Social media hits IS the headlines Part 2
Bebo bows out?
When Bebo briefly went offline due to a ‘technical cluster’ issue, confusion turned to annoyance and, in some instances, apathy.
The most popular social networking site until 2007, the site was overtaken and effectively displaced by the might of Facebook.
With numerous buyouts and a point of difference issue, it’s no wonder that users and spectators assumed the site outage signalled the beginning of the end for Bebo.
This was compounded by co-founder Michael Birch tweeting: “Am super sad that Bebo has actually gone. Some very fun times with very cool people” only to take back his comments within moments.
It’s difficult to think that a brand would undertake such a risky manoeuvre as a PR stunt as many have concluded. All it could serve to do would be to make users realise they need to safeguard content – ie remove it. Which is exactly what they did.
Other than it’s creator’s nostalgic sadness to see it go, the chief reaction to the rumoured demise of Bebo seems to be mild irritation at the thought of lost photos merging into indifference.
“Bebo: gone but not forgotten… oh wait it’s back? Time to forget it again,” wrote @aidankelly.
Two words spring to mind: uh oh.
The face of money
By far the biggest story on the topic of social media so far this year is Facebook preparing to become a public listed company (PLC).
It’s big news as this means that Facebook has, for the first time ever, been obliged to publicly declare its value. And, for those who like numbers, it’s a big one – hitting somewhere between 75 and 100 billion dollars.
Until now a private company, Facebook has not been obligated to publish its accounts – although documents released by Goldman Sachs last year indicated net profit levels of $355 million from the social media giant in the first nine months of 2010.
If everything goes to plan, the flotation of Facebook will raise circa. $10 billion, will be hailed as one of the biggest share sales ever seen on Wall Street and will make Facebook one of the world’s biggest companies via market capitalisation.
Anyone out there still think that Facebook’s a bit silly…?
But why is Facebook such big business?
Facebook has 800 million users worldwide, 50% of whom log onto the site daily to upload new photos, personal information and preferences.
Over a period of time this equates to users having told Facebook A LOT about themselves. And this data is invaluable to brands.
So when people talk about Facebook generating revenue through advertising (to the tune of $3.8 billion in 2011) it isn’t just to do with the number of users advertisers can reach, but the potential for detailed consumer profiling.
It’s not about selling advertising space. It’s about selling you, the Facebook user and all your quirks, likes and dislikes. And your mates too.
Liquid Graphic, understanding the in’s and out’s of social media, so that you don’t have to. Talk to us.
Social media hits IS the headlines – Part 1
Social media…what began as a platform to share photos, stay in touch with old friends and to organise Saturday night’s social agenda, has merged into mainstream media.
News stories more often feature social media than not. Journalists seem to be increasingly reliant on using Facebook and Twitter to access sources, capture quotes relating to a story and to gather a celebrity perspective on current events.
But as well as being the voice and commentator of the story, social media IS the news too.
The start of 2012 has seen social media dominate the headlines like never before. Here are a few of the stories that have piqued our interest at Liquid Graphic.
Sneaky Snickers tweets
Albeit naïve to think that social media channels are free from commercialisation, Twitter users were up in arms last month at cheeky celebrity product placement tweets.
Rio Ferdinand, Cher Lloyd, Katie Price and Ian Botham all tweeted followers posing with Snickers bars and quoting the strapline from Snickers recent advertising campaign: ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’.
We’re not sure how successful Snickers found the activity, but it did succeed in re-raising debate on the labelling of advertising under existing fair trading laws. And advertisers should beware as the Advertising Standards Authority extended their remit last year to govern marketing communications via social networking sites.
Like us though, you may be less concerned about guerrilla marketing techniques and more concerned about the decidedly dodgy photos that accompanied the tweets. More than a few of Ferdinand’s followers lost respect for him that day…
Regarding compliance, a Snickers spokesperson released the following statement:
“To comply with social media regulations a reveal tweet was used and this went out within an hour and a half of the teaser tweets going live to ensure Twitter users knew they were enjoying promotional tweets.”
So Snickers, cheeky or sneaky? Our view: it’s all way too obvious to need a label, and way too dull to actually give it one. But compliance is king.
Social media: the sky’s the limit
British Airways recently launched their Future Pilot Scheme using You Tube as a key component of their awareness campaign.
