Integrating Niche Social Media Platforms into your Campaign

Numerous brands, whether company or personal are very familiar and comfortable communicating with potential fans through some of the more established social media platforms; such as facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.  These established platforms should certainly receive plenty of attention when launching a social media marketing campaign, but user engagement can receive a boost through the incorporation of newer niche platforms like Instagram and Vine. 

             

How Vine & Instagram used to compare

          These platforms can be used by themselves to provide users with more avenues for reaching campaign content, or they can be integrated into more established platforms for even greater user engagement.  As a brief background, Instagram is owned by facebook, and until last week, it acted as a platform that only allowed users to post photos.  In a bid to curb Vine’s (growing) influence, Instagram has now added a video feature that allows users post 15 second videos. 

I know it's difficult, but remember to use Instagram, even though a video from Bieber was the first one on the platform to exceed one million views (SMH)

              

           Vine is a social media platform that allows users to post 6 second videos.  It was founded about two years after Instagram, and was subsequently purchases by Twitter.  While Instagram decided to one up Vine’s video feature, it is still an interactive platform worth integrating into your social media campaign. 

              

Marketing tips for Vine users

             Instagram and Vine can be utilized in myriad ways by companies and celebrities alike.  In the few days the Instagram video feature has been available, Jimmy Fallon issued a contest challenging users to tag him in 15 second long funny videos.  Contests, whether video and picture based ones on Instagram, or video based ones on Vine, are great ways to increase user engagement. 

Wiz Khalifa delivering some raps to fans on Instagram

Users enjoy the opportunity to win prizes using their creativity, and contests also make them cognizant of the brand issuing the challenge.   Contests are only one example of the possibilities these platforms offer, as brands can also reach out to users by posting videos and photos their target audience would enjoy, such as behind the scene looks, or even videos featuring various products.  Wiz Kahlifa recently showed that these platforms are not just for company brands when he released videos of himself rapping on Instagram.  Actor Simon Rex who has not been in many films lately has even found fame on Vine through the release of comedy clips that have led to him gaining nearly 650,000 fans. 

One of Simon Rex' more tame Vine Videos

In order to maximize the effectiveness of marketing efforts on these platforms, I recommend that companies and individuals post the content they create on these niche sites to their fan pages on more established platforms.  Platforms such as facebook actually allow brands to create application tabs that allow users to easily access campaign content they have on other sites, and I encourage brands to take advantage of this benefit. 

Jimmy Fallon issuing a contest challenge on Instagram

           Can any of you think of some additional niche platforms brands should incorporate into their social media marketing campaigns?

LinkedIn: There is More to it Than Meets the Eye

     Prior to enrolling in an MBA program, i'd placed a very small amount of effort into completing my LinkedIn profile.  Once my MBA program began however, I made a conscious effort to thoroughly complete my profile in hopes of growing my business connections.  After all, I kept hearing from career advisers that it was important to develop ones LinkedIn network while in business school.  Once my profile appeared to be complete, I began focusing my attention on searching for possible business connections.

     As time went by, my LinkedIn network began to grow.  This process seemed to be slow at first, but it began picking up little by little, and before I knew it, I had a sizable amount of connections.  I periodically checked in with various connections I had made, but I was still somewhat unsure as to how I could most effectively use the platform.

     This changed one day when I received an email from LinkedIn informing me that they had a list of jobs that would likely interest me.  I clicked on the email, and it took me to a list of jobs that strongly correlated with my interests, and it also had pictures of certain network connections that were also connected to hiring company in some capacity.  The format and layout of the page piqued my interest, so I later clicked on the job tab at the top of my LinkedIn page.  I was immediately taken to a screen that had numerous jobs already listed, and it also had a search bar that allowed me to search for jobs at specific companies. These job results again displayed my connections that were also connected to the hiring companies being searched.

This image depicts the jobs screen that can be accessed on LinkedIn

The moral of the story is that I was pleasantly surprised to learn of a new way to utilize and benefit from a social media site I had used for years.  Have any of you had the fortune to learn of new ways LinkedIn can benefit you?  Have you come across a situation in which you have been using a certain social media platform for quite some time,  only to learn of new ways in which it could benefit you?

