Social Trend: Brands Increase Use of User-Generated Content

It's no secret that fans on social media engage more with content that's generated from friends or family. It's only natural to have an interest in those people who mean the most to you. This is why social sites like Facebook and Twitter have algorithms to tailor your Newsfeed with content from friends who you interact with the most, in hopes that you will be prompted to like, share, tweet, etc. on a more consistent basis. Now, this more approachable and relatable type of content is allowing brands take a big step in how they sell and advertise to the world. Instead of glossy, high-fashion shots, many brands and advertisers are aggregating user-generated images to push product awareness and overall brand loyalty.

When working on Herbal Essences, I came up with the strategy of incorporating more Instagrammed imagery onto our Facebook and Twitter pages to better relate to our young, female customer base. By using photos that looked like one our own fan would create, we were able to successfully insert the brand into a conversation that was already taking place within the social space. As a result, we saw an immediate increase in engagement.

[gallery type="square" link="file" columns="1" ids="545,546,534"]

Companies like Urban Outfitters plan to push the envelope further by including UGC (user-generated content) on their product pages to create an even fuller shopping experience. As quoted from AdWeek, “Social-generated images are creeping up on all of our marketing channels. That’s where our customers are," said Moira Gregonis, senior marketing manager at Urban Outfitters.

[gallery type="square" ids="535,533"]

Additional large retailers, including Dannijo and NastyGal, are also adding Instagrammed shots from consumers to their websites in hopes of increasing sales. “The user-generated content we pull [with the software] increases conversion rates,” said Mary Mentz, e-commerce strategist for Dannijo. “Our customers are six times more likely to purchase with [the social pictures] on our product pages.”

Although some brands wonder what they are truly getting back from highlighting fan photos, only time will tell. As for now, it's clear that they are driving more social engagement, simply because this new (and free) content is more approachable and relatable to "real" people. Just as user testimonials help a customer down the purchase funnel, so will these highly visual images of real people in actual product!

How do you feel about brands using YOUR images to sell products?

-- Samantha

Esquire's 9/11 Social Media Fail

9/11. No matter where you were in the world, people took a moment (or more) to reflect on the terrible events that took place 12 years ago. And when it came to social media, many brands decided to run their own relevant stories or 'thoughts and prayers' for all of those involved. Others decided to go "dark" and not post any content in honor and remembrance of the lives lost on that fateful day. However, not everyone handled the situation with poise, including several large brands like AT&T and Esquire Magazine. Specifically speaking, the social media 'fail' that came from the popular men's magazine, Esquire, was the apparent mistake of running a story of the infamous 'falling man' from 9/11 -- next to copy that read "Make your morning commute more stylish: Look good on your way to work."

Almost immediately, people took to Twitter to show their anger for the insensitivity of the magazine's layout. Fortunately, the brand responded with an apology for the editorial mess-up. Unfortunately, the brand did so in a manner that enraged fans even more.

Although I'm only an opinion of one, I think this was a very inappropriate way to respond to those who were upset. By using the word relax, Esquire implied that the Twitter community was overreacting. Instead, I would've recommended genuinely owning up to the mistake, making sure to leave all "judgmental" statements to the side.  Even though an apology was included in the tweet, the impact of it was lessened by the lead-in.

Sadly, this type of insincere communication happens all of the time on social media between brands and their communities. Whether it's copy that could be easily misinterpreted or content that comes across too promotional in the wake of a tragedy, brands must be 100% aware of what reactions could come about from fans and what to appropriately say in the case that things do go awry.

As a former community manager for several major consumer brands, my team and I handled PR crises with much more sensitivity, as we knew how quickly brand loyalty could be washed away in a blink of an eye with one wrong or insensitive response. I hope that the community manager in charge of the tweet learned from this mistake and will do better in the future. I also hope that the team behind the magazine's digital strategy will put in a better checks and balances strategy in times of high sensitivity, so a simple reactionary tweet like "Relax, everybody" will be reviewed before going live in the future.

-- Samantha

Most Relevant Factors in Search Marketing

Simply put: If a customer cannot find your company online, they'll probably head to your competitor. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, plays an integral part in increasing an online presence for a business. It's the process of garnering traffic from free and organic listings on search engines including Google, Yahoo and bing and giving certain content higher ranking to those that are most relevant to users.

A 2013 study completed by Searchmetrics uncovered the best and most relevant factors in search marketing. Based on the numbers, it's clear that a higher ranking eCommerce site will increase sales. About 33% of traffic floats to the top listing in Google’s organic search results, while 18% of traffic goes to a second spot, etc. The key takeaway? If a company's website doesn't show up on the first page of a customer's search results, a business will risk great revenue decreases.

Other factors in the report that increase SEO include backlinks, on-page technology and great content. The factor that got our attention? "Social signals continue to correlate very well with better rankings." After the past year, Searchmetrics found that there's a direct correlation of URLs that garner large numbers of social engagement and those that are highlighted in the top of search results. The more you tweet/post/comment, the better your SEO!

Great news for us digital marketers where likes, shares, comments and tweets are pushed on the regular. Although we're always trying to find new and better ways spread the news about a business, it's nice to know that our efforts on social are actually making an impact.

Here's to a better relationship between social media and search!

