Are brands pushing harder to get us to eat more, or is it just that the message is being sent out on so many platforms that we can't help but feel bombarded by it.

I know that obesity numbers are also on the rise in New Zealand. A quick scan of the classifieds, show that their is definitely a high proportion of FMCG food related marketing positions in the big city centres. Are food manufacturers doing such a good job at engaging us all through marketing that we feel we NEED some of the foods that were once superfluous to our diets?

Below you see that the rise is not steady, it actually triples. Food for thought...

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You may have already seen this infographic created by the fine folks at Facebakers.com
They have a plethora of stats about Facebook pages, users based on countries and a whole host of other numbers. When Facebook reached its 500 millionth users in July, the Facebakers team created this nifty diagram.

Surprisingly, New Zealand did not fare in the top countries for Facebook usage. In my experience it is definitely one of the most used social platforms across different segments of New Zealand people. The farmer on dialup, the mother with kids and the businessman from the "bored" room on his iPhone are all using Facebook in New Zealand. New Zealand does get mentioned in the top 5 as one of the "Oldest Countries" - I take this to mean we have been doing the bookface thing since aaaaages ago.

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An iPhoneography website out of Europe is celebrating the beautiful iPhone pictures that are being taken around the world by asking for submissions to a new book. 

These are the photos that I submitted. What do you think?

New Brighton Kite Festival

A Father's Love

Butterfly

Mission Bay

Sunrise

Sky Tower

The submission deadline has been extended to September 12, so load up your iPhoto and send in a maximum of 6 photos. The judging panel will choose one for submission.

Sidenote: Their was no feedback on the website after I submitted, so I really wasn't sure if it "worked". I did get an email the next day confirming that they had received my photos though.

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After hearing about this article via Marilynn at Mums on Top I like thousands of other women and mothers around the world joined their Facebook Fan Page to give them a piece of my mind. Google them on Facebook to see the backlash on their fan page. Their was also a Boycott Better Homes and Gardens Facebook group that grew to over 2,000 members in just one day.

An apology has been issued with the most offensive commandment of calling for mothers to breastfeed in germ infested toilets being removed. it was only one of the offending commandments and in truth the entire article should have been scraped, it is insensitive and archaic.

What are your thoughts on the Commandments? I could go on and one, but curious to hear what you think?

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The QR Code standards are not widespread outside of Japan, so I'm confused as to why Fly Buys is using them in their bus booth campaign to download relatively average music.
It takes 4 steps to get the software that will allow you to scan the code - most punters are not that tech savvy. I consider myself an early adopter and even I couldn't be bothered to get the software to the download the free music.

I think the payout (free mediocre music) was not worth the hassle. Not to mention the 'small print' was VERY small and I'm not sure what I would have been paying for txting for the sketchy QR software.

What do you think? Is technology with barrier to entry to a significant part of the population a good idea for mass marketing?

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Small businesses make up a large proportion of New Zealand businesses. But make no mistake, though these businesses may be small in the number of employees they have, they are in no way small in their business objectives and follow through. Everyone from insightful mothers, style conscious women, to men who are sick of working for the man are turning their hand at creating and growing companies that have 1, 2 or 3 people on the books. But what may be taking some multinational companies by surprise is that these little guys are blowing them out of the water when it comes to online presence, social media and building relationships with their clients. These 3 things are creating dollars for small businesses that used to reserved for the big guns. Case in point are Facebook Fanatics Belly Beyond and Vlogging Bag Diva Floozy. Both of these New Zealand based (and female owned businesses) are making use of the real-time web and interactive competitions to get client interest and keep it. So how is it with less than a handful of staff members these companies manage to do what some of the "bigger" brands cannot even wrap their heads around? How do they create successful social media campaigns to propel their brands to the forefront? I originally wanted to speak to Lou at Belly Beyond at Kate at Floozy and do a little bit of a case study on each of them, but I have had little chance of doing that, and from their online activities I am sure they have been busy too...hopefully they will stop by and add their 2 cents as to what they think makes them successful social media divas :) But here is my take on some of the winning ingredients of what these ladies do best as part of their social media marketing.

• On Belly Beyond's Facebook page, you feel as if you are part of a greater community. Its not all just sell, sell, sell and promos (which are still good, but in moderation...). By adding a personal touch with discussions about baby names, wedding and baby photos, I feel as if I am part of a community of like minded mothers sharing information and having fun - you forget you are actually there to buy! The great part is that not only do they ask us to share personal tidbits, they also share behind the scenes photos and blog posts with us. Research shows that people are more willing to spend money with brands they  trust. How much more trusting can it get than buying from someone who is willing to share family photos and embarassing moments with you.
• Kate brings her collection of bags to life via video and you can't beat seeing her love of all things bag-tastic as she pulls them apart and peeks inside. I love hearing her accent, makes me feel like I "know" her. I am also defnitely more tempted to spend after watching one of her videos.
• We talk, they listen. Its easy to get in touch with both companies as they have a presence across Twitter, Facebook and You Tube. They want to know what we want to buy. Does it make sense to stock what we actually want? They find out what we want, and stock it.
• Most importantly, they have their own company hubs online that are irregardless of any 3rd party platforms. Though they make great use of social media platforms, they are not at their mercy. Each has a solid websites, blogs and even wishlist facilities.

