Author: sgonzalp

Reflecting on social media, PR, and blogging

A reflection on all things social media and PR…..

 

As a millennial I have grown up with the ever-evolving social media platforms. It seems like an easy task for brands to be able to hire someone to be their social media- savvy manager today. I mean social savviness is a skill most of us possess. However, it my opinion I feel like many people are ignorant to the permanence of their social media presence. many people don’t know how to utilize their presence in social to benefit themselves. I feel like many kids don’t understand the permanence of the internet and the fact that what they grow up posting on Facebook and Youtube will be around to haunt them as college graduates looking for jobs. On the flip side social media is a great way to position yourself in your desired work field, on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. Through my recent social media for PR class I learned so many new and effective ways to interact with professionals on Twitter. I had no idea how many successful individuals were fully utilizing Twitter, when it first came out I thought it was just something celebrities did. While I have had a Twitter account before the class, I used it more for friend connections. Now that I have learned how to interact on Twitter and have a better understanding of what to look for and who to look for I have a whole new perspective on my Twitter mission. However, social media is always changing and highly competitive. I am reminded of this when I check my Facebook and notice the constant changes on my newsfeed. Some changes I like, and others I could live without. Yet, I always adjust because in the world of social media that is what we consumers do. While I feel comfortable networking on Twitter and Facebook. The area of blogging I learned this semester is something that is still new to me. As an adult I know very littler bloggers, besides my fellow classmates. While I have met many in the career fields I have interned at, I haven’t found many personal bloggers I know. My blogging preference would be to find a platform that is super user friendly and a topic I could never ever get tired of blogging about. In my opinion the Word Press site we used this semester was pretty straight forward. I believe picking a layout was the most difficult part of the entire process. I think as a student I feel vulnerable blogging and a little insecure. I mean I am only an expert is certain areas and being that I am still in school PR is not one of them. So to really sit back and take note of brand social media efforts this semester taught me a lot about what to look forward to in a career field based on public reputation. Some brands have even reached back out to me this semester and I thought that was amazing! It also reminded me how visible you become as a blogger/tweeter. I feel like there is great potential in this field of blogging. And I am going to take my baby steps and accomplishments this semester in stride. I hope to continue to blog and further understand the process of public reputation online. I hope to continue to learn. And I hope that the information I have learned throughout this class will allow me to further myself online. The world of PR is also an area I am not an expert in…yet. But I have learned a lot of many online do’s and don’ts that would be a PR agencies worst nightmare. All the companies I have looked at have great a great PR presence online and I am sure the social media blogger and PR director work close by in many of these offices. Overall, social media will continue to change on me and I will continue to adjust. Additionally, blogging is a little out of my comfort zone but I am getting the hang of it, and actual like it. Finally, PR can be a difficult job when social media isn’t utilized the right way.

Thanks for reading one last reflection on this class.

Until we meet again…

What I have learned about brand efforts and social media connections

Wow, I can’t believe a semester is about to pass me by already! It has been interesting getting accustomed to managing and posting on a blog for the purposes of school. Through this semester I have learned about bloggers and blogging and must admit I was a little nervous to embark upon this journey of blogging. We also talked a lot about the positive and negative aspects of using the internet  for branding purposes such as public relations. The big takeaway I have gained from class is that brands can get in a lot of trouble if they don’t effectively manage their social media sites. I  am sure if you are a reader of this blog you have noticed that I keep it pretty positive throughout the majority of my content. This being my first blog and a learning experience, I decided to play it safe on my personal opinion stating. Not to say that the brands I featured had problems I didn’t discus, but more to say that I picked brands who I assumed would have effective content already in place. That being said, I just want everyone to know I am conscious of this and feel like it was an appropriate decision being that I am student with a lot to learn about the world of brand and social still.

However, after taking a semester-long look at various brands and their social-media strategies I have come to gain a better understanding of what it takes to successfully run a company blog, Twitter, Instagram account, and Facebook page. These social media sites, as well as others, like Pinterest and Tumblr, are great sources for creating a reputation amongst large audiences. Audiences that already actively engage in social media on their own time and very valuable when they engage with the brand on their own time as well. And the brands I have looked at this semester have been smart to follow through with these type of connections. From fashion brands like Steve Madden, stores like Nordstrom, and food companies like Lays there has not been one dull brand I have looked through this semester.  Each brand brought their own unique style and character to the social space. And each brand has taught me more about what it takes to generate audience interaction.

