Social media

Election 2012: The Good, Annoying and Funny moments

November 6, 2012 By DanaJ 1 Comment

For months, the talk has been the 2012 election. From debates, to criticism to super Republicans who hate Obamacare, Clint Eastwood talking to a chair, and super Democrats who call Mitt Romney “Mittens” and even Jay Z incorporating Mitt Romney into his “99 Problems song“. Everyone has an opinion One major thing that both campaign used to help get the word out has to be marketing. Social media has been a huge part of both campaign strategies. Below are a few of my favorite and not so favorite marketing efforts from both campaigns and fun election chatter across the web:

- Mitt Romeny VP announcement via app:

I know that I blogged about this before, but I really liked the strategic way that Mitt Romney announced his VP. By announcing it first on his app he built excitement, acquired email addresses and started his movement from there. Thinking back on it, the app is how he acquired my email address in the first place.

{from MittRomney.com}

- Email Messaging from both campaigns

Both campaigns use email marketing to keep voters informed and ask for money. Ask is a loose definition of what they do. Sometimes the email messaging is rather annoying because both campaigns send multiple emails in a day. From the Romney campaign, I have received emails from Mitt Romney’s sons, Paul Ryan, staff workers, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney, Beyonce and Sarah Jessica Parker. Honestly, I got way more emails than I could read. I averaged about 1 a week for each campaign, if that. Great information, but borderline annoying to receive communication so frequently.

- Promoted Tweets

Both campaigns have used a series of promoted tweets. During the VP announcement on a Saturday Mitt Romney used it. Today, the Obama campaign utilizes a Promoted trend:

-Paul Ryan Gosling Twitter

Not sure who is behind the Paul Ryan Gosling Twitter account. The aRomney/Ryan campaign policies especially the policies surrounding women’s health. Occasionally there are some quirky/funny and not too offensive one-liners that come through on my timeline:

Hey girl, Jay-Z has 99 problems, but a doofus zealot in a backwards red hat ain't one.

November 6, 2012 2:24 am via Mobile Web ReplyRetweetFavorite

@PaulRyanGosling

Paul Ryan Gosling

- YouTube

While I didn’t find any of the campaign videos too exciting, there were some pretty funny campaign related videos like these:

Four year old is tired of hearing about politicians:

Epic rap battle: Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama

SNL parody of the 1st debate featuring Jay Pharoah as Barack Obama (Jay Pharoah rocks. Period)

Big Bird on SNL

Happy Election Day everyone! I took advantage of early voting last week:

from Instagram

If you are in Georgia, stay dry

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: apps, election 2012, marketing, promoted tweets, Social media, youtube

Making it Personal at Blogalicious 2012

October 9, 2012 By DanaJ 1 Comment

During the last weekend in September, I had the pleasure of attending Blogalicious. I’ve been thinking all week of the perfect words to describe the experience. This was my first time ever attending a blog conference out of state. I enjoyed every minute of the trip. Being surrounded by a supportive community of people and brands who “get it” was pure inspiration. I’m sorry that this post took so long. I keep thinking about how great Blogalicious was and I’m seriously at a loss for words. Everyone was nice and friendly. The sponsors were great and offered information about their products and services. I really enjoyed how they welcomed the opportunity to work with bloggers. Here are a few of my favorite moments:

1. Let’s Play Playground Beautification Blogger Field Trip

A few of us bloggers got up early and headed to Walter Bracken Elementary in Las Vegas as a community service project. There, we all took on a task to help make the school look a little bit better. The field trip was sponsored by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.

Before photo of the wall I worked on.

After photo with my painting partner Meredith. It’s supposed to be Little Foot of the Land Before Time series.

Does it look like him?

2. Bowling for more birthdays with American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society sponsored us for bowling in the VIP lanes at Red Rock Resort. There, we bowled for “More Birthdays” campaign in support of cancer.

Me with my Monster’s Inc. bowling ball. I bowled for my Grandparents and Uncle Dan. All three died from cancer.

3. Ross Dress for Less

During Blogalicious, Ross set up a style suite for us! I enjoyed styling my outfit with shoes and accessories from Ross and talking with their team.

4. Doug E. Fresh!

During our last night at the conference, Gain Get Fresh sponsored a party for us with a special performance by Doug E. Fresh. I have to admit, before the concert I knew who Doug E. Fresh was and I’d heard his music but I couldn’t put a name to the songs. Doug E. Fresh has been sampled by Notorious BIG (Hypnotize) and more recently Beyonce (Party). Hearing him perform “La Di Da Di” live and watching him do the Dougie made my night

5. My hotel suite

The first night I arrived at the hotel, a non smoking room was not available. So, I ended up in a 2,000 sq. foot+ suite by myself. It was a perfect way to start my time in Vegas. It’s an experience that deserves its own post altogether

I’ve finally sorted out all of the swag we got and my world is slowly returning to normal. More on Blogalicious, and what’s happening in my life soon.

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: blogalicious, bloggers, conference, diet pepper snapple group, doug e. fresh, gain, las vegas, ross dress for less, Social media

Mitt Romney’s Big Social Media Announcement

August 11, 2012 By DanaJ 1 Comment

At 7am this morning, Mitt Romney announced his running mate Paul Ryan via app:

{from MittRomney.com}

Around 7:45 am EST, Mitt Romney announced his running mate via Promoted Tweet on Twitter:

{from Twitter}

3 Reasons why I think this strategy wins:

1. It makes you want to download the app.

Even people who aren’t Romney fans want to know who he picks. Announcing it via app forces everyone to download it. As soon as the app loads, it prompts for a login via MyMitt (an account you can register for on his website) or you can simply login via Facebook. I will admit that I downloaded. Just to see what it looked like. I say well done! The app allows you to login, give donations and Like/Follow Mitt across other social media platforms.

