Banyan Branch

Written by Erik Magnuson, Influencer Relations

"May the Fourth be with you!" - Erik

Did you notice anything unusual about the conversations you had on Friday, May 4? Star Wars fans and nerds everywhere know the fourth of May is a special day, but some of you may have been surprised to hear your cashiers and coworkers uttering phrases like “May the Fourth be with you,” throughout the day.

Contrary to popular belief, #StarWarsDay is not tied to the film’s anniversary or even the official Star Wars Day (May 25). It was created by clever Star Wars fans who simply couldn’t resist seizing the opportunity to make a play on the film’s famous phrase: “May the Force be with you.”

It’s been a few days since the fourth (we hit a little snag in the space/time continuum here at Banyan Branch), but we felt it would be exciting to examine Star Wars’ cultural impact. How does a low budget sci-fi movie from the 70s come to define so much of modern American culture? Here are some of our favorite examples of how Star Wars fans are pushing the envelope to replicate the future (or the past, if you want to get technical) they fell in love with as a kid:

• “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”  – Princess Leia. Scientists in the UK are busy trying to create holographic projectors just like the one R2D2 used to deliver his all important message from Princess Leia. Tupac may have been the first hologram to break into mainstream entertainment, but he won’t be the last.
• “In my experience there is no such thing as luck.” – Obi Wan Kenobi. NASA is working on creating “smart SPHERES” inspired by the hovering droid that shoots lasers at Luke Skywalker when he is learning to use the Force. Would you expect anything less from the engineers who grew up with Star Wars?

• “Imperial troops have entered the base! Imperial troops have entered the [static]” – Rebel commander on the ice planet Hoth. Researchers working for the United States Military are working on technologies that would give our troops a serious leg up (or four) on the battlefield. Designing military grade walking robots can’t be easy, but these nerds are no doubt having the time of their lives working on real-life AT-ATs.
• “Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen.” – Emperor Palpatine. The design of the new window on the International Space Station looks a lot like the inside of a Tie fighter. Sure, there are plenty of science-based explanations for why this is (pressure distribution and stuff like that), but it’s not hard to imagine these engineers were influenced by the Star Wars design aesthetic.
• “Do or do not do, there is no try.” – Yoda. Now for my personal favorite: In the UK you can actually mark “Jedi” as your religion on the census form, and in 2001 almost 400,000 people declared their allegiance to the light side of the force.

What does all this mean for your brand? #StarWarsDay was only “formally” established in 2011 after a totally organic grassroots movement of dedicated fans built it up. George Lucas and Co. knew a good thing when they saw it and have since encouraged the movement to continue by offering special e-cards, events and deals to celebrate the day.

In today’s YouTube society, artists and musicians also recognize the value of encouraging and celebrating fan art and fan covers. Can you imagine Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” becoming the hit song it is without the many fan covers that have been released since it came out?

Not all brands can hope to achieve the gravitas of Star Wars, but letting your fans influence the marketing and communications decisions you make is a lesson everyone can learn from. The (likely) increase in sales of Star Wars merchandise on this day alone should prove to every marketing manager why encouraging fans to show their creativity can be a huge boon to the bottom line.

*Photos licensed under Creative Commons: Legoland Star Wars by elfidomx and Jedi Training Academy by Armadillo444.

Written by Allison O’Connor, Content Manager

Fewer companies are blogging these days, according to a new survey from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.  Only 37% of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fast-growing companies maintained a blog in 2011, down from 50% in 2010. Among Fortune 500 companies, the 2011 rate was the same as 2010: just 23%.

Why the low numbers?

Once the Wild West of digital marketing, social media is no longer an unfamiliar arena in which companies swing blindly at everything in hopes of hitting something. But while it’s fantastic that businesses are getting strategic about channel management, there’s still plenty of opportunity for Fortune 500 companies in social media. They’d be wise to think carefully before calling it quits on blogging.

Where does blogging fit in?

A blog is the ideal hub from which to drive the conversations you want to have online. Since it tends to be more time-intensive than micro-media channels like Facebook and Twitter, it’s often the first platform that businesses looking to cut corners throw on the chopping blocks.

It shouldn’t be.

At Banyan Branch, we’ve advised clients not to abandon blogging in favor of [insert flavor of the week here]. We feel strongly that a company blog is more than just another social network. That’s why we’ve established a dedicated Content Creation team, staffed with devoted storytellers who constantly evaluate and improve upon the blogging strategies we employ with clients.