I have found common ways brands interact on Twitter, tweeting blog links, or company page links. Making sure they tweet during current events, hashtag usage, Facebook and Instagram linked tweets, and unique twitter pics. I also noticed the reoccurring retweets and other twitter accounts being tweeted from the company page. Rotating through these content methods on Twitter can help brands gain an engaging twitter following and hopefully generate follower retweets, favorites, and @replies. Every brand should have a Twitter account, no questions asked!

The commonalities I have found through Facebook pages is that most of the content is similar to Twitter. There is the same concept of posting links and pictures, as well as, posting their tweets. The Facebook page “likes” are unique to the social media site because it allows friends to see what other pages the brand likes, which could be brother or sister companies. For instance there is Dominos UK and Dominos Australia liked on the Dominos Facebook page. Once a Facebook user gains access to a page, like Dominos, they are able to see all the other pages Domino’s likes at the top of the page. I believe that Facebook isn’t as interactive as Twitter for brands, but feel that it is a great platform to inform large audiences with through posting, linking, and pictures.

  

Instagram is a photo based social media site that is more new to brands. I believe it has proved most effective for fashion brands that have more of an aesthetic appeal to them. However, food-porn is huge right now on Instagram and there is defiantly a place for food brands to begin utilizing here. Since this site is still a little new territory for many brands, it is fair to say that the fashion brands are paving the way amongst Instgram. Pictures are a key factor in advertising and online selling so the potential for brand building through Instagram is huge. Instagram is more limited on brand interactions and allows for posting, liking and commenting. The lack of writing and emphasis on the visual makes IG a fresh option in comparison to Twitter and Facebook.

  

However, the most unique way for a brand to engage and inform consumers by far is their own blog site. This is the platform that allows brands to create a style from top to bottom with their own discretion and appeal. This is where brands are allowed to be creative again, and create an online style that accents their brand image. Company blogs are by far the most interesting and intriguing to browse through. To name a few Steve Madden, Lays, and Whole Foods all maintain blogs that uniquely complement their brand image. There are also many links to the other social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Blog posts unique to current events and the brand are great ways to engage the consumer, Steve Madden’s emphasis on concert looks is such a hip way to intertwine this concept.

 

Overall I have looked through many brands and found many similarities on how to connect. I have learned that every brand has content unique to its own style and maintains a different following. While utilizing every social media medium is essential to gain a decent outreach, there is a necessity for company blogs more personal to their brand. Blogs are a great way to really tie all the pieces together from Facebook, Twitter, and Instgram. I hope to continue to blog after this class and continue to follow the bloggers who I have come to love. I also have a newfound respect for band efforts through social and hope that one day soon I can gain first hand knowledge of this process in my own career. Good luck to my fellow social media for PR bloggers and I hope that brands continue to engage us through social.

 

Until we meet again!

Dominos Twitter and Facebook Page Continuously Engages Audiences

Hello fellow bloggers. I’ve realized that I haven’t covered a good social-media food campaign for sometime on my blog and thought what better company to feature than the revitalized Dominos brand. Recently, Dominos took their pizza brand and centered their campaign around their customers, specifically customers who were not satisfied with their pizza. This was a daring move for a company that had already established success on a large scale. This campaign spoke to me specifically because it told me that Dominos cares about what I think and what I have to say about their products. This is why brands invest time and innovation in social because they want to be able to speak to their audiences, and interact with the people their business values the most. I thought that Dominos would be a great brand to focus on within the social-space, specifically their Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

The Twitter page for Dominos pizzais home to 22, 218 tweets, 169, 760 followers, and follows 12, 856 accounts. The pizza account hosts many mouth-watering twitter pictures accompanied by catchy tweets. Pizza-centric hashtags the account utilizes include #dominosdelivery #lavacakes #ovenbakedsandwiches #panpizza and #pizzaparty, to name a few. Other hashtags the company uses, that are more Twitter-friendly, are #thatsjusthowweroll , #winning, #humpday and #notachance. Besides catchy hashtags the company’s Twitter account is actively used and maintains a variety of tweets. I noticed that Dominos tweets about 2-3 times a day, impressively including the weekends. It seems that Twitter never sleeps so the fact that the company is still actively posting during the weekend is helpful to making connections, but also helpful in reminding users that Dominos is their best pizza option during the weekend. I also noted a number of retweets, @replys, twitter pictures, and informative tweets including pizza deals. The Dominos twitter account seems to effortlessly navigate the Twitter realm.

