As Movember 2014 launches publicity stunts are being performed across the country. A local one caught my eye on Twitter today. The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle tweeted photos of a giant moustache being hung over the entrance. 

Of course such an amusing and incongruous addition to the building would have been a canny marketing move sure to garner lots of attention even before the internet existed. But these days, which are so dominated by social media, you'd be mad not to use it in a strategic way. And what the hotel did served as a neat little lesson for those interested in how to use a site like Twitter to best effect. 

Firstly, the tweets were visual. As we all know, a picture paints a thousand words. People love images -- the more striking the better -- and share them like crazy.

Secondly, the tweets in question told a compelling story, albeit a brief one. The first said that "something is growing on the hotel" and included a photo of the first part of the moustache being, er, uploaded. Subsequent updates continued the process until the addition was complete. Very theatrical.

Thirdly, Twitter's notoriously limited space was used to good effect in that other influential local accounts were tagged, ensuring greater buzz. And the hashtag #Movember2014 was included. 

So, some useful ingredients there. And definitely ones to remember if you are intending to promote your own event or campaign on Twitter in particular and/or social media in general. 

Still on the subject of Perth businesses using social media effectively for marketing: The yet to open Lucky Chan's Noodle Bar in William St is another example.

This is an intriguing project that employs crowdfunding using Pozible. Basically they're aiming to reach 100 grand from punters. And if they don't amass that amount by mid November they'll refund the donors.

They've been getting some good publicity in the local press. And they're all over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, constantly updating their accounts and keeping the momentum going.

Such a project is ideal for social media, of course. It engages the emotions well. There's an appealing vision that the creators are trying to realize. And they need people's help. By contributing, supporters feel they're appreciated; part of something bigger than themselves. It's social in the truest sense of the word. The fact that there's a deadline for the project increases the sense of urgency surrounding it and makes people more likely to share related updates with friends online. 

The identity of Lucky Chan himself is intriguing. I'm curious as to whether he's a real person or a fictional character. I'm not even sure if he's meant to be a person at all ... Maybe he's more of a symbol; a spirit?

As the site itself explains:

LUCKY CHAN IS AN ENIGMA WRAPPED  IN A RIDDLE, WRAPPED IN A DUMPLING THEN DEEP-FRIED.

A self-described ‘international man of mystery’, LC is the polyester suit-wearing mover and shaker of William Street laundries. No one really knows where he came from – or where he’s going.

This image is not only exotic and mysterious, it's also nostalgic -- with a touch of humour as well. It's a memorable question, and perfect for its own hashtag -- #WhoIsLuckyChan -- that I'm sure has been working well.

Being an avid social media who is a big fan of Twitter in particular, I've observed the rise of hashtags as a marketing tool. These are like little flags that you append to tweets and updates that make them easier to find by others. They are great for anyone who is hoping to build their followings quickly.

They're popular on Twitter as well as Instagram (although I'm yet to join that particular site so don't know this from personal experience). They are used on Facebook, but haven't really taken off as a marketing tool. And some data implies that they can actually decrease the reach of posts so I'd be cautious when using them there. They can be effective on Google Plus and are now an integral part of that site. In fact the network will automatically assign you a hashtag from the text you've included if you don't do so yourself. And you can find lots of related ones via the "Explore" function. 

Still, when it comes to hashtag use and effectiveness, Twitter rules. Needless to say, you don't want to overdo them. Use no more than three per tweet. And give them a break now and then.

They can be employed in a variety of ways, including for local marketing. To lift the visibility of your Twitter account in this city for example -- and depending on the aim and subject matter of your tweets -- you can use ones like #Perth, #BeautifulPerth, #PerthyGreatness, #PerthBusiness, #PerthRealEstate and #PerthWeather. You can find others just by keeping an eye out for them. And you can even create your own, either for something generic or for a product, service or event you are promoting.

Because there are so many locals now on the site it's also worth using suburb level hashtags like #Subiaco, #Fremantle and #Joondalup. I know that I've been found via these specific ones and have garnered some new followers as a result.

And if you've got a blog then you can also put the odd local hashtag in titles, where appropriate. This is worth doing because if there are lots of people searching for a particular local hashtag on Twitter, then some are sure to be using Google to find it too. I did this with #foamroam in a previous post. It now ranks just under the website for the actual business it's promoting.

This tactic won't draw heaps of traffic. But the above example shows how easy it is to rank for these terms and it's sure to pay off over time with one or more such campaigns -- as long as the content you're posting is relevant and useful, of course. 

Restaurants, bars and cafes tend to go so well on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like because they are offering social experiences already. And these are at their heart emotional. Sharing food and drink with friends makes you feel good, after all. So being connected online to a community associated with that experience is appealing also. 

