Case Study Dos

Looking for an example of a bad campaign strategy? Look no farther than McDonald’s Twitter campaign that was launched in January 2012. The company wanted to focus on promoting that the chain bought fresh produce from farmers. Shortly after their Twitter campaign started, the fast-food chain was forced to pull down a social media campaign it had launched on Twitter using the sponsored hashtag #McDStories. McDonald’s was looking to promote the quality of their ingredients. The first hashtag they used was #MeetTheFarmers, and it started off okay.

However, then they switched to #McDStories, hoping fans would share positive experiences. But, the tag became a way for animal activists and less-than-satisfied diners to air their criticisms. McDonald’s quickly pulled down the promoted hashtag, but it still continues. Additionally, there is also a new hashtag that has grown popular, #McFail.  The new hashtag is being used by people who are discussing the social media campaign’s mess. Lesson learned: social media marketing: It can backfire quickly and spectacularly.

I guess there are a few things we can learn from it. A campaign should have a clear strategy as to what you want to achieve beyond engagement. And a campaign should not assume that people who like and use your brand are going to go to Twitter to promote you or talk positively about your products. It is odd that I guess McDonald’s failed campaign taught us that you cannot think consumers use the product/brand don’t assume that they are going to take time out from their busy day to follow you and Tweet how good it is to others.

It also made me realize the importance of having a social media manager that can respond to the problem immediately. The longer a company takes to respond to a problem, the more damage it can to do the company and their relationship with their customers.

Social Media Policy Assignment: Coca-Cola

The Coca- Cola Company’s social media policy is a great example of what every company should try to achieve in their own social media policy. Coca-Cola’s social media principlesare guided by their shared values and outline how these values should be demonstrated in the online social media space.  Coca-Cola guides employees, for both individual participation, as well as participation on behalf of the company.

Their policy states that associates who are communicating on behalf of the company, always disclose their name and their affiliation.  Additionally, their policy emphasizes that employees should keep track of these conversations when they’re officially representing the company. The policy also covers and sets expectations for spokespeople, associates, and its authorized agencies.

Coca- Cola’s social media policy is a separate document.  The structure of the policy is includes numbered lists of the company’s expectations for online spokespeople, the company’s expectations for associate’s personal behavior in online social media, the company’s five core values in the online social media community, and a bulleted list of the company’s shared values that they live by as an organization and as individuals. Elements that work well in Coca- Cola’s social media policy are the structure and the material.

In regards to whether or not there are pieces that are not well thought out in Coca- Cola’s social media policy, I would say their policy is great and very clearly established what the company is all about. Their social media policy does not conflict with their overall approach to social media.

It is difficult to suggest changes to Coca- Cola’s media policy because it is very easy to read and it contains all the information that I could think of including. I enjoy how they number or bullet a lot of their points. I also think it is effective that they bold a lot of their content because my eyes are immediately drawn to that.

In my opinion, social media policies are important to a company or organization to reinforce and remind employees that they are always representing the company.

Case Study #1- Pita Brothers & Twitter

I think Pita Brothers successfully uses Twitter to engage with their customers and increase the amount customers they have each day. Pita Brothers is a mobile foodservice created by two brothers, Vijay and Manoj Swearingen. Since June 2009, Pita Brothers has been operating on the streets of downtown Milwaukee, WI. They have become successful through social media because customers can regularly find out where they are, what specials they may be offering and all of the latest happenings by joining their Facebook page or by following them on Twitter. Since Pita Brothers does not have a store location, they use a food truck to serve their food each day, which is why their use of Twitter is very effective because their customers are constantly updated on where they will be each day and when they will be there.

For those who do not know, Pita Brothers serves authentic Lebanese flatbread which provides a perfect container for a myriad of flavorful combinations. Fresh veggies, meats and vegetarian fillings topped off with a selection of dressings, homemade spreads & cheeses. After living on Marquette’s campus for 4 and ½ years with no grocery store and pretty much no healthy food options, the fact that Pita Brothers comes to campus a few times a week is very exciting. And it is really delicious so, as a devoted customer, I am happy to see them use social media to become more successful and increase revenue.

