The Next Big Thing In Social Media – Pinterest (Part 3)

Last time we talked, I was raving about Pinterest, the new darling of the social media world, and why it’s such a big deal.  But if you wanted the download on how brands should leverage this pintastic momentum, it’s your lucky day! Here’s a handful of tactics we’ve already gotten traction with here at The Cyphers Agency.

Set your objectives.

Like any other marketing tactic, your approach needs to line up with your strategy. What’s the end game for you? It’s easy to track site traffic from Pinterest with Google Analytics, and this is a no-brainer of a benchmark to use. But more than site traffic, it’s important to think about your overall desires. You should shoot for lots of interaction and repins galore if brand awareness is your aim, but not so much if you need straight sales. Instead, track who is checking out at your online store, if they came from Pinterest, and which pins were able to seal the deal.

Create a branded Pinterest account. 

When exploring a new social network, it’s easy to think: “I’ll just stick my toe in, test the waters, before we commit to a plan…” But that’s a rookie mistake. The second you decide to create a Joe’s Plummer Pinterest account, you must assume that anyone searching your business’ name will discover it. You don’t want their first impression to be one that isn’t aligned with your brand. So plan out your copy, your look and your approach the way you would any new marketing initiative.

Spread the word!

Once you go live, one of the best ways to create an audience on a fledging platform is to recruit your enthusiasts on your more established platforms. Tell your Facebook fans and Twitter followers that you are on Pinterest, and include the news in your next email blast as well.

Do a test run.

Now what about that content? When you are first starting out, it makes sense to test-run a variety of pins to see what sticks. As with all social media content, we recommend 25-50% promotional stuff, with the other 50-75% of your material curated from other sources. Of course, all of this should be on-brand. Whole Foods does a great job of pinning their own recipes and products from their website, as well as repinning things their audience is into – from recycled products to gardening tips.

Make sure your pins are SEO’d.

Especially when you are first establishing your audience, you should make it as easy as possible for folks to find your pins. That means using a clear description along with each and every pin with plenty of keywords. The principles of search engine optimization apply within Pinterest, but optimized pins will help you out on Google and the other big boys, too.

Let your audience lead the way.

Once your test run is in full swing, track which pins are receiving the most likes and repins to shape your content strategy going forward. Also, it’s super easy to see what from your website is really taking off on the Pinterwebs. Just type http://pinterest.com/source/your URL into your address bar, and you’ll see all the pins coming from your website. You’ll be able to know exactly what pinners love, so you can create more content for your website that folks can’t wait to pin.

Think visually.

Speaking of pinnable content, make sure that all your online content lends itself to the very visual format of Pinterest. Since the platform is all about images, make sure that your images are crisp, attention-grabbing and easily understood. While this is a must for the images you share on Pinterest, it’s important for all the images you share, period, if you want to have a pin-friendly brand.

Give your website the “Pin It” button makeover.

The most surefire way to entice folks to pin your stuff? Add “Pin It” buttons to your website, both to your blog content and any products or services you highlight. That way, you make it easier for your customers to bookmark you and seal the deal later, and tell all their friends while they’re at it.

Let’s cut to the chase.

There’s a multitude of ways to implement Pinterest for your business – someone’s probably thought of a few more while I wrote this. But the takeaway really is: Start off on the right foot, don’t be afraid to try a few different things, and measure it along the way. And have some fun – I know I am!

Kashi: All Natural Disaster

By now, you might have heard a little bit about the pickle that Kashi has found themselves in. If you haven’t, here’s the scoop: Kashi, the godfather of natural food brands, has been under fire from folks who feel that Kashi isn’t as natural as they claim. The big sticking point is that there’s Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) – soy in particular – in their granola bars.

How’d this all get started? A humble health food store in Rhode Island pulled Kashi from their shelves and posted this note on the shelf:

As you can imagine, all it took was one customer’s smartphone snapshot to send this image viral on Facebook.

