Tag Archives: enterprise social media

Enterprise

“Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs” Article’s Power and Influence via Social Media

March 14, 2012 – 1:23 pm

This morning, a Goldman Sachs’ employee released an Opinion Page called “Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs“. This two page article breaks down all the reasons that Greg Smith left this company after 12 years of employment.

While the article itself is pretty shocking… talking about squeezing out every last penny from customers, calling them “muppets”, and the lack of moral-driven business decisions, it is the article’s response that is truly revolutionary. With 366 comments just on the NYT article, plus all the various other reporters who have reflected on this article, the reach is far wider than it would have been five years ago.

In the past week, we’ve all heard/seen/been told about to the KONY 2012 video on YouTube (which now has over 77 Million views). The spread of this video really illustrated the powerful reach of the social networking tools we have today, and this article is having the same effect.

With the Goldman Sachs stock down almost $4.00 so far today (1:00 PM PDT), the impact of this kind of publication is astounding. Obviously not the good type of publicity, but people are once again talking about Wall Street.

These two instances are demonstrations of the connectedness our world has today. Many brands and companies are still cautious or weary of the use of social media; but as time continues and these tools gain more and more reach, brands will have no choice but to adopt this “new” way of reaching the general public.

Gone are the days when effective advertising would cost millions of dollars to reach large audiences. Now, a campaign needs a combination of three things: stickiness, social media, and social media mavens. Reach your talkative audience on a social networking site with a campaign that they can talk about. And trust me, they will be talking, tweeting, liking, posting, sharing, etc.

It’s time you build the conversation for your brand and choose what people talk about. Bring on the maditude!

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Enterprise

Relive Your First Car Memories with Subaru

February 28, 2012 – 6:00 am

Windows down, music up, friends in the backseat…

No matter how good or bad your first car was, we all remember the great memories that happened with our friends and family in our whip. In Subaru‘s latest campaign, they’re tapping into this nostalgia with your First Car Story. The idea? To bring back the great memories of your car along with their reinvented Subaru Impreza.

Using the simulator, you can reinvent your first car and share stories about it. Not only do you get to choose the body type, color, and condition, but you can add the name of your first car too! Oh, and you can give a shout out to your Facebook friends who played a part in your First Car Story.

By bringing back the memories of your first car, Subaru is influencing customers to think how their auto choices have changed over time. The car manufacturer is hoping when consumers think about their own growth they will think about the Impreza brand’s growth.

Not only is the model back, but it’s better than ever. Upon completing the story-building of your first car, the loading screens illustrate the new features of the Impreza demonstrating the model’s reinvention. There is also a clickable unit in the bottom right corner where users can see an expanded layover with the best features of the model.

The social aspect of this campaign is what makes it unique. By allowing storytellers to include friends in their First Car Story, they are spreading the effect of this campaign and bringing the first-car nostalgia to a bigger audience. Go ahead, relive your glory days! And, if you don’t want to build your own first car, you can check out mine here. I loved Midnight.

It’s time for you to “experience love that lasts”!

 

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Enterprise

The Social Experience of Walking Under a Scaffold

February 27, 2012 – 6:00 am

Even with superstitions, many of us have to walk under a scaffold to get to work. But we are never excited to actually walk under the heavy-metal apparatus constructed above us. Well, Bonnier Properties is hoping to change that stigma with their Nice To Meet You project– a dynamic social forest in a construction site walk path in Hornstull, Sweden. Check it out…

This idea is transforming as it brings social-networking encouragement to a new facet of people’s lives– walking within their city. The Hornstull people were not too happy about the two-year construction project for a new shopping mall as the construction interrupted their perfect little city. But by reinventing the barriers of this construction project’s walkway, Bonnier is trying to show how this project is going to grow the city from both a landscape perspective and socially.

When a person walks through the tunnel, they are picked up on Xbox Kinect machines which recognizes their motion. With their movement, a leaf grows on the tree and the user is then able to share this experience through their social networks. As time progresses, users can check out the Nice To Meet You site and see how the growth of the forest has progressed since they were last there. Not only will the trees grow on the website, but the colors will change to reflect the seasons as the two-year project evolves.

Spreading this social media effort has been pretty effective while illustrating Bonnier as an innovator. Because of its uniqueness, word-of-mouth marketing and social media mavens have really encouraged individuals to talk about the forest and walk through the tunnel even if it’s not in their daily routine. Who wouldn’t want to contribute a leaf, or two, to the dynamic social forest?