Pita Brothers has about 3,000 followers on Twitter and about 3,500 tweets. They also follow about 2,500 people, which are mostly their customers. This is effective that they follow a large amount of their followers because it makes their customers feel more of a connection to them. I have followed them on Twitter for awhile and you can always see them interacting and responding to their customers. For example: “@carolmahon: @PitaBros still on Wells by any chance?” and they responded with “@PitaBros: @carolmahon Not sure if we caught you…we were there till 3 today, back all week though…” By looking at their Twitter account, it is evident that each day they are consistently re- tweeting followers and engaging in conversation with their follows.

They also post a handful of pictures on Twitter that their customers have taken- some just of their product, others of their customers eating their product, and some of the insanely long lines they have. And they tweet links to YouTube videos of them making their food. I think all of this makes their use of Twitter resonate well with their audience. As an audience member, I know when they tweet a picture of their food I definitely want to go get it for lunch. And I check their Twitter a few times a week to see what day they will be on Marquette’s campus and at what time. If Pita Brothers did not utilize Twitter their revenue would drastically decrease because, since they do not have an established location, their customers would never conveniently know where, when or how to reach them.

Through this study I learned how important the use of social media is to the success of Pita Brothers. It is always cool to see how social media can help people become successful.

Twitter account: https://twitter.com/PitaBros

Blog siete

I think one of the coolest things about social media is how people can become successful through it. One of the most famous pop singers of the decade is Justin Bieber and you know how he became famous? Usher saw some of his YouTube videos of him singing, dancing, playing instruments. Now he is arguably the most famous and successful performer of the time, which is surprising considering…just about everything about him.

I think just about everyone, other than my grandparents, has heard of a song called “Gangnam Style,” which some call the Internet anthem of 2012.Korean pop singer Park Jae Sung (a.k.a. Psy) released the dance single in July. Its catchy tune and comical horse-dance moves gained the attention of more than 8 million YouTube views within two weeks. Today, the original video boasts over 700 million views and broke the Guinness World Record for most likes on YouTube. The song has since been featured in just about every parody you could think of. Psy has taught his moves to celebrities like Britney Spears and the Today Show anchors.

Furthermore, you know the Carly Rae Jepsen hit “Call Me Maybe”? Well Jepsen skyrocketed in Internet stardom because Justin Bieber tweeted about the song and appeared in a viral lip-dub video so naturally it became an instant hit. The ironic thing is that the song was actually released in 2011 and it went unnoticed until 2012 when Justin Bieber tweeted about the song. Today there hundreds of fans “Call Me Maybe” parodies and mashups for YouTube — including Harvard athletes, Sesame Street characters and Olympic swimmers.

However, being discovered online is not always necessarily in one’s favor. This year, millions of people learned about worldwide campaigns, like the one against LRA leader Joseph Kony. More subtle figures like Reddit moderator Violentacrez unexpectedly went from anonymous identity to the subject of a global debate.

Blog seis

I think Hurricane Sandy taught me the importance of social media. It taught me the power of it. And it gave me something to love about it.

People always say “social media brings people together” and it did just that in the case of Hurricane Sandy. The whole country came together through social media to support those affected by the hurricane. For example, since most people on the northeast coast did not have electricity, a man used his Facebook to let people know that his power was working and they could charge their cell phones. This was HUGE because now people could contact their families to let people know they were okay…and this was all because of social media.

Facebook became a leading source for Hurricane news.  A “Jersey Shore Hurricane News” Facebook page was created for updates, providing shelter information, and organizing volunteer meetups for the page’s 170,000 subscribers. The crowdsourced page sees hundreds of posts a day, with some JSHN contributors posting live reports of news breaking incidents, like fires or rescue operations. JSHN’s influence spreads beyond casual users and is used by mainstream press outlets and monitored by the New Jersey Office of Emergency and fire departments. This is shows the power of social media.

