Category: Twitter

Old Spice got up in Taco Bell’s face recently on Twitter, only to be taken down by the fast-food company’s saucy reply. At least, that was the initial story in the social media marketing blogosphere and in some mainstream media reporting.

But oh, how quickly we all forget: it was just two years ago that Old Spice wrote a very successful chapter in the viral marketing handbook with its customized video responses to social media questions from consumers and celebrities. And earlier this year, Splash Media sang the praises of Taco Bell’s social media strategy in this blog post.

Both companies are clearly comfortable on Twitter, and their tweet war was simply an effective lesson for all businesses in how to use humor and appear human in their social media – all in 140 characters or less.

The story so far: on July 9th, the people running Old Spice’s Twitter account – known for absurdist humor that plays off the “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” meme – issued this tweet: “Why is it that ‘fire sauce’ isn’t made with any real fire? Seems like false advertising.” Taco Bell’s tweeted response? “@OldSpice Is your deodorant made with really old spices?”

The exchanged was retweeted, blogged about, screencaptured and generally talked about for the rest of the week; mission accomplished for both marketing teams. We think this Splash Media screen capture/thumbnail tells the full story well: Taco Bell is also exploiting technology in its marketing in other ways. The company’s use of chef Lorena Garcia and her new Cantina Bowl offering is the subject of a QR code where the “pixels” are made up of tiny lemons and avocados. This MediaPost story has the details.

It’s clear that both Old Spice and Taco Bell know their audiences, stayed consistent with their humor strategies and are willing to explore new storytelling tactics. Extra points go to Taco Bell for its tasty response, but we think Old Spice still comes off smelling pretty good with its social media marketing.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts in our Comments section about how Old Spice and Taco Bell are using Twitter and what you think the lessons are for small/midsize businesses.

Renay San Miguel is the Chief Content Officer at Splash Media and On-Air Talent and Host with Spark360.tv. You can find him on Twitter @PrimoMedia. Click here to see all of Renay’s blog posts.

Stay up-to-date on the latest in social media marketing; subscribe to our award-winning blog!

Facebook’s IPO face-planted and Google+ needs to add more users. Yet except for a June outage, Twitter keeps on flying right in its quest to become a useful and competitive social network. The addition of new search features late last week is another step in that direction.

Here’s the big 140-character question: can those features also give some lift to business marketing content?

Answer: a little. If anything, it’s more evidence that should help convince businesses to get deeper into Twitter marketing.

An official Twitter blog post goes into greater detail regarding the new features:

• Auto-complete, as with Google, makes suggestions for search terms as they are being typed into Twitter’s search box.
• A “People You Follow” option helps narrow search results. If you’re following brands and/or small and midsize businesses, this can help put a spotlight on not only new but previously posted content – all the more reason to offer up the best news-customers-can-use in those links.

Twitter had already announced spelling corrections and related queries, and is now providing real names along with user names in search results. And yes, all of it does sound a lot like what Google and Bing are offering their users, and therein lies the real story behind these recent changes.

Twitter’s relationships with Google and LinkedIn – allowing tweets to be featured in Google searches and cross-posting of tweets in LinkedIn – are no more. Twitter executives obviously think they are ready to go it alone in the social media world, and a better search experience is key in that mission. This all could be leading to yet another heavily-hyped, social media-based public offering. But Twitter may also be seeing encouraging signs regarding business/marketing usage, and not just with its overtly-commercial offerings like Promoted Tweets.

Each new feature that keeps users flying longer on Twitter – and those may include mobile features forthcoming from company and third-party developers – gives the social network that much more power as a marketing platform. Who knows; when it comes to Twitter, the sky may be the limit.

Renay San Miguel is the Chief Content Officer at Splash Media and On-Air Talent and Host with Spark360.tv. You can find him on Twitter @PrimoMedia. Click here to see all of Renay’s blog posts.

Stay up-to-date on the latest in social media marketing; subscribe to our award-winning blog!

Twitter Business Marketing, Social Media Marketing

It was April 2011 when Splash Media reached out to John Earnhardt, who leads the corporate communications/social media teams at networking giant Cisco. Since that time, Earnhardt’s company continues to practice what its preaching when it comes to embracing the tenets of digital marketing.

Since host Renay San Miguel spoke with Earnhardt, Cisco launched The Network, a technology news site that doubles as a great example of a large company successfully using content marketing techniques (Intel and John Deere are two other companies providing what is now being called “brand journalism” in digital marketing circles). Cisco realizes that the company can cover its own industry as well or better than most traditional news media outlets, while avoiding promotional or commercial-sounding content for its own products/services.

