Some social campaign pointers.

This term is slowly coming to a close and one of the classes that I will never forget is my Advertising/PR workshop class. My group and I worked the entire semester on this one important project in hopes of launching a successful campaign. Yes, we are talking about the whole enchilada, including the social aspect of it all; we set up a Facebook page as well as a Twitter account. Today, I came across some tips on Mashable for people who are thinking of working with social media for their campaign and realized, social media can take any campaign in a whole new direction.

Our campaign was very successful and I feel that some of the useful tips on Mashable can be seen in the way we conducted our semester long campaign. While my Ad/PR group worked on our campaign for the New York Organ Donor Network, we definitely used our Facebook page as well as our Twitter account to promote our event as well as our cause. We used it as a communication tool and our means of feedback from our target audience. It's very important to know what the goals of the campaign are. For us, it was to create awareness for the cause and to promote our event. We wanted to keep our supporters updated and motivated throughout the campaign, leading up to our big event. As our campaign comes to an end, we must not forget about the supporters that have been there the whole way. So, we will have a reflection/follow up for our supporters! A successful social media campaign is as good as the investment of time into it.

Who doesn't love freebies?

As everything seems to be moving to the social media world, it's nice to know freebies are there too. You should definitely check out this article on Mashable if you'd like some freebies! So, just a brief overview of the options:

1) Type in #freebie or #freebies in the search box

2) Follow them freebie tweeters (check out the article on Mashable for legit tweeters)

3) Checkout TwitterFreebies.com

4) Drop into a Twitter Party

5) Follow your favorite brands

Considering how simple these options are, why not give it a shot? I have been a dedicated follower of all my favorite brands ever since I started my Twitter account, so I can check that off my list. Working my way up the list from the bottom, dropping into a Twitter Party. Wait, they have parties on Twitter? You learn something new every day! Basically, a brand or company would host these events for about 2 hours for discussion as well as coupons and giveaways. I need to drop by a Twitter party sometimes myself. I'm making my way up the list and it can be quite distracting since there are so many freebies out there! Did I just read that there is free handmade soap?! I think freebies on Twitter is a great way to promote brands as well as keep tweeters engaged and interested. We are seriously moving away from the days of coupon clippings and time and date restrictions. Freebies on Twitter lets tweeters know about the newest freebies and the best thing is, there are freebies around the clock!

Would you be friends with your parents on Facebook?

You know how parents love to friend request their kids on Facebook these days? Surpisingly, only 48% of parents friend their kids on Facebook according to a recent survey. I think the reason for this may possibly be the fact that most parents know that their kids wouldn't accept their parents' friend request. I mean, I know I wouldn't, haha. Isn't it bad enough that we have had our parents keeping tabs on us all our lives? If we add them on Facebook, we're telling them that it's acceptable for them to do so. I have reluctantly added several of my uncles and aunts on Facebook. Of course, I don't have anything to hide, but occasionally there is something that bothers me and I like to share it via Facebook status; I can get a bit carried away sometimes. We would think social media is a place where our parents can't keep tabs on us, but parents are catching up quickly! While we know that some parents try too hard by attempting to talk to us in lingo such as "yo" and "what up," there are parents that really know what it means to be just a friend on social media. Lord knows that's not my parents!

Starbucks on Facebook, can it get any better?

I'm SURE the majority of you are not like me when it comes to Starbucks , but this is great regardless! As many companies are taking their products to social media outlets, Starbucks is no different and perhaps one of the first companies to do so. Instead of going to the Starbucks website to check my card balance, I can just check it through the easy Facebook Application. As much as we like to protect our privacy, we know that the consistent changes on Facebook makes it harder than ever, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. By adding any application on Facebook, we are allowing that application access to our information, but isn't anything we put on the internet accessible to others? Even though Starbucks may be one of those applications that can access our information, we know that such a big company won't do anything to risk its image. If anyone ever catches the terms of service and actually reads it, it should say somewhere in there that our information is as secure as when we log in through the actual Starbucks website...right?

A Follow Up on Twitter Trends.

Where does this week's twitter trend leave us? Let's try to forget Justin Bieber for a minute, even if he's #1 on the trend list. All right, so like we said before, the trends list keeps tweeters in tune with what's happening on Twitter. Well, if I hadn't looked at the trend list, I probably would have found out in like 2 years, that Super Junior was on the trend list! Who is Super Junior? For those of you who do not listen to Korean music, Super Junior is one of the largest boybands in the world with 13, yes, 13 members! Now 2 of their members are on Twitter, so only 11 more to go, right? It's interesting how celebrities from all over the world are getting onto Twitter and making use of their celebrity status for the good and sometimes the bad.

So what are some other functions of the trends list? Many of the subjects that make it to the list are completely because tweeters share some love for the celebrities or topics. It's also a place where tweeters can share things such as song titles or a place where tweeters can show they're knowledgeable and make their tweets heard! For example, in the past week, many people tweeted about earth day, it is like a community that bands together for a good cause! When's the last time you found a way to mobilize people for a good cause so quickly?

What's so special about a Like button?

In a recent article for CNN Tech by Mashable's very own, Pete Cashmore, we learn the Like button on Facebook is so much more than a button! So we know that there are a lot of things we can do on Facebook, but on Twitter, the options appear to be limited to three things: follow, tweet and retweet. However, for a lot of Facebook users (a.k.a. me) who aren't into all those applications, what is the big draw with Facebook? In the article, I have found the answer, the Like button. Ah yes, we like to like things and this button just makes it so easy and NORMAL. For example, if a friend of yours says something to you, don't you wish you could hit a Like button then, but that would be weird, right? You wouldn't say to them, "I like what you just said." On Facebook, "liking" things is beyond normal, it's a part of our daily routines! I think the like button makes the whole entire Facebook experience more personal and more interactive; it basically lets Facebook users know that they have a voice amongst Facebook users. If you tell me that you have never "liked" a friend's status or a facebook page, I just know you are lying! Ok fine, were you at least tempted to hit the like button?

Social Media Savvy?

I find that lately, there isn't much to do on Facebook or Twitter. I passed the phase of adding a bunch of applications in which I own a virtual restaurant or have a virtual pet. As for Twitter, there is the occasional tweeting and retweeting, but I don't really have the drive that I once had to look for people to follow. So, in a recent post on Mashable, it does a rundown of some resources that social media may have that we probably overlooked. The thing I love about this post was the advice it gives in addition to the resources.

Many of the resources are perfectly legit and useful! For example, you can learn how to create a FREE music playlist, watch photoshop tutorials on youtube or just overall, be more productive when it comes to social media. I have to admit though, it was the great additional advice that the post offered that I had to read over first. I'd like to know how Facebook changed dating for the worse, wouldn't you? Yah, everything in that tidbit sounds about right. Also, we may laugh about all that Facebook stalking and all, but it can be serious and really creepy. So one of the topics you can read up on is how to prevent and report online stalking, simple and straightforward tips, but so much so that we easily forget it. When you get a chance, you should definitely take a look at the resources we actually have when it comes to social media; in the end, it all goes back to why we're here in the first place. Did you forget already?