Future Implications

Digital marketing and Social Media are constantly changing. Many think social media platforms are purely for person to person interaction. However, they offer wonderful opportunities for companies to reach their targeted consumer base. Companies will traditionally create an action plan to determine which social media and digital marketing strategies they need to implement to properly support their overall business goals.

Social media has become a necessity rather than an extra marketing strategy. It now provides numerous benefits to a company when used appropriately that are hard to ignore. Despite skepticism, social media can help SEO and Page Rank. In its most basic idea – “the more people talk about your brand on social media, like, follow and recommend your brand page to others, the more chances of your web page to rising up in search ranking.”

There is one issue with the overall action plan strategy – Companies must be flexible and react with change.

The landscape of social media and digital marketing is constantly changing. These changes can impact an action plan so this is where adaptation will need to come into play for a company to remain relevant and on top of their business goals.

There are many future implications that can affect companies moving forward in social and digital spaces.

Image Source: Sprout Social 

One implication companies will need to be flexible on is the expansion of social media ads. Have you noticed move advertisements on each one of your social media platforms? That’s because companies have realized how effective they can be. Social media advertising has really been hard to ignore when research estimates “the average person will spend nearly two hours (approximately 116 minutes) on social media everyday”. Many estimate that “by 2017, social network ad spending will reach $35.98 billion, representing 16.0% of all digital ad spending globally” (Media Buying).

Facebook is the main place for ads but Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are catching up. Companies that want to stay ahead will need to look to these apps, pending they can reach their target demographic on them, for ads in the future. The future of social advertisement on these apps looks great for companies even more so if they can incorporate ads like the new types “Instagram now offers [where there is] an option to click on items in a photo and immediately purchase them” (Stephan).

The new ad locations relate to how businesses will need to note the projected popularity increase of Snapchat and Instagram for business use. Since their creation, both Snapchat and Instagram have been superficial visual apps with minimal advertising. Brand presence on these apps were purely to create a sense of authenticity.  As 2017 rolls in, both apps have begun to take advertising and brand associated account creation more seriously.

 

Image Source: Android Joint

Companies will need to be wary of new social platforms that emerge and choose based on survival of the fittest. They need to really look at the experience platforms offer to the consumer before throwing their resources, time or money, behind it. Companies will need to look at the current platforms and see if they are worth continuing on. Google+ is predicted to be on its way out. Google has not may many updates to the platform to make it worth the wile of consumers. Companies will need to adjust expectations and instead make sure they are properly located on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yelp.Instead, they should focus on the user experience and reviews left on these sites and anywhere online.

Companies can continue to thrive no matter the social media landscape as long as they take a step back, look at their new surroundings, and find ways to adapt.

Viral Marketing Initiatives

We’ve all heard the phrase “going viral” before – and no I’m not talking about an infection. Marketing campaigns that rapidly exceed company expectations and goals are often considered to have “gone viral”.

Viral Marketing Overview

What is Viral marketing?

Viral Marketing is defined as “a method of creating buzzwords or marketing pieces that are memorable and attention-grabbing in our modern, always connected world”.  This strategy often uses social media, video and/or b2c or c2c sharing. Viral marketing allows businesses to get their product or idea out quickly to as many people as possible.

How Does This Work?

It doesn’t always. A company must find new and innovative ways to get their information out or it is unlikely to go viral. The biggest challenge is creating a message that is engaging  without going off brand just for attention. If this can be achieve, viral content is spread quickly. Especially with social media and technology at consumers finger tips, sharing to thousands or millions can occur in minutes.

Identifying Viral Campaigns

While there are many ways to categorize a viral campaign as successful, I believe they must contain these five characteristics.

1. Generate an Emotional Response – Viral marketing must generate a response in the receiver, wether that emotion is humor, happiness, sadness etc. all depend on the company, product and message being portrayed. However, the campaign should generally illicit the same emotional response from all.

2. Be Interactive – Viral marketing loops in the consumer in an interactive way. Wether its is a video/image that can be shared and commented on or a media that can be easily moved or shared in other ways to allow personalization and further interaction.

3. Have Relevance – “Relate content to the latest news, trend, or what’s hot…” (Marrana-Lucas, 2016). Companies can increase viral marketing by integrating ‘now’ content into it. This will help with search content and draw in different demographics.

4. Be Risky but On-Brand – Not to sound cliche but it’s time to think outside the box. Companies must find a way to get their point across in a different way without loosing their essence or skewing so far that their message or product gets lost in translation.

