Month: October 2014

Snapchat Transports Users to India

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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 23rd 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.

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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!

Elon Musk Steals Twitter Spotlight with “The D”

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Do you remember when the iPad first released and reminded consumers of feminine hygiene products? Well, the latest butt of the joke is Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla. You can imagine people’s reactions on Twitter when he teased to “unveil the D and something else.”

This tweet from Musk must’ve resonated more with Twitter users than his previous tweets, as to date, it has already received approximately 15,000 retweets and 11,000 favourites. Not bad.

Musk took to his Twitter a short while later, tweeting:

When you leave things up to the Internet, you can only expect that when it hears “The D” is coming, it’ll immediately think of slang for a part of the male anatomy. Although Musk said the name of Tesla’s newest electric car was only coincidental, that didn’t stop Twitter users from running with it.

Of course, the media also had its fair share of fun. The market sent the stock falling after the public’s reception for the new model Telsa didn’t measure up to their anticipation. Some say, “The D” has now become “the d” for disappointment (pretty clever, I have to admit). Of course, this led The Huffington Post to come out with a cheeky headline of “Market Unimpressed with Elon Musk’s D.” BuzzFeed wasn’t trailing much behind with its own pun-filled headline: “Elon Musk Unveils  The ‘D’—And It Doesn’t Measure Up To The Rumours.”

Although Tesla’s model D car is an unfortunately named product, it definitely provided some good laughs for everyone. This incident just goes to demonstrate how many people turn to social media as a means to voice their opinion!

Nike’s Winning Instagram Strategy

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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.

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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!