Now, after the hurricane is over, the country is connecting through social media to raise money to repair the damage that the hurricane did to the entire northeast coast of the US. For examples, nearly 6,000 runners and supporters have gathered on Facebook to help Staten Island recover in the weeks after Hurricane Sandy. The runners who have organized this mission will bring supplies and food door-to-door in the hardest hit neighborhoods including New Dorp, Oakwood Heights and Crescent Beach. Additionally, Humans of New York a popular Tumblr by photographer Brandon Stanton, has raised nearly $85,000 in less than 24 hours for Hurricane Sandy relief.

Blog Cinco

It is always interesting to see how a brand or company uses social media. Do they use it? If so what social media do they us? How do they use it? And do they use it effectively? Instagram is particularly interesting social media technique to see how brands or companies utilize it. Instagram was launched in October 2010- it is a free photo- sharing program and social network. It allows users to take a photo, apply a filter to it, leave a caption and then share it with other people on Instagram as well as other social networking  services.

As a Instagram user- if I am following someone or something- I like it when they post pictures a few times a day.  I especially like it when a brand or company I follow post pictures with a caption about deals they have going on that day or month.  I think Instagram can be especially effective for clothing lines. “Free People” is an example of a company that uses Instagram to their advantage. The brand recently attached hashtag cards to its jeans. On the hashtag cards, customers were encouraged to take  pictures of themselves in the jeans, post the photo on Instagram, and tag it with a specific hashtag. Eventually photos of the jeans circulated not only on Free People’s feed, but on their followers’ feeds too. Then Free People picked photos to publish on its Instagram and website which turned their consumers into models and provided engagement with their customers.

Tiffany and Co. have similar effective social media strategies with Instagram. Tiffany and Co. started an Instagram campaign that provided followers with three new Instagram filters: Tiffany blue, peach, and black and white.  Followers were encouraged to tag photos of themselves and their significant others with #TrueLovePictures. Then Tiffany and Co. added a selection of it on its “True Love in Pictures” website. The campaign was a good way for Tiffany to offer its followers and customers with important, brand-related content, and also invited them to be involved in the experience.

Blog Cuatro

I had never heard of Foursquare prior to my ADPR Emerging and Social Media course. I just started using it for that course and I am still getting used to it. I primarily use it off my phone which is nice because it is easily accessible. So far I have been enjoying Foursquare because it provides personalized recommendations and deals based on where you, your friends, and people with your tastes have been. I really like that it helps me make purchases wisely. For example, when going shopping I know what stores have sales and what the sales are on. Which, after really thinking about the effectiveness of Foursquare, I have come to realize that it is an awesome resource for businesses because it brings traffic into their store. For instance, if Gap has a Foursquare account and I am at Bayshore looking to buy some sweaters and I see that Gap is having a sale on sweaters, instead of going to J Crew I would go to Gap.

I know for those who do not like Foursquare most of them like to keep their privacy and do not like the idea of people knowing where they are. Since I had never used Foursquare until recently I would say that typically privacy is very important to me. Having people know exactly where I am may be useful in terms of promotions and social connectivity however I do not enjoy a variety of people knowing where I am. It can be helpful when trying to meet people as well as promote businesses and special promotions, yet privacy and public knowledge is still a factor. Overall I would say the average user of Foursquare relies on public knowledge and are generally interested in knowing what others are doing. The use of pictures to illustrate locations helps the idea of social connectivity between friends and individuals as well.

molly

tres

After the 2009 YouTube video of Domino’s employees recording themselves doing disgusting things, the potential created by the redesign of Domino’s brand was drastic enough to be noticed by me. Specifically, I noticed that Domino’s actual product improved. Through advertising themselves through commercials, not only did I notice that their food was looking significantly better but it definitely made me always want t to order some pizza…and bread sticks…and and cinnamon sticks.

