Mediaboss Marketing

Applying social marketing principles leads to behaviour change projects that work, based on real insight into people's lives and motivations.

Social marketing enables you to develop products, services and communications that fit peoples needs and motivations. Child safety seat usage by Hispanic families in West Dallas was raised from just 19% to over 70% through a programme that properly understood parent's motivations. Read more...

Social marketing helps to ensure policy is based on an understanding of peoples lives, making policy goals realistic and achievable. Research into how people used water, and where it was wasted, led to a focus on improving plumbing systems, rather than calling for individual action. Read more...

Social marketing enables you to target your resources cost-effectively, and select interventions that have the best impact over time. Carefully mapping out target groups and delivery partners allowed the Department for Health England to plan effective interventions with groups best placed to have an impact on the people most at risk. Read more...

In West Dallas, Texas, efforts to increase the use of child car seats and safety belts among the Hispanic population kept failing. Just 19 per cent of young Hispanic children were placed in car seats, compared to 62 per cent of children from other groups. This led the Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas (IPCGD) to try a new approach.

Research with the target audience revealed insights that enabled the IPCGD to greatly increase their programmes effectiveness. As well as barriers such as lack of language skills to interpret safety information and lack of awareness of the law, they found that mothers had a fatalistic attitude towards road safety. They tended to believe that their children, and therefore their destinies, were in Gods hands, causing them to not appreciate the importance of child safety seats.

This led the programme developers to ask local priests to bless subsidised car seats before they were distributed to families. Alongside free traffic safety and child safety seat training workshops, community action with mothers and a police woman, and demonstration events, this helped the intervention to achieve impressive results. By 2000 (after just three years), car seat use rose to 72 per cent outstripping use across the other communities combined by three per cent.

Notably, this approach did not work when the IPCGD applied it to the African American community. It was only effective for the Hispanic community, based on the unique insights from their particular circumstances.

Rationing was already in place before Jordan experienced a serious water shortage between 2000 and 2005. The government proposed laws to raise the price of water in order to reduce demand. They assumed that people were using too much water but Jordanians already used it more sparingly than most other people in the world.

Research revealed some important insights. People tended to blame the lack of water on neighbouring countries, not Jordans rapidly growing population, industry and tourism. People also did not feel they should pay more for water if the government was not doing its bit they did not see why they should bear a bigger burden on their already strained finances.

The governments response took all these factors into account. A survey revealed the largest water consumers: mostly public buildings and private clubs, with some private residences. Water audits were conducted and a simple auditing tool was developed, highlighting weaknesses in how the government billed for water and providing information to help improve it.

The audits showed that the high consumption was mainly due to out-of-date, poorly installed plumbing not to over-use. If 3 aerators were added to faucets, a buildings water bill would be reduced by 30 per cent.

The simple message that adding a cheap device to your faucet could save you money was therefore chosen and targeted at all consumers via trained volunteers. This approach had the added advantage of being straightforward to measure and monitor: buildings fitted with aerators should show cost savings of 30 per cent after one year, and sales of the devices should increase.

However, actually installing the devices was rather complicated. In order to keep people on side, the government redeveloped its policy, creating a new national plumbing code. This ensured all new buildings would be built with water conservation in mind. To inform it, a competition was launched to see if consumers could correctly identify their buildings requirements. Prizes such as computers, as well as colourful, lottery-style cards distributed by community volunteers, got people interested.

This imaginative approach to research and promotion delivered the information needed to develop the new code, and created a positive, engaging buzz around the campaign.

The Department of Health (DH) in England uses strategic social marketing thinking to tackle lung disease. Also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it currently kills over 30,000 people every year. Thats a higher death rate than breast and prostate cancer combined but most people have never heard of it.

The key to early prevention and treatment of lung disease is behaviour change among those affected or at risk. The strategy has a two-pronged goal: to reduce peoples risktaking activities and encourage them to take up more healthenhancing behaviours; or to recognise and act on the symptoms.

2.7 million people have the disease without knowing it, so the biggest challenge is how to achieve earlier diagnoses. Also, 75 per cent of cases are caused by smoking, a notoriously difficult behaviour to shift. Simply raising awareness would not be enough.

