Digital Marketing Heroes: Oklahoma Museums Adapt During COVID-19

*This article was originally published on the BigWing blog.

Let’s talk about this pandemic. 

We can’t do so many things right now: have porch beers with our friends during this fleeting near-perfect Oklahoma weather, or celebrate our birthdays and anniversaries surrounded by all our pals on the kitschy artificial grass of R&J Supper Club, or meander through cultural hot spots while we pretend to understand the artwork.

In short: Everything’s been kind of a bummer.

The coronavirus and COVID-19 have us planted at home, waiting for the tide to turn and life to go back to normal. It’s taken a toll on many businesses, as restaurants shutter either temporarily or permanently, grocery stores constrict hours of operation, and brick-and-mortars scramble to launch online shops and curbside services to keep business moving.

But, through the doom and gloom, one beacon of optimism shines particularly bright for me: Oklahoma museums. As a digital marketer, I’m in awe of their resilience, ingenuity, and adaptability as they find new ways to engage the public without actually opening their doors to the public.

Social posts from the following museums have bubbled to the top of my timeline because of their crazy-good engagement: National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the Philbrook Museum of Art, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. To simplify this blog post a little, I focus mainly on Twitter (where I spend the most time), but these museums engage audiences across all social platforms.

Now let’s forget our coronavirus worries for a sec and see how these museums have used a pandemic as a catalyst to engage with their audiences in new ways.

Read more.

10 TikTok Tips from Oklahoma City’s Social Media Stars

I stumbled upon a meme the other day of the Golden Girls gathered around their kitchen table, looks of consternation on their aging faces. What had caused so much confusion among these gray-haired gals? 

My brain registers the meme text.

“Me and my 30-year-old friends trying to figure out TikTok.” 

Oh. 

Cool. 

(I’m 33, by the way.)

Then, just days later, during a BigWing outing to Roxy’s ice cream shop, my fresh-out-of-college teammate posts this on social.

The nerve of Gen-Zers. If you haven’t gotten the hint yet, the world is telling us TikTok is solely for the youths. That anyone over 26 might have a tough go of it. That this is where trends are taking off and if you have children of your own, or a mortgage, or so much as a single laugh line on your face, this app might not be for you. And if you’re a marketer looking to use TikTok to promote a brand, woah, buddy, buckle up because it’s about to be a bumpy ride.

But, here’s the truth: It’s all a ruse. Plenty of brands with audiences of all ages, and social media marketers over the age of 22, are thriving on TikTok. Sure, nearly 26% of TikTok users are between 18 and 24 years old, but get this: Close behind are my fellow millennials ages 25-34 who make up almost 25% of TikTok users. And really not far behind that are those 35-44 making up 20% of total users.

Did you follow? That’s 70% of TikTok users under the age of 44. So we’re looking at Gen-Zers, millennials, and some Gen-Xers: people who have children, people who make decisions for their families on what they eat, where they shop, where they travel. It’s actually a diverse audience when you dive into it.

Despite the world telling us to pack it up and stick to Facebook and Instagram, the numbers say otherwise. Our social experts at BigWing see TikTok as having staying power and being a top tool for digital marketers as the app continues to gain popularity. That’s why I sat down with a few Oklahoma City social media stars (including some of our own) to figure out how, if you’re going to launch a TikTok account and expect results, to do it right. 

Below are 10 tips to get you started on our favorite social platform of 2020.

Read more.

How to Use Instagram Stories to Share Your Creative Process →

It’s not enough anymore to post a photo of your finished product on social media. Sure, audiences appreciate a pretty picture (who doesn’t?), but with the rise of in-the-moment platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, followers are increasingly looking for more realtime engagement.

Many makers and creatives are turning to Instagram Stories to give a glimpse behind the scenes, with an unfiltered look at the processes behind their crafts. Since Stories won’t stick around their social feed for long, they can share more casually to build a deeper bond with their audiences.

Here’s how a few of the Internet’s most creative makers (and Tailwind app members) are taking advantage of Instagram Stories to increase engagement with their followers.

Read more.

3 Takeaways from ‘Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose’

I stumbled upon “Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose” when I needed it most.

It called out to me from amazon.com, promising to help me write the way I talk and turn me into a copywriter who can better serve my website users. And, as a higher ed writer who laments the use empty marketing buzzwords (innovation! prestige! bleeding-edge technology!), I was yearning for a book that could back me up on that whole talking-like-a-real-human thing.

So when it came to this new web writing book by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee, I was sold.

Read more.

The Power of ‘Yes’ in Storytelling

A couple weeks ago, our web marketing team had one of those workdays that goes down in history as “the best day ever.”

The team — Candace Timmons, Mason Drumm, Brandt Smith and I — got to work early, road tripped to Chickasha, Oklahoma, and met with a super friendly farming couple. We toured their sorghum maze that they had themed for the Bedlam brawl by etching Pistol Pete, the Sooner Schooner, college logos and helmets into it. It was ridiculously amazing.

Then, after the couple made a call to their friends at the local airport, we soared the Chickasha skies and took aerial photos of the field (oh, and lots of selfies).

Read more.

What Higher Ed Marketers Can Learn From the Hillary Clinton Campaign

We’re going to talk politics for a sec — well, sort of. Hear me out: I’ve been blown away by the Hillary for America web presence, Hillary Clinton’s social media team and their efforts to get the millennial vote. Because it’s clear: They’re gunning for it.

As higher ed marketers, we’ve got a pretty similar audience, don’t you think? When we talk up our schools online, who do we really hope sees it and is influenced by it? Young people. Millennials. The people who are on the cusp of making a big decision (for us at the University of Oklahoma, it’s choosing a school; for Clinton, it’s choosing a president).

I was struck by an interview on MSNBC.com in which the digital director for Hillary for America, Katie Dowd, explained the importance of technology in the 2016 election.

Read more.

We Put the ‘POW!’ in #PowerPose

So this past month I found myself listening to “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead” during my work commute. It was one of those books I heard a lot about when it first came out. Some people mocked it. Some lauded it. Some people flippantly mentioned it on social media and had me all confused about whether I should be taking it seriously or not (I’m looking at you, Mindy Kaling).

One of my favorite lady-writers Ann Friedman did what she does best and pie-charted about it.

Another notable lady-writer whose opinion I value (Amanda Hess) wrote on Slate about how conflicting author Sheryl Sandberg’s message was. (“Lean Where?: Be pleasant. Be aggressive. Cry in the office. Don’t cry. Sheryl Sandberg’s advice in Lean In is totally confusing.”)

You see, I just had to know for myself. So I read it. I don’t plan on giving a full-blown book review here, but I do plan on sharing one thing that I thought was pretty interesting. Sheryl Sandberg’s mention of “power posing,” or using powerful, confident body language to make ourselves feel powerful and confident, had me really intrigued.

Read more.