DJ Rage: Elevating Dance Floors Worldwide

DJ Rage

Section A:

Background:
Tagline: Elevating dancefloors worldwide
Hashtags used by DJ Rage: ‪#djrage ‪#ragenation

Justin Harper, aka DJ Rage is a popular DJ located in the Orlando area. He has been DJ’ing since 1997 and specializes in spinning remixes in area clubs, weddings and special events all around the world.

https://vimeo.com/140330800

DJ Rage strives to enhance the experience of his audience. To offer total immersion with his music during a set, DJ Rage edits video (aka video DJ) with remixed music and uses them for projected background visuals.

https://vimeo.com/70244523

DJ Rage is the founder of FTC Productions, which is an event company handling special event production. They provide lighting, AV equipment and audio (recorded and DJ) for weddings, corporate functions and special events.

The primary audience For DJ Rage is 20-30 year old, young adults that go to clubs and like to listen to house music for the “club DJ” side of the business. For FTC Productions, the special and corporate event production side of the business, the primary target audience is a little older — adults aged 25-35.

 SWOT Analysis:

Strength
DJ Rage is a well-known DJ within the Orlando area and has a very large audience on social media. He has done many events both large and small and has references to back his talent.

Opportunities
The main opportunity for DJ Rage is his talent and ability to travel. DJ Rage already travels many times a year for work and if he can get gigs in larger cities and clubs, he may be able to extent his reach. He has a large social media following and these channels are an excellent opportunity to connect with many more potential followers by engaging and encouraging interaction with DJ Rage.

Based on my SWOT analysis, an integrated marketing communications strategy would lead to the best possible outcome for DJ Rage. By implementing a consistent brand campaign, targeting audiences using traditional (postcards, ads, posters) and non-traditional (social media, emails, e-newsletters, SEO) DJ Rage has the highest potential for success in growing his business and gaining more consumer engagement on his social media channels.

In conclusion, I believe that with some finessing, DJ Rage and FTC Productions could increase ROI by utilizing a more robust IMC. As long as DJ Rage is consistent in messaging and the process is organized, refreshing the website, social media and blog would be very easy and could increase consumer engagement and experience dramatically. DJ Rage has a great product — himself and his special event ideas. He just needs to self promote a little more efficiently by using social media hashtags, proper messaging which encourages engagement, cross-linking across social media platforms and ultimately, keeping his content fresh. Once a little time is set aside to create a simple editorial calendar, it would streamline the creative process and make easier to market across channels and maintain consistency. Thank you for your time.

LDI Conference & Tradeshow

The below post is a review of LDI tradeshow and is for educational purposes only. I am not affiliated with the show and am reviewing for a graduate class.

The Live Design International ( LDI ) conference and tradeshow took place October 19-25, 2015 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. It draws 10,000 attendees from around the world working in theater, concerts, clubs, theme parks and church stage design and live show/broadcast. LDI is where the leaders in the industry come to find the newest techniques, trends and check out the latest and greatest equipment. LDI is not only a tradeshow with an exhibit hall, it is also an educational conference — a place to learn from the Masters; have backstage tours to night clubs and Las Vegas shows; get technical training at the LDIInstitute and even earn college credit from UF School of Theatre and Dance.

LDI does a decent job on their social media posts. However the likes, comments, and shares have very low engagement on both Twitter and Facebook. I will say, it is a bit confusing because there is a social media presence for the LDI show and a separate one for LDIOnline, the later of which has higher audience numbers and slightly larger engagement. When reviewing the LDI tradeshow feed(s), it feels that the tradeshow brand is an afterthought and more focus is given to the LDIOnline social media presence.

LDI tradeshow posts were pretty standard to all tradeshows. Facebook and Twitter both featured posts highlighting the new mobile app with links to download; new product posts (I’m assuming, this a sponsorship requirement—gear galleries are usually “pay-to-play”); registration offers for classes/backstage tours (pre-show); invitations to events during the show, including happy hours, breakfasts and awards ceremonies (pre-show and during); and video links to equipment reviews (post show). Every post  featured #LDI2015 and booth or location information if the post was highlighting new product. 

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Below are links to the LDI tradeshow social media and a breakdown of audience numbers:

Live Design Online: combo blog/online magazine
Facebook:   5,197 likes
Twitter: 3,833 followers
LinkedIn: (not updated, has a logo from 2013)
YouTube: (nothing uploaded since 2014 show)
Mobile App

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Below are links to the Live Design Magazine, which is an online resource for the conference/tradeshow and gives more in-depth industry information and news stories.

Twitter :  7,257 followers
Facebook: 9,525 likes
Pinterest : 404 followers, 2k pins
Mobile app
eNewsletters, the LDI audience can subscribe to three newsletters; Live Design Wire (publishes M,T,W,F); Gear Wire ( publishes Th); Live Design Project in Focus (Occasional publication)

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LDI Facebook by the day:
The week leading up to show LDI posted about every other day.

