Internet Marketing Blog of KeChange

Social Media Promotion: Blendtec Entertains A YouTube Audience

Attracting and engaging people online is social media at its best. To explain how your company can effectively engage viewers, I looked at the company Blendtec.WillitBlend, a video series that literally throws anything into a Blendtec blender and blends it, not limited to Iphones, video games, bic lighters, marbles, etc. I was immediately drawn to a clip that puts an Ipad in a blender.
I stumbled across Blendtec while browsing YouTube for interesting clips about Apple's new Ipad when I stumbled across

The list of products destroyed by this mega-blender is endless, demonstrating that this is certainly not a machine to be reckoned with. I was in awe that a blender had such power because I had never seen any kitchen utility with the ability to do that. I then realized that not only was Blendtec engaging in communities outside of their traditional scope, their impressive videos were actually drawing in viewers that would otherwise never visit their website.

Blendtec's effective marketing campaign managed to attract several markets that prior to WillitBlend, have never been accessible. Blenders are typically used for blending fruit smoothies, vegetables, and various food related products, but never electronics. By utilizing YouTube, one of the largest social media pioneers, to stream their videos, the company is able to create a buzz around their product and attract an array of people in the technology, food, and blenders market. Blendtec is leveraging YouTube in an effective marketing tactic and according to comscore, YouTube has over 320 million searches a day. Had BlendTec simply targeted the food market, they would have greatly diminished their exposure to countless viewers searching for Ipads, video games and the like.

I typed in Ipad to Youtube and there was Blendtec with a video that generated over 7 million views. If the company was only targeting blending fruit, they would have missed out on the ability to reach all those Ipad viewers, such as myself. Not only are they branching out into unforeseen markets, but they are proving to customers that their blender has remarkable capabilities that truly deserve attention.

So what have I learned from Blendtec?

1. Their blender has some serious swag to it and can blend even the most challenging gadgets without breaking down.
2. The outreach for BlendTec goes far beyond the food market and into the technology market
3. YouTube rules all! Why not view countless videos and expose your own videos to the 320 million daily viewers on YouTube?
4. New products introduced in the technology market are YouTube hits and if you can engage in these communities then you're going to create a buzz
5. Creating a series of videos keeps your viewers engaged and awaiting the next video, best known as retaining your customers.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

Uni-ball Makes Social Media Strategy Fun

Companies of all sizes have been leveraging social media on their homepages in an effort to establish online communities. After exploring several companies who are at the forefront of this trend, I came across Uni-ball who appears to be effectively using social media to differentiate and promote their brand. Where there once was no online community for pen lovers to share their experience, Uni-ball has filled that void by utilizing three social media networks. The company now has a solid social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, as promoted on their homepage.

There are a number of ways that Uni-ball is using Facebook to promote their products and encourage conversation. The following is a list of just some of the various ways they are engaging in online communities:

1. Scavenger Hunts - Answer questions correctly and receive awards
2. Contests - Draw a picture with a Uni-ball pen. Winners receive free pens and get their picture up on the Uni-ball Facebook page - which currently boasts more than 10 thousand fans!
3. Famous Signatures - Identify the signature and win FREE pens

A trend is apparent in how the company gets its online visitors involved; through these interactive contests and events, they are able to effectively motivate users with rewards for their social engagement. By offering free pens and prizes, Uni-ball has established an incentive for consumers to converse with one another and create a buzz for their products. 

After exploring their Facebook page, I felt compelled to inspect the company's YouTube page. YouTube is often an important component of a brand's social media strategy because it engages users by encouraging them to comment, subscribe, and post their own experiences. The videos posted by Uni-ball are informative and help differentiate them from competitors by exploring the unique benefits of using a Uni-ball pen. To maintain a dynamic social media presence, they frequently update their YouTube page with new content and regularly interact with their 50 subscribers. 

By this point, I felt so immersed into community of pen lovers that I was eager to visit Uni-ball's Twitter page. Here, I was pleased to find more contests and a following of nearly 2,300 users, many of which provided positive feedback and excellent reviews.

