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You might have thought that the drama playing out in last night’s game was on the big screen, but you’d be wrong. The big wins of the night were actually through social media on the smaller screens; smartphones, computers and tablets. If your business’s product branding strategy didn’t include social media last night, then you lost out on a great opportunity to have some fun, gain some fans and promote some positive brand strategy.

It all started with the surprising blackout that paused the game for thirty-four minutes in the third quarter, causing half the stadium to go dark. The branding process that evolved out of this darkness was rather illuminating. Social media-savvy companies went to their social media platforms to “Newsjack” the event. In fact, many companies had active social media command centers set up in advance to handle this type of event!

The Power of Product Branding Strategy

Several brands were quick on their feet and within minutes of the blackout, they had tweets out taking a humorous (yet branded) approach to the situation. The most notable were Oreo, Tide, Walgreens and PBS, for their brilliant brand strategy.

• Oreo – “Power out? No Problem” with an image that said “You can still dunk in the dark” next to the image of an Oreo cookie in the dark (15, 276 retweets)
• Tide – “We can’t get your blackout. But we can get your stains out.” (1,318 retweets)
• Walgreens – “We do carry candles.” (3,376 retweets)
• PBS – “This might be a good time think about alternative programming. #SuperBowlBlackOut #WeHaveDowntonPBS” (3,526 retweets)

According to Twitter, chatter about the power outage peaked at 231,500 tweets per minute, totaling to 3 million tweets over the course of the night.

How much does traditional advertising go for during the Super Bowl?  And how much does a tweet or Facebook status cost?  You do the math.  The real Super Bowl winners were those with active product branding strategy on social media.

Splash Media can help you with a full service, turnkey solution for your online brand strategy. To learn more about us, visit our website. You can also check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

What can six seconds do for your company branding strategy? Maybe the same thing that 140 characters has done for it. Twitter is banking on Vine, a new iPhone app that allows users to create and share 6 second videos. It’s similar to Instagram … but for videos.

Twitter made their success on the “limited space” model when they introduced the 140-character conversation, so it makes sense that they’re trying to duplicate this success with Vine. So far, the social media experts’ consensus seems to be that no one is sure if Vine will take off or not, but that it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on. It could easily grow and emerge into something hip. The success of platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr have all demonstrated time and time again that putting constraints on content can produce amazing creativity.

How can you incorporate Vine into your company branding strategy?  You can use it to:

○     Showcase brand personality - A shoe company could share their favorite personal shoes, or the most popular one on the market currently, or the wildest color.

○     Demonstrate Products - Coffee baristas could show how they make a signature drink.

○     Teaser peak at longer content - Did all your employees sing “Call Me Maybe” from their cubicles? Show six seconds and link to the full video on YouTube or your website.

○     Behind the scenes looks – Share the secrets of your break room cabinets or reveal the mystery stain in the conference room.

○     Answer FAQs - Dress up an employee or have them stand on their head and answer common questions in your industry.

If you’ve already got an audience on Twitter, here’s a chance to grow it even further in the branding process. The more you share through Vine, the more consumers will feel connected with your brand. Don’t forget to be entertaining and to have fun with it!

Remember, this is a completely new way for brands to connect with their customers and engage with followers, so be a trendsetter and get your business out there! As is the branding strategy with all social media platforms, find a way to share your brand personality and interact with consumers.

Do you have any good ideas for how businesses can use Vine in their company branding strategy?

Check out our first Vine video here!

Splash Media can help you with a full service, turnkey solution for your online brand strategy. To learn more about us, visit our website. You can also check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

If you’re involved in your company’s online brand strategy through social media, you’ve probably noticed that the one consistency over all social media platforms is that things change, and they change quickly. You need to stay on your toes and be ever-vigilant to how these changes will affect your business and your brand strategy. (You know all about the new Facebook Graph Search, right?)

The newest big announcement? LinkedIn plans to retire its ‘Answers’ Q&A section’ at the end of this month. If you’ve never used LinkedIn Answers, it’s a feature on LinkedIn that enables users to post a question and let other LinkedIn users answer. Or, as an expert, you could go in and answer other users’ questions, thereby proving yourself as a subject matter expert while networking in the process. In fact, by offering useful answers, people drove a significant amount of web traffic to their sites.

LinkedIn announced: “As of Jan. 31, LinkedIn Answers will be retired from LinkedIn. We will be focusing our efforts on the development of new and more engaging ways to share and discuss professional topics across LinkedIn. In the meantime, members can still pose questions and facilitate professional discussions through other popular LinkedIn channels including LinkedIn Polls, Groups, or status update.”

For the time being, it sounds as though LinkedIn wants us to move questions and answers to LinkedIn Groups or polls, or status updates, which leads to the obvious question:  Will this increase spam in LinkedIn Groups?

