What’s the best way to use a hashtag?

Pick one for the long term or is it ok to use short term, campaign- or event-specific hashtags? We’re often faced with this conundrum in advising our clients. On the one hand, a trend doesn’t happen overnight, with rare exceptions (see Beiber, Justin), and we often make the case for carefully choosing a long term hashtag that concisely represents the initiative rather than hyper-specific hashtags for short lived campaigns or events.

Example of long-term initiative hashtag use:

Reebok’s #livewithfire project has multiple events and touchpoints, perfect for using one overarching hashtag. In this case, they tagged a live twitter chat as one piece of the global initiative.

Bad example of a hashtag? See the title of this post. (There goes 24% of your valuable Tweet characters!)

On the other hand

Aren’t hashtags great for short term campaign tracking? They are! If they get used by actual brand targets, not just the brand itself. We often see brands using short term hashtags that don’t get enough light of day to generate traction and subsequently the only uses of the hashtag we see are due to retweets, not original tweets by other Twitter users. Retweets are already trackable, so that hashtag use didn’t help build much buzz in the Twittersphere. Don’t forget hashtags are also used on Pinterest, too.

Here is a list of pros and cons from our experience using campaign-level hashtags:

• PRO: helpful for tracking tweets and pins related to a campaign
• PRO: indicates to anyone who sees the tweet that it’s a ‘thing’ – a campaign or initiative of some kind – could generate interest by this virtue alone
• PRO: allows for a consistent tracking method since both Twitter and Pinterest support hashtags, assuming your campaign involves both
• CON: if your campaign is very short term, and there’s no specific incentive for users to make use of the hashtag, it might not get used by anyone but you, defeating the purpose
• CON: takes up precious characters in tweets
• CON: be honest, is this something your target audience is likely to tweet/pin about and use your tag?

An alternative to using a very short term hashtag is adopting one that applies to a broader initiative or length of time. For example, a dog food brand might use #healthypuppy to support its long term positioning of providing puppy health solutions, which could cover specific puppy food brand campaigns, promotions, appearances at tradeshows, corporate messaging, etc. If you’re targeting a narrow audience, that could also decrease the likelihood your hashtag will gain traction. However, an engagement campaign that seeks to generate tweets and pins in exchange for an entry into a sweepstakes or photo sharing contest, for example, is critical to tracking those submissions.

Hashtags are also used for tradeshows, conferences, seminars and events such as #CES2013 for Consumer Electronics Show 2013.  Event hashtags help attendees find each other and create a sense of community online and offline.  If you are an event organizer, make sure you use the hashtag prior to the show, include it prominently on websites and outreach, and be consistent to help people follow the conversation.  Most importantly, always check if the hashtags are being used by other events – especially if they are short acronyms.  You don’t want your tracking getting muddled by other people’s conversations.  We also encourage you to be consistent for annual events – Consumer Electronics Show was #CES2012 last year.

So how do you decide? If there’s no requirement as in the sweepstakes or contest examples above, and your audience is somewhat narrow, and what you’re really trying to convey is about a longer term positioning like #puppyhealth, skip the campaign-specific hashtag. Instead opt for a broader term you can use for a while, and build on a more slow-and-steady basis. If you’ve got a really engaging, broad audience campaign that has the potential for a lot of people to get behind, go for the very specific hashtag that will make tracking easier and help your targets engage with each other, not just your brand. That’s the real sweet spot for brands using hashtags.

Other opinions, examples? #PleaseShare!

Twitter just released a few very important updates that improve the user-experience of tweeting.  When on the Twitter website, followers can now identify when a username or URL is being used as the text will change colors when you’ve added something clickable.

Depending on each users design settings, the text will change to a different color,essentially highlighting the most valuable components of each tweet. This helps users to pay close attention and ensure that the information they are about to tweet is correct.

At the same token, some of the text will also change color to signify to the user that they have exceeded the 140 character limit. This text will appear highlighted in light red so that the user does not have to guess as to how many characters need to be removed. This enforces a more simplistic process that allows the user to easily identify what changes need to be made in order to tweet the content. This change is also very helpful for users who are new at tweeting.

Currently, these new features are only available on Twitter.com, and it seems to be unknown as to whether the company will make these changes for mobile devices as well.  Although these features may seem like small improvements, this goes a long way for the user-experience and the incentive for more people to join in on the conversation.

Tell us what you think about Twitter’s new features. Do you think it improves the user experience?

