An Excellent Use of Social Media

In her recent post on Tumblr, Taylor Swift practiced an excellent use of social media, particularly Tumblr.  She began the post with a headline of “To Apple, Love Taylor.”  She continued, “I write this to explain why I will be holding back my album, 1989, from the new streaming service.  I feel this deserves an explanation because Apple has been and will continue to be one of my best partners in selling music and creating ways for me to connect with my fans.  I respect the company and the truly ingenious minds that have created a legacy based on innovation and pushing the right boundaries.”

Taylor further detailed that Apple Music is offering a free three month trial to anyone who signs up for the service.  She found “it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company (Apple)” that they would not be paying the writers, producers, or artists for these three months.  While this would not hurt Taylor, she maintained that an artist releasing a first single, a songwriter getting the first cut of a song, or a producer who worked tirelessly to launch a new release could not afford to lose a quarter of a year’s worth of pay. 

She ended the post by asking Apple to change its policy.  She offered a very astute comparison. “We don’t ask you for free iPhones.  Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation.”

In this social media post, Taylor clearly communicated her message without a nasty tone.  She was respectful to Apple and thorough in telling the entire story.  She was factual and gave information the average person didn’t know.  Until her post, the media hadn’t been the least concerned about the situation.  Her post on Tumblr changed that. 

Tumblr is a micro blog.  Posts are smaller in size than a traditional blog, using shorter sentences, individual images, and video links, similar to Twitter.  Microblogs have grown as a resource for news media regarding real-time information.  Because posts are short, users can upload them fast.  Many social media marketers regularly employ Tumblr as a marketing and public relations platform. 

That is what Taylor Swift did.  She exposed Apple’s secret in a way only a person of her stature could do.  She tapped into the attention of fans and the media by her Tumblr post.  She knew that a this post would get wide attention.  It did.  Within twenty-four hours, Apple replied, “We heard you, Taylor Swift,” and changed its policy.  The artists, writers, and producers will now be paid during the free trial period.

While I understand you are not Taylor Swift talking to millions of fans and instantly commanding the attention of the media, Taylor’s message is an excellent example of how to use social media well.  She gave her fans and the media newsworthy information, something they did not know.  The content of her message benefited new artists, writers, and producers, and even fans, not Taylor.  She got her point across clearly and respectfully.  Following these points will give you better results on your social media posts, too.

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What excellent use of social media have you encountered?  E-mail me your answer.

My Two Favorite Holiday Commercials

This year my two favorite holiday commercials feature a magical reindeer and a choked-up grandma.  One is a very well-acted commercial with a father attempting to ignite the holiday spirit in his disinterested son.  In desperation, he drives his son into the country.  “Your mom and I thought you might like this,” he offers as the commercial opens.  “My dad brought me out here when…”

Noticing the ear buds in his son‘s ears, he stops.  “Anyway…”

They arrive at their destination and walk through the trees to a clearing where an older man with a beard is putting down hay for several reindeer.  One large reindeer runs up to the boy, stops, snorts, looks the boy in the eye, turns suddenly, and leaps high into the fog.   As the music “I get a trace magic” cues up, the boy exclaims, “Dad, did you see that?” 

His dad, who had already turned and was walking away, smiles.  Excited, the boy runs after him.  “Dad!  Dad!  Wait up!”

The Kohls logo comes on screen as they interact.  If you haven’t seen it, go here now.

My other favorite commercial begins with a young woman pulling out a 45 vinyl record labeled Voice-o-Graph.  She plays it and hears her grandmother saying to her grandfather who was in the service at the time, “My darling Raymond, though you can’t be here for the holidays, we’ll always be together in my heart.” 

Then her grandmother sings, “Our Love Is Here to Stay.”

Using her Mac, the granddaughter works on creating a duet to that song with her grandmother.  Christmas morning, she leaves a cell phone on the kitchen table with a note “Press play.”  Her grandmother finds this, sits down, puts in the ear buds, and presses play.  Grandmother’s tearful reaction to the song chokes me up every time I see it.  If you haven’t seen this commercial and want to, go here. 

Both of these commercials elicit emotion, and that is their strength.  They tap into the magic and family memories of the holidays.  Many call these commercials institutional or image because they do not directly sell.  However the Mac commercial did a good job of prominently featuring the laptop as the girl was working on the duet.  She showed the laptop’s capabilities to record the Voice-o-Graph, guitar background, and her singing.  With her final product on the cell, she communicated that she combined all these together using the laptop.  In each of her scenes, the Apple logo was very apparent.   

On the other hand, the Kohls logo was only displayed at the beginning and the end of the commercial.  The company would have received more credit for the commercial and more connection with it had the logo been displayed in a lower corner throughout.  When you do an image commercial, do everything possible to connect your company with the commercial in the customer’s mind. 

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What is your favorite holiday commercial and why?  E-mail me your answer.