  

Next I went to check-out the Dominos Facebook page which is very similar to their Twitter postings. Their Facebook page is home to 8, 159, 321 likes. The page has tons of likes including fellow Dominos Facebook pages including, Dominos Australia, and Dominos UK.  These page-likes are a great way to remind audiences that Dominos is an international business and can be found in other countries around the world. Twitters pictures and Facebook pictures are pretty much the same, and remain totally  yummy through both social platforms. Yes, that means the Dominos Facebook page includes tons of pizza food-porn, and since I am a sucker for all things pizza theses pictures are highly effective  in my opinion. The Dominos Facebook posts can generate thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, making Dominos a brand that is well-liked amongst the Facebook community. This is a huge accomplishment for Dominos, considering the tough competition within the food industry.

 

Overall the Dominos social-media campaign through Facebook and Twitter compliment their successful previous campaigns that seek quality customer interaction. Both of the accounts stay active in updating their accounts throughout the work week and the weekend. I give high-marks to Dominos for continuing to pursue audiences throughout the weekend because big-brands have the authority to choose not to continue to engage audiences. Since Dominos obviously values their audiences and consumer interactions they are continuously tweeting and posting to maintain this valuable relationship. Dominos has managed to create a social-media campaign that successfully reaches audiences and engages consumers. In my opinion, the company has done a fantastic job at showing audiences they value what they say. As I have said before, I love it when brands get it right, and Dominos is definitely a brand that knows the advantages of consumer-connections.

 

Until we meet again…..

Urban Outfitters blog has a knack for conversational posts and a wide-variety of content

This week I checked out the blog for notorious clothing store Urban Outfitters (UO). This blog has a simple title, called the “UO blog,” and is filled with cool music features, tons of hot topics, and a little bit of everything for the Urban Outfitters lover. The page has a clean layout that includes different categories such as shop, contest, and music, to name a few. Upon entering the page I immediately take notice of the social media icons which link the audience to their various other social media sites like Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. These icons shows the company cares about linking the audience with their other social platforms to keep us informed on all things UO.

                 

 

The first blog post I read was titled “What I am taking to Coachella”, which highlighted specific outfits the Founder/Creative Director for Love+Made would be wearing for the epic music festival. Pictures and links are provided throughout the post to further link the UO audience to the wide-variety of clothing pieces featured, which includes hats, a fanny pack, shoes, shorts, and a swimsuit. On the same page of this post I noticed a thorough list of cities in a column on the left hand side of the page. Being from Austin I clicked on the link and was taken to the recent UO blog postings from Austin. Recent posts included the SXSW 2013 festivities and the event UO hosted there with numerous pictures, including SXSW fashionistas and their daytime outfits. This is a great way for audiences to figure out what Urban Outfitters is up to locally and how they are participating within your area. The blog also contains a list of topics to click on in the left hand column, underneath the cities. Topics contain a little bit of everything and range from “Music Mondays” to “UO TV“. This gives the audience another great way to narrow down their desired content within the blog.

 

 

After browsing through the blog I noticed posts are short, to the point, and contain extremely relevant content (like upcoming events, recently released movies etc.). A funnier blog titled “Stoner Style: James Franco in Pineapple Express” has humorous captions about the male clothing featured in the film. Posts are not only funny, but edgy and include blunt language like “I love the shit she makes.” This shows that the brand is in-touch with their audience and knows the conversation that they desire. In my opinion not many brands could pull off blog-postings with profanity. Yet, Urban Outfitters seems to have such a hip-edgy tone, that the language goes well with their image. On another note it isn’t anything too vulgar or over the top and used to make blog postings sound more conversational. As you can tell, I think the profanity works well for UO.