Now, far be it from us to get into the nitty gritty of all this “natural” hullaboo. Ecosalon has a detailed rundown of the industry standards, federal regulations, and whatnot. The bottom line is – Kashi insists that they didn’t do anything wrong because the term “natural” is not federally regulated, and therefore up for them to define. But we don’t have to tell you that customers have their own definitions, and their own very angry thoughts to share on the matter. All you have to do is check out the explosion on Kashi’s Facebook page to see where customers stand.

Since we aren’t nutritionists or federal regulators, we’re going to weigh in on the stuff we know best – how did Kashi handle all this on social? After all, that’s the very place where the whole story started… what are they doing to ensure that there’s a happy ending?

What They Got Right

They didn’t get “hide happy.” When faced with a social media crisis like this one, it’s tempting to pull a Chapstick and just click “hide” on every negative wall post or comment. But Kashi made the brave decision to leave at least some negative posts up and respond to them publicly. This kind of transparency goes a long way in re-establishing your brand as one that can be trusted.

Their responses are judicious, respectful and informative. Now, Kashi has been fairly choosy with who to respond to so far, a strategy that has pros and cons. It is true that over-responding can give the impression to your community of fans that you are attempting to tamp down every criticism. Instead, they are responding to posts with direct questions to Kashi, or that include factual inaccuracies. And with those responses, their messaging strikes the right tone:

They showed they were taking it seriously with two videos. We give Kashi props for putting the time, effort and budget into producing two YouTube videos to address the situation. While a written statement would have covered the same material, creating two separate videos shows that they really are listening and understand that this is a Big Deal. Check them out: “Kashi’s response to recent news” and “Kashi’s Commitment.”

They are attempting to rectify what their consumers are upset about. Despite the fact that Kashi has done nothing wrong by the standards of the law or the food industry, the fact is that they have been convicted in the court of public opinion, and that’s all that matters. We are impressed that rather than trying to totally damage control the heck out of this with “you’re wrong” messaging, Kashi has made a commitment to having 100% GMO-free granola bars by 2014 and at least 70% USDA organic certified ingredients by 2015.

What They Got Wrong

Their videos lacked authenticity. Hey, we don’t want to be in the business of kicking brands while they’re down. Still, we couldn’t help but notice the staccato reading of the nutritionist in Video #1, and the gentle but ever-present sound of the cue cards flipping. We weren’t the only ones:

Thankfully, Video #2 made several improvements on the first. General Manager David DeSouza went outside rather than sitting at a generic desk (much more on-brand) and appeared to speak moreso from the heart. Still, our biggest bone to pick had nothing to do with the setting of the videos…

Customer concerns were not validated. Haven’t they heard the phrase, “The customer’s always right”?  Rule #1 in online community management is to make the audience member feel heard, understood and appreciated.

While Kashi had some great messaging, never did they simply say, “We understand why your initial reaction to this would be disappointment or frustration, and we are sorry if you feel that we have let you down. We never want you to feel that way.” This isn’t just good customer service – it’s about reinforcing the message that Kashi is a brand that that wants you to care about what you put in your body.

Of course, we get that the buck doesn’t stop with the social media pros. Some lawyers probably advised Kashi to avoid admitting fault or apologizing – and their reasons are probably quite valid. But we wish they had been able to reassure their customers a bit more. We know from experience how far that kind of approach can take you.

The Takeaway

The most obvious lesson to learn here is that you should never underestimate social media and the viral potential of pretty much anything. Facebook’s recent adjustment to algorithms make images in particular go viral more easily than ever. Thus why it’s important to always be monitoring the online airwaves for mentions of your brand, so you don’t get caught with your pants down!

But beyond that, we believe that transparency will always serve you well. Obviously some transparency about their products and claims could have come in handy from the beginning, so that the issue could have been avoided to begin with. That’s another lesson altogether about marketing claims. Remember, just because you are playing by the industry’s rules doesn’t mean you are playing by your customers’. But Kashi has already made great strides in the direction of openness and authenticity, and though there are some things they could have done better, we hope that their efforts will serve them well in the long run. We still like their granola bars, robot-soybeans and all.

