International Spa Association: Taking a look at ISPA 2013's social media efforts

Even though an event or conference may only come once a year for an organization, the excitement has to be sustained throughout the year for that event to be a success.

According to Social Globe Media, a social strategy is essential to sustain excitement about an event: “The key is that an event is not really an event if people aren’t sharing it, talking about it, promoting it and talking about it after it happens.”

On pretty much all of the major social media channels, the International Spa Association kept building anticipation and excitement before, during and after its 2013 conference in Las Vegas. They did this by sharing behind-the-scenes photos of pre-conference preparations, sending live tweets from the conference floor and asking attendees afterward how the conference enabled them to “Grow.”

ISPA has a presence on pretty much every major channel: Facebook, two Twitter accounts (one for the conference and one for the organization itself), YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, as well as its website, conference page and blog.

During the conference, ISPA mostly used Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ISPA seemed to get the most interaction on both of its Twitter accounts, alerting participants to what was happening at that moment in the conference and what was coming up next, including talks from speakers, the live auction and reminding participants to visit the conference's Relaxation Area.

Prior to the conference, ISPA would give its followers a taste of the spa vendors that would be present at ISPA 2013. Through Facebook and Twitter posts, ISPA would show either a picture of that vendor's product or a link to that vendor's site, and denote the booth where that vendor could be found at the conference.

To keep the conversation organized, two hashtags were used for Twitter, as well as Instagram: #ISPA2013 and #GrowYourWorld, which was the overriding theme of the conference and expo. These hashtags enabled ISPA to find who was talking about the conference before, during and after and talk back to them, or even retweet them.

Sponsors were mostly promoted through a special page on the ISPA Conference page, and somewhat on social media. Though I did not attend the conference, I'm sure I would be safe to assume that attendees were given "swag bags" complete with sponsor-branded goodies.

Some delicious IMC at the ISPA conference!

Speaking of branded goodies, ISPA had some edible integrated marketing communications going on. Check out the scrumptious-looking "Grow" cupcakes to the left:

Outside of its social media efforts, the most impressive standout of ISPA's IMC conference efforts was an app available for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry. Admittedly, I haven't been to a conference or event in a while, but this really stood out to me because I don't recall going to an event that had its own app. With the app, attendees have the schedule, exhibitor locations and hotel information at their fingertips:

As you can see, from the logo from ISPA's conference website above to the ISPA 2013 app screenshot to the right, the color, look and feel of the branding is consistent.

ISPA not only displayed consistent graphic branding, but with their messaging as well. Most of their Facebook posts, Tweets and Instagram pictures were similar to each other. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it ensures consistent communication, but marketers should not be afraid to change up messaging from channel to channel.

There are only two nitpick items I would have liked to see more of in analyzing ISPA 2013's social media effort:

-More pictures of attendees. People LOVE looking at photos of themselves having a good time with their friends and colleagues. Sporadic photos of the conference were posted here and there on social, but having a photographer go around and take loads of pictures to post in a gallery on the ISPA website and on social would be a great addition.

-More updates to the blog. The last blog entry in the ISPA blog is from October 14, a whole week before the conference started. From its latest tweet, it sounds like ISPA is trying to round up proper reactions from attendees for a blog, but it would be a nice touch to see blog entries from right before the event, during and right after. It doesn't have to be anything fancy; it could just be a round-up of Twitter reactions to the conference. The quick blogs would serve as a great update until there is more time to craft a longer, in-depth blog post.

Good luck to the staff as they gear up for #ISPA2014!

Pizza social media battle royale: Domino's vs. Pizza Hut vs. California Pizza Kitchen

This pizza is from Toppers Pizza, a regional chain, which is why I did not
cover them in this blog. But doesn't that look like a yummy taco pizza?

It's the battle of the national pizza joints! Domino's vs. Pizza Hut vs. California Pizza Kitchen.

How did I arrive at that combination of pizza places? Well, I wanted to use Papa John's or Little Caesar's as the third choice instead of CPK (since Papa John's and Little Caesar's are also national "fast food type" pizza chains), but each brand chosen had to have:

--Facebook --Twitter --Instagram --Google+ --And at least one of the following: LinkedIn/Pinterest/YouTube

Papa Johns and Little Caesar's were each missing one of these requirements. Since I have a little background knowledge of pizza (I may have worked for one of these chains at some point) and social media, I thought I'd examine these chains' social media strengths and weaknesses.

Domino’s can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & LinkedIn)

By taking part in and being relatively active on all major social channels, Domino's takes an integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach that's in line with their humorous, sometimes irreverent tone. Even their pizza boxes get in on the IMC act and encourage social participation. The box provides instructions on the best tips for Instagramming a Domino's pizza with #pizzapics.

Pretty much all of Domino's IMC messaging and imagery is consistent. In most of their social photo posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, they have their logo in one of the corners of the photo as a sort of watermark.

