Total Eclipse of the Net

Where digital meets travel + lifestyle … A collection of can’t-miss news from this week. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox every Friday.

Total Eclipse of the Net

Social media has the power to bring people together – and Monday’s solar eclipse was a good example of that power, as millions shared photos, videos and stories of the event. Of course, brands wanted in on the fun too. Vox has gathered the good, the bad and the ugly attempts by brands to insert themselves into the national conversation. The winner by far? Moon Pie’s droll trolling of Hostess.

A Decade of Hashtags

Of course, #eclipse2017 was only one of countless hashtags that has captured our attention over the past decade. Take a journey through the past courtesy of PR Week, featuring the 10 Hashtags That Defined The Decade, including such favorites as #MayThe4th, #BreakTheInternet and #IceBucketChallenge. To be perfectly honest, though, some of these we’d rather forget …

Customer Connections

Hashtags are one way to connect with customers via social media – but they should be just one of the tools you’re using to have meaningful interactions with consumers online. Forbes’ Mike Templeman has seven handy tips to help you connect. We especially like no. 7 – Don’t Make It All About Business. “In addition to business-related topics, get in the habit of sharing content that your target audience would enjoy reading or watching,” Templeman advises. “This could include a funny meme or heart-warming video. It can be an inspirational article or informative blog posts.”

Image Forward

Instagram wants to be the platform for product discovery in the fashion world. First, the photo-sharing app rolled out shoppable posts, increasing its favor among fashion and beauty brands. Now Instagram is trying to innovate even more, bringing physical retail to mobile and wooing mass retailers. “People are going to businesses’ profiles to get a really crisp, clean snapshot of what a business, brand or retailer is about,” said Susan Buckner Rose, Instagram’s product marketing director. “That’s one of the real beauties of the way that Instagram is designed — its profile is so simplistic. It’s so image forward.”

Weekly Moment of Zen

It belongs in a museum! Someone has remixed  Indiana Jones movie sound effects remixed into a totally banging dance track.