Those who have been using the Answers section to drive business and promote their company branding strategy will probably swarm to join popular groups and drive their spam levels even higher. While questions and answers are already something members submit in groups, there is still a lot of spam to wade through to find the information you need. Those companies and individuals using Answers to generate leads on LinkedIn will need to redefine their strategies.

Meanwhile, we’re left wondering what new and more engaging ways they are going to come up with for users to share and discuss topics.

What do you think? Are you glad to see Answers go or will you mourn this loss? Have you ever used Answers to promote your company branding strategy or product branding strategy?

Splash Media can help you with a full service, turnkey solution for your LinkedIn brand strategy. To learn more about us, visit our website. You can also check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to update your business Facebook page in order to get the most out of Facebook’s Graph Search that debuted the week of Jan. 14-18. What is Graph Search?  It’s a new Facebook feature that should make it easier for people to discover and learn more about your business. How does it do this?  It actually allows Facebook members to find information through their friends.

With Graph Search, people use Facebook like they would use a search engine. They can look for things like “BBQ restaurants that my friends eaten at in Austin, TX,” “hotels near the Empire State Building,” or “music my friends like.” Then the Graph Search bar returns results, which can be apps, groups, places, people, Pages, and other suggested searches. Facebook users can also search for things like nearby events, photos posted by Business Pages they like, restaurants in places where they want to travel, or online games friends play. And if your Facebook connections have talked about and interacted with your business page, then your business will show up in their friends’ results from searches about your industry or location.

Is Your Business Facebook Page Ready?

• Fill out your Page’s name, category, web address, and About section. You only want the most accurate and up-to-date info displaying on your page, especially for search purposes.
• Update your address on your location or local place Page. That way when someone is searching for a specific location, your location will show up in the results.
• Share content on your Facebook Page. Photo and video-related searches will only return photo and video results that have been shared on your Page.
• Strengthen your connections. Make sure you’re attracting the desired target audience and engaging with them so that when someone searches for a business in your area, your connections’ preferences will pop up first to their closest friends.

In case you’re curious, web searches will display Bing results and Bing ads. Facebook and Google are not BFFs! And, as of right now, there are no new ad formats available. Graph Search has a waiting list as they slowly roll out their beta version. So, don’t worry if you don’t see it available in your Facebook account yet. You can get on the waiting list on their Graph Search page.

Over one billion people like and comment on Facebook, and your business can be a part of these conversations. The idea is for people to get more relevant info with Facebook’s Social Graph. Let’s face it, Facebook is upping the game in the world of digital, word-of-mouth marketing—and if you want your business to be a part of it, you need to make sure you’re paying attention! If your target audience is on Facebook, then that’s where you need to be to make the most of it.

Let your brand LIVE. 

Be Real. Be Social. Talk about what you are actually passionate about. Listen to what people actually care about. Listen. Then listen again. If you don’t like the conversation, change it. Trust your opinion. Do the hard work. Think before you share. Share what you think. Discover real people. Build lasting relationships. Stop the selling. Start the giving. Don’t wait. Say it now. Be part of the conversation. Have a point of view. Get straight to the point. Be fascinating by being authentic. Share something you have learned. Thank someone today for teaching. Start doing what you are passionate about. Open your mind to something new. Ask someone what they care about. Share your passion. Start a movement. Social is about the people you meet and what you create together. So, create something. Live a social life.

Maybe I’m just cranky. Perhaps it is the fact that it is the start of another new year and a time of self-reflection. It may just be that I am getting older and losing my ability to swallow the status quo. Whatever it is, I realize that many, many terms, strategies and tactics that very smart people in Social Media Management throw around are empty. Empty of substance. Empty of real meaning. More importantly, empty of business success.

“We will make you a Thought Leader through Social Media.” This is a strategy frequently presented by very smart agencies and consultants in pretty PowerPoints and pitches throughout the country. Most of the time it is a strategy full of crap.

 I have three big problems with this strategy. 

1. Most people do not even know what a thought leader is.
2. Even if they have the proper definition of a thought leader, very few brands should ever attempt to be one as a social media strategy.
3. This strategy assumes the audience is a group of brain-dead rats waiting for a pied piper to arrive and lead them somewhere. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“We will make you a thought leader.” Think anyone sat down with Einstein and told him that? I have trouble imagining Sir Winston Churchill fretting over if he would be a thought leader as he told Hitler where he could stick it. Leaders lead. They break new ground. They have original thoughts that they communicate in new and enlightening ways. Thought leaders are those who have original thoughts and have the utter guts to share them no matter the disruption created by those thoughts. They are the risk takers. Leaders are so passionate about those NEW ideas that they will risk excommunication from the status quo to keep those new ideas part of the debate. Is a brand willing to do that risk taking? Does a brand have a NEW idea that disrupts the status quo to that degree? 

