It’s nice to see how Coca Cola, one of the strongest brands in the world, has not stopped in time and is continually looking for the best way to interact with consumers.
With its millions of advocates worldwide, Coke had everything to do a great job on social media and apparently that’s what they have been doing.
Here is a presentation by Michael Donnelly, Group Director of Worldwide Interactive Marketing for Coca-Cola, which compiles some great examples of Coke’s approach on social media.
As another example of how the company is embracing social media and understanding the power of it, Coca introduced recently a Social Media Policy that empower and guides its employees on what they consider are the best practices for using their brand online.
Personally, I’m a fan of Coca Cola and I think it’s great to see a large corporation integrating social media into their existing principles of communication and how they are using it to enhance their brand.
Friday, February 26, 2010
5 ideas of how to make a video go viral
In my research about viral videos on the web, I was able condense some good ideas of how to make a video go viral. Check it out:
1. The best videos are usually those that do not exceed 3/5 minutes. As thousands of new videos are placed on the web every minute, you have little time to attract the attention of your target reader.
2. If you want to create a viral video, you should take into account that it needs to be provocative, interesting and unique.
3. Optimize your videos with tags and a title that is easily found by most readers looking for videos in this niche. Create an attractive title and if necessary, change the title in the future to even more clicks and visitors.
4. Create a series of videos. If your first video is a success, all readers will want to come back to see the other ones.
5. Submit your video from a variety of video online websites (not only YouTube). Here are some video websites:
· Collegehumor
· Funny or Die
· Life Leak
· Metacafe
· Dailymotion
· MySpace TV
· Break
1. The best videos are usually those that do not exceed 3/5 minutes. As thousands of new videos are placed on the web every minute, you have little time to attract the attention of your target reader.
2. If you want to create a viral video, you should take into account that it needs to be provocative, interesting and unique.
3. Optimize your videos with tags and a title that is easily found by most readers looking for videos in this niche. Create an attractive title and if necessary, change the title in the future to even more clicks and visitors.
4. Create a series of videos. If your first video is a success, all readers will want to come back to see the other ones.
5. Submit your video from a variety of video online websites (not only YouTube). Here are some video websites:
· Collegehumor
· Funny or Die
· Life Leak
· Metacafe
· Dailymotion
· MySpace TV
· Break
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Please, call me!
I was ready to change the subject from Facebook and talk about viral video, which would be the topic of my Advanced Digital and Emerging media class at NYU but I just couldn’t do it without this last post.
This week it was my birthday and of course, on that dates we always expect lots of calls from friends and family. Yet, this was not exactly what happened with me. Instead of the calls, people just posted a message on my Facebook or Orkut!
Obviously, I was happy with all the birthday wishes through the website anyway and one could argue that some people only remembered it was my birthday because of Facebook. However, it made me think how communication and relationship between people has changed overtime.
This is not a new topic I know, and this has been debated as social media becomes more and more in vogue, but if we stop to think about how it has transformed our habits and the way we interact with other people, the reality becomes more evident.
While I believe that social media is a great way to interact and even, virtually “meet” new people, I also believe that it has prevent people from real “live” conversations which are very important for our socialization and ability to life in society.
Humans are social creatures. Think of how great you feel after sharing a laugh with a good friend. Through our relationships, we are sustained in our personal growth and development.
So, this makes me think that “real” human interactions should never be replaced, but only enhanced through the use of social networks. Oh, and please, remember to call me next time, it can be on Skype if you prefer… : -)
This week it was my birthday and of course, on that dates we always expect lots of calls from friends and family. Yet, this was not exactly what happened with me. Instead of the calls, people just posted a message on my Facebook or Orkut!
Obviously, I was happy with all the birthday wishes through the website anyway and one could argue that some people only remembered it was my birthday because of Facebook. However, it made me think how communication and relationship between people has changed overtime.
This is not a new topic I know, and this has been debated as social media becomes more and more in vogue, but if we stop to think about how it has transformed our habits and the way we interact with other people, the reality becomes more evident.
While I believe that social media is a great way to interact and even, virtually “meet” new people, I also believe that it has prevent people from real “live” conversations which are very important for our socialization and ability to life in society.
Humans are social creatures. Think of how great you feel after sharing a laugh with a good friend. Through our relationships, we are sustained in our personal growth and development.
So, this makes me think that “real” human interactions should never be replaced, but only enhanced through the use of social networks. Oh, and please, remember to call me next time, it can be on Skype if you prefer… : -)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More about Facebook
I was reading Vinci’s blog post about the article Social Networking Sites and Social Theory and I have to agree with her when she said that she had to “surrender” to Facebook. Who is not on Facebook today? It’s almost impossible to be out of the network, even if you are only passively observing.
