Gosh, I love Twitter

If you caught the picks on College Gameday Saturday, you know who Braden Pape is. The five year-old Oregon fan was the celebrity picker after he sang the College Gameday theme song on the show last year. I can't find the whole video, but you should definitely check it out. He stood up to those analysts and had great reasoning for his picks. I just couldn't stop laughing.

As I normally do when something has me absolutely tickled, I tweeted about it. Guess who tweets me back but Braden's dad?!

@whitneygibbs our favorite part as well :-) -Braden's Dad
— Jordan Pape (@jordan_pape) November 19, 2012

Great job, sir. I know you're very proud of your son and I'm glad Twitter could bring us together.

Is engagement all that matters?

I've worked in social media marketing at Newsblasters for about a year now. Our company focuses on political candidates and non-profits, but we have picked up some traditional business clients as well.

To be on social media, you have to have something to say. After all, your fans and followers won't visit your page often and you have to show up in their timeline. We help our clients produce daily content so they are heard.

If you keep up with social media discussion, you know there's a lot of focus on engagement. Do people "like" what you say? Do people re-tweet it? Are they leaving glowing comments about you? Yes, social media should be a conversation and should encourage familiarity with your brand.

But does that make you successful?

I use social media mainly for information. To keep up with the news or politics, to stay abreast of social media developments, the Braves and a little gossip and jokes, too. However, I don't interact with every post I see, even the ones that I find interesting or compelling.

A recent study found that Twitter accounts with more than 1,000 followers engage less than accounts with fewer followers. They have more followers, which indicates some level of success, but they're not really cultivating relationships with their followers. Their followers are interested in the information, not looking for a friend.

I'm not arguing that we should discount all forms of engagement and ignore the people that follow us. But, there is value in broadcasting your message via social media, even if you're not dedicating resources to engaging. Unfortunately, it's more difficult to measure.

What does brand loyalty mean?

This week, the story is about Netflix, who lost 800,000 subscribers after raising subscription rates, splitting their streaming and DVD services and then changing their mind. Next week, a citizen-run social media campaign is encouraging Americans to switch their banks after several large banks announced new fees for debit transactions. (The group has over 25,000 Facebook fans, no less.) That's right, banks are now going to charge you to conveniently and safely access your money.

Marketers work to inspire brand loyalty amongst their customers. They try giving stuff away (I like money), funny commercials, contests, social media messaging is meant to sound hip and fun.

Our friends raved about Netflix. They had both DVD and streaming subscriptions, even if the streaming feature didn't offer much and you could only check-out a few DVDs at a time. As soon as prices jumped, so did they. And loudly.

One thing is clear: Just because a customer gives you money, even over a sustained time frame, today's consumers aren't loyal to your brand and are ready to jump if they feel taken advantage of. So, if a business relationship isn't the basis of brand loyalty, what is? What companies inspire you to keep your business? Why?

*Side note: Steve and I cancelled our Netflix subscription this month and we're loyal members of the ING nation, but probably not if they start charging fees.

Well hello, blog!

Confession: I've been a bad blogger lately. When I started Magnolias Bloom, I promised I would post regularly. Well, after a lengthy absence, I'm ready to admit I've fallen short of my goal but I'm also ready to try again!

My last post was February 7, which was right around the time I accepted a new job! For a while, I've known my career in media relations was no longer fun for me. In fact, some of the days I dealt with reporters were stressful enough to make me question my life decisions.

Also during this time frame, I fell in love with Twitter. I've been on Facebook since 2004 (yikes!) and Twitter since 2009. While Facebook is fun for pictures and funny posts from friends, I actually learn things from Twitter, from news to sports to diet advice. Twitter is what you make it and if you take the time to build a community you value, you will find it's a treasured resource.

I've been blessed to find a job in social media marketing for political candidates and non-profits. It's been such a great, challenging, educational and exciting month for me, and I'm so excited for the future.

So, in addition to my 30 for 30 challenge, I will also use this space to share some interesting new media news and advice I learn along the way. I hope you'll still come along!