Scottsdale Airpark News: Social Media Profiles: China Mist

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Aug 4th, 2009 | Comments

China Mist Pure
Kiley Biggins, China Mist Brands
Photos by Seymour & Brody Photography Studios

This year, we launched China Mist Pure Bottled Organic Teas, six varieties of pure natural flavors. We took the same great fresh-brewed tea you find in your favorite restaurants, resorts and upscale grocery stores and put it in a contemporary hourglass-shaped bottle.

This isn’t your average bottled tea, and we just couldn’t enlist average marketing avenues to promote it. We needed a new kind of plan, so we plunged into the social-marketing world with a Facebook page and Twitter account. To date, we have 250 fans on Facebook.com and 1,391 followers on Twitter.com.

When we decided to tackle social marketing, we knew we’d need professional assistance. To devise a strategy and execution plan, we enlisted the help of Kevin Spidel of Activating Word of Mouth.

Take It to the Tweeple
Kevin sat down with me and China Mist Brands Co-founder John S Martinson many times to teach us a whole new language. We learned about Twitter, tweeps, re-tweeting and all kinds of important Twitter-y words that helped us promote our product. Getting information out by word-of-mouth advertising is considered one of the most viable sources for product information.

The China Mist Brands Facebook page shares news about China Mist Pure. Posts include new locations where the bottles can be purchased, free sa mpling events, photos of the marketing materials for China Mist Pure in Dubai, links to online voting for the bottled teas and much more.

With these outlets, we took that word-of-mouth advertising and amplified it by allowing it to be read online and spread more rapidly. As tweeters (people who post messages on Twitter.com) would engage in communication about the organic teas, we found an entire network of people who are avid China Mist Pure fans. They post photos, or Twitpics, of places they are drinking the teas as well as stores where the bottled teas can be found. Some of the followers liked the bottles so much they found ways to reuse them. We saw a Twitpic from a follower who reused her bottles as flower vases, and one who created a beautiful wind chime from the glass bottles. (more…)

Online Business Networking…Just an Extension of Offline Networking?

Posted by Jennifer Kindred on Jun 30th, 2009 | Comments

By: Jennifer Kindred

I am an Economist magazine junkie and have been for years. I may not always agree on the magazines opinions but the analysis and reporting is top notch. So imagine my surprise and excitement when I came across an article about Business Networking websites http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13900974. The article cleverly compares the influence of old fashioned networks like alumni associations, social cliques, and religious groups to online business networking sites such as LinkedIn, Xing (headquartered in Germany), and Viadeo (based in France).

These online networks are breaking down the “good ole boy” club barriers and creating a diverse pool of people who can post their credentials, resumes, and recommendations to the world. My LinkedIn profile is a wonderful online resource for employment opportunities, client vetting, and networking without leaving the comfort of my desk.

However, I must disagree with The Economist on one point, even though anyone can join LinkedIn and post their profiles, users must engage others either offline or online to grow their network. LinkedIn does not allow you to simply click on others and make them your “colleague” the other person must actively engage you through invitation and accept you as a member of their network. Savvy users will not just allow anyone access to their rolodexes.

So are social networks like LinkedIn just another way to create exclusive clubs, but online? Perhaps, but people who are fans of exclusivity will undoubtedly seek to exclude others in all environments, including online. However, The Economist is correct in its assessment that online networks create links that cross national borders and help people to exchange information about each other’s talents and businesses.

At a minimum you should create a LinkedIn profile for business purposes, it is a resource for you and others interested in you or your company. Business networking sites are another example of the benefits of authentic engagement and information collection.

Here at Activating WOM, our business cards not only have company information but our LinkedIn profiles links. We are living in the digital age; you and your business must get on board the social web to compete in the world of infinite information.

China Mist’s Social Media Efforts Yield Tea Tweetup Tour

Posted by Kevin Spidel on Jun 1st, 2009 | Comments

China Mist hits Arizona Purely by Social Media Marketing

China Mist Brands introduced a bottled organic tea line, China Mist Pure, late last year.  Social media outlets have created interest and social buzz for the glass-bottled teas, and have been the main source for growing the new brand.

The ever-increasing popularity of social media sites, like Twitter.com and Facebook.com, have proven to be beneficial avenues for introducing the new brand to the community.  In just a few weeks of being online, ChinaMistTea has over 800 Twitter followers and China Mist Brands holds over 200 Facebook friends.

China Mist Brands Facebook friends were given a discount code to use at the chinamist.com online store for the month of April.  A strong rate of return on the coupon code was captured, giving China Mist strong confidence in the dedication of its social media friends and followers.

“China Mist is a great brand and has a following to begin with, activating the word-of-mouth marketing campaign on Twitter and Facebook was focused on authentic empowerment of those who are already fans of China Mist, to reach out and promote the newest line, China Mist Pure,” said Kevin Spidel of ActivatingWOM.com.

China Mist followers who regularly comment on the brand and new bottled tea have become a sort-of friend group via Twitter.  China Mist Brands is holding a “Tweet Up” for these newly made social friends at their corporate offices in the Scottsdale Airpark.

“We really appreciate all the twittering our new friends have been doing for the bottled tea,” said China Mist Brands Marketing Manager Kiley Biggins.  “We just want to invite them to our plant, let them see how our teas are made, give them the opportunity to meet each other face-to-face and personally thank each of them for promoting our China Mist Pure so diligently.”

The Tweet Up will be at China Mist Brands Corporate on June 25th, 6 – 8pm.  Social and Traditional Media are invited to attend.You can RSVP here: http://twtvite.com/4xxtjs