OMG – Part 2 – The saga continues…

The second part of this book has proved to be an interesting read.  There are plenty of ideas which marketers can apply to their websites and strategies which make their ideas stronger.  Although the ideas are plenty, the focus should be geared to one idea using several means to get this idea across to consumers.  Integrating this idea into a successful campaign involves skill and determination.  Here are 3 different campaigns which marketers must get their message across to consumers:

• Adaptive – using print, TV and web-based media to get the message across.  repetition is key to success.
• Integrated – tailor your message using appropriate medium that suits your brand or product.
• Integrated with event character – using the integrated message and creating buzz even after the campaign is over.

“A viral campaign is content that is so good or is optimized towards a current momentum that people voluntarily tell others about it” (Leif Abraham and Christian Behrendt, OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED AND WHAT SHOULD I DO? www.INNOVATIVETHUNDER.com). Viral campaigns do not necessarily come from digital media, however, they come from a great idea using the social media tools to spread its message.  To succeed in spreading a viral campaign focus on the message being extraordinary and it will become viral in itself.  To test this concept you must do it for real.  Write down your message and use the media channels to spread to others.  If you think your message is extraordinary place yourself in the mind of the recipient and ask yourself ‘do I think this would be cool if I received it’.  Give your message a name and gently push your message across to others.

Once a name has been chosen (I will share my catchy URL’s in class) you must then make it accessible, remixable and sharable to the online community.  By doing so you not only capture your audience but they will, in turn, share this to their friends.  We all value the opinions of our friends when seeking out products or services as the value of ‘word of mouth’ advertising is never underestimated.  The key is to make your product or service personal to the consumer.  By making it part of their life you have secured the consumers trust and successfully been passed onto others with positive praise.  By exceeding expectations and creating a story for your brand you have successfully created a viral campaign.  All this success was created with the one idea in mind – not the result.  Amazing!

In summary, you have become a weblebrity and you represent a product/brand/service which is considered meme.  Don’t know what these words are?  http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/weblebrity and http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meme

 
 

Top 5 Social Media Strategies Restaurants Should Employ

This week’s blog focuses on the recent event I attended for Social Media Week.   This lecture was hosted by Ronald Lee and Vincent Ng of Eat Marketing at Ceili’s Pub on Smithe St and focused on generating further business via online (and offline) strategies.  As a member of the restaurant industry and student of MRKT 3311, I felt compelled to attend this event to bridge together both my professional and educational alter egos.  I found this link http://socialmediaweek.org/event/?event_id=962 last week during class and due to my time constraints with work, decided this could be a great topic to blog about.

The event as a whole was a success, however, the event has some drawbacks also.  Here are the pros and cons I viewed:

• The event started 15 minutes late and not all audience members could see the projector screen.
• Hosts focused a large amount of time talking about their work and past achievements in comparison to the topics at hand.
• Q and A were limited to the end of the presentation.  Perhaps more interactive approach with audience could have generated positive discussions
• Ceili’s staff were nice and provided beverages for attendees.
• The overall presentation had interesting points, however, no offline strategies were clearly explained. 

In summary, the 5 major topics addressed for restaurants to stand out and utilize include:

1. Google Website – Google Adwords – Google Places
2. Reputation Management – Yelp.ca – Urbanspoon.com
3. Foodblogs- online reviews – reaching out to consumers
4. Facebook – Facebook fan pages – Facebook advertising
5. Twitter – Twitter advertising – mobile apps

The entire presentation was well executed and I did leave knowing a few more things about how important Social Media is for a restaurant really is.  The entire presentation will be explained this week in class and I hope to recreate the excitement that I felt after learning about several possible solutions. 

Link to the Utube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPe-ZeCUrIA

 

Oh my God – what a great read!

Hello all,

As a digital marketing student I found this book was exciting to read on many levels.  Before summarizing the major points I found interesting, allow me first to also described the awesomeness of the book itself.  The introduction of this book is so interesting because of its easiness to read, the fact you can share any or all pages with friends, it describes the best way to view the book, the fonts, colors and quotes make it easy to read and you, the user, controls the amount of information being processed.  This all takes place before even reading the interesting facts of the past 25+ years and what has transpired with the advancement of technology.   Very cool indeed.

As for the major points or “Good to Know in General” there are several key ideas which we, as students of the marketing world, should consider as the new platform of success.

• An interactive idea is very important and the digital media field is where this idea plays.
• Enrich your consumers, do not  interfere with them.
• Choose your target, choose your media channel and offer something relevent.
• Good ideas must work online.
• Your campaign reaches the global audience, know this before launching it.
• It is possible to target individually and this type of media will be the future.
• The social filter can be penetrated with relevent material to the user and can potentially go viral.
• Honesty is the best policy.  Breaking it will destroy your brand and marketing efforts.
• Create a platform for your customers to provide feedback.  Listen to them.
• Add meaning to your cool idea.
• Own the media and pay less.

I trust these points will give us a new meaning to the way we view social media and how we can all benefit from positioning ourselves.  What we are witnessing is the new era of awesomeness and we have to embrace this fact.  There are no rules to how we move forward but if we take the points above and apply to a business model, success will come both financially and socially. 

Please feel free to post your comments or give feedback.  This will help me in perfecting my work and also help you achieve a higher grade in this class.  The post above is also available to vote on.  What are your thoughts about parking?

useful internet marketing websites

Hello all,

This first assignment was not difficult at all to find a useful internet website.  After searching the mashable.com website I linked to this stellar site called http://business.blinkweb.com/ – check it out!

What makes this site useful and interesting is that you are in complete control of the content, layout, video and images.  It’s simple to use – go to the demo page to see how.  Unlike other webpages that already have a product or service being marketed, this webpage markets what you want.  I think this could be very advantagious for marketing students like ourselves.  We, as students, could market our next idea, a project or homework, links to utube, or even develop a new product or service that could go viral!

Like any website you have to read the fine print and sign up.  It’s free and there are many features included.  Keep this website in mind for future reference as I have not viewed other websites as easy to use and with so many features.  Hope this helps.

Brendan Jones

New to blogging…

Part time marketing student @ KPU and full time student of wine @ Le Crocodile.  I am taking this course to enhance my digital marketing abilities and grasp the concepts of marketing social media.  My interest include a variety of sporting activities, visiting restaurants and lounges, spending time with family and achieving success through well being.  I currently retain a diploma in Hotel Resort Mgt, a General Business diploma and certified Sommelier.  Looking forward to taking it to the next level with KPU’s BBAMM!