Daily Scoop

Quibi calls it quits, Hotels.com offers ‘Friendsgiving’ retreat, and Innocent Drinks tweets its DE&I accountability

Also: The Hershey Co. offers Reeses Halloween treat machine, Bark Box live-tweets during ‘The Bachelorette,’ Facebook provides the most content engagement, and more.

By Beki Winchel
@bekiweki
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Hello, communicators:       

As organizations are shifting their Black Friday strategies, Hotels.com is offering a “socially distant Friendsgiving” that allows the winning consumer a week-long “escape from election week”:

The vacation goes on sale on Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the first person to book the island getaway will pay a discounted rate of less than $50 per night for the 5,000-square-foot home that comes with a boat dock, helicopter launch pad and a private chef to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

What are your holiday plans? Share your ideas for getting away from the home office with our hashtag #DailyScoop.

Here are today’s top stories:

Quibi closes up shop

 Just over six months after it launched, the short-form streaming service is powering down. In an open letter to employees, investors and partners, Quibi co-founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman wrote that they “exhausted all [their] options” and “offer a profound apology for disappointing you.”

Katzenberg and Whitman also wrote:

With the dedication and commitment of our employees and the support we received from our investors and partners, we created a new form of mobile-first premium storytelling.

And yet, Quibi is not succeeding. Likely for one of two reasons: because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing.

Why it’s important: Quibi’s demise carries many lessons for communicators looking to stand out in a crowded sea of content, including how crucial it is to tailor your content offerings to current audience behavior. Short-form and mobile-first content is thriving—a look at TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat underlines several viral trends—but without putting your consumers first, you can quickly fail.

SOCIAL BUZZ

Innocent Drinks’ social media manager recently took to Twitter to share with the brand’s followers an update on DE&I commitments:

The Twitter thread shows how simple it can be to follow up on your purpose-led commitments and show accountability to consumers, which increases trust and confidence. The last tweet also opens up the conversation and shows the team is ready to listen.

When updating your audiences—whether it’s your employees through a town hall, consumers through social media or your investors with a press release—be as specific as possible with your progress and stick to the list of promises you previously made.

MEASURED THOUGHTS

BuzzSumo recently analyzed 400,000 articles looking for what gets the longest reach on social media, and found that Facebook provides the most content engagement—especially if you can create stories that users “like,” thereby extending reach.

It also revealed that the hottest topics include politics, dogs and “people-centric” stories—and that including an image can boost your content’s popularity by 2%. Alternatively, if you get too technical, business-focused or have a low readability score, your reach will be lowered.

Image courtesy of BuzzSumo.

You can read the entire study here.

CRISIS LEADERSHIP NETWORK

Looking for more insight on how to address the current global crisis and lead your organization into a strong recovery?

via GIPHY

Join Ragan’s Crisis Leadership Network to network and brainstorm with peers, get the latest intelligence and research and start to strategize for the future of your organization.

Learn more about this exclusive membership here.

TACTICALLY SPEAKING

Reese’s is offering a select few neighborhoods the opportunity to have socially distant Halloween experience through its #ReesesDoor stunt:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGhqu_-hsoP/

Officially named Reese’s Trick-or-Treat Door, the moving robot is powered by three motors that can be directed by a remote control up to 5,000 feet away—which means that other humans don’t even have to be nearby for the gimmick to work. All you have to do to activate the 9-foot door is say “trick or treat.” Once you do that, the built-in Bluetooth-enabled speaker will prompt the system to dish out a king size Reese’s candy bar.

“This Halloween is unlike any other, so we’ve upped the ante on creativity as a result,” said Allen Dark, Reese’s senior brand manager, in a press release. “A robotic Reese’s dispensing door is just what the world needs right now!”

CATCH UP WITH OUR REPORT

More than half (57%) of social media managers say they plan to leave their current position within two years, according to a new survey from the Institute for Public Relations, Ragan Communications and the University of Florida. Though these managers are ambitious, the career path to social media leadership roles remains unclear.

via GIPHY

The report sheds light on social media pros’ career trajectory as well as the challenging lack of resources and employee burnout that’s on the rise. Check out the findings here.

To learn more about how to prepare for the future of social media and more, join us at Ragan’s Future of Communications Conference, Nov. 10-11.  You’ll learn from PR, social media, marketing and internal communications experts about the top trends and what’s on the horizon for the industry.

SOCIAL BUZZ

Twitter is abuzz with conversations when ABC’s “The Bachelorette” is on, but BarkBox’s social media manager recently took advantage of the engagement opportunity by tweeting responses with dog GIFs such as these:

BarkBox also kicked off the virtual watch party by showing off Zeke the basset hound and his toy—which led to a flurry of consumers tweeting pictures of them and their canines watching “The Bachelorette” together:

It’s a great example of social media listening and engagement: None of the tweets contained links to products or marketing messages, and only the images featuring Zeke highlighted a BarkBox dog toy.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Content is king, but that doesn’t mean standing out in a sea of branded messages and campaigns is an easy task. Creating captivating visuals can help you grab and keep attention—whether you incorporate images in your press releases or turn to video to tell your organization’s story.

via GIPHY

Consider these tools:

WHAT YOU SAID

We asked which social media platform is bringing your brand the most engagement, and nearly 29% of you are having the most success with Twitter, while 25% are focusing on LinkedIn and almost 24% are having return on engagement through Facebook. Twenty-two percent of you are having success elsewhere (such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat).

The team at Hot Paper Lantern also shared great tips to better understand social media conversations and increase engagement:

Is there a question you’d like us to ask in an upcoming poll? Let us know!

SOUNDING BOARD

How is WFH working for you, PR and communications pros?

Share a GIF that answers the question with us below or under the #DailyScoop hashtag on Twitter, and we’ll share the top responses in tomorrow’s roundup.

 

Editor’s note: Ragan Communications may earn a commission through our affiliate partnerships when purchasing items in our content.

 

COMMENT

One Response to “Quibi calls it quits, Hotels.com offers ‘Friendsgiving’ retreat, and Innocent Drinks tweets its DE&I accountability”

    Julianna Kendall says:

    As a young PR professional, sometimes I find that learning from other companies’ strategies and tactics, when it comes to social listening and social media engagement, is more beneficial than reading a bunch of tips. These are some great examples of how social listening with your target audience can benefit a company. The Reese’s campaign and BarkBox’s Bachelorette social media campaign are prime examples of finding creative ways to engage your target audience. I also enjoyed that Quibi’s failure was included in this article. It’s important for practitioners to see both wins and failures, so that they can learn from both. The measured thoughts section was also very educational. Great insight!
    -Julianna Kendall, writer/editor for Platform Magazine

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