Now Hiring: Social Media Coordinator

The Cyphers Agency is seeking a passionate, creative, and fun-loving Social Media Coordinator to serve as an integral member of our lean, mean word-of-mouth marketing department. The Social Media Coordinator will create great content for the web, implement social media marketing campaigns, and manage online communities.

But wait! There’s more! All our team members do lots of heavy lifting when it comes to developing brand messaging, strategizing integrated marketing plans, brainstorming wild and crazy campaigns, and all in all creating great advertising.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Support the Digital Marketing Manager in researching, brainstorming and strategizing the interactive / social legs of marketing plans and advertising campaigns.
• Create engaging content for Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social platforms for a variety of brands, with careful attention paid to “on brand” tone and voice.
• Manage online communities and problem solve online crisis situations, with keen understanding of customer service and public relations.
• Establish and grow relationships with bloggers and other online influencers on behalf of our clients.
• Meticulously track and report on key social media measurement areas for regular reports to our clients.

Qualifications:

Below describes the perfect candidate… but nobody’s perfect, so if you think you would be great at this and can show us why, please apply!

• You have a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Marketing, Communications, or the like.
• You have at least one year of experience in social media marketing – two is preferred.
• You aren’t just a social media “guru” or whatever they’re calling it these days. You have a demonstrated understanding of marketing and advertising, and you understand how word-of-mouth tactics such as social media fit into the bigger picture.
• You can’t get enough of Twitter, you are an Apple snob, and you can explain why Pinterest is so, so addictive.
• You have experience with WordPress, understand SEO and maybe even code a little.
• You’re a great writer. The vast majority of this job involves writing, so you should love it and be excellent at it.
• You are good at relationships. Whether you are a building relationships with online influencers to create buzz for a brand, or with online community members turning to you as the mouthpiece of a company, you will need to be able to win others over. It comes in handy in the office, too.
• You live for variety. You’ll be juggling several projects, big and small, so you should have experience with multi-tasking and tailoring your approach to the task at hand.

Why You’ll Love Working At TCA:

• The Cyphers Agency happens to be home to coolest folks you’ll ever have the pleasure of working with. No, really. Work is so fun you’ll feel like you’re getting away with something.
• Worried about becoming a Twitter monkey? Only if you decide to be. Everyone wears lots of hats around here and that means you get to do great creative and strategic work in a bunch of different ways, and you get to work with team members in every department.
• This is not a job for the timid, and we think that’s a good thing. You’ll have the opportunity to jump in and leave your mark from day one. Expect plenty of responsibility with not a lot of micromanaging, but with all the perks of a collaborative team environment.
• With the diverse variety of clients we have, there’s never a dull moment, and no two days are the same. And no matter what you’re into, we probably have a client that will suit your fancy… within reason.
• We offer a great health care plan that is covered 100%, among other benefits. And it’s casual Friday every day!

If this speaks to you, send your resume and cover letter to jocelyn@thecyphersagency.com. We encourage you to include writing samples and links to or screenshots of your work.

Facebook Timeline for Brands: The Good, The Bad, and the Promising

It’s here! Marketers have been destroying their manicures for months now in anticipation of Facebook Timeline for brands, and what that will mean for their social media strategies. Now that it’s arrived, we know the answer  - a whole lot, if you’re willing to do it right.

Changes Coming Sooner than Later

Brands can opt into Timeline now, but it will be rolled out permanently for all Pages on March 30 – pretty soon! The biggest changes are the addition of the large Cover Photo (like Timeline for personal pages), new ways to feature content, and the Private Message capability between brands and users. Some challenges we’re presented with are the reduced visibility of tabs and the elimination of default landing pages for new visitors. Of course, the head honchos at Facebook think these elements are worth eliminating in favor of an approach that brings content like the Info section, photos, and apps front and center. Not to mention the new ways that ads will allow Facebook admins to more easily get their content in front of their fans. For all the details, Mashable has the complete guide to what’s new and what to do with all of it.

