Facebook Graph Search for Brands

As Facebook has recently launched the Beta version of its Graph Search, many marketers are eager to learn what this could mean for brands. With the tool being rolled out in a very limited beta program, you can sign up to be on the waiting list to find out when you can start using Graph Search. Facebook still guarantees its privacy for users. Everyone’s searches will garner different results depending on the content your friends have shared with you or the content they've made public on Facebook.

Graph Search was created for Facebook users to search the site and gather results based on information that your friends have liked or shared. For example, if you were to search for “Restaurants my friends have been to,” a list of restaurants would show up based on check-ins that your friends have made through Facebook or any other type of location-based information that they made public. A different search of “Restaurants nearby” will return results for highly rated restaurants nearby, and “Pictures at nearby restaurants my friends like” will gather results of photos tagged at nearby restaurants that your friends have liked on Facebook. 

What does this mean for brands?

Graph Search is another great (and free) marketing tool. Perhaps a friend is interested in what gyms their friends are using to decide which gym they want to become a member of. Searching for “gyms my friends go to” will bring back results which may be the deciding factor for the user. To take advantage of the tool and optimize your brand page for maximum visibility:

• Share branded content from your page as the photos and videos will be searchable
• Be sure to keep your page information updated as you may rebrand or move locations
• Take advantage of the check-in opportunities by making sure you claim your page (if you haven’t done so already) and provide “deals” through Facebook to encourage users to visit and check-in to your store locations

Be sure to try out Graph Search for yourself to understand the way consumers interact and use the tool. Sign up for the wait list here.

Instagram Buzz

With all the hype going on about Instagram, I've decided to write a little bit about this mobile app. Instagram is a free photo sharing application that allows users to take photos, apply a digital filter to the photos, and then share the photos with friends and followers. This app was originally available only for the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch when it launched. Two years later, in April 2012, it became available on Android. There were over a million downloads of the Instagram app when it was finally released on the Android system. A few days after that, Facebook acquired Instagram and its 13 employees for $1 billion in cash and stock. Amazing how quickly things change in the digital world, wouldn’t you agree?

Being that Instagram launched in October 2010, now has over 25 million users and is known as one of the most popular mobile-only social networks, why would businesses not consider playing a role on Instagram? You can post fun altered photos of your products and begin a hashtag trend for your followers. Starbucks has already jumped on the wagon and has over 400,000 followers. The point of Instagram is to share photos, so as a business you can share photos of things that relate to your brand personality or just great mobile photos of your products - be creative! Another awesome thing about Instagram is that you are also able to share your photos on Facebook and Twitter. The more social networks the better!

Here are 3 main reasons why your business should join Instagram:

1. Most people are very visual- Instagram is great because it gives us the opportunity to share fun photos of our daily lives. How interesting would it be to your fans to follow unique photos of your business's life? You can show how much fun you have in the workplace and even take little "sneak peek" photos and have your followers figure out what the photo is. Keep them engaged, that's why they're following you! Just remember to keep in mind that Instagrammers don't want to see product photography, but more artistic photography that's been filtered.

2. There are millions of users using this app- The digital world is making changes all the time, just make sure you are caught up with the newest fad and stay in the loop. After Instagram became available on the Android, there were millions of downloads through the Android system, that pretty much means that Instagram is sort of a big deal.

3. You can create fun contests- With the usage of hashtags, it makes it easy to track and create contests. Have your fans post a creative photo with a certain hashtag that represents your products or services and give out fun prizes. The more interactive your consumers are, the more they begin to feel like "family" to your brand.

Preparing for the "Real World"

As a soon-to-be graduating senior, I just wanted to share what I’m doing to help prepare myself for life after college and hope that you will gain something from reading. My main focus currently is to graduate from San Diego State University and get hired on board with an innovative digital marketing company as a Social Media Strategiest. I want to finally step out of the college era and step into the “real world” era. As much as I love learning; studying and taking multiple choice exams can get old, real quick. If school was just all about taking on internships and working, I would graduate summa cum lade - no doubt. But unfortunately this isn’t how it works. Here is what I'm doing to prepare myself for the "real world":

I didn’t wait for opportunities to come my way, I went searching for them. Two of the best decisions I’ve made was joining SDSU’s Advertising Club and Ad 2 San Diego. I was so nervous about joining a club and meeting new people by myself, but I am happy I stepped outside my comfort zone. From these two clubs, I’ve made new friends, networked with great people and that made finding an internship much easier. I’ve come to realize that stepping out of your comfort zone is the best way to make your dream come true. Go out there and get as involved as you can, step outside your comfort box and have fun!