Overall Urban Outfitters provides their audiences with an advanced fashion/music blog centric to their hipster audience.  The blog has numerous outlets to further connect viewers and has a good grip on their target audience. The blog contains a clean style and is visually appealing with tons of videos, links, and pictures to keep the viewer interested. I am glad I checked out the UO blog recently and found out the neat topics they are blogging about, as well as, browsed through their clothing selection. The UO blog aligns well with the brands fashion expectations. Just as their fashion the UO blog doesn’t disappoint.

 

Until next time….

Nikeblog Informs Blog Readers and Engages Twitter followers

Sticking with concept of brand outreach though blogs I recently visited the Nikeblog website. Immediately I noticed a clean cut homepage with a classic black, white, and red background. Visually the blog is easy for audiences to digest and blog posts are short and to the point. Categories on the page include Classic Kicks, Drop Dates, Kicks, Uniforms, and Sports. Sub-categories on the page includes Ads, Apparel, Air Jordans, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, NFL, and Nike Sportswear. The homepage has a column of recent posts that highlight, new shoe releases, limited addition shoe giveaways, new videos/ads, and upcoming apparel. The Nikeblog has a Facebook page and a Twitter account which are both shown in the right-hand column of the homepage.

 

 

         

The Classic Kicks category of the blog opens up to all thing related to purchasing and winning Nike kicks. The company averages daily posts on recent releases on Nike kicks that include, old, new, and limited edition releases. As previously mentioned, the descriptions of the shoes are brief and to-the-point. These descriptions also include links to purchase. The Drop Dates category of the blog includes all upcoming new release information and updates shoe-fanatics on when to expect specific shoes. This category isn’t repetitive and offers a new collection of shoes to the  blog audience with specific shoe release details. The rest of the page is pretty straight forward. For instance the sub-category called “Lebron James” is focused on Lebron James shoe deatils, pictures, and brief descriptions. The basic functions of the blog are met, which serves to inform audiences about all things Nike shoes and apparel.

The Nikeblog continues engaging their online audience via Nikeblog specific Facebook and Twitter accounts. The Nikeblog twitter account has 14, 837 tweets, 18, 289 followers and follows 99.  Their tweets include links to page blog posts on upcoming shoe releases, many @reply’s, and sports conversations. Although, I didn’t notice any retweets within last weeks worth of tweets, the account is actively replying to their twitter followers by answering potentially risky questions. I noticed that when a twitter follower tweeted a complaint about the ads on the Nikeblog page the company account tweeted back showing sympathy and addressing the problem. In my opinion, this was a perfect way to connect with audiences and show that while blogs are not always perfect, constructive complaints allow brands to effective fix site problems. I also noticed @Nikeblog tweets multiple times a day, linking all blog posts, as well, many conversations about ongoing sports games, and shoe releases dates. The Nikeblog Facebook account specifically updates on new blog posts. A direct account to their blog page and another great way to pull in their Facebook dominate audience.

       

After analyzing the connections on the Nikeblog I have come to the Nike excels in certain connections with the audience they cater towards. The clean page layout and straight forward categories serves their shoe-fanatic community perfectly. Nike lovers have access to all the necessary information needed to decide on making a purchase. And since Nike has so many options (apparel, shoes) they have found a great way to categorize their items so audiences are not confused on where to search. The twitter account they handle handles more of the interaction between the company blog and audiences. With their active Twitter, Facebook, and blog the company is efficiently informing and engaging audience. While, I am not the Nike shoe fanatic as the target-market, I do enjoy the effort the brand has put into connecting with their online community.

 

Steve Madden’s Fashion Blog Stands Out In Cyber Space

This week I received some love from a featured, and favorite brand of mine, Steve Madden who directed me towards their company blog. My recent post on Steve Madden was a description of their social media efforts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. After taking a look at what Steve Madden was posting on the SM MAG blog I realized that creating a post specifically for their blog would be a great way to continue my social media analysis. Plus, I usually structure my posts around Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram so I thought just looking at the company blog would be refreshing.

My first reaction to the Steve Madden blog was not only the aesthetic beauty, but the unique vibe of the page. In my opinion, the Steve Madden brand has a very vintage, LA, New York style and caters to an audience who can appreciate this specific style. The SM blog is linked directly from the company website under the tab SM MAG and has loads of content. Since the blog is packed with many fabulous ways SM is making audience connections it was hard to figure out where to start my personal analysis. I am going to try to cover as much ground as possible to give my honest opinion on their social creation.