Different approaches work for different social media channels. Creating Facebook posts can be a challenge when you feel content is becoming dry or repetitive. There are many tactics that marketers use to increase fan engagement on Facebook. Check out these proven methods that help jump-start brand visibility:

1. Ask questions to encourage conversations with fans. Fans respond well to questions, because it makes the audience feel involved and helps develop the brand-consumer relationship.

2. Post with photos. It is proven that Facebook posts with pictures generate up to 50% more likes.

3. Post at high traffic hours of the day. Studies show that posting content from 1:00-4:00 PM, demonstrates higher fan engagement.

4. Run Facebook contests. Facebook campaigns receive a significant amount of visibility and engagement from fans.

5. Use fun and relevant content. According to the brand and voice of the company, create posts that are relevant and newsworthy to the audience.

6. Include a call-to-action. Providing a call-to-action takes fans a step further by guiding them to enter a contest, or submit photos to a photo album.

7. Use Facebook advertising. Facebook advertising is a results-driven method to promoting a brand. FB ads can target specific regions and demographics for optimal results.

Do you currently use any of these tactics? Are they successful? We want to hear your feedback!

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection and giving thanks for the events, people, and developments that have shaped the previous 12 months.  This year at Mastermind, we have a lot to be thankful for and we hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving and remainder of 2012.

• We’re thankful for wonderful clients that view us as true marketing partners.  When you speak to people dozens of times a week, a certain rapport develops, and if you’re lucky, clients become friends and we are honored to have shared in their milestones like getting married or engaged, having children, buying homes, and getting well deserved promotions.

• We’re thankful for challenging assignments and the great results generated.  As marketers, we’re constantly dreaming up innovative ways to help our clients reach and exceed their goals.  Nothing makes us happier than seeing those ideas come to fruition and perform !  We’ve done everything from developing Investor Relations and CRM sites, creating augmented reality apps, designing and administering sweepstakes, contests, and instant-win games, philanthropic campaigns, social media growth campaigns, advertising, mobile promotions, digital & traditional merchandising, and much, much more.  Marketing is a process that evolves as quickly as technology changes human behavior adapts.  We are very lucky to have clients in diverse industries that allow us to cross-pollinate successful strategies and tactics and stay ahead of the curve.

• We’re thankful for an incredible team.  Mastermind is truly a big, happy family that loves what we do.  We are competitive and revel in the success of our clients but we also love to laugh, whether it’s due to a funny YouTube video, the silly office dog Polo, or random personal anecdotes.  When you get along with your co-workers, coming to the office is a joy and a privilege.  We’ve learned so much from each other in the past year and those lessons have benefited our clients immensely.   An office full of smart, innovative people leads to successful projects, happy clients, and a growing agency.

What are you thankful for this holiday season? We’d love to hear in the comments below, on Facebook, or on Twitter!

Instagram announced this week that it would be rolling out with the highly anticipated debut of web profiles.

“People have been asking for this for a while now and we’re excited to finally start rolling them out,” stated Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom. “We’re going to start out by launching to a small percentage of people today and will roll it out slowly to everyone in the coming days.”

Currently, when you post an image on Instagram, other users can click to your account, but can only see your profile picture and the other pictures you have shared. Instagram’s new profile resembles Facebook. The profile features a rotating collage of photos where the Facebook cover photo would be. Underneath is a small profile image, (just like Facebook’s) and to the left includes a short bio, with follower stats on the right-hand side of the page.

Among other features, Instagram’s web profiles also allow users to find and follow new people, like photos, and leave comments directly from web browsers. This also means that Instagram profiles will be open to everyone on the web, simply by tying in “Instagram.com/[username]” into a search engine. To avoid this, users can switch their account settings on the app to ensure that their profile remains private.

If you have been invited by Instagram to try this new web profile, let us know what you think!

What it is:

Instagram is a free application available on mobile phones that allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it and then share it on a variety of social networking services. Followers on an Instagram account have the ability to “like” a photo and comment underneath each published photo. In addition, Instagram also allows you to use the Geo-tagging feature to publish the physical location of where the picture was taken. It is one of the more simplified social media applications, enabling users to run through hundreds of published photos in a small amount of time.

Why it Works:

Quickly after Instagram launched, it experienced momentous success and popularity. Users enjoyed the simplistic design and the ease of interacting with friends.  One key differentiator is the lack of pesky advertisements – which is likely to change now that Instagram has a new owner. Facebook recently purchased Instagram for $1 billion and is continuously working to improve Instagram and implement features that further its popularity.

