Assignment #3: Social Media Marketing Analysis

Assignment #3: Social media marketing analysis of M&M’s Facebook page by 

Camilla Monsen Borgan

I think the page is an interesting page because they offer discounts (if you click “like”, you get 15 % discounts), and they have a humorous graphic with cool pictures and videos. The videos shows new technological improvements or videos from stores openings that shows a lot of people trying the new machine who generate personal M&MS or people who are storming into the shop when it opens their doors at the very first time.

The page is interactive in the way there is a customer service portal. M&Ms let their fans participate on the page when they raise questions under pictures and let the fans write on the wall. There are just a few negative comments about the product on their Facebook page and these bad experiences about the product has M&M replied, so it is dialogue at this social environment. There are a lot of people who write “useless” comments on the page, which might is a little disrupting but these comments are not replied by M&M.

The page has lot of pictures, which show how delicious the chocolate are. The pictures have sometimes a text that asks questions to the fans about “Which color of the chocolate do you like best?” or “Which store do you prefer?”. That makes people with different views able to have conversations under the pictures.

When it comes to involve the fans more than just let them write on the wall or under pictures, has M&M created a game where fans can type in how many minutes they are using on Facebook, and convert this time into volunteering. M&M recommend the fans to spend this time in real life to do volunteering work and let the users know that M&M are a money giver to this action. With this game shows M&M their support to a voluntary organizations, and this is building up a positive view about M&M as a company. They ask their fans to post picture from their volunteer job into M&Ms own gallery, to involve them in the project and advertise them both as a nice company who support poor people and makes delicious chocolate.

Calvin Lu

https://www.facebook.com/skullgirls

This is the facebook page for the video game Skullgirls. While there are no premiums on the page given away for free, they are linking merchandise for you to buy. They have a consistent flow of merchandise through their “T-Shirt Tuesday” events, where they reveal a new T-Shirt design being sold every Tuesday. This generates content-flow, which causes people to come back to the facebook page every week to check what the new shirt is. Another source of new content is their “Fan-art Friday” event, where they feature art drawn by the fans every Friday. Not only is this content-flow, but both “T-Shirt Tuesday” and “Fan-Art Friday” are forms of user-generated content. The T-Shirts designs, as well as the featured art, are mostly all made by the games' fans.

The last weekly event that the makers of Skullgirls host is the weekly stream. Every week the developers head to a local restaurant/cafe and invite people to join them to play Skullgirls. For those fans who don't live in Los Angeles, the event is streamed online for all to watch. This calls for participation from the fans around the area, who are invited to come to the event. For all the other fans, they are invited to participate by tuning in to the stream. These fans not only participate by watching, but the stream service also allows them to chat with each other and the developers at the event in real-time. In a way, this is also a form of a customer service “portal,” where the fans can speak directly with the developers. Even on the facebook page, Skullgirls replies to comments made on their posts, creating dialogue between the game and the fans.

James Cardenas

By viewing the Back to the Roots commercial website it is clear that the company is doing an excellent job in marketing their product through social media. Immediately at first glance of the webpage users will notice the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest icons.  This feature alone will make it easier for customers to share their involvement with the product over various social media platforms, which will consequently increase awareness of the product.  Back to the Roots allows site visitors to sign up for their newsletter and “Join their Community” which provides an opportunity for users to learn more about the product. The main design of the website puts customers in the spotlight and displays photos of customers who have shared their interest of the product through their Facebook pages and Instagram accounts.

            Back to the Roots also utilizes premiums in their marketing strategies.  They did this by announcing that they would donate free products to a school of their customers’ choice if they posted pictures on Facebook of them with Back to the Roots products.  The company also provides fundraising offers for those who are interested; where fundraisers can make profit from selling the Back to the Roots products. Finally, Back to the Roots also allow customers to tour their urban farm and see where the company produces its product increasing customer participation.  Back to the Roots is successful in using premiums and user-generate content along with other strategies to effectively market their product.

ASSIGNMENT #3: SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ANALYSIS

Sissel-Merete Pedersen

In this text I will do an analysis of Moods of Norway’s social media Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/moodsofnorway?fref=ts. Moods of Norway is an international lifestyle design concept that combines a Norwegian heritage with international trends. They established in 2003. The company is known for using Norwegian heritage in all their products. They are using bright colors in their products and details in the pictures, and that reflects in their Facebook pages.

