Social Monitoring and Engagement platform to add new capabilities to the Market Leading Social Content Management System for Brands

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 8, 2012) – thismoment, Inc., a provider of social content management software for brands that want to rapidly and effectively engage consumers across social and mobile platforms, today announced that it has acquired Position² Brand Monitor, a leading social media monitoring and engagement platform. Position² Brand Monitor will rebrand as thismoment Brand Monitor.

Highlights

• Thismoment Brand Monitor’s technology enables companies to listen to product or service related conversations across social media, blogs, news and forums in real time.
• Upon integration with thismoment’s Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC), brands will be able to simultaneously drive content engagement and customer conversation management across all social media channels, including both YouTube and Facebook.
• First offering of its kind featuring a social content management system which possesses both listening and engagement features.

Additional DEC Capabilities

• Deeper analytics that drive informed marketing campaign decisions with conversation volumes, sentiment, trends, demographic, and influencer identification.
• Sentiment analysis of social media conversations for an enhanced understanding of how audiences critically receive specific campaigns.
• Geo-demographic summaries for insight into where/who is driving a campaign’s success.
• Influencer discovery for more targeted social engagement and message amplification.
• Share of voice reports, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn engagement capabilities in addition to many more features that enable companies to track their presence on social media and engage with customers.

Integration Examples

• Broader visibility into online conversations means that DEC customers can more accurately measure the influence of a campaign, then integrate relevant adjustments that can be pushed directly into their corporate social media channels.
• With external visibility into competitive scenarios, DEC customers are able to knowledgeably assess competitive positioning, identify target audiences, and quickly adapt all relevant brand page messaging.
• Provides customers a “closed-loop” campaign lifecycle with reporting analytics that inform future branding and ensures consistent deployment across online properties.

Key Facts

• The acquisition of Position² Brand Monitor follows thismoment’s recent announcement that it had secured $7.3 million in its first institutional capital round led by Sierra Ventures.
• Rajiv Parikh, CEO of Position², will join thismoment as SVP of Business Development and also will be responsible for leading company business development, social media listening capabilities, and growth in the Asian markets.
• Position² investors including Accel India will gain an equity position in thismoment.
• The Position² Marketing Services group will continue to deliver world class digital marketing services to its clients. It will be led in the US by Niraj Swarup, who takes on the role of Managing Director. Vinod Nambiar will be Managing Director for Global Delivery, based out of the India office. The Position² Marketing Services group will continue to work closely with clients, invest in the business and have aggressive growth plans over the years to come. The board and investors are committed to its continued growth. Rajiv will remain involved as Chairman of Position².
• With the acquisition, thismoment adds a new center of product, marketing and technical excellence in Bangalore, India.

While the acquisition is complete, thismoment is in the process of fully integrating Brand Monitor functionality into DEC. It expects this process to be complete in Q2, 2012. In the interim, interested parties can explore Brand Monitor functionality at http://brandmonitor.thismoment.com/.

Quotes

Vince Broady, CEO and Founder, thismoment

“We are thrilled to acquire such an advanced technology platform and team as we continue our drive to provide the strongest, most powerful brand management solution available to enterprise customers. As we look to expand internationally, Brand Monitor also provides us with close to 500 customers around the globe, with a particularly strong footprint in Asia. With the addition of Brand Monitor, thismoment DEC customers will now, better than ever, listen, discover and engage with their audiences on social media networks, and have an enhanced understanding of marketing campaign performance with conversation metrics, including volumes, sentiment, and share of voice.”

Rajiv Parikh, CEO, Position²

“We think our customers will significantly benefit from this acquisition and we couldn’t be more pleased about this acquisition by thismoment, one of the fastest growing social content management firms for brands. With our technology, DEC will now be the most complete social media marketing solution on the market. Enterprise customers will now have a better understanding of marketing campaign performance, can move more quickly to leverage trends, can track conversations to better understand market sentiment and can drive higher message retention.”

Curtis Corl, Vice President, Dollar Tree Direct

“Dollar Tree has partnered with Position² Brand Monitor over the last year to listen to real-time customer responses to in-store and online events across key regions and demographics. With the upcoming integration between Brand Monitor and thismoment DEC, we look forward to new capabilities that drive greater insight and deeper engagement with our customers.”

About thismoment

Thismoment is a pioneer in the development of Social Content Management Software for brands. Its Distributed Engagement Channel (DEC) is a real-time platform for managing a brand’s digital presence, including social content, conversation and creative assets across earned, owned and paid media channels on web, tablet, mobile, and digital outdoor devices. Launched in March 2010, DEC is already used by more than 100 Fortune 500 brands. To learn more, please visit thismoment.com.

About Position²

Position² is an Accel-backed company that delivers continuous growth for its customers through high performance search & social media marketing. Position² was founded with a vision to leverage technology to offer search and social media marketing solutions that deliver performance with consistency and predictability.

The team includes client management, marketing, creative services, technology development, search and social media marketing functions. Position² also provides expertise in online marketing solutions: SEO, PPC, Media and Advertising.

Position²’s flagship product is Position² Brand Monitor™, a platform that allows users to listen, discover and engage with social media conversations in real time. Brand Monitor™ is available in 2 editions, ranging from a free edition to a customizable Enterprise edition, from http://brandmonitor.position2.com.

Contact Information

Vinod Nambiar Managing Director Position², Inc. Email: mediarelations@position2.com Web: http://www.position2.com

Join the Conversation! Position² Blog Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

• Social Media and Super Bowl XLVI, B2B Marketing and much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• Social Media Growth in Emerging Markets, 2012 Trends and much more… | Best of the Week (2)
• Position² Wins “Most Valued Partner” Award from Lenovo (0)

Building Momentum Online

In what can be called one of this year’s biggest sporting events in the USA, Super Bowl XLVI generated tremendous buzz even before the kick-off on 5th February 2012. Super Bowl Sunday, when the New York Giants took on New England Patriots, saw fans thronging networking channels like Facebook and Twitter to post game updates, talk about their favorite teams, and guess the winners. Unlike before, when people were glued to their television sets in anticipation, in the age of social media, Super Bowl fans: a) are constantly posting updates on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, even as they are watching the game on TV b) took to YouTube to watch the ads online, with majority of brands releasing their ads much before the game. Research by the Brand Monitor team on what made Super Bowl XLVI the most social media-savvy sporting event so far revealed some interesting findings:

• The launch of official Super Bowl pages on Facebook and Twitter isn’t something new; however, what made this year’s game different was the launch of New York Giants‘ and New England Patriots‘ Google+ pages.
• Major brands like GE, Volkswagen, PepsiCo, Chevrolet, Audi, Kia etc made the most of the opportunity to unveil their Super Bowl commercials and teasers online, much before Sunday’s kick-off.
• According to IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), 56% of smartphone owners and 45% of tablet owners said they planned to use their devices during the game. The study also shows that 4% smartphone owners had decided to watch the entire game on their phones.
• The Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee’s social media command center responded to a question via social media every two minutes, and managed 1,500 interactions a day.
• Considering the high-cost of Super Bowl tickets ($2,800), many Americans decided to either watch the game on TV, or online. This contributed to exponential online buzz, as those who watched the game on TV also tweeted or posted comments about Super Bowl.
• Advertisers, who previously focused on TV commercials, were seen multitasking by also promoting their brand on various social media sites.

Super Bowl XLVI: The Social Media Buzz

According to research conducted by the Brand Monitor team, for the time period between 7th January and 6th February 2012, conversation volumes spiked on 5th February (100,510). This was unsurprising, considering it was on this day that the Giants beat the Patriots in a dramatic fourth quarter comeback.

• Pop star Madonna’s performance during half time on Super Bowl Sunday also contributed to the online chatter. Madonna, being the first female Super Bowl halftime headliner since the Janet Jackson wardrobe fiasco in 2004, was greatly discussed by the networking community.
• The gradual increase in buzz after 30th January indicates the buildup in momentum before the big game. As the day of the game drew closer, excited fans took to social media to talk about their favorite teams.

Top Media Volume and Sentiment Breakdown

• Of the total 807,898 posts registered during the one month period, Facebook accounted for the maximum buzz at 31%.
• This was closely followed by discussion forums at 28%.
• Twitter and blogs registered 17% volumes each. On sifting through the tweets, we found that the conversations were centered on Eli Manning, the various Super Bowl commercials and Madonna’s sizzling half time performance.
• Popular Twitter hashtags for Super Bowl XLVI included: #SuperBowl, #Madonna, #Patriots, #NFLExperience, #SB46, #Superbowltrivia and #NFLgreen.
• An interesting observation is that two of the biggest social networks, i.e. Facebook and Twitter collectively made up for almost 50% of the buzz. This indicates the growing popularity of the networking sites in comparison to other channels.
• As far as Facebook posts were concerned, most of the discussions involved Tom Brady and the Super Bowl Commercials.



• A large percentage of conversations (59%) pertaining to Super Bowl XLVI were neutral in tonality. The neutral posts were mainly centered on the commercials that were aired and game updates in general.
• While the positive conversations were a healthy 36%, we were curious about the negative posts, which were a marginal 5%. Contributing to the negative buzz were posts from disappointed New England Patriots’ fans who ranted about their team’s loss.



