Social Media Marketing course at Clark University Blog. In this class we are exploring new advances in technologies through Social Media and how companies are adapting new marketing strategies to keep up with today's consumer needs and wants via Social Media.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Social Media Marketing Monitoring Assignment
I chose to do my Social Media Marketing assignment on TravelZoo. According to Wikipedia, Travelzoo is a discounted travel sight. You can go to Travelzoo and sign up for a weekly email with the Top20 travel deals of the week. This deals are extremely inexpensive but the catch is they tend to be last minute. TravelZoo has a Twitter page http://twitter.com/Travelzoo According to TravelZoo Twitter the following are their stats.
TravelZoo Annual ReportAccording to Forbes in 2006 TravelZoo was heading on the up and up
The 200 Best Small Companies
#6 Travelzoo
10.12.06, 6:00 PM ET
The 200 Best Small Companies
#6 Travelzoo
10.12.06, 6:00 PM ET
| CONSECUTIVE YEARS ON 200 BEST 2 ( 2005 RANK 3 ) Travelzoo ( TZOO ) operates Internet-based travel search engine. INDUSTRY Other Consumer Services 590 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 phone: 212-521-4200 http://www.travelzoo.com/ |
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"Tired of scouring the Internet for the best travel deals? Let Travelzoo's global team of deal experts do the research for you. Travelzoo researches and evaluates hundreds of deals, selecting only the best to endorse and publish."
The following YoutTube video shows you the ins and outs of TravelZoo and what you can expect from their services. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikxxa6UEUIQ
In this economy everyone enjoys a great deal. Forrester Research http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/us_leisure_travel_sale_seekers_are_on/q/id/53221/t/2 that when the economy had a landslide the travel business went right along with it. Travelzoo is a great place to land a deal but as mentioned before the site may not be for the planner since most deals are last minute and will not give you a ton of notice. The con would be for someone who does not have a flexible employer where you need to give at least a month or two notice at your employer. However, the deal is not always that you need to travel within the month but you do need to book within a week and then travel within the next three months and I found a lot of the deals to be during the week or when you go onto to the site to book you may find that they are already sold out. But TravelZoo is certainly worth the money and give you a chance to stay at a hotel or resort you might not be able to afford any other time of year.
TravelZoo currently uses Trackur –" more concerned about your online reputation? Or perhaps you are a little more cost-conscious, then Trackur might be what the doctor ordered. With over 16,000 clients including Travel Zoo and Fly.com, Trackur is an online reputation & social media monitoring tool designed to assist you in tracking what is said about you on the internet. Trackur scans hundreds of millions of web pages–including news, blogs, video, images, and forums–and lets you know if it discovers anything that matches the keywords that interest you. Prices range from a mere $18/month to $300/month. Developed by reputation management and SEO expert Andy Beal, this is a great little tools for monitoring your social media presence."
From the Founder – "What is a recommended deal?"
Dear Internet user:
Thank you for visiting Travelzoo today! Our mission is to bring you the best recommended travel deals from the best companies. – What is a "recommended travel deal?" When we at Travelzoo publish and recommend deals to our 20 million travel subscribers, we apply the most demanding quality standards.
- We never recommend a travel deal that we wouldn't book ourselves.
- We have our Test Booking Center® research every Top 20® deal before we publish it.
- We are independent in our reviews.
If you like Travelzoo, please recommend us to your family and friends.
Happy Travels!
Ralph Bartel, Ph.D.
Founder
Founder
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Original Post #2
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/27/cnet.iphone.jailbreaking/index.html
This "jailbreaking" of the Iphone made me think of the warning before each DVD or any type of movie we watch has a message stating the strict penalties we can receive if we have any type of copyright infringement on that movie. It seems with new technologies that laws have yet to be established because these devices and/or are so new that laws are not keeping up with the tech advances.
Does anyone have any ideas on how lawmakers can create and keep up with the fast paced technology boom?
