Business Benefits of Advergaming

After listening to a presentation about advergaming and the impact it has had on our culture and use of the internet, I decided to find an article on the business benefits of advergaming. This is it! The article opens by talking about how many people use advergaming and how that can directly affect your brand exposure. One of the big reasons that it can be useful, as the article dicusses, is that advergaming gives the company the ability to create an experience centered around their company. When discussing social media marketing, we all want our campaign to go viral. That is our goal. Well, many companies are succeeding at this through advergaming. It is just another way to create "buzz" about your brand through a fun, interactive tool. On the same site, I found an article about successful advergaming strategies.

With advergaming, you can host a higly interactive marketing campaign on your website or other platform that can be staturated with your brand name and products. You can take control of your brand exposure. I know that many big companies are that ones that are currently involved with advergaming. This is partly due to the fact that advergaming is more costly and time consuming to establish. However, you may find that your business could greatly benefit from it.

A Rich Man's Facebook

This week, I found an article on The New York Times' Website. It was on the topic of how the ultrawealthy are jumping on the social media wagon. Most specifically, it mentions Caroline Garnham and her website, "Family Bhive." This is a social networking site for the wealthy where they can interact and share ideas about investments, wealth management,  and other "rich" talk. It is also a hit for businesses that want to find wealthy clients to do business with. Most of the sites like Family Bhive have user fees and a limited number of members. Some do not like Peers.

One of the big reasons wealthy idividuals are moving towards sites like Family Bhive is because they are becoming more skeptical of traditional financial advice. The Times sites the Bernard Madoff scadal as a potential reason for this skepticism. These sites allow the wealthy to gain information and tips from other people in their social cirlces that share common values and concerns. One of the founders of such a site said, "The idea is: together, we are smarter."

The article also talks about how there will soon be a new breed of young millionaires that are the result of companys like Groupon and Linkedin going public. These young millionaires will only help drive the growing popularity of social media and social networking among the wealthy echelon of society.

Latest Changes in Blogging!!!

This weeks post is based on a video that I watched on Social Media Examiner. It was an interview with Dareen Rowse. He is the co-author of the best selling book ProBlogger. It was a super cool video (about 7 min long) that discussed the latest trends that Darren has noticed. He also discussing how to use your blog effectively. Finally, he also metions some news/tips on Facebook. These are real tips from a real pro!!

One of the key points he talks about is making sure that you have content worth blogging about. If you don't have anything to talk about, then wait!! After he mentioned that, he then discussed about how you need to get off your blog once you have establish content and start interacting with the people you are trying to target. What he means by this is you need to find out where your readers/target readers are 'hanging out' on the web and join them! This gives you the insight into what your readers want to discuss.

His main point for the use of Facebook is to make sure that it flows with your social media marketing objectives. DON'T JUST USE IT TO USE IT! If it fits, then use it. If not, then don't.

Short post this week, but I will let you check the video out and let it speak for itself.

Walmart Rebounds!!

This week's post is really just a cool blog that I found on Media Logic.com. I found their latest blog post that discussed some of the brands that have been very successful. I won't bore you with a lot of satistics. I simply encourage you to check out the blog and see if any of your favorite brands are doing well. The data is up to date (relatively) and consists of each brand's Facebook and Twitter (if available) numbers.

The super star in this blog is Walmart. I wrote earlier in a blog about how Walmart's initial Facebook campaign fail. This was mainly due to Walmart trying to portray an image that was confusing to their consumers. However, now, they are using different techniques that focus on social responsibility and old fashioned discounts, and it is working!!! They also made huge investments into managing their social media marketing efforts. They now have 12 Twitter managers!! Of all the companies listed in the blog, Walmart beats all other increases in Facebook fans, and that is an understatement. See for yourself.

This brings me to this week's point. It is very possible to screw up a social media campaign. However, it is also very possible to fix it. One of the beauties of social media marketing is the low cost. This should relieve your fear of any great loss due to an unsuccessful campaign. Here are three steps that I suggest to follow in the event of social media meltdown....

1. Re-analize: Step back and take another look at your company, its image, and your marketing goals.

2. Re-plan: Decide on what platforms suit your goals best, How you are going to use them, and who will be incharge of the campaign (a great campaign manager is key).

3. Hit the ground running: Get your campaign back in action as soon as you can.

New Social Media Product!!!

Today, I found an article on CMS Wire's website about a new CRM that was introduced recently by Nimble. Nimble is a company that was founded by the same man who started GoldMine (a popular CRM system) many years ago. Recently, he decided that the old CRMs are not going to work in today's world. They are not designed to manage all of the connections and contacts that people have through their social networking or social media sites. So, he decided to start a new company, Nimble. Nimble's whole concept is to create CRMs that can manage ALL of your contact information. That even includes your Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Gmail accounts.

