Twitter

Twitter’s ‘action+caption’ marches on

It’s a long time since a tweet meant just 140 characters and a little metadata for location.

It’s time to start asking what happens when Twitter Cards become little units of web in their own right.

With the launch of Audio Cards, we’re seeing one of the most distinct demonstrations of this potential so far.

While previous Cards could include sign-ups for email newsletters or allow you to play content directly in your stream, the new Audio Card has added a whole new function, and hints at a whole new dynamic.

Sweaty Betty shows how to build a brand around a social community

Sports and fitness are innately social activities, so health brands have reaped huge rewards from the rise of social media.

Two great examples of this can be found in the massive popularity of Tough Mudder and Cross Fit, which emphasise team building and camaraderie alongside physical exercise.

Another business built around a fitness community is Sweaty Betty. It sells sports gear for women online and in more than 30 stores across the UK.

These boutiques offer a drastically different shopping experience to the giant soulless warehouses from the likes of Sports Direct. In fact Sweaty Betty even hosts regular yoga classes and other fitness events.

With so much emphasis on building a community, I thought it would be useful to take a closer look at some of Sweaty Betty’s social activity.

Read on for a whirlwind tour of its various social profiles, or for more on this topic read our post on how Nike uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.

How to target your competitor’s followers with Twitter custom audiences

For a long time working with custom audiences meant that you would need to go through an approved advertising partner.

While this has its uses it was often prohibitively expensive, leaving many small and mid-size businesses unable to use this kind of targeting.

Recently Twitter has changed this, allowing self-serve advertisers to create and upload custom audiences.  

I thought it would be useful to show you exactly how to do this. 

Nine of our favourite social campaigns from September

As a new month begins it’s time to look back and round up some of the most noteworthy social campaigns we’ve seen in the last 30 days or so.

This time it includes Burberry, Topshop, Peugeot, Paddy Power, Stonewall, Grant’s Whisky and new Instagram ads.

Paddy Power is among the brands that will be speaking at Econsultancy’s Festival of Marketing in November. The two-day celebration of the modern marketing industry also features speakers from LEGO, Tesco, Barclays, FT.com and more. 

Six Premier League football clubs with innovative digital strategies

You need only look at the trending topics on any Saturday from August to May to know that football is a big deal on social media.

Premier League clubs weren’t slow to take advantage of this fact, so digital and social channels are now firmly part of the marketing mix for most teams.

To give some insight in this topic, I’ve rounded up a few interesting campaigns which show how Premier League teams are using digital to interact with fans.

For more on this theme, read our posts looking at Premier League clubs that use Twitter’s Vine and the arduous task of buying football tickets online.

How Cancer Research benefits from agile working practices

This year has seen the emergence of a new trend in charity fundraising – viral, nomination campaigns.

The most recent example was the ice bucket challenge phenomenon that swept round the globe fuelled by celebrity endorsements, eventually raising more than $90m for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association.

But earlier in the year Cancer Research benefited from its own spontaneous viral campaign when women began posting photos and donating with the hashtag #NoMakeupSelfie.

Cancer Research was in a position to make the most of this opportunity because it has already adopted agile working practices within its digital team.

To find out more about this process I spoke to senior digital services manager James Gadsby Peet, who will also be speaking at Econsultancy’s Festival of Marketing in November.

The two-day conference is a celebration of the modern marketing industry, featuring speakers from brands including LEGO, Tesco, Barclays, FT.com and more. 

Aldi vs. Lidl: how do they use Facebook and Twitter?

Lidl surprised consumers in the UK recently with its new TV campaign that aimed to alter perceptions of the brand.

Popular opinion suggests that you get what you pay for at Lidl, so the products match the low, low prices.

However the #LidlSurprises ads play on that image by showing consumers who are pleasantly surprised at the quality of the retailer’s various produce.

The campaign comes as the grocery chain is plotting a £220m UK expansion that will help it to further capitalise on its already soaring sales figures, with revenue expected to reach £4bn in 2014 up from £2bn in 2010.

It’s rival for the crown of the people’s favourite budget retailer comes in the form of Aldi, which achieved sales growth of 35.3% in Q1 2014.

Both retailers have been trying to reinvigorate their marketing with a focus on digital and social media, so I thought it would be interesting to see what Lidl and Aldi are up to on Facebook and Twitter…

How Burberry and Topshop used social to rule at London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is over for another year, and what a week it’s been.

The Econsultancy content team have been to exactly zero catwalk shows and no glitzy parties, and quite frankly we’re exhausted.

Thankfully our friends in the world of fashion were kind enough to share all the glamour via social media, so we have a fair idea of what went on at the major fashion shows.

Data from Hotwire PR shows that Burberry managed to drive the most conversations around its show with 21,958 tweets, while Topshop came a distant second with 9,108.

This is likely because they’re two of Britain’s most recognised fashion brands, but both have also engaged in some interesting social activity around London Fashion Week.

Here’s a quick run through of what they’ve been up to, and for a look back at previous years read our posts from LFW 2013 and 2012…

Four reasons to admire the #LidlSurprises campaign

Earlier this month Lidl unveiled its new £20m brand campaign aimed at altering the public’s perception of its products.

It marks a step change in the company’s marketing strategy, as it had previously relied on door drops and leafleting to get across its price message.

Lidl will now focus on TV ads and social as a way of communicating with its customers.

The campaign comes as the grocery chain is plotting a £220m UK expansion that will help it to further capitalise on its already soaring sales figures, with revenue expected to reach £4bn in 2014 up from £2bn in 2010.

All the activity is centred around #LidlSurprises, with TV, print and in-store promotions all sporting the hashtag.

We’ve all been reasonably impressed with the campaign at Econsultancy (Ben Davis in particular), so I thought I’d elaborate on what makes it so impressive.

Using Twitter and Pinterest analytics to build engaging content strategies

The news this week that Twitter has opened up its analytics platform to all is a welcome one for all marketers that value data validation within their decision making process.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of the news from Pinterest that it has, for the first time, also opened up its vast treasure trove of data to businesses via its new interface.

Data-driven content strategy is something I have spent the past 15 years pursuing and so the addition of such insight moves that process on further than ever and today I want to look at actionable ways in which these new platforms can be used.

Seven of our favourite social campaigns from August 2014

It’s approaching the end of August so it’s time to round up some of the more interesting social campaigns we’ve seen this month.

This time it includes Doctor Who, Nordstrom, Volkswagen, Comparethemarket, Dr Pepper and Acura.

For more of the same check out our campaign round ups from June and July.

Enjoy!

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