Under the influencers

 

I don't know if the person I follow is considered an influencer. Kristen Hampton Good News is a popular online personality. I am a subscriber of her "Sidesprouts" group. However, she does not do any paid endorsements. She tests products that she buys with her own money and she raises lots of money from her followers for charities. So, while she's influential, she's not marketing other people's products for profit. She does make money from FB ads, stars, and subscriptions. That said, I definitely purchased the Vidalia onion chop wizard after seeing her use it all the time and  I have no regrets. They should definitely send her a check.

I've noticed a lot of this type of marketing on TikTok. And it often comes up as a trending video.  Commercials don't reach me because we no longer have cable. And when we did, we recorded everything to watch later without commercials. Now we subscribe to commercial-free services. So, I'm seeing content I would have never seen before. YouTube is another place where I've started seeing actual commercials. Their ad content is much more aggressive than in the past, I suspect we will start seeing a lot more TV-like commercials there since you can't skip them.

Companies choose influencers who have the demographics that they are trying to reach. It gives them an opportunity to break into a huge audience with much less money and effort. And, likely, with far greater success. They play a huge role--particularly when you think about the sheer number of people GLOBALLY that they can reach.

Advertising through an influencer puts a bit of distance between the consumer and the brand because the company is using the influencer's brand/personality to lend credence to their product. It's no longer a famous celebrity pushing you to buy shampoo in a commercial produced by the shampoo seller. Now, someone that people already know, trust, and follow -- is reaching them in a way that they like to be reached. It feels less like a sales pitch. That distance, gives an added level of credibility, too. And it feels authentic.

Tiger's Big Adventure

I'm writing this blog post about Tampa International Airport as a Blizzard rages outside. I'm pretty sure I chose it because while I'm excited for the Blizzard and the fun snow, I desperately long for warm sand on my toes. Their Facebook page is promoting $35 one-way flights from PVD now through March 16. But, more than that, the page promotes events and continues to highlight the Airport's commitment to customer service. The pinned post is the Sunflower Lanyard program which promotes services available for hidden disabilities. A program that's only been adopted by a handful of U.S. airports. It seems customer service is at the core of the airport's values and Tiger's Big Adventure was not an unusual occurrence.

Tiger's Big Adventure reached far beyond the target audience--which was anyone who would travel through Tampa. Their aim to highlight exceptional customer service went far beyond service and struck a chord at a human level. Most people have had a beloved toy or blanket as a child--this content was so relatable as a parent and people were quickly able to connect to how that child must have felt. 

It brought people across the globe together in conversation. It humanized a giant corporation in a way that everyone could relate to. People shared their own experiences with the airport and the social media managers sat back and let the conversation grow organically.

I don't think there is anything more that could have been done. I don't think the airport ever thought that this story would garner the attention that it did either. 

 References

Tale of tiger's big adventure highlights airport's commitment to customer service - The Shorty Awards. (2022). Retrieved 29 January 2022, from https://shortyawards.com/8th/boy-leaves-stuffed-tiger-at-tpa-returns-to-a-tale-of-tigers-big-adventure-see-more-at-httpww

Recycling my blog for school

 I'm not so sure people are reading blogs anymore. If you're still following this blog - I finally got pregnant and had a baby. :-) 

Hi SNHU classmates!

For work, we use Adobe Workfront to manage all of our projects. I'm a copywriter for a health insurance company. I live in this application for most of the workday. It is a complete list of tasks that are due, tracks time spent on tasks, and is our lifeline.

I use Google as a search engine and use it more times than I could count in a day. I also visit a variety of local and national news outlets each day. I also listen to books via my local library's app called Overdrive.

As for social media, Instagram is a fun way to share pictures and short videos. It tends to have a more upbeat vibe than Facebook, but it's not as easy to keep in touch with people. I find it less interactive and more of a place to consume media rather than connect with others. I visit a couple of times a day.

TikTok is an entertaining, time-sucking black hole. You dip a toe in, and the next thing you know you've watched 47 clips of who-knows-what. It's not a place that I post, but I'm definitely doing my fair share of watching. I may, or may not, have tried some of the dances. And, I am fascinated by that dairy farmer who has walk-up automatic milking machines. I must say, while I love cheese and milk, I had tried to buy less of it because I thought it was a cruel practice. While, that might be true in a small number of cases, this guy as really educated me. I have no idea what his user name is, but I'm sure you've all seen him. 

Facebook is really the only place where I regularly contribute content. It's a good way to keep in touch with friends and family.  I'm 44, so I'm basically in their sweet spot demographic-wise. 

Apparently, I'll be blogging again.  The last blog entry I made was in July 2016... does anyone still blog? I have a caring bridge from when I had cancer that I update periodically, but that's not quite the same thing. Blogging was really hot in the like 2010ish... now people are vlogging and podcasting. Which leads me to...

Spotify is my little bff. We listen to music together -- she knows just what I like. Dykey folk music like the Indigo Girls and Ani Difranco. We spend a lot of time listening to podcasts. I'm currently obsessed with And That's Why We Drink, which is new to me, but not new at all.  It came out in 2017 and is half true crime and half paranormal stories. 

Gmail and Hangouts/Gchat are also mainstays in my series of recurring browser tabs. And, to be fair, I probably visit Amazon a couple of times a day, too. I receive so many marketing emails. My inbox is an overwhelming place and my amazing wife will often go in there and clean it out for me. There is just too much stuff in there. I've unsubscribed from a lot of things, but I need to clean out a lot more. 

Ironically, I write the kinds of emails that go to people's inboxes to die. I mean, I hope they read them, but given my own inbox situation, I think I'm being realistic.

It's astounding how granular digital media and marketing can get. So much, that at times it feels creepy and intrusive. I swear that sometimes you'll mention something out loud only to find that Facebook is serving it up in your feed later that day. And, how Amazon will tease you all day long, on every site you visit, just begging you to buy that thing you were looking at earlier. Is it helpful? Intrusive? A little of both, I think. Definitely bad for my wallet!