Emotions and senses rule on social media

Closely linked to the emotional experience offered by food and drink establishments is their sensual nature. Looking at scrumptious photos of food isn't as good as actually eating it, of course. But it gives you a "taste" of the experience. It's called food porn for a reason! No wonder so many people keep returning to feast their eyes on these images and enthusiastically share them with their social networks.

There's something similar going on with cafes and bars. Pictures of artistically created lattes from trained baristas, as well as shots of exotic looking liqueur bottles, are each seductive in their own way.

Needless to say, if you are in any of the aforementioned niches you'll find social media marketing pretty straightforward. And with persistence you'll probably start to see benefits quite soon. 

Non-sensual niches present a challenge

But what if you're in a less "sexy" field of business That presents a problem. But it's certainly not insurmountable. You just have to solve how to make your content social and emotional. 

One great way of doing this is adding humour. Obviously you don't want to make it inappropriate. If you're a law firm, for example, this might not be a good approach! But if the humour is in keeping with your niche and brand and you can make people chuckle at your updates they're much more likely to return.

You can also tell stories to get your audience more emotionally involved. Maybe you completed a challenging job that taught you some valuable lessons? An illustrated blog post describing this process in detail could be compelling, informative and therefore highly shareable. 

Or why not introduce staff members in your posts, telling their personal stories and including photos of them? Updates like this could go a long way to humanize your brand, particularly if you are in a more "intellectual" field such as finance.

Any other ideas on how to make your social media content more emotionally compelling? Please feel free to share them in comments below. 

I've been using Facebook more often lately and keeping an eye out for local business pages that make good use of the medium and tend to stand out in my stream. One of these is the page for Chalkys Espresso Bar in Fremantle.

The owners constantly post appealing photos of their food and coffees, of course. But they also include heaps of quality shots of the venue's interior, exterior and highly atmospheric surroundings. Chalkys is located right at the end of High Street, so it's surrounded by numerous beautiful old buildings. They remind their fans of this every time they post, saying: "Good morning from freos historic west end..."

I think this is a good tactic because it imbues the page with a stylish, evocative, even romantic atmosphere that you would normally associate with a cafe in an older, bigger city. (Actually the page made me think of Paris when I first saw it.)

It turns out that the French capital wasn't the main influence on Chalkys. It was actually Melbourne, which is surely Australian's most European city. From the About page on the main site: 

Chalkys espresso bar – based in the eclectic and historical port city of Fremantle located at “the best end of the west end” is the brainchild of married couple Sean & Sarah Mulcock. Originally from Perth, and after more than 10 years in Melbourne and abroad, Sean has managed to make it back to the west, with his new bride in tow and after a few months hard work and a wedding – Chalkys opened its doors in February 2013. Inspired by the art of Melbourne’s lane ways, the history in Fremantles streets, and the music from around the globe. We pride ourselves on great service, fantastic food, a relaxed vibe and of course awesome coffee!

I wrote earlier about how Perth's cafes, restaurants and bars have taken to social media with more gusto than any other business sector. Here's an example of how they are using these sites for promotion: 

Foam Coffee Bar in Leederville recently launched a promotion employing the hashtag #foamroam. To take part you need to buy a cup of takeaway coffee from the store, then post a photo of it in some interesting location, including the above mentioned hashtag. The winning entry is rewarded with free coffee for a year.

I think it has good elements. Obviously there's the fact that it encourages people to take part, and buying a cup is a requirement. So apart from anything else it might actually bring in a few extra customers who wouldn't have heard about the venue any other way. Also, it's got its own memorable hashtag. This might take on a bit of life of its own. And it's got a visual component. As any social media addict knows, appealing photos and images are inherently shareable. 

It's a good way of featuring their distinctive cups as well. Maybe they got a lot of positive feedback from customers about them, which is why they're a central part of the campaign? 

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it goes. If I'm in the area I may well buy a cup and take part myself ... 

One of my favourite places to pick up a coffee in Fremantle was the Gloria Jeans just near Kings Square. I've always liked that chain because the coffee is really good and reasonably priced. And this particular branch was really well run and had a nice, warm atmosphere. The woman who ran it was always kind and welcoming and so were the staff.

Anyway, I hadn't been in the area for a while and I dropped by a week or so ago. I was shocked to see the place totally gutted. At first I thought they were doing some major renovations. I recognized one of the staff who was taking something from the empty store and asked about what had happened. She told me it had completely closed and that was it!

I wasn't the only person who was shocked at this development. The cafe's closing was actually a front page story in the next edition of the Fremantle Herald.

Seems the dwindling foot traffic and increasing anti-social behaviour in the area slowly eroded the outlet's profits until the only solution was to leave. And this wasn't the only cafe to suffer this fate. The nearby Mistral Cafe -- which was also a nice place for a coffee and a cheap feed -- also went belly up. 

Really quite sad. But it does show how a local business can be subject to powerful economic forces beyond its control.