Month: July 2014
Social Media and Reputation Management: Hitting Customer Reviews Head-on
Every social media manager’s worse nightmare revolves around reputation management. We spend so much time thinking about ways to create messages that our customers want to hear. We spend countless hours hoping to receive fantastic reviews and getting feedback from satisfied customers. We live for the moment when some random customer posts a positive post on one of our social media sites. We can’t wait to pass those posts along to management!
But what happens when the post is bad? Really, really bad? Thankfully in my professional experience, this hasn’t happened too frequently. But when it does, you have to be prepared. This means working with business stakeholders, PR, communications, and legal. While every negative post is different, we still have to have a cohesive plan in place so that we are able to do what needs to be done in a timely manner. In this week’s post, I will be reviewing both positive and a negative social media posts from the hospitality industry. It’s important to note that these posts are dated and used as examples for educational purposes only.
Post #1: Hyatt’s Positive Review…With a Twist!
Suggested Response:
Thank you for taking time to review your family’s most recent trip to Orlando’s Hyatt Regency! Reviewers like you give us the opportunity to ensure that our hotel is exceeding our guest’s expectations. We are very pleased to hear that you had such a wonderful stay. It is truly a complement that you chose to come back and stay with us for your family vacation. We are happy to hear that your children enjoyed one of our property’s newest additions, the pool. Although Florida weather can be unpredictable at times, we are glad that your family was still able to enjoy this new amenity despite the brief storm. It’s also great to hear that you were able to take advantage of our luxurious spa and restaurants. Next time you’re here, be sure to check out another great restaurant, Napa, where kids under 3 eat breakfast for free.
Again, that you for choosing our hotel and providing valuable feedback that will allow our team to make adjustments to our property so that all of your future stays continue to exceed your expectations. If you’re still looking to schedule that last-minute summer trip, we have several summer specials that you may want to take advantage of! If you have any questions or would like to discuss our property further, please feel free to contact me directly at any time. It has been a pleasure reading your review and having your family as guests!
Sincerely,
Whitney Amerson
Social Media Manager, Hyatt Regency Orland0
407-284-1234
Post #2: Hilton’s Negative Review
Suggested Response:
Thank you for taking the time to review our hotel and share your experience with us. I sincerely apologize for your most recent experience with our hotel, as the experience you have described does not meet our standards. I will make sure that your feedback is discussed with our management team promptly. The appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again to you or another guest. Because I know that our hotel has many great things to offer, I would love for you to give our hotel a second chance to exceed your expectations. At your convince, please call me so that we can work together on planning your next stay at our property. I have a few things in mind that I think you would want to take advantage of. I am looking forward to discussing how we can exceed your expectations and be the foundation for a great, memorable vacation!
Sincerely,
Whitney Amerson
Social Media Manager, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina
954-463-4000
While I am no stranger to generating responses for social media posts, I found this assignment to be quite difficult. Although I do work in a very different industry with very different problems, that wasn’t where the “hang-up” occurred. I am so accustomed to having stakeholders, PR, communications, and our legal team to discuss our approach for these types of posts with. It was very difficult to generate posts on my own. Hats off to any social media manager who doesn’t have anyone to lean-on when it comes to reputation management. It’s a tough job to do alone!
Tradeshow Marketing: CosmoProf 2014
CosmoProf North America is a B2B tradeshow that focuses on the beauty industry. Attendees range from hair and nail care professionals to wellness center and spa owners. For this week’s class assignment, I have been asked to follow CosmoProf on social media and analyze their social media strategy from an external perspective. The show, which took place July 13-17 was interesting to follow and not at all what I expected. While I am no stranger to social media engagement tradeshow strategies, the beauty industry was not the type of tradeshow I’m used to. Even though this show was not centered on the wire and cable industry (what I’m accustomed to), the social media strategy shared many of the same techniques and elements. Below, you will find an outline of how CosmoProf utilized each social media channel before, during, and after the show. Some channels were used well. However, the social media plan for other channels may need to be reconsidered prior to next year’s show. While these are just my opinions, I have represented my company at dozens of tradeshows within the past several years and have learned a thing or two by means of trial and error.
