Creating a Successful Twitter Account

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Tamara Mullett

As with any media, creating a Twitter account requires planning and commitment.  With over 500 million users, your messages on Twitter have the potential to be spread to many people. However, if you want your campaign to be successful, there are a few important steps to follow:

1. Research: Before you begin your campaign, it is important to develop a plan both for guidance, and to avoid missteps once the campaign has begun.

You must be aware of:

  • - Who you want to follow (who is your target audience?)
  • - What you want to say  (what is your campaign’s message?)
  • - What you want to accomplish (gain awareness? Sell a product? Promote an event?)

2. Follow others:  Following people on Twitter allows them to become aware that your account exists. Many people follow back the people that are following them, so following is important to help grow your list. When you first create your account, follow thought leaders, and people using hashtags or tweeting about your field.

3. Understand and engage with your followers: Be aware of who your followers are; knowing your demographic can help you to focus your tweeting material. It is important to also engage with your followers. Share, discuss, and retweet what your followers say so that they can make a connection with you.

4. Use hastags: Using a hastag helps to focus the conversation around your campaign, and makes it easier to track. As you want your hashtag to be unique, search Twitter to make sure it has not already been used. Before your campaign, promote your hashtag on your website and other methods of social media, and use it as an official news channel for tweeting anything about the campaign.

5. Be consistent: It takes time to build up followers on Twitter. Do not give up if you are not immediately successful. Pay attention to what your customers, followers, and fans want, and tweet it to them. If your fans are happy with you, they will spread your message to their followers as well.

Don’t forget to connect with OKD on Twitter here!

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The King is Dead

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Nick Olynyk

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

This was quoted to me by one of the founding partners of OKD when I proposed a new social media model.  At first I was offended by his dismissal of my new idea, but as I thought it through, I realized he was right and that my idea wasn’t as new as I had thought, and moreover, I discovered that process names and media models are only as good as the person using them.

Names don’t matter, people do

When it comes to social media, there is no set formula for success.  Thousands of blogs and companies will tell you that they know how to do it.  While their ideas are usually good, they do not provide be all, end all solutions for social media.  And the simple fact is that there are no be all end all solutions to a problem as complicated as social media marketing.

Instead of looking at the process, look at the people involved.  Are they creative, agile, adaptable enough to deal with the issues that are core to social media.  Do they have the drive to bring the conversation to new consumers while not forgetting about brand advocates you have already acquired?

Invest in talent, not technology

Facebook is still the largest name when it comes to social media, and for many good reasons that I will not get into at this point.  However, it is not always the best choice for every brand when it comes to social engagement.  This is why it is more important to invest in good talent who can utilize different systems depending on what is the most relevant to the campaign at hand.

Let your resources and needs dictate your social outreach instead of abstract ideas such as size of the network.  This is why you need good talent who can recognize your limits and goals and reconcile them in a social atmosphere.

Conclusion

I will continually look into refining my personal models I use for social media marketing and research.  However, I will do so as a means of improving and educating myself as a social media analyst rather than try and find some be all models for marketing which will undoubtedly become dated and irrelevant before I can master it.

In the end it will always be a people driven industry, and therefore the best investment is in human capital.

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Data Driven Results – Achieving Better ROI through AdWords Optimization

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Nick Olynyk

The power of being where your consumers are is very important in business today.  And when it comes to reaching consumers with your message few marketing services are available which are as easy to use and versatile as Google Adwords .

Optimization is Essential

While the Adwords system is easy to use and set up, it requires a monitoring and optimization in order to achieve the best possible results.  Optimization is essential as t is not a set it and forget it system.  This means having people who are available to check the results on a daily basis and make adjustments where necessary to optimize the targeting parameters.

This is the reason why it is good practice to dedicate someone internally, or to hire an outside agency to execute an AdWords campaign, as they have specific knowledge of the interface and the time to check and optimize the results as it goes along.  OKD has achieved great success in the past through its dedicated online marketing team and their knowledge of the Adwords Systems.

Target who you want accurately

Google Adwords allows for some of the most accurate targeting among the many online advertising solutions that exist today.  Targeting varies depending on where your ad will be seen, but Google maintains that they want the most relevant ads to be shown to consumers, and that means that it strives hard to perfect targeting through the AdWords interface.

