Blentec's Explosive iPad Video on YouTube

Well, they've certainly done it again!  Blentec's viral campaign "Will it blend?" released a new video at approx. 11am (CST) on Monday, April 5, 2010.  In this new video Tom Dickson, host and Blentec CEO, breaks an iPad and stuffs it in his blender only to blend it to smithereens, proving once again "Yes it blends!"  

Within 1hr of the post, journalists and bloggers around the world had started blogging the news, twitterers were chirping, and YouTube views were on a steady upward climb.  After 24 hours more than 1.4 million views were recorded on YouTube! Way to go Blentec! 

Here are the numbers we logged:

11am CST - Blentec's iPad video posted;

12pm CST - 1hrs 3K views, journalists and bloggers writing about story, twitter spread begins;

4  pm CST - 5hrs 32K views;

7  pm CST - 8hrs 138K views;

8  pm CST - 9hrs 250K views;

10pm CST - 11hrs 362K views;

12pm CST - 13hrs 583K views;
8  am CST - 21hrs 1.2M views;
11am CST - 24hrs 1.4M views;

Blentec Makes Smithereens of Apple iPad

As you likely know, blendtec is responsible for one of the best viral campaigns seen so far. With the question "Will it blend?" and it's host Tom Dickson, the brand achieved 6 million views just after 5 days it had published the first video on YouTube. As their videos grew in popularity, Blendtec found their online sales grew by 500%.
This happened back in 2006 and today Blendtec shows us how to grab a great opportunity and turn it into more then 31,000 views on YouTube in one single day. They didn't do anything unusual than blending a product till it become goop or dust. But here comes the difference: the "it" in this case is called by iPad, the most commented product recently released by Apple. 
We don't need to go over the effectiveness or impact of the campaign, because for sure it is great. And all the results are with no doubt based on Blendtec's ability to see a good opportunity. Blending the iPad is not simply blend a trendy tech gadget, it is in fact blending the most searched key word on the internet. Like this, people searching for iPad, will probably have on their results the blender video. It's like an invisible virtual association, as companies are helping other companies on raising the access to their website, videos or other internet materials. 
It's really incredible to see how fast Blendtec learned about web 2.0 and it's advantages. Way to go Mr. Tom!

Customer Service and Social Media

In the burgeoning network of social media, participants face an unprecedented permanency to their contributions. Posts, tweets, and responses have become part of a long-lasting and far-reaching conversation. So when a business or corporation chooses to participate in this exchange of thoughts and experiences, it can greatly benefit or greatly damage their brand.

A company that chooses to create a social media strategy has the advantage in building rapport and trust with customers. Companies must understand, though, that using social media as an effective marketing strategy is not just about advertising the latest deals and discounts; it’s about customer service. Conversing about a customer’s reaction to a companies products and sales is crucial to how their brand will ultimately be perceived.

Take for example, a twitter conversation between a restaurant owner and a woman who visited their establishment. The woman sees a tweet from someone who said they enjoyed their experience at Brasserie Pavil, and the woman replies that she did not enjoy it and would never return. Brasserie Pavil sees their tweets and joins in, asking for the woman’s phone number so that they could discuss her experience. The tweet conversation ends with a thankful response from the customer, and assurance that she would return to Brasserie Pavil soon.

Click to read more ...

Professional Blog Etiquette 101

Why blog? And how? Plenty of people have a personal blog, a place where they can tell the world about their every-day adventures, discuss current events, ideas, hobbies, and issues. But if you are a company trying to generate online visibility and customer relations, blogging can be a professional platform to discuss things with a more personal atmosphere. Blogging, in essence, is a conversation. Therefore, a company blog is a conversation between the company and it’s consumers. It is a chance to discuss ideas and products with more specific and personal responses than case studies and focus groups could have provided in previous years.

Just as there is a right and a wrong way to market your company through other media, blogging has some specific guidelines that will draw readers and keep them coming back for more.

Click to read more ...

CEO's Using Social Media - Waste of Time?

True or false: Social and business marketing go hand in hand? True.

What about the CEO of a company using social media to promote his company? It seems a little risky, true, but it is possible for a CEO to flex his/her social media muscles and simultaneously strengthen the company.

CEO's, you may currently employ staff to manage various social media networks for your company. But as the big guy behind the desk, the leader of the pack, your social media involvement can have the most influence on your brand’s success by being the one to lead it into the burgeoning arena of social media.

The benefits? The March 2009 Forbes article,  “Yes, CEOs should Facebook and Twitter,” points out that CEO’s no longer have an excuse for ignoring Web 2.0.

If a CEO wants to:

- Extend their brand

- Create a corporate culture based on listening and learning

- Establish a strong leadership profile

- Promote authentic interaction

- Instigate customer action

Click to read more ...