Once you can create that feeling that you understand your clients and what they want/need you are so much more likely to convert your fans into purchasers.

The flexibility that small business like these two have means that they are more intune to what their clients want and what is important to them. To cut through the marketing and advertising clutter, they are able to react fast and be more personal without a top heavy management team.

Its nice to get a personal shoutout from a business that you spend money with wanting to find out how your weekend was or if you've had your baby yet. Maybe the lack of a central social media peep makes it harder for bigger businesses to get to know their clientele. Don't get me wrong, some big businesses are doing it right, but some could definitely learn from small businesses. Being social media saavy isn't just about setting up Twitter and Facebook - their are a huge number of platforms that you can use to help get your company name out through social media. But its best to choose only a few and to use them well.

Something that people also forget is the "SOCIAL" part of the equation. The key is in actually being social - creating conversation and connecting with people.

In an economy where their are at least 3 companies just like you, sometimes even just in your city -  you have to find a way to stand out above the rest.

These small businesses use social media to their advantage, what other businesses do you know of that are making good use of social media to market their business?

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• Do you know how to keep Mothers happy? (realsocialgirl.com)
• Get to know your market through Social Media (realsocialgirl.com)
• Creating Community = Creating an Experience (realsocialgirl.com)

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• The more your brand can speak to and interact with mothers, the better off you'll be
• What's the motivation for mothers to return to your website? Are you giving them a quick way to relax in their busy day? Are you providing nutrition tips for healthy cooking for the family? Are you providing advice on how they can stretch their budget? These are just a few ideas, what motivator would work for your company?
• How can you make a mother say "Ah, they understand me!" when they are browsing your website, Facebook Page, Twitter account, etc...Do you understand a busy mama's day? Do you understand her desire to grow a happy and healthy child? Do you get it that she needs ways to keep everyday tasks simple?
• Can you provide a venue where we as mothers can express our opinions and views on a subject? We love doing that! We have an opinion on everything! But be creative, there are a thousand and one forums and discussion boards battling for our online browsing time, how can you set yourself apart?

Mamas, do you agree? What else do you think brands need to keep in mind when trying to attract your buying dollars?

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1. Any blogger worth working with as part of your social media plan is not a hobbyist, and as such they do not want to be treated as one. Allocating enough funds and making them an integral part of your social media/marketing/PR team insures that they will put aside the time, energy and creativity to work towards your company's success.
2. Respect bloggers. This is so easy, yet so many PR companies and marketing reps often do not. Sending out pitches to anyone and everyone that is on your mailing list hoping for a writeup is not the way to go. If you identify a blogger that you want to work with, the best respect you can show them is to get to know what they are about, get to know their voice online and then and only then send them pitches that you feel may interest them and their readers. From past experience I can tell you there is nothing worst than opening an email that is a press release with not even so much as a hello. Furthermore, the press release has absolutely nothing to do with what I write about over at Girlstoys Revue. In no other profession, do people get contacted for something that they are so unsuited for. When was the last time you heard of a doctor being contacted to complete someone's income tax?

How can you work with Bloggers?

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• A Facebook Fan page
• Your blog
• Another mini blogging platform such as Posterous or Tumblr
• Your Twitter account
• A network setup on the popular Ning platform
• A You Tube page

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• Is Twitter Stealing Community from Blogs? (blogworldexpo.com)

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Pete Sweet

 

HDR Camera+ (Bloom Function)

 

HDR Camera+ (Color+ Function)

 

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I've been asked a few times how to add Google Friend Connect to a Wordpress blog. I was holding off adding one to my site until I made the domain switch and until I completed some design fixes. Alas, everything takes longer than anticpated. The site is being redirected but the design stuff still ain't done. You may notice that I have a snazzy fancy dancy Google Friend Connect lower down the page in the right hand sidebar. Its brand spanking new and if you should feel so inclined to keep up with every time a new post is added, please feel free to join the girlstoys revue Google Community. Its simple, just sign in with your google account (it'll be the one you use for Gmail) or if you are already signed in, just click the "follow" button. Simple. Back to setting one of these up on a Wordpress blog. People thing that because it is not inherent to Wordpress that it will be difficult, but its not. 1. If you don't have a Google account of Gmail, go here to create one now, its free. Otherwise sign in to your Google account as per usual. You will want to spend a little time updating your profile. You don't have to fill out everything, just the main bits like your name and most importantly your links. If you add your blog address under "links" people will know where to find you, and follow you back if they want to. Adding a picture is also a good idea. When signed in, your picture will show up when you comment on other people's blogs - a picture is always nice.

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