Nikon

1. What incentives did Nikon provide to spur its fans to share more pictures? Should the company have done more?
They encouraged fans to share their pictures and what camera they used and they shared the photos for everyone to see. I think they could have done better and held a big competition. They could have a fan vote for the best picture out of a select 25 that they selected. The winner could receive a brand new DSLR camera. This would engage all the fans and would be fun.
2. Nikon was identified more with the professional market than consumer photography. Has that changed following this social media marketing campaign? Why or why not?
Yes it defiantly has changed. It showed that the more affordable cameras can take amazing photos. This brought more of the more recreational photographers to the brand. 
 3. How did Nikon leverage its technical superiority in photo taking with its social media strategy? Could it have been done differently? If so, how? If not, explain why not.
They used two different platforms. They made one for the more serious photographers and one for more recreational. I think they did a very good job with this. It allows both groups to really connect with Nikon without people hating on one another. 
4. Nikon had an initial edge in photo sharing as a company specializing in camera gear. What specific tactical advantages did this give Nikon?
It gave them the advantage because it allowed Nikon to interact and educate its customers on the gear and how it can better them. This helped build brand loyalty and advocacy. 

Kryptonite!

1.   What factors led to the social media explosion of the Kryptonite story?
A Youtube video. There was a video posted on how to pic the locks with a pen. It went viral and left Kryptonite to try and make it right.

2.   Do you agree with Donna Tocci’s claim that the company couldn’t have done much differently? If so, why? If not, what about its response could have been improved?
I do agree with Tocci's claim that the company could not have done much differently. Kryptonite worked hard to replace the locks that were faulty to try and regain customer trust and loyalty.

3.   What can Kryptonite do now to prevent customers from getting inaccurate information about its products?
I think the biggest thing is just own the fact that it happened. They should be honest about it and then they should market new locks and prove how that there will never have another problem like that again. 

4.   What can other companies learn from this experience in terms of listening to the community and designing their social media strategy and objectives?
Other companies need to learn the importance of quick response and that social media interaction is imperative. It can really help control the situation and the talk about the entire situation. 

Home Depot

1.   What in particular about Home Depot’s business made this how-to series of videos so successful? What other industries might be able to use a similar strategy?
What made Home Depot so successful is their massive following. They are one of the hardware giants and have huge following. Also they took the DIY and made it into a company slogan. I think what really made it work is that they put out these videos and people like me look up how to do things. They see the Home Depot video and see that Home Depot carries all the things they will need for the project and just go there. I think Auto companies like Autozone could really benefit from this as well.

 2.   Are these instructional videos actually more effective than overt commercials? Why or why not?
Yes i think they are. They give people the opportunity to see everything step by step. They can pause at any time to stop and try that step. I think this really builds brand loyalty and sets up an advocate for the company. Especially with projects on the house when people come over they ask about it. If the videos are good every person will talk about the videos and where they found it. 

3.   Why did Home Depot choose to focus on producing YouTube videos? Would videos exclusively hosted on its company web site or on other video sharing platforms have been equally effective?
I don't think it would be as effective if it was  only on the companies web site. Youtube has such a strong presence in all things video related. Also it gives Home Depot a nice was to interact with customers. Youtube has a good comments section that will have personal experiences from people that did the project using the video. If there are negative comments Home Depot can respond and see what went wrong. 
 4.   What advantages did Home Depot gain from having in-store representatives featured in the videos? Name at least two advantages, and explain why they are important.
I think the biggest one is it gives people confidence that they can do the project by seeing a normal person in the video. Along with that it makes it feel more like a community. Both of these are important because it makes people feels good about the project. It gives them confidence that they can do it. 

Huffington Post

Arianna Huffington drew on some of her celebrity contacts early on to popularize the website. Do you think a person without her connections could have been equally successful? What strategy changes would a non-celebrity have to make to succeed?

For a non-celebrity without connection I think it takes some great content and a little bit of luck. All it takes is one person with connections to read it and share it and your website could be off the ground and getting a ton of views. If you don't luck it will take consistently great content and will likely take a long time to build the blogs viewership. 

Do you expect that AOL’s purchase of the Huffington Post will have a largely positive or negative effect on its viewership? Name some pros and cons, and compare them

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I believe that it will have a positive effect on the Huffington Post. Some people will be mad that it went to such a mainstream website but overall there is much better exposure. It gives the Huffington Post much better opportunities for more people to view it and become daily readers.

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What are the possible strategic marketing benefits and drawbacks of the acquisition of the Huffington Post by AOL? Explain

Again some people that are really against the Huffington Post might no longer use AOL. But on the other hand the people that are daily viewers might become users of AOL. One of the drawbacks is the lawsuit against the Huffington Post about the uncompensated bloggers. It gives the Huffington Post and AOL a bad name until it is sorted out.