Social Media: Say Hello to Hollywood

Many industries could benefit by using certain social media platforms in one way or another, and Hollywood has taken this heart.  The movie industry uses multiple mediums to advertise their up and coming films, but movie trailers have always stood out as their most effective marketing tool.  YouTube in particular is proving to be a very valuable asset to Hollywood at large.  YouTube essentially functions as a giant movie trailer repository that allows consumers to connect with movie studios in the virtual area they already inhabit.

For some light hearted laughs, consider "Grown Ups 2"  

I myself enjoy routinely checking out videos on YouTube, and during the course of my perusing, I often come across coming soon movie trailers.  This allows me and people like me to watch movie trailers on our own time, and in many cases, consumers come across trailers that they would have never seen otherwise.  Movie studios certainly pay to have trailers aired on television, but people routinely flip through commercials or skip them by recording shows (I do this...).  There are many times that I see what looks to be an interesting trailer on TV, but I end up catching it on the tail end and miss out on most of the content.

In the mood for a disturbing trailer, check out "Insidious 2"

Earlier today, I decided to briefly peruse YouTube and I came across a trailer for Insidious 2.  For those scary movie fans out there, you no doubt remember the first movie, and based on the trailer, you will want to see the sequel.  I’m kind of iffy on scary movies myself, but I decided to check out the trailer, and am actually considering seeing the movie now. 

This isn’t the first or the last time Hollywood has caught my interest on YouTube.  Just last week I was fooling around on YouTube and decided to check out a movie trailer I had been hearing about.  The movie is called “The Purge” and I was able to check out multiple trailers on YouTube.  Based on that viewing selection, more trailers were recommended and I seriously spent thirty minutes checking out trailers.  Hollywood has done what any good company should do, and that is reach consumers where they live and play. 

Like creepers in mask, watch "The Purge" trailer

What do all of you think about Hollywood’s focus on social media, and can you think of some other industries that have effectively harnessed it?

Tweens are fired up for "Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

Can Social Media Really Get You Noticed?

          Many have said in the past that social media is a fad that will begin to fad when something better appears.  At this point, it seems safe to say that social media will be with us for a while.  Its various forms will evolve over time, but it seems to have struck a chord with users across the world.  As people and businesses throng to a litany of social media platforms, they sometimes question whether their efforts are for naught. 

Some of my friends and business acquaintances have voiced this concern to me on multiple occasions, and this is a concern I can certainly understand.  No person or business wants to spend valuable time and resources investing in a project that has no returns, but there are examples of numerous social media success stories.  Any of you out there that enjoy checking out memes on the web have likely encountered the infamous grumpy cat.  This cat lives up to its namesake and frequently flashes grumpy looks of all sorts.  Big players in Hollywood circles have taken notice of the cat’s ballooning popularity, and this culminated in the grumpy cat getting a role in an upcoming movie.

The stern yet lovable “grumpy cat”

Many of you might be thinking that a cat getting a big break is interesting and all, but it really doesn’t increase your confidence that your business or personal brand will gain value through social media.  I’ll switch gears and give you an example of a group of humans that benefited from social media.  The musical duo known as Karmin was signed to a record label in 2011, and will soon be dropping their second album.  Karmin has enjoyed significant success over the past two years, but it wasn’t long ago that the band was unknown.  The band got its big break in 2011 when it began releasing cover songs with a twist on YouTube.  YouTube users began flocking to many of the videos, with its rendition of Chris Brown’s song “Look at Me Now” garnering 83 million views.  Karmin’s popularity with fan’s caught the attention of major record labels, and Epic Records ended up signing them in 2011.

One of Karmin’s most popular YouTube videos

You’ve now seen a few examples of social media success, and while not every company or personal brand will become achieve national acclaim and attention through social media, it can certainly provide benefits if utilized correctly.  If you look closely at the previous examples, you will be able to draw an important insight that will aid you when marketing your brand or company via social media.  People gravitated to the aforementioned social media entities because the content resonated with them on a personal level.  By remembering your audience and appealing to them on a more personal level, your brand and company is likely to find much more success in the social media marketing realm. 

I couldn’t resist, one more “grumpy cat” meme!