Social Media Monitoring Project - Part I

CAYMANKIND

February and March are considered peak season for many tropical destinations where the “snowbirds” head south near the equator to escape the doldrums of winter. The Cayman Islands, referred to as “Cayman” by the locals, is one of those places where you can dip your toes in the warm turquoise waters, while soaking up the sun. They are located in the western Caribbean, south of Cuba, and are made up of three islands; Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Cayman is a British territory with tourism and banking as part of the main industries that support their “tax free” country. They are recognized as one of the top diving destinations in the world — it’s the birthplace of recreational diving. With a total population of about 60,000 residents, with the majority of them residing on Grand Cayman (50,000), it’s a dream lover’s paradise. The islands cater to tourists offering adventurous water sports, exquisite dining with a variety of cuisines to suit any appetite, golfing, nature, shopping, nightlife, and wellness.

EMBRACING THE GROUNDSWELL
The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism has embraced the groundswell of social media reaching out to followers using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. Below is a current summary of their followers per social media channel.

Cayman Tourism uses their channels by promoting hotels, restaurants, events, things to do, and deals to encourage their followers to engage, book a trip and share with their friends and followers. The majority of the comments received are people tagging their friends with comments such as “Let’s go away again” or “Where is this?” Cayman Tourism has dedicated resources to listen, talk, energize, and support the Groundswell. They respond to questions asked, encourage followers to share their photos and memories, energize them by using the powerful “word of mouth” modality, and support them by providing suggestions and tools needed for a tailored Cayman vacation.



Each channel has some crossover in terms of content shared especially among Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Their YouTube videos are highly produced, commercial style spots that serve as advertising campaigns for the islands. The majority of the videos run about 30 seconds to a minute long. However, there are a few longer, feature videos that run approximately five minutes and have very low viewership compared to the shorter spots. This proves that people’s attention spans are getting shorter and shorter and they want to have an impression made within the first few seconds. The number of views range based on topic — 500+ views, 4,000 views, and up to 214,000 views — the highest views may be a result of an integrated media campaign vs. grass roots marketing.

The Cayman Tourism Pinterest account comprises of 19 boards with a range of topics: weddings, beaches, Pirate Week, places to stay, sister islands, wildlife, events, food, your next vacation, and more. It’s a great resource that serves as an alternative online vacation planner.

TRANSLATING THE DATA
According to Google Trends, the user rate has been pretty steady over the past 12 months with a spike of activity in September. The peak could be attributed to Hurricane Irma as she devastated many islands in the Caribbean and South Florida during that timeframe. Interest is the Cayman Islands is global with high concentrations in U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, India, South America, and South Africa. Social Mention’s real-time analysis proves that the brand has an online strength of 27% with a 33% reach and a mention every two minutes. This could increase as it becomes more of a sought-after destination for recreational travel. There is a lot of competition in the Caribbean for vacationers to choose from. The Cayman Islands are expensive, yet safe however they offer little to no all-inclusive options for the thrifty traveler like nearby Jamaica, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic. 

WHO ARE THEY TALKING TO?
Caymankind is an approach to life and the experience of Caymanian culture. Cayman Tourism authentically tells this story through photos and videos. Based on the discovery, Cayman Tourism’s target audience is varied from amateur and experienced scuba divers to honeymooners and families. The images and videos posted target all ages and interests of their audience-base. They achieve this by varying topics each day as to not exclude anyone. Conversationalists and joiners appear to make up the majority of the social technographics profile for Cayman Tourism. However, joiners and spectators are most likely part of their profile as well.

Rich media showcases Cayman’s abyss and targets divers to visit and explore their underwater landscape while family photos of children holding the baby turtles the turtle farm draws you in. If there is a teenager or young adult visiting Cayman, then Stingray City is the place for an adrenaline rush. Couples, parents, and seniors can relax on one of the many beautiful beaches to reconnect with each other and disconnect from life. At the end of the day it will be a difficult decision where to dine — there are too many restaurants to choose from, so they will have to return one day to sample them all!

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Cayman Tourism is doing many things right based on what we’ve learned from the Groundswell. In Part II of the project, it will be interesting to see how they compare to competitors such as Bermuda or Turks and Caicos, which are also British Territories in the Caribbean.

Reflection Post #2: Self Esteem Project

Dove is more than soap. Dove has built its brand and products around skin care and the beauty industry. Over the past decade, their focus has shifted from cleansing to self-image targeting audiences of all ages. Why? The beauty industry focuses on perfect looking people. We feel the pressure of society to look a certain way which causes a great deal of anxiety. Dove started a campaign targeting girls because low body confidence and anxieties keep younger people from being their best selves.

Dove’s Self Esteem Project is a great example of a brand that energizes the groundswell by having a conversation with mothers, teachers, children, and youth leaders. This marketing tactic transformed Dove’s original brand and evolved it into something that resonates in today’s complex world. Adweek researches thousands of brands and praises Dove for doing an amazing job. Through transparent and genuine storytelling, asking questions, and providing useful resources, Dove has built a robust and strong social media community. Dove also targets young girls, which is a genius marketing strategy, because they will become part of their loyal consumer-base when they become teens and adults. 