Nimble allows the user to import all of their existing contacts along with their social networking contacts into the system so that with one login, they can get instant contact information from all of their social networking sites. You can view someone's 'bio' and see what you connection to them is (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and all of their contact information. You can also go directly to all of  your social networking accounts from this one page; no more five or six tabs open on your browser. It is simple and fun to use.

So then, this article and this new product makes me wonder: what other business tools with come about due to the immense use of social media by all business professionals? What will we see next? What other current business tools will be adapted to handle our use of social media? My prediction is that business will soon be seeing other IT systems that are designed to meet the needs of social media users. Because of the huge increase in social media marketing, social networking sites are now just as crucial to many businesses as their accounting software or their financial spreadsheets. What do you guys think???

Read the cool article. Then, go register and try Nimble for free!!

Guest Speaker

Today in my Sales Force Management class, Brad Odil from WBKO came and talked to our class. While his discussion was not focused on social media marketing, his theme was change. What he meant by that was we all need to recognize that times are changing. He made a lot of great points about keeping up with technology and how the news industry is no longer all about television but is using many outlets to reach its users.

Brad talked about how the news is now being broadcasted mobily (smartphones) and through online outlets like their website. Revenue for his company comes from selling advertising. So, he is able to use Facebook and Twitter to draw users to the television broadcast or to their website. In turn, this exposes the users to the advertising that is sold by WBKO. This really was interesting to me because I was always currious what the benefit of using social media marketing was to a company like WBKO. What I failed to realize was how the station made its money. Their products are the outlets that have advertising space. They are simply using social media to promote those outlets.

Brad also talked about how our generation is the one that has the power in this realm. We are the ones that are the most knowledge about these sites and have the most experience using them. He said that WBKO did not bring in anyone to put in charge of their social media campaign. They simply got the young employees of the station to put it together and manage it.

I really liked learning about how Brad and WBKO are using social media to promote their business. This is just another example of how this form of marketing can be applied to endless industries and businesses

Here is their Facebook page. Like it and start using their new Coupon Rover!!

Social Media at My Job...

So my blog this week is not all that exciting. However, it is a topic that is personal to me. I work at Buckhead Cafe, and little over a year ago, we started using social media to advertise for our company. If you didn't know, Buckhead is owned my the same man who started Mariah's downtown. Our owner and one of our managers decided to get involved with Facebook and Twitter in order to increase awareness of the two restaurants. Each has its own Facebook page.

Everyday we post new specials for our fans. At first, not many people new about our Facebook page. We would get half a dozen people each week who would take advantage of our deals. Honestly, we kind of got discouraged because not many people knew of our page. We then decided to be very active in getting the word out. We put flyers in all of our togo bags. We held contests among employees to see who could recomend the most fans to our page in a week. As the year progressed, more and more people bacame fans of our page and took advantage of our deals. Some of our customers are avid about using the deal almost everyday!! Look at the links above to see how many fans we have now! (and then like us :0 )

This post is a simple example of how you should not give up on your campaign if it does not take off very fast. Keep trying and get everyone involved in the effort!!

Check out our new Mariah's app for the iPhone!!

A Favorite Company and Their use of Social Media Marketing...

One of my favorite companies is REI. Some may have heard of them. I'm big into hiking, climbing, skiing, and other "outdoorsy" activities. REI is one of the world's largest retailers of outdoor gear. When I first saw that we were on our own this week for a topic, I immediately thought of REI. Most of the outdoor industry has yet to catch on to social media marketing. Not REI!!! They have utilized several components of social networking/marketing to engage their customers and spark interest from new ones. I want to talk about three of them:

First, is their blog page. They have a first rate blog page where members can log in and comment on dozens of blogs that are posted by staff members and blog writers. I have used this feature many times to find information on new products and advice for various activities. With just a click of mouse, you can share their blog posts and Expert Advice pages on Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Myspace, and Digg. Pretty cool, huh?

Secondly, REI has a their own Youtube page that they use to promote new product lines and give tips and how-to advice to customers. This is very different from most companies in their industry.

Finally, they have an engaging Facebook page that has 151,991 fans. This page has regular posts on their wall about all kinds of interesting topics that people can comment on and learn from. I have seen several times where people have made friendly wall posts on REI's wall, and REI makes sure to leave them a comment back. They make it a point to use Facebook not as just another advertising page, but as a way to connect with their fans.

I believe that REI is doing a great job with the use of social media marketing in an industry that is lagging behind on this trend. Keep up the great work!!

Check out this blog on Social Media Answers that discusses the use of blogs in the outdoor industry!!!

Great and Not So Great Campaigns...

I will admit that this assignment was easy to research. Google had a plethera of examples of social media campaigns that worked great and just as many campaigns that did not work. Here is an example of each and why I believe that they were a success or failure.