 

As far as social strategy, the blog is on top of everything the Steve Madden audience is concerned with such as, fashion, music, and staying up to date in each area. The blog has seven sections in their blog including tabs like fashion, music, about, contributors, and shop.  Immediately when you enter the home page of SM Mag blog you are greeted by a huge Steve Madden logo and  pictures paired with the top three most recent blog posts. The home page is dedicated to a little bit of everything from every section of the SM mag blog. The home page also has links to all the social media platforms Steve Madden utilizes. Under the words “follow us” is a row of icons that links you directly to each page, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I also noticed, under the Twitter icon, there was an update saying that Steven Madden recently changed their twitter handle. I thought this was a cute way to update their audience about recent changes within their social media accounts. The company also has several pictures showing their recent activity in the social space. There is a picture from their most recent pin on Pinterest, numerous recent Instagram pictures, and Twitter pictures of Steve Madden shoes with the hash tag #SMOOTD (Steve Madden outfit of the day). Blog posts and a video using the new Vine app for Twitter flow through the middle column of the page and balance everything out.

                                          

The Fashion section of the blog is dedicated to all things Steve Madden fashion. The most recent post if a how-to by Kitty Pryde, who decorates her Steve Madden kicks and “puts the twinkle in her toes” and links directly to Kitty Prdye’s blog page. This link to a blogger shows Steve Maddens knowledge of the blog-world and how effectively they have been able to integrate their mission into this social space. The music tab has links to a page about music, rather than shoes. There is an artist that is highlighted on this page with an introduction, music video,  photos, and album information. A banner above the music page informs audiences to await new artists of 2013. Following the music page there is an about tab that specifies what the blog offers audiences. The about tab is a clever way to clarify the collection of findings within their blog. I am very impressed with the about section within the blog because it sends the message that SM wants their audience to fully understand their page. Following the description of the blog’s intentions there is a section for the blog contributors. This is a great way to prove authenticity by including the audience with the faces behind the computer.

                               

Overall the SM blog effectively connects to their targeted audience through many different ways in their blog. From their multiple social media outlets like Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to their blog posts on fashion and music. They have a variety of hashtags used throughout the page like “SMOOTD” (Steve Madden outfit of the day) and #bts (behind the scenes). They have effectively incorporated usage of the new Twitter app Vine onto their page showing they are up-to-speed with the social space and have an account with every major social media platform. The Steven Madden blog is sophisticated and filled with content to connect with a variety of audiences who are  all shoe-obsessed.  The blog is a great example of how a brand can uniquely and creatively create a page that strays from the specific product but continues to uphold the brand image necessary for the brand.

 

                                                                                

 

Frito-Lay social media presence effectively targets and connects with audiences

This week we will take a look at another brand that is owning the social space and that is Frito-Lay. This brand has invested in making connections with their audiences through Twitter, Facebook, and a snack-chat blog. Each space is specifically aimed at updating and involving the Frito-Lay audience through various expertise efforts. Lets take a better look together!

 

The Frit0-Lay Facebook account has over 2 million likes and over 8,000 people talking about the page. To the righthand side of the page there is a listing of all the pages liked by the brand, which includes all Frito-Lays products, such as Doritos, Tostitos, Ruffles, and Lays. In my opinion, Facebook posts were not over done or too dry.  Frito-Lay is able to effectively remain relevant through appropriate Facebook posts that relate to their various products. Connections made through each post include true or false questions and audience prompts to click like or head to the Frito-Lay Twitter account. There is a photo album for Facebook friends to view the nominees and winners of their recent Twitter campaign for the Frito-Lay Chippy Awards. Categories for these awards included tastiest chip flavor, best dip, and favorite classic Frito-Lay snack.

 

 

 

The Frito-Lay Twitter account has almost 8,ooo tweets, follows over 4,000 accounts, and has over 40,000 followers. Their Twitter account is updated regularly and includes many noted audience connections. Frito-Lay tweets include links to their company blog titled “Snack Chat,” numerous retweets and brand hashtags. The social campaign for the Frito-Lay Chippy Awards was run and promoted specifically for their Twitter audience. These connections allowed for audiences to choose what products they wanted to win in the Chippy Awards. They also included 2 well-known bloggers from Twitter to co-host the awards with them, making sure their message was appropriately represented in the Twiitter-verse.  Other effective connections made were through hashtag usage for both the brand and multiple brand products. Frito-Lay hashtags include #FritoLayNoms and specific to picking a new Lays flavor, #savechickenandwaffles #savegarlicbread and #savesiricha.