• On further analysis, we found that both the positive as well as negative sentiment was up on 5th February 2012. As seen above, there was a sudden rise in positive sentiment during the finals, followed by a significant drop soon after. The positive conversations mainly included posts and updates from ecstatic Giants’ fans.

Demographics

Top Country Breakdown

• Unsurprisingly, USA registered the maximum buzz at 77%, followed by Canada at 8%.
• Among the US states, California accounted for the highest volumes (3,735 mentions) followed by New York (2,983 mentions).

Age and Gender Distribution

• Although the male population, at 56%, appeared more enthusiastic about Super Bowl XLVI, the women were not too far behind, at 44%.
• Most of the Super Bowl enthusiasts were in the 20-35 age bracket (35%), followed by the 51-65 (26%) demographic.
• The demographic breakdown clearly indicates that the +65 population was inactive (0%) in discussions pertaining to American’s biggest football championship, while the <20 demographic was reasonably active (15%) in discussions pertaining to Super Bowl XLVI.
• Research shows that the younger demographic was not as interested in the game as they were in the ads associated with Super Bowl.

Conclusion

The exponential online buzz generated during this year’s Super Bowl game is a sign of things to come. This year’s game witnessed enthusiastic fans tweeting and posting updates, even as the finals were broadcasted live on TV. Over the next few years, we expect to see Super Bowl watching take on new dimensions, with people not only exchanging information and posting updates on social media sites, but actually watching the entire game on their Smartphones. Considering the fact that social media usage on mobile devices is set to grow, with 65.6 million users projected in 2016 (eMarketer), it won’t be surprising to see more and more people either keeping their mobile devices handy while watching the game, or preferring to watch the complete game online via smartphones.

As far as brands are concerned, Super Bowl XLVI presented them with the perfect opportunity to get noticed and unleash their creative best. While skeptics continued to debate over the enormous marketing budgets invested in Super Bowl promotions online, brands, in the meanwhile, went all out with highly imaginative endorsements. From Coca-Cola’s Polar Bear creative to H&M’s YouTube commercial featuring David Beckham, for the big names in the Super Bowl advertising world, it was all about making hay while the sun shines. In fact, the Super Bowl ads were such a huge hit that many people admitted to watching the game only for the ads. The spike in conversation volumes on Super Bowl Sunday can be attributed to two factors: a) the game itself and b) the Super-Bowl special commercials that accounted for a big percentage of online chatter.

With Google+ having only recently opened up its Brand Pages to marketers, we anticipate to see more brands advertise on this channel during the Super Bowl championships in the years ahead. Although television will continue to remain the preferred channel for Super Bowl viewing, especially among the older audiences, the relationship between the younger, social media-savvy demographic and digital media will only grow stronger. That said, with marketers increasing focus on online advertising, making their Super Bowl ads more creative than before, the phenomenon of double-screen multi-tasking (watching the game on TV and posting updates on social media channels simultaneously) is all set to grow.

• Social Media and Super Bowl XLVI, B2B Marketing and much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• Best of the Week! – Feb 18 2011 (0)
• Tracking The Fallout Of Groupon’s Super Bowl Ad (3)

In part one of Brand Monitor’s ‘E-Commerce and the Social Consumer: Making Online Shopping Hassle-Free‘ series, we discussed two of the most common hurdles that online customers faced and what retailers can do to make online shopping an enjoyable and problem-free experience. While insufficient information on brands’ websites, high shipping costs, along with the worry of the product being damaged, are among the biggest reasons that discouraged people from selecting the ‘buy now’ option, our research highlights two other factors that can deter prospective shoppers from making a purchase via digital and social media channels. In part two, we will focus on how brands can provide better after-sales support and service to customers and the importance of offers and deals and how these can convert prospective customers to loyal shoppers.

Resolving Common Consumer Woes: Part Two

Poor After-Sales and Customer Support:

Approachability and the constant availability of sales persons and attendants give brick-and-mortar stores that enviable edge over e-stores. Although there has been significant progress as far as social customer support by brands is concerned, customers are still daunted by questions like ‘I have a problem, who do I contact?’ or ‘the product purchased online isn’t up to my expectations, what do I do now?’ According to a recent study (conducted by an Assistant Professor of Communications at New York University for Conversocial), 49% customers said that they would be far less likely to buy a product from a company if they went to their Facebook page and found a bunch of unanswered questions or unresolved complaints from customers. Statistics like these highlight the importance of offering timely and efficient online support and service to customers. Let us look at some ways how retailers can do this:

• Timely Response: Online customer support is not just about being there for the customer, it is more about responding to the customer on time or at the earliest. Here’s a hypothetical situation: i)Customer notifies brand about a problem ii) brand takes time to respond or does not inform the customer that they have taken note iii) confused and frustrated customer takes to social media channels to vent his ire iv) what could have been a small, easily-resolvable issue eventually snowballs. Going by the CMO Council study, customers expect response within 24 hours after they engage with a brand online for support issues. For brands that need more time find solutions, we think a simple ‘we understand your concern and are working on resolving it at the earliest’ response should do the trick.
• Identify Customers in Need of Support: Not all customers will immediately reach out to the brand when faced with a problem. It is not uncommon to see customers talking about issues or asking for assistance by posting an open question on the web. In such cases, it would be wise to identify these customers by using social media monitoring tools like Brand Monitor, listening to conversations concerning your brand and focusing on those which need to be acted upon. Good customer support is resolving issues when customers contact the brand; great customer support is addressing concerns even before asked.
• Twitter is a Great Customer Support Tool: Twitter can be an excellent customer service and support platform. Most customers like the idea of ‘tweeting’ their concerns in a crisp, to-the-point format, using a platform that is public. For dissatisfied customers, using this microblogging site is mainly about getting the brand’s attention and expecting a quick response. One company that offers unparalleled customer service via Twitter is Dell. Check out the @Dellcares handle to know how it’s done.

Where are the Special Offers and Deals?

According to a Nielsen survey, the main reason why people engage with or interact with brands and companies via social media is for special offers and discounts. North American consumers showed the strongest interest in using social media for deals (45%), followed by consumers in Asia-Pacific (34%) and Latin America (33%). Consumers getting onto social media sites with the anticipation of finding discounts and deals are often disappointed when they find none being offered and look for alternatives elsewhere. While offering discounts may translate into additional costs for marketers initially, there are long-term benefits to this. Deals and discounts mean more customers, more customers mean more sales and more sales mean healthy revenues and profits.

• Making Online Shopping a Fun Experience: Why do many people think of online shopping as a dull experience? For consumers used to browsing through traditional stores and checking out the latest sales, the idea of filling up virtual carts may not sound appealing. Offering discounts to customers who ‘like’ a page, or allowing them to download coupons is a great idea to add the fun factor to the online shopping experience and keep them from getting easily bored.
• Giving Consumers a Reason to Loosen Those Purse-Strings: It is a common sight to see consumers thronging traditional stores during those Independence Day or Black-Friday sales. What motivates these coupon-collectors and discount-seekers to brave those long queues is the prospect of saving money, while loading up their shopping carts. While traditional stores have been successful in luring shoppers with special offers and discounts, where e-commerce stores gain the edge is in the absence of billing queues. Yet, consumers who visit a brand’s ‘Shop Now’ section on Facebook sometimes don’t complete their purchase because of lack of discounts. Our suggestion? Featuring offers and discounts at regular intervals gives consumers a good reason to loosen their purse strings.

Conclusion

The inability to physically be able to handle the product and not finding sufficient information are some of the most common reasons that deter online consumers from selecting the ‘buy now’ option. Research shows that some of the more serious reasons included credit card security issues, high shipping costs and poor after sales and customer support. With ‘high shipping costs’ being the number one reason for customers to opt for traditional stores, we expect online retailers to work towards either reducing this or completely obliterating costs associated with the delivery process.

Another area where brick-and-mortar stores win over virtual shopping is the physical presence of sales personnel to answer queries and look into customer complaints. However, as seen in the case of Dell, online customer support has come a long way in terms of timely response, identification of customers in need of assistance and making optimum use of social media platforms as customer support tools. Twitter being the preferred customer support platform currently, both online retailers and customers are likely use this microblogging channel much more than before. From resolving issues, listening to complaints or simply interacting with customers, the next few years will see an increase in use of Twitter as a customer support channel. As for online deals and discounts, brands appear to be working on how they can make the virtual shopping experience more fun by increasing the number of special offers and allowing shoppers to download coupons. According to Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst, daily deal sites like Groupon are expected to fuel substantial growth in the next five years.

The time-strapped modern consumer is social-savvy and willing to shop online. For brands, this means tremendous opportunity to up those revenues and send the sales charts soaring. The one thing that brands need to keep in mind before venturing into this space is that there’s more to online marketing than fancy promotions and sales talk; converting prospective customers into loyal shoppers greatly depends on how much effort marketers put in towards making online shopping a hassle-free process.

