Social Media Archives

Tag: Social Media

Win a Perfect Day with Pilot Pens!

For Pilot Pen UK’s annual summer promotion (this is our 3rd year!) we proposed a fresh, modern twist on a ‘Crazy Caption’ campaign with a selection of cartoon-style drawings, each portraying a quirky scene.

The challenge for entrants is to come up with a caption that perfectly captures the story behind the picture. The very best will be chosen by a judging panel, for each image, and will receive a £250 Red Letter Day voucher to live out their ‘Perfect Day with Pilot’.

The Pilot marketing team loved our concept so we’ve been working closely with their in-house design team to create the editorial end of the campaign and to flesh out a dynamic social media and marketing schedule to run alongside.

It officially goes live today – so you can head over to their Facebook page and enter!

Retail Therapy - the changing face of the retail landscape

Here at chicken/egg, we love shopping as much as the next person, and we find the changes in the ways that retailers interact with their customers fascinating.

From super-speedy apps that allow you to buy a whole new wardrobe and have it delivered to your door within a matter of hours (Hello, Next) to innovative community sites that connect customers with retailers of the freshest, locally sourced produce, the high street retail experience as we know it has changed, and competition is fierce.

Convenience Store reported recently that more and more retailers are turning to mobile technology to help run their businesses, but we’re more interested in the power that technology wields over the public and its spending power.

We’re massive advocates of supporting local businesses, and we work with some fantastic independents to help them engage with the local community and increase their profile. We’ve organised charity fashion shows, exclusive preview parties and sampling events, but one of the most impactful ways we’ve been able to help is by implementing social media campaigns to help them engage with existing and new customers.

From introducing new designer lines, offering exclusive discounts and showing off the mouth-watering dish of the day, the immediacy of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram allows real-time interaction that revolutionises the way people shop. Many indies don’t have the luxury of expensive eCommerce sites and delivery services, and social media can provide one-to-one conversation and provide vital insight, customer feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations.

But it doesn’t stop there. We’re really proud to work with Annecto, one of the UK’s fastest growing independently sales organisations, which goes above and beyond to provide chip-and-pin payment solutions to independent retailers and businesses, as well as providing top-notch advice to help those businesses thrive. When Annecto told us about a cutting edge new payment solution that it’s now offering it’s customers, we couldn’t wait to tell our clients.

The system, myCircle smartPOS*, is an intelligent and forward-thinking system that not only ticks all the boxes when it comes to helping retailers stay in control of their business, but also allows them to access social media and engage with customers in the region with tailored offerings and messages according to stock, shopping behaviour and even the weather. Wow!

So not only does the system enable business owners to see real-time sales reports, add new products, and change prices at the tap of an icon, it lets them from a relationship with their customers, which is at the heart of any retail experience.

In a country where residents are more comfortable buying goods via smartphone than the rest of Europe, and where the number of consumers visiting social network sites has increased to 72 per cent, the need to maximise at technology to reach them has never been more important.

*chicken/egg also worked with myCircle on the design and development of their ‘icon wheel’ and datasheet

The Social Media instinct

You’ve just thought of a great post, and as you reached for your phone, your thumb pauses, hovering between the blue icons. Which account should you post this to? Twitter, Facebook or both? The two sites have a very different feel to them and appeal to a different demographic.

The fact that you ‘approve’ friends on Facebook, and ‘follow’ on twitter suggests the intimacy of the relationship. FB (family & buddies) is largely about continuing real relationships in the virtual world, whereas Twitter is more about making connections from an entirely online community. So you’re more likely to get a stream of birthday messages on FB and a link to an interesting article on Twitter.

Many of us use one site more than the other, and have a natural ‘feel’ or what’s appropriate where. However the social media scene is vast, there’s Instagram, Pinterest, blogs and many more, each with their own ethos and perspective to consider. Obviously there aren’t hard and fast rules, but the subtle differences between the sites is a big consideration when planning a social media campaign, which is why it’s crucial to have people on your team who have experience across the vast range of social networking and who understand why one post doesn’t necessarily work across sites.

How’s your social media instinct? Where would you post in these scenarios?

1) Pictures from a family holiday

2) Funny post about a topical story, just to make people smile.

3) Link to a news article with a comment aimed at starting a debate.

4) Request for help finding a handyman in your local area.

5) Sharing a petition about a cause you support.

6) A review you’ve written about a book you read.

7) An amazing up-cycle job you’ve done on an old chair.

8) Trying to raise donations for your sponsored walk.

At chicken/egg, Jacqui and her team, make sure that the right message gets delivered in the right way to get through first time, because you don’t get many second changes in the constantly updating on-line community

Chocolate that demands respect

Bahlsen have finally officially launched PiCK UP! to the UK market – the chicken/egg team just love these biscuits and they’ve become a staple now at any brainstorm meeting!

It was great fun to have been involved in the pitching process for the TV commercial and although our ‘tea lady’ didn’t make the final cut we have to agree that BMB’s Ninja Chihuahua has universal appeal!

Working closely with BMB, MediaCom and the Bahlsen team we managed the launch PR and Social Media activity which saw a 6ft Ninja Chihuahua hit the streets of London in our #NinjaSelfChi campaign plus the NC also photobombed Ellen’s now famous Oscar Selfie …

A great start to the 2014 campaign!

Tweet Tweet

We thought we’d do a follow up to our ‘HOW TO: Facebook Comps‘ post back in April … this time focusing on the wonderful world of Twitter!

