Why Even Use Social Media?

Social media is nothing more than cat videos, your crazy uncle’s political rant and Instagram posts of your favorite meal – right?

Well, no. Social media has developed into a multibillion-dollar industry and has become one of the most effective and necessary marketing tools.

Social media marketing – emphasis on the marketing 

The way we use social media as an individual differs vastly than how we Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and even Snapchat in marketing. Social media is a powerful and effective marketing tool connecting your business, brand, services, and products to millions of potential clients instantly. Still, think it is just a silly platform for millennials and the occasional tech-savvy grandmother? Here are some important social media marketing stats:

• 95% of adults follow a brand on social media 
• According to Facebook there are over 2 billion daily users
• About 6,000 tweets are sent every second on Twitter 
• 40% of internet users rely on reviews from Yelp, Google, and Facebook in order to make a purchase
• There are more than 5 million businesses advertising on Facebook 

Millions of people around the world use social media on a daily basis to not only connect with friends and family but according to the stats above to connect with brands. Social media should be integrated into a marketing or a communication plan as a tool to tell a story. It isn’t always about selling a product or promoting a service, using social media effectively to tell a fun, engaging story about your brand or business that will connect with your target audience.

Use social media to tell a story

Are you ready to tell your business’s story? Great! However, do not fall into the old trap and just hire a “young person” to manage your Facebook account because they use the platform all the time. Effectively using social media to promote your business is a marketing/ public relations tactic. To successfully market your brand on social media you will need to:

• Conduct a consumer and competitor analysis
• Create goals and objectives
• Develop a brand and voice identity
• Implement a schedule
• Create content
• Constantly test tactics

Sounds a bit more complicated than just posting a photo on Facebook. Marketing is all about strategy, experimentation, and analysis to measure results and success. Social media is no different. You will want to make sure your social media strategy is being developed and managed by a professional who not only understands digital media but has a background and experience in marketing and communications.

Hi – my name is Deanna and I can do all that for you! Let’s chat

 

Social Media Portfolio

A sample of social media content produced by Deanna Hendrick as social media manager for USC Shoah Foundation. For a more detailed body of work, please contact Deanna Hendrick at dcphendrick@gmail.com

Facebook

• As social media manager at USC Shoah Foundation Deanna increased social following by 200%
• Created #BeginsWithMe campaign, which has been integrated into educational curriculum used by thousands of students and educators across the world
• Experimented with latest tools and trends including 360 photos and live video
• Filmed dozens of live videos from interviews with visiting scholars to lessons in real classrooms and behind the scenes of USC Shoah Foundation’s annual galas

Showcased media pieces and news stories about USC Shoah Foundation on Facebook and other social media channels.

Live Video

Produced/filmed this live Facebook broadcast with Mellody Hobson at the Ambassadors for Humanity Gala. Click above to watch!

360 Photos

This is not an ordinary photo but an interactive 360 photo during an educator training in Budapest, Hungary. Click on the photo to explore!

Instagram

• Developed USC Shoah Foundation’s Instagram account
• Created graphics with testimony quotes for trending topics, days and events
• Launched and executed multiple campaigns on Instagram
• Connected with celebrities and influencers to participate in campaigns and events

In the measurement of our Instagram analytics, I noticed video was actually not performing as well as visuals. I developed quote graphics template, to highlight inspiring quotes of testimony for special days, anniversaries and trends including #MotivationMonday and #WednesdayWisdom.

At the time Instagram did not allow third-party scheduling applications. This photo had to be posted on April 15th for the anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. I just happened to be in the beginning stages of labor when I posted this photo featuring the foundation’s director. Just some hardcore dedication!

A regram of Kerry Washington’s Instagram post participating in the #BeginsWithMe campaign and mentioning our account.

Twitter

• Doubled USC Shoah Foundation’s Twitter following and engagement rate
• Created bimonthly Twitter chats called #IWitnessChat to engage with primary target audience – educators
• Produced numerous trending hashtags including #IWitnessChat #ShoahFdn20 #PastisPresent #BeginsWithMe
• Covered live events including 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and Ambassadors for Humanity Gala Honoring President Barack Obama

Live tweets of President Barack Obama’s speech at the Ambassadors for Humanity Gala.

