But don’t expect to see all big brands paying the astronomical fees to get a coveted spot.  According to Wikipedia, Super Bowl Advertising costs are in the millions for one commercial and in return a brand gets in front of a viewership of over 90,000,000 when eyes are continuously glued to the TV.  But if you think back, some big brands have been dropping off.   Remember the great strand of Pepsi commercials featuring Brittany Spears?  And the old Doritos commercials with all of the hot women eating those chips in an oh so sexy way?  Where will these brands be during this Super Bowl and what will they be doing/what are they doing [...]]]> It won’t be just the New England Patriots and the New York Giants that attract viewers to the 46^th Super Bowl on February 5^th.  The American public just can’t seem to get enough of the commercials released during the Super Bowl.  They are very attention-grabbing, after all, and usually the most comical commercials of the entire year.  It’s been said that a great deal of viewers are watching for the commercials, not the game.

But don’t expect to see all big brands paying the astronomical fees to get a coveted spot.  According to Wikipedia, Super Bowl Advertising costs are in the millions for one commercial and in return a brand gets in front of a viewership of over 90,000,000 when eyes are continuously glued to the TV.  But if you think back, some big brands have been dropping off.   Remember the great strand of Pepsi commercials featuring Brittany Spears?  And the old Doritos commercials with all of the hot women eating those chips in an oh so sexy way?  Where will these brands be during this Super Bowl and what will they be doing/what are they doing now?

Social Media Marketing for Super Bowl 2012

They’re using social media marketing instead and saving those millions.  Pepsi completely pulled their Super Bowl commercials a couple of years ago and took them straight to social media, saving a ton of money while also making a ton of money.  This year they are doing the same with a campaign called The Ultimate Match Up.  Simply match a Pepsi and Frito Lay product, upload your photo and send it in along with your contact details and you’re entered to win several prizes, including game day tickets.

Doritos is following suite this year.   They have launched a Crash the Super Bowl social media campaign which gives their fans complete control over which Doritos commercial airs during the Super Bowl.  It’s a simple voting system and for every 100,000 votes they are giving away $10,000 to someone who voted. The campaign has already received 400,000 votes as of this post, with the use of social media alone.

Both campaigns are brilliant.  Both increase brand identity, gains fans and followers on their social sites, and get a great deal of interaction.  They also breed a viral environment as these communities spread the word to their families and friends and so on and so on and all the while gaining the attention of search engines.  So what financial costs are associated?

Besides the development of the social media pages and landing pages and the prizes themselves, not much.  The fans typically do the rest.   Some brands probably engage in some Facebook and Twitter advertising and some pay-per-clicks to get fans and Web searchers to these landing pages, but the costs would still be a fraction compared to the millions it would cost to get a two minute commercial spot.

So why would a brand pay millions for a TV commercial with no direct engagement with their customers and no guarantee of increased sales versus minimal payment for social media marketing and perhaps some paid online advertising with direct engagement and feedback that would allow them to cater their campaign if need be?  It’s really a no-brainer.

Many others are jumping on the bandwagon.  This year you can expect to see Bud Light hosting two social media contests for the Super Bowl.  One asks fans to predict a game play for a chance to get to go to the Super Bowl and the other requests videos be sent in explaining why one would be the best correspondent to represent Bud Light and the winner will get to be just that, along with VIP access to interview the athletes and to stay in the Bud Light Hotel.  This campaign not only generates huge user engagement but allows the winner an experience of a lifetime, something that will be shared well after the Super Bowl is over.

Chevrolet is using social media marketing and the Super Bowl to push their new app.  As fans download the new app, they are entered to be one of the 20 who will win 20 brand new vehicles.  The app will require users to answer questions about the game and other small prizes are available as well.

Super Bowl 2012 to Host a Social Media Command Center

Let’s not forget the Super Bowl itself.  What are they doing in the world of social media marketing?  A lot it seems as this year a whole social media command center is being utilized.  Need information on directions to the stadium in Indianapolis, where to park, where to eat, where the bathroom is and what the best city attractions are?  These types of details will be tweeted and posted on Facebook from the 2800 square foot command center, located in downtown Indianapolis, and operated by a whole team of social media strategists.  It will open next Monday and stay streaming through the Super Bowl.

And don’t worry about being completely dependent upon watching the streams to get the information you need.  The team has set up advanced search tools to pick up on posts from fans such as “parking sucks” and will tweet directly to that fan and solve their problem.  Raidious is the digital marketing agency that will be managing the super social and communications hub for the world’s largest sporting event.  You can bet this will set a precedent for other large events in the future. Kudos and best of luck to Raidious that all goes well, especially on game day.

