The Obvious Objectives (Team Carlos)

The main message of the webcast was to inform the business owners that social media is now apart of the marketing mix. Spread Fast was educating the business owners on how to not rely on just one network just as Facebook and Twitter, but to venture out and try creating their own social networks. The webcast also talked about how to focus on objectives to satisfy what the customer needs. Spread Fast came up with six objectives for business owners to follow and allow them to tie their efforts into the ultimate goal.

The first objective to social networking is to build brand awareness. Social networking is a great way to reach people and to drive traffic to other channels such as the company website. Social networking also allows you to reach a new audience and allows you to share your expertise and positioning. Ultimately the goal is to allow people to follow your brand easily and at the consumers’ convenience so they can learn about it.

The second objective is to make customer service personal. Social networking allows you to have immediate response and interaction with the customers. Build helpful communications that illustrates the responsive nature of the company. It can also allow you to discover new customers and some of the issues that are going on in social channels. The company should make the experience personal with actual response from teams. Best Buy is doing something like this with the Twitter account they have set up where the consumer can ask a question about a device on Twitter and they will get an answer by someone that works at Best Buy.

The third objective is event marketing. You can promote event details, activities, and news broadly in a social network. There can also be real-time updates, alerts, and reminders of an upcoming event. It allows people to participate and get the information they need much easier. You can also use the social networking site to share content from the actually event as it is going on.

The fourth objective is to promote product launches. It is an affordable way to reach new and existing audience. It is all about getting the consumer involved with your company. For example, Nokia uses youtube.com to demo a new product that is coming out so people can get a look at the new product before it actually hits the shelves of the store. Also doing something like online contests can help increase the involvement of the consumer.

The fifth objective to social networking is building a sales pipeline. It is very effective in driving traffic to their websites. When you make an advertisement about the company, you can insert things on the end of the ad such as the website of the company, and a catchy slogan to get people to look at the site.

The sixth objective to social networking is community activation. It allows you to have a closer connection between the brand and community. Knowing when to distribute the message is also key to a successful social network page. It is good to provide the consumer with incentives. TOMS Shoe Company does a great job of this with the fact that they promote when you buy one pair of shoes, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need.

Although this seems like the obvious choice to go with, we chose TOMS shoes to elaborate. If you notice through out the presentation, TOMS uses at least three of the six objectives Spread Fast went over; building brand awareness, building a sales pipeline, and community activation. The message that the TOMS Company has is a great one. A lot of people want to find ways to give back but do not really know how, and this company gives you a way to do just that. If you watch the video we embedded, you can see how they embed each objective. With building awareness they give a few statistics on what is going on in third world countries and why children need help. With building sales pipeline, they put their website at the end of the video for people to go to. And with community activation, TOMS gives people the incentive to get involved because the consumer knows if they buy a pair of shoes, another pair will be given to a child in need in a third world country. TOMS has great word of mouth and this could be part of the fact that they know how to use social networks to promote their cause.

Ultimately, I think these are great objectives to use in order to start social networking. With the way the world is today, social networking is key because that is how a lot of people communicate and get informed about new and existing products. Consumers don’t just go out and buy products anymore; we want to know exactly what we are buying and what different people have to say about it. If you can really “sell” your product to me in the right way, I am more like to go out and buy it and probably tell more people about the company.

Pocket Guide-PNB

1. The webcast demonstrated six “objectives” firms should be aware of and use actively to have successful social media campaigns. Some key takeaways include brand imaging and awareness. The positive image the firm generated by the firm promotes positive feed back from consumers. The positive feedback is shared with huge audiences, unlike in the past. One of the most important takeaways from the webcast is the importance of interaction between a firm and its customers. Without the interaction, consumers are more likely to pass negative feedback to potential consumers. This negative feedback, without access to it by the firm, can ultimately destroy the image of the firm. The interaction process should personal. The firm should provide the tools to their consumers to voice opinions and share the information the consumer needs to resolve problematic issues.

2. The six key objectives for which marketers are using social media are:
-Building Brand Awareness
-Making Customer Service Personal
-Event Marketing
-Product Launches
-Building Sales Pipeline
-Community Activation

3. Best Buy has made Customer Service extremely personal by adding "twelpforce". The twelpforce is accessed by all store employees and allows the employees to answer questions to customers who are not in the store. This furthers the reach of Best Buy stores to non-measurable area. The twelpforce is also able to share new things about best buy to all of their followers before they even have to ask. The following was a tweet by a member of the twelpforce.

»twelpforceTwelpforce Best Buy

So, you think you know everything about #BESTBUY? Think again! Let me show you somthing you dont know: http://bit.ly/nNAj17 via @BBFBNJ

In essence, Best Buy is using the one objective (making customer service personal) and turning it into Brand awareness (by participating in the discussions and being there for their customers), product launches(as well as additional services provided as in the link above), a sales pipeline (by having links available to redirect to the phiscal store), and Community Activation (by involving the community in their discussions).

