Microwaves: A Kitchen Staple That Flies Under the Ad Radar

Microwaves are ubiquitous in modern kitchens. Yet, unlike their flashy counterparts – TVs or smartphones – you'd be hard-pressed to find a commercial dedicated solely to these countertop marvels. Why is that? Here's a breakdown of the reasons manufacturers don't advertise microwave ovens in the traditional sense:

1. Market Saturation: A Considered Purchase

Microwaves have reached a point of near-saturation in developed markets. Owning one is no longer a novelty, but a considered purchase to replace an aging model.  Advertising becomes less effective when everyone already knows microwaves exist and their basic function.  

2. Limited Innovation: A Mature Technology

Microwave technology has reached a plateau. Core functionalities like reheating and defrosting haven't changed dramatically. While features like sensor cooking and grill settings exist, they haven't revolutionized the product enough to warrant constant advertising pushes.

3. Focus on Brand Recognition, Not Specific Features

Manufacturers might advertise their brand name through broader campaigns encompassing their entire appliance range. This keeps the brand in the consumer's mind,  influencing their choice when they eventually need a new microwave.

4. Price Point: A Commodity Purchase

Microwaves are a relatively inexpensive appliance. A flashy ad campaign for a product with a smaller profit margin compared to, say, a new refrigerator, might not be the most cost-effective marketing strategy.

5. Targeting Through Retail Channels

Manufacturers often partner with retailers to promote specific microwave models. In-store displays, flyers, and targeted online ads based on browsing history might be more effective in influencing the final purchase decision at the point of sale.

Alternative Marketing Strategies

So, how do microwave manufacturers get their product noticed? Here are some alternative methods:

• Social Media Engagement: Sharing recipes and tips for using microwaves effectively can build a community and showcase the versatility of the appliance.
• Influencer Marketing: Partnering with food bloggers or chefs to create microwave-focused content can tap into a specific target audience.
• Focus on Design and Aesthetics: Modern microwaves come in various styles and finishes. Highlighting design aspects can appeal to consumers looking for a microwave that complements their kitchen.
• Technological Advancements: Though innovation might be slow, significant advancements like rapid steam cooking or smart connectivity could be potential triggers for future advertising campaigns.

The Future of Microwave Marketing

While traditional advertising might be on the backburner for now, the future of microwave marketing could involve a more targeted approach. As technology evolves and consumer preferences change, we might see campaigns focused on specific features, energy efficiency, or integration with smart home ecosystems. 

The lack of traditional microwave oven advertising stems from a combination of market saturation, mature technology, and cost considerations.  Manufacturers leverage alternative marketing strategies to stay relevant and influence buying decisions,  focusing on building brand awareness and highlighting features that resonate with specific consumer segments. 

One Unique Vlogger

In the world of content, bloggers are still important providers of information (hi!) but the rise of vloggers cannot be discounted. It makes sense to see more vloggers coming onto the scene given our shorter attention spans and preferences to watching over reading. What intrigues me is the way toy manufacturers have pounced on this medium – and smartly so.

There are vloggers for just about every subject matter: food, video games, lumberjacks and more. In addition to being a great creative outlet, #YouTubeMoney is also a big influence behind the increase of vloggers. The following video does a great job of explaining the confusion about the amount of money YouTubers can make. You can watch the full video here but I really want you to drink in these stats about a particular vlogger that’s popular in my home:


There are a lot of highly-viewed YouTubers with which I am totally unfamiliar but thanks to my son, I’ve been aware of the Ryan ToysReview channel since his channel was created in March of 2015. As a matter of fact, I believe my son is responsible for 25% of those views mentioned in the video above!

Graham has been keeping @RyanToysReview in business for a long time now! He's probably the source of about 25% of all of those channel views!

A photo posted by Nick Baggett (@nick_baggett) on Oct 27, 2016 at 7:09pm PDT

Here’s the gist: Ryan’s videos aren’t really product reviews. They’re really just videos of him playing with all kinds of great toys. The footage is presented along with cheerful music and respectable (but not flashy) video effects that appeal to children. I’ve always gotten the sense that this channel grew from videos of Ryan enjoying his toys, recorded by his mom as all moms do. Once the number of views started piling up, Ryan’s mom upped her editing skills.

How Toy Manufacturers Come Into Play

If you haven’t taken a trip to Toys”R”Us lately, let me tell you that the toys featured in Ryan’s videos are EXPENSIVE. It’s not likely or feasible that all of these toys are purchased. I imagine that toy manufacturers are taking note of Ryan’s high number of video views and identifying his YouTube channel as an additional marketing avenue. With this in mind, they supply complimentary toys to be featured in his videos. Ryan probably gets to keep the toys, his mom gets #YouTubeMoney and the manufacturer’s products are seen by children from around the world.

In order to continue receiving free toys to review, it would make sense for Ryan’s mom to boost the number of channel views as much as possible, right? That’s why I think it’s even more interesting to take a look at how Ryan’s channel is promoted. Look in the description of Ryan’s latest video and you’ll find a long list of links to his other videos. Not his Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Branding be damned, that’s a smart way to add quick views.

More evidence that Ryan’s video views take precedence over branding:

• The weird phrasing of his YouTube channel’s name. Be sure to note that it is Ryan ToysReview and not Ryan’s Toy Reviews. When researching Ryan’s channel for this post, my instincts steered me to input the latter into my search query. Ryan’s website URL (which features the same weird phrasing) isn’t the first listing on results page - - his videos receive top ranking. That’s either a convenient coincidence or a very cunning approach to the Google search algorithm. (Also, at the time of this post, the website URL redirects to the YouTube channel's URL.)
• His Twitter Feed. Each tweet is just a link to the latest video on the YouTube channel. The Twitter account seems to serve no other purpose. 

