Twitter Archives - Page 27 of 30 - Post Control Marketing

I picked up a recent issue of Fast Company to find out how advertisers are measuring response and found various forms of digital techniques that make their print interactive. The first ad I found was for Neat desktop scanners. Their fairly traditional print ad has a call to action to visit a customized sub-page on their website neatco.com/FC30Day. This is a different page then their regular corp. website – I assume they’re tracking hits from the print ad. They may have unique pages for ads in different pubs or ads in different media.

What I really liked on the landing page is a short video with sound that automatically plays animation of a paper monster. Then you can click to watch a video product demonstration. Directly below are product photos and prices with bold “BUY NOW” buttons.

The next print ad I found was for a new book on social media marketing called The Dragon Fly Effect. It features a picture of the book and large testimonials. What drew me to their ad was the use of a QR (quick response code). This graphic was in the bottom corner inviting you to watch a video. The ad itself wasn’t very creative but the use of a QR Code is still relatively new and it makes the printed page more interactive.

After scanning it with my smartphone I was immediately taken to a video featuring the author talking about the book and an opt in option requesting my email and name to obtain more information. The top of the page says “Thanks for scanning our ad in Fast Company. Here’s a video just for you.” They have created a unique QR tag and website for each ad to measure response. The video was hosted on Vimeo and featured easy share options including embedding links and the url.

The last ad I found was for Citgo. Gas companies are facing public image challenges and this must be Citgo’s attempt to reach out to their consumers in a friendly way. They emphasize the fact that all Citgo stations are locally owned and contribute to the local economy and how they support local causes and charities. The bottom of the ad invites us to visit a micorsite FuelingGood.com.

The microsite is very people focused and features a map of the U.S. I couldn’t detect ways to track website traffic from the specific ad, but they would get numbers on general hits coming from all communication. They also have a live feed from their Facebook page showing the current number of Likes (2387) with an invitation to sign up to see what your friends like. Clicking to go to the Facebook page would enable them to track how much Facebook traffic is coming from their microsite. The site also has links to their Twitter account and a YouTube channel where they could track the same traffic activity.

The interactive map shows charities/non-profits in your state and area that you can vote to support. Last year Citgo rewarded seven charities with a year’s supply of gasoline. The creative skeptic in me says, “That’s been done.” But the mature marketer and decent person in me says, “Keep it coming!” What do you think? Should more companies follow the Pepsi Refresh model of getting people to submit ideas and vote on causes to receive corporate support?

This article first appeared on my blog 6 years ago, but I think it is still relevant with updates and insights for today’s environment.

In 2010 many companies were still not not open to the idea of social media websites like Facebook and Twitter because they couldn’t censor customer comments. But another important consideration is employee social talk with both the positive and negatives. Look at football players for example. Over the years there have been numerous examples of players hurting their team, university, the sport or their own personal brands through rash Twitter comments.

In the NFL the Philadelphia Eagles had a Tweetgate, where they had to apologize for Todd Herremans’ anti-homosexual tweet. And Raven’s Ray Rice tweeted about getting out of a ticket because he bribed the officer with an autograph for his son. In college football an Oklahoma player was suspended following inappropriate Twitter comments he made following a shooting incident at the University of Texas. A Utah player sparked a controversy with a comment he made about Boise State before the upcoming Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas. These NFL and college teams may have a Twitter communication plan, but these are players acting and reacting on their own. What is needed beyond marketing or PR involvement in social media is employee social media policies and training.

An example of a company with a Twitter plan that encourages employees to Tweet is Zappos.com. In fact, there are just under 500 Zappos employees tweeting for the company. Sound like a management nightmare? They don’t seem to be tweeting off the cuff as much as football players. For example, two years ago the company had massive layoffs. Hundreds of employees reacted strongly on the company’s Twitter feed, but instead of a PR nightmare, it was something the company embraced. Instead of censoring laid off employees, Zappos remained as transparent as usual. In the end, employees appreciated it, management benefited and customers saw Zappos.com as a company from which they want to buy.

What’s the secret? Zappos invests heavily in employee training. They don’t just set them up with Twitter accounts and let them go. Zappos management equips employees with plenty of tools and guidelines to effectively tweet and represent the company online. The company also puts a lot of energy into hiring smart people.

Do you trust your company or organization’s employees with social media or could they benefit from some social media training?