Social media is a great business tool, but how many companies are actually using it well?
With so many SMEs and huge brands now using sites like Twitter and Facebook to promote themselves, simply creating a basic fan page isn’t enough.
Businesses need to be creating and designing social media marketing campaigns to connect with customers, create a good reputation and, most importantly, add to the bottom line.
It’s true, huge businesses like Coca Cola and US telco Comcast have the money and resources to create huge social campaigns, but effectiveness in social media isn’t limited by cost.
Experts say you should be contributing at least some of your budget towards this type of thing. A recent Melbourne IT survey reveals online businesses are actually more likely to be earning higher revenues if they are using social media.
SR7 chief executive James Griffin says there are a few main characteristics of a successful social media campaign, and they play a crucial part in determining whether your business is received as a welcome invitation, or just a piece of spam.
“I think the thing we push most is understanding what you’re doing everything for. Whether it’s to gain sales, or followers, or just to get more coverage of your brand, that will sketch the foundation of your campaign and then influence your choices. So understanding is key.”
“If you have no idea what you’re looking for, then things can go bad. It’s hard to go to the boss and say you’ve put time and resources into a project that hasn’t delivered a solid benefit. You have to know what you’re going to do straight from the start.”
DDB digital strategist Con Frantzeskos says campaigns shouldn’t be centred on a “gimmick”. You should be offering something valuable to your fans and listening to them, or risk facing a harsh backlash.
“Everything should be about finding online communities, listening to them, and then understanding what they want. Based on that, you can create campaigns that integrate Facebook and Twitter and all of these other sites.”
There are hundreds of examples to choose from, but here are 10 of the most innovative, and successful, social media marketing campaigns.
The Swedish DIY furniture chain is known for its simplicity in design, and its successful Facebook campaign was no exception.
In 2007, IKEA started its Facebook page and was opening a new store in its home country. Like any other corporate page it listed the company, various products, corporate information, etc. It also provided a method for users to comment on particular posts.
Without much money to market the new store, the company used Facebook. It posted photographs of about 200 popular items – couches, tables, lamps, kitchen accessories, etc. Then, it gave local Facebook users an offer – “tag” your name on a photo, and that piece of furniture is yours.
Within minutes, all of the furniture was gone. These experts say the idea was successful because it incorporates one of the most popular features on Facebook, tagging and uploading photos. The target users already know what to do and how to do it, so the campaign was clean and simple – and who doesn’t like free furniture?
Every Friday, Crust runs a competition where users only have to tweet the words “Crust Free Pizza Friday” to enter a draw for five free pizzas worth up to $100.
Initially, the campaign was only meant to last for a few weeks. But Crust chief executive Michael Logos says it was so successful the company has continued the competition, turning it into a weekly event.
“At the moment, we have over 3,000 followers on Twitter and 5,000 on Facebook, and that’s pretty good considering we were amateurs in the online space six months ago,” he told SmartCompany.
“The earliest signs of success we saw was just the sheer amount of conversation being generated. We saw the recruitment rate rise, in terms of people on our pages, and we found people were not only commenting on the competition but on the business in general and we have continued to converse with them. It’s gone beyond the competition.”
Logos says the campaign delivers an ongoing benefit in that it continually gains the company new followers, who spread the brand all over the network. The power of word-of-mouth, he says, shouldn’t be ignored for such small a cost.
Nando’s is known for its low-cost publicity stunts, but the speed of its social networking has allowed it to get the edge on competitors as well.
Earlier this year, burger chain Grill’d launched a campaign allowing university students to grab two burgers for the price of one. But the print-only coupon went viral on the internet, and soon the company was swamped with requests. It cancelled the coupon offer.
Nando’s took notice of this and eyed an opportunity. A new blog post on the company’s site promised to fulfil the Grill’d offer, saying “we’ll make sure you’re well fed, not fed up!”
“Following Grill’d’s decision to pull its latest university two-for-one promotion, Nando’s has stepped up to the plate so to speak… Anyone who brings in a copy of the Grill’d voucher to any Nando’s restaurant nationally will be able to buy any burger or wrap and receive one of equal or lesser value for free.”
Grill’d apologised and promised to offer the coupons, but Nando’s had already done enough to secure some new business.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
