In the first meeting – or CHAPTER ONE as we call it – we were introduced to our Superheroes & each member’s own personal local favourite Social Media users that they follow – 1 Individual & 1 Company/Organization. If you missed it, you can get caught up HERE. CHAPTER TWO was held on April 29th and saw several new members join the #SocialSquadWE Team! The group was introduced to the Welcome Center Shelter for Women’s #PinkButterfly Campaign and had a discussion on best practices/tips/tricks & pet peeves on FACEBOOK. Here are some of the highlights from the Facebook discussion: - Don’t Spam. Schedule your posts to spread them out over time & don’t post too often each day. Flooding people’s News Feed is a major turnoff.
- Keep your content fresh & interesting. Diversify your post types (videos, photos, status updates, linked articles, etc.) & content to keep your readers engaged.
- Take advantage of Facebook’s Insights. Learn more about your demographics, what times of day your audience is online & what’s working/not working.
- Don’t Autopost your message across multiple networks. Instead, tailor your message to each platform individually. It takes a bit more time, but is much more inviting than a cold autopost.
- To link to a specific post, click on the date tag in that post and you’ll be redirected to that post’s Permalink. Copy the link & you’re good to go!
- Know the difference between a Page & a Personal Profile account on Facebook. NEVER setup a Business/Group/Organization as a Personal page. It severely limits your audience.
- Facebook Ads can can work well to expand the reach of your promotion when taking advantage of Targeting to help your message get to the right audience.
Humans of New York: Facebook
HONY does two things that I try to apply frequently in my work: 1) tell a story and 2) emotional value. People like to be immersed in worlds different from their own – that’s why people like movies, TV, and books so much. But people are also affected by things they can relate to which is why emotional value can be influential. Brandon Stanton, an American photographer and blogger, started HONY in 2010, taking pictures of random people in the streets of New York and gathering quotes from his interviews with them to tell their stories. In my own work, I try to immerse people in our company and our people by giving them a window through which they can connect with our employees and our clients and their personnel.
Devin Super Tramp by Devin Graham: YouTube
Have you ever heard of the phrase, “live vicariously through?” That’s how watching devinsupertramp’s will make you feel – like you’re living vicariously through his videos – except I’d encourage you to try some of them if it tickles your fancy! Devin is an American videographer who produces adventure and extreme sport videos on YouTube. Another phrase you’ve probably heard is, “The pasture is always greener on the other side.” People chase greener pastures or, in other words, the most fulfilling life they can get their hands on. I think that’s why his videos are so successful. His technical and creative skill and direction make you want to go on an adventure to somewhere great. My favourite video of his takes place at a canyon in Moab, Utah, where his team builds and uses the World’s Largest Rope Swing.
Jimmy Fallon: Twitter
There are two reasons that I chose Jimmy Fallon. I find him very funny, and I have been a big fan since his SNL days. He does a lot of funny stuff on his show, but staying up late to watch isn’t always in the cards for me, so his Twitter account is a great way to catch all of the funny bits that he does. Everybody should follow him. Unless of course they don’t like to laugh… This is a great example of somebody using Social Media to create a community, and increase online engagement for his off-line brand. He incorporates Social Media into his show in many ways, but a great example is having people submit funny stories on Twitter with his hashtag game, some of which are read during the show.
DesignTAXI: Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook
Think Buzzfeed, but geared more towards creative people. With content focusing on Design, Art, Photography, Advertising, Architecture, Style, Culture, Technology, and Social Media, DesignTAXI can easily soak up your time without you even realizing it. They have been recognized by FORBES, Time and more for their great Twitter feed and I agree. The content that they post is unique, and compelling and presented in many different formats: videos, infographics, articles and pictures. I would consider them a must-follow, if you consider yourself to be a creative type of person.
CrackMacs: Twitter
Crackmacs doesn’t necessarily represent the best of twitter but I feel they are important to the twitter idea in that they tell it like it is about their city. The handle is in reference to a Mac store in Calgary also known as the “Crack Macs” they are inner city living in truth, they see many things differently and are very sure to not sugar coat it. They love their city and have an interesting way of showing it. I would say they are the heart beat of the city and are great members in it.
