Thumbs up to digitally enhanced 2013 Eurovision Song Contest

by Marketing ON 17 May 2013

After the success of the 2012 event in terms of record website figures across the three finals nights which saw 162,000 unique visitors hitting up sbs.com.au/Eurovision and visitors engaged for an average of 38 minutes per session, this year SBS is going all out digitally in the show’s 30th anniversary year.

Focusing on emerging online platforms, in 2013 SBS will give Australian fans the chance to comment and vote for or against performers in real-time. Fans will play judge, jury and executioner on finals night in a way to up the ante by ways of being interactive.

SBS director of online and emerging platforms, Marshall Heald explaining, “This year will be SBS’s most ambitious broadcast yet – across all our platforms. We’re excited to be offering a truly social experience for our audience, allowing them to have their say and be a part of the broadcast.”

Heald admitting that this year is a “chance for Australians to celebrate Eurovision beyond the TV screen, with a multi-platform package to satisfy even the most hardcore fans”.

From live online and mobile voting, SBS is going beyond Twitter feeds onscreen and is instead offering Australian fans a say via enhanced online and mobile voting. Results will be tallied in real-time and displayed onscreen, immediately after each song.

There will also be onscreen comments, uploading of Eurovision party photos, a display of Facebook commentary, and word clouds, while punters will be supplied with QR code-embedded table tennis bat paddles to give a thumbs up or down to contestants.

All eyes will be focused on the neo SBS Eurovision website, redesigned in all its glory. Hosts Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang will once again head up the exclusive SBS coverage starting tonight and concluding on Sunday evening.

Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares turns social media horrorshow

by Simon van Wyk ON 17 May 2013

Lessons in how not to handle social media were played out in excruciating detail across the social landscape this week. It all started with the appearance of Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. The experience did not go well for the restaurant’s owners, Samy and Amy Bouzaglos, who came across as wholly unsuited to running an upscale eatery. They swore at customers, wouldn’t accept a diner’s feedback and revealed how they resold cakes made by other bakeries at a higher price. Gordon Ramsay actually walked out of their restaurant, unwilling to digest any more of their unsavoury business antics.

The restaurateur’s exit sparked a torrent of social media shaming from people on Reddit and a volley of one-star reviews on Amy’s Baking Company‘s Yelp page. There the whole sorry episode should have ended, however the owners took it upon themselves to respond to the commenters on Reddit and Yelp by throwing a volley of torrid abuse back at them. It’s not pretty.

Epic meltdown on Facebook

Their posts started out defensively before degenerating into a barrage of insults and profanities. For instance, some of the owner’s cleaner posts on their Facebook page read:

The owners have since issued a retraction of sorts, claiming that the restaurant’s social media accounts had been hacked. Believe that if you want to.

The real irony in this story is that the whole thing started with the restaurant appearing on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares – the show that is designed to help failing restaurants. The restaurant was already in trouble before the social media disaster. Now, while everyone on the planet has heard of the eatery and its somewhat combative owners, I’m not sure anyone’s going to be queuing up to eat there.

Of course Amy’s Baking Company is certainly not the first business or brand to damage their reputation and credibility on social media.

Last year in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, American clothing retailer Gap, got itself in all sorts of trouble by using the disaster as the springboard for an ill-thought through promotional tweet:

“All impacted by #Sandy, stay safe! We’ll be doing lots of Gap.com shopping today. How about you?”

It beggars belief that a company of Gap’s standing could let this particular tweet slip through their approval net. By way of an apology, the company made a donation of $1 million to the American Red Cross, and posted a written apology on their Facebook timeline.

Likewise, back in 2011, shoe designer Kenneth Cole used the Cairo riots as a platform to sell his new collection.

“Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online.”

Of course Kenneth Cole promptly apologised for making light of the riots in Egypt, but not before the Twitterverse was running rampant with a #boycottKennethCole and a spate of fake insensitive Kenneth Cole tweets.

