Who Are You with Nikon?

1. What incentives did Nikon provide to spur its fans to share more pictures? Should the company have done more?

Nikon's team prosed questions like "What camera do you own?" for the user to take ownership of their posts. Nikon encouraged users to show off their different photography styles within these groups  to show that Nikon genuinely cared about their customers and were interested in the types of photography done with their cameras. As social media was just emerging at the time, maybe making use of the holidays with campaigns for new years, 4th of july, etc. and showing the socialization side for Facebook would have been a great idea as well. Maybe sending off a small totem or item and having users take a picture of it, sharing (with moderators on standby) and adding these images from around the world in a big collage could help connect everyone with the Nikon brand as well.

2. Nikon was identified more with the professional market than consumer photography. Has that changed following this social media marketing campaign? Why or why not?

As Nikon has turned to the social side, it brought more emotional, creative attributes to the Nikon brand. Many users now feel they can also "be" a professional photographer with the compact cameras. Some users may see this as the company being low-quality now but others may also see it as a great way to connect with the photography community and find affordable cameras that are still great quality. 

3. How did Nikon leverage its technical superiority in photo taking with its social media strategy? Could it have been done differently? If so, how? If not, explain why not.

Nikon created two different groups - Flickr used a more serious voice, while Facebook was more playful and friendly. As Nikon wanted to connect with the newer audiences while still maintaining the brand loyalty of their professional user customers, they created two different socializing platforms. I think this was a great tactic to please both consumers as Flickr and Facebook already reflect those two styles of voice and were great platforms in 2007 for these types of campaigns.

4. Nikon had an initial edge in photo sharing as a company specializing in camera gear. What specific tactical advantages did this give Nikon?

Since Nikon specializes in these different types of lenses, their social media postings included tips on how to use them, new product launches, and how to take better pictures. With so many different types of lenses, different demographic countries and different photography styles, there was a plethora of images being shared - letting the community feel that they could connect with the brand regardless of style, design, type, or price.

Lego Case Study

1. Which of the three personas does the Lego Group spend the most social media marketing time and effort? It is likely that different personas will emerge for the Lego Group over time? Explain.


   Within the personas, the three personas who engage the most are the top three listings: Lead User, 1:1 Community, and Connected Community. Yes, as technology and people age, there will definitely be different personas that emerge. The generation of children that play with legos now may be a new persona target as they purchase legos for their own children. 

2. What factors may have influenced the Lego Group's target marketing decisions?

   As parents are the ultimate purchaser of Legos and children are the ones being targeted to as well, there is a broad mix of users that the Lego group had to focus on. By breaking it down by purchasing and usage rates, Lego was able to create these personas to better target their consumers.

3. This case study indicates that the Lego Group believes its optimal target audience are young boys. Based on principles from the chapter, who do you think the company’s secondary optimal target audiences might be? What social media marketing efforts might help the company reach those other audiences?

    I think the secondary optimal target audience are parents - either mothers or fathers - who are the ultimate decision maker of the purchase of legos. Although these advertisements are targeted to young boys, the parents will complete the purchasing decision.

4. How does identifying a target audience with personas help a company select the best social media platforms to focus its social media marketing efforts on?

    

The Kryptonite Bike Lock Fiasco Case Study

1. What factors led to the social media explosion of the Kryptonite story?

   A user uploaded a video of how to pick a Kryptonite bike lock with a simple Bic pen. The sharing went viral and Kryptonite had to act quickly to maintain good PR and communicate with their customers.

2. Do you agree with Donna Tocci’s claim that the company couldn’t have done much differently? If so, why? If not, what about its response could have been improved?

   I agree with Donna Tocci's claim. She stated that they could have posted more quickly and since then, social media companies have had extremely fast response rates with their social media accounts as PR disasters like this have become very common in the past decade or so. I believe they took the appropriate action in claiming the blame and not targeting the consumer for the bike lock's faulty design. 

3. What can Kryptonite do now to prevent customers from getting inaccurate information about its products?

   I think Kryptonite should have a FAQ page, as well as a 24/7 hotline, online chat, and other outlets for consumers to reach out to before making assumptions from third parties. If the information is there and present, they are able to back up claims or direct consumers to the proper rep.


4. What can other companies learn from this experience in terms of listening to the community and designing their social media strategy and objectives?

   I think companies can learn from this situation by using the same strategy of apologizing and communicating with the public that the customer is always right and they will connect with their team internally to fix this situation. Companies can also learn from this situation by increasing their respond rate within their social media team. By acting quicker to comments and reactions like this, they can nip it in the bud and lessen complaints from users and consumers.

Huffington Post Case Study

Review Questions

1. Arianna Huffington drew on some of her celebrity contacts early on to popularize the website. Do you think a person without her connections could have been equally successful? What strategy changes would a non-celebrity have to make to succeed?

I don't think her blog would have picked up and become viral so quickly if she hadn't had those celebrity contacts, but someone without connections like that, can reach out to other influentials in the industry like up and coming or popular book writers, reporters, other bloggers, socialites, etc. The first step is to figure out your niche market blog, and then the audience that would read it. For example, a blog about newborns and baby toys would be targeted to new mothers that are online or would like to be a part of an online community.

Do you expect that AOL's purchase of the Huffington Post will have a largely positive or negative effect on its viewership? Name some pros and cons, and compare them.

As AOL was popular at the time, they expected to get thousands of dollars with this partnership. Arianna Huffington was appointed President so AOL did not completely dominate the blog. They also expected the site to reach 100 million visitors. Although these positive benefits were to come from this project, but in April 2011, a labor advocate sued the website for 9,000 uncompensated bloggers. At the time, hundreds of other advancements with the internet and technology were rising. Competitors can also gain popularity quickly, and as expected since then, there are hundreds of thousands of blogs for readers to view now. 

Beyond Arianna Huffington using her celebrity contacts, what other strategies did the staff implement to make this the number one blog in the blogosphere? Can these same strategies be applied to other blogs? Why/why not?

The Huffington Post did not touch on just a few blogs, but also political news written by credible organizations. They also partnered with SoftBank Capital who gave them a grant to increase their staff and hire in-house reporters. With all of these credible sources, the website drew 2.3 million visitors. Having a variety of content but still keeping that niche can attract many visitors. For example, a blogger just starting out can write about food recipes specific to their niche, but maybe have 1 or 2 days a week dedicated to a specific type of post like a new kitchen gadget or an alternative food for those with health problems. A new blogger with the credentials to become as big as the Huffington Post can reach out to potential sponsors to pitch their website for a partnership.