DH identified the segments or groups of the population who are at risk, using insight and data to establish how best to design interventions for changing, adapting or sustaining individuals behaviour. This approach ensures that behaviour change activities fit tightly defined population segments and local needs.

The strategys segmentation model unusually grouped individuals into overlapping segments, based on their lifestage, social and environmental factors, job status and social group, and health motivation. These segments are then engaged by the individuals and organisations best placed to do so depending on whether they have well-established communications channels, provide services to or are trusted partners in the eyes of the particular segments.

The programme developed a quick reference risk model to help planners and commissioners understand how a one size fits all approach would not work. As an individual progresses along the spectrum of risk, different interventions will be required in order to deliver different changes in behaviour.

The strategy recognises that the environment in which lung disease services are provided is complex. Understanding the different drivers and motivations for providers and other partner organisations is as important as understanding those of target populations. Consequently, the strategy highlights a range of benefits for partners of early identification, including better patient self management, cost-reduction and efficiency

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Social marketing examples | The NSMC

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The internet is one of your most powerful tools when it comes to building name recognition and driving consumers to your business. Whether your company has a brick-and-mortar location, is exclusively online or a combination of both, online marketing is essential to your success. One critical component of internet advertising is effectively harnessing social media to your advantage.

In selecting the 10 best social media marketing services for our buying guide, we chose services that have a proven track record of successfully marketing small businesses. We focused on companies that service a variety of industries, so they can address your needs no matter what kind of business you have.We've also included articles on social media to further help you promote your business using the internet.

While each social platform has basic tools to help you create an ad and promote your products or services, social media marketing services are specially designed to help you quickly pinpoint your audience, which social media sites they are accessing, critical SEO terms you should be using and the best placement of your marketing materials so you don't waste money through trial and error. In our guide, you'll find the standout services for multimedia creation, competitor analysis and geo-targeting potential customers. Here is what we found:

WebiMax offers social media marketing services for the most popular platforms, e.g., Instagram and Facebook. This company offers different levels of service. You can request help with just a few aspects of social media for your small business, or you can hire a service to completely manage and drive your social media channels. WebiMax is the best social media marketing service if you want to add multimedia services, like a professional video, to your marketing campaign.

WebiMax provides complete video-production services. You present WebiMax with your idea, and the company's marketing experts will then write the script and create a professional video for your company's marketing campaign. Once the video is finished, the WebiMax team promotes it on your social media channels.

In addition to offering video services, WebiMax helps you create engaging content for your followers, helping you build a loyal customer base.

Recommendation for Multimedia Creation WebiMax

Keeping an eye on your competition is a good way to pinpoint where your small business fits in within the marketplace. Portent is one of the few services to offer competitor analysis with its business marketing services. When you sign up with Portent, the company performs a complete analysis of your business, its impact in the market and your competitors.

Portent does not examine the competition so you can copy them. It uses the information to frame goals. For example, if your biggest competitor has 5,000 likes on its Facebook page and you only have 2,000, you know that you need to catch up. Portent uses competitor analysis to search out gaps in the market that your company can capitalize on. For example, if a competitor is offering similar products but is missing a key audience, you have the chance to gain that audience's interest before the competition realizes its mistake.

Recommendation for Competitor Analysis Portent

Geo targeting delivers content to customers based on their location. It allows you to drill down to the country, state, even the ZIP code of your target customer to deliver your message. When you sign up with Orange Soda, your account manager conducts a complete audit of your existing online brand, including your website and social media channels. After an initial audit, your account manager will create and manage your social media campaign. Like other social media marketing services, you can give Orange Soda complete control of your campaign or just receive help in specific areas.

Orange Soda specializes in helping you target customers by location. The company looks for the highest-performing keywords and target audience trends in your immediate area. This helps drive more traffic to your site from potential customers. As part of geo-targeting your social media, Orange Soda helps boost the ranking of your website in searches and helps your business appear in Google Maps.

