Social Media Monitoring Project Part 2

StandWithUs

 A couple of weeks ago, we looked at StandWithUs' online profile in the Social Media Monitoring Project Part 1. We discussed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats inherent to the organization after analyzing information available to us via GoogleTrends and SocialSearcher.

Today, we're going to take this into part 2 and create some actionable item recommendations for the nonprofit organization that will help them take advantage of their strengths, and implement strategies to strengthen their weaknesses.

As a reminder, this is the nonprofit that I work for (and loving every minute of it!), but I am only using information that is publicly available. The analyses I draw will be based off my experiences analyzing the trends and studying their online profile. Let's jump in!

One of the first strengths we discussed in the last post was the sheer numbers of people StandWithUs reaches across their varying platforms. That gives the organization access to a HUGE amount of people who are viewing their content through a variety of these platforms. Sounds amazing right? And yes, it is. But reach isn't everything.

Through a SocialSearcher trend analysis, we learned that StandWithUs has a really high negative sentiment ratio not because of reactions to StandWithUs, but because of the type of content they share. We mentioned that the organization capitalizes on anger to fuel the groundswell, which we can see in just a few examples of the types of posts the organization shares.

Informational Instagram post about Hezbollah

Instagram post commemorating a horrific terrorist attack in Tel Aviv

Et cetera. We get it. While they do sprinkle in a smattering of more inspirational posts (like this post, this post, and this post), StandWithUs generally relies on anger to fuel people to contribute to and engage with their posts.

The Instagram posts also show us a feed that is very heavily curated. For today's audience, it's probably too heavily-curated. In fact, the types of content that StandWithUs tends to share seems to cater to more of a Boomer generation than a Millenial or Gen Z. It makes sense; boomers are the ones who are probably doing the most donating right now, but it's not a great tactic if they want to make sure the organization can continue appealing to younger generations.

Take this image for example.

StandWithUs Instagram post

This asks Instagram users to get involved with the content and ideally share it with their friends once they've managed to find the hidden Israeli flag. It's a game that we learn to play as children and is one way the organization tries to create positive sentiment and keep momentum going during slow news cycles.

It's also geared towards boomers.

Here's another example that has been used as part of this positive sentiment campaign.

StandWithUs Instagram Post

The organization had a series of posts highlighting different animals you can find in Israel and giving them names. There was Yossi the dolphin, Amnon the camel, and Dvora the bee (a bit too on the nose maybe - Dvora means bee in Hebrew). We get it.

Let's rewind a sec. Did you notice the comments in the owl post a moment ago? That was spawned by this post:

Meet Josh via this Instagram post

The comments section? Yikes.

It's probably not too difficult to assume that the organization was looking to find a way to fill slow news days and considered this a great way to keep the groundswell engaged during those off moments. While this may be true of the boomers, it seems that the younger audience takes this all as a joke. While it may be funny for a moment, it's not enough to keep the younger audience engaged and inspire them to become a bigger part of the organization, whether it's getting involved in other campaigns to fight antisemitism or mis/disinformation about Israel, or to get involved with one of the many programs they offer.

It doesn't help that their feed is overly curated. We know that younger audiences are looking for feeds that feel fresh and real, which is not something that StandWithUs particularly does. They also use a lot of shock tactics, sharing images from horrific terrorist attacks to fuel the anger of the groundswell.

Because StandWithUs focuses on education, their feed should as well. Continuously posting images that incite anger is a great way to get people to react to what they post, but doesn't create longevity during slower news cycles. Instead of this campaign that focuses more on the boomer generation, they should spend more time creating content that focuses on humor. Some of the most well-loved pages about the same topic - fighting antisemitism or educating about Israel - use humor to great effect.

JewBelong is a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing online resources about Judaism and Israel, and has expanded to include real-life advertising campaigns. 

