Instagram vs. Snapchat: How Live Feed Increases Connectivity

With new features springing up left and right on almost every social media platform it was important for Instagram to stay fresh. Over the summer they rolled out the new Explore feature which focuses on real-time events that are trending throughout the app.

“Until now, Facebook-owned Instagram says there hasn’t been a simple way to find real-time events, a situation that’s led it to entirely reimagine its Explore page. Now featuring trending Tags and trending Places, users can more easily discover photos and videos for events around the world as they’re happening (Mogg, 2015).”

However, it seems that this feature has been heavily challenged by Snapchat who increasingly implements world events through collecting snaps of users attending that event and compiling the footage for all of Snapchat to see. But don’t count Instagram out quite yet. Anyone over the weekend who has an Instagram was given the option to watch live feed from the Oscars showing an array of stars in behind the scene moments on the red carpet.  With the increase in connectivity within each social media channel it will be interesting to see how these apps push the limits to offer something new to consumers.

-Mary

Mogg, T. (June 24, 2015). Instagram’s updated explore feature takes on Twitter with focus on real-time events. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/instagram-update-focuses-on-live-events/

Facebook New Like Button: Yay or nay?

This weekend saw some excitement with the Oscars, and of course Leo finally winning, but let’s not forget the real breaking news… the new Emoji inspired like buttons on Facebook. So what do these new features mean?  Users can now tell their Facebook friend how they feel about the post rather than just liking it.  And advertisers so far seem thrilled.

“This is a major change to the way we analyze brands’ audiences and our work,” expressed Jason Stein, the founder and CEO of social media agency Laundry Service (Greenburg, 2016). Brands now are offered insight into how consumer’s receive advertisements and exactly who is liking and disliking the content.  This allows marketers to specifically identify the target that gravitates towards the brand and tailor the message to please their largest audience.  After all what is the marketer’s main concern? Understanding and communicating a cohesive message across multiple channels that increases brand recognition and in turn ROI for their brand.  Facebook has unleashed a whole new tool to achieve that goal, and it will be interesting to see how the like button increases consumer insight.

-Mary

Resources:

Greenburg, J. (February 25, 2016). Advertisers don’t like Facebook’s reactions. They love them. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2016/02/advertisers-feel-facebooks-new-reactions-%F0%9F%98%8D/

Shazam: Offering more than just music

Shazam is the popular mobile app which allows users to play a song and the app will give the song title, artist, album, and lyrics. Currently the app has over 100 million users, and why is it so popular?  Because it works, seamlessly.  Shazam realized an issue: consumers listening to the radio wondering who sings this great song, and resolved the issue: press the Shazam button and boom you have your answer.  Leave it to Apple to recognize this apps power and partner up to increase their iBeacon service.

The Apple iBeacon sends offers to your smartphones from stores, retailers, hotels, etc. when the consumer is within a certain proximity.  This offer drives the consumer to the store and increases the consumer’s purchasing power.  Apple understood that they needed to partner with a universally used app already downloaded onto a consumers phone, and voila! Shazam!  “Now this technology is just in its infancy, but it is tremendously interesting and important, because it will allow us to access relevant mobile offers without having to go through the hassle of getting this whole array and collection of apps on our phone (Baer, 2015).”

-Mary

Resources:

Baer, J. (2015). Is Shazam the future of mobile marketing? Retrieved from http://www.convinceandconvert.com/podcasts/episodes/is-shazam-the-future-of-mobile-marketing/

NBA All-Star Weekend: Marketing Opportunities

The NBA All-Star Game was this weekend and I couldn’t help but notice how the three day long event was filled with opportunities to implement creative marketing for brands like State Farm, Samsung, and KIA. With this being Kobe Bryant’s last All-Star appearance the stakes were high for TNT and NBA to create an experience that was memorable and fitting for a basketball legend. Big brands realized this and followed suit.

State Farm was the big winner for this weekend’s marketing frenzy with their Meet The Hoopers commercials, logo placement on backboards, Assist Counters during the game, trophy sponsorship, etc. They also created a hashtag #StateFarmSaturday which created a live thread of tweets correlating with the All-Star skills challenge, three point contest, and slam dunk contest. While State Farm is already an NBA sponsor, these numbers from last year’s All-Star Weekend might explain why they amped up their overall marketing content this year.

Last year State Farm realized that the utilization of Chris Paul, a staple of All-Star Weekend, could use his National Bureau of Assist character to create a message heard throughout the whole weekend. While they used the #StateFarmSaturday last year as well they also used the #AllStarAssist and set up a team of over 100 State Farm employees to assist fans all weekend long.

 

“How did it go? There have been over 3,632 mentions #AllStarAssist, with hundreds of people getting ‘assisted’ both digitally and physically. Many influencers joined the conversation, from Chris Bosh and Anthony Davis, to the Golden State Warrior. ESPN sports business analyst Darren Rovell even commended State Farm’s integration (Shively, 2015).”

