Return on Influence, Book Insights

Here are my thoughts and insights on Mark Schaefer's book, Return on Influence:

This trend of social scoring is creating new classes of haves and have-nots, social media elites and losers, frenzied attempts to crash the upper class, and deepening resentments. For the first time, companies can – with growing confidence – identify, quantify, and nurture valuable word-of-mouth influencers who can uniquely drive demand for their products.

• The Citizen Influencer- you don’t need a huge number of followers on Twitter or years of experience, they just need to make things happen.
• Klout is the powerful tool that can make you an influencer that is what its algorithm is for. We are at the era of democratization of influence.
• Revolutionary concept: conversations between real people that make something happen.
• Social media platforms allow us to start to reclaim the conversation with our customers, even in a complex global marketplace.
• New rules on influence- 1 free Internet and Wi-Fi globally, easy to use social media tools that allows anyone to become a publisher, Klout and sort influencers by topic. 
• One way to define influence is through the numbers- it’s a very social competition and we buy into it.
• The key to success on the social web is to completely eliminate self-interest. We get so caught up in ROI that we often forget about conversation for the sake of conversation. Helping for the sake of helping. It’s never about what you can get but what you can give.
• The human ability to detect insincerity is amplified on the web.
• Acronym for the type of content a brand needs to produce-- RITE- relevance, interesting, timely, entertaining.
• We are at the dawn of the creation of a new social media caste system determined by how and when you tweet, connect, share, and comment. The haves may score better jobs, higher social status, even better luck on the dating scene.

Social Media Detox, the Aftermath

My previous blog post was how I was going to completely shut off my social media accounts for a week (minus Instagram... because when I am relaxing on the beach I love looking at pictures) and enjoy a simple spring break. I deleted the Facebook app and Twitter app from my phone to begin the detox.

Day 1= Started off strong. I enjoyed not constantly checking my phone and wanting to know what everyone else was doing. I could just sit back and enjoy my time with my friends and chillin' on the beach. This day was a breeze for me.

Day 2= I woke up and had an urge to read Twitter but obviously couldn't because I deleted the app. Instead I made a bowl of cereal and sat on the porch and listened to the breaking of waves. Needless to say Twitter was off of my mind really quickly. Day 2 made me realize how much of a habit I have made checking my social accounts. I wake up, check Twitter then scroll through Instagram and then if I really don't want to get up yet I'll check Facebook.

Day 3= This day I had less of an urge to check Twitter. I got up and went straight to the beach and didn't even bring my phone with me. However, when I was getting ready to go out to dinner, I was ready before everyone else and really wanted to check Twitter. I slowly was beginning to realize that it was when I was not preoccupied with anything I wanted to turn to social media.

Day 4= Woke up to a text from a friend asking if I had seen this specific tweet... this was a killer. I wanted to hear about what was going on in the entertainment world; however, I had no access. I had to ask for the "low down" of the story and that I didn't check Twitter. She was surprised but quickly caught me up to speed. It is funny that my friends even know my daily social media schedule!

Day 5= I had a lazy day relaxing on the beach and never really had any thought about social media. This was starting to feel like a normal thing... no access to the social world. In all honesty, it felt pretty great not to have to check this or scroll through that!

Day 6= Last and final day of the social media detox. I was eagerly awaiting my arrival home andddd I caved. I was in a car for over 10 hours and really just wanted to check Twitter and Facebook. The only positive thing I thought about was seeing all of the notifications I had gotten during the week.... BUT I really only had a few favorites of a tweet and been tagged in some pictures on Facebook. Major let down because I thought I would have had so many comments and posts and tweets, to my surprise I didn't have hardly any.

To wrap up this whole social detox thing I will leave you with this insight...
Time is now and being with friends and family is precious time you can't take back. Engage in conversation with people OUTSIDE of social media. Relationships are what keeps me going and I took that for granted. This detox definitely brought me back down to earth to realize live in the moment, no really actual the physical moment.

Personal use of social media

I was assigned a "Managing of My Personal Social Media Accounts" paper in my advertising class this week. I always find it interesting to see different generations use of social media because they are so vastly different. So I decided I wanted to share my reasons of why I use each platform.

Facebook: Facebook is the platform I use for personal relationships. I use it to keep in touch with friends, look at photos and mainly to keep up with where everyone is in life. I would consider this my least formal profile. I showcase my friends and significant other in both of my photos currently. I provide the most basic information such as where I currently live and attend school and maybe a job I have had. My Facebook usage has become less and less due to the clutter and annoying articles that have exploded into my newsfeed

Twitter: Twitter is my favorite platform to engage with people on. It is fun and timely which is the most attractive thing about this platform. My profile features a picture which I use on other platforms as well so I can start making a name match a face to eventually be noticed by key influencers. I use Twitter to express my thoughts, share blog posts and engage in conversations with my followers. My about me section is a short line that accurately describes me- creative thinker and big dreamer. The header photo is also my blog banner. If I have learned anything it is all about connecting your platforms.