Some of their billboards have gone up around the Boston area in conjunction with Together Beat Hate, a project of the Kraft family's Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism:

Via Jewish Journal

Via Jewish Journal

Here are some examples of what we see on their Instagram:

Instagram post

Instagram post

Instagram Post
Also major LOLz, I feel this in my bones

Instagram Post

Not only does JewBelong bring people together via humor, they do something that StandWithUs doesn't do as often: they share other people's content.

Let's see a SocialSearcher analytics breakdown of JewBelong:

Analytics via SocialSearcher

Generally pretty close to StandWithUs.

Comparing the two organizations via Google Trends over the past 12 months focusing on the United States shows us:

Analysis via Google Trends
The blue is JewBelong | The red is StandWithUs

We see that StandWithUs and JewBelong have had periods of time where they have been relatively consistent and times where JewBelong has jumped way beyond StandWithUs. The big jump in June is when JewBelong launched their billboard campaign, which explains the high interest. 

During a time when StandWithUs was trying to educate their audience in the aftermath of Israel's war with Hamas, the terrorist organization in the Gaza strip, JewBelong was actively taking their message to the streets of the United States.

StandWithUs has now emulated this campaign in South Africa, countering an anti-Israel billboard that went up in South Africa.

So what can we learn about JewBelong's #EndJewHate campaign and general online presence? A few things.

1. Humor works.
2. Sharing other people's content (appropriately, with credit) allows you to create community and bring a fresh perspective to your page that followers enjoy.
3. You can keep your page curated without making it overbearing.

JewBelong does not have the online following that StandWithUs does. The sheer number of people that StandWithUs is able to engage with throughout their accounts is an asset that few other organizations in this sphere have. But followers mean nothing if your content isn't something people want to engage with, particularly if you're not attracting a younger audience like other organizations are doing.

To sum it up, here are the final recommendations for StandWithUs to implement for their online presence.

1. Empower your younger followers to create content and share it on your profile. Sharing it to stories is great, but seeing younger voices speaking up will encourage other young voices to join.
   
   
2. Anger will bring people in, but humor will keep them. Campaigns about animals in Israel or finding the Israeli flag hidden in a picture are not strong enough methods to keep an audience. Like the campaigns StandWithUs runs that incite angry people to sign petitions or share information, they should focus an equal amount on running campaigns that inspire people to share posts because they're funny.
   
   
3. Heavily curated feeds aren't it. Not anymore. Let a feel of authenticity into your online presence. Gen Z especially can feel when things aren't authentic and they're not into it. Allow them to feel that this is a place where they can grow as activists, with StandWithUs supporting them the whole way.
   
   
4. Promote internal StandWithUs resources more. The website offers so many resources that aren't shared online because it's so heavily curated. Share the great things the different departments are doing by having real people share their stories.

Our previous analysis showed us that Facebook and Instagram in particular are being underused, so implementing these tactics could help raise the organization's positive sentiment and expand their presence across networks. 

What are your thoughts about these recommendations for the organization? How effective do you think JewBelong is in comparison? What else could StandWithUs learn from JewBelong's billboard campaign? Do you have any other recommendations you would provide if you were the one analyzing this organization? Let me know in the comments below!

I Put A Spell On You

 . . . and now you're mine! Or more accurately, we're all Disney's.

Hocus Pocus via TV Insider

Hocus Pocus is a film originally released in 1993 that tells the story of the evil Sanderson sisters, witches who are brought back to life on Halloween 300 years after being hanged and vow revenge. 

Their goal? 

"..find the book, brew the potion, and suck the lives out of the children of Salem before sunrise. Otherwise it's curtains. We evaporate! We cease to exist!"

Over the years, Hocus Pocus has gained a following so large that it has become a cult classic. 

"I Put a Spell on You," the song featured in the movie with Bette Midler's marvelous cover, is renowned (and the marvelous Ms. M makes it sound AMAZING).

Yet for a movie that is so well loved, it has horrible reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 38% on the TOMATOMETER with a total of 56 reviews while the audience score is 71% with over 250,000 ratings. What gives?

