[Yuting Chen] Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms for Your Business

PROMT:

Write a 350-word blog post discussing the difference among each social media platform, such as Instagram, twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Youtube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, regarding how to choose the best social media platform for your business.

POST:

Choosing the right social media platform for your business can be overwhelming in today's digital age. With so many options available, it's important to understand which platforms align with your goals and target audience. Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, connecting billions of people worldwide and serving as a hub for sharing information and fostering connections. For businesses, it's crucial to comprehend the various social media platforms and their unique features. Different social media platforms offer distinct features and uses. Familiarize yourself with these platforms and align their functionalities with your business goals and target audience. Social media provides an interactive platform for businesses to engage with audiences, obtain valuable customer feedback, and enhance brand visibility. By creating engaging content and participating in relevant conversations, businesses can build a loyal following and establish themselves as trusted authorities. Instagram has evolved from a personal photo-sharing app to a powerful marketing platform. With an active and engaged user base, it's an excellent opportunity for brands to showcase their products and connect with their audience. Twitter offers real-time updates and hashtags. Utilize real-time updates to keep your audience informed about the latest developments, product launches, and promotions. Hashtags help organize and categorize conversations, enabling businesses to join larger discussions and connect with a wider audience. Facebook is ideal for building a strong community and implementing targeted advertising strategies. With access to various tools and features, businesses can effectively reach their target audience. Engage with users through meaningful content to create a sense of belonging. Snapchat engages with a younger, mobile-first audience. It provides an opportunity to create interactive content that resonates with the younger demographic. In conclusion, choosing the right social media platform for your business requires understanding your target audience and goals. Each platform offers unique advantages to help you reach your target audience and achieve marketing success. Leverage the power of social media to build a strong brand presence, engage with your audience, and drive business growth.

NOTES:

I used GoCharlie to generate this post. Compared to ChatGPT, it generates content more slowly. I generated several times by clearly saying something like “write 400 words,” but it kept giving me thousands of words of essays with unknown reasons. I had to edit and ask “reduce word count to 400,” and it finally gave me a post of 504, which still exceeded the maximum. When I entered again “reduce word count to 350,” I got a decent post of 330 words, which is around my requirement. My suggestion is to ask less words than you actually want at first to avoid editing it multiple times. ChatGPT may do a better job of controlling word count. Another thing I have to complain is the color of background and font. GoCharlie uses reversed color (black background and white font, just like apple dark mode). While some people love this, I personally hate it because it’s very difficult for me to read in reversed color, especially for longer paragradph. I hope GoCharlie can change different mode, not sure if it already has this setting. Other than the speed, word count, and color mode, the content is pretty good and it’s definitely easier than doing it myself. I think people can employ generative AI for fast research and gathering ideas in marketing and business in general.

Crunching the Cookie: Navigating Pixels and Privacy in Digital Marketing

 Prompt: Can you write a blog post answering the following questions?

How do cookies help with digital marketing? How are they similar and different to pixels? How can advertisers leverage their affordances to amplify a brand's identity and performance? Lastly, how have tracking mechanisms evolved due to privacy regulations across the world with consideration for GDPR, CCPA, and stipulations on cookie/pixel lifespans?

Crunching the Cookie: Navigating Pixels and Privacy in Digital Marketing

The realm of digital marketing has seen the proliferation of tools designed to understand, engage, and re-engage audiences. At the forefront of this revolution are cookies and pixels. However, as their use has expanded, so have concerns about user privacy, prompting a rethink in their application.

The Role of Cookies in Digital Marketing
Cookies are tiny text files saved on a user's device when they visit a website. They serve several key roles in digital marketing:

1. 1. Personalized Experiences: By remembering user preferences, cookies allow brands to tailor website experiences, presenting users with relevant content or products.

1. 2. Analyzing User Journeys: Cookies provide insights into user behavior, tracking their paths and activities on a site.

1. 3. Retargeting: With cookies, advertisers can remind users of products they've viewed but haven't purchased, displaying ads on different platforms they visit afterward.