                                        

 

Also, Frito-Lay is up to speed with their social connections outside of Facebook and Twitter through maintaing a dynamic company blog titled “Snack Chat”. Although the blog was only updated 3 times in the past week it is cohesively linked to their Twitter and Facebook page, yet still contains new information for loyal blog readers. The company is able to provide in-depth information on the blog because it is able to highlight the wide variety of products the brand offers, like Doritos and Tostitos. It is the least updated in comparison to Twitter and Facebook but is still necessary to continue updating the audience with information pertaining to what Frito-Lay does.

    

Overall Frito-Lay has managed to cohesively link their social media pages all together, yet still provide audiences with information tailored to that specific outlet. What I mean is that while both Twitter and Facebook posts are similar when promoting company events, like the Chippy Awards, both provide a variety of efforts make connections with their audiences. The Frito-Lay brand has been able to put consumer connections at the core of their values, and this really shines through within their brand message. The connections being made with audiences through Frito-Lays are necessary to continue to remain relevant in a world where we are faced with numerous brands seeking our attention and loyalty. Frito-Lay has found a fun, yet simple, way to effectively reach their audiences and connect. A job well done Frito-Lay. Until next time….

 

 

Steve Madden Understands Their Audience In The Social Media Space

After taking a look at the excellent social media campaign ran by Whole Foods I decided to continue on with another brand I value. Despite the variety of available shoe stores, I am compelled to take my shoe-addiction to the shelves of Steve Madden. A company and a shoe-maker that never fail to create a trendy shoe to my standards. Steven Madden is active in their social space and utilizes their brand presence with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. Both are actively monitored and offer their audiences a promotional, yet personal opportunity to interact with the brand.

The Steve Madden Facebook account is liked by some 702, 032 profiles, with some 36, 709 people talking about the brand on Facebook. The account is proactively updated with relevant shoe links to events such as The Oscars, sales promotions, and style guides. Although, I wasn’t able to find any direct conversations with their audiences through Facebook comments, they do update daily to initiate these type of conversations. Yet, their Facebook page includes other interactions like linking their shoe-loving audiences to original fashion bloggers, and a competition for designing shoes. According to Steve Madden shoes are relevant to any given situation. Among holidays like the recently passed Presidents Day sales event and promotions that link their shoes to the Oscars. Steve Madden is able to pair their shoes with any occasion on Facebook.

                                              

The Twitter account for Steve Madden is home to 2, 391 tweets, 27, 566 followers, and following 2,030. The background to the account is a few pairs of their newest shoes, and an original account bio that links the actual Steve Madden shoe maker’s account. It is widespread knowledge that company twitter accounts are not ran by the CEO or founder themselves, and Steve Madden is classy about how it portrays this fact to its audience. The separate accounts not only give audiences another channel of interaction with a part of the brand, but also continue to uphold their authentic image. Steve Madden’s tweets include promotional messages, retweets, contest links, sale information, tweet prompting, and hashtag interaction. The shoe brand has found a way to make shoes highly relevant in trending topics as well. Hashtags, such as #Reasonsiunfollowedyou, are linked to tweets like “because your shoe game was ratchet.” This tweet shows how the brand is able to promote its messages without sounding commercial while speaking directly to its demographic. Steve Madden is completely aware of who they are speaking to in their Twitter space.

                    

Steve Madden is also up-to-date with the use of Instagram, which seems to be a new space for most big brands still. The Steve Madden Instagram account is home to 905 pictures, 286,084 followers, and follows about 1,328 profiles. The photo posting website has pictures that give its shoe-loving audience a visual look into the brand. Among the 905 pictures in the account there is visual documentation of brand photo shoots, new shoes, fashion blog photos (with Steve Madden shoes), quotes, and pictures relevant to it’s demographic interests. My favorite aspect of the Steve Madden Instagram account is how they incorporate pictures of the corporate employees throughout the day at work with a new shoe. This brief glimpse into the work-life of the Steve Madden employees makes the brand very personal to audiences, and in my opinion contributes to the 5,000 to 20,000 likes every picture post receives.