Here are the stats during and a week after the show:
19: 2 posts (during show)
20: 1 post (during show)
21: 0 posts (during show)
22: 1 post (during show)
23: 4 posts (during show)
24: 7 posts (during show)
25: 2 posts (during show)
26: 0 posts (after show closed)
27: 4 posts (after show closed)
28: 1 post (after show closed)
29: 1 post (after show closed)
30: 0 posts (after show closed)
31: 1 post (after show closed)

The interaction with the audience was very low for this account. The most likes I saw was 61 for the below post giving a sneak-peek of the exhibit show floor before it has been staged, with a crane and rigging in the middle. The subject of the individual posts where mainly trying to get attendees to go to the Neal Preston “In the Eye of the Rock ’N’ Roll Hurricane” Exhibit or posts about new equipment.

The LDI Facebook post with the most engagement; 61 likes, one share and one comment.

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LDI Twitter by the day:
LDI is far more active on Twitter than Facebook. The week leading up to the show, LDI posted approximately 9-15 posts per day.

Here are the stats during and a week after the show:
19: 13 posts (during show)
20: 16 posts (during show)
21: 26 posts (during show)
22: 27 posts (during show)
23: 51 posts (during show)
24: 40 posts (during show)
25: 20 posts (during show)
26: 10 posts (after show closed)
27:  1 post (after show closed)
28:  3 posts (after show closed)
29: 8 posts (after show closed)
30: 6 posts (after show closed)
31: 4 posts (after show closed)

Posts for Twitter were primarily about new equipment found on the show floor or inviting attendees to sponsors booths and parties.

LDI 2015 New Product Twitter post.

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The Neal Preston photo exhibit, “In the Eye of the Rock ’N’ Roll Hurricane” got multiple tweets and FB posts during the show and were done to garner more attendance.

Facebook post on LDI Conference and Tradeshow feed. Sadly, only one like, and no comments or shares.

 

There was a “LDI2015 Booth Crawl & Scavenger Hunt” attendees were invited to and was teased on both Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter post for the #LDI2015 Booth Crawl and Scavenger Hunt.

Finally there was an “LDI2015 Awards Ceremony” and  “New Tech Breakfasts” that were featured on both Twitter and Facebook

#LDI2015 Awards Ceremony

HASHTAGS USED
#LDI2015; #LDIAfterDark

HIGHLIGHT
LDI featured a cool video chat that lived on the LDIOnline website, and was cross-promoted on Twitter. It wasn’t necessarily an actual video chat as it was the production manager Ola Melzig taking the viewer on a virtual tour of the newest, coolest equipment he found on the show floor. The recorded video(s) from Twitter posts after the closed and were uploaded at the end of October, and are currently promoted.

Twitter post of Ola Metzig and his new product video tour.

I am assuming part of this was a sponsorship obligation. (I used to work for a tradeshow company and that was part of our standard sponsorship package.) (Add image)

WHAT’S MISSING?
Overall I think LDI does a good job on social media. I don’t think it does them justice to have two separate feeds for the LDI tradeshow and LDIOnline. I think it dilutes the audience base and social media presence. By combining the accounts, it would give the social media team more resources to concentrate on one brand and would also give the team the ability to grow the audience.

I also think that this audience is very visual and an Instagram account could benefit the media mix and be an easy way to cross promote the social media channels.

Analytics Drive Marketing Strategy

The below post is an analysis based on Facebook Insights from the XYZ Company who specializes in heating and cooling (HVAC) systems located in Western Massachusetts.

AUDIENCE INSIGHTS
Although the Facebook audience is predominantly females aged 35–54 (57%), the reach is almost 50/50 female/male and more men aged 35–54 are engaged at 65%. The majority of fans are from the East Coast, primarily in Western Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut. The city of Amherst, MA (1,206) has the most reach, followed by Springfield, MA (708) then Chicopee, MA (514). Which makes sense because the cities of Springfield, MA (96) Chicopee, MA (33) and Hartford, CT (31) round out the top three cities where XYZ fans are based. Finally the cities with the majority of fans engaged are from Chicopee, MA (17), Holyoke, MA (11) and West Springfield, MA (5).

WHAT IS THE XYZ COMPANY’S AUDIENCE INTERESTED IN AND WHAT ARE THEY CLICKING ON WHILE IN FACEBOOK?
During the week of 10/31/2105 to 11/06/15 there were 489 likes, up 1.2% from the prior week and the reach was 1,704 which was down 34.5% from the week prior. The Post with the most Organic/Paid reach (485), post clicks (28) and likes/comments (10) was on Sunday, November 1 at 1:36 pm. The post referenced a Fujitsu* wall mounted heat pump. Given that the temperatures in the area started to drop during this time, I would assume the audience is starting to think about winter weather and how to keep their homes and businesses warm. The second post with the highest reach (294), post clicks (22) and likes/comments (9) also referenced the Fujitsu Heat pump and was posted on Thursday, November 5 at 6:29 am.

Facebook pages likes, reach and engagement.

However, if you look at the engagement since September, posts about the New American Standard gas furnace has hands-down the highest engagement of 1.7k reach on Friday October 16, 2015 at 9:42 am.

*The Jujitsu heat pumps in reference are wall mounted, ductless heaters. Some models serve a dual purpose of heating and cooling. 

