Lessons in branding from Social Media success and failure

One of the keys to successful branding is finding a niche and being the first in to do something unique in that niche. We've seen this develop in different social media outlets.

MySpace allowed you to personalize your page, and it acted as a great center for musicians and artists to promote their work. Unfortunately,

this was never capitalized on, and with the high risk of being hacked, as well as with the rise of Facebook, MySpace has lost its appeal, much like one of the earlier blogging websites, Xanga, lost its appeal when Blogger and Wordpress came around.

Facebook was a cleaner version of MySpace and included more information options. It focused on relationships, and it was successful.

Twitter made its mark by only allowing 140 characters and by owning the word "tweet" in the consumer's mind. It also brought about new ways of getting information out with hashtags, @ abilities, and mobile options.

Now, Google+ is attempting to do something similar by focusing on the idea of "circles," "sparks," and other unique terms. Google Buzz didn't work because it was too simple, too out of the way, far less convenient than Facebook. It didn't have a point. Google+ seems to offer easier organization of friends, and it offers the extra plus of the ability to edit photos.

Will Google+ succeed? There's no telling right now, as it is in its beginning stages. It definitely seems to offer some things Facebook does not offer. We'll just have to wait and see if it's unique enough to stand out as a first, rather than a rehashing of Facebook and Twitter. It's already had enough of a demand to warrant shutting down invites for the time being.

What are some other firsts in social networking?

E-mail versus Social Media

Which is more effective? E-mail or social media?

More and more people are saying e-mail is old and not worth using, but Hubspot pointed out in a recent post that the two are good partners in keeping customers active. This is why it is so essential to MAKE CUSTOMERS AWARE OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS. In addition to using e-mail newsletters to promote your events and products, use e-mail to promote your accounts. I can't emphasize this enough. And you can always use your social media accounts to promote your e-mail list, as well.

What are the most important elements for a successful e-newsletter?

Tips for best e-newsletter practice

E-mail newsletters are about more than making customers aware of events. You need to personalize them and send them out on a regular basis in order to make them feel genuine and to keep them from making it to the SPAM folder. Use intriguing headlines, but short headlines, and put the most important information "above the fold." Provide features and stories, how-to's, anything that isn't just boring events. Give readers a reason to open the email, and give them an even better reason to read the email and click on its links.

Harmony Wheeler would like to share a passage from Breaking the Fifth Wall: Rethinking Arts Marketing for the 21st Century "If you're really committed to building a relationship with your patrons, you've got to send them engaging, relevant, and timely information that will grab their attention and bring them closer to your organization. You're going to need to think beyond the common practice of sending "e-mail blasts" that go out at the last minute to drive ticket sales"

Social Media Revolution: Electronics Taking Over How We Do Things

Social media, electronics, the web.... they're taking over how we do things, even for kindergardeners. Watch this video for some thought-provoking statistics. If it doesn't convince you to use social media in your marketing tactics... well, then, you're lost.

Why do you think technology and social media are so popular? How have they changed the way you do business?

Does Advertising Work?

Advertising doesn't work the way it once did. At least that's what most marketing experts tend to say. People don't pay attention, and teens tune out the ads. Newspapers (supposedly dying) don't make as much as they once did on advertising, not even online. Al and Laura Ries (authors of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding) would say advertising reenforces, but does not guarantee success (which is more likely to come from publicity and word of mouth).

But advertising is finding a new way to get at the younger generation, and, contrary to the majority opinion, advertising is working — at least when it comes to mobile users.

According to Website Magazine,

"Google recently released the results of a smartphone-user survey it conducted... at the end of 2010. Among the key findings was the mobile consumers are particularly responsive to all kinds of advertising. ... More than 70 percent conduct searches on their phones after exposure to an ad... and nearly half of the 5,000 respondents (49 percent) said they'd used their phones to make actual purchases after seeing or hearing an ad."

Your Turn: How much importance and priority do you place on advertising? Is it still effective?