Ruckus Digital launches inaugural speaker series
Join us for an intimate chat with Cam Gordon, Senior Communications Manager, Twitter Canada
Twitter Canada’s, Cam Gordon (@cam_gordon), will join us for our inaugural ruckus makers speaker series to discuss some of the recent twitter updates and best practices for brands.
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to learn how you can best use Twitter for your brand and get your questions answered directly by Twitter.
WHEN: Thursday, October 22 2015 from 6:00PM to 8:00PM
WHERE: 365 Bloor St East, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M4W 3L4
To RSVP, please email info@ruckusdigital.ca
If you would like to bring along a guest, they can RSVP to the above email to attend.
We look forward to seeing you on October 22nd!
This Week’s Ruckus Makers (August 31 – Sept 4)
This Week’s Ruckus Makers (August 31 – Sept 4)
This Week’s Ruckus Makers (August 24 – 28)
This Week’s Ruckus Makers (August 24 – 28)
What’s old is new again – How brands are changing televison
Brands like Chipotle are changing the game when it comes to programs and films. With options like Netflix and Hulu, they’re able to move past the old 30 second ad spot.
Radio soap operas – back in the day, these were the first instances of branded media content. An hour of radio drama brought to you by Dial or P&G.
Now, flash forward to 2014, where a new show called Farmed and Dangerous will start airing on Hulu in February. On the surface not particularly remarkable – but this show is completely funded, subsidized and produced by burrito restaurant Chipotle. Everything old is new again.
How Warby Parker made a spectacle of content creation
A lot of small to mid-size companies get intimidated by content marketing because we mostly see large-scale success. There are few really smart campaigns that didn’t require an A-list director/cinematographer and a huge production budget (viral videos, anyone?). We zoom on one here.
A lot of small to mid-size companies get intimidated by content marketing because we mostly see large-scale success stories being heralded and shared across the internet. However, there are few really smart campaigns that didn’t require an A-list director/cinematographer and a huge production budget (viral videos, anyone?).
We love how Warby Parker, a NYC-based online eyewear boutique managed to make a big splash with their content. They happen to be a fairly new player in an 800 year old eyewear industry.
We know the significance emotion plays in digital marketing and how content that brings about positive emotion like delight, joy, amazement and the like is most likely to be shared. If you take a look at any of Warby Parker’s social channels you’ll see why the internet is buzzing about their success.
Why they get a Gold Star:
1. They stepped into the ring with a brash background story that revealed monopolization in the eyewear industry (sorry guys, the secret is out). They became whistle blowers and champions of a market. Ballsy, no?
2. Famously took an original take on the traditional “white paper” with an interactive and content-laden 2013 annual report. Here’s why the “report” was so talked about:
- Transparent – They share EVERYTHING: the highs, the lows and some missteps
- Personified the company and employees – almost feel like your creeping someone’s FB profile
- Had something for everyone: Internal employees, customers, potential customers and investors
- Visually compelling: Original illustrations, high quality photos and infographics
3. Customers who use their Home Try-On service (try 5 glasses at no charge, buy 1 and return the ones you don’t purchase) voluntarily post trial pics on their Facebook page.
4. Very active and responsive on major social media channels (Twitter, FB, YouTube, Google+) and customers just love that.
Warby Parker customer showcasing her Home Try-On
These maneuvers left lasting impressions on audiences, intended and otherwise (think high impact, low cost). Take note: that disrupting the norm and can bring the spotlight to your content for the right reasons.
Posted by
Jeanette
on 15/04/2014
Twitter is Changing Your Timeline
Twitter will start showing you tweets from people you don’t currently follow.
“One of our goals for experimentation is to continue improving your home timeline. After all, that’s the best way to keep up with everything happening in your world.”
The above quote comes directly from Twitter as they prepare to roll out a new experiment in which they’ll surface tweets and accounts from people you don’t currently follow, in your existing timeline.
Already, there’s a lot negativity and pushback about what this will mean for your personal experience. Of course these changes are being compared to Facebook’s update earlier this year to their Newsfeed algorithm (in which they started to filter what you were seeing to make your experience more personalized).
While on the surface these changes seem harmless as the two social juggernauts attempt to curate a more tailored experience for their users. But does anyone else get an uneasy “Big Brother” type feel to these updates?
Yes – computers are getting more and more intelligent about predicting content and people and products that I probably want to see, but this is all based on historical data and doesn’t account for me finding new interests, experiencing new things and generally evolving as a person. Without some human oversight, the data is dumb and one-dimensional. For someone like my wife, who already finds Twitter too cluttered and busy, this exacerbates an existing problem with the platform. Twitter works best when you curate your own lists and feeds depending on personal topics and interest.
There are many factors at play – most of which stem from the two platforms generating a profit and pulling in new advertisers – and at the end of the day, these are their platforms to do with as they wish.
One could argue that no other social channel has been more shaped and defined by it’s users than Twitter, so a change of this magnitude could come back to haunt them, but is it enough for people to jump ship? What are your thoughts?
Posted by
Gary Edgar
on 17/10/2014
What Facebook’s Latest Algorithm Change Means For You
As Facebook announces another algorithm change, we look at how it will affect your content and your brand’s page.
