Timberlake Treasure Hunt

Following the release date of Justin Timberlake's latest album, The 20/20 Experience, he (along with the help of his team) hid 5 autographed copies of the album in cities across the U.S., hinting at their location via Instagram for a few lucky fans to find. 

Timberlake would dual Instagram and tweet the clues then wait. Once someone found the album, he then interacted with the "winner" by sharing their Instagram reply photos on both his Instagram and Twitter accounts, ending the whole thing with one awesome final tweet. 

This minor marketing ploy is brilliant for multiple reasons, the greatest of which is the fact that it demonstrates a very unique and compelling way for a brand — in this case Timberlake — to connect with its audience. Coupling this fun fan activity with a much-anticipated launch, like Timberlake's first album since 2007, catapulted this promo into the public eye but that doesn't mean something can't be learned...

Do you have a promo coming up that you need to get fans pumped for? Consider the simplicity of an Instagram contest (especially if the behavior of fans is already to take pictures) or "treasure" hunt.

Hot Topic: Vine

Vine is officially the latest buzzworthy social media tool and I love it. Similar to Instagram,  Vine one-ups the photo-sharing app with the awesome ability for users to upload personalized videos (with or without sound) or GIFs. Amazeballs? Totes.

Check out some of the already fabulous creations from hip "socialites" (including me!).

My #firstpost on Vine: 6 sec desk tour! (cc: @vineapp) vine.co/v/bJEtjr0QEmu
— Emily Drake (@DrakeEmily) January 30, 2013

A trip down #Gap advertising memory lane for our #firstpost on Vine. vine.co/v/b5PeYQOLuLj

— Gap (@Gap) January 25, 2013

Dying for a coffee. #magic #vineart #pleaselike vine.co/v/bJwnA9qjYiH

— Ian Padgham (@origiful) January 29, 2013

Instagram Launches .COM Profiles

Pretty sweet!

Though, how similar are these to the new Facebook timeline design? Too similar? That's what I was thinking...

Similarities aside, I love that there's finally somewhere to direct to for non-Instagram users. I will admit that I don't necessarily have much reason to do so, but this is great news for brands and marketers to show non-iPhone using fans.

Backstreet's Back...With Killer Social

Contrary to popular belief (at least according to everyone who makes fun of me for still being a fangirl), the Backstreet Boys are still around and they still have a huge following. With 6.5 million Facebook fans, 395,000+ Twitter followers, a quickly growing Instagram community (at 15,000+) — they've even opted to join Pinterest to stay on top of things — and a pending star on the Walk of Fame, they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

Though I could gush a lot about my love for the boy band of all boy bands, I wanted to take this time to share a marketing lesson about the music entertainment industry. Why is BSB my example? Simple: They are getting SMM (that's social media marketing) right. Sure, Taylor Swift does a great job, too, because she offers a personal relationship with her fans — mainly by showing adorable vidoes of her cat, Meredith — but BSB, on top of doing fabulously wonderful "throwback" posts of them back in the day, have recently amped up their game since Kevin's return, and it is paying off.

Sprinkled through this post are behind-the-scenes photos that BSB has been sharing from their London recording studio, where they are currently at work on their eighth studio album, including shots of them behind the mic (top left), collaborating with other artists/producers (middle right — that's Craig David, remember him?) and goofing off in their free time (left). What's so genius about this? In my experience as an Internet creep, I have never once seen an artist give fans this much of a glimpse into their everyday work life... in real time. Not only is it interesting, but it's exactly what fans want to see. Thumbs up, boys.