I took on multiple internships that were not paid, and I did it with pride. Experience is priceless, remember that. You need to have the right attitude to play in this game. If you are truly passionate about what you plan on doing after college, you will be willing to for the experience in a heartbeat. Haven’t you ever had anyone tell you? “Do what you love, and the money will follow.”

I created  my own website and business cards to market myself. This demonstrates that I am digitally savvy and know how to use technology to market myself. If I can’t market myself, how would I expect to market clients for my future employers?

I started this blog to demonstrate my passion for marketing. At first my blog was just going to be about my life, just for fun. But then as I began reading more articles about social media, I wanted to start taking notes of things I thought were interesting and helpful. Instead of taking notes on paper, I decided use my blog as a place to share those notes. Things I learn about social media that intrigue me, I include in my blog to share wealth with my peers.

I created a vision board. In order to stay focused on my dreams and goals, I bought a small cork-board where I put up things that would motivate me. I placed this cork-board on a wall that I would see every day as I got up to get ready and so far it’s been doing its job.

(From top left to bottom right: Business card with 'Senior Social Media Strategiest' as my title, '$100,000 bill', SDSU Cap/gown, photo of Eiffel Tower, very happy photo of me, photo of the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.)

The business card represents the position I will, one day, hold. The $100,000 bill represents the income I inspire to make. The photo of the cap and gown is my motivation for working hard towards graduation. The photos of the Eiffel Tower and Magic Fountain are the two places I would love to visit again in the near future, and the happy photo of myself reminds me to smile and appreciate life.

I believe that everything you have in your life, you have attracted. If it’s your dream job you want, then you’ve got to attract it by working hard and staying focused. I trust I’ve inspired you to go out there and knock down opportunity doors. Just do it! I dare you. ;) and I leave you with a quote that inspires me.

 “Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.” ~Kyle Chandler

You can also find this post on www.marketingmelodie.com

Interview tips I've learned along the way

As I’m getting ready to graduate in August, I’ve come to realize that there is one thing I should be working on, and that’s how to make a great first impression.  I’ll be interviewing for jobs soon and during an interview, the first impression is everything. You’ve got to make that first impression last. As I'm preparing to graduate I've already been to a few interviews and have learned so much. Here are a few tips for the recent grad or anyone in the job market!

Go to the interview dressed professionally- That means business attire! I always wear a pencil skirt or slacks with a collared shirt and a blazer. If I was a guy, I would wear slacks with a long sleeve collared shirt and a tie. It's always better to be over dressed, than under dressed in the case of an interview.

During the interview- Take a deep breath and speak at the pace that the interviewer is speaking at. You want to be on the same page with them, so don’t speak too fast, but don’t speak too slow either. Speaking too fast is easy to do when you're nervous. The best thing you can do is to be aware of this which will help you slow down. If you think you're talking too fast, you probably are!

Sell yourself- A Job interview is the time and place to sell! Answer your question in a way that always tie back into how you can benefit the company. Remember: “features tell and benefits sell.” Also, make sure to do a ton of research on the company before the interview process. You don’t want to be stuck when they ask you, “So tell me what you know about our company.”

Don’t be nervous!- I know it is easier said than done. You may believe that the company is interviewing you and that you need an unforgettable answer to every question, but take a look around and realize that you’re also interviewing the company. You want to make sure that this is truly a company you will be happy working for.

Any questions?- Always ask questions at the end of the interview. When you don’t have any questions, it gets interpreted as, “she doesn’t have much interest in the company.” This may not be the best time to start asking about benefits and salary. However, do ask about what they are looking for from the position they are seeking to hire and if opportunities of moving up within the company is feasible. It's a good idea to go in to the interview with 2 or 3 questions to ask so you're prepared with they ask "Do you have any questions?". If questions come up during the interview, don't be afraid to ask, especially if it's a clarifying question.

