Traditionally, the Super Bowl is the biggest night for TV advertising, but Sunday night’s Super Bowl was a big night for digital, too. Trends from the 2011 Super Bowl were back, with advertisers releasing ads online prior to the Super Bowl in hopes of increasing viral spread and integrating mobile ads with the TV campaigns. In fact, this year over half of advertisers released ads online before the game, looking to draw on Volkswagen’s success last year. And mobile upped the ante from last year’s Anheuser-Busch iAd with a QR code in Go Daddy’s spot, linking to discounts off Go Daddy products. But this year, the digital showing went even further.
Mobile
Shazam announced just before the big night that the entire Super Bowl, the halftime show and many of the ads would be Shazamable. Viewers could Shazam the Toyota spot for the chance to win two Camrys, download an MP3 from Bud Light, watch a music video from Pepsi, vote for their favorite ads, access music content during the halftime show and check out stats about the plays and players during the game. While QR codes connect print to the digital world, Shazam is blazing the trail for connecting TV and audio to digital content. Shazam has not released exact participation stats, but has noted that with “millions” of viewers participating in the Super Bowl integration, 2012 will be “the year of the Shazamable TV ad.”
Chevy invited fans to “experience Super Bowl Sunday in a whole new way” with the Chevy Game Time mobile app, which allowed viewers to play trivia, take polls and enter to win one of 20 Chevrolets or other prizes.
This year, the Super Bowl was streamable both online and from mobile devices. Verizon cut a deal with the NFL to exclusively stream the Super Bowl on iOS and Android devices with the NFL mobile app, and for the first year the game was streamed on computers. Live streaming is a testament to the changing landscape of TV: the Super Bowl is the biggest moment for TV every year, and yet it’s recognizing the growing trend of streaming TV online. The live stream had 2.1 million unique viewers, making it the most-watched sports game online. While there were limitations (such as a lack of live commercials), online streaming allowed for embedded live streams from Facebook and Twitter, further enhancing the experience with social engagement.
Social Media
And speaking of social, perhaps the biggest story of the night was in social media. Viewers are no longer relying solely on their witty Super Bowl party friends for commentary, but are turning to the second screen for live running commentary about the ads, halftime show and plays. At the end of the game, Twitter saw 12,233 tweets per second, setting a record for the highest tweet frequency during a live sports event.
Brands were prepared for viewers’ connection with Twitter, and hashtags got their fair share of airtime in the TV spots. Audi’s #SoLongVampires, Bud Light’s #MakeItPlatinum and Jack in the Box’s #MarryBacon hashtags all looked to increase engagement on Twitter. Coca-Cola’s polar bears even used the hashtag #GameDayPolarBears to comment on the game from Twitter and point users to more polar bear content on YouTube. In most cases, including hashtags in the spots seemed to work, as #MakeItPlatinum and #SoLongVampires became trending topics in mere minutes.
Coca-Cola saw success on social media even before kickoff with its Facebook event app, which asked fans to RSVP to watch the Polar Bowl – a live stream of the Coca-Cola polar bears’ reactions to the game. Before kickoff, 32,000 people had RSVPed, and the live stream received so many views that the Coke team had to add six servers to accommodate the traffic. Its Twitter feed received a whopping 12.5% increase in followers before the game even started.
The Super Bowl’s social media integration went beyond Twitter and Facebook into the location-based arena with Pizza Hut and Amex’s Foursquare offer. By checking into “Super Swarm Sunday,” Amex members got $5 off any food ordered from Pizza Hut.
The Takeaway
The 2012 Super Bowl is leading the way for digital to further enhance the TV entertainment experience and enhance engagement with advertisers. TV spots are no longer simply 30–60 seconds of impression time; they can be the beginning of an engaging experience with a brand that lasts far beyond those few, short seconds. Instead of looking at TV advertising in a silo, it can be used in conjunction with digital to begin an engaging customer journey.
As with other recent large-scale events, Hurricane Irene’s trip up the East Coast this weekend caused millions of people to turn to digital to keep up to date on the situation. With no public transportation available in New York City and not even an open Starbucks around (two things previously unimaginable to most New Yorkers), social media users became even more active to occupy and entertain themselves during days of hibernation.
