The Happiest Place on Earth

Of course I'm talking about Disney World! The rides, the characters, the magic! But how did Disney build the magic and keep it a part of their company culture? How did The Walt Disney Corporation becomes the leaders in the world of engineering true happiness?

I just finished reading a book for a class called Good to Great by Jim Collins. It was an eye-opening business manual for creating continually great companies. A great read for anyone if they'd like to think about a few  truly great business concepts.

The book cover of Good to Great

Anyway, Collins asserts that Walt Disney became the world leaders in creating happiness and the leading company of amusement parks and cartoons by sticking to a simple concept of preserving its core values. Being great doesn't have to be complicated. It's a simple question - what can you be the best in the world at (in the book Collins calls this the Hedgehog Concept, but if you'd like to learn more about that I'd read the book) and then sticking to what you do best at. Walt Disney answered the question with something like, "we want to be creators of world happiness." I'm paraphrasing of course because I wasn't in the board room when that conversation happened, but I imagine it went something like that.

The Walt Disney Corporation then proceeded to do just that - creating world happiness. Each tactic the Walt Disney Corporation created fit into it's goal of creating happiness on a global scale, keeping the magic alive and fighting cynicism in an increasingly cynical world. Now, this wasn't without risks. Walt Disney was the first to create a full length animated movie, but that didn't stop them from creating happiness by drawing cartoons.

The cartoons, kids clubs, amusement parks and cruise lines all produce happiness for its patrons. Now you can say it's hard to be unhappy on a cruise and that's true, but the Walt Disney Corporation does so much to keep the logistics of what actually goes into all the parades, costumes and magic a secret. Each employee goes above and beyond to make a Disney amusement park visit truly magical, and that is why I love Walt Disney World and the Walt Disney Corporation so much.

Being great isn't hard, it actually simplifies your life, Know what you want to be the best in the world at, make a list of actions to achieve that goal, and most importantly, if something doesn't fit into what you can be the best in the world at cut it out! Don't make more stress for yourself. You don't see Walt Disney trying to make money off of manufacturing Q-tips right?

Walt Disney World logo from Google Images

Facebook Ads are All Grown Up

Gone are the days when Facebook allowed organization and business pages to simply boost posts and call them an ad. This year, Facebook installed a well organized, detailed ad system that has analytics that may rival Google Adwords.

Facebook now lets administrators create multiple ad campaigns using Facebook to create specific ads for your company or business. For example, let's say you own a small coffee and bake shop. Now you can use Facebook to create a list of ads for your new coffee blends and organize them into one campaign. While your coffee ads run, you can make another list of ads for your homemade muffins into a separate campaign. All of these ads appear under specific campaigns in the ad manager.

This is a screen shot showing what the new ads manager landing page looks like. The red, circled buttons are how you create campaigns and ads. 

Facebook also lets you create custom audiences to target the demographics that most visit your company, or if you're looking to expand your market and relate to a new audience you can do that too. To create ads for custom audiences, go to the ads manger landing page, look for the "Tools" tab in the upper left and pull the drop down menu. You will see an "audiences" button in this menu.

The "Tools" tab.

The "audiences" page.

If you're new to Facebook ads don't be afraid to play around with the Ads Manger to get a feel for what Facebook has to offer. All of these tools are here to help you get the most out of your ads and  reach a whole new audience online.

Social Media Tricks of the Trade

If you surveyed people based on the question "Do you feel like you know your favorite social media platform well?" many people would probably be inclined to say yes. 

However, social networks are coming out with new layouts, formats, tricks, looks, wallpapers, buttons and apps constantly. How could someone possibly know all the idiosyncrasies of a platform without being one of the platform's creators? That is why I started searching the Internet for a few tricks to my favorite platforms, which are listed below to improve your social media prowess...or to tell you something you already know. If you're in the latter category, feel free to shake your head and mutter "I thought everyone knew that."

