As marketing campaigns have evolved from mildly to highly important during the 20th century, and as they are constantly adapting and changing every single day, it comes as no surprise that today, the most important media battles are waged on social media channels. With the rise of Myspace, Facebook, and especially Twitter and Linkedin, the face of marketing has changed, and the importance of a well-rounded and thoroughly thought-out social media campaign is more obvious than ever before. No serious company dare miss out on the possibilities, and as the impact of social media grows, so does the creativity of marketers, who come up with more and more thrilling and engaging ways to interact with their followers, thus turning them from fans into consumers.
Even though it may seem easy, creating a buzzworthy social media campaign is not easy. It requires a lot of planning and research.
Here are some of last year’s social media campaigns that kept the internet humming, and which in turn might spark your own creative genius.
A Joke Meets a Good Offer
Several years ago, Guinness Beer made an April Fool’s Day poster that advertized their famous dark beer – but the twist was that the beer was white and the foam dark, quite the opposite of the world-famous stout. Keeping the message light and funny, the campaign became memorable and inspired several subsequent ones, including last year’s Virgin and Samuel Adams adverts. With their TV commercials that reinterpret their offer of flights that allow you to create a personalized climate onboard Virgin’s planes and a beer that has helium in it, these two companies created the perfect match of humorous content uploaded on YouTube and shared on company social networks.
Fashion + Music = Individual Appeal
The most important thing about social media is that they allow personalization and individuality that are easier to obtain than in real life. A great example came from Urban Decay’s Coachella campaign – this cosmetics brand started a contest for their users to create the best look for the music festival and post their creations on Pinterest. It’s as simple as that, but the impact it had on their online followers was amazing and it brought attention to both brands – which only shows that cooperation between companies can sometimes be positive for all.
Shared Appetite
People love the food/sweets industry and can’t seem to get enough of how good the products look on pictures and videos. Therefore, this industry is famous for including their consumers into viral campaigns and trends, from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to Coca Cola. Last year witnessed brands like Oreo and Domino’s getting popular on the Internet. While the former company used Vine and Instagram for short videos on how to create good snacks – so-called shack hacks campaign – the latter used Twitter’s hashtag popularity to start #letsdolunch campaign – the more people used it in their tweets, the cheaper the pizzas were. Ultimately, not all received lower prices, but all were part of a fun idea and were presumed to continue eating at Domino’s.
Celebrity Endorsement for Free
When you have hundreds of famous people at one place, it means that there are numerous options for promotions and brand recognition. However, what Ellen DeGeneres did at the 2014 Oscars was unheard of – she managed to fit a dozen celebrities into one photo, including Kevin Spacey’s grin and Julia Roberts’ floating head, thus creating an eponymous selfie that has been named “the most epic of all time.” And with “selfie” being recognized as the Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year 2013, this became huge in a matter of minutes. What people generally do not, however, know is that this bit was a part of Samsung’s promotion campaign via Ellen’s phone, but it turned out to be very smart and quite cool at the same time.
The Impact
As the majority of modern customers use the Internet and social media, it’s only natural for famous brands to turn to viral campaigns and online marketing strategies. When you take a look at this infographic, detailing a week in the life of a brand on social media, it is clear that their impact is growing on a daily basis, and that you as a brand cannot afford to miss out on the buzz these kinds of campaigns generate. Additionally, there are several good sides and benefits – from better brand recognition and creating a fan base to establishing a positive image and acquiring more clients.
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