I had to create a Facebook account when I came to NY since all my classmates used the site to interact, to send invitations to events, etc. Additionally, it was a great way to keep in touch with my friends and family in Brazil, who have migrated from Orkut, the most popular social network site in Brazil, to Facebook.
I am certain that it is important to remember that everything you post is out there for everyone to see so one should take care and create limits to what is really private and what is ok to share. I have to agree, though, that some people overcome those limits and make their lives an “open book”, divulging extremely personal and sometimes embarrassing information.
It is clear that today, people search for you online to get references. I constantly do it, in order to prepare for interviews or to search more about a professor or coworker.
Therefore, I believe that as long as you have common sense, it won’t be prejudicial to have an account on Facebook or any other social networking site.
I had to create a Facebook account when I came to NY since all my classmates used the site to interact, to send invitations to events, etc. Additionally, it was a great way to keep in touch with my friends and family in Brazil, who have migrated from Orkut, the most popular social network site in Brazil, to Facebook.
I am certain that it is important to remember that everything you post is out there for everyone to see so one should take care and create limits to what is really private and what is ok to share. I have to agree, though, that some people overcome those limits and make their lives an “open book”, divulging extremely personal and sometimes embarrassing information.
It is clear that today, people search for you online to get references. I constantly do it, in order to prepare for interviews or to search more about a professor or coworker.
Therefore, I believe that as long as you have common sense, it won’t be prejudicial to have an account on Facebook or any other social networking site.
Monday, February 15, 2010
How brands can use Facebook effectively?
Today, over 450 million people worldwide are active on Facebook, more than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each week, approximately 1.5 million local businesses have active pages and 20 million people become fans of pages each day (source: Facebook)
Yes, the numbers are huge and it becomes almost impossible for a company or brand not to have a presence on Facebook. Companies of all sizes are moving quickly to get on the site and to create Fan Pages to attract customers and prospects. However, some lack a social media strategy and a deep understanding of what Facebook and other social networks have to offer.
Additionally, companies should first understand what their target audience is doing online, and determine what kind of relationship they want to build with them, based on what they are ready for. Forrester have released on January a new version of their famous Social Technographics ladder, which looks at how people use social media. By understanding what consumers are going online, companies can create what makes sense to them.
To be effective, a Facebook page should be continuously updated with good, relevant content. The more actions you take, the more you appear in a fan’s News Feed and this will make them remember you and your brand. It is important to offer fans an incentive to remain active and to visit and interact frequently.
Some companies are doing a great job and getting the most out of Facebook. On AllFacebook, a blog that covers all issues pertaining to the site, it is possible to find the ranking of top Fan Pages. Here are the first ten today:
All of this makes me think how important it is for companies today to be constantly listening, observing, engaging and trying new and innovative ways to interact with consumers.
Yes, the numbers are huge and it becomes almost impossible for a company or brand not to have a presence on Facebook. Companies of all sizes are moving quickly to get on the site and to create Fan Pages to attract customers and prospects. However, some lack a social media strategy and a deep understanding of what Facebook and other social networks have to offer.
Additionally, companies should first understand what their target audience is doing online, and determine what kind of relationship they want to build with them, based on what they are ready for. Forrester have released on January a new version of their famous Social Technographics ladder, which looks at how people use social media. By understanding what consumers are going online, companies can create what makes sense to them.
To be effective, a Facebook page should be continuously updated with good, relevant content. The more actions you take, the more you appear in a fan’s News Feed and this will make them remember you and your brand. It is important to offer fans an incentive to remain active and to visit and interact frequently.
Some companies are doing a great job and getting the most out of Facebook. On AllFacebook, a blog that covers all issues pertaining to the site, it is possible to find the ranking of top Fan Pages. Here are the first ten today:
On my research about Facebook I found an interesting presentation that provides an excellent guidance on how to get the best out of site, as a business, by creating brand pages.
All of this makes me think how important it is for companies today to be constantly listening, observing, engaging and trying new and innovative ways to interact with consumers.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
New data on Social Media
This week I was reading a research conducted by PewInternet, about Social Media and Young Adults and I found some interesting stats that I would like to share.
According to the study, young people are losing interest in long-form blogging, as their communication habits have become increasingly brief, and mobile.
Since 2006 the use of blogs is decreasing among teens and young adults. On that year, the percentage of adolescents who maintained a blog was 28% and in 2009 it was only 14%. Additionally, blog commenting has also dropped among teens: 52% of teens’ network users said that they comment in their friends’ blogs, down from the 76% who did so in 2006.
On the other hand, adults aged 30 years or more have shown growing interest in blogs. In 2007, 7% said that they maintained a blog and that number rose to 11% in 2009.
