by Madi Secareanu | Apr 16, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Interactive, Social Media
There’s no doubt that social media has changed the marketing landscape significantly within the last few years. There’s always something new; a new social networking site this year, a new app tomorrow, a new feature next week, a new enhancement next month…social media is constantly in flux. I think what makes it so successful is not only it’s ability to re-invent itself, but it’s ability to re-invent itself while keeping its core proposition intact – social media, for brands, for marketers, for individuals, helps tell a story.
What is social media storytelling?
The concept of brand storytelling is not a new one; it’s just also been re-invented to social media storytelling. Brands aim to take their consumers on an emotional journey by connecting with them, to create a demand by appealing to a consumer’s wants, needs and desires. That is the essence of social media storytelling. This connection is very important and partly the reason why social media has emerged as the ideal tool to tell the brand story and connect, more personally and more emotionally, with existing and potential customers.
Take a look at the new Facebook Timeline for example; it’s essentially a storyline. A storyline driven by the brand and enhanced by its followers. It’s about generating and amplifying stories, and because of this, timeline helps brands become better storytellers. How does it do this? Well getting people(followers) involved for one, they can help bring their own unique perspective to your brand, and helping facilitate that emotional bond between brand and consumer. But its layout is really what sets its ability to tell a story apart. Timeline speaks to a story about a brand’s history and its present but it’s designed with the future in mind. The bigger emphasis on visuals makes more impact – images often make better stories and the Millstones feature helps highlight important dates and facts that are essential to the brand’s (hi)story.
Pinterest, for example, is based on visuals. It tells a brand story through images, and how far can a brand go if the only images they feature are product images? With Pinterest, brands must show the bigger picture (pun intended). What inspires the brand? What type of lifestyle does the brand fit into? Pinterest is about going beyond the product and about creating a more complete story around a brand, visually.
Let’s not forget Twitter. It’s immediacy has been the reason brands have had such success with it – it helps brands tell quick and interesting stories while connecting with followers on a more personal level. I, for one, love when I tweet about a brand and they immediately acknowledge it by commenting or retweeting – I feel like they care about my story and how it fits into theirs.
Every brand has a story, and social media is here to help tell it in a more engaging way. How do you help contribute to the brand story through social media storytelling?
by Madi Secareanu | Apr 9, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Interactive, Social Media
On or around March 30th, you may have noticed that Facebook has automatically changed your brand page to Timeline. While some were resistant to the change, let’s remember that if we don’t move forward, we get left behind and for brands on Facebook, hopping on board and getting to know the new Timeline is imperative. The nature of the Facebook brand page has changed so here are some of the pros and cons of the new Timeline for brands: Pros
- Visuals Traditionally social media has focused on words, but as we’ve seen with Pinterest, visuals are starting to have a more significant impact. With Timeline, brands now have more visual space to work with. There is now a large cover photo, a profile photo and larger photo stories. Brands can also pin images to the top of the Timeline. Apps are also now visually represented under your cover photo. This is very valuable for consumer engagement and creating a dynamic page.
- Highlighting and Pinning A great opportunity for brands to showcase important content and engage followers. By pinning a story or an image, it automatically gets priority on your page, remaining at the top of the timeline for up to 5 days. It lets important posts “cut through the clutter” and drives attention to what’s new or what’s important to your brand’s followers.
- About The “About Us” section has been given a facelift. Right below your cover and profile photos you now have a small “About” space where you can write an engaging description about your brand. The “About” link found right below this description takes you to a page where you can share more comprehensive information about your brand.
Cons
- No more default landing tab Currently working on several Facebook campaigns, I’ve realized that the loss of the default landing tab has really changed the way brands can drive people to their Facebook pages and promotions. Facebook has taken away the privilege of putting promotions, welcome pages, or other customized apps as default landing pages. Brands have to get creative – and use the available features to support and promote Facebook campaigns on Timeline.
- Cover Photo Restrictions Putting restrictions over the kinds of images that brands can use in their cover photo can be a good thing if they are limiting offensive and inappropriate content. However, Facebook has restricted the option to encourage new followers to “Like” a brand, show promotional and brand information or use a call to action in a cover photo. Considering that the default landing page option has also been removed, a cover photo without these restrictions could have been a useful area for brands to showcase new and exciting promotions or important information.
At 3H, we’ve embraced the new timeline. But what do you think of the new Facebook Timeline for brands: Like? Or Dislike? Does it give brands more or less opportunities to successfully market themselves on Facebook?
by Miriam Hara | Apr 5, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Social Media
Is the way we are communicating SAFE? Has the less “physical” interaction that we are now all adopting with so much enthusiasm curtailed our ability to develop original thinking and thought provocative inventions and innovations? Has being faceless allowed us to be impolite, rude and COLD?
