Kind of a big deal for those of us who use Instagram as a marketing channel. Until very recently, Instagram never allowed URLs to open. They wanted people to stay on their platform browsing photos. But after pressure from advertisers wanting, “meaningful results for their businesses,” Instagram has caved.
So for the first time, they will start showing clickable links, but only in the new multi-photo carousel ads. These ads are meant to tell a small story by letting users swipe through four branded images in sequence followed by a “Learn More” button. The button will open an internal browser within Instagram. Don’t worry, they’ve made it easy for you to quickly jump back to the feed with a tap of the top bar.
The weather was shockingly gorgeous today, so I simply had to take my lunch outside.It got me thinking about how blessed I am to build the career and life I’d like. I like how Seth Godin puts it:
“…treasure what it means to do a day’s work. It’s our one and only chance to do something productive today, and it’s certainly not available to someone merely because he is the high bidder. A day’s work is your chance to do art, to create a gift, to do something that matters. As your work gets better and your art becomes more important, competition for your gifts will increase and you’ll discover that you can be choosier about whom you give them to.”
― Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” ― Seth Godin
Brain Food = Baguette sandwich, Sumo Orange, and Bottled Water.
In most circles, a hashtag takeover is considered a bad thing. It happens when a group of people decide to “hijack” a hashtag in order to disrupt brand’s marketing efforts, distort a message, criticize the creator of the campaign, or to tell the truth as they see it. This causes the hashtag to trend, but not in the way the creator had hoped.
You might remember when this happened to McDonalds back in 2012. They asked fans to share #McDStories hoping for cute, clever, and shareable tweets they could rebroadcast to the world. To their chagrin, however, they were instead flooded with horror stories and criticism from non-fans:
This year the History Channel took a bit of a gamble, and decided to flip hashtag takeovers on their head. They encouraged fans to “ransack” popular hashtags in true viking fashion.
First they attacked: #MCM (Man Crush Monday)
Then they destroyed: #TBT (Throwback Thursday)
Lastly they took over #Swag & #ReactionGIFs
The call to action was simple: Visit the hashtag raids landing page, choose a clever, funny prewritten post you like, and share it with the world. Fans could also create their own Vikings related content to participate in the raid.
#MCM
The goal was to get the hashtags to trend AND use them as a platform to promote the season premiere of Vikings. It was a bit of a risk because they were essentially teasing those who use those hashtags for their intended purposes. They got away with it because the images and posts they created were super clever, witty, and perfectly matched the tone, voice, and spirit of the show. Further, they chose very popular hashtags that would be nearly impossible to truly dilute.
While I can’t speak to the volume of tweets or the number of participants, I suspect the reach for this campaign was huge. Plus, as a fan of History’s Vikings, it was really fun to watch fellow fans harmlessly “disrupt” the social media status quo. I love that The History Channel took a risk and inserted themselves into conversations they wouldn’t normally be found in.
Entertainment properties use hashtag campaigns to drive engagement and create a social buzz all the time. These campaigns have become extremely commonplace, so it was nice to see The History Channel spice up the show’s premiere for die-hard fans with a unique twist on an old tactic.
The Columbia Tower is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle skyline and the tallest building in the State of Washington. It’s home to some pretty awesome organizations.
You’ve pinpointed what you want to do, set an achievable goal, and created a plan for success. The only thing you have left to do is follow through.
Easy, right?
The truth is that plans look great on paper, but changing behavior and habits is hard work. In fact, everyone fails at least once on the road to building positive habits (and usually it’s a whole lot more). It takes practice, trial and error, and sheer stubborn determination.
The start-stop, peaks-pitfalls, and “failure” riddled world of habit building can be discouraging to even the most optimistic of souls. It’s quite easy to lose sight of the big picture when you’re rolling in the muck of “ruined” plans. That’s why I love the mantra:
Never miss twice takes pressure off of mistakes. It softens the impact of a hard day, takes power away from circumstances out of our control, and serves as a reminder that it’s ok to lose sight of our true desires from time to time. It also makes skipping a day motivationalin that it’s a chance to stick to the “rule” of not missing again.
