MiniMonos

Entrepreneur and mother of two Melissa Clark-Reynolds created MiniMonos, a values-based virtual world, so kids could have a place of their own on the Internet to be good kids, not good consumers. MiniMonos is a compelling world that captures kids' imaginations and encourages sustainable behavior.

Targeting US families, Missing Link developed a social media marketing approach to build relationships with people who might be interested in green gaming. MiniMonos was noticed by existing networks when influential American moms, kids and ‘eco-celebrities’ such as David Suzuki, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stella McCartney chose to publically subscribe to their communications or forward information generated by them.

MiniMonos also established trust and goodwill with kids by actively conversing online and shining the social media limelight on their contributions. Missing Link's social media strategy generated critical feedback during the development process and provided grassroots support for the launch of paid memberships. For instance, one popular kid blogger purchased a membership to give away in an online 'MiniMonos and the Environment' art competition.

Missing Link's social media strategy is behind MiniMonos' presence on:

• A blog for grownups, blogs by grownups, a blog for kids and 30+ gaming blogs by kids
• Twitter for grownups and kids
• Facebook for members and fans
• YouTube for kids
• Flickr for grownups and by kids
• Traditional print, radio and television media coverage for grownups
• Corporate partners' radars
• Emails

To assess social media activity, Missing Link created a weekly reporting system. Qualitative observations and quantitative metrics reveal who is conversing about MiniMonos, what is being said, and the impact of that activity. Statistics on viral reach are tracked: how many communications occurred, who participated directly with MiniMonos, and how many people had those communications passed on to them. The type, tone and topic of online conversations are also closely monitored to ensure MiniMonos remains in consistent alignment with its own values and those of its growing community. Tracking social media activity has enabled MiniMonos to exponentially expand their target network of supporters and rapidly adjust their product where required.

Missing Link is proud of the social media content MiniMonos has added to the online community, the positive endorsements they have received and the number of children who are playing in their virtual world based on fun, generosity and sustainability.