The Fresh Peel // Ripe Brand Strategy. Juicy Insights and Trends.

Teens and Social Media [Infographic]

2013-04-23T04:10:02Z

Teens are shying away from Facebook
61% of teens are using Tumblr, whereas only 55% of teens are on Facebook

Google Search Hacks Infographic

2013-04-14T12:47:47Z

Knowing how to find the right information online is not just an important skill set for students. It is a crucial skill for new age marketers and planners as well.

Email Design Best Practices Infographic

2013-04-04T13:29:30Z

Great email design tips from Email Monk. There are a lot of low hanging fruit here. If you implementing these best practices into your current email campaigns, then you’d be an idiot not to start implementing them right away.

The only one I question is the animated GIF tip. Email Monk claims they have seen deliverability issues with animated GIFs, yet I continue to see them widely used. I personally don’t have much experience with them so I can’t provide any insight there.

The last section on mobile design is something that most brand marketers are falling short on right now, or are ignoring all together. I recent study from Knotice found that 27% of emails are opened on mobile devices. My experience working with brands in retail and CPG is that this percentage can be a lot higher for some brands, even half of all email opens. If you aren’t thinking about how your emails display on mobile devices, you should be.

Customizing Accessories for Your Business

2013-04-01T03:13:11Z

Customized accessories for your business can truly come in handy. These accessories are often used for promotional purposes. You can spread the word about your business by having accessories personalized with the name of your business or a special logo that you have created. The name of your business or the picture of your logo can be placed on all types of accessories, including shirts, hats, and even mugs.

Personalized Office Supplies
With such a wide selection of accessories that can be personalized, you may not exactly be sure as to which of these promotional products you truly want to offer. Office supplies are always a good idea because people actually use them. If your logo or business name is listed on office supplies that people are using, they will notice the name and may take an interest in the business and what you have to offer. You can have your name or logo placed onto the front cover of binders, letter openers, pens, folders, and even sticky notes.

Some people also choose customized magnets for their business in an effort to promote the business and get more sales. Don’t underestimate the value of subconscious brand repetition.

Clothing and Accessories
While customized office supply accessories are a good idea, there are plenty of other options that you have to choose from. Another good idea would be to have your business name or your logo displayed on clothing and accessories. You can have it placed on customized t-shirts in all sizes, tote bags, recyclable bags for grocery shopping, and even hats. When people actually wear and use these items, they are basically a walking billboard advertisement for your business. You might even want to give these items out for free. Remember that people always love a good free gift and will be more than likely willing to use it if they did not have to pay for it in the first place.

Styles and Designs
Once you have decided which types of items you would like to customize for your business, you can get started with choosing different styles and designs. You will need to choose a font style, size, and color. If you prefer to use a logo, you may need to create one or add finishing touches to it. When creating a design or choosing colors for the font, always choose colors that are going to stand out and leave a lasting impression. Basic designs are simply too boring and are not going to grasp the attention of other people nearly as much as bright designs and unique logos. You may even consider coming up with a catch phrase or a social media meme to get people to find out more about your business and what you have to offer them.

Customized accessories for your business are always good to have. If you are looking for different ways to promote your business and get new customers, this is surely one way to do so without having to pay a fortune in advertising efforts. There are so many different accessories that can be customized, and it is easier than it has ever been before. All you really need to do is think about the accessories you want to offer to people and get started with the customization process so that you can hand them out and start promoting.

Who Won the Social Media Super Bowl XLVII [Infographic]

2013-02-09T15:28:43Z

The Baltimore Ravens should be grateful that social media doesn’t have any impact on the outcome of the game. The San Francisco 49ers dominated social media during the Super Bowl with 62% of conversation.

Mobile and Tablets Will Drive 2013 Behaviors

2013-02-09T15:16:07Z

This isn’t anything new. KPCB’s Mary Meeker has been hammering home the importance of planning for mobile for a number of years now, but I thought this was worthy sharing again. For the first time ever, mobile and tablet use is projected to surpass Desktop and Notebooks.