• E-Commerce and the Social Consumer – Making Online Shopping Hassle-Free: Part One (1)
• Understanding The Online Sales Cycle Using #GoogleAnalytics (0)
• Shopping Online, Social Media Trends and much more… | Best of the Week (0)

Keeping up with the Social-Savvy Consumer

The ever-changing taste of the social consumer, along with the dynamism of the social media space, sometimes makes it difficult for online retailers to keep up. The online buying process has undergone some radical changes over the last few years. The modern shopper a) is greatly influenced by recommendations, reviews and price-comparisons posted on social media sites b) uses location-based services to find brick-and-mortar stores c) is short on time and prefers the convenience of shopping online instead of spending hours in billing queues and d) favors the choice online stores have to offer as opposed to the limited variety of products in traditional stores. Going by eMarketer’s 2011 study, by 2015, 170.3 million people, or 76.3% of the online population, will make a purchase on the web. While the figures sound optimistic, online shoppers presently face what is known as the ‘abandoned shopping cart’ syndrome. Research by the Brand Monitor team unveiled some of the typical reasons why people are hesitant to loosen their purse strings as far as purchasing online is concerned:

• Inability to browse through stores and physically try-on and purchase products. For many shoppers, the prospect of clicking on products and adding them to their carts is considered to be a dull experience.
• People are worried about sharing credit card information and personal details on social media channels and websites.
• Are not sure about the exchange and refund policies.
• Some shoppers are of the opinion that the shipping charges are too high and there are risks of the product being misplaced or damaged.

For online retailers, these may be minor hiccups that can be easily taken care of. However, for some consumers, especially those who are buying something online for the first time, these minor glitches, along with some major ones, are reasons enough to discourage them from filling up their e-shopping carts. In our two part series, we share some tips and suggestions on how brands can make online shopping an enjoyable and a hassle-free experience.

Resolving Common Consumer Woes: Part One

Insufficient Information:

Although the price is great, lack of information can be a major deterrent for prospective customers. According to a survey by Cone, in 2011, 69% shoppers looked for product/service information online before deciding if they should make the purchase. Websites and social media sites that go all out on advertising, without including the necessary information required to complete the purchase, often risk losing their customers mid-way. Here are some symptoms that indicate that your brand’s e-commerce site is in need for a revamp:

• Not Enough Customer Reviews: The fear of negative reviews could be a major reason why some brands are unsure about posting customer reviews on their websites or social media pages. Considering the fact that 90% of people said reviews have an impact on their decision and 60% say they’re the most important factor (PowerReviews and the e-tailing group), we say including customer reviews is a good idea. After all, it is true that people tend to trust the opinions of other shoppers or their friends more than they would trust brands’ opinions and recommendations. What about negative reviews? Simple… let your social customer service team a) engage with the unhappy customer b) try and resolve the issue c) post the responses online and d) make them feel you care.
• What are the Payment Options? It’s not uncommon to see a brands Facebook page or website that is rich in most of the information, yet, does not see the sales charts moving in the expected direction. Although the pricing information and special offers are featured, there are instances where the payment options are relegated to an obscure corner of the website. For time-strapped customers, who have little patience to actually browse through and locate this information, the simpler option would be to move on to your competitor’s website. Does your brand’s ‘Shop Now’ section fall under this category? Perhaps it’s time for a revamp.
• Where are the Product/Service Details? The advantages that brick-and-mortar stores have over online channels are a) the presence of sales personnel to describe the product in detail and b) the convenience of reading the details on the package or manual provided. For online retailers, overcoming this challenge lies in providing extensive details concerning the merchandise, including instructions on how a product may be used. Looking for examples and ideas on how to design that perfect webpage? Check out the ASOS Facebook page, which is complete with all the required information in an easy-to-assimilate and creative format.

The Abandoned Shopping Cart Phenomenon:

Convenience being one of the biggest reasons to shop online, it is important that retailers make the delivery process hassle-free. Shoppers, who have no problem with the prices, fill up their e-carts, only to decide on the last minute to abandon their shopping efforts. Research indicates ‘high shipping costs’ to be the biggest cause of the ‘abandoned shopping cart’ phenomenon:

• High Shipping Costs: A study conducted on Shopping Cart Abandonment by Forrester Research shows that ‘high shipping and handling charges’ was the #1 reason why customers abandoned their shopping carts at the check-out step. While it is not always feasible for brands to lure shoppers with the promise of ‘free-shipping’, there couldn’t be a better way of increasing shoppers’ likelihood of purchasing products online. With e-commerce being all about price and convenience, trimming down shipping costs, or even better, removing them entirely could result in massive increase in sales for retailers. The additional orders gained by brands that offer free-shipping can offset the burden of shouldering the initial costs.
• Damage During the Delivery Process: Remember the recent FedEx video of the delivery man tossing a fragile package over the gate and walking off? The company’s senior vice president of U.S. operations, Matthew Thornton, apologized with a video of his own, preventing the incident from snowballing further. This incident highlights one of the biggest reasons why shoppers would rather go to traditional stores and buy the items themselves, than entrust the responsibility of delivering the goods, ordered online, to someone else. The key to persuading people not to abandon their shopping carts lies in the marketer’s ability to convince buyers that they are capable of delivering the products to the expected standards. We suggest a) engaging with prospective customers during the initial stages of purchase and assuring them of safe delivery and b) highlighting the return policy and/or money-back guarantee (in case of damaged goods) on the website or the brand’s social media page. This feeling of reassurance can go a long way in converting those hesitant prospective customers to loyal shoppers.

Where are the Special Offers? What about After-Sales Support?

The brand’s social media site/webpage includes all the required information and consumers are no longer burdened with high shipping costs; is there more to a comfortable online shopping experience? We say yes. While insufficient information and high shipping costs can be major deterrents, there are other challenges that consumers face while buying online. In the second part of the series, the Brand Monitor research team will discuss how marketers can improve the online shopping experience by providing after-sales support and entice them to buy more by offering discounts and deals on their websites and social media pages.

• E-Commerce and the Social Consumer – Making Online Shopping Hassle-Free: Part Two (0)
• Understanding The Online Sales Cycle Using #GoogleAnalytics (0)
• Shopping Online, Social Media Trends and much more… | Best of the Week (0)

The debate over the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) bill, introduced in the US House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith, has, so far, drawn some interesting reactions. Although the House Judiciary Committee, which held hearings on SOPA on November 16 and December 15, 2011, will only meet on 24th January 2012 after the winter recess, the war of words over SOPA is far from over. Research by the Brand Monitor™ Team at Position² shows how the issue over the controversial act has played out so far:

• One of the earliest reactions came from hacktivist group ‘Anonymous’. The group has warned to hack into and replace the front page of every website they can with a protest page.
• A group of security experts, including Dan Kaminsky and Paul Vixie, wrote a letter to Congress opposing SOPA and PIPA.
• In the initial supporters list was GoDaddy.com; the company openly expressed its decision to back SOPA, drawing considerable flak online. Following the concerted boycott against GoDaddy by anti-SOPA activists and the loss of over 70,000 domains, the company recently announced withdrawal of their support.
• However, this did not guarantee respite for GoDaddy; competitor NameCheap accused the company of intentionally blocking the transfer of domain names.
• 29th December 2011 was declared as ‘Dump GoDaddy’ day.
• GoDaddy wasn’t the only company to face the music over SOPA; Sony, which also supports the act, recently faced threats from Anonymous.
• From internet giants like Google and Yahoo! to industry-experts like Facebook, eBay and Mozilla, the anti-SOPA crowd is of the opinion that SOPA and the PIPA will stifle free speech and destroy the open internet.
• While former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is among the prominent personalities to have recently expressed his apprehension concerning the bill, US Congressman Paul Ryan is in the news for his stand on SOPA. Reddit has, apparently forced the member of the US House of Representatives to publicly announce his decision to no longer support the bill.
• The pro-SOPA crowd includes the likes of Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), ABC television, the Country Music Association and the US Chamber of Commerce among others.
• Although Microsoft pulled some of its direct-but-proxy support for SOPA, the company remains publicly in favor of the PROTECT IP Act.
• Recent developments include the announcement of an “internet blackout” initiated by some big names in the digital space. This is most likely to happen on 23rd January, one day before the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet.

Popular website Reddit.com has announced that it will will blackout its site on Wednesday, January 18 for 12 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has said that he hopes to coordinate with Reddit so that Wikipedia does the same. During that 12 hour period, Reddit’s content will be replaced with “a simple message about how the PIPA/SOPA legislation would shut down sites like reddit, link to resources to learn more, and suggest ways to take action.”

SOPA and the Social Media Buzz

Analysis by Position2 (for the time period between 11th December 2011 and 10th January 2012) shows that conversation volumes initially peaked on 16th December (2,007).

• The gradual peak in buzz after 15th December could be attributed to the SOPA hearing by the House Judiciary Committee on the same day; this subsequently resulted in an increase in the number of people discussing the possibility of the bill being passed and the ramifications of the act.
• Despite the slight dip in conversations after 21st December, volumes rose once again following GoDaddy’s announcement that it no longer supports the anti-piracy bill.
• That said, the highest volumes were registered on 9th January (2,025), followed by 1,981 volumes on the 6th of the same month. Research shows that this spike could be after Al Gore publicly opposed the act, followed by Paul Ryan’s withdrawal of support.

GoDaddy Garners Unwarranted Attention

• While analyzing conversations specifically pertaining to GoDaddy, we were surprised to see how the attention was diverted from the original SOPA issue to a full-fledged boycott against GoDaddy.
• 23rd December 2011 witnessed an exponential increase in volumes (14,303 mentions to be precise!), following GoDaddy’s declaration that they weren’t “for” SOPA.
• Although we expected significant online chatter on 29th December 2011 (Dump GoDaddy Day), the buzz gradually subsided after the company announced that it was now officially among the list of companies that opposed SOPA.