Having individuals share their experience from within the tunnel grows leaves on the tree; thus, social media interaction is inspired. The dynamic social forest (aka Bonnier construction site) is now a meet-up place where friends get together in the tunnel and help grow the forest.

How ironic? Walking is economically friendly, and in Hornstull it actually grows leaves on trees. That’s maditude!

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branding

Social Media Has a New Watchdog

February 23, 2012 – 6:00 am

Mirroring the idea of a traditional neighborhood watchdog, companies like SocialVolt are taking on the role of “social-media watchdog”.

When companies interact using social media, there are obvious risks involved. Brands are exposing themselves to public criticisms and are also creating extreme vulnerability for their reputations. With the introduction of social media, companies new that it was a great medium to further connect with their audience; what they didn’t immediately recognize was the feedback from their audience becomes super influential in regards to the reputation of their brand.

That’s where the social-media watchdogs come in! Companies like SocialVolt have recognized the brand-reputation issues presented with social media and are looking to help protect brand images for the public. Recently announced, SocialVolt is rolling out their new product called Channels which is “a brand monitoring tool that adds listening, publishing, moderation, and risk management features to [the SocialVolt] platform” says The Brain Yard.

This tool comes in addition to Radian6, Lithium, Attensity360 and many others. These companies act like public relations companies as they continually listen but only on social media sites where they can identify the trends regarding brand-related comments and provide public driven insight to companies.

It may seem a bit weird that there are social media spies seeking out what you say regarding brands; however, it’s important to observe how companies act on these discoveries. For example, back in September 2011 Netflix decided to announce the separation of its video content and create a separate entity called Qwikster. Shortly after the announcement was made, rage spread through social media and it was pretty well-known that consumers were not happy. Luckily, Netflix recognized this backlash and quickly thereafter pulled the separation.

Although there was a lot of damage done, Netflix can rest assured that they attempted some damage control by listening in on their consumers– and thanks to companies like SocialVolt, the capabilities to extrapolate these social-media presented feelings are only going to get better. To check out other companies that made mistakes but heard consumer frustrations from social media, check out this article from HubSpot.

It’s great if you want to be vocal about your opinions as they may actually be heard. But what’s even better, is that brands are starting to interpret social media trends and make decisions based on them. Look for more listeners in 2012.

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Enterprise

Fly in the Sky in Social Class

February 21, 2012 – 6:00 am

Long gone are the days of elegant flying (re: Pan Am). But now there may be a substitute to the fancy food, first-class service, and leg room. What if I could tell you that you are able to choose the people you sit next to aboard your next KLM flight? Now we really can fly the friendly skies.

Along with its cutting edge KLM Surprise campaign utilizing social media, the airline is back at it again. After learning that their customers were willing to use social media to enhance their flying experience, KLM has introduced its Meet and Seat program.

This opt-in program allows passengers to identify their fellow passengers on their long-haul flights. Using LinkedIn and Facebook passengers are able to learn about their fellow passengers and see who they’ll be sitting next to long before they even board the flight! You don’t have to divulge your personal profiles, but can still anonymously observe your new flying friends.

KLM has understood what they really want to do with their campaigns… get the public to talk about their airline on social networks. By integrating the connectivity of social media, they are leveraging their customers’ social networks and actually encouraging their customers to identify each other as fellow KLM passengers. Instantly, their customers become connected using social networks and can further facilitate KLM’s social network conversation.

Finally, companies are creating their own network utilizing the tools that are already out there. Instead of giving up on social media, companies need to find an effective way to integrate their brand into this aspect of life for many consumers. It’s not all about transferring your digital store or website experience to a fan page; but rather, using social media to get people talking (see: Coke Puzzle or BMW Test Drive).

Get your landing gear ready, it’s time to bring this baby to the ground!

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Enterprise

Customize Nissan’s 370Z Using Social Media

February 10, 2012 – 6:00 am

So far this year, we’ve seen quite the focus on advertising from the Auto industry. That trend doesn’t stop with Nissan, and now the company is bringing the idea of customer involvement to product development in a whole new way.

Introducing Project 370Z… Nissan’s social media invitation for aficionados to speak their minds. Broken out into phases, Facebook fans can go to the Nissan Performance Facebook page and vote on the 370Z’s characteristics such as the powertrain, exhaust, suspension, brakes, interior and exterior. Ultimately, providing the most customized project car to date. Thanks to Nissan’s Tennessee-based agency Franklin, the company is able to create a car that you asked for!

