Social Media Marketing for Cat Lovers: Jackson Galaxy & The Power of Online Product Reviews

As a marketer, I always scour reviews online before I purchase any product or service. However, I seem to find more and more legitimate product reviews through Facebook pages. I'm an animal lover and love my kitties! I have an older rescue cat who has been having some health issues, specifically skin and allergy problems. She's been in and out of the vet for other health problems, including a pricey dental cleaning. She's been itching and biting her fur a lot which has worried me so I went right to the source, the Cat Daddy himself, Jackson Galaxy. Jackson is an awesome animal behaviorist who appears on the Animal Channel ("My Cat From Hell" show). I follow his Facebook page and check out his page for helpful hints about cats, especially concerning cat health issues. As a result, I stumbled upon his natural holistic health products that cat owners really praised. Wow, their personal product testimonials really caught my attention! Jackson merely posted a link to his Spiritual Essence products on his Facebook page. His fans couldn't say enough great things about a particular product (the one I ended up purchasing).

I'm not trying to talk you into using natural health products (a very personal decision) for your pets, but my story shows that online product reviews and testimonials are powerful tools. Testimonials from your fans base/customers can easily help you market services and products - without really trying.

 As a result of the rave reviews and browsing through the site (a holistic DMV/vet and Jackson created the product line together so there is a medical/vet backing to the products), I bought two of his natural remedies for my rescue cat, fluffy Blue Eyes. Why did I buy these particular products, especially when there are tons of other brands and cat health remedies I could buy? Because of his active Facebook page AND the genuine testimonials/rave reviews from every day cat owners like myself who are experiencing the same health/skin allergy issues with their cats. My kitty is a "senior" cat so it was even more comforting to know that these cat owners have found success with his products. Yes, I paid more than I normally would  but as someone who personally believes in the power of holistic remedies, I feel it's well-worth the investment if it's a good product AND helps my cat feel better.

The moral of the marketing story? If you have a loyal fan base on your social media and they love your products/services, let your fans do the talking (and the reviewing of your products and services) for you. Obviously, Jackson Galaxy has a HUGE following from cat lovers and owners from around the world BUT my personal experience shows the strength of his brand. People trust and believe in his cat/animal behavior advice, knowledge and his products. Jackson Galaxy is another example of a successful branding and marketing story! 

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jackson's products and hopefully, the remedies do the trick for itchy, scratchy Blue Eyes! :) 

Taco Bell Nose Dives With Freebie Taco Offer on Facebook

Poor Taco Bell. Despite the fact that Taco Bell is a household name around the country, their freebie taco offer on Facebook flopped.

Where did Taco Bell go wrong? Out of 6 million Facebook fans, only 3% actually took Facebook up on their offer. Not good, Taco Bell. 

Why would people take Taco Bell up on their offer when they already offer 99 cent tacos? You only have to turn on the TV; their ads are all over the place. So what's the problem? Exclusivity. Big deal - a free taco. But what if it was a brand-spankin' new taco that Taco Bell just launched? Aw, that might be the ticket, Taco Bell. Exclusivity captures people's attention - who wants to eat what everyone else eats? 

With these hot summer temps, no one wants to get in their car and drive over to Taco Bell to claim their taco (AND waste paper by printing out the free voucher). They didn't make it easy for their customers/fans. No thanks - I wouldn't waste my time either -- not to mention it costs more in gas to drive over to Taco Bell than the taco is actually worth.

Taco Bell didn't make it easy for customers to claim their freebie AND they didn't offer an exclusive freebie. I hope Taco Bell hires new marketing people, or revises their Facebook marketing strategies...and SOON! 

 

 

Does Your Social Media Make the Grade? How to Measure Your OnlinePresence

You post on a daily basis, blog your heart out, and are right on target with your social media. However, have you measured your results lately? Is your social media campaign really working for you?
How does your social media presence measure up to other users out there? The following "grading" apps allow you to check-in with your social media. How well does your company come across to the public? How you could improve your key message points via social media?  These tools are an effective way to gauge your online presence - what's working and what areas could stand improvement.
According to Twitter Grader, I scored 93 out of 100 on my Twitter profile - not too shabby. I must be doing something right with my tweets. Another quirky Twitter app is TweetValue. My profile rounded out to be a whopping $503. Google ranks at the top of their stats at over $166 million - go figure.
For Facebook users, check out Facebook Grader. Facebook Grader takes into consideration a little bit of everything. If you don't fill out your profile accurately or don't have a lot of Friends on your list, points are docked.
For publicists and marketers (or anyone who wants to check the relevancy/accuracy of their press releases), add Press Release Grader to your marketing tools. The grader searches for how well keywords are optimized, language and content, inclusion of links, etc. For copywriters such as myself, it's a handy tool to have in their back cyber pockets.
Other helpful tools for website and blog analysis are Website Grader and Blog Grader.  If you don't have time, you can check out all your accounts at once - Social Grader hits the big ones (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn).
The apps mentioned above are FREE and easy to use. Most of these apps (excluding TweetValue) are created by Hubspot, an excellent resource for social media tools and information and one of many favorites on my bookmark list.