Does Giving Your Brand’s Social Presence A Face Matter In Your Strategy?

Author: Cedar Brown

Jun 27

Have you ever interacted with a brand on Twitter or Facebook and wondered who you were talking to? Ever thought that if you knew it was a 50-something male or a 20-something female that you’d approach with a different tone? Would it even make a difference?  Many people probably wouldn’t care, but those that do are pretty split on this. I am a big believer in promoting the faces behind the account to help make communicating with the brand a tad more personal. Logos just aren’t enough.

I haven’t done research or found stats that prove why showing off your community manager could be helpful for your company, but I believe it would help give your brand a more human voice when posting and conversing with fans. ‘Humanizing your brand’ is the new thing these days and has been adopted by few companies, but is a growing ideal. Some brands that are promoting their operators include @UPS, @Dominos, @Southwestair, @JetBlue and @Starbucks by putting the names and/or Twitter handles in the company’s profile. @Dell is the only one I’ve found that adds their community managers on the background image of their Twitter page. It’s tough to do the latter because of the lack of real estate available, but is a great way if you can! I suggest keeping the logo in the avatar and adding your operators in the company’s Twitter profile or in the background image, like the brands mentioned earlier.

I always feel comfortable when conversing with a brand that does this because I can see who I’m talking to and I’m willing to bet that others feel the same way. When I’m only talking to a logo it often feels like I’m talking to an old corporate codger who is grumpy all the time or a lawyer who is way too worried about each word posted. Personally, I like to chat with the brand’s community manager on my own Twitter account because I am in the same career field and like to learn from others like myself. By doing this, it also allows me to chat with the company like I am with one of my friends, with a more relaxed feel. This is the type of thing all brands hope for in social media, to interact with fans on a deeper, more personal level. The goal is to build a community with your following, but you need to be transparent and open about your goals and intentions. Letting people see behind the curtain of your brand’s social channels is a must, in my opinion, because it can really help attain that goal, or at least steer it in the right direction.

Just my short, quick opinion on the topic, but I really believe it can be a valuable asset for a brand’s social strategy. What do you think?

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Leaving Instagram So Soon? Here’s A Few Options To Check Out Instead

Author: Cedar Brown

Apr 19

When news broke that Facebook was acquiring Instagram for $1B, Twitter went all Charlie Sheen for the next couple hours while I sat there doing my best Dr. Evil impression for the next 30 seconds. Over the next few days, people began to claim they were deleting their Instagram account because of Big Brother, I mean, Facebook. I don’t disagree with deleting your account, but I also don’t like Facebook for their bloodsucking, data-collecting and monopolistic ideals. If you are interested in switching platforms, there are numerous comparable photo apps available. I rate Instagram a 3.5 out of 5, personally. Here are a few that I have personally dabbled with and believe will grow now that image-based platforms will continue to increase in value.

STREAMZOO

Streamzoo is a versatile competitor to Instagram because it has pictures AND videos, badges to achieve and more filters and effects to choose from. They also have share options to other sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. Options for viewing an image include ‘like’ the image, see who liked it, share it, follow any streams or hashtags that the image references or view the profile of the image owner. Streamzoo is both free and unique in a way that it is also a social gaming app, which allows it to build a larger community faster. To earn badges, you need to score points. To score points, you need to ‘like’ people’s photos, comment on their photos, upload your own photos, follow people and have people follow you back. There are daily and weekly leaderboards that show users with the most points and you can find friends in a similar fashion as Instagram. The best part is that you can use this app on its own website, where Instagram is purely mobile. This is a great app for both iPhone and Android phones and an app I will continue to use in the future.

4.5 out of 5

PIXLR-O-MATIC

Pixlr-o-Matic is amazing AND free! Although it isn’t a social platform or hub for your photos, it is a photo editing app that shares your photos to numerous sites including its own site, imm.io. And like Streamzoo, you can edit photos on the website as well as the mobile app. What makes this such a great choice to use is the uber amounts of editing options such as colors/hues, frames and effects. You can also download MANY more filters and effects to increase the coolness factor of the app. I suggest to download the ‘creative’ filters, which are pretty cool to use! Pixlr-o-Matic also has a fun shuffle button to use a random selection of filters and effects to any image you choose. If you’re on the website, there some more great options. Pixlr Grabber allows you to download an extension on both Firefox and Chrome so that you can right-click any image and send it into the Pixlr Editor, similar to Pinterest in a way. It was awarded the 2011 “Best App Ever” award for the Best Photo Editing App on Android by 148apps.com. There are over 2M combinations to use with the filters offered. Pixlr-o-Matic is offered on both Android and iPhone.