5. Be Audience Adapted – Companies must decide who they want to target with their marketing efforts and research the type of efforts that demographics responds well to and what they like to increase the chances of success.

A Roaring Success

One recent campaign stood out to me the most when considering these five characteristics – The World Wildlife Fund’s #LastSelfie campaign. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the leading wildlife conservation organization. WWF operates in 100 countries and is supported by 6 million members globally.

WWF created their #LastSelfie campaign to highlight the inevitable disapearance of endangered species. Their campaign took off, so much so that it won the 2015 People’s Choice Webby Award.

The best way to understand why is to break down the five characteristics listed above:

1. Generate an Emotional Response: The WWF did a great job pulling on the heartstring of snapchat users. The idea of an endangered animal, or one close to extinction, provokes innate reactions of death and sadness. Think – How would you feel if you received a random snapchat of an endangered species with the words “Don’t let this be my last selfie”.
2. Be Interactive: This campaign was extremely interactive. Starting on SnapChat it allowed the uses to immediately share the Snap with friends. From SnapChat, a user could download the photo and share it on other social channels, by email or text. The campaign video on YouTube (featured below) was able to be viewed, shared, commented on, and liked.
3. Have Relevance: The campaign began in August of 2014. The WWF wanted to target a younger demographic. They did this mainly through relevance since by August 2014, 40% of 18 year olds in the US were using Snapchat on a daily basis.
4. Be Risky but On-Brand: WWF didn’t stray from their overall mission of protecting the future of nature. They simply thought outside of the box on how to grab attention. People don’t always pay attention to the environment or the challenges facing the planet. WWF made their mission relatable. As explained in the campaign video – “…Snapchat is a mirror of real life. The images you see are transient, instant, unique, yet only live for a few seconds. Just like these endangered animals”
5. Be Audience Adapted – By using the term ‘selfie’ and the platform SnapChat, WWF was able to accurately target a younger demographic. Selfie was the ‘word of 2013‘ and added to Merriam-Webster in 2014 while stats in August 2014, showed most SnapChat users were between the ages of 13 to 25.

Watch the WWF’s #LastSelfie Campaign Video

 

How do you think WWF did?

 

Additional Sources:

Image source: Viral Marketing Overview: http://www.viralhero.com/viral-marketing-basics/what-is-viral-marketing/

Marrano-Lucas, D., Dr. (2016). Module nine: viral marketing and widgets. Retrieved December 30, 2016, from https://bb.snhu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-13674437-dt-content-rid-38041121_1/courses/MKT-655-16TW1-MASTER/MKT-655%20Student%20Documents/MKT655_M9_Overview.pdf 

Reese, L. (2014, October 09). Catching Content: Top 10 Attributes of Viral Marketing Campaigns. Retrieved December 30, 2016, from https://enveritasgroup.com/campfire/top-10-attributes-of-viral-marketing-campaigns/

Differentiation

 

Let’s face it – Most of us can’t survive the day without caffeine. In the US, it seems we have two choices: Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, whose constant competition over consumer pool and the ‘best coffee’ title may never end. While they both operate in the same arena, they approach social media in different ways.

Starbucks is the larger of the two companies. With its home base in Seattle, Washington, the company operates more than 23,000 stores globally. Starbucks, after being fully acquired by Schultz and merging with Il Giornale in 1987, has always been about the experience. Schultz wanted to bring the feel of the coffeeshop he had in Italy back to the United States, where he felt there was a lack in the market. That experience is paired with coffee that has been joined by tea, espresso drinks, food and other items over the years as Starbucks has expanded to reach new customers. Starbucks prices aren’t accessible to everyone. They can range from $3 to an unknown amount based on the number of add ins you can put in their drinks.

Starbucks operates Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, SnapChat, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Starbucks uses social media in an all inclusive way. They use social media to answer questions, highlight new drinks, show customer photos and create engaging posts. Their idea is to show a product without over indulging the consumer. As an example, Starbucks’ Instagram is eye-catching and draws attention based on quality and color. They subtly highlight a drink they are trying to push by using it in a hashtag. The customer is able to see the name of a drink, if they don’t know what it is, they may be inclined to look into it or order it next time they are in store.

Starbucks has one star factor that Dunkin’ Donuts does not have – The My Starbucks Idea. Starbucks created this area, arguably their own social platform, where customers can pitch their own ideas to the companies, comment and discuss with other, and even vote for the next ‘big thing’.