According to the data, total page likes have been growing steadily since June 2015, but, the day-to-day likes have been decreasing. Likes have been categorized as coming from “Paid” likes which correlates to ads being placed in news feeds or on the right rails. (I would assume that XYZ ran an ad campaign when temperatures started to rise, targeting audience members who needed to get air conditioning or schedule maintenance for their air conditioners.) The Organic likes seem to stay the same, with one like or below with only one spike of two likes taking place between June 15 – 20.

Where Facebook Page Likes Happen

The data says there were more “likes” when ads ran as well as a higher “reach” when there was paid media running. Organic reach was very low and has been consistently since June. There looks like there was a lull in the month of September where nothing was posted and there were no Facebook page views at all. This was mitigated by a link from Google+ which caused a spike in referral traffic the first week of October.

Traffic on Facebook is not surprisingly the highest from 6—9 pm; at 3 pm and at noon with Fridays and Sundays having the most traffic.

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
After analyzing the data one key area of improvement would be on increasing SEO performance for organic searches. By optimizing keywords, tags, metadata and links, XYZ Company could increase its search results and get a higher listing in search engines.  I would also recommend XYZ to try pay-per-click sponsored ad searches to move their company to the top of search engine lists.

With an engagement audience which is primarily male, I would suggest XYZ to also try Twitter and maybe upload some quick informational videos on YouTube that can be cross-linked with Facebook and Twitter. The videos could be anything from when to clean your air filter to how to work your new digital thermostat.

XYZ could also start a blog in which helpful maintenance tips and equipment reviews are given, with links to the YouTube video mentioned earlier used to engage their audience.

Since it has been seen that engagement increases with posts that talk about heat pumps and gas furnaces from October to November, I would recommend that XYZ do a promo starting in October that would offer coupons for service or purchase. I would also recommend another campaign starting in June for an air conditioner campaign for purchase or maintenance. These promos are not only featured on Facebook, but also Twitter, the blog and via monthly e-newsletter. A referral program to engage current customers on social media and the website would increase awareness as well.

Another more traditional media recommendation would be two postcard campaigns in the Amherst, Springfield and Chicopee, MA area, one in summer highlighting air conditioner sales and service and the other in fall highlighting heating sales and service.

IN CONCLUSION
I believe XYZ Company could increase its profits on sales and service with some very targeted strategies emphasizing what their Facebook audience is already telling them. With consistent messaging across multiple IMC channels, XYZ company can build it’s fan base and in-turn grow it’s profits in a strategic way.

Epcot’s “November to Remember”

The below is a sample of social media content I would create if I were the social media manager for the Epcot Center in Orlando. I am not affiliated in any way with Disney or the Epcot Center and this social media calendar is purely a learning exercise for a graduate marketing class.

Goals:

• Increase overall awareness of Epcot
• Increase consumer engagement of the Epcot Facebook Account by 15%
• Increase consumer engagement of the Epcot Twitter & Instagram Accounts by 15%

In order to standardize my posts and to increase audience interaction by “training” them to expect certain posts, I am choosing to do a daily theme that will be used throughout November. Below is a list of the daily hashtags I will use as part of my plan to increase awareness and highlight events happening during the month of November in Epcot.

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Daily Schedule:

Monday:  Who says Mondays can’t be fun? (#EpcotMondayFunday) Tell us how you are enjoying your Monday in Epcot.  (Facebook/Twitter)

Tuesday: A Taste of Epcot (#TasteofEpcot) Tag your favorite foodie pics from all over Epcot #TasteofEpcot. (Facebook/Instagram)

Wednesday: Woman Crush Wednesday (#WCWCinderella, #WCWSleepingBeauty, etc. ) Who is your favorite princess? # pics with your favorite princess from Epcot to let us know who has your vote.  (Facebook/Instagram/Twitter)

Thursday: Epcot at night. (#EpcotNights) Tell us where you are enjoying Epcot when the sun goes down. (Facebook/Instagram/Twitter)

Friday: Flashback Friday (#EpcotFBF)—Tag your past Epcot travels. (Facebook/Instagram)

Saturday:  (#EpcotSaturdaySelfie)— Take a selfie anywhere in the park and tag it #EpcotSaturdaySelfie (Facebook/Instagram)

Sunday: Sunday Family Dinners are a tradition in many households. (#EpcotSundayDinner) Send in a pic of your family enjoying dinner at Epcot for a chance to be featured. (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram)

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November 1 – 7

Sunday, Nov. 1: We love Sunday family dinners. Show us your #family enjoying dinner at #Epcot. #EpcotSundayDinner #Food&Wine

 

Monday, Nov 2: Take back your Monday! How you are enjoying your #EpcotMondayFunday? #Food&Wine

 

Tuesay, Nov 3: The #Food&WineFestival is still here. So much #yummyfood. Tag your favorite food from all over #Epcot. #TasteofEpcot #Food&Wine

 

Wednesday, Nov. 4: Vote now! Who’s your #WCW? #WCWSleepingBeauty #WCWCinderella #WCWSnowWhite #WCWAriel  #Epcot

 

Thursday, Nov 5: Epcot comes alive at night. Where are you enjoying #Epcotnights?