As social media enthusiasts, we see blog content as a digital asset. It enables brands to share authentic stories that compel, inform, guide and entertain their communities. Yes, it takes time to create content that strengthens relationships and builds lasting brand awareness, but it also helps ensure that we deliver on our clients’ goals for community management, thought leadership, reach and influence.

Your blog is where you tell your story

There’s no better way to communicate a message than through storytelling, and your company blog is a blank canvas that is entirely yours to paint.  Unlike Facebook and other external platforms that own the content you create, your blog is an asset that’s all yours, and with that ownership comes limitless value.

Many companies believe they’ll benefit most from using a blog to pitch products and share press releases, but it’s unlikely that readers are coming to your blog to see what crossed the wire at 6am this morning. A blog is a vehicle through which to increase search traffic to your website, to shape the niche conversations happening in your industry, to give readers insight into your company culture, and to lend more authority to the posts you make on other channels.

Know what your audience cares about, what will trigger their emotions and elicit their feedback, and write exactly that. Be consistent and true to your company values and people will come back on their own. Before you know it, they’ll be the ones telling your story.

Written by Derek Belt, Sr. Community Manager

Written by Orion Gousie, Influencer Relations

What happens when your message gets lost in your campaign? That’s one of the issues Invisible Children, the non-profit behind the infamous Kony 2012 campaign, has grappled with since the wildly successful video went viral in early March.

Non-profit messaging should be all about your cause and the ideals you’ve worked so hard to promote. Don’t let your organization become the story.

Invisible Children grabbed tons of attention but struggled to capitalize because the organization itself wasn’t fully prepared for the level of success it achieved with this campaign. The video raised eyebrows, obviously. But it also raised questions about Invisible Children, such as its complex funding structure, and as a result the organization became the story. Much of the Kony message got lost.

There are now two Kony videos and the original video generated more than 100 million views in a week. Released less than a month later, just when you’d think interest in the campaign would be sky-high, the Kony 2012: Part II – Beyond Famous follow-up amassed just 1.5 million views.

How could the most successful viral marketing campaign of all-time see a 98% drop in views in less than a month? Time will tell if Invisible Children can keep the conversation going, but it’s clear the momentum is waning. On April 20, they attempted to turn online awareness into real-world action with the “Cover the Night” campaign, but the effort was largely mute and led Mashable to write The Decline of Kony 2012: Where Did the Online Buzz Go? Clearly, the momentum was no longer there.

Here are three key lessons non-profits can learn from the Kony conundrum:

Don’t let your message get lost in the campaign.

The original Kony video proposed that anyone can change the world and that by taking action (i.e. sharing the video) they can protest the crimes of an African warlord. The creators of the video did a fantastic job making it easy to share, and they gave us characters to connect with and actionable ways to help. However, many complaints followed about the over-simplification or even misleading content of the film. By the end of it, viewers weren’t sure what the message was. All they knew was they had been captivated, and their blind enthusiasm fueled the awesome virality of the video.

Most non-profits dream of this type of energy and attention. Getting YouTube views, tweets, and Facebook likes are all indicators of a successful campaign, but they don’t represent the ultimate goal, which is to inspire and enable people to take action, more than once. That important purpose appears to have been missed here, as indicated by the follow-up video’s low numbers in comparison to the original.

29 minutes probably won’t work for everyone.

The Kony video likely gave many people a moment of pause before clicking play. At 29:59, they must have thought, “There’s no way I’m going to last through this whole thing.” Well, Invisible Children proved that our short online attention spans can, in fact, be overcome with compelling content. Just because it worked for Invisible Children, though, doesn’t mean it’s a smart move.

Take the follow-up video. At 19:47, the second Kony push by Invisible Children felt like a marathon. It failed to re-capture the magic of the original, and because of its length the campaign’s message was likely missed by viewers.  Time went so far as to call it a dud. You want your organization’s success to be long-term and sustainable. Invisible Children’s misstep was in failing to prepare for the momentum it earned. A shorter, more concise follow-up video that drove home the message and moved people to action could have been more successful.

Instead of introducing new context or explaining what can be possible, however, Invisible Children chose to focus on “selling” us on their trustworthiness and good intentions. The audience didn’t fall for it.

Be ready to answer questions.

