Jannie Villacorta - Blackman

Quite frankly, I am a bit put off by Twitter users who ‘hide’ or keep their settings to a select few because for privacy purposes. I find it incredibly dubious, even downright seedy.

Twitter is by no means a chat platform. It is a very powerful social media tool that allows you to converse relevant issues, encourage ideas from others outside your network and could even result in follows from some very important influencers who share the same ideas as you.

Hashtags allow for searchable conversations on the same topic, allowing you to index and refer to in the future. Lists allow you to arrange your feed according to topics, interests or even which part of your life these contacts are a part of. In many cases, these tools allow you to be found for career and other opportunities, depending on what ideas or thoughts you put out there.

Save your chats to platforms that are specifically for that purpose. And for those who decide to still keep their twitter accounts hidden from the rest of the world - think about all that lost opportunity, that job you may be missing out on.

Totally relatable, I can hear myself talking in this video. Watch this . 

Watch this too cute video of Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt who have surprisingly have very good singing voices. It has gone viral on YouTube and Facebook where I originally found it before I shared it to my own network.

The following post is an essay on Skittles that I turned in for my Digital Marketing class under Professor Camilo La Cruz Smith. I’m happy to say I received high marks for this essay which made it a no brainer to post on my social media blog.

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Skittles has been one of those brands that have been extremely successful in redefining and reenergizing their business and digital strategies. In the recent past, they were able to successfully define their problem, and address it by simply understanding their consumer. They recognized that their consumers embraced social networks and were responsive and interested in being engaged with their brand. As a result, they were able to reach out to them in ways that put them ahead of their competitors. By experiencing the rainbow instead of their old functional strategy of just tasting it, they were able to reach out to a wider scope of their consumer and saw what their brand can do and where else it can take them.

While their strategy is fantastic and is indeed sustainable, Skittles was constantly thinking ahead, keeping things new.  Skittles has been successful in stirring the Twitter community, spurred user generated content, engagement online and generated a lot of word-of-mouth-buzz. The difficulty I am seeing in Skittles maintaining their strategy is consumer fatigue from the pointless but entertaining activities that they constantly bombard their consumers with. This is the problem they will need to solve and should begin with.

To grow next year, Skittles must not only retain their current consumers but speed up this growth by expanding to other markets. In the consumer decision journey, they must target their consumers both in the loyalty and initial consideration stages. They must leverage the brand’s innate unpredictable personality, constantly be on their toes, watch the industry standard and then continuously disrupt it. Now we ask: Where to next after Facebook? In my opinion, Skittles should move towards 2012 by looking for ways to take their brand out onto the real world and investigate the potential of not only longer term content but of the possibility of touching the lives of those who also need it. Why not make use of free content from Skittles’ media channels to let the world experience the rainbow? In addition, curated content from consumers may also be used to create a more holistic platform where the brand and the consumer both participate in the conversation towards a social good.

The only barriers to entry that Skittles can face with is the likelihood of encountering people who aren’t interested in contributing to charity or Skittles choosing a cause that doesn’t strike a chord with the consumers. While that is farfetched, I think the consumers are willing to share the rainbow with other less fortunate people and would gladly participate in this highly engaging online activity.

Skittles must move beyond entertainment and take engagement to the next level – In 2012, a trend is seen in digital efforts moving towards having a socially responsible purpose. Gamification with a motivation or incentive for the benefit of a cause that matters for example, hungry children or in support of relief goods to a disaster stricken area, Skittles can, with the help of its online community, help these people in need “Experience the Rainbow” too. Skittles should communicate this effort across all channels (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc), since a brand should be consistent in its communications. After all, we must realize the need of the consumer to “help” others. With this, I think that Skittles’ consumers will have even more respect for the brand if they know that their favorite brand’s campaigns do not end online.

Gamification of Skittles through the purchase of Skittles packs, entering a code found (or scanning a QR code) inside each pack onto an application on Facebook is an example. Consumers can keep track of how much they have contributed to the cause through a dashboard showing how much they’ve contributed as well as how much the entire Skittles online community has contributed to this cause to visualize the progress that they are making towards supporting the cause. This dashboard can be in a form of a pixelated photo of the earth and each skittles packet code that is entered into the app adds a pixel in the form of a Skittles candy. This way, Skittles can truly make a difference in the world by letting the whole world experience the joy they previously brought just online.

