Google+ opens for business

Google + just launched pages for business in a hope that it will create a richer experience for users, in turn driving more users to use the service. So far Google+ has focused on connecting people with other people. But we want to make sure you can build relationships with all the things you care about—from local businesses to global brands—so today we’re rolling out Google+ Pages worldwide.

People + pages, better together 
Google+ has always been a place for real-life sharing, and Google+ Pages is no exception. For you and me, this means we can now hang out live with the local bike shop, or discuss our wardrobe with a favorite clothing line, or follow a band on tour. Google+ pages give life to everything we find in the real world. And by adding them to circles, we can create lasting bonds with the pages (and people) that matter most.For businesses and brands, Google+ pages help you connect with the customers and fans who love you. Not only can they recommend you with a +1, or add you to a circle to listen long-term. They can actually spend time with your team, face-to-face-to-face. All you need to do is start sharing, and you’ll soon find the super fans and loyal customers that want to say hello.

A number of pages are already available (see below), but any organization will soon be able to join the community at plus.google.com/pages/create.

Direct Connect from Google search
People search on Google billions of times a day, and very often, they’re looking for businesses and brands. Today’s launch of Google+ Pages can help people transform their queries into meaningful connections, so we’re rolling out two ways to add pages to circles from Google search. The first is by including Google+ pages in search results, and the second is a new feature called Direct Connect.Maybe you’re watching a movie trailer, or you just heard that your favorite band is coming to town. In both cases you want to connect with them right now, and Direct Connect makes it easy—even automatic. Just go to Google and search for [+], followed by the page you’re interested in (like +Angry Birds). We’ll take you to their Google+ page, and if you want, we’ll add them to your circles.

Source: Google+ official blog

#BakeAndWin campaign encourages fans to bake and win prizes

Linking to the National Baking Week, we are launching a “Bake and Win” campaign on Facebook and Twitter for our client Steenbergs Organics. The 10 days long campaign encourages fans to take part in the national initiative and offers them an opportunity to win a luxury organic Chocolate Cake Baking Box by Steenbergs Organics.

For the Facebook campaign we partnered with GreenKiddie.co.uk, the “green” parenting website, to host the competition on their Facebook Page and encourage mums who love organic and home-made food to take part. Users upload a photo of their home-baked cakes and cookies on Facebook and invite friends via share functionality. Friends can then vote for their preferred photo, so the entry with most votes wins.

The Twitter campaign utilises the Instagram tool by tasking fans to upload a photo of their home-baked cakes using a #bakeandwin.

Great engagement and positive word-of-mouth for Steenbers Organics with lots of baking and prizes for fans. What a better way to celebrate the National Baking Week?

Twitter Parties and Online Engagement

Everyone is talking about it – the successful Twitter Party! But what the fuss is all about?

The so called Twitter Parties are innovative, highly influential and fun virtual parties, using the Twitter platform. A recent Social Media trend the Twitter conversation is grouped around a topic hashtag, sponsored or led by a brand. It discusses a selected topic, providing the audience an opportunity to interact with the brand in real time, ask questions, share tips and potentially win a prize.

Usually it has a party host as well as expert panellists and / or brand representative. As an option, the #hashtag conversation could be run by an influential blogger within the target audience, where the brand partners with the blogger, sponsoring the online event. Small prizes are usually used as additional stimuli for online interaction.

Twitter users tweet with a specified hashtag (#) for the party in order to discuss the selected and pre-announced a topic of choice. The rest of the twitter users use the hashtag in order to search and join the conversation

We are now planning another exiting Twitter Party #back2schooltips engaging with mums to share their tips about making the Back to School euphoria less stressful and more enjoyable – for both parents and kids. The party is planned for end of August and will be hosted by @GreenKiddie. So if you are an eco-friendly brand with products or services suitable to the topic, and are interested in taking part in the Twitter Party, please get in touch not later than 14th August. There are various way to take part – from just supplying a prize to sponsoring/ owning the Twitter Party.

What it means for the brands

So far many Twitter parties have been trending on Twitter, making their way to the top trends and increasing significantly the brand online visibility. At >incite we’ve run successful Twitter Parties for brands like BornFree (#colic-free) and Graco Baby (#kidstravelsafe).

The key benefits for a brand are:

-       Minimal investment/ maximum impact

-       Twitter parties are an excellent way to drive awareness to your products or introduce new ones, start a conversation about your niche, or get better acquainted with an enthusiastic group of people

-       When hosted by an influential mummy blogger within the target community, such as greenkiddie, you will benefit from a “mum-to-mum” approach, already built and established online community members and message credibility (i.e. word-of-mouth)

To discuss your involvement as a brand, please email Nataliya at nataliya (at) incite-marketing(.)co(.)uk