Reinforce Creativity and Strategic Messaging

One of the greatest strengths of the new Timeline for brands is the potential it holds for brands to get creative and use both the Cover Photo and content on their Timeline to communicate strategic messages. For example, we love Captain Morgan’s cover photo, and how it merges with the Profile Picture perfectly. The brand has clearly taken the opportunity to use the new space in a way that they couldn’t have with the old Pages.

Likewise, Burberry is maximizing their entire Timeline with lots of large, beautiful images. While they were sharing this kind of content before, it’s easy to see how Timeline so seamlessly lends itself to this type of multimedia-heavy approach to Facebook engagement. It’s been transformed from just another Facebook page to a truly Burberry branded destination.

Storytelling

On the other hand, it’s evident that this change is not just another tweak. The Facebook folks made much ado in their announcement on the 28th about the new Timeline’s focus on storytelling. Timeline for Brands isn’t much different than Timeline for individual Facebook users, and there’s a reason for that. Facebook envisions a platform where brands interact with their customers just like people do with each other on Facebook – listening to each other, swapping stories, sharing content that they really think those that are tuned in will appreciate.

If you’re a business that embraces social media not just as a marketing tactic, but as a way for a business that already values their customers to scale that approach, this change should be exciting for you. But if that’s not you, Timeline isn’t going to revolutionize the way you market with Facebook. In fact, it could present challenges. Check out Macy’s – a brand with a solid social media approach and nearly 5 million likes. They’ve updated their Cover Photo, but it’s nothing exciting. It’s nothing that they haven’t already done before. So far, none of their content seems to be capitalizing on the new capabilities of Timeline.

Still, it’s worth noting that they did take advantage of the opportunity to tell the story of their brand, going back to 1858. One of the best things about Timeline for businesses is the opportunity to tell their “life story.” By showing how small Macy’s started, and how far it has come, Macy’s really reinforces their brand and allows Facebook fans to connect with that emotional sell. I’m excited to see if they will eventually bring more of that into their Cover Photo and their newer content.

Overall, we think that Timeline for business is a good move by Facebook. While it might take all of us a while to transition and get used to these changes, it’ll provide so many more opportunities to reach, converse, and interact with customers in a way that more strongly reinforces a brand identity as a whole.

The Next Big Thing In Social Media – Pinterest (Part 2)

Part 2 of 3 in a series!

Earlier I blogged about our newest fascination on the web, Pinterest. Today, I want to answer the question I left you with: Why should this social networking website, addictive and beautiful as it may be, really matter to businesses?

Social Media’s Next Big Star

I think I made it clear in my last post how fun Pinterest can be. I’m not alone in feeling that way. The site is shaping up to be a big player in the digital game. Mashable recently wrote that Pinterest drives more traffic to websites than Google+, Youtube and LinkedIn combined. Those are not piddly platforms, ya’ll. Twitter is actually just barely beating Pinterest out… and Pinterest is a social networking site that’s only been around about a year.

Why has it taken off so much? It’s still too soon to answer that question in a scientific manner, but there are some tried-and-true principles of marketing and social media that Pinterest appears to be capitalizing on. For one, it’s been proven that women are more social creatures, and therefore more prone to share online and be more active on social networks. While the site is not too frilly, it lends itself to a feminine audience. There are similar sites like Tumblr that are more unisex in nature, but the reason Pinterest is such a dynamo is because it’s so popular with women. Don’t forget, women hold the purchasing power in most households. And while women are clearly the site’s target audience, the variety and volume of content shared by its users means that regardless of your budget, background or interests, there will be something for you there.

The thing that really impresses us about this site is that it allows businesses to do what they have been trying to do for years – get people to remember you. Whether you’re a blogger with a recipe you want folks to try, or a brand with a spankin’ new product you want everyone to know about, Pinterest allows you to not just get in front of your audience’s eyes, but it allows them to decide to save you, and share you. In fact, that’s the whole purpose. It’s like ripping an ad out of a magazine and mailing it to all of your friends. How many of us do that 20 times a day? Multiply that by Pinterest’s 13 million (and rapidly growing) users, and you get an idea of just how powerful this platform is.