Cookies and Pixels: A Comparison

While both cookies and pixels are data collection tools, they have distinct functionalities:

1. Storage vs. Tracking: Cookies store user data on their devices, such as login details or cart items. Pixels, on the other hand, are small 1x1 images embedded in websites or emails that send data back to a server when viewed.

2. Data Range: Cookies can hold a broad range of data over an extended period. Pixels are event-driven, capturing specific interactions, like opening an email or landing on a webpage.

3. Lifespan: While cookies have a set expiration, pixels operate based on user interactions and don't have a typical "shelf life."

However, their mutual objective is to offer insights into user behavior, crucial for refining marketing strategies.

Maximizing Brand Impact with Cookies and Pixels
By leveraging the data from these tools, advertisers can:

1. 1. Drive Personalized Campaigns: Using behavioral insights to design resonant marketing messages.

1. 2. Enhance ROI: Accurately track conversions to understand campaign efficacy.

1. 3. Boost Engagement: Utilize retargeting strategies to keep audiences engaged, increasing the likelihood of conversions.Privacy Paradigms and Their Influence

With the omnipresence of tracking mechanisms came the global call for stronger user privacy:

GDPR (Europe): A monumental piece of legislation, GDPR demands clear consent from users for data collection and offers them rights to their data, impacting cookie usage and permissions.

CCPA (California, USA): Much like GDPR, CCPA grants consumers rights regarding their personal data, influencing how businesses handle data collection.

Cookie/Pixel Lifespan Stipulations: Both GDPR and CCPA have brought to light the importance of defining how long cookies and pixels can hold or relay information, prompting businesses to be more transparent about their data practices.

Sustainability in Digital Marketing- Exploring Carbon

Present Sustainability Action Plan

Working in business development, I am frequently asked about my company’s sustainability practices during pitches. Of course, we discuss our buildings green certifications (LEED Platinum), and company initiatives, like our Sustainability Council, implementing policies across our supply chain (i.e., eliminating plasticware in favor of reusable products). 

Initial Thoughts - Promoting Green Products Digitally

 As an advertiser promoting consumerism on the daily, however, my conscious tells me continually to dig beyond this. What else can we do. Alongside the average consumer, I am skeptical of eco marketing. Why promote a sustainable product when you can buy something used that would otherwise be wasted? Do we really need to manufacture sustainable things when those existing are available in abundance? But when thinking about green products that have more legs to stand on, such as meat free alternatives, I find strategic digital targeting to be interesting. Adweek discusses how vegan meat alternative Quorn targets younger audiences with "Food for the Future" messaging, and skeptical older generations with taste test content. Any type of green messaging for clients will require extensive consumer research, A/B Testing, DCO, and Optimizations to enhance effectiveness and drive outcomes.

Source: https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/why-you-might-be-getting-your-eco-marketing-wrong/

Future Forward Explorations

I, however, think a broader view of sustainability practices in advertising would be fascinating to explore, including topics like sustainable web hosting, ad buying and creative production, particularly NFTs which are growing more controversial due to heavy blockchain mining. 

 This assignment gave me a fantastic opportunity to explore the topic. I found this article about the topic, including innovations in the space (i.e., low carbon PMPs). As brands look to make their physical supply chains carbon neutral, they need to make their digital supply chains follow suit. I also found it interesting that one of our leading partners, The Trade Desk, is actively making moves in this space.

Source:  https://digiday.com/media/the-ad-experiences-that-consumers-find-most-annoying-are-also-bad-for-the-environment-the-business-case-for-sustainable-digital-advertising/.

 

An Unlikely Duo

Crockpot - yes, that Crockpot - is getting into the NFT game. As they approach 50 years in business, the company is looking to diversify their consumer base by entering the oh-so-young-and-cool arena of NFT's. The open auction style release will feature designs that honor their past and future and be sold on OpenSea with profits going to charity. 

