A More Serious Side of Social Media

In Public Relations, social media is often highlighted on the softer side of a brand or cause.  Large social media campaigns are often used to increase brand awareness, positioning or help influence thought leaders in an industry.

But the recent explosion of the Bill Cosby accusations have highlighted the more serious side of social media and its effects on public opinion and mass media news. 

Longstanding accusations against Cosby for rape were highlighted in social media last week due to an onstage "joke" that went viral about Cosby's rumored actions.  In a perfect storm of happenstance, Bill Cosby had just put out a challenge to those who followed him in the digital world to meme pictures of him. Little did he know he was adding fuel to the fire, and most who participated "memed" him with allusions of Cosby drugging and raping women. Probably not what he had in mind when putting that challenge out there!

These two actions, the onstage joke and the memes, both went viral, bringing a long dormant accusation to light and blowing up the mass media everywhere.  Essentially, shredding Cosby's reputation and leaving many asking why this didn't get more attention earlier.

The answer is because social media is now bringing issues to light.  There is far less space to hide anymore- and some argue that there is nowhere to hide!  It will be interesting to see if this sad revelation brings more issues in Hollywood to light.  And for Cosby and his accusers, this trial by Twitter seems to have just heated up.

Is GIRL POWER the fastest way to go VIRAL?

We've gotta talk about #AlexFromTarget. 

I mean, if nothing else, we have to just bring it up.  It's only been a week since this young man's picture was tweeted as a "cute" bagger from Target.  But the week has certainly been eventful.  With his handsome smile and boyish good-looks, Alex has - without doing a single thing other than unknowingly had his picture tweeted - gained half a million followers on Twitter, been featured on the Ellen show and CNN and become one of the fastest and most popular memes of all times.

But perhaps the most unique aspect of the #AlexFromTarget phenomenon is that it might have been set up.  Strangely, earlier this week a company called Breakr claimed that it was behind the rise to fame of #AlexFromTarget.  

Breakr's CEO, Dil-Domine Jacobe Leonares, claimed that his company's goal of helping small content creators spread their content was the force behind the viral sensation of #AlexFromTarget.  And the key to this viral nature, Leonares claims, is girls.

"If you rally the fan girls, you can translate that following into a career," Leonares claims.  Sure enough, "fan girls" are powerful.  A lady sees a cute boy and tells her friend who tells her friend who shares it with everyone she knows.  I mean, really, the Jonas Brothers and Justin Beiber are just modern day version of Beatles fandom!  And, with social media today, the fandom rise is just that much faster.  Or in the case of #AlexFromTarget, takes place in a week!  Heck, he is in LA now looking for an agent!

So, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding #AlexFromTarget, who tweeted this morning that he had dever heard of Breakr. Hmmmm.  Well one thing I can agree on is that fan girls are really the key to getting anything to go viral.  That's why our firm, Casey & Sayre, always strives to bring young celebrities that appeal to teen girls to our client events!  Their tweets and instagrams go a long way in attracting interest and building fans!

What do you think of the sudden fame of #AlexFromTarget?

What you can learn from the Harlem Shake!

It's catchy.  It's funny.  It might already be overplayed.  It's the latest meme craze: The Harlem Shake.

 

The Harlem Shake originated less than two weeks ago and has spawned over 40,000 versions uploaded to YouTube, totaling more than 200 million views. If you haven't seen it yet, just go on YouTube and watch one.  It is much easier seen than described.  Basically, someone starts dancing in a room of otherwise normal activity and then the scene switches to everyone dancing/ going crazy.  So what turns such a simple and silly concept into an Internet sensation? Let's take a look at three things companies that are looking to engage customers through social media can learn from Harlem Shake!

 

Harlem Shake Characteristic: Length

The videos average about 30 seconds in length.  This makes viewing them, and possibly viewing multiple in one sitting, very easy for the average YouTube visitor.  They can also be viewed in the entirety as part of a conversation or showing one to a friend on a mobile device.

Lesson: Keep it short: You have to capture attention quickly! No one is going to read through pages of material or watch a half hour long video. 

 

Harlem Shake Characteristic: Easy to Create

It is easy to see how there have been so many versions created and posted as the videos are technically quite simple to set up, create and edit.  They typically are one static camera angle and just require one cut from that camera angle.  This simplicity implies that just about anyone can make a version without much planning or effort.

Lesson: Keep it simple: If you want engagement, keep it simple for the customer!

 

Harlem Shake Characteristic: Open to interpretation

The theme is so loose that it is easy for viewers to imagine their own "creative spin" on the Harlem Shake.  Think of the armed forces version, the Swimming Team version, or the senior citizen version.  This lets viewers feel part of the craze and inject their own creativity into the concept.

Lesson: Keep it creative: Give your customers space to make the interaction unique and personal to them! 

 

 

 

Take away any other lessons from the Harlem Shake?  Let us know below!