Well it turns out, it was a combination of a corporation wanting to make money and a groundswell that wanted more.

As ScreenRant breaks down, the theatrical release of Hocus Pocus wasn't great. The Disney corporation, never one to not try to recoup lost cash, immediately sent it to broadcast on the Disney Channel and ABC Family. It was added to the 13 Days of Halloween lineup which meant that it got a new audience every year. 

But the biggest reason? Nostalgia.

TheLily and ENews provide more info about the power of nostalgia making Hocus Pocus the hit of the Halloween season. 

Forbes analyzes the power of nostalgia marketing in millennials, making this the perfect area for the groundswell to rise up.

In an era where we are on our phones and every day seems like it brings a new calamity, millennials want to feel like they are living back in a simpler time again. 

Image via 9GAG

Disney, sensing an opportunity, took some time to listen to what the groundswell had to say about Hocus Pocus. And what the groundswell wanted, in pure nostalgic style, was a sequel.

Image via Time

Rumors of a Hocus Pocus sequel have been simmering around the Internet since the Internet basically began. In 2017, it was reported that a sequel would be coming, but without the starring trio. The groundswell had LOTS to say about that.

Image via Time

Image via Time

The people wanted a sequel, but they didn't want it without the original Sanderson sisters. No other actors would do. In 2019, People wrote a follow up article that a sequel would officially be going ahead, with no direct response from Disney as to whether Middler, Parker, and Najimy would be attached. Still, not a great response from the groundswell.

Image via CheatSheet

Earlier this year, Disney confirmed that the starring trio would be back for the sequel slated to arrive to Disney's streaming platform, Disney +, in 2022. And boy was the groundswell happy.

Image via 9GAG

Disney, as a large oligopoly, is not one that has to fear the groundswell shifting away from it like smaller organizations, but even Disney needs to stay relevant or risk losing its paying base. In this example, we see Disney utilizing some important groundswell strategies.

Twitter was where a lot of the dialogue was happening and it's where Disney obviously did much of its listening. As Li and Bernof tell us, Twitter makes it easy because anyone can follow anyone; posts are automatically public (unless you set your account to private) which means anyone can see posts and hashtags and spread community; you can easily inlcude links; and you can retweet content, which shares it across the groundswell at lightning speed. It's also the hub of creators, as we see via the memes and Tweets shared through the app.

By utilizing Twitter, Disney energized customers to be excited about the Hocus Pocus sequel by giving them content that they would want to share.

The groundswell also created its own Hocus Pocus community that allowed them to continue spreading the film. 

Image via Twitter

Searching Twitter for #HocusPocus or #HocusPocus2 offers an incredible amount of content that lets you know what the groundswell is thinking about the original, the incredible subculture it's spawned, or the upcoming sequel.

Disney's methodology of dealing with Hocus Pocus shows an incredible grasp of embracing the groundswell and tapping Twitter for its groundswell potential. They're moves that can be replicated by any large organization by searching for hashtags, seeing what gets retweeted, listening to what people have to say, and implementing it.

After all, 

Image via The Daily Geekette

What are your thoughts on how Disney tapped the groundswell via Twitter for Hocus Pocus 2? 

How Evil is the Duolingo Owl?

I think we all know by now that I spend WAAAAAAYYYYY too much time on TikTok. And if you don't, read this previous blog post of mine to get up to speed. 

But I can't help it! The content is just too good! 

I think I went too far down the rabbit hole, though, because the Duolingo owl came for me now. I haven't touched my lessons since August!

The famous Duolingo owl

To those who don't spend an inappropriate amount of time on the Internet (please teach me your secrets), Duolingo is an app that teaches you a foreign language for free! 

They have a variety of common languages, like Spanish, French, Japanese, Hebrew, Chinese, Swahili, Korean, Arabic, and Hindi. But they also offer lessons in High Valyrian, Hawaiian, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Latin, Navajo, Klingon, and Yiddish.

