Do you know a lot about Happy Family? If you’re a mom, chances are your kids have sampled their healthy & delicious foods for babies, tots, kids. Or maybe you’ve tried one of their Happy Squeezes - their product line for adults? If so, you might already know that one reason mom’s love Happy Family Baby Foods is because they are organic and 100% natural, made without any pesticides or preservatives.

But did you also know that Happy Family is also a community committed to the well-being of families? It’s called “Generation Happy” and through Happy Family you can take the Generation Happy Pledge, get special VIP offers and connect with other moms in your area and all over the world who are as committed to their children’s health and well-being as you are!

Which is why we are excited to announce another Happy Family online event aimed at helping parents have a healthier winter:

Happy Family’s Staying Healthy in Winter Twitter Party to be held Thursday, January 24, 2022 at 9pm ET!

Join @HAPPYsuperfoods for an hour-long party/chat on Twitter about ways we can all stay healthy this winter! Whether it’s getting more active, or boosting our Vitamin D, join this event to trade ideas & tips and get some expert advice on staying as healthy as possible during the winter months.  This is the latest in a series of Twitter parties Happy Family has hosted, all of which have had topics that are important to parents of small kids. What’s great is that there are so many members of the Happy Family community who attend these Twitter parties, that by joining in, you have an opportunity to chat with like-minded moms and maybe make some new Twitter friends along the way!

As an added bonus, simply by joining in the discussion and by RSVP-ing to the party on the official Happy Family party page, you’ll be entered to win one of the awesome prizes to be given away during the hour, including $100 worth of Happy Baby products! (Must be a U.S. resident over 18 to win. See official rules here.)

We will also be joined by a group of panelists who will be on hand during the party to lend advice and answer any questions about winter health. The panelists include Amy, Nutrition Advisor for @HAPPYsuperfoods, Elise from Green is Universal (@greenisuni), Chandra from Stonyfield (@Stonyfield), Jo-Lynne from Rose Romano’s (@RoseRomanos), Charise from I Thought I Knew Mama (@IThoughtIKnewMa), Christina from Theraderm (@Theraderm) and Carrie from Weleda (@Weleda).

How do you join the party? First, RSVP by leaving your Twitter handle in a comment on the official Happy Family Twitter Party page. Then, just log onto your Twitter account at 9pm ET on November 20th, follow @HAPPYsuperfoods and tweet using the party hashtag #TravelWithHappyFamily. You can see everything everyone at the party has to say by searching for the hashtag in Twitter search, putting the hasthag into an easy, web-based program like Tweet Chat, or follow along with this custom page Happy Family has created at Tweet Grid. If you’re still not sure about how a Twitter party works, check out our Beginner’s Guide to get started.

For more information and updates (and to RSVP!), please be sure to visit the #HFWinterHealth Twitter Party page!

TweeParties was compensated for this post and for helping out with the #HFWinterHealth Twitter party to be held on Jan. 24, 2013. 

Sometimes tweets can do a lot of good. We’ve seen this happen during times of natural disaster, when a single tweet can alert family members that a relative is safe, or spur on action by people to help, donate or volunteer. Or in areas of the world with political strife: one tweet can help people mobilize in protest, disseminate vital information, or tell people in other parts of the world exactly what is happening to them through words, pictures, and video — often when their government won’t.

As the news of the tragedy in Newtown, CT began to unfold, people took to Twitter and Facebook to express their shock, anger and support for those affected by the shooting. Social media became a community that people could turn to, to offer support and collectively try to make sense of it all.

However, some companies scrambled to try to figure out what to do with their scheduled programming. Should marketing campaigns be put on hold? Should a live event on Twitter be canceled or go on as planned?

The results were mixed: some Twitter chats were canceled or rescheduled, while others carried on as planned; some advertising on social media ceased, while other posts and tweets continued. In what is still considered to be an evolving medium, it seems that on social networks — at crucial times — confusion reigns. But the backlash can be swift and sometimes unforgiving.

For example, Kmart had a toy chat scheduled for the afternoon that the news broke. They decided it would be best to cancel it. In tweeting about the cancellation, they used their chat’s chosen hashtag, but also included a hashtag about the Connecticut shooting that was trending at the time.

A spokesperson for Kmart said the use of the promotional hashtag was necessary to inform those who were planning on participating in the chat of the cancellation. However, some have argued that their goal could have been reached by using only the hashtag intended for the chat, not the trending tag as well. By including the trending tag in the tweet, it appeared to some that they were taking advantage of the trend to gain greater exposure for their promotion. According to Kmart, that was not their intent. But unfortunately, it came across that way to some of those who were following the trending topic hashtag.

Some lessons to be learned in similar, difficult situations:

When in Doubt, Don’t Tweet (or Post). Posting about anything business or sales-related in the middle of a tragic event can cause others to question your sensitivity. If you have any doubts about whether or not the timing is appropriate-don’t do it. Rescheduling a chat or delaying posts won’t cost you much in time, but will help you save face. Also, when most people are seeking more information about a breaking story, or trying to cope with the news and are reacting very emotionally to it, they are not likely to be interested in hearing your marketing messages or taking part in a Twitter chat. So why risk it?

Never Hijack a Hashtag. It’s one thing to contribute meaningful content to an existing tag. But don’t combine it with any other hashtag, no matter how well-intentioned. Some have done it by mistake; others wrongly seize an opportunity.

Be In Tune With Your Followers. Take a look at their tweets. Take their emotional temperature. Are they reacting strongly to something? Then make sure your tweets are appropriate and do not offend. No one knows this better now than Kenneth Cole, who sent out a tweet during an uprising in Egypt that not only included a trending hashtag, but also mentioned one of Cole’s products, and seemingly made light of a terrible situation. An apologetic tweet sent two hours later did little to put a positive spin on this gaffe. (Some even wonder whether the designer truly regretted the original tweet, and perhaps even subscribes to the ‘There is no such thing as bad publicity’ theory.)

We’ve all heard the expression, When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When encountering a sensitive situation, the best advice for a business might be to do as everyone else does: turn off the marketing messages and be a human being.