 

 

 

Friday, Nov. 6: Check out our uniforms. #80flashback #EpcotFBF

 

 

Saturday, Nov. 7: It’s the weekend! Time for #EpcotSaturdaySelfies. Show us your best.

 

 

 

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November 8-14

Sunday, Nov. 8: Feeling nostalgic for Sunday family dinners. Show us your #family enjoying dinner at #Epcot. #EpcotSundayDinner

 

Monday, Nov 9: Make the other days jealous! #EpcotMondayFunday

 

 

Tuesay, Nov 10: Nom. Nom. Nom. So much to choose from. Tag your favorite food. #TasteofEpcot

 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 11: Eat with the Princesses at Akershus & tell us, who’s your #WCW? #WCWBeauty #Epcot

 

Thursday, Nov 12: Enjoying the fireworks. #Epcotnights

 

 

Friday, Nov. 13: Who doesn’t love robots and big hair? #EpcotFBF

 

 

Saturday, Nov. 14: #EpcotSaturdaySelfies. Wherever you are, take a selfie.

 

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November 15-21

Sunday, Nov. 15: Everyone put down your phones and gather round the dinner table. Show us your #family enjoying dinner at #Epcot. #EpcotSundayDinner

 

Monday, Nov 16: Who says Mondays can’t be fun? #EpcotMondayFunday

 

 

Tuesay, Nov 17: Decisions, decisions… Where should we eat today? We can’t decide. #TasteofEpcot

 

 

 

Wednesday, Nov. 18: Original Pricesses vs new Princesses? Who’s your #WCW? #WCWMulan #Epcot

 

 

Thursday, Nov 19: Four words. IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party. Make your reservations now. #YumandWow. #Epcotnights

 

Friday, Nov. 20: #EpcotFBF That time when @JessieandDave were vikings in #EpcotNorway. Send us your #EpcotFBF

 

 

 

Saturday, Nov. 21: #EpcotSaturdaySelfies. Smiles and #Epcot go together like peanut butter and jelly.

 

 

 

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November 22-28

Sunday, November 22: Remember to be #thankfulforfamily this week. Show us your #family enjoying dinner at #Epcot. #EpcotSundayDinner

 

 

Monday, Nov 23: Who’s ready to start the week off FUN? #EpcotMondayFunday  JaMMitors@FutureWorld

 

 

 

Tuesay, Nov 24: Would I like some cranraisin bread pudding in England? Yes please. #EpcotEngland #TasteofEpcot #RoseandCrown

 

Wednesday, Nov. 25: Come to story time at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Who’s your #WCW? #WCWBelle #Epcot

 

 

 

Thursday, Nov 26 (Thanksgiving): After turkey, we are hanging in Epcot World Showcase tonight to watch fireworks. Where are you? #Epcotnights #Thankful #Family

 

Friday, Nov. 27: #EpcotFBF Where do we land this thing? Send us your #EpcotFBF

 

 

Saturday, Nov. 28: #EpcotSaturdaySelfies. Where else can you can eat lunch in Japan and dinner in Paris?

 

 

 

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November 29-30

Sunday, November 29: Take a a break tonight and eat with us. Show us your #family enjoying dinner at #Epcot. #EpcotSundayDinner

 

Monday, Nov 30: Make Monday a day to remember. #EpcotMondayFunday

 

 

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Online Reputation Management

What people say about your company online can influence sales and affect your bottom line. The internet is a 24/7 opportunity to leave positive or negative feedback on a customer experience. This feedback and the way you handle it can be your chance to shine or tank into oblivion. Not only is it important what the customer writes, it’s even more important how you choose respond to reviews about your company, both positive or negative. A social media manager has the chance to turn a bad situation into a win for the company just based on the customer service feedback and a quick response time given to a negative review.

You never know when an online exchange with a customer will go viral, so it’s best to practice the fine art of online reputation management and learn how to turn negative feedback into a potential customer service success story.

The below are just sample reviews and are used solely for the purpose of  learning how to respond to hospitality management customer reviews.

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Five Star Review Example

The Hyatt Regency Orlando example of a five star review from Trip Advisor.

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Hi Travelwith3kiddos,

Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to give us such great feedback! We are happy you and the family enjoyed your stay with us at the Hyatt Regency Orlando and hope you visit again soon.

Next time you make a reservation with us, please make sure to request a view room and we will work diligently to accommodate along with the higher floor.

Although I can’t do much about Mother Nature and her storms, I do appreciate you letting us know about the “icky” pool debris. We take cleanliness very seriously and strive to maintain a spotless pool at all times. I will relay the information to my maintenance crew and make sure they check the grounds after our frequent afternoon rainstorms.

If you are looking to save money on daily parking, I would recommend foregoing the rental car and using our MEARS shuttle service or I-RIDE trolley service to get around town and to local attractions. Your stay comes with two free tickets to the trolley which goes up and down International Drive. Riding the trolley can be a fun experience for your entire family and a great way to meet others visiting the area.

Whether you are saying at the Hyatt for business or fun with the family, we strive to make your experience enjoyable. I would like to follow-up with you in greater detail regarding your recent stay. Please DM me so I can gather some more information. —Jennie, Social Media Manager.

