marketing/advertising

Archive for the ‘marketing/advertising’ Category

My Interview on WeAreNYTech.com

posted November 1st, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Miscellaneous, projects, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

I’m so excited to be featured in an interview for WeAreNYTech. It’s a really informative and comprehensive website that showcases some of the best people working in the technology industry in New York City. I was happy to talk about my background in digital marketing and the different projects I’m currently working on. There’s a transcript from the interview and a link below.

http://wearenytech.com/262-luna-vega-digital-marketing-consultant

You mention in your bio that at one point you just decided to make your childhood dream come true and start your own business. How did you come to the decision that it was the right time?

I have always been a perfectionist. It was important for me to get plenty of professional experience under my belt before starting my own business. I took me several years to work up the courage to take the leap.

I vividly remember the day I launched an extensive project for company I was working for at the time. If I had successfully managed and survived this project, I could undertake anything that came my way, I knew I was ready. I had earned the confidence needed to be an entrepreneur. A huge weight also lifted the day I finally quit my job, as if I was finally allowing myself to be me and go for what made me happy deep down.

Is there any particular reason that you choose projects aimed at Gen Y, Hispanic, and Tween target audiences?

When I started my business, I quickly realized I needed to specialize. I dug and wrote down what came to me naturally. I had an affinity for pop culture, fashion, music combined with an internal flair because of my up-bringing (french/hispanic). Indisputably, my strengths rely in pop culture trend forecasting, and understanding the youth demographic. So I decided to apply this knowledge to the work I provide my client. A digital strategy is vacuous if you don’t understand demographic you are reaching out to. You can tweet and blog all you want but if no one cares about what you have to say than it’s a lost cause.

PluggedIn is a new project that you started that is a new web series where you invite your colleagues to debate digital platforms, relevant issues and new technologies affecting the New Media landscape. Where did the idea for this project come from and what were some of the challenges that you faced when putting the web series together?

My goal in 2011 was to create a video blog educating folks about the power of social media. It was hard at first as, everything had already been done. After going through a series of ideas, I decided to collaborate with my friend Trevz founder of thenewpop.com and create a debate show where our colleagues would size up issues in the Social Media landscape. I felt there was little constructive criticism out there about new technology especially from “real users”. It was time we gave a voice to the non techies and for them to provide their insight about which tool they like or dislike. It was important for Trevz and I to create a specific aesthetic for the show while making it entertaining.

Google + hangout launched not to long after we came up with concept, as a logical progression we decided to use the chat technology to host our debates. Producing this show has been one of biggest logistical challenges we have ever faced. It hasn’t been done before so we are literally making it up as we go along. We are constantly testing new video screen grabbing technology, accessing which browsers are better for streaming etc..

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Do You Know How Influential Your Brand Is?

posted November 1st, 2011 & filed under entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

It’s funny how various brands measure their success by how many fans or likes they have on Twitter and Facebook. It’s not unheard of for a brand to have thousands of fans and still get limited to zero engagement for their products. What is it that they’re doing wrong? Do they care about your message? Do they share content back with their peers and are they actually helping propagate the message?

Here are some great free tools to help figure out if your engagement on social media is sticking.

1. Klout – What is your Klout rank?

Klout is a great tool. It allows you to monitor exactly how successful your campaign is and it shows you data you can use to revise and improve your content.

http://klout.com/home

2. Edge Rank for Facebook

Edge Rank is another Analytics tool that you can use to monitor and assess the popularity of your campaigns and content on Facebook.

http://edgerankchecker.com/

3. Alexa and Google Analytics

Even thought they don’t refer back to Social Media, Alexa and Google Analytics are both great ways to measure if your initiative is successful. By seeing your SEO rankings and traffic generated you can get a good idea if your push is working. At the end of day, the purpose of Social Media isn’t to constantly blab about yourself, but to get users to come to your website.

http://www.alexa.com/

http://www.google.com/analytics/

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Facebook Stores: Your Very Own Social Media Pop-Up Shop

posted October 18th, 2011 & filed under entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology

For a lot of small companies figuring out different ways to get their product out there can become a challenge. I always recommend that start-up brands and even more established companies should have their own Facebook Store.