Haley Grigsby's fabulous tips and tricks to navigate and personalize your social media experience:

1.) Twitter has instituted the ability to personalize your page. When I first saw this trick I flashbacked to my Myspace days, when junior high Haley was worried about her top friends, but, surprisingly, not many social platforms actually allow you to do this simple task.

To personalize your page, go on you or your company's - yes this works for business too - Twitter page and click the "Edit Profile" button (on the desktop view, not available on mobile view). Once the menu pops up, look for "theme color." Once you click on that button, personalize your page by picking theme colors or upload a pattern true to you or your brand. The theme you choose will color URLs, hashtags and other users' handles.

This is a great way to personalize your company from a marketing standpoint. It makes your Twitter page more personal and furthers branding efforts. The Ohio State University football team has a Twitter page and has branded their Twitter page scarlet, which makes the page look much cooler and official than if the page was set in Twitter blue (check their page out at Twitter handle @Buckeyes).

2.) I'm going to talk to businesses now. Pinterest can be a wonderful marketing tool, it is visual and now you can buy select pins right on the app! This cuts out the middle man, though as a business it may cut down traffic on your website. However, don't be alarmed; instead look if your traffic to Pinterest has increased.

To address some of the Pinterest newbies, the first step to a business getting noticed on Pinterest is to get on the site. I would recommend Pinterest to any fashion or jewelry retailer out there - no matter how big or small. Also, Pinterest is great for furniture makers, designers, artists and chefs because this social network is extremely visually driven.

My tip to businesses on Pinterest is to make sure your privacy settings are public. It can be very easy while making a profile to click some form of private privacy setting. Pinterest can boost your business's search engine optimism (SEO) on Google. It allows your pins to pop-up in Google images more easily and many more people can find you this way!

* Important to note: For a personal Pinterest, or any other private social platform, always be aware of how your privacy settings are set - your page may not be as private as you thought.

That is all my tips and tricks for now. I will continue talking abut social media tips as I write on this blog, but if you cannot wait until later, check out the website that has more helpful tips here. My challenge to you is give me a tip to talk about or send me a trick you didn't know before. The point of social for both businesses and personal is that you interact because of that you can learn a little something new everyday.

The Need for a New Look at Law Enforcement PR

Many know about the tension between law enforcement and the public eye. If you are not aware of this tension, you may be living under a rock; Patrick Star, please rejoin society.

Any public office or occupation is often under widespread scrutiny. This scrutiny seems to intensify if someone works in politics or law enforcement. When a person is appointed to protect our freedoms, we often do not allow a large margin of grace when it comes to mistakes. To an extent, this limited margin of error is justified; these occupations come with a large social responsibility. However, isn't there still a human factor that should be applied to these occupations we should account for when criticizing these peoples' job performances? This doesn't mean politicians or law enforcement shouldn't be scolded, investigated or terminated from their jobs if the mistake is grievous enough, but should society break out the tar and feathers when the slightest whiff of conspiracy is circulated around Facebook?

Whatever your opinion of law enforcement, I'd like to pose the question about how law enforcement specifically can improve its public relations. Do you think law enforcement agencies do enough to improve its image and to promote the positive things the men and women do in this industry? I would argue law enforcement agencies could do more to relate to the public in an effort to combat the negative spotlight recently targeting it.

I would suggest law enforcement do two things: more community involvement and more saturation in social media.

Community involvement is important, in my opinion. The more the public sees law enforcement officers in positive atmospheres within the community the less threatening officers may seem. This could take the form of more education in schools, appearances at state and county fairs or charity days like Toys for Tots drives. This stance may seem weak; some may say "why should law enforcement back down and try to soften their image?" This is a good point, and law enforcement always deserves respect and cooperation, but trying to relate to the people an officer is trying to keep safe is not weak, it is smart. Trying to fight discontent and mistrust is not alleviated by more mistrust and secrecy. If you're breaking the law you will be reprimanded, this fact doesn't change, but maybe law enforcement can be more incorporated into the community as protection and not an enemy. Make no mistake though, this ideal must be bought into by both the public and the law enforcement agencies.

