Browsing Tag

social media

Kindness Counts

Kindness Counts Facebook Cover Photo

Western University graduates Josh Stern and Russell Citron are inspiring Gen Y to pay it forward and people are listening. Their charitable initiative #FeedTheDeed discourages people from playing an online drinking game and encourages random acts of kindness.

#FeedTheDeed has sparked a huge conversation about the power of social media. Instead of producing videos of themselves chugging beer, #FeedTheDeed participants are donating blood, clothes and toys.

How It Is Promoted

In the last 2 weeks, my Facebook news feed has been filled with photos and videos of friends distributing popcorn, coffee and TTC tokens. To extend the reach of #FeedTheDeed, participants are nominating friends, family and celebrities around the world. For example, Josh Stern nominated Canadian singer-songwriter Nikki Yanofsky and then she handed out candy in Montreal on Valentine’s Day.

What I Did

I love Twitter. I like Starbucks.

When my friend Sam Pollack nominated me to #FeedTheDeed, this is what I did to support a few charities I care about:

I used Twitter to send Starbucks gift cards to Anaphylaxis Canada, Heart and Stroke Foundation and Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Non-profit employees deserve to be rewarded for their hard work and I hope they will encourage more people to continue the chain.

Feed The Deed Tweet Example

Starbucks Tweet A Coffee

What You Can Do

Here are some ideas:

  • Volunteer
  • Pay for a stranger’s bill at a café
  • Send handwritten notes or cards
  • Buy a ticket to attend a charity event
  • Contribute to a Kickstarter campaign
  • Loan money to an entrepreneur on Kiva

For more information, follow Kindness Counts on Facebook!

Famous Night Owls Watched Jimmy Fallon

Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

 

Jimmy Fallon has officially replaced Jay Leno as The Tonight Show’s new host. His first episode was a star-studded success, which included surprise appearances from Joan Rivers, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lindsay Lohan and Stephen Colbert. U2 performed outside of the G.E. building and Will Smith joined Jimmy onstage for a dance routine about the evolution of hip hop.

 

Denny's #FallonTonight Tweets

Denny’s engaged with night owls on Twitter through real-time marketing

Famous Night Owls

It was a big event in television history and famous people were watching too. Check out this Storify to see supportive tweets from celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Michael Moore.

http://storify.com/sarahprince/tonight-show-with-jimmy-fallon

What’s HOTS On Facebook

Hot On The Street Facebook Page Profile Photo

As Hot On The Street approaches its 4th anniversary, it’s time to ramp up the blog’s social media presence. I am proud to announce the launch of Hot On The Street’s new Facebook page!

Having a Facebook page means it’ll be easier to share timely, funny and intriguing content faster than I could if I wrote a blog post about each topic. So in addition to sharing links to Hot On The Street interviews, reviews and event recaps, I’ll share more article links from Wired, Fast Company, Entertainment Weekly and the like. This also means that I can follow brands’ Facebook pages through my blog’s Facebook account, rather than my own. I suspect this will be a positive way to curate my Facebook experience because my friends’ content will appear higher in my News Feed if I start following fewer brands through my personal account.

Facebook Trending Topics (JPEG)

Trending Topics on Facebook

No matter how much Twitter and Facebook copy each other to attract and retain active users, I think one of the smartest features Facebook adopted is the new list of trending topics. If nothing else, MIT emphasized how easy it is for social media to be an echo chamber. In other words, even though news articles are so accessible, it’s easy to have a limited perspective on current events and remain oblivious about local or world news. Therefore, even though the trending topics list offers only a brief synopsis about why a person or event is trending, at least it can prompt users to research it more. It’s the thought that counts and every small step counts.

Please show your support for Hot On The Street and “Like” the new Facebook page to ensure you’re in the loop about trending topics that Facebook doesn’t highlight.

Connect Online For A Better Bottom Line

Establishing a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is a necessary step in promoting new productions, but it is not enough. Effective social media marketing is complex and posting a few links on Facebook or fun facts on Twitter each week is just the beginning.

Using social media management tools to monitor relevant online chatter and respond to patrons’ feedback is very important. For instance, if there has been more buzz about rude front of house staff than the cast’s acting abilities, but that’s unbeknownst to management, then that’s a serious cause for concern.

To stand out amongst the noise, which characterizes social media, stay up to date about industry-wide best practices and assess competitors’ social media activity. If you want to improve your Facebook page, then find brand pages that frequently share interesting content that has high-quality visual elements and understand the approximate 80/20 split between being conversational and promotional. Viral videos like Will It Blend? demonstrate how easy it is to produce engaging content at minimal cost.

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Happy New Year

One of my favourite sessions at CM1, Toronto’s first conference for community managers, was led by Ryan Ginsberg from Twitter Canada. His talk focused on how social content strategists can plan ahead for and respond to big moments. This includes holidays and unexpected pop culture spectacles like Miley Cyrus twerking at the VMAs.

Last year, I wrote about how Oreo mastered social media when they were quick to post about the Super Bowl blackout. Oreo’s Super Bowl post was brilliant because their team quickly produced an image with a few words that effectively made millions crave Oreo cookies.

Likeable branded content is simple. Even though digital teams can plan for holidays like New Year’s Eve months in advance, I think a minimalistic execution is optimal. Essentially all you need to do is be engaging and say something to the effect of “Happy Holidays!” with copy and visuals that are aligned with the brand. When businesses create holiday greetings with too many CTAs, they risk appearing obnoxious, as ADP Canada’s Elizabeth Williams observes.

3 brands that understand the power of brevity when celebrating the holidays are SharpieBen and Jerry’s and Holt Renfrew. Look at their Instagram posts to see what I mean:

Sharpie

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