Don’t wait for people to start asking questions about your campaign. Be ready with answers. Credibility is one of the most important elements donors list when asked why they give to non-profits, and organizations of all sizes are under great scrutiny these days, with people demanding transparency, not just asking for it. If your group has a complex funding structure or other issues that take time to explain, don’t wait for your video to go viral before addressing it. If donors feel there is a gap between what your organization is offering and the services you are providing, you may lose their trust and, more importantly, their dollars.

Once those are gone, earning them back could be difficult, if not impossible.

Written by Erik Magnuson, Influencer Relations

For a typical politician, a rogue Tumblr account sharing snarky pictures of you in somewhat unflattering outfits is a problem. Turns out, Hillary Clinton is not the typical politician.

If you haven’t seen Texts From Hillary yet, take a moment to enjoy its simple-yet-funny narrative. Clinton schedules a brunch with Meryl Streep. Clinton tells Mitt Romney to “drink” when he asks for campaign advice. Clinton blows off Jon Stewart for Stephen Colbert. You see what I mean.

Started by a pair of Washington, D.C. communications specialists, Texts From Hillary is a perfect political meme. It makes the Secretary of State look cool. It makes her look in control. More importantly, though, it’s a tongue-in-cheek yet flattering perspective on the once-strained relationship between her and Barack Obama, portraying Clinton as a master stateswoman who doesn’t take herself too seriously.

Sometimes it can be hard to imagine what the real lives of the people we see on the news are like. This Tumblr does just that, giving us a glimpse of what it’s like to have the President’s number on your Blackberry. Plus, it’s just plain funny. Clinton telling Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner “sucks for you” when he says the economy is tanking. Classic!

The rest of the country thought so, too. Texts From Hillary reported generating 83,000 shares on Facebook, 8,400 followers on Twitter, and more than 45,000 followers on Tumblr in just a few days. The authors, Adam Smith and Stacey Lambe, are huge Clinton supporters and admitted, “What started as a joke at the bar between two friends turned into a national conversation.”

It was enough to get Clinton’s attention, and the Secretary surprised everybody by posting her own submission. That’s what we call owning it.

The Texts From Hillary site could have been a PR problem, especially for someone in a sensitive government position. But she embraced the opportunity and shared a meme of herself texting with the site’s creators (click to enlarge). She even poked fun at Lambe. So often, public figures and politicians use social media in the wrong ways, like never, ever responding when supporters ask follow-up questions to tweets. In this case, it was refreshing to see Clinton acknowledge the meme and use it to her advantage.

Texts From Hillary is a case of someone generating tons of free publicity for you. But it wasn’t necessarily great publicity. Clinton could have distanced herself from it, or moved to control the message somehow. Instead, she embraced it. By getting involved, Clinton sparked a much different conversation, one focused on her savvy use of social media instead of her more serious nature, which the meme was capitalizing on.

This is how to harness the power of social media. Be a part of the conversation and engage with your supporters. They want to hear from you, but they also want to know that you can hear them. Clinton could have panicked, but she didn’t. Many brands and organizations have vocal critics online and make rash decisions when faced with issues like this. But take a lesson from Clinton, who saw this as a real opportunity. In the process, she scored tons of earned media for doing something that many politicians usually shy away from.

She showed her personality.

Written by Andrea Hofer, Sr. Community Manager, and Amy Rainey, Account Manager

Several members of the Banyan Branch team recently attended MarketMix 2012, which was held March 20 at Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. Presented by the Puget Sound American Marketing Association, the day-long event is the largest annual gathering of marketers in the Pacific Northwest.

This year’s theme was “Thriving in the Conversation Economy,” and sessions ranged from mobile marketing and social TV to the content marketing cycle. Keynote speakers included Ben Huh, CEO and founder of Cheezburger, Ted Rubin, chief social marketing strategist at Collective Bias, and Allison Watson, Microsoft Corporate VP of U.S. Advertising and Operations Group. Here are some of the key takeaways and quotes from MarketMix 2012:

“CEOs talk ROI but decide budgets on a feeling. Social media is about feeling.” – Ted Rubin of Collective Bias

In marketing, it can be easy to get caught up in daily tasks and forget about the bigger picture. At Banyan Branch, we’re focused on leveraging social trends, influencers, and word-of-mouth for our clients, creating prime opportunities to get the right feeling across. Be sure and save shout-outs from fans, positive anecdotes, and supporting facts to share with stakeholders whenever possible.