This visually exhibits why a mobile first strategy is not only a good idea, it is necessary to remain relevant to consumers as they are rapidly changing the way that they consume information.

People Are More Connected to Brands in Social Media More Than Ever [Infographic]

2013-01-29T20:14:30Z

As a recent report called The Curve produced by NBCUniversal Integrated Media points out, people are more connected to brands in social media than ever, but brands are still falling short.

Average consumer has 29 brand friends on social networking sites, up from just seven a year ago
Only 39% interact with brands on a regular basis
24% friend or follow brands to get deals or special offers

This data obtained through an online survey distributed among 2,500 18- to 49-year-olds in May 2012. Among this sample, two unique groups were surveyed
and reported on:

2,000 nationally representative respondents
500 digital trendsetters, a group which represents 5% of the national population and ar e first adopters of technology and highly active in their online social behavior.

Customization Is All The Rage

2013-01-18T22:16:20Z

Why would you use generic marketing if you didn’t have to? These days customizing your marketing efforts and promotional campaigns is easier than it has ever been before. This doesn’t just mean that customization is cheaper than it has ever been (though it is); there are also more ways to go about it. In the following paragraphs we are going to show you some of the things you can do to customize your advertising and promotional campaigns.

One of the best ways to market your business is to give away something that someone will actually use. For example, if you want people to remember who you are, you have a calendar printed up and make sure that your company’s name, contact information and logo appears on every page. You can also give out magnets, pens, or—if you have the budget for it—clothing, coffee mugs, etc. Thanks to companies like Inkhead, having these sorts of products printed up is easier and more affordable than it has ever been.

A few years ago, if you sent out direct mail, you had to address it to “Resident” or “Customer.” Today you can buy software that will tell you exactly who lives at each address. This way you can customize the mail so that it is addressed to and addresses the person who will be opening it. Credit Card companies are famous for this. How many credit card offers do you get each week that are not only addressed to you personally but contain personalized reply paperwork as well—not just with your name but with your address, phone number, etc? Personalized mail gets a better response than generic mail.

This is true of email marketing as well. This is why more and more marketers are trying to capture your name and personal information as well as your email address. Emails that use your name in the salutation are more likely to get the response that the business owner wants. Some will even include your name in the email’s subject line. The nice thing about this is that most of the email list managing companies offer this sort of customization as part of your membership package.

This sort of personalization and customization doesn’t stop at just email marketing. More and more business owners are using personalization software to tailor a user’s experience while he is on that company’s website. The best example of this is Amazon. When you log in you don’t just get a list of items that you’ve already looked at. You’re also provided with suggested items that you might like based on your search history as well as whatever demographic information they’ve gotten from you. Netflix does this as well. So does Tivo—it pays attention to what you watch and then suggests other shows it thinks you might enjoy.

Customization and personalization are the name of the game today. While it wasn’t so long ago that you had to hope someone would respond to a “Dear Buyer” letter sent in the mail, today you can rest assured that—based on your ability to address the person by name as well as demographic information and personal taste—you are more likely to make sales than you ever were before.

Top Reasons Why Consumers Follow Brands on Twitter

2013-01-18T18:40:51Z

Not surprisingly, to receive discounts/promos and insider sales info are the top two reasons that consumers follow brands on Twitter. But that doesn’t mean that all brands should do is tweet out coupons and promo codes. Exclusive content, fun and entertainment, and to show support for the company were also in the top 5.

Top 250 Internet Retailers on Social Media [Infographic]

2013-01-18T12:38:57Z

It’s no argument that social media has become a powerful channel for retailers. This infographic from Campalyst quantifies how retailers are distributing their efforts in social media.

It’s very interesting to see how some brands seem to lend themselves to one social media channel over another. For example, the top retailers on Pinterest have very visual and stylistic brands that are complimented by the network.

Via: Campalyst

Next Big Step: Siemens Clean Energy Innovation

2012-11-03T02:25:50Z

Siemens recently announced a new initiative to grow their perception as leader, innovator and manufacturer of clean energy technology. This video is one of the driving communication vehicles for the brand to help spread this message.