Check out the command center here:  Super Bowl 2012 Communication Hub

For social media marketing help with your own campaigns, visit us at Social Media Marketing.  We’d love to hear from you and get you engaged with your fans as well.

Go Patriots!  And Tom Brady… call me!

Before starting a blog, the purpose and business objectives of the blog need to be established. While there are many general benefits of having a business blog, the expected outcomes should be spelled out to ensure they are in line with company goals. Once these items have been defined, figuring out who the targeted audience will be is likely the next step in the process. For many businesses, this would be their ideal customer. Addressing the questions and needs of these individuals can help make the blog the powerful marketing tool it was set up to be. After these points have been addressed, the process of setting up the blog is a piece of cake!

- The first step to starting a [...]]]> Business blogs, like this one, are an excellent way to share a company’s knowledge, new products, news, etc. with customers and employees. This tool offers an easy way to increase web traffic and reach potential customers while building a company’s brand and establishing a stronger corporate image. One of the best parts about this marketing tool is that many blog platforms are free and they are fairly easy to maintain.

Before starting a blog, the purpose and business objectives of the blog need to be established. While there are many general benefits of having a business blog, the expected outcomes should be spelled out to ensure they are in line with company goals. Once these items have been defined, figuring out who the targeted audience will be is likely the next step in the process. For many businesses, this would be their ideal customer. Addressing the questions and needs of these individuals can help make the blog the powerful marketing tool it was set up to be. After these points have been addressed, the process of setting up the blog is a piece of cake!

- The first step to starting a blog is figuring out where you would like the blog to reside. Would you like to use a subdirectory, separate domain, or subdomain? This is a decision you would need to make based on technical ability, company needs, and the blog’s overall purpose. While all of these are viable options, adding the blog to a subdirectory is the only option that will help build your site’s authority while showing the search engines that you regularly add fresh content to the site. This point is critical since search engines love to see new content added to your website on a regular basis.
- Next, the blog will require a name. When naming the blog, business owners should select a title that represents the company, its vision, and will stand out in the crowd.
- The next decision to be made is the blog’s point-of-view. Will it be formal or informal? Private or personal? Many companies, such as Vizion Interactive, have a public blog so its posts can be seen by anyone on the web. Vizion also allows employees to contribute to the blog which gives several perspectives on industry related topics. Many companies have found success with this system, as it keeps content fresh and varied.
- To keep the blog consistent and current, it is important to decide how often to post and create a blog (editorial) calendar that lists the topics that will be covered. Keeping the blog up to date is imperative to receiving the many benefits it has to offer.
- Check the blog and interact with respondents/followers as frequently as possible. This will help to build trust and a rapport with customers. If these are the individuals the blog was intended to reach, it will be because of their interaction the blog will grow.

A blog is a dynamic website that the search engines love and targeted audience members like to interact with. This marketing tool can assist in building web presence and authority as an industry leader. A business blog could be just the thing a business needs to stand out in today’s highly competitive market.

Some tips to keep in mind when rounding out and executing your social media marketing campaign are:

Time is Required.  Relationships must be built, nurtured and maintained and this takes time.  Just like any relationship, you have to put the work in for it to be successful.  You can however preschedule some of your posts, set up monitoring and alerts for customer service issues, etc. but you will still need time for live posting and interaction.  Showing the human side of your business is very important.   This will be a great commitment so structure how and when to dedicate time so you won’t feel [...]]]> Social media marketing is an essential component in any Internet marketing campaign, whether on a local, national or globe scope.  It is the platform that allows for business owners to reach out and interact with customers, like-minded consumers, colleagues, top niche influencers and more in a direct manner, all done in real time, while also dovetailing and strengthening SEO efforts.  Many businesses of all sizes are already taking advantage of the power of social media marketing.  If you’re not, 2012 (now) is a perfect time to start.

Some tips to keep in mind when rounding out and executing your social media marketing campaign are:

Time is Required.  Relationships must be built, nurtured and maintained and this takes time.  Just like any relationship, you have to put the work in for it to be successful.  You can however preschedule some of your posts, set up monitoring and alerts for customer service issues, etc. but you will still need time for live posting and interaction.  Showing the human side of your business is very important.   This will be a great commitment so structure how and when to dedicate time so you won’t feel lost in a time warp.

Never Rely Solely on Automation.  It’s pretty hard to show the human side of your business if you have everything prescheduled and automated and never answer when asked a question, never say anything spontaneous, never comment on a customer’s post at all, never share a picture or video, etc.  Social media marketing is not mean to be a new feed only, information dumping ground or anything of the like.  While you can set your blog to feed into your Facebook or Twitter business pages, for example, you never want that to be your only source of content.  Real interaction from real people is what this is all about.