Why Facebook retail? Because the statistics are so strong in your favor. Facebook users spend an average of a half hour DAILY on Facebook. That’s more than any other website, and even more then some other social media platforms combined. It only makes sense to have your product accessible from where your potential customers spend most of their time.

You could even consider a Facebook store as your very own pop-up shop. It’ll becomes just another outlet to get people aware of your brand and eventually to buy your product. Another thing to keep in mind is that people are more likely to click on a Facebook link than on an outside link, and a Facebook store gives them the ease of being able to shop right from where they spend most of their time online.

Here are some great apps you can use for you template Facebook Store:

STOREFRONT: http://storefrontsocial.com;

http://www.facebook.com/ShopTabApp

SAM / Social Application Marketing;

http://www.wildfireapp.com/

http://www.snapengage.com/

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Kickstarter #101 – A few tips for a successful fund raising campaign

posted October 11th, 2011 & filed under entrepreneurship, marketing/advertising, projects, Serious Stuff, social networking, tips

For a while Kickstarters have been the talk of the town. Between Kickstarter, Indie Gogo, and a few other online fund raising sites, there’s definitely a huge variety to choose from.

Kickstarters are a great way to get some initial funds for a project, but let’s face it, you really need to get your project out there for it to successfully reach its goal.

Here are a few tips to using Kickstarters the right way:

1. Think about the nature of your project – Will it get people exited? What are you doing in return? If you plan on asking for funds for a new song or album you plan on writing, what will be the outcome once you finish the project? Your direct peers might have more of a vested interest in your project because they care about you, but people who randomly stumble upon a dozen Kickstarter requests a day might not be as interested about your upcoming project. Make sure you think about what your project really encompasses before you decide to launch it.

2. Be sure to advertise well – Make sure you make it sound like a promising and interesting project when you begin to advertise it. That way anyone who’s really interested in innovative and experimental projects will feel more compelled to help you raise the funds.

3. Think of a charity to give back to – Let’s face it, people are more willing to donate when they know it’s for a good cause. I think part of asking people for money also involves some kind citizenship or altruistic behavior. It’s the old rule of when someone helps me now I’m going to give back. You don’t have to abide by this tip, but it’s a rule of thumb I’ve always stuck by.

4. Proper Promotion – Once your fund raising project is launched now you need to start promoting it. Think of blogs, media outlets, and even local media outlets that could help you get the word out. Social Media can also be a huge facet in spreading the word on your new project. Just be careful that your promotion doesn’t come across as excessive spam. A good way to grab people’s attention is to make it a contest and ask for their kind help and a referral. Remember every dollar counts, and if you have a good story the word will spread.

5. Make sure you have some concrete examples of what you plan on raising money for - A solid example always helps people understand what goals you’re trying to accomplish. You need to make sure you can commit to the goal and seeing a little intro and explanation will definitely keep people interested.

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Social Media & Separating Yourself From the Pack

posted September 27th, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

As a digital marketing consultant, I’m fully aware of all the “social media” gurus out there and individuals preaching that “social media” is the holy grail for all of your marketing problems. Truth be told, social media is a great technology that has enabled the democratization of content, and it allows smaller entities to broadcast and rally their communities without having to knock at the doors of “big media”.

Sometimes what they don’t tell you though is advertising, marketing, and PR concepts still apply when using social media. People don’t just blindly engage with your ideas or concepts, they must be given a reason to care. Tweeting or incessantly Facebook posting about your brand & not engaging in conversations is still considered spamming. One of the most important aspects of this two way conversation is you still need to give people a reason to care.

People buy things based on a feeling or on a story. It’s important to always think about your community and the consumer. Once you understand what they want & figure out ways to provide it to them your job will become a lot easier. It’s also important to be original when marketing through social media. The attention span of Internet users keeps getting lower and harder to please the more we get bombarded with information left & right. That’s why it’s so important to consider how your company will get noticed through marketing. It’s necessary to think about your direct community and exactly how you’ll have an impact.