Basic Show Numbers (Based on Information from CosmoProf’s Website):
- 26,000+ Visitors, Representing 104 Countries
- 911 Exhibitors, Representing 37 Countries
- 278 Accredited Members of the Press in Attendance
Facebook: Does CosmoProf Exhibit the True Face of Beauty?
With over 5,000 fans, CosmoProf’s Facebook page represents 19% of the registered show attendees. One of the first things I noticed about their Facebook page is the use of hashtags. Although Facebook gives you the option to use hashtags, you don’t see them very often. Although it is great that the brand is embracing hashtags, many people don’t use hashtags to search on Facebook. Another thing that I noticed about the Facebook page is how images are used. Some of the images are not optimized for Facebook viewing. The coverpage image, for example, is partially covered up by homepage buttons. Perhaps this image was reused and not primarily created for Facebook. I hope the text in the bottom right corner isn’t very important.
*Note: Image is Cut-off on Right Side*
Prior to the show, the page was used to promote the upcoming show and encourage attendees to become involved in social media. I really like how the page encourages their B2B audience to interact not only with their page but with other B2B companies in the industry. Teaser posts were also created to talk about the speakers that were attending the show.
During the show, CosmoProf was actively posting on Facebook. Interestingly enough, there were no social media posts for four days prior to the show or on the first day. Perhaps the person in charge of social media got overwhelmed and forgot about posting on Facebook? It happens. For the remainder of the show, posts were created that promoted products and gave daily recaps of the show. There were not very many posts. The posts that they did have didn’t seem to resonate with their audience, as the number of likes and shares were very low. There was no interaction on Facebook after the show ended. I would have liked to seen a “Thank You for Attending” post to close out the show.
Twitter: Beautiful Tweets Are in the Air
CosmoProf’s Twitter page has 2,942 followers. While this is half the amount of followers from their Facebook page, their Twitter followers seem to be more engaged. Quality over quantity, right? The Twitter page is monitored and managed year-round. Posts range from how to’s for the B2B beauty industry to industry wide topics such as Birchbox moving into retail. There is a wealth of information on this page that doesn’t necessarily pertain to the tradeshow. This created value for the target audience.
*Notice the Lack of Images and a Cohesive Hashtag*
My first impression of show from following on Twitter was “Wow. There must be a lot of nail polish booths”, as the majority of images that were posted on twitter were focused on nail polish. Although there were a lot of posts about other products as well, there weren’t any pictures associated with those posts. During the show, there was a good mix of retweets and original posts. I was glad to see how many attendees interacted with the show on Twitter. From my experience, Twitter is the best social media outlet for use as part of a tradeshow strategy. One thing that the tweets lacked was a common show-specific hashtag. While it looks like some attendees tried to start a hashtag, it didn’t take off. The conversation seemed to be a bit all over the place because there was no hashtag holding everything together. For tradeshow marketing, hastags are like Spanx… without them, your stuff goes everywhere! I was glad to see that there was an official closing post for Twitter.
Instagram: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
With almost 2,900 followers, the CosmoProf Instagram should be a staple in the company’s integrated marketing strategy for the show. However, while there were several posts for the show, I feel like Instagram was underutilized. The most user engagement for the tradeshow occurred on Instagram. With the beauty industry being so image driven, more photos should have been taken and shared. On Facebook and Twitter, you had a handful of interactions. On Instagram, however, posts had an average of 50 likes each. This helps tell you what your audience wants to see.
During the show, product/exhibitor posts were made. Many of these images were also used on Twitter. One thing that I have to be critical about is the low quality of images that were used. Some of the images were really dark and hard to see while others seemed random and unrelated to the show. I feel like there should have been more though put into the photo content on the page. Like Facebook, there was no closing post thanking attendees for a great show.
