Social Media and Big News

At the beginning of this past week, our country experienced a horrific terrorist attack. The bombings had a significant impact on our country, but looking back on it we can learn a lot of things. The bombings in Boston gave us our first look at how social media can impact live events. News of the Boston bombings spread like wildfire over social media, but the biggest impact was seen in the hours following the event. Hundreds and thousands of people began posting their pictures and videos from the event on social platforms. There was a huge influx of all things Boston Bombings. Many people began trying to find where the bombs were and who put them there. Platforms like Reddit had threads completely dedicated to crowdsourcing an investigation to find the bombers. This was both good and bad in the eyes of the Police. It produced a lot of evidence that could be used to help put the day together, but it also caused people to begin suspecting people who were in the video. Police have stated they released the pictures of the suspects because of all of the false accusations and conclusions.

Social media and crowdsourcing can be a huge help in many situations, but it may not be perfect for every situation. In times like this, we must rely upon those who have the training and background to do their jobs. The amount of pictures and posts about the event were a huge help in creating an evidence trail, but speculation needed to stop. Without the popularity of social media, there may not have been as many pictures and videos that ended up as evidence. It also would have made it difficult for people to get the word out to their friends and neighbors about the bombings as well as the manhunt. Social media became a quick and effective way for the police and authorities to spread the word to as many people as possible. It will be interesting to see how this situation may be used as a case study in handling traumatic events on social media in regards to crowdsourcing, news dissemination, and event management.

Brand Character

     In today's world, we are bombarded by hundreds of brands and advertisements every minute. This can become very obnoxious, and I believe we as consumers have become numb to the constant presence around us. I know I have stopped noticing the brands around me unless I am directly interacting with them. I know some people may disagree with this and suggest that even if you don't directly notice them, they will still have an impact on you subconsciously. While this may be true, I believe brands should be creating a character and image for the consumers to identify with and engage. The main issue is that this simple solution is not easy to accomplish. A brand must spend time developing this character and presence and ensure that it is reinforced through every engagement they have with the customer from social to service to advertising. How can you possibly try to accomplish this?

     To do this, I want to hit on two main areas message and social media. I know there are many other aspects to a Brand Character/Image, but I want to focus on these two areas first. for the message, you must start early and dedicate yourself to ensuring the survival of the brand. You must first have a picture of what your brand is. Not a physical picture, but a mental picture of what you want the brand to be to your customers. How would this character interact with customers: tone, language, detail, and point of view. Once you have this aspect cleared up, you must write it down to ensure that the image is kept throughout all types of communication and channels. 

     This message is the context with how you will communicate with customers, but the next area I want to focus on is the channel of Social Media. I believe the easiest way to spread and enforce your Brand Character is through Social Media. This gives the consumer an inside view of your brand. The consumer can engage with the brand beyond just the main interaction or exchange of services. When I think of channels within Social Media that help brands truly express themselves, I think of Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. These channels may not be for every brand, but if they are used correctly, they can be a huge benefit to the company. Twitter allows the brand to express their tone and personality directly to customers who want to engage with them. As long as the brand's personality is focused on contributing to the conversation in a way that is not obnoxious

and provides benefits to the followers, they will see huge success. Starbucks has been doing a great job of this, and it shows in the number of followers and tweets that express the brand. Instagram is another great way for companies to express their personality. This channel provides a way for brands to give consumers and insight into how the brand sees the world and what the brand enjoys. Red Bull has done a great job using Instagram to allow  customers to feel the energy and excitement of the brand. Finally, we will look at Pinterest. This channel

can be used in many different ways. It can promote different ideas and interests that the company has. It can curate content that customers would be interested in or engage other users in the pins and boards they are making. A great company on Pinterest is These platforms are not meant to be used to push customers to buy product, but more of a channel to show your brand character. Definitely use it to occasionally give calls to action, but the main point of each channel should not be about sales. It should be about curating a brand image that lasts and is executed throughout channels where customers are. 

Coke and Facebook

     On Facebook, there are millions of companies and brands vying for your attention and like. This is the way many companies try and connect with their fans to keep them up-to-date with what is happening with the brand. Companies create and focus on different elements in their Facebook pages. One of the most successful companies on Facebook has been Coca Cola. They are one of the largest companies on Facebook, and they consistently have large engagement from their fans. 

     The Coca Cola Facebook page was originally started by two fans Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski. The original fan page grew very quickly under the administration of these two super fans until it exceeded one million fans. At this point, Facebook informed Coca Cola of the site because of rules violations, and instead of scrapping the page Coke took it over. Coke decided that the fans should drive their page, and have committed themselves to not regulating the comments. The page has grown to 62 million fans who are encouraged to share how Coke has impacted their lives. Stories and pictures are strongly encouraged through the site, because they realize the importance of customer input. 

     This is such an interesting story to hear, because it truly shows how focused Coca Cola is on their customers. Coke realized that by enabling the existing fan page to continue with the help of corporate, they could gain better traction from the fans. Since the time Coke took over the page, they have continued to keep the original creators on as contract workers for the site. Coke has dedicated themselves to sharing happiness, and a lot the content that is created comes from the fans. These stories are one of the apps that Coke has on their Facebook page. As long as companies focus on the input of their fans on social media they will be successful  Coke has done a great job of joining in on the conversation and curating content that is engaging for their fans. 

March Madness

       As we all know, Social Media is huge amongst teens and young adults. This age demographic is also a huge audience of March Madness. We have also seen how important social media has become to sporting events. People love the ability to engage with and add to the conversations that are going on about current events. What better time to engage with an event than the premier college basketball event in the country, the March Madness.