Hijacked hashtags can also create all sorts of issues for unwary brands. Starbucks created the #spreadthecheer hashtag hoping to encourage Starbucks fans to tweet upbeat holiday messages under the hashtag. Unfortunately users hijacked the hashtag and tweeted out negative sentiments about the chain’s workplace practices.

In the same vein, McDonald’s oversaw its #McDStories hashtag fiasco where people began sharing some unpalatable stories about the fast food chain. One user’s tweet really set the tone:

“I used to like McDonald’s. I stopped eating McDonald’s years ago because every time I ate it I felt like I was dying inside. #McDStories.”

Typically social media meltdowns don’t have a lasting effect on brands. It’s more a matter of weathering the storm, and damage control. Of course we’ve never seen anything quite like the Facebook meltdown for Amy’s Baking Company, and while it did strike me as a media stunt gone wrong, I think this one may have long-lasting impact. That said, the business was already in trouble.

While the Samy and Amy story has made for riveting reading, there are a few takeaways that we should all take on board.

Don’t use social media when you’re upset. Consider waiting an hour or two – or better still, sleep on it. Things always look so much different in the cool light of the next day
Respond only to key comments and try not to be defensive. The best approach is to address the issues raised unemotionally to show that you are listening, and demonstrate that you’re doing your best to make amends. Certainly apologise if you need to
Don’t feed the trolls. While it’s important to respond to major comments – you don’t have to respond to everyone, as many of the commenters may be trolls waiting for you to stoke the flames. Silence typically works wonders
Never use derogatory language or make abusive and personal comments
Never use CAPS LOCK.

Aussies want brand info while Brazilian’s just want freebies on Twitter

by Marketing ON 16 May 2013

Australians are far more likely to have a genuine interest in the brands they follow on Twitter than their counterparts in the UK, Germany and Brazil.

A new study by Exact Target has found consumers’ online habits vary across the globe and had revealed that peoples motivation to ‘follow’ on Twitter vary from country to country.

The top reason for following a brand or organisation on Twitter in Australia was ‘to keep up to date with a company’s products’ and 36% of respondants liked to ‘to receive alerts related to developments within the organisation’.

The top reasons from the other countries surveyed were:
· Brazil: ‘to receive discounts’
· UK: ‘for more information related to my personal interests, hobbies, etc.’
· Germany: ‘to receive alerts related to developments within the company’

Lee Hawksley, managing director of ExactTarget Australia explains, “While only 6% of the online Australian consumers follow brands on Twitter, Twitter followers are networkers, leaders and influencers that Australian businesses can’t afford to ignore.”

Twitter were also found to be less motivated by discounts and freebies than fans on Facebook or email subscribers. They were even seen to be more viewed as a place to gather information including: product and service updates, advanced notice of new products, alerts related to developments within the company, exclusive content and information related to hobbies and interests.

“When using Twitter, remember to consider your audience. Consumers want to be heard—especially the influential users on Twitter who follow your brand. Provide them with an intimate view of your brand, so they can share their ‘insider information’ with the rest of the world. Also keep in mind that many online consumers are monitoring Twitter, even if they are not actively participating,” Hawksley added.

Australians also came out as the top consumers for engaging with brands on Facebook, creating a tremendous opportunity to connect with fans on an individual level and drive engagement that builds loyalty and brand advocates. More than 50% of Australian consumers Like a brand on Facebook, compared to 77% in Brazil and 45% in the U.K.

The results are based on surveys from online consumers gathered over the past year in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany and the UK by ExactTarget and published in their 2013 Global Executive Summary.

The rise of paid social media

by Catriona Pollard ON 16 May 2013

Social media is an excellent way to build relationships with your target audience and customers as well as amplify your marketing message. Paid options offered through a variety of social media platforms mean businesses now have the opportunity to be even more targeted with their social networking.

A recent survey by Vizu found three out of four advertisers surveyed used paid social media in their marketing strategies, and 64% of respondents planned to increase their paid social media investment during 2013.

Paid social media options include promoted posts and ads on Facebook, LinkedIn ads, promoted tweets on Twitter and sponsored blog posts.