Humans have never been more “social” then in the present… and yet, recently, on a discussion I posted on Linkedin, I received one statement that left me quite chilled! My discussion point was very succinct: Is the way we communicate digitally impacting negatively on the way we network in business or not? This discussion topic, based on a post to our company blog Hoopla, written by one of my colleagues about the “social in social media.”
With the onslaught of social media, the ability to communicate has never been easier nor more immediate. But does more mean less? Is the quality of the communication and the connection as important or as necessary as it was in the past, a mere 2 or 3 years ago? Has our ability to be considerate been diminished by the fact that we can be impersonal. That we are one step removed from the person trying to connect with us. No longer is a voice or a face to the conversation reminding us that there is a person at the other end of the communication. We have become fonts and letters.
In my original discussion, there was much conversation over how relevant the Connections were and that having replaced the “personal” in the interaction with a computer screen that communication has become faceless. The one comment that I previously referred to was stated by a fellow group member from the Marketing Executives Group, Caron Hughs , and it is the one I really would like your opinion on. This statement is the reason for this post.
“… There are few left who practice manners in acknowledging a phone call, or an email. It is far easier to ignore someone’s plea for help if you are not looking into their eyes. It is far easier to miss a career changing proposal because you are too busy to read an email or return a phone call. We are becoming a very SAFE society in the way we communicate … and there are no manners, or “outside of the box” thinking in our communications. We choose to respond to what is safe and what is familiar … and from that the great new ideas that could be born to life in a collaborative effort are fading away. Even in entertainment … could there be any more remakes from stories of old or copycat competitions born from the original’s success?”
When I read her comment, it made me realize how much of what she said is accurate. You only have to look to fashion, listen to music, look at design and see how re-inventing the old has become the norm. Where is the trend-setting? What is new and novel? Even Lady Gaga… has taken so much of Madonna… in attitude but also in sound and music. Madonna was the first, Micheal Jackson was a first, the Beatles were a first and so were the Rolling Stones. They were and are original. They made the moves. They struck the cords. They established the trends. Okay, so that is music…. what about fashion? Dare I say sunglasses…. big buggy sunglasses, or how about the new Aviator look? And let’s speak to design… Retro is in!!! Yes indeed… everything new… well, isn’t.
So has social media and the ease of communication lessened our ability to think outside the box because we spend so much time staring into a frame….so to speak?
What are your thoughts on this?
by Madi Secareanu | Mar 29, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Social Media
Pinterest is the new and exciting kid on the social media block – and everyone wants to get to know it better. “What is it?” and “how do I use it?” has quickly become “I’m always on Pinterest!” so it’s no surprise that brands should be, and are, starting to pay attention in order to stay ahead of the social media game. Pinterest, for brands, has become the new place to be, so what should brands be aware of before capitalizing on Pinterest?
How Pinterest works….
The social networking site allows users to share, curate, and discover new things by “pinning” images or videos to their own or others’ pinboards. Users use pinboards, which are collections of images or videos, to organize, plan and inspire everything from tonight’s dinner to grand events. Users are encouraged to pin their own content, uploaded or found online, or “repin” and “like” other users’ pins.
Who uses Pinterest…
If your planning a marketing campaign on Pinterest it’s important to know your audience. According to Mashable.com and January 2012 data from Google’s Doubleclick Ad Planner, 87% of users are female and 80% of users are between the ages of 25-54, however Pinterest’s user-base is still growing.
If Pinterest is right for your brand…
- Decide if your brand and Pinterest are a match. Pinterest is very visual; will this approach fit with your brand strategy? According to the their best practices, Pinterest recommends that brands create several pinboards with visuals that cover a broad range of interests and pin from various sites, not just a specific one.
- Think about your followers, their interests and how, through Pinterest, you can create more of an experience around your brand.
- Do some competitive research. See what other brands are doing on Pinterest and what makes their Pinterest campaigns so successful.
What kind of visual content to share Pinterest….
Think about sharing product shots, infographics, brand inspirations, how-to graphics, and maybe even images of your customers engaging with your brand. You can even share eBooks. Recently, 3H launched our “Marketing Understood: 33 Biz-isms you need for success” eBook. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing visuals from our eBook on our Pinterest profile.
You can also allow followers to pin images to your boards and encourage them to share stories about their experiences with your brand. You could also run fun contests on Pinterest to keep your followers engaged.
Promotion…
Make sure you let people know that your brand is on Pinterest. Add a button to your website and link your Pinterest account to your brand’s Facebook and Twitter as well.
What’s working and what’s not…
When pinning, leverage your traditional analytics tools to identify the content that really gets your followers excited about your brand and drives traffic to your sites. You can also gage interest levels by the amount of “Likes” and “Repins” you’ve received.
