March 21, 2013
It started as a chilly February afternoon. I had this idea to check my wife’s Pinterest account to find something she wanted for a Valentine’s Day gift. I found a dress on her style board and ordered it. I patted myself on the back for being a crafty Valentine’s shopper and devised a plan to get to my mail before she did.
Little did I know a casual Twitter follow from a couple of months before was about to change the course of history. OK, it wasn’t that big, but it did fuel this fun blog post!
Let’s set the stage, shall we? A few weeks before I began following @SamsungMobileUS in expectation that I might find a special offer since my phone was acting wonky. To get it instantly, I signed up to get those tweets by text message.
Fast forward to the afternoon of February 13, 2013.
I’m minding my own business around 4 pm and trying to wrap up stuff from the day when my phone buzzes. It’s a new text from Twitter saying @SamsungMobileUS has posed a challenge to the Twitterverse: Tweet us your Valentine’s idea. If we like it we’ll give you a new 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2.
Watching Tennessee basketball on the Galaxy Tab 2 with the WatchESPN Android app. Good times!
Always one for a deal, and thinking my idea might pass this test, I tweeted back what I had done: Found my wife’s present on her Pinterest board. Of course there were other entries of all different types, so I watched carefully.
Then about 4:30 I receive a direct message. I’m a winner! Samsung will be sending me a new tablet!
Fast-forward again about three weeks and I’m the proud carrier of a 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2. I really like it. Super portable, but great for apps needing more screen room, especially Watch ESPN.
What should the moral of this story be for you? Follow the companies you like because you never know when something cool will happen? Or make sure your company does cool things so your fans can talk about it?
In a world of social media everywhere we look, I think it’s both!
