Pinterest

Pinterest is a platform focused on visual content rather than text. Often used by industries such as photography, fashion and interior design where the visual element can more effectively portray the product than a slab of text could. Pinterest allows members to search by topic and record 'pins' they like on different boards. For example someone who is looking to revamp their home may search for interior design styles and save those which they like to their "redecorate" pinboard.

For businesses Pinterest provides an opportunity to engage with their customers in a fun way through photos which represent their product, but are not necessarily sales focused. It is a good way to build branding and a company culture. But, what are the other advantages? Images grab attention, particularly in industries where visual representations are more accurate. For a fashion brand, an image of clothing is more enticing for a consumer that the text "new stock arrived". It also breaks up your social media platforms and opens your organisation up to another group of individuals…increasing your overall brand reach.

For organisations it is also a relatively easy platform to operate on. You can easily have a folder of images ready to go for pinterest, which a staff member simply posts at certain times. There is less chance of error when posting an image alone, comparative to when text must be written, reviewed and attached to posts on other platforms.

Getting Verified!

With any level of activity on Twitter, I'm sure you've realised that a handful of accounts are verified.
What does this mean? They gave that blue tick next to their name that says…this is the real deal! I am who I say I am! But, how do you get your business verified…and why does it exist!

It doesn't take an expert to conclude that those whom have their accounts verified are often celebrities or big corporations who are at risk of being impersonated and having a whole bunch of fake accounts floating around on the internet…this means that the tick of approval is necessary for the public to distinguish what is real and what isn't. If your business is in risk of this happening…you're already on the way.

But, in saying so…for many small businesses this is extremely unlikely, however that does not mean that you should create fake accounts in order to have yours verified! All in all, build your brand, be active on Twitter and focus on positively improving your business…don't spend time worrying about being verified on Twitter and fall into the trap of publicly campaigning for verification or attempting to seem as though you have the tick of approval…it will only leave your business worse off.

Hootsuite!

Hootsuite is one of several applications that are a great aid for organisations in social media marketing. It acts as a central dashboard for your social media marketing platforms and allows easy posting between several platforms. It also has features, which allow you to organise and schedule your posts…particularly helpful for those organisations who do not have large resources to dedicate to social media marketing!

Not only does this create a one stop shop for social media platform activity, it also helps your business' posts on various social media platforms to be a lot more streamlined and consistent. Even more importantly, it provides great stats on each of your posts on each platform and helps you to review your activity with a timeline view of your activity.

A real win for both businesses who are savvy social media marketers, and those who need a hand to manage their activity!

Brilliant use of social media...

Screenshot from Treasurer Joe Hockey's Facebook page. Even the government makes use of Social Media marketing platform's and incorporating hashtags. The #Budget2015 has also taken off on Twitter and has 2399 posts on Instagram. Good use of social media marketing for such a heavily discussed topic today.

Fashion on Facebook

Fashion brands are in my humble opinion…brilliant social media marketers.

They utilise Facebook and Instagram exceptionally well to build a large client following, as well as extending their brand awareness and placing their products top of mind for consumers.

This is just one example of a Fashion Brand using social media marketing. This time, in the form of Sponsored Facebook Ads. There is also proof that their is method in the madness of social media marketing by the 519k likes they have on their Facebook page. It doesn't take a genius to conclude that is some impressive social media activity. 

Do or Die?

A continued assessment of whether a lack of participation is a death sentence…

No matter when the online revolution hit you, these days it's a pretty safe assumption that, whether business or personal, social media is a part of your everyday life. But, is not participating in Social Media Marketing do or die for your business? What really happens if you decide not to jump on the bandwagon?

As pretty well anyone conclude, the nature of your business plays a pretty large role in how deadly not being active on social media is. A clothing brand will find the buzz, accessibility and instant nature of social media much more effective and useful than that of a children's TV programme.

In some instances (like this ^) maybe social media platforms, and more so, social media marketing is unnecessary. Maybe in your business you feel that it's a waste of time and valuable resources…and maybe you're right. But, in this day and age where social media is so engrossed in our lives, is a lack of presence in this area tarnishing your brand? Does it take some of the 'shine' away from the branding and the established, well-known, permanency of your product that you have worked so tirelessly to establish? I think it does.

For businesses, social media presence is (in my opinion), as much marketing as those posts on social media which are intentionally used to market to consumers. When i say 'presence' I mean being active on social media as a brand, company or organisation not to necessarily sell your product or persuade people to enlist your services, but just a general presence of your brand. Maybe you post some humorous memes, or allow consumer's an insight into life behind the scenes. This is as much marketing as those intentional posts which say 'hey you…buy our product'. In fact, I think it's more important. How many well-established large businesses and organisations can you find that are not present on a single social media platform…my guess is not many. Do you think boost juice needs to show their followers on instagram that they make juice…probably not, they're an established brand. Their page is simply to reinforce this branding, it's a reminder that they exist and another platform for them to show you what they're about. Does this post below really tell you to hop in the car and buy a juice…no. Does it have the potential to make you do that though…yes.