Some of the advertisements include Domino’s chefs experimenting with a matrix of combinations of cheese, dough and spices, anything to counter some of the negative criticism that’s come their way. Their marketing became effective because it captured people’s attention which is no small feat in today’s media-saturated world. And it’s also honest and their ads are also pretty funny. The redesign did so well, in my opinion, that it actual made me forget about that YouTube video until it was recently brought up in my ADPR class. So lesson learned: a good strategy can go a long way .People understood the criticism about Domino’s product, which has traditionally been a bland, low-quality product. To reinvent themselves, it was best to address their poor image head on, so they gave credibility to their proposed changes.

Their marketing strategies include a mobile-optimized website for online ordering, new audible formats for the chain’s popular Pizza Tracker, smart-phone and table apps for ordering, and the Pizza Hero game for the iPad. With a combination of new digital-marketing technologies and social media, and with consistent menu pricing strategies, it helped maintain their sales momentum. Online ordering represents a significant portion of Domino’s sales, and mobile and tablet app ordering also are building momentum. The brand also has grown its Facebook and Twitter fan base. Thus, Domino’s marketing ended saving the business from a potentially devastating drop in sales.

Molly

Blog Dos

I used Facebook for about eight years until recently. The reason that I stopped using it was because as time went I on rarely used it. And especially once the timeline was introduced I pretty much immediately erased my Facebook. And I surprisingly have never missed it, and if I do it’s just because I want to look just at the pictures I hear my friends talking about or that I know they have uploaded.

However, I do think the timeline is helpful and appropriate for a business or organization. Especially as a customer, the timeline can be great because you can understand the history of the business or organization. It is easy to compare and contrast what has been accomplished in over the year.  For example, Nike does a great job at letting their audiences know upcoming products, sales, and they do an even better job at advertising through their Facebook. Since, Nike is a company that has been around for so long, the Facebook timeline is helpful and appropriate not just for Nike’s marketing, but most importantly for the Nike customer.

Also, I regularly look at the Danny Did Foundation’s Facebook. It’s a foundation that was created by two parents, Mike and Mariann Stanton, in January of 2010 after their four-year old son Danny died from a seizure while he was sleeping.  The Danny Did Foundation (DDF) is dedicated in its mission to prevent deaths caused by seizures and is constantly educating their followers on new devices, medical findings, and events that can raise money for research.

Not only am I impressed with their use of social media, but I am impressed with how they educate their followers through their Facebook. There is definitely an emotional appeal when it comes to the DDF mission and support system and it is easily visible through their Facebook page. There are albums upon albums of their son Danny that draws in a huge emotional appeal and there are albums upon albums of pictures of the various events they throw. Since the foundation is fairly new, the timeline is so awesome to look at because their accomplishments are even more visible.

Molly

Blog 1- Twitter

For me..first it was MySpace…I only used that for about a year. Then…it was Facebook…I used that for about eight years. Now…I use Twitter. I have been using Twitter for about three years and I think it may be here to stay. As opposed to other social media that can be for just a certain age group, people of any age use twitter, businesses/ companies do, foundations/ organizations, and one of the favorite…celebrities. Unlike Facebook, where I just look at my friends Facebook pages, I follow hundreds of different people/things on Twitter.

The best part of Twitter, and the reason I think that I will be using it for a very long time, is because I learn a LOT of information through it. Information that I would never know without it…I rarely watch the news unless I am at home with my parents. For example, with the presidential elections going on, I would have never heard about President Clinton’s speech without following CNN, Barack Obama, and TIME Magazine. Unlike a lot of social media, Twitter can actually be educational and productive. Even if you just use it to follow your favorite restaurant or store, by following it on Twitter you know when they are having a sale and/ or deal for example so you can end up saving money.

Also, I think that social media can be a negative thing for younger people specifically people in high school. Websites, for example Facebook, more frequently lead to cyber bullying. There is less room for cyber bullying on Twitter. Twitter seems to be more of a mature source of social media. More adults use it, it tends to be more official and has more room to be business- like.

Overall, in my opinion,..(obviously)…I find Twitter to be the most entertaining, fun, AND educational social media offered on the internet today.

Good Night

Molly