This "jailbreaking" of the Iphone made me think of the warning before each DVD or any type of movie we watch has a message stating the strict penalties we can receive if we have any type of copyright infringement on that movie. It seems with new technologies that laws have yet to be established because these devices and/or are so new that laws are not keeping up with the tech advances.
Does anyone have any ideas on how lawmakers can create and keep up with the fast paced technology boom?
Monday, July 26, 2010
Original Post #1
This article is really interesting and definitely a key component to what we are learning in class. http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/marketings-forgotten-sense/
It got me thinking how many times I have had songs in my head stuck for hours because of the last commercial I had heard or television commercial. Then I continue singing them and pass them on to a friend and they always seem to say "Why did you get that song stuck in my head" because usually the song is catchy or very annoying yet you can't stop singing along until it disappears. I think this article touches on a great point and after reading it I am noticing more advertisers using songs these days. One that comes to mind is the Apple Ipod song 1, 2, 3, 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qP79rRzzh4 A virtually unknown artist to me yet every time I had the song in my head I eventually googled this song and found the name of the singer and now the song is on my ipod! Absolutely brilliant marketing on Apple's part.
This made me envy Apple's Marketing department and let's face it when you have a great product the Marketing isn't as difficult but still they do it to to perfection. According to Marketing Minds Apple uses a halo effect which in layman's terms is "Apple hoped that the popularity of iPod and iTunes among these new groups of customers would cause these segments to be interested in Apple's computer products. This does seem to have happened. Since the take-off of the iPod there has been a dramatic rise in Apple's computer sales and market share."
When Apple puts out great products and great support then customer's respect their brands a lot more than if they had a so-so product and alright support. Their company, products and marketing is top notch and they are confident they have clinched the marketplace with good reason.
Remember seeing the commercial for the Apple Macintosh 1984? Well I remember being in elementary school and going into the computer lab and being so amazed at the technology and look of this machine i have never seen in my life. Fast forward to 2001 when Apple launched the Ipod http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqLs. Steve Jobs "Music has been around forever and is not going away" "People trust the Apple brand".
Since working at Bose in 2002 I have been trained and taught about great technologies in music but I have to say the Bose SoundDock changed the company drastically for the better and this is because of an Apple Ipod. We were able to come out with a product that was actually in the market and doing so well we were able to piggyback on this technology.
This is why I am starting marketing communications and product marketing. I am simply fascinated with emerging technologies and new products. I understand not all products will be the next Ipad
but with great ideas and social media you can market a product and service and understand what it is people want out there and then take their suggestions and make it happen.
It got me thinking how many times I have had songs in my head stuck for hours because of the last commercial I had heard or television commercial. Then I continue singing them and pass them on to a friend and they always seem to say "Why did you get that song stuck in my head" because usually the song is catchy or very annoying yet you can't stop singing along until it disappears. I think this article touches on a great point and after reading it I am noticing more advertisers using songs these days. One that comes to mind is the Apple Ipod song 1, 2, 3, 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qP79rRzzh4 A virtually unknown artist to me yet every time I had the song in my head I eventually googled this song and found the name of the singer and now the song is on my ipod! Absolutely brilliant marketing on Apple's part.
When Apple puts out great products and great support then customer's respect their brands a lot more than if they had a so-so product and alright support. Their company, products and marketing is top notch and they are confident they have clinched the marketplace with good reason.
Remember seeing the commercial for the Apple Macintosh 1984? Well I remember being in elementary school and going into the computer lab and being so amazed at the technology and look of this machine i have never seen in my life. Fast forward to 2001 when Apple launched the Ipod http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqLs. Steve Jobs "Music has been around forever and is not going away" "People trust the Apple brand".
Since working at Bose in 2002 I have been trained and taught about great technologies in music but I have to say the Bose SoundDock changed the company drastically for the better and this is because of an Apple Ipod. We were able to come out with a product that was actually in the market and doing so well we were able to piggyback on this technology.