How Facebook’s EdgeRank Algorithm Works

2012-10-28T15:51:32Z

Recent changes to Facebook’s EdgeRank has been a hot topic of conversation among brands. Socialbakers has a good post showing how these changes to the EdgeRank algorithm has drastically affected the reach of brand on Facebook pages. What’s even more telling is that this seems to impact brands with the most fans. In fact, this creates a model of diminishing returns for large brands on Facebook (or brands that wish to grow their fan numbers), where is could start to become harder for brands to justify spending money on acquiring new Facebook fans because the cost to reach those fans with get much larger as their fan base grows.

This infographic from Postrocket does a great job of illustrating the major components that are factored into Facebook’s EdgeRank. I’m also interested in seeing what their beta tool that claims to help improve Edgerank has to offer.

Via: Michael Litman

What Does Your Brand Stand For?

2012-10-25T15:40:25Z

Does your brand fit into any of these personas?

Or is your brand somewhere in the boring middle? Or does it stand on it’s own in a unique way not described here?

Via: Michael Litman

FedEx Sassy Cutz You With a Jingle

2012-10-23T11:31:21Z

It seems FedEx being a little sneaky in their new online video campaign. They have created a series of hilarious TV commercial-like music videos for a fictitious company called Sassy Cutz. You don’t learn until the end of the video that these are actually spots for FedEx Office.

But it doesn’t end there. They have also created a Facebook application where you can create your own company jingle using one of the music styles below. Clever.

What Social Media Users Think About Brands on Facebook

2012-09-29T14:17:06Z

What Facebook users think about brands on Facebook:

50% say that a brands Facebook page is more useful than their website
82% say Facebook is a good place to interact with brands
35% feel brands listen to them more on Facebook
69% have liked a brand on Facebook because a friend did
Offers are a big driver of engagement with brands on Facebook

The State of Digital Marketing 2012

2012-09-29T13:41:47Z

Marketers say:

Measurement is the greatest frustration for marketers
SEO provides the biggest
Top objectives for digital marketing are: increasing awareness, generate leads, and increase revenue

Read the full report here

Via: Webmarketing 123

MySpace Had a Little Work Done

2012-09-25T03:59:14Z

So MySpace is still around… And it doesn’t look like MySpace.

Well it’s not live yet. But you can drop your email for invite at new.myspace.com or watch the preview highlight reel below.

Great stuff. Stays true to the focus on entertainment, especially music.

A Guide to Facebook Insights and Analytics

2012-10-23T11:36:35Z

A guide to Facebook Analytics, or as they call them, “Insights.”

Via: True Digital

Market Research: Consumer Behaviors in Social Media

2012-09-03T14:08:07Z

Tapping into social networks for market research is nothing new. This infographic puts some numbers behind brands harnessing social for insights.

Via: Telligent

How Consumers Navigate Multiple Content Screens

2012-09-01T13:13:07Z

According to a study from Google, 90% of people move between multiple screens to accomplish tasks.

I recommend reading the full report, but here are the highlights straight from the executive summary:

We are a nation of multi-screeners. Most of consumers’ media time today is spent in front of a screen – computer, smartphone, tablet and TV
The device we choose to use is often driven by our context: where we are, what we want to accomplish and the amount of time needed
There are two main modes of multi-screening: Sequential screening where we move between devices. Simultaneous screening where we use multiple devices at the same time
TV no longer commands our full attention as it has become one of the most common devices that is used simultaneously with other screens
Portable screens allow us to move easily from one device to another to achieve a task. Search is the most common bridge between devices in this sequential usage
The majority of the times that we use devices simultaneously, our attention is split between distinct activities on each device
Smartphones are the backbone of our daily media interactions. They have the highest number of user interactions per day and serve as the most common starting point for activities across multiple screens
Multiple screens make us feel more efficient because we can act spontaneously and get a sense of accomplishment – this results in a feeling of “found time”

I would love to see this broken down by different demos.

Download the full report here