2012
How Close Is Too Close? When Advertising Gets Up in your Smartphone.
If you’re like most people I’ve been keeping up with these days, and you own a smartphone, you’ve probably heard of the game Draw Something. From friends still in college to neighbors in their forties, it seems just about everyone I know is into this little social Pictionary game.
And while everyone likes a good social phone game, today I came across an interesting article about Zynga’s recent precarious move with the game. In order to increase revenue with advertisers, Zynga, the makers of Draw Something, have introduced branded drawing assignments. So now, instead of drawing “clown,” you get “Ronald McDonald” or “Gerber” instead of “baby.”
It got me thinking. While every business is looking for new and interesting ways to connect with their audience, how far is too far before they start pushing people away?
For instance, at Rock Candy Media, we’re sharing inspirational pin-boards of things we think are awesome and stuff that has to do with who we are. And because it fits in with what Rock Candy is about, it’s something we’ve found our fans to
follow and appreciate, even when they’re just casually browsing about on Pinterest.
And yet, that doesn’t mean we’d want to go around launching our logo at unsuspecting passersby. So when does the branding message lose its relevance and turn into straight spam?
It seems the answer may just lie in believability. Does Draw Something really feel like the appropriate medium to talk about GE? Or is it too obvious that Zynga is just looking to score some cash?
I say if the medium doesn’t fit the message, and you’re talking to the wrong people, you’ll end up alienating more people than you attract. What do you think? Is Zynga making a smart business move, or setting a death trap for the smartphone game?
2012
What goes around comes around
In the writer’s block that usually precedes my blog writing, I started scouring the Internet for recent news I’ve read, fun things around the web and the latest social trends. I’m trying to keep you guys entertained here! New smart phone here, lighter & faster tablet there and the seemingly endless stream of new social media and apps that go with it; I’ll be the first to admit, it’s nearly overwhelming. (Check out this snapshot of the several “share” options one of my photo editing apps gives me) However, upon further inspection of all the new crazes, I’ve been left wondering today – is anything really new more?
I guess now that I’m (gulp) older, I see that everything comes full circle. I’m an avid fashion follower; I guess I
always have been since I was young. I was in denial when my mom told me the peasant blouses and wide leg pants I adored in junior high were “exactly what she wore” when she was young. So there I was, pinning away the other night and I found myself heavily looking at denim vests. Ones identical to the one I wore and loved about 15 years ago. Oh, I remember how badly I wanted one then, and how much I wore it. I then became equal parts excited and horrified with myself, so I quickly closed the browser window!
Fashion is just one easy example of nothing being new anymore. Pinterest was the most amazing thing when it came out. Ok it’s still pretty amazing to me, although my honeymoon phase with it is over. Instagram rocked my socks off, but even that love affair has started to fade because it’s not exclusive anymore. When someone told me about Pinstagram this week I thought surely they were kidding. But it’s a real thing folks! These guys were joking around about combining 2 of the most popular social apps (and haven’t we all?) and then did it! And it’s catching on! This week I also fell upon http://www.trippy.com/, which is best described as Pinterest exclusively for travel. Clearly this isn’t a TOTALLY unique concept. Someone just decided that there is a segment of the online population that wants to pin only their travel ideas or experiences. I think both Pinstagram and Trippy are a little too new for anyone to make the call declaring either “the next big thing”. What I do find intriguing is the creator’s ability to take a great idea and identify the one thing that will make it great.
It’s been said that “necessity is the mother of invention”. While I may not NEED a 6th photo editing and sharing app on my phone, I will probably, at some point, download another one because it feeds another “need”. A new filter I don’t have, a different border treatment, or even a following of people that I want to be a part of. Tom Anderson started MySpace and it was a big deal for a little bit. No one pays any attention to him anymore (no really I had to Google his real last name) because Mark Zuckerburg did the same thing, but he did it better. I’m sure “the next big thing” that comes out in social media or technology won’t be brand new – but an improvement or expansion on what’s already out there.
Where am I going with this? Well I’m hoping that maybe next time you’re in a creative rut, you’ll take time to go back and look at some old ideas for inspiration. Maybe a fresh look at something old will inspire you with a brand new idea!
2012
Beat the Uninspired Blues
It’s finally Friday after a long week of work and I’m sure the last thing anyone wants to do is read a long, text-y blog. Today I wanted to explore guerilla marketing campaigns because I feel like I’ve been lacking in the inspiration field lately; and, what better way to rejuvenate my creative juices and keep you loyal readers intrigued than a post full of rad, unique creative advertisements and ideas? Here we go!