      The hashtag MarchMadness can be seen throughout the broadcasts of all games. You can find it scrolling on the on court screens, above the billboards, and in many other locations. They are trying to make it as easy as possible to add to the conversation. This even is known for being one of the most social events in our day. People fill millions of brackets and put them in pools with friends, families, employees, and even random groups. People follow the brackets like nothing else we have seen. The brackets have given people a reason to watch and pay attention. This has therefore translated into a huge social media presence.

     People are now able to follow games on Twitter, because of the vast number of people tweeting about them and creating trends. Everyone has opinions, and therefore with sporting events everyone wants to talk about what is going on. As the games go on and we get closer to the Final Four, it will be interesting to see what the impact will be for the main sponsors. Will the sponsors like Coke and AT&T begin to increase their twitter presence knowing that a majority of the audience will be engaging with the event on both television and social media. Will they adapt or stick to the mainstream television ads to drive customer engagement. Be on the lookout to see how these sponsors use this huge social event to interact with their audience.

     One great example that has already seen great feedback is Coke Zero's "It's Not Your Fault". It uses a possible every day occurrence in offices around the US and puts a spin on it. I believe it brings the product into the middle of the social event that is taking place. Take a look and tell me what you think:

Social Media and You

     People use social media for many different things. It can be used to update people on your life, find out about other people's lives, or even find places or things you may like. Social Media is an outlet for people to connect with others and express themselves as much as they want. The things we post and tweet about give others an insight into our lives and our minds. Because of this, people can use these channels to be funny, persuasive, informative, or just frank. These different purposes are examples of what many people struggle with. How do I use my social media? Will people actually like what I post? How can I contribute to the conversations and not just add chatter?

    These are the questions many people and businesses are running into as they begin developing their social media strategies. I believe there is a thin line that can be balanced by both companies and individuals when looking at their social media channels. To have a successful channel, businesses and people must know when to add to a conversation and not just create chatter in the space. Businesses must create a character and personality to their social media channels that can be relatable for people to want to engage with. This is why it is easier for personal social media channels to create engagement. People know what they are going to get, whereas a company must create the character.

    M&M's is a great example of a created character. Their marketing strategies use their M&M characters to engage with the customers. Ms. Green is their current spokesperson on twitter, and she is a sassy and to the point personality. This allows the company to use this persona to engage the audience. Having this distinct personality makes people want to engage, because they know what to expect and can interact with what seems more personable. They use jokes, ads, videos, discount information, and recipes to engage with the audience. They balance the jokes and sassy sayings with informative information like recipes and videos, so the business can be grown. This balance is key to keeping their social media presence alive and engaging.

   The same principles that companies use should be used by individuals. Don't just add chatter to the space, try and be unique and engaging. Add to the conversations going on and create materials that those around you may like. See your social media as an outlet to let others know what interests you or creates questions. What is funny to you, or what makes you tick are both great things for people to use in their pages. Be you and express to the world things that are engaging to you!

Optimizing Social Influencers

   
     There are many different ways companies can use social media in their product campaigns  and we have seen many different examples over the last couple years. We have seen companies making viral videos like GoDaddy.com, blasting messages on all social media channels like, or companies that use social media without giving valuable content. These are all possible ways to utilize social media, but they are not successful. They do nothing to suit the needs of the customer. As social media becomes more and more integrated in the average marketing campaign, we will see how different companies use this new channel.

Ford Fiesta

     Ford has recently started a social media campaign for the 2014 Fiesta. In this campaign, Ford is recruiting 100 "social influencers" from an application process to help create advertisements and content as a marketing campaign for the car. These influencers will be given a Ford Fiesta for 6 months to film videos and ads which will then be posted online in various social media platforms as well as in mainstream television ads. This is a new way for Ford to try and gain traction in the social sphere.

     It will be very interesting to see how this campaign is received by the public. Some people may see it as invasive recruiting people to post advertisements that they are being compensated for. Other people may see it as a smart introduction to social media similar to endorsements that have been very common in the past years. I believe this is a very natural progression of marketing in social media. It has huge benefits for both the company and consumers, because great content will be created based on what customers want. The company also gets positive feedback from their ads focusing on consumers pain points. The downside to having people hired to post in social media is that they may not show all the facts. Ford may only permit certain content to be published which may make the ads seem less transparent to consumers. As the campaign gets started up, it will be interesting to see how consumers and the industry react.

Coke Chase

     At the Super Bowl this year, Coke decided to ditch the polar bears and try something new. They decided to incorporate and try to elicit viewer participation in their commercial. The ad spot pictured a group of cowboys, showgirls, and a group of tough guys (Badlanders) racing in an arid dessert for a Coke off on the horizon. The commercial which aired during the first half of the Super Bowl ended with a prompt for viewers to visit cokechase.com to vote on who would win the race to get a Coke.

    

     During the time after this ad aired, the website for coke chase was flooded and did not work for many people that tried to vote. This made many people question Coke's preparation for the ad and full thought. Even though it did not work for some, many people were able to vote. This ad was the only ad during the biggest event for advertisers to use crowdsourcing to determine what their later ad would be. This was a great idea for Coke to try and engage the viewers, but many people including myself felt that this ad fell flat. As a Coke fan, I am very fond of the Polar Bear ads that have seemed to strike a chord with millions of people across the globe. Although this ad was able to drive active engagement through the coke chase website, the ad seemed to be a little off target from previous advertising campaigns that Coke has done. 

     I believe that crowdsourcing will become more and more popular as social media become intertwined with advertising. This ad was a great example of how it can be done, and how a company can make the viewer feel they have more power in certain situations. As for furthering the brand and making something memorable, I do not believe Coke was able to fully accomplish this. 

    On a side note since the Super Bowl, Coke has added many more videos to their Coke Chase YouTube page allowing viewers who enjoyed the ad to see additional content. This is a great way to satisfy those who did enjoy the spot and keep the viewers interested in what Coke is doing.