QR Code’s Advertising Success
A recent study reveals that QR code occurrence increased by 493% in 2011, and advertising is responsible. By capitalizing on the constant innovations of the smartphone, marketers utilized the code as a convenient tool to achieve marketing objectives, such as: branding and demonstrations, data capturing, list building, commerce, and sharing through social media.
Marketers argue that these codes satisfy people’s curiosity during their “moment of interest.” In other words, they provide people with information immediately upon discovery, without the hassle of typing a URL into their phone or waiting to get to their desktop.
Through the public’s infatuation with mobile devices, QR code providers have found an effective way to generate brand interest in an economy where consumer attention is brief. As smart phone sales continue to rise, marketers will continue to explore the code’s uses.
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Twitter Expands Advertising
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has a lot a faith in his product. He believes its existing format is enough to integrate into the social-TV experience. He does not believe he needs e-commerce or brand-sympathy analysis to increase revenue. The way he intends to continue his company’s growth is by taking what it already does well and doing more of it.
That includes advertising. Costolo plans to expand both the number of advertisers Twitter works with and the amount of geographic area they target. He says that since Twitter users have not expressed any dissent about promoted Tweets showing up on their pages, there is no reason to change this strategy. These “promoted tweets” are sent out by companies to a wide range of users, regardless of whether they follow the company. So far, user interactions with these Tweets have been high.
Although Costolo has preached about keeping the status quo, he admits that the current brand pages are not perfect. He is concerned that brands who utilize Twitter as a customer-service tool have pages that look like the “transcript of a company call center,” and upgrades will be offered. Companies who change over will have more control over their page aesthetic and Tweet visibility. However, it is rumored that the new pages are exclusive to advertisers who currently spend over $25,000 on their Twitter accounts.
Costolo has mentioned before that he has big plans for Twitter, which he claims is much more than a “media company.” We are interested to see how his growing-without-changing strategy pays off, and if companies are willing to pay for the new brand pages.
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Peace Corps Builds Online Community
Social media has provided yet another organization with the ability to grow and connect its members. The National Peace Corps Association has built an online community to connect returning members and prospective volunteers. The Peace Corp is a service-based organization that sends its members to developing countries for two years to work and live in impoverished communities.
As volunteers returned home and started forming online groups based around their common interests, the Corps saw an opportunity to form a nationwide community. They tied these smaller groups together to form a larger social network. They created a Facebook group for prospective program candidates, which connects them to past members and allows the Corps to easily organize events. Volunteers dealing with the shock of re-entering their American life can find help and support one another through the Corps’ social community.
We’ve seen before how social platforms can strengthen an organization’s infrastructure and create a community that spans from the executive level to the employees, and branches out to include partners and consumers. The Peace Corps has borrowed from this model to re-involve returning members, thus enriching their operation.
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Pinterest Becomes Top Referral Site
Pinterest, a virtual pinboard based around web exploration, is quickly becoming a top source of online referrals for retailers. The sharing site’s traffic quadrupled between September 2011 and December 2011, and they have already received 7 million visitors this year. The number of Pinterest users being directed to retail sites has risen in proportion to their growth, which has placed them in the top five referral sites for several fashion retailers.
The success Pinterest has achieved in such a short time is impressive, and there seems to be no plateau in site. The site’s format is intelligently simple and lends itself to the redirection of traffic to other areas of the web. It sees itself not as an information destination, but a conduit that lets users follow their interests to wherever they may lead. This characteristic, coupled with the fact that members are sharing with people whose opinions they know and trust, makes Pinterest a fantastic resource for online referrals. Many companies, especially those within the fashion industry, have begun to post to Pinterest themselves, and are drawing in consumers. We expect to see the site’s popularity rise as more marketers explore its business capabilities.
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Video Pick of the Week
This week’s Video Pick has all the components of a homerun advertisement, minus the advertising. Successful marketing is centered on tapping into the public’s current interests and providing them with a fresh and unique perspective. It would be no surprise to see some hairy forty-something bawling like a little kid over their favorite team’s big loss. Just go to the local sports bar for that.
But who would expect a little kid to show more emotion than a veteran fan? It’s a unexpected take on the over-hyped Super Bowl, and we expect it to go viral over the weekend. We can learn a lot about reaching a wide audience from this video, and we can learn a lot about loyalty from that little guy.
