Happy Memorial Day week! Here’s hoping you found some quiet time over the long holiday weekend to reflect on the meaning of Memorial Day and celebrate our country’s freedom with friends and family. Despite the short work week, there’s a lot going on in the world of social media. In particular, a few brands’ use of social media caught our attention. From using social media to protect citizens from life-threatening floods, to a truly heartwarming “surprise and delight” opportunity born entirely on social media, there’s something for everyone to be inspired by this week. Enjoy!
AdAge: Kohl’s Chewbacca surprise leads to record engagement
If you haven’t yet seen the Facebook video of Candace Payne enjoying a good laugh thanks to the new Star Wars Chewbacca mask she purchased at Kohl’s – watch it immediately. Then, marvel at how Kohl’s real-time listening and nimble response to Ms. Payne’s video has paid off in droves for the brand.
International Business Times: Obama’s White House is preparing for the biggest social media handoff in American history
President Obama is well known for being the first presidential candidate to harness the power of social media. View the data visualization in this story to see proof of the incredible social media audience built by the White House during Obama’s administration. But with a new president taking the reins in 2017, what happens next? As they say in the theme song of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – “that’s gonna be a fascinating transition…”
Quartz: The Eiffel Tower’s colors will be at the mercy of social media users for a month
Color us impressed – a publicity campaign tied to the Euro 2016 soccer tournament is using social media to determine the lighting color on the Eiffel Tower for a whole month. The team with the most social media support gets its colors projected on the Eiffel Tower daily. With Twitter volume nearly six times stronger than the Olympics, that’s a lot of data to cull through. We can’t wait to see how this goes!
The Wall Street Journal: Inside the geeky world of Instagram sensation Sgtbananas
We love it when people explore their artistic passion via social media, and Johnny Wu (aka Sgtbananas on Instagram) has found a real niche with his fantastic shots of action figures shared on Instagram. Even better, savvy brands are taking notice and working with Wu – who has nearly 49,000 followers – to inspire others to share their photos, too.
USA Today: Federal flood officials in Texas use Twitter to alert
The US Geological Survey, the federal agency responsible for monitoring river levels, has just launched two new Twitter feeds designed to provide real-time information during heavy rainfall in Texas. This is a pilot program that has nationwide potential if all goes well. We’ll certainly be rooting for the program’s success!
