Crowdbooster

Gone are the days when the president hosted Fireside Chats over the radio (cough, Franklin D. Roosevelt). Welcome today’s digital age, introducing…SOCIAL MEDIA, a fast and direct way of communicating and engaging with individuals worldwide!
 
Politics and social media are merging, becoming more intertwined than ever before.  Let’s take a look at the social media efforts from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…
 
Obama and the White House staff are the first Administration actively using various social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and the list goes on…

 

If you think about it, what better way to capture a democratic society than having the President and the White House staff engaged in social media, working towards transparency, engagement and participation?!

In an interview with Macon Phillips, the White House’s director of new media, Phillips explained that, “Social media presents an enormous landscape of opportunity for communication…It is a means of expanding the channels in which members of the White House communicate.” He emphasized that technology can and should be used to make the world a smaller place, to demonstrate how interconnected we really are.

Crowdbooster is including social media tips from the White House that can help YOU achieve social media success!  
 
1. Experiment, try something new. Social media gives you the opportunity to test things out and see how your audience reacts.

For example, President Obama hosted a Google+ hangout to interact with citizens nationwide, answering questions about the State of the Union address. This was the first ever all-virtual interview from the White House! → (see picture below)

2. Ask questions to gain a better of understanding of what your community is interested in reading and discussing. Feedback helps. A lot.

How’s the @whitehouse account doing? Things you like? Things it could do better? Take our survey: http://wh.gov/3IK

— The White House (@whitehouse) June 2, 2011

3. Have fun! Many argue that Obama was successful at getting votes during his 2008 campaign by using social media to get people excited about, involved in, and talking about…POLITICS!

Arianna Huffington, editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, went as far as to say that, “Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president.” 

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/

Do you use social media as a way of engaging with politics? If yes, how? Do you follow President Obama and the White House on Twitter?

If not, start now!

President Barack Obama: https://twitter.com/BarackObama
White House: https://twitter.com/whitehouse
Macon Phillips: https://twitter.com/macon44

Feel like reading more on this topic? Check out…

Pew Research Center’s study entitled, “The Internet’s Role in Campaign 2008: A majority of American adults went online in 2008 to keep informed about political developments and to get involved with the election.”
http://web.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2009/The_Internets_Role_in_Campaign_2008.pdf

I get sad whenever I see a tweet that sounds more like advertising than the start of a conversation. I whine about uninspired posts that were created to get cheap likes. 

I wonder if marketers will ever come around to understanding that social media is about becoming part of the conversation and not interrupt it with buzzkill advertising copy.

Social media is an opportunity for brands to open up and invite us in to see the what they are about. It’s authentic, it’s personal, it’s human.

For my own sanity’s sake, I’m going to blog about brands that get it, and showcase them here on the Crowdbooster blog. Here’s my first post, tell me if you like it.

McDonald’s

.@MikeBloomberg We trust our customers to make the choices that are best for them.

— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) June 1, 2012

Brands have opinions. Sometimes it’s obvious. Of course McDonald’s didn’t like NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to ban sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces at restaurants. It was extremely refreshing to see them come out and say it. If businesses only hide behind carefully crafted scripts, they would quickly become irrelevant in this day and age. 

GOOD Magazine

Today was a big & difficult one. We lost great people as we evolve our platform to better serve you. Stay tuned, #GOOD things are ahead.

— GOOD(@GOOD) June 2, 2012

One of my favorite magazines laid off many of its editorial staff. Rather than letting the news go away quietly, the magazine’s Twitter chose to say something, revealing the business’ vulnerabilities and getting my attention.

Bonobos

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150979354894870

I found this “spotlight” to be extremely awesome from Bonobos. A simple 10-second video introducing an employee, followed by Q&A in the comments. For Bonobos’ fans, they’d love to know what goes into making the nice-fitting pants. They do this regularly. I’m going to swagga-jack this and do it for Crowdbooster.

The Hundreds

Saving the best for last. Bobby Hundreds is the truth. The Hundreds is about more than the clothes. It’s a culture, and I follow the creator to get regular doses of it. This is why social media is powerful. 

In our last post, we explored Pinterest’s potential for social media marketing and community management efforts. As the network continues to grow, however, some brands are leveraging the social network in a different manner. Most notable of these instances comes from Gilt’s “unlockable pins” campaign. According to TechCrunch, this new feature allows pinners to access a hidden link once a pin has been repinned at least 50 times. This promotional link remains exclusive to Pinterest followers and cannot be accessed anywhere else on the Gilt’s site.

Gilt offers a discount in exchange for a repin. Is this effective community management? 

When news of this promotional move first hit last week, we were immediately reminded of the commonly used tactic of “like-gating.” Before the introduction of Facebook’s Timeline, brand pages allowed companies to offer exclusive content to its fans. The most common form of this

technique included the company banner, urging first-time viewers to “Like” your page. The most extreme examples included Sephora’s promise of exclusive deals in exchange for a “Like.” Today, the new Timeline layout has largely done away with this banner method, but other promotions such as a retweet to enter a sweepstakes or contest still abound.

Sephora provides us with a clear example of the “like-gating” banner (courtesy of Hubspot). 

