Email Campaigns - Do they really work?

Every morning when I wake up, I blindly reach for my iPhone. With it's cool, sleek body in my hands, I gently press my index finger on the mail icon. In a matter of seconds, I see the number of emails that have accumulated overnight - Most of which, I delete without even reading the subject line.

These annoying emails are from companies and websites that I have unknowingly subscribed to and am too lazy to unsubscribe from. Why do companies believe blasting innocent people with annoying alerts will drive more traffic to their websites? If more companies asked me if they could send me annoying emails, maybe I'd consider letting them. But they never do. 

The only emails campaigns that I open and even pay attention to are from companies that I genuinely enjoy. Usually companies blast out email campaigns when they are having a deal. To catch my attention, the subject line needs to have the name of the company and a number. This number screams discount.

Moral of the story, if your customer likes your company enough to receive emails, send them information about sales. If not, your precious email campaign will soon fall into the land of the "junk" folder.

Snapchat

A social media platform that allows you to send someone a picture for a limited amount of time... no wonder it's popular. More and more users are embracing Snapchat. But what can marketers do to make use of this new technology?

1) Mobile Coupons. Why not send your followers coupons and offerings through Snapchat? This would engage more users on the social platform and generate more brand awareness.

2) Exclusivity. With Snapchat being a personal social media platform, customers would feel more exclusive. By giving customers a behind to scenes look into your brand, customers will feel like they a apart of the organization.

3) Preview a Product. By showing exclusive products and ideas to your Snapchat followers, you will generate more brand loyalty. This definitely falls within exclusivity, but it is a perfect way to reach customers, gain their attention and create buzz about a new product.

Sochi Press Fiasco

There has been an ongoing debate if Sochi, Russia is ready to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. As new reporters started arriving in Sochi, they found their hotel accommodations not quite Olympic ready. Many reporters decided to live-tweet their unusual experiences.

Russia has a big press situation on their hands. How should a country deal with this? Besides completing the promised hotel rooms, Russia needs to act quick! The games have already ran over budget at $51 billion. And there are still hotel rooms that are under construction! In my opinion, Russia needs to make sure the rest of the games go smoothly. Really smoothly. The Opening Ceremonies air on February 7. I am curious to see how Russia sets the tone for the rest of the games.    

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/04/journalists-at-sochi-are-live-tweeting-their-hilarious-and-gross-hotel-experiences/

Political Campaigning and Social Media

Social media played a huge role in the presidential election of 2012. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's campaigns were both extremely viable on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Google+. They set the new standards of every other political campaign's presence on social media. 

Currently, I am helping run social media for a political campaign. I have run social sites for other companies and products in the past, but I have found a political figure is much different and much more difficult. Through my trials and errors, I have created a list of a few helpful tips for running political social media sites. 

1) You need to have a goal. Wether it is to inform constituents, gain more followers, or gather volunteers, you need to keep your mind on your goal. Having a social presence is useless if you are not going to be working towards a goal. Having a goal will help you create content, and target the correct demographics.  

2) Make it personal. Give your followers an inside look of what the candidate is doing and what they are thinking. This can be hard to generate content when it is you publishing to social sites, not the candidate. You need to get deeply involved in the campaign to do this successfully. Know what the candidates schedule is and what his/her goals are for the week. 

3) Visuals. Post a lot of pictures and videos. If all you are doing is reposting articles that the candidate was mentioned in, you will loose followers because you are boring! People like looking, not reading. Make the people and their eyes happy! 

Viral Marketing

Viral Videos. We all have our favorites. Old Spice, Coca-Cola, Nike. The list goes on and on. But what makes certain advertisements receive internet fame? There are a two important keys that I believe all viral advertisements have in common.

1) Creativity. Well duh. But to really create something new and exciting, you have to be new and exciting. To get people to really notice you, you have to give them something unexpected. It's not all about just promoting your product. You need to make the video memorable. Like "Will It Blend", by BlendTech. 

BlendTech's videos didn't become popular because of the blender, but what the blander was capable of blending. They figured out a creative way to showcase their product.  

2) Don't make it an advertisement. Viral videos aren't advertisements that people want to share with their friends. Don't focus so much on your product, but create an interesting story. You need to create emotion. Like "Evolution", by Dove.

Dove was able to tell an interesting story, without selling their products. It built up emotion, creating a memorable story and positive feelings towards the brand. They kept the focal point of the video as the cause, and very subtly introduced their brand. 

Social Media - Personal Branding

Growing up in a generation of new technology has proven to be very fulfilling. It has lead me to discover my dream job, a Political Outreach Manager, employed by Facebook. Which wasn't even in existence ten years ago. It's kept me connected with my family and friends. And let me discover new and exciting things. I have access to just about anything I can imagine. Along with every other Millennial in the world. But have Millennial's become too narcissistic?

We post photos onto Facebook and Instagram. We keep others up-to-date on our everyday lives through Twitter. We have our resumes at the tips of our fingers on LinkedIn. We embellish our own lives to keep up with others social media lives. I'm sure I'm not the first to say this, but my life is not as perfect as it seems on social media. So why is there this element of keeping up with the Jones's via social media? The Millennial's have turned ourselves into personal brands turning friends, followers and likes into scales.

We are addicted to it. How many times do I get bored in a class and happen to find myself on Facebook? Sometimes I even feel phantom phone vibrations in my pocket. We are obsessed with staying on top of everyone's lives (and having our own being just a little bit better). But I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing.

Millennial have adapted to technology and the ever changing times. How else would you expect me to act with all of these new and exciting ways to share a piece of myself with others? And it has proven to be a great resource! I have been able to market myself in a way that was never possible before social media. Potential employees can search me on any of the popular social media sites and get a better understanding of who I am (Or what I tell others I am).

Millennial's are embracing the circumstances in which we find ourselves in.