OOZING PUMPKIN Halloween Fun and Easy Science Experiments For Kids to do at Home Elephant Toothpaste https://t.co/scAZpwXVFk

— Ryan ToysReview (@RyanToysReview) October 26, 2016

• His Instagram Feed. Only one photo that’s almost a year old. 
• His Facebook Feed. Very sporadic links to videos with little-to-no responses to the numerous comments each post garners. 

Ryan is unique vlogger in that his video views soar to new heights without much promotion from other social media channels. Such support may not be needed since his primary audience does not use social media. 

Ryan’s videos inform viewers like my son about the latest toy trends. Because of Ryan and his “reviews”, my son has knowledge of toys without ever seeing said toys in a store or TV commercial. Toy manufacturers know this all too well - - and so do vloggers. I am impressed with the way the two sides work hand-in-hand, knowing their success depends on each other.

As impressed as I am with the manufacturer/vlogger relationship, I’m equally disappointed for Ryan on special days. Can you imagine how much of a letdown his birthday and Christmas must be if he gets to play with new toys almost every other day of the year?

Thank you for reading!

Would a Modern-Day Elvis Benefit from Modern-Day Media?

I'm not an extreme fan of Elvis Presley but it's hard not to admire the celebrity status he achieved during his entertainment career. What's most impressive to me was his ability to become arguably the most famous person on the planet during a time when there weren't as many avenues of communication that we enjoy today.

That Elvis achieved such fame with such a limited, albeit global, stage has always made me wonder what height of recognition he could have achieved had his career existed in modern times. Similar to my pondering about how modern marketers would utilize telegrams, I enjoy exploring ways Elvis’ would have been promoted with the likes of social media, the web and other tools of today. Don’t get me wrong – there’s no doubt that Elvis was huge. After all, I’m only 2 paragraphs into this post, referring to him by only his first name, and you know exactly who I’m writing about.

First, let’s look at the ways Elvis became so well-known during the 50s, 60s and 70s.

• Radio – everyone knows the story of Elvis recording his first song at Sun Records in 1954. It wasn’t long until a larger studio signed him and took his talents nationwide. The popularity of his hit records would lead to appearances on...
• Television – the still-budding medium showcased Elvis’ musical talents further. He knew the significance of TV - - approximately 60 million viewers watched his appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in September of 1956 - - and agreed to appear on various shows for large sums of money. His success on TV sparked ideas in Hollywood and soon executives were asking Elvis to appear in their...

• Movies – Elvis never won any awards for his acting (he only won 1 Grammy, come to think of it) but including Elvis in your motion picture guaranteed extra ticket sales. It was a great branding move for Elvis, too. It gave people exactly what they wanted: more Elvis in any form possible. 

Elvis reportedly only made one commercial in his career so he didn’t exactly line his pockets or expand his notoriety by lending his celebrity to product endorsements. In addition to Radio, TV and Movies, live performances and word-of-mouth played significant roles in the growth of Elvis’ legend. But that’s really it. Those are huge avenues to propel fame but you have to admit that lineup doesn’t make for many channels. Today’s stars benefit from so much more: social media interaction with fans, a 24-hour news cycle, MTV (well, not so much anymore), digital music that makes for a more portable experience – the list is endless. But Elvis had (and still has) two other factors that have helped maintain his iconic status.

SCANDAL

Elvis’ later years were shrouded with scandal, from his divorce (which is sadly expected of today’s celebrities) to his drug use to his untimely death. It was all interconnected and played out in front of the world. His drug use turned him into a larger, incoherent version of himself, leaving fans puzzled at his bungled concert performances. News and information is shared so quickly and so frequently today that it takes a lot - - an awful lot - - to shock us. That requirement wasn’t as lofty back in the 70s, when Elvis’ world went into a spiral. Not only were fans truly shocked at his behavior, they couldn’t explain it. An unauthorized photo of Elvis’ corpse paved a golden road for The National Enquirer, which often uses man’s natural attraction to mystery to its advantage. This publication thrives on positioning itself as having access to information, true or not, that is normally not available - especially in the 70s and 80s.

Shadowy conspiracy theorists lapped it up (and still do – Elvis is still alive, after all) but they make up only a small portion of the biggest factor that has helped Elvis stay in the spotlight, decades after his death.

FANS

Elvis fans span the globe and seemingly overlook the weirdness from his final years. They flock to Graceland, buy his music and collect his merchandise at paces that continue to break records. It’s these fans – not the conspiracy theorists – that prompted the creation of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. to manage Elvis’ estate, which was the 2nd most profitable estate of deceased celebrities in 2015.

ELVIS + MODERN MEDIA = ??? 

There’s no doubt that modern media, such as a sharp website and a verified Twitter account, has helped Elvis Presley stay current with the times and propel his estate to tremendous earnings.

"Oh girl of mine you make my day." #Elvis

A photo posted by Elvis Presley (@elvis) on Oct 16, 2015 at 10:05am PDT

But if Elvis' career played out out today instead of the 50s, 60s and 70s, would modern media be a big asset and launch his career to an even higher level? I don’t think so.

Today’s platforms, like social media, spawned out our need to be constantly amused. That makes for frequent flame-outs. We abandon interests quickly and few entertainers have staying power these days. That’s not to say Elvis couldn’t break through – I just think the pace at which Elvis was promoted on the few avenues in his heyday (he was all over the place) would not translate to a tolerable level in today’s world. If you think about it, the lessened level of exposure in his heyday may have been what whetted appetites and made fans want more of Elvis.

These are the weird things I think about late at night. Do you agree that the existence of the web and other modern media would have hindered – and not helped – Elvis’ career? Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet!

Thank you, thank you very much for reading.

