Pinning Is Winning!

By now, most of us have heard about Pinterest, the new social media network. Pinterest is a virtual pin board that allows you to pin, repin, like and comment on pictures and videos that your friends or others upload on the site. I know this doesn’t sound very fun, but trust me, it gets addicting. When you go on the website, you are bound to find pictures or videos of things that interest you. Consequently, you are then tempted to pin it to your board so that you may save it for later or just share with your friends. The content that you pin will always lead back to the source it came from, whether it is a blog, a retail site, etc.

Pinterest is also fascinating because you can’t just sign up for an account, you must be invited. You can sign up to wait for an invite or you can find a Pinner that will personally send you an invitation. Yeah, it’s like VIP status.  No worries though, just give me a tweet or a message on Google+ and I’ll invite you. ;)

www.pinterest.com/stephanietrinh

But wait, there’s more. As a company, having a Pinterest account may be a good investment, think about it.

1. You’ll get discovered.
People go on Pinterest to find things, whether it’s a new book to read, a new recipe to bake or inspiration for the room they want to redesign. Content gets shared very quickly on Pinterest and that’s a great thing.

2. You keep your customers updated.
Like Twitter, Pinners are able to choose who they want to follow. As you keep your board updated with new pins, your followers are able to stay up to date and can repin the things they love.

3. You let your consumers know the different sides of you.
With the option of having multiple boards, you’re able to show your followers what your personality is like. You can make a boards with content that represent you. One board can have quotes and sayings, another board with your favorite products and a different board with pictures of things that stand for the lifestyle you represent. Yoplait Yogurt is a great example of one of the companies on Pinterest:

www.pinterest.com/yoplait

Remember: Pinning is winning! :)


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

Mamma Chia

As this semester flew by, one of the presentations due for my direct marketing course was to create viral marketing on Facebook and Twitter for an emerging company called Mamma Chia. Mamma Chia is a chia vitality beverage that is "fun for your mouth and great for your body!"  I love this product, it tastes great and the benefits of chia seeds are really amazing. Thank goodness I was assigned a product that I truly am passionate about, it made things a lot easier.

One of the main focus of the project was to make Mamma Chia's Twitter timeline more interesting. I came up with a Twitter contest for Mamma Chia to promote hashtag #mammapicCHIA. Contestants were to tweet at @mammachia1 their creative photos of their Mamma Chia drinks along with a creative title, hashtag #mammapicCHIA and they must be following Mamma Chia in order to be entered for a chance to win an iPad2. This would help Mamma Chia's timeline stay interesting as they retweet their favorite entries and if followers wanted to see the rest of the entries, they can just search the hashtag. Loyal consumers of this product already tweet pictures of their Mamma Chia beverage on Twitter constantly, therefore, I thought it would be a great idea to keep them engaged and have a chance to win something that they would really want.

Here are some examples of the "pic-chias" :)

 

^ This is mine!

I also mentioned that Mamma Chia should start using Klout. Klout is a website that provides free social media analytics on how users influence their audience. For a company, this is important because the whole point of having social media is to influence consumers to buy your product or become aware of your brand. Not to mention, it's also a great tool for spying at competitors, keeping track of how they are doing with their influence towards their audience.

I am so proud of the video my group members and I recorded for this project; we worked so hard and did so well, I wanted to share! :)

Successful Marketing? Make it Cause Related.

Cause related marketing is one of the most successful forms of marketing. People have a hedonistic need to feel involved and part of something. A brand that sells a certain lifestyle or movement are the ones who last in the competition.

We can look at examples such as Livestrong bracelets, Toms shoes, anything that is pink to support the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and more. When consumers purchase these items, they are willing to pay a little more than they normally would because they feel as though they are doing good. If a consumer buys a pair of Toms shoes, they know that they are helping a child somewhere because Toms donates a pair of shoes for every pair purchased. If you're going to support a brand, why not support a brand that gives back?

The founder of Pura Vida Bracelets was a guest speaker for my Direct Marketing class today at San Diego State University, and I was really intrigued at the meaning behind his brand. Pura vida means "pure life" in Spanish. When you purchase a bracelet, it helps provide more jobs for artisans in Costa Rica along with reminding yourself to enjoy life slowly, celebrate good fortune & not taking anything for granted. There is more to the story but the meaning behind the bracelet was what got me; I am now a supporter of Pura Vida Bracelets. :)

Isn't it just so amazing how consumers are happy to pay for a bracelet made of waterproof strings with a small charm attached because the brand stands for something that the consumer feels represents them?

Cause related marketing = success. Point blank period.

The Secret to LinkedIn

Although we all may have a LinkedIn, most of us don't use it to its full potential. With over 135 million users on this social media site world wide, we need to take advantage! It's a great networking tool to have, on top of your Twitter and Facebook. Here are some useful tips to make the most of your LinkedIn profile:

• In order for your profile to be more searchable, it needs to be at least 85% completed. Just remember, "first impressions are everything, and skimping on your personal profile will quickly decrease your value."
• Don't think that you can only connect with people you personally know on LinkedIn. There are over 135 million users to connect with, start connecting with aquantiances and HR reps to maximize your network. It will help you create more business opportunities.
• Keep your LinkedIn profile updated. You never know who may land on your profile, and as I mentioned earlier: first impressions are everything.
• You can customize your LinkedIn URL. Just click on the edit profile tab to change it. This is my URL: http://www.linkedin.com/in/trinhstephanie
• Don't forget to recommend! As Business Insider stated, "The more you give, the more you receive. A solid recommendation can potentially save someone's else life by setting them up with their future employer."
• Follow and join as all the groups that you are interested in so that you can stay up to date on these companies/organizations.

Now go out there and network!

From Business Insider

Cause Marketing Night 2011

The event turned out great! I had an amazing time and I was able to meet many new people including the founder of Pybob, Shelly Bowen. She is definitely the sweetest person ever. :)

There were many great paintings donated for the event and it was a lot of fun being able to watch bidders go through bidding wars for their favorite artwork - so much excitement and cheering!

 

Here's a photo from the auction.

The Masterpieces from Cause Marketing Night 2011

Recap of Cause Marketing Night 2011

Ad 2 San Diego

I've recently joined Ad 2 San Diego, an organization for people who are 32 and under and are in the San Diego advertising, marketing, and communications community. Ad 2 San Diego helps create future advertising and marketing industry leaders through education, leadership development and networking programs. I'm part of the communications committee and part of what we do is blogs, newsletters, promotional emails, etc. I had the honor of posting my first blog post about an upcoming event Ad 2 San Diego is hosting, Cause Marketing Night 201, and I am excited to share it with everyone!

Click here to see my blog for Ad 2 San Diego!

Google+

Do you have a Google+? If not, then what are you waiting for!? It is definitely going to be the next best thing since Facebook. It took Facebook 2.5 years to get 18 million users. It took Google+ only 21 days.

When you add friends on Google+, it automatically asks you to place them in a listed "circle" and when you post updates, you choose which circles you want to the post to be visible to. This is perfect for mixing business and pleasure! Now you can add your coworkers and family and not worry about them judging your posts that were meant for friends only.

Also, when you download the Google+ app onto your Android, every time you take pictures, those pictures automatically upload into a private photo album for you on your Google+. I find this to be very convenient, and I love it!

This is what my Google+ looks like:

... and yes, I'm following Tyra banks on Google+.  :)