HootSuite Reinvents Social Analytics ~ Custom Reports to Measure Success

This is very exciting for companies like ours that use HootSuite with our clients! Originally posted by HootSuite.

From new networks to more mobile, HootSuite has come a long way in just a short while. Thanks to all the Hoot-Fans who fly with us, the dashboard has surpassed a million users, won awards from Mashable and the CNMAs (and more!) and had plenty of feedback to inspire us to push for even better features and more functionality.

Today we’re thrilled to celebrate yet another milestone, and this one’s all about you. Get ready to see your world of social in a whole new light… HootSuite Social Analytics are here.

Social Results Simplified

HootSuite Social Analytics provide you with a better view of your social spaces with new, more powerful analytics tools, more ways to measure, and customizable reports, all of which are designed to track campaign success and help you understand the return on your social media investment.

Now you can:

• Track Twitter brand mentions
• Measure Twitter profile follower growth
• Examine Facebook Likes and demographics
• Overlay social link clicks and website visits from Google
• Select from over 30 report modules to plug into customizable report templates

See the HootSuite Social Analytics in action:

A special thanks goes to the Salteens for their song – Everything They Know About Us

See What’s New

In the newest version of the dashboard, we’ve added to the existing Stats to give you over 30 measurement and analytics tools, all accessible from a handy sidebar within your dashboard. Fear not if you’re a fan of the Stats as they’ve always been — they’ll live in the new menu as Quick Report functions.

Use modules to build reports with HootSuite Social Analytics 

Now, all menu functions live in this new spot on the dashboard. Our cute blinking-owl has flown from the nest (we’ll miss that little guy), which means you can access everything from the Launch Bar: Analytics (formerly Stats), Contacts, Settings etc. will all be available right there.

Get Started

Using the custom reports is a snap. Simply click ‘create report’ and select any one of the modules listed in the Launch Bar to plug them in. The report will start building before your eyes with colorful, interactive graphs and charts. Or, select your modules from a drop down menu at the bottom of the report.

Build a report from scratch, or start with one of our pre-made templates 

To top it all off, you can create a custom header for your report by uploading your company’s logo. Your name and contact info will automatically be attached to it based on your HootSuite account details too.

Give it a title and change it any time you need. Choose the size of your title, add a paragraph for you to preface your report, and choose the size of that too. Reports are totally customizable!

Customize and Automate

The custom reports available in HootSuite Social Analytics are designed to be as nimble as you are. This means that as your Social Analytics requirements shift, the reports can adjust to your changing needs.

For example, you can:

• Edit at any time
• Change the date range
• Create a print view and export as a PDF
• Save reports using labels for easy sorting
• Automate delivery to team members for the most up-to-date analytics

Once you’re done, you can share the report with any registered HootSuite user, not just team members! Send as a PDF only, or allow them to view the dynamic report. And you can view all of your shared reports any time from the dashboard.

Reports For Everyone

The huge-ness of HootSuite Social Analytics is available to all HootSuite users. So if you’re flying with a Basic free plan or you’ve kicked it up a notch with one of the premium plans, you can rock out in style with these eye opening reports.

Each module will be assigned a certain number of points — so the more complex reporting modules may require more points than the simpler ones. The type of plan you’re on will determine how many points you can use, and you can opt to purchase more credits if you need them at any time.

Try it out and see how versatile reports can be. Basic users who want to see more can upgrade to Pro and get a free 30 day trial with unlimited access to reports.

What Do You Think?

Visit the HootSuite Social Analytics page for more information about these amazing new reports.

We look forward to hearing about the successes you have using the new reporting method, so drop us a line @HootWatch, or comment here on this blog.

Welcome to HootSuite Social Analytics everyone!

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Written by: Ashley Jane Brookes

How Social Media Helped Toy Story 3 Win at the Box Office

We loved this article because it shows the power of social media…something we always teach our clients! Originally posted by Mashable.

2/18/2011 by Christina Warren.

The Behind the Social Media Campaign Series is supported by Oneupweb, an award-winning agency specializing in search marketing, social media and design for mid-to-enterprise level brands. Download Oneupweb’s free whitepaper, “The Bloody Truth about Social Media.”

Toy Story 3 was one of the biggest films of 2010. As Pixar’s 11th full-length film, the third and final chapter in the world of Buzz Lightyear and Woody hit theaters in June 2010.

Months before that, Disney and Pixar embarked in a wide-scale marketing blitz that covered television, print and social media. Using Facebook and YouTube to help promote the film, the studio raised awareness and successfully targeted demographics that don’t traditionally flock to Disney animated feature films.

In the following, we take a closer look at the Toy Story 3 social media campaign.

