By: Brittany Lloyd
Ms. Candy Blog is the first candy livestreamer, an award nominated YouTuber on the World of Wonder (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”) network, and candy costume designer. Ms. Candy Blog is “where candy is always in vogue”! With a degree in English, two in theatre and a background in corpo-rate training, instructional design and community management, Ms. Candy Blog has worked for such brands as Google/YouTube, Yahoo!, J.P. Morgan and American Express. As a candy persona, she has partnered with such top brands as Hershey’s, Lindt, HSN, Epix, It’Sugar, Sour Patch Kids, Sugarpova, Just Born (Peeps/Mike & Ike), Jelly Belly, Torie & Howard, Adams & Brooks (Whirly Pop) and Dorval Trading Company (Sour Power). An energetic and inspiring speaker, Ms. Candy Blog has spoken at Summit Live (San Francisco), Digital. (Vancouver) and Cake Pop Con (Philadelphia). She has served as a judge for Cake Pop Con and Werrk.com. Her award nominated YouTube channel is part of the World of Wonder network, having received a contract in less than a week of posting a review of the RuPaul candy bar. The first candy livestreamer, she was awarded a contract with Periscope’s first talent network, Lifestream Productions, and placed on 3 top Periscoper lists after her first week on the live streaming platform. She has trended on Periscope & Hype, has been featured on Live.Me, GhostCodes & MeVee, and honored by PeriUnion and the BoPoTribe.
We sat down for a little chat with Ms. Candy Blog and would like to share a bit with you.
Q: What are some of the worst mistakes a business could make when it comes to content marketing?
A:
- Giving the marketing/social media responsibility to the intern/someone who has used social media. Social media must be a part of one’s overall marketing strategy–and video is a must.
- Rather than signing up on a number of platforms, one must have a strategy and content calendar. Find where your audience is gathering–those are the platforms on which you should focus.
- Please don’t automate your social media. I’ve seen major tragedies occur and companies with social media on autopilot wind up foolishly posting what becomes inappropriate messages, and in turn, receive social media backlash.
Q:What do you think is next for content marketing? How will it evolve in the coming years?
A: It’s been said by numerous tech resources that 2017 is the year of video (livestreaming/live video & social video). 2018 will be the year of virtual reality with 2019, the year of artificial intelligence.
Q: Social media marketing is free, right?
A: How do you define “free”? Are you paying someone to handle your social media? Are you measuring your social media’s success using a SAAS platform? How many views/clicks/likes are you looking for? Paying can factor into all of these.
Q: A small business owner has to wear many hats and time is always tight. What are some social media time management tips you have to help them stick with their social media campaign without losing a lot of time?
A: Have you identified who your audience is? What social media platforms are they using? That’s where you should focus your social media strategy which should include providing incentives to drive them somewhere–perhaps you’re trying to build your email list or you want to increase sales. Make sure your social media work leads to a goal; otherwise, you’re wasting time and money.
Q: Share your favorite digital marketing case study. What did you like most it?
A: My favorite marketing case study is when the band Radiohead livestreamed their concert on Periscope the best way possible. They put live streaming in the hands of fans, sharing an Iceland venue’s wifi code on their website and via special twitter account. Can you imagine all the content that was created and how many people saw the event as a result of the streams?! Using live streaming in this way is great because it’s a FOMO killer!
Q: Which are your three favorite digital marketing tools?
A: I love livestreaming as it allows for a dialogue between broadcaster/brand and audience/consumer, making it reactive and memorable for consumers, with the added bonus of immediate feedback about the broadcast. While I began on livestreaming with Periscope where I have a large following, my favorite platforms are Instagram Live and LiveStar. Instagram Live allows me to “meet” all the people who I feel like I know after seeing their posted photos and “chatting” with them on their posts. LiveStar has a gamified feel similar to Live.Me, but the audience is interested in listening and talking. The app’s features make a broadcast fun rather than being the focus of the audience. Because my brand is very visual, Instagram has allowed me to meet a variety of people/brands in different industries and as a result, I’ve partnered with quite a few. I feel like I know the accounts I follow and I believe those brands/accounts feel the same as supported by the numbers I reach/comments received in Instagram posts and Instagram Stories’ views. I share pieces of my broadcasts/YouTube videos which allows them to see what I do. Twitter is a different audience from the two aforementioned platforms. I use it to drive traffic to my livestreams and YouTube channel as well as market any projects I’m working on. And as livestreaming and Instagram are visual, so too is my Twitter as I post with a photo or video.
Q: Who are three people you respect when it comes to digital marketing?
A: I’ll give you one. RuPaul, the world’s most famous drag queen. He’s created an entire world out of drag, selling subversive gay culture for the past 35 years. With a fervent community on Reddit and Twitter, there are a multitude of communities who watch his and “his gurls” (contestants on his show “RuPaul’s Drag Race) every move, an entire convention has been created where his tribe gathers to celebrate all things drag.
I hope you enjoyed this little Q&A as much as we did.
Ms. Candy Blog will be speaking at the MDMC17 on April 13th, 2017 in the Coegi room starting at 3:00 p.m. and will last for 40 minutes, so don’t miss it! Ms. Candy Blog will be on a panel with three other speakers discussing the future of livestreaming, where it was and where it is going. Make sure to get your tickets now for the event, they are going fast! Everyone wants to meet the first Candy Livestreamer in person!