Geotargeting: The future of Mobile Marketing?

GPS, RFID, what do all of these acronyms mean in the way of marketing? How will it change your experience as a consumer in the world of technology? With the number of people who have smart phones growing at such a rapid rate, it's becoming easier and easier for people to find where their friends are at, or to find businesses around them that fulfill their needs. Businesses are beginning to utilize this concept to help bring in more customers.

Imagine this: your hungry, driving through downtown Seattle and you aren't sure where to eat. When you type "restaurant" into your GPS search, McDonald's sends you a promotion for 25% off your next purchase (valid for 2 hours). Would this convince you to come to McDonald's? This might be the future of mobile marketing. Rapid response, 1 time promotions to convince you to bring your money to them instead of your competitor.

Is Big Brother becoming too big? Or is this just the type of thing that you are looking for?

Facebook for Charity?

Play games and win money for charity? Sounds too good to be true!

Dominos Pizza is doing exactly this. The company has made giving to charity easy, fast, and even fun! So how are they doing this?

On the Domino’s Facebook fan page, a game appears that all users can access. For every minute you play the game, Dominos will donate ten cents to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

So far, 26,723 minutes have been played for charity. That’s a grand total of $2,672.30.

While altruistic marketing is by no means a new concept, it is fairly new to the social media arena. Domino’s recognizes that many people use social media for much more than keeping up with friends and family.

They understand that consumers feel good when they give to charity. This positive feeling then becomes associated with the Domino’s brand and the products they offer. It’s a win-win situation. The charity befits through donations and Domino’s is held in a favorable light by consumers.

So try it out and earn some money for charity! CLICK HERE

Have you heard of any other companies using this marketing tactic on Facebook? Let me know!

Not only success stories

I want to recommend a text I stumbled upon the other day; a case study of a "failed" Twitter marketing campaign. It's about the American retailer Kmart who paid the web entrepreneur Jeremy Shoemaker (approx. 60,000 followers at the time) to write about the company's deals on his Twitter page.

It was not a high-cost campaign, but it only generated 226 clicks, which resulted in a CPC (for relevant clicks) of $2.12 and a CPM of over $12... yikes!

The article suggests that putting the money in AdWords instead of in a Twitter campaign would have resulted in a much higher number of relevant clicks. With AdWords Kmart would have reached both a larger audience and a lower CPC (and CPM!).


So, Twitter is not a perfect marketing channel - it does not work for everyone. It's important to analyze all the options before jumping on the band wagon of the "new cool thing", it could just end up being costly for your business.

Read the full story here:
Sponsored tweets: a case study in Twitter marketing fail

Celebrity sells!

Not too long ago, the website internships.com ran a marketing campaign on Twitter, appointing Charlie Sheen to advertise for an intern on his Twitter page. Sheen currently has over 3.5 million followers. The campaign supposedly cost at least $100,000 and included only one post by the Two and a Half Men star:

As a result of the campaign, internships.com experienced 1,035,021 unique visitors to their site, generating a low cost-per-click (9 cents). What was probably even more thrilling to the company was that over 80,000 people actually filled in an application! This would result in a CPA (cost-per-action) of $1.21, which is to be considered as extremely low.

This example goes to show that paying a celebrity to tweet about your company can be highly cost-effective. Just make sure the star has got a big number of followers and that the fanbase incorporates the potential customers you want to target.

Apparently it doesn't matter if the celebrity you choose for your ad is sane or not...

Via: Social Media Optimization

New Marketing Tool “Sweeps” Facebook

Enter to win free concert tickets!

Sounds appealing, right? Here’s the catch….one must click the “like” button and enter a few pieces of personal information to be officially entered in the sweepstakes.

Many companies are using this strategy to open their businesses to young, fresh market segments. By using Facebook, companies are able to reach a vast amount of young people relatively quickly. As many would agree, young people are known to be intrigued by anything labeled “free” or “win now”.

Another important concept of Facebook sweepstakes is the idea of low-cost advertising. This works in two main ways:

First, this marketing tool works well because the company’s only expense is the prize up for grabs. After an individual has entered the contest, the company’s Facebook posts will appear directly in the users news feed. This way, the company can continually update the user on products, promotions, and other brand-affiliated news.

Second, a sweepstakes dramatically increases word-of-mouth advertising. When a user spots an awesome giveaway, they are likely to tell others about the prize and the sponsoring company.

Check out an example of a Facebook sweepstakes done by Fisher Communications through the radio station STAR 101.5.

What do you think about sweepstakes on Facebook? Is it worth it to enter a sweepstakes even though your news feed may be bombarded by company news?

Short comment...

Since you're not supposed to argue with competitors on Twitter (on in any other socia media), why not just take them to court?