The Future Pilot Programme is part of a wider pilot recruitment plan at British Airways supporting budding pilots and helping them access funding (circa. £100k of it!) which is then paid back later in their career. The airline has a target to add another 800 new pilots by 2016, and the scheme is a joint venture between the British Airways and the armed forces.
According to British Airways, the You Tube ad explains more about the initiative and offers soundbites from current pilots advising that recruits need “a passion for flying and a passion for our customers.”
Sounds fair. But what does You Tube really add to the equation? And why are more and more brands turning to You Tube as the final piece of their digital strategy puzzle?
There is a wealth of thinking in the field on You Tube as a social media channel and why brands have not been as quick to embrace it as Facebook and Twitter. But the tides are most certainly turning.
At Liquid Graphic, we think You Tube serves as an important element of an online marketing strategy for two reasons:
- It’s the second biggest search engine. Second only to it’s parent company, Google. If a customer’s searching your product and you’re not there, someone else will be.
- It’s the emotional connection. Video has the capacity to draw us in like no other medium. Customers searching for video are almost certainly at the last stage of research before affirmation of purchase – ie, if they want to see a product in action it’s usually because they want to buy it.
Brands are increasingly realising that You Tube can no longer be ignored and many are developing their own dedicated channels. You Tube has a great resource with plenty of do’s and don’t's advice to help brands get off the ground.
But while brands learn to fly the mothership that is You Tube, there’s plenty of turbulence in the sky. You Tube has served as a more true form of social media and citizen journalism over the years and, as such, there are plenty of anti-corporation videos to be found and brands have to be wary of search results that appear alongside their brand name.
The sky is the limit for brands when it comes to You Tube and 2011 is looking set to become the year that take off really happens.
Get in touch with Liquid Graphic to talk about social media and why it’s relevant to your business.
The madness of August
Madness of the creative sort that is. Three creative influences inspiring us at Liquid Graphic this month:
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F)
For those of you that tune out anything vaguely tabloid, you may have missed this one. This month A&F released a statement distancing themselves from the tone and behaviour of a character in the hit MTV Jersey Shore TV programme who is seen, in most episodes, wearing A&F gear.
Best piece PR spin we’ve seen in a while…in one foul swoop A&F reaffirm their brand identity, deal with a potential distraction to their brand image and bag themselves oodles of global PR just in time to spike back to school/college sales. Bravo.
Ocean giants
BBC wildlife documentaries aren’t a terribly rock and roll form of inspiration, but it has a captivating quality and the nature of oceans around us so big that they’re unknowable is humbling. It might be the photography or the art direction, it might be the subject matter, but either way it just makes us want to get out there and see more of the world and to use the ocean for creative design inspiration.
An ode to the all-powerful potential of Twitter. A simple sales promotion campaign run through Twitter has, this month, resulted in a 750% increase in the number of followers for one of our clients. Social media has never been such a meaningful online marketing tool as it is now.
Visit our Facebook page or tweet and tell us what’s inspiring you this month…
The writing’s on the wall
“Poets don’t draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently.” Jean Cocteau.
Graphologists believe that our handwriting provides a formulaic glimpse into our soul and reveals things about us that are not otherwise discernible, i.e. our mental or emotional state, amongst other things.
For that (and other) reasons, handwriting is considered a form of artistry and using handwritten typography in graphic design carries some novelty value and implies a sense of intimacy with the target audience and, in some instances, a sense of nostalgia.
And nostalgia carries some weight, particularly in troubling times like have been seen on the news this week. People take comfort in looking back to ‘better’ times gone by and the right brands thrive on this, just ask Hovis or Coca Cola.
Nostalgia for the intimacy of the handwritten form led Craig Oldham to create The Hand Written Letter Project back in 2007.
What initially began as a conversation about how personal a handwritten letter can be, grew into something that has commanded the attention and contributions from big hitter agencies and some of the true greats from the world of design. See handwrittenletterproject.com to read about the project or visit an exhibit about the project at London’s KK Outlet (ends 27th August).
In fact there’s no real novelty to handwritten typography in major brand advertising, it’s all around us. At one end of the market, think Boots, Ford, Kellogg’s – all accessible household names. At the other end, think Cartier, Paul Smith, Harrods.
So, maybe there is no formula to handwriting after all. Brands big and small, mass market and luxury, can all benefit from adding a personal touch to their brand identity.
