Blah Blah BYE

So we're at the end of our semester.... which means the end of this blog.


Surprisingly it wont mean the end of me blogging though... whilst I was completely afraid to take on this platform I've grown a comfort in it over the past 13 weeks, and fully intend on continue blogging socially (I mean who wouldn't want to know about me!)


It has been an interesting semester, and being on the hunt for the next SM blast to talk about has been a challenge, but one that I have thoroughly enjoyed.


A big thank you to my fellow MKF5601 classmates - you're blogs were riveting, inspiring and kept my brain ticking over week after week.
And an even bigger thank you to Wags - I know its scary to take on a new unit but you sure have made it interesting!


I'll be sure to post where my new blog will be - so watch this space...


And to end, a quote from Steve Jobs that I find so relevant to world of social media...


And no, we don't know where it will lead. We just know there's something much bigger than any of us here - STEVE JOBS


Keep Blabbing Guys!

Blah Blah BAD BRAND

With more than 800 million users on Facebook, its seems to be the go-to platform for marketers. And with access to such a mass audience that you can hypertarget... why wouldn't it be?


Throughout the semester many people (including me) have blogged about the good and bad of Facebook - what companies are doing right and wrong. Discussing what's the best way to go about approaching your market online... how to get their attention.... how to engage with them.


That's all good and well to say but an article I read on SocialBaker really took things back to basics for me...


Their study found that 95% of all brands on Facebook do not receive answers to their posts.
As the below graph shows - airline and telecom industries were the best at responding to posts and comments and ironically the media and FCMG the worst.

Source: SocialBaker

SocialBaker went on to state that they believed the required response rate to wall posts should be 65-75%. Note that NONE of these industries are any where near that level of interaction.


In the light of the GASP debacle, I think responding to your followers is the most basic way that brands can interact with their customers. Why do an extensive SM campaign, spark interest and conversation and not respond? Isn't that the point of social media --- to enable two conversation?


Do you think its arrogant of brands to expect customers to pay their online activity attention and not respond? Or do you think its too hard to keep up with all the chatter?

Blah Blah YOUTUBE

At the start of semester I was someone who really didn’t get the idea of YouTube. Yes a friend might send me a funny clip every now and then, but that was the true extent of my use of the site.

However, as this semester has passed, YouTube and I have become friends and I am increasingly beginning to understand why people use this medium to engage one another... maybe understand it an a SM platform more than I would something like Twitter.

We have all recently seen the drastic changes Facebook has been making, and I think in acknowledging their existence as not just a video sharing site, but also as an SM platform, YouTube has introduced some changes too.

·         Logoless player – a huge aspect of their brand recognition comes from the placement of their logo on the bottom of every video shared on the site. But no longer is it is requirement. They have provided users with the option to remove the YouTube logo from videos by adding "?modestbranding=1" to the end of the URL. The logo will only appear at the end of the clip. This means that professional users of the site are no longer plagued with looking like they have ripped content from another source. 

·         HD preview image – if you up load a video to the site as HD no longer will it loose its quality when played at a low quality version. YouTube has brought in the ability to preview HD images of the video that retain a high quality so that low-quality viewers don’t miss out.

·         As seen on – bloggers love to share video content and now YouTube will be introducing ‘As seen on’ pages that will enable you to compile a ‘playlist’ of the where  videos have been posted.

These features seem to have video creators on side, with YouTube’s changes removing some of the ‘amateur’ elements of their site. It seems to have given the site a much more professional look and feel with a lot more consideration for the professional user (be it sharing a video for business use or putting up a video for promotional reasons).

Even though they are a video site, they are making sharing much more about the content going up rather than just the visual impact of a video. They are making themselves increasingly orientated to bloggers that imbed or share videos, and are attempting to increase their ‘social’ infrastructure.

I think the changes to YouTube are positive and rather than just making their site easier to use is actually adding value and meaning to their service.

What do you think? Is YouTube set to rival other SM platforms?

Blah Blah POPULAR

...Yes you can be popular too... Just share your opinion on Facebook.


The below page was shared on my wall by a friend...


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2545702681966&set=a.2545702521962.2154719.1235752135&type=3&theater

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?

They would have no sex life and could not bear children.

Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.

And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.

We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

(The girl on the picture is model Tara Lynn) Feel free to tag yourselves :)

In just under a week this post has attracted:

• 255,507 likes
• 166,921 shares
• 82,229 comments

And it all started from the thoughts one woman: Delphine Fieberg

The thing I find most interesting about this post is that Delphine is not a renowned blogger or infamous in the SM world... well I guess until now.

She shared a single thought and as a result over 5,000 people have subscribed to her Facebook page. 
Yes her posts since this one have been a little more 'relevant' to the world, but until this one, she was just an average word.


To me this example shows the true power of the SM world - how it can all of a sudden make a single persons opinion count. But I believe it really brings up some bigger issues... how does one interesting thought make you an opinion leader in the online realm? 


Maybe I havent really thought of any solutions to this question but I guess I'm asking, do you think one 'popular' post makes a person's opinion count? 

