Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom on Social

Content is King. 

Digital communication planners and social channel users around the world can attest to this.

According to Brand Media Strategy: Integrated Communications Planning, the growth of the social network has taken brands to unforeseen heights in generating awareness, building involvement, increasing active consideration, and driving purchase. This week I'll be covering Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and how an array of Facebook posts and Twitter tweets create brand experiences that reinforce the brand proposition of fun family entertainment. By using these channels, they create interaction and retain relevance to consumers.



Please note that the following blog post is entirely hypothetical and for academic purposes only. I am in no way affiliated with the Walt Disney brand or any of its subsidiaries. If you have any questions regarding Disney or its parks, you can follow them on Facebook and/or Twitter.

August 1: 

Facebook - Be on the lookout for #FreebieFriday posts every Friday for the month of August - we'll announce where you can take advantage of an exclusive freebie while in the park that day! 

Twitter - Interested in free stuff at Magic Kingdom? Stay tuned for #FreebieFriday tweets for the month of August! 

August 2: 

Facebook - Summer in Florida is in full effect. Besides sunblock, what do you wear for your day at Magic Kingdom? #DisneyTripTips

Twitter - What do you wear for a day at Magic Kingdom to have fun and stay cool? #DisneyTripTips

August 3:

Facebook -  Our "Celebrate the Magic" Nighttime Spectacular fireworks show will dazzle you as we turn Cinderella's Castle into a work of art. Two shows every night - you won't want to miss this!

Twitter - Let us dazzle you with our "Celebrate the Magic" fireworks show. You won't want to miss it!

August 4:

Facebook - Love Monster's Inc.? Be sure to check out the Laugh Floor Stage Show and have some fun with Sully, Mike, and Boo!  

Twitter - Share some laughs with Sully, Mike and Boo of Monster's Inc. at the #LaughFloor stage show today! 

August 5:

Facebook - Poll: What is the longest you would be willing to wait in line for a Magic Kingdom attraction? Select one of the options below. 

One hour
Two hours
Three hours
I'd wait five hours or more
Four hours

Twitter - What Magic Kingdom attraction are you willing to wait in line for? Tell us! 

August 6:

Facebook - Cool off and make friends with a visit to Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station. It's an open play area based on the circus locomotive from Disney's Dumbo.  

Twitter - Come play in the Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station and beat the summer heat. #StayCool

August 7:

Facebook - Throwback Thursday: Share a photo of you or your princess with a Disney princess! Use hashtags #tbt #disneyprincess

Twitter - Share a photo of you or your princess with a Disney Princess. Include #TBT #disneyprincess in your post!

August 8:

Facebook - It's #FreebieFriday! The first 200 guests to check-in to Main Street USA Confectionery will receive a special treat on us!

Twitter - The first 100 tweets to mention #MainStreetConfectionery will receive a special treat on #FreebieFriday. Stop by the shop to redeem!

August 9: 

Facebook - Disney Trip Tip: Pin your name and cell phone number to the inside of your child's clothes and make sure your family wears closed-toe shoes to the park. Don't risk losing a flip flop! #DisneyTripTips

Twitter - Don't forget to pin your name and cell number to the inside of your child's clothes. #DisneyTripTips #thelittledetails 

August 10:

Facebook - Fantasyland's "Festival of Fantasy" Parade will highlight all-new magic with music and dancing. The parade starts at 3pm! 

Twitter - RT if you plan to head to Fantasyland for music, magic, and dancing by 3pm for the "Festival of Fantasy" Parade!

August 11:

Facebook - Staying at a Disney Resort hotel means you can enjoy more fun in Magic Kingdom! On select days, guests can arrive early or stay later courtesy of Extra Magic Hours. 

Twitter - Stay at a Disney Resort hotel and enjoy Extra Magic Hours on select days! Get more info here: bit.ly/mc56n8d1

August 12:

Facebook - Trivia: Which attraction opened in 1956 and has the distinction of being the only one designed by Walt Disney?* 

Twitter - Do you know which attraction has the distinction of being the only one designed by Walt Disney? Reply with your answer!*

August 13:

Facebook - Disney is featured in this Theme Park Insider's article on Top Theme Park Travel Tips. A great read if a trip to Magic Kingdom is in the works! Article: bit.ly/4v85er6a

Twitter - Disney was featured in this article on Top Theme Park Travel Tips: bit.ly/4v85er6a - a great read! 