The Campaign

For Toy Story 3, Disney and Pixar heavily marketed the film across different demographics. Pixar films are unique in that they typically appeal to broader audiences and skew older than other animated films. Thanks to films like The Incredibles, WALL-E and Up, it’s not uncommon to see more adults than children packed into theaters when watching a Pixar movie.

From the very beginning, Disney and Pixar made it clear that individuals in their twenties would be a big target for Toy Story 3. The TV and print campaigns for the film largely targeted families and younger children. In an interesting move, however, Disney ran a parallel campaign targeting twenty-somethings via Facebook, YouTube and movie blogs.

In March of 2010, Disney and Pixar announced special cliffhanger screenings of Toy Story 3 at college campuses around the country.

Using Facebook, students with a valid college ID could sign up for special screenings of the film. These screenings were 65 minutes in length and designed to whet viewers appetites for the final release in June 2010.

Targeting college students and doing special campus screenings was the first sign that Disney was serious about targeting socially savvy audiences.

Pixar and Disney also targeted older Generation X viewers with its “Groovin’ with Ken” character profile. The clip, which is very Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in its approach, introduces audiences to the character Ken. Voiced by Michael Keaton, Ken is one of the funniest characters in the film.

Here’s the YouTube clip:

Going Viral

In April 2010, Disney and Pixar raised the ante for social media campaigns everywhere with the release of the Lots-o’Huggin’ Bear “vintage” YouTube commercials. Purportedly from the 1980s, these ads oozed nostalgia. From the lighting to the clothing, the ads could easily be mistaken for something from 1983. To add to the effect, the clips were given a “bad tracking” VHS effect.

Directed by Chris Cantwell, the two ads were shot in high-definition. The Toy Story 3 Blu-ray edition features a 90-second “making-of” clip showing the ads both untreated and then treated for YouTube.

The details in post-production — as well as the decision to release the clips on YouTube — made the Lotso spots a viral sensation.

To date, the main Lotso clip has been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube — and we imagine that number can be multiplied several times to counter the variants and copies floating around the web.

These ads, which were released in late April 2010, immediately opened up a wave of press and blog coverage that extended far beyond the typical movie news cycle. The ads worked because it gave viewers a look into the the alternate reality of an animated film — while also acting as a genuinely cool Internet video.

Moreover, the ads managed to promote the film without promoting it. The advertisements were for a new character in the Toy Story universe. This character is integral to the film, however his role in the story is not revealed from the faux ads.

The faux ads were successful enough that Disney released an actual collector’s edition Lotso toy in the fall of 2010.

Targeting Adults

A marketing tie-in between Toy Story 3 and Dancing with the Stars aired in May 2010. Airing on the Disney-owned ABC, a special segment showcased how Dancing with the Stars influenced the animation of a Latin dance number.

This aspect of the campaign felt the most false to us. As funny as Spanish Buzz is in Toy Story 3, the tie-in with Dancing with the Stars just feels awkward. The fact that the appearance received little coverage even across movie and Disney-focused blogs indicates that perhaps this wasn’t the strongest part of the campaign.

The Results

Toy Story 3 was a huge hit with critics, and with fans. The film has gone on to gross over $1 billion dollars worldwide, making it the most successful animated film of all time.

Even before the film’s release, it seemed inevitable that Toy Story 3 would be nominated — if not win — the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. For Disney, however, that’s not enough. In November, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross launched a tongue-in-cheek Oscar campaign for the biggest award in Hollywood: Best Picture.

Speaking with Pete Hammond at Deadline, Ross said:

“With this movie we wanted to come up with a campaign that kept our aspirations clear but at the same time used a tongue-in-cheek approach. It’s all to recognize the quandary which is that no animated picture had won Best Picture, so we used only Best Picture images to reflect that. I feel very confident we have a movie everybody loves, and I want to make sure with our support and our campaign that people don’t feel the consolation prize is the appropriate prize for a movie like Toy Story 3. I think people will look at the ads and feel it’s very Pixar and very Disney. At the same time it’s very clear. Toy Story 3 is a Best Picture. Vote for it. Please.”

The campaign continued to run through January, and Disney has compiled a gallery of the campaign posters. This Oscar campaign is really a cut above.

When Oscar nominations were announced last month, Toy Story 3 received five nods — including Best Picture, Best Animated Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay. Toy Story 3‘s chances at taking home Best Picture are a long shot, though — it’s only the third animated film in history to secure a Best Picture nomination.

In the end, the campaigns for the film before, during and after its release have solidified Toy Story 3‘s role in history, both as a film and as a case study for effective uses of social media and viral marketing.