The webcast really showed the involvement required from the firm in six small objectives. But with the small objectives, it has provided the stepping stones to what the webcast calls the “Social Media Pocket Guide.” With these objectives the firm should be able to create a successful social media campaign. It is important that firms continue the process and do not stop the campaign early. The social media campaigns are published and can permanently influence potential buyers. Stay active and do not forfeit for any reason!

Week 4: Sept 27-2

1. What is the main message of the webcast? What are 3-4 key takeaways from the presentation?

The main message of the webcast was to inform us on how to achieve success today in social media. Some takeaways we received from this video were on how social media ties into existing organizational goals. We also understood how the six key objectives that marketers are using in social media today should always be considered when developing a social media marketing initiative because without these six important objectives, then marketers would not know how to catch the consumer’s attention and influence them to buy your product. They have a choice to decide which objectives work and don’t work, and from there know how to target and reach their consumers interest in their brand. This webcast also gave us the proven strategies to achieve each objective. Also you have to take into consideration that social media is part of the marketing mix, meaning that consumer’s do not rely on just one brand, you have to keep your consumer’s interest in your product by the six key objectives given in this webcast.

2. What are the six key objectives for which marketers are using social media?

The six key objectives marketers are using in social media are (1) Building Brand Awareness (2) Making Customer Service Personal (3) Event Marketing (4) Product Launches (5) Building Sales Pipeline and (6) Community Activation. You can build brand awareness by trying to reach more people through extensive networks and delivering messages to new audiences you would not intend to reach. Marketers’ number one goal is to reach a large audience in social media because people follow brands to learn more about them; they want to be informed who you are, what you are, and what you do. For instance, the example given in the webcast was Tom shoes; they informed us that every pair we buy, a new pair of shoes will be given to a child in need. Making customer service personal is also a very important key objective in social media. In order to do so, you need to discover new customers and issues on social channels, share real time updates to keep your customers informed, and need to have an immediate response and interaction with customers. Event Marketing means to promote event details, activities, and news broadly. You can do this by sharing real time reminders and updates to ensure your network that they have every opportunity to be in the right place at the right time and to generate thought, leadership, and content with community members who aren’t present. Event marketing makes it easier to share and easier to spread quicker. Another key objective marketers are using in social media is product launches. They do this by launching affordable channels to attract huge audiences, by building excitement by introducing network with information and offering limited deals, and also you need to show customers a new product with persuasive demonstrations, not just tell people what is in a new product. Next, you need to build sales pipeline, meaning that the social media is where your prospects are spending time, and this would be a great opportunity to attract customers to your website. Lastly, community activation also plays a big role in social media. In order to do so, you need to achieve a closer connection between brand and the community, and by having interactivity will drive action. One reason people often take action is because an incentive is in their involvement.

3. The presenters provide several examples of companies that use social media to achieve the key objectives. In your own words, can you elaborate on at least one of them? When you elaborate, can you provide a few videos/ or screen shots to support your narrative.

The endless amount of products offered to consumers can pop up anywhere, whether it’s on the T.V. or radio there are constant updates for abundance of goods. The way a consumer searches for a certain products varies, however it helps markets to explore every venue of social media. By doing this it help the consumers find information for most avenues they may use. The webcast demonstrated how and why marketers should participate in as many social media channels as they see fit, and they spoke about a handful of companies who do just that. For further observation of the route some companies take to ensure their customers get the information they are looking for, we researched on Samsung. Among the business represented in the webcast we knew little about Samsung. While exploring the website we found it easy and accessible to search and find what we were looking for. Not only can you find facts on current and future products on the website, but you can follow tabs to articles and news. They know just as well as we do that new products come out more quickly so they are constantly updating their news through the webpage. Currently, Samsung works through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and Google buzz. One feature we found fun and extremely beneficial was that they have their own channel on YouTube. This is another way consumer can inform themselves on potential products, and it’s helpful for consumers to see the product in action. If you follow the link below it will guide you to Samusung YouTube channel. Social media channels, if used well, can be extremely beneficial to a lot of companies. The webinar was a great, instructional aid for companies who are not sure why or how it could work for their company.

http://www.youtube.com/samsungusatube

4. Finally some closing thoughts.

All in all, there are many tools companies are faced with that may seem like the ticket they need to kick off their marketing, however social media is still a recent channel for companies to explain. And there are many ways to do social media wrong. One hardship for marketers can be getting started. The webinar went over knowing your business and the consumers you see as your target market. Because there are so many ways to reach consumers, marketers must consider which way will catch the most attention. Most companies stick to Facebook and twitter as technological necessity but to go further and set yourself aside from companies it’s important to explore other venues. With all these options it can be very stressful, but staying true to your company and the mission that represents it can be seen as the most important tool to social media.

