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Online Marketing

December 3, 2009 | Melissa Eggert

‘Tis the Season to be Social

It’s officially the holiday season, and this year retailers are taking the anticipated shopping frenzy to a whole new level. With the rapid growth of social media in the past year, it’s no surprise that Facebook and Twitter have taken the foreground in helping stores promote their gift-worthy goods. Shop.org reported that nearly half of retailers stated they would increase their involvement with social media for the holidays.

The numbers reported for Black Friday and the new Cyber Monday proved that their involvement is paying off. Black Friday, the largest shopping day of the year, brought $595 million in online sales, up 11% from last year. And Cyber Monday, a new term for the start of the online shopping season following a long Thanksgiving weekend, increased sales by 13.7% from 2008.

Retailers recognize the importance of the online conversation, seeing a positive correlation between their participation and profit. And Twitter is the perfect place to announce sales, hot items, contests, and ongoing promotions. Why? Because it gets the message across quickly in the simplest form to the largest audience possible.

Some Black Friday and Cyber Monday examples:

Best Buy’s TwelpForce , which includes 2,500 of Best Buy’s employees in an online question and answer session with customers, was available around the clock for the weekend.
Toys R Us created its own Black Friday tab on its Facebook fan page, showcasing its Black Friday deals on toys.
Gap tweeted where its “Cheer Squad” would be handing out free merchandise in New York City.
The Washington Post created a “Black Friday Sales Twitter Aggregator,” which posted tweets of popular brands by category.
@BlackFriday, @BlackFridayWeb, @BlackFridayList, and dozens of other Twitter handles were created solely to tweet on the best bargains.

Social media will continue to be an integral part of the holiday season, with ongoing campaigns advertising month-long specials, custom gift idea pages, and printable coupons. Retailers speculate another jump in online traffic the few days before free shipping or rush shipping on merchandise ends. So, will you be a social shopper this holiday season?

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November 23, 2009 | Melissa Eggert

Video Becomes the Online Star

According to Comscore, more than 168 million U.S. Internet users watched over 26 billion online videos in September 2009. And it wasn’t just the breaking news or the hilarious family bloopers posted to websites that drove such enormous traffic. It’s mostly that videos have become the main component of online marketing for businesses across the globe. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, video is now the fastest-growing segment in Internet advertising. Online video brought in $477 million in revenue in early 2009, a 38 percent increase from 2008. Talk about taking center stage.

So why the recent rise in online video presence? For starters, video advertisement has a higher level of credibility compared to text or graphics. A teenager is going to be more inclined to buy from Nike if he watches a professional soccer player test out Nike shoes in practice than if he reads an ad in the paper. Video offers visual proof that your brand is what you claim it to be. And thanks to the evolution of the Web into an interactive experience, people can back up your online video ads by sharing them on social media sites or blogging about them.

YouTube has driven the video revolution, capitalizing in strategic partnerships and advancements almost weekly. Take Target for example, who recently paired with YouTube to create the ultimate holiday channel – YouTube Holiday Solutions. One can find seasonal recipes, helpful gift giving tips, decorating ideas, all utilizing Target items and all in video form. YouTube also announced a merge this week with the Spanish Television Network, Univision, to provide for the rising population of Hispanics in the United States. And just the other day, YouTube released YouTube Direct, a tool that allows users to easily submit clips to be considered for news media companies. This will position YouTube not only as a public video host, but also as a liaison between media organizations and reporters.

Video is leading the online experience because in a constantly evolving media market, interaction is key. If a company can create a video that successfully communicates its value to me in an entertaining way, I’m going to pay attention. Better yet, I’m going to post it, bookmark it, email it, embed it, and retweet it.

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October 29, 2009 | Steve Chitwood

Book Review… Free: The Future of a Radical Price

I’ve been recommending Chris Anderson’s book Free: The Future of a Radical Price, to friends and colleagues since I read it. Whether or not you agree or disagree with his conclusions, the book is filled with interesting historical and anecdotal accounts of online business model evolutions and the economic, technical and sociological changes that have precipitated an unarguable shift in how we conduct business. Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine, an active blogger, and the author of the highly regarded The Long Tail, is an entertaining and engaging writer.

My desire to promote Anderson’s book to those interested in understanding more fully the sea change that we’ve been living through the past 10 years came over coffee this morning. Garmin and Tomkin, companies who develop and sell GPS navigational products watched their stock prices plunge by 16.4% and 20.8% in one day – erasing billions of dollars of market capitalization. Yesterday, Google announced a free voice navigation application.
Read the rest →

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October 19, 2009 | Lisa Wieting

Life on the T-List – Social Media Breeds New Generation of “Celebrities”

As newsrooms shrink, online media is growing as a premiere resource. Twitter, blogs, MySpace and Facebook have emerged as legitimate venues to obtain information and build a brand. Personalities such as Tila Tequila and Perez Hilton have become household names first because of online and social media leading to traditional media exposure later. So what are a few lessons we can take from those on the “T-List?”

Transparency is critical –For the first time, the average person has direct contact with a celebrity, personality, influencer, etc. Twitter users have come to demand authenticity and celebrities that are the most successful “Tweeters” (Ashton Kutcher, Pete Wentz) manage their own accounts. While it may not all be positive attention, people appreciate the opportunity to personally connect. People want honesty, not canned statements. Social media is evolving that expectation.
Time is of the essence – When Michael Jackson passed away, his death was reported on Twitter, Facebook and blogs far before any traditional media source reported his death. By the time information was posted on a news site or broadcast on air, word had spread like wildfire through the online and social media channels making traditional sources appear irrelevant. Instead of going to CNN’s website for “breaking news” people were following threads on Twitter and visiting entertainment blogs for true up-to-the-minute information. Reaction times are nearly extinct with the birth of social media.
Move over A-List – Big names such as Julia Roberts, Cameran Diaz and Brad Pitt all command millions of dollars for a movie role but names such as Heidi Montag, Perez Hilton and Audrina Patridge are just as well known due to social media. “A-Listers” are losing their pull at the box office while online and social media personalities continue to rise. You don’t have to be the biggest or most recognized to be relevant.

For a fun look at how Social Media is changing our lives, check out “Web Site Story”:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1913584

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October 9, 2009 | Robin Lybarger

Honesty Can Be The Best Virtue

With the onslaught of communication channels people expect “transparency”. While I am not a big fan of this buzzword, I think the idea it conveys is here to stay. Put simply, today’s consumers demand companies and individuals to be open and honest. If a company or celebrity tries to hide from an issue, it will certainly spiral out of control. Please note, that if a situation is legal in nature other rules apply.

Now, take the recent situation with David Letterman. Okay, I definitely do not condone his actions of infidelity, but the way he handled the situation publicly was a good example of how to deal with a crisis situation. It was obviously painful to address his infidelity on air honestly and openly, but it squashed rumors and allowed him to own up to what he had done and whom he hurt. A very humbling experience indeed. In my opinion, the fact his fans heard the confession firsthand will certainly bode well for him.

With nearly two decades in the public relations business, I have always counseled my clients to get in front of a crisis. It is important to communicate YOUR message as the conversation will go on with or without you. This is an approach even more important in a world that includes instant communication tools – such as Twitter and Facebook.

At the end of the day, it is only human to respect and appreciate when people are open and honest. I remain amazed at how many companies are still afraid they will lose control if they say too much. Let’s be honest, in most situations if don’t speak up you will lose even more control!

As the Harvard Business blog says, Letterman’s ability to manage the crisis on his own terms helped him contain the damage.

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