Webinar Review

It was sponsored by LinkedIn but hosted by Lindsey Pollack and a moderator. The main topic of this Webinar was utilizing LinkedIn in the job search process. It covered how to enhance your own personal brand, getting connected (networking), and actually finding opportunities for potential jobs.  

They talked about the fact that 70% of employers have rejected a possible job candidate because of a negative online image. It makes you really think twice about what you post on social media sites. That kind of stuff really comes back to haunt you, if you are not careful. So they recommended having professional sites, like LinkedIn, because it will be one of the top results they would notice when they google you. Again they also talked about managing your profile with descriptive skills and also have manager recommendations for each previous job you have held. Another aspect was that you can message people to connect to you on LinkedIn. Making the extra effort to connect to people individually will make them more likely to help you in the future. Joining and being active in groups also give you a step on the job search.

We probably wouldn’t use this for the project but this would be a great webinar for college students. I have a LinkedIn account but have not maintained it because I really had no idea how to use it so this definitely helps. This site is important for making connections, networking, and counterbalancing the negative connotation that maybe you have on other social media; because it is more of a professional environment. 

White Paper Roulette

Michael Stelzner’s “2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report” covers the broad topic of how the marketing industry is using social media to advertise and promote their businesses. The report covered a great deal of information such as the time spent on each site, the most used by peers, the benefits of using the sites and comparisons between businesses.

According to the report 97% of marketers are using social media. But they all seem to have similar questions about what is the most effective platform and how to better use social networking sites. Again something I found interesting was although 97% use social media sites only 26% or one in four actually believed they were getting a return on investment. An interesting comparison was the expertise on the sites. The beginners, of less than a year using the sites, 50% of them only go on it 5 or less hours a week. But those who have used it two years or longer spend 6 hours or more on the sites as well. So there is only roughly an hour difference between the beginners and the experienced. I believed that the more experienced would have used less time on the sites because they would be more aware of the tricks and such on the sites.

Something important to note for search engine optimization was that businesses who have been using social media for at least two years had a 62% rise for SEO ranking. This is important exposure for businesses because SEO is one of the best ways for a business to get notice by customers online.

One of the findings was that those spending 40 hours per week 63% of them were under forty; this makes sense because they were raise with the changing technology making it easier for them to learn quicker. Another interesting fact from the report was that those who spent 40 plus hours a week focused on Pinterest Google+, Instagram, YouTube, and blogging. Again one of the more interesting conclusions was that YouTube is the top area that marketers plan to utilize in the future. What I thought was not being fully utilized was the photo sharing sites. These sites are targeted towards a younger audience who are prime targets but only 38% of markers claim they will be increasing use on these sites. With the growing popularity I thought there would be more of a rise in use for businesses.

Overall the report concluded that there was a significant benefit for businesses to use social media sites. There were increased sales, increased exposure just within the past few years. The report even noted that half of marketers who spent at least a year on social media sites gain new partnerships for their businesses. They also noted that 63% of business found it helpful in gaining a loyal fan base. Something not surprising was the list of popular platforms used by marketers; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, and YouTube. I did notice that 69% of marketers plan on increasing YouTube activity which made it the top area marketers will invest in 2013. But 62% of marketers also wanted to learn more about blogging, which was surprising because I thought compared to all the other sites this would be the least timely or interesting for businesses.  

Stelzner, Michael A. "2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report."SocialMediaExaminer.com. Social Media Examiner, May 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.

Corporate Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crTCgkjX9K0 Captain Morgan This advertisement, started off as though it was going to be part of a small comedy sitcom. The company used the typical situation of a husband getting caught lying to his wife about skipping a family wedding. Everyone in the bar band together to convince the wife that he is really at home watching TV. This gives off the spirit of togetherness that Captain Morgan provides. The way the company lays out the commercial it leaves the potential for the viewer to remember an instance when they were caught lying, and could have used some back up from friends. This ad leaves the viewer feeling a sense of comradely with those who drink Captain Morgan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_u_AZjYm0 Playstation This ad seems to be a bit more confusing. The first and only scene is of a white empty room with a baby doll sitting in front of a dark black PlayStation game. The commercial, even though strange and hard to understand, does an effective job of marketing this new version. Similar to celebrity fame, any publicity is good publicity. So even though the commercial doesn’t seem really that connected to PlayStation however it gets the viewer to talk about the product; when you see a confusing commercial don’t you discuss it with your friends?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OST_yFbuDrk&feature=pyv&ad=3118331431&kw=shamwow%20dub Sham Wow This commercial is for the Sham Wow towel. The character is using the towel in all kinds of conditions to show how powerful it is. He uses it on boats, cars, dishes even carpets. This one uses the product in the multiple ways to get the viewer to believe in the ‘power’ of the Sham Wow. It uses examples like spilling a drink on a carpet, because for most of us that has happened at least once. This get the viewer drawn in with the hopes of buying the product. The company does a good job of making the video go in enough detail to show the value of the product.