As the NFT/crypto world evolves, it's so interesting to see how major corporations react to the hottest thing in technology since the iPhone. Crockpot is probably one of the most unlikely players you'd see getting in the game but, surprisingly, it's also one of the first. By using this channel to build brand awareness, Crockpot is also, somehow, showing that the company is innovative and is willing to take risks to engage and broaden their target customer. This more than likely piggy backs off of the massive amounts of cooking younger demographic groups did at home during the pandemic. It's a strong, smart play and it'll be interesting to see how much success it brings. 

Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-crockpot-brand-auctioning-first-ever-nft-to-celebrate-its-50th-anniversary-301399827.html

Make a Run for the (Gen Z) Border

 

Fast food legend Taco Bell has recently launched two new marketing initiatives that aim to further their grip on the Gen Z demographic. Notoriously successful with this much sought after demographic group, the taco gurus have once again thought outside the bun to spread their message of taco and burritos for everyone, but especially the younger folk. 

Using an innovative "Taco IRL" campaign, Taco Bell has set their eyes on spreading brand awareness globally by partnering with influencers and leveraging paid and organic social messaging. With this strategy, customers can scan a QR code that will then populate a taco emoji in a users messaging app. In turn, a free taco is their reward after they hit 'send'. It all rolls up to a very ambitious effort to 'own' the taco emoji on people's phones. So when you tell your bff it's Taco Tuesday and do so using one of these: 🌮, you'll immediately think of Taco Bell. Mind = Blown. 

The second major initiative leverages their Discord and spreading awareness of National Taco Day, which they claim to be the biggest holiday for the company. The biggest point with this strategy is that Taco Bell is truly trying to create a community of taco lovers in hopes that connecting over 'a shared love of Taco Bell' will help facilitate organic growth for the company. The Discord server held contests to award members and aims to become a long lasting stop to share thoughts why T Bell is the go-to spot for gorditas. 

Source: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/10/04/taco-bell-takes-ownership-taco-emoji-global-taco-day-stunt

Lies, Damn Lies and Ads

 Lies, Damn Lies and Ads

Google bringing ethics to ads - by banning advertisements that deny climate change, Google is taking a big step towards bringing an expanded sense of right and wrong to advertising. However, it is also effectively proclaiming itself as an arbiter of "Truth". While most scientists agree on the realities of climate change, it is obviously still a contested issue politically.

This move raises additional questions about what other "Truths" Google shall seek to arbitrate.  Health claims of supplements and other health & wellness products is one possibility, the money-making potential of certain investments or investment platforms is another. While this certainly has the potential to have a positive impact in fighting misinformation and fake news, it feels like a slippery slope both from a social / public good perspective and from a business perspective for Google - does it create the precedent / expectation that Google polices all ads for truthiness?  If I make a purchase based on a Ad supported by Google and the claims turn out to be false, can I now sue Google?

As a digital marketer, we know the expectations are high for the ethical validity and truth in the content we put forth. Now the gauntlet has been thrown to the less ethical among us and challenged us to do better, to be better.

Now we wait and see. Will history judge Google as sage or folly?

Personalize Bots to Perform Mundane Tasks? Implications for Off-site Optimization.

Bots are trending in the artificial intelligence industry. I don't mean the infamous Russian 'bots' which are mainly people-run, created to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. No. I mean online bots that receive, process and respond to information; they perform the mundane tasks that we'd normally complete. According to Kurt Wagner from CNBC, bots range from online chatbots that simulate conversation, to bots that schedule appointments and bots that provide customer service support (e.g. respond to inquiries). The bot industry is growing by the day and large companies such as Google (with Google Now), Microsoft, Slack, Kik and now Facebook are increasingly creating bots that perform simple tasks.

Google's Fresh Bots (which constantly return to updated sites) and Deep Crawlers (which scout sites monthly) index updates for Google, that is, perform a relatively simple task which would otherwise require an enormous undertaking for humans to complete. Just think about having to register updates as they happen, every day, hour and even minute for thousands of sites. If it were not for bots, this would be nearly impossible. What if we were to create a customizable bot service that performs one task for your regular, on a budget, entrepreneur? The bot can learn to send you reminders or schedule reminders, or to use your credit card to buy toilet paper every month. In effect, to complete one mundane task that you do often and would save so much time if it were outsourced to an online robot.