There is approximately a 10% untapped market out there from competitors that Skittles can address with this kind of activity. This comes from a large market that results in not only incremental unit sales but a lot of PR and awareness especially since the application encourages the users to input a code found in the Skittles’ bags. Through this, Skittles can prove that they are not just about silly entertainment. They are a brand with a purpose, a brand that realizes that there is more to just its online community that is interested in experiencing the rainbow.

As more and more people spend time online, socializing and researching about brands, yours is vulnerable by itself. In business school, we learn that the brand is the emotion evoked in people’s minds and hearts. And how can your brand evoke that positive feeling within your consumers? SOCIAL MEDIA. Brand Managers, CEOs, Corporate Communications professionals, Human Resources, Sales, Entrepreneurs, and you yourself have a brand to protect. 

While networking and investing in keeping the press busy with something to say about your brand or product, you too have a story to tell about your brand. Through different social networks, you are able to reach out to a number of people beyond your wildest dreams. 

There is no sure way to measure sales directly coming from social media apart from deals or coupons that you entice consumers with to “like” your brand page. However, research suggests that fans are 3x more likely to buy the brand they liked thank those who don’t. 

There are many reasons why people would follow a brand. Followers of luxury brands may not necessarily purchase those brands but they want to experience the lifestyle such brands exude. Some follow a brand they won’t normally buy only because they are conducting some kind of research. And others become fans because they want to share their experiences with the brand, good or bad, and need or expect some form of response. 

And that’s where you, as brand managers, as protectors of your brands, come in. I know there’s that undying question about how to actually convert your likes into buys. You must start the storytelling. Introduce the brand to your audience, add content relevant to your audience and keep them coming back for more by keeping things interesting.

Your duty doesn’t stop there. You need to network. Reach out to other users who would be interested in your brand. Converse with them and keep them engaged by responding to comments. Believe it or not, 95% of Facebook wall posts are not answered by brands. Do you talk to your consumers? Ignore them? Or are you one of those who delete negative comments from consumers that you don’t care to see on your walls? Your consumers are reaching out to you and want to be your real life brand ambassadors to their friends. Let them.

There are a lot of social media platforms that you can utilize to promote your brand. Social Media is more than just having a Facebook Brand Page or Twitter Feed. YouTube or Vimeo allow you to post videos related to your brand. You can upload ads, reviews, or tutorials on how to use your brand. Blogging platforms such as Tumblr allows you to talk about your products at length, at the same time enhancing the reading experience with photos. Slideshare and Delicious are great for individuals who want to promote their personal brands. 

There are so many things you can do with social media for your brand’s benefit and this article can never fully exhaust the full breadth of it. There are developments everyday and as long as you keep yourself updated on trends and best practices (visit my Facebook Page on Social Media), without a doubt, you can learn (almost) all you need to know about social media. 

Overnight, my Klout score has instantly increased by two points after changing my Facebook status from Ina Relationship to Engaged. Apparently, to Klout, a ring merits 2 points.

Apart from its perks, I am finding little use or benefit to Klout. I am finding it highly inaccurate, and a few months into using the service, I still haven’t figured out how it gives out or takes away points. All I can see is that depending on how active you are on twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Foursquare, you receive or lose one or so points in a day.

But then again, Klout says I am influential about junk food, macs and get this: Miami Heat. Firstly, my food blog is hardly junk, I don’t use a mac nor talk about it, and I only found out about the Miami Heat after seeing it on my Klout page and then googling it.

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who has already voted for me.

I have ten more days to gather as much votes from family, friends, colleagues to help me become the face of about.me on Times Square! With your help, I am now at the top 5%. Whooohooo!

Please take time to visit the link above (or http://about.me/jannie.villacorta) at least once a day for the next 10 days (voting ends on the 20th, I believe) and feel free to vote from your smart phone, iPad, iPod touch, personal laptop and work computers. If you consider yourself an influencer, encourage your followers too!

In the meantime, about.me is like a digital business card which you can subscribe to. If you find my profile interesting, you can make one for yourself too with just a few taps on your computer!

Thanks everyone and am looking forward to your support!

Much love!

So I was taking a breather on the couch this afternoon after my run and suddenly felt the floor moving. All of the 10 or so seconds that it lasted, a plethora of thoughts flooded my mind. Earthquake? Dizzy? Hungry? Terrorist attack? I hail from the land of earthquakes, volcano eruptions and flooding - this isn’t/shouldn’t be a big deal. But then again, this is New York. For some insane reason, I believed that hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes do not disturb this beautiful city - till recently.

I grabbed my phone and immediately posted on Facebook - WHOA. Was that an earthquake?

