The Power of a Single Tweet

Imagine how excited and proud we were when we came into the office one morning to find that one of our long-standing clients went viral overnight! This happened last week with StopTopps’ important campaign to stamp out drink spiking.

StopTopps
Dawn Dines founded the not-for-profit company, Stamp Out Spiking UK in Exeter, Devon. The aim was to empower young people to keep themselves safe by running educational workshops on alcohol and drug awareness, knife crime, anti-social behaviour, and cyberbullying. With a rise in drink spiking around the UK, StopTopps was created. To give women and men confidence on a night out, a simple and versatile tin foil lid was created to fit on any type of glass.

Going Viral
On the 8^th of November, Evie Norman posted on Twitter a single image of StopTopps’ stickers over a few drinks, congratulating the pub on taking this preventative measure. The Tweet received almost 13,000 Likes, 1,609 Retweets, and 828 Quote Tweets. Evie’s Tweet was soon picked up by The Archbishop of Banterbury account on Instagram, which has 3.6 million followers and was Liked by 150,000 people. Reaching this many people around the UK and beyond was something Dawn had always strived to achieve since she started the company, and was helped along massively by one single Tweet.

With orders coming in steadily before going viral, StopTopps has now been inundated with orders from around the UK with the pub chain, Wetherspoons wanting to stock them in all their pubs around the country.

Whilst the debate about the effect social media is having on our society rages on, in this case, it has helped advocate a vital message which has got people talking, and taking action about the very issue that Dawn has been pushing for many years.

Having worked closely with Dawn to created the website, and helping promote the company and its important message across various platforms, Function28 is unbelievably proud of this collaboration. We’re feeling very hopeful for the future – the Stamp Out Spiking campaign will undoubtedly help bring down the cases of drink spiking in the UK.

You can read more about the Stamp Out Spiking UK mission here.

‘Finfluencers’ – Friend or Foe?

The new online Finance Influencer… nicknamed ‘Finfluencers’

What are Finfluencers?

Finance influencers – aka finfluencers, are making finance cool for younger generations.

Youngsters are using TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube as a way to learn about personal finance, turning to a rising class of financial influencers for guidance.

Depending on where you look on social media, making money seems to be straightforward. Learning how to buy a property in the UK with no money, or getting the basics of being a day trader in 30 minutes, are both lessons on YouTube, along with a lots of advice on how to earn from crypto currency. Meanwhile ‘finfluencers’, with varying degrees of knowledge, have blossomed on Instagram and TikTok especilly during lockdown and the pandemic in general.

What to look out for

With a large amount of advice across social media, it is worth keeping some core rules when deciding what is worthwhile and what is not. Here are some things to look out for:

Who are they? You don’t have to be regulated to set up as a finfluencer on social media. Nor do you need any knowledge, skills or experience. So approach personalities with a healthy degree of scepticism.
Popularity does not equal success. Just because a video has 100,000 views does not mean it is advice worth following. If there are some you think are valid, use the videos as a jumping-off point to do your own research.
It is always safest to assume that someone is not an expert unless proven otherwise. The lack of regulation means that people can say whatever they want about any topic, from buy-to-let to bitcoin.
It’s not all about getting rich quick. Big rises will always catch the eye – spikes in cryptocurrency being a particular example. But getting returns slowly, over time, while it may appear boring, can also transform your life over a few years.
It is important to have all the information at hand in order to make investment decisions, especially when someone may suggest that they have a surefire way to make money quickly. It may not be that the finfluencer is trying to deceive, simply that there is not enough space in the video to tell the full story – or they may not be well enough informed.
Make sure you have the full picture. If someone tells you they made 50% on a bitcoin investment in the last month, that would be true. But it is also the case the price of the cryptocurrency has dropped by almost a third in the last four months.
Don’t depend on people who you think are just like you. There are many ordinary consumers who share their experiences of saving and investing. Focus on how good the advice is, rather than any shared history.

7 Tips to help enhance your Business Facebook posts

Figuring out what to post on Facebook can be tough.

Over the years what “works” on Facebook has changed due to the algorithm and general trends.

But remember that Facebook isn’t a “One Size Fits All” platform. What works for your page may not work for the next. You need to test to see what gets the most engagement from your particular audience.

That said, we want to share with you 7 tips for writing awesome Facebook posts that should help you get more engagement from your target audience.

1. Ask Questions

But be direct. Don’t ask open ended questions. Giving people an easy choice of answers will result in more comments and engagement.

2. Keep it Short & Simple

With more and more pages and people to follow the news feed for many is very crowded on Facebook. Most people tend to skim through posts quickly and won’t read long posts.

That’s why we recommend 80-160 characters.

3. Give a clear Call-To-Action

Tell people exactly what to do.

Make you post as clear as possible, and you will see results.

We often use “comment below with your favourite” – or something to that effect. Giving people direction is not a bad thing, but do not do it in every post.

4. Offer Valuable Information

Give them just enough to entice them to take an action.

Your goal on Facebook (and other social networks) is often to get people to your website. Achieving that goal requires giving the audience a reason to click your link.

So do not give them all of the information in your post, because then they don’t need to click your link.

5. Add a Link

If you are asking people to do something with a CTA, then make sure to provide a link where you want them to go.

6. Be Positive

People respond and tend to share more when the post is about something positive. No one likes a negative posts usually!

The items that get the most shares on Facebook tend to be those things that are positive, real and funny. People might agree with your negative sentiments — but they will hold back the Likes, Comments and Shares because they do not want to be seen as negative.

7. Include an Image

I recommend posting an image 80-90% of the time. Most of the time photos carry the greatest weight in the algorithm on Facebook. Plus, people more likely to share and like photo posts.

Phishing… LOOK OUT

Phishing Emails, and how to spot and stop them…

What is Phishing?

credentials and credit card numbers. It occurs when an attacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message. The recipient is then tricked into clicking a malicious link, which can lead to the installation of malware, the freezing of the system as part of a ransomware attack or the revealing of sensitive information.

An attack can have devastating results. For individuals, this includes unauthorized purchases, the stealing of funds, or identify theft.

How to spot a Phishing email:

Do you have an account with this company or know the individual?
If so, are you expecting this email?
Check the email sender address to see if it is legitimate.
Be wary of attachments, especially if they are oddly named.
Is the email generic?
Are the grammar and spelling correct?
When you hover on any links, it will show the URL. Is this URL linking to a site that you expect and trust?

If you believe that you have received a phishing email, please report the email, block the sender and delete the email if it has not been removed.