A great example of this concept I want to share is an article I read about a year ago and I still remember it to this day. It was about a teen who posted online that he would give people private concerts at their house as he trekked around the US. He would travel to a city and tell people he was in town and they would book him to get serenaded at their homes. I thought it was such a great concept, especially considering the out of the box method he used to approach marketing a concert in this day and age, when everyone’s Facebook inbox is overloaded with potential events. It even got him enough press to the point of being published in Ad Age. This is a great example of thinking outside the box and finding ways to separate yourself from your competition. I would love to hear your thoughts on different ways you can use social media for marketing and promotion.

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My Webinar on How To Make Your Brand Internet Famous

posted September 22nd, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, technology, tips

Thanks so much to everyone who joined my “Internet Famous” webinar yesterday presented by Accion New York. Special thanks to Accion for for hosting the event.

I realized that I tried to fit a lot of information into 1 hour so I hope you were able to take away some valuable tips. In a nutshell these are some key things to keep in mind to be successful with social media:

1. Research where your targeted demographic spends time (which blogs are they reading, which Facebook Fan pages are they following etc…).

2. Be consistent; this is easy to achieve by having an editorial calendar in place and creating content in advance.

3. Be unique and create content that is not widely available (example: restaurants and web radio stations).

4. Share rich media content and make it available on various platforms like Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and Vimeo.

5. Make sure you start conversations instead of just spamming your message.

6. Consider partnerships as a way to expand your business in the future.

7. Make sure everything you do drives traffic back to either your Facebook Page or Website.

If you missed out on the webinar, here’s the link to it on Slideshare

http://www.slideshare.net/edorn/luna-vega-webinar-9363842

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Trend Report – The New Teen Marketing Gurus

posted September 9th, 2011 & filed under digital trends, marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff

Tweens are becoming the new go-to source for how to market and sell to adults.

It seems our very children are the ones advertisers are seeking out on how to sell us our fancy new “toys”, whether it’s a sleek aerodynamic Detroit built monolith, or a Smartphone.

One industry that’s definitely become prevalent in teens marketing to adults is the fashion industry. Your teen cousin stuck in small town Missouri might actually know more about the new Balenciaga line then you do, mostly due to immediate access to information from websites and social media platforms. As we talked about last week, Tavi Gevinson the 15-year-old fashion wunderkind who started the fashion blog The Style Rookie, and now its more lifestyle focused off-shoot Rookie, has become just as important a fixture in the fashion community as the critics who were sitting front row at Galliano’s Saint Martins graduate collection.

In fact, some people even think her opinion is more important. Last week in her column for V magazine Lady Gaga wrote a mildly scathing critique of New York Times Fashion Editor Cathy Horyn while simultaneously proclaiming Tavi’s “well-written blog is the future of journalism”. Lady Gaga, who has literally sampled every avant garde designer / collection in the entire canon, feels that someone not even in high school yet has more to teach the world about fashion then someone who’s been professionally writing about it for twenty-five years. Although Horyn did criticize Versace’s excitement over dressing Gaga, which may be partially the reason Gaga was slightly perturbed, it still goes to show that professional experience doesn’t always equal an astute aesthetic lens.

Even Ralph Lauren is getting in on the kids marketing to adults platform. This week he staged a fashion show at his Madison Avenue office for his 2011 girls collection and invited the daughters of fashion editors and socialites to model his wares. It was a definitely a clever move on his part to incorporate the actual kin of the local tastemakers to become part of the promotion instead of simply inviting them to a step and repeat like every other designer on earth.

It goes to show that maybe this generation of “Millennials” can actually teach advertisers how to market to their own parents vs. the old model of trying to sway the whim of whomever holds the checkbook / smart phone. It definitely makes sense; tweens and teens are more tech savvy, more aware of their own culture and how it’s being to sold to them or their parents, and more brand conscious and aware of even the slightest new product development or aesthetic tweak. Maybe the next generation of Madison Avenue execs will be recruited straight out of high school instead of interning with an MBA under their belts.