There was no shortage of websites to visit for hurricane information. The National Hurricane Center site and Weather.com were among the most credible, offering current advisories, satellite photos and wind speed and storm surge projections. Other sites were much more specialized, such as this interactive map from WNYC public radio, which shows evacuation zones and evacuation centers after Mayor Bloomberg ordered mandatory evacuations for more than 250,000 people in coastal and low-lying areas.
One obviously beneficial use of digital, and specifically social media, throughout the storm was that it provided a way to get quick and easy information, whether that be from friends and family or government officials. Twitter saw more than 3,000 tweets per minute by 2 p.m. on Saturday about the storm, and seven of its top ten trending topics were hurricane-related posts. Governors of both New York, Andrew Cuomo, and New Jersey, Chris Christie, used Twitter throughout the weekend to update residents on the status of the storm and promote other media appearances.
However, the flip side is that a lot of misinformation was distributed, which serves to remind us that the source of the tweet always needs to be taken into account when deciding what to believe. An image of Hurricane Irene approaching North Carolina was circulating around early Saturday morning and shared by thousands of people, only to later uncover that the image was weeks old, taken in Florida and had nothing to do with Irene. By Sunday night, the fake picture had over 315,000 views.
But overall, the trend is that people are increasingly turning to social media when facing potential or current disasters. A survey by the American Red Cross reported that 18% of Americans use Facebook to get information about emergencies, and 24% would use social tools to tell others that they’re safe. Not unlike their expectations of brands and advertisers, 80% expect emergency responders to monitor social sites, and more than one-third expect help to arrive within one hour of posting a need to a social media site. And for those lucky enough to have avoided serious damage from the storm, social media also became a channel to express relief – and in true New York fashion, that relief was often articulated through humorous sarcasm.
And where were advertisers through all this? Some brands that had a natural fit within the conversation inserted their voice nicely, where relevant, through social media. As people flocked to the nearest retailer for flashlights, generators and water, The Home Depot connected with consumers in many ways, including providing a how-to guide for homeowners preparing for the hurricane. Walmart linked to a checklist of items consumers should have on hand via Twitter, and Lowe’s distributed a press release so all store managers were prepared to field any media inquiries and interviews to provide tips and demonstrations on hurricane prep and recovery. Other brands that did not have as seamless a connection posted their sympathies or tied the weather to something relevant to their brand, such as this Nike Facebook post on Monday:
All of these well-done social media efforts made me notice the brands that were not mentioning the incident, and it made me very much appreciate those who were being relevant in real time. All in all, another good case study for how social media continues to play a paramount role in large-scale events everywhere.
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Usually when we talk about brands in social media, we deal with how their owned presences look and act. But there are opportunities on these networks other than just creating and managing a brand page. Today, we’ll take a quick look at what’s possible on Twitter in terms of advertising.
Promoted Tweets to Followers
This is the newest option from Twitter, and it allows brands to place their tweets at the top of their followers’ news feed (regardless of the time of day or how many other people or brands they’re following). This helps to keep a special tweet from getting lost in the user’s stream of tweets for the day, ideally making sure the user sees the tweets they want when they follow a brand – special deals and offers. You only pay when a user engages with the ad, but if the user is checking their feed somewhere other than twitter.com (such as on their phone), they will not see the promoted tweets.
This program was rolled out with a select group of partners that Twitter felt uses its platform well, like Starbucks, Virgin America and Gatorade along with select nonprofits such as The American Red Cross.
Promoted Accounts
Promoted accounts are meant to help you gain followers. The ad is placed in the recommendations of who to follow for users that may be interested in your brand. Twitter uses your current set of followers to create a profile of people that see your promoted account to increase relevancy. The advertiser pays for the people who follow them. Amtrak recently used promoted accounts to double its followers.
Promoted Trends
Promoted trends allow a brand to capitalize on trends relevant to their business. The promoted trend appears at the top of the trend list and when clicked takes the user to conversation about that trend, including any promoted tweets the brand is also using.
RadioShack recently used a promoted trend to support their cycling team during the Amgen Tour of California by purchasing the #BackTheShack hashtag. They tweeted about the race and their team throughout the day and encouraged fans to participate on their Facebook tab, which served as a hub for all of their tour-related content and contests. The hashtag was mentioned 16,700 times during the event, and RadioShack gained 1,200 new followers during the overall campaign.
Other Uses
Opportunities on Twitter are not limited to just the advertising products that Twitter offers. The real-time nature of Twitter conversation can lead to creative tie-ins with traditional advertising, too.
