There’s a lot of talk about first-mover advantage among social media pioneers. But sometimes it’s better to take your time, according to the folks at Vestas, the big Danish wind energy company. Read →
It’s difficult to move quickly in social media when every post must first be vetted by an international bureaucracy and then translated into six languages. But that hasn’t fazed the United Nations, which maintains a very active presence on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and YouTube. The UN is committed to social media as a way of engaging its diverse constituencies and raising awareness and gaining support for a variety of causes. We outline a number of ways in which the organization is using social media to drive its business goals. Read →
With yesterday’s sensational headlines about a hashtag gone wrong, things weren’t looking so good for McDonald’s yesterday in the world of social media. But was all the hype justified – did the #McDStories really spiral out of control with negative backlash? This morning I spoke with Rick Wion, McDonald’s Director of Social Media, to look at the facts behind this Twitter campaign, and to see what lessons social media managers can learn from the #McDStories Promoted Trend. Read →
Having the right ‘voice’ is key to establishing an effective and engaging brand presence in social media. But what about when your corporation needs multiple voices – for distinct products with their own respective fan bases? Hershey’s provides a great example of this – North America’s largest chocolatier has Facebook pages for many of its brands, including Hershey’s Syrup, Hershey’s Kisses, Jolly Ranchers, Reese’s and more. Read →
If you’re going to start a Twitter war on behalf of your brand, you’d better make sure you have some key weapons in your arsenal: a simple, easy-to-understand story, a fair and just cause, and an army of fans ready to fight for you. Yesterday, Walgreens started a Twitter war with Express Scripts, a prescription drug insurer–around a fairly complicated issue. Did fans show up for the fight? Read →
A study published this January by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene examined the progression of the cholera epidemic in Haiti following the earthquake in 2010. Looking at Twitter updates and online news websites, the study revealed that the disease outbreak could be reliably tracked – in realtime – through social media. Read →
Pinterest has been seeing a lot of buzz lately, catching the attention of brands such as Etsy, Lands End and Real Simple and others. The service is a virtual pinboard: users can create boards around different themes or topics and then pin images to those boards. Other users can follow boards, comment on pinned images or re-pin them to their own boards. It’s highly addictive, fun and visually engaging.
Essentially, Pinterest is about visual content curation. It’s the perfect place to tell an engaging story and get people involved in that story. Which is why it’s a great platform for cause marketers. Read →
Have you ever taken a ride in a taxi and liked the cabbie so much you wish he could be at your beck and call? If you live in Chicago, your wish can come true — thanks to the magic of social media. Cabbie Rashid Temuri gets most of his customers through Twitter. Read →
When Congress became deadlocked over the extension of a payroll tax cut, The White House turned to social media to gain public support, asking followers “What does $40 mean to you?” The level of response was impressive, and a two-month extension was passed shortly after. How did the Twitter campaign work, and was it essential in achieving the final result? Read →
It’s that time of year, and we couldn’t help looking back to see what our most popular #RLTM posts were in 2011. Check them out here… Read →