Pinterest- How to use it and what to use it for? This question is being asked all over the place. This new social channel has taken off like crazy lately and is considered the next big thing in social media. Pinterest hit 10 million U.S. monthly unique visitors faster than any independent site in history, with nearly 12 million monthly unique visitors and over 10.4 million registered users. Some brands you are familiar with have already jumped on board such as Toms, Gap, HGTV, Lowe’s, and Etsy. Pinterest in generating more referral traffic to websites than YouTube, Google+ and Linkedin combined.
As a social media manager I have planned more than my fair share of Facebook ad campaigns for my clients. When I first began doing this almost 2 years ago, the landscape was uncertain at best, especially for our clients that wanted to run small local campaigns to take advantage of the cost effectiveness of the ad platform. At that time, their ads were sometimes layered in with spammy “acai berry diet” ads claiming to have been endorsed by Dr. Oz (they weren’t).
I recently took my kids to a small concert to hear some children’s music from a national artist. Funny thing was it got me thinking about followers vs. leaders. As I was sitting there with my wife and three kids listening to the music it dawned on me, leading and following truly start at an early age and continue into adulthood.
I receive an email every few months or so from a photography studio in my neighborhood, a company which got my name from a time when my kid played soccer and they took the team photo, but never actually asked for my permission to send me emails. Bill C-28, which is set to become law in Canada mid- 2012, is very strict on the use of unsolicited emails (Hereinafter referred to as Spam). Under the new law, the neighborhood photography studio could be penalized up to one million dollars a day, or ten million dollars a day if they are a registered corporation. The fines are heavy and the law is designed to eliminate spam.
McDonald’s is sponsoring a trend (#McDStories) on Twitter this week to get conversations started about the farmers that grow their food. It’s a touchy-feely message that has unfortunately, backfired on them as people use the trend to share their McDonald’s horror stories! The New York Observer is going so far as to call it the latest “Hashtag disaster.”
In early November, our co-worker Terese Erdelen, experienced an unexpected heart attack. Fortunately, she is on her way to recovery and back at work. This event has given Terese the encouragement she needed to give up smoking.
In a recent article on stltoday.com, Terese tells her story and motivation to give up a life-long habit. Way to go, Terese!
Will Twitter’s new redesign, announced today, really streamline the “user experience” and help people discover more relevant conversations? Will Twitter ever catch up to the popularity of Facebook, or get to that coveted 1 billion users mark?
I find Twitter a little cumbersome from a personal user perspective. Taking off my social media manager’s hat, Twitter only fills one purpose for me, and that’s mostly an industry related one. I follow mostly social media and advertising on Twitter. I’m starting to branch out a little, but really, that’s what I have Facebook and Pinterest for.
It seems everything these days can be associated with a celebrity in one way or another. Who’s the first celebrity that comes to mind when you think of Twitter? You’re probably thinking Ashton Kutcher. For discovering acts on YouTube most people probably think of Ellen.
How about a web browser? Yes, you read that right – a web browser. Have you ever associated your Google Chrome with a celebrity? You’re probably thinking, “No, nobody would do that,” right? Wrong.
Ferrari and Neiman Marcus teamed up this year to offer a special “present” in their 2011 Holiday Catalog. For the low low price of $395,000, you can be the proud owner of an exclusive 2012 Ferrari FF. You know, in case you need drive 200 MPH and have matching luggage. They sold out all 10 vehicles in less than 1 hour!
Busy when the phone lines opened? Not to worry, they’re also offering a Neiman Marcus Edition Hacker-Craft hand built speedboat for only $250,000; and a custom built Assouline library filled with 250 books for that home addition you’ve been thinking about.
Our Vice President of Client Services D.W. Cole on the Rise of the QR.
The United States now has about 82 million smartphone users, which is about 42% of the whole mobile market. Some 87% of smartphone owners access the internet or email on their handheld; including two-thirds (68%) who do so on a typical day. When asked what device they normally use to access the internet, 25% of smartphone owners say that they mostly go online using their phone, rather than with a computer. As smartphones are becoming more accessible to the general population, smartphones are a great way for advertisers to reach this new audience. Over the past few years, Quick Response codes (QR codes), are becoming a viable option for a message impact.
