Final Presentation: Incorporating Social Media in Urban Planning

Incorporating Social Media in Urban Planning from Patrick Deschenes


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Social Media Monitoring Part II: Amazon Echo Dot 2

After examining the success of the "Alexa Moments" campaign it was clear that Amazon was successful in establishing a connection with their customers. The Echo and the Echo Dot products by Amazon's own account were selling in the millions. Records indicated that they were the highest selling item on Amazon.com for Black-Friday sales and became very popular during the Christmas holiday season. While the products were surly popular in terms of sales, the social media presence for them appeared to be lacking in comparison.

The Echo's Facebook followers

The Echo's Twitter followers

The company Amazon itself was far more popular on Facebook and Twitter.

Amazon's Facebook followers

Amazon's Twitter followers

With the company having a significantly larger social media presence than the Echo products you would think they might cross-advertise for it more on their own page. Instead many posts on their social network platforms appear to be advertisement for random products sold on their website as well as advertising for other ventures the company is moving into.

This advertisement appears to come off as funny and whimsical while certainly being aimed at getting a viewer's attention. If Amazon is going to increase the social media traffic for their Echo and Echo Dot products there should be a little more cross-promotion on the company's main social networking pages.

Competition

Amazon's main competition when it comes to their Echo product is also from a company molded by the internet age. Google as we all now well is by far the most trusted and recognizable search engine in the world. Like Amazon, their massive growth and wealth has given them the ability to spread into other markets far beyond their original purpose. Google's answer to the Amazon Echo is the Google Home.

  

The small and sleek Google Home functions essentially the exact same way as the Amazon Echo with it being a smart speaker that responds to the users voice to answer and do just about any task. One difference is that the "call-word" is Google rather than the Echo's Alexa. For example you'd say "Google what's the forecast?" instead of "Alexa what's the Forecast?"... very original. If you're from around here you know where there's a Dunkin' Donuts on one corner there's a Honey Dew across the street. Companies are always competing to corner the market on a particular good or service and smart speakers appear to be no different.

Google Home's Social Networking Presence

Facebook

There did not appear to be any pages dedicated purely to the Google Home by Google as there were with the Amazon Echo. Instead pages were much smaller while offering advice, answering questions, and relaying news.

Twitter

Twitter page for "Made by Google"

Twitter page for "Google Home News"

The Twitter was far more organized than the Facebook while being separated into "Made by Google" and "Google Home News". In Made by Google the page was dedicated to all of the products made by google and attracted more views. There was typical advertisement but the feel was much more to the point and refined whereas Amazon's pages were attention getting but appealing in their own way. The second page Google Home News claimed to be an unofficial page for the product presumably created by enthusiasts. Much of the information was similar to the other page except focused entirely on the Google Home as appose to any other product. After review it seemed that even with Amazon's faults they were still ahead of their competition in terms of social networking.

Google Trends

Amazon Echo (blue), Google Home (red), Alexa (yellow), Amazon Echo Dot (green)

Google Home has a noticeably greater reach than Echo or Echo Dot, but Alexa is still far and away more widespread than both. Alexa is represented in the Echo platform which indicates that the marketing of the product still remains its greatest asset than the name of the product itself.

The world comparison highlights this distinction even further with "Alexa" being recognized around the world and having a greater spread of influence. This theory also holds true for the Google Home. Although the Echo and Echo Dot products might outsell the Google Home, Google itself has a major influence globally. Although Amazon is certainly huge in its own right Google with its early internet roots and iconic use still places a step above Amazon.

Social Mention

Turning to social mention it was important to notice how the Echo compared to its competition the Google Home. Although this method is not an exact science, it proves the continuing narrative that Echo and Google Home are fairly comparable, but it is Alexa that draws the greatest attention. (all social mention data was collected on Sunday 3/12/17)  

Google Home

Amazon Echo

Alexa

While the Echo and Home were very close the phrase Alexa excelled in all categories. Amazon has hit the groundswell in a way that has created a buzz among their most recognizable feature. A simple word and relatable series of commercials gave the goundswell something to connect with and ultimately aid in sustaining the Echo/Echo Dot's success.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths: 

Viral videos, marketing, and distribution system are just a few of the more notable strengths that exist with the Echo/Echo Dot. The Alexa Moments campaign solidified the product as a widely recognized device and one that could be useful in any household. It stands out as a marketing campaign that perfectly taps into the groundswell by relying on the groundswell to power their user based commercials. The distribution system is also something that is an obvious strength for a company that is primarily known for its website that sells most products.

