A Media Mix

How to Reduce Gift Returns with Social Media

My brother got me the exact watch I wanted from my Amazon Wish List. Then, I shared the gift on Facebook and Instagram!

‘Tis the season for returns. Amidst the wonderful gifts, meals and family time, it’s inevitable that returns will be part of your new years plans. But with social media, that can be reduced if not avoided all together. Much like the gift list for Santa, social media enables gift givers to know exactly what their friends and families want for the holidays. It just takes a little digging. Here’s how to do it.

Amazon Wish List

Amazon Wish List lets you keep track of anything you want on Amazon or any other website. On Amazon.com, simply click “add to wish list” near the shopping cart. You’re not buying it but rather creating a list of things you may want down the road. To add a product from another site to the wish list, just install the “Add to Wish List” button for your browser and as you shop, you just click the button.

To find wish lists from friends and family, just search for their names or enter their emails onto the Amazon Wish List page. If they keep it public, you’ll have complete access to the products they want, including the links to purchase.

There’s a new feature called “Amazon Friends & Family Gifting” where you can sync up with Facebook to correlate friends’ and families’ birthdays with their Amazon wish lists. Learn more here.

Facebook Check Ins

You see your Facebook friends checking into restaurants, hotels, bars, stores, etc. and that’s typically a hint that they enjoy those places, especially if they’re checking in multiple times to the same place. Get them a gift card to that restaurant or meet them at that bar for a holiday drink. My friend saw that I checked into a local spa and got me a gift card there for the holidays. It was a perfect surprise!

Facebook Likes

This is another way to know what your friends and family enjoy. Millions of business are on Facebook and anyone can like them. When they do, it appears on your news feed. You can also see the list of likes on your friends’ page. From there, you can visit the business page, which often has holiday deals.

Foursquare Check Ins

Much like Facebook check ins, Foursquare enables you to check into your current location and add comments, photos, etc. These check ins can be displayed on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare (so you don’t have to be a Foursquare member to see them). What’s more, Foursquare houses tips and discounts, so you can get an idea of the best gifts to get and if you’re a member, you can take advantage of the deals.

Pinterest Boards

Pinterest is practically the social media platform of Santa’s list. It’s made up of pictures of users’ favorite things, especially what they don’t have. Each board can be organized by topics such as “For the Home”, “For my Baby”, etc. and you can click each item to get to the original website for purchase. Find your friends’ boards to see what they’d love for the holidays and create some boards for yourself!

Instagram Pics

Instagram is an image-based social platform full of photos of food, travel, people, food, dogs, kids, food, etc. (Yes, food pics are very popular here.) Nevertheless, it’s a great place to see what your friends and family enjoy. Maybe they take pictures from the same restaurant or they always take pictures of pets. You know that a gift card to that restaurant or something for Fido is a good bet. You can even have their Instagram pics printed and framed! Check out Printstagram.

As a business, consider how you can easily help your customers share and discuss your product/service. Include social share buttons including Pinterest on your product pages, hold deals on your Facebook page, have a “like us” promotion or partner with a site like Amazon for more exposure.

What other ways do you share your likes and interests with social media? Have you used social to find gift ideas for friends and family? Share your thoughts here and don’t forget to share your favorite gifts!

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Uncategorized

A Content Marketer’s Content Marketing Predictions for 2013

31 Dec

Among nearly 1,000 other marketers, I attended Content Marketing World a few months ago. We were all looking to enhance our content strategies and learn the latest and greatest methods and insights. Based on that experience plus my job as Content Manager at Salesforce Marketing Cloud, I’ve conjured up my content marketing predictions for 2013. Here we go (in no particular order).

More Newsjacking attempts

David Meerman Scott coined “newsjacking” or the process of injecting your ideas or angles into breaking news in real-time in order to generate media coverage for yourself or your business. I see more and more brands attempting this approach since the PR ROI is massive. Plus the means to find the breaking news is increasingly possible with social media and search tools. There’s even a company called Trendspottr. Succeeding at newsjacking, however, is another story! That’s the challenge.

