Featured

Future Implications

#Change is evident all around us today in society. As we know, COVID-19 is one of the big reasons behind a lot of this #change. In addition, #BlackLivesMatter is also a movement that hopefully will bring positive #change across our nation. Therefore, brands must be prepared to embrace #change and evolve in order to still be successful during these turbulent times. How will business #change and adapt their social media presence to continue to be successful? They still need to be innovative and satisfy the wants and needs of the consumer. Does a brand #change their presence because of human behavior or because of changes in technology? I believe it is a little bit of both moving forward….

Consumption of Content by Consumers

Brands need to be prepared for the younger demographics who are begining to emerge as early adopters on platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok. How they consume content will #change the way brands operate in the use of their social media platforms.

Video – brands such as @Nike must continue to incorporate video into their content in order to connect with this new type of consumer. They also need to ensure they have a presence on the upcoming and new platforms such as TikTok.

@nike

Mason in the front row seat 😎 #MagicBoots

♬ “WOAH!” – Cashino

Voice Search- people are going to begin to type less and are going to start relying on voice reconginition systems to do their job for them. Therefore, brands must incorporate voice search into their social media marketing campaigns. Right now numerous people are utilizing Google Voice and also Amazon Alexa. The next challenge for brands will be to find creative ways to engage consumers with Voice Search in their social media campaigns.

AR/VR- Augmented reality/virtual reality is another tool brands must embrace. This is new technology and also another variation on how consumers are engaging with brands. AR/VR needs to be another focus moving forward for brands. It is a great way to educate consumers and engage them in current and future products/services.

#Technology is always going to be a driving factor in how consumers obtain information from brands. However, #technology is directly correlated with human behavior as well. Consumers in my opinion adpat to the technlogy. Smart phones are now a dominant presence due to all the applications available to efficiently find information and make purchases. We are a community that is always connected and constantly seeking information. Consumers are going to continue to gather information from their phones and social media platforms. The brands will be the influence on how we obtain the information. So when brands begin to incorporate more videos, voice recognition, and AR/VR consumers will adapt and learn how to use these tools to gather information. The biggest challenge for brands is how to utitlize these marketing strategies in an effective manner so they have ROI on these new marketing tools.

Viral Marketing Intiatives

The big question for a lot of businesses these days is how do I make an ad and/or video go viral? I believe that these are some key characteristics that can make a post go viral. There are also some key ways businesses enable viewers to share posts across the Internet.

Humorous:

In order for an ad and/or video to go viral I believe it needs to have some humor in it. It also needs to be engaging and relate to the specific target market the business is attempting to reach. Here is an example of a humorous video that went viral for the Dollar Shave Club.

When you go to the Dollar Shave Club website they also have a quiz available. You can take this quiz to help them customize a box of products just for you. So you can see the videos assist in creating brand awareness for a business like the Dollar Shave Club. However, on their website they also have tools or Linkbait to assist in engaging and converting customers as well.

Engagement:

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is another example of a video that went viral. Eventhough this video was more related to doing something positive there are some key reasons why it went viral. The main reasons are it was easy to partcipate in this challenge through the engagement of creating a video, and then challenging some peers to also participate. It also involved other people, was simple, and involved people participating. The ALS website has an infographic with the progress made since the Ice Bucket Challenge you can share to continue to promote the cause. You have the ability to share this infographic across all the social media platforms and you can also e-mail it as well too.

Here is also an example of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge below:

Relevant:

When creating a viral post it also must be relevant to the latest news and/or trend. The intention of the video on the New York Times website is to educate the citizens of the United States about the protests occurring across the nation related to the #blacklivesmatter movement. This is a relevant topic right now occurring in our country. In their news story the New York Times has a widget available for a reader to share across Twitter and Facebook.

Here is another example of a video related to this relevant topic that is being shared across Twitter.

Creative:

A viral video must not only be humorous, engaging, and relevant but also must be creative. In this YouTube channel for Blendtec they developed a creative marketing campaign entitled @willitblend

This is a unique interesting idea that shows a combination of humor, creativity, and also revelancy because it is showcasing a potential product that will be sold on Amazon Prime Day. It also gives Blendtec an opportunity to showcase their product and also give a link for it to buy off of Amazon. There is also a widget available to share the video on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. In addition, at the end of the video the host asks the viewer to comment on an item they would like to see blended next.

