Airlines Having a Bad Week on Social Media

Most of us have been occupied watching the FIFA World Cup including their 1.9 million Twitter followers. With a following that large, they are likely looking to Social Media to keep them up to date. This is where Delta Airlines made a huge mistake.

When a large event such as World Cup is taking place most see this event as an opportunity to spark conversation, but the last thing you want is to spark a fire with the wrong comment. Delta Airlines Twitter account made that mistake following the United States win over Ghana. As part of a congratulations tweet, Delta posted a two part photo with a "2" over the Statue of Liberty and a "1" over a Giraffe. The photos were supposed to represent the two teams (the US and Ghana) and the final score, 2-1. 

The problem with this tweet, which Delta Airlines immediately found out, is that giraffes aren't native to Ghana. As the post hit the news feed, Delta began to feel the anger pouring in from FIFA fans. With tweets such as:

"For a company that specializes in travel, you'd think @Delta would know a little more about geography," 

"Delta puts giraffe in Ghana, the first Twitter screw-up for a brand during the '14 World Cup."

Delta made a statement in regards to the tweet and a public apology that was published June 17th. 

Later that day, their fellow airline United received a tweet from Rory McIlory questioning where his golf clubs where when he arrived in Dublin for the Irish Open.

“Hey @united landed in Dublin yesterday morning from Newark and still no golf clubs... Sort of need them this week... Can someone help!?”

McIlory’s 1.92 Million Twitter followers decided to engage in the tweet, with over 3,200 favorites and 3,700 retweets. The tweet was the source of 27 articles including Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, ESPN, and the PGA with negative headlines such as “Club Dread: Rory McIlroy takes out anger on United Airlines” and “United Airlines loses Rory McIlroy’s golf clubs”.

United eventually responded to McIlroy and the clubs were delivered to the tournament. Rory sent an appreciation tweet to United “Re-@United with my clubs!”.

While most believe the Social Media can be used to create relationships with your potential clients, this was two major airlines down fall in a 24 hour period. Double check all post being created for your company because people remember mishaps more often than success, so here is a check list:

• Make sure all tweets are approved by your client before publishing.
• Stay neutral. Even if you are a political party, you do not need to express that about your business. Doing so could cause a decrease in your reach for customers.
• Be informative. The key to this is making sure your information is correct. Learn from Delta J
• And lastly, even if you have minimal followers, be careful what you say on any social media. Someone is always listening!

Social Media Checklist for Business

Social Media is a very powerful marketing platform for any business, but how do you know what to do? The typical business owner ask the same questions when social media is recommended for them. How do I blog? How many tweets do I send? What should I do on Facebook? What about LinkedIn? 

This is a very simple social media checklist to help any business owner with what they should be doing at minimum for these different platforms. 

Blog Post:

• Write 3 new blog post a week
• Have 3 targeted keywords that you include in every blog post
• Share the blog post link on:
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Google +

Facebook:

• Find and Like 5 new pages a week
• Update company page status daily
• Post about 2 interesting topics related to your business
• Ask people to comment, like or share post

Twitter:

• Re-tweet 2 interesting tweets a day
• Follow 10 new people a week
• Send at least 3 new tweets daily
• Business related
• Promotional
• Fun & Interesting
• Circulating the blog post

LinkedIn:

• Update Company profile and status
• Connect with 3 – 5 new people per week
• Ask for 1 -2 recommendations per week
• Follow 3 new companies

Google + :

• Add 5 new people to your circle a week
• Offer a Google + Hangout session for a related topic in your industry
• Share content at least twice a day to your personal Google + profile and company page
• Host a monthly Google + hangout for a topic your industry

Pinterest:

• Each month, post product images and examples of our work from our company website as pins leading back to the site
• Follow 5 new interesting and inspiring pin boards each week from other users related to our field
• Add 1 new board that contains at least 6 new pins each week

YouTube:

• Find 3 new videos each week to share on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +
• Plan a video that showcases an area of our businesses expertise
• Have video capability at special events our business hosts or attends each month. Ask for brief interviews to post to YouTube.

This checklist should be used as a guide to help any business owner with their social media platform. These are the typical minimum requirements necessary to perform properly and see results. 

Super Bowl Sunday Marketing

 

With Superbowl XLVII two days away (February 3rd: San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens) it is not just a day that decides the new NFL Champions but it is the largest day in marketing as well. With an average cost of $3.8 Million per every 30 seconds of air time, this is an expensive figure for any company.

