Web
When to do everything
Marketing has always been a blend of art and science. The new realm of social media is no different. However, due to the newness of social media, data has been a little scarce. Last week, three new reports came out that filled the space with a lot of data. This week, we will spend some time on the takeaways from these reports.
The first one is by Dan Zarrella, Social Media Scientist at HubSpot, on the Science of Timing. Here are a few key takeaways that Dan wants everyone to know from his research:
On Twitter and Facebook:
- Late in the day and week is the most retweetable
- Tweet more
- Don’t crowd your content
- Weekends are best for Facebook sharing
On Email Marketing:
- Experiment with emailing on weekends
- Send email very early in the morning
- Send more email
- Your newest subscribers are your best
On Blogging:
- Know your audience
- Blog on weekends for comments
- Blog early in the morning for links
- Blog more frequently
With all the takeaways above, there is an underlying theme: Tailor to your audience.
- Send content to them at a time that they are available to absorb content (which is generally around early morning, lunch, or late evening, as in not during peak work hours).
- Don’t worry that you are over-marketing to them. If what you’re sending them is relevant, they wouldn’t mind getting a lot of it.
Quick Response… Slow in the West
Wrapping up on the series on what we have learned thus far from the Japanese, honoring their thought leadership in the world of marketing, branding, and business. With hope, prayers, and donations, Japan will be back of her feet soon, and her people go back to a routine life of simply marketing, branding, and business.
A series on what Japan had contributed to marketing has to include Quick Response. Quick Response is better known by its short-form: QR code. It’s a barcode that can be read by readers, such as camera phones. General embedded in these codes are links to the web for more information. It was originally created by a Toyota subsidiary in 1994, and nowadays found everywhere in Japan. You can find these codes on tissue packs, flyers, chopstick wrappers, practically everywhere.
Japanese consume technology at a much faster rate than Westerners. QR code adoption is still low in the US. However, we are seeing more of them. We are beginning to see them on packaging, in-store signage, print ads, and even TV commercials. However, if the popularity of QR code in Japan is any indication of future adoption of this technology here in the West, the potential appears to be limitless!
To help the Japanese people who’s still struggling with the aftermath of the earthquake, consider making a donating from the following links. Thank you.
【Amazon.com】【Google Checkout】【American Red Cross】【International Medical Corps】【AmeriCares】 【Paypal】 【causes.com】
Photo Credit: Divergence
Related articles
- What does the future hold for QR (Quick Response) codes? (marcommics.wordpress.com)
- Using QR codes (elkrapidslive.wordpress.com)
- QR codes make your shopping experience interactive at Home Depot (jennstrathman.com)
Lent maybe bad for social campaigns
Ash Wednesday came and went, and Lent has begun. In decades past, people have given up beer, candy, or the likes. However, in the 21st century, many people are giving up social media, such as Facebook. Now, I had known an acquaintance or two in years past doing so. But now even mass media is covering such practice, marking the fact that this trend has grown out of its infancy and into mass adoption.
This new practice is likely going to affect some communities more than others. As, Men’s Health magazine dove into a study on which cities in America are most socially connected. The top ranked city was not Palo Alto, center of silicon valley, as the magazine editors / researchers had initially thought. The top billing for the most socially connected city went to Washington, DC.
If you really think about this, it makes perfect sense! Washington is all about networking. If networking in person is important, that logic certainly applies to the digital world as well. So, with Lent, perhaps politicians need to go back to good-old-fashion hand shaking and baby kissing for the time being. Virtual connections may not thrive during these forty days.
Well, couldn’t the same be said for marketers?
As marketers increasingly turn to social media as the primary means to reach their target audience, what would Lent mean for all these digital campaigns? What good is a Facebook “Like” if they are not checking Facebook right now?
Email subscribers: Link to news video
Related articles
- Pastor: Don’t Give Up Social Media For Lent (npr.org)
- Did You Give Up Social Media for Lent? (blogher.com)
- Some Christians Give Up Facebook For Lent (allfacebook.com)
Jeannie Chan is a Brand Manager for a Fortune 500 consumer goods company. She considers herself a marketer, a traveler, and a foodie. Jeanne lives in NYC. 