Blah Blah STEVE JOBS

Today we lost one of the most influential people in the technological world, Steve Jobs.

Being reknowned world over as ‘our generations Edison’.... Steve Jobs has truly left his mark on the world and is responsible for breathing life back into the Apple brand through the introduction of iMacs, iPhods, iPhones, and the newest addition - iPads.

The online and social media worlds have been a flurry of activity!

Apple have replaced it home page with an Image and Message: www.apple.com

Whilst celebrities and Apple fans have expressed their condolences through blogs, tweets or even simply sharing the Apply symbol.

Seth Godin – http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Lance Armstrong http://www.facebook.com/#!/lancearmstrong

Oprah Winfrey http://www.facebook.com/#!/oprahwinfrey

 

Barack Obama

Mark Zuckerberg – http://www.facebook.com/zuck

Within minutes of the announcement of the news Facebook users feeds quickly filled up with news and reaction to Jobs' passing. Whilst five of the top 10 trending topics were related to Steve Jobs – RIP Steve Jobs, #ThankYouSteve, iHeaven, iClouds and Only 56.

All of a sudden it seems the entire world has something to share.... the sadness of Job’s tragic passing after losing a battle with pancreatic cancer.

And the world seems to be asking “how will this all impact Apple?”

Stocks

Jobs death comes only a month after his shocking step down from his role as CEO. This caused Apple stocks to take a 7.4% hit....

Product Development

The iPhone5 and new iPad were proposed to assist in boosting sales and stock prices post Jobs resignation and as we all saw yesterday the launch of the iPhone 4S has already got consumers off side... rather than aesthetic and camera upgrade does Apple have anything new to offer? Or are we set to see the Tim Cook attempt and re-produce Jobs’ brilliance?

The Future

Set to stay in a strategic role after his resignation and responsible for the development of technological innovations such as the iPad... where will Apple head to next? It Tim Cook ready to fly solo?

So what do you think? How will Jobs death impact Apple and where do you see their future?

Blah Blah ASOS

I used to be a skeptic of online shopping and now I just cant seem to get enough! My first introduction to the bank-breaking relam was through ASOS.com

ASOS.com is a global fashion retailer that really has changed the way that people shop. Launching in 2000 they begun as UK based online store before extending to outlets in 2008 (yes they did it the other way around….!). With over 50,000 brands including their own-labeled products available on the online store, they are seen to offer the latest trends in clothes, accessories and beauty products.

Fashion magazines of the world have acclaimed ASOS.com as going from a “niche get-the-look website to massive internet phenomenon” …. And with over 13 million unique visitors a month from over 160 different countries, I would not be disagreeing.

So what has been the source of their success???

1.     Even balance between being a global brand but also tailoring to domestic shoppers – the site can be priced in various currencies and year round offers both summer and winter fashions

2.     Product development – they offer an extensive product ranges that includes jewellery, womens clothes, mens clothes, plus size, bags, footwear, beauty products, swimwear. This isn’t limited to their own style but to many other international brands.

3.     Their customer service, shipping is FREE to most countries, they have regular mid and end of season sales as well as maintaining a very proficient returns policy – where a full refund will be provided within 5 days or items can easily be exchanged.

4.     Their ability to be socially savvy online…. Targeting fashion forward 16-34 year olds they are targeting what is known as the “social networking demographic sweet spot”…. Any they have really made their online presence known and effective…. HOW?

·       Launch of a the ASOS Facebook Shop last year – not only are they top in discussing the trends consumers are able to buy them here as well. They currently have one million Facebook followers.

·       The ASOS Follows Fashion Twitter account, an aggregate stream which followers the tweets of top trendsetters online

·       The ASOS Twitter account with almost 200,000 followers.

Being online gods, you wouldn’t expect them to have anything less but a full-on social media presence.

In further new, this month ASOS.com finally launched in Australia – as its second largest market following the UK, it has been long awaited by consumers… and will proves to be an important boost for ASOS.com’s world domination!

International Director, Jon Kamaluddin spoke exclusively at Online Retailer 30 minutes before the site was launched. 

So what’s your verdict? Online shopping or in store experience? 

Blah Blah UNBOXING

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, Toyota have jumped on the unboxing bandwagon - creating a parody clip of the online fad. They recruited online and stand up comedian Adam Frucci to 'unpack' a Toyota Yaris, and basically had a bit of fun with it.





I find it refreshing that such a big band isn't afraid to be inventive with their online presence, and were smart enough not to try and start something themselves. Why not just reap the benefits of something that already has momentum?


Thoughts? 

Blah Blah ELF YOURSELF

Officemax want you to elf yourself….
No they don’t mean it offensively, they literally want you to turn yourself into an elf using their viral microsite ElfYourself.com


This page allows you to upload a headshot of yourself or your friends and then transplants your face onto the dancing body of an elf.