Within the blue box below, the company has already published the first vote asking which powertrain should be used for the Project 370Z. Using the votes, likes, and wall posts, the company will determine which option won and incorporate that in the Project model.

The vehicle’s unveiling should have great reactions as it “harness[ed] the power of social media to reach out to Z enthusiasts…” says Franklin’s VP of Marketing Jon Brancheau. Not only is this campaign reaching enthusiasts, but it is actually using their feedback as the building blocks for the new 370Z.

The official unveiling of the 2013 Nissan 370Z will come this May at the Chicago Auto Show. If you’re interested in some more information make sure to check out the YouTube video for Project 370Z.

With company dollars creeping back into the advertising realm, consumers can expect to see more campaigns leveraging the reach of social media. Like this campaign, brands may entice consumers to speak their minds about products and then tailor their offerings to better suit their market’s desires. It’s the ultimate (free) way to reach consumers who want to tell you about their experience with your products. The upside for the company is saving money with free market surveying. And as for the consumer, hoping their opinion inspires change for the better in their favorite brands and products.

Time to make your votes count and see the 370Z you’ve always dreamed of! Make sure to cast your votes on the Nissan Performance Facebook page and check in regularly for new polls. Making their tagline a reality– Innovation for all.

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Pinterest for the Traffic Referral Win!

February 1, 2012 – 6:00 am

In recent months, Pinterest has been leading the pack of social media growth. Growing US traffic over 429% from September 2011 to December 2011, this social network is the place to be– especially for brands.

If you’re not aware of Pinterest, check out this article which breaks down what this phenom of a social network is about, how to use it, and why you can become addicted. With nearly 3.5 million unique visitors per month, Pinterest is able to connect advertisers and brands with their consumers in a whole new way.

At first, this may seem confusing since this social media network is like a glorified tack board of random pictures. But with a deeper dive, it’s more of a temple for inspiration. Bringing together pictures of home decoration, fashion, and do-it-yourself crafts, this is the perfect platform for brands to introduce inspiration to their consumers.

The nature of the site lends itself to branding. Since users are able to pin their favorite images from sites, people within the network are able to click pinned images and follow through to the image’s URL; thus, driving increased traffic to sites that potential audiences would never have seen. This is where social media mavens are key. With their help, your piece of inspiration can go from unnoticed to 1000x repinned within an hour. For example, if I were to follow the “trending now” pins, I may find a bracelet that I think is awesome. After clicking through the image I’ve ended up on Etsy, a website for local small-time artists to post their creations for sale. Having never seen the Etsy site before, I am now a convert and will go back frequently to see what other cute things I can buy!

Companies such as Nordstrom, HGTV, and West Elm have gained quite the following using Pinterest and we can only expect to see this trend grow. Along with brand-follower growth, we can expect that Pinterest will continue to gain ground on Facebook as the leading Search Engine Referral for traffic.

According to Mashable, Pinterest can really be used in 5 distinct ways (seen on the right). The top two should be of real interest for brands and their respective advertising. Number 2 – Use like a focus group is the cheapest most effective way for a brand to find out if what they’ve introduced is pinning well with their audience or if something which could come to fruition in the future has gotten repinned. These two signs will illustrate if they’ve made the right decisions and aligned their decision making properly with their social crew.

Now onto Number 1. Promoting a lifestyle is all that consumers are doing when using Pinterest. Pinning their favorite crafts, inspiration for their dream home, ideas for their future wedding, Pinterest is the best way to really dive into what a brands consumers connect with– in a psychographic way. By taking a look at a brand’s heavy followers, Pinterest brands can illustrate what other things their target market is into and figure out ways to incorporate the other aspects of their life into the brand. Psychographics really show the full attitude, interests, and trends within a market and should be taken very seriously when it comes to branding.

You may be wondering, why do I care? Well, if you’re a consumer this is a great way to find new trendy things of interest for your life. You could even be voicing your persona to brands for their decision making. And if you’re a brand or advertiser, this is the new way for you to do advertising and really validate the decisions you’ve made or will make as a brand, company, or even individual products.

Consumers are what drive the marketplace and Pinterest is the social network way of broadcasting the inspiration of consumers– for free. Social media mavens, get pinning and show me (and your favorite brands) what you’re all about.

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