Social Media Mistakes That are Killing Your Brand

Good Morning!

This week I wasn't sure what to talk about or what to look into. Then, BAM, I ran into this article from Entrepreneur.com titled, "8 Social Media Mistakes That Are Killing Your Brand". This are article as a whole was very interesting, so I highly recommend you read it for yourself.


Here are a few of the mistakes that I found most interesting and helpful:

• Number 2 on the list, Not responding appropriately to negative feedback. Oh my word, I totally agree with this. I think a lot of people who are starting a new brand and are new to social media marketing, get this totally messed up. I have seen a lot of people respond to negative feedback in a negative way by going right into defense mode. What I found interesting from the article though is that he mentions to not ignore the negative comment either. Me, personally, a person who avoids confrontation, would have a struggle with this. But I have to admit, it makes sense. Demers explains it by saying, "Rather than avoiding, why not use these situations as opportunities to shine? Respond thoughtfully and promptly to negative comments, and use them as opportunities to showcase your commitment to customer service."

• Number 4 on the list, Being a one-trick pony. When I first read the heading I was like, "What?". But as I read it, I learned that it meant posting the same kind of content over and over again and not changing it up. I think that a lot of people starting a brand or already have an established brand get comfortable. They think that if a method they're using works, why not just stick with it? This ends up hurting the brand because people will get bored and eventually look for something new and relating to new things happening in the world and in society.

• Number 7 on the list, Offering canned responses. This is one is by far my favorite and I truly hope and pray all business owners see this! This means not responding the same to all customers and having a simple generic response to complaints and compliments. I am the type of person that it takes a lot for me to complain or express my opinion on a specific product. So, if I'm reaching out to your company about a product, I expect to be treated in a way that makes me feel like you are listening to me and are taking what I said into consideration. If I sent an e-mail or tweet, I'm not looking for a response that has already been posted on your website, but an answer tailored to me. This can be as simple as using my name in the response.

If your interested in putting your brand on social media, I recommend reading this entire article.

Social Media and The Grammy's

So, besides Pinterest, I am also a lover of music. It's my most favorite thing to keep up with and keep an eye out for, so naturally I had to watch the Grammy's last Sunday. It was an awesome show full of great performances, awesome speeches, and fabulous fashion. While watching the Grammy's though, I did find myself going on Twitter and Instagram during commercial breaks to see behind the scenes stuff from celebrity accounts and to just see what people were saying about different wins and performances. In that one night I found myself starting to follow celebrities I hadn't followed before on Instagram like Meghan Trainor and John Legend. I ran into this article on AdWeek.com titled "Did the Grammy Awards Give Nominees a Social Media Bump?" When I first read the title I thought, of course it did! Everyone is suddenly going to be a fan of the winners and want to follow who they are and their music! This article said that it didn't. At least not for big winning celebrities like Sam Smith. On the website they posted this infograph showing some stats recorded by StatSocial:

The data that was collected showed that the big winner Sam Smith didn't grow much on social media but other new artists who were nominated for Record of the Year got a big increase over Grammy Weekend. I find it so interesting how that happened. I wonder if it's because people didn't know who these artists were and were curious? Or maybe they are mad that a particular artist didn't win and decided to comment on it? Either way, it's fun to see that even for music awards, social media still has a great affect on artists and the industry. The more people follow them or tweet about them, the greater chances they might just have to make an even more successful album in the future.

Pinterest Turning Pins Into Profit?

Hi there!

Just as a little intro, I'm Khaeris, and currently enrolled in a Social Media Marketing course. This blog, while a requirement for my course, will consist of things that are current, or out of curiosity to me, in relation to social media and marketing of course. 

Okay, so for those who know me, knows I am totally OBSESSED with Pinterest. As I take my Social Media Marketing class, I can't help to think of Pinterest and how exactly they work when it comes to making money and such. If I could get paid to pin, I totally would. Or to even get "Pinterest Famous" would be completely awesome! So with that, I naturally had to Google "Pinterest Profit". I ran into this article and video clip on CNN titled, "Pinterest's Joanne Bradford Talks Turning Pins Into Profits" In the article Joanne Bradford, Head of Pinterest Partnerships, spoke about what Pinterest does and how it can become a powerful marketing tool. In this article Bradford mentions how the company is working on making "promoted pins" as a form of advertising. She says, 

"The thing is, Pinterest allows a brand to be who they are—it's not just about re-targeting. It's about being where (people) are doing those things, like planning a trip, redoing your house, rebuilding a motor cycle," she said. "We think we've got real intent and signal to help a marketer."

 Although advertising is an important thing, I think Pinterest's view on it is more on focusing on how it will help people and influence their everyday lives, rather then just throwing stuff in randomly, which I find refreshing. In the article Bradford mentioned how her daughter saw Crock-Pot recipes on Pinterest that motivated her into buying one and using the recipes she found. I find myself in the same situation all the time, and as much as I hate to admit it, depending on the source of the idea, if the person who mentioned to project says a specific brand to use, I tend to buy it so I have a grater chance of it coming out properly. So far, I haven't seen many promoted pins on Pinterest yet, but I have a feeling it'll be a great tool for brands such as KitchenAid for baking and Crayola for arts and crafts. As long as they keep it relateable and not super thrown in your face, I see it being super beneficial for such companies.