Scott Stratton & Alison Kramer: Twitter, Facebook
Scott is boisterous and shoots from the hip. Alison has been a newer addition to the team but they create, engage, and that is their constant. Their thinking about content tends to aim for or be about virility; to speak to the human nature within marketing and social media, but still talking at great depth about their understanding of the responsibly of these mediums. It is this responsibility that keeps their content fresh, be it the latest goof up or home run from the social media sphere. Their take of the goof ups seem to be the most interesting to myself as they talk more about the human experience rather than the technology experience. They recognize social media as a different medium than the papers or phone calls of the past. Scott is a public speaker and it shows in his content as it is information, interesting, and a bit out there so you make sure to stay tuned. He started everything with a single website: http://nooooooooooooooo.com/
City of Calgary: Twitter
I choose the City of Calgary twitter account. They are on top of every incident, information sharing and piece of news relevant to those living in Calgary. They are the epitome of what a municipality should have in a social media presence.
Naheed Nenshi: Twitter
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi retweets everything from lost dogs to city events and doesn’t go overboard. He’s funny and engaging with those he I interacts with and sets the bar for local leaders.
Seth Godin: Twitter
Are you and/or your business a purple cow? Seth Godin is an author, blogger and marketing guru. Seth is definitely a purple cow as he retweets his blog on Twitter to highlight a very honest and humourous look at marketing. Seth reminds me to think out of the box, be innovative and if you are uncomfortable you are probably doing it right. www.sethgodin.com
Amber MacArthur: Twitter
Amber MacArthur, former co-host of TWiT, Call For Help, & G4TechTV with Leo Laporte; Amber is a TV Host, author, & speaker on various topics relating to all things tech & social media. A local Canadian girl fully engaged in social media, she responds to interesting tweets and works non-stop.
Buzzfeed Video: Facebook
Buzzfeed Video is a great One Stop Shop for all things trending. They cover a very eclectic mix of topics including life hacks, viral videos, funny skits, political correctness, social conventions, relationships and many, many more.
Elon Musk: Twitter
Elon Musk is an absolutely fascinating guy. He’s a South African born Canadian-American entrepreneur, engineer, inventor and investor. The guy is everywhere and does everything including Founding/Co-Founding/CEOing PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla Motors and Solar City just to name a few. When he’s bored, he comes up with ideas like Hyperlook. When he’s feeling charitable (which is often), he’ll make his company’s technology patents free to be used by anyone in good faith in a bid to entice automobile manufacturers to speed up development of electric cars or donate millions of dollars to various charities and socially conscious & sustainable endeavors. His tweets are varied, thought provoking, forward thinking and just plain cool as heck.
Charity Water: Facebook, Twitter
Charity Water is a non-profit organization in New York that brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Their use of social media is amazing. They know how to connect people to their cause with the right mix of compelling stories and photos. They ensure consistent and powerful messages across all platforms.
John Haydon: Twitter
John is a social media guru. He advises small non-profits, small businesses and social entrepreneurs on how to implement inbound marketing strategies with the social web. He practices what he preaches throughout various social media platforms but I love his tweets. He is always providing great information about the newest trends, changes and more on the various social media vehicles.
Tyler Oakley: YouTube, Twitter
Tyler has slowly risen to fame for allowing the world to view him as himself unapologetically. Tyler not only started to use his popularity as his main source of income, he also created a brand. With that brand he has been able to give back, not only to the community, but to his audience. By reviewing products, he was able to make sure that his viewers would get a discount. I believe that he was one of the first to do this, causing a trend among other YouTubers promoting products. From there, he has had successful charitable campaigns in which he raised money for worthy organizations, namely the Trevor Project. Instead of his fans sending him gifts for his birthday as he thought would happen, he asked his viewers to donate to Trevor instead. To date, Tyler has raised over $1 million for the Trevor Project and continues to advocate for LGBTQ issues including anti-bullying and youth suicide prevention.
Taxi: Twitter
Taxi does more that just promote their business, they promote great design. I enjoy their twitter feed because it full of interesting visuals throughout the day. It’s not uncommon for me to take five minutes to look for inspiration when I’ve hit a creative wall. If you are unfamiliar with them, check them out!!
THE SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERHEROES ARE RECRUITING!
Are you a Social Media Lover and Active User? If so, we’d love to have you! CHAPTER THREE takes place Wednesday, May 27th and will include a discussion on INSTAGRAM. Your expertise, klout and appreciation of all things Social Media would be a welcome addition to our group. Group members meet on the last Wednesday of each month to talk about the opportunities and challenges in the area of social media as it pertains to their company/organization. The group targets the following three areas:- Best Practice Sharing – Through discussions and presentations;
- Community Advisory Services – Working with local non-profits organizations to assist them with their social efforts; and
- Community Education and Promotion – Working on projects as determined by the group. Potential projects could include: establishment of a regional hashtag (we love #YQG), establishing a community database for social media users, planning activities for Social Media Day and Week, etc….