Duolingo is actually a trendsetter in teaching endangered languages! I downloaded Duolingo for the specific purpose of learning Yiddish. It went so well that now my mom and sister have Duolingo and even my grandma downloaded it! That's how effective the platform is - no matter your age or level, it's entertaining and fits to suit your level.

Duolingo push notification via OpenBack

Duolingo is also good at keeping your attention because once you download the app, you start getting reminders to do your daily lesson. 

They work so well at reminding you to do your Duolingo lesson. Except, users on the Internet started realizing that the notifications became more threatening than friendly.

Mildly threatening Duolingo push notifications via Twitter

This launched an Internet frenzy.

Meme via Reddit

Post after post on the Internet followed meme after meme that broke down how scary and threatening the Duolingo owl, Duo, is. eBaum's World and Mashable both articulated the evolution of the owl from mild and friendly to threatening and evil.

Here are just a few of the many memes via Let's Eat Cake that have circulated around the Internet about the Duolingo owl, with many more examples available via the link.

The groundswell has obviously decided that the Duo owl is evil. And Duolingo, following our textbook to a T, responded accordingly.

Older videos published to Duolingo's TikTok account showcase a certain kind of content:

Well that's not groundswell responsive. Why in the heck would I write all about that terrifying owl for no reason? Because of Duolingo's newer TikTok videos:

*chef's kiss* THAT, my friends, is how organizations should be responding to and engaging with the groundswell. Duolingo saw the trend that was taking place online and ran with it. And their engagement went WAY UP!!! Previous TikToks averaged a few thousand likes each, but these have several million likes EACH.

And as if the videos weren't enough, Duolingo responds to comments a la groundswell style too! Take a look at these screenshots taken from the various above videos:

Honestly, can we check if Duolingo's marketing person took this course with our professor or something? Cuz it's not the owl that's scary, but exactly how well they're following our textbook.

In all realness though, Duolingo does an amazing job monitoring the groundswell, adjusting to what it says, and responding to it based on what they discover. It's obvious that those efforts are rewarded as likes and engagement on their TikTok account are now way through the roof. We could learn a lot from Duolingo (and yes, that includes the languages they offer).

What are your thoughts on how Duolingo interacts with the groundswell? Let me know in the comments below! And maybe let's just all make a pact to do our Duolingo lessons tonight, I'm worried they'll come for me after this post.

Social Media Monitoring Project Part 1

In February 2020, my life was changed forever. And before you assume, no! It actually wasn't COVID! Maybe it'll make more sense if I rewind a bit. 

I started my academic journey at Worcester State University in Spring 2019. At the time, I told anyone who would listen that I was going to just be a regular commuter (ha ha ha for those who know me now). I had no plans or interest in getting involved on campus at all. I wanted to drive in for class, sit through class, drive back home. That's it.

Then in December 2019, there were two separate instances of swastikas vandalizing a bathroom on my campus. I'm a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors - there was no way I could passively sit by and not get involved. I commend Worcester State for their swift and strong reaction, both via email and via their planning of an antisemitism program which they brought me into. As part of the planning process, I reached out to as many community members as possible to bring the Jewish community in Worcester together. That's how I first got involved with StandWithUs.

StandWithUs is a nonprofit organization that educates people about Israel and fights antisemitism worldwide. I've been following them on social media for years because of their strong presence online fighting misinformation. The antisemitism program led me to connect with their New England Campus Coordinator. That encounter led to me becoming Worcester State University's first ever Emerson Fellow, a prestigious one-year leadership program that educates and empowers students to support Israel and fight antisemitism on their campuses. The experience was transformative and culminated in me taking on the mantle of the New England Campus Coordinator this summer (my dream job!!!), where I'll be working part time until I graduate then transition to full time.

Because StandWithUs' strong social media presence is what first made me aware of the organization, I wanted to dive deeper into analyzing their social media presence. So here we go! And yes, I know it's a lot of information, and I promise I won't be offended if you skim to the videos, screenshots, and links 😉

THIS IS A CLICKBAIT TITLE

 Yikes, that title was loud! Almost as loud as those OxiClean commercials (check out this awesome blog post by my fellow classmate Dan for his hot take). Loud titles, loud marketing strategies - we're not about that life anymore. We're about the listening life nowadays.

