How One Brand has Changed the Social Marketing Game Forever

Anyone involved in the digital world has undoubtedly seen or heard of the Oreo tweet that was sent out during the blackout bowl on Feb. 3, but has everyone truly appreciated the real effect that it’s about to have?

Just in case you missed it, here is the tweet that has garnered over 16,000 retweets and 6,000 favorites:

Despite its tremendous reach, this tweet has had a far bigger impact on the marketing world. As soon as the lights went out in New Orleans during the biggest sporting event of the year, the Oreo and 360i social media teams were more than prepared to jump on the opportunity.

Before the game even began, Sarah Hofstetter and the 360i team assembled an on-call team in their New York offices with representatives from Oreo present as well, so that any idea that sparked could be posted as soon as possible. Man, did it count.

Bear in mind, the Super Bowl is played on a Sunday night; non-business hours for many.

However, in the 24/7 ON cycle of social media, real-time marketing is where the industry is going.

None of us like to admit it, but we all schedule tweets, Facebook posts or LinkedIn messages for the weekend. After all, it is the weekend, so who wants to work? I know I don’t.

But after Oreo’s and 360i’s genius play during the Super Bowl, more and more social media directors, coordinators and CMOs will find themselves on the social media frontlines at ever-more irregular times.

The money spent on those extra hours won’t compare to the opportunities brands can capture in real time. Eventually, this mindset may even replace the expensive Super Bowl ads themselves.

Even before the big game, many big-name brands were quoted saying they chose to forego the standard Super Bowl ad and just concentrate on digital before, during and after the game.

If you were well prepared and creative like Oreo, I bet that investment paid off.

The immediate response to the Oreo tweet may or may not have a resounding effect on the public audience, but either way, the power and precedence it will have on our industry as a whole is starting to take shape.

This article was originally published on the Brandwatch blog.

When to Send that Email

Marketing departments fret at this issue each every day. We want to announce our products and services to the world and picking the right channel is hard enough, but now we have to know when our consumers want to view our messages. When it comes to email marketing, few have the answer.

Talking to many in the industry, most marketing pros will say to send the email early in the morning before people’s inboxes start to pile up. Others say send it during the lunch hour because people are more relaxed. Some, and not many by my experience, say to send it later at night. In fact, in a recent study by ExperianCheetahMail, emails sent late at night performed better than any other time of the day.

Emails sent between 8 P.M. and 12 P.M. accumulated higher open rates, clickthrough rates, sales leads and sales.

Looking at the image above, the number that should jump out at you is the revenue per email. For the late night emails, that average jumped to $0.48 per email. That is more than double compared to any other time of the day.

Despite numerous studies such as this being released, we still have a long way to go before companies start adopting the tactic. The first issue that comes to mind is that most of us are not working past 8 P.M. With the rise of real-time marketing and immediate customer service, consumers want everything right away. If they have any questions about the email, those will all have to wait until the morning.

The second problem I see is that if all f us adopt this strategy, sending emails at night will become the norm. More people are opening and clicking through these night emails because first, we all have smartphones, but second, because it’s not common. Everyone likes being part of something different, but when more brands start sending emails at night, it will become the norm and people will lose interest.

Brands need to send emails when their fans want them. The best way to find that perfect time of the day is to ask them. Target your emails. Segment your lists. Always, listen to your fans. Do all this and your email marketing program will do just fine.

Social Media was Made for Social Movements

Some may say that big brands need to stay out of the spotlight when it comes to controversial social issues such as gun control or abortion. Needless to say, certain brands and groups (cough, cough, NRA) need to do a better job of controlling their social presence, but many others know when it is right to partake in the situation.

Last week, as any Facebook enthusiast may have noticed, many users changed their picture to a red image with two parallel lines. The image of course represented marriage equality as the controversial topic moves up the chain in Washington. Certain big brands such as Bud Light, Smirnoff and others decided to join in. You know what I say? Good for them.

Earlier this week, I iterated to my fans that journalists need not be afraid to ask the tough questions. Well, brands need not be afraid to enter the heat of social movements. If you believe in something, what better place to show your passion and enthusiasm than Facebook, the social network everyone and their mother are on?

Brands, organizations and even government use social media to advance their social agenda all the time. In fact, in a touching presentation at WOMMfest Seattle, Derek Belt, social media specialists in King County shared the story how he use both traditional and social media to connect with participants and shine a light on Dec. 6, 2012, the night King County became the first jurisdiction in the country to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on voter approval. The Storify is all you need to feel the true meaning of the night. It is definitely worth a look.

We won’t know until later if the marriage equality logo will have any effect on the larger issue, but to those of you who felt compelled to act; right on. When you feel so passionate about anything in life and you have a channel to scream that enthusiasm, use it. And by the way, this applies to you brands out there as well. 

Don’t be Afraid to Ask the Tough Questions

As a content editor and curator, I get the privilege of talking to some of the brightest minds in the marketing industry. Afterwards, I get to put their words together into a thoughtful, and hopefully, educating story. This is by none by favorite part of my job and why I love what I do.

Last week, I was interviewing an upper-level marketer from 22squared, an agency out of Atlanta. Like any other interview, I prepared my questions beforehand. One that I was nervous to ask dealt with whether or not social media advertising is really worth it or if marketers just spend the money so they don’t lose their budget the following year. Keep in mind, social media advertising is a large portion of this man’s job, so I was somewhat stepping on his toes.

Nonetheless, as any good journalist will tell you, to get good answers, you need to ask good questions. This, my friends, was a good question and you know what; I got a good answer.

