By: Manuel Cortez Senior Manager, Social Media Strategy

In the past year, we’ve watched social media explode from the, “how do we get into this?” to the “how are we not in this yet?!” phenomenon.  The future of social media is now. As an ever-changing landscape, marketers often struggle to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to social media messaging, tools, and metrics.  However, 2012 still holds an abundance of opportunities for businesses and marketers to grow with this evolving medium.  Here are my predictions of what to expect and focus on in the year ahead:

  Continue reading “Social Media Predictions for 2012” »

Last week Facebook officially rolled out Timeline for all user profiles. The new Facebook Timeline allows users to show off who they are, what they do and where they’ve been – essentially turning their profile into an online scrapbook. There is still no official word from Facebook when Pages will transfer to the new platform, but it is anticipated to happen in the near future.

So what are some of the new elements of Timeline?

User profiles now consist of a cover – a wide space (849 x 312 pixels) to place a unique image that best represents the user. It is now the first thing people see when they visit a friend’s profile. As in the past where changing the profile image has defined one’s page, the user now has the opportunity to make a bigger visual statement of who they are.

Continue reading “What Facebook Timeline could mean for brands” »

By: Manuel Cortez, Senior Manager Social Media Strategy

If you’re a large corporation or a small business, there’s no doubt that you already know you should be in social media. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging and now Google+ all provide a way to leverage your brand or company and connect with your consumers.  So you’ve tasted the social media punch and want in, but where to begin?  Well, before you start you have to ask yourself one very crucial question, “Do I have the time (and budget) to dedicate to this?” The answer should be, “Yes!” and if not, then “I’ll make the time.”

Social media is advancing on a daily basis, and late comers are being left behind.

  Continue reading “Social Media Starter Kit” »

By: Heather White-Laird,VP, Creative Strategy

Best practices for fan growth require consistent long-term initiatives, not short-term quick fixes, as success will, in the end, be measured by fan retention over time, not just a one-time fan increase. And many times a meteoric rise is often followed by a precipitous decline.

The best performance is seen when a company launches an on-brand, compelling creative campaign that is consistent across all platforms– paid, owned and earned media.  Combined with a Like-Gate, this scenario can drive the largest increase in growth– especially in conjunction with engaging promotional opportunities such as sweepstakes or contests.

image credits Airbnb: http://www.facebook.com/airbnb

Continue reading “Top 5 Simple Facebook Fan Growth Tactics” »

By: Olivia Duarte, Senior Campaign Manager

Recently, my team at deiworldwide was presented with the task to engage and strengthen the relationships of Latino fans on a high-profile client’s global Facebook fan page.  We definitely were up for the challenge, but had to keep a few items in mind when developing a strategy that would work for our client. First, we’d be working with a limited budget, and secondly, they did not want to cannibalize the community they already had by creating a second Facebook page for Latinos.  With these two elements to consider, our strategy was to create an inclusive environment where both Latino and non-Latino fans would feel welcomed and inspired to participate.

Tip #1 – All for One and One for All

The first step was to decide on a strategy for a single Facebook page that would resonate with Latinos, as well as the larger community. There are several brands that are doing a great job of appealing to a larger demographic without alienating their core community. Coca-Cola and Oreo Cookies are great examples of brands posting simple, yet universally appealing messages. These brands demonstrate that a single Facebook page can be effective in engaging fans that speak different languages. Their posts are written in English, but are kept simple so that they are easy to understand, even for fans that speak a different language.

Continue reading “Cuatro Tips for Engaging Latinos on Facebook” »

Every time a human communicates, he or she does so with intentions. The previous sentence was made with the intention to engage. The previous sentence was made with the intention to explain. I’ll stop now before this gets taxing. The previous sentence was made with the intention to amuse. Did it work? Probably not. The previous two sentences were made with the intention to appeal.

My point is that everything, no matter how microscopic or seemingly pointless, carries an intention.  The other night, I fell asleep on the new reclining couch in my living room (intention: to brag – that’s right, I’m livin’ large).  My roommate came home wanting to watch TV, and jostled me out of deep slumber. Not fully conscious, I muttered to him,

“Get kitchen, my hands hurt.”

Even as a nonsense-talking zombie, I was still speaking with an intention: To demand. I wanted him to leave so I could go back to sleep (in retrospect, this was uncalled for. We pay the same amount of rent).

Social media content creators seem to think about a call-to-action, tone, and character length. But it’s important to remember your intentions when crafting your message, no matter how fast and short that message is – even if it’s a single word. More than info and more than style, intentions are what make our conversations dynamic and, really, human. More now than ever before, conversations between consumers and brands have to be dynamic and human.

If you’re in the business of social media, you’re in the business of actually conversing. So challenge yourself to get specific with your intentions when writing your copy. Play around with each post. What are you really looking to do, aside from getting a great response? To imply? To tease? To flirt? To counsel? To inspire? There are so many options, and the fun really starts when someone writes back. What’s your perception of their intention, and what’ll be your intention when you respond?

All right, enough. The previous sentence was made with the intention to end. Now, get kitchen, my hands hurt.

Legend has it Ernest Hemingway won a contest challenging writers to tell a short story in under six words.  His winning entry:  “For sale:  Baby shoes, never worn.”   His ability to evoke emotion and convey a complete story in a mere six words captured judges.

We can’t help but consider it early foreshadowing to our present Digital Age of Communication. Clearly today’s communicators benefit by drawing from Hemingway’s example. Those most successful today have learned to induce maximum interest in the fewest number of words—or in Twitter’s case, characters. Twitter’s 140 character limit forces users not only to carefully select their words, but to utilize acronyms to decrease space without compromising content.

