• Hasbro has a new campaign about Monopoly being good for kids with anger issues (families destroyed by one heated game probably beg to differ)
• In replacement of its previous store-in-store Sephora deal, JCPenney is offering AR beauty counters
• Pinterest released a “Don’t Don’t Yourself” campaign about turning around negative social media attitudes
• YouTube is experimenting with new analytics for search and engagement insights

BONUS: Unicode has announced the 2022 new emoji finalists that you can vote for

For anyone managing a brand’s social media presence, being in tune with news and events can stop your messaging from being completely innocent to unintentionally offensive.

But what about world events that everyone is talking about? The recent passing of the Queen of England has sparked a whirlwind of posts honoring her, criticizing her, and everything in between. While it doesn’t make sense for many brands to speak on the matter, many have chosen to pause their content for the sake of news saturation.

Here are key tips to keep in mind for your brand’s social media use during tragedies and otherwise:

1. Dance as if the world is watching. No matter the actual size of your company, anything your brand does can get noticed.
2. Lead with empathy. You never know who may be affected by an event. See your audience as people first before customers or clients.
3. Follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of your content should be helpful, informative, or educational. 20% should inform your audience about brand awareness like what you stand for, how you can help them, why you exist, etc.
4. Use your social channels for good. Share helpful resources and inspiring stories when you can. When it’s genuine, express what your brand stands for (but again, only when it’s genuine).
5. Beware of “set and forget” marketing. Scheduled posts and marketing automation can be a lifesaver. But your content can be at risk of being inappropriate. Have a strong process in place if you need to pivot or pause.

In The Daily Carnage Facebook Group, there are often posts reminding SMMs to pause social because of a tragedy or political event to avoid any accidental tone-deafness.

How do you respond in times of crisis? Sometimes saying nothing says more than saying something for social values. Regardless, unless your brand has a direct tie to an event, it should avoid placing any unwarranted input into a discussion. But what about personal branding (a.k.a., yourself)?

Check out the full post at the Social Media Butterfly blog for more tips and action items you can use for your personal LinkedIn management.

Emails involve a special amount of chemistry: enticing subject lines, relevant content, and strategic word choices are all essential ingredients. Claire.io is an AI tool to help you out when you need some confirmation about what your emails are doing right or wrong.

It helps rate the emotion used, urgency, and writing style. It runs a sort of SWOT audit on a single email by showing your strengths, weaknesses, and gives high-level advice for improvement. Unlike other AI tools that test a general subject line without context, you can select the type of email being sent and it reviews your body content as well.

Test it out for yourself before you hit send on your next email!

Social media services should not be treated as a one-size-fits-all solution. Brands have unique audiences that require personal touch to content.

Looking for help in delivering that? Ask Carney.

We are the digital agency behind this newsletter and know a thing or two or twenty about catering content to an audience.

Whether it’s for organic growth strategy or avpaid media plan, we can execute it for your brand. We’d love to speak with you to see how we can partner up on your brand’s content needs.

Do you remember this one?:

Person 1: “I didn’t know you had dandruff,” pointing to a bottle of Head & Shoulders.

Person 2: “I don’t,” they say with a cheeky smile and luscious locks.

Head & Shoulders has used variations of this campaign for years and decided to revamp it again! Instead of everyday scenes, it chose typical movie scenes from horror, action, and romance genres.