August 14:

Facebook - It's that time of the week again - Let's throw it back with a #tbt photo of a Magic Kingdom #fireworks display! 

Twitter - Post a #ThrowbackThursday pic of a Magic Kingdom #fireworks display!

August 15:

Facebook - Love to collect Disney pins? Tell us about the best trade you've made to receive an exclusive 2014 Walt Disney pin! Act fast - we've got 1,000 to give away on #FreebieFriday

Twitter - #FreebieFriday: Tell us about the best trade you've made for a Disney pin to receive an exclusive 2014 Walt Disney pin! We've got 1,000 to give away!

August 16:

Facebook - Planning a trip to Magic Kingdom soon? Want to deal with smaller crowds? Most major parks are less crowded in September and October, as school starts up, and April and May, as school winds down. #DisneyTripTips

Twitter - Try planning a Magic Kingdom trip for September, October, April or May. When school is in, the park tends to be less crowded. #DisneyTripTips 

August 17: 

Facebook - The Electrical Water Pageant is an all-time favorite. Enjoy the sea creatures and twinkling flags across the lagoon to electronic tunes in this nighttime water parade. Fun for all ages.

Twitter - Watch an array of colorful lights as the floats glide by at the Electrical Water Pageant. Fun for all ages. 

August 18:

Facebook - Go backstage to meet the most iconic of the Disney characters - Mickey Mouse! He's ready to hug and photograph with his biggest fans at Town Square Theater.

Twitter - Meet and greet Mickey at Town Square Theater - It's the perfect photo op! 

August 19:

Facebook - Trivia: What's the legend of The Big Thunder Mountain? Share your knowledge in the comments section below!

Twitter - Which attraction has an eery ghost legend attached to it? Reply with your answer!

August 20:

Facebook - Your time is precious to you and we are here to help with Fastpass+, our ride reservation system.

Using the suggestions for your specific trip can save you up to 4 hours in line per day with touring plans. Use discount code FASTPASS+ to save 20% on a 1-year subscription to touringplans.com. 

Twitter - Save up to 4 hours in line per day by using Fastpass+, our ride reservation system. Find out how here: bit.ly/4b7i2oq3

August 21:

Facebook - Share a Throwback Thursday photo of your most memorable Character Meet and Greet! Include #tbt #disneycharacter in your photo.

Twitter - Tweet a photo your most memorable Character Meet and Greet for #tbt. Include hashtags #tbt and #disneycharacter

August 22:

Facebook - #FreebieFriday Need a stroller for your little one during your visit to Magic Kingdom? If you reserve a Disney stroller for 3 days, get the 4th day Free! Available for a limited time only.

Twitter - Reserve a Disney stroller for 3 days, get the 4th day free! Available for a limited time only on #FreebieFriday

August 23:

Facebook - Plan your day with Disney's Mobile Magic application - you can quickly pinpoint restaurants and provide up-to-the-minute estimates on wait times at rides and attractions. Available for Android and iOS users. Download it today! bit.ly/t7lo760 #DisneyTripTips

Twitter - Download the Disney Mobile Magic app to plan your day right from your phone! Available for Android and iOS users - bit.ly/t7lo760 #DisneyTripTips

August 24:

Facebook - Put on your dancing shoes and prep your moves in Tomorrowland for the #INCREDIBLESSuperDanceParty from 5pm-10pm. It's the most heroic dance party around from Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles!

Twitter - Boogie down in Tomorrowland at the #INCREDIBLESSuperDanceParty from 5pm-10pm!

August 25:

Facebook - Love Frozen? A Sand Sculpture brought Olaf to Frozen Summer Fun at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Disney Blog - Weekly Recap!

Twitter - Find out how a sand sculpture brought Olaf to Frozen Summer Fun at Disney's Hollywood Studios: bit.ly/3u02bd

August 26:

Facebook - Trivia: The first Audio-Animatronics figure in human form were developed at Walt Disney's request for which Magic Kingdom attraction?