Recommendation for Geo-Targeting Orange Soda

Social media marketing services vary by the tools each offers. Most services take over your existing social media profiles and manage them for you. A few help you create a business social media profile and then manage it for you or hand the reins over to you to maintain.

Some social media marketing services help you develop a marketing strategy based on demographics, SEO and keywords to snag high volumes of searches. Other services use geo-specific targeting to raise awareness of your products and services for local customers.

In addition to crafting an advertising strategy, look for a service that assists you in creating content whether that is writing educational articles or creating infographics or video. It is also helpful if the service has experience in link building, connecting each of your social media profiles and company website together, which, in turn, increases your ranking in search engines.

Creating a strategy and managing your campaign is an important part of what a social media marketing service does, but it should also continue to monitor the success of your campaigns and make adjustments as necessary. The best social media marketing services, like those mentioned above, monitor your online reputation, making sure your brand is being viewed favorably and quickly acting on negative comments or reports. Additionally, these services should provide you with data about new followers for each of your social media profiles.

Social media marketing is an important tool for growing your online brand. It takes time, effort and the right marketing company to succeed. Finding the best social media management service for your company can take your business to the next level and help you reach a new audience while retaining your current clientele.

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The Best Social Media Marketing Services of 2017

If you're a social media marketer, two things are almost certain: You spend a lot of time on your mobile phone, and you spend even more time teaching your friends and colleagues how to use the latest apps and features because you're at the forefront of it all.

Social media is constantly evolving. For example, Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc., unveiled nine huge new features in 2016 alone. This makes marketers beg the ... Read More

Back in October, I wrote a piece on Mediumthat covered the numbers behind some of today's top social media networks.

From usage numbers to engagement statistics, it was incredible to see just how impactful networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become. For example, not only is Facebook home to1.23 billiondaily active users on average, but those users come from all over the world -- with 85.2% residing outside of the U.S. and Canada.

LinkedIn is a highly valuable tool to network with like-minded professionals. But here's something we don't talk about as much as we should -- it's also a highly useful marketing platform.

It mightseem a little bit intimidating. You have enough on your plate -- do you really need to be figuring out yet another way to create targeted content? Actually, yes. You have more power at your disposal with LinkedIn than you might realize.

Here at HubSpot, we're not shy about our fondness of Snapchat. Heck, we even devoted an entire day to recruiting via Snapchat. But maybenot everyone is as crazy about the app as we are. Personal feelings aside, it's time to start taking it seriously.

If nothing else, there's something to be said for Snapchat's off-the-charts growth.

Facebook Ads are going to drive more leads for your business in 2017 than any other paid channel. Youll need to have the right strategy and execute with agility and precision, but right now there is a massive Facebook opportunity for inbound marketers. An opportunity that if you take advantage of now, will pay off for years.

Technology changes fast but that doesnt stop us from missing big shifts. This is because they never happen all at once, but every once in awhile you can catch a glimpse of change in motion.

If youre a digital marketer, its hard to imagine a day spent without social media, even before you arrive at your desk for work.

Think about it. We wake up and immediately check our social media accounts before even getting out of bed, read headlines and trending topics during our commute, and tweet our latest blog posts by the time we arrive at the office.

In December 2016, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Facebook has evolved from a traditional social media network into a new type of media company -- one that offers a hybridtechnology and news platform where content creators and readers publish, share, and talk about what's happening in the world.

Its the start of another year, which means youre probably back in the office after vacation, hard at work on your New Years resolution. And if youre a marketer, you may also be fine-tuning your strategic plan for success in 2017.

We have a variety of resources for getting your marketing plan organized for the upcoming year -- between the 2017 marketing strategy kit, the social media content calendar, and the blog editorial calendar, weve got your content marketing strategy covered.

Between photos of beautiful dinners created with the help of meal delivery services to videos featuring the "unboxing" of a new mobile phone, people love to share their experiences with brands on social media.

This type of content is known as user-generated content (UGC), which is produced by actual product users through their own publishing and social media platforms.

You might already know that Instagram is a growing channel that lets individuals and businesses alike expand their brand. For businesses especially, it's a way to humanize your brand, recruit future employees, showcase your product and company culture, delight customers, and generate new business.

