Posts Tagged ‘twitter’

There are many stories coming out about the importance of social media for a company’s marketing efforts, and they usually refer to how major brands such as Nike, Unilever, Ford, etc. are utilizing these communication sources.  In the Wall Street Journal this week, there is another brand making a name for itself, not only in its own marketing efforts, but in its utilization of the medium to influence some major brands.

The brand in this case is Greenpeace International, and the other brand involved is Nestle .  The article “Nestlé Takes a Beating on Social-Media Sites” highlights not only the impact of social media for environmental activists but also the importance for each company to monitor what is happening in the realm of social marketing.

In a YouTube video (seen below), as well as postings on Facebook and Twitter, some claim that Nestlé is contributing to the destruction of Indonesia’s rain forest, potentially impacting global warming and endangering orangutans.  The claims are related to the purchase of palm oil from a company that allegedly has cleared rainforest to create palm plantations.   While the firm only supplies a little over 1% of the palm oil used last year, Nestlé has already decided to stop dealing with them and is also pressuring its providers to scrutinize their supply chains to make sure that they are not sourcing from companies that are damaging the environment.

This new attack opens the door and shows the impact that activist organizations can have, and of course this is an area sure to see tremendous growth.  The challenge for marketers is to appear to be listening while avoiding getting involved with long back-and-forth shouting matches that will most likely not benefit the company.  Other companies have seen major backlashes through digital means, and while many highlight legitimate issues, there is always the possibility for it to be taken too far.

The next year should prove to be very interesting in the social media realm, so stay tuned.

I admit that I was a Twitter skeptic.  I thought nothing substantive could be expressed in 140 characters or less; I thought it was the meeting place for narcissists who feel compelled to share the minutiae of their everyday lives to strangers; and from a business standpoint, I simply didn’t see how it could help us in any way.  Yet after a little over three months of managing my company’s Twitter account, I must say that I have found it quite useful.  Consider me a convert.

I have found the main benefits to be twofold: first, I find many leads on potential publisher partners.  I see who one of our followers is following, and then who their followers are following, and so on until I have unearthed many potential business connections.  I start following, see what they’re about, and then possibly contact them later.  I have found many great sites for news, entertainment, mothers, politics and more just by following the chain of followers.  Secondly, and somewhat related to the first benefit, is that I’ve become aware of various communities out there who are engaged in the same areas as us- namely, the Hispanic market and digital marketing.  By reading what members of the community are saying, reacting strongly and negatively to, and engaging in, we see what is creating buzz in our industry, and we hope to become a part of these communities and this dialogue as well.

It turns out that you can express a cogent thought or word of encouragement in 140 characters or less.  Plus, Twitter can be fun, too: you can follow the antics of Conan O’Brien, the NFL’s Chad OchoCinco, movie critic Roger Ebert, and many, MANY more.  I look forward to continuing to use our company’s Twitter account to pursue leads, participate in the conversation, and have a little fun.

Each of us have our media sources that we trust for information about certain topics.  In the U.S. and in many cases internationally, a few names come to mind such as ESPN for sports, TMZ for celebrity gossip, CNN for news, and the Wall Street Journal for business information.

With the earthquake in Chile- a country I lived in for four years- my first choice was to forgo the hours of analysis on CNN regarding the potential impact of the resulting 2-foot waves produced by the tsunami to find information directly from news sources in Chile.  Not so surprisingly, I found the largest Chilean newspaper El Mercurio’s website EMOL was down.   While I am not exactly sure which of the many legitimate causes (traffic, power outages, damage) were responsible, this highlights the challenges of finding reliable information from your country of origin or a country that you care about.

Outside of major occurrences, usually catastrophic or war-related, there is limited information available without accessing the country’s media publication.  For those who speak the language of the country this is not a major problem in the digital age; however for others,  blogs, Twitter, and Facebook have become a source of information.  While very useful, I for one rely on and hope to continue to rely on the journalists that make up local news sources from every city or country.

Twitter, the popular microblogging system, could be on the brink of changing the world of online advertising.  Everything seems to indicate that we could soon begin to see ads on its pages.  Until now, people wondered, besides agreements with certain companies, when Twitter would start to generate profit.  Now we have the answer.

According to rumor, the start date would be some time in March.

Twitter -again, according to rumor- would have the intention of showing relevant and truly useful ads and, of course, they would not be intrusive. This last point will surely be controversial for some of the more “sensitive”  Twitter users.

Bearing in mind that Google, Yahoo and Bing have begun to include Twitter conversations in search results, and that there has been a tremendous growth in users and page visits, the future couldn’t be brighter for a company that many didn’t take seriously when it first appeared.

There are so many websites that have platforms to rate products and services, yet according to the Advertising Research Foundation’s (ARF) findings mentioned in a recent Advertising Age Article, the ARF is publishing a new book, “Foundations of Listening”,  that discusses various case studies and the impact of consumers sharing their experiences.

The traditional system of surveys and paid customer research is alive and well.  While this allows the marketer to get answers to specific questions and control the environment, there is much to be gained from open discourse and listening to what your customers are saying outside of standard scenarios.  The article mentions that marketers are more inclined to see the views spread through social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and other online review boards as more of a curse than a blessing.  Listening to feedback can be scary for both individuals and companies, as they are opening themselves up to negative comments.  However, within negative comments they have the opportunity to improve, and the more open they are, there is an opportunity to continue to improve.

Much of the problem with receiving feedback from multiple sources in a manner that is unorganized is that it may be more difficult to find the useful information.  Companies and research companies are looking at ways to track the information.  From a digital billboard streaming live Twitter feeds, to tracking search, and monitoring brand mentions on various sources, the marketing community is working on its “listening” skills.