First, with the introduction of the new timelines for Facebook pages and profiles, let’s start with some creative ideas executed exceptionally:
Even though it’s a personal profile, Antonio Fadda made the coolest cover and profile picture. I especially love his pixilated ID photo!
I think this might be the best use of timeline I’ve seen! Giuseppe clearly took his creativity above and beyond.
Moving on to business pages, Ford made great use of their offices and landscape by adding their logo “into” the photo.
Fluke also made great use of showcasing their company by highlighting a few of their products. They kept their logo simple and easy to see amongst the array of tools.
And we have to give props to fellow Austinites… love this super cute graphic by Lauren Myers.
I’ll end with Travis Keith’s great use of QR codes. He set his up to go to his online portfolio, which is an awesome idea for businesses and freelancers alike!
Next up are some guerilla marketing ads by Denver Water. They are awesome and really show you the misconceptions with water use and waste. My favorites are below and you can view the rest here.
How about some commercials now? This is a great ad by Tropicana. Using the main ingredient for your product to power your advertisement? Genius!
Tropicana: Orange Powered Billboards
The Hangover Monster by Portuguese medicinal company Guronsan is targeted marketing at its finest.
Hangover Monster
And finally, my favorite ad of all time, La Machine à voyager. No ad has made me happier than this one.
La Machine a voyager
Have you seen any ads that inspire you, brighten your day; ads that evoke emotions from something so simple? If you’re out in the world today, you probably see them everywhere. Successful marketing, advertising, and creative ideas like these are pivotal no matter what you’re trying to sell, be it yourself or a marble made from sand. If done correctly, you can sell just about anything.
So what are you favorite ads? Have you seen any creative Facebook timeline covers? Share them! We love inspiration and we love seeing what inspires you.
2012
Let’s get social! Taking Twitter, Facebook, and more from your laptop to your life.
By now, you know all about using social media to create buzz online and connect your virtual community of fans. But how about taking it a step further, stepping away from your desk chair, and translating your social media relationships into the real world?
We’ve talked a bit about TwitterFall and live tweeting in general in the past, but let’s discuss what goes into taking social media full throttle into your live events. Yes, you can use TwitterFall or other live tweet display programs to project your event conversations via hashtag on a big screen, but what all does that entail? You not only need to develop a unique and easy-to-tweet (aka short) hashtag, but you also need to prep your fans to participate in a live tweet conversation. That means promoting your live event’s social media pages all in one place, so people can get all the information they could possibly need beforehand.
The best live tweeting events don’t just stop when the hashtag is shared. Instead, event organizers need to monitor the tweeting discussion, remind participants about the hashtag, retweet, and take notes on all the good stuff. Your live tweeting discussion from an event may just become invaluable content for promoting your brand down the line. Nothing like a few hours of free dialogue centered on YOU to get the marketing mind going.
After the event, you can collect all the most important and relevant content from the social media accounts you involved, and pass on this content to your fans and follwers in a story-telling fashion. People won’t just have to hear about your event – they will actually be able to see how it happened when you take the time to integrate and share.
So, how are you making your live events totally integrated and interactive in this digital world? We’d love to hear about it!
2012
Perfecting the Tweet
Twitter is taking over the social media world, so it’s no wonder why they call it the “Twitterverse”. According to Twopchart, Twitter gains 11 new accounts per second, on average. So why is it so popular? A few reasons: it is simple and easy to use, and ranks first for visibility. Many people gain up to 26% of new traffic because of Twitter.
Here is how you can use Twitter to your full advantage:
- Keep it you. Just because you’re tweeting for a brand name doesn’t mean you can’t give it personality. Let yours shine through every once in a while. There’s nothing worse than Twitter accounts who drone out business tweet after business tweet. Hello! We know a machine isn’t tweeting for you, give us something funny every once in a while. Humor is important in the work place. It gives us a break and keeps us going throughout the workday. It doesn’t even have to be funny. Even a neat fact about a product you sell is better than another robotic tweet. Of course, like all things in life, you must let your personality shine in moderation. If we’re following a brand name, we’re mainly following it to read more about the brand.
