Did you know that many scientists believe it was the art of social gossip that first set us apart from the other animals? That’s how we formed intimate groups and learned more about the important things in life. We’d like to continue that tradition in our area of expertise, so here’s just a taste of what’s happened this week in the world of marketing:

Clever campaigns: Let’s stop sucking

Actor Daniel Franzese is spearheading a new campaign sponsored by Bacardi and Lonely Whale to discourage the use of plastic straws and save sea life in the process. A recent PSA stars Franzese reading a letter from sea turtles urging us to stop sucking on plastic when we can all just drink… like normal. But the clever concept here isn’t the cute sea turtle letter, it’s what the sea turtles ask for specifically: they want the Unicode Consortium to remove plastic straws from all emojis.

This approach smartly uses a cultural phenomenon that’s familiar to everyone to make a larger point and indirectly impact the minds of viewers to sway public opinion and raise awareness. Having a TV celebrity on board only adds to the effect. Bacardi is also coming out clever with this campaign by attaching its name to an environmental cause that’s directly connected to its products and existing brand.

Tools of the trade: Photodeposit

There are lots of stock photo services out there, but Photodepost provides the most value for your investment. With over 100 million high-quality royalty-free stock images, you’ll be hard pressed not to find the kind of photo you’re looking for. High-definition footage is also on offer and helps make Photodeposit an industry standard for everyone who needs a few photos.

Punctual posting

When it comes to social media, people spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to post, with what kind of attachments and how to word everything. Essentially, they focus on the content. Great, but do you know when to post it? Every social platform and target audience has peak hours when viewers are most likely to see what you post and engage with it (if a viewer is busy, he/she may see your post but fail to interact with it).

These kinds of intricacies are important to get right for social media marketing, so here’s a rundown of what you need to know to make a decision on when to post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pintrest.