Whether you are paying for a monitored research panel or finding a way to organize and learn from the consumer input, there will most likely be a cost; however, for marketers, the benefit of gaining insight from consumers through new media outlets offers an opportunity to learn more from the people who use their products.

Almost a foot of new snow fell in the Sierras over the past 24 hours and I will be heading up shortly to enjoy.  However, before I put the get all my gear together and put the boards in the the car I wanted to share some information about how Vail Resorts has adapted to the changing climate to help get the message out to snow enthusiasts everywhere.

I am assuming that everyone reading this has at least heard of their flagship resort Vail.  What many may not be aware of is that Vail Resorts Management Company is the owner of this as well as four other resorts (Breckenridge, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Heavenly in Lake Tahoe) as well as twenty hotels and six golf courses making it a major player in the recreation and travel industry.  Cited in an Advertising Age About Digital report the CEO of Vail Resorts Rob Katz discussed recent changes to their marketing strategy.

According to Mr. Katz, there were recently two major “explosions” that led to major rethinking in their strategy.  The economy, which has led visitors who traditionally have booked four to six months in advance to last year having the majority of bookings within two weeks, and Media which has been rapidly changing. Essentially he stated that everything that they thought about marketing a couple of years ago has completely changed.

With traditional media outlets of which the majority was print magazines such as Outside Magazine, Mens Health, Ski, Skiing, Conde Naste Traveler and the like they would be required to commit four to six months in advance to the campaign and message that they wanted for the season.  Traditionally by this time almost 80% of their marketing budget would already be committed.  This year the print budget has been greatly reduced and they are currently retaining almost 80% of their budget in reserve to allow for continuous changes to the messaging.  While newspaper, online display advertising, and search engine marketing continue to play an important role, social media has taken a leading role.  In the past the industry made a decision prior to the season and lived with it, now at least in Vail’s case, the decisions and messages are on a weekly calendar.

One of the items cited in the video was the importance of video in selling their product.  Myself a connoisseur of “ski porn” a term he used for the conveyence of emotion in ski videos that are watched by avid skiers understand this.  Not only is their the video displaying the acrobatics of professional skiers on bottomless powder days, but there is also quick access to live cams and weather reports.  By embracing social media and the latest technologies Vail Resorts can change their message quickly to reflect the changing conditions and changing industry environment.  While currently the economic environment is one of caution and bargain hunting, as their changes they can adapt their message.

To see examples of how Vail Resorts is embracing social media all you need is a quick search in outlets such as Facebook, Twitter or others.  In one quick search in Facebook there were pages of groups associated with the company as well as fans of their properties that can serve as models for those thinking about as well as working with social media.

This week’s Advertising Age offers just one of the many top ten (or more) lists that tend to come out from all media outlets near the end of every year or decade. This particular list is of obvious interest to us at Alcance Media Group as it is focused on specific advertising and marketing tools that are now of common use.

Here are the top ten, of which you can order however you wish.

- Broadband Penetration:  This is undeniable the impact that this has had on the digital marketing world.  At the end of 1999 less than 1% of U.S. households had broadband internet access compared to 75% by the end of Q2 2009.

- Search Marketing: What is now a $25 billion global market started in about 2000 (Google debuted in 1999) Google’s system of matching advertisers with searchers known as ad words.  This is a complex system in which many agencies utilize and many websites continue to try to understand how to best generate a return.

- Social Networks: Love em or hate em, the advent and proliferation of social networks has impacted the online community and helped bring the focus on viral marketing.  While the overall impact is still to be determined, the advent of MySpace, Facebook and others have increased the time that people spend on the internet and how they share information.

- DVR’s: According to Nielsen, 30% of American TV households are now DVR-equipped and while by no means has this killed traditional television advertising, it has forced TV networks as well as measurement companies such as Nielsen to take notice.

- Ad Networks & Exchanges: This is in fact our business and we can attest to its importance.  Many advertisers utilize a combination of multiple ad networks to extend their reach at a competitive price.  Along with adsense (search), networks have not only assisted advertisers, but also a simple way for website owners and webmasters to generate revenue from their website or blog. Feel free to contact Alcance Media Group with questions in this area.

- IPhone: A relatively new platform that led to the proliferation of smart phones with web access and advertising platforms, advertising has only scratched the surface of what will be possible.  From location based marketing, mobile coupons, barcodes and many other opportunities that are bringing both entrepreneurs and investors to the table.

- Twitter: Definitely a trendy application that has recently garnered much attention.  A micro-blogging service that has many followers and detractors alike, this is one that also generates much debate and time will only tell if it is something that will withstand the test of time.   However at the moment it is definitely not something to be ignored.

- GPS: Location data is not anything new, however now it is in the hands of the many through the Iphone and other like technologies.  Of the 30 million U.S. iPhone users, about 70 percent use GPS and the marketers are definitely paying attention.

- FLASH: A technology that developed in the 90′s a a tool for web-based animation, it has become the standard for allowing video and interactive ads to flourish.

- Open API’s: There is this little thing that has happened with the iPhone in that there happen to be new applications (apps) appearing daily.  There are over 10,000 of them and this happened once Apple opened up an API platmform allowing developers to create “apps” for the iphone.  API’s have been around for years allowing integration and communication between different platforms such as customer relationship management systems (CRM) etc. and will continue to grow.

With the advent of these and other new technologies, there are many more changes to come.  Some involving these technologies and reaching their full potential as well as the advent of new technologies yet unknown.