Misunderstandings in the Use of Social Media

The International Business Machines Corporation recently did a study to find out the top reasons why customers interact with businesses via social media sites. More than 1,000 customers were surveyed. 350 company executives were also surveyed and asked what they believed the top reasons for this interaction to be. The comparison of the results revealed that many company execs do not have a clear understanding as to why customers are connecting with them through social media.

The executives surveyed revealed that they believed the primary reason for customer communication with a company through social media was to interact with the company and become a part of a community. The top reason for this connection given by the customers was to make purchases and receive discounts. The executives believed that this was the least likely reason that customers use social media sites. The majority of the consumers also revealed that they do not engage with companies via social media sites and that 60% must feel as though a company is portraying itself honestly before they are willing to interact with them.

This study proves that companies need to gain a better understanding as to why consumers use social media sites to communicate with them. A lack of understanding in this area can lead to an unsuccessful social media marketing campaign. A company must know what consumers need and expect before they can develop an effective way of reaching them. When a company has a full understanding of what attracts customers then they will be able to fully utilize the potential of social media.

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201103171619dowjonesdjonline000605&title=study-companies-missing-opportunity-to-utilize-social-media

Viral Marketing Used to Promote "Limitless"

“We’re pushing the engagement of an idea which leads you then to the product.…It just is a whole new mind-set where you don’t have to wrap everything up in a bow and if you don’t, people are going to be a lot more interested in you and what you’re selling and what your message is.”

-James Percelay

James Percelay, a former line producer for “Saturday Night Live”, made this statement regarding the new age marketing technique that seems to working in today’s society. People are more likely to respond to an advertisement when they do not know it is an advertisement. Today’s society is composed of independent, free will consumers that do not want to be told what to buy. People are more likely to buy a certain brand or product when they are merely exposed to it with no knowledge that they are indeed, a target of marketing.

Percelay along with Michael Krivicka, a freelance video producer, are the founders of a viral marketing company called ThinkModo. One of the company’s most recent viral marketing endeavors was promoting the movie “Limitless”. The company created and skillfully leaked a video last week of a man hacking into the jumbo screens in Times Square and playing videos from his iPhone. As the man is demonstrating the transfer of control to his iPhone the trailer for “Limitless” is playing on one of the jumbo screens. Although the trailer is only seen for a few seconds, it is unmistakable what movie it is for.

In two days the video had over 800,000 hits on YouTube and many people were wondering if it was real. It has been revealed that it is a hoax, but the video is still gaining popularity. It currently has almost 2 million views on YouTube. This viral video has generated a lot of exposure for “Limiteless” in a new way to attract movie goers.

Movie trailers seen on television are often ignored by viewers simply because they are a form of advertising. Although this viral video is a form of advertising, viewers are unaware. This simple fact makes it more likely that people will notice the trailer. I have seen viral videos promoting products and brands, but never movies. Viral videos are beginning to reach every aspect and industry in marketing proving that it is 'limitless'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_HUYi9aVvI

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/business/media/17viral.html?_r=1

Google It!

“Google it.”

This phrase has gained much popularity over the past few years and I find myself using it almost every day. If someone asks me a question and I do not know the answer then ‘Google it’ is my response. I find myself Googling things all of the time. If I want to know the lyrics to a song or the equation that will help me solve a problem on my physics homework then I simply ‘Google it’. Google is one of the most popular search engines on the internet and in my eyes is the virtual gateway to an abyss of information. When I saw that Google had a blog I thought to myself, “What could ‘Google’ possibly blog about?” It became very apparent as I skimmed their blog that because Google is such a large entity with so many aspects they have plenty to blog about.

Google is still growing and changing very rapidly, therefore keeping up with the Google blog is a great way to stay updated on all that Google has to offer. For example, there is a new feature on Google search that allows you to block particular domains in future searches. If you find a certain domain not useful in your search, then you simply click "Block all example.com results" and these domains will not appear in your next search. The Google blog describes particular features and describes how to use them. After skimming the blog I realized that I was greatly unaware of all that Google can do!

The post I found to be most interesting was their most recent concerning the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It explains how Google is using their current features and developing new ones to help with the devastation. A Google Person Finder was set up in English, Chinese, and Japanese to aid in finding missing people. This feature also includes news updates and maps to assist in locating loved ones. In addition, a Crisis Response information page was created to relay existing information about shelters and other crisis assistance services to the public. The Google homepage was also used to post impending tsunami warnings to keep the public updated on areas of danger. Google also donated $250,000 to Japanese relief and recovery organizations. I was very impressed with what Google is doing to assist with the devastation in Japan.

Google maintains a very informative, useful blog that is kept very up to date, sometimes with multiple posts a day. Blogtrepreneur.com named Google’s blog one of the top ten corporate blogs, and from what I see they have every right to hold this honor. Google's blog is a prime example of a corporate blog that is accomplishing exactly what it wants to. It informs its users not only about the company but also about all that it has to offer, and it does so in an entertaining and attention keeping fashion. Google's blogging strategy is obviously well-tuned and other corporate bloggers can learn from their methods.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.blogtrepreneur.com/2009/02/19/ten-corporate-blogs-worth-reading/