PJA: Bow & Arrow

On yesterday’s episode of This Week in Social Media, host Mike O’Toole was joined by Andrew Moss, founder of BuyWithMe to discuss social coupon sites. Recent studies have shown that coupon use has spiked among a nontraditional population – those who are urban, financially well off, and tech-savvy. In fact, 60% of adults with household incomes over $100,000 used coupons in the past six months, and 40% got the coupons online. Websites like BuyWithMe, Groupon and Living Social are making frugal spending trendy and fun by incorporating elements of social media with time-sensitive coupon deals that can save consumers up to $35 on gym memberships, massages, restaurants, and more. Here are some highlights from the show.

Social media meets the deal. The deal is back with discounting, coupons and bargains, and thanks to social media – and perhaps a down economy – they’re trendy again. Sites such as BuyWithMe, Groupon and LivingSocial offer deals like hang gliding, manicures, and overnights on a houseboat.

How BuyWithMe works. It’s fundamentally different than a coupon. They run daily offers that are premised on getting a certain number of people together to commit to a price in a specific amount of time. Once everyone has committed, the deal goes through, credit cards are charged, and vouchers are issued. It’s a group buying deal that leverages the power of the community to give people an offer they can’t get anywhere else.

The right idea at the right time. Social media tools have been blossoming over the past few years, and this has created a tool set to make social bargains flourish. After the onset of the economic recession, consumers were looking for opportunities to go out and do something fun and businesses didn’t have an effective way to market without spending a lot of money. Social coupon sites created a great opportunity for both consumers and marketers.

Social media and the indie retailer. In past episodes of This Week in Social Media we’ve talked about how social media has helped indie musicians and filmmakers, and now we’re seeing how social media can help the indie retailer through these social bargain sites. Bargains and deals are particularly successful for retailers that already have a social media presence but haven’t yet garnered mainstream appeal.

Coupons and deals drive activity on social networks. Twenty-five percent of people who fan Facebook pages are after a deal. Once merchants create awareness on social networks and on BuyWithMe, there’s a viral component that makes the efforts a big successful.

Social bargain sites as trusted sources of curated deals. When BuyWithMe shows a merchant’s offer to their network, that means that thousands of people are hearing about it from a company they trust to bring them quality deals. The BuyWithMe brand is all about trusting that there’s a personal element to the deals they offer and the merchants they work with.

B2B applications for BuyWithMe. They are very interested in B2B opportunities, but for now they are still focused on B2C, which has an inherently viral component.

Do you have any ideas about how the power of group buying apply to a business marketing environment?

Listen to the full episode here: How Social Media Made the Coupon Cool

On yesterday’s episode of This Week in Social Media, host Mike O’Toole was joined by Andrew Davis, Chief Strategy Officer of Tippingpoint Labs, to discuss the value of content curation and the blurred line between custom content and automated content generated by algorithms. Here’s some advice Mike and Andrew had to offer for marketers during the Two-Minute Takeaway at the end of the show.

Remember to start with content. Content really does come first. Survey after survey shows that people adopt products by gathering information. But in the beginning of the buying process, they’re not looking for content about your product and why it’s great, they’re looking for educational content.

Frequency and relevancy are key. This is a great way to build trust with the consumer. Put together an ediotrial calendar and come up with a frequency approach to delivering content so that you can measure the results and refine the content over time.

Every brand has to be a curator. Focus on finding the best voices out there, no matter how big or small, and help elevate those voices  in the marketplace.

Look at the branded content aggregators in your category. Start with trade publications because they’ve already done a lot of hard work to build a trusted brand with quality content. Find them and start a conversation.

Listen to the full episode here: Content Curation: Man vs. Machine

Helloooo Readers.

You would think that being signed to a professional sports team would bring some level of fame and fortune – but for Isaiah Mustafa, who was signed by the NFLs Seattle Seahawks in 2000, his moment in the spotlight didn’t come until he put on a bath towel for Old Spice.

Probably not what he had in mind, when he dreamed of his future success.

However, now Mustafa is the star of one of the fastest-growing and most impactful viral video campaigns for any product in recent history.

His first Old Spice commercial: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” currently has over 15 million views on YouTube – Old Spice parlayed that success into their most recent efforts – personalized responses to fan questions. (view them here)

In these videos, the “Old Spice Guy” responded to questions from various social media sites 186 times – pretty much taking up everyone’s attention over a 2-day period last week.  While some of the buzz was provided by responses to well known people with large Twitter followings, such as Alyssa Milano and George Stephanopoulos – most of the buzz came from the clever tongue-in-cheek answers to questions like:

His response:

“This is a common and life threatening side effect of Old Spice bodywash. Keep running to your nearest grocer and cover your self with lady scented bodywash. You will then smell like daffodils and cotton candy and women will want nothing to do with you. Problem solved.”

The commercials are definitely funny, but mostly, they do an impressive job of utilizing multiple forms of media and quickly engaging with the audience. Which is important when you’re trying to gain traction online, as there are short attention spans and plenty of distractions. In fact, to generate so many videos – each was shot in about 7 minutes and mostly with just one take.

It’s amazing to think that Old Spice – the product that everyone previously associated with their dad or grandfather – has become cool. Even more, they may have just changed the way agencies approach online campaigns from now on.

However, maybe all of this ‘success talk’ is a little premature…after all, Old Spice Body Wash sales are down 7%. On the other hand, Mustafa – the Old Spice guy – did just sign a contract with NBC…ladies.

—

This post was featured as a social media dream segment of the July 22nd edition of This Week In Social Media.

Kevin Smith is an Account Supervisor at PJA Advertising & Marketing. Follow him on Twitter: @Mr_KevinSmith