According to Mashable.com, internet users spent 5 hours, 46 minutes on Facebook in the month of August. That is triple the amount of time they spent on Google! It should come as no surprise then, that nearly every successful brand has established an online presence, thus revolutionizing conventional marketing approaches. Research has indicated that approximately 70% of consumers trust fellow consumer opinions that are posted online. In fact, brand websites are trusted around the same 70% level, while only 14% of consumers trust advertisements. As a result, companies have transformed their traditional advertising roles and now act as event planners, aggregators, and content providers. Uni-ball is a great example of a company that has effectively incorporated social media into their overall marketing strategy. They have managed to engage customers by creating an online community for them that had not previously existed, resulting in increased brand awareness and customer loyalty. I would like to hear from Uni-ball to further discuss their use of social media, its impact on their business, and whether my observations are consistent with their experience thus far.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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The World Cup of Social Media

The Social Media Boom that became big during the latest Presidential Election, recent Superbowls, and now the World Cup, has taken on the responsibility of facilitating information to viewers and fans that before, may not have been so up-to-date. The 2010 World Cup has adopted social media like no other previous World Cup and quite frankly has transformed uninterested and uninformed people into knowledgeable soccer fans. Bloggers predict that the World Cup will be the biggest event, (not just in sports), to ever hit the Twitter/Facebook wires. What is most interesting is how FIFA is using social media to promote the World Cup and turn the so-called "apathetic Americans" into futbol gurus. It's no secret that Americans place little value on soccer, while the rest of the world lives and dies by the game. But with the emergence of social media, heads are beginning to turn on the sport that is currently bringing the world together, for a month at least.

So how is FIFA utilizing social media during one of the biggest sporting events in South Africa? FIFA created the CLUB which has generated over 1.6 million users, but FIFA isn't exactly capitalizing on the event like SONY Ericsson has managed to do. SONY has created the TWITTER CUP which is a stream of tweets from teams in the World Cup. In comparison, SONY seems to have adapted to the already existent social network of Twitter, unlike FIFA who has created their own social network. That's a goal well-played by SONY and a missed freebee by FIFA. What FIFA doesn't understand is that the stage has already been set for a social media explosion. If FIFA had adopted a Facebook application, they could have gained attention on a global platform rather than investing in an expensive microsite. Missed Penalty Kick by FIFA, who should know best that there is no need to reinvent the wheel when Facebook and Twitter have already set up a golden opportunity.

I am curious to see what will transpire from this global event and how the rest of the world is using social media to attain their information. With each national and global event that takes place, there will be losers and winners on the social media front. What we have already learned is that Facebook and Twitter are dominating social networking, so why try and create your own social network? Go with what already works, create a Facebook application that can reach over 400 million users. It will be very interesting to see how companies emerge as leaders in new media and who is left jogging behind the highly-productive offensive schemes put in place by companies such as SONY.

By Cameron Moulton, Internet Marketing Associate

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Beware of the Anti-Brand Fan

By Nick Fasulo

We all know that the conventional, one-dimensional television or print ad campaign is about as stale as that bag of chips still sitting in your kitchen from last Friday night. Campaigns are designed to hit targeted markets through multiple mediums and platforms. But you already know that.

So in today's world, a consumer controlled media world, ad campaigns that aren’t unanimously lauded as fabulous from each and every demographic can be criticized, visible to everyone, and creative media firms must begin to take heed of assumed backlash. Anyone with an internet connection and a beef can become - as Edward Boches points out – an anti-brand fan.

To the consumer: did you catch something while watching television recently that peeved you due to its horrible production value? Create a Facebook group page declaring your disdain, and watch your allegiance of people that echo your sentiments grow. Got a problem with a new ad because it’s degrading to a specific sub-culture? I hear spoof videos can draw thousands of hits a week on YouTube if they’re clever and uploaded in a timely manner.

Boches articulated this growing trend that producers must be cognizant of, by presenting a “contrived case study” based around a 1960s model Volkswagen Van. The hook? “Do you have the right wife for [a VW Van]”? Essentially, Boches is asking men if they are intelligent enough to pick a wife that fits in their ride. Not a terrible ad but surely something that the female population could be peeved by, and subsequently take to the Facebooks, Twitters and Blogs (the 21^st century soapbox) to air their laundry list of grievances.

There’s no real way to police the anti-brand fan. In fact, we’re all one to some degree and this growing trend gives even stronger legs to the idea that social media and user-generated content isn’t going anywhere. We’ve learned that opinions and views shared between your group of friends are probably being heard in many other circles across the country, and this digital age helps to bring both the self-proclaimed #1 fan or the indignant hater together to share their thoughts.

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