But here's the deal: Unless you're famous, it's really hard to amass a huge following on Instagram without some hard work.

By now, it's clear that creating great visual content is critical for marketers -- and that's especially true on social media.

It was recently announced that Instagram has doubled its monthly active user base since 2014, which means a lot more people are viewing and sharing photos. Plus, visual content is 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types. In other words, people like to be shown, not told -- and in turn, they share.

2016 brought change the marketing industry in many ways -- from powerful innovations to continuously evolving mediums.

But digital marketers know that change happens frequently in our industry, and adaptability is key to continue driving results in the face of burgeoning trends, growing social networks, and new, advanced technology.

On December 14th, Twitter announced that users would be able to broadcast live video directly from Twitter on iOS and Android mobile devices. This move is the result of Twitters integration with Periscope, the live video streaming app it acquired back in March of 2015.

Earlier in 2016, Twitter began featuring live and replayed Periscope videos in Twitter timelines that users could watch and interact with -- even without a Periscope account.

A great storyteller once said, brevity is the soul of wit. And although William Shakespeare wasnt alive for the invention of video, we think he would agree with our marketing spin: Brevity is the soul of video content.

Video content has exploded on social media: Videos are watched by 82% of Twitter users, and 100 million hours of video are watched on Facebook every day.

Social media is no longer the new kid on the block when it comes to marketing channels. Todays most successful B2B and B2C companies have recognized and harnessed its potential as a scalable lead generation tool. It's also a great growth engine, driving conversions throughout the funnel.

Whether youre a Baby Boomer or a youngmember of Gen Z, there's a good chance you use some form of social media. In fact, there are over 2 billion social media users worldwide.

When it comes to marketing, segmenting social media content for your audience is key. And one way to target your social media marketing efforts is by age group.

Every year, as soon as Halloween is behind us, it seems like the floodgates open. Without warning, there are holiday marketing campaigns everywhere, with countless businesses rushing to cash in on a spending frenzy. There are holiday emails, social media posts, and TV ads -- oh, my.

It might seem like holiday marketing is out of control. But some brands do it very, very well.

Imagine that youre within 140 characters of connecting with a customer, prospect, or influencer. How can you afford not to reach out?

Were talking Twitter, of course: the 300-million strong whirlpool of information that has emerged as a personal branding, relationship-building nirvana.

One average, Facebook is home to 1.18 billion daily active users -- from CEOs, to students, to companies. And while the community is clearly there, connecting with them from a marketing standpoint isn't always easy.

For brands, posting on Facebook alone isn't enough anymore -- especially for ones just starting out. Sure, you can throw money at your efforts to drive people to your Facebook Page and send them to your website, but that only works if you're smart about it.

One average, Facebook is home to 1.18 billion daily active users-- from CEOs, to students, to companies. And while the community is clearly there, connecting with them from a marketing standpoint isn't always easy.

For brands,posting on Facebook alone isn't enough anymore -- especially for onesjust starting out. Sure, you can throw money at your efforts to drive people to your Facebook Page and send them to your website, but that only works if you're smart about it.

Some of the greatest discoveries of all time came to fruition at the intersection between two ideas. Think about it: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pajama jeans, and sporks ... just to name a few.

This week, Instagram proved the power of cross-pollinating ideas once more when it announced the addition of live video on Instagram Stories and disappearing photos and videos in Instagram Direct.

Over the past couple of months, you may have heard some things about Facebook's metrics.

There was talk of numbers -- lots of them. Things were overestimated. Others were underestimated. People were kind of upset. But mostly, they were confused. What the heck happened? How was Facebook going to respond? And at the end of the day, what did it mean for marketers? Breathe, and don't panic -- we're here to answer all of that.

Although Twitter's growth rate has slowed down over the past year, it's still one of the most popular --- and powerful -- social media networks around. It has 313 million active users, 79%of accountsoutside of the United States.

With reach like that, businesses around the world are smart to continue using and innovating on Twitter -- and adapting to the way people use it.