The censorship debate...

To Censor or not to Censor?

For Businesses this is one of the biggest debates in regard to social media. Even the most "perfect" organisation will not always perform perfectly in each and every customer's view, and thus, each and every business will at times receive negative feedback. Of course, with negative feedback also comes positive…but, when is it okay to censor comments?

Like anything, there is debates for and against. On one hand, sometimes negative comments can stray into the realm of harassment or be rude or offending to parties involved. In these circumstances, while it is still not something that should be taken lightly…it can be a good idea to censor. On some occasions it is also necessary to remove comments for legal reasons and it can also be inappropriate to have rude and negative comments on social media platforms due to the nature of your organisation.

However, the flip side of this is the argument against censoring…is it unrealistic to remove negative comments from your social media platforms? Does this make it clear that you are merely attempting to paint a picture of a perfect organisation? In my opinion, I believe that too much censoring actually creates more of a negative image for the organisation that allowing negative comments to remain on these platforms and simply dealing with them appropriately. A negative comment that is addressed correctly and appropriately is much more effective than a negative comment that is just deleted. Providing a solid reason for why the behaviour occurred or accepting that what happened was incorrect  and then conveying that preventative actions have been put in place to ensure it does not occur again in the future, is not only more effective in terms of those reading the comments on your page but is also a step in the right direction in rectifying the tarnished relationship with the commentor. If you are able to go one step further and provide the commentor with appropriate compensation, which encourages them to publicly acknowledge and accept your apology, viewers are likely to also be more impressed than reading solely positive criticism. This is due to your ability to effectively portray that as an organisation you strive to maintain a high standard, and also follow this standard through into your customer service when things do, on occassion, go wrong.  

Backlash for Uber

Taxi service Uber received substantial social media backlash during the Sydney Siege, where in order to encourage individuals to help evacuate individuals from the city, they increased their fares.

The reception was not well received and forced the company to review its decision.

#beanieforbraincancer

This new campaign as launched by Carrie Bickmore at the TV week Logies last night is a prime example of how social media marketing can be used for a good cause.

Bickmore requested that everyone on television today wear a beanie, and people wherever they may be today do the same and post a photo on social media with the hashtag beanie for brain cancer.

The campaign has 1333 posts on Instagram today alone.

What is the optimum Platform mix?

When faced with the decision of which platforms to be present on, many businesses fall into the trap of feeling like they need to be everywhere to be successful on social media. The fact is, this is not true. Each business is different and so too are the platforms which are relevant to their business. An accounting firm is likely to only need to be present on Facebook, in comparison which a Fashion brand who engages heavily on Instagram, Facebook, Blogger and Pinterest. It is important to carefully evaluate which platforms will suit you and tailor them to your business activity. At the end of the day it is more beneficial to your business to effectively use one platform and gain traction with it, than spread your resources thin operating on 5 different platforms and consequently not be successful on any of them. Work out the best way to get bang for your buck!

Alerting your customer base...

For many businesses, social media and the online revolution hit after they were already well and truly up and running. They had been operating and communicating with their customer base, and using many other forms of advertising…this made it very difficult to get into the guts of developing an effective strategy and making the switch, outside of the normal advertising mediums.

There are a few simple ways to kickstart your footprint online as an existing business. One of the easiest ways is to position your social media platform links on your website and emails. This subtly alerts those with whom you are communicating that you are active on these platforms, and often helps to grow your database with your existing customers. Another good way is to place these platforms on your business card, again achieving the same purpose. Depending on the scope and focus of your business it may also be appropriate to inform customers of your new platform's directly, but providing them with an incentive. For example, as a clothing store you may encourage shoppers to follow your new Instagram account by mentioning to buyers in store that you have a new Instagram account where all the new stock is uploaded…you are then giving these buyers an incentive to follow the page.

What can an inactive page say about you?

Just recently I've come across several business pages which do not have much activity. Obviously started in the hopes of effectively executing social media, the pages have come off track somewhere along the way and stopped posting altogether, or now only post very sporadically. Which posed the question…is a lack of posts more tarnishing to your business than a page which posts consistently and has few followers?

