Back to School
September 2013
As we park our little and no-so-little kiddies back at school, it seems like a good time to reflect on some of things we’ve learned over the summer.
You Had Me at Hello
| At times, social channels seem like gaping chicks in a nest waiting to be fed, and the urge to fill their bellies is nearly irresistible. This leads to the creation of content that satisfies a calendar slot and a product manager but not necessarily your target. The social nourishment your fan base craves, however, is easy to find out—just try a few different approaches. For example, simply saying “Good morning” to fans and posting a beautiful picture has topped all other engagement efforts for one of our clients. |
Getting Ahead with Facebook
| There’s a reason Facebook’s stock is on fire—their ad platform keeps getting more and more effective at driving measurable, meaningful and mobile results. Renegade clients are especially having success with Facebook’s Custom Audience feature, which allows brands to show ads to current customers, both to build up their fan bases and to improve the performance of email offers. It is also worth noting that 41% of Facebook ad revenue now comes from mobile devices. |
Let the People Speak (on Camera)
E-commerce marketers have known for a long time that having both positive and negative customer reviews on their site increases sales. Recently, we learned from Sears.com that the same goes for user-generated video reviews. Sears currently has 33,000 of these video reviews (not all are positive) on its site, supporting over 12,500 products. Amazingly, just having videos on product pages increases sales, even if the videos go unwatched. (See interview of Sears’ John Courtney for details.)
The Inevitability of Ads on Instagram
| With over 150 million active users, Instagram has become the network of choice for kids, foodies, photo geeks and many other types of photo over-sharers. Of course, lots of brands, including Oreo and our fave, the Empire State Building, also have joined the party, gaining sizeable followings and high levels of engagements. But a darkish cloud looms on the horizon, as ads threaten to interrupt the fun. (For a peek at where this could go, check out this interview.) |
Where Social Fits Into B2B Marketing
| One thing became overwhelmingly clear to us this summer: social is an “AND,” not an “OR.” This is particularly true for B2B marketers, who at first hoped social could be an independent demand generation channel but are now realizing that it works best when integrated with PR, vendor relations, recruitment, employee retention, CRM and the emerging practice of influencer marketing. IBM calls this broader perspective “Social Business;” we call it “Game On!” |
| Be sure to let us know what you learned this summer. Cheers! |