LinkedIn is best known as the world's largest professional network -- in other words, users arent thereto look at cat memes or read celebrity gossip. Instead, they're looking toconnect with people in their industry, network, keep up with industry news, and look potential job opportunities.

For marketers, paying attention to this difference in user purpose is key when building your social strategy.

Its been a year since Twitter polls became an option for users to engage, entertain, and survey their social media audience. And just recently weve found ourselves asking, Are there any brands out there that are really using Twitter Polls well?

In the not-so ancient past, Twitter users used to tweet out makeshift polls and use likes, retweets, or replies to get their results.

Community managementhas become an essential part of a successful long-term social media marketing strategy. In fact, it's turned into more than just a social media strategy: Community management leads to customer retention, and studies have shown thatprofits increase 95% when retention grows over 5%.

It's no mystery that social media is a crucial part of any marketing strategy -- regardless of industry, company size,product, or service.

We've all been there. Back in the day, I had to make thecase for some businesses to even havea social media presence in the first place. Butfinally -- finally! -- it seems like folks are catching on. After all,69% of marketers are using social media to build a following.

Since 2010, Instagram has garnered more than 500 million users, 4.2 billion daily likes, and more than 95 million photos and videos posted per day. Brands who take advantage of this unique social media platform often find that the level of exposure that Instagram gives them is unprecedented.

But creating a successful, branded Instagram account requires more than just pretty images.

What do cross-country road trips, wedding speeches, and social media marketing have in common?

You could wing all three, but it's probably better to have a plan for what direction youre heading -- especially when it comes to your social media content strategy.

Unless you're a celebrity or a household name brand, it's really difficultto build a substantial following on Twitter. Maybe you've made it to a couple thousand followers but can't seem to bump it up any more.

Frustrating, isn't it?

What makes you click on ads? Is it the cute picture of a puppy, the funny caption, or are you only motivated by a great deal?

While there are plenty of studiesand articlesthat allude to what makes social media advertising successful, ad performance depends largely on your ability to create ad content that feels natural or organic (aka native advertising).

Social media is an extremely valuable tool for promoting your marketing content.

But with so many social networks providing their own individual content sharing and follow buttons, it's often difficult to know which social media button to use for what purpose.

At a conference in June, a Facebook VP said that in five years time the platform would be "all video."That's a bold statement, but it's not unbelievableif you've scrolled through your News Feed lately.

And one of the biggest drivers behind the growing prevalence of videois Facebook Live, which only was introduced in April of this year, but has since become a major distribution channel for both publishers and brands.

For a while now, it's been clear that Instagram isn't just a social network for selfies and brunch pics. In fact, Instagram sees a whopping 500 million users -- a 25% increase in audience size over less than a year.

In a world where visual content remains a crucial part of any business' marketing strategy, Instagram presents a unique opportunity to visually represent your brand, celebrate its personality, and keep it top-of-mind for all those users who scroll through their Instagram feeds every single day.

These days, teams of all shapes and sizes -- from NASA to charity: water --are using the real-time messaging app Slack as a tool for communication and collaboration.

Over the past few years, it's become a robust platform thanks to all of the fun and useful integrations folks have built on top of it.Nowadays, there's a whole lot of really cool stuff you can do in Slack, from polling your teammates, to tracking bugs, to adding GIFs to yourconversations.

The last time I went on vacation, Facebook and Instagram announced two big product changes that I was left scrambling to catch up on when I returned.

Know the feeling? If you work in social media marketing, my guess is you know it all too well.

Social media is constantly evolving, making today an exciting time to work in marketing.

Before the days of smartphones -- if you can remember such a time -- taking a great photo was a labor-intensive process. You'd have buy a fancy camera and editing software for your desktop computer, and invest some serious time and energy into learning how to use them.

But thanks to our mobile devices and the editing apps that come with them, we can now take high quality photos and edit them without too many bells and whistles -- all from the same device that we use to make calls.

Video has been on the rise for a while, offering marketers a proven way to grab strangers' attention and keep their target audience engaged.

Live video streaming in particular has become increasingly popular as a tool for companies and groups to connect directly with their users, to gain greater product awareness, and to brand themselves creatively.