IBM stood up in 1973 and told the grocery industry that they were going to build a new way for items to be checked out. They designed the linear UPC code so that cashiers no longer had to enter the cost amount of an item by hand at the cash register. The UPC code enabled grocers to control and manage inventories against sales and to make the checkout experience better for the stores and consumers. The industry had been working with “thought leaders” for 6 years on a system that they loved.. They loved it right up until it was time to print it and use it. Their system smeared easily by cheap printers. Turns out they had been following thought leadership that took them nowhere for 6 years. Too many thought leaders were barking hypotheticals. None of them had the guts to actually put their concept into real use and check the results–none of them that is, except IBM. They then faced the nut jobs bemoaning their leadership. Extremists thought IBM was hiding demonic codes in those little lines. The grocery industry was scared, reluctant, and generally apathetic about putting machines in control. IBM led with a NEW idea. They backed up that idea with action and results. Leadership came from pushing the idea into every corner of retail no matter how disruptive it seemed.  

To be a thought leader you need to have both words: a THOUGHT and LEADERSHIP. It demands an original thought that you can communicate in a new way. You need to then lead. Do you have the guts, the stomach, and the heart to actually lead the disruption your thought should cause? If not, do not feel useless. You had the wrong strategy from the beginning. Find another strategy. Not everyone can lead. Not every idea is an original thought. Your audience desperately needs thought curators, thought supporters, and thought advisers just as much as it needs that rare sighting of a thought leader.

In the next blog in this series, we will define the differences in strategies of a thought leader, a thought curator, a thought supporter and a thought adviser. Each means different plans, tactics, goals, and results for your marketing. Your audience is begging for these. Which should you be? More importantly, which does your audience want you to be?

So we’ve been hearing the phrase “SEO” more and more. Let’s “SEO” this, let’s optimize this for our “SEO.”

What is SEO?  SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization.  SEO “is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a Web page in search engines via the ‘natural’ or un-paid (‘organic’ or ‘algorithmic’) search results.” [i]

What does that mean? Search engines use complicated algorithms to determine relevance and ranking, and such algorithms are always changing. Thus, keeping your website in shape to be ranked well by these algorithms is an ongoing process.  It is important because the higher your website is on the SERPs (search engine results pages), the more traffic you will likely get to your site. Search traffic is qualified traffic, meaning users are explicitly looking for what you have.  In addition, you don’t have to pay for each click (as you do with paid search).

SEO is an important aspect of digital marketing.  SEO serves its purpose of retention and acquisition.  When somebody already knows of a brand and then goes on the web to find more information about it, it is crucial your online brand presence is strong—especially for your brand name and for your keyword.  It is important for retention, otherwise other competitors might get the click by ranking higher than you.  When somebody searches the Internet for a relevant keyword or industry key phrase, you want your company to rank for that search, not your competitor.  This helps you gain more business in the online playing field.

The online field is a different arena, but a huge player in the game of marketing.  We are starting to see trends in using different online devices to ensure sales.  This cross-device usage is illustrated in the graphic below:

Have you heard about Nextdoor, the new private social networking service for neighborhoods?  It’s the next step in local social media. Nextdoor makes it safe and easy to share online content you’d be okay sharing with your neighbors in person. It’s like taking the community of Facebook, adding in the usefulness of Craigslist and the efficiency of an email listserv, consolidating it all and applying it specifically to your neighborhood. In short, it’s the ultimate in social media management.

It’s safe:

• Only you and your neighbors can see what’s shared.
• Every neighbor has to verify their address.
• Every neighbor signs in with their real name. Just like in person.
• Your website is protected by password and encrypted by HTTPS.
• We never share your info with advertisers.

Why People are Using It:

• To give away an outgrown bike.
• To find a trustworthy babysitter.
• To share info quickly about a break-in.
• To figure out who is the best local handyman.
• To organize a garage sale.
• To search for a lost pet.
• To better know your neighbors.
• To form playgroups or organize car pools.

Real-Life Example

The City of Richardson residents have joined Nextdoor, and so has the Richardson Police Department, which will provide crime information, alerts, and other department news through the site.

Application for Businesses

As Nextdoor expands to include police departments and local city government, it wouldn’t be surprising to see local businesses included in some aspect. People like to share their opinions and experiences, such as which restaurants they frequent regularly or which nail salon has the best service. Add into that the opportunity for businesses to offer local neighborhoods special deals, and this might be a match made in heaven.

