Great Social Media Idea: Virtual Therapy Pets

I've been waiting to post this idea, because I'm in need of some virtual therapy pets right now. Not to be a big whiny baby, but I'm feeling a bit swamped at the moment, and after tomorrow I will have put in some crazy long days (14+ hours) four out of the past six work days. Boo. Plus I had to work on the weekend too. BOO.

So what better idea to feature than virtual therapy pets, which provide instant smiles and brightened when instant smiles and brightened moods are in high demand. I mean... just look at this!

Cute cute cute!!!

This adorable guy is part of a slideshow of equally adorable animals, and comes courtesy of the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!). I'm very much indebted to Stephanie Xenos, who sent in this idea over the holidays. Take it away, Stephanie!

I thought I'd send something we did recently your way in case it would be of interest. It's not strictly social since we used it on our wall displays around the college during finals, but it got lots of likes online and positive anecdotal feedback. We posted it a few different times to the college's FB and Twitter pages and got a very positive response. In any case, happy new year! Best, Stephanie

OMFG!!! As good as this idea is for social media, how much better does it get when you realize they printed these and put up wall displays of them around campus? It's so good I could freaking die. Brilliant.

As we all know from all the Buzzfeed listicles and slideshows that blow up our feeds every day, this is exactly the type of shareable, easily consumable, smile-inducing content that goes viral. And with finals week truly being a stressful time for students, it's nice to give them something that really does provide a moment's relief from the pressure of studying and writing papers.

It's a pitch-perfect social media idea for today's internet culture, and it's no surprise to me at all that is was highly successful for the Minnesota social media team. It hits just the right note, and has a caring sweetness to it that shines through. Plus - kitties and puppies!!!

Thanks so much to Stephanie for sending this in, and big ups to everyone who worked on this project!