Thesis Writing

Greetings folks,

It is now the time for me to begin writing my Masters thesis and will therefore take a short hiatus from posting to the blog. No worries, once it's finished I'll be back online.

Thank you for reading. See you soon!

Abby

1995

“The truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works.”

Facebook, The Branding Era

As many of you know, I swing as a blogger for Rodgers Townsend. I wouldn’t ordinarily re-blog a post but this one seemed to fit well here. The original can be found at http://www.rodgerstownsend.com/blog/facebook-timeline-the-branding-era.

There’s been quite a bit of chatter about Facebook’s latest update lately. Perhaps you recall our own Jeremy Hagen lending his voice to the debate. March 30th is the official migration date for all ‘Page’ users to Timeline. Folks managing brand pages have circled the date.

The original Facebook was never designed with brands in mind. In fact, Pages and Applications only came about in 2008 and 2009. Pages were stale and forced, while Applications were just plain annoying. Facebook created its own dictionary of terms that changed just as soon as a brand thought they understood. They don’t even offer support or assistance over the phone.

Here’s a huge warning: Don’t be fooled by the fancy new layout. There’s more to Timeline than a Cover Picture. Brands that neglect to check out Timeline’s features, or more importantly take advantage of the preview feature, will most assuredly crash and burn in the transition.

To me, Timeline is a much bigger opportunity for brands than Facebook 6.0 and 7.0 ever were. This time, brands get to tell their story from start to finish with much more control.

Take Coca-Cola for example. Not only are they filling their page with the brand’s legacy, they’re encouraging followers to contribute. They have promotions and coupons in their Application bar too; who doesn’t love free Coke? And here’s one better: they’ve got videos and branded entertainment front and center.

The brands doing well on Timeline have edited themselves and created a story worth telling: Coke is sharing smile stories, Livestrong is sharing inspiration and survival stories, and Barack Obama’s 2012 Presidential campaign is sharing support stories. Every single post suits the brand and fits into a larger picture. There was some serious strategy at work.

New features like Highlights, which populates top stories, Starring, or featuring stories, and the new Application bar, are really changing the way brands can use Facebook. So think about it. Don’t just change your cover photo and call it a day.

http://www.rodgerstownsend.com/blog/facebook-timeline-the-branding-era

Generation ... C?

Check this out, Nielsen study about Millennials, or ‘Gen-Y’, or people aged 18-34, proves that their a generation about connections and communication. They make up 23% of the population but make up nearly 27% of online video/social network consumption. Even more crazy to think about 33% of them own tablets and 39% of them own smartphones.

(Okay, let me be honest 39% seemed a little low but I have to remind myself that my friends and I are the exception.)

Nielsen writes: “Their ownership and use of connected devices makes them incredibly unique consumers, representing both a challenge and opportunity for marketers and content providers alike…Generation C is engaging in new ways and there are more touch points for marketers to reach them.”

Pretty interesting facts for a Wednesday, huh?

Here’s a link to the report.

Brand Identity Through Pinning

Everyone these days wants to be heard; that's why Twitter and YouTube are so popular. We have opinions. We want to be understood. We want to show the world what we can do, what inspires us and what we're interested in. Perhaps that is whythe hottest Palo Alto start-up, Pinterest, has been on the lips of nearly every media source for about a week and a half.

We get it. Pinterest is hip.

It's a step beyond 'traditional' social media: it shows rather than tells. Users follow boards of like products grouped together by category and posted by their own personal board of trusted, opinionated influencers. It's basically a highly evolved form of raiding a friend's closet, desk or fridge.

People are more visual now than ever before and we're entering an age where digital is as much about utility as it is about art. Brilliant content is everywhere and anywhere.

Call me crazy, but there seems to be an alternative application to Pinterest where brands can leverage their personality through curating rather than displaying products and offers.

With Pinterest, brands like Gap and Chobani are so much more than retailers or manufacturers-they're showing followers how to work out, what to make for dinner, how to stay on top of the latest style ideas and trends and more. It's an opportunity to personify the brand in a way that lets followers discover their identity organically, letting consumers peek behind the scenes and gain a rounder understanding of what the brand is all about.

Check out how these four brands are using Pinterest in innovative ways (click images to visit pinboards and explore):

Chobani

Modcloth

Gap

Travel Channel