His response was, “not only can I tell you that it is worth it, but I can tell you exactly who is seeing your ad and who is not seeing your ad. Anyone who challenges me or asks what my ROI is, I say bring it.”

In the journalism world, that statement is quotable. He not only accepted the question, but was thrilled I asked it. It shows I am not afraid to challenge the status quo, even in an industry that shines on consistency, and my interview rewarded me with a personal answer.

Like any interview, the objective is to first teach your fans something new and second to shine a light into the mind of your respondent. Asking tough questions gives your readers an even closer look into interviewee’s head. This tactic could be questionable in some industries, but when it comes to marketing, the payout if well worth the investment. 

The Gift of Passover

This past week, we celebrated Passover, the Jewish holiday that recognizes our freedom from Pharoh and journey out of Egypt. I was fortunate enough to be invited to my sister’s in-laws where they hosted second Seder for over 25 people.

It was loud. It was long. At times, it was boring. However, the reason I say the gift of Passover is because of the family values that reminded me why this holiday is so special.

Each and every year, my sister’s husband and her in-laws both hold their own Seder at the same table. How you might ask? Well, when you have a table for 25 people, the two ends are not that close.

At one end of the table is Joey, my sister’s father-in-law, hosting the big Seder. At the other end is Zvi (sister’s husband), my sister, myself and their five children. The attentiveness these kids show there is unbelievable. Considering this Seder could last upwards of five hours and the oldest child is only twelve, that is saying something.  

The joy on these kids’ faces while hearing a story they also have heard hundreds of times is astounding. The fact they try to envision themselves leaving Egypt on the way to freedom shows how much they believe in G-d and the story of Passover. The sheer patience they have to withstand this process each and every year demonstrates their commitment to G-d.

While other kids are screaming, eager fathers are asking tough questions about the holiday, mothers are clearing the table, it’s as if this is the one place one earth everyone wants to be. To them, this family time, while also remembering the story of our ancestors, this is heaven. These are the people they don’t just live next to, or even with, but the people who they choose to spend each and every day with.

The holiday might bring extended family together, but in the end, they are already together because they choose to be. We should all be so lucky to feel the same way about our families.  

Our Obsession with Cats Shows Facebook is Not Your Cash Cow

Facebook is not a platform to sell your services or products and this point could not have been made clearer than with a recent photo I decided to share on WOMMA’s Facebook page last week. In case you missed it, here it is.

One week later, this image has garnered 107 shares and 87 likes. Since I have been at the helm of WOMMA’s social media channel (One year), this one image has been by far the most viral and engaging post I have ever shared, paid or organic. With all these platforms giving preferential treatment to the big advertisers, that shows something.

In the end, this is why I tell everyone and their mother that the social media giant is not made for selling your product. Consumers share and interact on Facebook so they can either feel part of the crowd or because they want to show off to their friends. That is why this image generated over 100 shares. Those 107 people wanted to be the one person in their group who could say they found the next viral image. To put it likely, they wanted to show off.

And who could blame them? With the rise of Grumpy Cat (if you haven’t heard of him, just check out any SXSW recap and he will undoubtedly be mentioned) and numerous other cat videos, why not connect our obsession for being socially connected with this feline?

Compare this post to any other WOMMA post related to the blog, an event, or even thoughtful images that link back to the blog and the engagement doesn’t even compare.

People do not go on Facebook to see what brands they like are doing to make money. Consumers go on Facebook to see what their friends and family are doing. If they happen to see something posted by a brand that would resonate well with their group of friends, they will share it.

So the next time you decide to share a link to your event page, think again. 

Klout Announced for Businesses: So What?

Two weeks ago, Klout, the online influencer platform, announced that they are rolling out their services for brands. Despite the announcement, which to be honest, got the exact publicity it deserved, brands shouldn’t put much thought into the change.

For those of you unfamiliar with Klout, the platform gives users (and now brands), a Klout score from zero to 100 based on their ability to spread messages across social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and so on. Klout also identifies users as “influential” on certain topics like technology and marketing.

The idea for brands to start using Klout is to help then identify these influential users and hopefully encourage them to spread the brand’s news, essentially, creating an advocate. 

According to their website, “the science behind the score examines more than 400 variables on multiple networks beyond your number of followers and friends. It looks at who is engaging with our content and who they are sharing it with.”

I give Klout credit for at least mentioning that the score has much to do beyond the numbers of likes and followers. To be honest, if it didn’t have that one line, I am guessing half as many users would be on the network. However, to me that is just not enough.

Let’s say I am the word of mouth marketing master of the world, but maybe, I don’t like Twitter. I choose to only spread my voice offline or with news articles on LinkedIn. Given the fact that I don’t share everything online or with a few of the major networks on there, my Klout score might be lower than expected. See something wrong?

The other issue I have with Klout is the fact that our entire society feels the need to attach a numeric value to everything we do. It’s sad enough that CMOs and Presidents still like to concentrate on the number of likes, followers, and pins, but now, some want to just put an overall number on their social media marketing. In the real world of marketing, companies and marketers do not do this. Ask any real thought leader in the marketing arena and I guarantee they put little if any thought into one’s Klout score.

Brands looking to find influencers don’t need a system like Klout. They need only the same tactic that has worked for hundreds of years and will continue to do so in the future. Build relationships with your fans. Listen to your fans. Find out what they like to read and then guess what? Read the same and garner a relationship with those writers. Instead of looking at Klout, look at your advocates.

There is no need to research influencers on platforms like Klout. Just ask the people who really know your brand.