Author Archives: Alyssa Rosengarden
Super Bowl Ads Are Social Media Savvy
If you hadn’t already seen, some of the most anticipated Super Bowl ads have been leaked onto social media sites everywhere this week, and it’s looking like it should be a good year for commercial entertainment. However, this is one of the first years that we have seen these ads leaked in such high volume. There is already buzz about which brands have gotten it right, and which completely missed the mark.
So what is with this new phenomenon of leaking ads prior to the most hyped live event in America? It’s simple. Super Bowl spots cost about $3.5 million for a 30 second spot, so advertisers are really just trying to get the most for that money. This article sums it up best when they say, “100 million people are expected to tune into Sunday’s broadcast on NBC. But with well over a billion people on Facebook and Twitter combined, it’s a goldmine for advertisers if a fraction of those people continue to talk about their commercials days after the Big Game.” Many of the ads this year even come complete with their own interactive social media portion, including smartphone apps and hashtags.
Community Manager Appreciation Day 2012
This week, community managers everywhere participated in the third annual Community Manager Appreciation Day (also known as CMAD)! Now, while some of you may be thinking “oh no, not another made up holiday”, let me explain why Community Manager Appreciation Day is such a wonderful holiday to celebrate.
First of all, I’m sure all of you know at least one Community Manager. Whether you work with them, are friends with them, or interact with them through the communities that they manage, everyone knows a hard-working Community Manager. And because you know them, you know what an exciting and unique opportunity it is for them! Whether they are acting as a head-cheerleader, managing a disgruntled consumer or simply representing a brand, Community Managers wear many different hats throughout their days.
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Apps Bring Your Timeline to Life
Facebook announced 60 new apps for Timelines this week, and with further extension of the Open Graph, there will be plenty more on the way. Essentially, that means developers will have the opportunity to create the apps they desire and add them to their timelines. With this opportunity, the possibilities are endless. The whole idea of adding apps to Timelines really amplifies the “social factor” of the initial idea.
Is Pinterest the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Social Media?
Pinterest has been getting a lot of buzz recently. The social network, which is essentially a digital scrapbook that allows users to “pin” things they like across the Internet onto their own personal “boards”, is seeing so much traffic recently that they were launched into the 10th spot in Experian’s list of the most popular social networks. So what is it about the site that is capturing people’s (mostly women’s) attention?
It seems that Pinterest is just the combination in a social network that people have been looking for. Rather than posting long arduous blog posts, or even 140 characters in Twitter, Pinterest allows people to click and go. Find something on the Internet that you want to come back to later, pin it, and move on. It’s quick, easy, and most of all, extremely addictive.
Racist Comments Pile Up on Lowe’s Facebook Page
Every once in a while, a TV show comes around that really gets people talking. This season, TLCs “All-American Muslim” was that show. Taking place in Dearborn Michigan, the show follows the daily lives of Muslim families.
While many have revered the show, there has of course been some backlash. Some people were unhappy with the portrayal of the families, others were unhappy with the fact that the show was even on air. One group in particular was so outraged that they took it out on Lowe’s for airing commercials during the show. So they started writing letters. This group wrote Lowe’s so many letters that eventually, Lowe’s backed down and pulled all of their ads.
Now, opponents and supporters of this decision have flocked to the Lowe’s Facebook page to show their respective outrage and support. More than 23,000 comments have been left in reply to the note that Lowes posted, explaining their decision. Many of those comments berated Lowe’s or expressed disappointment for the decision they made and declared they will no longer be shopping at Lowe’s. But a good portion of the comments were also in favor of the decision that they’ve made–expressing blatant racism and saying they will begin shopping at Lowe’s based on this decision.
As you can imagine, the Facebook page has become a mess to moderate.
The Beginning of the End for Facebook?
Not using Facebook as much as you used to? You’re not the only one. We all secretly knew this day would come–the day you didn’t need to login to Facebook to feel complete. We all knew Facebook could someday be replaced by the next big thing. But were we expecting the decline to come so soon?! Whether or not you’re still logging into Facebook everyday, or every hour, new studies have shown that Facebook usage is way down and that shockingly, people have gone on with their lives.
According to comScore, in September 2011, the average number of minutes each US Facebooker spent on the site was 410. Last year, that number dropped way down to 287. All this at a time when Facebook has been responding to negative press about their privacy and is heading for an IPO. While these range on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of excitement, I would bet that all of this is playing into the usage decline. People have become weary and far less trusting than back in the good ole days.
