Restarting/ Re-branding

I know it's been quite some time since I blogged, but here I am!

I have been contemplating about starting blogging for multitude of reasons. I just realized today that I need to actually just start writing again instead of constantly thinking about starting. This post will just be a bunch of rambling about some of my inner thought after deciding to be back on job hunt again (also having been married for 6 days now). Please be lenient as the flow may be everywhere and the grammar not so stellar.

I may be going to Wordpress for blogging as well since I have not decided which platform to use. In addition to my blogging effort, I will be reviewing businesses on Yelp as well. Going back to those multitude of reasons for starting the blog again, here are some reasons:
-Need to document my life in a written form.
-Engage in SNS to keep up with today's trends
-Re-brand myself as an expert in social media marketing and analytics
-I'm bored.
-I need to have something to say when recruiters ask me what my passions are and what I have done to show for it.

Keep a lookout for another post later today.
Thank you~

Good bye Texting, Hello Kakao Talk

Social Media is spreading globally like wildfire. Day by day, everyone around the world is getting connected through different social media platforms. One of the most interesting example of such a global phenomena  is the case of the application called Kakao Talk that originated in South Korea. Launched in 2010 by Kakao Corp. in South Korea, Kakao Talk is a free talk/text app that uses wifi or 3G/4G connection. The app has no limits on the amount of texts and calls that can be made. Such convenience made conventional texting obsolete in South Korea. Since its creation, the application has reached over 100 million users and has an average rating of 4.1 stars. To put this growth in perspective, Kakao Talk currently has 80% market share in South Korea. 80% market share in any business environment is unheard of. Kakao Talk is definitely turning many heads.

 

The genius of Kakao Talk does not lie just in their free text/call. The true genius lies in supplemental services within the application such as games and social media platform called Kakao Story. These supplemental services create more opportunity to generate revenue and increase consumer engagement. All of the games are designed so all the friends in your network can keep track of your activity and achievements. These games have premium items and skins that could be purchased with money. Such luring features and convenience draws users and makes them stay. I personally downloaded the application when my sister in Korea recommend it to me, and I can't get enough of it. Below is a screenshot of what my home screen looks like for the application. 

With increasing popularity and revenue, Kakao Corp. expanded their market in Japan, China, Vietnam, and some parts of Europe. They made smart advertising decisions in featuring highly popular Korean celebrates recognized across Southeast Asia (link to commercial below). Since its creation, Kakao Talk has seen enormous success.From what I can tell, it will only continue to grow.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp_3pVVc7To&list=PLgWkFHyF5AA_a9hotuPF9PE3GNJ9smVpP

I am the Champion of Tetris Battle

Social gaming is growing in popularity year by year. Given that 44.8% of these gamers are engaged through social networks, social media platforms have a huge opportunity in marketing through this medium. In my personal opinion, Tetris Battle is one of the best example that shows the true significance of social gaming in the marketing sense.

Tetris Battle is a social game played on Facebook developed by Tetris Online, Inc. Of the three apps developed by Tetris Online, Tetris Battle is the most popular app and the most fun. It has over 5 million active players and ranks 75th for monthly active users rate These numbers are not surprising when you realize the addictive game play combined with effective marketing strategy. Tetris Battle seeks to make money and grow their consumer base. The game meets these goals by emphasizing co-op and versus mode among your Facebook friends. From the moment you start playing the game, you see a list of friends who already have the application who are ready to play with you. Tetris Battle also ranks you among your friends, and encourages you to make others friends to play the game.

At the end of the day, Tetris Battle seeks to make revenue through their application. They are successful at this through ads and mainly in game purchasing to further enhance the experience. These items include such things as different levels, skins, and game modes.

All of this components makes Tetris Battle a wonderful game with effective marketing. I personally was borderline addicted to this game. At one point, I was ranked in the top 5 among the hundreds of my friends who played the game. My friends and I took great pride in being ranked in the top 10 in Tetris Battle. Social gaming is a constantly growing trend. If you don't believe it, try Tetris Battle for yourself; you won't regret it!