How paid social media works

Facebook ads – can be used to promote a new business page, an event or to direct traffic to your website and boost sales. These can be targeted via location, demographics and even interests so you can ensure you’re reaching the right people. Ads are charged on a cost per click or impression basis.

Facebook promoted posts – appear higher in the news feed than organic posts, so that means more people will see your post. Use Facebook Insights to see what your followers respond to most. You set a budget for the lifetime of the post and Facebook will estimate how many people that will reach.

Twitter – promoted tweets can be used to gain more followers or direct followers to a sales page. They are charged on a cost per engagement basis, with engagement meaning a retweet, reply or a click on the link.

LinkedIn – ads are positioned on pages throughout LinkedIn, such as profile, home or search pages, with businesses using them to promote services and products. Again, you can target by location and demographics, plus title and industry. You pay for the clicks or impressions received.

Sponsored posts – many bloggers now offer sponsorship in the form of advertising, or product giveaways and reviews. If you know the blogger connects with your target market, these posts can be used to build your brand and direct traffic.

Pros of paying for social media

Paying for social media can get quicker results in the target market you’re looking for. It works well if you’re aiming for these objectives:

Starting conversations – paid social media can allow you to specifically target your potential customers and speed up the conversations you have with them online.
Lead generation – drive traffic to a specific platform or URL to build followers or entice customers with a special offer.
Brand awareness – Facebook and LinkedIn ads can both help with brand awareness because you can pin-point interested potential customers who want exactly what your business offers. This is a great strategy to build an audience initially or increase your market reach with a particular segment of the market.
Social media promotions – if you already have an active social media network, a paid promotion for a new marketing campaign or competition can really ramp up your results.

Cons of paying for social media

As the cost of paid social media is usually based on performance through click-throughs and engagement, it is fairly low risk, but there are some things to consider before jumping into a big commitment:

Alienating your networks – in the same way that we often find something else to do during ad breaks on television, paid ads on social media can make people switch off your brand. Make sure any social media advertising you do is part of an overall marketing strategy so the ads aren’t the only time your networks hear from you.
Hitting the wrong target – do your research before investing in any paid social media because even though the campaigns are measured on performance, if you get the target audience wrong it will be a waste of your time.

How to measure paid social media

Click-throughs, extra followers and engagement are often used to measure ROI of paid social media advertising, however other metrics also include sales and increased brand awareness within the target market.

Social media is here to stay, and more paid options will become available as these platforms find more ways to help you amplify your message.

The lights are on but nobody’s home in the land of Google Plus

by Marketing ON 15 May 2013

It was supposed to be the next Facebook, but it seems social media users have turned their noses up at Google Plus with new reports stating the average user spent just seven minutes a day on the site for the entire month of March.

A Nielsen survey obtained by Mashable.com has found that Google Plus users were active for six minutes and 47 seconds compared to Facebook, where the average user is being active for an average of six hours and 44 minutes. A Google rep told Mashable.com the Nielsen’s figures are ‘far off’ from what the company’s internal data show. Nielsen’s figures are based on visits directly to plus.google.com in the browser, and do not factor in activity on other domains like YouTube and Gmail, which Google may factor in.

Nielsen is also reporting that 20 million unique visitors in the United States used the Google plus Android and iPhone apps which equals a 238% rise over March 2012. On desktop, Google Plus’s monthly unique views jumped 63% from the previous year to 28 million.

The figures compare to 142.1 million uniques for Facebook’s desktop site during the same time and 99 million uniques who visited Facebook via their mobile devices. Twitter had 34 million unique visitors on desktop and 29 million uniques visitors from their official mobile app.

The report also showed that 20 million unique visitors in the US used Google Plus on Android and iPhone apps; a rise of 238% in March 2012 compared to 99 million unique views for Facebook and 29 million unique views for Twitter.

On desktop, Google Plus’ monthly unique views jumped 63% to 28 million compared to 142.1 million uniques for Facebook and 34 million for Twitter.