Easy to Share & Promote:

The last key concept I believe to make a video go viral is making it easy to share and promote. The Most Interesting Man in the World’s slogan; “he doesn’t always do X, but when he does Y,” was a perfect opportunity for people across the world to create memes revolving around the campaign. Here is a link to Complex to check out and rank the 50 best Most Interesting Man in the World memes. This is an example of how this campaigin connected to an audience and was easy to share and promote just because of the simple slogan. People also seeked out these ads out on YouTube to watch and share with their friends.

As you can see from these examples there are various ways businesses engage consumers across social media platforms. There are also other key characteristics that exist in order to make a video go viral. In my opinion the key characterisics that must make up a viral video are humor, engagement, relevantcy, creative and it must be easy to share and post.

Pizza Differentiation

During this time we are all at home or outside keeping our #socialdistance. However, we are also all #hungry and get sick of eating the same old home cooked meals over and over again… We are also all looking to save money since currently there are a lot of questions with the future of our jobs and economy. In addition we are looking for ways to give back and assist the people on the frontlines helping people get through this #Pandemic. So I decided to look at two of the well know QSR Pizza Businesses in our soceity today to see how they are promoting their #business during this #pandemic.

Little Ceasars Pizza Social Media

Twitter

The “Pizza” “Pizza” brand is using Twitter to create fan engagement to assist our healthcare workers and first responders.

Instagram

The “Pizza” “Pizza” brand is using Instagram to relate to us as consumers not being able to do much of anything during the #Pandemic.

It can be seen from these two posts on Twitter and Instagram how Little Caesars uses current topics going on in our soceity to promote their business. They also build themselves as a #brand #consumers can relate to and engage with in a meaningful way. One example is their super hero and yourself challenge. This is a great opportunity for consumers and the Little Caesars to give back in a fun way! They also are using the #PieItForward campaign to support our healthcare workers and first responders. Customers can join the effort by using the Little Caesars app to send a pizza to medical personnel, police, and firefighters in their local areas.

Domino’s Pizza Social Media

Twitter

Instagram

Domino’s Pizza is also using their social media platforms to promote their business and build their brand. Their use of social media is more on the serious side and shows on their Twitter post on they want to protect #consumers and workers during this #Pandemic by offering contactless delivery. In their Instagram post so they use this platform to again promote safety during this time and how it is Domino’s #1 priority. However they are also using their platforms to show how they are giving back as can been seen below through their #feedtheneed campaign

Both of these brands are doing a lot of great work during these unique times to assist people in our soceity. I believe both of these businesses are promoting their brand on social media and also building brand awareness of how they have adapted during this #Pandemic. The main difference between the two is I believe Domino’s has a little more serious side to their strategy and want to educate the #consumer and build trust that safety is their number one priority. Where Little Caesars is using some more creative and engaging posts by promoting their super hero challenge. However, this is their #brand and it begins with their logo, Little Caesars is a #brand that has always been on the more creative side when engaging fans. So no matter what business you choose to buy pizzas from during this #Pandemic you cannot go wrong because both companies are giving back and doing what is best for our economy right now!

Wants, Needs & Change….

It is extremely important to meet the needs of your target market when engaging in any form of marketing especially social media. So I would ask you, what are your current needs from social media?

I know my needs are information, engagement from students & community, and networking.

These are my needs as a consumer and a teacher. The tools I use are Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to accomplish these goals.

These various tools satisfy my current wants and needs as a consumer and a teacher right now. However, I know over time my needs will #change and these tools will also have to #change in order to keep me engaged.

Orkut is a classic example of a platform that did not #change over time and eventually stopped meeting the needs of the culture and audiences. Intially Orkut was popular among technology workers and students. It allowed the users to connect with people they knew interpersonally but also people they admired.

This business did a great job at the beginning of being a function of technology and culture. Brazil has emerged as one of the strongest markets for online retailers. In Brazil social media users trust recommendations from online contacts more than other sources. On Orkut users were able to make recommendations about products and services through community memberships.

However, with the increasing adoption of Facebook in Brazil, Orkut has found itself sidelined, as many Brazilian users became frustrated with the limit on friend numbers and issues with photo sharing that plagued Orkut. Facebook officially overtook Orkut as the most popular social network in Brazil in December 2011. In 2014, Orkut was officially shut down by Google.

This is a lesson no matter what there is always someone else out there trying to do better than you in some capacity. As a professional and business you want your wants and needs satisfied, but to stay a float you must also keep current and embrace #change. So remember …….