Other Social Media Pages and the Website:
Along with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, CosmoProf has Pinterest and LinkedIn pages. There may be some engagement on their LinkedIn group, however, it is set to private. Also, it’s difficult to determine when posts were created on Pinterest. I feel like these social media channels were left out of the IMC strategy.
Aside from the social media icons on their website, CosmoProf doesn’t seem to integrate their website with social media. For the beauty industry, I feel like there should be more integration and consistency between sites. I also feel that their website design should be more reflective of the industry. It seems very plain and generic. With all the glitz and glamor of the industry, it deserves more!
The exhibitors obviously have awesome products and there is large attendee base. This tradeshow has the potential to embrace social media and use it to their advantage. They could create large social media walls (TV monitors) that display the recent Twitter feed and Instagram posts. This would encourage their audience to become more involved. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a lot of this. I hate to say it, but tradeshows for the wire and cable industry leverage social media way better than this.
What’s the Bottom Line?
If there was indeed a social media strategy for the show, it was very hard to determine what it was. Because social media is so big and can be leveraged to better reach and engage with your audience, you can’t afford to let it be an afterthought. It needs to be incorporated into the show strategy from the very beginning. Even your website needs to reflect your social media involvement and take on characteristics of your industry. What does your audience want to see? What will they see with your exhibitors? The energy level given off by the show and the show exhibitors need to match. I see so much potential for next year’s show. By making social media part of your overall strategy, you will see a big difference in your attendees and exhibitors. Great products and companies deserve a great show!
Social Media Magic for Disney’s Magic Kingdom
Have you ever been to Disney World? If so, you will never forget the magic that surrounds the park. Every moment, from the time you see Cinderella’s castle to your first ride on Space Mountain, seems magical. For this week’s assignment, I am acting as a social media strategist for Disney’s Magic Kingdom. While that job would be a fantastic job to have, these posts are hypothetical and have been created solely for academic purposes.
My monthly social media goals for the Magic Kingdom include increasing user engagement with the Disney brand, increasing post reach, and giving social media followers a broad knowledge base of everything Magic Kingdom. With so many theme parks and attractions available to Orlando’s visitors, I want to help make Magic Kingdom stand out in out in our target audience’s minds. The Magic Kingdom needs to be positioned as the “must visit” theme park in Orlando.
August 1st
Facebook: Summer’s not over. You still have time to plan your summer vacation to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. We’re here to help! Get started here: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disney-vacation-planning/
Twitter: Summer’s not over. Plan your Disney vacation today! #Disney #Summer http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disney-vacation-planning/
August 2nd
Facebook: Trivia Time! Who can name one of the 6 Trains from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? And go!
Twitter: Trivia Time! Who can name one of the 6 Trains from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? And go! #Disneytrivia #Disney
August 3rd
Facebook: Want to see Maleficent, the fire-breathing, clockwork dragon wrapped in battle with Prince Phillip and his mighty Sword of Truth? Come watch the Festival of Fantasy parade at 3:00 today!
Twitter: Want to see Maleficent in battle with Prince Phillip and his mighty Sword of Truth? Our Festival of Fantasy parade begins at 3:00! #Disney
August 4th
Facebook: Planning a Magic Kingdom vacation with your little princess? Be sure to make reservations at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique located inside Cinderella’s Castle. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique-park/
Twitter: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique… The perfect salon for your little princess. Make reservations at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/bibbidi-bobbidi-boutique-park/ #Disneyprincess
August 5th
Facebook: Put on your dancing shoes and prep your moves. Get ready for the Incredibles Super Dance Party!
Twitter: Put on your dancing shoes and prep your moves. Get ready for the #INCREDIBLESSuperDanceParty!
August 6th
Facebook: Did you know there are thousands of hidden Mickey Mouse heads in the park? Show us some you found!