Last but not least, keep in mind:

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door"

You can also find this post on www.marketingmelodie.com

Klout Perks

We all influence one another, the question is, how much of an influence are we? In 2008, a social media analytic website called Klout was founded to help us measure our level of influence on our audience. Klout gives each individual a score from 1 to 100, based on the individual’s ability to drive action through their social networks. Actions are considered as how many mentions and retweets you receive on Twitter; comments, wall-posts and likes on Facebook and so on for all the other social media networks that you are able to link Klout to. Klout also gives you an idea of the topics you are influential on, and if the people in your network agree with Klout, they can give you a +K.

Just recently, I discovered Klout Perks. By having a Klout account you are eligible for Klout Perks, but certain perks are targeted to specific users based on their score, influential topics, location and more. The perks consist of free or discounted products and/or services. From analyzing all the Klout Perks that have been offered, I've come up with three reasons companies may benefit from offering Klout Perks:

1. It’s great brand exposure.
As individuals are browsing through all the perks because their curiosity got the best of them, and whether or not they qualify for the perk, they are still being exposed to your brand. The best part is, your brand is getting a ton of impressions, but you don’t have to pay the CPI price!

2. It’s a viral opportunity for your business.
Some of the most influential individuals will be redeeming one of your sponsored packages. These individuals are the ones that are highly active in their social networks and will be telling their fans about the fun perks they’ve received through Klout, which means they will be talking about your brand!

3. You can use Klout to measure your outreach success!
Klout gives you a lot of insight in the digital world. See who you influence the most, whether it may be a competitor or a loyal fan. You can also see the topics you are influential on, and how your influence compares to your competitors.

Here is an example of how successful Popchip's campaign went:

Popchips' campaign was targeted towards healthy trendsetters. They offered a popchips sample kit, hoping that this would be shared and passed along to friends and family. Only 300 influencers were able to claim the perk but there was 14,819 tweets about the perk along with 46.7 million impressions of the perk.

Are you interested in getting your business involved with Klout? All you've got to do is contact Klout here!

Case Study: Volkswagen Punch Dub Campaign

In 2010, Volkswagen collaborated with Duetsh LA to create the 'Punch Dub' campaign. The campaign consisted of many YouTube videos,  a Super Bowl commercial and a game called 'Punch Dub' where every time you saw a Volkswagen, you called out the color of the car and punched the person next to you. This game was a remake of the original game 'Punch Bug' and was created to develop more awareness of Volkswagen and its 13 different models. I found this campaign to be one of the best that I have ever seen because not only did sales go up 40% that year, but people will selectively look out for Volkswagen cars to play the game, and Volkswagen found a way to integrate themselves into the culture as everyone continues to play 'Punch Dub.' 

Sluggy Patterson is a fictitious character that was made up to explain 'Punch Dub' and what rules pertained to the game. As Volkswagen attempted to create viral videos for the 'Punch Dub' campaign through YouTube, the most views one of their videos received was a little over 600, which is not very many. However, the videos are pretty funny and these are my two favorite videos of Sluggy Patterson:

What are your thoughts on the Volkswagen Punch Dub campaign?

All About Foursquare

Foursquare is a location-based social network used mostly on mobile devices. You use your smart phone to check-in at the venue you’re currently at. Foursquare check-ins can earn you a new badge, points (that I still don’t know what they’re good for) and some businesses offer special deals when you check-in at their venues. With Foursquare, you can simultaneously post your check-in on Facebook and Twitter, something that checking in just on Facebook doesn’t allow. Facebook check-ins only offer a new status update to show your friends where you’re at. 

   

 As a business, you wouldn’t necessarily create a Foursquare account to be part of the fun. You would claim your business instead. Once the business is claimed, business owners are able to add specials to help bring in more traffic to the business location. One thing that businesses should keep in mind is that when a special is created, employees should be aware of the special. This would help avoid confusion when a customer comes in and shows them the unlocked special. It makes the experience less frustrating for the consumer.

 I found this Foursquare comedy skit on YouTube, and I thought it was funny so I wanted to share. Also, I drive a Toyota Camry and I noticed that the car the guys are driving is a Camry! Enjoy. :)

You can also find this blog on http://www.marketingmelodie.com/