- Put some SEO up in your profile! Your account name should be your SEO title. Coca Cola’s Twitter name isn’t “delicious soda pop” because that won’t give Coca Cola the attention it needs. Save the “delicious soda pop” for the description, where you will be entering a brief paragraph full of helpful and important keywords about your brand. Lastly, name your profile image your brand name. So instead of uploading the file twitterpic.jpg as your profile picture, upload MyBrandName.jpg. Of course you’ll enter yours instead! This way, Twitter will automatically pull your file name and use it as the alt tag for your image. When you hover your mouse over your profile picture, you’re showing your brand name in one more area.
- Tweet with order. Just like a book, your tweets need a beginning, middle and end. Start with a headline or phrase, then follow up with a link and end with a hashtag.
- Get to know your hashtags. These are a great way to track tweets, but also perfect to make yourself appear with the keywords you want to be associated with. For instance, if you were selling lipstick, you would tweet “Fresh Lemonade by #Revlon is brand new flavored #lipstick sure to refresh on a hot summer day”. Here, you are tagging your brand name and the new product you’re advertising so if anyone were to search #lipstick or #revlon, your tweet will show up in the search results. Hashtags are another thing to use in moderation. Limit your tweets to three hastags max and rearrange your wording to have them become a part of the tweet, not the start of a tweet. Also, look for words that travel quickly in the Twittersphere. If #flavored is more popular than #lipstick in the Twitter search results, go ahead and hash out flavored.
- Know your RT. Retweeting is just what it sounds like, re-tweeting someone else’s post. The good thing about Twitter, though, is their special “retweet” link on each post. Just click it and it will be posted on your profile. There are a few different ways you should retweet things. Directly RT posts that are highly influential. Copy and paste the tweet and follow the steps from item three above, ending with RT @whoever you are “retweeting”, plus your comment, if you have one. You can also retweet with a response instead of the actual tweet, just mention the person you are responding to with the @ sign. This will allow that user to see your response, as it’s directed to them. Finally, only RT things you want your brand to be associated with. If you’re selling vegan baked goods, you don’t want to be seen RT’ing a post about the hip new BBQ joint.
So with this basic outline of posting the “perfect tweets,” Rock Candy Media would like to introduce a jazzy new widget on our website homepage. With this hashtag widget, we will have specific hashtags set up to automatically become a part of your tweet. See that we’re having a promotion going on? Check out our #box and you’ll see the tag specifically set for that promotion. It’s just another way RCM is stepping up the game to be the company for you.
2012
Social Tools for Social Fools*
When it comes to social media, there are hundreds of platforms, apps, programs, and sites out there made specifically for gauging posts, feedback, how far a tweet spreads, etc. I recently had demos with three of the biggest social tracking platforms out there; and let me tell you – they mean business. With each one, you are able to enter keywords catered specifically towards the brand you are posting for. Once you have all your keywords entered, you can view a list of influencers and other users using the same keywords. This gives you the chance to scope out the competition and see what words they are and aren’t using. The more uniquely you set yourself apart from everyone else, the more niches you’re bound to set yourself in. Another great thing about seeing a list of influencers is getting to see who is “big” in social media. You can then see what this user is doing to have so many followers and why they are so high-ranking, basically learning tricks of the trade. You might also be given a list of all the social sites they are a part of, keywords they use, followers they have, who they are following, etc. With all this info, you can follow them yourself, see who their top followers/followees are, follow them too, and start getting yourself set upwith the big leagues.
Another cool feature of most of these platforms is getting feedback in real time. This means that you can start tracking a tweet as soon as it’s posted. You can see how many people it reached, how many times it was “retweeted” by followers, how many mentions you get in return, and so on and so forth. This gives you the opportunity to engage specific people who have had some contact with your initial tweet. This can be especially useful during campaigns.
These tools are also complete timesavers! If you’re like me and have more tasks than updating social sites, you can schedule tweets and other updates. This is also especially helpful if you missed a day of work or had some days off coming up. With the ability to schedule posts, you have more time to accomplish other tasks you may have, research for future campaigns, or at least have a short break to relax for a few minutes!
There are so many more great additions that vary from platform to platform and many, if not all of them, offer free demos for those interested. These are a great way to see how things function, and youwill be speaking with a live person – so any questions you have can get answered immediately!
*In no way is this derogatory. I just needed something that rhymed.