Weaknesses: 

The traditional social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are significantly low in followers when compared to the pages designated to the primary company. While Amazon gets social media the pages associated to the Echo products are lacking in quality content and followers. This could be a lot to do with the size of the company itself. Amazon is a massive company and it may be stretched too thin to handle every branch, product, and outlet the best it can. The primary purpose of Amazon will always take top priority but the social media managing for one of the products it creates like the Echo could use a re-tooling. Li and Bernoff in the book state that once a company starts getting involved with social media it sets itself up for judgement by how well it maintains it. The staleness and overwhelming advertising feel to the Echo's social media pages could be a reason for a lack of followers.

Opportunities:

Take advantage of the groundswell's infatuation with Alexa/Alexa Moments campaign and build a community. Every data gathering mechanism has shown that far and away Alexa is very well known globally, even more so than the product. Amazon needs to take advantage of this by expanding their marketing into different forms of social media. A blog or forum where those that are obsessed with the Echo can share stories, post user made videos, and discuss the product in detail would be very useful for the company. Not only would this be a good outlet for the obsessed, but also assist those that have operation questions and give Amazon organic user generated feedback that they can use for improvements and future campaigns.

Threats:

The massive size of Amazon and the Echo's competition with the Google Home. You would think the massive size and established presence of Amazon as only a positive, but there are aspects of that which also make it a threat to the Echo/Echo Dot. A lot of revenue and success for Amazon already comes through different areas so the success of the company doesn't rely on the Echo or Echo Dot. If for some reason the company had to abandon the product they could still survive. Although this is far from happening due to the success of the product it is still something that could always remain a threat. Also as previously discussed in the blog the Google Home is the main competition to the Amazon Echo. A bunch of tech blogs have compared the two and they are relatively close in performance and price (except the Echo Dot which is far more affordable). Personal preference aside the Echo is slightly ahead, but a lot of that has to do with it being older than the Google Home. As technology approves and adjustments are made Amazon will need to be wary of Google to make sure that the Home doesn't overtake the Echo.

Final Thoughts

The Amazon Echo/Echo Dot has a lead over its competition, but that lead is not necessarily secure. They have done a great job at listening to their groundswell and creating a marketing campaign that has rocketed them to success. Right now though their use of social networking is coming up short and a lot of that has to do with their uninspired boring approach. Something that was as successful as the "Alexa Moments" campaign deserves a different more unique landing spot where the passion for the product can grow and aid Amazon for improving the device. Blogs, forums, and additional methods that pool enthusiasts together would be an easy first step for keeping the momentum of the Echo/Echo Dot alive. Simple and mundane advertising on social network pages dedicated to the product don't seem to draw a crowd like the short comical commercials do. A large company like Amazon may have trouble creating something as organic and unique as this again, but they can't rest on their success they need to strive to remain ahead of the Google Home. Sticking to a personal and relatable approach provided them with initial success and it would appear to be their best option going forward. 

Taking to the skies with groundswell and JetBlue

Fasten your seat belts and set your electronic devises to airplane mode. Now set them back to normal and send a tweet! For the airline JetBlue interacting with their customers and establishing a sense of community is important for setting their brand apart. The scrappy airline may not be the largest in the United States but it's wiliness to embrace the groundswell has established it as a pioneer on social media. As Li and Bernoff state in the book by embracing the groundswell innovation moves quickly. JetBlue's forward thinking has propelled the company to stand out in terms of their customer service and desire to receive feedback.


JetBlue's slogan "You Above All" emphasizes their devotion to the customer

The "Inspiring Humanity" campaign

A self aware company is a successful company because it shows that they are actively trying to improve in areas where they could be lacking. For JetBlue, connecting with customers is as vital to their success as the actual service they deliver. "We call ourselves a customer service company the happens to fly planes," says Laurie Meacham who is JetBlue's Manager of Customer Commitment. With this kind of attitude it only makes sense that Twitter would be used heavily by JetBlue as another platform to reach out to customers and tap into the groundswell.

Like Li and Bernoff stated in chapter 10, when it comes to Twitter once your company starts to connect, people will expect the company to listen and respond, not just broadcast. JetBlue doesn't just meet these standards they exceed them and offer a textbook performance of how a company should connect with its costumers on Twitter.


An example of JetBlue's impressive response time

JetBlue prides themselves on responding to most customers

JetBlue is responsive, friendly, helpful, and they are determined to make everyone's input appear valued and heard. Their ability to respond quickly and be on top of feedback from the groundswell has a lot to do with the corporate culture of JetBlue. The culture of the company is driven to not just preform admirable as an airline, but to do so with the customers best interest in mind. Striving to listen, change, and improve based on costumer feedback was not a process that was mastered overnight by JetBlue. It took time and small steps in the right direction in order to become the success they are today.