More Chief Content Officers

With the growing importance of content marketing, a content leader is needed at the C-suite table. A high-level leader with stellar content marketing experience can bring real value to an organization. Check out MarketingProf’s Chief Content Officer, Ann Handley, and Content Marketing Institute’s Content Marketing Magazine.

No More Blogging to Blog

Many brands have corporate blogs. But a shift is happening where brands are now recognizing that their blogs can serve as a lead generation tool and a place for community development. Their blogs have dedicated managers, editorial calendars, strong calls to action and a team of (internal or external) writers.

More Visual Content

With Pinterest, Instagram and other image-based social platforms growing in popularity, so too will visual-based content. That means infographics, videos, and great cover art for ebooks and blog posts are all important pieces of that 2013 content marketing pie. If you need help, there are organizations that will create visual masterpieces for you, such as Jess3 and Visual.ly.

More Short Bursts of Content

Data is showing that shorter form content is winning out in terms of sharability online. Here’s some facts:

Facebook posts of 80 characters or less receive 27% more engagement, according to a Buddy Media data report
Popular Slideshare presentations use fewer words (on average, ~24 words/slide) (source)
In addition to the fact that Twitter requires short posts with their 140 character limit, the use of shorter hashtags are more popular

What content marketing insights do you foresee for 2013? Share your ideas here and Happy New Year!

Tags: content marketing, content marketing world, intsagram, newsjacking, pinterest

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Social programs

How I Use Social Media to Give this Holiday

22 Dec

Great example of Charity Water showing donations support on their Facebook Page

This is a holiday of mixed emotions. It’s exciting to light the candles on Hanukkah, spend time with my coworkers at the tree in Rockefeller Center and experience my son’s first Christmas. But at the same time, I feel the need to give more than I ever have before. As a Connecticut resident, the people of my state have been hit hard by tragic events over the past few months. The holidays are a time for charitable giving and there are many ways to participate.

To find ways to help my local community and beyond, I went to social media. The social web packs more information than the elves on Christmas Eve. Here’s how I used social to give during this season and hopefully you’ll be inspired to do the same.

Superstorm Sandy

The American Red Cross has a Digital Operations Center which monitors social media conversations around the clock. They can pinpoint issues before they escalate and provide relief and aid quickly. Moreover, they have useful ways to help including:

Text to donate

Easy online form

Give blood

To give directly to Sandy victims, specify “Disaster Relief” in your donation.

Sandy Hook

There are hundreds of articles on the Sandy Hook tragedy, but if you’re like me, that’s the last thing you want to read. I went to social media for ways to donate and help and there are some great resources.

My Sandy Hook Family Fund – donate to the families

The Stir, Cafe Mom Blog – list of places to donate

Emilie Parker Fund – Facebook group to raise money for the family who lost their daughter in the shooting

Lost Pets

Recently I used Facebook to help a neighbor get their dog back, and there are other great examples of social media helping this effort. Here’s some examples.

LinkedIn Groups - an example of using a LinkedIn Group to get Buckeye the Yorkie back home

Facebook ads – a story of how a coworker got his cat back with Facebook ads

Local Facebook groups – how my fellow dog park members helped a dog come home

Innovative Charities

Many charities have a similar approach: give once and you get an annual reminder or direct mail piece asking you to give again. But some organizations have a new way of doing things. Give up birthday, host an event, see how your specific dollars helped the cause, and the list goes on. Check out these innovative approaches to donations.

Heifer International – Buy a goat, chicken or many other animals for an impoverished community. See the stories of how you’ve helped.

Charity: Water – Fund wells in communities without running water and see the break down of how donations are utilized. They include lots of way to donate including giving up your birthday. I saw their director of digital engagement, Paull Young, speak about their social strategy. For them, it’s about storytelling. Check out these examples.

Whether you’re wearing your business hat or Santa hat as you read this, you can be inspired this season to use social media to give or even create programs of your own.

Tags: #sandy, american red cross, charity water, facebook, heifer international, holiday giving, sandy hook, superstorm sandy

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Social programs

Social Media is Breaking Me of My Email Habits

2 Dec

For me, writing emails is as second nature as hitting the “like” button. Composing a quick email is simple and often the first approach that comes to mind when I need to communicate with someone. But as my inboxes fill up (as of 2009, the average person has three email addresses), confusion and agita grows from the forwards, reply alls and BCCs. While I place face-to-face and phone in first and second place as best forms of communication, social media gets third place and a not-so-distant third at that.

