Blog | Gonzalez Sarah Social Media Site

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.

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….