Swim Vision's Social Media Presence

MY IDEA: Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race. There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.” Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.”

I envision Swim Vision Goggles to dominate the social media platform upon their release. The current social media landscape allows for so many opportunities for publicity, especially new products. Social Media will increase exposure reach more people, improve branding and reduce marketing expenses. All of these benefits working together will ultimately increase sales. The three main platforms where Swim Vision Goggles will most thrive are Instagram, Twitter, and blogs such as Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr.

            Utilizing Instagram will benefit Swim Vision because it is an opportunity for customers to “take pictures with a product” as discussed in lecture. As a swimmer, I remember my friends and I always taking pictures when we had a big swim meet with all of our high-tech gear such as the Speedo Lazer Racer that was supposed to make us swim faster and intimidate our competition. I believe that Swim Vision will have the same effect. Swimmers will love to take pictures and show off their new apparel and subtly communicate to their competitors that they are ready to race. Customers would probably share the photo on additional social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, but Instagram is particularly unique because it uses crowdsourcing through the use of hashtags and posting a single image can be more powerful than an entire album of them. Swim Vision can have its own Instagram account, too, featuring photos of celebrities wearing the new goggles and therefore “drive traffic with compelling images.”

            Twitter will have similar effects, too. Twitter will provide consumers with “instant news” about the product and if celebrities (famous swimmers) tweet about using the product, this will certainly drive up sales. Swim Vision’s own Twitter account can primarily function to promote the brand, such as advertising new updated editions and showing off celebrity endorsement, but also as a form of customer service to “listen and learn” from their customers. They can read the tweets from people who are dissatisfied with their products and reach out to them to help solve their problem. It would be an added bonus if this was done via Twitter (rather than contacting the dissatisfied customer via direct message or e-mail) and showed up on people’s timelines because it would allow their followers to see how loyal they are to their customers.

            Finally, blogs would be a vital social media resource because it will allow for consumers as well as reviewers to discuss the product and learn more about it from an unbiased, honest perspective unrelated to the company and its PR team. Blogs allow for everyone to be a part of the social conversation and contribute to the trustworthiness of a company. Overall, there are really no downsides to utilizing social media to promote one’s product, as long as they have nothing to hide. 

Entrepreneurship Post--Paige Carlotti

The shock and frustration that comes along with a come-from-behind win from one’s opponent is every athlete’s worst nightmare. Thanks to the invention of Swim Vision Goggles, however, swimmers are one less demographic who will have to suffer from this misfortune. There are few things in this world that are worse than thinking that you are winning a swim race in an 8 lane pool, only to find out that you were out-touched by a competitor four lanes away from you, completely out of your peripheral vision. Top name brands such as Speedo and TYR tried to come up with a solution to this problem, but none have come close until Swim Vision. The leading designers in the industry have tried creating goggles that allow swimmers to keep an eye on their competition by allowing them so see out of their peripheral vision with mirrored lenses, but Swim Vision goes beyond that. Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race.

            There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.”

            Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.” Competition Mode will consist of the settings mentioned above while Practice Mode will have very different features. Practice mode will calculate a swimmer’s heart rate, pace, burned calories and laps completed. These results will be displayed in the upper right or left-hand (whichever the swimmer prefers) corner of the goggle lenses and alternate flashing across the screen. Swimmers also have the option to turn off the goggles with just the press of a button on the outer, upper right hand lens of the goggles.