Top Media Volume and Sentiment Breakdown: SOPA

• At 31%, the Twitterians were highly vocal about how they felt about the proposed legislation. Commonly used hashtags included #SOPA,#PIPA, #boycottGoDaddy and #StopSOPA. While the earlier tweets were centered on GoDaddy, recent conversations included tweets on the Reddit blackout scheduled for 18th January 2012.
• Discussion forums also registered considerable volumes, at 29%, followed by blogs at 25%.
• Clearly, Facebook audiences didn’t appear as active in their discussions related to the bill. Of the negligible 6%, most of the posts included links to news feeds related to SOPA and PIPA.
• At 72%, the conversations were mostly neutral in tonality. Further analysis shows that people mostly shared links explaining what exactly the SOPA was all about.
• The negative conversations, at 27%, included posts by the anti-SOPA crowd. Once again, it was GoDaddy that came under severe criticism for their support, followed by Rep. Lamar Smith. There were also several posts describing Microsoft’s support of the Protect IP Act as “disgraceful”.

Top Media Volume and Sentiment Breakdown: GoDaddy

• It was only a matter of time before SOPA became synonymous with GoDaddy. Although the pro-SOPA list included prominent names like Viacom, Time Warner and L’Oreal, it was GoDaddy that experienced maximum backlash, especially on Twitter; the microblogging site accounted for 71% conversations.
• Registering the second highest volumes (19%), discussion forums were abuzz with talks of why GoDaddy users were not ready to forgive the company yet. Reddit.com was among the preferred sites for discussions concerning SOPA and GoDaddy.
• Although 52% of the conversations were neutral in tonality, 47% were negative. While the neutral posts were mostly centered on GoDaddy’s role reversal, the negative ones ranged from blatant criticisms to sarcastic comments on why people should move domains.
• Despite accounting for a negligible 1%, we were curious about the positive comments that people had for GoDaddy. Sifting through the positive posts showed that some people were happy with GoDaddy’s new anti-SOPA stance.

Demographics

Top Country Breakdown

• Unsurprisingly, the maximum buzz, at 90%, was registered in the USA.
• Further breakdown shows that, New York, when compared to other US states, recorded the highest conversations (8,344 posts).

Gender and Age Distribution

• At 85%, the male population appeared more concerned about the possibility of the SOPA bill being passed when compared to women (15%).
• At 34%, the 20-35 demographic discussed the possibility of ‘internet dictatorship’ the most. They called this the government’s conspiracy to control free speech.
• The <20, age group registered the least buzz, at 9%.

Conclusion

While the likes of Microsoft and the Motion Picture Association of America have publicly expressed support of the contentious Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the digital space has been abuzz with anti-SOPA conversations. From the above analysis, it is clear that the online space is divided into the pro-SOPA and the anti-SOPA crowd. Previously in the pro-SOPA list, one company that received the most criticism is GoDaddy. In addition to threats of boycott, GoDaddy lost thousands of domains, cornering the company into withdrawing support and officially changing sides. We are curious to see how Microsoft (a SOPA supporter) will respond to criticisms from people and if Sony will give in to the threats from the Anonymous group. Also worth watching out for are reactions from the networking community as well as the political circle after Al Gore said that he opposed SOPA and Congressman Paul Ryan was forced into saying that he didn’t support the bill. Despite the slight dip in conversations for a short while, volumes have increased once again as the time when the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet draws near.

Unsurprisingly, it is the US that has been most active in discussions pertaining to the bill. However, with internet being a medium that surpasses geographical boundaries, it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world joins in. That said, Twitter has been the preferred channel of information exchange and communication during a crisis or uprising (remember Women2Drive and Occupy Wall Street?); as far as the anti-piracy act is concerned, it continues to remain the number one platform for communication.

Unlike before, when people had little opportunity to voice themselves when bills were passed and laws announced, the exponential growth of social media in the last few years has provided people with a platform to make themselves heard. The internet, with the exception of countries like Iran and China, has always been the ‘people’s platform’ with little interference from the government. However, with the possibility of the SOPA bill being passed into a law in the US, things could soon change for millions of internet users across the country.

• Social Media Helps Spur #OccupyWallStreet Protests (4)
• SOPA and Social Media Reactions, Social Customer Service and much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• 2011: Looking Back and Learning (0)

The Year That Was

As we bid adieu to 2011 and look forward to the year ahead, we know that this is a crucial time of the year when marketing budgets are planned, strategies are rolled-out and frameworks for future campaigns are created. While this may be one of the busiest times for marketers, it is also a time when brands look back at the year that was and wonder what they can do to make the coming year less stressful and more productive. From highly creative viral campaigns to complete social media gaffes, 2011 had more than its fair share of memorable moments that can teach brands a thing or two about marketing online. And it was not just online campaigns and events that stood-out; the social media marketing world itself underwent massive changes. Let us look at some of the highlights:

• The launch of Google+ in late June was one of the most talked about topics during the year.
• No sooner had Google announced the launch of its social network, Facebook revealed plans to introduce their video calling option, in partnership with Skype.
• In September, the networking giant announced a major overhaul, including the introduction of its new Timeline and Open Graph features, which did not go down well with users.
• October saw Google+ Brand pages open to marketers.
• During the same month, LinkedIn launched ‘Company Status Updates‘ enabling companies to broadcast messages to their followers.
• Just before the end of 2011, YouTube underwent a major redesign which focused on channels, video discovery and social sharing. This was YouTube’s biggest renovation since it was bought by Google five years ago for $1.76 billion.
• Not to be left behind, Twitter introduced a whole new look for Twitter.com and TweetDeck, as well as its mobile apps towards the tail-end of the year. The changes were made with the aim of simplifying user-experience.
• December sure appeared to be busy month for the social media world, with Facebook buying location-based service Gowalla to improve their Timeline feature.

With 88% U.S. companies expected to use various social media channels for marketing purposes in 2012, and overall US social network ad revenues projected to continually increase through 2012 (eMarketer), the future is full of opportunity for social media marketers. Considering the dynamic nature of online marketing, especially social media, it is difficult to predict how the months ahead will span out. However, one way of keeping crisis at bay and ensuring there are fewer ‘oops’ moments involves learning by example.

Twitter Tales

Be it celebrities, political figures, or brands, almost everyone today is using Twitter to share information, sell products and keep their followers updated in general. Twitter, when judiciously used, can be a powerful and persuasive microblogging tool that can do wonders to a brand’s image online. However, as famous saying goes, ‘with great power comes great responsibility‘. This couldn’t be more apt in the case of Twitter. Here are some interesting examples from 2011 that social media marketers can learn from:

• How One Tweet Can Affect Brand Image: The Anthony Weiner controversy in mid-2011, over that one tweet that obviously wasn’t meant to be shared, saw the New York Congressman eventually resign from the House of Representatives after 12 years in office. Besides sending the networking community into a tizzy, the embarrassing tweet adversely affected the political figure’s image among his followers and political circles. The Weiner episode highlights two important things that brands need to keep in mind before taking to Twitter: a) Tweet responsibly: this can either propel your brand into the limelight or it can have a negative impact on the image and reputation built over the years b) Own up: Fans and followers understand that a brand’s social media expert responsible for the tweet is only human and is bound to slip-up occasionally. Instead of going into denial mode, owning up and claiming responsibility can be seen as a sign of maturity and prevents the issue from snow-balling further.
• Timing it Right: The Qantas contest launched in November 2011 couldn’t have been more inappropriately-timed. The Airline aimed to increase visibility and grow their fan-base by asking followers to describe their “dream luxury in-flight experience”. However, with customers still recovering from the grounding of the entire fleet in October (Qantas and its unions had stopped contract talks the day before), the general sentiment toward the company was hardly positive. No sooner had Qantas announced the promotion, audiences and followers used the #QantasLuxury originally meant for the contest to vent their ire. The message for marketers? Time your promotions right. A smart marketer always does his homework by testing the waters and determines the customer’s mood before launching a contest or a product. If it’s not the right time, then it would be wiser to wait it out.
• The Power of Promoted Tweets: McDonalds Canada, in April, launched a geo-targeted Promoted Account to increase the @McD_Canada’s followers count. The fast-food chain did this by using a ’suggested follow’ that targeted users through specified keywords and hashtags. The outcome? McDonalds Canada, with a total budget of $15,000 (USD), not only gained 9,503 new followers, but also drew in 14,200 profile views and resulted in a 4% overall engagement rate. This included retweets, replies, favorites and clicks. Keeping in mind the fact that advertising click-through rates are usually sub-zero percentages, this is quite an achievement. For brands looking to increase their followers, engagement and visibility via Twitter, using paid advertising including Promoted Tweets, Trends and Accounts is a good idea.