How To Make It Work For You

So we know that Pinterest holds great potential for reaching new audiences and driving lots more traffic through its ultra-visual, user-friendly format. But how do you harness that potential? Plenty of folks, from bloggers to big brands, have been testing the waters with different techniques and having exciting results. Whether it’s a big time Pinterest contest integrated with a campaign, or simply taking a temperature check of what your target audience is pinning from your website, there’s a bunch of ways to utilize the platform as a marketer. I’ll get into the nitty gritty of just how to do that in my next blog post!

The Next Big Thing In Social Media – Pinterest (Part 1)

Part 1 of 3 in a series!

A seemingly innocent, but dangerous, addiction has been spreading like wildfire at The Cyphers Agency. Many of our lady employees, and a couple brave men, began dabbling in a tempting activity, just for occasional fun. Soon, we realized we were in too deep. Rather than try to escape the clutches of this dependency, we encouraged others in the office to join us on the dark side and also become hopelessly addicted… to Pinterest.

Pinning 101: Intro to Pinterest

Maybe you’re familiar with this irresistible website and know all too well about it’s devices, stealing every moment of your free time and convincing you that, Yes! You can bake those cupcakes, knit that scarf, build that super easy end table, design that enormous mansion that you totally will have one day!

If you’re not so up on Pinterest, however, this isn’t an empowerment workshop. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board that “lets you organize and share things you find on the web.” Basically, Pinterest works like bookmarks, saving anything and everything you find on the Internet, but it’s a visual system. The thrill of Pinterest is that, by collecting all of your favorite ideas and images on your “boards,” you kind of feel like you have already bought those shoes, or sewn that dress, or taken that vacation. For those of us who can’t afford a shopping addiction, pinning is the next best thing.

The site says that it’s mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting,” and it’s doing exactly that. The website is still invitation only, but here’s a rundown of how it works:

Much like other social networks, you can follow others (and find on Pinterest through your existing Facebook and Twitter profiles), which means their pins will show up on your homepage in Pinterest, sort of like your Facebook news feed. You can choose to just follow select boards of folks, if you want. You can also browse the latest pins from all over Pinterest, not just those you follow. And if you like what you see, all you have to do is click “Repin” and you’ve now pinned their pin, saving it forever on your own board, and send it forward to be viewed by everyone that follows you.

That’s just a basic explanation, of course. The best way to learn is to play around! If you’ve gotten an invite and you’re interested in more nuts and bolts, here’s a great beginner’s guide from blogger Sorta Crunchy.

And of course, I know you’re thinking, Pinterest is clearly a fun online toy and all, but why all the fuss? I’ll get into just why this is such a big deal in my next blog post!

Facebook Sweeps Nielsen Social Media Report

When you think of Nielsen Media Research, TV viewership and ratings might be what comes to mind first. But the company recently took a look at social media usage among Americans, with some pretty interesting findings. If you have to ask why the firm is paying attention to our behaviors on social networks, just look at what they gathered. For one, we’re spending close to 75% more time on social media than watching videos and movies. And even among the social networking websites, Facebook clearly rules the roost – their third-quarter report shows that Facebook generated 83% more traffic than Twitter.

Check out the full report below – we’re loving the infographics. And tell us what you think – does anything surprise you? How might these stats change how you approach social media?

“Call-To-Action” shouldn’t be a social media dirty word.

We all need a good reminder about the basics from time to time. I came across a post on Copyblogger that reminded me that sometimes, when you want someone to do something (wait for it…) all you have to do is ask nicely.

“Thou shalt call to action” is one of the 10 commandments in the advertising world. But sometimes social media marketers get so hung up on engagement and community and all that jazz that they forget to simply ask those folks they’ve worked so hard to build relationships with to, uhm, do something.

So go read Dan Zarrella’s blog post over on Copyblogger and get yourself reminded. He’s even got some sweet graphs about what words get people to act the most – cool stuff.