2012
Facebook’s Transformation, A Marketing Perspective
If your business is anything like ours, we know how you feel. You’ve been waking up in cold sweats from nightmares about losing your “Like”-gating (exclusive content only your fans can access) and stressing about the death of your welcome page. Or, maybe worse, you haven’t started looking into it quite yet, and March 30th is slowly creeping up on you to take over your brand with the infamous Timeline.
But we figure, if you can’t fight em’ (and you can’t…just ask the Winklevoss twins!), you may as well join ‘em. So let’s go over a few key points for moving forward as a brand in the new world of Facebook. We’ll start with what we think are the most important things for you to know before the big transition.
First off, the best news we have for you is that, with the new Facebook, you can interact with fans privately, instead of just on your wall! That means you can contact contest winners more easily, deal with inappropriate or negative comments instead of just deleting them from your wall, and really engage your fans at a more personal level.
Secondly, you should know that your fans and non-fans alike are now all going to be directed to your wall when they visit your fan page, instead of landing on a homepage you can entice them with. This means your wall needs to be current, your timeline photo needs to be eye-catching, and most importantly we think…your application icons need to speak for themselves.
So what exactly does that mean? Currently, your applications, such as a shop page, a testimonials page, and any other extra content you’ve included on your fan page show up alongside the left of your content and are somewhat understated – that is, it’s not a main focus of your page, nor is it much of a design element.
But all this is changing now. With the onset of the more prominent app buttons featured just below your main timeline photo, these little icons have just been shoved into center stage. And while this is all new and overwhelming for a lot of people right now, it is also a good opportunity to make something of the new layout.
You want people to click through your tabs to reach your content, so the new icons need to draw people in. And you’ve got the opportunity to customize, so you need to make the app buttons a part of your brand. Staying in tune with the rising hype over pinterest, you can think of the new app layout as a very focused and limited pin board. These little images should fit your brand’s sensibility and get people interested in what’s behind the button.
We bet you’re wondering what we have planned for our brands’ new Facebook Timelines. So here’s a little something we’ve put together for our Rock Candy Life Timeline…
Check out our application icons. While the Photos and Likes categories remain un-editable, the rest are open opportunities for you to reach your audience. We’re keeping our icons up-to-date with images of our current curtain prints, mentions of current promotions, and little tidbits that should keep our Rock Candy Life fans interested.
We’d love to know what you have planned for your brands’ Timelines or what you are hoping to see from the brands you love. And, as always, we’re here to help with any customization you don’t want to tackle on your own.
Enjoy the last month of your current fan page, and keep on movin’ forward, folks!
2012
Live-tweet: bringing a little social media to your social gatherings
What exactly is live-tweeting?
Live-tweet (v.): to engage on Twitter for a continuous period of time—anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours—with a sequence of focused Tweets.
And why would anybody want to do that for say, a conference, an industry party, or another formal gathering? Well, it’s hard enough to engage everyone in an event you’re running, even without all the modern technology everyone has glued themselves to. Add that, and you’ll likely end up with a speaker talking AT an audience that’s checking their emails, social media, texts, and more – and then you’re missing out on getting everyone involved in a super easy way.
So, to get started, you’ll need a unique hashtag for your event. For instance, Rock Candy Media used #TourofTX for the live-tweet we coordinated for Draft Pick Austin’s Tour of Texas Beer tasting in January. You just need to find something that is relevant to your event and also is not being used for a lot of other things (so #beertasting would not be as effective since others would be using the same tag without referencing the event).
With your unique hashtag, you can discuss your event and display the conversation on a screen at your event. I suggest using Twitterfall or some other simple trend-viewing Twitter platform (The cleaner the look of the feed, the easier it is for your audience to follow along – so spinning and flashy text is not recommended). With Twitterfall, you’ll get to see every tweet in the conversation when attendants use your unique hashtag.
For large events, this really helps get everyone sharing their thoughts without having to take turns speaking aloud. Also, there’s the ego factor, as everyone just loves seeing their twitter handle up on screen for their 15 seconds of fame.
What about you? Have you been to an event with a live-tweet feature before? Would you be interested in one? We’d love to hear about your experiences and opinions!
2012
Just a little “pinspiration”
Even as I start to write this, I’m thinking about maybe just jumping on Pinterest real quick, maybe to rearrange my boards, or maybe to find some ways to style the new skirt I bought. That’s because Pinterest could just be the newest and best way to waste time on the internet since Farmville (which by the way I NEVER subscribed to. I do have some standards, people).