I think this one could be argued either way, and is quite a good topic for discussion. But, I think abandoning the ship may be more detrimental. If I come across a business page and see that they're jumped on and off the social media bandwagon, it gets me thinking about a lack of resources. Do they not have the time to post? Do they not know what to post, or how to post it? For me it sort of ruins the image I have of the business. If you're not ready to throw yourself into social media, maybe it's better to delay sign up until you are, and you're ready to push the platform to your clients.

But, in the same way. Is it a waste of time and resources if you've got someone expending reasonable effort on a social media platform, with seemingly little return. It certainly seems that way, doesn't it. In saying so, there are so many small initiatives that businesses can use to push their social media platforms, so I find it highly unlikely that with use of a small few tips and tricks they wouldn't find some benefit from consistent use of platforms.

Snapchat as Social Media Marketing...

It is definitely used by celebrities…they go for the take a look at what I get up to angle, come and see what I really do all day every day - although, I'm really not even sure how accurate this is. Even a snap chat is only what they want you to view to upkeep their image, not what is really going on in their day. But…is this a new form of social media marketing for businesses?

I think it depends…

For some businesses in say the fashion industry, their fans are likely to be interested in their daily activity. The new stock that's arrived, sourcing fabrics, fashion parades etc - all very interesting to their fans. An accounting firm on the other hand, their daily activities are probably not quite as intriguing and transferrable into snap chat. As such, it heavily depends on the nature of your business, client base and target audience as to whether snap chat may fit into your social media marketing strategy. But, is it as translucent and effective as other platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook…not yet! But, popularity of use in this way may make a dramatic improvement.

The flip side...

As with anything in life…there is always a flip side, or two sides to the story.

Too often organisations fall into the trap of establishing social media platforms without appropriately monitoring them.

Sure, establishing your company catch phrase, or hashtag is an effective marketing tool…but, what happens when this turns on its head. It is almost unarguable that there will be some form of negative reviews about your business and often these reviewers make use of the same mediums and promotion tools, such as hashtags which you use to target consumers, to air their thoughts on your brand.

This is the flip side to social media marketing and is why it is crucial to have steps in place where these platforms are constantly monitored and reviewed so that these circumstances are handled appropriately and in a time sensitive manner.

Lack of social media…is it a death sentence?

Businesses are posed with this heavy question at some stage in their marketing endeavours…do we need to use social media to market? and is not doing so…a death sentence.

More and more I believe this is becoming increasingly true. Social media is at the forefront of what we do on a daily basis and that is only becoming more relevant with the younger generations…it is not something that is going anywhere anytime soon.

Does not using social media to most importantly market your brand, but also your service or product mean that you are doomed to fail…obviously not. But, how can we expect to remain competitive if our competitors are utilising these platforms and we are not. The reality is for many businesses…even if you are not running pages which make you active on social media, it is likely that somewhere, somehow your consumers are doing it for you to a certain extent anyway…and you'd be silly not to further this. After all, how many people on your instagram feed are posting images of products they've purchased, brands or dining experiences…these are all free marketing for the respective businesses…and I think it would be silly not to increase that.

Ice Bucket Challenge

I can almost say without a doubt that this was one of the best social media marketing stunts of all time.

The Ice Bucket Challenge was a movement which was started in order to raise funds for Motor Neuron Disease. It had people all over the world sharing, hashtaging and posting videos on all forms of social media where they would nominate someone else to take the challenge. It was so widespread that even celebrities got involved. They ended up raising over 115 million for research! Below is an example!

The "share a coke" campaign

I can safely say that Coca-Cola is one of the best corporations when it comes to marketing. The life and energy that they manage to capture and directly associate with their product is incredible and the share a coke campaign that they released not too long ago was an amazing example of how their brand is still such a successful phenomenon.

The share a coke campaign involved coke bottles having names on them. Not only did this cause a flurry on social media, by both consumers and coke themselves. It also had everyone talking about coke and going on a search to get their hands on their very own personally named coke. Below are some examples of how this worked on various social platforms.

How important is a strategy?

So many businesses venture out into the social media world without a strategy. Of course, large corporations and those who have been in the game for awhile have come to incorporate their social media activity in their overall marketing strategy. They have a game plan…and this is so important.

Like anything we do, if we do it blindly its likely to have minimal results. We struck gold here and there with the odd fluke and flurry of activity, but it's unlikely that the rewards will be consistent. So why is it that we fall into this trap?

The important thing to remember here is that there is a big difference between having a formal strategy and having no plan whatsoever…and I'm not by any means saying that somewhere in the middle of these two variables isn't a good place to sit.

A formal plan is often used by large corporations as they have the resources to conduct their marketing in such a way. Not only do they have the funds, but they also have more people focused on this goal and therefore more time to devote to strategising. In this sense each post has substantial thought before it is created, the times they post are researched to produce the best results and so on. But, the question here is…is this what every business must do in order to be successful?

