From Concept to Cult Following

From Concept to Cult Following: The Progress of Happy Wax’s Social Media Campaign

Over the past three weeks, I have found it helpful to incorporate four main elements of social media in the planning stages of my campaign.

1. Target Market Identification: To whom will this campaign appeal? Who do I aim to attract? Women.

2. Social Media Multi-Platform Approach: The campaigns will be launched on Facebook, Instagram, the Blog, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter.

3. Marketing ROI: Return on investment is the Holy Grail of social media campaigns, and the measurable, incentivized interactions between social media managers and users result in data that will better target future campaigns. The most efficient measure of ROI for this campaign will involve prospect engagement ROI and financial ROI (Street, 2013). Measuring the reach of the campaign as well as the points of sale that occur as a result of the outreach.

4. Launching Viral Marketing Efforts: The deployment of a hashtag such as #HappyWax or #HappySmells is one way of engaging users and bringing brand awareness to the campaign. A video regarding Happy Wax’s healthier benefits versus other wax scent burners has the potential to go viral.

According to Traphagen, clickbait is no longer a viable method of engagement (2018). Therefore, the quality engagement is the key to attracting users and potential consumers. This comes in the form of content, calls to action, and contests. The developments will prove to be a greater challenge in designing the campaign, however, having a clear understanding of target audience and purpose behind the campaign will sustain the efforts and maximize exposure.

 

References

Street, C. (2013). Ways to Measure Social Media Marketing ROI. Social Media

Today. Retrieved 22 March 2018, from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/ways-to-measure-social-media-marketing-roi/464160/

Traphagen, M. (2018). Social media in 2018: Time to grow up or get out –

Marketing Land. Marketing Land. Retrieved 22 March 2018, from https://marketingland.com/social-media-2018-time-grow-get-236162

 

Viral Advertising, Beanie Babies, and Salt Bae

The Viral Marketing Epidemic: A Marketer’s Dream

Viral marketing campaigns have the highest ROI for any marketing strategy that has ever been conceptualized. When a viral marketing campaign sets hearts and minds on fire, it reaches across a vast spectrum of target marketing segments. According to Kaplan and Haenlein, a viral marketing campaign combines compelling content and a bit of luck: hopefully, the audience will catch on and create hype (2011, p. 261). It’s important that the audience “gets” the message and becomes inspired to share it with their friends and family. The messaging must be just right for a campaign to go viral.

Appealing Authenticity

One instance of an attempted viral marketing campaign that didn’t catch is Sony’s “Charlie and Jeremy’s PSP blog” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2011, p. 259). Sony crafted a fake blog dedicated to a teenager’s desire for a PSP for Christmas. Efforts fell short because readers were able to determine that the content was written by marketers and not teenagers. Sony was forced to admit to faking a blog. So, the thing about the campaign that went viral was the #fail that was the result of an overly-conceptualized marketing effort.

Beanie Babies and Salt Bae: Why?

Kaplan and Haenlein mentioned that the original form of viral marketing was word of mouth (2011, p. 254). The first thing that came to mind at the mention of word of mouth viral marketing was the ridiculously popular toy TY Beanie Babies. Beanie Babies are the hand-sized stuffed animals that set 90’s hearts on fire. I was in elementary school, and a few of my classmates’ parents let them stay home from school on the days ty released certain Beanie Babies they wanted for their collection.

I never understood the appeal of Beanie Babies (kind of like how I don’t understand certain viral memes today – that guy sprinkling salt on steak? Salt Bae: What?). Looking back, I wish I had partaken in the hype because some Beanie Babies today are valued upwards of about $5,000 (“The 10 Most Valuable Beanie Babies,” 2018). This is how viral marketing campaigns work. Even if they conceptually doesn’t make sense, it may be beneficial to buy into their hype because Beanie Babies.

 

References

Kaplan, A.M., & Haenlein, M. (2011). Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social

media/viral marketing dance – 77319327. (2018, March 17). Retrieved from https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/content/77319327

The 10 Most Valuable Beanie Babies | CompleteSet. (2018). CompleteSet. Retrieved 17 March

2018, from https://www.completeset.com/stories/the-10-most-valuable-beanie-babies

 

The World is a Snap Away

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and blogs are self-explanatory. For the most part, the creation and consumption that occur on these social media platforms are instinctual. One social media platform I have struggled with for the better part of the past five years is Snapchat. However, the moment I learned about the wonders of stories and Snapchat filters, and Bitmoji (customizable avatars), I was all in!

(Let’s connect! Scan my Snap code.)

 

Snap-What?

It is an established fact that social media has evolved from a pastime to a marketing tool and is also a star-maker. Snapchat is the fastest growing platform for millennials, with 56% of 18-29-year-olds engaging in daily use (Willis, 2017). Snap has led the way in temporary social media, with posts that disappear once the recipient views the message, photo, or video.

Snapchat is the best social media option for those who have commitment issues. Snapchat is also fantastic for businesses who have a Millennial target audience.

In short, Snapchat is a modified messenger and media sharing platform that reduces the necessity of wasting media storage on one’s device. Companies are able to give users insight that literally disappears in moments! Flash sales that disappear in a flash give new meaning to social media marketing strategies.

Facebook Dislike

Although Facebook is the reigning champion of social media platforms, FB has seen a 5% drop in usage between 2017 and 2018 (Hutchinson, 2018). Facebook analysts are revamping the algorithm that impacts users’ news feed to increase engagement. The shift in strategy for Facebook is also useful for social media strategies across platforms.

I left Facebook in September of last year and I haven’t looked back. Perhaps when I build my business again, I’ll be active again. For now, I’ll happily snap away.

 

 

References

Hutchinson, A. (2018). New Report Shows Facebook Usage is in Decline,

Which May be Behind the Latest News Feed Shifts. Social Media Today. Retrieved 10 March 2018, from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/new-report-shows-facebook-usage-is-in-decline-which-may-be-behind-the-late/517586/

Willis, A. (2017). 6 Ways Social Media Changed the Way We Communicate. Higher Ed Marketing Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2018, from http://circaedu.com/hemj/how-social-media-changed-the-way-we-communicate/

 

 

Intercultural Competence: The Reciprocal Impact of Communication and Culture

The following is an analysis of the sociocultural impact of ethnic representation in media.

Twitter: Make Your Mark in 140 Characters or Less

Tweet Me What You Want, What You Really, Really Want

Twitter is one of the most popular and effective social media platforms to date. According to Comm and Taylor, Twitter is considered the most powerful microblogging platform (2015). The power of Twitter lies in its simplicity. Posting short updates, or tweets to followers gives users the space to respond to each other in real time.

Pinterest: The Fusion of Traditional and Innovative Marketing

Pinterest is the social media smorgasbord of all things interesting and commercial. From recipes to interior décor ideas to the latest fashions, Lipschultz refers to the enriching experience that is Pinterest marketing as social media capital (2015). I recently asked a friend for a recipe for her favorite salad dressing, and she directed me to her Pinterest Healthy Eating recipe board, which showcased not only recipes and methods, but the cookbooks they initially appeared in.

Marketing Implications of YouTube

YouTube as a Millionaire Maker

Twenty years ago, if a child told his mother that he planned to become a multi-millionaire by playing videogames and recording that session and uploading it on the Internet, chances are, that child’s mother would have responded with some degree of bewilderment and consternation. In 2015 according to Forbes’ Madeline Berg, YouTube sensation PewDiePie, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, earned a cool $12 million through his video game-playing channel.