Customer Service Issues are Your Friend.  Another reason to not solely automate is not only because your community will pick up on it quickly, be turned off and leave but that is just not what they are there for.  If they want to see your blog or news feed, they’ll sign up for it.  Plus if you have a customer service issue addressed on your Facebook page, for example, you want to respond immediately and professionally.  It’s a great opportunity to show how dedicated you are to your customers.  The entire community will be watching how you respond and how you handle it.  When they see you take care of it and turn that customer’s negativity into a positive experience they’ll be more apt to recommend your services or products and help bring in other community members, thus more customers for you.  No one expects perfection.  But everyone expects responsibility and a solution when something goes wrong.  Take advantage of these opportunities when they arise to retain a customer and gain more.

Be Consistent.  Creating and sticking to a reasonable editorial calendar and having consistency in your post content is important.  It’s part of your branding and the personality of the human side of your business.  It gains trust from your community as they start to know what to expect from you and what they can rely on you for.  This is part of what gets them to start sharing information about your community and getting others to join.

Promotions Should be Kept to a Minimum While Leveraging Expertise.  Social media marketing is not a sales stomping ground.  Again, it is about relationships.  While it is very much acceptable, and even expected, to share a sale, product launch, coupon, freebie, etc. it is important for that to not be your only content.  You should share industry and related tips and tricks with your community, share related personal pictures and videos, have related discussions and much more.

For example, if your business is a recipe and cooking magazine or online site, then why not also tell your community when certain stores (that have nothing to do with your business in any way) have sales on cooking appliances, cutlery, serving dishes, etc.  Give party tips and advice.  Group recipes for certain holidays and suggest cocktails that would go good with them.  Give tips on how to clean the oven if a certain sauce gets spilled, how to get red wine out of the carpet, etc.  Anything that is relevant to your business and strengthens and positions you as an expert but keeps your voice consistent and makes you more valuable to your community as a well-rounded, trusted source is what you need to offer.

These tips should give you a solid starting point in creating and managing your social media marketing campaign for 2012.  Of course if the task seems overwhelming and too time-consuming (and it can be), we are always here to help you succeed:  Social Media Marketing Services

The first step in article syndication is to write a quality article for the purpose of distribution to various sites. Start small by writing 3-5 articles to get you started. The articles should be [...]]]> In the marketing world, article syndication refers to the process by which articles, columns, stories, photographs and other featured content is simultaneously distributed for publication on various websites. Although this may sound like a cumbersome task, it is actually a simple process. Since Google Panda some marketers have given up on the use of article syndication as a part of their marketing strategy, but many still believe that this practice can still prove to be quite effective if done properly. The goal of article syndication remains the same, increasing traffic to your website from members of your targeted audience. However, this can no longer be achieved simply by posting poor quality articles to multiple directories. For this strategy to work post Google Panda, it is very important to create quality articles that others will be interested in sharing and/or posting on their own website or blog.

The first step in article syndication is to write a quality article for the purpose of distribution to various sites. Start small by writing 3-5 articles to get you started. The articles should be unique in content, thoroughly edited, and include any references you may have used. The next step is to submit your finished articles to article sites, article directories or an article syndication site that will submit to multiple websites for you. Many sites have different content requirements such as the article length, restrictions on the placement of hyperlinks within the text, the number of times a particular keyword may be used and more. It is important to research these requirements prior to submission to ensure your article can be posted and syndicated in a timely fashion. Also, keep in mind that different directories will serve better for different industries so be sure to check out the type of content the directory offers as well.

If you are using an article syndication service such as Submit Your Article, you may also have access to an article spinning service within the program. Here, you will be able to change the wording of your article and replace it with various versions of the same general content. This helps when publishing materials by keeping your articles unique to reduce the likelihood of begin penalized by the search engines for duplicate content and saves you time, as opposed to writing multiple articles on the same topic. Do a Google search of your article titles, using quotes, to see which ones were picked up the most and try to replicate the article style for continued success.

