Widgets, Clicks, and Tweets- Spring 2018

Glossier is a popular makeup and skincare brand that I follow on almost every social media platform. Although their marketing and advertising is mainly done via social media, they have done traditional forms of advertising as well with ads on bus shelter and train shelters as well. Glossier, like many companies, post different types of content on each of their social media platforms. Instagram is typically where they might hint at product launches, post celebrities or influencers using or wearing their products. Their twitter account is where they post images or other information relating to their products, and their youtube account is used to post tutorials and other how-to videos. I think with this brand specifically, since their advertising and marketing differs from other brands tremendously, I’m more inclined to buy the product or at least be interested in buying their products. It is effective, and I believe that Glossier has acted as a prerequisite for other beauty brands and th...

At extended stay hotels where I worked for a short period of time. They use social media quite frequently for marketing and to handle certain complaints. When I worked there whenever I would go onto the WiFi in on of their hotels I would start getting ads for extended stay on websites instantly. I would get banner ads or it would show up on Facebook. Now their marketing campaign is designed nationwide, they use a mixture of online sources and TV placements to market. They target the budget conscious consumer along with business travelers who may travel for long periods of time. It is effective because they do see a healthy amount of consumers at least at the one that I worked at. Also with people staying there for long periods of time they are able to meet various needs. Personally for me it doesn't work, I wouldn't stay there for various reasons. I would rather spend a little more money and stay at a 3 star hotel if I needed one. While I am not their target market I do believe...

Swarovski is a jewelry company I have been familiar with for about a decade or so. The brand features a strong presence on multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. They primarily feature promotional posts on their various pages, as long as photos of celebrities or designer houses who have borrowed Swarovski jewels for various events or photo shoots. They also engage in print advertising via newspapers and women's fashion magazines, as well as bus ads, which I noticed while walking downtown in Chicago. I think that their target audience is women starting in their late teens, and extends beyond into adulthood. Given that their prospective audience may have a varying degree of familiarity with social media, their PR tactic to advertise across newer and more traditional forms of advertisement seems to be effective in garnering the attention of their intended customers. A young adult woman who actively uses Instagram may come across their brand that wa...

Black Panther is the most tweeted about movie of all time. http://observer.com/2018/03/black-panther-most-tweets-35-million/ The movie has created over 35 million tweets, making it the most tweeted about movie ever. All of the social media buzz provided some great word of mouth marketing and helped to make it not only Marvel’s globally highest-grossing non-Avengers movie of all-time but also the highest-grossing superhero movie ever in the US, besting the benchmark set by Avengers Assemble back in 2012.  

Taco bell is a very unique company when it comes to marketing campaigns. Taco bell has a very decorative instagram page and use very high quality photos. Together, these entice me to go into their stores and at least consider ordering food. For starters, I am not an avid taco-beller, however their online marketing makes it impossible to pass up. For example, on their instagram page there are constant pictures of cheese, dips, etc. Those pictures in essence mirror what Taco-bell sells, so when someone goes to the store, they expect a creamy cheese dip, for example. However, if the cheese wasn't up to par with what they say, most will take to twitter and let them know. Taco bell is always on twitter responding and ensuring a positive experience. Together this makes me want to go eat at Taco-Bell and see what makes them so successful. Now, their target market can be identified in a variety of ways. Their instagram tailors to all genders and ages, as it is just 'kitchen' photos...

McDonald's has become very active on social media over the last few years, using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. They post every day regarding new products and specials, often with very enticing videos of the food. This seems very effective to me, as it often makes me want to try the food items they are promoting. They also are very responsive to customers who post questions and feedback to them on social media. In some cases it seems like they are targeting existing customers, encouraging them to come back in and try something new or get a good deal on something they like. Often, though, they seem to be trying to get people who normally wouldn't eat at McDonald's to give them a try. This appears to me to be the case when they are promoting their more high-end foods or talking about the quality changes they are making. Overall, I believe McDonald's use of social media is pretty effective. Of course, individual posts may have ways they could be imp...

Many social media posts from a company have a hard time connecting. Perhaps it feels at time like they are trying to hard to reach a particular demographic, or some that I have seen ever try to use language that might be foreign to the tone of the brand. Some companies take another more subtle approach, KFC created a campaign earlier this year and then didn't tell anyone about it. The people that they were following on Twitter was a nod to original recipe that the restaurant uses to create its chicken. They were following 5 spice girls and 6 people named herb, for a total, you guessed it of 11 herbs and spices. KFC placed this silently awesome campaign on their twitter account a month before someone noticed it and didn't even know if  someone would find it. The tweet by the user that found it was interacted with over a million times. I think this tweet makes the fans of the brand even more likely to talk about KFC with an awesome low key social campaign. However the targe...