References: http://www.samsung.com/us/news/newsList.do?gltype=localnews

Never A Day Without Social Media

Spredfast’s presentation on social media was insightful and a real eye opener. Not only to our marketing class but also to the American Marketing Association’s audience. I realized, midway through the presentation, that the people on the other end were less experienced in social media than myself. Social media is now part of the marketing mix and is quite frankly moving it’s way up to most important. Along with that, it’s important to use a mix of different networks to make a real impact. With each program and network must be a well thought out objective. The last main point that was projected is that there is also an increasing need for scalability.

Marketers are using social media for more than one purpose, driving sales and making money is obvious but there are other benefits as well. It is so beneficial to build awareness about your brand through reaching out to new audiences through different networks to drive traffic to your company website or affiliated. Keeping customer service in mind, getting involved with them through responding and interacting with them and encouraging employees to do the same. Promoting events doesn’t get much easier than with a free twitter or facebook or mostly any social site. Getting people involved and excited about an event will increase participation through notifications and alerts. Using these social media websites can prove one of the best ways to create anticipation for new product launches and can offer that to large audiences. People are unaware how influencing these brand or product social media outlets are towards them, and marketers need to realize how effective they can be towards unknown opportunities. When you engage with the consumer through social media, your not directly advertising, your creating a trusting relationship that is going to drive brand awareness and loyalty.


The power point talked a lot about Toms Shoes Company because they have become one of the most well known shoe brands that actually have a story. People have nothing bad to say about the company because they are saving the world (in the eyes of the consumer). They have actively used all networks of social media to drive traffic from their website and to their website, there is links to sign up for newsletters, they have a blog that is very interesting and quite frankly they can be looked up to for admiration.

Toms creates a movement that consumers can be passionately involved in. It becomes more than buying a product when there is a story behind it that you can be proud of. They promote and created one day without shoes to create awareness about a bigger problem that Toms Shoes is trying to conquer.


The presentation broke down into simple terms how and why to use these social media websites to benefit your company and it is one that i definitely will remember. Social media is evidently making a huge impact in the business world and i feel that it will become one of the most important ways of marketing. Spredfast wants marketers to realize that there is no way around social media, and that if you dont evolve you will die out.


team rachel and terrance

Social Media Pocket Guide Webcast Overview

Main Message

            The main message for the Social Media Pocket Guide webcast provided by the American Marketing Association would be key tactics that marketers need to be able to employ toward the use of social media. The webcast provided information regarding ways in which social media can be integrated into existing organizational goals. The webcast was very insightful showing how social has become part of the marketing mix. The first three objectives build brand awareness, make customer service personal, and event marketing are three key takeaways that gained from this webcast. The use of social media for product launches/new service announcements, building sales pipelines, and community activation are ways to reinforce the first three key objectives.

6 Key Objectives & Examples

            #1 Build Brand Awareness

Building brand awareness through social media has so many advantages. Being able to reach larger amounts of people is the big advantage. As companies build brand awareness they can lead these people to other corporate channels. These messages can also be received by audiences that before were unlikely to receive the message. It also allows for expertise sharing and positioning to be accomplished. TOMS is a brand that we are all familiar with mainly being that we are a large part of their target market. The way that TOMS reached its consumers is through twitter uploading pictures of what they were doing.

#2 Make Customer Service Personal

            By making customer service personal you give your customers an immediate response, while interacting with them making it even better than a phone call. This can show customers that companies want to help them. Companies can gain new customers because if someone that is looking for a solution for their problem and see how responsive that company is to their customers they also want that type of service. Allowing the staff to interact with the consumer is something that make the experience a lot more personal. YouTube videos demonstrations on how products can be used or are supposed to be used are a great way to do this. This allows for time to be saved and less customer service calls. The example they gave was Discover and the way they use Twitter to do this.  Discover’s description states, “Your connection to all things Discover - news, offers, tips & events. We're ready to chat & answer your questions Mon-Fri 8am-6pm CST.” There are several other companies that have taken to this same type of customer service alternative to having their customers wait for hours on the phone for a representative such as Best Buy with @ twelpforce. This is Twitter account that Best Buy employees use to solve customers’ problems quicker and in a fun way.

            #3 Event Marketing

Integrating social media with event marketing promoting the event is made easier. Posting event details, activities, and live news feed can be done immediately. People interested in the topic can be more involved making it an even greater event. Reminders and notifications can be done through social media. For example West Texas A&M has really been trying to interact with students through different ways and if you follow them on Twitter you would have known of Thunder X’s our mascots Birthday Bash Community Picnic two weeks ago and then got a reminder and feedback that it was a success. As the webcast said sharing in real-time giving reminders and updates ensures that your networks has every opportunity to be in the right place at the right time.