3 More Social Media Wishes

I was satisfied with my post about my Top-3 social media wishes but since then, I've come up with a few more wishes. Just like my original wishes, these wishes are a little nitpicky but relevant enough to really enhance my experience with these particular social media outlets. Let's get right to it.

Pandora – List the Year! 

I'm not big on music. It doesn't dictate my life as much as it did when I was in high school. However, I do enjoy playing a radio in the background when I'm working on a project at home. Pandora does the trick for me. Hearing some of my favorite songs my own 90's Alternative channel really takes me back to days with fewer responsibilities (yet more angst). Pandora is great about providing details of songs such as the artists, the cover art from the album on which the song originally appeared and even the lyrics to the song. What isn’t provided is the release year of the song – and that sorta bugs me. XM Sirius displays the year of songs currently played by users and my DRV guide lists the release year of movies in the channel description. I always catch myself looking at the screen and searching for the year when Pandora plays a great song. I'm sure they have their reason for excluding the year but this would be a great addition, in my opinion.

(By the way, Pandora is a social media network because it requires a unique, personalized profile and custom channels can be shared with other users. Also, if you're in the Birmingham area and like 90's alternative music too, check out 94.9 The Alt FM. They play a lot of songs from the 90's and 00's with a tolerable amount of late 00's Emo music and today's "HEY" music.)

Google+ - Let the People Hoot! 

I enjoy using Hootsuite to schedule social media posts. It's very flexible and allows me to send messages from all of my social media messages – except Google+. Yes, you can send and schedule messages for your Google+ business page with Hootsuite, but not your personal profile. From what I've determined, this is a Google decision – they won't permit users the ability to manage their personal G+ posts with Hootsuite (or any other social media dashboard, from what I can tell). This is a real head-scratcher. It seems that Google would allow this type of connectivity if it ever wanted Google+ to shake its "ghost town" image. Sure, there are workarounds available through IFTTT but they're too convoluted. I'll just continue to keep my fingers crossed in hope of day when Google throws Hootsuite users a bone. Facebook does…just sayin'. Then again, it may not matter as Google seems to be repositioning Google+ as a business tool, according to this recent

video.


Tumblr & IFTTT – Can't We All Just Get Along? 

I use Tumblr primarily as a place to share content from others. IFTTT helps streamline a lot of "sharing steps" for many of my social media profiles. For a reason I cannot determine, YouTube and Tumblr do not want to connect via IFTTT for me. I've tried several recipes that are built to take the YouTube videos I like and instantly share them on my Tumblr. I've even tried building my own recipe to accomplish this but to no avail. It just…does…not…work. It's the only recipe I have trouble with and, even though it won't cause me to quit YouTube (never!) or Tumblr, my Tumblr experience sure would be a lot cooler if there was more harmony in this relationship.

Share your social media wishes with me in the comments below or with me on Twitter! Who knows? I may add even more wishes soon!

TV Shows That Tweet

Twitter is awesome for individuals and for brands for completely different reasons. I've noticed that many TV shows have embraced Twitter to extend their advertising efforts as well as create connections to boost loyalty.

AMC does a great job with Twitter for their popular programs. These tweets go beyond reminding followers of air times – the shows often interact with fans during current episodes. For example, fans of The Walking Dead can share their reactions to plot twists while the Twitter profile for Mad Men adopted the suave persona of its lead character.

“I worry about a lot of things, but I don’t worry about you.” – Don #MadMen pic.twitter.com/3jPWNpatLE

— Mad Men (@MadMen_AMC) August 28, 2015

The person (or people) behind the tweets for Breaking Bad are the most impressive of the bunch. This legendary series concluded in September of 2013 but new fans are getting hooked (pun intended!) by watching episodes online. To this day, the Breaking Bad account still responds to tweets of praise.

If there was ever a show that was made for fan interaction on Twitter during original airings, it would be LOST. Did you realize that show premiered in 2004??? That's hard to believe, isn't it?!


I won't drop any spoilers here but…each week that show left fans with so many questions. Fan theories were hot topics in the comment sections on blogs back then, which precursors to the conversations we see today on Twitter.

It's difficult to imagine how the real-time Twitter interactions between TV shows and fans will be topped but something even better is bound to raise the bar. Long live great TV shows and cools ways to interact with them!

Condensed Content for Quick Consumption

Have you noticed that the technology we use to coordinate our days, hours and minutes is largely responsible for our lives being so chaotic? Sure, it helps us manage time more efficiently but any free time that is created is often filled in with more activities, not leisure. Weirdly, we like it that way.

Marketers have adjusted their delivery methods to our desire to be occupied at all times. Paid advertisements in social media feeds are great examples of this tactic. So are video screens at gas pumps. Twitter, which causes a lot of the competition for my attention, has seen its turf become so crowded that it recently unveiled Twitter Highlights, a feature Twitter says is, "an instant summary of the best Tweets from your timeline." It's like Twitter is surrendering to the fact that we users are so busy that we only have time for the cream of its crop.

Despite being so busy, we still like to call the shots when it comes to staying informed. But the rub is that we're too busy to call said shots. That's why we have an increasing appreciation for content, news and other information to be delivered to us in concentrated doses. I've noticed three big-time examples that help us achieve an acceptable information delivery flow that is considerate of our available consumption time.

INBOX

Google's attempt to make managing all of your email was introduced in late 2014. Not only can you access messages from various accounts with Inbox, it also prioritizes your emails so that you see what's important sooner.


THIS.

This. is a budding, invitation-only social media platform that allows users to share just one link per day with other users. That limitation really makes you think before sharing (and really cuts down on the cat pics!). Each day, the editors at This. send an email to subscribers that features the most shared links of the day.