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One Star Review Example

The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina example of a bad customer review.

Hi LUV2TRAVELWITHHUBBY,
Please accept my sincerest apologies. I am very sorry to hear that your stay with us at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina fell below expectations. We really don’t want you resorting to “pitching a tent” the next time you are visiting Fort Lauderdale. Please DM me, I would like to get more information from you and work on making future stays with us more enjoyable. —Jennie, Social Media Manager.

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As a social media manager, it is your responsibility to monitor what is being said about your company and respond to comments online. In the 24/7 social media world, customers are used to quick feedback and having their questions answered in in a public forum. The way you react to reviews online can be a chance to increase your company’s reputation and manage negative reviews that can turn a bad situation into a positive.

It’s not that kind of Dribble…

A Halloween illustration shared by a designer.

Dribble is a popular social community for designers, founded by designers Rich Thornett (software developer/product designer) and Dan Cederholm (web designer). Together the two formed Dribble as a side project but it now has now become a “hub” for designers “to show and tell, promote, discover and explore design.”

Dribble.com shots

Dribble was first conceived as an invite-only site, but now is open to all and is very easy to use. Designers from across the world take screen shots of their work and post it online. Other designers can comment, like, share or rebound (a way to interact with the designer posting work.) Members can find inspiration by browsing the work of creative teams, read the design-related blog, go to a local meetup in their area, connect with individual designers or find work by categorizing themselves as a prospect.

Individual designer’s post. The candy corn emoji is also for sale on the site.

There are all types of designers on the site from apparel designers, to web designers, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, font designers and animators that are available to engage with and bounce off ideas. Every day Dribble posts a few of its popular highlighted works that are the day’s favorites on the site.

The design team feed.

Because of its simple design and easy-to-navigate site, Dribble is a great site for designers and has even been dubbed the “Twitter of Designers” by Mashable. It is easy to connect with members, learn more about their creative process and glean knowledge from them. I see members talking through color schemes or more experienced designers giving feedback to less experienced ones across the world. The community interaction is awesome and I haven’t seen anyone give inappropriate feedback.

The Dribble Blog, Courtside.

Dribble’s dashboard makes it easy to meet the designers on the site and also connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or follow their blog(s). When you sign up, you give your account names for FB, Twitter, Instagram, and your portfolio web address and then connect with other users through your social media accounts. I think all of the major social media channels would work well with Dribble. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook are already utilized but including Vine and YouTube for some of the animations could be beneficial as well.

Designers can find meetups in their local areas to find other designers.

Since a big part of Dribble is the local meetup section of the website, proximity marketing could be helpful to facilitate the meetings. It would be a little harder because designers are providing a service and don’t have brick and mortar stores, but a Dribble app could be used to locate other designers in the area and facilitate sending messages. It could use the functionality of the 5Mile app but instead of buy/selling things you could use it to find like-minded people in a five mile radius.

http://www.wix.com/blog/2013/01/social-networks-for-designers/

http://mashable.com/2010/04/05/dribbble-twitter-for-designers/#ZMWuKDGsh8qO

WhoSay? They Say… #CelebsUnfiltered

WhoSay

A Brief History
The name WhoSay came from a domain search, meaning “authenticity” or “coming from the mouth of the person themselves, with that direct voice.” It was founded in March 2010 by the LA-based talent and sports agency, Creative Artists Agency (CCA) along with Steve Ellis an ex-rock guitarist and entrepreneur. Ellis had just sold his music licensing company Pump Audio to Getty Images when approached by CCA.

CCA and Ellis along with Amazon.com, Comcast, Greylock Partners and High Peak Ventures raised almost $20 million in funding for the company’s launch. WhoSay is currently headquartered in Manhattan with satellite offices in Venice, CA and London and employs 35 staff members.

Jimmel Fallon, Zac Efron and Seth Rogen.

What do we do?
Our social media and online branding service was created to allow actors, musicians, athletes and celebrities “to retain ownership rights” over the content posted to their accounts and maintain control over their digital presence through “copyright branding.”  We consider ourselves a “social celebrity magazine” and offer members the ability to easily upload images and post directly to WhoSay and other social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Google+, WeChat and Tencent (China’s social networks) using the our dashboard at no charge. We liken ourselves to People magazine, who is our partner, but instead of employing writers, our content providers are our celebrity members — they post the content, not us. We aim to give fans an inside look into the lives of their favorite celebrities. In return celeb members get the truth out to the world not just on our site, but also to other popular social networks using WhoSay’s simple tools.

Anson Mount celeb feed

Our Members
Our personalities are invite-only and include over “2,000 of the world’s most captivating people—including actors, athletes, chefs, millennial influencers, and more.”

Our 4.8 million unique celebrity “super-fan” members get in-depth news first-hand from favorite “celeb personalities” they follow.

Kylie Jenner

To become a personality, you are an industry referral (usually) and must be invited. We do a simple background check and once approved,  you get free access to our services.

Our celeb-fan members can use their Twitter or Facebook account to log-in and join.