For example, Jell-O Pudding has decided to make America a little happier by giving away free pudding when they’re down. If the aggregate mood on Twitter indicates frowns, Jell-O gives away pudding until the mood returns to a happier place. The company monitors emoticons to figure out how we’re feeling. They have a billboard and website that change in real time to track this effort that ties nicely with their current advertising campaign.
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It’s hard to believe, yet we all continue to be amazed and confused at the rash of public figures using social media to pursue their “activities” – so far this year we’ve seen Mark Souder, Chris Lee and Anthony Weiner resign because of displayed “content.” It’s also crazy to see there is an actual Wikipedia page noting the list of federal political sex scandals in the United States. While not all include the use of digital media, there’s a disturbing trend developing with the recent list additions. And once something hits online, it always seems to escalate quickly.
Yet it’s no different for brands these days. Post something potentially controversial or inappropriate and you’ll see an instant response/reaction:
Chrysler cancelled an agency contract in March of this year when an agency employee “accidentally” posted on a company blog: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f**king drive.”
And demonstrating a total lack of appreciation for the global community, Kenneth Cole issued apromotional tweet that made reference to the revolution in Egypt: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new springcollection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC”
Bob Parsons, the CEO of GoDaddy.com, posts a video of himself on an African hunt and then tweets about killing overly aggressive elephants. One could effectively argue herd control, if it weren’t for the added promotional gaffe of his decision to ask the locals to wear GoDaddy-branded hats asthey fillet the fresh kill – again posting the video online.
Yikes – the “KC” is meant to convey the tweet came directly from the man-brand himself.
All this points to what I refer to as a set of “Immutable Laws of Digital Content” that represents key properties of online content that simply can’t be ignored:
1. What goes online, stays online – forever!
Once a message, copy, image or video hits a content server, it stays online and can be found somewhere on the Net. No matter how fast you hit the delete button, chances are the information can be hunted down and retrieved.
2. Introducing the “digi-razzi”
You think the paparazzi are annoying? Wait till we see a whole new class of online snoops evolve to actively search online for any kind of dirt. So just assume whatever you create or post, it will be found.
3.Inappropriate content = sharing at warp drive
Wanna see something go viral? Just include something scandalous and watch the audience count spiral. Share buttons, viral links and mobile access only add fuel to the fire. It’s actually kinda sad to see just how much effort we put into making something viral, yet the things we don’t want viral tend to take off like a rocket.
So what’s a brand to do?
Ask yourself if you have a handle on the following:
1. Do you know today who has access to all of your social media touchpoints? If not, make a list, vet it properly and update passwords. In this day and age where digital agency staff change faster than the response time to a Google query, better have access to your digital brand in firm order.
2. Make sure access to your accounts is done in a secure channel. To avoid a mix-up like Chrysler, mandate that your team or agency resource use a unique social media tool to access and update content – different than their personal access. And demand logouts after all editing sessions. Imagine what could happen if a savvy competitor finds a missing phone with an open session via TweetDeck tapped into your brand’s Twitter account.
3. Restating the obvious, ensure you have simple, clearly written access and usage guidelines. And make sure it covers not only internal staff, but all external partners as well.
All this aside, there’s still plenty of room for being open and transparent with your brand. Just make sure your social media assets are properly covered.
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It’s a great time to be a digitally savvy sports fan. Long gone are the days of sitting on the couch passively watching a game, relying only on the people in the room and TV broadcasters for selective information. Now there are apps, text alerts, Twitter feeds, online streaming, Facebook pages…you name it, and it can be used to augment your fandom. From an advertiser perspective, it’s important to realize just how engaged these fans are within the digital medium these days and to consider advertising and sponsorship opportunities within the space if it’s a good fit with your brand.
The recent NBA finals (Congratulations, Mavs!!) are a great example. NBA.com set an all-time record for streams and page views during the finals alone, with 141 million video streams and 401 million page views, an increase of 89% and 11%, respectively, versus last year’s records. The NBA’s free mobile app, NBA Game Time, was available on almost any platform you can think of, from the iPhone to Blackberry, and Apple to Google TV, and it was downloaded more than 2.5 million times. As a point of comparison, there were 1 million downloads last season, which speaks both to the popularity of the NBA series this year as well as increased mobile adoption rates among consumers.
