What is #TeamTrees?   On October 25th, two YouTubers, Mark Rober and Jimmy Donaldson—better known by their channel name MrBeast—launched an initiative they call #TeamTrees. Each dollar donated means one tree will be planted with the goal of planting 20 million trees by 2020. The donations go directly to Arbor Day Foundation, who will be responsible for facilitating the planting. The trees will begin being planted globally at the start of 2020, with the process starting in areas with a warmer climate.  Raising over $8 million within the first week, the donated amount has since grown to $15,387,233 at the time of writing. #TeamTrees first went viral among the YouTube creator community due to other popular YouTubers making large donations, such as $69,420 from PewDiePie, $33,333 from TheOdd1sOut, and $20,000 from Jacksepticeye. However, when looking at the Top Donors list on Teamtrees.org, it is not...

What Is Social Recruiting?    More job applicants than ever before are using online resources and social media in their job search. One study found that 79% of job seekers use social media to look for new opportunities. The majority of job searches these days are done online, so for businesses to effectively engage in social recruiting (also known as social hiring), a social presence is more important than ever before.  Social recruiting is when companies use social media to tap into this large group of online job seekers by sharing relevant content and appealing directly to potential talent. Social recruiting can include a variety of different processes, such as posting job ads on social media platforms or using social media to learn more about candidates.  An effective part of social recruiting is leveraging a brand’s internal resources in order to appeal to potential...

John Legere is not the type of executive that wears a suit and tie–at least, not unless it's magenta in color. The CEO of T-Mobile, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the U.S., is anything but your typical executive. He has cultivated 6.49 million followers on Twitter, over 75,000 followers on Instagram, and over 390,000 followers on Facebook.    John Legere is Mr. Magenta   If you do not recognize the name John Legere, you may be more familiar with his nickname: Mr. Magenta. It is a catchy phrase that perfectly describes Legere. On social media, he is often wearing the color, whether it is a t-shirt, sneakers, or even magenta hair for #NationalHairDay. This color choice is no accident as it is the same iconic magenta of T-Mobile's logo. It is a smart and subtle way of indirectly calling attention to the...

Climate change is an important topic and it is no surprise that many are looking to leaders and businesses to act, given that large businesses have a sizable impact on the environment. In 2017, a report by the Carbon Disclosure Project found that just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Of course, the type of industry can also affect the company’s carbon footprint. Last year, a study showed that 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions were related to the tourism industry, and this percentage is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4%. While these statistics may be staggering, some leaders are taking action. Rick Steves, the CEO of Rick Steves’ Europe, recently announced his plans to donate an annual amount of $1 million on Twitter.   The Self-Imposed Carbon Tax https://twitter.com/RickSteves/status/1179475145028784128 He calls it a "self-imposed carbon...

"The higher up you go in an organization, the less you actually know about how the organization *actually* runs. And the CEO is always the last to know." This type of candidness is what you can expect from Jason Fried, the co-founder and CEO of Basecamp. He is not one to mince words, whether it is in his articles about changing business culture, or his tweets criticizing the tech industry having “more worst practices than best practices.” His opinions on how to organize workflow, how projects should be managed, and emphasizing better, ethical business practices neatly ties into the Basecamp brand. At its core, Basecamp is a project management software that emphasizes organization and efficiency in an effort to keep tasks on track. It streamlines communication to increase productivity and helps make projects more manageable. Basecamp is aimed toward businesses that...

Known for growing his family’s wine business from $3M to $60M in just 5 years, Gary Vaynerchuk was named the top CEO in the digital marketing space in 2018 by Brand24. Now, Gary is the CEO of his own digital marketing and communications company Vayner Media, as well as sports agency Vayner Sports. Additionally, he is a “prolific angel investor and venture capitalist," investing in companies ranging from Facebook to Uber, a highly sought-after public speaker, and best-selling author.  Gary, also known as Gary Vee, has no plans on slowing down. On top of all that, you may have seen him on your Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube feed, where he has a combined following of over 11 million people, whom he provides with “wake-up call” advice. Often calling himself a purebred entrepreneur, Gary’s work-hard, play-hard attitude, and hunger for success are what...

By now we know that influential executives garner higher overall engagements on social media than the brands they work for. On top of that, though, they can also be used to convey a company’s corporate social responsibility in a more authentic light. Since becoming the CEO of Walmart 5 years ago, Doug McMillon’s social profile has become a platform to promote Walmart’s acts of social good, such as eliminating abuses through the supply chain. On his Facebook and Instagram profiles especially, he is no stranger to group pictures and heartwarming captions. In the month of June, Walmart was all about creating a community space between associates, shareholders, and the public. McMillon leveraged his social presence by participating in branded hashtags and telling touching stories in order to promote his company’s social good and positive community. If you're interested, you can check...

Yes, executives drive more engagement on average than their respective companies on social media, and yes, your company should absolutely be leveraging its leaders (maybe that leader is you!) to support marketing objectives. If you’re ready to take the plunge and launch an executive social media presence for yourself or the executives at your company, congratulations on the sound decision, and check out our introductory guidebook if you haven’t already! Now, though, it’s time to start thinking about why leaders outperform brands and how to create effective social media branding that will ultimately resonate with your target audience and drive measurable results.  Research suggests that 84 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know. This may not seem groundbreaking in and of itself, but it’s particularly telling when combined with the fact that only 15 percent of those same respondents...

Profile pictures are crucial to an executive’s social media presence. Not only do they serve as a form of digital identification for a brand or person, but they also serve as an unspoken first impression. For influential executives such as Rihanna, a simple change in her profile picture recently symbolized a progression in her image and career. With over 70 million Instagram followers and 90 million followers on Twitter, Robyn Rihanna Fenty has successfully used these two social media platforms to distinguish her two main brand identities: on Instagram, she brands herself as Rihanna, the pop icon, and on Twitter, she is Rihanna, the face of the Fenty fashion empire. Fans have witnessed the famous popstar’s ongoing success as she continued to take on diverse projects such as releasing the body-positive lingerie line Savage x Fenty, landing an acting role in...