So here’s a brief overview on the Dos and Don’ts to get you started …

The one thing to remember is that Twitter isn’t an advertising board; it’s a conversation.

Do:

Follow, follow, follow! Spend some time building up the people you follow. If you’re not sure where to start, use the Twitter suggestions, or check out who your friends are following
Try to reply to all the Tweets that mention you
Find your ‘voice’. Is it chatty, formal, cheeky, official? Do you want your Tweets to be first person, or third person? First is more approachable, but may be too relaxed for a corporate account
Devote time to Twitter. When it comes to Social Media, the more you put in, the more you get back. You need a steady, regular presence to make real ripples
Consider utilising someone already established in the Twitterverse, to help you gain momentum. Just like in real life, well-placed connections can introduce you to all the right people

Don’t:

Simply blast out company info, or product news. Build real relationships – friendships even – with your followers
Let complaints or negative Tweets go unanswered, but DO try to take them offline, or deal with them via Direct Message
Wait to be invited into conversations; just start chatting. People don’t mind you joining in; in fact, that’s kind of the point!
Leave it weeks between Tweets. People will check your stream; if it’s not sparkling with fresh content and lively conversation, they won’t click Follow
Schedule too many Tweets. The odd ones here and there are fine; especially when you’re unable to log on, but if people realise there’s no one at the other end, you’re not going to get any engagement. In fact, you might just annoy them

If you’ve any questions about Twitter then feel free to drop us an email!

HOW TO: Facebook comps

Facebook are notorious for changing their rules with little or no notice. As a user (especially a business Facebook Page user) it’s up to you to keep abreast of all any new regulations, and make sure you’re following them.

Unfortunately, ignorance is not a defence: if you don’t toe the Facebook line, you could find your page deleted, and all your hard-earned ‘Likes’ absorbed back into the ether.

Despite the rules on competitions being changed nearly two years ago (May 2011) we regularly see promotions that blatantly breach them so we’ve pulled together a brief ‘how to’ guide to help keep you on the straight and narrow …

Basically, Facebook want nothing to do with your competition; in fact, they want to distance themselves as much as possible!

So, things to remember:

You cannot run a competition anywhere on the timeline of your Page. Instead, it must be done via a third-party app (essentially an independent page within a Facebook page) and the terms and conditions must very clearly state ‘that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook’.

There are only three Facebook functions or features you’re allowed to utilise in the running of your competition: you can require people to Like your page, check in to a Place, or connect to the third-party app that will then direct them to your competition page.

However, none of these actions are allowed to grant automatic entry into the competition. Instead, they are a stepping-stone that leads to your main means of entry: whether that be a multi-choice question, a task, or whatever you decide.

All other Facebook functions are off limits. What that means is, you can’t ask people to Like or comment on a specific post on your timeline, and ‘a winner will be chosen at random from everyone who replies’. Nor can you ask them to ‘upload your photos, and the funniest one will win’.

Similarly, you can’t use Facebook functions as voting mechanisms, ie: ‘Like your favourite photo, and the one with the most votes wins’.

You can’t even notify competition winners on your Facebook page, or via messages, or chat, or personal profiles. It’s up to you to make sure you collect a means of contacting the eventual winner (an email address, phone number or Twitter handle), and you must make it clear it is you collecting the data, and not Facebook.

So, there it is: the basics of how to run a competition on your Facebook Page.

You can read the full rules and regulations here

If you’ve any questions or would like help in setting up your Facebook Page for future competitions then give us a shout!

New Client: Bahlsen update

Since we announced last year that we’d picked up our first project with Bahlsen things have snowballed … we’re now Bahslen’s integrated agency and we’re managing all their PR, social media and design across their core product range!

We’ve also helped write their marketing strategy for 2014 onwards and we’re very excited to be helping them kick-off new advertising, PR and social media campaigns for Hit, Choco Leibniz and Messino this year to lead into the future positioning we’ve helped develop.

We’ll keep you posted as we’ve some exciting things happening in the next few months …

the trouble with social media ...

As an agency it’s our job to come up with great new innovative ways to engage with consumers/customers. We always try our hardest to look at every campaign from every angle to ensure that there are no potential pitfalls, issues or indeed negative connotations that could be associated with our plans.

But stuff goes wrong sometimes. All good intentions get slightly battered and someone has to pick up the pieces.

The latest ‘social media bashing’ award goes to Waitrose. (I know this links to a Daily Mail article … don’t judge me! – here’s another link to Marketing Magazine’s article as well)

I really feel for the PR agency, as on paper, the campaign sounds great. In practice, especially in Twitterverse, you’re always open to those that will jump on a #hashtag and have their merry way with it.

Hats off to Waitrose though for their gracious handling of what could, and probably is perceived by some, as a PR disaster…

I’ve read through some of the tweets and to be honest more than most were actually humourous rather than scathingly attacking the brand.

What do you think?

A Monster win...

Another new project with The Original Bowling Co – yay!

After a 3-way pitch we’ve recently been awarded the PR and Social Media campaign to promote their annual Monster Bowl activities … starting with their Monster Bowl Drawing Comp and ending with the promotion of all their October Half-Term spooktacular events …

So keep your eyes peeled for our twitter hash-tag campaign late September, the Monster Monster Treasure Hunt early October and don’t forget you can enter the drawing competition NOW (well your children can!) …

Tag: Social Media

At chicken/egg, Jacqui and her team, make sure that the right message gets delivered in the right way to get through first time, because you don’t get many second changes in the constantly updating on-line community

Another great win for the team!