The Power if Search, Display, and Video

Through Google Adwords, you have access to millions of users through targeted search, display, and video campaigns.  This means that you be with consumers throughout their online experience, ensuring that they see the messages you want them to see.

Google Searches allow for very precise and cost effective targeting of users who indicate their interest in your brand through keywords they use in their searches.  This allows you to get your name out to people who know they need your service, but don’t know your name yet.

The Display Networks allows for accurate behavior and audience targeting which will enable display campaigns to reach the ideal users for your campaign.

Since Google owns YouTube, they have access to pre roll inventory which allows for business of every size to be able to tell their story through videos and to have interested consumers sees that message.

All in All, Google allows you to send the messages you want out users no matter where they are online.

Don’t let Data go to Waste

Whether its data from past campaigns, Website SEO data, or a recently finished AdWords campaign, don’t let data go to waste.  Success and Failure are both lessons that can be applied to every campaign going forward, and it is important that you use all the information you can to achieve success and avoid failure.

That is why data such as keyword information or audience demographics will help to plan future marketing campaigns including AdWords.  Make sure that decision s you make are backed up by past performance data

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Call for submission: local charity requests

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Brent Clifford

Our client, Martin & Hillyer Associates announces the return of their Annual Bowl-a-thon in 2013

Martin & Hillyer Associates annual bowl-a-thon raises money for local Burlington charities.  Amounts raised in previous years range between $15,000 to $21,000.

If you are part of a non-profit or charitable organization we would like to hear from you.

Please write a letter telling us about your organization and what you could do with the money raised at our  bowl-a-thon!  Please submit your letters by email to: bowlathon@mhalaw.ca

The cut-off date for submissions is December 7th, 2012.

The chosen organization will be announced in January and the bowl-a-thon will take place in May 2013.

The organization and our firm will work together to make this event a success!

We look forward to receiving your letters!

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The Lowdown | Volume 18

Posted on September 25, 2012 by David Olynyk

This week in The Lowdown Justin Timberlake tries to save MySpace, Replacement Officials in the NFL, the office technologies that are becoming extinct, how marketing education needs to change and an introduction to the inventor of the hashtag.  Enjoy!

1. Justin Timberlake Tries to Bring Sexy Back to Myspace | Adweek

The new Myspace redesign is bringing sexy back. Gone are the glitter unicorn backgrounds that made the interface impossible to view or navigate. Gone, too, is the crappy logo that we all knew was just lipstick on a pig. The whole thing has been redesigned from the ground up. Timberlake broke the news in a tweet that linked to a video introduction to the new interface, which seems well designed to handle the needs of musicians in particular.

2.  Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks Controversial Call Blows Up Twitter | Bleacher Report

If you didn’t get to watch this little piece of history, the Packers led host Seattle 12-7 heading into the last play, in which Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate on a play that looked like Green Bay defensive back M.D. Jennings possessed the ball as he and Tate fell to the ground.

3. 10 Office Technologies on Their Way Out | Mashable

LinkedIn surveyed more than 7,000 global professionals about which tools and trends will disappear from offices in the next five years and which will become even more common. Nearly three quarters of those surveyed said they expected fax machines to disappear, making it the second most likely office technology to go extinct behind tape recorders.

4. Marketing Education Doesn’t Have to Be This Bad | Marketing Magazine

If you are a marketer in 2012, you know the pace of change today is unprecedented. Technology, social media and globalization are redefining entire industries and the discipline of marketing is no different.

5. Meet the Father of the Hashtag | Digiday

The pound sign is no longer just a little symbol on your keyboard or on your phone keypad: It’s a hashtag. It’s a filter for online conversation, it’s a place for humor, it’s shorthand, it’s a marketing tool, it’s whatever you want it to be. Chris Messina, its proud inventor, is happy about that.

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The Lowdown | Volume 17

Posted on September 18, 2012 by David Olynyk

The Lowdown is back!  Today we look at the social photo industry gold rush, a new way for women to shop for men, how brands win in digital, the 25 funniest people on twitter and finally, the Starbucks diet.