THE DAILY RALLY

Sports fans that are crunched for time will appreciate the roundup of headlines that arrive each morning via email. Each delivery features a broad but short collection of links to articles and videos that recap sporting events from the previous day (and night). This is a very new venture staffed only by a pair of capable sisters. I’m already a fan and I hope they can maintain what has to be an exhausting pace.

WE HAVE LAUNCHED. Head over to thedailyrally.com to sign up! What a great day.
Posted by The Daily Rally on Monday, September 7, 2015

I expect to see more new content sources that conform to our information overload threshold. It will be interesting to see if and how existing sources adjust. Thanks for reading and please let me know your observations in the comment section!

My Top 3 Social Media Wishes

Social media isn't going away - and that's great for individuals seeking entertainment as well as for advertisers seeking proven opportunities to get messages seen by said individuals. Twitter, YouTube and all other social media seem to be continuously refined. I'm not sure if that tweaking is intended to improve user experience or just keep users on their toes (similar to the way graphics on Coke cans are frequently changed).

When it comes to changing social media, I have three tiny wishes that, if granted, would help me enjoy social media even more.

#3 - Resurrect the original GetGlue

After Twitter, GetGlue was one of the first social media apps I added to my phone. In a nutshell, GetGlue allowed users to check in to television shows, songs, movies, video games and books. I am a little wary of interacting online with others but I had no such reservations when it came to sharing reviews and seeking suggestions within GetGlue. Naturally, GetGlue faded at my peak enjoyment level and was purchased by tvtag. It promised to maintain (and improve on) the great features of GetGlue. But that promise was never close to being kept. Eventually, tvtag also bit the dust. I've seen recent reports about another company (Voice of TV) purchasing GetGlue but I'm not holding my breath. I just want the original to come back!

Click here to watch a great review video of the original GetGlue app.

Voice of TV revives #GetGlue @getglue @voiceoftv @TelfieApp http://t.co/1PBNd4JSso pic.twitter.com/yRoO4mzD9K

— VOICE OF TV (@voiceoftv) July 23, 2015

#2 - Adjust my News Feed on the Facebook app

I'm very aware that operator error may be at play here but I can't figure out how to set my News Feed to "Most Recent" in my phone's Facebook app. It seems to default to "Top Stories" which, for me, consists of photos and posts that I've already viewed - days ago. Being able to scroll through my feed in real-time would be much more enjoyable. Please leave any tips that may help in the comments below!

via GIPHY
#1 - A "Back Up" button for Twitter

I get why users are shown the most recent tweet upon opening the Twitter app. After all, Twitter is becoming the go-to news source for a lot of people so the most recent updates need to be shown ASAP. Even though Twitter is the #1 social media outlet in my book, I don't constantly check my timeline. So when I go a few hours between viewings, I feel like I've missed out when someone's tweet from a few seconds ago is the first tweet in my timeline. More often than not, I scroll my timeline back an hour or so just to make sure I haven't missed the beginning of a funny exchange between my favorite athletes or earlier posts about a late-breaking event. Having a button that would automatically back your timeline up an hour would be all kinds of awesome, don't you think?

A button that "rewinds" your Twitter feed an hour would be nice. I like to see what I've missed. #firstworldproblems

— Nick Baggett (@Nick_Baggett) April 24, 2015

{Top Image: Courtesy}

Twitter Cards: Mission Accomplished

If you've been keeping track of my personal mission to teach myself how to implement Twitter Cards into my Blogger site, you may recall that I was concerned about the low number of resources that I found to be helpful towards completing my task. After posting Part II of this series, I'm happy to say that a few new resources were discovered and proved to be just what I needed.

RECAP OF WHY

In additional to the educational benefits of teaching myself about Twitter Cards, I really wanted to gain the social media benefits that come with gaining this new skill. Everyone knows that photos included in social media posts help drive up responses to said posts. Think about it ... which posts do a better job of catching your attention as you zip through your social media feeds? The posts that feature photos, right? And that's what I wanted - particularly with my tweets.

WHAT I NOTICED

I share a lot of links to articles that I find to be helpful or interesting. I noticed that when sharing links from a major website, my tweets would feature a summary of the article along with a photo. Like this:

Why Do We Like #Brands As Much As We Like People? | http://t.co/lqh8OMg7X2 | http://t.co/tC1hoqSJ8s

— Nick Baggett (@Nick_Baggett) June 19, 2015

Naturally, these types of posts produced better interaction stats than my posts that included links to my blog, which featured no such summary or photo.

I tried to compensate by including a photo file with my tweets (that promoted my blog posts) that I scheduled through Hootsuite but that did not produce the desired result. I mean, it did...but it wasn't the same.

Double Dipping Days Over for Voice Acting Celebrities? http://t.co/OMzCl6g2ah http://t.co/v9HL1vukBk pic.twitter.com/RvXFVnApJ9

— Nick Baggett (@Nick_Baggett) June 25, 2015

This method positioned the photo above the tweet, includes the photo file as another link within the tweet and features no summary. Again, not exactly what I wanted.

After searching for a solution, I leaned about Twitter Cards and the different kinds of Twitter Cards. I determined that I wanted to add Summary Cards to my Blogger site. As I've mentioned in my previous posts, Blogger's mechanics presented a bit of a challenge for my project - or so I thought.

WHAT DID I DO?

Twitter's developer site actually offers a link to a Blogger user's page that explains how to edit Blogger HTML for the purpose of adding Twitter Cards. Must be legit if Twitter links to it, right? Actually, um...no.

That was a dead end so I conducted a search of my own. I tried many of the suggestions that I came across but none worked as well as the solution I found at this very helpful blog. I simply copied the code found here and pasted it into my Blogger site just as the author instructed (as well as updated the Twitter handles within the code).