#AllinOne

As we know people are using social media all around the world today. However only 28% of people use just one socal media site (Duggan et al., 2015). This made me think o f my social media usage. I am constanstly clicking back in forth between LinkedIn, Twitter, and also Instagram. Each one of these platforms I use for a variety of different things. It sure would be nice to have these in a #AllinOne platform similar to Weixin!

What is Weixin?

Weixin is a Chinese socal media platform that targets on young, urban smartphone owners and aims to provide these audiences an “all-in-one-platform” app. It is more than a combination of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and E-Bay the audiences can do almost anything is this #AllinOne platform.

Weixin is a Chinese social networking app

Why the Success…..

This Chinese social networking app has been so successful because it takes the time to understand its audience. It seems like a lot of social media sites just post things because “they” think it is cool or people want to see it without ever taking the time to see what their audience really wants. #ASKGARYVEE Show talks about how the audience on each social media platform is different and has some great advice on his YouTube Channel about reaching your potential audience.

How does Weixin Make it Happen?

This interface is easy to use and all the functions are designed to be straightforward and convenient to users. Here are some examples of how Weixin is always satisfying the wants and needs of it customers in their #AllinOne platform:

  • “One minute is all you need to open a Weixin online shop”
  • “Qiang Hongbao” Campaign – red envelope campaign
  • “Didi Taxi”– similar to Uber
  • Pay via Weixin

The bottom line is Weixin always knows what its customers want and is constantly introducing new campaigns that attempt to satisfy audiences’ new needs or to fit audiences’ moods at a certain time or in a certain context (Mahoney & Tang, 2017). I know myself personally would enjoy and benefit from the use of a platform that has all the social media in a #AllinOne platform.

Lesson from Weixin

If you want to create a successful product and/or service you need to know your audience first and consistently and constanstly keep up with their wants and needs. You also MUST make it a part of your audiences’ and/or customers everyday routine and habit. If there was a #AllinOne platform I would be ALL IN!

Eyeglasses Anyone?

I have always been interested in how people solve problems in our world today and came across an interesting problem relating to eyeglasses that a business solved for consumers! Did you know 64% of people in the United States wear eyeglasses? I was not aware of that fact until I started to look into the research about the impact of eyeglasses in our soceity today. I also found out that eyeglasses can range from $8 all the way up to $600 if you do not have insurance. Which is just another reminder how important it is to have insurance these days! So the business I was looking into about solving this problem is Warby Parker.

This is the box they send you with the five eyeglasses to try out! Then you pick one and ship the rest back.

I had not heard about this company until today and I was really impressed with how they got started and all the various ways they utilize social media to promote their product. This business was started by some young men who were not happy with the cost and options available for people who needed prescription sunglasses. So they got some funding and get the ball rolling with their idea! This really struck my interest because there are high school students across the United States attempting to create their own business these days. There is a program we currently use at Prairie Ridge High School entitled Business INCubatoredu. It is a program where students are solving problems with the help of mentors and coaches from the community. Below is an example of a student from Wheeling High School in Illinois who was on Shark Tank!

This is the owner Martin pitching on Shark Tank!

Marketing

Here is a link explaining Warby Parker’s story in a little more detail. One unique aspect of this business is they allow people to try on their products and give them a trial with them! This is similiar to way back in the day where you could purchase CD’s. YES! Compact Discs for a penny try them out and then keep them ones you want and ship the others back you did not care for…. This is a great video showing a consumer giving their eyeglasses a try! What a great way to market and give consumers an opportunity to try out their products. They also are all about the social good of their business.

“An engaging and relatable personal brand creates a conduit for inbound interest. You don’t need to be overtly promotional. Simply talking about your industry — sharing your views and opinions — can prompt people to reach out and learn more, or to click through to your company’s pages out of interest. These are subtle triggers that generate awareness in an authentic way. “

Warby Parker is an engaging and relatable brand because of the all the various ways they integrate social media into their marketing. They put their product in the consumers’ hands and get real feedback. This not only is important for the consumers to hear from other consumers about their opinion in regards to the product. It also provides Warby Parker a great opportunity to get feedback in order to improve their products! So this is a WIN WIN! The consumers gets to learn more about their potential purchase and the company gets to improve their product their social media marketing. The other big piece of their strategy is they know and understand they have a lot of potential customers so they use all forms of media to reach their customers. The forms of media include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. This is a great company that caters to the consumer and truly satisfies our wants and needs! However at the same time engages the customer in the product and allows them to use it before making a purchase.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started