Facebook is still sitting way up in front of both platforms with 700 million active users.

Chinese social media giant partners with Hamilton Island to promote Australia

by Marketing ON 9 May 2013

Tencent, China’s largest online community with more than 780 million active users has partnered with Hamilton Island to broadcast the Great Barrier Reef Island to the flourishing Chinese market.

It’s the first time the social network has shifted outside of China and the third largest internet company in the world after Google and Amazon. Tencent’s QQ.com is the ninth most visited website in the world so traction for Australian is immense.

Targeting China’s affluent travellers of the future, Hamilton Island’s first Chinese ambassador Chao Xian Yang will work with Hamilton Island playmakers to build a robust Tencent Weibo community and fan base for the trendy Whitsundays’ island.

Chinese supermodel Li Ya Hong, Hamilton Island ambassador Chao Xian Yang, Tencent Weibo executive Xia Yue and a competition winner will visit Hamilton Island in May to promote Hamilton Island on Tencent Weibo.

Branded the ‘Twitter of the East’, Sophie Baker, Hamilton Island’s senior communications manager, explains the strength of the social media superpower: “China probably has more social media users than Facebook has worldwide. With China’s social media market nearly at one billion users, mostly on mobile, we are honoured to be partnering with Tencent Weibo.”

Capitalising on the high-end travel market, it’s a huge win for Hamilton Island in a monetary sense as Tencent Weibo executive Ai Fang admits. “When it comes to luxury goods, unique and high-end experiences, Tencent Weibo’s hundreds of millions of users are highly engaged consumers with high spending power,” he says.

Using Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and YouTube boomed back to the Tencent Weibo juggernaut, Hamilton Island’s social reach should increase dramatically.

Everyone’s on Facebook – so why aren’t the ASX100?

by Marketing ON 7 May 2013

Half of the ASX100 use social media – but only a third are choosing the social media platform that Australians favour, Facebook.

53% of ASX100 companies are now using Twitter, 27% are using Facebook and less than a quarter of the top 100 Australian companies are using both.

According to a study by Web Profits, 11.5 million Australians are currently active on Facebook but only an estimated 2.2 million are currently active on Twitter.

However, the results suggest that large Australian companies are choosing to use less populated Twitter to ‘hide’ their social output, forgoing the opportunity to connect with customers and stakeholders in fear of having their mistakes seen online.

Source: Web Profits

“The results indicate that companies that feel pressured by their boards to embrace social media are choosing Twitter because it feels safer,” says Paul Sprokkreeff, MD of Web Profits.

“Comments on Twitter fly by so quickly, while a faux pas on Facebook often sticks there for everyone to see. Rather than formulate a strategy to turn this to their advantage, many companies are confining their engagement strategy to tweeting the odd media release or pre-spun factoid to a handful of followers.”

Source: Web Profits

It appears that the big four banks are cottoning on to the higher engagement levels of Facebook.

The Commonwealth Bank leads the pack, coming in at number one of the ASX100 for effective social media deployment, with NAB, Westpac and ANZ coming in at 6th, 7th and 8th place.

“That the big four banks have caught on indicates that even traditionally risk-shy companies know that the blend of information and customer service that social media can achieve is a powerful marketing and loyalty tool,” Sprokkreeff says.

“I think we’ll see social media grow significantly in importance to exceed that of the call centre in the next five years.”

Social initiative shows magazines still move Aussie public

by Marketing ON 2 May 2013

Magazine editors have taken to social media to ask readers how magazines have inspired them, using the hashtag #MagsMoveMe. The initiative from members of Magazine Publishers of Australia (MPA) has drawn an overwhelming response, with the hashtag trending and receiving over 50,000 interactions within the first hour.

MPA members Bauer Media Australia, Pacific Magazines and NewsLifeMedia yesterday launched the Australian-first social media initiative to highlight the collective power and reach of mass consumer magazines, on any platform.

Readers are able respond with their favourite magazine moment, with images, posts and tweets.