4.5 out of 5

HIPSTER

Recently, AOL acquired Hipster to work with their mobile team. You may have also heard that they acquired Huffington Post too. Doesn’t matter, AOL is so 90′s anyway, ha! Back to the app, I must say that I very much like the images created by Hipster. There are 17 filters available, which isn’t much, but more than Instagram. You’re able to share images with friends, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare and Flickr. The main gimmick with Hipster is that you’re creating virtual postcards to send to friends or share on your networks. Each preset filter has space for a caption which, by default, contains your location and made to look like a postcard. You can easily edit the caption, and your text will carry through all of the presets as you pick what you like. The geo-tag option can be toggled on/off, thankfully. Hipster almost works as a Instagram/Foursquare combo with its photo editing and location-based connection. Unlike Instagram, Hipster has a website that allows you to view yours and others photos, find friends and even shop for stuff you’ll never want. When you view your image you will be able to see who has commented, “liked” and who is viewing your photo, something different than the other apps. Because this is a location-based app, they give you the option to see images posted from nearby your current location. Hipster is free and available for both Android and iPhone.

3 out of 5

CAMERA +

I have never used Camera Plus, because it is only for iPhones, but I hear it is much better than Instagram in every way. There is a free version and a pro version that costs $1.99. Because I have never used this app, I cannot properly review it. After reading the website and another 3rd party review, I am convinced that Camera Plus sounds like the greatest photo app ever made! I have talked to many people who use this app and they say they will never use another app again. I suggest you check the website and/or download the app yourself.

I know there are an uber amount of other options to choose from, but these are the few that I’ve used and can properly review. Plus, I have an Android phone. If you know of some other great options, please share them and your favorites!

 

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Make Pinterest More Than Just A Pinboard!

Author: Cedar Brown

Feb 20

So each Friday we have a weekly #Pinchat on Twitter, at 10 pm ET, hosted by my lovely friend Kelly Lieberman. Last week we chatted with a guest named @Pinfluenced who has made it their goal to bring certain ‘pins’ to life. #Pinchat is a chat about Pinterest, for those unaware. The topic revolved around taking ‘pins’ you like, or that influence you, and making them come to life. The week before, Kelly created a Pinterest Challenge that pushed people to create real things from their ‘pins’. This has inspired me to create my own board of ‘pins’ I’m bringing to life. The concept is something that I believe people are missing when it comes to Pinterest.

Over the past few weeks, since Pinterest was first introduced as a Facebook app, it is all I hear about. Phrases like “I’M ADDICTED TO PINTEREST” or “I LOOOOOOVE PINTEREST!!” have grown quite annoying for me. The word-of-mouth marketing for Pinterest has been the greatest marketing tool they have. People are so wrapped up in ‘pinning’ things and chatting with friends about styles, wedding fantasies and dream houses that they are missing a great opportunity that the site is providing, which is creating motivation. Many people are creating boards directed at fitness, recipes, traveling and DIY projects. These are the types of boards that house ‘pins’ that are easy to make happen. Instead of just ‘pinning’ fun-to-do pins, DO THEM!! When you create goals or to-do lists it is best to write them down because it is easier to SEE your goals rather than thinking, and possibly, forgetting about them. This is what Pinterest provides, your goals laid out for you to SEE everyday!

I suggest you create a NEW board of all the ‘pins’ that you brought to life. My first one was a recipe. Yours could be a fitness one and take before and after photos of your progress. Create fun household DIY projects and take a picture of how it’s used in your household. Anything! It brings a new aspect to this, relatively new, social network and should also renew your motivation to try new things. As you take pictures of your projects and ‘pin’ them to your new board, it allows you to see the progress you’ve made. This concept of visual progress is exactly what Pinterest really is, a visual stimulus. We are going back to a visual era, which is where these two things can mesh well.

There are so many things you may want to try, but take it slow and pick one at a time. Once you finish and post it, start on a new one and so on. It can be very exciting for some or can totally create a new passion for others as well. You never know, you may create something that can completely change your life for the better, but you’ll never know unless you try it out!

 

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