   

 

After looking at all the social media accounts ran by Steve Madden, I journeyed to their website to look for any other connections. The company website is geared towards digitally displaying what the brand offers the consumer, ask selling their shoes. However, each Steve Madden product allows customers to read and write reviews. This option adds to the authentic company image the brand maintains. Despite the fact that Steve Madden is killing-it in the social media space, a company blog would continue to facilitate connections and conversations with audiences. The more connections formed the most authentic audiences, like myself, will view the brand. Despite my biased love for shoes and Steve Madden, I am thoroughly impressed with how high they raise the bar for other brands in the social space. They have a clear understanding for their audience on Instagram, great retweeting and hashtag efforts on Twitter, and a variety of daily posts for Facebook. The social media space can be a huge outlet for brands, as Steve Madden has proven. This company has created a brand message that is central to its target audience, and because of this is able to effectively manage all their social media accounts. I just love it when brands get it right. Until we meet again….

 

 

 

Whole Foods Online Connections Are Whole Hearted

This past week we all celebrated Valentines day, single or not. And I thought that I should write a blog about a brand that I may truly love. Whole Foods.

I have learned that through growing up you acquire a love and loyalty towards certain brands. Only certain brands, for different reasons, are able to capture your attention. Once there is a formed relationship with you and a brand, aware of it or not. There is pressure on the brand to continue to make your partnership with them meaningful. With the progression of social media, brands have been able to facilitate meaningful interaction with audiences. These messages online can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but what else is apparent is that the brand must benefit the consumer to continue a loyal relationship.

As I said previously I love Whole Foods. Living in Austin, Texas I am spoiled by our central Whole Foods location. I can go on for days about how they maintain a dynamic store with a vast selection of food products and a little-bit of something for everyone. After a deep-dive into the past week of posting through their Facebook, Twitter, and online blog, I have a more thorough outlook on their presence within social media.

The first page I viewed was the Facebook page of Whole Foods Market. A timeline profile  greeted me with a picture of fresh fruits and green juice. Scrolling through the weeks Facebook posts, it is apparent that Whole Foods has completely mastered their Facebook connections. Posts include a variety of recipes, links to their company blog posts, new store location announcements, and value guides amongst many. Their Facebook posts are relevant to national holidays and events, listing Valentines and Mardi Gras recipes, and National Tortellini day. There are upcoming event and in-store promotions like “Parmageddon” and a milestone giveaway. The product giveaway prompts audiences to enter the contest through commenting on their blog. The majority of Facebook posts range from 60 to over 1,000 likes, and multiple comments despite some spam. Some comments even received direct interaction from the Whole Food’s Facebook account manager.

Next I traveled to Twitter to check out the engagement Whole Foods offers. Just like Facebook, their Twitter account has a wide range of effective interaction taking place consistently during the past week. The Twitter account seems to have more links to recipes and other posts like money saving tips, new store announcements, upcoming event announcements and blog posts. I also found some retweets, hashtags, and a weekly Whole Foods Market chat that includes a Q&A with Twitter followers. Some of the noted hashtags include #vegan #WFMchat and #WFMdish.  Whole Foods Twitter account, like Facebook, has produced meaningful connections with their audience of over 3 million followers.

The Whole Foods company website has a worthy blog that offers insight into ideas for relevant event like holidays, such as Valentines day, giveaway promotions, and finding value in money and health. They have a link to all social media networks they are active on, like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Googleplus, and Instagram. Their blog posts don’t have tons of comments but since their audience is actively engaged with them on Twitter and Facebook this doesn’t detract at all from their online presence.

Since Twitter, Facebook, and the company blog are the best means for interacting with audiences I didn’t do a deep dive into their other social accounts, like Pinterest and Instagram. Overall Whole Foods in a champion in their social media space. The multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter that offer both audiences a wide range of connections, information, and overall brand benefits. The blog on their homepage continues to create ideas and solutions for audiences to further engage and benefit from their brand messages. Whole Foods should be the model for any brand that wants to fully learn how to connect with audiences via social media.

Until next time….