According to Quantcast.com we currently have 2.6 million uniques, 3.6 million visits, 4.8 million views with our members located mainly in the U.S. and continue to grow organically.

Kevin Bacon getting #kissedbyapit

How to Use WhoSay
Our celebrity members post pictures, videos or messages to their individual account walls and can update their other social media accounts, all from WhoSay. Members also give us behind-the-scenes information and we upload to other pages of the site.

Channing Tatum’s feed with a pic of his wife Jenna Dewan and daughter.

Fan members can follow their favorite celebrities and the “posts” are fed to the fan’s news feed much like the functionality of Facebook. They can also access additional information on the WhoSay website by surfing through our other pages listed in the top navigation.

An example of a super-fan’s feed featuring Jane Fonda.

Anyone can access WhoSay from their desktop, mobile device or through the WhoSay iPhone and Android app.

We fill the WhoSay site with additional rich content to keep our fan members engaged and information shared. Videos, top trending stories, fashion, beauty, living, #welovepets, and set the record straight are just some of the stories we share that come straight from our celebs.

From the “Set the Record Straight” page

Target Audience
People magazine is a partner to WhoSay and attracts the same target audience as those interested in celebrity news. In order to engage with this audience, we cater to predominately college educated women aged 38 and earn around $72,000 per year.

WhoSay’s target audience is the same as People magazine

WhoSay Social Media
It is easy to stay in touch with WhoSay because we are active on Twitter (79.1K followers), Facebook (267k likes), Instagram (2.7k followers), Google+ ( 261,221 followers) and Tumblr. Our feeds carry consistent content and messaging across all channels.

WhoSay Twitter

 

WhoSay Facebook

WhoSay Instagram

Our Partnerships
WhoSay makes its money through ad sales and has partnerships with companies such as Viacom, Lexus and Canon.

During the partnership with Canon, cameras were given to celebs like Kevin Bacon, Eva Longoria and Mario Batali to document their lives for the #bringit promotion. The celebs uploaded their photos to WhoSay with the #bringit caption and the content was then forwarded across platforms to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Competitors
WhoSay’s main competitor is theAudience, financed by William Morris Endeavor. However, theAudience is not a social media platform where non-celebs can join. theAudience works behind the scenes to promote celebs, athletes and movies promoted online.

Another competitor Adly works as a conduit to connect celebrities to brand endorsements.

For more information, click here for a quick Prezi.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhoSay
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/talkingtech/2013/04/17/whosay-helps-celebrities-connect-with-fans/2089009/
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/business/media/09whosay.html?_r=0
http://www.whosay.com
https://www.whosay.com/about
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/03/11/what-say-is-whosay/70180990/
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2014/09/09/q-a-with-whosay-celebrities-control-the-content.html
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/marketers-bet-celebrities-churn-out-branded-content-162970
http://adage.com/article/media/whosay-turns-celebrities-content-marketers-canon/294259/
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacom-whosay-partnership-317887

IMC is the Golden Standard.

When it comes to creating and maintaining a successful brand, companies have learned IMC is the best way to build a strategic marketing plan. This week I take a look at some of my go-to brands — Fabletics, Starbucks and Whole Foods to see how IMC plays a role in their websites, blogs and social media channels.

Fabletics.com

First, I’m going to look at the youngest company in the mix Fabletics. It is a subsidiary of JustFab and is an athletic clothing company that was co-founded by Kate Hudson in 2013. It mainly sells clothing on its e-commerce site but has six brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S.

Fabletics Facebook

Fabletics Google+

Fabletics Instagram

Fabletics Twitter

Fabletics Pinterest

Fabletics uses IMC in all marketing from website,  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest to its Blog, emails and even traditional advertising such as packaging, print and TV ads. The company drives traffic across channels using links for purchase or to engage the potential customer with additional content on its blog or website.

Fabletics Social Channels:

blog

Google 2,470 followers

Facebook 2,229,392 likes

Twitter 15k followers

Instagram 197k followers

Pinterest 37.5K followers

On the Fabletics website there are links to their social media accounts at the bottom of each page. Every day Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ are updated with a new post containing the same copy message, image or video and link (bit.ly) back to their website for purchase or has a “shop now” button. Fabletics’ Pinterest page has multiple pins that are pinned each day relating to their apparel, working out, hair styles, gym to street attire and nutrition. All of the apparel pins link (bit.ly) directly back to the e-commerce site to buy. Most of the other pins like nutrition or workout tips link back to the website or the Blog.

When posting, Fabletics does use hashtags, but don’t use more than a few at a time. Most are #OOTD, #toneitup or #sneakpeak to build excitement. Most of the posts contain Kate Hudson and give an insider’s look into her life. I believe this is why they have been able to create such a buzz around the company.

Starbucks.com

Next I will talk about a fan favorite and master of IMC, Starbucks. Starbucks is the largest coffee company in the world and the company is considered the second most valuable fast food brand worldwide, second only to McDonald’s. It sells coffee, food, mugs, coffee supplies and etc. in its own brick-and-mortar retail stores, ground coffee and roasted beans in big-box and grocery stores, has an e-commerce site and has licensed stores.