2. Romney will dominate the social media sphere all weekend

The campaign hashtag, #RomneyRyan2012 and Paul Ryan’s name both happen to be trending already. Terms like “America’s Comeback Team”, “Mitt VP”, “Joe Biden” and “Medicare” are floating near the top as well. For a Saturday morning, those are pretty deep topics.

3. Romney will dominate the news on Monday

Of course, since this announcement has been anticipated for a while, Romney will dominate the news Monday. By not announcing the running mate Friday, he has guaranteed himself prime Monday morning news mentions and print editions.

Early this week, Mashable posted an article about how Wikipedia pages are a key indicator in the selection for VP. Mashable states that last minute edits happen before the big announcement so that individuals searching for information can find credible relevant facts via Wikipedia. Being a Wikipedia editor, I checked the last few edits of Paul Ryan’s page to see.

Over the last few days, his page has seen over 200 edits from different contributors. Each contributor must be a registered member because his page is protected by Wikipedia. That means, experienced Wikipedia editors have been updating his page to reflect accurate and factual info. Some could be affiliated with the campaign. Some may not. Edits are still rapidly happening because this is a current event.

Ironically, Mitt Romney hasn’t updated his Facebook page about the announcement at all:

{From Facebook}

He hasn’t updated his Facebook since August 5th. I wonder when his Facebook fans will find out the news? Monday morning or later today? Interesting how he posted it on Twitter, but not Facebook. I believe that the campaign recognizes how the information will spread via Twitter, but it can’t go anywhere that can be monitored on Facebook. Interesting strategy?

Do you have the Mitt Romney app? It’s actually pretty cool.

Are you following the presidential campaigns?

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: app, facebook, mitt romney, paul ryan, promoted tweet, Social media, social media strategy, Twitter, wikipedia

Get Noticed In A Noisy World

July 16, 2012 By DanaJ 2 Comments

I just finished Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt. If you follow me on Twitter, or happen to be my Facebook friend then you know that I read Michael Hyatt’s blog consistently. He has great information about leadership, publishing and social media. I also get his posts delivered by email everyday! When I found out about his latest book, I knew that I wanted to read it. The title alone draws you in!

{via}

I purchased the Kindle edition of the book. Lately, that’s the most effective way to ensure that I actually finish reading books. I almost always have my iPad with me and I use the Kindle app to read during long trips, when I wake up and when I go to bed. This book was well worth every penny! In it, Michael tells you exactly how/why he built up his “brand” online. He gives lots of detailed information about advertising and how to grow your following. I love his writing style! It’s positive, informative and he seems like a laid back person. The advice is not specific to a particular industry but more tailored to the business of “people”. I really appreciate his candor. Sometimes, I feel like professionals don’t want to tell you how they “made it” or got where they are professionally. I enjoyed reading about how Michael is open to sharing that journey and helping the rest of the world embark on it to. I also appreciate how he shared information about many other books, blogs and authors for us to check out on the topic. The Resource section in the back of the book is overflowing with information.

Who should read Platform?

I think that if you work in Marketing, Public Relations or Social Media this book should be required reading. There are so many things that you aren’t doing and probably don’t know how in these fields and Michael Hyatt breaks them down. If you want to start a blog, or build your social media platforms professionally I highly recommend reading this book!

If you are interested in purchasing the book, here it is on Amazon.

Want more opinions on the book? Here is a list of sites with reviews.

What are you reading this summer?

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: blog, book review, leadership, michael hyatt, Platform, Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World, publishing, reading, review, Social media

W is for Wendy’s

April 30, 2012 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

Late last year I started following the Girl Behind Six campaign that Wendys created. When thinking of W, that’s the first thing that came to my mind: Wendy’s. The funny thing is, the Girl Behind Six campaign was created to promote Wendy’s newest burger called The “W”. The “W” would become Meal #6 on the Wendy’s menu. There comes the name, Girl Behind Six. How perfect!

Here’s a photo of the burger:

{from Wendy’s website which is pretty and full of fresh food photos}

It was suspenseful because for weeks no one knew who the Girl Behind Six was. They also heavily promoted the campaign with Sponsored tweets, and a promoted trend campaign.

It’s... Wendy’s! Who guessed it?!?!

November 15, 2011 1:51 am via webReply RetweetFavorite

@GirlBehindSix

Girl Behind Six

The big reveal by Wendys

The campaign was a “140 game show” with giveaways and all. I thought this was a great idea. It kept my attention for weeks following and wondering who in the world is Girl Behind Six. I think Wendy’s did a great job generating buzz. I know this campaign ended in November 2011. The only thing is, I had no clue what the campaign was about until I went to research the blog. I thought it was just to promote Wendy’s, build buzz and create excitement about their brand. I didn’t know it was to promote a burger. The burger is a pretty important part of the campaign, true, but the brand recognition matters as well. I think Wendy’s did a great job on that front. The campaign impact:

- Recently, Wendy’s was announced the #2 burger restaurant after McDonald’s beating Burger King for the first time since Wendy’s opened in 1969.

- The campaign generated 33,000 followers within a month of conception

- The campaign generated 500,000+ consumer behaviors

Here’s a cool video about the campaign that I found on Vimeo if you are interested in learning more.

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: atozchallenge, girl behind six, Social media