And almost instantly, I logged onto my twitter to confirm my post. I wasn’t dizzy or hungry or going crazy. There was an earthquake. From DC to Philly, to Jersey to NYC.

Gone are the days when I’d wait 20/30 minutes to confirm breaking news on CNN or the local tv station. For any news that I needed to confirm fast, I go to twitter.

And in the meantime, I’ll check in at EARTHQUAKEPOCALYPSE 2011 in case there’s a new badge. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to check in at one for a long long long time.

What about you? Do you rely on social media for your breaking news?

PS. Southern Hospitality announced on twitter a 20% discount on all milkSHAKEs to those who evacuated their buildings - Not bad for a hot summer NYC day!

***thanks to HuffPost for the photo!

Isn’t it funny that one must LIKE a brand page on Facebook before he or she may be able to write a bad review/experience on that brand’s page? It got me thinking this evening in class about how we must be ‘friends’ with some brands first before being ‘honest’ with them and letting them know what you really think.

This is a real reason why a DISLIKE button is in order. It’s an untapped metric and resource where the brand’s performance/likeability can be monitored. Likes vs dislikes at a certain point in time. What about the ability of a brand to turn DISLIKES into LIKES and the other way around?

Watch this animation I found on twitter and see why (the author says) you should (or shouldn’t) open or at least try out Google+. Worth pondering over.

Now I’m not saying that Google+ will ever replace Facebook. Just from a consumer standpoint, Facebook is just more friendly. And there’s no way people are moving to another platform just to keep in touch with friends. 

After a series of successful tv ads and online activities, Old Spice has replaced its famed face with Fabio. Of all people, why him? After seeing the ad of Fabio holding up a red balloon this morning and realizing it was an Old Spice ad, I must admit I was shocked. I thought it was Fabio spoofing Mustafa. And after searching for more videos, I saw Fabio looking old, uncool and very awkward. Old Spice wants its image to go back to that? I sure hope not.

Google’s true niche is in a gratis email platform which people appreciate, love and will remain loyal to for a long time. It’s no wonder that it’s been around for years.  With this new addition to their portfolio of services, I am very skeptical about their foray into the social networking realm where Facebook is undoubtedly the true and only player. 

Firstly, Facebook has the advantage of experience. And it’s of the good kind. They have years and years of developing and making something great even greater. Google has made several attempts at going beyond email and chat. None of those attempts except perhaps Google AdWords became truly successful.

Google+ is a wee bit too sterile and clean looking for people who are used to and welcome the clutter and the mirage of services Facebook provides. In summary, Google+ only has a chat client, a status and wall posting function, photo sharing. Facebook has all that and more (events, games, pages etc)

Lastly, heck, all my (and your) friends are on Facebook. Why change it when it isn’t broke? I got in touch with all my grade school and high school friends on Facebook. I am in a world where you are considered odd if you’re not on Facebook. And the network and extended networks I am offered on Facebook is something I really value in this connected world.

I am interested in finding out how many actually deactivate their Facebook profiles after moving to Google+. Let’s wait and see. 

The wait is over! Thanks to one of my friends from NYU, I am now a proud Google+ member. Upon receipt of my invite, I hurriedly connected through my mobile phone. Since the excitement made me want to see the entire interface on an actual screen, I quickly turned my laptop on and went through the setup process.

Connect with picasa? Check.
Use my Google profile photo? Check.

I went through the functions, features and ‘tabs’. But I’ve got no friends on Google+ yet so I couldn’t see its full functionality.

Thus, the next step: invite my friends (Google thinks I have 500 potential invitees). Now if you ask me, Google’s strategy of limiting access to by invitation only, I think it’s quite smart, very strategic way to build demand. While initial demand will be coming from those who aspire for exclusivity (think iPhones and iPads on limited release), demand will eventually grow.

In the meantime, let’s connect on Google+ and explore it together. Let me know if you need an invite.

With all this said, by no means am I leaving Facebook. I love Facebook. I am on Google+ for the pure novelty and reviewing purposes of it only.

Ps. As I went back to my Gmail, I notice a red notification on the upper right hand corner of my window. I’ve made contact!

I am a big fan of Facebook and I could most probably same thing for chat. However, I wasn’t too excited about Facebook’s new Skype (video calling and group chat) functionality when rumors about it being Zuckerberg’s announcement came out last week.

You see, I am rarely on Facebook while I’m on my laptop. Approximately eighty percent of my Facebook time is spent while I’m on my phone or my iPad. Given that, these platforms aren’t so much chat-friendly, at least in my case. In addition, I don’t go out of my way to connect to Facebook chat because it just it’s so bothersome with all the spam chat messages going around.