Hint: The result lead to rave reviews at the 1964 New York's World Fair.

Twitter - Do you know the Magic Kingdom attraction in which the first Audio-Animatronics figure was developed? Tell us!

August 27:

Facebook - The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has been open for three months already, and broke records for the number of guests to ride in 90 days. What's your favorite aspect of the ride?

Twitter - The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has been open for three months - Tell us why you love it!

August 28:

Facebook - Share your favorite photo with #CinderellasCastle in the background for #throwbackthursday

Twitter - Have a great #CinderellasCastle photo for #ThrowbackThursday? Share it with us today! 

August 29:

Facebook - Did you know that #FreebieFriday can take place year round at Magic Kingdom? Many guests assume PhotoPass Cast Members are not useful if they don't plan on purchasing the CD or prints. The truth is that these picture-taking Cast Members will take photos of you with your own camera. All you have to do is ask!

Twitter - Take advantage of #FreebieFriday year round by asking PhotoPass Cast Members to take photos of you with your own camera at Magic Kingdom!

August 30:

Facebook - #DisneyTripTips Go against the flow: Head to the back of the park at opening while everyone boards the rides nearest the front gate. Opt for the left-hand line at snack bars and souvenir shops because most are programmed to turn right. 

Twitter - While at Magic Kingdom, go against the flow. Opt for the left hand line at snack bars and shops. More #disneytriptips here: bit.ly/1w70loz

August 31:

Facebook - Go Wild on the #JungleCruise! Expand your horizons and tour the most exotic rivers of Asia, Africa, and South America. Encounter the wonders of nature in an unforgettable adventure!

Twitter - Embark on the #JungleCruise for a true-life adventure of the world's most exotic locales!

*The Answer is Tom Sawyer Island. The original opened to the public at Disneyland Resort in 1956. 

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Get Tagged!

Before diving into my post below, click here for a Prezi introduction!

History

Greg Tseng and Johann Schleier-Smith created Tagged.com in October 2004 by with ambitions of “[building] a Teen Yahoo! or the next MTV.” They launched the site with about $1 million from their savings (Businessweek).

In just two months, they managed to reel $7 million in venture capital from Mayfiled Fund of Menlo Park, California. It was also in this short amount of time that Tagged.com’s traffic hit 1.6 million unique page views.

Tagged started off much like Facebook, but struggled to retain site loyalty and their identity by adding (but not gaining traction from) similar features like Facebook’s ever-popular news feed function to their social network. Growing tired of chasing after the ascent of Facebook, the founders soon made the decision to reinvent the company to help people make new relationships in a short amount of time, rather just keeping in touch with existing friends.

What kind of channel is it?

Tseng and Schleier-Smith coined Tagged as a “social discovery” channel. With 75 percent of users using Tagged to meet new people, they worked to facilitate interactions that people weren’t getting on Facebook. Their success is in part due to honing in on this differentiation and building off the idea of social discovery. 

Target audience, user numbers, and growth

Hitwise ranked Tagged as the third largest social network in the U.S. in 2011, behind Facebook and MySpace. Originally targeted at teens 13-19 years old, Tagged opened its doors to all ages to increase its range of potential users in October 2006. According to company statistics, 74 percent of users are over the age of 21, and the vast majority of users are evenly distributed between the ages of 18 to 44 (HowStuffWorks.com).

After acquiring social network hi5 in 2011, it became available in 220 countries and 18 languages, with more than 20 million monthly unique visitors, 100 million registered users and revenue exceeding $32 million (Entrepreneur). Collectively, the users form over 100 million new connections and consume over 5 billion page views per month. As shown in the screenshot below, Tagged visitors are on average on the site for about 20 minutes, with almost 16 daily page views:

Statistics from Alexa.com

In Greg Tseng’s article, How A Startup Pivots: The Tagged Story (So Far), he admits that Tagged’s growth was made possible by their pivot into the new space of social discovery. With a mission “to enable anyone to meet and socialize with new people,” they focused efforts on the core human need of meeting and socializing with new people that had been neglected online before Tagged’s existence.

