See amazing and inspiring role models encourage young people in STEM Get free advice and resources to support your teaching of STEM...learn more Make a difference to young people, your employees & your business...learn more STEM Ambassador Hub hosts regional finals for Cisco’s Little Big Awards On Wednesday 11 January 2017, one of our STEM Ambassador Hubs, Winchester Science Centre, hosted the Regional South Central... Read more » read more STEM Ambassadors induction: bringing polymers into the classroom In partnership with the British Plastics Federation (BPF), the STEM Ambassadors programme recently organised a central induction for Polymer Ambassadors... STEM Ambassador, Ian Rodwell, shares his First Lego League experience First Lego League (FLL) is an international science and technology competition with over 250,000 young people taking part each year.... Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium celebrates International Men’s Day 2016
To mark International Men’s Day 2016 in November, Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium opened its doors to 170 13-14 year... New report shows wide-reaching impact of STEM Ambassadors An important new report, based on independent evaluation and feedback, looking at the impact made by STEM Ambassadors shows: STEM... Read more about how we are working with Government to show young people how maths and science lead to exciting, successful careers. << Feb 2017 >>IMPORTANT NOTE: The following information pertains to the 2016 Minnesota State Fair. Please check back in the spring and summer for information on the 2017 Great Minnesota Get-Together. For the latest updates, sign up for our email list! Unite in Purple – Aug. 26 Activities throughout the fairgrounds. CHS Miracle of Birth Center Centennial Day at Carousel Park Located at Carousel Park (Aug. 29) Floralpalooza: Color Your World Agriculture Horticulture Building Rotunda
Kemps Little Farm Hands – Located at Little Farm Hands The Great Yoga Get-Together Located at Carousel Park (Sept. 4) on the State Fairgrounds Located south of Kidway and at Family Fair at Baldwin Park Located at the Warner Coliseum Eco Experience – New Highlights Located in the Progress Center Located at five spots Bulls & Barrels Championship Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum (Sept. 5) and the Moo Booth Located at Visitors Plaza and the Cattle Barn Arts A’Fair – New Groups Located at the Education Building Courtyard and West End Market Gate #18 Trolley Route Located on Randall Avenue with stops at Buford Avenue and at Gate #18 Located throughout the fairgrounds Unique Gifts and Home Décor: Foodie Fun: New Vendors Gadgets, Hobbies & the Outdoors: Home Solutions: New Vendors Around Town: New Vendors Uber To & From the Fair! Two drop-off and pick-up locations
Mourners at a recent funeral in Zimbabwe were caught by surprise when the guest of honor sat up in his coffin. According to local reports, 34-year-old Brighton Dama Zanthe, the seemingly dead man, woke up last week while friends and family prepared to pay their respects at his home in Gweru. "I was the first to notice Mr. Zanthe’s moving legs as I was in the queue to view his body. At first I could not believe my eyes but later realized that there was indeed some movements on the body as other mourners retreated in disbelief," Lot Gaka, one of the mourners and Zanthe's employer, told The Herald. Fortunately, Zanthe woke up just in time; his body was set to be transported to a funeral parlor later that day. After Zanthe "resurrected" he was taken to a local hospital, where he remained on life support for two days before eventually being released. Bodies springing back to life is, perhaps surprisingly, not an uncommon occurrence in Zimbabwe. Earlier this year, a woman, who was believed to have collapsed and died during sex, woke up screaming after she was placed into a coffin.
In another "resurrection" in 2012, a Zimbabwe woman, suspected of being possessed, was rushed to a hospital after she stabbed herself and was allegedly declared dead, the Chronicle reports. However, she did not stay "dead" for long, as she "rose" shortly after.User generated content (UGC) campaigns are one of the hottest trends in social media marketing right now, and for a very good reason. With modern social media users spending more than five hours per day consuming UGC, and UGC-based campaigns proven to be 20% more influential on purchasing decisions than any other type of media, marketing and social media professionals have a lot to gain by taking note.In fact, 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 brands are links to UGC. In addition, UGC can complement existing campaigns, form the foundations of new ones, and drive high engagement from your community. But how can you incorporate UGC into your marketing and social media strategy?Here are seven ingenious ideas to help you use UGC as the building block for your marketing and social media campaigns, with brand examples to give you inspiration on how to use UGC for highly effective marketing strategies.
1. It’s as simple as sharing.This is one of the easiest way to take advantage of UGC. Fashion brands in particular often share photos of their customers wearing the clothes on social media. If you have a dedicated fan base posting photos or videos of themselves wearing, using, or enjoying your product online, take advantage of this. It’s been found that on video platform sites such as YouTube, UGC fan videos get 10 times more views than brand content. But you don’t have to be a fashion brand to make this work for your business. GoPro, specializing in tough professional video cameras and software, share customer content to show just how you can put these cameras to good use. From skydiving and mountain climbing, to filming the flight of huge birds and rescuing sea turtles. That kind of brand behavior breeds more UGC. Showcasing customer videos gives GoPro great content, and offers professional moviemakers and photographers a non-monetary incentive to keep UGC flowing without breaking the bank.