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The New Teen Blog Sensations

posted August 25th, 2011 & filed under digital trends, marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff

Over the last few years there has been a growing phenomenon of teen culture infiltrating the web. Influential teen bloggers are the future tastemakers of whatever culture they specialize in, and this information is beyond useful for companies that want to reach out to specific demographics and at the same time tailor their future content along the lines of tastemaker predictions. The best place to do that is straight from the horse’s mouth without focus group filters or presumed aesthetics that might be trite or banal by the time they’re launched. Teen blogs definitely give companies an unfiltered and accurate vantage point from which to gauge future product development.

The Fashion Industry is a great example of a culture that’s welcoming of an informed opinion especially if it helps them better understand their client base and predict future trends. Even though fashion is one of the most popular teen blogging categories, there’s definitely a popular teen blog in almost every cultural avenue. English teen Charlie Lyne’s Ultra Culture Blog chronicles the in-depth culture of English films, and Sam Wolfson, another English Blogger, runs the ReadPlatform website, where he asks other young English bloggers to contribute to the site, which has a decidedly Vice Magazine aesthetic to it.

Here’s a list of some of our favorite teen bloggers at the moment.

1. The Style Rookie

Tavi Gevinson from The Style Rookie blog is one of the earliest and best examples of a cutting edge and successful teen blogger. She covers everything from avant garde fashion designers like Comme des Garcons and Rodarte to simple musings on cultural theory in general. Her recent post on the aesthetic similarities between Twin Peaks and The Virgin Suicides really showcased her astute perspectives on culture far beyond her years.

http://www.thestylerookie.com/

2. Hipster Musings

Hipster Musings is an Ontario based fashion blog run by Isabel and it’s a great juxtaposition of excellent thrift store finds and the culture that inspires her unique approach to style. There might be stills from a Kathleen Hanna documentary on one page and a story about her mom’s favorite ruffled tartan skirt on the next; it’s a really interesting and one of a kind fashion blog.

http://hipstermusings.blogspot.com/

3. Fashion Pirate

Fashion Pirate is the perfect summation of ID magazine or Dazed & Confused through the lens of a teen blogger. 18-year-old Arabelle covers everything from self-designed fashion shoots rocking Yohji Yamamoto cloaks to her favorite visual and performance art picks. It’s definitely one of the most innovative teen fashion blogs out there.

http://www.fashionpirate.net/

4. Better Never Than Late

Better Never Than Late is an English music / culture blog run by Matt Benson who invites some of England’s best young bloggers to showcase their cultural discoveries. They cover everything from the most underground English micro genres to English street fashion and different inspirational motifs. They’re definitely on the cutting edge of what’s happening right now in young English culture.

http://betterneverthanlate.blogspot.com/

5. The F Bomb

The F Bomb is a teen focused feminist blog from 18-year-old Pepper Pike out of Ohio. It’s one of the best and only examples of a feminist blog that really focuses on teen cultural / social issues within the media, which was definitely a much needed vantage point. She’s even been featured on the feminist blog Jezebel, which is owned by the mega-snarky Gawker Media Group.

http://thefbomb.org/

6. ReadPlatform

ReadPlatform is another English multi-focus teen blog run by Londoner Sam Wolfson who invites some of the best young English bloggers to contribute content. It has an awesome everything but the kitchen sink mentality to its cultural milieu; odd jpegs are placed right next to underground music and wtf YouTube videos; its definitely the most next level and cutting edge of the teen blogs, with a distinct almost Vice Magazine aesthetic to it.

http://readplatform.com/

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My SXSW experience a study on SPAM

posted March 25th, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, tips

I know my title feels off but SXSW was an amazing controlled environment where I was able to analyze marketing first hand. Beyond all of the other topics which were featured between influencer marketing, geo-location marketing and gamifying your world; I got the most insight from observing the mayhem. SXSW became my laboratory where I could analyze the future of marketing. As technology becomes an even more integral part of our lives, so will the amount of content that is pushed. It was interesting to see in action what worked. It reinforced my belief in the power of Social Media/Relationship marketing.

