Li and Bernoff's Chapter 11 on how connecting with the groundswell can transform a company is literally textbook for how fans interact with their teams and favorite players on a daily basis.
Every professional sports team has a twitter handle and the use of the hashtag is direct access for not only the fan but the team themselves.
Television programs use it as well - especially during sporting events! Have a comment about today's game use the hashtag .... to share with us your thoughts.
Ezekiel Elliott ran for 153 yards vs. Penn State, his FBS-leading 12th consecutive 100-yard game. pic.twitter.com/CjnSUvnhJs
Even colleges and universities use these mediums to ask questions, fact find and do market research. Sometimes, they even allow you to ask questions of specific high profile individuals using these hashtags and twitter questions, like they do at the University of Florida.
However, never before what is best described as an job posting on Twitter. The University of Florida has scheduled an open tryout for students to earn the job as the kicker on the football team.
All Call for Kickers! #Gators are looking for walk-on kickers. Visit the football office today by 4:30 PM to sign up for a tryout.
The Gators are one of the country's premier athletics programs and have won multiple national championships. They are ranked in the top 25 this season but a rash of injuries have left them with out a placekicker for a portion of the season. With nowhere else to turn the football program turned to the student body for help.
Talk about transforming your company! A kicker, while often mocked and ridiculed by some observers, play a crucial role in football contests. Just ask the Patriots with Adam Vinatieri delivering them two of their four Super Bowl titles with game-winning kicks.
With tens of millions of dollars on the line in big-time college football, someone who the football program had no clue even existed most likely until this week, could be the difference in playing for a national championship and the fame and glory that comes with it or the infamy and heartache that goes with not because of a kicking snafu.
At last check, more than 200 students (and 1 Gator named Albert) have signed up for the open tryout and a decision on who their kicker will be will come in the next week as they prepare to face their biggest rival, Georgia in Jacksonville on Halloween.
Beats Electronics is the brainchild of musician Dr. Dre and music executive Jimmy Iovine and was launched in Fall of 2008.
That duo capitalized on a market that was devoid of any real front runner and immediately began producing headphones and speakers.
Initially they were owned by Monster Cables, Inc and even for a time by Taiwanese smartphone developer, HTC.
However, in 2014, the company was acquired by Apple for $3 billion in a cash and stock deal that is the largest acquisition in Apple history.
The thing that Beats does that seems so simple, is marry a music lover with his or her own music in a way that they can still express themselves outwardly.
Whether you are punk-rock kid from the grunge scene in Seattle or a hip-hop wannabe from Brooklyn, Beats work for you.
Where they have really cornered the market, however, is with professional athletes. To prepare for a long grinding season or to find that spot mentally to play the upcoming game, athletes often times revert to music to get them into that "zone." Beats has used that opportunity perfectly as their marketing campaigns continue to show athletes and their quest for not only greatness but their search for that pregame zone.
Amazingly, over 8 million people like Beats by Dre on facebook! And the interaction is fantastic among their followers and the social media managers who oversee the site. For instance, a video they posted on their page about a month ago has been viewed more than 6 million times. That video, which is a little more than three minutes long, has more than 18,000 shares.
Twitter:
With close to a million followers, Beats by Dre is an extremely popular Twitter handle and its pretty active. They are posting four times a day like clockwork and it is a mix of topics. From promoting a product launch to incredible images of individuals using beats by dre in a variety of ways, they use the hastags and twitter handles effectively to get the maximum amount of reach.
Beats by Dre actually takes a que from Li and Bernoff by "listening to the groundswell" on their Twitter account. Last week the world was going crazy for the Chicago Cubs and their hope that this would be the year they win the World Series. Beats by Dre wasted no time jumping into the fray with a perfectly timed tweet:
Instagram:
This such a powerful medium and Beats by Dre knows this and takes full advantage with the intense and intimate photos they share with their more than two million followers. Regardless of the platform, their themes stay the same - athletes looking for that zone and Beats by Dre's willingness to show that their products are a part of everyday life.
The specific area of the company that I have targeted is the New Beats Pill - a portable wireless speaker that has - similar to their headphones - helped change the way people listen to music. It is featured prominently on all their social media platforms and on their website.
The Recall:
It was determined that the Pill XL might be a fire hazard and it was decided by Apple and Beats to do a recall. As we have seen in the past, with companies like Volkswagen, not being up front can be
devastating to your brand. Beats and Apple incorporated Apple support to assist with recall questions and issues in addition to staying engaged on all of their social media platforms.
Recalls and returns are a true test to a companies commitment to their customer base and companies like LL Bean have thrived on that commitment since they were founded. Beats and Apple are trying to provide that same kind of customer loyalty as can be seen in this Facebook interaction from October 7.
Pill Facebook:
Introducing Beats Pill+ We dare you to turn it on and hear for yourself. #NewBeatsPill For more info & to sign up to get notified when released go to beats.is/NewBeatsPill
Posted by Beats by Dre on Wednesday, October 7, 2015
What Google Trends shows is that when the Pill launched, activity spiked really high as the word-of-mouth spread about the Pill's performance. Even still, more than a week after its launch they chatter has stayed around more than it did previously.