The author even provided a link to Twitter's validator, a helpful tool that gives a preview of your Twitter Cards. I gave one of my recent posts a test run through the validator and initially liked what I saw. It seemed the HTML code I plugged into place almost did the trick - nice, large photo...but no summary. Something wasn't quite right and the validator told me so - I was missing a meta description, or so it said. I was sure I was missing a line of code so back to searching I went.

Almost immediately, I came across this post that helped me realized that meta description error was due to a very simple reason: I had not utilized the "Search Description" feature found within the Post Settings that every Blogger user knows about. Duh!

So, I went back into one of my posts, entered some text in the "Search Description" section and....

Here's the latest on my project to teach myself how to implement Twitter Cards on my Blogger site. It's getting good! http://t.co/YvxPbhiaHg

— Nick Baggett (@Nick_Baggett) July 13, 2015

SUCCESS! Just like the FastCompany tweet above, I know the summary card is working because the photo is below the tweet and features a summary. Plus, response to this particular tweet saw a significant rise in clicks.

All in all, this task didn't turn out to be as difficult as I thought. But, I'm glad I took the steps to learn about Twitter Cards on my own. I hope that this, the third post of my series, provided clear details on the steps I took to accomplish my mission. If not, feel free to leave a question in the comments or reach out to me on Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

{Top Photo: Courtesy}

Twitter Cards: Teach Myself

When faced with the task of learning a new skill or technique over the course of my career, I've benefited from lots of training. But I've also had a lot of success in teaching myself - Google search and instructional videos on YouTube have been helpful (and quick) tools used to increase my knowledge.  

Twitter cards have been around for a few years now and for just as long I've been aware that I need to know more about them. I want to learn how I can implement Twitter cards on the sites I manage, including this blog. Learning about Twitter cards is something I want to do on my own so in this post, I'm going share more details about why I want to do this and how I plan to do this. 

WHAT ARE TWITTER CARDS?

We all know that fans and followers respond much more to social media posts that feature images. Twitter cards take that notion to the next level by allowing users to feature media within your tweet. The following text taken from Twitter's blog provides a much better explanation:

With Twitter Cards, you can attach rich photos, videos and media experience to Tweets that drive traffic to your website. Simply add a few lines of HTML to your webpage, and users who Tweet links to your content will have a “Card” added to the Tweet that’s visible to all of their followers.  

The Tweet below shows a Player Card below the 140 characters:

Connect & discover: The Twitter story in 1:40 http://t.co/TRRiDAbkUR

— Twitter Advertising (@TwitterAds) November 8, 2013

HOW WILL I LEARN?

I'll be spending a lot of time reading the previously-mentioned Twitter blog. I've also already done enough Google searches to learn that adding Twitter cards to a Blogger site requires a few extra steps. Unfortunately, I've only one tutorial on YouTube to help with this process but it's such a poor quality that some of the articles I've come across are more helpful. 

I'll study up before I take any action. My early understanding is that there are multiple variations of Twitter cards and each alter the way your tweet displays the extra media. I'll provide an update on my progress in one of my future posts. Feel free to leave any suggestion in the comments!

UPDATE: Read Part II of this series here. Part III can be found here. 

Three More Reasons Why You Might Like Google+

Several months ago, I wrote a post that outlined some of the best features of Google+ for individuals and businesses. I don't hide the fact that I really like Google+. Despite reports of growing users, Google+ has never really caught on with any of my friends (except for one!).

A recent round of shakeups has created a few new features that make Google+ shine even brighter, in my opinion. So with this post, I want to highlight those new features in hopes that they'll give you even more reasons to like Google+.

COMMUNITIES

Think about your interests. There are so many, right? The Communities feature of Google+ allows you to group posts about your favorite subjects from anyone (whether they're in your Circles or not). Pizza lovers, golf fans, locomotive enthusiasts and, yes, even Google fanboys have created Communities that share videos, polls and more - all about specific topics. There's a real element of "Community Pride" too as many Community Owners go to great lengths to keep their areas SPAM-free.


COLLECTIONS

Call it a Pinterest copycat all you want but...I...yeah, I can't really argue that claim. Google+ home feeds have featured a very "Pinteresty" layout for a long time. The day after I created my Pinterest profile, Google+ Collections were announced - which has been sort of a good thing. I've learned the ropes of Pinterest and Collections at the same time. The overall concepts are nearly identical and I've found myself using Pinterest more. However, I will say using Collections gives me a "less cramped" experience over the jam-packed appearance of my Pinterest feed.

PHOTOS

In my original post about Google+, I mentioned an awesome feature that automatically saves your phone's photos. Even though this feature has seen many different skins, its association with Google+ never afforded it the appreciation it deserves. That recently changed as Google decided to separate the two and promote the photos feature as Google Photos.


There's been a few cosmetic changes but I have never noticed much of an operational change from version to version of Photos. Of the many great benefits of this feature, knowing that all the photos I take with my phone (good and blurry) are permanently (?) saved is very satisfying.

So what do you think? Have these features impressed you enough to give Google+ a try? If so, add me to your Circles and we can discuss!

Your Personal Brand is a Self-Portrait

In a way, personal brands are similar to corporate brands. Both require the right tools and appropriate effort to be built the right way in order to have a story told without really telling it.

My post on Jose Canseco's irremediable personal brand is one of my most-read entries. In this post, I want to share my thoughts on a few examples of personal brands I admire plus share details about my go-to tool used for developing my own personal brand.

PERSONAL BRANDS I ADMIRE 

Over the past year, I've come across the work of two unique individuals that has made me want to learn all I could about these people. I think that's the level of interest all personal brands should strive to reach. It's certainly what I want my personal brand to accomplish.

Casey Neistat is a filmmaker that does a masterful job of incorporating his flair and fearlessness into his work. You may know Casey from his viral video that captured the reaction (or lack thereof) of New Yorkers when he tried to steal his own bike. Another showed what happens to cyclists when they obey the law and stay in the bike lane.