What does it do?

At Tagged, businesses can use filtered search to meet others for sharing activities. In this way, it acts as a content community and businesses can use the Groups feature for common interests, social games, and a “What’s New” news feed to focus on meeting people with an “Everyone” tab, where users can see the updates and photos from anyone on Tagged, subject to their filters. Powerful recommendation algorithms back these features, deciding which 100 of 100 million users are recommended to users. 

In an effort to expand on services, Tagged acquired Digsby in 2011, allowing users to interact with social networks, webmail and instant messaging. Also realizing the key matchup in social and gaming, Tagged purchased WeGame to bolster their own gaming prowess. Both of these features make brands much more accessible, interactive, and fun.

How does it work?

Accessing Tagged can happen one of two ways: going to the website directly and registering for a free account, or by receiving an e-mail from someone in your contact list inviting you to join Tagged so you can see a friend's newly uploaded Tagged photo album.

After finishing the registration process, the user is brought to an interface similar to Myspace to fill out a personalized, public profile with a picture of himself or herself. Once that’s complete, they can begin using the following features:

• A journal which serves as a blog,
• Sending bulletins to friends,
• Games such as poker,
• Watching videos,
• Collecting "pets" (other users on the site) 

Businesses can network by sending invitations to other users based on information in their profiles. There is an opportunity to leave comments, wink, or offer Tagged "luv" as a sign of interest or promote new products and services.

For $20/month, a brand/business could upgrade to a VIP account, letting them see who’s viewing their profile. They can have access to more features by earning virtual "gold" for completing certain actions (such as answering a marketing survey), and then using that gold to buy digital gifts for their new friends. This informal engagement with friends will make for plenty of evangelists for your brand.

Integration with other social channels - It's mobile-friendly!

Since Tagged fought so hard to distinguish itself as a viable social network, there is no integration with other social channels outside of its recruiting email. This does not mean that a business cannot create an automated post or tweet mentioning how the user is interacting with the company on Tagged. The post/tweet uploads itself upon user registration if the user registers with Facebook or Twitter. 80 percent of Tagged members also use Facebook as an alternative service, so there is a good chance of a company “shout-out.” There was once hope that this overlap would allow for the two to grow in tandem, but Facebook simply overhauled the market share. 

Increasing mobile connectivity options and offerings for Tagged users was a major priority in 2011, and led to Tagged launching a new mobile website at http://m.tagged.com, and creating an Android app that further complimented Tagged products and services for consumers to meet new people on the Internet. This suite of mobile Tagged products lets users handle some essential features like friending and sending messages, as well as location-based, real-time chat, a redesigned user profile presentation, and a grid view for friends. Brands will now be accessible via mobile when the app is used.

In Kim-Mai Cutler’s article, Tagged Adds Some Great Features to its Mobile App, I found that Tagged’s usage leans more toward the mobile web and Android than the iPhone. Forty-six percent access the site through the web, 32 percent through Android and 28 percent through an iPhone, with some people using more than one method.

From a business perspective, Tagged profiles also offer more customization and allow users to engage in more personal and open behavior. This makes it a bit harder for a big corporate brand to break in, but it gives small personal businesses like personal trainers, media personalities, photographers, cosmetologists, and other businesses a place where the personality of the owner can contribute to the bottom line.

Sources:

Armstrong, M. 11 July 2011. “Tagged Adds Some Great Features to its Mobile App.” Mario Armstrong: TV Host, Digital Lifestyle Expert, & Entrepreneur. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

http://www.marioarmstrong.com/2011/11/07/tagged-adds-some-great-features-to-its-mobile-app/

Arrington, M. 19 Apr 2011. “Tagged Buys Popular Social/Instant Messaging Client Digsby.” Tech Crunch. Retrieved 28 June 2014. 

http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/19/tagged-buys-popular-socialinstant-messaging-client-digsby/

Chandler, N. (No Date). “How Tagged Works.” HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 28 June 2014. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/networks/tagged.htm