Our current youth have been immersed in this Digital Age since birth, and the effects of its emphasis on brevity have yet to be seen. There is no doubt that technological advances have led to always-on communication, anytime, anywhere.  With almost nonstop posting, “Liking”, commenting, sharing, Tweeting, Blogging, texting, IM-ing, checking-in and the latest, “+1-ing”, keeping it short means keeping info flowing.

But is there room for eloquence?  Has all of this communication actually decreased interpersonal relationships and interactions, or improved them?  Recently, University of Iowa offered a scholarship to students via Twitter entry —the best Tweet won. College admissions officers were less interested in style and depth, and more swayed by the students’ ability to succeed within specific limitations.

We’ll have to be patient to find out how this burgeoning economic writing style has impacted the mindsets of such a technologically-driven community.  Until then, G2G and ttyl!

After working with dozens of clients to develop Social Media strategies and find ways to effectively engage their most loyal consumers, while at the same time converting prospects, you learn a few things about what it takes successfully manage [and hopefully, grow] a community. You also learn that for an agency that has the talent, resources and know-how to achieve Social Media success, what is often the determining factor for successful Social Media efforts is actually not budget, interestingness of the product or service you’re working with, technical savvy of the brand but rather, the client’s relationship with the agency team.
So, what’s in the client relationship? I’ve found that when clients are most accessible, available and see the work as a collaborative effort it lends itself to a richness of information –it enables the agency to be that much closer to the reason the fans are there in the first place; your brand.

Here are just a few of the learning’s that have come from our closest client relationships. If you’re not practicing these suggestions with your agency, I urge you to start!

Give us a History Lesson, and Include Photos!


When you start a relationship with a peer [be it professional or personal] you usually say something along the lines of “So, tell me a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? Where’d you go to school?” Learning the history about someone is not only valuable in determining who they are today, it’s also interesting! It also creates opportunities to bond with the person through shared interests and experiences. Shockingly, it’s no different with brands. What I’d classify as shocking is how few brands freely offer up this information.

What you may think of as boring may actually be some of the most interesting content you can share!
Want proof?
While digging through the archives for Smirnoff [one of our clients] we came across this gem. We thought it was pretty cool and guess what – so did Smirnoff’s Facebook fans!

Check out the old sign that Pepsi shared with their fans. Certainly your brand has some of these artifacts hanging around somewhere, why not share them with your agency?

Now of course you can’t just grab any fact or any photo and expect it to be a win with your community. And don’t put the onus on yourself or your team to go through all of your archive material searching for a diamond in the rough – .zip the material and send it to your agency, that’s what we’re here for. Any agency that’s worth their weight will treat that .zip file like it’s a treasure chest, and in most cases it will be.

Determined that your brand has nothing interesting to share? Challenge your Social Media team to find interesting ways to spin it.

Continue reading “5 Easy Tips for Getting More out of your Social Media Team” »

Bergdorf Goodman, Oscar De La Renta, DKNY and Kate Spade have long been social media darlings in the fashion world because of their inventive campaigns, behind the scenes access, and open dialogue with fans. However, Nordstrom is quickly making its way to the top after hiring Shauna Causey to head their social media efforts.

During their annual Anniversary Sale last month, Nordstrom introduced a way to broadcast the online conversation around their Anniversary Sale via a “Twitter Window.”

The Twitter Window broadcasted tweets from fans (who used the unique hashtag #NSale) in the window of their flagship store in Seattle. Pretty neat, huh?

Nordstrom’s Twitter Window is not only an acknowledgement of the importance of their online conversation but shows an appreciation of their fans’ feedback. The projected tweets served as a great way to hear about fabulous finds before stepping foot in the store. What a great way to take the “online buzz” about their sale offline and share it with shoppers and potential customers!

If Nordstrom’s use of social media to leverage their Anniversary Sale is any indication, we can expect to see more great things from them in the future!

What happens when a frog, a pig, a bear and a Gonzo decide they’re going to use social media to promote their latest cinematic venture? First, there are multiple YouTube videos:
 

Then there’s a Facebook page with >700,000 Likes:

And nearly 47,000 followers on Twitter despite just 216 tweets:

It’s only July, yet fans are eagerly anticipating more viral spoofs and online promotional goodies to come before The Muppets actually premieres on Thanksgiving Day. Think you’re ready for the worldwide Muppet domination? Well, ready or not, it’s already here! The marketing machine behind this old-school brand has taken to social media like a pollywog to water.

The Internet and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have changed the way movies get marketed. The Muppets Movie has several social media assets pushing out unique and relevant content and it doesn’t look like it’s about to slow down. Disney has created sites on Twitter, YouTube and several Facebook pages all pushing new and engaging content to whet the appetites of Muppet-crazed fans.  In fact, several of the videos on their YouTube page have reached over a million views and the videos have only been out for a couple of months. The movie’s Facebook page has over 700,000 fans, while Twitter has close to 50,000 followers, both of which are driving this massive audience back to the movie’s website and e-commerce sites on Amazon and FAO Schwartz. Now that’s a well thought out campaign.

So what’s the lesson here for social marketing? Well, Kermit said it best in the movie’s promotional trailer: “The Muppets have always been about artistic integrity and not cheap tricks.”  It appears that the marketers behind the movie’s campaign took this message to heart and created content that was smart, funny, engaging and relevant to audiences of all ages. All this high-quality content combined with savvy social tactics has led to a re-ignition of the brand, all while extending its legacy to new generations of fans.