And then there’s social media. Two hundred fifty NBA players have Twitter accounts and 75 have Facebook pages. Combined, the athletes, league and teams accumulated nearly 120 million fans and followers across Facebook and Twitter.
Compare that to the nearly 24 million people measured by Nielsen who tuned in to watch the game on ABC on Sunday night, and you really realize the enormity and potential of that social media audience. For advertisers, it’s encouraging to see how well the NBA has developed its social media community. As a viewer, it’s fascinating to follow sportswriters on Twitter to get insider information that might not be mentioned by sports announcers catering to the mainstream TV viewer. How serious was that injury? It’s pretty much guaranteed that someone on Twitter will know (or at least be speculating) before it comes across your TV set.
On the other hand, the out-of-market digital experience has improved, but is still far from perfect. Being a NY sports fan living in Dallas, digital has allowed me to stay true to my Yankee roots (though, as you can tell, the Mavericks have found a little place in my heart) through text alerts, frequent Yankees.com visits and watching games online through the MLB At Bat app.
However, there are a lot of kinks to work out with the usual tug of war between cable companies and networks and between platforms. While I could purchase the MLB TV package through Time Warner, this doesn’t translate to being able to watch games online if I want to bring my iPad to the gym. Conversely, paying the MLB to have access to watch games online does not translate to watching on TV, and without 3G on my iPad, I can’t watch at the gym either. Every additional platform and service is an additional charge, and it gets expensive quickly. It’s so complicated that I’ve actually started bringing magazines to work out instead…and for this digitally savvy sports fan, that says a lot.
Anyone out there have any similar frustrations? Or a great digital experience during the Mavericks/Heat series?
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What if we had a crystal ball that could reveal what our target audiences were really thinking, a tool that wasn’t skewed by bias or prejudice and would reveal our target audiences’ true priorities?
While this would undoubtedly make all our lives much easier, surely this type of tool does not really exist. Or does it? With its dominant position in the digital space, Google has been collecting user data over the past 10 years and has gradually begun to make it available to users, usually at no charge. These tools allow advertisers to see what keywords users are searching, what sites they typically visit and can help gauge interests over time.
When used as a complement to the research tools we already leverage for our clients, these free tools can provide both support for existing audience profiles and can provide new ideas and insights surrounding user behavior and interest.
Before We Begin
Before we dive into this world of mind-blowing insight, a few points of caution are worth reiterating to ensure the data are used properly. First, these tools are, more often than not, best used as complements to the existing tools we have at our disposal, such as comScore, Nielsen and Scarborough. Their information, while sometimes able to stand on its own, is best used to add additional insight to these well-known and respected data sources.
The data from these tools are best taken not from one, but from many of the tools. Each will provide its own perspective and view into search, and it is only upon the combination of these different perspectives that a comprehensive conclusion may be drawn.
That being said, please open your mind to the possibility that these tools might not reveal anything at all. Sometimes an audience is too small or an interest is too specific for any tool to reveal meaningful and useful data. So these tools are not meant to serve as silver bullets when other data are lacking. Lastly, the data gained from these tools might be too general or have too many possible interpretations to reliably present as justification when presenting a media plan. Knowing all this, let’s take a look at what Google has to offer.
Google’s Tools
AdWords Keyword Tool
The AdWords keyword tool is usually the first tool used by the Click Here search team in generating keywords for upcoming and existing campaigns. It provides us with recommendations, based on actual search traffic from Google’s network, generated from a smaller list of keywords that we submit. The main value in consulting this tool is its ability to not only provide ideas for additional keywords and research ideas, but it also provides valuable statistics for the suggestions it provides. For example, entering “summer lawn projects” calls up a list of related searches including “scotts lawn care” and “miracle grow fertilizer.” Besides providing some additional competitive information, these results also show that far more users searched for the Scotts term, which could indicate less interest in DIY projects. Give the keyword tool a try here: http://bit.ly/dkrMYM.
Google Ad Planner
Google’s Ad Planner is primarily an online display planning tool that makes available a wealth of user data that are searchable with a variety of different criteria. For the scope of this article, I will be focusing on the keyword feature, which allows you to specify keywords your target audience may be using and identifies websites they may be frequenting. Along with the suggested websites, the Ad Planner provides information for each site, including demographic data, reach and monthly traffic, that are all based on data from Google’s network. For example, entering the keywords “house painting” and “home improvement” will call up sites like acehardware.com and lowes.com along with useful data on each site. In addition to these larger and more well-known sites, the Ad Planner will also suggest smaller, more specific sites that might not show up in tools like comScore. By sifting through these results, you can begin to understand a bit more about the behavior of potential users in your target audience.