-- Samantha & Mike

DO's & DON'Ts for Community Managers

Community managers have created a true strategy for word-of-mouth marketing, but there are certainly rules to this type of work. Those that follow them can successfully grow their brand. Those that don't, can wind up in a boatload of customer service trouble -- and much faster than you think thanks to socially savvy consumers. Originally, community management was done by young interns, who did not have the full ability to run a brand online. A study completed by Social Fresh in 2013 stated that the average age of community managers has increased to those in their 30s. Additionally, the pay has increased to an average of $60k which competes with many mid-level jobs within the marketing industry. (See below for a infographic from Social Fresh for more details!)

Having said this, the last few years of experience have evolved community managers into a true voice behind a company. With every post and tweet, they represent the business and should embody its exact personality and tone. When one has this much power and those on the outskirts are watching, it's imperative that a CM's actions 100% reflect the brand's messaging and beliefs to create a seamless extension of the business throughout the online space.

Community managers must be creative, flexible and willing to go above and beyond. Most importantly, CMs must be consistent. And because they're "virtually visible," they automatically gain more responsibility. Everyone (customers, competitors, etc.) online can see their responses 24/7.

Here are some general DOs & DON'Ts for community managers:

DOs:

• Be an expert of your company (or product).
• Monitor, consistently.
• Encourage engagement by genuinely interacting with fans.
• Respond in a timely manner.
• Be a friendly, approachable personality!
• Listen to your fans and build relationships.
• Don't be afraid to take some conversations offline to better help a fan.
• Truly resolve issues with the greater team to build a loyal community.
• Thank your fans and show appreciation!

DON'Ts:

• Be rude, sarcastic or defensive.
• Delete comments, posts, tweets, etc.
• Ignore people who are asking for help or answers!
• Be ambiguous with your responses to fans.
• Respond too quickly to those who may detract from your brand.
• Use your social presence to blatantly 'push' products or services.

Comment below to add any DO's & DON'Ts that I may have missed!

-- Samantha

Facebook to Add Shared Photo Albums

In the latest & greatest updates on social media, Facebook has announced that they will be adding a brand new feature to their site. Shared photo albums will be in incorporated into the already photo-friendly social platform on Monday, which will let multiple Facebook users to add photos to the same album. Unlike before when fans could only add pics to albums they created, the new shared photo albums will be able to ask others (up to 50 fans) to add images to a single shared album.

With new privacy and editing settings, Facebook hopes that creating sharable albums will be easier for the user. Now, fans will be able to create albums for events like birthday parties, weddings and vacations, where photos from multiple sources can be added together to form more compelling collections of stories.

Although this new feature will continue to evolve over the next few months including increasing the photo limits and extended mobile abilities, we can't wait to experience this highly collaborative way to share experiences with friends and family. In addition, we're excited to see how this roll-out will impact businesses to better showcase events, product launches and more!

How do you plan on using a shared photo album on Facebook?

-- Samantha & Mike

Choosing Which Platform is Right for Your Brand

Jumping into social media can be a scary thought for any brand. There are so many options these days, from Facebook to Pinterest, where do you start? For example, you want to do some research like identifying where your customers are. This is not a new concept, just like in print advertising, you want to go where your target audience is. If you are selling custom NFL grill covers, it is probably not a good idea to advertise in People Magazine. Just like magazine readers, certain demographics gravitate to specific social media platforms. There are a lot of factors to consider before setting up your social media presence. Just because social media is mostly free, that doesn't mean you should take it lightly. After all, you would never start an expensive print ad campaign without doing extensive research first. Choosing that social media platform that is right for you is paramount, but how do you know which one is right? Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself:

• Who is my target demographic?
• What are my objectives? (Improve SEO, Increase site traffic, Increase brand exposre, etc)
• What platforms are my target demographic using?
• What skills do I have that I can leverage on social media? (Copywriting, Graphic design, Photography, etc)

Now that we have you thinking a little more in-depth about social media and how it can help your business, take a look at this infographic by Social Barrel. Take it step by step and figure out exactly what platforms you can leverage for the best results.  Don't waste your time and resources by investing in the wrong platforms, if you can successfully grow and cultivate your social presence, the results can be exponential.

-Mike

Why People Overshare Online

We all have the friends on Facebook or Twitter who overshare the details of their lives with the rest of the internet. They're the type of people who consistently update statuses and feel the need to share every detail of their lives -- from what they last ate for lunch to their opinion of their favorite TV show. Although it's certainly their right, what makes it so easy to overshare on social media platforms?

Author and social scientist, Sherry Turkle, believes after one shares feelings or thoughts in a public space, the brain's neurochemical reward system is automatically triggered. This action, in addition to the idea that our private lives are constantly being infiltrated by reality TV and social media, adds to an innate urge to share.

In the most recent paper by Russell W. Belk titled "Extended Self in a Digital World," he argues that people's relationships with social media sites are ultimately allowing us to create a more complicated concept of who we believe we are as individuals. With the addition of various platforms that let us be creative through status updates, highly-edited pictures and funny videos, Belk says that humans are able to create a unique, desired identity in a space that makes us feel 'invisible.' Consequently, when individuals believe no one is listening or watching behind a screen, they gain more confidence to divulge personal details about their lives that wouldn't typically be shared in normal day to day life.

Overall, it's clear that the line between private and public is quickly disappearing with each status, tweet and Instagrammed photo. People want to be interesting, popular and cool. They want to be heard and respected -- and will often give up such self-respect to feel valued by their peers. But how far is too far? And how much worse will it get as our world continues to highlight reality stardom and materialistic values?

Tell us: How much do you share via social media? 

-- Samantha