Cutler, K. 13 April 2011. “Social Network Tagged Adds Mobile Website, Touches Up Android, iOS Apps.” Inside Mobile Apps. Retrieved 1 July 2014. http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2011/04/13/social-network-tagged-adds-mobile-website-touches-up-android-ios-apps/

Hempel, J. and Lowry, T. 26 Feb 2006. “Who Says Money Can’t Buy Hipness?” Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2014.

http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-02-26/who-says-money-cant-buy-hipness

Tseng, G. 3 Jan 2011. “How a Startup Pivots: The Tagged Story (So Far).” Tech Crunch. Retrieved 28 June 2014.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/03/how-a-startup-pivots-the-tagged-story-so-far/

Wang, J. 20 Oct 2011. “How Tagged Made a Turnaround for Growth.” Entrepreneur. Retrieved 28 June 2014. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220449  

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"Carpe Cerevisi!" with Pintley

I'm a big fan of beer. Wait, let me rephrase - I'm a big fan of well crafted beer. I may have alluded to this before, but there's no harm in a reminder. This week in class, we covered industry-specific social networks, so imagine my delight to find an existing platform like "Pintley!" If you've never heard of it, it's a peer-to-peer network about craft beer.

The Boston-based beer website came to fruition in 2008 after co-founder Tim Noetzel spent time abroad immersed in European beer culture. The platform went public in 2010, targeting the beer lovers of the world by providing a space for users to write reviews and share recommendations. Pintley is also a tool of discovery - learning your tastes, suggesting other beers you'll love, and evolving your taste profile as you supply more information from your drinking experience. 

My Pintley Profile and Beer Recommendations

It's simplistic in appearance and only provides a numerical description. This is especially helpful for those who know little about varying brewing styles, hops, and tasting notes. Pintley clearly relays to consumers, "This, according to a lot of people, tastes good." 

Seems easy enough, right? What's more, its registration process is just as basic. You sign up with an email address or link it to your Facebook profile, log in and start rating beers. Pintley is an important platform mainly for its efforts to change how beer is marketed and sold, by leveraging both small craft brewers, established breweries, and well-known companies like Samuel Adams. On this platform, smaller brands are on the same playing field with big companies. The market share is spread more evenly. 

Overall, I think Pintley has their work cut out for them. There are a number of other similar beer sites and applications with information on local breweries that provide opportunities for discovery, recommendations and social features. On the other hand, Pintley is different from the rest, with its ambitious goal of creating "brand evangelists" who assist brewers build word-of-mouth marketing campaigns. I have a good feeling that if they can get more paying brewing companies to participate, there's a better chance of them standing out from the other players.  

We also talked about proximity marketing this week, and how marketers promote brands to highly targeted, on-location audiences via mobile device. The Pintley staff found a way to cater to consumers demanding products tailored to their tastes with a mobile application. Within the element of proximity marketing, they bring their online network to real-world settings by inviting users to rare beer events, like craft beer launch parties and free local tastings in major cities across the country. Their efforts create a win-win-win for the drinker, brewer, and bar. 

Pintley is much more than a consumer app. It's a content community. Its mobile application features a newsfeed, a Notes section where users can comment on beers and see what friends think, and a forum in which users can discuss any beer-related topic. While the app creates the possibility of consumers helping craft brewers with future product development, shareable social sites like Facebook and Twitter, work well alongside this platform with its integrated marketing communications efforts.

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Three's Company: An Analysis of Brands and their IMC

Whole Foods Market (WFM) is a leading natural and organic food store, with nearly 300 stores across North America and the United Kingdom. They have an integrated marketing approach as their social media strategy is built around their company website and additional platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest. WFM is often considered a role model for other brands after five years of having successfully executed their social media marketing plan.

They are successful for a number of reasons, but I'll list the four that I find most important:
1. Each social platform has its primary objective. For example, Twitter is primarily for customer service, questions, and requests. Meanwhile, Facebook is where WFM promotes products, engages and educates their customers. None of their platforms are neglected, as they see the value of each being used equally to build their brand image.