Dove’s Self Esteem Project was also recently recognized as one of the “Top 30 Brands with an Excellent Social Media Strategy,” by Econsultancy. Talking with groundswell versus shouting at them encourages women of all ages to join in the conversation and share their stories through comments, videos, and selfies. It empowers every woman to see their own individual beauty.

We learned that one of the three techniques for energizing enthusiasts is creating a community through social media. People can openly comment on their products by giving them reviews and honest feedback using word of mouth marketing. There are so many beauty products out there so hearing consumers’ honest and genuine feedback with their product reviews influences our decision to try something new. Especially when the people giving the feedback are people like you and me.

As Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff advised, you should only dive into the community groundswell if you have enough resources to manage the community and engage with them. As we delve into Dove’s social media community, you will notice that not every story, video, or post is well-received. Some of the critics and conversationalists have viewed the campaigns as racist. Race is a very sensitive subject, so it relies on the right person to manage and engage with their community in a genuine manner, as well as asking for forgiveness at times.

Beauty is a state of mind. Dove creates real products for real women to help them feel good about themselves. 

"For more than 10 years, we’ve been helping parents, mentors, teachers, and youth leaders deliver self-esteem education that’s reached more than 20 million young people so far. Join us to help reach even more.”

Dove Facebook | Dove Instagram | Dove YouTube 

Original Post #2: Southern Charm

We all know Reese Witherspoon as the adorable southern actress who has portrayed characters close to her southern roots in films such as Sweet Home Alabama and Walk the Line. Did you all know about Reese’s newest venture? She is the founder of Draper James, a lifestyle store that allows you to splash Southern charm into your everyday life whether it be your wardrobe or home no matter where you live. Reese was born in Louisiana and grew up in Nashville, a true southern belle where her grandparents influenced her southern graciousness — from manners and dressing in her Sunday best to acting like a lady and being kind to her neighbors.

Reese’s marketing and use of social media is one-of-a-kind using an integrated approach with YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Her authenticity, brand, and charm runs contagiously through her Draper James’ merchandise. It will even make the tried and true “Yankee” want to be southern for a day. Through Draper James, we get a glimpse into Reese’s life, family values, and upbringing. Her transparent and authentic storytelling draws us in. And let’s talk about the details. From her clothing and packaging to her storefronts, southern charm is infused throughout making it a strong, desirable brand to the consumer. It inspires us to be a lady, put on our pearls, smile, and be polite to one another.

In today’s world, we log onto social media and the Web to find more unsettling news regarding the current state of the U.S. and the world in which we live in. Following a brand like Draper James on social media gives us a mental pause from the negative publicity, bringing us back to happier times and life’s simplicity.

Reese knows her audience and how to reach women of all ages. Draper James uses multiple platforms to achieve the Groundswell — 201k Facebook followers, 479k Instagram followers, thousands of YouTube views, and 17.6 Twitter followers. However, even Reese Witherspoon struggles with social media. One of her recent videos is a humorous spin on how her Apple iphone autocorrects her southern accent.

Her posts often feature new styles and products to purchase. What’s remarkable is her sales strategy. It is done in such a way that makes you want to buy her merchandise so you can feel as happy, ladylike and as carefree as Reese. She and her family members are often the people that appear modeling the Draper James merchandise. Even her beloved pooch is part of her campaign – who can resist that? 

Reese Witherspoon’s southern charm is so infectious that even Southern Living wants to share her secrets.

Reflection Post #1: Well Played

In the spirit of Super Bowl Sunday and Patriots’ Greatest of All Time, I thought my reflection post would feature Tom Brady’s new Facebook Watch series, Tom vs. Time. This six-part reality web series, welcomes fans and curiosity-seekers into his home and personal life. These 15-minute intimate vignettes provide a window into his life from his training regimen, role as a husband, dad and family
man to a friend who enjoys downtime and fun with his teammates.

Is timing everything? The first episode aired on January 25, 2018 just a few days after New England clinched another AFC Championship Title. In Groundswell, we learn about the strategies and four-step planning process of social media – people, objectives, strategy, and technology. So, why Facebook Watch vs. YouTube? You have to give the producers credit that they selected one medium to showcase this documentary. Facebook has a large, varied demographic audience but why wouldn’t they have selected multiple platforms to enlist more spectators and conversationalists? I applaud them for being so confident from a marketing and social media perspective. Then again, he’s Tom Brady and he’s married to Gisele Bündchen. Both of them combined have extremely strong brands with thousands and thousands of followers and millions of likes.

The series was created by Gotham Chopra who directs and executive produces the show. Not every scene is professionally produced in the documentary style of Chopra. Footage from Tom’s smartphone is spliced in throughout, proving that real and raw footage can tell a story just as well, especially on social media platforms. It gives the user what they crave.

This week, we learned about the consumer groups that fall on Groundwell’s social technologies ladder. I think this series tapped into many of the consumer groups that fall on the social technologies ladder from creators and joiners to inactives. Because Facebook was the platform of choice, I imagine that the largest group it reached were the joiners. Conversationalists also seem to play a big part of the dynamic — they engage, post comments, and share through their feeds. Even spectators who don’t have Facebook accounts can enjoy the show if they have a friend willing to share or simply finding it through a news source on Google — ah, the power of the Groundswell.

I hear the last episode will air after the big game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the ending Patriots Nation hoped for.