Author: Kristine Garcia

How Regular Organizations Evolve Into Cult Brands

Posted on by Kristine Garcia

The idea of telling stories while evoking emotion and creating community was the main concern during a session hosted by Lauren Crampsie, Global CMO of Ogilvy and Mather. Other speakers on “Cult Brands 2.0: How Today’s Top Brands Breed Loyalty and Fanaticism” included Ron Faris (Founder and CEO of Virgin Mega), Piera Gelardi (Executive Creative Director and Co-Founder of Refinery29), and Spencer Rice (VP of Marketing for SoulCycle).

These companies are all successful in their respective fields, and each speaker believes that although money is important, it isn’t their main priority. In fact, they focus more on building a community or “familial” aura with their audience. Audience loyalty is important to them, and they know through thick and thin, these people with help them thrive in the business world if they keep their genuine nature as they did from the beginning.

I’m Kristine Garcia, and I’m currently a student at Queens College. Social Media is a 24/7 priority for me, so if you’d like see me in action, follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @graciaskristine

Activism In The Social Age: Using Tools For Good

Posted on by Kristine Garcia

Social media comes with a ton of trust and responsibility. In a session hosted by Black Enterprise Magazine‘s Kelly Pierre-Louis and Sirita Wright, with guest speakers Charles Wade and Wagatwe Wanjuki, we explored events such as Ferguson and the Eric Garner case, and the way in which social media was used to broadcast these issues.

Eventually, these events not only developed into respective hashtags, but they also contained the power to spread across any language and become relevant to the world. This modern way of spreading news, issues, and current events has expanded beyond the horizon of many activist groups to fight for what they believe in, and try to make the world a better place.

I’m Kristine Garcia, and I’m currently a student at Queens College. Social Media is a 24/7 priority for me, so if you’d like see me in action, follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @graciaskristine

5 Lessons From Storytelling And The Human Interaction

Posted on by Kristine Garcia

Iris Worldwide’s Creative Director, Lisa Bright, discussed the idea of storytelling and using social media to amplify those stories. Along with comedian Robin Gelfenbien, and The Moth Story Slam teacher David Crabb, they shared with the audience a roller coaster of a story that had us all connected more than when we entered the room.

To bring this session to the business level, we can apply stories to brands:

  • Create empathy
  • One should identify with the brand and what it stands for, and don’t fear vulnerability.
  • Establish trust and loyalty
  • Be interested in your journey, rather than trying to be interesting to others. Your passion will shine through
  • To appeal to humans, you need to be human yourself. Share your story, don’t tell it

I’m Kristine Garcia, and I’m currently a student at Queens College. Social Media is a 24/7 priority for me, so if you’d like see me in action, follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @graciaskristine

Verticalization And The Future Of Social Media

Posted on by Kristine Garcia

“To reach success, ideas should start small then expand.” The online community has greatly changed since the World Wide Web’s early years. Starting as a small program used mostly for research, the online community has greatly expanded with media sites such as Facebook, Youtube, and LinkedIn.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all these sites and wish there was one site that’s a combination of all these sites? Well Shocase is here!

Ron Young, CEO and Founder, and Matt Warburton, co-founder and Vice President of Product, explained the benefits of Shocase and how they’ve combined attributes of four leading sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest) into one site!

Studies show the major uses of social media sites:

  • Videos: Children and adults, nowadays, tend to watch videos on “how-tos”
  • Building professional networks and brands has become a major goal for many
  • Finding Talent: Companies want to find potential employees and clients to have meet their specific requirements
  • Stay informed, inspired, and in touch
  • Target your work to new clients: Easily send out and personalize projects and works to different clients

With Shocase, one is able to use the site for multiple purposes and will make things easier and more organized for you. Did I mention it’s FREE? Shocase is definitely something you should take a look at!

Currently a student at Queens College, I hope to work in the Entertainment & Media world. As for now, you’ll find me on all forms of Social Media. Tweet me: @graciaskristine

BuzzFeed’s Advice For Creating Emotional Bonds to Video Content

Posted on by Kristine Garcia

“Content is King, Distribution is Queen, and she wears the pants.” One phrase that resonated with many attendees during John Perelman’s session. Perelman, the Vice President of Buzzfeed Motion Pictures, discussed BuzzFeed’s goals on reaching specific niches and groups with the intention that their videos will gain more shares, especially if the viewer forms an emotional connection to the video (i.e. “A left-hander living in a right-handed world”).

By creating videos that people emotionally bond with, these individuals are more likely to remember, share, and recommend that video to others, eventually building a community within itself! BuzzFeed definitely has the intention to “make you feel some type of way” while viewing those videos!

Currently a student at Queens College, I hope to work in the Entertainment and Media world. As for now, you’ll find me on all forms of Social Media. Tweet me: @graciaskristine