Monday, 5 May 2014

Tough Mudder Online Strategy

For this task, I am interested in the online social media strategies of the ‘Tough Mudder’ brand. Tough Mudder is a series of hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle – mud run events designed by British Special Forces, which uses Facebook as its primary channel of marketing their events around the world.

Tracking and Monitoring Strategy
A few key objectives have been outlined by ‘Tough Mudder’ for an online social media strategy including;
-          Increasing brand awareness
-          Driving people to sign up to it’s events in specific cities in  way that is socialable and sharable.
-          Develop a community of individuals interested in participating in Tough Mudder.

Distribution/Channel Strategies
Facebook is the primary channel of promoting ‘Tough Mudder’ events. A Facebook page was first established in 2010. Facebook was recognised as the most common social media tool, which is accessed by its primary target market (18-40) year olds. Through Facebook, ‘Tough Mudder ‘ is able to increase brand awareness, and essentially see an increase of sales over the years.


Communications/Content Optimisation Strategy
‘Tough Mudder’ takes part in advertising beta programs to extend its reach through the Facebook community including;
-          Sponsored stories in the news feed that let people know when one of their friends had liked the Tough Mudder Page
-          Leveraged the Facebook Exchange to show more relevant ads to people who engaged with the Tough Mudder website
-           Experimented with video ads and sponsored stories to increase brand awareness
-           Tested “clusters” to show more relevant ads to past customers about upcoming Tough Mudder events

Engagement Strategy
There are several strategies ‘Tough Mudder use to engage with its audience on its page, including;
-          Posting pictures and stories of individuals who have made the ‘Tough Mudder hall of Fame’
-          Sparking conversations about its events by posting ‘fill in the blank sentences’ such as Best part of Tough Mudder was….
-          Developing a custom tab  called “Are you Mudder Ready?” that allows users to take a quiz to see how prepared they were for an event


Measurement Strategy
The most important tool ‘Tough Mudder’ uses is ‘Custom Audiences’. This involves using a Facebook Pixel which can track down people who have visited your website page and find them on Facebook. You are able to capture the audience you would like visiting your site, and engage with the target market.

With further research, I plan to evaluate the success of the strategies used by Tough Mudder through their Facebook marketing campaign.



Wednesday, 9 April 2014

KONY 2012 Success or Fail?


Over two years ago , Jason Russell, director and co-founder of Invisible Children posted a video on YouTube titled ‘Kony 2012’. The video detailed acts against humanity by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda and the Republic of Congo, and called for the world to make its leader Joseph Kony famous. 

Within six days the video received over 100million views, calling for the mobilisation of young people from around the globe to make Kony famous and bring Kony to Justice by the end of 2013.

Days after the video, Russell was arrested naked in San Diego, vandalising cars and making sexual gestures. He said in a statement to the guardian;
"It's so obvious that I'm not OK. And I'm so naked. And it's just very, very public. The joke we always had, even before this happened, is that the Internet is forever. If you put your crotch on there, it's forever. And now this is out there forever and my kids are going to have to deal with it at high school."

Although Kony is still out there, the campaign did what it was supposed to do. Bring about awareness. According to Invisible Children since the video, World leaders have increased their aid, to find and capture Kony. According to the Washington post, Obama has recently sent US military aircraft to Uganda for the first time, in an effort to hunt down the warlord.

So, as in organisation, what are your thoughts on Invisible Children? Are they just enjoying there 15minutes of fame on social media, or can the power of social media really influence government decisions?


 The video can be found by the following link;


Thursday, 3 April 2014

Personal and Professional Reflection of Social Media

Personal Reflection

I am currently doing a unit at University called 'Social Media". Never would I thought there would be a class in adult education dedicated to Social Media. It is now apparent that social media sites such as Facebook and twitter are powerful tools that affect our everyday lives.

When I first got Facebook, way back in 2007, I thought it would be a fun way to meet girls, similar to msn. Over the years my usage for Facebook has matured, as it is now used more to keep in contact with friends and family from back home, as well as interstate and oversees. Recently I have also signed up with twitter, and slowly becoming engaged with online tweets that appeal to me. 

Throughout this course I hope to learn to be more effective and productive with Facebook and twitter, to allow me to reap the benefits that these valuable tools have to offer. I would also like to have a more professional presence online, and plan to sign up to the social network site Linkedln.


Challenges/Risks
Although, I do not have a professional presence online at this point of time, I do use social media website Facebook on a daily basis, and access my twitter account weekly. From a personal perspective, I do have an online responsibility to ensure my account is not being hacked, and be wary of what I put online. From a personal view, the following are a list of challenges/risks in regards to my online use;
-          Harassment and cyber bullying
-          Defamation, and damage of reputation
-          Private Photos, updates, conversations going viral
-          Content/Opinions being taken out of context
-          Computer Virus’s, which may access personal information.
-          Legal ramifications