Twitter: Did you know there are thousands of hidden Mickey Mouse heads in the park? Show us some you found! #mickeymouse #hiddenmickey
August 7th
Facebook: We have magic to light up the night! Have you seen our Celebrate the Magic show, honoring the art of Disney storytelling? It’s a site to see!
Twitter: Light up the night with Disney’s Celebrate the Magic Show! Don’t you just love storytelling through fireworks? #CelebrateMagic
August 8th
Facebook: Come along and sing the song and join the jamboree. M-I-C-K-E-Y….
Twitter: Come along and sing the song and join the jamboree. M-I-C-K-E-Y…. #disneyside
August 9th
Facebook: Are you a Disney pin collector? Good news! New pins have been released. Shop for new editions at Uptown Jewelers, located inside the park.
Twitter: Are you a #DisneyPin collector? Shop the newest collections at Uptown Jewelers, located inside the park! #disney
August 10th
Facebook: Today’s a beautiful day to take a ride down Mainstreet, USA. Just ask Mr. Charles!
Twitter: Today’s a beautiful day to take a ride down Mainstreet, USA. Just ask Mr. Charles! #mainstUSA #disney
August 11th
Facebook: Trivia Time! Does Prince Charming’s Golden Carousel rotate clockwise or counter clockwise?
Twitter: Trivia Time! Does Prince Charming’s Golden Carousel rotate clockwise or counter clockwise? #disneytrivia
August 12th
Facebook: Giggle and guffaw to a gaggle of jokes during a live comedy show starring characters from Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University!
Twitter: Ready to Laugh? Join us for a comedy show starring characters from Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University! #monstersinc
August 13th
Facebook: You’ll be singing this song for the rest of your vacation…
Twitter: You’ll be singing this song for the rest of your vacation… #smallworld #disney
August 14th
Facebook: Be Our Guest! Step inside the Beast’s enchanted castle for a delicious quick-service lunch or a delightful sit-down dinner. Yummy!
Twitter: Be Our Guest! Step inside the Beast’s enchanted castle for a delicious quick-service lunch or a delightful sit-down dinner. #Yummy
August 15th
Facebook: August is Family Fun Month. What better way to have fun with your family then at Magic Kingdom?
Twitter: August is Family Fun Month. What better way to have fun with your family then at Magic Kingdom? #disney #familyfun
August 16th
Facebook: Start your engines! Get behind the wheel of a luxury sports car and take off at the Exotic Driving Experience. To schedule your experience, visit https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/speedway/exotic-driving-experience/
Twitter: Get behind the wheel of a luxury sports car and take off at the Exotic Driving Experience! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/speedway/exotic-driving-experience/
August 17th
Facebook: Did you know that The Seven Seas Lagoon is actually a man-made lake? The soil that was excavated to construct was used to “build up” the ground level for the construction of the Magic Kingdom.
Twitter: Did you know that The Seven Seas Lagoon is actually a man-made lake? #disneytrivia #sevenseaslagoon
August 18th
Facebook: Arrrgghh! Do you have what it takes to be a pirate? Be sure to check out Captain Jack Sparrow’s pirate tutorial during your visit! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/magic-kingdom/captain-jack-sparrow-pirate-tutorial/
Twitter: Arrrgghh! Do you have what it takes to be a pirate? https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/magic-kingdom/captain-jack-sparrow-pirate-tutorial/ #disneypirate
August 19th
Facebook: Today is National Aviation Day. Will you be flying on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets or Dumbo the Flying Elephant?
Twitter: Today is National Aviation Day. Will you be flying on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets or Dumbo the Flying Elephant? #disneyside #aviationday
August 20th
Facebook: This or that: Fine dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table or casual dining at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café?
Twitter: Fine dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table or casual dining at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café? #thisorthat #disneydining
August 21st
Facebook: How will you spend your day at the Magic Kingdom?