Toy Story 3
When Pixar and Disney wanted to promote the lastest addition to the Toy Story saga, they went beyond the standard billboards and movie previews. They jumped on the latest trend...Social Media Marketing!!! They used short videos that went viral, an iPhone app, and a Facebook Page. It worked!! The movie was a great success, and the ticketing buying app on the Facebook page was a hit!

I believe that one of the reasons that it worked is because it utilized word of mouth marketing and Facebook. Each social media tool is better at some applications than others, and I believe that the choice to use Facebook, as opposed to Twitter or a blog, was great. Facebook allows for more variations of interaction (photo, wall posts, video, etc.) with users than many other channels of social networking. Why do you see so many bands, organizations, etc. using it???

Walmart
This article/blog that I found gave the contrast between Target's successful Facebook campaign and Walmart's failed campaign. I want to just discuss Walmart's failed campaign. Walmart thought it would be a great idea to market itself using Facebook/social media. However, it did not understand how to or what the purpose for social media marketing was. It did not allow freedom of interaction with follower and fans. It also had a bad plan for handling bad or negative comments. It limited comments from users so that it could present itself in a positive light. The other huge problem was that it was focusing on 'style.' Everyone knows that Walmart is all about low price. The problem goes back to our blog topic from last week. When you are going to advertise on social networks (whether a company or yourself) you need to be true to yourself. You can not promote yourself as something you are not. Like we discussed last week, be honest. You will attract the people you want to if you just promote yourself the way you are.

Social Media and Your Career: Hurt or Help???

As I begin, I would have admit that I have zero experience on this topic. As Dan Schawbel mentioned in his blog, most of us are "content consumers" and not "content producers." I am one of those. I used social networking not as a means to brand and market myself but as a way to enjoy others' content and profiles.

However, I still know how social media/networking is affecting the job market these days. Schawbel mentions how one in five hiring managers use social networking to do background checks on applicants. Also, Anne Fisher says in her blog that according to a survey done by Jobvite, 83% of employers are using Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter for finding new hires. That is an impressive number! So whether you look at it as negative or positive, you can not deny that social networking is playing a large role in the search for employees. On the flip side, this gives us a huge opportunity to use these sites and tools to market ourselves and snag great jobs!!

So, we as potential employees have a job. We need to brand ourselves using social networking in order to find the jobs and careers we want and get hired! All of the material we read gives great insight into how we can use sites like Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter to get jobs. A lot of the material says that everyone needs to atleast be active on Linkedin and Twitter. These sites allow you to build profiles and connect with hundreds of people in many different professional settings. The other large area (and argueably the most important) is blogging. Schawbel says that by launching a blog that presents yourself as an expert will bring jobs to your doorstep.

One of the biggest points that all the readings make is that you need to brand yourself. Its great if you are using all of these social networking tools, but you need to make sure that you are using them all as one marketing scheme for yourself. In Schawbel's How To: Leverage Social Media for Career Success, the first two steps in using these tools are focused on determining how you want people (and possible future employers) to perceive you. Focus on your strengths and your expertise.  Use your blog and your Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to present a unified message about yourself to the world.

I do not have any personal stories about people being hurt/helped by social media. I also have not been affected myself. However, I can testify that there is great potential in all forms of social networking to connect with hundreds of people, meet potential employers, and find the job of our dreams!!

Social Media Marketing: Fad or Permanent???

As we begin this class, the question I asked above is very relevent. As a student, this class is not going to give me any working benefit if social media is just a fad. However, if it is not a fad and continues to grow, then myself and my classmates will have a wealth of knowledge and, hopefully, experience in this new frontier of advertising and marketing.

As a marketing minor, I want to be able to market my future company in a way that is able to reach my potential customers. The newest way to do this is in social media marketing. This new means of marketing is under close watch by some to see if it will last. Why invest in a form of marketing that will not bring you any customers in the next 2,5,7 years? So the question is, will it last?

I believe that the answer is 'permanent.' What I mean by that is social media marketing is a fixed, established form of advertising. No one can deny that impact that the internet has had on world culture in the last fifteen years. People are usting the internet for everything. In terms of business, one of the ways people are using this vast resource is solving problems. We learned this lesson in the first chapter of Scott's book. With millions of people of using the internet every day to search for goods and services, that is where you need to engage them!! We have also learned according to Gillin, that in 2004, there were one million blogs on the internet. This study (by technorati) said that by 2008 that number had sky rocketed to 112 million!!! According to Gillin, "Some people still believe that social media is a fad, a bubble that will burst as suddenly and dramatically as the first Internet bubble did. They are very wrong."

It is clear (just from short material we have studied so far) that social media is here to stay. Yes, it is a very young business. However, the evidence shows that we are seeing a new and exciting generation of marketing and advertising that will continue to grow.

Additional Reading: http://whattoknow.org/19-social-media-marketing-is-not-a-fad/