Zippyz by Little Trendyz: Patented eco friendly baby pajamas give more time for cuddles

Parents will do pretty much anything in their power to keep their child comfortable, safe and happy. Those parental instincts are what led Lisa Feder Youngelson to create Zippyz, the organic cotton baby pajamas that are the signature product of her company Little Trendyz.

While changing then-three-month-old son Ryan’s diaper in the middle of the night, Lisa felt there had to be a better solution. Snap pajamas were too cumbersome to try and match up in the wee hours of the morning and zippered pajamas left Ryan’s body exposed to cold air from neck to toe.


So Lisa told her friend Erica about her idea and the two got started on making Zippyz a reality. Zippyz are baby jumpsuits made of organic cotton and bamboo fabric. There are three snaps at the top and a zipper from belly to foot. This way, the baby’s chest is still covered and warm during a diaper change.

“Every time I show someone a Zippyz, they say ‘Why didn’t I think of that!’” Lisa told MommyMasters in March of this year when she was named MommyMaster of the Month.

Strength, weakness, threat, opportunity
Thankfully, Little Trendyz got its “why didn’t I think of that?” baby clothing idea patented in June of 2013 after filing the patent in May of 2011. This will lend strength to the company going forward, protecting Zippyz as Little Trendyz’s intellectual property for the next 14 years.

However, the strength of Zippyz being an original, better-for-baby product may not be enough to overcome its present weakness with some consumers: product cost. Surely, all parents will want baby pajamas that are the best quality. Yet for some, buying a two-pack of baby sleepers that only cost $8 at a big-box retailer (currently Zippyz’s biggest threat) versus just one sleeper that costs three times as much ($24.99) before shipping may mean the difference between being able to afford another box of diapers and a container of formula.

Here is where Little Trendyz can seize an opportunity for its integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaign: Take to its blog more often to drive home to its target audience of parents, grandparents and baby shower guests why Zippyz are truly an essential item for baby. Perhaps notable moms like Giuliana Rancic, who have already tried and enjoyed Zippyz, could even write guest blogs.
 

Lisa with Giuliana Rancic
(and a Zippyz) at the
Biggest Baby Shower in LA.

The “big idea” behind an IMC campaign
But blogs are just just one piece of Little Trendyz’s IMC campaign. Promoting those blogs on social media channels such as its Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest will expand the reach of Little Trendyz’s message. In turn, Little Trendyz can also use its blog and social media to promote appearances at events such as Big City Moms Biggest Baby Showers.

So you see, each individual piece of an IMC campaign all work together to support each other. This is done with consistent messaging to support an overall “big idea,” according to advertising firm Baumann Ber Rivnay. For Little Trendyz, that “big idea” is that Zippyz bring “more cuddles, less fuss,” meaning more time to enjoy quality time with your baby.

Examining and responding to Facebook and email analytics for ABC Company

Before, during and after a social media campaign, a social media manager must examine the analytics behind that campaign to figure out what works and what does not so adjustments can be made along the way, if needed.

So how should you go about examining your company's social analytics? To demonstrate, I will examine the analytics for a hypothetical health-care focused company, ABC Company, which is based in Central Florida. In addition to its Facebook page, ABC Company has Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube accounts. However, the focus will be on ABC Company's Facebook Insights from April 28-May 25, 2013 and its email campaign Bronto statistics.

Facebook Insights snapshot
Taking a quick look at ABC Company's Facebook analytics, the company's page has 880 likes. This is not a bad number, though there are definitely ways to tap into the 340,325 friends of fans that I'll discuss later.

Also, it's important to note that the demographic group that has been reached most by ABC's Facebook page (and the group that is talking about ABC Company the most) is females ages 25-34.

Not surprisingly, most of the people reached by the page and most of the people talking about the page are located in the United States in cities that are mostly in Central Florida. However, there are a few other countries ABC Company reached through its page -- Peru, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico -- so the page manager may want to keep this in mind when posting.

Email newsletter stats snapshot
Six hundred and sixty-one subscribers out of 2,606 subscribers who got it opened ABC Company's last newsletter, which translates to a 25.4 percent open rate. This may not sound impressive, but according to email marketing firm Mad Mimi, a 25 percent open rate is on the high end of the open rate average. Of those who opened the newsletter, 72 people, or 10.9 percent, clicked on links in the email. Mad Mimi says the click-through rate is usually lower than the open rate.

The conversion rate was zero percent from those 72 clicks and resulted in $0 of revenue, according to the report. However, the report does not show what those links are, so the links may not have been "money-making links" anyway.

