Does everyone still have a pulse? It was quite the emotional week no matter which candidate you were rooting for during Tuesday night’s presidential election. Read about the social maelstrom it created in our Weekly Rewind before you head out to celebrate or drown your sorrows this weekend.
Stumped Over Trump
Donald Trump’s shocking win over Hillary Clinton to become the next President of the United States left America with many feelings, and you can read most of them online. Tens of millions of people expressed their shock, anxiety, elation or sadness on Facebook and Twitter during Election Day. The outpouring of emotions broke an existing world record of political discussion on social media.
Facebook reported that, “more than 716 million likes, posts, comments and shares related to the vote” circulated on the social media platform. According to Twitter, “more than 75 million tweets related to the election had been sent by 3 a.m. ET on Wednesday,” which far surpassed the 31 million tweets sent on Election Day in 2012.
Trump also took to Twitter early Wednesday morning, updating his bio to reflect his new position and pen his first tweet as president-elect. The message was pretty tame, but based on Trump’s tweets in the past, I hope his PR team is now monitoring his account closely.
Give Me a Break!
All of this tension and division can be stressful, so break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar! Hershey spun some positive PR this week after a college student tweeted that he left his car unattended for 15 minutes and came back to a note that said, “Saw Kit Kat in your cupholder. I love Kit Kats so I checked your door and it was unlocked. Did not take anything other than the Kit Kat. I am hungry and sorry.” Kit Kat responded to the post with a promise to replace the stolen candy, and boy did they deliver. The college student received 6,500 Kit Kats to fill up his car. We expect other brands will try to emulate Hershey’s deed since it only took a few days for the story to go viral. After all, in today’s digital age, getting a fun and warmhearted business story to flourish online is a lot like winning the lottery.
Does anyone want to steal a Kit Kat bar from me?
What’s that New Hashtag I’ve Been Seeing Everywhere?
Let’s see ‒ there was the Harlem shake, planking, ALS ice bucket challenge, and now there’s the #MannequinChallenge. It’s a new social media video craze where the objective is to stand as still as you possibly can in order to look like a mannequin. It’s amazing that this all started in a Florida classroom and now professional sports teams, Hillary Clinton and the former ladies of Destiny’s Child are just a few of the big names taking on the challenge. That’s the power of social media for you.
A Hashtag with a Larger Meaning
The #MannequinChallenge may just be a silly trend intended to make us laugh, but there’s another hashtag trending this November with a more serious meaning behind it. Along with not shaving during the month of November, the Movember Foundation is putting forth a new campaign called the #DadBod Challenge. It’s a “self-deprecating social media campaign to raise awareness and funds for men’s health.” We’ve all watched and learned from the Movember Challenge that these social movements can achieve tremendous results. Since starting in 2003, Movember has raised $710 million for men’s health and 5 million men and women have participated in the cause. That’s no joke!