Famous (and Some Not Quite…) Facebook Campaigns

According to the Rise of Social Advertiser, a 2011 report by The Pivot Conference and Brain Solis, 93% of social advertisers have already deployed campaigns on Facebook, while 5% of the respondents said that they planned to do so in the next 12 months. Statics like these indicate that Facebook continues to remain one of the most favored platforms among online marketers to launch their campaigns and promote products and services. However, before planning your marketing strategies for the year ahead, let us look back at some case studies from 2011 which could provide valuable lessons in Facebook marketing:

• Promoting a New Launch? Why Facebook Marketing is a Good Idea: Prior to the release of their Muppets movie in November 2011, Disney jumped onto the social media bandwagon with great enthusiasm to generate enough pre-launch buzz. The company’s promotional efforts on Facebook, however, deserve special mention. Besides boasting +217,000 ‘likes’, the visually appealing ‘Kermit-the-Frog’ page featured the ‘Fan-a-Thon’ contest aimed at young audiences. The campaign was not only hugely successful, but generated considerable online buzz prior to its release. Facebook, with +800 million users, is the preferred choice for most marketers looking to ’spread-the-word’ about that ’soon-to-be-launched’ product. With Disney showing how it’s done, need we say more?
• Keeping it Simple: For the politicians gearing up for the 2012 Presidential Elections, the campaign strategy during 2011 featured a liberal dose of social media. Barak Obama, on one hand, used the ‘Are You In’ Facebook Page tab app to drive awareness and invite support for his campaign. The app is easy-to-use and the Facebook page neatly designed. The campaign has been a success from the word ‘go’, with 23.7 million fans so far. However, Republican presidential primary candidate Ron Paul’s Facebook page looks like it needs a little more thought and planning. With only +563,000 ‘likes’, his page a) features a fake ‘like’ button image in the banner, right next to the real ‘like’ button; definitely increasing confusion for potential supporters and b) features a “Support Ron Paul” landing tab app, though it has not actually been set as the Page’s default landing tab. The message for brands and marketers from this is clear: Keep your Facebook page easy-to-navigate and simple to use, else you could increase the possibility of frustrating and keeping off potential customers.

Winning it on YouTube

When it comes to online marketing, it is no secret that videos, especially those uploaded YouTube, can have more impact than other channels. Audiences, when asked to choose between reading marketing messages and watching creative promotional videos, usually go for the latter. However, simply uploading a video on this channel and expecting to see results immediately may often lead to frustration, followed by abandoning of efforts. This is why we have listed some of the most viral YouTube campaigns of 2011. These, in our opinion, highlight some of the do’s and don’ts of YouTube marketing for brands:

• Overstepping the Line: Although some of the most memorable ads are the ones that are funny, brands first need to understand that humor is highly subjective. The cheeky Groupon Super Bowl ‘Save the Money-Tibet’ ad on YouTube rubbed off people in the wrong way. The ad started off with the narrative about the plight of Tibet, suddenly shifting to actor Timothy Hutton pitching a Groupon for a Tibetan restaurant. Although Groupon eventually apologized for being insensitive to the suffering of Tibetans, it was clear that audiences were not amused. Our advice? When it comes to creating a humorous ad, brands need to draw the fine line that separates funny from insensitive.
• Buzz Equals Sales? Hoping for a successful repeat performance in 2011, Old Spice decided to launch another installment of their Isaiah Mustafa campaign, albeit with some changes. The 2011 Old Spice ‘Mano a Mano’ advert on YouTube certainly garnered the expected attention and occupied the #1 position on Visible Measures’ viral video chart. However, there was one not-so-small problem…sales did not lift as had in 2010. According to SymphonyIRI data, sales of Old Spice body wash declined to a 24% in the four weeks ended July 10 and witnessed a 9% decline for the 12-weeks period vs. the same period in 2010. The message for brands from this? Increase in buzz does not always mean soaring sales. Sometimes a tried-tested-and-previously successful formula is not enough to send fans reaching for their wallets. Considering the ever-changing tastes of the social consumer, trying something new is always good.
• The Power of Storytelling: Everybody loves a good story…and consumers love brands that can market their product(s) by narrating a good one. This is exactly what the Dirt Devil Brand did in a highly creative YouTube campaign. The ‘You Know When It’s the Devil’ ad not only recorded +26 million views, but was also shortlisted at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in 2011. Now that’s some story! For marketers looking to promote their company or product on YouTube, this ad can teach a thing or two about how to sell a product without going overboard with the sales talk. We say this is definitely a good tip.

LinkedIn Lessons

Think ‘online campaigns’ and LinkedIn is not one of the platforms that come to mind, at least, not immediately. While not the first choice for many marketers, LinkedIn can be a valuable online marketing channel when used smartly. Although the professional networking site made its API available to developers in late 2009, only a few brands have used it to create successful campaigns. Our search for one such campaign in 2011 ended when we came across the Volkswagen brand name.

• LinkedIn Campaigns Don’t Have to Be Boring: One of the reasons why marketers shy away from LinkedIn as a platform for social media campaigns is because of the incorrect perception the site is ‘boring’. Volkswagen didn’t seem to think so. The company’s “LinkedUit” (LinkedOut) campaign for the Netherlands not only pushed ‘boring’ out of the window, but was also one of the most talked about LinkedIn campaigns of the year. Little surprise that industry gurus used terms like ’smart’ and ‘brilliant’ to describe the promotion for VW’s new Passat model. For marketers who have put LinkedIn on the back-burner, this case study should be inspiration enough.

Conclusion

Unlike before, when brands approached social media with skepticism, today’s marketers are much more enthusiastic about using social media for marketing. Going back a few years, marketers believed social media was a mere fad and is something that was best suited for a young crowd. Considering the fact that some of these brands (who were marketing mavens otherwise), had nowhere to look for inspiration, we wouldn’t say they were entirely wrong in their hesitancy to jump onto to the social media bandwagon. A lot has changed since then. The last two years in particular are rich with social media marketing case studies and events made the world stand up and take notice (Remember the Women2Drive campaign and Occupy Wall Street?). While some stories are inspirational and can be added to a marketer’s of ‘tips for online marketing’ list, there were others that were lessons in everything a brand should not do.

As the years go by, social media marketers have more examples to learn from. Just as brands in 2010 looked back at campaigns from the previous year for ideas, marketers welcoming the New Year are taking time off to learn from previous examples. Today’s social media marketers are no longer green-behind-the-ears; they are smart, willing to learn and careful about not making the same mistakes as the others did. While these are certainly good signs, we are eager to see if 2012 has its healthy share of motivational case studies that can serve as learning examples for marketers in the years to come.

• Social Media Helps Spur #OccupyWallStreet Protests (4)
• The #SOPA Story So Far – Social Media Reactions (1)
• Happy Holidays! (0)

Social Media Changes the Way Movies are Promoted

Understanding the importance of promoting their movies online, production companies are taking to social media with great enthusiasm. Instead of leaving all the talking to the fans, the modern movie maker has taken to the digital space, right from pre-release phase. Looking back at some of the recent examples, including the Harry Potter Facebook page and the official Twitter handle for the Twilight Saga, it is evident that today’s movie makers consider social media marketing as a vital aspect of their promotional strategies.

The Social Side of Sherlock Holmes

The first part of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, released in 2009, changed the way the popular fictional character was perceived among fans. While critics felt that Ritchie had gone a little too overboard with the too modernized, too stylized version of Sherlock Holmes, fans were quite opposite in their opinion. This was evident in their discussions on popular social media sites and blogs. Let us look at how the Sherlock Holmes series has played out in the online space so far:

• Warner Brothers partnered with TweetDeck to promote the 2009 release of Sherlock Holmes.
• Following the release of the movie on 25th December 2009, the official Sherlock Holmes website was opened up to fans. Visitors could watch trailers, order DVDs online, and get movie updates and information about the actors on the site.
• The official Facebook page, which had been launched to publicize the first part, now features interesting snippets, trailers of A Game of Shadows, and discussions by excited fans. The page currently boasts +2,020,000 ‘likes’.
• The official trailers for Sherlock Holmes as well as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows have been made available on YouTube. The sequel, however, has garnered more hits than the previous film.

• As part of the social media promotional strategy, the @GameofShadowsUK Twitter handle was created. Besides including links to interviews featuring the likes of Guy Ritchie, Sherlock followers were also treated to various contests on Twitter.
• The release of the sequel saw the mushrooming of several blogs. The bloggers discussed everything from the plot to the new ‘bad guy’ in the movie, Professor Moriarty, played by Jared Harris.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: The Social Media Buzz

Research conducted by the Brand Monitor™ Team at Position² (for the time period between 19th November and 19th December 2011) shows that the conversation volumes spiked on 7th December (2,070). This was followed by 2,002 conversations on 8th December.

Contrary to expectations, the volumes on the date of the US and UK release (16th December 2011) amounted to 1,793; while significant in number, we had expected 16th December to register the maximum buzz.

Top Media Mentions Breakdown and Sentiment Analysis

• Further analysis shows that blogs, at 31%, accounted for the highest buzz. Besides discussing the story-line and characters, bloggers mostly compared the sequel with the first part.
• This was followed by Twitter at 23%. The popular hashtags used were #SherlockHolmes, #SherlockHolmes2, #GameofShadowsUK, #221B and #Moriarty. While sifting through the conversations, what we noticed is that a number of tweets talked about how the latest Sherlock Holmes movie fared against Mission Impossible 4 at the box office, which hit the cinemas a few days earlier.
• Despite boasting +2,020,000 ‘likes’, Facebook, however, accounted for the least buzz at 6%.
• Brand Monitor’s Sentiment Analysis chart indicates that most of the conversations (76%) were neutral in tonality. The discussions were centered on the release dates, star cast and plot. Some people were undecided if the second part were better than the first.
• At 20%, the positive conversations ranged from fans calling Jared Harris in his role as Professor Moriaty as ’simply brilliant’ to describing the movie as ‘awesome’.
• Conversations that were negative in sentiment were a negligible 4%.