What can Instagram do for your businesses?

As a free marketing platform (for now,) Instagram helps businesses connect with fans and followers. Studies have shown that photos receive 50% more “likes” from viewers than simple text posts on social media sites. This is the basic strategy of Instagram—to engage the visual audience. Products and brands can be snapped and shared with thousands of viewers instantly. In addition, the geo-tagging feature on Instagram helps followers map where the photos are being taken. This can be very useful if a business is trying to promote an event or bring customers into their stores. Instagram is making marketing easier by allowing businesses to create a relationship with current or future customers.

Getting started with Instagram:

We recommend that you spend a little time exploring Instagram and secure a username that clearly identifies your brand. What are consumers saying about your brand or products? Are there questions you can answer in the comments? Once you’ve explored the current opportunities for engagement, consider giveaways, photo contests, photo trivia and exclusive offers to Instagram users to grow your following both online and offline.  Link your account to other social media sites like Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. Most importantly, don’t forget to announce your presence on Instagram on other social media sites and on your website!

Do you have an Instagram account for your business? Share your username in the comments and let us know how you like it so far!

Last quarter, Twitter’s CEO announced that the social media giant generated more advertising revenue from its mobile platform than from its website.  Currently, Twitter captivates over 140 million active users, with more than half of users accessing the site through their mobile phones. The success of its mobile phone application is what differentiates Twitter from other social media sites, as mobile marketing moves to becoming the most impactful channel for reaching consumers.

Advertising on mobile devices was introduced on the Twitter application in February. It has proven to be successful and influential. According to Twitter’s advertising blog, Tweets have a 1-3 percent average engagement rate. In March, Twitter launched a feature enabling advertisers to send promotional tweets to iPhone and Android users, which account for 60% of all Twitter users. Moreover, Twitter provides an excellent channel to improve customer service for businesses that monitor their brands. Many users will tweet about the brands they like and dislike, and this helps companies stay tuned into the conversation. This type of real-time engagement is well-suited for mobile phones and tablets. Tweets are constricted to only 140 characters long, so this necessitates that all writing be concise and effectual. Engagement is easier due to the constrictions of each tweet because the clutter is cut out, which allows users to maximize their engagement in less time than ever before.

Unlike Twitter, Facebook has struggled with its mobile applications and advertising.  Facebook has been highly criticized for the failed design and complex usability of its mobile application. In addition, a study conducted by the Ad Agency Greenlight, reported that 44% of Facebook users will never click on the ads supporting the Facebook website. Last month, Facebook took a huge blow when General Motors announced that they were pulling $10 million dollars worth of advertising on Facebook, because “the service had not delivered effective results.”

Twitter has been recognized for its success over all other social media sites on the mobile platform. With over 400 million tweets per day it has continued to flourish and exponentially increase its revenue each year. There are a few distinctive features that boost Twitter to the forefront of social media. Twitter has the ability to connect users from around the world and spread information quickly and effectively, enabling users to get information fast and from the experts they follow.  Twitter enables any user to become influential, which is an excellent representation of the aptitude of social media power.

Top qualities and benefits of Twitter:

• Twitter is a top source of news
• You can ask questions and easily get real-time answers from experts who are also on Twitter
• Advertising is effective on Twitter
• Twitter is a great customer service channel
• Strong in mobile
• Allows anyone to become an influencer
• Twitter humanizes companies
• 140 characters makes for concise and to the point messaging
• Twitter can work as a real-time search engine

If you have questions about developing or optimizing a Twitter presence for your brand, don’t hesitate to contact us.  With the proper strategy, any business can find success with the vast marketing opportunities on Twitter.  Feel free to leave questions in the comments or contact us directly!

Twitter and Facebook are expanding the reach of their social networks to your inbox.  Twitter introduced weekly email digests and Facebook launched “Offers” which allow users to send coupons and deals directly to inboxes.  We explore how these offerings work and the best way to utilize them for your business.

Twitter Digests:

Twitter users now have the option of reading the “best of Twitter” in a weekly e-mail digest.  The digest isn’t the best of your Twitter feed, instead it highlights trending stories and popular tweets.  The popular tweets won’t be from people you follow so it’s a great opportunity to find new people to follow.  If your brand creates engaging tweets, you’re more likely to appear in the Twitter digest that your followers’ friends receive.  The potential reach could be thousands to millions of new people! Digest recipients will also be able to see whether these popular tweets were retweeted or favorited by people they already follow.

