Microsoft and Linkedin: What Does it Mean for Us?

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So Microsoft has bought Linkedin. What does this mean for us? Love it or hate it, we all use Microsoft, and many of us have come to rely on Linkedin as an important resource these days. We join its groups, look to its advertising opportunities, its ability to drill down by job title and zip code, look to it to make business connections. Yet it seems like an odd pairing. The question on everyone’s mind, of course–what does it mean for us?

Bigger is better; it opens up new resources 

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner noted that his social media company would:

• Be able to leverage Microsoft’s 1B+ customers to scale the reach and engagement of the platform.
• Collaborate with Microsoft on enterprise solutions for business intelligence distribution and collaboration
• Allow its sponsored content advertisers access to Microsoft users.

Industry reaction has been mixed

• Some people think LinkedIn’s functionality will improve with the integration of MS Office applications.
• Others (as am I) are concerned as to the access to data that Microsoft will have.
• Advantages of accuracy. By being able to combine Microsoft’s consumer data with LinkedIn’s user-submitted content, LinkedIn could make personal information on LinkedInusers more accurate, while Microsoft might have access to more accurate information when marketing to those users.
• There are concerns that integrating LinkedIn with Microsoft may diminish LinkedIn’s core purpose as a B2B social network: If too many changes are made to the platform, users might not find it as valuable from a social media standpoint.
• If you’re paying attention, LinkedIn has evolved into a robust platform for professional development and an indispensable intelligence and outreach tool for sales.
• The integration of the LinkedIn newsfeed with Microsoft platforms means mean broader advertising opportunities and potentially new kinds of targeting.
• One analyst sees Microsoft using this acquisition to reimagine their efforts in CRM.
• Will Microsoft’s management expertise make LinkedIn more profitable—they’re putting $26B on the table that they can.

On the positive side . . .

• It’s easy to imagine LinkedIn getting integrated into Microsoft’s CRM offering and Office 360
• LinkedIn’s InMail could plug directly into Outlook email, making it easier to reach people via InMail, while contact files in Outlook tagged as LinkedIn connections could make it easier to add new LinkedIn connections via a single click.

Many are betting that Microsoft will let Linkedin operate autonomously—at least for now

Yet if that’s the case, why did they shell out $26B to buy the company? Ask anyone who’s been through a merger and they’ll tell you that this theory is ridiculous. Microsoft sees revenue growth potential, not just something to help them sell Windows or Surface tablets. And Linkedin? Unlimited opportunities. This one will be interesting to watch.

Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re content marketing experts.

"Go Ask Dad" Campaign Melts Hearts On Dads’ Day

Just in time for Fathers Day, Procter & Gamble has come up with a "Go Ask Dad" Campaign that hasn’t just gone viral, it’s gone right to the heart of more than 2M users. It features awkward teenaged boys facing important rights of passage—how to ask a girl out, tie a tie, fry an egg, and of course, shave.

These days, when an estimated 94% of kids ask the Internet before they’d ever ask their dads, P&G shows that these kids all agree that the lessons are far better when they come from their fathers for a few very good reasons. The approach is personalized, and their fathers know, love and understand them.

The methodology: Computer vs Dad

In this two-minute spot, the sons enter a room, one at a time, and are asked to look up some things on the internet using a tablet. When the boys try to follow the internet instructions, the results are dismal. Then the boys are urged to ask their dads the same questions. “See how I do it?” one dad says as he shows how to tie a tie. “There you go,” says another dad. “Your first shave.”

There are expressions of thanks and love, smiles, hugs and tears. The commercial closes with the written words: “This Father’s Day, go ask dad”, followed by the company’s powerful tagline: “Gillette. The best a man can get.”

Search engine optimization (SEO) is helping drive views

When anyone searches with keywords such as “How To Tie a Tie,” P&G is redirecting them to the “Go Ask Dad” video in an effort to promote Gillette razors. The ad was posted on YouTube on June 6, and by June 11, it had received 2,609,016 views.

An overarching theme: the value of the father-son connection

According to P&G’s North American shave care brand director for Gillette. “Our hope is that this campaign will serve as a reminder of the value of the father and son connection and encourage sons to reach out to their dads.” Of course, P&G also hopes that grateful sons will give their dads a Gillette Fusion ProShield razor and a year-long subscription to the Gillette Shave Club as a Father’s Day gift in return for the valuable life lessons.

Procter & Gamble, of course, is a smart retailer, and they’ve created a timeless ad that resonates across cultures. But there’s something else going on--they understand the importance of relationships. There isn’t a man out there who isn’t going to remember his own awkward adolescence. The mysteries of tying a tie, shaving and trying screw up the courage to ask a girl out. How his dad bought him his first razor and shared the secrets of shaving. That first razor may or may not have been a Gillette, but this ad is making a compelling case for buying one now.

There’s one more thing . . .

These days, really good marketing tells a story. It’s not enough to talk about that Gillette razor—even though it may be the company’s most advanced shave, with flexball technology, whatever the hell that is. As far as I’m concerned, all razors are the same. But I will remember this compelling story. A group of gawky teenage boys on the cusp of manhood, each being guided by the gentle hands of his father. This Father’s Day, Gillette’s sharing this story, hoping to make an emotional connection—that’s good marketing.

Are you struggling with your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and internet marketing experts.