In response to Ste-Aira’s blog
post on consumer-focused social media, I am in agreement. While it is important
to stay true to your brand and drive traffic to your site, it is just as
important to intrigue and engage your target audience. The best companies maintain
this delicate balance, utilizing both a push and pull strategy on social media.
In
an article posted by The Digital Marketing Institute, the author states
that, “Brands
need to move away from the kind of push marketing that has dominated
traditional marketing for centuries. It achieves the very thing you don’t want:
repelling your customers, annoying them and causing them to unfollow, unlike
and disengage” (Digital marketing Institute, 2017). Rather than solely using
your account as a means of shameless self-promotion, engage and interact with
your followers. This will keep them
loyal to your brand.
I’ve always agreed with the 80/20 rule, which is also mentioned in the
article. The rule says that 80% of your content should provide value,
entertainment, or engagement to your audience and the other 20% can be about
you.
One company that does only self-promotion is IHOP. Their twitter
feed is all about the pancakes… and not much else. Well, except for waffles
and omelets, and bacon. The posts also
look they are written by a twelve year-old.
While the images are enticing, (because let’s face it - who doesn’t love
pancakes?), this kind of account gets really redundant and annoying after a
while. A recent post actually says “don't
be mad cause we doin pancakes better than you.” Sorry, but I’ve already
unfollowed you IHOP.
IHOP could offer contests, polls, nutrition info, staff stories, share user generated content, anything else but just their own photos with poorly written intros. Upon further inspection of likes and retweets, the brand’s
engagement rate seems pretty low for the amount of followers, so I don’t think I’m
alone in this sentiment. What do you think?
Reference
4 Signs Your Brand is a Social Media Sinner. (2017). Digital Marketing Institute. Retrieved
from https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/4-signs-brand-social-media-sinner
Hi Aimee,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I'm not a pancake fan, but I must admit it did make me want a waffle or two!
Our online video conference with Jet Blue Corporate Communications Manager, Morgan Johnston discussed the importance of planning. He explained how imperative this was when creating Jet Blue's Facebook page. What we see here from the repeated and poorly written post from IHOP is there is no marketing and PR plan for its social page Twitter. First,IHOP needs to identify and understand its company goals and buyer persona. Then it needs to create its buyer persona profile. "Building buyer personas is the first step and probably most the most important thing you will do in creating your marketing and PR plan"(Scott, p. 117). The marketing and PR plan will help guide and create valuable content and engagement with its followers. Overall, providing appropriate content, developing messages of value, and directly appeal to its intended audiences.
What can also be helpful for IHOP with developing its content is thinking like its consumers and followers. This is heavily discussed in chapter 3 of Kerpen's book, Likeable Social Media. Kerpen also discusses sharing stories and creating dialogue. Sharing stories or unique experiences about employees, customers, or the impact a company has had on someone creates an emotional connection (Kerpen, 2015). Using a social site to share stories helps in aiding in a powerful connection with followers, making it more about them than the company. IHOP can create video content of its customers having fun and enjoying a great meal and post these links to Twitter making the consumer apart of the IHOP story and sparking conversation(Kerpen, 2015). Creating dialogue is just as important as knowing your audience. With authentic engagement and the willingness to listen to its customers, IHOP can build loyalty and trust amongst its users.
I must say, after reading through various tweets from IHOP to its followers, it not only shows a lack of planning, but a lack of effort. "You simply can't "be engaged" on the social Web because it's the "thing to do" now... You have to authentically believe that being active in growing your social network will lead to deeper, stronger relationships with your customers"(Kerpen, p. 69).
References
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likable Social Media. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Scott, D. M. (2015). The New Rules of Marketing and PR (5th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Hi Ste-Aria, so glad you brought up the conversation with Morgan Johnston. I thought it was great to chat with him and I feel that we really learned a lot from him. After scrolling through both Jet Blue's Twitter and Facebook account it is really interesting to see first hand what Morgan was referring to in regards to the different language and tone used on the sites. Twitter is a platform that creates a conversation and will increase engagement with followers where as Facebook needs a more strategic plan behind its posts.
DeleteThank you both for your feedback. I wasn't able to listen in on the conversation with Morgan Johnston but I agree with you on IHOP's lack of planning. Jet Blue ahs done an excellent job establishing a voice and message on its social media accounts. Many companies go onto these platforms blindly, thinking they can just "wing it." Without a carefully though out strategy and plan in place, this usually leads to a lack of authenticity.
DeleteAimee!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, social media needs to be engaging and not information or the same old, same old thrown at you.
When you say that "IHOP could offer contests, polls, nutrition info, staff stories, share user generated content, anything else," I completely agree with you. I bring up the Lays "Do Us a Flavor" campaign again.
Frito Lay implemented this social media campaign in an effort to engage with consumers and have them feel heard and actively participate in its marketing efforts. The "Do Us a Flavor" campaign asks consumers to submit their ideas as to what flavor potato chip they would like to see and try.
Not only do they ask for consumers to submit their responses, they actively engage with them based on their ideas, questions, and concerns submitted on social media. Frito Lays then uses multiple forms of social media to respond to the consumer. They respond via Twitter then they also use "Marvin and Duncan—also known as the Taste Spuds" to put together an engaging, fun, and interactive YouTube video to respond to them (Johnson, 2015).
In addition, once an idea is submitted, consumers can created mini-movie trailers with the ingredients become characters. With more than 14,500 videos created, I would say that this was a successful, engaging way to reach consumers (Johnson, 2015).
This campaign really engaged consumers and made two-way social media conversation a reality!
Johnson, Lauren. (2015, Feb. 27). How Lay’s Is Adding More Social Zest to Its Popular Flavor-Creation Campaign. Adweek. Retrieved: http://www.adweek.com/digital/how-lays-adding-more-social-zest-its-popular-flavor-creation-campaign-163173/
Thanks Melissa, I loved the Frito Lay social media campaign. I thought that was such a cleverly thought out scheme to gain followers, encourage interaction, and sell more potato chips! IHOP could definitely structure a similar campaign... maybe new pancake creations? In addition to using their social media accounts, in store signage and targeting campaign ads would help promote the contest.
ReplyDelete