Starbucks Twitter

Starbucks Instagram

Starbucks Pinterest

Starbucks Facebook

Starbucks Google+

Starbucks Social Channels:

1912pike.com

Google 4,195,490 followers

Twitter 10.2M

Facebook 35,933,671 likes

Instagram 6 million

Pinterest 215.2K followers

IMC is prevalent across all channels of Starbucks’ marketing both on and offline.

Their campaign is cohesive and social media channels such as Twitter and Instagram are updated daily Monday through Friday with the same messaging, picture or video. Hashtags are used frequently in posts with many that are used daily such as #protip or #PSL (drinks of the season). Twitter and Instagram use links back to the website or more frequently, their Blog, 1912Pike to engage it’s customers, invite them to vote for flavors, enter into contests or give recipes and link to Pinterest. Social Media links are at the bottom of every page on their website.

Facebook and Google+  are updated less frequently, but usually every other day.

Starbucks updates their posts daily Monday thorough Friday but goes silent on the weekends even though traffic is higher those days. They must have seen consumer enagement analytics on the weekends was low. Otherwise, I’m not sure why they would not use those days to drive traffic to their stores and to their media channels.

Wholefoodsmarket.com

Finally lets look at Whole Foods Market. They are the largest natural and organic food retailer with 427 stores in North America and the UK and consider themselves, “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store.” Whole Foods has brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce.

Whole Foods Facebook

Whole Foods Twitter

Whole Foods Google+

Whole Foods Social Channels:

Whole Story blog

Google 262,609 followers

Facebook 1,803,472 likes

Twitter 4.74M followers

Instagram 566K followers

Pinterest 272.4K followers

Whole Foods uses IMC throughout all of their online

Whole Foods Pinterest

and offline marketing channels. They have consistent messaging in-store, on the website, blog, on all social media channels and in traditional advertising i.e. print ads. They update Twitter, Facebook, Google, Instagram and the company blog daily with consistent messaging (pictures, video, copy) on each feed.

Whole Foods Instagram

Every post features links (bit.ly) to the website, blog or recipes on their Pinterest boards to engage the customer and offer additional content or buying opportunities. They are active hashtag users, and use hashtags like #tailgating and #oktoberfest with emojis of BBQ’s and beer mugs to match. Social media links are at the bottom of every page.

Whole Foods ups their customer engagement by offering rich content like recipes and how-to videos on their social media channels. They drive traffic to their company blog as well as their co-CEO’s blogs thereby giving personality to the brand.

Overall, Fabletics, Starbucks and Whole Foods all adhere to the IMC practice by offering rich content and link across media channels. They update their social media sites regularly but with the same information, reaching multiple audiences in doing so.

This is Me.

Dear Ban.do, Can I pretty-please join your girl gang?

Why, you ask?
Well, because I believe glitter makes the world go around, bright colors are my friends, flamingos are an obsession, unicorns are my spirit animals and mermaids are my soul sisters.

Boo in her “best” ugly sweater and Maggie playing Santa-dog.

#kittens….
Who doesn’t love them? I rescue them. I know you do too. Truth being told, I love all animals and I haven’t met one I don’t like yet.

This little girl could be me from back in the day. (Except my cat Petey was a one-eyed, one-eared black rescue.) We patrolled the neighborhood on my red bike with a silver glitter banana seat with Petey in the basket and tassels flying in the wind.

I already feel like you are my BFF’s.
Your pastel hair, cute outfits and quick-wit grace the feed of my Instagram every day. Like you, I believe in empowering women. LIFT THEM UP! There are already too many people saying “you can’t” and I believe it’s my calling to say YES, YOU CAN! Be a dreamer, a tinkerer, a doer, a woman that can “make your own thunder” (as “my mom always said).

Who’s up for forging their own path?
That’s what I did. I grew up in a small southern town, famous for spring break and wet t-shirt contests. That’s not me, never was, never will be. I bucked tradition and left home as soon as I could, put myself through college, moved out west and never looked back. Some would say I’m the black sheep of the family for leaving, but I prefer to think I’m the silver glittery sheep. 

What’s in it for you?
I have a BA in Communication from the University of West Florida and have been a designer for over 20 years. I’m currently working on a Masters in Communication with emphasis in Social Media from the University of Florida. I hope to merge my design skills with digital strategy and be a “force to be reckoned with.” I believe in working hard and love a challenge. 

How about a karaoke date?
I know you ladies like karaoke nights after work. Here is my latest car-jam (please excuse the potty language).

Or maybe we just hang out for an 80’s movie night.
Breakfast Club, Goonies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles are some of my favorites, the girl gang likes rom coms just as much as I do.  I make a mean veggie GF pizza.

To give you a giggle.
I love your quirky sense of humor and I hope you like mine. One last little video I wanted to share — a moon-walking, singing pony. I can’t listen to this song anymore without seeing this #danceponydance!

So, Ban.do girl gang, let’s be friends. I’m not too proud to beg.
Please contact me here or check out my Pinterest to find out about all things me.

My Favorite Blogs.

