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From the World Cup to the NBA off-season, brands were working hard this week. Here are some of our favorite quotes from some great social marketers.
- The quote: “Mike’s Hard Lemonade has changed its name—in a temporary, promotional-stunt kind of way—to Paul’s Hard Lemonade to salute Paul Siano of Illinois, the 1 millionth fan on its Facebook page.” – David Gianatasio (AdWeek)
- Why it matters: This is a shining example of a well-executed championing of user-generated content. Thus far the Facebook post has been commented on over 500 times and enjoyed nearly 400 shares for the popular malt beverage brand. Mike’s could have heaved a sigh of thanks with a shareable Facebook status and enjoyed a mild spike in likes as a result. Instead, they pulled a plan together that truly showed gratitude and appreciation for its fans.
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- The quote: “Innovation comes from anywhere. When it comes to the content you see from our Twitter page, it really is the people that touch every part of this building [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Taco Bell headquarters.] We get suggestions for content from our legal team, food team, operations, human resources, designers. People come to us all the time with ideas. We actually have a newsroom set up within our building, every morning we meet and see what’s happening in our news and with our consumers.” – Taco Bell’s Director of Social Media, Tressie Lieberman in an interview with Polly Mosendz in The Wire
- Why it matters: Taco Bell’s social team is small, versatile and willing to take risks. For this reason, they’ve been extremely successful at developing a core base of fans willing to share and engage with their content. This is a great Q&A with The Wire’s Mosendz and gives a bit more insight to the makings of a truly social organization and the trickle effect that has on all brand channels.
- The quote: “Automotive brands who advertise online in the United States will waste more than $500 million this year on ads that nobody sees, according to the digital advertising company Solve Media.” – Aaron Taube (Business Insider)
- Why it matters: Solve Media found that in the first quarter of 2014, 22% of the websites they tracked (all sites that exclusively write about cars and other vehicles) saw pageviews from bots and not prospective car buyers, as the brands were sold on. Digital ad fraud is a serious problem plaguing agencies and brands today and until a resolution surfaces, brands should lean heavily on the communities they’ve created through social media. Facebook pages, brand websites and Instagram accounts are all great places to start building a captive audience with tangible ties to ROI.
- The quote: “Because buyers can move so easily (and haphazardly) between the different buyer’s journey steps, organizations must recognize that making a purchase decision may take longer than before and plan revenue projections accordingly.” Jason Thibeault – (Econsultancy)
- Why it matters: The buyer’s journey has changed and nothing has played a greater role in that than social media. Word of mouth is now the greatest contributor to purchase consideration and as a result, discovery can happen anywhere from a coffee shop to a brand’s Facebook page. Consistency and quality are more important than ever before and that applies not only to products but to interactions as well. Potential customers are waiting behind every link, image, ad and comment. Ensuring organizations are social from intern to CEO is crucial to making sure organizations are ready to find buyer’s where they are — everywhere.
- The quote: “What the NBA understands and what their social awards demonstrates, is you have to engage your audience, even when the season isn’t on. Every brand has a “dark” period but that doesn’t mean that your social activity should wane.” – Mark Evans (Sysomos)
- Why it matters: The NBA does an excellent job of engaging not only its biggest fans, but also its employees. Employee advocacy is a hot item for companies right now, as brands invest heavily in campaigns geared to amplify their message through their people. But the NBA’s approach is simple and effective in that it uses its employees (stars) and uses them to drive fan engagement. This is an important differentiator from what some big brands are doing, as the NBA’s motivation is not to have one-way connections with its fans, but to create an ecosystem existing of players, fans and executives that have access and understanding of one another.
And lastly, check out these 12 beautiful World Cup 2014 data visualisations because we’re as obsessed with it right now as everyone else.
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