Tag Archives: social media promotion
A delightful social media getaway with BPG: 3 key social media points reinforced
So get this… Bates Pan Gulf (BPG), one of the largest marketing solutions groups in the MENA region, invited the Emaar crew to attend their company off-site. The off-site was centered all around social media. And since Emaar embraces social media as an extremely important mechanism for engaging their consumers, we were pretty psyched to see what was in store for us.
Other than the terrific hospitable attitude of everyone in the BPG team (Thank you Mr. Avi Bhojani and Arif Ladhbhoy 
) there was also some interesting conversation around key social media strategies and trends. Speakers had been invited from different regions to share their views on social and talk about what they had been doing.
They key thing that I was glad to see reinforced there was that attitudes towards social are changing in this region. No longer is it all about the traditional approach to social which is…”I WANT MORE FANS!!”
Fans are definitely a good thing. But its not the only thing. And with bigger players now entering the market here, I wanted to lay down three key points that must be considered while making a social media strategy.
Build your strategy around engagement not Likes
Comscore and Facebook have reported the power of a like multiple times in the last couple of years. But they don’t mean get as many likes as you can. Trust me that’s guaranteed. They stress the importance of the value of a like you receive, because through it you are able to connect to your customer. You are able to understand what they want, account for their needs and improve your offering. In turn you get happy people buying more of what you have to offer, amplifying your brand message and really help you gain more exposure virally.
In any successful social media strategy the buy-in of the people and therefore engagement is necessary. So always ask yourself this when you make a strategy – will people interact and talk about the product in a positive light. Will it be insightful and will others learn from it, rally behind it and amplify it. If not, then chances are you aren’t on the right track.
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Supporting Online Through Offline Initiatives
One of the things I’ve noticed in the UAE is that our online initiatives, be they for whatever online media platform (facebook, twitter, website etc) seldom tap into how off-line promotion means that can help. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying no one does this. But considering the large number of businesses who can do this, there are a very few doing this right… in this region.
There is quite a big chunk these businesses miss out on because off-line initiatives can boost both long and short term online goals. While the above is quite important to consider for businesses that run totally online, its equally important for other established businesses who use on-line as a communication and promotions mechanism.
So here are 3 strategies I think businesses should tap into, to leverage off-line for their online goals
Tap into other media broadcasting platforms
In the UAE radio broadcasting is extremely strong. It’s a means that reaches thousands of people. Sure its above-the-line (ATL) nature may make it seem like its an inappropriate fit due it being impersonal when social is all about making that personal connections. But it’s really strong for brand and offer promotions. We already see numerous companies advertising their events & promos through this channel. But what I don’t see is how their online presence is tied into this. And no I don’t consider the phrase “Like us on facebook at facebook.com/xyzbrand” as an effective tie-in into the online presence promotion
What I do consider as effective though are things like:
- “Get the promotion details on our website/FB page and enter through there”
- “View the new campaign video on facebok”
- “tweet with the hashtag #heyXYZ to tell us you want to be part of the competition”
- “results and winner info will be posted on our website”
So the general gist as you can see from the above is to incorporate online as a required activity as part of your campaign. The challenge is doing it in such a way that it doesn’t seem daunting. The radio stations here do a great job when it comes to running their own promotion campaigns and are a good example you can look into to get some ideas.
Brazil’s Carnival going social with Google in a big way
13th Feb 2012. Google announced on its blog that it going to be providing in-depth coverage of the Carnival festivities happening in Salvador, one of Brazil’s oldest cities.
Google will provide this coverage between 16th to the 21st of Feb, which is when the festivities are meant to be on their peak.
For those of you who are not aware of Brazil’s Carnival, its one of the most popular festivals in the world with thousands of people converging to the country to partake in the celebrations. Its so busy that flights and hotels are sold out months in advance. I should know as I’ve been trying to visit Brazil during that season.
So for those of us who won’t be able to make it, Google’s coverage through YouTube, Google+ and Orkut will be an alternative to really see what goes on there.
Through the Carinval YouTube channel which you can access here,
“…you’ll have access to everything from a live transmission of the streetfest to videos of bands who have traveled to Salvador to host the party. You’ll even be able to chat with other YouTube users who are watching the party with you from around the world through a map we’ve integrated just for the occasion.”
People will also be able to chat with bands and watch live celebrity interviews through Google+ and Orkut
This is what can be called a great example of using the power of social media for a promotional campaign. It’s extremely effective because it will generate visual interest amongst the target audience and its cost as compared to its scope is minimal.
While they aren’t there, people can really get a flavor of the Carnival from watching whats happening on the streets. This tactic is bound to generate an elevated level of engagement and will increase the interaction level online. Last but not the least there are bound to be reviews and suggestions by the consumers that can help the organizers improve the ambiance for the future Carnivals to come.
I really do think that this is a neat idea and would recommend this to anyone in the travel, hospitality or leisure industry.
Top 7 tips to promote your New Year’s Eve Events
Ok people. New Year’s Eve is right around the corner and if you are doing a New Year’s Eve event, then there are some things that you need to be doing right now to make sure you “get the fans in the stands.” Here are my top 7 tips you need to consider to effectively promote your NYE event.
1) Start promoting right away if you haven’t already. NYE is 4 days away. This is the time to start building hype on your forums. Start giving people tidbits of what they can expect. Share with them on a regular basis the preparations you are undertaking for the most amazing event of the year. And if you want to create a lasting impact, then give them a visual. For example, start sharing photos of the preparation of the event. Stage shot, the event venue, the lighting setup… all are great things to start creating buzz because these are the things people share with others. Another cool idea would be to record candid interviews of the people involved and post them on your pages. Let them explain their vision and explain why this event will be the event of the year.
2) Use hashtags that matter. I know everyone wants to start a trending topic by creating their own hash tags on twitter. These are great to garner attention. But if you don’t have enough followers or don’t extend your reach to the fullest, chances are these tags won’t ever get popular. A great strategy, so close to the last minute is to piggy-back off already existing hashtags that are already trending. This way you exponentially increase your reach by minimal effort. You don’t have to think hard about which hashtags to use. Just think about the generic ones that are popular and can also be used in context to what you want to tweet about. Since NYE is quite a general topic, you can use #dubai or #abudhabi to promote your NYE event. This is of course if you’re in my region. Otherwise use the city name that you are in. As a matter of fact you can even use a combination of #dubai and #nye in your tweets. NYE is a trending topic across the globe so you are bound to garner more attention like this rather than creating your own hashtag so close to the day of. Check out a list of trending hashtags in your region and see how you can incorporate them in your tweets to promote your event.
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