For the cost of 30 seconds of Super Bowl advertising, you could buy: 

1. Over a week of Homepage Advertising : AOL, Yahoo! and other larger publishers sell their day-long homepages for an average of $500,000 a day. So for the $3.8 million cost of airtime you could ensure 7+ days of full homepage landing on a large digital media site.

2. Over 100 Million Impressions on Hulu : Hulu sells its video ads for $30 CPM (Cost Per Millions).

3. 200 Pieces of Branded Content : Buzzfeed charges $100k for 4 - 5 pieces of branded content.

4. Be YouTube for a Week : YouTube's homepage ad cost $500,000 a day.

5. 1 Month of Twitter's Trend Topic: Promoting Trending Topics on Twitter sells for about $120k a day.

6. 50 Million Forbes.com Impressions: Forbes charges $80 CPM for ads, but even with 50 Million Impressions on Forbes this is still only half of the potential audience for a Super Bowl ad.

Although these would options would get attention and drive ROI for your brand, they do not deliver the success that has been measured from Super Bowl Sunday Advertising. 

A survey showed that 36% of Super Bowl Watchers will be using a Mobile Device or Tablet during the game to see sports news and behind-the-scenes commentaries, and that 52% will use social media throughout the game to talk about plays and commercials. 

So here are some ways that you engage an audience on Sunday without a $4 Million dollar invoice from CBS:

• Tell your audience something new about your company, some breaking news that has a strong call to action from your social platform to your website. Give your viewers something to do with their smart phones or tablets.

• Try driving your viewers to a "Facebook Contest" where they can engage in  a sweepstakes offered by your company. Giveaways are always a good way of engaging your audience and getting their attention with an incentive. 

• Use Sharable content; make ads and extensions easily accessible and shareable through Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. These social platforms will be seeing increasing traffic during the game and your brand should be part of the conversation!

• Focus on a long term connection with your audience. Your ads and digital campaigns should do more than just entertain, they should engage your audience by demonstrating your value for each customer. By valuing each person individually rather than as a group, you make their decision down the road to choose you easier. This can be achieved by sending them to a site with information about yourself and your brand/service. Strive to make them understand that you care about them, not just about sales.

Pinterest and SEO

By now, you've probably heard the name Pinterest come up in social network discussions. While it's been recognized as a great resource for DIY projects, home decor, fashion, and other itemized categories, there is also a way to look at Pinterest from an SEO perspective. Look at Pinterest from an angle of product marketing and branding, and you'll see a site that can have a tremendous impact on your SEO. As a pinning addict (you can view my profile here) and someone who has personally seen substantial blog traffic increases from Pinterest, I believe Pinterest has the power to expose your company, your products, and your message to a large audience. Here are some key points to remember and use to your benefit:

-The target (and key) demographic of Pinterest is women, who make up 87 percent of the users.

-Users spend, on average, anywhere from 17 minutes-1 hour on the site at a time, where the average Twitter user spends 36 minutes, and the average LinkedIn user spends 17 minutes. People staying longer is likely to increase sharing and "repinning," which is where the business value comes in.

-One pin can be endlessly repinned by users, exposing each of their individual audiences to the pin. Hashtags can also be used to have pins show up in Pinterest searches.

-Pinterest is visually driven, so think in terms of eye-catching, interesting, and aesthetically appealing images. Infographics can succeed here very well.

-On the account settings end, make sure your profile (which hosts your pins) is able to be viewed by search engines. Optimize your profile with keywords, and don't forget to include your location!

-Follow people in similar industries. Follow boards you like and that you would like to be included on. For example, if you sell a tech product, repin pins under the Geek, Product, or Technology categories to try and reach your target users.

-Be sure to tell everyone (via other social profiles, e-mails, and newsletters, for example) that you are on Pinterest. Get the word out!

If you have any questions about Pinterest, feel free to reach out to me:
ethomas@tandem-interactive.com

Foursquare Forges Partnerships with AMEX and Groupon

Back in January, we asked you if you were on Foursquare yet. Now, several months later, the company has grown leaps and bounds--particularly in the partnerships division. Over the past two months, Foursquare has announced a deal with American Express and a separate deal with coupon conglomerate Groupon.

The AMEX deal is pretty straightforward: cardholders will receive discounts when they check in to specific bars and restaurants. Syncing your account with the app will make you eligible for cash back, discounts, and all kinds of AMEX-only perks. There are no coupons to print or show, the rewards simply show up on your statement.

The Groupon deal opens Foursquare savings to everyone, not just AMEX holders. While Groupon has been long-standing on the platform of buy-now, print tomorrow savings at various vendors, a new deal has formed where checking-in on Foursquare triggers nearby Groupon deals to pop up for instant purchase & redemption. The real time coupon app is aptly called Groupon Now.