LinkedIn: This is the most professional platform I am currently on. I have began to frequent LinkedIn numerous times throughout a day to check job openings, see who has viewed my profile and read articles I find interesting. However, as far as posting goes, I do not do a very good job about sharing or pushing out original content. My profile is at an expert level and I have very strong relations with the majority of my connections. I try to engage with them monthly to make sure I stay top of mind. I am beginning to really see the value in this social media platform as a senior in college. I don't know where I would be without it.

Pinterest: I use Pinterest as a way to really show my personality. I post fashion that I love, creative trends, basically all things Leah. I use it as a subset to my blog. When I first started my blog my Pinterest and blog account were very similar. I would find a dress I like and then create an image or mood board and blog about it. The image I attached to my blog post I would also pin. It is all about cross platform integration. I find that Pinterest occupies my time when I have nothing else better to do but spend hours on Pinterest.

The Road to Becoming a Foodie

Hungry? Instagram always makes me hungry because of the large amount of gourmet food posts I see when scrolling through my feed. BBDO Atlanta conducted research on this topic and concluded that, “Millennials have a fascination with food as a way to tell their story. For them, food is not just about nourishment. It’s about self-expression and entertainment. It’s about personal storytelling. They’re Instagramming what they eat, following food celebrities on Twitter, and venturing out to all sorts of new places, from the latest trendy joint to the hole-in-the-wall down the street. But for a generation defined by social media, they don’t care if a restaurant gets bad reviews on Yelp. If their friends like it, they’ll go. If they like it, they’ll share a picture and review of it.” Not only are they all about the trendiness of the food industry, they are concerned with the nutritional value of the food they eat. If restaurants and food packages do not clearly state the nutritional value of their product, they will not survive among the Millennial generation. I'm trying to become more of a foodie myself so this is a trending topic for me! Stay tuned who knows what scrumptious food grams I might come up with.

Warby Parker.

As an owner of a pair of Warby Parker glasses, I may seem a bit biased, however; Warby Parker is known for being one of the most successful 1-for-1 business models. Their slogan is "Buy a pair- give a pair" and Warby Parker does just that. With every pair of eyeglasses purchased they donate eyewear and also train people in other countries to give eye exams and sell glasses to their communities at an affordable price. Not only do they just give back to communities of those less fortunate, they are making the focal point more about awareness than simply just donating and stepping back.

Warby Parker’s social presence and online presence is what has taken them so far. The tone of voice they use on their website is simply a conversational approach to talk to consumers. They want to make known that not everyone has the luxury of nice eyewear and we can make the difference. They don’t have to push their philanthropic involvement in their advertising because everywhere on their website tells their story and who they are as a brand. 

            Besides its philanthropic involvement, Warby Parker also wants to provide people with affordable and fashionable eyeglasses. Their mission statement is provided on their website along with what kind of brand they strive to be, “Our customers, employees, community and environment are our stakeholders. We consider them in every decision that we make.”I think that statement speaks for itself about the culture and value of the Warby Parker brand.  If all brands used Warby Parkers approach, I think it would have an astronomical impact on the way consumers view brands.

I fell in love with Warby Parker even more when I was in portfolio class last fall. I chose this brand to create an advertising campaign for which was my favorite one to work on. I came up with the concept of a dictionary of eyewear by using the names of the frames to tell Warby Parker's story -- it's really freaking neat! Check it out on my portfolio! Here is a sneak peak 

Tao of Twitter.