My personal opinion? Not entirely, but they do have to have some form of strategy. If you're a small business it is unlikely that you will be able to devote this much time, energy and resources into your social media marketing, but it is important to incorporate it into the overall picture and give it the thought it deserves. Firstly, it is important to realise how much bang for your buck you can get by marketing online…and in keeping with this trial and error isn't a bad way for small businesses to start. You can easily look at your posts and see what type of content is producing results, the same as which time slot gives you the most activity. Take the time to evaluate what you post and how you post it. 

In this way, having a strategy is crucial…and incorporating it into your overall marketing strategy is simply the next level. And one that is highly advisable to take.

April Fool!

April Fool's day is an excellent time for marketer's particularly those on social media, to let their hair down. It is a chance to create and associate a sense of fun and humour with your brand, and get people talking about you on social media.

However, every year there are a whole bunch of brands who get it right…and another group who get it oh so wrong! So what are the most important things to remember? The first is to have fun! Be clever, innovative and place an emphasis on humour. But…don't do anything that could offend people…if it's a sensitive issue or you have to second guess it…chances are you shouldn't be doing it! Before posting anything consider that this stunt could create enormous exposure for your brand…will you be happy for the world to view your brand in light of this April fool if it goes viral? If the answer is yes, then you're on the right track!

Here's a great example that YouTube implemented back in 2013!

A University dive into social media

Interesting attempt by Flinders to get their name out in social media…

Unfortunately, it does not appear to have created much of a stir with only one photo posted on Instagram and not even from the designated "Selfie Spot"

Instagram and Adverts…will the relationship last?

Instagram started its game a little the same way as they all do. They created something a little bit different, it caught traction and before they knew it...it was the new sensation. At this point however, like many social media platforms before it, they decided it was time to introduce advertising. Now, while of course this seems like a definite plus for the corporate world, how much does this benefit these advertisers? and how much is it damaging the Instagram phenomenon itself.

When the idea was first suggested, everyone assumed it would never happen. But, like with every platform before it…it was always going to. The fact is where there is advertising there is money, and this is value that these social media platforms just can't seem to pass up…and at the end of the day they are a business.

But…does it tarnish the app itself, and will it turn off it's users as a result?

My answer to this is yes…eventually. You see Instagram realises how easily this might happen and that is why…currently…ads are few and far between. Instagram works by you selecting what you want to see, and there is nothing on your news feed that you don't. The difference with advertising on this platform is that this very principle is a large part of what the app is about…so if you're advertising on it, you're to an extent taking away that free liberty for the user to make choices about what it is they wish to view.

You might be thinking….well Facebook does that too so how is it any different? In short, I think it is. I think I speak for a large number of people when I say that we always have things on our Facebook newsfeed that we just don't care about…that friend that posts too many statuses or Aunt June who just insists on posting embarrassing family photos and keeping in touch. The problem here…you can't unfriend them without them noticing - sure you can hide their content but a Facebook relationship or connection is still more of a commitment than that of Instagram. Here, you can just unfollow that friend (they will never know), and your aunty (she probably doesn't have it), and if she does, your friends are a lot less likely to see the photo's she's tagging you in! You are 100% in control of what it is you wish to see and it is at the touch of a button for you to modify…these ads are interfering with this.

Does this tarnish your business when you advertise? possibly. You don't want to be that brand that is constantly pushing themselves in consumers faces…I think there is harm in being too forward. Does this advert really push me to buy that fragrance? Not at all…nor will I hashtag #YSLBlackOpium…but maybe I'm just not their target consumer. We've come so accustomed to advertising on Facebook that we almost expect the adverts and the promotion of posts from things we have liked and it doesn't really bother us too much...the other features keep us there. I don't think Instagram has this hold over its consumers. And in all the ads I've seen on there I have never once stopped to watch one. But maybe that's just me. Bottom line though…would I use it to advertise - probably not. Would I set up an Instagram account for my business though, yes absolutely. I guess it's a matter of time to see what happens.

How to have a "good" morning!

Because somehow the maccas breaky makes the 'full morning train' either avoidable or irrelevant…

the online revolution…

Social media is a blur of medium's and platforms that even as users we struggle to keep up with. If i take a quick stroll down memory lane, personally I don't think the social media revolution really hit me full pelt until the creation of Facebook…and from here it just hasn't stopped. From Instagram to Twitter, to Snapchat…social media is travelling with us more than ever before and it's only natural that its growth has directly affected the way we market to and target consumers. 

With the world constantly at our fingertips (well the cyber-world at least) how do you capture their attention? How do you pull a consumer into following your brand on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook? How do you say…"there's something in it for you! follow my hashtag!".