When compared against what most would consider its chief rival - the Bose Wave or SoundLink, the Pill is being discussed more than I believe they could have hoped for. They were running neck and neck for an extended period and then the launch and the huge spike surrounding that launch.
Social Mention:
The image on the left is for last week and the image on the right is for the last month. As you can see, the last doesn't quite have the same reach or strength as last week and that could partly be due to the launch being so far away. Also, the negative comments are there and can't be ignored. The first version of the Pill is going through a massive recall for a fire hazard but even still, I thought this report would include more negative comments.
Conclusion:
They are almost as recognizable as the white earbuds that helped define a generation nearly a decade ago. Beats headphones have taken over as the primary form of personalized music listening by marrying not only the world of music but by incorporating celebrities and their music routines as they go about their everyday life. And now their portable music player is attempting to do the same.
However, I would like to see the following when it comes to the Pill: Truly identify a target audience. At nearly $300 dollars, clearly the teenager and college student aren't who they are focusing on with this product unlike the headphones. When you do that, you take away a huge population of music listeners. Is it the hip urban millennial who wants a minimalist feel? Whoever they are, I would like to see the same kind of campaign that developed with the headphones to come with the Pill.
Back in the late 1980s , the Back to the Future movie series took hold as everyone's favorite nerdy older brother, Alex P. Keaton (or Michael J. Fox), transformed into Marty McFly, the central figure in a movie trilogy that grossed nearly a billion dollars.
One the most famous scenes in the second movie of the series sends present day (1989) McFly into the future (2015) looking at a hologram of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2015.
Amazingly, the movie, which was released in 1989, has the chance to be proven correct. The Chicago Cubs are in the Major League Playoffs for the first time in eight years and with the Back To The Future coincidence fresh in everyone's minds, the Cubs have become America's team. The fact that they haven't won a World Series since 1908 helps as America is known to be a country that loves to pull for the underdog.
And better believe, as the groundswell of support enraptures the Cubs, they have taken full advantage of the opportunity through their social media channels. Remember, I always talk about engagement with sports and fans and social media platforms are the best way to do so. Sometimes, however, it isn't the fans, its their own players who do all the talking that needs to be done.
Li and Bernoff went in depth in chapter ten about how Twitter can be your best vehicle to discover new contest and be your best way to spread your brand image through word of mouth.
First, the wife of Cubs reliever Travis Wood shares her experience of being on the field with her husband after a win:
How about Anthony Rizzo, star first baseman, sharing the moment his worked so hard for with the people who have been by his side the longest, his parents:
So when co-creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis crafted part two of this series did they not it would have this far reaching effect so many years later? Probably not. That hasn't stopped Cubs fans and now the groundswell of casual fans from latching on hoping that a movie made nearly 30 years ago could have been the catalyst to help push the Cubs over the top?
At this point, the jury on whether the Cubs win the World Series is still out but if your a fan of Chicago's North Side team, odds are you are willing to grab onto any glimmer of hope. After all, you have been waiting for this to happen since 1908.
I decided to take a step away from sports and all of its excitement in this post. Maybe its because I'm coming off a sick spell that zapped energy out of me or maybe its because this topic is one that hits pretty close to home for obvious reasons. Or maybe because it was when I read chapters 9 and 10 (OK, most of 9 & 10) It was the first thing that jumped into my head.
For me, I have to believe that Li and Bernoff were amazed by how effectively the #BlackLivesMatter Movement used the Groundswell to mobilize and confront an issue they they thought needed to be brought to the forefront of the American consciousness. First off it begins with a hashtag! And since Champtenr 10 is how to tap the groundswell using twitter, it seemed to be a perfect marriage. While facebook has its advantages of reaching a different kind of demographic, ttwitter seems to be the most effective, instantaneous way to bring the groundswell together and keep them informed.
After all, a groundswell is a buildup of opinion or feeling in a large segment of the population. And this movement is definitely that. It's amazing really, when you think of it. A mobilization of this kind, truly has no face, no true leader, just individuals gathering together and really pushing their agenda.
Think about it, when the #BlackLivesMatter movement makes news, the same person isn't in front of the camera or releasing a statement to the media, its almost a faceless movement that swept up our country and its being done almost exclusively through social media.
Their social media profiles are growing by the day but at last count there are more than 70,000 followers on Twitter and simple search in facebook will bring up arms of the organization from Saint Paul, Minn. to Phoenix, Ariz. and several stops in between.
Nationally, they have made their way into the Presidential candidates consciousness. First they made their way on to stage at a Bernie Sanders event in Seattle and even had Hilary Clinton discussing it at a town hall event.
Their effects are so far reaching, there have been spinoffs - first it was #AllLivesMatter, now even local police departments have stated their case.
And now, one of televisions most watched primetime shows will take a look at some of the things that people believe started the movement with what is being considered a groundbreaking episode. Law & Order:SVU will air an episode where an unarmed African-American male was murdered by police officers and will deal with the repercussions that come along with it.
While the topic isn't the easiest to talk about for some and even more difficult for others, the impact of #BlackLivesMatter will not be forgotten by a large majority of those who look back on 2015. I truly believe, even with all of the flaws that may exist with its message, they have used the groundswell like not many have before.
