#100HappyDays for Business
D’Andrea Willis | @dandreawillis What made you smile today? www.100HappyDays.com wants you to ask yourself this each day for 100 days straight. The #100HappyDays trend is sweeping the social media realm and for those who are fed up with any self-pitying, negative, or sarcastic posts via social media, this trend is something to be #happy about. The trend is all about appreciating the little things in life that bring joy to a person’s life. The goal is to open people’s eyes to the simplicity in true happiness.
There's no 'about' section on the website, so you have to do some digging to find out that this trend was started by a gentleman named Dmitry Golubnichy who created a vanity website dedicated to the challenge after embarking on this happy journey himself.
The website highlights key points in the guidelines section to remind participants of the true cause behind this movement, “It is not a happiness competition or a showing off contest. If you try to please/make others jealous via your pictures - you lose without even starting.” Other than a free 100 page book with a user’s 100 photos, there is no “reward” for participating in this challenge, but according to the website, users will experience a spiritual uplifting that will make them more optimistic, grateful, and clearly, happy.
How Can Businesses Jump on the #Happy Trend?
Believe it or not, happy is a trend. The movement to embrace life and increase optimism is a big thing in 2014. Businesses can utilize this trend simply by participating in it. Posting pictures or short videos with the unique hashtag will give your brand a sense of humanization. A business can post pictures of employees having a good time, videos of pets, customers dancing, etc. This trend is a great way to tap into human emotion and increase brand likability. Positioning a brand as optimistic, selfless or any positive trait will make magic for business. The most important thing to remember when doing this trend is to be organic and sincere. You shouldn't over promote your brand.
According to www.100happydays.com, 71% of people tried to complete this challenge, but failed - claiming a lack of time as the main reason. Your business could jump on this by vowing to be among the 29% that will participate in this challenge; this will keep consumers watching your social media platforms to see if you’ll stick it out for the full 100 days. At the end of the 100 days it would be creative to make a flip-book or video collage of all 100 happy moments. Upon completion of the challenge, implement a blog or statement highlighting a new found appreciation for the little things. Whatever your method is, just make it true to your brand. If you need some motivation, listen to Pharrell’s Happy song and it will surely turn up your mood. Hopefully, during your efforts to join the conversation about happiness, you’ll increase your appreciation of things that cause joy in life as well.