Social Media in Disaster Aid

Social media has revolutionized the way people collect information. One field where this is evident is in the reporting of natural disasters. Conventionally, news outlets would be the first to cover disasters upon which the public would be aware of the situation. Today, the order has shifted. People affected by the natural disasters are often the first ones to cover the unfolding of events, damages, and casualties as they happen. It has become less of collect then publish but rather publish then collect.

Most recent example of such a phenomenon is the country of the Philippines devastated by the Typhoon Haiyan. Recorded as the worst case of typhoon in the history of earth, the Typhoon Haiyan left thousands dead and brought horrible damages. As a response, the victims and supporters united and utilized social media to provide relief. Due to under resourced government, victims are using social media to bring attention to different communities. They list different supplies needed and send out mayday calls through whatever social media possible. In addition, social media is incorporated to account for causalities and locate people who are missing.  









In many ways, the increasing relevance of social media has brought many positive changes in the distribution of information. It is much easier for people across the world to be aware of disasters such as one in Philippines and increase relief efforts from across the world as well.

Be sure to check out http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow for ways of providing donations and support for this disaster.

Don't Eat It Till You Instagram It

Social media marketing has worked wonders for any food or beverage company.
It has now become common for the Y and the Millennial generation to take pictures of food before eating. You could almost say it's a social media version of saying grace. Food and beverages is one of the most popular topics covered in social media platforms, and smart enough restaurants and cafes take advantage of it in every way possible. Although there are many companies who get this right, Starbucks takes the gold medal in social media marketing advertising. As shown in the picture below, Starbucks ranks first in terms of reach, loyalty, and influence across many social media platforms:



Starbucks makes sure to utilize different social media platforms accordingly that meets the different platform's dynamics. On facebook, there are always new promotions and gift card of some sort. On twitter, there are refreshing posts and pictures that announces new products and behind the scenes snippets of Starbucks. Such utilization of social media marketing led Starbucks to amazing success by continuously engaging its audience with the content that matters. As a reward, Starbucks gains unwavering loyalty from its consumers worldwide.

The next time you see someone taking pictures of their food or drink, try to appreciate the influence and power of social media marketing.

#Football

With all the football craze this time around, today we look at the use of Twitter in college football. College football has had their share of success and familiar with Twitter. With fans, coaches, players, and the teams themselves contributing their tweets, twitter can be quite an interactive marketing platform. One of the downsides to this, however, is that there is no way to control what is being said. The power is really entirely left to the people.

Who can forget seeing actual hashtags on actual football fields back in 2005. As shown from the picture below, there once was a time that all college football teams cared about was to generate more followers and more buzz through twitter. Realizing that this kind of aggressive marketing took away from the game and generated unwanted traffic, college football did away with posting hashtags on the actual football fields.













Now days, twitter for college football has been more refined. It is rather a tool to enhance brand royalty and add to the game experience. Sentiments of fans and haters alike fuel excitement, and followers receive exclusive content in the form of tweets by coaches and players regarding trades and recruitment. College football has come a long way in their social media marketing strategy for sure.

Government Shutdown Causes Social Media Throwdown

The recent government shutdown has caused an outrage among social media platforms. People are expressing their complaints and call to action through pictures, posts, hashtags, and etc. NBC even reported a story on this topic earlier today which marks the seventh day of the shutdown.

The fact that social media trends are frequenting the news outlet more often shows how significant social media has become in gaging sentiment and spreading news. A particular website http://congressstillgetspaid.com/ has caught the attention of many people weighing in on this issue.

 

As shown from the picture above, the website displays real time data of how much Congress has earned since the shutdown. 

In response to all this, the damage control from the government and the congressmen involved with the shutdown has been insufficient to put it nicely. The amount hostile activity through various social media platforms are proving to be too much to handle. Although there is some response and engagement from the government through social media, the overall sentiment is against them. 

It will be interesting to see how much longer this social media outrage will continue to go on until the government decides to deal with it properly.