Supported USC Shoah Foundation’s education tool IWitness, initiative 100 Days of Respect. I was involved in the programmatic aspects of this campaign and led the marketing efforts. The social media campaign included daily tweets of the new resource, responding to educators questions and aggregating user-generated content.

The above tweet was published Jan. 27, 2017 for Holocaust Memorial Day. However, the photo was taken at the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland two years earlier. The quote and picture are so powerful the content was recycled and performed extremely well.

Live tweeted conferences and events. Created hashtags and signage to inform attendees and speakers on how to engage with the conference online. To view more tweets and user-generated content from the conference click on the photo above.

YouTube

• Increased USC Shoah Foundation’s YouTube subscribers by 400%
• Produced videos to support media pieces including the testimony of Jewish survivor Hessy Taft on being the “Aryan Poster Child.”  This video was featured on numerous news outlets’ websites including the Washington Post. The video garnered 100,000 views in less than a week.
• Created several video playlists to support anniversaries, educational initiatives and campaigns including 30 stories to the Armenian Genocide
• The most successful video campaign was 70 Days of Testimony – 70 stories of Auschwitz. For seventy days leading up to the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 2015, we tweeted, uploaded and shared a video of survivor or eyewitness testimony to Auschwitz daily. During the campaign, we partnered with Google for a Google Cultural Institute exhibit and the United Nations to feature stories of liberation in their offices around the world.

Blogs

• Established USC Shoah Foundation’s blog Through Testimony 
• Acted as managing editor for the blog and recruited staff, educators, visitors, influencers and supports to write blog post
• Produced blogs for special events, anniversaries and worldwide trends
• Capitalize on movies and news about survivors featured in USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive

Woman in Gold – A connection to testimony 

Not only does Maria describe how her aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer became the subject of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, but how the painting was seized by Nazis during the Anschluss and then was given to the Austrian State Gallery after World War II. At the very end of her testimony, like many interviewees, Maria shows pictures of her childhood and her family over the years. But unlike any other interview, she also shows a poster of the famous Woman in Gold painting.

10 Interesting Facts about the Refugee Experience 

June 20^th is recognized by the United Nations as International Refugee Day to raise awareness of the plight of the refugees around the world. In the Visual History Archive, the testimonies of genocide survivors include their personal experiences as refugees. As of now, the world is facing the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. To shed light on the current and past refugee crisis explore 10 interesting facts about the refugee experience.

Commemorating Yom HaShoah 2017 through Testimony 

However, you can remember and learn from the survivors of the Holocaust and other genocides all year long through eyewitness testimony preserved in the Visual History Archive. So today and every day we encourage you to engage with testimony, integrate our educational resources in your classroom and be inspired through testimony.

WWII Veteran Reunites with Man He Liberated from Dachau 71 Years Ago

Sidney and Marcel reunited recently in Israel through the nonprofit Friends of Israel Defense Forces.  A viral story about them has captured the hearts of individuals around the world. Both men are now in their 90s and this reunion is most likely one of their last. However, their friendship will live on in Sidney’s testimony preserved in the Visual History Archive. 

At their last reunion around 1995, Marcel’s wife told Sidney, “You keep visiting us every 25 years.” On May 10, 2016, Sidney kept his promise.