“Social media drives engagement; engagement drives loyalty; loyalty correlates directly to increased sales.” – Ted Rubin of Collective Bias

Return on investment was a major theme throughout the conference, particularly during Rubin’s speech, “Return on Relationships.” Clients want to see ROI, and agencies should make this their goal. However, if marketers overlook engagement and loyalty as additional metrics of success, they miss the long-term effects of developing repeat customers. For example, marketers should track sales over time, brand sentiment, and the ongoing conversation around their brands, products, and services. Relationships are the currency that keeps paying off.

“80% of people watching TV are mobile multi-tasking: email, text, talk, or social networking. 15% are using phones the entire time they are watching TV.” – “New Ways of Looking at TV” breakout session

Social TV is here to stay, as we wrote about following the success of Connect with Jenni Hogan. Marketers in the entertainment field need to engage with viewers on multiple platforms—or someone else will. With tools like TV Everywhere popping up, marketers are expanding beyond household demographic information and honing in on individual users, learning who is consuming what content, and on what kind of device they’re consuming it.

“57% of companies have acquired customers through a blog.” – Andy Boyer of Relaborate

Marketers have a responsibility to prove blogs’ value to companies and to offer a collaborative content development strategy. Q&A templates can extract key insights from thought leaders, which a content manager can use to craft a post that is SE-friendly.

“Make sure you have your social properties and social campaigns on clients’ email unsubscribe page.” – Laura Ashley of TailoredMail

When customers reach your email unsubscribe page, it isn’t necessarily a setback. It can actually be an opportunity to connect with them in a different way, such as social media. Just because a customer opts out of email from a company doesn’t necessarily mean they want to end the relationship altogether. Highlight your social channels, campaigns, contests, or giveaways on the unsubscribe page  and introduce customers to other avenues for connecting with your company.

“The Internet has created more drive for people to connect in real life, not less. Like at conferences, like this one.” – Ben Huh of Cheezburger

Happiness, Huh noted, comes the same way it did years ago—through friendships and shared experiences. Social media succeeds when it facilitates connections, relationships, and experiences. There’s nothing like a campaign with an in-person element to drive online buzz.

“It’s time to change the dialogue from ‘content is king.’ Content is like gold.” – Russell Sparkman of Fusion Spark Media

Like gold, content is conductive, malleable, and is a long-term investment. High-quality content has long-lasting evergreen value that can consistently help your search rankings and serve customers over time.  Your content’s characteristics should match customer phases to be the most effective, Sparkman said. The “awareness phase” calls for compelling content that inspires, while the “consideration phase” necessitates authoritative content that informs a customer. The “decision phase” requires influential content such as case studies and testimonials, and the “final phase” allows for more opportunities to show off your brand.

“Your brand is what your customer says your brand is.” – Rod Brooks of PEMCO Insurance

This is an important reminder about the incredible power of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s essential to follow the key phases of social: listen, participate, engage, and respond.

Here is a SlideShare with all of the key takeaways from MarketMix 2012. Feel free to share!

Written by Derek Belt, Sr. Community Manager

Get ready for social TV. On Thursday, March 22, Banyan Branch hosted Connect with Jenni Hogan, a first-of-its-kind television show that fused traditional and social media. Viewers were able to engage directly with Jenni during the live broadcast, and the KIRO 7 CBS traffic anchor used viewer comments to drive much of the show’s conversation.

It was a night to remember for Banyan Branch, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News and especially Jenni, the country’s most popular local TV journalist on Twitter (she has 42,000 followers) and a 2011 finalist for the worldwide Shorty Awards, known as the “Oscars of Twitter.” Behind Jenni’s enthusiasm for all things social media and dazzling on-air presence, KIRO successfully integrated its TV and social media communities for an innovative and exciting hour-long special. You can watch the full-length video, including 30 minutes of online-only exclusives, on the Connect with Jenni Hogan site.

Banyan Branch President Blake Cahill was one of several guests along with Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh and actress Josie Bissett of Melrose Place fame. Blake, who jumped at the chance to host this ground-breaking program, said afterwards: “Social media and television are a natural fit, and Jenni is leading the way in bringing these two mediums together. We are proud of her and are excited to be a part of Connect.”

Jenni interviews Banyan Branch President Blake Cahill during "Connect."

Viewers were excited, too, tuning in from all across the country and as far away as London and Australia to engage with Jenni and “connect” with the television in a way American Idol audiences never could. Dubbed “Social TV,” this was a two-way conversation and may have kicked off a new era of television news. Jenni continually asked questions of her audience, inquiring as to their favorite devices (the iPhone or anything Apple) and the people who inspire them (Jenni herself got a lot of mentions). Those replies led the discussions Jenni had with her panelists.