Visual content garners a huge amount of engagement on social media. There's a reason why71% of online marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing: People respond to it.

Being able to share this content across multiple platforms, then, is an asset. And one of the best ways to do that is tolink Instagram to Facebook -- that increases the number of eyes on your visual content.

Raise your hand if youd rather watch a video to learn something new than read about it.

Go ahead -- youre not alone. 59% of executives say theyd rather watch a video than read text, too.And really, that number makes sense -- we are a society of video streamers. (I mean, hello, Netflix.)

When people talk about today's most popular social sharing websites, YouTube often gets left out of the conversation in favor of sites like Facebook and Twitter.

But don't be fooled:YouTube has a lot going for it. Although Facebook might be the largest social networking site, YouTube has the second greatest reach after Facebook in terms of general usage. It's alsothe second biggest search engine behind its parent company, Google.

With the average attention span dipping to just 8.25 seconds -- as short as that of a goldfish-- today's marketers are tasked with creating content that's engaging enough to appeal to distracted consumers.

With that in mind, Snapchat -- a real-time messaging and multimedia app -- has become an increasingly attractive channel for those looking to engage the 18-34 year old demographic and grow their brand's social media presence.

With 1.13 billion daily active users engaging on the platform, Facebook has become an obvious option for marketers looking to explore the benefits of targeted ad creation.

And while Facebook's targeting options make it easier for you to get your ads in front of the people you really care about, it's ultimately up to you to do the convincing. To do that, you'll need to pay close attention to the details.

Despite its impressive reach --over 300 million daily active users and counting -- it took some time for marketers to realize the business potential of Instagram.

Not only isincluding Instagram in your social media marketing strategyhelpful in terms of achievinghigh levels of engagement and brand awareness, but it can also make it easier for you to attract new leads and customers.

Most marketers know by now that Facebook is an important business tool for companies of every size and industry. With adaily active user base of1.13 billion (1.03 billion on mobile alone), youknow itcan help you reach new audiences you may not have been able to reach otherwise. It can also help you get found more easily in search, create a community around your business, promote the content you create, anddevelop a strong brand identity.

Back when I was in business school, just a wee lass interning for a consulting firm, one of my first assignments was to deliver a presentation on the value of social media. I had to prove why something like Twitter was actually of any use in this industry, and explain how we would leverage it to promote our company.

At the time, it was a bit of a tall order.

On Tuesday, Instagram introduced Instagram Stories, a new feature with remarkable similarities to Snapchat.

Stories provides Instagram users with a place to share posts at a higher frequency. While Instagram photos are typically reserved for perfectly composed shots, Stories allows you to share the little moments that may not be as picture-perfect.

Your headshot is kind of like the logo for your personal brand.

Like a business logo, it'll show up everywhere you showcase your personal brand online: your Twitterprofile, your LikedIn profile, your blog,your email signatures, and so on.And, also like a business logo,it'sa great opportunity for youto use imagery to make a lasting, positive impression on your audience.

Over the past few years, video has become one of the most compelling ways for brands to tell their stories on social media.

From the instant popularity of Facebook Live videos toInstagram increasing their video length from 30 to 60 seconds, marketers are using the power of video to communicate their business' personalities and brand stories, to express creativity, and to build emotional connections with fans and followers.

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HubSpot Blogs | Marketing | Social Media

Imagine if the Chicago Bulls said Michael Jordan was once again coming out of retirement, but this time he would suit up for only one game and, strangely, the game would not be televised.

Further, and perhaps even stranger, there would be a strict no social media policy. The 20,000 people who were lucky enough to score tickets would have their smartphones confiscated at the door.

Limiting the majesty of this special occasion to only the folks in attendance would be a crime. Yet in a roundabout way, this is something too many event marketers are doing with their campaigns.

Its not that theyre enforcing silly policies that outlaw tweets, snaps and hashtagstheyre just not fully capitalizing on social media and seeing it for what it is: an engagement-driving element that can and should be leveraged during marketing events.

A whopping majority of event marketers say they use social media before and after events, but about 45 percent say they do not use it during the eventsthemselves. Thats akin to having Jordan sit on the bench for the entirety of his big night back.