Why? Social media comes in many formats that all offer easy ways to connect and share information. It’s also amplified communication where many can see the conversation thereby reducing the need for multiple or mass emails. Here’s some examples.

Internal Social Networking

At work, we use Salesforce Chatter, an internal social network. Much like Facebook, you can write on your coworkers’ walls, tag, mention, create groups, private message, share photos and IM. Plus you can attach documents. This is great for reviewing information and discussion. Your Chatter environment can be available only to the employees within your company, so it’s a secure, private and social way to discuss, talk and share. But you can also open it up to customers so posting files, sharing content to review, etc. can be done in a collaborative, open way. No more 8MB emails.

Video Chat

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love how video has connected me to the world, especially since I work from home. Skype and Google Hangout are my main tools. Both have chat features, so if you need to capture something in writing, you have that option. They both work for conference calls as well – I was on a meeting with eight people in a Google Hangout once! (With Skype, video with multiple people requires a paid account). Given my face-to-face communication preference, this is a perfect solution.

Instant Messaging

Everywhere I’ve worked, instant messaging (IM) has been just as popular as email. It’s a quick way to ask a question, say hello, provide a status update, etc. While it’s a one-to-one platform, it still saves you on emails. I’ve used the chat function on Facebook, Chatter and most often, Gchat (Google chat) with AOL plugged in.

Sharing

When I find a link perfect for a friend or coworker, I Tweet it or share it on Facebook. Sure, I could email or IM it, but sharing it publicly creates the opportunity for open conversation where others can join. There’s always another person who can benefit from the link and you might even hear from the original writer. Whenever someone shares the content I create, I thank them and follow them on Twitter and/or connect on LinkedIn to create that new relationship.

What other forms of communication reduce your email output (and intake)? Share your thoughts but not via email.

Tags: Email, facebook, google hangout, Google+, Instant Message, skype, twitter, video chat

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Social platforms

Online Dating Marries Offline Dating

7 Oct

Image Source: curiositiesbydickens.com/the-heart-of-people

Many of my weekends this past summer included baby showers, bridal showers and weddings. What’s interesting is how social media helped initiate these celebrations of momentous milestones.

Online Dating: Mingles and Matches

With my Christian friend’s religious prerequisites, she tried out Christian Mingles. After six months of inseparable moments between her and her new boyfriend, the engagement ring appeared and the wedding followed shortly after.

A former coworker was looking for love and found Match.com to be her ticket to the alter. And after being with her husband for a few years, she recently gave birth to a beautiful daughter.

Two happy-ever-after stories.

Offline Dating Makes a Comeback

But online dating is not the latest trend. And the good news is there’s hope for those who enjoy good old fashioned in-person, get-t0-gethers.

I’ve been married for four years and have dated my husband since I was 18 so I’m slightly out of the loop when it comes to the dating scene. However, when talking to friends and my 20-something brother, I know it’s all about Facebook. So even if you meet someone offline, it immediately goes to the online space.

New sites like Dinnerdate.com blend the online and offline to create a new experience. Small, like-minded groups of singles are put together to meet for dinner, events, etc. As the site reads, “No weirdness. No work. No heavy financial, time or emotional commitment. Just a table of interesting people and the right mood to make things happen.” You can even bring your friends. It removes the weirdness experienced from both the online and offline space. It also recognizes that meeting in person will likely result in some online discussion and vice verse (if all goes well on the date, that is).

Grouper does the same thing. It groups its members based on their Facebook profiles then picks the date location and pre-pays the first round of drinks. Members bring two single friends and some dough and suddenly, you’ve got a group date. As shared on the Huffington Post, “The service requires the two people it connects to each bring along two friends on the date, creating 3-on-3 outings that harken back to the good old college days, when coeds did their courting in packs.”