How ABC Company can improve its Facebook efforts
It wouldn't hurt for ABC Company to try using Facebook Advertising, yet Facebook Insights show (see left) that most of the traffic to the ABC Company page is through viral reach rather than organic or paid reach. Here's how ABC Company can increase its viral reach:

-Make posts with photos. Most of ABC Company's Facebook posts appear to be text-based posts. Facebook users are more likely to interact with and share photo-based posts. Shares are a great way way to increase page likes, so making posts with engaging photos would be a quick, easy way to get more Facebook page traffic from those 300K+ friends of ABC Company's fans.

-Post timely, relevant content. According to 2008 data, Orlando has the 13th-highest rate of AIDS diagnoses among U.S. cities. ABC Company can use its Facebook page to raise awareness locally about an upcoming global event, World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. The company can post photos of red ribbons, Throwback Thursday photos of past World AIDS Days or share HIV/AIDS awareness content on its page from partner Facebook pages.

To reach the page's primary demographic of women ages 25-34, it would be beneficial for ABC Company to post women's health content. This could include reminding women to do their monthly breast self-exam, to "SHARE" healthy mother-child sleeping tips or bring awareness to the fact that one in four women in America die from heart disease.

-Put calls to action in posts. Whether ABC Company is trying to raise funds for prostate cancer screening or get people to come to a health and wellness fair, calls to action are the best way to do that. "'LIKE' this post if you're coming to the health fair" or "'SHARE' this link to raise funds to fight prostate cancer."

-Use social channels to promote other social channels. This is a good thing for ABC Company to do, especially if it its social channels have only recently been established. Here are a few things ABC Company could do: Link from its Twitter account to a cool photo gallery on its Facebook page, mention its social channels at the end of its YouTube videos or add a Pinterest Page app to its Facebook page.

How ABC Company can enhance its email efforts
As I mentioned earlier, ABC Company's email is performing pretty well in terms of its open rate and click through rate. However, there is always room for improvement and some of the tips I mentioned to improve Facebook engagement can cross over to improve email marketing, if ABC Company is not doing these tips already.

-Keep length of subject line short. I know as a user, I don't like reading a super long or boring subject line. Mad Mimi recommends keeping subject lines 11 words or shorter and true to the actual content of the email.

-Use engaging photos. But not too many of them, or the email will look cluttered. And make sure the photo file size is not too big, or the email will take too long to load, which could lead to a frustrating user experience.

-Promote social media channels in creative ways. Try to go beyond having just links to social media channels in a header or footer, but engage a user with social calls to action, like "Visit our Facebook page to enter our giveaway!" or "Use this hashtag on Twitter to donate $1 to our cause."

Want to examine the data for yourself? Click here to see the full data for hypothetical ABC Company.

My response to sample TripAdvisor.com reviews for Hyatt Regency Orlando, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina

Whether people have a good or bad experience at a hotel, they love to tell their friends and family about it. That type of word-of-mouth endorsement has only grown with the advent of social media.

Businesses must always be ready to respond to customer feedback, no matter where it comes from or when. Social media has turned a business' hours of operation into 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With that in mind, here is how I would respond to sample TripAdvisor.com reviews if I were a social media manager for the Hyatt Regency Orlando, formerly known as The Peabody Orlando, and the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel. (I do not work for the staff of either of these hotels. These responses are for educational purposes only and reflect my views, not the views of either hotel.)

Here is a sample review for the Hyatt Regency Orlando:



Amanda Winkle, Social Media Manager for Hyatt Regency Orlando, responded to this review:
Travelwith3kiddos, thank you for your feedback on your most recent stay at the newly minted Hyatt Regency Orlando! On your next visit, just let our front desk concierge know which view you would like from your room and we will surely do our best to oblige. Glad your kids had fun at the pool! We also have bike rentals and tennis courts at your family's disposal for your next visit. Since our switch from the Peabody to the Hyatt brand, we still have the same great restaurants you enjoyed on your last visit. Chef Corey Crawford is still cooking up homemade diner favorites at the B-Line Diner and our wonderful Italian steakhouse The Capriccio is now the Fiorenzo Italian Steakhouse. We are glad you had a wonderful experience overall and hope you will come back and visit us soon for business or pleasure! If you have any further questions or concerns, please call (407) 284-1234 and ask for me.

And here is a sample review for the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina:

 

Amanda Winkle, Social Media Manager for Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, responded to this review: Hello Luv2TravelWithHubby. We apologize your stay was not up to the high standards that are expected from Hilton hotels. Since your stay, our hotel is now under new management and we are in the process of retraining our entire staff. We are also in the process of upgrading all of our rooms so they will now look like the room you see to the left.  Please call 954-463-4000, ask for me and I will work with you and our hotel staff to make this right.