What examples of social media do you find inspirational or challenging? Mention 1 or 2. Cite a reference or URL for each. Explain why they inspire you.
An example of social media that I quite liked was Apple’s #ShotoniPhone campaign. This was a hashtag that Apple created in order to promote their iPhones via the photos of their own customers. What’s interesting is that Apple doesn’t really have a strong social media presence on Facebook or Twitter. They have dedicated their whole Instagram page to #ShotoniPhone where users can engage with content. On the launch of the campaign photos were used from 77 users, across 25 countries and 73 cities. Apple selected the best images to be displayed at various media outlets and on over 10,000 billboards around the world (Carter,2020). This way of using social media as a marketing tool I think was a smart way to go about brand promotion and recognition. Creating this campaign has also generated a large community focused on user generated content. This is great not only for the quality of content being produced but also in helping drive sales for iPhones. Another example of social media that I find inspiring is 823’s “Hopes and Dreams Club”. Photography is something I’m quite interested in and Ta-ku also known as Regan Mathews is an incredibly talented producer, designer, curator and photographer. His platform Hopes and Dreams Club was launched in April as a place for creatives to inspire and create projects which can be shared to the Hopes and Dreams Club Instagram as a member only submission-based page (Malachosky,2020) . It invites people from all over the world to create and inspire no matter the skill level and engage in an active community. I really like this idea of creating engagement and pushing people to create with an “all welcome” mentality. It highlights how you don’t need to have the best equipment or skill to create something that others may like.
Carter, H., 2020. #ShotoniPhone: A Picture Perfect Campaign. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://hayleycarter-39668.medium.com/shotoniphone-a-picture-perfect-campaign-93e54b89bab0> [Accessed 25 March 2021].
Malachosky, E., 2020. 823’s “Hopes and Dreams Club” Encourages Photographic Exploration. [online] COOL HUNTING®. Available at: <https://coolhunting.com/culture/823-hopes-and-dreams-club/> [Accessed 25 March 2021].