Dunkin’ Donuts is vastly smaller with only 11,300 stores worldwide, starting first in Massachusetts. While Dunkin’ Donuts has always been there to provide customers with a good cup of coffee, they have not been as focused on the ‘experience’ as Starbucks. They want to give a quick and simple way for someone to come and get what they need. Dunkin’ Donuts offers a much lower price point for their items from .99cents to around $12; Prices more accessible to everyone.

Dunkin’ Donuts uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, SnapChat and Pinterest. They actively promote new drinks, food items, and their DD Perks app. Their images are person or situation focused, typically using images that they share, to show that they are for everyone. This can have a negative effect if the viewer doesn’t feel they can relate to the situation or the person in the image. It also is less effective when a company relies on sharing content rather than producing original work.

Dunkin’ Donuts faces the franchise challenge with social media. Most of Dunkin’ Donuts locations are franchises of the brand. It is harder to have an overarching message and way of interacting with customers if they operate separately.

Both companies have the goals of gaining consumers and increasing profits. Based on their social media usage, I would say Starbucks succeeds more. They are able to do less and achieve more and not rely so much on the social production of consumers.

Best Practices

 

Photo Cred: https://beta.theodysseyonline.com/you-want-write-blog

Blogging and tweeting are a type of art. In a way it needs to appeal to the audience and can take many trials and errors to get it perfect.

Social media is seen by many as ‘micro-blogging’. It gives short blurbs to the ideas you’d want to share in long posts. But Blogging is still a great tool to be utilized. It gives companies the ability to share information that needs more than a social media posts but will engage their targeted market.

Social Media B2B’s list of best blogging practices does a great job of listing ways a business can gain success with blogging. The biggest take away from their lists were:

–Have a strategy: a group within the business should figure out the strategy. A company’s “blog needs to be part of that strategy with a specific target audience, whether it is for brand building, increasing sales, or communicating with employees, customers, prospects or vendors.”(1) Creating a unified campaign will require input from PR, Marketing and sales (depending on the company)

–Find a Voice/Compelling content: A blog needs a unified voice in blogging and in social media. You want it to have some personality so it has a human side. Make sure your content is compelling and is relatable.

–Post regularly: Just like with social media, a company needs to be consistent. Content needs to be fresh to maintain readers and gain new ones.

–Link to homepage/spread content: A homepage link should be included because it will redirect visitors, especially first time users, who want to learn more. Content spreading is important and is done well through social media and word of mouth.

Can you think of anything else that is important in blogging?

---

Photo Cred: https://beta.theodysseyonline.com/twitter-celebrated-10-years-ofbeing-twitter

 

Twitter is a social media platform that is hard to get traction in. If you’ve never been exposed to it before. The limit of 140 characters can seem insane. You’re probably thinking how can I tell my audience what I want with such a limit, especially when photos count as characters.

The book we have read for class, The Tao of Twitter,  was a great help in learning to navigate twitter from creation to success. The author, Mark Schaefer, suggests t
weeting multiple times a day  at various time to get used to system. Those new to the game should get involved by following people in the same industry, looking at how they post successfully, re-tweet when you can, and respond to other users comments.

 

The point is to be active. Many more people will want to follow an active account. Twitters purpose if to share information in the moment or to share constantly. They want to follow someone who is posting often, rather than a couple times a month. (2)

Tweet in the moment and tweet often. More people will likely follow you if you are active on Twitter rather than tweeting only once a week. a huge point Schaefer makes is that “the social web isn’t about search engine optimization or keywords or B2B or B2C, it’s all about P2P—person to person connections.” (2- pg.17) Social media is a new way for people to make connections especially in business.Twitter is great for this as long as it is utilized properly.

---

The medical industry is wide in range and therefor their use of social media is varied -especially in what will work. Generally blogging for the medical/healthcare industry is a great resource. Doctors can share information to patients, current and future, in short pieces. They can discuss procedures, new advancements, general tips etc.

Mass Eye and Ear is a great example of positive blogging. Their blog contains everything from new technology, to helpful eye care tips to even patient written posts.

The company I work for focuses on kidney care. Each side utilizes social media. The product side is used to gain more product reviews and see where they can improve. The patient side, where I work, focuses on giving patients as much knowledge as possible.

Product side: No blogging, but uses major social media platforms. Main use – educate those who purchase, hospitals etc, on products, produce sales, and give information about upgrades.