This is why I am starting marketing communications and product marketing. I am simply fascinated with emerging technologies and new products. I understand not all products will be the next Ipad
but with great ideas and social media you can market a product and service and understand what it is people want out there and then take their suggestions and make it happen.
Maybe Disney knew something we didn't........
After reading this article on NPR.org.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/07/23/128724338/happy-people-researchers-pinpoint-where-the-smiles-and-frowns-are-using-twitter
There are so many great attributes to the Sunshine State this video will add to the ambiance Florida brings already. I have wondered why Disney chose Florida as his site for one of the most magical places on earth.....maybe he realized that Florida had one of the happiest mindsets out there of all the other states here in the US or maybe it was because of the weather.....What I do know is that that Florida is on my list of places to retire when the time comes. (well at least 6 months out of the year anyway :P).
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/07/23/128724338/happy-people-researchers-pinpoint-where-the-smiles-and-frowns-are-using-twitter
There are so many great attributes to the Sunshine State this video will add to the ambiance Florida brings already. I have wondered why Disney chose Florida as his site for one of the most magical places on earth.....maybe he realized that Florida had one of the happiest mindsets out there of all the other states here in the US or maybe it was because of the weather.....What I do know is that that Florida is on my list of places to retire when the time comes. (well at least 6 months out of the year anyway :P).
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Reading Response #2
Chapter 9-This chapter made me think When I started working at Bose I was on the phone taking customer calls and we would often have customers call in and give ideas about what they liked for the products but they also wanted to share their thoughts and ideas. We would document these ideas through an online tool and these ideas would then go to the product marketing groups. Some ideas seemed great and others not so much. But what was great was listening to the customers and hearing their enthusiasm and energy because someone was actually listening to them. Just by letting customers feel that their ideas are being heard creates a buzz to them and they will share this with their friends and family. This sharing builds the trust and gains confidence from customers.
Chapter 10- I remember the Dover- real beauty campaign. I have always used Dove products because that is what my mother bought in the house growing up....but I remember thinking how unique this campaign was and how the woman in the campaign were so brave to show their skin in all different shapes and sizes. It made me feel re-assured as a customer and i thought Wow after all these years my mom was right! (and growing up she always said I would grow and agree with her some day! :))
Chapter 10- I remember the Dover- real beauty campaign. I have always used Dove products because that is what my mother bought in the house growing up....but I remember thinking how unique this campaign was and how the woman in the campaign were so brave to show their skin in all different shapes and sizes. It made me feel re-assured as a customer and i thought Wow after all these years my mom was right! (and growing up she always said I would grow and agree with her some day! :))
Reading Response #1
What I really enjoyed in Chapter 7 of Groundswell was the conversation of word-of-mouth marketing. The impact this can have on a business and organization is huge. Take for instance recently when I overheard some people talking about a restaurant in Westborough. They were saying how much they wanted to try this place and they heard some good things about it and some so-so things about it. But they went on to and realized they would go with the reviews of customers instead. They were shaky to try the restaurant but decided since the reviews had a some good things they would try it out anyway and they stayed away from the food that was given negative ratings. Also mentioned in Groundswell the cost effectiveness of the strategy.
In Chapter 8 I really related to the Tech Support forums because I work at Bose Corporation in Framingham but more importantly I used to work in the Product and Technical Support group. As mentioned in Groundswell supporting customers live is extremely expensive however it saves many sales and gives customer the feeling of being helped and the makes them appreciates the company and better yet knows the support is there in the long run.....
In Chapter 8 I really related to the Tech Support forums because I work at Bose Corporation in Framingham but more importantly I used to work in the Product and Technical Support group. As mentioned in Groundswell supporting customers live is extremely expensive however it saves many sales and gives customer the feeling of being helped and the makes them appreciates the company and better yet knows the support is there in the long run.....