In this interview, Earnhardt talks to San Miguel about where Cisco views the value in each of the three top social networks -  Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

What’s more American than parades, barbecues, fireworks and apple pie on the Fourth of July?

Why, the sharing of pictures and comments on social media about parades, barbecues, fireworks and apple pie on the Fourth of July, of course.

Personal Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds will soon be filling up with montages of pics, videos and thoughts from friends and family all over U.S., illustrating one of the more positive attributes of social media – the creation of a real-time virtual community.

So why can’t all that be translated to the business side of things via social media holiday marketing?

A recent Splash Media blog post highlighted the occasional off-message status update/tweet/post as a way to humanize businesses and keep a level of fun/spontaneity in the marketing mix. Holidays offer a similar opportunity to learn more about customers while letting them view a business as something more than a logo.

I’m not just talking about the obvious discounts tied to Independence Day, which are of course valid. Last time we checked, there’s no law against offering consumer deals for those who may be out and about on Wednesday; if recent history is any indication, Foursquare will also soon get busy with such check-in incentives. Hey, the freedom to make money off of holidays – that was one of FDR’s “Four Freedoms,” right?

(Insert Jeopardy-style buzzer noise here.)

Okay, maybe it was freedom from fear (of going out of business). But in any event, what we’re really talking about is taking advantage of July 4th to enhance the customer experience on a company’s social media platform.

Social media marketers talk a lot about “engagement.” It’s a $10 word for allowing full, meaningful conversations/interactivity between customers and companies. It’s about providing content that’s interesting enough to merit a response, even if it’s just a Facebook “like” or a retweet. That content doesn’t ask people to purchase – it asks them to participate.

It’s open-ended questions. It’s asking them to share pics and thoughts. It’s pop quizzes about American history. It’s memories of the best fireworks display they ever saw.

It’s a chance to extend the customer community all the way from your businesses’ front door to their actual real-world communities, where all the parades and barbecues and fireworks and apple pie are happening on July 4th.

Here’s our July 4th question for you: have you seen any great examples of holiday-themed engagement by companies using social media? Please share in our Comments section, and have a happy Fourth of July!

Renay San Miguel is the Chief Content Officer at Splash Media and On-Air Talent and Host with Spark360.tv. You can find him on Twitter @PrimoMedia. Click here to see all of Renay’s blog posts.

Stay up-to-date on the latest in social media marketing; subscribe to our award-winning blog!

At this point, it doesn’t really matter what your political views are on the Affordable Care Act; this week’s Supreme Court ruling lifts any uncertainty about the immediate future for healthcare in this country. The direction is now set, and everyone involved in the industry has to move forward.

That also makes it an opportune time – for those who haven’t already done so – to reconsider the benefits of social media and healthcare. Splash Media has blogged about this already, bringing you some recent survey information showing more hospitals are indeed prescribing regular doses of Facebook and Twitter for educating patients. And we’ve chatted with a doctor and mommy blogger who has sung the praises of social media.

But now one of the biggest news stories of the year gives those in the healthcare industry a chance to get closer to customers – whether they are payors, patients or companies in the healthcare business-to-business chain:

* Insurance Companies – This industry impacted the most by this week’s ruling should get busy on blogs and social networks educating customers about what the ACA will mean for premiums.  If these companies have an opinion on ACA, that’s fine; a strong point-of-view is a good thing in a blog post. But never forget about the customers. Their priority is answers. They deserve up-to-date, accurate information.

* Hospitals/Clinics/Private Physicians -  Speaking of accurate information…those served by this group are already conducting more research online regarding health issues, consumer reviews of doctors, etc. There is more power in current and prospective patients’ hands than ever. Social media allows for a two-way connection via doctor/hospital blogs and social media platforms. Healthcare providers should seize upon that opportunity to talk about the ACA’s impact on the quality of healthcare and what’s ahead after 2014.

* B2B Providers - There was a reason that the business-related cable networks were keeping a close eye on the stocks of publicly-traded companies that sell within the healthcare space: software businesses, medical device manufacturers, etc. Vendors and current/potential partners need the latest information on ACA’s impact, just like those in the physician/patient chain.

From a social media marketing prospective, original content with strong, organic search engine optimization can push these businesses to the top of Google search results – especially when it’s all tied to current events.

Granted, the healthcare industry comes with its own set of regulatory and compliance challenges. But that should never shut the door on social media usage within that industry. The Supreme Court’s ACA ruling offers a way to “use the news,” with a potentially positive side effect: stronger trust and credibility.