The product side uses Twitter to the best of their ability. They answer questions when they can, post at least once a day and re-tweet anything that is relevant.

Patient side: Blogging and hasn’t expanded into Twitter. Main use – educate and help patients. We provide recipes, testimonials as well as PDFs of important facts.

On the patient side our blogging always has a strategy. We have a unique group of people to reach and need to make sure whatever we write about specifically pertains to their situation.

For the very small niche my company reaches we have used all these tools to be on the forefront. Social media may not be big in our field but we have embraced it and hope to be one of the leader, despite our smaller company size.

Sources:

(1) http://socialmediab2b.com/2009/06/business-blogging-best-practices/

(2) Schaefer, M. W. (2012). The Tao of Twitter: Changing your life and business 140 characters at a time. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Challenges and Risks

The medical industry has been going through a marketing expansion. Especially since the implementation of Obama care (1). Each one has tried to reach more and more patients through different marketing techniques and the use of social media. Marketing has become important for provider success. Social Media has become a source for patients. They can ask questions, receive new information or even learn about advancements and changes in that industry.

One of the biggest risks medical companies face in having social media  is the instant access to information and answers to questions. Having this service “may also result in allegations of negligence if healthcare providers do not have the proper training, experience and credentials (2).” Each person that uses a social media with medical companies expects the information to be accurate. Companies must make sure that those responding have the appropriate information and don’t overstep when replying to complaints. Where I work (a medical device company), we have a set of prompts we can answer that have all been approved by the legal department. If a client needs more information we can direct them accordingly. This is something many companies, even non medical ones, will do. While the responses may seem cold or impersonal, they are the best that can be given. No one wants to respond with false information that could get hopes up or put the company in a position where people think they have lied.

The biggest challenge is getting people to respond and follow. People don’t always realized they can follow medical companies, they simply focus on other people and brands.Based on its lack of popularity, there needs to be a system in place to get patients and doctors to notice. The best way to do this is to keep certain things in check. The company needs to know its audience and make sure content is related and eye catching. Companies need to follow all regulations and company rules, to make sure there is no false information been passes around. The most important part for any company to do is monitor your media. Keeping track of your posts and how well they do is vital. It will tell them hoe to move forward – to stay the same or to change. (4)

Medical device companies have a lot of success with social media. The variety in platforms and sharing services helps them get their name and purpose out there. YouTube can she videos of what the device does and have Q&As with doctors and patients that use them. Twitter and Facebook can link to the information, share import facts, and give updates on product advancement. LinkedIn can be used to connect with doctors and hospitals that will be implementing the device.

For medical device companies, recent surveys results prove social media is worth it: (3)

• 68% of physicians surveyed watch online videos to learn about medical devices
• 50% of physicians surveyed are interested in participating in online promotional programs from medical device companies for which they do not see sales reps in person
• 4 out of 5 physicians surveyed use the Internet during the workday for professional purposes, including access via smartphones and tablets
• 58% of physicians perceive social media to be an effective way to access current, high-quality information
• 24% of physicians use social media daily to learn new medical information
• 14% of physicians contribute information to social media daily, while 64% contribute information to social media weekly

Hopefully all of this information drives companies to do the best they can. Social media can be a great tool for them to get their message across and to gain clients.

 

Sources:

1 Allard, Ken; http://www.hugeinc.com/ideas/report/what-matters-now-digital-and-healthcare-experience

2 ACE Group; http://www.riskandinsurance.com/11-critical-risks-facing-the-healthcare-industry/

3 MRC; http://www.mrchouston.com/social-media-benefits-medical-device-companies/

4 MRC http://www.mrchouston.com/social-media-best-practices-medical-device-companies/

Photo credit: Noor Medical http://www.noormedical.com/content/medical-images

YouTube in the Medical Field

Tags

Food, Medical, YouTube

Identify and discuss a mobile social media application in your industry that drives business services or products to consumers or other businesses. What success has the application enjoyed? How was success measured?

YouTube, a video sharing site, has increased in popularity over the years. It is no longer just a source for music videos or TV clips. Many companies will use the sharing site to post relevant videos to their own page.

The medical field that I work in utilizes Youtube in very specific ways, because “There’s an unending supply of channels and videos that deal with medicine and the healthcare field”. We  need to assure all videos are easily searched for and follow clients needs. Where I work it is a source for cooking videos, Q&As and instructions.