So what is the key takeaway? Tying campaigns to personalities and events can create a more integrated feel that doesn’t come across as obtrusive to viewers and fans.

-Mary

Resources:

Shively, K. (February 17, 2015). How two brands turned All-Star weekend into social media magic. Retrieved from http://simplymeasured.com/blog/how-two-brands-turned-all-star-weekend-into-social-media-magic/#sm.00000mr83zlsagcvdwqufg6l2au7h

The Year to Come

Since the year is still early I wanted to assess which marketing trends are expected to have the biggest impact in the upcoming months. I’ll feign shock that content marketing is what most marketers are focusing their strategies around.

The poll above was results from the question: Which digital marketing technique will give you the most uplift or incremental benefits?

It’s clear that content marketing is continuously the most dynamic and exciting sector in the marketing industry. So how can a brand implement successful content that will prove beneficial?  “Most brands resist telling a truly differentiated story; and even those that do aren’t consistent or patient enough to build loyal audiences over time (Pulizzi, 2015).”  They key is giving a brand’s editorial product time to breath before expecting positive results.

We have Big Data coming in second to content marketing according to the poll. Big data is a tool marketers use to engage with consumers on a heightened level compared to traditional advertising. With the increasing accumulation of consumer data, companies have developed new ways to synthesize the information which allows marketers to process it and apply it to their brand’s campaigns.

-Mary

Resources

Chaffey, D. (February 8, 2016). Marketing trends for 2016 – will we be in a post digital era? Retrieved from http://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/marketing-innovation/marketing-trends-2016/

Pulizzi, J. (June 29, 2015). The one ingredient your content marketing program is missing. Retrieved from http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/06/content-marketing-program-missing/

Location Marketing: Geo-fencing

Location marketing isn’t a new way for brands to increase their consumer base but it is becoming an increasing trend to get those consumers through the door!  Companies are continuing to build records that will match the mobile device consumers use with browsers they open and sites they log into.  The combination of mobile applications with proximity-based strategies extend the relationship between customers and retailers and is beneficial to both parties.

An example of a company using geo-fencing to increase consumer base is Vouchercloud.  Consumers who have the Vouchercloud app on their phone receive coupons when they are within 200 meters of participating stores.  The mobile app has reported clickthrough rates of 45% and not only increases their mobile usage but also sales for their partnering companies.

 

Mutually beneficial relationships between mobile applications and retailers will increase as well as retailers implementing their own geo-fencing techniques through their own apps and websites.  Customers who act on the deals presented are likely to spend more time in-stores which also increases the likeliness of purchasing more than what is initially offered in the deal.  Win, win for retailers.

 

Resources:

Davis, B. (July 28, 2014). Eight more examples of geofencing you should know about. Retrieved from
https://econsultancy.com/blog/65223-eight-more-examples-of-geofencing-you-should-know-about/

Karr, D. (June 10, 2015). Geo-targeting, geo-fencing and beaconing: Location marketing Retrieved from
https://www.marketingtechblog.com/geo-targeting-geo-fencing-and-beaconing-location-marketing-explained/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost

Keeping Up With the Kiddos

As a student within a marketing program I am often left wondering: how do brands such as Mattel and Kraft create marketing content without explicitly targeting the children themselves?  And how do they create this content without being accused of unethical practices?

I came across a few articles which talked about “The Parent Trap.”  Because who is actually going to be buying the toys and cereals and candy for kids?

So how can we figure out the best emotional appeals to get the parents to buy, buy, buy? Research methods such as focus groups, surveys, and interviews can allow the advertiser to determine which direction is best.  “About 73% of moms say that advertisers don’t understand them and don’t understand their needs,” according to brand strategist Jamie Dunham (Ai Blog, 2015).

The fine line within this market is creating advertisements that intrigues both parents and the children and leaves the parents feeling they have fulfilled a need for their child.

Ai Blog. (2015). Marketing to parents. Retrieved from https://www.artinstitutes.edu/blog/the-parent-trap-marketing-to-parents

Emerging Media: So much to learn!

Welcome!  As a current student with the IMC Program I have been learning new and exciting trends that allow marketers the ability to connect with their target audiences.  I am looking forward to creating this blog to examine, learn, and understand the numerous ways digital technologies are implemented within a brand’s marketing strategy.

What a world we live in today where every experience is documented through social media, shopping habits recorded and used by advertisers, even the amount of steps we take can be tracked and displayed for our contacts via wearable devices.  Emerging media is an expansive and fascinating subject that is hard to define through a singular definition.

Emerging media has allowed marketers to break away from the traditional platforms of TV, print ads, and radio spots to entice consumers to engage with a product of service.  In today’s world the consumer can send as well as receive messages making them the perfect vessel to promote a brand.  Brand advocates are becoming one of the largest influencers to how consumer’s perceive a product, and how can marketer’s beat free promotion?! The key for marketers is understanding how to use social media and other digital technologies to interact with consumers as well as increase brand perception.