There’s also the sheer amount of information that Nextdoor will have on neighborhoods that could be invaluable to businesses.  They can survey neighborhoods and find out what businesses the communities’ residents think are missing. That’s geotargeting to the extreme!

It’s not Facebook or Twitter. Nextdoor is a local social media network specifically designed for the neighborhood community, because there are so many ways neighbors can help each other, but many don’t know their neighbors, or how to contact them.

Do you think we have a need for local social media applications like Nextdoor? Would you join if your neighborhood belonged?

Rhea Thomas is the Blogger Manager at Splash Media and part of the Content Creation and Script Production team at Splash Media U. You can find her on Twitter @TexasRhea. Click here to see all of Rhea’s blog posts.

[photo credit: shapeshift via photopin cc]

Splash Media is proud to participate in an online campaign called A Giving Chance. A Giving Chance allows two business owners or entrepreneurs to win a Dream Team Business Makeover while bringing businesses together to support Compassion International’s Child Survival Program. The “Dream Team” is made up of eighteen nationally known and successful entrepreneurs who are donating their expertise and services to the two winners. As part of the Dream Team, Splash Media is offering one month of social media management on Twitter, and that’s just a tiny portion of the overall prizes that will be awarded to two lucky businesses.

Some of the other prizes include:

• One Year of premium email services from Aweber.
• One Year access to Laura Roeder’s Social Media Marketer.
• Premise and Scribe WordPress Plugin licenses from Copyblogger.
• One Hour Borrow My Brain session with Jonathan Fields.
• A 3 hour Social Media Strategy Session by Padron Social Media.
• A Custom-Designed Website by Ekcetera.

Businesses can enter the contest simply by donating $10 or $25 to Compassion International’s Child Survival Program. The promotion began Nov 1, 2012, and runs through Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), with the winners announced on Christmas Day. Every dollar raised from entries will go to the Child Survival Program. For more information, please read the Official rules.

Last year, Compassion International’s Child Survival Program gave 25,000 moms and babies the lifesaving support they needed. According to Compassion International, every day 1,500 women die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, 10,000 newborns die within a month of birth, and 10,000 babies are also born dead. And, more than 9 million children under age 5 die each year. Two-thirds of these deaths — more than 6 million every year — are preventable. Compassion International touches lives worldwide in their fight to provide lifesaving support to mothers and babies.

Are you interested in winning a business makeover while also benefiting a worthwhile charity? If so, check out more about the Dream Team Business Makeover Contest.

For more information about Compassion International and sources for the facts listed above, visit their website: http://www.compassion.com/help-babies.htm

Rhea Thomas is the Blogger Manager at Splash Media and part of the Content Creation and Script Production team at Splash Media U. You can find her on Twitter @TexasRhea. Click here to see all of Rhea’s blog posts.

What does Halloween have in common with marketing? More than you think! Clever marketing requires creative content, a clear message and the right delivery to attract and impress consumers. Halloween requires the same.

As with any marketing campaign, you need to start with a strategy, understand your target audience and craft quality content.

1. Offer Something Desirable

When I was in high school, my Mom was on a super health food kick. And so, when Halloween rolled around, she decided to give out healthy snacks. You know, like boxes of raisins or packages of nuts. And wouldn’t you know it, that was the one year our pumpkins were trashed. By trashed, I mean they were smashed and destroyed. The lesson here? Know your target audience and what they want. Here, the target audience is trick-or-treaters. Do they want chocolate and sour punch straws? Or dental floss and raisins?

The same goes for marketing. What does your target audience want? The great thing about social media is that it opens the lines of direct communication between businesses and consumers … and makes it easy in fact.  People are already spending time on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc., so it’s in your best interests to make sure your business is there also. It might seem scary at first (just like opening your front door to rush of trick-or-treaters) but ultimately, it makes for a better relationship with your consumers and creates loyal followers.

2. Create a Memorable Experience

What are you doing to entice that target audience? Are you in costume and the house decorated? Trick-or-treaters are much more likely to stop at your house if the porch light is on and the decorations are out. It’s the same with marketing. Put yourself in the mind of your audience. How welcoming is your marketing campaign? Have you dressed it up and gotten creative?

3. Patiently Encourage Word-of–Mouth Support

Sometimes it takes a while to reap rewards from your marketing campaign. Trick-or-Treaters will spread the word that your house is a great place for candy … just like real-life customers will use social media to spread the word about your business and its awesome products and services.

So, next time you’re passing out candy, remember the tricks and treats involved, and apply those same basic principles to your next marketing campaign, whether it’s traditional or through social media—or both.

Rhea Thomas is the Blogger Manager at Splash Media and part of the Content Creation and Script Production team at Splash Media U. You can find her on Twitter @TexasRhea. Click here to see all of Rhea’s blog posts.