SnapHawk Blog

“Show, don’t tell”

These three words from a Mashable article I just read sum up the current state of marketing. In today’s marketing environment brands that are able to engage customers through some type of visual experience are giving more traditional companies, that rely on catch phrases and slogans, a run for their money.

Video: The Latest Tool In Social Media

One way to keep up with this new visual trend is social video marketing. Creating a presence on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are key to a good online marketing strategy but great marketers are going beyond that. Consumers today seem to be looking for sites with some form of active engagement. 

So tumblr is not a new site but there seems to be a recent explosion of blogs on Tumblr that are just too entertaining to ignore. It is not exactly clear what has created this explosion of new sources of comic relief. Maybe it is the invasion of memes and people needing a place to post them besides Facebook. Regardless of the reason for the sudden rise in popularity, there are plenty of entertaining blogs on Tumblr that can keep you occupied for hours. The Huffington Post provides a list of 33 must follow blogs and Social Media Explorer has their own list.

Sometimes I just can’t be bothered to bookmark a webpage I find interesting. Instead I leave the tab sitting open in my browser because I am positive I will come back to it later. In reality, I never come back to the page and eventually have so many windows open that my computer starts to hate me and slows down to snail’s pace. Maybe this problem doesn’t sound familiar, but for those who have this same habit of leaving pages open that you just can’t bear to close there is a solution. It is called Pinterest.   

Americans get so caught up in their use of smart phones, laptops, and tablets that we often take access to technology for granted. Many of us think that having Internet access is a given. We can’t imagine going about our daily lives without Internet, let alone without a computer. But many Americans are less concerned about their favorite new Internet app than about actually paying for Internet. The concept of a digital divide is often thought of on a global scale so the divide in the U.S. is often overlooked; but, the F.C.C. is taking on the digital divide here in the U.S. 

The New York Times outlines the program but we provide an overview here for quick reference: With the help of tech companies who will provide software and major cable and Internet providers the F.C.C. is working to bring Internet access to low income families in the United States. Their service will be $9.99 a month and IBM is refurbishing computers to be bought for $150 with the help of micro-financing provided by Morgan Stanley.

Running Scared?

To be blunt: Facebook users cannot bear to leave the site after years of commitment. I find the recent major changes just as annoying as the next person but we learn to adjust and adapt because we can’t imagine actually erasing the history contained within one account. Many may threaten to shut down their accounts but when the mouse hovers above the “delete account” button and the site asks “Are you sure you want to delete your account?” they just can’t seem to follow through.

The masterminds behind increasing Hulu’s paid subscribers should give themselves a pat on the back. Reaching their goal of 1 million users 3 months ahead of the predicted target date says a lot about Hulu’s marketing and business strategy.

After taking a look at Hulu’s strategy and successes I wanted to point out a few aspects of their strategy that we at SnapHawk believe exemplify an effective marketing strategy aimed at targeting key audiences and listening to customers.

The other day I wrote a blog post about tablets that are currently on the market. In the post I noted that the information presented was accurate as of August 18th, 2011 (the day the blog was published) and also mentioned that it’s always good to double check which make and model you are looking at when buying a technological device. Just seconds after I published this post—and as proof of the fact that technology changes faster than most people can keep track of — news broke that the HP Touchpad (one of the tablets compared in the blog) is being discontinued. 

Lately there has been some serious buzz about tablets and it seems like a new one gets released every day. Since it feels like every tech company in the world is creating their own version of the tablet, there must be something that makes these devices so popular. I am on a mission to find the best features the tablet has to offer – and what differentiates some of the many versions out there.

First off, what are some of the features of a tablet that make them so popular?

The Inspiration

A few weeks ago I read a great story about a coffee house in Houston that uses social media marketing (SMM) to personalize customer service in order to compete with larger franchises. The owner of the coffee house received a direct message via Twitter from a regular customer saying he was in a hurry and could he pick up a breakfast burrito as he drove by? The owner Tweeted back “What do you want on it?” Sounds pretty convenient to me.

With an abundance of social media sites out there, and new ones cropping up all the time, it has become difficult to differentiate each site. After a while they start to blur and it can become frustrating and tiring to try and keep up a presence on each one and to keep up to date on the newest social media  and Internet trends. One site that is sometimes overlooked and is becoming increasingly important for professionals who want to be "plugged in" is LinkedIn.

Over the past few weeks, as I myself have become even more familiar with LinkedIn, I have noticed there is a lack of understanding of the benefits of LinkedIn and how the site is in fact different from other social media platforms. The questions, “Isn’t LinkedIn the same thing as Facebook?” and, “Do I need to be on LinkedIn?” are common ones. This may come as a surprise to some but no, Facebook and LinkedIn are not the same thing, and yes you need to be on LinkedIn if you are in the college phase of your life or beyond. Here’s why:

As with all social media sites there is a learning curve with Twitter. The vast amount of information on the web created to help guide you can be overwhelming and go into more detail than you ever cared to read. I have compiled some of the best pieces of advice I have seen out there on the “proper” way to use Twitter to create a quick and simple list of tips for getting started or improving your Twitter experience.

Before you dive in, take some time to look at other business’s Tweets and profiles. That way you can see for yourself what works and what does not.

Being “successful” online is subject to many definitions, but here at SnapHawk we know that most business owners want to see a monetary payoff. This payoff can come through a variety of channels depending on the goal you’ve set. Perhaps the aim is to get a customer to make a purchase through your e-commerce site or maybe you want visitors to sign up for an e-mail newsletter. Whatever the goal, one thing is clear: potential customers need to not only land on your web page, but they need to stay on your web page.