What do you think? As more and more brands get on board, will it change the way brands approach their social media marketing campaigns?
Follow 3H on Pinterest!
by Christine Marr | Mar 2, 2012 | Business Success, Social Media
I love the ‘social’ in social media. The Creative Director at 3H says: Social Media is the new way of networking… and she is absolutely right. Just think, every time you post a comment to a group discussion on Linkedin, or stumble upon a peer’s blog, when you have something to say… it starts the social networking process. We aren’t going to an event nor do we have a glass of wine in our hands (or maybe we do!), but the premise is the same. Meeting people (peers, or contacts) connecting in a way that adds value. As we evolve in our own social media worlds, it’s nice to see that online social behavior is pretty much the same as it is in real life settings. People help people, share secrets, share stories, complain, compliment…
Recently, we started a discussion within a peer group on Linkedin which lead to one of my colleagues, Miriam Hara, to participate and comment on a post, outside of our blog… outside of any of our usual social media circles. Unknown to us, Miriam’s image did not appear beside her post. We were pleasantly surprised to be notified by Andrew, the voice behind SteinVox, the blog where we had participated in a discussion. He notified Miriam that her image was not beside her post and took the time to write Miriam an email, advising her of the issue and providing her the information to fix the issue. We had already set up and created an account with Gravatar but I guess something was amiss… so we simply updated the image and it appeared. What left a smile on our face was the gesture from Andrew, that he took the time to explain this to us, someone we had only online interaction with. Just before the holidays I wrote a post about random acts of kindness that spoke to human interaction…This is in the same league.
So what is Gravatar? Gravatar is associated with WordPress and it is brilliant. Your “Gravatar” is an image of you that appears beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. This image helps identify your posts on blogs and web forums. It is very simple to do, and it’s free!
Simple features such as a Gravatar add to our overall virtual experience and make social media seem more real. Furthermore, social media is continuously finding ways to help bridge the gap between online and offline communication by discovering ways to make social networking more “social.” No matter where we are or what we do, we are able to stay connected with friends and family through the virtual world and this is something that was not available prior to the introduction of social networking. We now have the ability to have multiple conversations on-the-go. We can form new relationships and strengthen existing ones regardless of location and even time zones.
Humans have an innate drive for interpersonal communication and the need to form relationships. We are social creatures and new technology such as social media helps to fulfill our social need and ultimately brings us closer together. On a professional level, it is simply awesome. It has never been easier to interact with people that have like-minded interests within the business community…worldwide…instantly.
by Christine Marr | Feb 10, 2012 | Advertising, Business Success, Social Media
We live in a fast-paced market…but when is good enough not good enough? With the new way of communication, technology has starting re-writing our language and the way we communicate, especially in professional communications. That is totally acceptable, as language too must evolve with the needs of the society it serves. It wouldn’t be the first time that the English language has changed. Today, we communicate so fast when we text message, tweet, post Facebook updates… this need for speed makes us just want to get the message out to our audience, regardless of spelling, grammar, punctuation.
Maybe I am showing my age… however, I believe that there is increasingly a blur between our personal communications and our professional communications… and really that shouldn’t be. Business is business, and if you start your first impression with a typo or poor grammar because it’s an e-zine or digital media, it doesn’t make it all right.
Is misspeling and poor grammar accepaible in bisiness? Okay, I jest. I know that this is really an extreme, but believe me when I say, even one misspelled word sends out the same message as a whole bunch misspelled words, poor grammar and even poorly written copy.
Below is an e-blast message as an example. Shouldn’t brilliant ideas also include great execution? Does having no rules imply that anything goes… and with it your brand and business? When I received this I was shocked.What is proper etiquette here; do you gently tell the sender/author that they have a typo?Recently I caught the same saw the same sort of issue on a Linkedin profile and and I sent a private message. Isn’t Linkedin a professional environment where the first impression counts
Bad spelling, poor punctuation and grammar can say many things about your business…it’s not talking about you… and it says that you do business carelessly. When we communicate on the internet, 99% of the time it is done by the written word. Spelling errors in business will make you appear unprofessional. Avoiding common misspellings and grammatical errors ensures that your writing is clear, precise, and comprehensible, making a positive impression on readers, which is particularly important in business communications. What’s the issue and how hard can it be? It couldn’t be any easier to check spell and re-edit your grammar with all the tools like spell check found in most and all software… It’s not 100%, but at least it’s a start.
The need for speed and cutting costs have made businesses accept good enough and I don’t believe that’s a good strategy. Think about the investment that businesses make about building their brands/business only to have it undermined by the need to communicate to their potential customers/clients quickly. At the end of the day that’s a high price to pay.
Am I starting to show my age? Am I not going with the flow? I’d like you to share your comments about this.