The other idea of mine is for law enforcement agencies to relate to the public with social media. The flood of negative sentiment on social platforms could be combated if law enforcement agencies put out its own content on social media. This gives a chance for law enforcement officers to speak up and let people hear their side of the story. Misinformation and misunderstanding is the greatest enemy to trust. Anyone can post on Facebook about an encounter with law enforcement, but what would happen if a law enforcement officer posted about their experiences at 3 a.m, wondering about the car he or she just stopped on the highway. What if this officer shared his or her fear about coming home to his or her family and the possibility of bleeding out on the highway while backup is miles away?

I am not claiming to have all of the answers. I am trying to promote a positive conversation about solutions and communication between law enforcement agencies and the public.

I welcome comments, but please keep them polite, respectful and constructive.

Game of Thrones: Social Media Edition

Being connected to the social universe often means wading through seemingly endless opinionated posts on Facebook, fast-paced tweets and critiquing someone's selfie game on Instagram. The "Big 4" of the social platforms are crowned Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Linkedin, but are there new contenders in the social media game of thrones? The increasing popularity of visual social platforms like Snapchat and Periscope may say so.

The contenders: 

1.) Snapchat

It's no secret Snapchat has become popular among the ages of approximately 16- to 23-year-olds - high school and college students. Snapchat has stepped forward as a means of communicating and sharing that is instantaneous, feeds into our narcissistic need to take pictures of ourselves and our need to put our nose into what others are doing - making it a perfect platform for personal social media. 

Starting out as a basic interface that only allowed users to send pictures that lasted 10 seconds or less, Snapchat has evolved  from its first version to what it is today. The addition of filters, ability to take video and "Snapchat stories" are all additions that have made the platform more interesting and modern. Another feature Snapchat has added is the "Discover" feature, which allows companies to appear on Snapchat to connect to users through a platform most companies wouldn't even think to use. Mostly networks, magazines and celebrities have made appearances on Snapchat's "Discover" channel, and it's used to push visual content to followers or anyone who wants to click on the "Discover" menu and then proceed to push a network's icon. The "Discover" channel gives a glimpse into "interesting" people's lives and makes the viewer feel a part of what is happening. As a visual company, like Cosmopolitan magazine or the Food Network, a glimpse into the content being fed through the "Discover" channel could be all a potential subscriber needs to tune into a cooking show or notice the newest cover of Cosmo magazine and buy it at the gas station. 

2.) Periscope

Periscope is quite new. Launched in March of 2015, Periscope is another visual platform that markets the ability to see the world through another person's eyes. 

How Periscope works: a subscriber can broadcast live video feed through the application to followers around the world. You can then post the video on Twitter (with Periscope's unique Twitter button that connects to your Twitter account). Also, you can make your video available for replay by pressing the "Replay" button, however, like a Snapchat story, the replay is available for 24 hours only. But don't take my word for it, check out the website, or the app on Google Play or the App Store.

Periscope offers a social aspect by sharing video, but by also posting "hearts" to the video posted. Similar to the "Like" button on Facebook, you can see how much your adoring fans liked the video of you and your cat singing karaoke to the newest Taylor Swift track. 

All jokes aside, Periscope seems like a budding flower in the garden of social media. Interactive and visual, Periscope has the potential to be a powerhouse, especially if it keeps adding new features like Snapchat is doing. It can also become an untapped gold mine for visual companies to broadcast short videos, like "a day in the life," or what a product is able to do, maybe taking a page from Blendtec's marketing handbook and creating something similar to the "Will it Blend?" videos (see one here, it's pretty cool).

It is hard to foresee the future and what will become a trend and what will flop. However, Snapchat and Periscope have seemingly good roots to become kings in the social market...or maybe one of the Big 4 will swoop down on the usurpers and smite the rebellion. We shall see.