Social Brew is monthly curated post full of links you can check out while having your morning coffee. It contains the goods I find on social media, content marketing, writing, and other stuff that is interesting, relevant, newsworthy, helpful or just plain cool. This week the theme is “learn something new.”
I was inspired by The One You Feed podcast, specifically this week’s episode featuring Tony Stubblebine, creator of Coach.me (formerly Lift). If you’re sincerely interested in behavior design, learning something new, or putting a new habit into place, I highly recommend you check out this week’s episode.
Did you know that businesses and organizations now have the option of using a Call to Action button on their page? This feature, which was launched in December (rolling out to everyone this year), is designed to bring your most important objective to the forefront of your Facebook presence.
The call-to-action button links to any destination on or off Facebook that aligns with your business goals. You can choose from the following options:
Book Now
Contact Us
Use App
Play Game
Shop Now
Sign Up
Watch Video
Many online retailers are using the ‘sign up’ option to encourage newsletter subscriptions and to boost their customer acquisition efforts.
Hopefully we’ll see even more options in the future like a ‘Donate Now’ button for nonprofits, or a ‘Buy Tickets’ option for movies and events.
Are you using the CTA button on your Facebook Page? Lemme know!
Recently I’ve had lots of out of town visitors to Seattle which inspired me to write about the places I recommend when people visit. Rather than suggesting the typically touristy spots (which can be fun too!), I like to endorse the lesser-known-but-still-totally-awesome-spaces in Seattle. These are my absolute favorites:
Ok. Ok. So, Pike Place isn’t exactly a “hidden” gem, but it made the list because avoiding the more popular spots (the gum wall, the flying fish) can make the trip much different. When here, check out:
Rachel’s Ginger Beer – My favorite alternative to the “first” Starbucks. RGB is like no ginger beer you’ve experienced before. Trust me, you’ll love it. In fact, go ahead and bring a growler. You can skip the ‘Bux.
The Pink Door – On the weekends call ahead and make a reservation for this beautiful Italian-American spot tucked away in Post Alley. In the summer months you can’t beat the views of the sound from their outdoor deck.
Sasquatch. Bumped into this dude at Ballard Farmer’s Market.
If you’re not into visiting Pike Place Market, a great alternative is the Ballard Farmer’s Market. It’s open year round on Sundays and the experience rivals (and maybe even surpasses a good day at Pike Place Market).
You can grab some nosh from one of the many food vendors, wander through the market and peruse the stalls full of locally made jewelry, fresh cheeses, baked goods, pasta, honey, and more.
I walk my dog here nearly every afternoon. We park in the lot off of W. Emerson and wander into the old military barracks. Sometimes we follow the Loop Trail to Magnolia Bluff where there are absolutely stunning views of the Puget Sound. Either route you travel, you’ll never believe you’re just a 15 minute drive from the Space Needle. Discovery Park feels like another world.
Admission to Ballard Locks is totally free and it’s a great place to spend a sunny day with a picnic basket. You can lounge on the grass and watch the boats go by, walk through the garden, and/or visit the fish ladder to see if you can spot some salmon.
Once upon a time there was a little old lady who refused to sell her home to the rich developers. Reminiscent of something part Joni Mitchell melody, part Disney classic, I love sending people to Edith’s house because I think the story of this little old standout is the perfect representation of local Seattle pride and spirit.
In the mid 1880’s there was a large wave of Japanese immigrants who settled in Seattle.
The Japanese have strong cultural roots in Seattle, and despite our rocky history, Seattle has greatly benefited from the priceless art, architecture, gardens and family values these citizens brought to our beautiful city. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Uwajimaya an amazing Asian Market where you could easily get lost for half a day in the bookstore or amid pottery and other Asian goods.
Also, while you’re in South Seattle check out Kubota Garden. As the website says, “Hidden in South Seattle, Kubota Garden is a stunning 20 acre landscape that blends Japanese garden concepts with native Northwest plants. The city acquired the property, which is an historic landmark, in 1987 from the estate of master landscaper Fujitaro Kubota.”
That’s my list! What are your favorite “hidden” Seattle spots? Lemme know!
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” ― 
The boss is a real ball-buster. 😉
Hi! I'm Shelli... 👋 