Out biggest involvement is with the cooking videos. My company works with kidney dialysis patients. These patients must eat very specific diets and watch their intake of items like salt and potassium. While the recipes are available in text form, having a visual aids help to ensure everything is done correctly, especially if you are new to the style of cooking. When your health can be effected, patients seek to have the most information and sometimes things can be missed in text form.

My job is to help form a community for the patients and “Food is an easy thing for people to bond over on social media no matter if they know each other really well or only know each other a little…” (Weinstein) We also help to do this by posting Q&A videos. Many people don’t realize they have the same question or even follow up question. Making information available and allowing  comments allows there to be a camaraderie.

This system has shown great success. Many patients will form discussions in the comment sections. They will explain to each other how they made the item or even talk about substitutions they have made. While we try to be a source with our dietitians, patients who live this understand how to tweak items based on taste while still following their health restrictions. Patients have even used these videos to find out who goes to the same treatment center and form potluck dinners.

We analyze not only how many views videos have but how frequently they are used, the types of comments we get, and wether the video is liked or disliked. Through it we can field if patients respond to this type of food over others and begin to provide similar products. Patients will answer surveys about the videos at their treatment center to let us know if we need to explain more in the videos, and what types of content they are looking for. For example if we find a large number wanted vegetarian or vegan options, we know to work with our dietitians to create those recipes for our next round.

So for this application has been a great success. Video sharing has become so successful for our patients we are going to explore periscope and vine as well. Especially when it comes to food, we are finding what works and hope to expand.

Source: Weinstein, Jack; Cooking recipes are Recipe for Success on Social; http://blog.shareablee.com/cooking-videos-are-recipe-for-success-on-social

Image Source: http://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/recipes

 

Facebook vs Instagram

Working in social media, I see countless platforms being used to generate website traffic and create brand awareness. Each one is useful in their own way, depending on the type of business and audience you wish to reach. In my work, I predominately see Facebook and Instagram being used. Let’s compare the two.

Facebook was released in February of 2004. It became a very useful tool in connecting friends across the globe that may never speak, have lost touch, or don’t have other forms of communication. While Facebook is seen by many as ‘on its way out’ it has many useful tools that keep it around. Pages became a popular way to show what you liked and stay in the know with brands and businesses. Once a person ‘likes’ a FB page any update to the page are brought directly to their news feed. This gives them direct access to anything new or important put out by the company. Facebook ads are probably the most useful tool for businesses. The ads can run on a news feed or on the side bar. The ad itself gives a brief description, an image and can have options to like the company FB page, go directly to the FB page, or to the website. It all depends on how you set up the advertisement. Facebook has recently made their ad experience more effective. New insightful measurements give businesses more and more accurate information. Cross device reporting and lift measurements were both introduced by 2015 and allowed users to see all devices used on path to purchase and information gathered by tests groups to demonstrate additional ad based business (1).

Instagram came around in 2010. A photo sharing platform, where you followed people of your choice, just like twitter and FB, but you posted 1 photo at a time and were not limited by a 140 character count. Instagram allows the use of #s and anytime one is used it keeps a running segment. All you have to do is click on the # you want to explore and it will show you all posts made with the same one. There is even an explore section where Instagram shows you suggested people and posts based on your app history and following. Instagram became very popular for businesses who wanted to reach audiences not only with their own marketing but with the help of ‘Influencers’ or bloggers. Bloggers are able to capture captivating photos, post them to the platform and appropriately tag the company. Companies are able to have sponsored posts as well as use video, recently changed from 30 seconds to 1 minute in length (2).

Both platforms clearly have their merits but ultimately the type of business and target audience will decide the best social media route. 75% of Facebook users are between the ages of 30 and 49 whereas only 25% of Instagram users fall into the same age range (3). If a company has a targeted audience of millennial or those under 40, Instagram is likely the best route. However, if a company wants to reach all ages, even those 65+, Facebook would be the best option since 56% of users are that old (3).

Are there any other major business uses of these two platforms?

Do you see other social media taking over in business?

Sources:

1- Facebook for Business; https://www.facebook.com/business/news/testing-and-scaling-new-ad-measurement-solutions

2- Reilly, Brendan; Business 2 Community; http://www.business2community.com/instagram/instagram-video-latest-update-best-use-01501019#Bp886hMpVpYpXdkk.97

3- Patterson, Michael; Sprout Social; http://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

Here vs. There

Posts coming soon! This blog is currently being used for assignments with my masters degree. For all things personal please see my personal blog at http://www.stylishlysarcastic.com