Social Media provides you a way to use “word of mouth” advertising powered by technology. When thinking of your social strategy and formulating your plans, remember:
The companies that understand this are incorporating social into their online advertising methods. Unlike slapping a banner ad on a webpage, social media campaigns can take full advantage of the internet by using interactivity, community-building, and the ability to localize specific offers.
Examples of Successful Social Media Campaigns
11 Herbs and Spices – KFC
Remember the good old days when no one knew what went into the Colonel’s recipe? Little did we know that the Colonel wasn’t keeping it a secret.
You see, late last year, the brand started following just eleven people on Twitter: the five original Spice Girls and six guys named herb.
Most people were completely oblivious to the very vague stunt, until Twitter user @edgette22 posted this Tweet:
This Tweet has been favorited more than 700,000 times and received more than 300,000 comments.
Freddie Powell, the creative director at KFC’s umbrella company Wieden+Kennedy, said the team planted the secret on Twitter a month before they were outed. “Frankly, we weren’t sure if anybody was going to find it,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to put stuff out into the universe and cross your fingers that the internet will work its magic.”
Why KFC’s Campaign Was Successful
The Colonel’s secret recipe was a common topic of conversation for KFC aficionados. With this stunt, the marketing team answered a “pressing” question and did it in a way that wasn’t overt and over the top.
They relied on their fans to uncover the truth and, lo and behold, they did! Social media campaigns don’t always have to be loud and in your face; sometimes it’s the subtle ones that cause the biggest stir.
And KFC milked the stir for all it was worth by continuing the momentum of the stunt. They created a painting of Twitter user @edgette22 being carried by the Colonel which, again, was voraciously retweeted and spread around the web.
#PuberMe – Stephen Colbert
Everyone loves a chance to do something good, and the #PuberMe social media campaign tapped into this powerful drive to be a good person.
It all started when The Late Show host Stephen Colbert and actor Nick Kroll asked celebrities to share awkward photographs of their teenage selves using the #PuberMe hashtag. In exchange, the duo would donate money to help Puerto Rico overcome the damage caused by Hurricane Maria.
You could almost hear the hooves of celebrities charging into battle. Shortly after Colbert and Kroll announced the campaign, stars like America Ferrera, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, Reese Witherspoon and Amy Schumer had shared their embarrassing pics.
The campaign raised $1 million for relief efforts and was spread far and wide across the internet thanks to the huge followings of the celebrities that rolled up their sleeves and got involved.
Why the #PuberMe Campaign Worked
Aside from the fact it’s aim was to raise money for a great cause, the campaign tapped into the power of leveraging celebrities and their large followings in campaigns.
Many of the stars that got involved had over a million followers, so the message instantly had a huge reach. Not only that, but the premise of the campaign – to post awkward teenage pictures – tapped into society’s curious need to see celebrities looking less than perfect.
Trolling McDonalds – Wendy’s
For Wendy’s, trolling on their McDonalds, one of their biggest competitors, is a compulsion that they can’t stop doing. Despite being much smaller than McDonalds in the great scheme of things (McDs’ 37,000 stores dwarf Wendy’s 6,500), the fast food chain is managing to absolutely out maneuver them on social media.
This Black Friday exchange is a perfect example. Just after McDonalds Tweeted placeholder copy, Wendy’s team responded:
Why Wendy’s Trolling McDonalds Worked
This sparring between two fast food mega-giants only serves to humanize the brands. Wendy’s showing it’s authentic side and aligning itself with its audience.
Here’s another exchange between the two:
Eggo – Kellogg’s and Netflix
“Eggo” is the name of the joint venture campaign between Netflix’s popular “Stranger Things” series and Kellogg’s Eggo waffle product.
Idea: One of the main characters of the series, Eleven, eats Eggos throughout the series.
What makes this campaign smart is how the partners utilized a simple product placement tactic and turned it into a recurring reference in the series. By working together, the brand and writers created something that is both amusing and authentic. The result was not only extra exposure for the product, Kellogg’s also included a Twitter campaign to encourage more conversions and improve their social engagement.
For the launch of the second season of Stranger Things, Netflix and Kellogg’s Eggo turned to Twitter to capitalize on their partnership. The campaign earned more than 9,200 retweets and 20,000 likes as a result of this one social plan. Next, they utilized the rest of their social channels to keep the momentum – results: 11.2 thousand new followers, 143% increase of Eggo mentions on Twitter and Instagram one week before the second season debut, and 986% increase in Eggo mentions in October (compared to September) 2017.
