May 2013 – Page 2

05/22/2013

Kitchen Nightmares Restaurant’s Colossal Meltdown – How NOT to Do Social

Everything you shouldn’t do when executing your social media strategy can be exemplified in one not-so-pretty package: Amy’s Baking Company.

In case you missed it, Amy’s Baking Company made quite the impression on viewers when the restaurant appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s reality TV show Kitchen Nightmares. The husband- wife duo, Samy and Amy tell Ramsay—no more than five minutes after arriving—that “There are a lot of online bullies and haters and bloggers. We stand up to them and I think we are the only ones that ever have as restaurant owners. They come and try to attack us and say horrible things that are not true because they are used to eating processed wood chips.” A baffled Ramsey later learns there is much more to the story. This was the first restaurant he has given up on before the “rehabilitation” phase which includes suggestions on how to improve the restaurant’s food, wait staff and bottom line.

Continue reading “Kitchen Nightmares Restaurant’s Colossal Meltdown – How NOT to Do Social”

05/21/2013

The Imminent Ubiquity of Content Marketing: What Happens Next?

Content Marketing Institute Founder Joe Pulizzi explores a really interesting question in one of his more recent blog posts: Once all brands have started embracing content marketing, what happens next?

Ah, the great old question of what comes next.

We certainly all asked it a few decades ago when the world was first introduced to the mobile phone. And while bulky and hefty, we quickly watched as it paved the way for the dominance of smartphones, apps and the BYOD revolution. Fast forward to today and the competition for your consumer-ready hands is fierce.

Continue reading “The Imminent Ubiquity of Content Marketing: What Happens Next?”

05/21/2013

Ahh, Coke’s New Marketing Campaign Makes Me Thirsty

This is the age of the mobile device. The days of print advertisements wane in the rearview as we now drive down the highways of the future.

In order to stay fresh and relevant, firms need to rethink their marketing strategies if they want to connect with and convert a target market that is always evolving.

And the fine folks at Coca Cola seem to have done just that.

I don’t even drink Coke—I’m more of a water-and-coffee-drinking guy—but there I was on a Friday afternoon, staring at a virtual paper cup bearing the soft drink company’s logo. The cup was shifting back and forth across my computer screen, and I was charged with pulling back a virtual sling shot and trying to aim a virtual ice cube into the cup in order keep its virtual contents at the perfect temperature of 37 degrees. Continue reading “Ahh, Coke’s New Marketing Campaign Makes Me Thirsty”

05/20/2013

Are You Just Waking Up to Content Marketing?

In Washington Irving’s classic tale Rip Van Winkle, a young man leaves his home along the Hudson River for a sojourn into the Catskill Mountains where he encounters a group of strange, bearded men. As the story goes, Rip proceeds to drink their liquor, and soon falls into a deep slumber.

When Rip finally wakes up, the world around him seems like a very different place. He is startled to learn that he too has grown a long beard. The stock of his gun has rotted away, and his dog has run off. This is because Rip did not sleep for just one night—he was out cold for 20 years. Confusion mounts as Rip walks into town and discovers how everything around him has changed. Continue reading “Are You Just Waking Up to Content Marketing?”

05/20/2013

What Did You Just Say?

We’re all looking to differentiate ourselves; it’s essentially a top goal of content marketing.

We’ve all been given the same advice from marketing managers: “stand apart,” “have a cutting edge,” “make a difference”…but how exactly are we living up to these expectations? What is it that enables us to stand apart when compared to the mound of competitors striving to do just the same?

A piece of this puzzle is found in the way we speak.

Continue reading “What Did You Just Say?”

05/16/2013

Afraid of Striking out at the Content Marketing Game? Don’t Be

When we think about fear, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s iconic statement from his first inaugural address undoubtedly comes to mind: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

It’s an incredibly simple but powerful statement. After all, why fear something that is out of our control? Why play the “what if” game instead of simply living life? We spend so much time worrying about something that can happen as opposed to just dealing with adversity when it comes our way.

Continue reading “Afraid of Striking out at the Content Marketing Game? Don’t Be”

05/15/2013

The Seven Deadly Social Media Sins of Content Marketing

If you’ve just joined the content marketing club, you’ll soon be flying high in the social media stratosphere. Social media is world full of unlimited content marketing possibilities. In fact, the networking strategy produces almost double the marketing leads compared to trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail or pay-per-click (PPC), according to research this year from HubSpot.

But before you get ready to take off, you must first beware of the seven deadly sins of using social media when it comes to marketing your content.

Continue reading “The Seven Deadly Social Media Sins of Content Marketing”

05/15/2013

A Win for Oreo’s Great Gatsby Tweet

Oreo nailed it with its Great Gatsby inspired tweet that it posted on the film’s booming opening day last Friday.

While the tweet never specifically mentioned The Great Gatsby by name, it alluded to some of the story’s main points including the iconic and symbolic Doctor T.J. Eckleburg billboard—promoting an optometrist’s practice but also serving as a reminder of the growing commercialism of America and the emergence of the American dream—and J. Gatsby’s affinity for calling everybody “old sport.” Perfectly tying it into the Oreo brand, the company shared a tweet that read “A Great story calls for a great cookie.”

Continue reading “A Win for Oreo’s Great Gatsby Tweet”