With awareness, engagement and reach being the underlying goals of event marketing campaigns, shouldnt social media be a given? Not only is it inexpensive and easy to implement, but its also a slam-dunk way to plug a broader audience into a brands message.

To boot, 85 percent of consumers say they are more swayed by user-generated contentthan the material marketers come up with. Encouraging attendees to post about events adds a key layer of authenticity to campaigns.

The benefits of adding social media elements to marketing events are clear. Here are three tips that will help brands fully capitalize on this approach:

According to one survey, fewer than 30 percent of attendees say they feel compelled to share insights and photoswith their personal social networks during marketing events. Thats because no one is passing them the ball.

Even the most rabid basketball fans need a Jumbotron to remind them to get loud during important parts of a game. Similarly, the most avid Instagrammers and tweeters need to know that theres a photo booth and hashtag that brands want them to use.

There must be a clear awareness of how exactly social media plays into the event. It should be so self-explanatory that consumers cant help but want to document and share their experiences.

Over his long career, Shaquille ONeal attempted only 22 three-point shots. His coaches knew dunks and layups were his forte, so they never called any plays that would force him to shoot the long ball. In that vein, why would marketers ask attendees to utilize social media platforms they dont love to use?

Skip the Snapchat filters for a group of 60-year-old doctors, seeing as the platform fares betterwith younger demographics.

That said, however, dont limit the events social media aspect to one single channelespecially if the attendees are diverse. Make sure all players have opportunities to share the fun theyre having on platforms they enjoy using.

Championships are won when teams embrace and leverage their unique identities. The Jordan-era Bulls werent trying to emulate other teams; they leveraged their uniqueness to rise above the rest and become a dynasty.

In the event-marketing sense, social media shouldnt be haphazardly thrown into a campaign just because everyone else is doing it. Rather, it should be integrated thoughtfully and creatively.

For example, one of my favorite marketing events we worked on was for Tractor Supply Co. We rolled out a life-sized taxidermy rodeo bull and encouraged attendees to climb onto its back and snap photos. The brand wasnt providing a photo op just for the sake of providing onethis was a strategic decision that reflected the companys identity and appealed to attendees interests. It was a one-of-a-kind experience that consumers couldnt resist to share with friends.

If awareness and engagement are the biggest obstructions to return on investment at marketing events, social media is the tool that will help marketers alley-oop over them. Stop treating social media like a halftime show that no one pays attention to and start making it a fundamental part of your programs.

Steve Randazzo is founder and president of experiential marketing agency Pro Motion.

Image courtesy of Dmytro Aksonov/iStock.

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How to Slam Dunk Social Media Into Marketing Events - FishbowlDC (blog)

Vancouver-based Hootsuite has announced the acquisition of AdEspresso, which allows small and medium-sized businesses to split test every aspect of their Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns.

In a statement, Hootsuite said that the acquisition of AdEspresso a global Facebook ad partner will allow the company to sit at the nexus of $500 million in annualized social spend. The social media management platform has expressed an interest in becoming a go-to social marketing solution for businesses. AdEspresso by Hootsuite will continue as a self-service ads management product for businesses.

Social advertising has become a vital aspect of marketing; companies are looking for ways to reach an active, engaged audience while getting more mileage from content and advertising spend, said Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite. With AdEspresso, were bringing our users a simple, powerful, battle-tested solution that delivers measurable ROI.

At the same time that it announced the acquisition, the company also announced the launch of Hootsuite Ads, which will provide organizations with enterprise-grade features, such as testing hundreds of Facebook and Instagram ads in a shorter time and connecting an organizations CRM with its Facebook ads account.

Millions of organizations use Facebook advertising to drive the outcomes that matter most to them, said Blake Chandlee, VP of Marketing Partnerships at Facebook. Hootsuites acquisition of AdEspresso, a fast-growing Facebook Marketing Partner, shows that theres a huge opportunity in building customized services on our open APIs to help each business meet their unique goals.

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Hootsuite acquires social marketing tool AdEspresso - BetaKit