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Varieties of Social Mediums
Communication
• Blogs: Blogger, LiveJournal, Open Diary, TypePad, WordPress, Vox, ExpressionEngine, Xanga
• Micro-blogging / Presence applications: FMyLife, Jaiku, Plurk, Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, Yammer, Qaiku, Foursquare
• Live-blogging: CoverItLive
• Social networking: Facebook, MySpace, Cyworld
• Events: Upcoming, Eventbrite, Eventful, Meetup.com,
Collaboration
• Wikis: Wikimedia, Wikia, PBworks, Wetpaint
• Social bookmarking (or social tagging):[8] Delicious, StumbleUpon, Google Reader, CiteULike
• Social news: Digg, Mixx, Reddit, NowPublic
Multimedia
• Photography and art sharing: deviantArt, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug, Zooomr
• Video sharing: YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, sevenload
• Livecasting: Ustream.tv, Justin.tv, Stickam, Skype, OpenCU, Livestream
• Music and audio sharing: MySpace Music, The Hype Machine, Last.fm, ccMixter, ShareTheMusic, ReverbNation
• Presentation sharing: scribd, SlideShare
Reviews and opinions
• Product reviews: epinions.com, MouthShut.com
• Business reviews: Customer Lobby, yelp.com
• Community Q&A: Yahoo! Answers, WikiAnswers, Askville, Google Answers
Entertainment
• Media and entertainment platforms: Cisco Eos
• Virtual worlds: [Active Worlds], Second Life, The Sims Online, Forterra
• Game sharing: Miniclip, Kongregate
Brand monitoring
• Social media monitoring: Attensity Voice of the Customer, Attensity360, Sysomos Heartbeat, Statsit
• Social media analytics: Sysomos MAP
• Blogs: Blogger, LiveJournal, Open Diary, TypePad, WordPress, Vox, ExpressionEngine, Xanga
• Micro-blogging / Presence applications: FMyLife, Jaiku, Plurk, Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, Yammer, Qaiku, Foursquare
• Live-blogging: CoverItLive
• Social networking: Facebook, MySpace, Cyworld
• Events: Upcoming, Eventbrite, Eventful, Meetup.com,
Collaboration
• Wikis: Wikimedia, Wikia, PBworks, Wetpaint
• Social bookmarking (or social tagging):[8] Delicious, StumbleUpon, Google Reader, CiteULike
• Social news: Digg, Mixx, Reddit, NowPublic
Multimedia
• Photography and art sharing: deviantArt, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug, Zooomr
• Video sharing: YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, sevenload
• Livecasting: Ustream.tv, Justin.tv, Stickam, Skype, OpenCU, Livestream
• Music and audio sharing: MySpace Music, The Hype Machine, Last.fm, ccMixter, ShareTheMusic, ReverbNation
• Presentation sharing: scribd, SlideShare
Reviews and opinions
• Product reviews: epinions.com, MouthShut.com
• Business reviews: Customer Lobby, yelp.com
• Community Q&A: Yahoo! Answers, WikiAnswers, Askville, Google Answers
Entertainment
• Media and entertainment platforms: Cisco Eos
• Virtual worlds: [Active Worlds], Second Life, The Sims Online, Forterra
• Game sharing: Miniclip, Kongregate
Brand monitoring
• Social media monitoring: Attensity Voice of the Customer, Attensity360, Sysomos Heartbeat, Statsit
• Social media analytics: Sysomos MAP
Wikileaks from NPR.com
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128485967&ft=1&f=1001
I thought this story would be a great post to chat about. This site in a nutshell "The website Wikileaks publishes secret documents submitted by anonymous sources and makes them available to the public. The site, which went public in January 2007 has been compared to Daniel Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971."
I thought this story would be a great post to chat about. This site in a nutshell "The website Wikileaks publishes secret documents submitted by anonymous sources and makes them available to the public. The site, which went public in January 2007 has been compared to Daniel Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971."
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