Google Wonder Wheel
While perhaps not as exciting as it sounds, the Google Wonder Wheel has stuck around for a reason. Found as a link at the bottom left of any search results page, it allows you to follow a logical line between search queries by showing you related keywords to one that you enter. The tool derives its name from the way this information is arranged, with your term in the center of the wheel and the suggested keywords as the spokes surrounding it. Clicking any one of the “spokes” will move that term to the center and show additional related keyword suggestions, allowing you to move through a logical sequence of potential keywords. In addition to providing these connections, it can also provide you with additional ideas for your research. Give the Wonder Wheel a spin from any Google search results page.
Google's Wonder Wheel
Google Trends/Insights
These are two tools that provide essentially the same information, so for the sake of simplicity, only Google Insights, the more robust of the two tools, will be covered here. Google Insights for Search allows for keyword search volume to be seen across time. In addition to showing trending data, Insights also allows for the customization of the time frame, geography and number of search terms plotted simultaneously. Keeping with the home improvement theme, entering “home improvement” in the search box shows a slightly negative trend in search volume for this particular term since 2004. Along with this information, Google also provides regional data on where the term is being searched the most, as well as suggestions for other terms that are exhibiting above-average search volume for the time period. Two useful applications of the Insights information are spotting seasonal trends and identifying regional-specific interest, which can be useful when crafting plans for clients that might not have a presence nationwide or are trying to reach a certain area of the country or world.
Google Trends
Google AdWords Placement Tool
This is the only Google tool that requires an active pay-per-click (PPC) search campaign and gives some visibility into where our ads are appearing on Google’s Content Network. These are listings that look just like PPC search text ads, but instead of being triggered by a keyword search on Google.com, they are triggered by site content that is contextually relevant to the keywords in our campaign. Information from this tool can be very useful in understanding, like Google Ad Planner, where the users we are targeting might be consuming content online. These sites may provide additional insight into the target or provide you with additional ideas on where these users can be found.
To Summarize
As mentioned before, these tools are best when used as complements since some of the data they provide can be difficult to interpret in a vacuum. By using the (mostly) free tools provided by Google and marrying them with other established data sources, you can gain additional understanding about your target audience that can help create and support better media plans. For additional information, please feel free to reach out to any friendly member of the Click Here search team.
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TV is an inherently social experience. Long before the Internet and cell phones, there were still viewing parties and conversations around the water cooler at work the next day. As technology progressed, we started texting during shows and liking them on Facebook. Now there are new applications taking social TV to the next level for this fall season by repurposing the Foursquare location check-in concept for entertainment. Viewers can check in to TV shows just like checking in to physical locations. Let’s take a look at the main services out there and how TV networks are using them.
What Services Are Out There?
The apps getting the most buzz are GetGlue, Miso and Philo. Miso and Philo are for movies and TV, but GetGlue also covers other forms of entertainment such as books, video games and wines. All three connect with Facebook and Twitter to leverage their much larger networks. GetGlue was launched almost a year ago as a browser-based recommendation engine, but it wasn’t until June that the iPhone app came out, and now there are Droid and iPad versions, too. Users check in to earn stickers, and during the month of June, 550,000 users accounted for 5 million check-ins and ratings. GetGlue also offers value beyond just social: it gives Amazon-like personalized recommendations based on past check-ins.
Miso is a Bazaar Labs app that focuses specifically on TV and movies, and rewards are in the form of badges. Viewers ultimately achieve Fan Club admittance that unlocks exclusive show content. Users can comment on and like other people’s check-ins, as well as designate which shows are their favorites. A trending feature shows what shows are currently getting the most check-ins. As with GetGlue, there are iPhone, Droid and iPad versions.
Philo’s main differentiator is that it’s specific to live TV check-ins, so it has great value to networks to see minute-by-minute engagement. Users achieve credits by checking in to shows via a TV Guide-like layout and climbing the Hollywood ladder to ultimately achieve Executive Producer status. Awards are given along the way, and users can interact with others in real time. Even without checking in, this app is very useful for seeing what’s on TV. Unfortunately for Droid users, it’s only available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Other apps to watch: TV.com Relay is CBS’s live TV check-in service that had 100,000 users in late August just a few weeks after its launch, thanks to TV.com’s established audience. It rewards with badges and allows real-time commenting. Comcast’s Tunerfish is another app that asks the question “What are you watching?” similar to Facebook status update prompting. Tunerfish is unique in that there are referral rewards if someone clicks a link to a show that you’ve shared.
