Sighting: Promoted Tweets

I saw this the other day when I logged in to Twitter: a promoted trending topic. I knew that Twitter had rolled out a promoted tweet platform, but didn’t expect it to come in this form. I grabbed a screenshot and tucked the occurrence in my mind for deep thought.

More than anything, I think I was surprised to see a promoted tweet as a trending topic. Will companies be able to purchase trending topics? How did that work? As an agency who works with a variety of clients, purchasing “ads” on Twitter would seem like a great option.

But I had to ask myself… What are the bigger implications of promoted tweets? Does it take the power away from the voice that Twitter users have?  Does it change the dynamic of the unique online community? Does it disable companies from having real conversations with their customers? If a topic is promoted, is it really “trending”?

I’m curious to see how promoted tweets or trending topics become integrated in the overall system. But I’m also curious to see how it going to affect the community. What do you think?

Google Trends, or Cop Without a Badge, or Xbox Live

With a title like that, you might wonder what the heck this blog entry is all about. But if you have ever used Google Trends, you know that I’m simply focusing my blog entry on timely topics to increase my search engine optimization.

Google Trends is a tool that allows you to see the current top 100 searches in Google. This is useful for blog writers, news columnists, and sometimes even stock traders, because it is shows what people want to know.

Now there are certain ways to optimize your post without breaking an unspoken code of ethics in the blogosphere. For example, if I were to write a post about our Twitter expertise, it wouldn’t make sense (or help our audience) if I peppered the entry with “danielle staub” or “xbox live” or “cop without a badge.” If I’m writing about Twitter, I should just be writing about Twitter (and maybe including Twitter trending topics like “Sotomayer”). Luckily, since this post is about search engine optimization, tagging this post with the aforementioned phrases is completely ethical

Alternatively, if I were to write a blog post about the Real Housewives of New Jersey and comment on the word-of-mouth that spawns from each episode and probably contributes to the success of the show, well, that’s just good blog writing! The key is to give your audience what they want – information on the topics that they are searching. Usually you can do this easily just by doing some quick research first.

So my tip is this: when applicable, keep your posts in line with what people are searching for. Want some tips? I’m happy to help. If they don’t like it, they can always click the “back” button. But don’t try and artificially optimize your post if it doesn’t have anything to do with the keywords you are using. After all, the worst thing you can do is piss off the people on the internet.

Teen Uses Web for Tuition Help

Michigan high school student, Rachel Harris, recently launched her website, IWantToGoToNotreDame.com in an effort to raise enough money to attend the University of Notre Dame. Her grades are there, she’s got the recommendations and all other qualifications, but the only thing holding her back is the $40,000+ tuition to attend and she has turned to the web for help.

Inspired by the Obama campaign’s use of the Internet to affect change, Rachel hopes that her website will attract people that will help her cause. In her own words:

“Currently I am a senior at Reeths Puffer High School in Muskegon, Michigan. I plan on attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall, to study Biomolecular Engineering, with the ultimate goal of attending medical school and becoming a pediatric endocrinologist. I want to do this because I am a type 1 diabetic, and I want to help children who are going through what I have been through.”

On her site you’ll find her transcripts, letters of recommendation, her application and essay, a bio and details of her academic achievements. Here’s how you can help.

The way in which we use the web and communication is changing. How do you use the web to achieve your goals? If you need help determining successful ways to do that, we here at The Cyphers Agency would love to hear from you.

Viral Believability

Does how believable something is determine how successfully viral it will become? Or does believability matter at all? Maybe the raw entertainment value is what propels something to total viral glory. Let’s take a look at a few examples and discuss…

It seems for a while there, “viral” was the hottest word in the marketing language. Now, although it may not be the hottest word, it is definitely still an important achievement advertising and marketing experts strive for when creating content to generate buzz. However, because virality is and should be organic by nature, creative experts are asked to come up with things that look natural and also have such a high level of entertainment value that it spreads like wildfire, bringing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of eyeballs worth of attention to a brand.

Take a look at some of these “viral” videos and decide for yourself. Which are real? Which are fake? Does that even matter? Did you know that it was created by a brand with the intention of going viral? Some of these are new, and some are old. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

Also, if you’re looking for ways to get people talking about your brand, The Cyphers Agency can help. Feel free to contact us anytime, we’d love to chat.

Sometimes, you just gotta show ‘em

Sometimes, consumers just need to see your product in action in order to make the decision to go with your brand. All brands have something different and amazing to offer, right? Well, not exactly (see: hammering nails, white out, etc.) For those brands that do have something different, it can be hard to explain that in an overcrowded ad space.

So why not invite consumers to try it? Although this can be hard as well (consumers have become just as skeptical of “free trials” as they have become good at fast forwarding through commercials), truly showing a consumer why your brand is right for them can not only turn them into customers, but potentially loyalists.

Here’s an example of a campaign for OMO detergent that does just that (click here for fullsize):

The Multi-dimensional Consumer

I watched a video today that BLEW MY MIND and, no, it wasn’t last night’s new episode of LOST. I am a closet astrophysicist and have always had a hard time explaining the ten dimensions to non-astrophysicists. This video does a great job of explaining them in the simplest way possible.

So, you may ask, what does astrophysics have to do with WOM or social media? Well, nothing, but it does provide a good analogy for how we use evolving technology to reach consumers in new and sometimes convoluted ways.

Consumers are multi-demensional; they enjoy different activities, they interact with different people, and in different ways, they search differently, browse differently, and, well, consume differently. Reaching consumers in a time when market fragments are becoming fragmented can be difficult, that’s why staying on top of the latest trends can help you navigate and reach consumers.

While there are guides out there to help you use a lot of the tools in your arsenal, nothing can teach you more that actually trying it out yourself. If you’d like to talk more about how to reach consumers, feel free to message us on twitter or shoot us an email.

Calling all Drum-makers

As we’ve mentioned before, buzzworthy content can do volumes more for your brand than traditional, paid, intrusive ads.

Ken Brashear has created this interactive drum simulation in which users can “play” drums by hovering a mouse over each piece to create a unique drum or cymbal sound. Users can also opt to use their keyboard to create a musical masterpiece, as seen below:

Zildjian, where ya at? Pearl, Tama, DW, Sabian, Remo, Yamaha, where ya at? Maybe contact Ken, maybe use this idea, do something!

Celebrate 60 Years of Style

Puma celebrates their 60th birthday by allowing you to upload a photo and make a mashup of your face and tons of other features including hairstyles, clothing, and accessories. Here’s mine:

In an ever-crowding market, it’s great to see brands embrace interactive WOM solutions to marketing problems. Where’s the WOM in it, you say? With Puma’s Iam60, it’s in the content and the pass-along. Not only is this content blog-worthy, Puma makes it extremely simple to share with friends, once you create your picture, you can put in the name and email address of three friends. In addition, as you create your mashup, you can check a box to automatically add it to your facebook account.

Go Puma!

My only beef… Facebook may be HUGE, but where’s the rest of the share links, myspace, twitter, flickr, delicious?