As we consider the future of social media marketing, these approaches to community management will continually be called into question. Sure, there are undoubtedly short term benefits of these campaigns for brands. Social media managers can pinpoint the ROI of such promotions based on increased (albeit artificial) engagement. But is this transaction-based engagement truly where we want to steer the social media marketing industry? After all, it seems these transactions cheapen the community’s experience. 

Why can’t we focus on the long-term advantages and power of an engaged community? Brands need to be constantly reminded that social media isn’t a simple task. There can be a place for easy to execute promotional campaigns, but true online engagement stems from hours of immersion within your own community. As Ekaterina Walter, social strategist at Intel, writes on MarketingProfs, brands should provide compelling and interactive content. This varies from industry to industry and network to network, but it’s increasingly clear that social media is valid force in marketing. As the industry flourishes, we’ll learn to measure and appreciate the long-term benefits of sustained community engagement. What do you think? Have you tried to justify time spent truly interacting and relating to the community? How difficult was that? 

It’s clean, slick, and endlessly engaging. It’s hard to ignore Pinterest’s draw because it’s largely an interest-driven network. Sure, you can connect with your friends from Facebook, but as a user you’re far more concerned with sifting through seemingly endless pictures of anything from postmodern architecture to aborable puppies. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Earlier this month, TechCrunch broke news that Pinterest has reached 11.7 million monthly users. Clearly, there exists potential for brands to enter the world of Pinterest, but how should they approach the network?

A few weeks ago we discussed this topic with a group of community managers during our #SMOChat. Based on these responses, research into the top existing brands on the site, and some of our own experiences, we’ve compiled some quick tips for your initial run with Pinterest. 

Create a Vision

While Instagram might lend itself to a random sampling of brand images, Pinterest demands a more structured schedule. Upon creating a profile for your brand, develop a few boards with separate cohesive themes. Then, stick to them. For example, at Crowdbooster we distinguish our “Life at Crowdbooster” board (pins promoting company events and culture) from our “Infographics and More” board (pins related to industry infographics and posters). While this might seem unnecessary, it actually offers you the opportunity to create multiple niches on one network. Some might come for the infographics, others for the company quirks.

Whole Foods’s communicates a clear vision on Pinterest: promote the organic lifestyle with appealing pictures.

Whole Foods has one of the most unified brand visions so far on Pinterest. It maintains over 25 boards dedicated to a variety of topics from sustainability to dessert art. While the majority of their 17000+ followers may not necessarily shop at a local Whole Foods store, the brand itself creates value in the community through a diverse set of interests. 

Connect With Interests

Once the vision has been established, target the interests that best resonate with your community. While it’s important to leverage the social frameworks Pinterest has to offer (cover in the “Engage Your Audience” section), at the end of the day the network functions on content. Use that content to drive conversation.

HGTV actively curates its taste for interior design. Followers don’t seem to mind one bit. 

Pinterest’s highly visual interface offers brands an opportunity to set the standard within their industry. Ricky Yean, Crowdbooster CEO, regards Pinterest as an arena in which companies can potentially “curate their tastes and express an aspirational lifestyle.” For example, cable TV channel, HGTV, doesn’t design its strategy on Pinterest in order to broadcast its shows to followers. Instead, many of their pins offer decorating tips and suggestions for enhancing your home. This actually serves to elevate their brand beyond the product itself.

Avoid Self-Promotion

In light of the fact that Pinterest is interest-driven, it’s unwise to inject company promotions and advertisements into your followers’ feed. Depending on your industry, you may compete with pins depicting designer clothes or jaw-dropping European landscapes. While a brand should certainly utilize Pinterest as a marketing platform, its efforts should contribute to the conversation, not disrupt it.

During out #SMOchat, Brittany Morse of Sprout Social share insights on Pinterest. Clearly, Sprout Social understands the need to add valuable content to the conversation. 

Even B2B companies can add value to the conversation. Promote a blog post or infographic that offers industry tips, trends, or statistics. You can even take it one step further and pin videos that highlight case studies or tutorials. Beth Hayden of Copyblogger suggests that since there are far fewer videos than pictures on the site, your videos are more likely to be seen. All in all, these tips may help you create desirable content that engages followers with your brand without alienating them.

Engage Your Community

Similar to other social media sites, Pinterest offers brands ample opportunity to foster a two-way conversation within its online community. Although it’s important to establish yourself as a “curator of taste” or leader within your industry, take time to acknowledge the value your audiences contributes to the topic or niche. Repin content you find particularly compelling onto company boards. Design a board that highlights customer stories, whether case studies or pins that highlight the value your product or service offers. Take it one step further: like and comment pins from your followers, regardless of whether or not they relate to your brand. Don’t be afraid to show followers a human element of your brand’s culture.

Ultimately, we hope this serves as a basic guide for developing your brand’s presence of Pinterest. We’d love comments on readers’ experience so far with the network in the comments section. As a community manager, what are best practices you’ve found so far? As a personal user, do you engage with brands on Pinterest? Why or why not?

We’d love to connect with you on Pinterest! Our boards are still a work in progress but they’re a taste of what’s to come.