Orabrush Origins

Orabrush was created by Dr. Bob Wagstaff, who was 75 at the time.  In order to get consumers aware of and buying his product, he first spent tons of money on traditional advertising and trying to reach out to stores himself, all to no avail.  Frustrated and now with minimal funds, he then turned to Brigham Young University (BYU) to have a group of marketing students study his product and target market to determine the best way to sell it. They concluded the only way to sell the Orabrush would be online and that only about 8 percent of Internet users would be interested.  They told him to give up.  But one student spoke up saying that 8 percent of [...]]]> Most of us are familiar with just how viral YouTube videos can be.  From funny to risqué to talent-focused and everything else imaginable, just the right format can cause a YouTube video to be shared with millions, world-wide.  Each and every one of us has both received as well as forwarded YouTube videos we felt worthy to be shared.  So what defines worthiness?  Let’s look at the Orabrush story and decipher.

Orabrush Origins

Orabrush was created by Dr. Bob Wagstaff, who was 75 at the time.  In order to get consumers aware of and buying his product, he first spent tons of money on traditional advertising and trying to reach out to stores himself, all to no avail.  Frustrated and now with minimal funds, he then turned to Brigham Young University (BYU) to have a group of marketing students study his product and target market to determine the best way to sell it. They concluded the only way to sell the Orabrush would be online and that only about 8 percent of Internet users would be interested.  They told him to give up.  But one student spoke up saying that 8 percent of the Internet is huge!  And he agreed to work on the Orabrush campaign in exchange for Wagstaff’s vintage motorcycle.

What he came up with was absolutely brilliant.  He didn’t choose to present boring information on how the product was made, by whom, or anything of the like.  He put on his consumer hat instead and researched to see what consumers were actually searching for online that would be related to the Orabrush.  His research found the keyword “bad breath test” was consistently ranked first through fifth in popular searches.  That told him that Halitophobia, the fear of having bad breath, was real and a real problem.  A problem that the Orabrush could solve.

Orabrush Campaigns and Viral Successes

Using Halitophobia as an angle, this brilliant MBA student came up with a series of funny and engaged YouTube videos that featured Morgan, a giant tongue.  An app was also created as a joke.  It supposedly lets users test to see if they have bad breath.  The 99 cents app quickly became more viral than  video series, which had already taken off like wildfire.  An April Fool’s video was release earlier this year suggesting that the Orabrush purchase would be covered by Obama Care.  Morgan, the giant tongue, has become so popular that the video series now feature a “Diary of a Dirty Tongue” angle.  To say the videos went –and continue to be — viral would be an extreme understatement.  There is now even an Orabrush the Movie official trailer and Morgan even has his own Facebook page:  OrganMorgan

Orabrush and Wal-Mart via YouTube and Facebook

Even with the viral effect of the videos and the popularity of the product, Orabrush still had a hard time getting into Wal-Mart stores.  Comments on the YouTube channel even showed consumers asking why the Orabrush was not in Was-Mart but even with that, Wal-Mart would still not bite.  Until, that is, one local Wal-Mart manager did see the videos, tried the product, loved it and decided to carry it in his store.  From there other local managers saw the awesome display (yes, they featured Morgan and are fun and engaging) and wanted them for their stores.  But Orabrush still hadn’t gotten in to the Bentonville, AR store which was their primary target because it is Wal-Mart’s corporate offices.  So what did they do to get this store’s attention?

They brilliantly set up Facebook ads geo-specific to Bentonville, AR stating that Bentonville, AR Wal-Mart employees had bad breath and needed the Orabrush.  They got the attention from the store who then realized they knew exactly what they were doing with the product, with advertising online and everything about their product and ended up ordering an enormous amount of Orabrushes, all via email.  They didn’t even require a face-to-face meeting.  And it only cost Orabrush $28 in local Facebook ads.

From that, in September of this year, Orabrush evolved into being in Wal-Mart nationwide and is now being sold in Australia and the UK as well.  To date, over 1,650,000 Orabrushes have been sold and former Procter & Gamble executive Jeff Davis has joined Orabrush as their CEO.  Again… everything about this story is brilliant.  A true success story, all stemming from creativity, out of the box thinking and YouTube with a tiny amount of Facebook advertising.

Top Three Strategies You Should Take Away from the Orabrush Case Study

1. When using YouTube to sell a product online, don’t focus on the product.  Focus on the problem the product solves and market from that angle.
2. Use keywords that cater to the problems people are searching for solutions to to get your product’s videos showing up in the right searches and in front of the right audiences.
3. Make your videos fun and engaging!  A quick look at YouTube’s most popular videos prove that funny videos are the most viral.  Get creative, get silly but stay relevant and cater to your audience.  Have a blast.  You may just get blasted with sales if you do.

For more information on the Orabrush story, see MBA Case Study:  How Orabrush Got Into Wal-Mart and be sure to click and view some of the many other Orabrush videos, such as Morgan’s Chopstick Duel With The Piano Guys.