SXSW Interactive is the mecca for new apps, softwares, digital products. New technology companies attend with the goal to expand their customer base and connect with potential brands or investors. Now, you can only imagine the number of pamphlets, posters, QR codes, parties, speakers, books that were pushed on attendees. Hello SPAM! Surprisingly, the more I was surrounded by SPAM, the more I started to exude signs of tunnel vision. I was in shock since my entire purpose for going to SXSW was to take it all in. Intrigued, I started my observation.

So what exactly worked?

Not surprisingly word of mouth, relationships, focused efforts and being the black sheep.

1) WORD OF MOUTH: I ended up paying attention to content which already had established twitter buzz prior SXSW or events my circle of friends recommended. Surprisingly, I stuck more than ever to my tribe. The following really illustrate how important continued efforts are. Ensuring buzz is created prior an event/campaign is key.

The most talked about app at SXSW was GroupMe. There were quite a few apps that offered group texting, Grouped{In}, GroupMe and Fast Society. There were opportunities for either one of these apps to be used. Group messaging was SXSW relevant. It enabled users to set-up groups and keep taps on each other. Who won the battle? GroupMe. They didn’t have the huge billboards Grouped{In} invested in. GroupMe had buzz.

Before the conference, there was a lot of online chatter about the app. They garnered few mentions in publications like Tech Crunch and Mashable before the conference. The buzz GroupMe secured was phenomenal. Other factors that helped seal the deal? The product’s relevance to SXSW. Their website, which is straight forward and skewed to a broader demographic than it’s competitor. GroupMe killed it.

2) RELATIONSHIPS: Relationships became even more important throughout the mayhem. I attended events friends planned on attending as well. When I met folks, I paid closer attention to folks who took the time to explain their product versus others who mechanically repeated mindlessly their elevator pitch. Despite all of the noise and folks I was supposed to meet, I ended up sticking mainly with people I already knew. Posters that called my attention where from vendors I had already worked with.

This was a testament that relationship marketing is core and everything around it is just support. It’s not about pushing content out there whether it be Social Media, Print, TV, Mobile Marketing – it’s about really thinking about the demographic and ensuring you develop a one on one connection with them. Like any relationship what is in it for me.

3) FOCUSED EFFORTS: I respected companies who focused their efforts in having one great event. They didn’t pass out flyers. They just focused on meeting folks, getting the word out and orchestrating one great intimate event.

4) BLACK SHEEP: Another great tactic was attending SXSW without having any affiliation to technology. It was interesting to see in action the power of differentiation through a fashion friend who attended. He already had established a partnership prior to get his brand some exposure. Everyone was so receptive to his product and he had zero competition.

It was pretty hilarious because I kept on meeting peers within the industry. We exchanged a few words and in some case gave each other that competitive gaze. Ha! My friend in the other hand got so much love being the only sneakers brand out there. Everyone wanted to know more about his product. Why? Because regardless of being in a tech conference, we needed an escape from the technology the first chance we got.I later made it my mission to get him to meet as many folks as possible. Friends help each out.

What didn’t work?

1) QR codes: QR codes were everywhere. It was a bit embarrassing. Sorry folks but no I am not going to engage and take time out of my day to read a QR code unless I have some prior information about it. What is the reward? What do I get out of it? In most cases a good old fashion flyer would had been more successful.

2) Flyers/Posters: There were tons of Flyers everywhere. There were too many to notice. And maybe it’s the New Yorker in me, I don’t pick up flyers. I don’t need extra spam in my life.

3) People dressed in funny attires: It might work for a split second, as I will notice the absurdity of the outfit. Like any gimmick, it will only capture my attention for a split second until I stop caring. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen extremely successful guerilla marketing tactics but like anything there needs to be a call to action that makes people tic. Being dressed like a green man will not get you far.