Microsoft Filing Formal Complaint in Europe Against Google

I object!

iAds - The Apple Revolution

Over the past 5 years, Apple has redefined the mobile market. Whether it is a mobile operating system, the introduction of apps, or a constant release of new hardware, competitors in the industry now compare themselves to Apple. One of its recent new services is the iAd.

iAds are beneficial to the advertising company as well as the consumer. They are interactive, designed to work natively with your iPod Touch or iPhone, and add a new dimension to marketing on your mobile device. This allows advertisers to create a new genre of ads that consumers have never seen before. It helps to keep advertisements fresh and interesting, drawing in more consumers and generating buzz about your product.

Have you seen any iAds? What were your impressions? And do you think that this might be the future of advertising?

Twitter how-to: Coca-Cola

So, in my last post I gave a few examples on how NOT to behave on Twitter if you're trying to market your company. But why be so negative? Let's look at someone who's actually doing a good job and maybe we can learn how to do it right instead.

The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most active product brands on Twitter, with 24.849 tweets posted as this is being written. What I think they're doing really well is how they connect to their customers on a personal, cheerful and friendly level. They answer to people's posts about them and tries to follow everyone who follows them.

Here are two examples of how Coca-Cola writes their tweets:

Hard to think this is how they usually respond to customers' letters, emails and phone calls, right? And that is the beauty of Twitter! Since you only have 140 characters, there's no room for bureaucratic nonsense and long deliberations - just answer back to the customers with the same language they're using. That includes smileys, abbreviations and "internet slang" (e.g. LOL or brb), show your customers that your following the trends, not lagging behind.

Another good thing is that Coca-Cola's Twitter page is multilingual, they also tweet in Spanish and Portuguese! This is sure to create lots of goodwill in big business countries like Spain, Brazil, Mexico and USA where these languages are the first or second ones used.

"It makes us happy that Coca-Cola is that important to you. Your tweet was beautiful!"

Okay, but is everything just perfect about Coca-Cola's Twitter page?
Well, no, there's always room for improvement! The company is answering an enormous amount of customers, which means they're tweeting multiple times every day (at least 50 tweets per day) = you almost drown in their tweets! If they now decide to release a huge story about a new flavor or maybe a really exciting collaboration, it might just disappear among all the greetings, thanks and heys. You lose the "breaking news" factor if you're overusing your account. Chill a little bit, alright?

I think we're starting to get the hang of it now. Twitter is fun! :)

Duped by a Teacup Pig!

The other day I was browsing Facebook, as I usually do when I am procrastinating homework, when I came across the cutest picture on the face of this earth. It was a teacup pig in miniature rain boots! I couldn’t help myself…..so I clicked on it. And what happens? I was quickly transported to a website that, surprise, had nothing to do with adorable tiny pigs.

After some investigation, I found that this site entitled “Koofers” offers academic help by posting past exams, grade data, professor ratings, flash cards and more. To research any further, however, I was asked to sign up for an account. By signing up, I would allow Koofers to e-mail me directly, post on my Facebook wall, and access my personal information at any given time.

The most interesting aspect of this site is its interconnectedness with the Facebook community. Koofers has taken social media marketing to a new level. They advertise directly on Facebook and once they have you, they continue to use your account to advertise and keep you informed.

By fostering this two-way relationship with Facebook, Koofers benefits in many ways. Koofers is able to:

• Build awareness within the exceedingly large Facebook community
• Increase their reliability to new users by having Facebook friends post
about the site
• Market directly to target audiences through Facebook’s advertising system
• Stay connected with Koofers users even when they are not directly on
Koofers.com

Although Koofers may have been a bit deceptive with their advertising, their tactics obviously work. They are taking advantage of all social media can offer potential marketers, and in my book, that’s pretty smart.

Twitter for Dummies

One of my favorite tweeters out there is mktgdouchebag who's constantly delivering sarcastic and fun entries regarding online marketing. He and all his Twitter minions keep the lookout for weird and stupid marketing tricks that circle around the web. Two of his recent tweets made me laugh and got me thinking that someone should write a "Twitter for Dummies" handbook on what absolutely NOT to do on Twitter. Here are the first two tips that should be entered:

1. Don't argue online!

Well, simple as that. Don't do trash talk on Twitter! If someone else is writing bad things about your company - be the bigger person and focus on your own business instead of wasting time on arguing. Yes, people in general love drama, but your customers may not.

2. Don't give the competition the upper hand!

The contemporary art of constantly being online and constantly keeping everyone updated on what you're doing might be fun. In your personal life. Don't tweet about how you've just entered the XX Building to make a pitch for the XX Project. Oh, is that project out on the market? I might just have to deliver a pitch myself... and oops, it was better than yours!

This is fun! I think I'm gonna have to keep adding chapters to the handbook. Leave a comment if you've found something that could make the list!

I “Like” It: Marketers Realize Facebook’s Potential

Hey everyone! I’m Lynn and I am the final contributor to this fantastic blog!

I will be examining the marketing efforts of one of the biggest social media sites, Facebook.

So why examine Facebook as a marketing empire? Here are some fun facts for you courtesy of Facebook’s very own press room site:

• 500 million people are on Facebook
• On average, people spend over 700 minutes on Facebook every month
• Facebook is available in 70 different languages
• More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month.