Starting the groundswell from within in order to properly embrace the groundswell of the costumers is an essential part of the process. With the corporate culture in mind JetBlue first needed to make the mental shift in order to let people adjust to how things should be done. Next they had to support the strategies needed to take their organization to the desired location. Finally they had to gain executive support for their change.  Although JetBlue emphasizes customer support, new ideas and changes like their immersed expansion into something like Twitter had to be worked on in-house before they could take it to the next level with the outside groundswell.

Fostering professional growth for their "crewmembers" is vital for JetBlue because happy and successful employees bring better ideas and motivation when they feel more embraced by the place they work for. It's true for pretty much every organization that when you encourage and listen to employees they reward the company with loyalty and enthusiasm. JetBlue helps to promote engagement among it's employees through their corporate citizenship programs. These programs are JetBlue's way of promoting groundswell from inside their company. Usually the bigger a company is the more challenging internal communication can become, but for a company like JetBlue this is not an issue. Listening, talking, energizing, supporting, and embracing are all objectives that are applied by JetBlue through their employee programs. They all fall in line with what Li and Bernoff determine to be necessary for a program's success.     

Social Media Monitoring Part I: Amazon Echo Dot 2

"Alexa Moments" Campaign

Introduction

We live in a world of expanding possibilities and life changing technologies. We also live in a world where simplifying our daily routine and instant gratification have become the norm. Amazon for all of us has been a website where what ever you could possibly want or need is within reach just at the end of your fingertips. That is why when they introduced the Amazon Echo to the world it seemed to fit the mold of the company perfectly. The Echo is described as a "smart speaker" that utilizes the Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) software known as Alexa. Responding to its call name Alexa the device is able to accomplish an endless list of skills such as voice interaction, playing music, making to-do lists, setting alarms, playing audiobooks or podcasts, providing weather, traffic, and literally any other real time information. It is also capable of controlling other "smart" home based technologies like Bluetooth enabled thermostats. We've all seen commercials like this...

These commercials are part of the Alexa Moments campaign. The campaign initiated by Amazon coincided with the release of the Echo Dot 2. The Echo Dot is a smaller "hockey puck" sized speaker that preforms all the same skills as the original Echo but in a more compact shell. The 2nd generation of the Echo Dot was released on October 20, 2016. This version was economically priced and could come in either black or white. The short and often humorous Alexa Moments commercials helped create a groundswell around the product and the new economically attainable $49.99 Echo Dot 2 presented a perfect landing pad for consumers. Amazon noted that they tapped into user submitted stories as the inspiration for many of their commercials. These genuine moments propelled the Alexa Moments campaign forward and helped the product seem more relatable and needed. Once the groundswell was tapped exposure for the campaign and product would take off on various forms of social media.

Facebook

The amount of people that like and follow on Facebook

Advertising for one of the Echo's skills

Amazon responding to a complaint

The Amazon Echo Facebook page contained a good amount of advertising as would be expected. There was also some cross promotion with different brands that the Echo incorporates in its skills such as sponsored news platforms, apps, smart products that could be operated with the Echo, etc. Overall the feedback from people was mixed with some questioning the company's taste in advertising. The mixed feedback showed that the administrators of the page were open to criticism and did not try to hide any negativity. It is noticeable that whenever a person posts a complaint the administrators try their best to respond and offer assistance. The theme of the page would appear to be geared towards promotion and assistance and not so much the Alexa Moments campaign. Amazon seems to use the Facebook page to talk to people that either have the product or are already associated with the product.

Twitter

The number of followers on Twitter

Advertising of one of its skills as well as #JustAsk

Advertising for one of the skills

A retweeted comment praising the Amazon Echo

The Twitter account for the product is similar to their Facebook in terms  of advertising, but it is overall much more positive. Everything retweeted paints the product and company glowingly which is of course the intent. There is also a lot more short videos and references to #JustAsk which seems to be based on the Alexa Moments campaign. The concept of these videos is similar to the commercials where people ask things of Alexa usually in a humorous setting...

Where the Facebook page had a healthy mix of advertising and user feedback/criticism the Twitter page was a lot more one sided. Funny and attention grabbing videos were shown in reference to Alexa Moments and the content remained positive and energetic. Amazon clearly tries to control the message a lot more through their Twitter than any other social network.  