CONCLUSIONS: Do your homework before your launch any campaign! Strategy is extremely important. Study your demographic! What differentiates your product? Why would the consumer care? As ubiquitous computing becomes more prominent, customers will be more and more bombarded with ads, offers etc… This is why I believe social media is so powerful, it enables recommendation/endorsement, sentiment sharing while enabling marketers to gauge how much or little buzz their brand is getting.

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Social Networking Etiquette – The Dos and Don’ts

posted January 28th, 2011 & filed under marketing/advertising, Serious Stuff, social networking, tips

Social networking has become the go to platform in the new era of Web 2.0 interaction. Without utilizing these new tools you would be missing out on a huge number of opportunities and potential avenues for real-life networking. At the same time you can’t just jump on Facebook or Twitter with your soon to be launched brand and think everyone is going to immediately jump on board; there’s almost a certain protocol or etiquette to interacting on Social Media and a few key points will quickly establish any up and coming brand with a fervent online following.

1. Social Networking is about engaging in the conversation, not just about promotion

One of the most important rules to follow when promoting yourself or your new brand on Social Media is to not become a one-sided venue. There is almost nothing people complain about more on Facebook and Twitter then the people that repeatedly jam your inbox or wall with their incessant daily promotions while never interacting or commenting on what other’s are doing. It’s the same rule for real life interaction; no one likes the guy that comes to the party and tells you all the specs on his new Prius without letting anyone else get a word in edgewise. Social networking and business relationships are based on an even and consistent back and forth where both parties are equally engaged in the other’s brand or platform, and this is definitely something that applies to Social Media. These conversations are what builds small companies and creates a rapport between an owner and the customer beyond simply selling a product.

2. T.M.I. and Social Media

One of the most important aspects of Social Media is determining what type of content is appropriate for your brand. Facebook and Twitter have become the go-to examples for people replaying every bit of minutia in their incredibly banal day, but when you’re using these same platforms to promote a business, it’s really important to understand where to draw the line. Not that you shouldn’t be real and authentic in how you portray yourself in Social Media, but that also doesn’t mean its beneficial to let everyone know everything. The same rules exist in real-life interactions and can be easily applied to the virtual landscape, except the only difference is everyone can see your Facebook wall. If you have an awkward moment or scenario at a cocktail party, it usually only lasts as long as the evening, but on Facebook and Twitter, these faux pas and cultural snafus are permanently ingrained in the perpetual stream of data associated with your brand. The most important thing to remember is that your digital life stays with you forever, and there’s nothing like having a potential client Googling you only to find out exactly how intoxicated you were when you were supposed to be taking care of business; that’s why it’s so important to maintain a sense of exactly what’s socially appropriate for your brand.

3. Outlining a strategy and following through with it.

When it comes to Social Media there are so many options and so many platforms that its easy for your brand to get lost amongst the Web 2.0 cloud of endless data, which is why its so important to come up with a solid game plan or strategy when it comes to promoting your brand. An important aspect in determining your strategy is creating a social networking schedule and following through with it. Just like any other aspect of a growing business its important to allot a certain amount of time each week to promoting your brand, and once your fans and friends online understand you’re releasing new content on a specific schedule, then it becomes much easier for them to engage it without guessing as to when you’ll pop back up. In August Kanye West launched the G.O.O.D. Music Fridays promotion, where he gave away a new unreleased track on Twitter around the same time every week; this became something his fans could count on, and other people were anticipating, which served to increase his overall followers and gave his current ones a reason to stick around. Social Media has the potential to become completely chaotic, which is even more of a reason to create a specific model and structure for your own social networking and promotion.

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Archive for the ‘marketing/advertising’ Category

You mention in your bio that at one point you just decided to make your childhood dream come true and start your own business. How did you come to the decision that it was the right time?

Is there any particular reason that you choose projects aimed at Gen Y, Hispanic, and Tween target audiences?

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