Casey has a very active YouTube channel, which features his daily vlog. In addition to being cutting-edge, perfectly edited and so sharing, Casey's vlogs are inspiring. It's difficult for me to admit that a person younger than me is inspiring but...he totally is. We're in a lot of the same spots in life and the following clip shows the same urge that I've been feeling lately.



I'd summarize Casey's personal brand by saying he's all about daring athleticism, passionate creativity and pushing limits while being conscious of his relationships. He's a relentless worker whose many talents contribute to the success of his amazing projects.

#tbt that time @jcrew asked me to make a movie about their Traveler Suit and I wore it surfing. lost a good pair of sunglasses that day

A photo posted by Casey Neistat (@caseyneistat) on Apr 2, 2015 at 10:23am PDT

Anthony Bourdain has become better-known for his television shows than his accomplishments as a chef. Netflix introduced me to Anthony by way of his show, Parts Unknown, and I've read his book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, that kick-started his media career.

In all of his shows, Bourdain comes across as achy and rarely wrong but also lovable. It's not really "my way or the highway" with him but his critiques of odd cuisine do have a hint of "I enjoy this and if you don't, there is no hope for you." Above all else, Bourdain is very knowledgeable about many topics (he's even an accomplished fictional crime novelist).

I am a foodie by no means but Parts Unknown has really enlightened me. The show's visuals and each episode's adventure is clearly influenced by Bourdain.


Bourdain's personal brand features heavy doses of knowledge, culture, experience and attitude. It's perfectly understood why corporate brands (like a Scotch distillery) are now lining up to get his endorsement. Of course, any blessing Bourdain gives to a product will have to be done his way.

Via @BalvenieUS . A taste of what's coming from #RawCraft series .

A video posted by anthonybourdain (@anthonybourdain) on Feb 5, 2015 at 4:55pm PST

MY #1 TOOL

The best personal brands seem to appear as if they fell into place without much direction. But, some effort is required - especially for those of us that don't have a team of publicists at our command.

You already know to establish your presence with various social media profiles and perhaps a website. But it's important to be efficient and make the many branches of your personal brand accessible from a central location. For me, no other tool has helped with this task than my about.me page.

Think of an about.me page as a compact, less-corporate version of a LinkedIn page. Capable of being fully customized, about.me pages can feature beautiful background photos, fonts, colors and other design qualities that make your story stand out. Add "apps" to your page that will link visitors to your social media accounts and then use those apps in an about.me HTML widget on your website or blog (as I've done in the sidebar). If you act fast, you can customize the URL of your about.me page and feature it on your email signature, resume, business cards and other locations that will be sure to attract visitors.

WHAT YOU MAKE IS WHAT YOU SEE

I see personal brands as self-portraits. The work you put into developing your personal brand gives insight into to way you see yourself. I'm not as outspoken as I should be so I've really benefited from digital tools like my about.me page to share my talents, interests and credibility. I felt very vain when originally building my brand but a little vanity is required when telling your story, I guess. Along the way, I've learned new skills that I use in my job as well as improved my ability to tell my story.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to reach out to me - I'd love to answer your questions or learn who's personal brand inspires you


{Top Photo: Courtesy}

Three Reasons Why Companies Need to Communicate

Corporate communications can take many forms and have just as many intended targets. Even though there are numerous reasons why some companies don't communicate - ranging from unfamiliarity with the ways to communicate to lacking manpower dedicated to delivering messages - there's no doubt about the importance that communications play in a company's success.

After a lot of thought, I've put together the following list that describes the top-3 reasons why companies need to communicate.

1) Put Your Information Where It Can Be Found

As I've stated many times on this blog, I feel the basic principal of marketing is getting your message of front of your targets. That notion has more weight than ever, given the way people prefer to find information for themselves in today's digital world. At the very least, make an explanation of your company's services available on a website. Tracks to that website should be laid in the form of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), email blasts, social media posts and traditional advertising. People want learn more about what you offer. Put your info where it can be found.

2) Explain Yourself

Communicating what your company offers is just the first step. You can also benefit from telling your story or history and giving customers a way to identify with your company. Regular blog posts are great ways to explain how your services can be used in everyday situations. Think about this: the communications that helped curious people discover your company can work in tandem with future communications to help them learn additional benefits of your services.

3) Show That Your Company Wants to Work

The first two reasons why your company needs to communicate pertained to explaining that your company can do something. It's extremely important that your company also communicates that it wants to something. If a potential customer is wavering when deciding to use your service, telling them that you actually want to do the work that will make their life better, easier and more charmed will go a long way towards securing their patronage.

These three reasons could be great topics for individual blog posts - and I might just do that. Here's a question for you as I work on those...would it be fair to say that you could apply these three reasons why companies need to communicate to why personal brands need to communicate???

My Return to Facebook

Unlike a lot of people, Facebook was not my introduction to social media. I actually used Twitter first and it wasn't until I created a fan page for my employer that I started dabbling with Facebook on a personal level. Twitter quickly became my favorite outlet and, just as quickly, I came to see Facebook as a collection of photos of other people’s babies and cats. Lots of cats.

One of the purposes for my blog is to give readers an opportunity to learn more about me by providing access to my social media pages via the widget in sidebar. Until recently, I didn't include my Facebook profile on that widget because...well, there wasn't much to share. Not only have I not posted much to my Facebook timeline over the past few years, I rarely even look at it. Facebook was so unappealing to me that I turned off all notifications and didn't have the app on my phone.

“OH WOW” MOMENT

I was content with continuing this approach to Facebook until a recent reminder that lots of people (especially Boston Red Sox fans) use Facebook. There’s no denying the fact that Facebook is still the top dog and if I want to be known as someone worth his social media marketing salt, it’s would behoove me to get active on Facebook again - and fast.