Once again Facebook is adapting its algorithms – and frankly that’s nothing new, but the platform has been ramping up the frequency with which it announces these changes. The main issue lately has become the vague or cryptic outcomes of these changes – i.e. “what does this mean for my brand?” making it harder as social marketers to know where and what to adjust.
Facebook not only keeps moving the target on what they consider to be “promotional” content, but also give end users more agency about regulating their personal feeds and deciding what they want and do not want to see. The latest update continues the effort to reduce the volume of “overly promotional” content in your Newsfeed. Specifically, they focused on three definitions:
- “Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app”
- i.e. “Our [Product] has arrived, click here to buy [link]
- “Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context”
- i.e. “Like this post and enter for your chance to win” or “It’s a great day for some tacos, get 10% off at any of our chains [link]” or “We’ve appreciate everything what you do for us we wanted to give something back. Enter our official holiday giveaway [link]”
- “Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads”
- i.e. “Check out our Superbowl Ad. Whoa, someone is in trouble [Link]”
So what does this all mean?
First and foremost, this is the end to “lazy content” from copywriters and brand managers. Under these rules, “like-baiting” will also be qualified as “overly promotional,” marking the end of “like if you agree” phrasing. Marketers will have to get accustomed to telling more authentic stories that offer value in return for views.
Marketers will have to pay more attention to trends and analytics, listening to social conversations and judging what resonates, producing content that adds value to the narrative. Instead of asking audiences to buy or enter, we have to provide them with content that entertains, informs and in all cases engages. Producing content without relying on “promotional” language is like threading a needle and you improve your chances the more you listen to your audience and the better you understand what they find valuable.
Lastly, this will also call for tighter budgeting around what brands put ad dollars behind. Contests, promotions, and “like-baiting” posts that displayed good organic growth before will be less effective, calling for a more even budget distribution behind paid reach. In the end though, better organic reach will give you more bang for your buck when you decide to go paid.
In the end, this is just another step towards brands becoming parts of the conversation rather than holding a monopoly over it.
Posted by
Serge Leshchuk
on 09/01/2015
We’re excited to be working with Questrade
Questrade has chosen ruckus as a partner to help launch their new product Portfolio IQ
Social content agency ruckus digital was recently chosen as a partner for Questrade. The financial services firm was founded in 1999 with a clear mission: help Canadians achieve financial independence by providing them with the best investment products, trading technology and client services.
Since its inception, Questrade has been known for doing things differently from others in the space.
“We’re excited to be working with ruckus digital to help us through our most recent phase of growth,” says Lynn Suderman, director of communications at Questrade. “For us it was the match with Questrade’s personality – one that stands out – that made ruckus digital a natural choice.”
As part of the relationship, ruckus built a comprehensive public relations program for Questrade including social and digital content as well as earned media, for the launch of Portfolio IQ™ an ultra low-cost wealth management service run by Questrade Wealth Management.
“At ruckus, we believe everyone has a story to tell – including your brand. Stories are what shape and define us,” says Gary Edgar, director of digital at ruckus digital. “We built ruckus to work with brands, like Questrade, to find and tell their story through rich, compelling and relevant social content – tracking the value of that content with deep social analytics.”
The Portfolio IQ story is that while typically someone would need $250 to 500 thousand of investable assets just to be taken seriously, Questrade democratized investing by only needing a dollar to open an account and $2000 to get a customized portfolio.
The campaign includes sports broadcaster Cabbie Richards who ambushes an individual acting as a financial advisor (AKA as F.A.) to try to get respect for his own money in three videos focusing on
- Accessibility – you don’t have to be wealthy to invest
- Ultra-low cost – get customized portfolios without being gouged on fees
- Convenience and attention – Portfolio IQ manages your money so you don’t have to
Other versions of the videos will appear in commercial spots including one during the 2014 Grey Cup.
Questrade, Inc. has been ranked by Investor Economics as the fastest-growing online brokerage for the past two years. Questrade Financial Group Inc. is also the proud recipient of a Best Managed Company award – three years in a row – and recently received first place ranking with Dalbar for direct and full-service brokerages (combined). President and CEO Edward Kholodenko was also recently recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year (Ontario) in the services category. Questrade Wealth Management Inc. provides managed accounts through Portfolio IQ. Questrade, Inc. and Questrade Wealth Management Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Questrade Financial Group Inc.
For more information:
Diane Bégin, account director
ruckus digital
416.934.2116
Posted by
Diane Bégin
on 28/11/2014
WTR – what the ruckus on Pinterest
Ever wonder if your brand should be on Pinterest? Who is the main audience for this platform? What does it take to run a successful account? This and more in our latest WTR on Pinterest.
We’re back with our third installment of WTR (what the ruckus). This time we’re taking on Pinterest and whether or not it’s right for brands. If you ever wondered what it is that makes the platform tick and this particular form of “story boarding” interesting to consumers, we are here to help you figure it out. As with the previous installments you can expect a quick breakdown of the platform, stats, examples of good (and not so much) Pinterest branding and of course our recommendations.
Posted by
Gary Edgar
on 19/02/2015