Our Recommendation:  Create engaging content in the hopes that you make it into a weekly digest, keep an eye on the number of followers to see if any big jumps occur, and follow new people to grow your network.  We think it’s a nice addition to Twitter that may lead to more opportunities for brands and marketers.

Facebook Offers:

Facebook Offers are a free way to receive discounts from businesses, brands, and organizations.  Facebook Offers are also free to create but Facebook suggests paying for a sponsored story or ad to improve the performance of offers.  For example, Roe Park Resort in the UK created a special for a 1-night stay at their bed & breakfast and retailer Macy’s created a Memorial Day coupon code.  Fans see the offer that is posted, how many people have claimed it so far, and when it expires.  When he/she clicks to claim the offer, an email is automatically sent to the email address he/she uses to log-into Facebook. However, Facebook doesn’t share the users email address or name when someone clicks to claim an offer.  Marketers will be able to acquire that information when the users redeem the offer because they must show the email or a printout of the email to the vendor at redemption.  Be careful using coupon codes in the text of your offer like Macy’s below.  People may be less likely to claim and share coupon codes that are obvious in the text so your redemption counts may be appear lower.  Facebook offers users multiple opportunities to share the deals with friends but we recommend you also ask people to spread the word in the text of your offer.

Our Recommendation:  Marketers love new opportunities to engage with consumers so we like this tool.  Test exclusive offers for your fans to see which offers work best in terms of online vs. offline deals.  We’ve heard that Saturdays at noon and 7pm are the best for engagement on Facebook but be sure to do day/time testing as well.  Take a look at the Facebook Offers page for more tips on creating and running an offer.

Have you received a Twitter Digest yet?  Has your company used Facebook Offers?  We’d love to hear what you think!

Who are your brand’s key constituencies and how do you keep them involved in ways that drive sales and growth?

First let’s start with your brand’s key constituencies.  What are they?  These are the groups that play roles in leading to brand consumption – salespeople at HQ, distributors, franchisees, route sales people, delivery & merchandising people, retailers, retail sales people, customer buyers, customer marketers, customers (b to b), consumers (b to c), consumer influencers – you get the picture – there are many critical groups that lead to the ultimate consumption of a product or service.  The level of involvement varies by group, but is important nonetheless.

Consider a brand that has developed and tested an innovative POS marketing initiative – the test target groups demonstrated a high propensity to become involved with the initiative and purchase the brand.  But what if the brand’s sales network is not informed and the brand’s dealers don’t know about the initiative or what it can do for their business?  The POS will not get installed as often, the brand’s target will not see it, and the initiative will not reach its full potential (this happens all too often).

So, how do you get key constituencies involved in the brand?  For some, it can be as easy as an email with a unique subject line.  For others it might require an incentive – points, chance to win, merchandise, etc.  Here is our approach to greater involvement:

• Map the journey of your brand from creation to consumption and identify the “key constituencies” along the way – those people that make decisions about your brand during the journey including the ultimate purchaser.
• Create personas for each of the “key constituencies” based on knowledge gleaned from sales, surveys, or quantitative/qualitative research.  The personas help create messaging and initiatives that generate the involvement needed to generate maximum ROI.
• Develop messaging/initiatives to make the overall marketing program relevant to each of the key constituencies – test them via online panels if possible – and determine the most effective communications vehicles for each key constituency – the ones that reach the audience when they have the highest propensity to become involved.
• Plan the timing of implementation to make sure the overall initiative has time to work its way through the journey prior to the program reaching the end user.
• Implement the initiatives, monitor the progress, and optimize them during implementation when possible.
• Measure and analyze the results with each key constituency to improve and optimize future programs.

Mastermind develops and implements social, mobile, digital, promotion initiatives that drive sales and ROI for its clients.

What is Google+?

Having been in the game since September 2011, people sometimes still question what Google+ is all about. Google+ simply put, is an amalgamation of various social websites and applications on one, easy-to-use, platform. However, user engagement on Google+ has been very lack luster since its launch and Google+ is doing all it can to stay in the game. Google+ is combining the social aptitude of Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and Skype, and essentially surpassing its current capabilities to keep up with these social media giants.  We gathered a list of the social network’s newest features and further explanations of its current features (for those of you that still have questions.)

Newest Features:

• Ability to share bigger and better photos
• Easy-to-use interface
• Customized navigation banner
• Dynamic navigation elements
• Improved conversation capabilities
• Dedicated page to Hangouts
• A new Explore page that highlights new trends
• New chat list that puts friends front-and-center