An understanding and an effective use of the privacy settings for both my Facebook and twitter accounts would ensure many of these above risks are averted. Installing the latest security on my laptop will help prevent the risk of online Trojans and virus’s accessing and altering information on my Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Moreover, it is clear there are now legal ramifications for improper use of social media and this is evident in the case Mickle vs Farley [2014], where former student Farley was ordered to pay damages against his former teacher Mickle for “defamatory publications made on social media websites Facebook and twitter” An article on the story can be found through the following link  http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/the-tweet-that-cost-105000-20140304-341kl.html
As mentioned earlier we all have a personal responsibility on online, and need to be accountable for what is posted on our social media accounts. A case that most interests me was the rant that saw Josh Dugan blow his chance with a Broncos deal because of a rant on twitter.
In summary Dugan told a Raiders fan to "end themselves" after he was claiming to be harassed, over a picture he posted up. This is just one case of I'm sure many others, where an athlete has jeopardised their career because of what has been posted on a social media website. The major problem here is emotion and social media. It is only natural to feel you need defend yourself when your being attacked verbally, but when it’s online EVERYONE is watching and your actions are critiqued.
High profile athletes such as a Dugan should avoid social media altogether in my opinion. Hormones and lack of maturity effect the decision making process, and can only do more harm than good. In saying that, social media by no means should be barred by all athletes. Maybe programs can be introduced in sporting institutions and associations to train athletes to effectively use social media sites in an effective way; too ignore/manage harassment, and control emotions online.

Strategies/Opportunities for Professional Online Engagement
As mentioned earlier, at this stage I do not have a professional online presence, however there are a number of opportunities and strategies I could look into to become more engaged online from a professional point of view, including;
·         Joining up with Linkedln

-         - Is a business- orientated social networking service
-          -From a future sport manager perspective is able to network, relay and share ideas, with likeminded people from all over the globe.
-          -Important to ensure all information is up to date and accurate
-          -Use etiquette contacting online

·         Ensure Facebook account is presented in a professional manner

-         - Potential employers may run a Facebook check before hiring a candidate so it would be wise to ensure your Facebook account is clean (use appropriate language, ensure messy photos are hidden)
-          -Ensure private settings are up to date and you aware of what the public, and your friends can see on your profile

·         Engage with the right organisations and people on twitter

-          -Begin to actively follow local sporting organisations, to develop an online relationship.
-          -Actively contribute in discussion on the latest issues trending twitter, in regards to these organisations
-          -Follow and develop relationships with local sport administrators via twitter.


Moreover, according to Reference 1 there are 5 key strategies organisations can use to market more effectively through social media outlets;

Visualize the ecosystem
An understanding of how key media outlets interact with each other. The influence of TV on social media, and the people and organisations that are actively involved in these activities

Identify and track key performance indicators
The ability to attract performance indicators and measures of success. An example would be the amount of ‘Likes’ on a Facebook status would indicate it was very popular with the audience.

Begin with your story
Interact and engage with your online audience, though take the initiative and tell them what services, products you have to offer, and how they can benefit the target market.

Social Media does not require elaborate budgets
Recent statistics indicate over 1/11 people in the world have a Facebook account. Vast amount of people in the western world rely on Facebook and twitter for the latest news. As it is free to sign up, it is ideal for a business to have active accounts in all major social media outlets.

Be unique
Take initiatives to ‘stand out from the crowd’. You want to be able to market to not only to majority of people, but to the right people. The timing of Facebook posts, release of YouTube videos, and updates on twitter could be the difference between making a profit or loss.

Furthermore, from a marketing perspective “the definition of great content is not what makes you the most sales. It is what content people most want to share”.

The above link gives a very interesting insight into the statistics involving Facebook use, what people are talking about on social media, and when traffic is at its peak. The ability to reach customers on a personal level, to entertain and give them value is what will generate sales.

Lastly, scholars of the University of Texas tested how digital media use for information purposes, contributes to social capital. Results indicated that people use social media to keep up with news about political affairs, public issues and information about their community. Interestingly, the results also indicated that social media engagement increased civic participation within the community, hence had a positive effect on the social capital. In essence people use information on social media, to not only engage on Social Network Sites (SNS), but also in their everyday lives.

This supports the claim that social media is more than just a tool to trash talk with friends, but an important information sharing tool that effects many of our personal lives. On a personal level, engaging in a professional manner on SNS can only be beneficial in the long term.

 References



Thursday, 13 March 2014

Module 1 exercise

Social Media tools such as Facebook and twitter are used by a number of sporting organisations to engage with their audience. It is now common for people to have these tools on their mobile phones, so information can reach an audience a lot faster. We can feel connected to our favourite athletes and engaged with their everyday lives. From a personal perspective, I have been heavily following the Test Cricket in South Africa. Unfortunately, the matches are not viewed on free to air, and are on late at night. I follow cricket Australia on twitter, and am able to catch up on all the action and the highlights from the previous night, when I get up in the morning.

Moreover, a recent study on the use of Social media used in Sports found some interesting finding s including;
-        
Most managers feel their social media efforts are proficient or at an expert level, which include a defined social media strategy.
-      
    From a statistically point, those with a social media strategy, reported an increase of revenue, while those with no strategy reported none.

The paper can be found via the following link http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1931229

An interesting topic I would like to research further is the various social media strategy’s Sporting organisations use, and their effectiveness. From are marketing perspective, are they reaching their target audience?


Sunday, 2 March 2014

Personal Reflection of Social Media


I am currently doing a unit at University called 'Social Media" Never would I thought there would be a class in adult education dedicated to Social Media. It is now apparent that social media sites such as Facebook and twitter are powerful tools that affect our everyday lives.

When I first got Facebook, way back in 2007, I thought it would be a fun way to meet girls, similar to msn. Over the years my usage for Facebook has matured, as it is now used more to keep in contact with friends and family from back and home, as well as interstate and oversees. Recently I have also signed up with twitter, and slowly becoming engaged with online tweets that appeal to me. 

Throughout these course I hope to learn to be more effect and productive with Facebook and twitter, to allow me to reap the benefits that these valuable tools have to offer.