Demographics

• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows registered highest buzz in the USA, at 57%. This was followed by the UK, which accounted for 25% of the conversations. This was unsurprising, considering the fact that USA and the UK were one of the few regions where the movie was released the earliest.
• We were not surprised to see that the 51-65 (13%) age bracket was not as active in their discussions pertaining to the movie. This, in our opinion, could largely be because of the fact that the older demographic was not entirely convinced by Guy Ritchie’s depiction of Holmes. They were more inclined to perceive the character as originally sketched by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
• The 20-35 age group appeared to have no such problems. More open to change, they better received the ‘new Sherlock Holmes’ and accounted for the highest discussions at 36%.
• While 68% of the posts and discussions were by the male population, women accounted for 32% of the conversations.

Conclusion

Unlike before, when the buzz surrounding anticipated movie releases was largely restricted to the offline media, it is now possible for movie makers to predict how a film is likely to be received by monitoring online conversations much before the official launch. The real-time nature of social media ensures that the word about a motion picture is spread beyond geographical boundaries, even before it is officially released in the country. In the case of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie, for instance, audiences in countries outside the UK and the USA have a fair idea of what to expect, although the film will only release a few days later in these regions. What we are also eager to see is how the launch of the movie in non-US and non-UK countries will impact the conversation volumes, especially the demographic data.

The above analysis also highlights one important aspect of promotion via networking channels; i.e., the number of Facebook ‘likes’ does not always translate into volumes. While Sherlock Holmes fans were enthusiastic in ‘liking’ the page, they preferred other channels to carry out their discussions. With the holiday season in full swing, we believe that this could be one of the factors for increase in online buzz. As seen above, after the first week of December, the volumes steadily increased, with the exception of a few days. Considering the fact that Christmas is fast approaching and the New Year is ’round the corner, people have more time to discuss the movie; which means an expected increase in buzz over the next few days. The latest Sherlock Holmes movie is an example of the important role social media plays in both the pre-launch as well as the post-launch phase. Fans exchanging opinions and discussing the movie on every popular networking site out there means box office charts are no longer the only indicators of a motion picture’s success in today’s times.

• Is Your Audience Truly Engaged via Social Media? (1)
• A Recap of Top Social Media Stories in 2011 and much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• Social Media and Sherlock Holmes, Search Engine Trends and much more… | Best of the Week (0)

The Brand-Influencer Relationship

Unlike before, when social media marketing success meant the number of ‘followers’ or ‘fans’ amassed, today’s marketers know that influencers are imperative to a brand’s success online. According to a study by Meteor Solutions, 30% or more of a website’s actions are determined by influencers. These influencers, who are thought leaders and industry experts, can have significant impact on a brand’s reputation and even affect bottom line sales. A smart marketer, who knows the power of influencer marketing, is investing considerable time in finding these brand advocates, engaging with them and establishing a strong brand-influencer relationship. Why are online influencers so important to a brand?

• Consumers, who heavily rely on word-of-mouth recommendations, do not always believe everything a brand says; the influencers have an important role to play in such cases.
• Online campaigns and marketing messages promoted by influencers have better chances at success than those that aren’t.
• According to a 2010 Forrester study, Mass Influencers were responsible for 80% of the influence impressions and posts about products and services in social channels.
• These brand advocates help spread the word about a brand’s site, products, services, and promotions and spur their followers into action.
• When it comes to Online Reputation Management, the influencers play a major role in how your audience views your brand.

A recent study by Vocus shows that influencers with a tighter connection were more important to the respondents than those who simply had a horde of fans and followers with little or no connection. The study, which presented respondents with a question about hypothetical influencers, concludes that influence is directly related to the quality of connection to a given network.

Identifying Influencers

The above study clearly establishes the difference between popularity and influence. Influencers are not determined by the multitude of followers they have; they usually have a dedicated audience who follow these experts because of similar interests and because they are credible in their fields. However, finding the influencers and developing meaningful relationships with them requires some research and listening. While some influencers are famous in their respective industry circles, there are others, who although lesser known, are just as powerful among their followers. According to Brain Solis, “the true movers and shakers of the online marketing universe are less visible than you’d think. They show up when the timing is right, reach out to their medium-sized but strong network, and let the message take its course.” In an overcrowded digital space, what can brands do to identify and pick out true influencers?

The Following vs. Followers Ratio:

This is one of the most basic ways of determining if an individual is a true influencer. It is not uncommon to find people following or friending someone only because they were followed in the first place. The true influencer is followed by at least twice the number of people he follows, and in some cases, a lot more than that. Ashton Kutcher, with his +8,570,000 followers is a highly influential voice in the social media space. The actor, who goes by the @aplusk Twitter handle, is worth $140 million; this means every time Kutcher endorses a brand online, there are greater chances of people actually listening and contemplating a purchase.

The Question of Credibility:

Before going to the next step of engaging with the influencers, online marketers need to first establish the credibility of these people who will go on to become the voice of the brand. Finding answers to these questions is a good start; a) Are they considered to be experts in their field? b) How often are these people getting retweeted? and c) Are they truly engaged? It is important that your potential influencers post frequently and are reasonably active on social media. The content posted by these brand advocates, no matter how compelling, will have little impact if the messages are few and far in between.

Using Social Media Monitoring Tools:

Using comprehensive social media monitoring tools like Brand Monitor™ is an effective and time-saving technique to identify and learn more about potential influencers. It is impractical to manually check the number of fans or followers each person has and determine if that person qualifies as an ‘influencer’. Media monitoring tools simplify this process by determining the influencer score. Once the influencers have been identified, marketers can then proceed to engage with them and convert them into brand advocates.

Taking it to the Next Level

After establishing who the influencers are, the next step involves creating meaningful connections with them. For companies looking to improve their brand image and increase visibility online, engaging with these ‘power users’ is definitely a step in the right direction. Taking the influencer-brand relationship to the next level involves some vital, though easy-to-implement, steps:

Plan Your Engagement Strategy:

In order to build a lasting relationship with your influencers, it is essential to plan your engagement strategy first. Overwhelming these brand advocates with one too many tweets or marketing messages without giving them the option of knowing your company and understanding what your brand does may only dissuade them from connecting further. As a brand, a well thought-out engagement plan will also give a clearer idea of what it is that you wish to achieve from this relationship. Here are the two important stages of the planning process; a) the listening stage: using social media monitoring tools, brands can listen to what the influencers have to say before attempting to engage with them. As an online marketer, you could study what hashtags they use and use them in your posts in order to show-up on their radar b) the courtship stage: this involves commenting on their blog posts, retweeting interesting content, and joining in their conversations on social media channels. This is a good way to move the discussion forward.

Building a Relationship:

Once the foundation has been laid, brands can safely proceed to strengthen and cement this relationship. Most social media gurus agree that the nothing works as well as pampering the influencers and making them feel special. According to BzzAgent’s ‘Field Guide to Brand Advocates‘ report, 58% influencers said that it was important to them that they are viewed as good brand advocates, while 49% felt the need to be recognized for their efforts by the brands. In our opinion, the secret to a strong and successful brand-influencer relationship begins with a) something as simple as saying a ‘thank you’ when they share your content or mention your brand on a networking channel and b) is strengthened further by treating them to special offers on the brand’s yet-to-be-launched products that are usually available to a select few.

What You Need To Avoid:

There could be several reasons that could cause an easily-avoidable crack in the brand-influencer relationship. While some marketers turn-off influencers by too much sales talk and self promotion, there are others who solely focus on the A-listers, while ignoring the second-tier bloggers after a while. Although one of the main reasons why brands seek out and connect with these power-users involves promoting their products and services, it is a good idea to let them establish a comfortable relationship with your brand first. Also, when it comes to connecting with brand advocates, what marketers also need to keep in mind is that instead of targeting a few top influencers, it would be wise to connect with a greater number of second-tier bloggers for better reach. The chances of the latter having more time to engage with your brand are a lot higher than the time-strapped A-listers who may restrict themselves to a select few.

What Influencers Can Mean for Your Brand

Influencers can be that much needed shot-in-the-arm for brands looking to improve their image, gain visibility and revive sales. What an influencer says about your brand can greatly impact how your brand is perceived in industry circles and among fans. Considering the power of word-of-mouth marketing, brands need to understand that roping in influencers to promote their products and services ensures better prospect of success. Our research on how influencers can impact a brand unearthed some interesting case studies:

Driving Traffic the Ford Way:

Many brands today, especially automakers, prefer approaching influential Twitter users instead of celebrities to promote their products online and drive traffic to their websites. Ford, for instance, decided that these power users were more influential and visible than celebrities. Also, the fact that people trusted the voice of regular people like themselves prompted the automaker to engage with 100 social media influencers to endorse their Fiesta subcompact. The Fiesta Movement campaign, which involved the influencers first test-driving, and then posting reviews online, generated over seven million views on YouTube and four million mentions on Twitter. It drove 130,000 consumers to its website and 83% were previously non-Ford owners. And of course, the affordability factor certainly tilts the scale in favor of the influencers.