How Are Networks Using Them?
Fox is using GetGlue to recommend new fall shows to viewers of similar returning shows: “Glee” viewers who check in will be told about the new comedy “Raising Hope,” while “Bones” viewers will be alerted about the new drama “Lone Star.” HBO is also using GetGlue to reward viewers of the new series “Boardwalk Empire” with a special sticker if episodes are watched on the night it airs.
WE partnered with Miso to create a social experience around “Bridezillas,” customizing badges such as “Cake Smasher” and “Veil Thrasher” to play on the high-strung personalities of the featured brides. NBC made the Primetime Emmy® Awards more social with Philo by rewarding Live from the Red Carpet viewers with The Fashion Police award. Additionally, there was a contest to win $1,000 if Jimmy Fallon read on-air a joke submitted through Philo’s commenting feature. Philo has also partnered with IGN to host interactive virtual viewing parties with a chance to win not only virtual prizes, but also physical ones such as an Xbox.
So Will It Stick?
The main barrier is that not enough people are using these apps yet, so there is little peer reinforcement to continue to check in. Mainstream TV fans may stay content liking shows and posting comments on Facebook. But for avid TV fans, these services take fandom to a loyalty and social connectivity level that Facebook and Twitter can’t compete with…unless, of course, Facebook releases a repurposed Facebook Places for entertainment. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out this fall, and which networks and services can most effectively leverage the capability to engage viewers and, ultimately, increase ratings.
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Twitter seems to be all the buzz in recent months in the online space, with marketers trying to determine how best to utilize this new vehicle. There have been quite a few unique executions as advertisers are feeling their way around this tool. Let’s take a look at how some brands are utilizing this space:
In April, right before tax day, Turbo Tax decided to use their twitter profile as an open forum for users to submit tax questions and have their tax professionals reply back to them. In order to promote this feature, Turbo Tax launched a search campaign which featured the 5 most recent tweets as their AdSense ads. While it’s a great idea in theory to raise awareness of their Twitter service (and eventually gain followers), the execution was a bit questionable. In this instance the tweets are conversational rather than content-specific. When viewed in an environment other than Twitter, there can be a substantial disconnect in the conversation. The example below is a snippet of the tweets from April 13th, prime tax time. As you can see, what makes sense via the company’s tweet stream may come across as irrelevant to the user when viewed in a search environment.
Another example of how companies are using this new space is with Land Rover. Leading up to the New York Auto Show this year, Land Rover prompted consumers to join the conversation via their hashtag – #LRNY. The messaging was found in out of home environments and instructed users to either follow the brand on Twitter or contribute to the conversation. Did it work? Considering the effort was practically free, to get such a high volume of users interacting with your brand is a huge success. During the week of the auto show, Land Rover saw a 62.5% increase in conversations involving the brand. Giving users this outlet to offer praise, feedback, and criticism is invaluable to future brand strategies and marketing efforts.
A final example and hand’s down the best execution I’ve seen to date is Best Buy’s new twelpforce campaign. Best Buy is currently running spots promoting a new service they’ve launched. The spots do a great job of visually explaining how the service works. Users are directed to the website at the end of the spot to engage with twelpforce. Via the twitter feed, users submit their tech-related questions and Best Buy employees have signed up to answer them to the best of their ability. This initiative is still in its infancy as it just launched a few weeks ago. At last check, the twelpforce page had over 6,900 followers. In the age of automated everything, I think customers will appreciate being able to correspond with an actual person to get advice and questions answered.
Marketers are still testing the waters and trying to determine the best way to use this new social media platform. We are regularly asked by clients whether they should be on twitter and what they should be doing in this space. While there are many facets to consider, I would say to first establish if it makes sense with your marketing strategy. Then determine if you’re able to execute an initiative utlizing online media, offline media or a combination of both in a unique and engaging way. There has to be a clear purpose behind the effort and not just a desire to play in this latest arena. As advertisers become more comfortable with the space, it will definitely be an area to watch.
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