The Mike Johnson Blog

Left to right: Amber Roussel from Lippe Taylor, Christina Bennett from Elizabeth Arden, and Todd Wasserman of Mashable.

“Tackling the Great Consumer Attention Deficit” panel held during Social Media Week in New York provided insight as to how Elizabeth Arden and Mashable approach their social media strategies.

The panel consisted of:

– Todd Wasserman, Business Editor at Mashable

– Christina Bennett, Director of Public Relations at Elizabeth Arden

– Amber Roussel,Vice President of Digital Marketing at Lippe Taylor

As the Business Editor for Mashable Todd Wasserman feels Facebook is the  best social media engine for views followed by  Twitter. Mashable has specific Twitter channels such as Mashable Business, Mashable Entertainment  and Mashable US & World so users avoid information overload.  Todd also stated the popularity of Mashable’s  YouTube channel  and makes sense for media companies to monetize. Todd felt that other media platforms such as Snapchat are turning out to be a tough fit for marketers so Mashable does not know how far to take it at the moment, but he thinks Lowes is doing a great job with their Vine DIY channel. You may not need to  be on social media at all suggesting that some major brands such as Apple’s  absence works to their benefit adding to the mystique of their brand. He also stated that many of the social media platforms create short attention spans and attention but felt JCPenney stood out and got a lot of attention at the Super Bowl this year. You can follow Todd Wasserman on Twitter @toddwasserman.

Since Amber Roussel of Lippe Taylor works in concert with Christina Bennett on the Elizabeth Arden brand, Amber provided background on the three goals for Elizabeth Arden’s social media strategy. For the  UNTOLD Tweetstakes promotion the first goal was to get people to engage and get  samples. The second goal was a Valentines Day contest focusing on customers signing up that resulted in thousands of entries. The third goal was reaching out to consumers and getting them to try our brand. Currently Elizabeth Arden’s Instagram has five thousand followers and continues to  grow each day. Amber revealed that Elizabeth Arden figures out how their consumers interact with the various particular social media platforms. In terms of jumping on a cultural movement such as selfies Arden is a natural fit and lets our consumers share how they feel about themselves which is also shared within the community. Amber suggests if you put your money into paid advertising, test on multiple channels and platforms since you will never know what will be a miss or home run. You can follow Amber Roussel on Twitter @pureamber.

Christina Bennett, Director of Public Relations at Elizabeth Arden stated with social media it is easier to coordinate in store  promotions since there are no Elizabeth Arden brick and mortar stores. Launched less than a year ago Instagram has the most Elizabeth Arden fans and allows Arden to engage in real time by giving a personality to the brand.  It is easy for Arden to tag on and tap into a trend/movement and suggests that you are missing an opportunity if you do not figure out some way to participate. Short form content works best allowing you to market in real-time, of the moment, and seeing what consumers respond to best. Simplicity is the key:  Ask for what you want from your customer – is it pictures, feedback, etc. and find ways to get their attention. . In terms of stopping a campaign or switching to another channel Chris did one with Facebook advertising and it was not working so we went and put that money and switch the campaign into promoted tweets which had a better response. You can follow Christina Bennett on Twitter @cmb155.

You may also be interested in these posts:

Johnson & Johnson’s Social Media Strategy

How Pfizer, Tiffany and American Express Engage Their Employees

Inside Gatorade’s Social Media Monitoring Hub

JetBlue’s Social Media Strategy

The NBA’s Social Media Game

How to Make Effective Videos That Connect With Your Audience

Hashtag Killer Psych USA Network Social Media Strategy

How CNBC, Pepsi, and American Express Harness Mobile Marketing and Commerce

Gary Vaynerchuck Book Discussion Jab Jab Jab Right Hook