Social Media is one of the largest, fastest growing mediums online, today. Sit back and think for a minute, is your brand present on the major social media platforms? Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram? If you have not ventured into these platforms yet - you need to. To maintain a strong presence online, your brand will need to establish a profile on each. Here are some tips for your brand to follow when revamping your presence online:
We recently had a YMCA ask about how many Facebook pages they should have if they have more than one branch. We have a simple answer to this question.
As part of a 'How To' series - we will show you how to enhance your social media strategy, build your online community and engage them!
Toledo.com/Thrive Internet Marketing recently launched its very first CrowdTilt campaign in support of Streetspun Yarnbombing. If that sentence doesn't compute, let me back up.
CrowdTilt is a crowdfunding startup. It allows friends, family and community members to support various initiatives or organizations by contributing to their efforts and helping to create a community push that makes financial goals more attainable.
An organizer describes in detail the item or cause they hope to fund, and asks for their friends (and sometimes even strangers) to contribute with whatever denomination they feel comfortable with. Contributors can choose to donate anything from $1 to $5,000 or however much the project costs. The organizer can also set the campaign's run dates, so if you need to fund a project in one week, two weeks, three weeks, or a month, you can choose the parameters that best fit your needs. If the CrowdTilt campaign "tilts," the money will be transferred from every contributor's credit or debit card and into the bank account of the organizer or agency receiving the funds.
CrowdTilt is similar to Kickstarter, but does not require the organizer to offer incentives or gifts (though you can offer gifts if you want). Additionally, a CrowdTilt campaign does not require a video, and organizers do not have to seek approval for their gift or cause. Essentially, a CrowdTilt campaign can be set up in less than a day.
Toledo.com identified a worthy community cause that we thought our fans and followers could appreciate: Streetspun Yarnboming's Yarn Fund. Streetspun is an anonymous street artist who crochets beautiful pieces of art for bike racks, lamp posts, parking meters, street signs, etc. across the Toledo landscape. The works are bright and colorful, and almost seem to keep their attached structures a little warmer, especially in these chilly months of winter. In fact, yarnbombing is an international craze, and cities across the world have embraced their own rising street artists. You can even spot some of Toledo's yarnbombs in other cities (and non-Toledo yarnbombs here), thanks to Streetspun's yarnbomb exchange.
The staff at Toledo.com/Thrive IM truly appreciates Streetspun's efforts, who has created some 200 yarnbombs for the streets. However, Streetspun has created all of these yarnbombs on their own dime. We reached out to Streetspun via Facebook and asked how much is spent on materials (a.k.a. yarn) each week. $20 was the reply. And to fund Streetspun's efforts for duration of 2013, we'd need to raise $1000.
To ensure that Streetspun received the money, we decided to run the campaign for three weeks, and set the goal at $500. We also encouraged Streetspun to offer incentives to anyone who donated $50 or more to the cause, and decided that at the end of the campaign, we would select three contributors at random to win personal yarnbomb gifts for their generosity.
We didn't know what to expect, and it took all of us by surprise when we reached this goal within 24 hours. Oh, the powers of social media! Not only did Toledo.com promote the campaign to our 21,000+ Facebook fans and 3,000+ Twitter followers, but Streetspun reached out through their social circles as well. We also shared the campaign on Toledo.com for our 200,000 unique monthly visitors to find. Combined, we managed to seek out fellow yarnbomb enthusiasts to share the CrowdTilt and make contributions.
With almost a full three weeks left, we encouraged our fans and personal friends to donate, even though the initial goal had been met. After all, we were still $500 shy of the actual amount needed to fund Streetspun for a full year. This proved to be a little more difficult since that sense of urgency had dissipated. With a little persistence and some effective "call to action" messaging, we surpassed the goal within hours of ending the campaign. The final amount raised for Streetspun Yarnbombing's Yarn Fund: $1,105. That money was donated amongst 37 contributors, some of them friends of Toledo.com, some of them friends of Streetspun, and some of them complete strangers. Because of these contributors, Toledo will be a more vibrant and warmer city this year.
Our first CrowdTilt campaign was a huge success, and exceeded Streetspun and our own expectations. Not only did we meet our goal and then some, but we were able to utilize the Toledo.com brand, demonstrating once again how much we care about the surrounding community. We can't wait to launch additional campaigns in support of worthwhile Toledo causes. If your business is looking for a simple, frugal way to give back to the community, consider organizing a CrowdTilt campaign.
A tab app is used on Facebook and can be used to create a contest, event, add your Twitter feed or add photos. These tab apps can be found to the left of your profile picture underneath the cover photo. Here is an example of the tab apps pulled down to show the full layout on the new Timeline layout:
Our junior developer Jordan Barhorst, is currently a senior at BGSU studying Visual Communications Technology. When he isn't stealing all the "stress ball squishys" from our office, Jordan can be found designing and updating websites. In his spare time, Jordan writes for Blog Red Machine and keeps himself up to date on everything Google. Jordan loves the Cincinnati Reds and Android devices. Jordan's enthusiasm for design and interest in music and the community make him a perfect fit for our team.
A recent BGSU graduate, Brittany studied Public Relations and Marketing. She has a knack for being picky with words and an eye for misspellings. If you see Brittany's desk, you will notice a variety of items such as a dying bamboo plant, a massive pile of balloons, a stress ball squishy she scored from the Target $1 bins and a tin of Peppermint Mocha Tea. She shares the "Cave office" with Dan and Andy. Brittany is the Digital Marketing Specialist and all things Google here at Thrive.
This guy can design just about anything - and we mean anything. Our web developer, Andy, is a Waterville native and graduated from BGSU in 2011. A lot has changed for this snappy developer in the past year - newly hired to Thrive in May and got married in July! He has a habit of using everyone else's garbage can but his own and often spills water on his shirt due to a "hole" in his chin. Andy also loves The Office, Ohio State and his new wife. Andy joins the Thrive team with multiple assets, including website design and development, social media, and illustration.
With a desk right up against the office window, John spends his days editing and managing the content on Toledo.com. He is also our in house plant caretaker. When he isn't searching for the next best event going on in Toledo, John can be found soaking up some rays by his office window and snacking on crackers. If you ever want to give him some orange peanut butter crackers - he wouldn't mind at all. John enjoys board level involvement with several local non-profit organizations, including The Arts Commission, and the YMCA/JCC of Greater Toledo.
This designer can always be found with a smile and a mug full of green tea in hand. With a knack for taking an idea from inception to launch - Gwen has some serious skill. With a desk full of trinkets, a love for Starbucks coffee and a furry feline named Pixel, our design girl is pretty cool. You know you've done well when Gwen Approves!