The New Face of Social Media: YouTube

According to many people, video is the newest way to go to get people involved in your brand.  Not only is it more interactive and leads to more followers, but it can fun and very cost-effective.  According to socialmouths.com, 2013 is the year of video.  Not only is video extremely popular, but YouTube is officially the second leading search engine following Google.  As an added bonus, YouTube videos can do a multitude of things, making them versatile and flexible.  Here's some great examples of companies utilizing social media to build relationships with their customers.

Toyota Sienna: Swagger Wagon

Redbull: Episodes expanded from short commercials 

Home Depot: How-to videos for do-it-yourselfers

Bank of America: Money saving tips

While all of these videos address something very different, there is one common theme throughout-get people watching.  Whether you're looking to produce a viral video like Toyota that is strictly for laughs, or a helpful how-to video like Home Depot or Bank of America, each one is equally successful in it's own way.  The key is to produce something that addresses your audiences' needs, while also getting them to become more involved with your brand. 

Social Valentine's Day

Well, it's almost here again.  February 14th.  The day that reminds us all to be thankful for the loved ones in our lives, while also making us blatantly aware of our current relationship status.  However, while this holiday may be not be top on everyone's list, it is still used by savvy businesses who want to increase awareness and sales.  How?  Well, here's some tips on ways to utilize this holiday (and any other upcoming holiday) in social media.

1.  Change your banner images, profile images, etc on all your pages.  What better way to promote your valentine-themed goodies than big bold images that immediately catch any viewer's eyes?  Making a prominent image will get people thinking about your products over others if they are appealing, as well as informal, which leads to my next point...

2.  Promote your specials!  No one looks forward to spending lots of money on holiday gifts.  Why not use social media to promote your special deals?  For instance, you could change your banner image on Facebook to one of your most popular ad.  Here's an example of what Hershey's is doing:

Another tool to use is Twitter.  Here's an example of a great use of Twitter as a promotional tool for Valentine's Day:

Dunkin' Donuts also utilizes Twitter as a way to run promotional campaigns by interacting with their followers by holding contests like the one below:

All in all, the key word to take out of this is interaction.  Viewers LOVE being able to interact with companies and feel involved somehow.  Whether it's promoting current holiday deals, simply changing up your images and backgrounds to be more festive, or holding a contest about creative donuts, one thing is certain.  People will retweet, comment on your posts, or interact with you on some level.  That leads to more views, more potential followers/friends, and hopefully, more successful holiday campaigns.

Secret Boards on Pinterest...Why Bother?

  

Pinterest recently did some upgrades, with a new look and new features to their website. One of the more interesting changes was the addition of secret boards. Now, if you want to hide a board for your eyes only, it's very easy to do. You might be wondering why the heck you would need this feature. Well, if you're not a professional company, then you probably don't. However, marketers can use this new tool to their advantage. By making boards private on Pinterest, you can keep an eye on your competitors without anyone being able to tell. While this may not seem relevant, if you really want to keep a close eye on your competitor without their knowledge, it may be beneficial to hide your activity. Along with keeping an eye on your competition, private boards now allow companies to build boards as planning devices, without anyone else being able to view them. These could be used for new creative design ideas, clever advertising inspirations, or even building up a board of information about potential clients. All of these tools may come in handy for a clever marketer, if they know how to use them appropriately. Wield your sword carefully-your competition may be looking to do the same to you. For other tips on how to utilize Pinterest boards for marketing purposes, read this blog.

Social Superbowl

Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard something about the ads from this year's Superbowl. From the funny Doritos commercial, to the heartfelt Budweiser Clydesdale ad, one common theme was seen: hashtags. Twitter was the medium of choice when it came to interacting with audiences across the football viewing nation. However, companies did not stop there. Appealing to our second screens, live twitter feeds were blowing up with Superbowl updates and ads.  One company in particular jumped on the twitter train with both feet: Oreo.  Not only was Oreo constantly updating their feed as the game went on, but this company made history when the unexpected blackout sent viewers into a state of anticipated waiting.  Within minutes, Oreo produced this creative ad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Oreo.

Within hours, this ad was retweeted by tens of thousands of people.  Now THAT'S what I call impressive marketing and thinking on your feet.  Kudos to Oreo.  Maybe if more companies used the element of shock and surprise, as well as creativity, they would get these results as well.  After all, this whole social media thing is really starting to take off.  Plus, it's free exposure, which, in my book, is a heck of a lot better than spending millions of dollars on an ad that will be forgotten within a month.