As you can see, Facebook has connected people all over the globe. With this capacity to reach people, marketers have recognized this site’s huge advertising potential. Many businesses not only pay for advertisements, but also create their own pages which users can “like”. In this way, users are able to connect with a brand or product on a more personal level.

Facebook has changed the way marketers think about advertising. In future blog posts, I will examine these efforts more in depth. Stay tuned for an analytical view of how we as users can navigate through this aspect of the social media jungle!

Twitter - the new marketing Mecca?

Hi, I’m Emma and I will be your guide to Twitter these upcoming months!

Let’s begin by going back to basics a bit, what is Twitter?

Twitter is a fast growing social network which first saw the light of day in March 2006. It's essentially a short message service, where the users can "tweet" about everything thinkable - in a maximum of 140 characters. Parallels can be drawn to the status-updates on Facebook, but the difference is that on Twitter, the updates are practically the only thing you find on the site. By subscribing to different users (or the correct term, to "follow" them) you can be constantly aware of what your best friend, your neighbor or your favorite artist is up to at this very moment. The most followed person on Twitter is currently Lady Gaga (8 467 905 followers).

As has always been the case, when new trends and new ways to socialize emerge, so do new opportunities for marketing. But how are you supposed to market your company with just 140 characters? The MarketingProfs of http://www.mpdailyfix.com gives you the scoop on how to tweet your way to success by presenting “7 Ways Marketers Can Use Twitter”. It’s a brief description on what you can get out of working with the new tool, and there are also some good examples to learn from.

So, how can I use Twitter to market my business?

- Extend the reach for those individuals or companies that already have a blogging strategy in place, and want to deepen or further ties.
- Announce retail sales and deals.
- Increase the ability for frequent updates to blogs or web sites or news.
- Build consensus or a community of supporters.
- Build a buzz.
- Update breaking news at conferences or events.
- Update your network to shape your own personal branding.

See the full list and examples here!

Now that we know how marketers can use Twitter, let’s keep a close watch on how they actually do it. I will give you the latest updates in my future posts. Stay tuned!

Hitting a Moving Target - Mobile Marketing

Hey everyone! Brandon here, I'll be your subject matter expert when it comes to mobile marketing. It's a fairly new concept to the business world, but one that is already extremely important. It is often said that the one item people carry with them now is their cell phone. But that is rapidly evolving to include tablets, netbooks, or other devices.

Business are constantly searching for new avenues of approach in the mobile marketing world. It's still a medium in its infancy, which makes it difficult to develop a steadfast mobile strategy. One company, Jetstar Airways (Australia), is attempting to bring iPad rentals to all of its flights. Jetstar has already led a very successful pilot program. For only 10 Australian dollars, you could have your very own iPad for your entire flight.

What kind of marketing opportunities does this provide to a business? For Jetstar, it gives them a direct line to their customers. By creating a rental account, they can track their customer's flight patterns and offer discounts or other offers accordingly. Jetstar can also choose a select number of apps to preinstall on each iPad unit, giving partner businesses even more opportunities. For instance, a digital SkyMall magazine could see great success.

This is only one approach that businesses are taking in the mobile marketing industry. There are new strategies developing each and every day. Make sure to subscribe to our blog to keep up to date on the newest mobile marketing developments!

via Engadget

What's up social media?

So, what's this blog all about?

It's about our new reality!
The worldwide phenomenon of "social media" boomed during the beginning of the 21th century, with networks like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and thousands of new blogs being set up every day. The success was practically immediate and soon "everybody" had a network profile or a blog.

It did not take long for the commercial businesses to realize that this "social media thing" might be something to watch closely, as people seemed to be watching less TV and reading fewer newspapers. Instead they were all connecting to each other on the internet! But then where was the advertising supposed to go? Well, naturally, it followed the trends and moved to the web.

In this blog we will report, discuss, analyze and give our point of view on up-to-date marketing events in the social media jungle. We are all exposed to ads, surveys and PR every day and we want to use this blog to unveil hidden messages as well as talk about outspoken and obvious marketing campaigns. Who is succeeding and who is failing?

Welcome to follow us as we begin our quest!

Welcome to our blog!

Hey!

This is the first official post from the Surviving in the Social Media Jungle team! We will begin our blogging by giving a short presentation of the authors, so you'll get the grip on who's on the other side of the screen. Keep a look out for the next post, which will describe more in detail what this magnificent blog will contain in the future.

"The Survivors" consist of three students at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), located in the outskirts of Tacoma in Washington state, USA. We are currently taking the e-Marketing class with professor Sven Tuzovic and this blog will be a near semester-long project. Learn more about our school and the class we're taking at PLU School of Business.

We are:
Lynn Anderson, a 21 year old Communication/Public Relations major from Seattle, WA.
Brandon Kinne, a 22 year old Business/Marketing major from Spanaway, WA.
Emma Eriksson, a 23 year old Business/Marketing major from Stockholm, Sweden.

Each survivor will introduce himself/herself more closely in the upcoming posts.

Subscribe to our blog today and follow us as we try to stay alive in the social media jungle!