How Marmite ‘Spread’ the Word:

When Unilever decided to launch the ‘extra-mature’ version of its iconic Marmite spread, the company identified and engaged with a group of ’superfans’ called ‘the Marmarati‘. Unilever’s idea of involving these influencers to spread the word across various social media channels before launching Marmite XO paid off. Within no time, the word about the company’s newest product was out, with brand advocates talking about it on blogs, Twitter and Facebook. In the 12 months following its launch, MXO delivered £1 million in sales. Most importantly, the Marmarati remain an engaged group of brand advocates.

Raising Brand Awareness:

Pepsi was one of the first few brands to use social media to raise brand awareness. When the company decided to overhaul its entire brand, including the logo, PepsiCo adopted a slightly non-traditional approach. Instead of sending out a press release, PepsiCo roped in some ’select bloggers’ and delivered a bunch of cans showing the way its design had evolved since its launch. These influencers then blogged about the new design, increasing brand awareness in the process. The real-time nature of social media and the fact that these brand advocates in turn influenced their followers to be more receptive to the change worked brilliantly for the beverage company.

Conclusion

Social media marketing is no longer restricted to simply getting onto a popular networking site and straight-away promoting brands. Today’s marketers are paying close attention to and engaging with social media influencers with great enthusiasm because of their industry expertise and wide reach. Also, brands believe that engaging with influencers is an effective way of maximizing the value of their investment in social media. While identifying the influencers can sometimes be challenging, for most marketers the greater challenge lies in engaging with and retaining these power users. In our opinion, the key to a long term brand-customer relationship lies in understanding what drives these influencers and trying to get on their radar before making your move. When they have heard about your brand and know what your area of expertise is, they will eventually be interested in what you have to say.

While the benefits of engaging with these power users include everything from increasing sales to spreading marketing messages, brands also need to know that these influencers can greatly contribute to controlling a PR crisis. Influencers have a loyal group of fans and followers who immensely value what they have to say.

The online marketing world is constantly evolving, making the process of reaching and selling to customers more challenging than before. The change in customers’ buying behavior and the frequent mushrooming of networking sites mean marketers are under constant pressure to find new ways of disseminating information. For these marketers, influencer marketing is a highly efficient and relatively inexpensive way to strengthen their foothold and standout in an overcrowded and dynamic online marketplace.

• Tips on Sprucing Up Your Social Media Marketing This Holiday Season and more… | Best of the Week (0)
• Twitter Business Guide, Google+ Business Profile and much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• SOPA and Social Media Reactions, Social Customer Service and much more… | Best of the Week (0)

Used by hundreds of businesses, Position² Brand Monitor™ expands social media listening and engagement across marketing, customer service and competitive intelligence.

Palo Alto, CA, December 14, 2011: Position², a US based provider of Digital Marketing technology and services, has announced its free version of Position² Brand Monitor™, the company’s real-time social media listening and engagement platform. Companies and agencies can sign up at http://brandmonitor.position2.com. For the first time, companies and agencies will be able to harness the same enterprise-class social media monitoring platform used by hundreds of companies for a new value proposition – free.

“Just as social media forever changed the relationship of customers and brands, Position2 Brand Monitor expands how businesses harness the explosion brand conversations across multiple media,” states Rajiv Parikh, CEO of Position2. “Customers and key influencers are talking on Facebook, Twitter, news, forums and blog sites. With Brand Monitor, there’s no need to switch across multiple media tracking and engagement systems. You can get it all in one integrated platform – starting at free and scaling to the enterprise.”

New Capabilities, Multiple Editions, Easier To Use

• Available in 4 editions including a completely free ‘Basic Edition’, Position2 Brand Monitor™ is designed for enterprises and agencies. The Standard, Professional and Enterprise editions of Brand Monitor provide additional search topics, higher data limits, Twitter firehose access, more user accounts, workflow and in-depth reports.
• The free version of Position2 Brand Monitor™ offers higher data levels than enterprise social media monitoring products that costs over $7,000 per year. The Standard and Professional versions, priced at $49 and $149 per month, compare to competitors that cost in the tens of thousands per year.
• Brand Monitor™ is now super-easy to set up and use, with wizards, hints, live chat support and community help. There’s a new product tour that teaches user how to fully leverage the system. Data sources have been strengthened with the Twitter firehose, in addition to thousands of new discussion forums, blogs and news sites. Sentiment analysis and reporting has been revamped to include media analysis, demographics and data segmentation.

Key Features of Brand Monitor™

With Brand Monitor™, companies can:

• Monitor social media conversations in real-time
• Track brands across social media, blogs, news, discussion forums, video and photo sharing sites
• Engage directly via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Track all engagement in a single system
• Get daily and weekly conversation summaries across media channels
• Filter actionable, high priority conversations from the noise
• Identify influencers talking about brands/products/services
• Get detailed analytics and in-depth reports on the entire process

In addition to the platform, Position2 also offers “Actionable Engagement” add-on services packaged with the Brand Monitor™ Enterprise Edition. A team of analysts filter out actionable mentions from noise and categorize them. Mentions can be forwarded for action or responded to immediately.

“As the largest single price retailer in a hyper competitive market, it is critical for us to understand our customers and competitors,” says Curtis Corl, Vice President of Dollar Tree Stores. “With Position2 Brand Monitor, we listen to customer responses to in-store and on-line events, and segment them across key regions and demographics. We utilize the integrated engagement capabilities to build our social media presence. My team is impressed with Brand Monitor’s easy ability to listen to thousands of social media conversations and Position2’s highly responsive support team.”

Applications of Brand Monitor™

Position2 customers currently use Brand Monitor™ for marketing, customer service, competition tracking, research and brand reputation management.

For Marketing: Marketers can track conversations about their brands on social media, giving them a good understanding of how the market is reacting to their latest campaigns. Leads can be discovered by identifying intent in social media conversations. Social media conversations with negative sentiment can be easily identified and responded to, dramatically helping with brand reputation management. Most of Position2 customers use Brand Monitor™ for marketing applications.

For Customer Service: Companies can easily track what issues their customers are facing and complaining about on social media, respond to those customers using the built-in engagement tools and gauge their responses to public announcements.

For Competitive Intelligence: Companies can track their competition’s latest activities online easily, measure and analyze reactions to their products and services, and even identify business opportunities that can be tapped into.

Brand Monitor™ Editions – Comparison

Features
Pricing Per Month
Search Topics	2 search topics	4 search topics	6 search topics	20 search topics
Data Limits	12,000 posts per month	36,000 posts per month	108,000 posts per month	Unlimited posts per month
Data Sources				+ (Custom Sources)
No. of Users	1	2	5	10+
Social Profiles
Reports	Basic	Advanced, Export to CSV and Excel	Comprehensive, Export to CSV and Excel	Comprehensive, Export to CSV and Excel. Custom Reports.

To learn more about the differences in Brand Monitor™ Editions, see a detailed comparison of features.

About Position²

Position2 is an Accel-backed company that delivers continuous growth for its customers through high performance search & social media marketing. Position² was founded with a vision to leverage technology to offer search and social media marketing solutions that deliver performance with consistency and predictability.

The team includes over a 100 professionals across functions that include client management, marketing, creative services, technology development, search and social media marketing. Position² also provides expertise in online marketing solutions: SEO, PPC, Media and Advertising.

Position²’s flagship product is Position² Brand Monitor™, a platform that allows users to listen, discover and engage with social media conversations in real time. Brand Monitor™ is available in 4 editions, ranging from a free edition to a customizable Enterprise edition, from
http://brandmonitor.position2.com

Contact Information

Zubin Tavaria Director – Marketing Position², Inc. Email: mediarelations@position2.com Web: http://brandmonitor.position2.com Media Downloads

Join the Conversation! Position² Blog Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

• Managing Social Media Burnout (0)
• What Influences Buying Decisions in #Social Media? (0)
• The Influence of Social Media on Online Retail #SocialMedia #Retail (2)

Social Media for the CPG Industry

The last few years have witnessed manufacturers of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) embrace social media with great enthusiasm. When it comes to social media, industry giants like Kraft and P&G have adapted rather impressively, having not just a Twitter or Facebook presence, but also putting immense efforts at being the ‘customer’s brand’. Where there are success stories, there are also instances where many CPG brands continue to face teething troubles with online marketing. The reasons for this could be many; though one of the primary causes could be attempts to fit social media marketing in the company’s traditional marketing strategy. This may not be the wisest approach as social media is a separate, dynamic and growing space, while traditional marketing is a completely different ball game. It is not uncommon to find social media added as an afterthought to a brand’s traditional marketing strategy. According to a new national study from The Shopper Technology Institute, two of three CPG companies said that social media accounts for less than 5% of their marketing budget. These may be worrying statistics; however, the future of the CPG industry in the digital marketing space does look promising. Let us look at some reasons why CPG brands should give social media marketing its due importance:

• Of the total companies surveyed (The Shopper Technology Institute Study) 76% said that the budget for social media has increased in 2011 compared to the previous year.
• The survey confirms that consumers are willing to connect with brands via social media; although this is mainly influenced by the degree of emotional connection they have with the brand. For manufacturers of consumer packaged goods, this translates into an opportunity waiting to be explored.
• The most commonly used networking channels by CPG brands are Twitter and Facebook. For the 11% that don’t use either one, we recommend they start doing so, considering the fact that Facebook and Twitter are two channels where they are most likely to find their target audiences.
• A joint-study, conducted over a two year period by comScore and dunhumbyUSA, found a median 21% in-store sales increase among shoppers who had been exposed to online ads for CPG brands compared to those who had not seen them. Almost one-quarter of campaigns received a boost of +40%.; a good reason for CPG manufactures to further increase focus on their online promotional strategies.
• According to eMarketer, 2011 is likely to witness 35% increase in online CPG advertising. Although the growth will slow, consumer products are likely to have as much as 10% of the total ad spending by 2015.