I volunteered to work the event and monitored the online conversation via TweetDeck, relaying trends and interesting comments to the show’s producer, Paul Balcerak. It was thrilling to watch the live feed and see how many people were following along with the show. At the start of the broadcast, a lot of people were saying how pretty Jenni’s hair looked. We passed that along to Paul, who shared it with Jenni on the air. She laughed, and within minutes a Twitter handle for @jennihoganshair was created by a viewer.

Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh, left, and actress Josie Bissett.

For those of us in attendance, it wasn’t a surprise when the hashtag #KIROconnect reached No. 1 on the list of trending Twitter topics in Seattle. The buzz in the building was undeniable, and Jenni was on top of her game. But when the hashtag reached No. 2 on the list of trending topics nationally, well, that was icing on the cake. For Jenni, it was a remarkable accomplishment. She believed in this program, and she promoted it heavily on TV and social media channels. To her, seeing the hashtag atop the trends list must have been validation. For viewers, it was proof that a two-way conversation was, in fact, possible with the TV.

And that’s the real takeaway from this event. Social media has changed the way brands and organizations connect with and listen to customers. The news media is evolving, and social conversations are playing a major part in this dramatic sea-change. Jenni is a superstar in this space, and her celebrity, her influence, made this happen. We all feel like we “know” our favorite newscasters, but they don’t really talk back to us. Jenni is different. She uses social media to speak to a new generation of viewers. She brings social media into her traffic reports, and Connect was her chance to show that it would work in a prime time environment.

It’s going to take somebody like Jenni, somebody willing to push the envelope in an old media world, to show us how digital media can be leveraged for television news. She’s the kind of champion that can drive change and innovation in the industry.

Praise for the show was high. Todd Bishop, a former journalist and co-founder of GeekWire, wrote that ”KIRO deserves a ton of credit for putting on the show. Even the sheer logistics of the thing were impressive, and it’s good to see a traditional media outlet doing so much to explore the integration of traditional and new media.” Jenni herself was thrilled afterwards, writing on her blog: “I’m still on a high from the opportunity to have our wonderful online family show what we can do on live TV with our tiny little amazing voices (not sure I’ll come down).”

My hope is that we’ll see social TV practices adopted on a wider basis soon. Customers are engaging in two-way conversations with their favorite brands, and sports fans are chatting with their favorite athletes in ways never thought possible. Social media is bringing people together, and as Connect with Jenni Hogan showed, it’s only a matter of time before that connectivity comes to TV, as well.

Here are some behind-the-scenes images from the show.

Photos on this blog post by JasonTanaka.com.

By Orion Gousie, Influencer Relations

There’s talk the Seattle SuperSonics may be returning to Seattle, albeit in the form of another city’s basketball team. Relocation is what took the Sonics from the city in 2008, and it’s what could signal their return if the stars align in the next few months.

It’s an exciting time for many Seattle sports fans. But it’s also a polarizing subject, as many fans still feel the sting of losing the Sonics. Likewise, many Seattleites don’t feel the need to have a professional basketball team at all, believing civic responsibilities should lie elsewhere, like fixing a budget shortfall and alleviating the city’s preposterous traffic situation.

Conversation volume (i.e. the number of people talking about the Sonics on social media) has exploded by more than 5,000% since news broke just before Valentine’s Day that a wealthy Bay Area-hedge fund manager was stepping up to back a new arena proposal. The issue of an arena was the main reason the Sonics left town in 2008, with ownership claiming KeyArena was inadequate for pro sports.

Four Decades of History

The Sonics reigned in Seattle for 41 years, but for many the NBA died the day it left Seattle. Watching the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that used to be the Sonics, is like watching an ex-girlfriend with her new man. The break-up wasn’t mutual, and it certainly wasn’t pretty. When Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett bought the team from Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in 2006, he was prepared to walk out on four decades of history. And that’s exactly what he did.

Circumstances led former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to accept a $45 million settlement from Bennett in exchange for letting the Sonics leave. To get another NBA team in Seattle someday, Nickels knew the city would have to build a better arena—a long shot at best. The new plans to build an arena and bring the NBA (and possibly even the NHL) back to the Emerald City have energized Seattle sports fans.

