Favorite Finds

From billion-dollar buzz to brands heating up Twitter, it’s been a busy week in the social media realm! Here are a few of my favorite finds.

• Engaging Brands – McDonald’s, Starbucks, Amazon, MTV and eBay. What do these brands have in common? They are the five most engaging brands on Twitter! A cool infographic from Simply Measured showed us the way top brands are using Twitter and the type of content that garners the most attention.
• Billion-Dollar Buzz – It may turn out to be one of the greatest PR stunts of the year. The Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge with Yahoo Sports offered a $1 billion prize for anyone who picked a perfect March Madness tournament bracket. The contest put Quicken Loans in rare PR air. How rare? Try 1 billion social media and PR impressions since the contest began, according to a USA Today story. 
• Viral Videos – Looking to announce, distribute and promote video content online? This story titled, “The what, why and how of video seeding” via PRDaily features several techniques and examples that can help give your video a boost at launch. 
• Get Press – Did you know some 3,000 news releases are distributed each day through BusinessWire, Marketwire, PrimeNewswire, PR Newswire and PR Web? This blog post includes several ideas on how to differentiate your press release so it stands out.

Pin to Win With Trex!

After a long, harsh winter from coast to coast, spring has (finally) arrived and it’s time to hit the deck! Our client, Trex Company, is ringing in outdoor living season with the #InspiredDeck Pin-to-Win Pinterest Sweepstakes. With an already sizeable social following, the LCWA team is helping Trex to further increase its brand visibility, while strengthening its position as the industry leader on social media. The #InspiredDeck Sweepstakes highlights Trex’s popular inspirational photography featured on its Pinterest page and encourages fans to interact and engage with the brand. Fans are asked to follow Trex on Pinterest, pin their favorite Trex lifestyle images to their own personal boards via the entry page here and enter their email address. Five winners will receive one piece of Trex Outdoor Furniture to create their own inspired deck. The sweepstakes launched on Monday, March 17 and already is gaining momentum. Enter now through April 14. 

Favorite Finds

It’s been a busy week in the world of social media! Here are a few of my favorite finds:

• Happy Birthday, Twitter! – This week Twitter turned eight. The social networking powerhouse has influenced how we report breaking news and share our everyday thoughts – all in 140 characters or less. Mashable created an animated video illustrating the history of Twitter.
• Social Square-Off – ABC’s “Good Morning America” introduced Social Square, a digital hub for the Times Square studio. In an effort to engage viewers, Social Square includes Google+ Hangouts, an interactive photo wall displaying photos, videos and poll results and a “social slot machine” revealing viewers’ answers to questions from Facebook and Twitter. The unveiling of Social Square comes six months after NBC’s “Today Show” premiered its own social media studio – theOrange Room.
•  Brand Bracket – In the business of college basketball the NCAA tournament isn’t just about student athletes, schools and fans – it’s all about the brands. Last year, Adidas busted through the bracket all the way to the championship game on the backs of Louisville. This year, Nike is heavily favored as the brand to beat with 45 of the 68 teams sporting ‘the swoosh’ including all No. 1 seeds. Regardless of the tournament outcome, both companies will experience March merchandise madness. 
• A Day-in-the-Life – Can PR pros really relate to this Buzzfeed list floating around the internet? PR Daily doesn’t seem to agree.

Saving Daylight, Losing Sleep

On the heels of daylight saving time last week, LCWA client the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) declared Monday, March 10, Insomnia Awareness Day – reminding those who suffer from chronic insomnia that help is available from specially trained sleep physicians. 

Temporary insomnia symptoms, which occur in about 30 to 35 percent of adults, can be caused by a sudden change in schedule, such as the one-hour shift to daylight saving time. LCWA shared tips to help Americans cope with the potential hour of sleep loss and recommended options for seeking treatment for sleep illnesses. As a result, our sleep experts were featured in influential consumer outlets including TIME and Huffington Post. 

As many as 10 percent of adults have a chronic insomnia disorder, which involves ongoing difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or regularly waking up earlier than desired, despite an adequate opportunity for sleep. For more information on sleep illness or the AASM, visit sleepeducation.com. 

Favorite Finds

This week was focused on where we’ve been and where we could be headed:

• … And Many More! – The World Wide Web celebrated its 25^th birthday this week. Back in 1989, the web’s creator, software engineer Tim Berners-Lee, had no idea his creation would eventually facilitate sending hundreds of millions of messages or exchanging $15 million in goods and services every minute.  Today, more than two people in five are connected to the web.
• Should We #BanBossy? Facebook COO and author of the best-selling book Lean In united with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Girl Scouts USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez to launch a public campaign against use of the word “bossy,” claiming it cracks the confidence of young girls who take charge. Does this label matter?
• Headed South for SXSW – The SXSW Music, Film and Interactive conference and festivals kicked off this week in Austin, Texas. Combining creativity, innovation and technology, the events include panels and presentations on the future expansion of social media and digital communications. This year’s event boasted 72,000 registrants and artists in attendance – were you one of them?
• Social Studies – E-marketing firm Neoteric UK published an infographic noting 17 facts about social media. As predicted, Facebook and YouTube have continued to decline in popularity among teens, while Instagram and Twitter are holding steady with the young demographic.  

A Howling Success

Talk about a chain saw that provides a real bite on the job, but not a huge bite from your budget. That would be the new ECHO Timber Wolf Chain Saw.

 

ECHO asked LCWA to garner online and print editorial reviews that showcase the rugged, powerful tool and its host of professional features, all available at an attractive $399 price.

The praise and plaudits are now appearing in a number of influential media with comments such as this one from Popular Mechanics (“we liked its gutsy performance and were pleased to find the saw starts easily despite its big engine”) and Extreme How-To (“if you’re looking for a heavy-duty chainsaw built tough enough to withstand the roughest ranch and farm environments, then check out the new CS-590 Timber Wolf chainsaw from ECHO”).

We expect more four-star reviews will run just in time for those planning some serious spring cleanup and yard work from outlets such as Tool-Rank, Tool Snob, The Family Handyman and Progressive Farmer.

Favorite Finds

The Oscars stole the show this week on Twitter! From Jared Leto’s powerful acceptance speech to Jennifer Lawrence taking a tumble for the second year in a row, everyone has been tweeting about #Oscars2014!

• Best. Selfie. Ever. – When Ellen posted the selfie taken with 11 of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities, it became the most tweeted tweet ever – with more than 2.6 million retweets. All the social media blogs have been commenting, including Social Fresh – explaining how this selfie phenomenon proves that TV isn’t dead as a brand marketing tool.
• Selfie Science – With all the commotion over Ellen’s Oscar selfie, it’s only fitting to share the following blog post, “Science behind selfie-expression.” Most selfies are taken by people in their early 20s and women smile more often in their selfies compared to men.
• Beyond Just Visuals –Tell your fans and followers something about themselves to increase engagement. The “MarketWired Blog” shares a great example of McDonald’s sharing “infobytes” with its Canadian customers.
• Twitter Frenzy – It seems social media didn’t miss a moment Sunday night. The Oscars took the Twitterverse by storm with more than 14.7 million tweets! Check out the red carpet Twitter trends via this Oscars infographic.
• The Vatican Media Giant – Pope Francis is launching Mio Papa, his own magazine – with a centerfold! With a Twitter account, Facebook page and now, a weekly publication, the new, social savvy Pope may pose a threat to Ellen’s selfie success. Promotional tweets are soon to come.