Moreover, both teen and adult use of social networking sites has risen significantly.73% of American adolescents reported to use multiple social networks websites – increasing from 55% in 2006 and 65% in 2008. Among adults, 47% use social networking sites, up from 37% in November 2008.
The study shows, however, that there is a difference in site preference and usage among different age groups. Young people are more likely to maintain a profile on MySpace (66% of young profile owners do so, compared with just 36% of those 30 and older) but less likely to have a profile on the LinkedIn (7% vs. 19%). In contrast, adult profile owners under 30 and those 30 and older are equally likely to maintain a profile on Facebook (71% of young profile owners do so, compared with 75% of older profile owners).
Another interesting finding is the low usage of Twitter among teens. Only 8% of social network users with ages between 12 and 17 utilize the microblog. Among adults, the age group that most uses Twitter is between 18 and 24 years (37%), followed by those who are between 25 and 29 years (25%).
According to the study, young people are losing interest in long-form blogging, as their communication habits have become increasingly brief, and mobile.
Since 2006 the use of blogs is decreasing among teens and young adults. On that year, the percentage of adolescents who maintained a blog was 28% and in 2009 it was only 14%. Additionally, blog commenting has also dropped among teens: 52% of teens’ network users said that they comment in their friends’ blogs, down from the 76% who did so in 2006.
On the other hand, adults aged 30 years or more have shown growing interest in blogs. In 2007, 7% said that they maintained a blog and that number rose to 11% in 2009.
Moreover, both teen and adult use of social networking sites has risen significantly.73% of American adolescents reported to use multiple social networks websites – increasing from 55% in 2006 and 65% in 2008. Among adults, 47% use social networking sites, up from 37% in November 2008.
The study shows, however, that there is a difference in site preference and usage among different age groups. Young people are more likely to maintain a profile on MySpace (66% of young profile owners do so, compared with just 36% of those 30 and older) but less likely to have a profile on the LinkedIn (7% vs. 19%). In contrast, adult profile owners under 30 and those 30 and older are equally likely to maintain a profile on Facebook (71% of young profile owners do so, compared with 75% of older profile owners).
Another interesting finding is the low usage of Twitter among teens. Only 8% of social network users with ages between 12 and 17 utilize the microblog. Among adults, the age group that most uses Twitter is between 18 and 24 years (37%), followed by those who are between 25 and 29 years (25%).
Monday, February 1, 2010
Listening in Social Media
Listening is with no doubt one of the most important strategies that companies can use to obtain advantage from Social Media. But, what does listening means?
Listening in social media means observing your customers in their “natural territory”, where they are interacting with each other, your company and competitors. Your customers and prospects are leaving hints about their opinion, positive or negative, and are discussing your brand and products on their communities, with or without you, and it’s all out there for you and for the entire world to see.
According to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, on the book Groundswell, there are two basic listening strategies that companies should follow:
1. Set up your own private community: A private community is like a continuously running, huge, engaged focus group – a natural interaction in a setting where you can listen in.
2. Begin brand monitoring: Hire a company to listen to the internet – blogs, discussions, forums, YouTube, and everything else – on your behalf. Then have it deliver to your neat summary report about what’s happening to push the results out to departments, like customer service, that can address pressing customer issues.
While it can be true that hiring a vendor will help you to obtain more detailed and structured information, you can start now by searching what people are saying about your brand on blogs (e.g. Google Blog Search, IceRocket, Technorati), forums (e.g Boardreader) or on Twitter (Twitter Search). I am certain that you will find out that listening is an important way for you to understand what consumers care about, and get insights to what they think about you.
Listening in social media means observing your customers in their “natural territory”, where they are interacting with each other, your company and competitors. Your customers and prospects are leaving hints about their opinion, positive or negative, and are discussing your brand and products on their communities, with or without you, and it’s all out there for you and for the entire world to see.
According to Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, on the book Groundswell, there are two basic listening strategies that companies should follow:
1. Set up your own private community: A private community is like a continuously running, huge, engaged focus group – a natural interaction in a setting where you can listen in.
2. Begin brand monitoring: Hire a company to listen to the internet – blogs, discussions, forums, YouTube, and everything else – on your behalf. Then have it deliver to your neat summary report about what’s happening to push the results out to departments, like customer service, that can address pressing customer issues.
While it can be true that hiring a vendor will help you to obtain more detailed and structured information, you can start now by searching what people are saying about your brand on blogs (e.g. Google Blog Search, IceRocket, Technorati), forums (e.g Boardreader) or on Twitter (Twitter Search). I am certain that you will find out that listening is an important way for you to understand what consumers care about, and get insights to what they think about you.
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