Online Dating Marries Offline Dating

So, in a way, we’re back where we started with dating. We’re meeting in person and in groups, even. But with the addition of social media, there’s a broader reach of suitors and the dates are not so blind. New dating sites are recognizing this trend and they’re blending the online and offline aspects of dating. How do you prefer to date and does this new trend interest you?

Tags: christian mingles, dinnerdate.com, group dating, grouper.com, match.com, online dating, social media

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Social platforms

How I Made the Most Out of Dreamforce

2 Oct

Enjoying Dreamforce (and my “I Love San Francisco” Cupcake)

Dreamforce 2012 was a place for dreamers. The streets were flooded with 92,000 people dreaming of learning new things, seeing new products, meeting new people, tasting great San Fran food and claiming some swag. We were all wide-eyed and open-mouthed as we experienced the largest cloud computing conference ever. Even if you’ve been there many times before (this was my second year), the sheer size of the conference is impossible to comprehend and expect.

And as an employee of Salesforce, I came to Dreamforce to work. But the great thing about Dreamforce is even employees can dream. Here’s how I made the most of my time.

Establish a Home Base

My coworkers and I spent much of our time by the Social Media Command Center, a dreamy palace of engagement bliss. We all had set hours to workflow social media conversations around the conference as well as speak in front of the Command Center to let passerbys in on the awe-inspiring engagement mecca. Nearby we had a room where we could tend to our regular 9-5 job, eat, relax and talk. It was our sanctuary, our meeting ground and a place we could always come to find another team member.

Do it All

Conferences offer more than just keynotes, sessions and expo halls. Networking events, concerts, cocktail hours and other after-hour festivities are prevalent at conferences and are just as important as the daytime offerings (even more important at times). It is here where I established new relationships, learned of new business opportunities, deepened relationships with coworkers and created new, long-lasting friendships. Many of these events are not printed in the agenda or publicly shared. I found them using the event hashtag, asking coworkers or starting up a conversation with the person sitting next to me at a session. So if you’re tired after a long day of sessions, have a coffee and get back out there. It’s worth it.

Use the Hashtag

Every conference I’ve attended in the past year had a hashtag but it’s up to the attendees to make the most of it. I keep the hashtag feed on my phone, tablet or computer at all times. You’ll not only find out about special events as mentioned above, but because many conferences run multiple sessions at the same time, you’ll get real-time notes of sessions happening across the hall. It’s a great place to make new friends, organize meet ups with your coworkers, see pictures, ask questions and more. Just remember to use the hashtag when you Tweet as well!

Use Instagram

The Instagram app is my biggest content tool at conferences. It’s easy to take, edit and share photos with your followers as well as fellow conference-goers. I always include the conference hashtag in my description and share the pic on Twitter. The app allows you to publish your photos to other social channels, such as Facebook, to keep friends and family posted on your travels. At the end of the conference, I have a visual story of my experience which makes for a great blog post!

Engage Your Audience

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to speak at Dreamforce this year. My session, Advanced Content Strategies, looked at 10 content marketing ideas to help your business succeed. I ensured that my speech was interactive because as great as a presentation can be, 45 minutes of a talking head is not appealing. So after each one of the 10 content tactics, I’d stop and engage the audience. It worked out well and the audience was soon sharing their experiences with content and asking questions about the challenges they face. Audience members were answering each other’s questions and the mic went ’round and ’round the room. I also included a Tweet slide after each point (with the conference hashtag) so it was easy to Tweet a quote from my speech as notes for later and to share with those who didn’t attend the session.

Reuniting with my baby, Parker

Despite an amazing time at Dreamforce, nothing beats coming home to see my family, especially my baby, Parker. After all, we make the most of conferences and work experiences so we can excel and grow. Excelling and growing makes us happy in our jobs both mentally and financially. We do it all for them because at the end of the day, their smiles make the biggest difference of all.

What tips and tricks work for you when attending or speaking at a conference?

Tags: #df12, dreamforce

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Events

← Older Entries

Newer Entries →

Search

A Media Mix

How to Reduce Gift Returns with Social Media

How I Made the Most Out of Dreamforce

Recent Posts

Recent Tweets

Read More Posts

Categories

In your Inbox

Follow “A Media Mix”