1. Everyone’s Doubling Down on Photos Yet Again — Could Flickr Be Why? | Fast Company

The Yahoo CEO has yet to show her cards with Flickr, by Apple, Google and others may be getting into defense mode by shoring up their own photo-related services.  They remind us today that there’s gold in the overcrowded social photo industry.

2. Supermanket Turns Men Into Online Products | Mashable

Ladies, what if finding your next date could be as easy as shopping for your next box of cereal? That’s the idea behind startup dating site Supermanket, a site that lets women shop for men on virtual store shelves categorized by the specific type of guy they’re in the market for.

3. How Brands Win in Digital | Digiday

The digital media industry often hears from all constituencies but often leaves out an important one: brands. That’s despite the fact that brands, and their budgets, are what makes the whole system go.

4.  The 25 Funniest People on Twitter | Rolling Stone

By some estimates, there are nearly 300 million users on Twitter – and almost all of them think they’re comedians. But these 25 comics, writers and actors turn the 140-character one-liner into an artform.

5. The Starbucks Diet | Neatorama

As a majority of our office runs on Starbucks this final story should be good for a smile. Losing weight may be as simple as going to your neighborhood coffee shop. At least, that’s what worked for Christine Hall, who lost nearly 80 pounds by eating only Starbucks food.

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OKD Integration – Search, Social, and Display

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Nick Olynyk

In the past, it has been a challenge to convince clients that they need to be investing in search engine marketing, social media, or display advertising.  This has traditionally been because of how new these mediums are for advertising.  Today, the trend is changing and companies recognize they have to invest in their online image, and that starts with Search, Social and Display advertising.

OKD has long advocated the strong use of search engine marketing in any online campaign.  We have seen the results and value in ensuring that consumers can find you when they search online.  We have always striven to ensure that companies own their brand; meaning that they seek to control and support all online mentions of their brand.  This traditionally starts with SEO and SEM, which means that if your brand cannot be found via search, customers won’t find your site.

OKD’s largest successes in SEM have been with local clients.  This is because local businesses need to capture their consumers with much more precision then national or international brands.  This lends itself to search engine marketing as it allows for extremely precise geographic targeting as well as optimization based on keywords.

There is a definite relationship between Search Engine Marketing and Social Media.  While SEM has obvious methods of optimization and refinement, Social Media is a different prospect.  Many companies and brands fail to realize that the trends and opportunities of SEM are also the same as those of Social Media.

OKD has long since used detailed analytics from SEM and SEO campaigns to optimize and plan social campaigns.  Keyword trends provide insight into hot button issues for social media which can be used to plan long term messaging plans or to better create new content for blogs or other outlets.

Display Advertising is what many traditionally think of when they think of online advertising, banner ads on websites.  In the modern digital atmosphere, display advertising is being constantly evolved to meet the needs of advertisings and consumers.

Many still think display advertising is limited to buying by specific site and only purchased through cost per thousand impressions (CPM).  Current display offerings allow for detailed targeted and retargeting through topics, keywords, and specific placements.  They can also be purchased through many new models including cost per click (CPC), which lends itself to direct response much better then CPM does.

Display Marketing has long been a strong suit of OKD.  We were early to start serving ads through private networks, and immediately capitalized on the need to capture data for detailed analysis and optimization.  When it comes to RTB, (which is the live auction of display placements) as well as other advancements in display buying, OKD has kept ahead of the curve and is highly skilled at buying display advertising through many buying models depending on the client objective and financial constraints of the campaign.

Conclusion

OKD, as a Google Adwords Certified Company has helped clients integrate search, display, and social media into unified campaigns that have had great success.  Using detailed analytics, audience response, and Search data, we have been able to refine our digital media strategies to achieve great success for our clients.

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The Dual Role Social Media Specialists Need to Play

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Nick Olynyk

The dynamic nature of social media means that anyone who specializes in it must keep up to date with countless companies who offer endless ways of reaching consumers through digital social interaction.  It is because of the ever changing nature of social media, those who want to become social analysts or coordinators must first learn to be researchers.

The digital world is evolving at an ever increasing rate, so that in the time between my writing this article and the time you read it, some major development in social or digital media will have come to the forefront of the current debate.