Campaigns

• Developed several social media campaigns to increase brand awareness, adoption of educational and academic resources and for fundraising efforts.
• Launched the social media initiative #BeginsWithMe in January 2015 to support the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. The goal of #BeginsWithMe was to highlight how USC Shoah Foundation was changing the world through testimony during this global event in Poland.  For the 2015 campaign, we used gamification including quizzes and interactive polls to spur awareness of Holocaust education. Produced five videos featuring students, educators, and survivors on their experience with testimony. Since 2015 #BeginsWithMe has evolved into an Insitute initiative supporting fund development and is used in several multimedia IWitness activities, which students share how testimony inspires them on social media with #BeginswithMe.
• In 2015 and 2016 #BeginsWithMe was used for Giving Tuesday to raise awareness and donations for USC Shoah Foundations’ educational and academic programs. Explore the 2016 #BeginsWithMe case study.
• In April 2016 developed the digital media campaign for Genocide Awareness Month. This multifacet campaign included a landing page with educational resources for teachers and students, an interactive photo featuring survivor testimony and a blog series featuring a new weekly post from scholars, teachers, survivors, and staff. The 2016 campaign doubled the number of Facebook impressions in April 2016.
• Participated in the annual #AskanArchvisist Day, for three years. Directed USC Shoah Foundation’s archivists including during the Twitter chats with users who asked questions via the hashtag. In 2015 produced a Live Periscope broadcast, which included a tour of the Institute and arching tools. In 2016 produced two Facebook live broadcasts with archivists and indexers to educate our audiences on the process of collecting and preserving testimony.

Campaign Case Study

The Project:

• #BeginsWithMe

  • Three-week campaign
  • 4 platform strategy – Email, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
  • Online and mobile giving

Overview

As social media manager for USC Shoah Foundation created and executed a social media and e-mail marketing campaign to raise $10,000 by #GivingTuesday, Nov. 29, 2016. Additionally, #BeginsWithMe was the official hashtag for the Ambassadors for Humanity Gala honoring Mellody Hobson and George Lucas in December 2016.

• Developed a social media, user-generated content and e-mail marketing campaign to educate USC Shoah Foundation’s audience of the company’s participation in #GivingTuesday
• Established a landing page for #BeginsWithMe with donate now button, videos, and downloadable toolkit
• Created giving levels to provide donors with incentives to give and to showcase how gifts lead to tangible outcomes
• Launched user-generated campaign for individuals to share how testimony inspires them to change the world

Strategy & Tactics

• Launched e-mail marketing campaign 
  • Soft-launch campaign email to previous Giving Tuesday supporters
  • Weekly emails to USC Shoah Foundation audience with hard asks to donate
  • Multiple e-mails on day of #GivingTuesday include hard asks and updating on the fundraising progress
  • Thank you e-mails to supporters
• User-generated social media campaign
  • Developed #BeginsWithMe campaign card – a downloadable PDF, which users write in how testimony inspires them and post to social media
  • Offered examples on the landing page
  • Shared user-generated content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Mobile Giving 
  • In addition to online donations, in collaboration with USC Advancement, we created a mobile giving campaign, which users text “testimony” to 41444 and gave a donation directly through their mobile device
• Social Media 
  • Promoted the campaign across social media
  • Included hard and soft asks in social posts
  • Created graphics featuring survivors, educators, and students
  • Produced #BeginsWithMe video featuring giving levels and how to participate
  • Shared user-generated content across social media accounts
  • Produced Facebook live broadcast with a student and Holocaust survivor Paula Lebovics at a junior high school in Pasadena, CA to highlight how users’ donations directly impact the work of USC Shoah Foundation.

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Click the photo to watch #BeginsWithMe campaign video.

The Results

• #BeginsWithMe mobile giving campaign raised $11,193
  • 141 donors 
  • Average gift amount was $80 
  • $1,193 over the initial $10,000 goal
• The campaign had a reach of over 670,000
• The campaign received  1.6+ million impressions on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• The campaign had over 100 users who posted photos or videos with the #BeginsWithMe campaign card (click here for all user-generated content)

Ambassadors for Humanity Gala

Honoree Mellody Hobson participated in #BeginsWithMe by sharing how she is inspired by testimony.

One week after Giving Tuesday #BeginsWithMe was used as the official hashtag for USC Shoah Foundation’s Ambassadors for Humanity Gala honoring George Lucas and Mellody Hobson.

Upon entering the reception guests were encouraged to fill out the #BeginsWithMe card and post on social media how testimony inspires them. Additionally, #BeginsWithMe was featured on all signage including step and repeats. Attendees used the hashtag to share photos and live tweet the event including actress Kerry Washington.

Kerry Washington opened the event and talked about the importance of empathy and tolerance. The following day she posted this photo with #BeginsWithMe, mentioning @USCShoahFoundation and including a link to the website on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.