Twitter: How will you spend your day at the Magic Kingdom? #disney #MagicKingdom #vacation
August 22nd
Facebook: It’s National Tooth Fairy Day. The Fairy Godmother may know the tooth fairy. Come meet her at 3:00 near Cinderella’s Castle.
Twitter: It’s National Tooth Fairy Day. The Fairy Godmother may know her. Come meet her at 3:00 near Cinderella’s Castle. #FairyGodmother #disney
August 23rd
Facebook: Make your evening extra sweet with a decadent dessert party and a dazzling view of the fireworks!
Twitter: Make your evening extra sweet with a decadent dessert party and a dazzling view of the fireworks! #yummy #disney #fireworks
August 24th
Facebook: Whew! It’s a scorcher today. Cool off at the Casey Jr. Splash and Soak Station.
Twitter: Whew! It’s a scorcher today. Cool off at the Casey Jr. Splash and Soak Station. #cooloff #disneyside
August 25th
Facebook: Come for a tour of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, home to ghosts, ghouls, and supernatural surprises…if you dare!
Twitter: Come for a tour of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, home to ghosts, ghouls, and supernatural surprises…if you dare! #hauntedmansion
August 26th
Facebook: This or that: Main Street Electrical Parade or Wishes Nighttime Spectacular?
Twitter: Main Street Electrical Parade or Wishes Nighttime Spectacular? #thisorthat #parade #fireworks
August 27th
Facebook: Step back in time with Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. Did you know that it was created by Walt Disney for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair? https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/walt-disney-carousel-of-progress/
Twitter: Step back in time with Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress, originally created for the 1964-65 New York World Fair. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/walt-disney-carousel-of-progress/#disneytrivia
August 28th
Facebook: Are you brave enough to blast through outer space with Space Mountain?
Twitter: Are you brave enough to blast through outer space with Space Mountain? #disney #spacemountain
August 29th
Facebook: Flashback Friday: The Mad Tea Party opened in 1955 as one of the Magic Kingdom’s original attractions.
Twitter: The Mad Tea Party opened in 1955 as one of the Magic Kingdom’s original attractions. #FlashbackFriday #DisneyHistory
August 30th
Facebook: Bring the whole family on an adventure. You never know who you might run into! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/family-magic-tour/
Twitter: Bring the whole family on an adventure. You never know who you might run into! https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/family-magic-tour/ #disneytour
August 31st
Facebook: Start your Happy Ever After with us. After all, who doesn’t want a fairy tale wedding? https://www.disneyweddings.com/weddings/locations/
Twitter: Start your Happy Ever After with us. After all, who doesn’t want a fairy tale wedding? https://www.disneyweddings.com/weddings/locations/ #disneywedding #happyeverafter
Wow. Now I really want to go to Disney World!
Brand Marketing and IMC: Are You Ready to Stumble?
As a digital marketing professional, my job requires me to keep up to date on the most popular social media channels. I also have to understand if a channel is relevant to my target audience and if so, how I weave that specific social media platform into the brand’s overall integrated marketing strategy. In this post, I will be showcasing the social media platform StumbleUpon and describing how it could positively affect a brand’s overall marketing communications strategy.
What is StumbleUpon? A Social Media Channel?
Like the name suggests, StumbleUpon is a content discovery tool that delivers content based on your specifications (Fee, 2013). For example, if I created a profile and stated that I was interested in science and nature, StumbleUpon would present a variety of articles and websites to me through the StumbleUpon dashboard that are relevant to my interest. Some social media experts think of StumbleUpon as the “Pandora of Web Content” (Chang, 2011). StumbleUpon can also be thought of as a combination of a search engine, social sharing site, and bookmarking site, all in one!
