Sunday, April 3, 2011

Making the Power of Blogging Work

Based on my new acquired experience with blogging, I would like to focus on a brand that could use some tips to enhance their blog and brand itself. This brand sells fitness clothing and apparel online, and I thought it would be a great fit for my blog. 


The company Got Apparel has a blog that is currently being used as a catalogue, rather than a blog. New lines, new designs and product offerings are the basis for all the blog posts. Judging from the total lack of comments and interactively with customers or potential customers, this blog can use some edits.


Although the Got Apparel Blog is regularly posting on their blog, I would like to offer them three recommendations to start with to leverage the power of blogging and enhance their brand:


(1) Remember that Content is King - Viewers of a blog need a reason to read it. There needs to be information and insights offered on the blog that isn't available on the website itself. Also having links to other sources to provide even more information or insight can allow for a viewer the blog appreciate your post even more. The more valuable a viewer finds a blog, the willing they will be to return to it. An excellent example by the fashion brand, BLDG 25 who have created a blog that gives more just information about their clothing, it also gives perspective and inspiration behind it, something that their customers would find intriguing and interesting. 


(2) Have User-Generated Content - Showing content by customers to customers can be very powerful. Consumers today find more merit from other consumers than the company itself now. It provides a real perspective and often substantiates what a brand stands for too. Adding testimonials or quotes is an excellent starting point to gain user-generated content. 


(3) Invite Comments For Each Blog Entry - One benefit of inviting comments is that it shows other viewers that this blog is being viewed and read. Another benefit is the information a company can acquire when viewers are asked for their opinion or asked to make comments about a specific topic. This allows a company to fix, amend or improve their products and brands. 


Got Apparel's Blog sure can become more effective relatively quickly by using some (or hopefully all) of my suggestions that I learned through my BCIT Social Media Marketing course.


Happy Effective Blogging To All!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Analyzing a Business Facebook Fan Page

The Facebook Fan Page I am going to analyze this week is Healthy Choice Canada because they are pushing healthy but quick and convenient meals, which is a great way to meet fitness goals for the week.


What Healthy Choice Canada does well on their Facebook page:
  • Has a large profile picture
  • Engages with their fans by answering and posing questions
  • Encourages discussions with some posts instead of just factual or tips posts
  • Long notes are added (similar to a blog post but still available in one social media format for the convenience of the viewer)
  • They have added custom FTML apps as pages to their Facebook page such as coupons and insights from the experts. The more content, the more valuable it is to their fans and gives increased SEO benefits
  • Strong ‘followership’ so this page is proving to be valuable Canada wide
  • Fans are able to post directly on their wall instead of having to send personal messages. This adds credibility for future viewers of their Facebook page
  • Very active and interactive each week


How Healthy Choice Canada can improve their Facebook page:
  • They should add more likes to their list. This gives the potential to show environment initiatives taken or community and/ore not-for-profit involvement which can show if they are a socially responsible and/or environment friendly company
  • They have a few different versions of their profile picture. The other ones should be deleted because it is obvious they were playing around with it until they were content with it
  • There are tagged photos and profile pictures photo galleries but they should also add another album of their products since some people prefer clicking on a photo album instead of a custom FTML app (more personable)
  • They should post on other health related items such as service or non-competitive products to add more value to their fans


Overall Healthy Choice Canada is doing a superb job but make this minor revisions will make them even greater!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Tracking Fitness Magazine


For this week's post, I am going to look at Fitness Magazine's social media platforms. The great thing about what Fitness Magazine is doing is that they very active and engaging in all their social media formats. I did an analysis with a Twitter Grading and it recieved 100% by the tracking tool. Also, on HowSociable.com, they got the result of 436, which determines that Fitness Magazine is doing an excellent job right now. By visiting their various social media formats, I would agree with the results. 

List below are ten conversations that the company has had recently via their Twitter account and Facebook page with their fans and followers. I would grade these conversations at 95% because they always reply or acknowledge when someone asks questions, they try to have variety and interesting content to keep their audience interested and engaged and overall seem to take an active role with all of their social media formats.

TWITTER


Conversation 1:
@FitnessMagazine when will the app be available to iphones??
        1. @anyting_goes mag app won't be on iPhone, but have you tried our Fitness Express app? http://ow.ly/4huRI or mobile site? fitnessmagazine.com
  1. @kwags Awesome! Let us know what you think!

Conversation 9:



It will officially be Spring on Sunday, 3/20! To celebrate the sunnier season, OrganicBouquet.com is offering FITNESS fans 25% off now through 3/25! Organic Bouquet, a carbon neutral company, focuses on responsible and eco-friendly practices. Use the promo code “Fitness25” to get your exclusive discount!

Friday at 1:00pm via HootSuite ·  · 

  • 46 people like this.

    • Divas Hand Bags who does the voting on the fitness magazine cover contest?
      Friday at 3:21pm · 


Conversation 10:



We love getting feedback from you guys! Here's what CupcakeMonster had to say about our iPad app: "“Love love love this!! It’s like the magazine, but more fun and interactive. The workout videos are awesome. I also like that you get extra recipes that aren’t in the magazine. Definitely worth it!!” Have you checked it out yet?

itunes.apple.com
Learn more, read reviews, and download Fitness Magazine by Meredith Corporation on the iTunes App Store.

Friday at 10:55am via HootSuite ·  ·  · Share