WHERE TO START? 

I decided that my first step would be to boost my Facebook activity with a combination of manual posts and cross-posting from other social media apps like Instagram. Automating posts using IFTTT recipes has also helped.

Side note: it's been interesting to see how the cross-posting has helped me gain Instagram followers. Many are already Facebook friends.

STAY ACTIVE

Earlier in my career, I worked in a marketing role for a financial institution in south Alabama. Each week, the local newspaper featured interviews with citizens having fun at the Escambia County Senior Center. The questions were always the same, including one about the secret to a long life. So many of the responses explained that the key was remaining physically active.

I try to apply this mantra to a lot of areas of my life - including blogging. It makes sense to keep my writing muscles in shape. Even though I don’t really know Carson V. Heady, his recent tweet reaffirms this notion.

Keeping your mind alert provides longevity.
— Carson V. Heady (@cvheady007) April 1, 2015

I have enjoyed my return to Facebook, even though I'm still seeing a lot of cat photos. That's OK - I look forward to catching up on some of the features that millions of other people have already discovered.

Is Gender Marketing Needed in Golf?

I like marketing. I like to play golf. When these two interests collide, I take notice. These days, the golf industry’s leading companies have embraced social media, video and the web to promote themselves as more than just makers of equipment. I have previously written about the use of drones in golf marketing as well as the somewhat annoying practice of frequently introducing new equipment. This post is about my favorite golf club manufacturer’s recent announcement regarding their line of women’s clubs.

When PING recently unveiled the new logo for their women's apparel and equipment, my initial observation was the deviation from the company's iconic brand. The PING logo has featured only minute changes since the 70's. The new look has grown on me and I now think this design for the company's Rhapsody line is very fitting. I've also realized that the standard PING logo has never seemed feminine to me.


Gender equality is a long-standing issue and has roots in many facets of life, including sports. It's clear that PING wants to attract the attention of female golfers with the Rhapsody line. But after thinking more about PING's new brand with the concern of equality in mind, I now wonder if female golfers feel this distinction is needed. I'm sure there are some players that prefer the line's feminine colors just as there are some players feel the separation is an admission to being unequal. My first look at the new Rhapsody color scheme reminded me of a Tumblr blog that highlights gender-specific advertising that, in some cases, could be considered offensive.

http://unnecessarilygenderedproducts.tumblr.com/post/102285752796/because-hammers-need-to-be-gender-designated-to-be

PING's competitors all offer clubs that are constructed for female golfers but I have not noticed any of those companies taking the same steps to create an exclusive brand with which female players can identify. I think the new Rhapsody brand is a positive thing and PING has shown it can be supportive without being shameful. However, if sales of Rhapsody clubs are low, it will be interesting to see if the existence of this separation is brought into question.

Thank you for reading! I hope you’ll share your thoughts about PING's decision or equality within the golf club industry in the comment section.

{Top Photo: Courtesy}

Social Media Use by Alabama Credit Unions

I work for a credit union and part of my duties include managing our social media accounts. Credit Union awareness in Alabama is growing and it’s no coincidence that social media use by Alabama credit unions is on the rise.

But how much is social media being used? I recently attempted to identify our peers (other credit unions) that are using social media within their marketing strategies.

I started by obtaining a list Alabama credit unions that are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). This list identified 123 such credit unions and provided the number of full-time for each institution. The number of full-time employees that a credit union boasts can be viewed as a good indicator of its online presence.

QUICK FACTS: 

• 27% of Alabama Credit Unions do not have a website. These credit unions typically have fewer than 5 full-time staff members and do not have the manpower to devote to online marketing.
• 90 credit unions based in Alabama have websites but only 39 of those pages feature badges that are linked their respective social media profiles.
• According to the NCUA report, there are only two credit unions in Alabama that have more than 300 full-time employees. Both of those credit unions only have 2 social media badges featured on their website.

The following table breaks down the social media presence of Alabama credit unions:

Social Media Use by Alabama Credit Unions
No. of Credit Unions that Use 1 Social Media Account	14
No. of Credit Unions that Use 2 Social Media Accounts	12
No. of Credit Unions that Use 3 or more Social Media Accounts	13

*Even though I pulled this information in December of 2014, the most recent data available from the NCUA was from 2012.

I plan on reviewing this information frequently over the next few years and noting any changes. It will be interesting to see how the institutions without websites react to the general public’s increasing demand for information about credit unions.

Insert Better Voice Here

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutomb, better known as Dikembe Mutombo, rose to fame as a star center for the Georgetown Hoyas and several teams in the National Basketball Association. His professional career spanned nearly two decades before ending in 2009. During this time, Mutombo became known as a stellar defender and shot-blocker.

Originally from Africa, a great deal was always made about Mutombo’s intelligence and his ability to speak English, French and several other languages. I don’t know about his fluency in French but his deep voice and thick accent made his English difficult to take in long doses. And, judging by this recent interview, it still is:


I remember a discussion in a communications class back in college that pertained to athletes endorsing products and services. The following Charles Schwab ad that features Mutombo came up in the discussion:


If you can’t view the video, be sure to click here. It’s priceless.

During the class discussion, I pointed out that Mutombo's voice had been dubbed over. The silence and blank stares from my professor and classmates indicated that they did not believe me - probably because I had never contributed anything useful to any of our previous discussions. Unfortunately, YouTube wasn't around yet and I had no way of proving my claim.

Even though the Schwab ad is still not available on YouTube, I finally found the grainy copy that I posted above. During my search (is it weird that I've searched for several years?), I also came across this article that gives a little background to the voice swap.

Apparently, Mutombo wasn't informed that his voice didn't make the final version of the ad. He first became aware of the decision when he saw the Schwab ad air during the World Series.

