Tag: Twitter

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An 8-year old girl had her birthday party at a Target. Social media wanted an invite.

As if we didn’t already love Target, a store in Georgia showed us why this company continues to get the little things right.

An 8-year old girl wanted to have her birthday party at a Target. Apparently she’s a huge fan of the retail chain. Sometimes you can’t try to understand what makes kids happy. If it’s spending a day with your friends parading around as Target employee, so be it. Kids are weird. If it was Walmart I’d be concerned, but Target makes sense. Great stores, clean, pleasant atmosphere and overall a very easy shopping experience.

The family got special permission from the manager to have the birthday party at the store in East Point, GA. The girl’s niece documented the festivities on Twitter, sharing photos of the birthday girl and her friends drinking Icees, ringing up gift cards in the check out line and living the dream as a Target employee.

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“We bought all the kids gift cards to spend on an item of their choice and my niece got to check them out! Seriously Manager Albert was the best!!! Thanks so much Target!” – @RikDrip/Twitter.

Target owes so much to the store manager, Albert, who went above and beyond for this girl and her friends and family. He made them name tags, helped with a scavenger hunt around the store and agreed to host the party in the first place. He could have easily said no, and this heartwarming story would have never seen the light of day.

It came from the kindness of his heart. He had no idea millions of people would see his efforts recognized on social media. It’s these moments where brands can capitalize on the power of a good story. If you create a memorable customer experience, show some compassion and go the extra mile, people will want to share these special moments online.

It was organic, unforced and the best PR money could never buy. For Target, it reinforces their reputation as a creative brand that continues to stay relevant in a congested online and brick and mortar retail sector.

I’ll cheers to that.

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The State of Social Media

The social media landscape is saturated, and communications professionals are struggling to keep up with new platforms popping up every day. Facebook held the throne for quite some time, Twitter experienced rapid growth and life was cozy for the few major players enjoying the quietness of the social landscape during the mid-2000s.

Fast forward to 2015, I have coworkers asking what a “snapchat” is and how the “vine” works. In less than five years, Instagram exploded in popularity and is slowly strangling a competitive field once dominated by its owner (Facebook). YouTube is a video behemoth, and there doesn’t seem to be any website that can rival its superiority. Google owns it, and with their money, resources and overall dominance it’s hard to imagine any other video platform competing with YouTube in the foreseeable future.

Apps like Vine and Snapchat offer short-form video storytelling, and a handful of brands have found success using these tools. From how-to videos on Vine (Lowes) to stop motion animation, it will be interesting to see how brands continue to reach younger audiences and create compelling content. Telling a story in six seconds is an art form in and of itself. I’m amazed at the creative process behind the amazing Vines being shared on a daily basis. Pinterest is a great outlet for brands to get creative and share fun DIY projects, recipes, products and more on their pages and pin boards.

Brands are getting help from influencers who dominate these popular social channels. Companies are leveraging the clout these influencers have to reach larger audiences looking for content that is genuine, authentic and relevant.

Today’s social media lineup is so deep it feels like a new platform is sprouting up every week. Periscope is an app I’ve been keeping a close eye on. It’s a live video streaming service, and as a newer platform it appears to have some staying power. Journalists are using it to cover live events and breaking news. Politicians and other organizations are live streaming speeches and other notable talks. The general public is live streaming pay-per-view boxing matches and Game of Thrones episodes. The app has many applications for both brands and personal users.

LinkedIn is a platform for professionals, but brands are doing a great job of sharing content that is relevant to job seekers and working professionals. It’s great to build your own professional network, but there is value for companies using LinkedIn to hire and inspire.

Flickr is a hub for photographers and enthusiasts who don’t need the social aspect of a photo sharing site like Instagram. It’s an image hosting site owned by Yahoo, so it’s easy to see why it’s not as popular as some of the more prominent photo apps.

At the end of the day it comes down to content and community. Satisfy a need, always ask what purpose your content is serving and why people should care about it.

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Yahoo Can Keep Buying, But It Won’t Fix Their Dying Brand

Yahoo is trying to stay relevant, and the company’s recent Tumblr acquisition is proof of their desperate efforts to keep up with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. So desperate in fact that since Marissa Mayer’s takeover as Yahoo CEO in July 2012, she’s acquired 11 companies including the $1 billion Tumblr.

While Marissa hopes that Yahoo will get her groove back, she’s neglecting how far behind Yahoo is in every aspect of web culture today. Yahoo was a powerhouse in the early days of the internet, but they failed to adapt and were left behind. It has the resources to make a resurgence, but they missed the window of opportunity to innovate in the social space while the iron was still hot. They still offer decent products like Yahoo Finance and Sports, but overall the company is struggling to remain relevant in a digital world they don’t recognize anymore.

The Tumblr takeover was counterproductive at best. It may appeal to advertisers in the short term as far as reaching younger demographics, but it won’t change the perceptions these generations have about the company. Brands like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, Pinterest, Instagram and Reddit have found their niche and are successfully building their respective user bases. Yahoo’s complacency during this time of rapid change is one of many reasons why they lost their competitive edge. It’s very congested now and it’s safe to say Yahoo missed the boat.

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Brands Need to Engage With Audiences on Social Media

Two weeks ago, I sent a tweet to the PRWeek twitter account asking if they had plans to improve the sound quality of their weekly podcasts. Weeks went by with no reply, and my inquiry remained unanswered. We work in an industry that stresses the importance of audience engagement and participation, and as a fan of PRWeek’s content I felt unimportant when my simple question went unanswered.

Social media transformed the PR industry in many unique ways. Never before have we been able to reach audiences in a space where everyone can share content, ideas and opinions with friends, family and complete strangers.

It’s been an absolute game changer in this profession. This experience made me realize that some companies and organizations don’t place enough value on social media and how a short response can create a lasting impression on someone. It’s time consuming for social media managers to sift through each individual twitter mention and send replies, but going the extra mile ensures people will remain loyal to your brand and feel valued as a fan and consumer.

What people want is a sense of belonging and knowing their concerns are being heard. Social media is an effective customer service tool, and brands need to effectively moderate their channels to participate in discussions, answer questions and remain engaged with your brand and its fans online.

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