When It's Great To Get Hacked!

 

The old adage says all press is good press. That played true last week for Burger King. The fast food royalty's Twitter account was hacked by jokesters who changed its header photo to its arch nemesis's golden arches and claimed the company had been acquired by McDonald's.

 

At this news, you'd probably think: Sound the alarm! Social Media catastrophe!

 

But the real results of the hack were quite the opposite.

 

Because of the snafu, @BurgerKing acquired 30,000 new followers in a single day, saw a 300% increase in conversations and was mentioned in 450,000 Tweets!

 

The profile ended up being suspended until Twitter restored the true Burger King access, but all in all BK keeps the new followers and the publicity.

 

Of course, some of the conversation and mentions were a bit disparaging toward Burger King. This is to be expected. To balance that though, many tweets were sympathetic, and now @BurgerKing gets the added impressions of all the new followers obtained from the hack.

What do you think, is getting hacked worth it?

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!

Superbowl XLVII Proves Need for Social Media Speed!!

 

We always say the world of social media is fast paced.  Long standing rules of marketing, public relations and consumer engagement have been flipped on their heads by the real-time quickness of today's digital world.  And this was seen on a national level during last night's Superbowl!  While Twitter quips and Facebook posts filled up the night, my top two performers for speed and agility are Oreo and @SuperbowlLights!

 

Twitter handle @SuperBowlLights is a classic look at timing in the social media space.  The handle was created as a joking nod toward- what else- the power outage!! Get this, within ONE HOUR of the moment the lights went out in New Orleans stadium, the handle was created, gained 25,000 followers and was being regulated and having tweets removed by the NFL.  ONE HOUR, people!  It has taken me long than that to get my hair done!

While the story of @SuperBowlLights is quick and impressive, I think @OREO outdoes them.  Mere minutes after the power outage, @Oreo tweeted this "You Can Still Dunk In The Dark" ad.  Wow.  The reason I find this more impressive is that Oreo is a large brand name.  It is owned by Nabisco, which is owned by Kraft--- you get the point? We are talking layers upon layers of approval in a typical decision making process.  But apparently, they are lean and mean enough to be quick and relevant when needed!  Kudos to Oreo!

Is Facebook's New 'Graph Search' Built For Users or Marketers?

It sounds exciting.  Truth be told, I AM excited.  Facebook announced its new feature today, Graph Search, that will make searching the site much more intuitive.  

With Graph Search, instead of just typing in a friend's name and getting their profile, you'll be able to type in things like "Who do I know in New York", or "Friends in LA who like tennis".

Cool, right?  This will be super helpful and I can already think of a bunch of applications for it.  But the idea has been getting quite a bit of skeptical feedback.  

Is this feature made for us, the end users, or to help Facebook sell more targeted advertising?

And if I let my eagerness to try it out calm down a bit (which I will have to do anyway, because right now you have to get on a waiting list to even try the beta test) then I can see the skeptic's point. 

Does this really just make Facebook a better search engine of our likes, hobbies and statistics so that marketers can better reach us with their paid advertising?

Only time, and getting to use the new tool, will tell how well it works and how useful it is.  For now I will remain the ever-hopeful optimist.  Bring it on Graph Search!

What do you think about Facebook's announcement?  Are you Team Graph Search or Team Skeptic??

Your Twitter Birthday

A baby's first steps, a teen's first kiss, a student's first day of college; life is filled with commemorative 'firsts'.  And the New Year is the perfect time to celebrate firsts! But my first day on Twitter is not one of the occurrences I had thought a lot about. 

Until now.

WhenDidYouJoinTwitter.com

It's actually quite fun to look back at your Twitter-life and see how long you've been tweeting.  It made me remember signing up for Twitter, just to explore what all the hullabaloo was about.  Who knew it would become such a phenomenon and useful tool in social media and communication - especially for first reports on disasters or other events?  

This site is also useful for something other than just a trip down memory lane.  You can check out when other users' first day on Twitter was as well.

Has your company been Twitter savvy longer than your competitor?  Is the Twitter handle requesting to follow you a twitter-bot that was just created today?  Which of your friends is the real Twitter veteran?

My first Twitter birthday is June 3, 2008.  When's yours!?

#WillYouMarryMe

I guess I should have seen this coming.  With all the engagement proposals around Christmas time, dozens of commercials for diamond rings and other fancy things, it was inevitable.  Proposals over Twitter.

Last weekend, Kat Von D, the tattoo artist and TV personality who was the 'other woman' in Sandra Bullock and Jesse James's divorce, was proposed to by electronic music star DJ Deadmau5.  

And it happened on Twitter.  Check this out: 

How romantic.... I suppose.

So, apparently this is not a new thing.  I was aghast last September after reading about the Turkish couple exchanging vows over Twitter.  But there have also been other Twitter proposals!  Here is a sampling dating as far back as 2008.

Is this the new "writing your name across the sky"?  Has Twitter replaced skywriting or proposals under the 

mistletoe?  It seems so impersonal to me, not even face-to-face and condensing your love to the 140-character limit.  Maybe its good for shy, rambling types who have a limited romantic vocabulary anyway.

What do you think about Twitter proposals?  Would you ever partake, or say yes to someone over Twitter?

#PrayersForNewtown

I am just speechless and heartbroken for the families in Newtown, Connecticut.
Today, I urge you to get offline.  Go visit your mom.  Go hug your brother. Call a long-distance relative to tell them how much they mean to you.
And say a prayer for those involved in today's senseless shootings.  My thoughts, prayers and love go out to the community.