P&G’s re-entry into e-commerce via Facebook indicates just how crucial social media is becoming to CPG brands. The company recently added “Shop Now” buttons to the Facebook fan pages for several of its brands including Gillette, Olay and Tide. The global giant is one of the many CPG companies that are exploring the concept ‘e-tailing’ with renewed interest and are talking internet marketing more seriously than ever before. Considering the fact that the modern consumer is willing to make purchases online, the recent upsurge in social media activity by CPG brands isn’t surprising at all.

Overcoming Challenges

Social media can be a challenging space, especially for marketers whose comfort zone is traditional media and those who are hesitant about selling online. The ever changing taste of the social-savvy customer means CPG brands have to be alert and on-their-toes while advertising and marketing their products online. Winning big with social media marketing isn’t simply about creating fancy Facebook pages or YouTube videos; it comes down to overcoming everyday challenges and meeting the customer’s needs as quickly and as efficiently as possible in a way that’s also profitable to the company.

• Retaining Customers’ Attention: While capturing customers’ attention is one part of the challenge, retaining it long enough to convert them to loyal shoppers is easier said than done. Maintaining the activity can be an uphill task; but no one does it better than Kraft. Besides developing interesting online content, a lot of effort goes into developing their webpages on various networking channels. On checking out the company’s Facebook page, one would know that immense background research was conducted before it was made available to visitors. Kraft added the ‘fun’ element to the page by featuring recipes and meal ideas, at the same time giving out nutritional tips and allowing visitors to chat with their kitchen experts. The company not only gives out product information, but also tells its customers how they can use them to create delicious meals. Little surprise that their +760,000 Facebook fans keep coming back for more.
• Dealing with Feedback: One of the major reasons why CPG brands hesitate to embrace social media is the apprehension of negative feedback. Customers, who were previously bombarded with press and TV ads and had few outlets to make themselves heard, are only too happy to be able to speak out via the various networking channels out there. In order to keep up with the competition, many brands create a Facebook page or a Twitter account, only to go silent during a PR crisis. Our advice? Listen to reviews, they offer valuable information on how you can improve your product or marketing strategy further. Negative feedback can sometimes be good; by responding to unhappy customers, you could turn them into brand loyalists.
• Diving Head-First Can Hurt: For CPG marketers, the online space is not their most natural place for marketing. Yet, marketers are faced with a choice of either joining in or getting left behind. However, simply diving head first without having clearly defined goals and without understanding trends may not be the best approach. Here’s what we suggest; a) define your company goals instead of simply imitating what your competitor does b) choose the best possible networking tools based on the goals and c) monitor the digital space by using social media monitoring tools like Brand Monitor™ and find out what the trends are, what demographic you should be targeting etc, and then design your online marketing strategy accordingly.

Making Customers Feel Valued

Veterans at offline marketing, CPG brands need to understand that social media marketing puts the customer in control. Unlike earlier, when CPG marketers could claim that their products were ‘best in the market’ without having to worry about being contradicted by consumers, they are handling online promotions with kid gloves. In order to avoid another ‘Nestle-like‘ situation, brands are doing everything from setting up 24/7 command centers to investing in building a fully-fledged crisis management team. While it is not always possible to completely understand the social consumer, making them feel valued is a great first-step for CPG brands looking to nail it. Here are some suggestions:

• Social Couponing is Highly Effective: One of the major reasons why people visit a brand’s social media webpage is for discounts and coupons. By offering discounts and giving away coupons, brands a) make their customers feel valued and b) give them a good reason to revisit their webpages. Although some brands are worried that coupons may reduce the premium value of the brand, most agree that social couponing offers unique benefits, one of them being building a loyal customer base. According to a survey from Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods, the second most important reason why people visited a CPG brand’s website is to obtain coupons. This explains why the likes of General Mills and Unilever, after partnering with Groupon, have had a solid customer base and a loyal fan following.
• Being Best Friends: It is every CPG brand’s wish to be best friends with their customers. Although coupons and discounts contribute towards making the social consumer feel special, moving up the relationship ladder is all about being available when they have something to say. An overload of sales talk won’t solve your customer’s problems; being best friends is all about listening and responding. Listening in and engaging with your customers online shows that they are important to you and you care enough to be there to soak in the suggestions, act upon complaints and interact with them.
• Going That Extra Mile: When the packaged goods industry ventured into the world of online marketing, it was all about creating interesting online promotional material, offering the occassional discounts and resolving customer complaints when required. This, however, is slowly changing. There are those companies that monitor conversations pertaining to their brands and meet customers’ needs as they arise; and then there are the others that go the extra mile to give their customers much more than they have asked for. General Mills, which has a well connected online customer base, is one such brand. Besides marketing their regular range of baked products online, the company also offers gluten-free products aimed at 2% of the population with Celiac disease as well as the additional 10% interested in avoiding gluten, a demographic that was otherwise dismissed as too small and insignificant to target profitably. When the word about General Mills’ gluten-free range was out in 2009, the news spread like wildfire across Twitter and Facebook. Now that’s what we call making customers feel valued!

Learning by Example: Some Do’s and Don’ts

It doesn’t take much for the social consumer, with their short attention spans, to abandon one brand’s Facebook or Twitter page and check out what their competition is doing. Although the non-CPG social media stars like Starbucks and Nike have mastered the art of customer retention and online marketing, some brands in the CPG industry are testing social-media waters. Nevertheless, the packaged goods industry boasts its own social media stars that have effortlessly and successfully incorporated online marketing into their offline marketing strategies. As we look at the success stories, we have also listed certain case studies that highlight some things that should be best avoided. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

The Don’ts:

• The @SwansonChicken Account: A definite fit into the ‘don’t’ slot, Campbell Soups’ @SwansonChicken account is updated a tad infrequently than their fans would like. With less than 2,500 followers, the CPG behemoth is an example of how infrequent activity can impact the followers count.
• Where’s my Balsamic Ketchup? Heinz’s Facebook page recently promised fans that they could buy their limited edition Tomato Ketchup with balsamic vinegar, only to inform annoyed customers who had trouble purchasing, that they were experiencing “technical difficulties” with the Balsamic Ketchup tab. This was soon followed by several posts, where the complaints ranged from “Fix that tab! I got fries waiting!” to “How do you get the Balsamic Ketchup you promised on the 14th?” The food conglomerate has assured fans that they would soon fix the glitch. What can the others in the industry learn from this? Fans have little patience; therefore, it would be a good idea to perfect those social media pages and test them before going ahead with promotional announcements.
• Spamming the Ragu Sauce Way: This is clearly an example of what a combination too many tweets with irrelevant content can do to a company’s reputation. While the @Ragusauce twitter handle is frequently updated, a closer look reveals that the posts aren’t the best example of appropriate content. Spamming your followers sure is a ‘don’t’.

And Some Do’s:

• Do it Like Old Spice: Previously, Old Spice was known as the brand used by “grandpa”. P&G aimed to change this; and that’s exactly what they did by roping in the hunky, towel-clad Isaiah Mustafa to market Old Spice to the younger demographic. The YouTube videos that were aired were not just a massive hit, but also successfully changed the brand’s image by using the tagline “The man your man could smell like.” For older brands aiming their products at younger audiences, we say ‘Do it the Old Spice Way’.
• Learning from Little Debbie: CPG brands have a lot to learn from American snack cake brand, Little Debbie, which comes across as one of the most human accounts on Twitter. The @LittleDebbie handle features tweets that give the impression that the person handling the account really cares.

Conclusion

For the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, social media was a relatively new and unexplored space. However, the entry of brands like Kraft, General Mills and P&G, to name a few, into the online marketing space, has changed that. From creating some memorable YouTube campaigns to setting examples in customer engagement, when it comes to new media, CPG brands are no longer green behind the ears. While the big names in this industry have mastered social media marketing, there are other brands that are rapidly following suit. This is unsurprising, considering the fact that consumers no longer want to queue up at grocery stores and are willing to fill up their shopping carts online. This translates into a great opportunity for CPG brands looking to build a loyal customer base and get those sales charts soaring.

Traditional media will always have its special place for CPG marketers. But relegating social media to a small, insignificant place in a company’s marketing strategy means getting left behind in a very competitive digital environment. With more and more consumers doing their research online before deciding to make a purchase, brands now have the opportunity to entice the smart shopper by featuring detailed product and pricing information.

Online retailing of CPG goods is rapidly growing. Although the challenges for this industry are many, they don’t seem to deter ambitious CPG brands from eyeing a piece of the social media pie.

• SMB 2012 Marketing, Top 5 Online Trends This Year & much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• CPG Brands on Social Media, Brand Monitor Free Edition and much more… | Best of the Week (0)
• #OccupyWallStreet on Social Media, B2B Social Business Marketing & much more… | Best of the Week (0)