It’s also likely to encourage more purchases, as more than 50% of the modern social media users seek out UGC before making big purchase decisions.On YouTube, UGC fan videos get 10 times more views than brand-owned content. Click To Tweet 2. Need inspiration for your next marketing campaign? Look to your online customer reviews!Did you know that online customer reviews are the second most trusted form of marketing, after earned media, with a global survey revealing 70% of people prefer it to other platforms? So why not welcome feedback with open arms? One company who’s figured out that customers’ product reviews can be more powerful than sexy sweeping ad shots of cars speeding down winding mountain paths or down dark roads illuminated with city lights, is car manufacturer Kia. They have a whole series of TV ads based on this concept. They believe their product speaks for itself and urge consumers to go online to read genuine reviews and recommendations. Online customer reviews are the 2nd most trusted form of advertising, 70% of people prefer it.
Click To Tweet 3. Integrate fan photos and videos with your advertising campaigns.UCG, when used correctly, can build a loyal customer fan base. Even more so if you share your customers photos and videos within your advertising campaigns. Dr. Marten’s leveraged their online community to drive results in their global #STANDFORSOMETHING campaign. They teased fans with a video charting the brand’s history and evolution over the years, before inviting them to get involved with their own stories and experiences with the brand. The purpose of the campaign was to celebrate diversity and drive engagement, which was incredibly successful and saw thousands of participants. Dr. Marten’s then featured their fans photos and videos in a commercial. Way to get down with the kids! 4. Incorporate UGC in your next competition or giveaway.One of the quickest ways to take advantage of UGC is to ask your fans and customers to submit content as part of a competition or giveaway. Jewelry brand Pandora’s #MyRingsMyStyle campaign joined forces with radio personality Jameela Jamil to promote their range of new rings.
They encouraged their Twitter followers to Tweet photos of their own ring stacks- Pandora or otherwise – for the chance to win £500 worth of shiny new ones! The campaign left Pandora with plenty of beautiful Instagram-filtered pics to share on their own feed – and anywhere else. Just make sure it’s clear in your Ts&Cs that you may repost submissions elsewhere! Competition based UGC also gives your brand wider exposure, particularly if the winner is decided through votes, as the entrant will share the content far and wide. If you need more contest guidance, there’s a blog for that.Some of our favourite pics of #MyRingsMyStyle competition winner @ellie76689 Gorgeous! /WrZYISW0Hh— PANDORA Jewellery UK (@PANDORA_UK) August 20, 2014 Starbucks took it to the next level by inviting people to decorate their iconic white coffee cup. This competition had 4,000 entries in just three weeks, with the winner’s design being brought to life as a limited edition reusable Starbucks cup. The Pinterest page has nearly 100,000 followers.
5. Use social media to crowdsource ideas to feed into your upcoming marketing campaigns.Before steaming ahead with your next marketing campaign, test ideas with your online community. Twitter chats and LinkedIn are great ways to crowdsource ideas and gives you fodder to help shape your marketing strategy into a well-oiled audience focused mechanism. Test ideas by making them a discussion topic in a Twitter chat; ask around on professional forums on LinkedIn to get opinions, thoughts and quotes; or take it to a Facebook post to drive discussion. Enthusiastic debate is the prime environment for inspirational ideas, and takes the experience out of the boardroom. Sparking discussion with your customers and peers on social media is a great way to see what really interests them. More importantly, if a topic or idea falls flat and nobody engages with you, perhaps it’s not the best starting point for a content marketing based campaign?Sparking discussion on social media is a great way to test what your audience wants to see in your next campaign.
Click To Tweet 6. Take advantage your community’s creativity and feature UGC on your website.Giving your online community an opportunity to be artistic is a simple way to get their creative juices flowing for UGC. This opportunity for fans to showcase their own creativity can help you sell your own product. Belkin did this by adding UGC to their product pages and giving fans the opportunity to have their customized Lego phone cases displayed to the world with the hashtag #LEGOxBelkin. Belkin let their customers do the selling for them by showing just how cool the product was, generating lots of organic and original image content for their website.Loving my new @belkin @LEGO_Group iPhone case. Now my whole team needs one. #/MvPAQuluyT— District 78 (@district78) August 28, 2013 7. Retweet the warm and fuzzies.Okay, perhaps not UGC in the purest sense. Although, a key part of a brand’s online presence is to make sure you’re sharing content throughout the day on social networks and keeping your online community engaged.
Finding UGC can be as easy as searching your brand name or unique hashtag (if you have one) and sharing the positive Tweets from your online community. Taco Bell – a brand making excellent use of their social media – identified active social media users and sending them limited edition Taco Bell jewelry and a gift card to encourage positive Tweeting about the brand. Kudos Taco Bell, if you want to send a Taco ring our way, we wouldn’t mind…Thanks again @TacoBell for my beautiful rings! /Q94Xk5H1CR— Colleen (@ColleenB123) May 17, 2013 87% of consumers agree that favorable reviews confirm their decision to purchase a product, so by simply taking the time to share positive feedback on social networks you’re driving sales. That Tweet you shared about how much a user LOVED your product could bring more customers your way.87% of consumers agree that favorable reviews helped them decide upon purchasing a product.Click To TweetGive some of these tactics a go and watch just how UGC can enhance your campaigns!