It takes a lot for me to finish reading a book. I always start them, but I seem to get bored or lost somewhere in the middle of them. That didn't seem to be the case for this one. Social media expert, Mark Schaefer, wrote a book titled The Tao of Twitter, and needless to say it is a must read. Whether you are a Twitter amateur or professional this book should be added to your reading list. In his book, Mark starts off by saying it is time you "enjoy the benefits of the most powerful business networking system that has ever existed." My immediate reaction was WOW Twitter has come so far from when I first started using it. Having had an internship in social media, I have acquired more than the basic knowledge of various social media platforms so I thought what is this book really going to tell me that I don't already know?  Well to my surprise I gleaned some very valuable insights from this book. One of the biggest lessons that continually showed up in the book was that networking doesn’t occur by chance in the traditional business world, and it doesn’t occur by chance alone on the social web either. Twitter if used to its fullest potential is the most valuable networking tool for a college graduate and really anyone. That was something I always knew but never really sat down and focused on the power of networking via social media. You have to surround yourself with a community of influencers because maybe there’s one chance a reaction will occur and lead to something. Be intentional in the people you follow on Twitter. Insert yourself in the conversation and engage in communication with your followers. Another huge point that was made in the Tao of Twitter was to be yourself. Sounds pretty cliché but stop and think about what humans want to interact with... other genuine humans and if you aren't yourself, you will soon lose interest in trying to be something you are not. I ended the book with a challenge to myself-- share and produce content that showed my whole personality and to not sell myself short. Twitter is about sharing content for humans, not search engines. Now is the time to put all of this book into action so join me the conversation--shameless plug-- follow me @leahcharrington, because I would love to connect with you! 

Oscars.

The Oscars is one of the most watched televised shows in the history of TV. Did you know that the first Oscars ceremony tickets only cost $5 back in 1929? Or that New York has been the location for 16 Best Picture winners? Now that the critiques have decided who their predictions are for best picture and other famous categories, Huffington Post teamed up this year with the Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue, to let the dogs pick their predictions. They picked their Best Picture from the following nominees: "Whiplash," "American Sniper," "Birdman," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything," and "Boyhood." 

This is a unique way for the Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue to find homes for the dogs and what better way to promote the Oscars?! Under each dog's choice for Best Picture there is a story about what makes the dog a Badass dog. Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue's mission is to rescue sweet, loving, adoptable dogs from high kill, rural shelters in the southern U.S. states and get them adopted into wonderful forever homes. 

Without further adieu, meet the furry, four-legged canines who selected their nominees for Best Picture for the 2015 Oscars!

Bebe Neuwirth's pick: Boyhood

Walter White's pick: Birdman

Jansen Panettiere's pick: The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Samson the Dood's pick: Boyhood

Cooper's pick: Boyhood

Cote's pick: American Sniper

Rene-Charles' pick: Birdman

Hamilton's pick: American Sniper

Riley Bean's pick: The Imitation Game

beachweek.

Brrr. It feels like -17 degrees outside right now. Are the winter blues starting to set in? Do not fret, Travel Channel Beach Week is here! All over Instagram and Twitter, #TCBeachWeek is taking over. I'm beginning to think this is the best way to advertise beaches, because it's freezing outside and everyone's mind is thinking about tropical destinations to escape the reality of how cold it is. The Travel Channel is airing some of the hottest beaches of 2015 during their annual Beach Week tour around the world. They kicked it off with the top 101 Sand n' Surf spots. From Matira Beach in Bora Bora to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, the Travel Channel is counting down to the No. 1 beach in the world! At the end of the week they will reveal the Best Beach Awards of 2015, 10 categories with winners selected by the Travel Channel experts. Follow the Travel Channel on Twitter and #TCBeachWeek to stay in the loop with all things tropical! Stay warm out there! 

Top 10 Beaches by Category

1. Sexiest Beach
Miami Beach, FL 

2. Best Unusual Beach
Red Beach, Santorini, Greece

3. Best Romantic Beach
Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands 

4. Best Beach for Adventure
Praia do Futuro, Fortaleza, Brazil

5. Best Beach Bar
VICE, Nissakia Surf Club, Artemida, Greece

6. Best Beach You Haven't Heard of... Yet
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala 

7. Best Beach Boardwalks
Coney Island, NY

8. Best Family Beach
Seaside, Florida 

9. Best Party Beach
La Barra, Punta del Este, Uruguay

10. Best Exotic Beach
Ihlabela, Brazil

valentine.

Whether you are single or not, who doesn't love- love! According to the National Retail Federation, all of the candy, cards and flowers purchased in 2014 added up to more than $17 billion. That's a lot of love people shared last year!  In fact, it is such a large number that brands can't ignore it because love makes the world go round. I have been taking a look at the Twitter sphere today to see which brands are sharing the love and came across some pretty unique hashtags. Sweethearts social media campaign for this Valentine’s Day is #TweetHearts. You can tweet a personalized message using the hashtag and they will send it to you either to order or to tweet to your Valentine. Evian’s hashtag #ILoveYouLike is a really engaging social media campaign this year. You simply tweet the completed #ILoveYouLike sentence and Evian will send you a personalized message to share with your Valentine. 

Sweethearts #TweetHearts Campaign

Evian #ILoveYouLike Campaign

Here are some of my favorite brands sharing the love with you this Valentine’s Day.