I've tried to search for a service like this, but I've come up with zero results and prototypes at best. I'd be intrigued to see where this opportunity goes and if something like this comes out in the near future.

In any case, these bots could completely change the possibilities for off-site optimization. Just think about it, a bot that messages companies requests for backlinks? Bots that check your site and make sure you're using internal links, deep links for other sites, or to make sure that "click here" doesn't appear but instead the name of the page, etc. A bot to complete the relatively easy tasks which a busy entrepreneur may not have time to complete or a novice start-up not familiar with optimization would know about. Bots that help startups to start up, by taking care of the little things that can make a big difference in the long run.

Gillette's double-edge razor

No one can forget the scandalous ad by Pepsi released in 2017 featuring Kendall Jenner, a rally of (calm) protesters and the all-powerful, can of soda. According to NBC news, Pepsi was accused of appropriating a Black Lives Matter movement following "police shootings of African Americans." The ad's controversial nature encouraged Pepsi to pull the ad and they've since refrained from releasing similar content. Understandably, the ad by Pepsi raised questions in light of its timing, message and context.

In 2018, Nike also released a controversial ad featuring Colin Kaepernick regurgitating the renown Nike slogan "“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just Do It." Admittedly, this was shortly after Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem in protest to policy brutality. Although the ad spiked debate, it felt genuine to the millions of Nike followers and consequently brought the company $6 billion in sales. 

A few days ago, Gillette too launched a controversial ad encouraging men to take action against sexual assault and endorsing messages from the me-too movement. Many progressives commended the company for its liberal take, however, many more consumers condemned the ad and threatened to boycott the razor company, according to BusinessInsider. Many posted pictures throwing their razors in the toilet and others proclaimed their switch to alternative brands. The question then becomes, why? 

According to Intelligencer, Gillette tried to profit off a politically tumultuous time by accusing men of systematic corrupt behaviour. Regardless of the truth behind this claim, the company's downfall lies in their replacement of one word. Specifically, "Gillette... inverts the company’s slogan, changing “Gillette: The Best a Man Can Get” to “The Best a Man Can Be.”...Instead of offering the man something, the slogan now asks him to do something." Intelligencer examines the implications of this change and concludes that in marketing, the brand "works for its customers, not the other way around." In essence, Gillette introduces a social-change message by accusing men of faulty behaviour and by telling them the 'correct' way of acting. 

What are the implications of Gillette's ad in a digital world? Millions of consumers, potential consumers, and non-consumers are exposed to the ad, the company's name is trending for days, and the company gains news coverage and national popularity. But, this popularity is negative. Negative popularity can destroy a brand at a faster pace than a positive popularity can inspire a purchase. So, should companies gamble their future by introducing social-change messages in their campaigns? If it's well received, it can be financially rewarding like Nike's gains. If it's bad, well just look at Gillette. I guess if it's not well received, you can also just pull the ad like Pepsi, apologize and lay low for while. 

This goes to show that in business, espousing some moral authority can be the end of you. Hopefully Gillette does recover, though. I personally like their razors...

Ethical Marketing: The role marketing plays in conscious capitalism and use of personal data (3)

Ethical Marketing: The role marketing plays in conscious capitalism and use of personal data

Conscious Capitalism

Conscious capitalism upholds that businesses have a duty to turn a profit for the good of employees and stakeholders while at the same time giving back to their broader communities and the environment. The recent focus on data collection begs the question: What is a marketer's role in the collection of personal data, and how can companies be conscious capitalists while investing in data?

Data can be an extremely powerful resource for the common good. It can also be used in a variety of nefarious ways that marketers should seek to fully understand before they implement new campaigns, or sell products to collect sensitive personal data. 

Defining Personal Data

Personal data includes unique, identifying information such as: any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual; an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number (e.g. social security number) or one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity (e.g. name and first name, date of birth, biometrics data, fingerprints, DNA…)

If used correctly, personal data can contribute positively to business and society. Examples include improving product offerings that increase value for consumers, getting companies closer to producing truly personalized/precision medicines, and improving safety. 