#4 Use Social Media for Product Launches or the announcement of new services

The webcast pointed out that social media amplifies product launches. It is an affordable way to reach a large and active audience. It helps in reinforcing messages and increasing impression. It builds excitement. Last semester in a class a video TOMS: The Next Chapter was shown about what more they were going to do. This build up excitement for their June 7, 2011 launch of the new TOMS eyewear they would be providing. It was the same One for One concept “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will help give sight to a person in need.” It was a simple video of Blake Mycoskie pushing a shopping cart and everyone wondering what it was but by posting it on YouTube and sharing it through Twitter it allowed for everyone who follows TOMS to become engaged with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm8EPcA2gFE&feature=related

#5 Build Sales Pipeline

Social media is where consumers are spending their time use it to drive that traffic to your website. Provide them with a reason to visit your site, ask them for information about themselves, and feedback about what more you can do. Provide a website that allows them to actually gain knowledge about your company and stuff they want to know. What else are you doing outside.

#6 Community Activation

Community activation is about interactivity driving action. It builds a closer connection between the brand and the community. Through a community activity it raises thee hopes for potential for exponential growth for activity. By providing incentives people are more likely to take action. Another reason is making it easy like Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is doing this by having a Twitter page Wal-Mart Community (@WalmartCAN). “Wal-Mart’s Community Action Network works to better the communities Wal-Mart serves.” This is only a twitter page for their actual website walmartcommunity.com were consumers actually interact and share their story on how Wal-Mart allows them to make a difference in their community. Wal-Mart keeps it up to date and allows for people to share their stories easily building a strong relationship with them.

What we gained…

            The webcast allowed us to gain much insight about the dynamic and innovative ways that companies are using social media. It really broadened our knowledge on the ways that companies can use social media. As stated many times before social media is not creating a Facebook, Twitter, or Blogger, it so much more. It is giving companies a way to reach their consumers in a modern, more proficiently and in larger masses. Something that we do want to point out that we noticed is that the companies that are using social media properly are actually reaching their target market and weeding out unnecessary actions that they would previously have to do. For example with the Direct2Dell blog all of the Dell Community Ambassadors seem to be passionate about their work and the assistance they give others.  It was even surprising to us how a place we shop at so much like Wal-Mart has an online community that we are not aware of. This kind of showed us that no matter how successful and stable of a company you are you can always find a new way to reach out to your market and make a difference.

Brown Bunch

Week 4

The main message of the Webcast is social media is important and possible. By working with the six key objectives marketers can use social media without becoming too overwhelmed. These six objectives are; building brand awareness, making customer service personal, event marketing, product launching, building sales pipeline, and community activism.

                Some major take-a-ways from the presentation; business to business can be effective, the value of making customer service “personal” and, the many benefits of promoting a new product in a social environment.

                Business to Business social media is very effective when the businesses are able to position themselves as leaders in social content, showing themselves as experts in their specific field. One way to establish this position is through posting links on FaceBook of white papers for material or found specifications.

                Another way to make customer service personal using social media is by having the ability to provide immediate and helpful solutions to clients and prospective clients needs or problems. While providing this immediate service it will also provide leads to new customers and develop personal relationships. 

                Social media is also a great place to promote events. By promoting the events through social media it can create buzz by engaging audience participation. Companies can also set-up reminders and notification through social media thus ensuring a better opportunity for community participation. By sharing content on the event through social media gives consumers a place to go for questions and answers.

                The Spredfast webinar provided Toms shoes as an example of how the use of social media can position a company. Toms was established as a company with a cause by matching each pair of shoes sold to a pair given away to child who is in need.   On www.toms.com you find links for Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube and their Blog. Each link shows consumers how their purchase will affect someone they will never meet, essentially creating a way for the consumer to develop a personal connection with the company. Customers may not totally be in love with the actual designs of Toms shoes, but they are in love with the idea of how Toms shoes are attempting to help those in need.

                Here is a video that is one example of how Toms has really utilized social media tools to meet their company’s goals. (http://youtu.be/aKhV9kpGM-k)

                Here is screen shot from Toms website that is another example of how they are utilizing social media to help the world and create social activism.

                There is no argument that social media is the fastest way to involve, find, and maintain loyal customers. It has become clear that to become an industry leader a company must move into the new way of thinking. The question of “how?” is still what is on everyone’s mind. The key is to get involved and fast because whether the company likes it or not they are being talked about somewhere on a social media website and they can either let it happen or make it happen the choice is up to them.

Team- Yuck Fu II