The company tweaks its message to be appropriate for each channel. On LinkedIn, Domino's profile has a much more buttoned up tone, reflecting the company's business goals:



However, on Facebook, the tone is much more playful (below right):

The Domino's Pinterest page is cool but a little confusing: The main page is called "Domino's Second Hand Logos." The idea behind it is cool: showcasing artists re-purposing signage with the old "Domino's Pizza" logo. However, it's a little confusing to have this project be the name of the main Pinterest page instead of being the name of a board. Users will question if they're on the right page -- I know I did.

On most of Domino's social channels, the content is up-to-date. However, the glaring exception is Google+: The most recent post is four months old. (Content on the Pinterest page is about two months old, but this is less obvious because you have to click on pins to see how old they are.) The lack of Google+ posts is probably because, like many other businesses and users, Domino's hasn't quite figured this channel out yet. The easiest remedy to this would be pre-scheduling Google+ posts.

One great example of Domino's driving users from social channel to social channel is shown in a recent post on their Instagram. Users with the best filtered pic tagged with #pizzapics have a chance to get their picture used in Domino's next Facebook cover photo. The most glaring missed opportunity for Domino's to steer users to its social channels? Its website. The most emphasized call to action on the site is to sign up for a "Pizza Profile," which lets you save your regular order and takes only five clicks to place. The only social channels that are teased on the website are Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Though Domino's may not have caught on to pushing social in all of its places, they have caught on to hashtags. #PizzaPics, which seems to be the hashtag Domino's has staked out, isn't just limited to Domino's Instagram. They use it on Twitter as well.

Another item of note: It was pretty impressive that someone was responding to customer complaints and compliments on the Domino's Facebook wall on a Sunday afternoon. Because as we learned earlier this semester, social media keeps a business open 24-7.

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Pizza Hut can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & LinkedIn)

Pizza Hut, the No. 1 Pizza chain in America based on sales, tops No. 2 Domino's by just a smidgen overall when it comes to IMC. This is mostly because branding-wise, The Hut's imagery across platforms is probably a bit more consistent.

Pizza Hut's branding, including the use of company's iconic red and #makeitgreat, is very consistent across its channels almost to the point of being matchy-matchy.

Did you notice Pizza Hut is following me?

The consistency carries over to the messages posted on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. For example, Pizza Hut held an event to preview its new 3-Cheese Stuffed Crust, and content about this event "Discover Great" was posted on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Like Domino's, Pizza Hut is having trouble with Google+, but they're even worse off. There are NO posts on Pizza Hut's Google+ page. Also like Domino's, Pizza Hut's Pinterest page is a little less fresh than, say, its Facebook or Twitter.

The best example of Pizza Hut driving users to their other social channels is its branded Twitter background, which shows off that its Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and even Vine. However, like little brother Domino's, Pizza Hut is missing an opportunity in this area: pushing users to social channels from its website.

When you visit Facebook and Twitter with the consistent branding (see above), there's no mistaking that Pizza Hut's iconic slogan #MakeItGreat is the company's main hashtag. Like Domino's, Pizza Hut is good about using hashtags, though they may take it to the next level by doing this to feature new products, like #3CheeseStuffed Crust.

Like Domino's, Pizza Hut's social media efforts match up with its overall IMC tone: We like to help you celebrate fun occasions with our pizza, yet we're serious about making quality pizza.

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California Pizza Kitchen can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & LinkedIn)

CPK is a bit more of an upscale restaurant chain compared with Domino's and Pizza Hut, and that's reflected in their IMC approach. For goodness sake, they shared a photo of a pizza with edible gold on their Facebook, Google+ and Instagram pages (below right).

Given the fact that most of the content posted on CPK's Facebook, Twitter and Google+ is the same, the messaging and imagery is consistent. Some of the content on CPK's social channels even matches up with their website. An ad for their Salted Caramel Pudding is in the right rail on their website, and it's also posted on their Instagram (below right).

Not only does the content on the CPK pages match, it is also up-to-date. Unlike Pizza Hut and Domino's, the CPK's Google+ page is up-to-date! Obviously, whoever is manning all these pages is adept at consistently posting or consistently scheduling.

Like Pizza Hut and Domino's too, California Pizza Kitchen also uses its Twitter background to let users know that they also have Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Unlike The Hut and Domino's, California Pizza Kitchen uses its website to drive users to social channels. They have their social logos front and center. Gold star to CPK (see below right)!

CPK's hashtag of choice is #PizzaReimagination and they regularly use this on their Facebook and Twitter. It would probably be a good idea for them to get into using the hashtag more often on Instagram as well.

CPK seems to be doing everything right when it comes to social media, yet has less followers/fans overall than Pizza Hut and Domino's. This is probably because CPK has less brand recognition than PH and Domino's. CPK has only been in existence since 1985 and The Hut and Domino's have been around since the late 1950s and early 1960s respectively. The more and more CPK extends its brand reach through new locations and grocery store sales -- and the more and more the company keeps up its diligence on social media -- the better they will be.