The first you see when you go to their Facebook page is their brand that is a tractor. All the pictures they have published are taken in Stryn, a small town in Norway. The pictures are colorful and entertaining so they give a good impression. It is only the administrators who can publish the pictures, but users can comment on them. They have links to their main webpage and Instagram. Users can also comment on events, advertisings and competitions. For participation it is not so much the users can do on the Facebook page. It is a campaign users can join to get 20 % discount on an online order. If the users do that they will receive updates and news on emails. The users can communicate with other users by commenting on pictures or events, but not directly with each other through portals. Users can ask for help or tips where to find products. The content flow on their Facebook page is ok. The administrators are publishing new collections and events almost two times a week. They are inviting users to participate by being members using emails to get updates on news and events. I think the administrations could make this page more entertaining since they have good pictures and stories they can use to make the Facebook page better. They had one competition for four month ago, so they could be better to offer competitions and free stuffs. They are good at creating events and invite people to come to their grand opening at shops with famous people, but this could be even more highlighted. I think the Facebook page could have been more effective by invented more things to do on their Facebook page and more user related activities.

Anna Gaia

The following paragraphs are an analysis of the effectiveness of social media marketing used by Build-a-Bear Workshop, a company which rather than simply selling already made stuffed animals, markets the experience of making your own custom “furry friend”, accessorizing it, and naming it (Your stuffed animal even receives a birth certificate.). Their Facebook page has much content which contributes to the effectiveness of their marketing.

Firstly, they often give premiums on a variety of different occasions: practically every holiday you could imagine, arrival of new merchandise, etc. For example, to celebrate International Internet Day Build-a-Bear gave its customers access to order their “entire holiday lineup” online a week before it became available in stores. In another instance, to advertise Halloween merchandise, they announced customers would get a free bag if they went to one of their stores between October 25^th and 31^st. For Boss’s Day customers were given access to a free E-card to send to their bosses. This also demonstrates that their marketing is not only targeted to children, but adults as well.  On a different occasion, they announced a random 40% discount on “Tabby Kitty.”

Build-a-Bear’s Facebook page is also highly participatory, as it includes events, games, and surveys for users. They often create donation events, as in the case of their post about “DonorsChoose.org”, a non-profit organization involved in education. They also frequently ask for customers’ opinions. For example, on the company’s birthday, customers were asked for suggestions as to what Build-a-Bear should wish for. On another occasion, they posted a survey to gather information on their customers’ preferences, such as favorite movies, TV shows, and other products. Another post included an invitation to play their new online game, “Bear Valley.”

Given that the page is highly participatory, there are many opportunities for user generated content. Build-a-Bear often asks users to submit photos of themselves posing with their “furry friend” or human friend.  The Facebook page is full of pictures of customers in Build-a-Bear stores. For Halloween they asked users to post pictures of themselves in their costumes and tag them as #halloweenbear. Another example is “Sweetest Day”, in which they posted, “Tell us who your sweeties are,” and customers responded with pictures of their loved ones (in many cases parents posting pictures of their little children).

The company provides a good customer service “portal”, by allowing open dialogue with customers. Not only do they utilize surveys, but they oftentimes post a question and allow customers to freely answer in the comments section. A great portion of their posts are dedicated to creating dialogue with customers, and users may respond via written word or image. They even find ways to make a simple task like posting a picture of their new merchandise interactive. For example, on more than one occasion they posted an image of the new stuffed animal models and announced, “Tag a friend you wanna make one with!” All customer commentaries are positive, which indicates that they feel satisfied with Build-a-Bear’s services.

Lastly, and importantly, the Build-a-Bear Workshop page exhibits good content flow. They update their materials regularly in order to produce an engaging environment for customers. In fact, they post new materials nearly every day.

All in all, their marketing strategies are highly effective and fit well with their friendly image and motto, “Where best friends are made.”  This Build-a-Bear ethic is clearly represented in their online presence. 

Roselind Westbye 

I have chosen to take a look at Nike´s Facebook-page. Nike is a company that truly understands the value of having an active social media profile. Over the last three years they have shifted around 40% of their traditional advertising efforts over to the new media platforms. Nike has even integrated social media in their new line of products, called Nike +.

The front page of Nike´s Facebook-page contains traditional news feed. The news feed is updated about 3-5 times a week. Nike lets other Facebook-users comment on stories in the newsfeed. A lot of the posts are so called inspirational advertising. This picture is an example.

 

Nike also has a cool running tutorial on their Facebook-page. You can choose four different running distances to train for, including a marathon, and the page will tell you how to best prepare for that run. The Nike Facebook page also has a traditional support forum, were users can ask questions about their products.

Nike uses their Facebook-page advertise the charity events, like the San Francisco Women's Marathon. This way they can reach a wider audience, and create awareness of their cause and mission.

The Nike Corporation spends about 800 million USD on non-traditional marketing every year. This helps them to take social media interaction to a whole new level. Measured by followers on Facebook, Nike are only beaten by Coca Cola, Disney and Red-bull. I feel that Nike is fairly successful in their social media work that includes their Facebook-page, which I found to be both impressive and helpful.