout the ceremony, there is still an on-going debate whether the famous selfie was planned or not. Props to Samsung for playing it cool and effortlessly incorporating it into their marketing campaign (to all other other companies: take note).

Another takeaway is the fact that people are drawn to visual content. You want to ensure that the images you’re employing on social media channels are relatable to your target audience and interesting enough to spark engagement. Even Twitter enlarged photo and video previews in users’ timelines to account for this.

At the end of the day, however, the most important thing to remember is to stay authentic—nobody likes copycats! The last thing you want is for the public to bash you for using an obvious stunt to promote a product or get some press out of it. Brands that are trying to jump on the selfie bandwagon should recall that they have a lot to live up to if they decide to follow in Samsung’s steps.

Powerful Ideas Are Worth Spreading

I remember exploring Lower Lonsdale earlier this summer and discovering a co-operative store, where several small business owners shared rent and each occupied a space of the shop selling their goods. While speaking to one of the business owners, she asked me what I was studying in school; as soon as I mentioned marketing, her facial expression turned sour. She only got halfway through talking about her own frustrations when dealing with her previous marketing agency, before another business owner piped in talking about her not-so-pleasant experience working with a marketing specialist. As I conversed further with these business owners, I realized their anger stemmed from initially being locked into unaffordable contracts and then excluded from the entire planning process. In that co-operative store, I saw an opportunity to change the owners’ perceptions of marketing and help grow their business in ways they could not on their own.

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to embrace uncertainty, break rules, and challenge myself. I wanted a job that allowed me to be creative, encouraged me to run with my ideas, and empowered me to help others. My desire to become an entrepreneur led me to social media marketing.

Social media marketing facilitates a conversation with those who want to have a conversation. It lets true fans engage with a brand that has a real voice. After seeing those small business owners operating out of one shop, I realized that too often powerful ideas are lost because they aren’t shared with the right people. Hence, Idea Guru, a social media marketing and consulting startup, was born out of a project last semester for Entrepreneurship 101.

At Idea Guru, our mission is to find, build, and engage an audience who cares about what you do. We’re not here to simply advertise your company through social media—we’re here to help you build it.

Idea Guru does not take the common approach of asking what content you want posted online (we’re value creators after all). Instead, we work with you to find out what your company objectives are and what you stand for. We look to build an audience with high lifetime value—that is, customers who do more for you than increase the number of likes on your fan page. After we develop an understanding of your company and the people that want to associate with it, we “start the conversation.” That is, we begin executing an action plan based around strategic posting, customer loyalty, brand awareness, and engagement. To date, Idea Guru has worked with family businesses, multi-million dollar real estate firms, and most recently, Miss World Canada—a part of the Miss World pageant family, which remains the oldest and largest in the world.

I am fortunate to have the small business owner I mentioned striking conversation with earlier as a client of mine. When I first started working with her, she didn’t know how long she’d be able to afford her rent at the co-operative store in Lonsdale. With a strategic marketing plan in place, sales took off and I’m now helping to launch her very first store later this month.

Making money for the first time is definitely fun, but the best part is seeing the impact you’ve had on a client. Not only is it a business you helped grow, but also a friend, and that far and away is the most satisfying part of being an entrepreneur.