What can I say? I can’t help it. I’m a sucker for design, home decor, fashion, food and travel. Oh Joy!, Gluten Free Girl & the Chef and Wit & Delight can keep me entertained for hours because of the fresh, original content. While Oh Joy! and Wit & Delight inspire my home’s decor and professional design with colorful, funky, indie finds and minimalist approach, Gluten Free Girl & Chef helps me eat safely even with a gluten intolerance.

Oh Joy!

Oh Joy!’s, “What’s in my bag” post.

Oh Joy!’s Joy Cho has been blogging for about 10 years. She started out as a graphic designer and was able to parlay her design skills into a highly successful, professional blog now run by a team with Joy as the leader and “face” of the brand.

Joy Cho

It is not only a blog, but also has e-commerce, which sells books inspiring others to create blogs and does freelance design for companies like Target, Land of Nod, Urban Outfitters and Solly Baby. (A personal confession, I became “mildly obsessed” with Oh Joy!’s designs while shopping at Anthropologie quite a few years ago.) As a designer myself, I appreciate the posts on design style, DIY projects, travel stories, career motivation and her take on enjoying life through the trials and tribulations of being a successful, full-time creative wife and mom. When you read her blog posts or watch videos, you feel like you are taking a journey with a friend because of her relate-able, conversational style. Original content (including pics and video) is uploaded every day on the blog and is promoted on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter , YouTube and of course Pinterest which make the brand easy to find and easy to share on social media.

Joy Cho and baby Coco, who is featured in many of Oh Joy!’s posts and social media.

Oh Joy! has quite a few followers — 252K on Instagram, 13.1M on Pinterest, 66K on Facebook and 77K on Twitter which are driven back to the blog with links. Conversely, the blog has social share buttons at the end of every post. When you subscribe to the Oh Joy! blog, content is pushed directly to your inbox everyday. The blog does contain endorsed or sponsored content, but it is not blatant. (There is an asterisk or “courtesy of” in the caption to indicate paid content.) If I had to change anything about the Oh Joy! blog, I would recommend posting even more video, adding podcasts to increase readership and share-ability and “sponsored or pinned for you pins” on Pinterest.

Gluten-Free-Girl

Gluten-Free-Girl blog post encouraging readers to have gluten-free potlucks with friends

Gluten Free Girl & the Chef is also a successful, professional blog about living gluten free (GF) and is run by Shauna and Danny (the Chef) Ahern. For the few of us “blessed” with Celiac or gluten intolerance, you’ve probably heard of Gluten-Free-Girl recipe books and blog. Along with links to their books, videos, in-person baking classes and e-commerce site, Shauna posts fresh content a few times a week for those living a GF lifestyle and her husband Danny (James Beard award winner), is the chef supplying yummy recipes to make you feel like you are eating regular food.

A recipe for baked halibut with asparagus, leeks and dill by Gluten-Free-Girl

Blog readers can subscribe to weekly emails and they even have an app which helps navigate GF holiday cooking. Both Shauna (199k followers) and James (7K followers) post to Twitter, Facebook (112k likes), Instagram (21.5K followers), Pinterest (3.4k followers) and there are a few how-to videos posted on Youtube. All of the posts can be shared via social media which helps drive traffic to the website and vice versa.

Ad for Freschetta gluten free pizza on the left rail.

The site does have a prominent ad under its navigation. There are also multiple sponsors of the site, each with links to individual blog posts written about the company’s food products and link back to the company’s website. In return, the individual sponsor’s website links back to the Gluten Free Girl & the Chef which increases traffic. In my opinion, the actual content is great, but it is a little hard to follow and navigate. I would re-architect the site to make site navigation easier and highlight the great photography which would lend itself to a better design. Also, I would increase the video quality on youtube. Most people are ok with lower quality video on blogs, but personally, I like higher production value.

Wit & Delight

The Wit & Delight Blog

Finally, Wit & Delight, is a very successful, professional lifestyle blog started by Kate Arends with over 2.9 million unique followers. It is a bit of a hybrid as it’s content comes from Kate and a team of bloggers predominantly from Minneapolis or Chicago. With fresh daily content about home decor, design, beauty, fashion, lifestyle (book reviews, travel) and witty random musings, Wit & Delight has something for almost everyone and even has an e-commerce site filled with their favorite products curated from blog posts.

The specially curated e-commerce site.

I personally found the blog through a “picked for you pin” on Pinterest which has 2.9M followers, but they also have other social media channels including Twitter (11.9K followers), Instagram (204k followers), Tumblr and Facebook (8k likes) which all tease content from the blog and link back for more in-depth information. Wit and Delight has also designed home goods for Target which helped them increase their blog and social media following. There are no ads on the site but there are sponsored/endorsed products for posts and they do sponsored contests with give-aways.

Sponsored Skin Care Giveaway on Wit & Delight.

I don’t think Wit & Delight lacks any content, but I would like to see a regular podcast so commuters can listen without having to go online. This would still drive traffic to the site while allowing more users to access the content. I would also like to see more behind-the-scenes video as well. To me, the sideways left side navigation is not intuitive, so I would re-architect that to top navigation.

Links:

http://ohjoy.blogs.com

https://glutenfreegirl.com/

http://witanddelight.com/