LinkedIn has become a popular social site for those looking to connect with others in a more business-related way. It is a networking site that allows users to create profiles that display their professional accomplishments, endeavors, and career goals. Resumes and cover letters can also be included. Individuals can connect with coworkers and bosses and grow their social networking web as they encounter other professionals in life. Companies can actually use LinkedIn as a way to reach out for suggestions when hiring for positions and leads to consumers.
Utilizing this site can help foster greater achievements, but with all social networking platforms, the way one interacts is important. If you have personally met someone in an organization--or for students, possible recruiting events--finding and adding them on LinkedIn is fine. Hearing about an individual that works for a company you are interested in, then finding and adding them, is relatable to Facebook stalking! If you have not been able to meet someone face-to-face but would like to foster a business relationship, try messaging them about a certain event you attended where they spoke or were also in attendance and mention how you wished you had a chance to talk in person. This is a better way to try to establish connection than a straight-forward but completely random addition to LinkedIn.
Businesses that want to leverage this site for potential candidates should start by having a network savvy human resources department. These individuals can connect with other businesses and individuals without being considered creepy or stalker-ish because they work in HR and that is one aspect of their job, be well connected--you never know when you will be in the market for a new job. When interning with HR this past summer, I had the pleasure of reaching out to a few contacts at graphic design studios to see if anyone that was free-lance would like to take on full time position with the company I was interning with. The messages I sent were warm and professional and the responses led me to several viable candidates within about a week.
For those who have yet to make a profile, stop what you are doing, and get to it! In this digital and social media age, being present on this site can help land you a job when you need it because you are networking and relevant to employers. Profiles can only help you to succeed, so what are you waiting for?
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Well That's One Way of Getting Social Media Attention
Do marketing gimmicks work? Won't those tactics just annoy consumers and lead to a decline in sales? There isn't an easy answer when the gimmick actually is a way to engage with consumers and make them part of the brand. One of my favorite movie theater candies is pulling off a great marketing gimmick that utilizes social media. Mike and Ike have a strategy that engages consumers by having them visit Facebook, but that is the beginning, because the user can then Tweet, Instagram, or Snapchat about the "campaign" which reaches even more users.
The big deal is that every box of Mike and Ike has either Mike's or Ike's name scribbled out. There is a "letter" on the back of the box explaining that Mike has gone off to have a music career or Ike has gone to pursue his graffiti art. The consumer is then prompted to go to Facebook.com/mikeandike to figure out and help persuade the missing party to come back to the candy brand Mike and Ike. There are posts and tags and YouTube videos that have been made by consumers to bring the two makers together. It is astonishing how well this strategy is working to gather followers and supporters. Not to mention the sales must be gaining from all the buzz. I'm actually enjoying some of the little candies while writing this post!
The Facebook page has over 970,000 likes and almost 4,000 people are talking about it right now as I'm blogging about it. There are icons on the homepage that users can click on to read about how the split occurred, games to be played, merchandise to be bought, a design contest for t-shirts, and much more. Making the page interactive ensures that consumers spend more time on the site and become more engaged in this campaign. There are also links to the Mike and Ike tumblr and their Twitter. This campaign is clever and hopefully is accomplishing brand recognition and an increase in consumers who not only find the candy yummy but the brand to be worth their support and loyalty. Other companies may not be able to pull this off like Mike and Ike but they could certainly learn from them on how to use social media in an engaging way.
The big deal is that every box of Mike and Ike has either Mike's or Ike's name scribbled out. There is a "letter" on the back of the box explaining that Mike has gone off to have a music career or Ike has gone to pursue his graffiti art. The consumer is then prompted to go to Facebook.com/mikeandike to figure out and help persuade the missing party to come back to the candy brand Mike and Ike. There are posts and tags and YouTube videos that have been made by consumers to bring the two makers together. It is astonishing how well this strategy is working to gather followers and supporters. Not to mention the sales must be gaining from all the buzz. I'm actually enjoying some of the little candies while writing this post!
The Facebook page has over 970,000 likes and almost 4,000 people are talking about it right now as I'm blogging about it. There are icons on the homepage that users can click on to read about how the split occurred, games to be played, merchandise to be bought, a design contest for t-shirts, and much more. Making the page interactive ensures that consumers spend more time on the site and become more engaged in this campaign. There are also links to the Mike and Ike tumblr and their Twitter. This campaign is clever and hopefully is accomplishing brand recognition and an increase in consumers who not only find the candy yummy but the brand to be worth their support and loyalty. Other companies may not be able to pull this off like Mike and Ike but they could certainly learn from them on how to use social media in an engaging way.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Get Noticed on Social Media
Social Media Marketing isn't new because the basic concepts of creating a bond with consumers and a company or brand has been the goal of marketing since the beginning. By linking a consumer's emotions to a company or brand, their products will be seen as meeting the needs more than a comparable brand's products. When the goods or services being offered are similar in nature and perceived quality, it is the emotional ties that win over potential consumers and convert them into buyers.