Instagram

A post comparing the original Echo and the Echo Dot

A post from someone showing off their new Echo Dot

On Instagram the Echo and Echo Dot are featured in a positive light sort of like on Twitter. Many people seemed excited to show off their new devise and where they had it set up in their home. There are also many user submitted video clips showing people asking Alexa odd things as well as creative and original videos. Overall Instagram provided a creative outlet that was far more user driven than either Facebook or Twitter. Of the three main social networks Instagram was the one that showed true enthusiasm for the product by the consumers rather than the company. Those that follow the page on Instagram appeared to be the most loyal and passionate for the product. There are no professionally produced Alexa Moment commercials, but the videos that are there appear to be inspired by the concept.

Youtube

Over 2 million views

Over 4.5 million views

Over 2 million views

Over 8 million views

How many people go back actually watch commercials? There is a reason why Netflix and Hulu are so popular because they meet our need for instant gratification when it comes to watching TV. The fact that many of the Alexa Moment commercials have been viewed millions of times on Youtube speaks volumes to the success of the campaign. They are short but properly aid in conveying the products message to consumers. More importantly they are entertaining to the viewer as evident by the number of views they have received.   

Google Trends 

Amazon Echo Dot

Looking at just the success of the Amazon Echo Dot on a 12 month timetable you can see a surge for the product during the Christmas season. With the release of the 2nd generation on October 20, 2016 coinciding with the Alexa Moments campaign it created a huge buzz and an opportunity for Amazon to capitalize on their new product for the holiday season. In terms of a product release date Amazon picked probably the best time with interest and shopping at the highest for the season.

Amazon Echo Dot (blue), Amazon Echo (red), and Alexa (yellow)

To understand the mindset of a consumer if you were to compare the interest of the Echo Dot, original Echo, and just the call name Alexa, social interest is greater with Alexa than the actual products that use the software. The best guess for this would have to be campaigning associated with Alexa Moments and #JustAsk. The commercials all have people saying the call out phase Alexa which is why there is more association with the advertised image of the product than the actual name of the product. Although people may talk about the phase more than the actual product that doesn't mean that people aren't still purchasing the product. In fact during the Thanksgiving Black Friday period the Amazon Echo Dot was the top selling item on Amazon. The total sales for the Echo and Echo Dot were even more impressive. Amazon confirmed enormous sales of these products during the holiday season and now estimates that over 8 million people own one of the devises. They also estimate that at least 82% of Amazon shoppers in the U.S. are aware of the product. So while just the name Alexa is trending higher compared to the name of the product that is still a very positive sign for Amazon. The strategy of the clever Alexa Moments commercials would appear to be working and most likely is playing a major factor in this interest.  

Meltwater IceRocket

Using a 3 month timetable to evaluate interest in the Amazon Echo Dot there is a noticeable jump slightly after Christmas and on February 12, 2017. The Christmas theory fits into information shown on Google Trends while the February 12th jump may have a connection with the Echo's commercial during the Super Bowl which occurred on February 5, 2017. The Super Bowl being one of the most viewed televised events of the year has always been a draw for major companies to release new commercials. Amazon to their credit is an extremely successful company and can afford this kind of publicity.

   

Comparison of all three products/phrases produced similar results as discussed in the above Google Trends study.

Social Mention

Amazon Echo Dot results from Sunday 2/19, Wednesday 2/22, Sunday 2/26

The results on Social Mention indicated that the Amazon Echo Dot is a fairly relevant and talked about product. It was odd however when the results on Wednesday produced a noticeably lower result for strength and reach than the other days. However, the passion was the highest compared to the other two days. So while the likelihood that the Amazon Echo Dot being discussed on social media was down, the people talking about it were more passionate and likely to talk about it again. The time of day may have played a part in the results as it was in the morning as appose to the other two times taking place in the afternoon. The number of people taking about the product may have been down, but those talking about it were more dedicated and passionate. Overall the numbers were very impressive. A product like the Echo Dot and a company the size of Amazon should expect this to be the case. Its a piece of technology that is helpful and enhances day-to-day tasks and remains very affordable. So judging by the parameters set by Social Mention it would appear that a positive marketing campaign like Alexa Moments surely aided in the discussion of the Echo Dot.

Conclusion

The Alexa Moments campaign helped make the Amazon Echo/ Echo Dot a must have product for households. The short commercials were simple and to the point. Using mostly user submitted content Amazon produced over a 100 of the commercials. Results of the campaign worked in Amazon's favor as sales skyrocketing within the past year. On social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram interest for the products is prevalent. Users of these sites respond to the company's advertising and are excited about the product. Criticism is there but the company is more than willing to help when called out. The name Alexa which a user must first voice in order to operate the software was very recognizable to consumers on social media. Having a recognizable name and image played a huge role in the marketing of the Echo and Echo Dot. Through a series of simple, funny, and relatable commercials Amazon was able to tap into the groundswell and make their product stand out.