Listening is the second most important thing that groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernof teach us. (To learn about the first most important thing, check out this previous blog post of mine all about relationships and power in the groundswell)

"Your brand is whatever your customers say it is. And in the groundswell where they communicate with each other, they decide."

Yikes. No pressure or anything! Actually, lots of pressure. Lots and lots and lots of it because we need to get this right.

Meme via QuickMeme

Li and Bernof tell us that "the value of a brand belongs to the market, and not to the company." 

Does anyone watch Million Dollar Listing? Okay, let's chat about our fav agents in the comments (mine's Josh Flagg), but those of us obsessed with watching these types of real estate shows know that a house is only worth what someone will pay for it. 

That sounds a lot like a company is only worth what the market says it is. We have no say. It's in the hands of the groundswell. We should know what people are saying though because that market knowledge is super important for us to understand what people think.

So no, let's not shout (we can still twist though - wait, does this joke still work on a Gen Z/Millenial audience or is the dad joke lost on us?). We can't go the traditional advertising way because it just doesn't work anymore.

Let's listen to what people are saying and develop a plan to talk to them, get them excited about what we do, and find ways to keep the cycle going. Let's do what Erin Condren did when updating their Daily Duo planners.

Image via Doodlebug

I am a planner junkie. I love planners. They're so planner-y, make me feel like I can get my life together, and the stickers! Oh I love the stickers. I have so much going on in my life that if I don't have everything properly organized and planned out I will never be able to find anything. 

After reading and watching lots of reviews (my classmate Tereza wrote an amazing post about reviews in the groundswell), I decided that my first real planner purchase was going to be an Erin Condren Daily Duo planner. These were daily planners that allowed you to fill in time slots and to-do's by day. I purchased my first one in June 2020 and absolutely loved it as soon as I got it. The paper felt luxurious, I was able to plan my day down to the minute, it was great. 

Going into it, based on reviews that I had seen, I knew that although every weekday received its own separate day sheet, Saturday and Sunday shared a sheet. 

Image via PlanningInspired

While many planner fanatics raved about the planner overall, the shared weekend page was across the board a negative.

I know this video is like an hour long, but I watched it when trying to decide if I should buy the Daily Duo and the creator does an amazing job of breaking it all down, especially the feedback about the weekends sharing one page. It's honestly so relaxing, but that's a topic for another blog. 

We see in this video, though, the power of the groundswell in the comments section. (My classmate Anzhe wrote a fantastic blog all about harnessing the power of comments in the groundswell). This review was not the only review to say what a negative having the weekends share a page was. Multiple YouTube and blog reviews said the same and their comments sections echoed the sentiment. 

In April 2021, Erin Condren was set to launch their 2021 version of the Daily Duo. Li and Bernof tell us that "people expect you to respond and listen to them." And that's exactly what Erin Condren did.

Screenshot from Erin Condren's Daily Duo website

Erin Condren launched their updated Daily Duo planners with "separate planning pages" for Saturday and Sunday because of the feedback from their customers. Erin Condren listened to their audience, underwent market research to see what their customer base really wanted, and enacted a plan to do something about the feedback instead of sitting by passively and ignoring it. That then energized customers to buy the Daily Duo again this year which led to a dedicated consumer base who bought the new version because Erin Condren listened to what they had to say. Customers can feel confident that the company will listen to their feedback and make the changes they request in their planners.

This is the perfect example of not being clickbaity - Erin Condren didn't bother shouting or posting things its consumer base didn't care about. It took the time to listen, developed a strategy, and created a loyal customer base. 

What are your thoughts on how Erin Condren reacted to the planner fiasco? What can we learn as marketing and PR professionals from this strategy? Would you have done something differently? Let me know in the comments below!