Whole Foods Market on Google+ pictured above;
WFM Facebook on lower left and WFM Twitter on lower right

2. WFM keeps messaging and imagery consistent across platforms, using the logo and a prepared food item in their photo covers (see right). Content is updated daily (almost hourly on Twitter) and they drive users mostly to their blog with links. Their hashtags include #WFMdish and #WFMwine, but are used sparingly.

3.  They prioritize the local component of each store. Community managers focus on being where the customers are. These individuals work to engage with customers on WFM's multiple platform accounts.

4. They believe customer engagement and conversation should occur as naturally as possible. They are good at social listening and are ready to apply new ideas from what they learn.

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It takes a lot for a company to admit struggling to determine ROI in their social media strategy. It speaks volumes, however, knowing they found a way to make an impact socially utilizing resources already available to them. That's exactly what The Home Depot did by creating the "social media store associate" position. This hybrid role is now three years old, and allows select staffers to be go-to experts and social media content creators two days a week. Through their use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest, they assist with media appearances on Home Depot's How-To Community, The Apron blog, the Garden Club and HomeDepot.com.

Everything is up to date as the platforms highlight Home Depot's current specials of "Red, White and Blue Savings," for the Fourth of July.  They're using this across all platforms, so the messaging and imagery is consistent. Similar to Whole Foods, The Home Depot pushes users through to their blog via links in Facebook and Twitter posts. Their hashtags, #SpringMadeSimple, #DIHWorkshop, and #StyleChallenge produce results on almost all platforms.

Home Depot Vine Video on Facebook

I was especially drawn to their visual platforms -- Vine, Pinterest and Instagram. On these platforms, users can find fun, vibrant videos, and lots of high resolution photos. But each channel has their distinct purpose. Vine is used as a quick educational/tutorial tool. Pinterest is aspirational with the best looking visual information, whereas their Instagram makes the user want to share in the experience. All in all, it's great to see Home Depot make the distinct move toward more visually focused platforms when consumer interest towards the ongoing trend of visual posts is increasing.




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"Unlike the majority of retailers that believe brand to fan engagement is the primary goal of social media, Amazon has always concentrated on personalizing the shopping experience," says Wade Gerten, CEO of 8thBridge, Inc. Out of the three brands I've researched, Amazon is the only one that is almost exclusively promotional on all of its social media platforms. They take an integrated approach, having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and LinkedIn. All of these channels are consistent in messaging and imagery as they currently advertise "the first smartphone designed by Amazon #firephone."

Facebook is the network with the most up to date content, with Instagram and Twitter in close second. Their newsfeed on Google+ is heavy with promotional information about electronics like headphones, watches, and other gadgets. Amazon's use (or lack thereof) of Pinterest was really surprising and saddening. As the photo below shows, they only maintain 18 boards - many of them old - and a little over 800 pins.

Amazon Pinterest header 

Besides #firephone (or any hashtag promoting a new product of theirs), their use of hashtags is inconsistent across platforms. Amazon doesn't drive users to their other social channels. Rather, any consumer interactions that happen on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest drive significant sales to its online retailer site to make a purchase.

Some would argue that Amazon has missed the boat on social media, but their incorporation of social elements into its own site cannot be overlooked. They make it easy for shoppers to share products with their friends with a Like button, Tweet button, Pinterest Pin-it button, Google+1 button, and an Email A Friend button on its product pages. Additionally, Amazon gives customers with Facebook-connected accounts to see reviews written by their Facebook connections. By use of crowd sourcing, Amazon is making efforts to personalize the consumer's shopping experience.

Sources:
Schoultz, M. (No Date). "How Whole Foods Marketing Uses Social Media to be a Difference Maker." Digital Sparks Marketing. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
http://www.digitalsparkmarketing.com/creative-marketing/social-media/whole-foods-marketing/

Stambor, Zak. 5 Dec 2013. "How Social is Amazon?" Internet Retailer: Portal to E-Commerce Intelligence. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/12/05/how-social-amazon

Zmuda, Natalie. 29 Sept 2011. "Home Depot's Social Media Strategy Pays Off." Advertising Age. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
http://adage.com/article/special-report-social-media-guide/home-depot-s-social-media-strategy-pays/229865/

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