I have been a big fan of Twitter chats, not only to come together with other professionals on a particular topic, but to have the opportunity to give acknowledgements and praise to others who are doing great work in their respective industry.
One Twitter chat I have been participating in over the past few weeks has been Cinnabon’s #SweetTalk that happens each week on Tuesdays. Cinnabon has become one of my favorite brands to follow on social media because not only are they creating great visual content of their Cinnabons (must stay strong for my mini marathon training – but their Cinnabons are amazing!), but they are super engaged with their audiences. Been advocating for them with my classes and students.
But something happened on Tuesday that was pretty exciting. The premise of #SweetTalk surrounds a series of questions on a related topic, and the first question that was asked this week on the Twitter chat was, who is your favorite celebrity?
For me, this was a no brainer – it was Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock. Not only am I a fan of his movies (Jumanji is really good! Loved seeing it over the holidays!), but I have been super, super impressed with how he has managed his personal brand on social media. He has a very authentic and real voice on his platforms, and actually is engaging with his fans and audiences in a way that really feels natural. In my class lectures and conference presentations, he’s been the one I have told people to look at for a personal brand.
So, I mentioned this on Twitter on #SweetTalk, and this happened:
As soon as I saw this – I was like – OMG! This. Is. SO. COOL! Of course, I was very excited to see this, and it was really cool to see what happened afterwords. With this one response from The Rock, there were a few things that followed:
- Fellow social media professors were sharing this with their classes and students. This was pretty cool to see. My fellow #SMprofs wanted to share this exchange with their classes to demonstrate how mentioning a brand or celebrity could bring forth great opportunities. I think the lesson can be applied not just to students and classes, but also to those who are celebrities and influencers. Really taking the time to engage with your fans can mean the world to them – taking a moment to acknowledge them and let them know you appreciate them is great. In this case, The Rock and Cinnabon really demonstrated that.
- Cinnabon is now a favorite brand for my students. After seeing this tweet, many of my social media students made sure they were following Cinnabon as well. Several (like a few from my #FrebergAlums panel on Wednesday) advocated to other students they would be participating on Twitter chats like #SweetTalk now because of what they saw. Bell recommended to everyone this was a must participate Twitter chat. Abbie said she was super excited to find out Cinnabon was now following her. Twitter chats are not only about discussing key trends and topics, but also to network.
- Opportunity for a potential partnership. This would be really cool – and having a mention of Cinnabon by The Rock is pretty cool (with my background in PR, I’m sure they are tracking the metrics related to this tweet as we speak). We will have to wait and see what happens – but the opportunity to see two of my favorite brands come together would be amazing. Fingers crossed!
- This is what all of my current and former students were talking about. The Rock also is a class favorite for my students at the University of Louisville, and by this tweet, they felt it was pretty cool. Allie (who is a great student of mine in my #Freberg18 class) shared this tweet about it. I think I’ll go by Dr. Karen from now on! 🙂
In summary, this is one of the many reasons why social media can be a truly wonderful place to have conversations and connect with others you would have never thought possible. It is brands like Cinnabon that really get the power of engaging with audiences and having a great conversation. Make sure to follow them on social media and participate in their #SweetTalk Twitter chat!
Celebrities like The Rock are leading the standard for what a strong personal brand should be. I was a pretty big fan of The Rock before, but now – it’s no question. He’s my all-time favorite!
With that being said, I’d like to extend an invitation to invite The Rock to Louisville.
It would be amazing to hear about your journey with your personal brand on social media, and I am sure everyone (especially my students) would love to learn from you. We have a lot to offer in Louisville when it comes to great attractions, museums, food (we are quite the foodie town!), and things to do – especially that famous horse race that happens every first Saturday in May – the Kentucky Derby. Plus, you would be able to have the opportunity to meet some of the future rising stars in social media who are some of your biggest fans. One of my current students, Abbie Chambers, has already created a designated hashtag for this, and it is #TheRockToLou.
Thanks and hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