If you haven't joined Foursquare...or if you've been slacking on the check-ins...now's the time to get back in the game!

Here at Tandem, we eat, sleep, and breathe all things Internet. We strive to be your one-stop search marketing and SEO shop! If you've got questions about Foursquare or any other site, shoot us an e-mail or leave us a comment here on the blog.

Happy weekend from Tandem!

Social Media Terms to Know & Rules to Follow

SMA: Social Media Advertising- paid media (i.e. Facebook ads, promoted Tweets)
SMO: Social Media Optimization- content that goes viral (popular on Facebook or retweeted on Twitter)

These terms are important to know and understand, because they are changing the face of the Internet, and actually have been for a while. As the web continually integrates search and social results, the two become harder to seperate. According to this article from Mediapost, search engine queries are down 20%, and social searches are up 50%. Essentially, people are relying more on reviews, recommendations, posts, and commentary by their network to learn about a place or product.

2010 was a gigantic year for social media. Facebook page views in 2010 grew month over month by 150%. Year over year, time spent on Facebook in 2010 was up 80%.

So, the question now becomes, "How do you have a great campaign for Social Media?"

1. Audience targeting. Geographical location, age, gender, interests, and language are just a few of the many criteria you can focus your efforts towards.

2. Customized Ads. Building ad groups and targeting specific ads to keywords relevant on a profile make your ads even more relevant to the user.

3. Managing Bids. Facebook ads can be auctioned, and your ad's frequency demands simply on demand.

4. The Brand Within a Community. Your ultimate goal doesn't have to be driving to your website, you can cultivate relationships and easily communicate with fans and followers right on a social platform, such as a Facebook page or Twitter profile.

5. A Cycle of Continuous Efforts. Test new ads, change wording, see what results work and rule out ones that don't.

Only 1/3 of Small Businesses Utilize Social Media

According to a new study from RatePoint, only 36% of small business owners utilize social media to reach out to their customers--a significantly low percentage considering 72% of big businesses already use social media, and the remaining 28% have a plan ready to be initiated before the year's end.
The logic behind the low small business figure? Because apparently, 20% of small business owners don't think that their customers spend time on sites like Facebook or Twitter, and 27% said they weren't sure. Sadly, they are mistaken. 62% of the United States adult population is on Facebook, and according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, social network use among Internet users ages 50+ increased from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010, while the proportion of Americans ages 70-75 who were online in general increased from 26% in 2005 to 45% in 2009. So literally, social media touches almost every age demographic.
Of the small business owners that do utilize social media, a big selling point is that it is inexpensive and has great capabilities.

Foursquare Proves Its Power

April 16, 2010 was a pretty monumental day for McDonald's, the famous fast food giant. For that single day, the company rolled out a marketing incentive that managed to increase foot traffic to its locations by 33%. How, you ask? With the location-based social network known as Foursquare.

The contest was set up extremely user-friendly: as a member of Foursquare's online community (which is free to join), customers were asked to "check-in" at any McDonald's location. The budget for the marketing campaign was set at $1,000, which was divvied up into 100 gift cards which were offered to participants. This ingenious plan was great for profits because remember, the marketing platform that they utilized, Foursquare, is free.

McDonald's little social experiment back in April garnered positive results that exceed that day's financial gain. McDonald's also earned 50 blog/articles written about the event, an additional 600,000 fans and followers, and 99% positive feedback.

For a day's effort, those are some pretty impressive numbers.

Local Businesses are not using Social Media

The social media conundrum is an interesting one. Should you do it? How much resources should you allocate to it? Does it pay off?
Mediapost put out this article today: Small Business not into social media for leads

In my opinion Social Media Marketing (SMM) is more for branding and reputation management that direct lead generation. That being said, I have seen very creative ways for Social Media to promote leads / sales.

Look up the Blendtec. Checkout what they did on a shoestring budget to create a Youtube Sensation.

On Facebook, I follow a former SEO workshop attendee who designs jewelry. She posts her new designs for all her followers to see (and buy!).

Social media really cannot be ignored because it covers so many sites! Yelp is a form of Social media, and you better believe people use it to research your company.

Speaking At The MIT Forum On Social Media Marketing at UM This Evening

http://mitforumfl.org/

I will present a very short educational few slides on the types of Social Media sites that exist today and a little about using them for link building and reputation management. This should be a very interesting topic at my Alma Madder, the University of Miami!