Hey Facebook Friends!! I'm pregnant!

So I know by now that everyone has seen this monumental pic.  Besides Beyonce being completely #flawless, she is now pregnant with twins! I'm attaching the photo, because why not just admire it one more time.  Will it ever get old? Probably not.

Beyonce announced her pregnancy on February 1st via Instagram with the caption, "We would like to share our love and happiness.  We have been blessed two times over.  We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes. -The Carters".  As one can expect, this practically broke the internet, and it was all anyone seemed to be talking about.  

It is typical for celebrities to announce news to the public via their personal accounts on various social media platforms.  This allows celebrities to control the message and the exact message being portrayed to the public.  As I continued to analyze this particular pregnancy announcement, I realized that this practice is more common that I originally thought.  

Take a second to think back and reflect on how many times you might have found out intimate details of someone's life via Facebook, Instagram, or any similar platforms.  It is extremely common for people to post milestone events as their "status updates".  Often times these updates are posted and digested quicker than the person is able to personally inform their family and close friends.  Why are we so quick to post such intimate details for the masses?

As marketers, it would be foolish to not think of this direct, mass sharing from a business standpoint. This behavior shows that people are not afraid to share.  We constantly feel the need to share and absorb information about our close connections as well as some relatively far removed ones.  In my opinion, the explanation and way to benefit from these activities is simple.

People want to share many things and want to feel like people care about their life and what they are sharing about it.  If a company can give people something to share and better their life and social media image at the same time to almost emulate the status of celebrity, the company has won.  Make people feel important and give them something to share.

xo 

I got two screens...one for the tv and one for my phone

Happy Tuesday/Midnight on Monday! With The Grammy's and The Bachelor broadcasted back to back these past two days, we can't help but talk about all of the talking.  It's no secret that "watch parties" are in full effect for these shows, and many more.  We link up with our besties, break out the snacks, and crowd around one single television to watch our shows.  Often times we can barely hear the show over the chatter, and we find ourselves constantly hitting the plus one volume button on the remote.

It doesn't stop here.  We can't watch without our mobile devices within arms distance.  While we enjoy times with or without friends, we find ourselves using our mobile devices to engage in another conversation.  Hashtags are utilized in conversation to express thoughts.  We place these hashtags on our tweets, click them and are immediately immersed in another conversation.  We may have our besties in the room, but we have many more online. While this conversation occurs on the ever popular Facebook, it is mostly happening on Twitter.

Twitter for some reason seems more real time than any other social media platform.  Many people lean to Twitter to receive their news.  This real time aspect prompts us to check in while watching just to see what the world thinks about an event.  Twitter was booming with people talking about the twin-bearing Queen B's performance, Adele messing up and starting over, and James Cordon.  Every Monday night, #TheBachelor is trending.  Twitter might be experiencing some issues with profitability, but they certainly have people talking.  People can connect with others and feel a sense of community that is bigger than themselves without leaving the comfort of their own home.

So why is this important?  This allows marketers to take the conversation away from the television.  If used effectively, this could allow viewers to interact with the organization in a personal and unique way.  A unique experience is valued and viewers want more.  If a marketer can find a way to break into the conversation seamlessly, they win.  It is known that reaching a specific target market must be more than simply through television, but this is the case more than ever before.  Mobile and social media as we know it is the future, and keeping up with who is doing it the best will be telling to the future of marketing in general.

SB LI & ABNB

As all of North America knows, yesterday was the Super Bowl.  The Atlanta Falcons played the New England Patriots, and following the theme of Atlanta sports-- the Falcons lost in the most heart wrenching ways.  Every year people tune in to see who will come out on top, but this isn't without the discussion about other factors...the commercials and half-time performance.

This year's commercials, just like the previous years, never disappoint.  As a marketing student, I always find myself overanalyzing each and every commercial sometimes more than the plays in the game.  One of the first commercials of the evening peaked my interest more than others.

Airbnb released the following commercial.  In this commercial, the company makes the statement that they accept everyone regardless of age, nationality, and sexual preference.  The overall message is a typical feel-good commercial.  At the end, the hashtag #weaccept is shown with the Airbnb logo underneath. Other than this logo, there is no other evidence as to what company is behind the inspiring commercial.  Is this a good way to market?  What if people hadn't been familiar with the company and their logo?  Is this worth the insane costs for the airtime during the Super Bowl?

Yes yes yes!! This commercial is genius in my opinion.  This commercial reaches out to viewers in two distinct ways.  To the person familiar with Airbnb and their logo, he/she knows right away what company it is and is happy to see such a good message that is not engaging in typical selling techniques that commercials are known for.  On the other hand, someone not familiar with the company and logo might be confused at first.  While sitting around with friends, they might ask their friends, "wait whose commercial was that?"  This leads the viewer to look up "#weaccept".  Once they do this, they will find out the company behind the commercial.  If they are not family with the work that Airbnb does, they will most likely go onto their website or download their app.  This turns this typical commercial into something social.  

At this point, Airbnb has fulfilled it's purpose.  They are driving traffic to their website in an unconventional way.  Airbnb didn't have to engage in the typical pull to get viewers interested in their product or service.  Unconventional ads have proven to be successful over and over again, so it is no surprise that this is the case again.  Well done Airbnb...you can take the Super Bowl commercial crown now. 

xo