According to Tech Republic, the 5 ethics principles big data analysts must follow are...

1. Beneficial
2. Progressive
3. Sustainable
4. Respectful
5. Fair

Are DNA testing kits fair?Companies tout their benefits as innocuous tools people can use to learn about their history and take control of their health. At the same time, the cost of acquiring data has risen exponentially in the past few years as companies who aggregate the data realized what business they were really in. Marketers have the opportunity to lead the way with ethical use and fair compensation for those who volunteer their data. Customers are currently paying to give away the rights to their personal data in exchange for receiving limited information in return.

There are plenty of examples where personal data has been exploited, stolen, or not properly safeguarded. 

Companies must be aware of the consequences a major data breach into a system containing personal data, like the MyHeritage breach that affected 92 million users, put people at immense risk. 

Unlike credit cards, data containing genetic codes are unique like fingerprints and cannot be replaced. The value of data increases with each passing day. Thus, appealing to the consumer's emotional side and having them buy a genetic testing kit in exchange for the extremely profitable use of that person's data is ethically questionable.

From Accenture, "Guarding and Growing Personal Data Value:"

Businesses collect massive volumes of data from individuals, using it to personalize customer offerings, innovate products and diversify into new markets. But increasingly customers are concerned about who is doing what with their data. Governments are rewriting the rules to protect privacy. And watchdogs are stepping up their scrutiny of data practices. How can organizations preserve and even increase the potential of personal data? Accenture believes five principles of corporate digital responsibility—stewardship, transparency, empowerment, equity and inclusion—can turn potential risks into opportunities for business differentiation and growth.



Read more here:

1. Conscious Capitalism. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/conscious-capitalism.asp
2. The 5 ethical principles... https://www.techrepublic.com/article/5-ethics-principles-big-data-analysts-must-follow/
3. Why Marketers Must Shift the Conversation from Data Privacy to Ethical Data. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/why-marketers-must-shift-the-conversation-from-data-privacy-to-ethical-data/518013/
4. MyHeritage DNA Testing Service had Data on 92M Users Compromised. https://www.cnet.com/news/myheritage-dna-testing-service-had-data-on-92m-users-compromised/
5. Guarding and Growing Personal Data Value. https://www.accenture.com/t20171107T063247Z__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/PDF-32/Accenture-Guarding-and-Growing-Personal-Data-Value-POV-Low-Res.pdfla=en
6. Data is Giving Rise to a New Economy. https://www.economist.com/briefing/2017/05/06/data-is-giving-rise-to-a-new-economy
7. Your Relative's DNA Could Turn You Into a Suspect. https://www.wired.com/2015/10/familial-dna-evidence-turns-innocent-people-into-crime-suspects/

Three Tips for Writing High-Performing Pharmaceutical SEM Ad Copy

Three Tips for Writing High-Performing Pharmaceutical SEM Ad Copy

Writing Search engine ads for google is extremely challenging for the Pharmaceutical industry since they need to not only focus on the SEM best practices but also on the regulatory and legal restrictions.

The following are three tips to help with this issue:

1.     Fair Balance

This rule requires that the positives associated with the brand name also need to include the risks, and often there is not enough space for the content in paid ads. One solution to this issue is to separate branded and un-branded campaigns and add the extensions at the campaign or ad group level. 

2.     Black box drugs

Another challenge is that branded black box drug ads must request the audience to read the drugs prescribing information and boxed warnings. Adding extensions and focusing on non-branded content to avoid these issues is a key.

3.     Separate campaigns by audience

It is crucial to identify your audience HCP (health care professionals) and DTP (direct to patients). The ads for these audience needs to be separate to ensure brand names and indications never appear in the same ad. This also help in targeting keywords and ads specific to the segment. For HCP advertising it is also crucial to separate the branded and generic words. Example: science driven HCP’s might know the chemical name of the product but be unfamiliar with the brand

Full article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/01/19/three-tips-for-writing-high-performing-pharmaceutical-sem-ad-copy/2/#478c6651145f