My regular chat platforms are whatsapp? and google chat and Skype - with a very limited and well picked contact list. I have taken out my SMS plan on my Verizon bill for this reason. I should pick up some research on what the rest of the world uses but that should go in another blog post.

Now when asked if the new facebook feature has done anything for me, it’s a no. But that is just me. I havent heard or seen any reviews on this feature for those who actually chat on facebook. I will be following up this entry when the reviews, comments come out.

In the meantime, what do you use to chat with your peers?

My ‘About Me’ says it all. I already have a food blog (nyFOODventures.tumblr.com) which most people already associate with me and I take great pride in (call me shallow, but imagine my excitement when I received an email notification that Andrew Zimmern started following me on twitter). I am also intensely passionate about one other thing and I will write all I know or feel about the developments regarding the topic. 

What is it, you may ask. Like most of you, (don’t deny it!) I have my android phone on me day and night. I am online all day, sharing, tweeting, commenting, posting, tagging. YES, I thrive on Social Media and all the good stuff that come with it.

This explains why I am on Master’s #2. No, I am not bookish. Maybe, slightly nerdy to some for wanting to go back to school after undergrad. After earning my MBA in 2006, I joined the corporate world for 4 and a half years. I am now back in school - again. My dad says for a refresher - hardly. I am currently in graduate school in NYU to complement my brand management experience with today’s digital marketing trends. After all, what’s the use of all the LIKES on Facebook’s fan pages if we can’t convert those likes to $$$? Like it or not, Zuckerberg didn’t create Facebook to allow people to gain sympathy likes. Our bosses are not impressed with increasing PR Share of Voice. We get on their good side by delivering the profit. 

So, on this platform, I am going to do what I feel I do best. SHARING. 

I will share with you, dear readers, my thoughts, feelings, musings, readings on SOCIAL MEDIA. Please enjoy and feel free to comment, repost, and share.

I’d love to hear from you!

A huge tub of #vegemite direct from family in #Sydney! They know what I love! #thankyou, I can’t wait for #breakfast! (at Chez Blackman)

She wanted #prawn #tempura she gets prawn tempura #hungry#postcall#nyc#jetlag (at Haru Gramercy Park)

Late night post-movie pizza! #sicilian#sausage#fresh#mozzarella (at Francesco Pizzeria)

Love our little #dessert #surprise! #babymoon #chocolate#baby#fruit#pecan#tart (at Feast at Lele)

#Mango Madness #Smoothie for Josh and a #Blueberry #Mojito for me! (at Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante)

Totally in love with this local find: packaged piña colada sorbet! #delicious#pinacolada#sorbet#treat#local (at Fairmont Kea Lani Maui)

#hawaiian#shaved#ice anyone?#pineapple#strawberry#lemon#lime (at Maui, Hawaii)

#lobster and #crab #stuffed #macadamia #crusted #mahimahi #fresh#seafood#cilantro #rice (at Mama’s Fish House)

#wasabi#crusted#calamari #appetizer#edamame#salad (at Mama’s Fish House)

This was #incredible! #lobster#tempura#ko#fairmont#mouthwatering#delicious (at Kō Restaurant at the Fairmont)

If you like #pinacoladas … #cooler#cocktail#mocktail#yum#pineapple (at Fairmont Swim Up Bar)

#fishandchips#beerbattered#maltvinegar#fries#lunch (at Ed’s Chowder House)

Now serving for dinner - #chicken#teriyaki#garlic#broccoli and #mushroom#calaspara#rice (at Chez Blackman)

My second try at #turkey #lasagna was what’s for #dinner tonight! Husband’s verdict: #YUM! (at Chez Blackman)

My kind of Sunday! #Jollibee#palabok and #chickenjoy would be our only reason to venture out into #queens! (at Jollibee - Queens NY)

#grilledcheese and #potatochips for breakfast, anyone? #ooeygooey#nofilter#cheese#melt (at Chez Blackman)

#Salmon #Provencale with #lemon #garlic #stringbeans and #couscous with #tomato! #Dinner is served! (at Chez Blackman)

Sinampalukang Manok for #dinner! And Josh loves it! #sinigang#chicken#broth (at Chez Blackman)

#tartine time! #brunch#chickencurry#curry (at Le Pain Quotidien)

#caprese#salad with #pinenuts#appetizer#italian (at Otto Enoteca Pizzeria)