The nature of social media means that those best suited to specializing in it are also natural researchers, because they have to adapt to a changing medium that has little to no consistency over long periods of time.

Today’s social media analyst and coordinators are natural researchers because they have to be out of necessity.  They have also been subject to high amounts of accountability due to social media being in its infancy and relatively unproven as an advertising medium.  These facts mean that your social analyst has the ability to investigate new media options with an eye for results.

In conclusion, social analysts are an untapped resource when it comes to investigating and researching digital media options.

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The Lowdown | Volume 16

Posted on July 31, 2012 by David Olynyk

This week in the Lowdown its all about the Olympics!  We will look how NBC is thriving in the mist of its #NBCDelayed controversy, the general public’s knowledge of who are the actual Olympic sponsors, London’s Brand Police, how twitter incidents have caused just as many athletes to be excused from the Games as doping and finally, what happens when 8 million people visit your city for the Olympics.   Enjoy!

1. Despite Agita Over NBC’s Coverage of 2012 London Olympic Games, Network Smashes Ratings Records | Adweek

If NBC’s tape-delayed opener didn’t always connect with the Twitterati—viewers were particularly incensed by the omission of attribute to the victims of the July 7, 2005, London terror attacks—the gaffes didn’t seem to have a material impact on America’s enthusiasm for watching the games on TV.

2. Consumers Don’t Really Know Who Sponsors the Olympics | Advertising Age

Marketers spend hundreds of millions of dollars around their Olympic sponsorships, but consumers often don’t appear to be aware of who has paid to attach their name to the games. Worse yet, they often think that honor belongs to a major rival.

3. London’s “Brand Police” Can Levy Olympic Size Fines | Marketing Magazine

While the world’s finest athletes fight for a spot on the podium, another battle is brewing behind-the-scenes as Olympic organizers enforce strict rules to protect the Games’ sponsors and official trademarks.

4. Another Racist Twitter Scandal Gets Another Olympic Athlete the Boot | Yahoo! News

Twitter is a great way to keep up with your favorite Olympic athletes as they give insight into their sports and life in the Olympic Village, and occasionally spray racist vitriol, as Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella did on Monday, getting himself expelled.

5. Olympic Impact: What Happens When 8 Million People Visit? | Now Sourcing

A look at what happens what you have 8 million people double your city overnight, this case being for the 2012 Olympics

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The Lowdown | Volume 15

Posted on July 17, 2012 by David Olynyk

This week in the Lowdown we are looking at Twitter’s new age verification and what it means to alcoholic brands, Real-Time ads at the Olympics, The end of RIM, Yahoo’s new CEO and the #1 concern for digital marketers. Enjoy!

1. Twitter Age Verifier Weeds Out Minors for Alcohol Brands | Adweek

On July 12 Twitter and Buddy Media launched a free tool designed to help alcohol brands market only to people of legal drinking age. Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and MillerCoors have been testing the feature over the last month, and other brands can now sign up to employ the feature.

2. Nike Plans Real-Time Olympics Ads on Twitter | Mashable

When the Team USA men’s basketball team is playing, the Jordan brand will include spontaneous real-time comments about the game in its promoted tweets. These Twitter ads will also contain pre-planned brand content and links.

3. The End of RIM | Canadian Business

Shares of Research In Motion (TSX:RIM) closed down more than three and a half per cent on Monday as investors reacted to a U.S. court ruling against the BlackBerry maker. RIM’s stock dropped 26 cents to end at $7.09 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after slipping as much as 31 cents earlier in the day. The smartphone company was slapped with damages of US$147.2 million late Friday.

4. Yahoo Names Google Exec Marissa Mayer as New CEO | Advertising Age

Yahoo ended its CEO search with a bang, appointing prominent Google exec Marissa Mayer in a move that startled observers and upended the status quo in Silicon Valley.

5. The No. 1 Concern of Digital Marketers: ROI | Digiday

A recent survey by the Association of National Advertisers found that 62 percent of marketers said the inability to prove ROI in new media platforms is their top concern nowadays. The marketers surveyed expressed concern over having the proper metrics to determine the right mix of traditional and digital media. And, 53 percent of respondents say there’s a lack of understanding about digital media among key people within their organization.

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