When thinking of your own social media campaign, consider partnering with another brand to increase your reach to new audience.
#WeAccept – Airbnb
Social media campaigns can do more then drive sales, it can capture a conversation and drive the narrative…
Idea: Change the conversation from Airbnb hosts and their discriminatory practices to new guidelines to established by the company to ensure everyone in the Airbnb community is treated equally.
Faced with a media backlash over reports of discrimination by hosts in 2016, Airbnb needed a quick fix to restore faith in the company. They responded with a new set of guidelines to ensure everyone in the Airbnb community is treated equally, but also needed a method to spread then new message.
Launched during the Super Bowl in 2017, they responded with their #WeAccept campaign – and turned a crisis into a purpose.
What makes this campaign remarkable is that Airbnb was able to turn around a growing source of negativity towards the brand, and redirect the entire conversation of discrimination towards one of acceptance. Their 30 second video has received 4.9 million views.
This is a great lesson in the power of social media marketing reputation management and an example of marketing, PR and product, all working together.
IM Pact put together more examples of successful campaigns, maybe you’ll recognize some of them.
The Growing Trend
With successes like these, companies are taking notice and social media marketing budgets are on the rise. In order for a campaign to be successful, it’s got to be transparent with how it interacts with the target audience and remain authentic. Too “salesy” and it could backfire and wind up on the infamous list of social media blunders.
What role should social play in your marketing?
Social media can help you:
- Provide an online identity for you and bring attention to the products or services that you offer.
- Relationships can be forged with people who might not otherwise know about your products or service or what your company represents.
- If you want people to follow you, don’t just talk about the latest product news, be real and share your personality with them.
- Using social can bring you closer to peers that may be serving the same target market.
- Social will allow you an opportunity to communicate and provide the interaction your audience is looking for.
When do you start a campaign?
You start now…
According to Guy Kawaski – It takes 18+ months to get anywhere building a platform.
According to You don’t wait until your project is ready – you start social now. Get out of this mindset, get your social moving forward. Using social media is a process and it will take time to develop your “style” – that’s called a niche!
The challenge is finding the sweet spot!
According to PostPlanner.com, the introduction of Facebook’s new News Feed algorithm & “Story Bump” feature, page posts could theoretically live a much longer life than they have in the past.
- Average Facebook metrics show that 75% of user engagement occurs within the first five hours and the numbers for ad impressions and reach are much lower… 75% of impressions were achieved in just two hours and 30 minutes and reach hit 75% of its maximum in only one hour and 50 minutes.
- On average, the lifespan of a Tweet is about 18 minutes – and that time frame is much less for most of us!
You’ll need to review your analytical accounts to see when the optimal time to post is. Test various times to track engagement, and try different ways of communicating the same message.
If something isn’t connecting with your audience, review your stats, tweak your message, and try again.
Social media carries a lot of value, but how do you do it right?
As you noticed in the previous campaign examples, these campaigns utilized multiple marketing vehicles (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc). The combined effect created awareness and invited their audience into the action. The campaigns didn’t push or “hard sell” products either. As a result, did these campaigns sell millions of dollars worth of products or services? Probably not, but they did make new friends and ingrain themselves within consumers social circles.
- The most successful social campaigns are transparent. Be yourself and reflect your personality. There are no written “right” or “wrong” rules when it comes to social media, only you can determine what will work for you.
- Be consistent, if you do not plan on being consistent don’t do it at all – it’s a waste of everyone’s time.
- Integrate your social platforms for synergy in message.
If you search the Internet, you’ll find social success stories ranging from headhunters finding a job applicants, to businesses introducing new products or services. Even Fortune 500 companies are using social to strengthen the brand.
The best use of social is to use it as a communication tool. It can make you accessible to those interested in your products or services or make you visible to those that didn’t know anything about you. Use it as a tool to create a personality behind your brand. This personal connection not only builds customer loyalty, it creates repeat buyers.
Social media is adaptable to whatever best suits your interests and business needs
The role of social media in your marketing is to use it as a communication tool that makes you accessible to those interested in your product and makes you visible to those that don’t know your product. Use it as a tool that creates a personality behind your brand and creates relationships that you otherwise may never gain. This creates not only repeat-buyers, but customer loyalty. Fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interest and the needs of your business.