2 Social Media Insights Gleaned from Michelle Obama and NASA

From http://www.slideshare.net/nasa

First Lady Michelle Obama recently touted the strides of Let’s Move!, a national campaign to combat childhood obesity, during stops across the country. She carried that message directly to her audiences and along the way, got her dance on.

Meanwhile, 100 people will be invited to a tweetup in Cleveland at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. The tweetup is in advance of a March 2 NASA event commemorating the 50th anniversary of spaceman John Glenn’s first U.S. orbit. Glenn, 90, achieved that milestone when he orbited the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962.

Obama and NASA are heavyweights focused on one word: progress. They are intensely interested in creating and celebrating progress around their causes. They wield sustained adoration by carving  new paths, thereby proving, with apologies to Marshall McLuhan, “the message is the medium.” Here are two social media insights gleaned from the progress-focused titans.

Really Care About Your Audiences

According to a 2009 blog authored by Neal Wiser, NASA’s goals for Twitter are: “To connect and communicate with people interested in what NASA does.” NASA has been in the tweetup business for awhile and it’s definitely working for the space agency.

Two years ago, Obama launched a national initiative designed to increase healthy food options for America’s children, who are at the center of an obesity epidemic. Let's Move! also wants children to increase their physical activity. According to D Magazine’s SideDish Food blog, Obama recently said that more than 150 Dallas schools had found ways to serve healthy meals and get kids moving. She said 78 of those schools earned Gold Awards because they met "the highest  levels of standards."

NASA and Obama consistently demonstrate genuine interest in their audiences.

Be Comfortable Having Lots and Lots of Fun

The dancing in the YouTube video above happened during the first lady's recent cross-country stops promoting Let's Move!'s second anniversary. As a dancer way down in my soul, it thrills me to see the first lady giving it all she's got and hanging strong. Just imagine what the kiddos said when they went home that night?

Oh, did I mention NASA has a Facebook game app?
 
NASA is clearly enjoying itself as demonstrated by its Twitter feed. Check out the  screen capture (below) from 2.17.12

Screen capture taken 2.17.12 from @NASA's Twitter feed; Graphic by Regina L. Burns