Mutombo was quoted in the article as saying, “I was mad. I heard some Nigerian guy talking.”

It’s clear why the change was made and how it was successfully pulled off in 1999. However, it’s interesting to consider if such a move could be made in 2014. Avenues like social media give us inside access to celebrities and athletes all the time - we know a lot about them, especially the sound of their voices. I don’t think advertisers could pull such a fast one on today’s public.

Top photo credit: ESPN

Birmingham Food Truck Marketing

My church arranged for a fleet of local food trucks to serve our congregation a fun lunch after a recent Sunday service. I’ve only had the opportunity to enjoy a meal from a food truck once before so I was really looking forward to this experience.

I wanted to be fully prepared for this lunch so once I learned which trucks would be on site, I scouted the web for their menus. I was able to find the information I was seeking as all four food trucks have a website. That each truck has a website is impressive but I was intrigued by the way some of the trucks utilized their site. I’ve listed some of my observations below:

OFF THE HOOK - www.ryouhooked.com

I appreciate the fact that Off the Hook posts their hours of operation right off the bat. Their menu page leaves a lot to the imagination without any photos but boy was their food good! I noticed that they rely on Facebook and Twitter to communicate their whereabouts to hungry patrons. I would bet lunch that Twitter serves them much better in this regard.

SPOONFED GRILL - www.spoonfedgrill.com

This site is little jumbled but all of the info you need is there. Twitter seems to be the social media platform of choice for Spoonfed but I was really impressed that they also rely on Flickr, Friendfeed and StumbleUpon, in addition to Facebook. If you can’t find the Spoonfed truck, it’s your own fault!

MELT - www.meltbham.com

Melt does a lot for their SEO by proclaiming to be a “grilled cheese food truck in Birmingham, Alabama” on their homepage. I like that. This site isn’t very busy and provides quick access to Melt’s Facebook and Twitter pages and they step up the social media game big-time by encouraging visitors to use the hashtag #meltbham. Not a bad site at all.

CANTINA ON WHEELS - www.cantinaonwheels.com

Big, colorful photos of Cantina’s truck and dishes great you as soon as you hit their page. And I love the weekly calendar that shows when and where they’ll be each day. Facebook and Twitter seem to be as important to Cantina as the other trucks as far as informing customers of their location but the Cantina site also encourages visitors to sign up for weekly emails. I think this is what you would want out of your food truck website.

THE RESULTS

These four trucks use a nice combination of websites and social media to communicate their locations to customers. To keep their customers coming back, they need to provide tasty food.

So how did they do at my church? I sampled everything from shrimp tacos to Buffalo chicken sandwiches and I’m here to tell you that they all passed the test! They were all awesome!

UPDATE: A few months after writing this post, I came across this 2013 article in B-Metro. It provides some great insight into the Birmingham Food Truck Boom.

Wasted Videos: The Tacoma Ads

I drive a Toyota Tacoma. An old Toyota Tacoma. Although I'm not quite ready to taken on an upgrade, I enjoy perusing the Toyota website and observing the features of the latest Tacomas. The website is very helpful - I've learned a lot about the new models and the lazy person in me is always glad to see that not all of the information is text and copy. No, there are some very well-made videos available for viewing on the site that do a great job of prolonging my visits.

See for yourself:

The thing that amazed me the most about these videos was the fact that I had never seen them before. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and have performed a lot of Google searches for Tacomas but I have never had any of these videos pop up as a pre-roll advertisement. It's puzzling because these videos are quirky and short - the prototypical video to use in a pre-roll spot. These videos/ads haven't appeared during my short, TV-watching stints either.  It's clear that Toyota paid for and received high quality videos. But I'm not so sure why the videos are only used on their website. Each of the videos' descriptions on YouTube features a #TacomaWins hashtag, which would strongly indicate that they're part of a campaign that extends to social media. I'll have to begin following the Toyota or Tacoma social media pages to see if I can spot the videos there. If they're not seen there, it will be difficult to resist questioning if these great videos were wasted. 

Aaron's: A Marketing Machine??

I’m not very knowledgeable about the company history of Aaron's. I don’t know I'll ever be a customer of Aaron's. But an odd observation led me down a trail that revealed this lease-to-own retailer to be a dynamic marketing machine.

This discovery began while I was watching the 2/20/2014 installment of college basketball's greatest rivalry. My beloved Blue Devils were not victorious in Chapel Hill that night but, while watching the game, I noticed a unique sponsor logo placement in the Dean Dome. Can you spot the Aaron's logo on the backboard support in the photo below?

Photo Courtesy ESPN

At first, I didn't think much about this logo placement. But then I noticed the lack of other corporate logos in that facility and on the court. This exclusivity made me wonder more about why a furniture leasor would go to so much trouble (and expense) for this exposure.

I had a basic understanding that Aaron's was involved with NASCAR and seeing this logo in the Dean Dome is perfectly acceptable knowing that the University of North Carolina is very near to the home of NASCAR. But I wanted to know more and a visit to the Aaron's website showed me much more than I expected to see.

The folks in charge of running Aaron's are apparently big believers in marketing. Aarons.com is an appealing website and partners well with their active social media pages. But I was really impressed when I clicked on a link that took me to Aaron's Sports. When it comes to sports sponsorships, there's a lot more to Aaron’s than just NASCAR (which they cover very, very well). Aaron's has partnered with professional and collegiate football, basketball and baseball throughout the southeast.

The more I uncovered, the more I realized that I had previously seen the Aaron's logo prominently displayed at all kinds of sporting events. Randomly spotting the Aaron's logo while watching the Duke/UNC game prompted me to take action - something all advertisements strive to accomplish. It also triggered my memory about Aaron's branding efforts, which is a slam dunk for marketers - no pun intended.