The founders of the site created an algorithm that allows relevant content to be “randomly” selected and placed on a user’s StumbleUpon dashboard. After reviewing the graphic above, you will find out that the article selection is not very “random”, but rather consists of an intricate formula that takes into consideration the user’s past interactions with “random” posts (which includes a thumbs up, thumbs down, or share feature), the sites that the user identifies as relevant to them, and the types of individuals that the user has added as a friend on the site (Chang, 2011).
History of StumbleUpon
Created before social media reached the masses, StumbleUpon has had a rough ride since its creation in 2001 (Chang, 2011). For four years, StumbleUpon remained as a social media start-up. In 2005, a group of investors saw the site’s potential and invested $2.7 million in the company. In 2007, when social media started becoming mainstreem, eBay purchased StumbleUpon from the original founders for $75 million. Just two years later, the original founders bought back StumbleUpon from eBay for $25 million.
In 2011, in an attempt to refocus the site on becoming a recommendation engine, StumbleUpon deleted all user-generated content, including HTML blogging, stand-alone posts, and photoblogs (Chang, 2011). Today, StumbleUpon’s user base consists of very diverse demographic groups has an estimated user base of 10 million individuals (Power Marketing, 2014).
StumbleUpon Features, Functionality, Design and Usability
It is relatively simple to setup a profile and begin “stumbling”. When setting up a free account, you have the option to create a new stand-alone account or to sign-up through Facebook. You are then prompted to select at least five categories that interest you. From there, you are ready to stumble! The site’s integration with Facebook made the set-up process very quick.
When you start stumbling around on the recommended sites, the only real indication that you are on StumbleUpon is the toolbar that is displayed across the top of the page. The first page that I stumbled upon was a craft page that gave instructions on how to cut glass bottles. The page was relevant to my interests so I selected the thumbs-up icon on the StumbleUpon toolbar. When I am ready to move onto a new site, I click on the “Stumble” button.
The site also features a news feed on your homepage, where you can find articles related to your interests. You can also view other stumblers’ profiles and see which posts they give a thumbs-up to.
The site is also very integrated into other social media channels. You have the ability to share any of your stumbles on other social networks. This is important for brands and bloggers alike to consider, as StumbleUpon can become a big traffic driver for your site. Since StumbleUpon became accessible on mobile devices, traffic to the site has increased by 25% (Stelzner, 2013).
Why Should a Brand Care About StumbleUpon?
With StumbleUpon users indexing over 100 million websites, brands need to take advantage of the diverse user audience. Here are the demographics of StumbleUpon’s users:
- 55% are men
- 45% are women
- 5% are between 13 & 17 years old
- 40% are between 18 & 34 years old
- 55% are 35 years old and above
Whether your brand is targeting the 35-55 year old electrical engineer or a 21-34 year old woman interested in DIY projects, chances are StumbleUpon can help get your content in front of your audience (Power Marketing, 2014).
To learn about how your brand can benefit from StumbleUpon, watch my prezi.
Sources:
Chang, S. (2011, October 25). History of StumbleUpon: From Startup to Influential Social Media Site [Infographic]. Retrieved July 07, 2014, from Distilled: https://www.distilled.net/blog/infographics/history-of-stumbleupon-from-startup-to-influential-social-media-network-site-infographic/
Fee, J. (2013, February 27). StumbleUpon: A Beginner’s Guide. Retrieved July 07, 2014, from Mashable: http://mashable.com/2013/02/27/stumbleupon-for-beginners/
Power Marketing. (2014, Janruary 07). CONSIDER STUMBLEUPON AS A SOCIAL MEDIA TOOL. Retrieved July 07, 2014, from Power Marketing: http://www.power-marketing.com/blog/consider-stumbleupon-as-a-social-media-tool/
Stelzner, M. (2013, November 22). StumbleUpon Marketing: How to Drive More Traffic to Your Content. Retrieved July 07, 2014, from Social Media Examiner: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/stumbleupon-marketing-with-nick-robinson/
Catmoji: A Social Media Network Dedicated to Cat Lovers
Over the past several years, industry specific networks and niche social media sites have been created in order to connect people who share the same passions and interests. Because the traditional social media sites like Facebook and Twitter often become noisy and overcrowded, industry specific sites allow users to dive into very specific topics without getting bombarded with off-topic posts (Chaney, 2013). For this week’s post, I will be exploring a new social networking site that is created by cat lovers for cat lovers.
