Context’s Social Marketing Newsletter
May 27, 2009 Brought to you by Context Optional
| Hi there, welcome to Context Optional’s May newsletter.
Social media continues to change at a rapid pace. We’re seeing an evolution not only on the social media sites themselves, but a spread of social connectivity beyond the walled gardens of the networks. In the past month, we launched Target’s Bullseye Gives on Facebook, with media driving to the site from all over the web. MTV placed themselves both on and off Facebook for the MTV Movie Awards with an integrated application running not only on their Facebook page, but also on Flixster and IMDB too. Bravo’s Supermodel Touchup resided on Bravo’s site but used Facebook connect to distribute photos to one’s social network, and the Exectweets application brought a cultivated Twitter feed to the iPhone. During the next month we’ll be launching even more programs across both social networks and the greater web, so stay tuned! InsightsCampaigns in social media should be thought of as long-term strategies, not as fire-and-forget impression and branding initiatives. The most successful social media campaigns are those than run over a period of months or years, not just two-day roadblocks designed to get the word out and raise awareness. According to a recent article on TechCrunch, under new FTC guidelines “Even Citizen Journalists Must Disclose Paid Endorsements.” This is fairly big news in the social media space and something that we don’t feel has received enough attention. PressRetail chain Target already gives 5 percent of its income to charity. For the next couple weeks, they are going to be allocating those funds – which come out to $3 million every week – to charities selected by Facebook users. The company has launched the “Bullseye Gives” campaign on Facebook, which is essentially a voting application connected to the brand’s existing Facebook page. On it, users select which of ten charities they’d like to see funds allocated to. Money will then be given out based on percentages, so if 10 percent of users vote for Salvation Army, that organization will receive 10 percent of the total donations. In these hard times, you can’t blame people for turning to blatant sycophancy. Try it! Sometimes it works, but it always gives you a good gauge for how much your dignity is worth in the free market. Anyway, ExecTweets is a Microsoft-backed venture to collect and aggregate tweets from power players in a variety of industries. Now it’s got an iPhone app, which lets you peek the minds of various Twitter-inclined bigwigs, organized by industry, topic or popularity. Ah, the upside of social media. And there is plenty of upside – especially for brands – which explains why so many have embraced this digital space, venue, vehicle, what have you, to get in on the conversation. And this is a conversation that brands hope will help strengthen the relationship between their customers and them and boost their bottom lines. But, as with any relationship, the dynamic between brands and consumers is not all handholding and doling out compliments. The same voice social media provides to consumer advocates is also there for any person or persons with a bone to pick or a grudge against your product or brand. How you deal with a social media “enemy” could mean the difference between creating a loyal customer for life and a public relations nightmare that can quickly snowball. |
In this issue
EventsWe’ll be speaking at Ypulse’s Youth Marketing Mashup in San Francisco, June 1-2. If you’re attending, please be sure and say hello. In The News
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About Context
Context Optional is the leading provider of scalable solutions for brand marketing across social networks. Context Optional offers a full suite of social marketing services including social media ad optimization, licensed branded applications, brand page management and promotion, and custom viral application development. Context has delivered measurable marketing results for many of the world’s leading brands.
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