Social Media ROI: The Dollar Value of a Facebook Fan

There’s a certain term in the social media lexicon that I really don’t like. It’s not the meaning or even the use that I have an issue with. It’s the way it’s used. Overused. Thrown around. Thrown in when one is coming up dry. This word works as a shield for many folks in our industry – “Hey, what I do has value to you. Here’s an acronym we can use when I am trying to convince you of this, and the important-sounding-ness of it will put both of us at ease.” That term is ROI.

Alas, when talking about any investment, the return on that very investment is obviously something worth talking about. In fact, it’s the whole point, isn’t it? But sometimes the term ROI gets thrown around when you aren’t really talking about that. ROI at its core is about financial return, not “buzz” or “sentiment” or “engagement.” Of course, I would argue that those things can and do have real impact on the bottom line – often, a greater impact than other approaches. But while it’s valuable to measure metrics like audience growth and community engagement, that’s not really ROI. When you say ROI, you should be talking about numbers – numbers of dollars.

The good news is that as social media is becoming less of a trend and more of an expected component of a marketing plan, folks are studying the dollar value of marketing on social networks. For example, there’s a new report out: The Value Of A Facebook Fan. And as GigaOM puts it, “The key findings of the report are likely to come as music to the ears of advertisers that have been pursuing a Facebook-based social media strategy.” That’s because Syncapse, a social media measurement firm, found that each Facebook fan has a dollar value – $136.38 on average.

They came up with this number by surveying Facebook fans of 20 of the top brands on Facebook. Starbucks was one of them. At over 24 million Facebook fans, their Facebook community is worth $3.2 billion (at least according Syncapse’s conclusions). What does this really mean? Well, fans spend an extra $71.84 on average compared to those who are not fans. They are also 28 percent more likely than non-fans to continue using a specific brand, and 41 percent more likely to recommend a product they are a fan of to their friends. Now, that is some REAL return on investment.

Of course, you can’t just create a Facebook page and watch the Benjamins roll in. Syncapse is careful to point out that all comes down to how active the fans are. The top brands Syncapse studied are all excellent examples of pages that drive meaningful activity. They also use Facebook to foster customer satisfaction and loyalty – a key component to marketing ROI online and off. Still, the facts remain that there is real, measurable value to social media marketing. When you have that, there’s no need to put an acronym on a pedestal – the numbers speak for themselves.

The #AskObama Town Hall: A Lesson In Social Web Basics

Today was a kind of a big deal on the Internet. First, Mark Zuckerberg and his folks announced some big changes over in Facebook land. Then, right on the heels of Zuck, President Obama hosted the first live-tweeted presidential town hall ever. There’s no rest for us web-minded folks!

As I kept up with #AskObama, @townhall and @whitehouse, I found myself thinking – This is social media at its very best. Day in and day out, I listen to chatter about how to leverage the social web. Every Tom, Dick and Jane bill themselves as “social media gurus” with extra special tips and tricks for success with social.

But the real power of using platforms like Twitter is pure and simple. Use it to have authentic, meaningful conversations you might not have had otherwise. Take the opportunity those conversations present to make a good impression, just like you would if you were able to talk to them in person.

Here’s an example from the presidential townhall: Robin Marty tweeted #AskObama with a question about the housing climate this morning. Obama answered her question via live video stream, and his staff tweeted a summary from @WhiteHouse. Another Twitter user, @Shnaps, tweeted back, challenging Obama’s answer, to which Obama responded in real time.

This kind of back-and-forth conversation between the President and various regular citizens from all over the country is a first. Even when Obama has hosted YouTube townhalls, the questions are submitted and selected far in advance, not tweeted live, and the format was strictly Q-and-A, not conversational. Certainly there were strict controls in place today, but ultimately the event at least conveyed a new kind of openness and access to the President.

The capabilities of the social web – Twitter in this case – are what made this possible. To me, that ability to connect beyond what was previously logistically possible is the real heart of social media. Stick close to that when using it to spread your message, and the tips and tricks will just be icing on the cake.