Being online changes some aspects of the marketing game, but a majority of the guidelines stay constant. Here are a few ways social media marketing is an online version of traditional marketing:
1. Relevancy: the company/brand should be pertinent to the needs of the consumers. Goya has increased shelf space at groceries within communities that have many Hispanics. This brand of food would probably not do well in rural areas with predominantly white residents.
2. Connection: the company/brand cannot expect to connect with consumers if they don't seem to have a stake in the community. There is strong loyalty for Coca-Cola on UGA's campus because Coca-Cola has established their brand on campus and have hosted recycling programs which furthers their presence in the minds of college students.
3. Accurate Message: the promotion of the company/brand needs to correlate to the actual function of the products being marketed. When initially marketing a product, it should focus on the features and directly link them to the benefits a consumer will receive. This second part is crucial to conversion of sales. Abstract messages should be saved for the website or after a certain point in the product's life cycle, once its benefits have been well established.
The importance of having a social media presence is that is where consumers are spending increasing amounts of time. There are many subscribers to Hulu and Netflix, which means reaching them on those "channels" will be more effective than on the traditional TV. Getting noticed where consumers spend time is the best use of resources. Companies would benefit from investing in Social Media Marketing and taking the time to do it right.
Being online changes some aspects of the marketing game, but a majority of the guidelines stay constant. Here are a few ways social media marketing is an online version of traditional marketing:
1. Relevancy: the company/brand should be pertinent to the needs of the consumers. Goya has increased shelf space at groceries within communities that have many Hispanics. This brand of food would probably not do well in rural areas with predominantly white residents.
2. Connection: the company/brand cannot expect to connect with consumers if they don't seem to have a stake in the community. There is strong loyalty for Coca-Cola on UGA's campus because Coca-Cola has established their brand on campus and have hosted recycling programs which furthers their presence in the minds of college students.
3. Accurate Message: the promotion of the company/brand needs to correlate to the actual function of the products being marketed. When initially marketing a product, it should focus on the features and directly link them to the benefits a consumer will receive. This second part is crucial to conversion of sales. Abstract messages should be saved for the website or after a certain point in the product's life cycle, once its benefits have been well established.
The importance of having a social media presence is that is where consumers are spending increasing amounts of time. There are many subscribers to Hulu and Netflix, which means reaching them on those "channels" will be more effective than on the traditional TV. Getting noticed where consumers spend time is the best use of resources. Companies would benefit from investing in Social Media Marketing and taking the time to do it right.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Pin Pointing Pinterests
What is it that makes Pinterest successful? It uses the share then gather method that has become so popular with social networking sites. Users can install a "Pin it" widget on their tool bars or comparable panels for use when an item, image, or video clip is Pin-worthy. Users can "pin" whatever they have fallen in love with or want to see again to Pinterest. At the point of "pinning" they are allowed to categorize the "pinned" material onto their personal boards for later perusal. Many wedding dresses, healthy recipes, and funny memes have found their way into the "Pinterestsphere".
If companies want their products or messages pinned onto users boards, the first step would be to make it easier. If I saw a "Pin this" button next to a pair of really swank Steve Madden boots, I would probably be 100x more likely to pin it than if there was no prompt telling me that pinning it was an option. This is the beginning to spreading a company's presence on Pinterest: make it easy to do. Now companies and brands need to be cautious and not be tempted to hire insiders to go Pin-crazy trying to promote the products.
Another way to grab attention is to offer prizes to those who Pin products to their boards and potentially tie-in the number of repins a certain original pin receives (giving the prize to the original pinner). Pinterest allows for people to follow boards just like Twitter allows people to follow other tweeters. This word-of-mouth leads to viral advertising when multiple people continuously repin a pin.
Pinterest as a marketing platform has its limitations but there are enough perks that being well versed in how Pinterest works and how users navigate through pins to become consumers of products that have been pinned.
If companies want their products or messages pinned onto users boards, the first step would be to make it easier. If I saw a "Pin this" button next to a pair of really swank Steve Madden boots, I would probably be 100x more likely to pin it than if there was no prompt telling me that pinning it was an option. This is the beginning to spreading a company's presence on Pinterest: make it easy to do. Now companies and brands need to be cautious and not be tempted to hire insiders to go Pin-crazy trying to promote the products.
Another way to grab attention is to offer prizes to those who Pin products to their boards and potentially tie-in the number of repins a certain original pin receives (giving the prize to the original pinner). Pinterest allows for people to follow boards just like Twitter allows people to follow other tweeters. This word-of-mouth leads to viral advertising when multiple people continuously repin a pin.
Pinterest as a marketing platform has its limitations but there are enough perks that being well versed in how Pinterest works and how users navigate through pins to become consumers of products that have been pinned.
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