Enjoy this week’s Video Pick of the Week and be sure to check back next week!
Fortune’s Social Media Stars
Fortune magazine has published a list of companies who best utilize social media. These businesses not only exemplified external social characteristics; they also cultured a social identity within the company. Hospitality giant Marriott International hosts a website called “Did You Think of This?” where associates can voice their ideas for change in the corporate structure. Nova Nordisk, a worldwide healthcare company, created an internal blog to connect their international offices. Intuit, the maker of Turbo Tax, created an extensive customer support system using Twitter. These are only a few examples of the innovative ways these organizations put social media to use.
Social media possesses capabilities beyond its role as a marketing tool. These organizations have used it to create vertical fluidity within their infrastructure, and open communication to their customers. The potential of social platforms has yet to be realized, and it never hurts to look to examples for new ways to utilize it.
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Twitter to Withhold Content In Certain Countries
Twitter announced on Thursday that it will begin to censor Tweets in countries where public content is government-regulated. Examples include Germany and France, who have banned the publishing of pro-Nazi content. By blocking Tweets that are pro-Nazi, Twitter will retain the ability to operate within the countries. However, these Tweets will still be available to the rest of the world.
This move by Twitter is an attempt to stay operational in all countries, but they are walking a fine line. Removing Tweets runs the risk of infringing upon people’s right to freedom of speech, but leaving offensive material on their site could lead to government restriction. The company will have to be very cautious as they move forward.
Twitter’s attention to this situation is a good sign for international marketers. If governments were to start banning entire social sites because they cannot control the content, some major international marketing channels would be lost.
NFL lifts Tweet ban, Instagram goes to White House, Google penalizes ad-filled pages
In today’s marketing news, the founder of Instagram visits the White House, the NFL allows players to Tweet during the Pro Bowl, and Google Penalizes Ad-Crammed Webpages
Instagram goes to the White House
Mike Krieger (Kreeger), founder of the online photo-sharing service Instagram, received a surprising call last Friday.
He was invited to attend the State of the Union address as First Lady Michelle Obama’s guest. Although the President frequently uses Instagram, the reason for Krieger’s invitation was political. President Obama is trying to pass legislation that would assist start-up companies founded by non US citizens.
He wanted Brazilian-born Krieger to stand as an example of a young, successful, foreign-born entrepreneur. Krieger accepted, simply stating, “You don’t turn down the White House.”
President Obama has often demonstrated a proficiency and understanding of the capabilities of social networking and innovative technologies, so it is no surprise that he would value Krieger’s contributions to the industry.
By choosing the young Brazilian to represent the potential greatness of young non-citizens, the president has publicized his belief that the social Internet will continue to grow in importance to the national economy.
NFL lifts it’s Tweet Ban for the Pro Bowl
In a surprising move, the NLF announced that they will be lifting their ban on in-game Twitter usage for this year’s Pro Bowl. Players will be able to Tweet their reactions during the game using designated computer stations set up on the sideline. During the regular season and the playoffs, the league does not allow players to Tweet during games, and those who do are fined. After the Pro Bowl, this rule will be reinstated.
The NFL acknowledges that social media has become one of the primary ways that players and coaches interact with fans and the media. Much like Major League Baseball’s Fan Cave, allowing Pro Bowlers to Tweet during playing time will create engagement between fans and the game, and further develop social media’s role as an interactive link between spectators and their teams.
Google Penalizes Ad-Filled Pages
Google has announced that they are taking action against websites with too many ads and not enough content. They’ve created what they call the “page layout algorithm,” which decides whether a site contains excessive amounts of advertisements “above the fold,” meaning that the ads are stacked above the content.
The algorithm only targets fixed ads, and does not apply to pop-ups, pop-unders, and overlays.
Google’s punishment for breaking their “above the fold” rule will be a drop in SEO ranking.
Although there is no official tool to help an organization decide whether their advertisement to content ratio it too great, Google suggested using their “Browser Size Tool” which shows how much of a page’s content is visible at first glance to a visitor.
The page layout algorithm will require many marketers and digital media creators to reconsider their SEO and website advertising strategies.
Once the dust settles and its effects are better understood, it will be interesting to see how Google’s new rule changes online marketing.