Completely HILARIOUS but also proved to be an extremely effectual SM campaign for Officemax. When first launched in 2007 the page received over 36 million hits and contributed to at 20% increase in web traffic at Officemax.com
It was so successful they have set it up as annual campaign… editing the backing clip each year to entice people back to the site.


I think it’s a great example of SM – capturing people’s attention through a funny gimmick. Especially when your boss super imposes their own head into the website and sends it your entire department as a Christmas eCard (yup… happened to me last year).


Its off season, so you cant elfYourself at the moment… but I found a good one for all you Harry Potter fans out there ☺

Blah Blah NATALIE TRAN

Natalie Tran


Here are the facts:
She is a 25 year old Sydneyite.
She is a vlogger.
She has her own YouTube channel communitychannel
She creates videos about her life from her parents home.


Don’t know her? YOU SHOULD! SHE IS THE YOUTUBE QUEEN


Natalie Tran’s channel is the most subscribed to of all time by Australian users.
That’s 23rd most subscribed of all time in YouTube.
And 7th most subscribed worldwide.


So whats all the fuss about? Realistically I don’t think her videos are anything amazing, she has hundreds of videos that have been viewed millions of times…. Endoweding her as “comedic skits about her everyday life”… However, her success has been based on her ability to connect with people…. And I mean really connect…. That means entertainment without sex appeal and an underlying message.


….without a message? No that doesn’t mean she doesn’t advertise, in fact she is one of 10 independent YouTube stars around the world that makes more than US$100,000 from her site. Just take a look at the IKEA ads all over her page.


So my question is, why is Natalie Tran of such interest to the world? Personally I don't find her particularly interesting but from 52+ million views her YouTube channel gets somebody out there does....

Blah Blah BARBIE

As the corporate world seem to struggle with the world of social media, it seems as though tools such as Facebook and Twitter have proven to be invaluable to not-for-profit organizations.

Why? For me, it comes down a few things:

-          Firstly, how many people do you know that would publically say something bad about a not-for-profit? Not many… for the fact that there is very little ‘bad’ press that follows these types of organizations means that they are more adventurous when getting online

-          It is CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP – for organizations that rely on the charity of others to function, social media allows them to get out there without the cost that is attached

-          Not-for-profits are about spreading the word…. Going viral is the best way to create ‘buzz’ about what you do, to create a following and allow organisations to connect with people in the wider community

So can social media save the world???

Greenpeace are sure proving it can! Not afraid to rustle the feathers of some big companies, they have made a giant splash online. Their most recent campaign is a series of animated videos that depicts The Break Up of Ken and ‘Bulldozer’ Barbie…. A viral Greenpeace campaign based on raising awareness on Mattel’s destruction of the Indonesian rainforests for toy packaging.

Greenpeace have a website dedicated to the cause, outlining a storyline of the very emotional and public break up of the pair – in addition to creating a Twitter account for Ken as he details on video how his perfect partner has become an environmental wrecker.

Some might think this whole thing seems a little bizarre, but Greenpeace have proved being quirky works. Last year they launched the ‘Kit Kat Killer’ campaign on a similar issue that instigated action by Nestle to stop using products that came from rainforest destruction.

Personally I think the Greenpeace has made an important issue approachable for the masses… in a most HILARIOUS way! And they have kept their followers engaged in the issues by asking them to ‘unlike’ Mattel and write letters to the CEO, instead of pushing consumers to boycott products. They use social media to instigate social action in a very witty way.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Greenpeace are Barbie-bashing and people are missing the point? Or is Ken right to not to date a girl that’s into deforestation?  

Blah Blah BLOGS

Yes, it has finally happened - I have become a contributing member to the world of blogging! It completely scares me – talking to a friend and posting your thoughts online are two very different things! I mean I'm putting my opinions up for the people of the world to discuss, comment and even criticize. So why do it?


For my first post I thought why not start here.... What's the deal with blogs anyway?


Social media has opened the door to an era of self promotion where people 'brand themselves’ proclaiming who they are and what they stand for in an online forum. Just like in the real world, individuals are differentiating themselves on the internet – by what network they join, who their friends are, what they like and what information they choose to share with the people they are connected to.


Many of my friends have started blogs and swear by them – they see them as a way to express yourself, share your passions and maintain your views and opinions about your world. I guess this is the difference isn’t it, social media has joined people based on the details of their ‘own worlds’, with blogs the tools that instigate conversation.


In my opinion what being online converts to is a battle for credibility. Rather than just using social media to share the details of our lives with others, we vie for the approval of our circles, our friends, and our followers. It’s about doing what’s cool before its cool, being the first to circulate a funny video or starting a group that sparks the interest of millions of people around the world.


....and social media marketing takes advantage of this, leveraging the power of a single persons opinion, creating market value for fans, and utilising the ‘network effect’ to the benefit of millions of companies around the globe.


So I guess in this aspect when it comes to blogging we should be asking why not?


Over the next 13 weeks I aim to understand the phenomenon of social media marketing.... and maybe even decipher some of the online chatter.


So let’s get to gabbing....... why do you blog and why do you follow others online?