Chris Hansen, the hedge fund manager and a lifelong Sonics fan, met with The Seattle Times on Feb. 15 to discuss his proposal. Then, on Feb. 16, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine held a press conference to publically announce the arena proposal for the first time. “On first look, this is an exciting proposal, and it could mean big things for our community,” McGinn said. “It could mean the Seattle SuperSonics play in Seattle again.”

Building Buzz for a New Arena

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Written by Megan Fleming & Allison O’Connor with infographics by Adam Cornille.

There’s no denying the power of social media in social movements these days.

Take the controversy surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision last week (which leaked on January 31^st) to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving further funding.  As you probably saw, public outcry erupted almost immediately on all forms of social media. From online petitions and heated blog posts to emotional Facebook and Twitter messages, the number of mentions for both Planned Parenthood and Susan G. Komen Foundation skyrocketed. Within a matter of days Komen decided to overturn their ill-fated decision and multiple key figures at the foundation resigned.

Let’s take a look at the conversation breakdown:

Twitter mentions rose swiftly immediately after the news broke on the 31^st. Both Komen and Planned Parenthood saw a dramatic increase in twitter mentions, but Komen was the focus of most conversation, with a 62%/38% ratio between Komen/Planned Parenthood mentions.

Total conversation peaked on February 2^nd (159,999 tweets), when Komen announced their decision to overturn the controversial new policy, but continued to spike as news of high-profile resignations went public. Komen, which usually gets an average of 1,399 mentions per day on Twitter, saw a 32,731% increase (that’s an average of 457,301 mentions a day from January 31^st until February 7^th, when Karen Handel resigned).

The style of interaction on social channels also changed during the Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy. An average post on Susan G. Komen’s Facebook wall before the crisis usually saw an average of 52.4 likes and 17.5 comments (with an average of 1.7 likes on users’ comments). During the time between Komen’s decision and its reversal however, comments increased by 31,417% (5,515.4 per post), likes decreased by 99% (0.3 likes per comment) and likes on user comments increased by 288% (6.6 per comment).  These numbers have neutralized a little since the reversal was announced, but the average number of comments per post continues to be 23,176% higher than normal.

When Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced that they were reversing their original decision on February 3^rd, it was no secret that they did it in large part (if not solely) because of the outpouring of criticism and threats of funding withdrawal they were suddenly faced with. If the initial decision was a political move, as many are alleging, it failed horribly. Planned Parenthood came out of the controversy with more supporters than ever and at least enough new funding to offset the (temporary) loss of Komen’s support.

Regardless of where your opinion lies on the controversy itself, it’s hard to deny the integral role social media played in the whole process.  Can you imagine it playing out like this if we didn’t have platforms like Facebook and Twitter spreading the news in minutes?

Written by Derek Belt, senior content manager

The Super Bowl has long been an exciting part of our national identity, and thanks to social media the past few years have really kicked off a new level of fan interaction with the game.

Last year, the Super Bowl truly went social. From the more than 4 million tweets shared during the game to the advertisers who pre-released their multi-million dollar spots before the game on YouTube and Facebook, 2011 ushered in a new era of Super Bowl marketing. And we, the fans, are better off because of it.

What’s in store for this year’s game? To fully understand what the 2012 Super Bowl has to offer, let’s take a quick look back at what took place last year. Then, we’ll explore just how fans can get the most out of Super Bowl XLVI, featuring the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

Year in Review—Twitter Gives Ads a Boost

Online conversation surrounding the 2011 Super Bowl was up 9% over the previous year, which isn’t a surprise considering how vocal football fans are. This group is one of the most active on social networks—see the record-setting tweets about Tim Tebow (9,420 tweets per second) and the fact that in 2011 the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV was the second most-popular Facebook status update in the world behind the death of Osama bin Laden.

The 2011 game saw more than 4.5 million total tweets and roughly 4,000 tweets per second at its peak, as many viewers took to their mobile devices to talk extensively about the commercials, Christina Aguilera’s botched rendition of the national anthem, the wild halftime performance by the Black Eyed Peas, and, of course, the football game itself.

Best Buy, Doritos and Paramount’s teaser for Transformers 3 all garnered nearly 50,000 mentions on Twitter in the six-hour period surrounding the game, while Pepsi Max got the greatest lift from its spot and boosted its social media shares by 3,000%. Many of these brands released their marketing spots before the game even started, building significant buzz in advance of the big day.

Social Media Warms Up the Crowd

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