So in case you haven’t caught the Pinterest obsession this year – let me break it down for you. The owners have defined Pinterest as an online pin board that lets you organize and share the things you love. When explaining it to my friends or family, I liken it to dog-earring/circling/tearing out pages of a magazine. You know, those recipes you’ll try one day, the dream vacation you want to take, or (swoon) – those LouBous that you’ll buy the next time you’ve got an extra $995 laying around. You can pin any and everything you can dream of and organize them in any way. You can pin something brand new from a website, or even your phone, or you can re-pin something that you’ve found somewhere else. And now, when you click on the pin, it takes you back to the original source it was pinned from, maybe a fashion blog or department store website. You can also search specific categories or words if you’re looking for some “pinspiration” for something specific. You can also choose to follow all the boards by a specific person, or just a select few.
I think it’s brilliant.
I don’t recall exactly when I joined Pinterest, but I do know it was some time last summer, before it entirely blew up in the late fall. First, it’s visual, and I don’t have to read much unless I want to click through and find out more about a pin. The exclusivity of it made it desirable too. At the time I signed up, it was faster to find someone with an account and receive an invite, rather than wait for yours to come through your email sign up (I think this is probably still true). Also, it’s really easy to use: pin, re-pin, comment, or like. That’s all your basic functions you need, and that makes it very user-friendly. Lastly, there’s the victorious feeling when someone likes, or better yet, re-pins your pin! To the ego, it’s the same effect as a like or comment on Facebook, and you can’t tell me you don’t love that sh*t. As with many social networks, I can see areas where it gets watered down. I, for one, don’t have the need to see DIY recipes for house hold cleaners and soaps and the like. I use it more for inspiration or fantasy. But that again is the genius of the pin – it is whatever you want it to be.
As people have joined Pinterest in droves, brands have taken notice. For instance, note 2 of the very first users I started following: Fashion Editor Nina Garcia, and HGTV. For me, Nina Garcia was an easy pick, a clear expert on fashion and trends. So I was excited and expected to see boards for Fall ‘11/’12 Fashion trends, and so on. The bonus prize was seeing other pins she had, from food to home stuff – it helped round out her online personality if you will. HGTV pinned a lot of things early on, but I noticed they dropped off for a bit. Then, in the midst of the Pinterest explosion, they announced a renewed partnership with Pinterest that would not only allow them to continue pinning their own things, but also allow them to feature boards by some of their staff and designers. These boards will be personal inspiration notes and only help to further establish the personality of HGTV as a brand.
With the recent growth explosion, one can only wonder what 2012 holds for this newsocial network. On February 14th, Mashable provided a new infographic about Pinterest that reports that “Pinterest is generating more referral traffic to websites than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined. So go ahead and join the fun. I invite you to follow my personal boards at http://pinterest.com/slimt1213/ or you can visit our company board here: http://pinterest.com/rockcandymedia/
So, I want to share a few of my pinning tips with you to maximize your social experience.
- Make several, well-organized boards covering several topics or subjects, rather that just 1 catch-all board.
- When you can, pin original things instead of just re-pinning. It’s fun to find new things, and you’ll help to contribute to the site.
- In order to be searched (and consequently liked and re-pinned more), make sure the pin descriptions you use accurately describe your pins. That means when you post that perfect pair of pink skinny jeans, don’t just post “Awesome!” or else you can run the risk of not being found.
Happy Pinning!
2012
Why Writing Well Matters
You’ve read The Elements of Style or at least flipped through The Oatmeal’s guide to apostrophes and semicolons; but in this fast-paced, abbreviated world, why does writing well really matter? Well first of all, people are generally too busy to even read what you’re writing, so if they’re going to take the time to see what you have to say, it better not suck.
Check this ad. It doesn’t mince words. The headline is catchy, and you don’t regret wasting your tech-blinded eyes on reading. It’s raw. It’s interesting. And it sucks so much less than most writing these days.
And if you’re thinking, “My company doesn’t do print. We don’t have that kind of budget.” Well, it doesn’t really matter. Just because your words aren’t running as a full-size mag ad doesn’t mean they’re not important. Look at everything you’re putting out there that has words on it: your company’s website, your personal blog, Facebook posts, tweets. Every message you’re sending out is being experienced with about twice as many other messages as the day before.
So don’t mince words. Don’t post for the sake of posting. Don’t write copy just to fill white space. In this ever-growing world of instant communication, your words mean more now than they ever have before. Use them well.