The total magazine industry has more than three million social media followers across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest and daily visitors to their websites of over 700,000.

“This Australian and industry first initiative demonstrates a bold, powerful statement of the magazine industry’s collective the reach, engagement, motivation and influence and underscores the depth of creativity and imagination on sale every week,” says MPA executive director, Robin Parkes.

Australian Women’s Weekly editor-in-chief Helen McCabe says, “The debate about social media’s importance to a magazine or a brand is over. The fact is it is absolutely critical. It allows direct communication with the reader which means often a full and frank exchange of ideas and views.”

“On AWW we use it to find and research stories and to receive invaluable feedback on everything from our covers to our story selection. It has gone from being something I did occasionally to being a significant part of my job,” she says.

You’re doing it wrong! Businesses not meeting customers on their own turf online

by Marketing ON 9 April 2013

Businesses are using social media, but consumers don’t seem to be taking much notice, a new study by customer experience strategy, design and research company Fifth Quadrant has found, with businesses blamed for not being where the customer is.

The report titled ‘Emerging Consumer Channels: Social Media, Web Chat and Smartphone Apps’ has found that more than two-thirds of businesses were using some form of social media to communicate with customers, but only one third of those customers using the channel returned over the past three months.

The issue seems to lie in which sites are popular with consumers versus which sites businesses are predominantly using, suggests the report.

Facebook was found to be the most popular social media site with Australian consumers followed by online forums and communities and YouTube.

Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were found to be the least popular sites for customer engagement, with more than seven in ten consumers stating they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ turn to them for customer service purposes.

However, Twitter was the leading network of choice among businesses, being used by more than three-quarters of organisations. Company blogs, websites and online communities were the second most used category of social media, with Facebook being third on the list.

Generation Y is the highest user of social media in general and customer engagement, and made up 46% of all social media customer service queries within the last three months. Generation X made 39% of customer related queries, while Baby Boomers made up 29% and the Silent Generation (those born between1925 and 1942) contributed to 16% of all customer related queries online.

Concerns over security and a lack of personal interaction were the reasons cited as being the main cause for a lack of consumer participation on social media.

The study also found, not surprising to Marketing mag, that the responsibility for managing the network sits with the marketing and insights team.

Also highlighted by the report were businesses concerned with a lack of resources and the ability to keep up with the social media engagement. Head of research at Fifth Quadrant, Chris Kirby, says, “Simply creating a new service channel then standing back and waiting for the customers to come won’t work. If organisations want to offer customer service through social media, they need to go to the networks that their customers use. They also need to treat social networks as they would any other communications channel. This means developing realistic long term resourcing plans.”

New automated Twitter API rewards good, not loud advertisers

by Marketing ON 26 February 2013

Social media site Twitter has recently engineered an application programming interface (API) designed specifically to enable advertisers to better manage their campaigns on its network.

Where previous campaigns had a manual upload process, the new one is automated, and in further assistance to advertisers, functionality has been installed in order to aid marketers in integrating campaigns with other sites, including Facebook and LinkedIn.

April Underwood, Twitter product manager for revenue, explains that the latest advertiser-friendly “aimed to develop an approach that encourages ads that are engaging, relevant and useful”.

And she reiterates one simple Twitter philosophy that has perhaps been skewed over the years with advertisers scrambling for space and attention in the market.

“Our system rewards marketers for being good, not for being loud,” says Underwood.

So with the system easier for advertisers to target their ads, users should see “more relevant and better ads”, with no direct impact on the user experience in the short term.

Any change for better of worse does come at a cost though, with advertisers potentially seeing costs increase as auctions to purchase ads become more and more competitive.

“This is an obvious and necessary piece of infrastructure that all companies with proprietary ads systems need,” agrees Josh McFarland, chief executive of the ad-targeting company TellApart.

By building in an API, McFarland adds that some control to third parties is a progressive move by the Twitter brand as it demonstrates that they’ve “reached a size where they feel that the accretive value of third parties – to monetisation at least – outweighs the risks”.