“Cat ladies and men of the Internet: You no longer have to spend hours sifting through YouTube, Imgur, Lolcats, or Tumblr for your daily fix of kitty magic. Now, there’s Catmoji, a Pinterest-style social network solely dedicated to cat pictures, videos, and GIFs for the Internet’s, um, purrverts” (Chaey, 2013).
Who knew that there was a social media platform designed specifically for cat lovers? According to Catmoji’s founders, the site is a “catmunity” where users can share and express their love for cats through posts, videos, and photos. So I admit, I am one of these crazy people who spend my free time watching videos of kittens riding a Roomba. Upon discovering this site, I created an account and started exploring.
One thing about niche social media sites that may make target marketing easy for advertisers is the fact that everyone on the site has a common interest. The target audience for Catmoji is not really confined to a specific demographic group; if you love cats, you’re pretty much the in the target audience. Although the site is still in the beginning stages and doesn’t appear to have any advertisers, it would be very enticing for a cat food brand to want to purchase ad space on the site or create a featured post. After all, the majority of users on the site have at least one cat (some have a GOOD bit more then that!). I think this site could be utilized in combination with proximity marketing. Just imagine traveling by a store that sells specialty cat supplies and Catmoji notifies you when you’re in the vicinity. As a cat lover, I would want to go check out the store. If I was sent a coupon, say for 10% off my purchase, I would really be compelled to visit the store.
The first thing that stood out about Catmoji was the simplicity and usability of the site. After submitting and accepting a request to be added to the site, you are able to create your personal profile, which includes the basic information fields: name, email, username, profile picture, profile description and password. You can then choose your cat avatar and background photo. Similar to Pinterest and Twitter, you are shown several accounts that you can follow (just to get you started). After the basic setup process, you can proceed to view your social feed or create your own posts. In my opinion, the site most closely resembles Pinterest due to the sharing options. The site’s timeline feature, however, closely resembles Facebook.
As far as creating an integrated marketing strategy going forward, Catmoji can spread its arms into other social media sites like YouTube and Instagram in order to drive traffic back to their site. Contests can be created on Instagram and YouTube in order to generate awareness. I think that it would be a good idea to get cat product sponsors for these contests, such as Friskies or Tidy Cats, to not only provide prizes, but to raise awareness for the site.
Catmoji also incorporates social media sign-in options that allow users to sign-in using their existing Twitter or Facebook account. This is important because it shows that the creators of Catmoji understand that the site is not a replacement for the traditional social media sites, but a supplement. Catmoji is not competing with Facebook and Twitter. People use Catmoji for different reasons then they would other social media channels. In fact, Catmoji has a Facebook page that pushes users to sign-up for a Catmoji account. The marketing team for Catmoji is using it’s resources, which includes mostly traditional social media channels, to promote their site. Because of how passionate the audience is about the topic, I feel that Catmoji will be successful and can stand on its own. After all, where else can you see all the “crazy cat ladies” all in one place?
Sources:
Catmoji. (n.d.). Retrieved July 07, 2014, from http://catmoji.com/about/
Chaey, C. (2013, Janruary 04). CATMOJI IS A SOCIAL NETWORK FOR THE INTERNET’S MOST CAT-CRAZED. Retrieved July 07, 2014, from Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/3004486/catmoji-social-network-internets-most-cat-crazed
Chaney, P. (2013, December 04). When It Comes to Social Network Marketing, Niche is the New Black. Retrieved July 07, 2014, from ClickZ: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2316846/when-it-comes-to-social-network-marketing-niche-is-the-new-black
The Social Potter 
