Hi everyoneAt a time when everyone is selling themselves as an expert in social media, but few really are, it’s worth having a reality check about what social media can and can’t do.
This great article, 10 things Social Media Can’t Do, is a timely reminder that nothing will replace a solid and holistic marketing strategy, and an understanding of social media’s limitations.
On the flip side though, I think there is a misleading perception among some that social media is not a place a brand can really be heard or engaged with in any serious way by customers, or that this audience is too young or dis-interested to even try.
Despite many strong arguments to the contrary, the only really effective argument is proof positive that social media marketing works. Because after all, only by doing and learning and re-applying can any brand or agency be successful in this ever-changing environment. And successful case studies can help highlight the fundamentals of what is working well in this field.
So let’s look at what we can learn from the following campaigns:
1. It all starts with a ‘social media’ idea: Not just any idea. One that is useful, or fun, and one that we are really dying to share with others. One that reflects your brand and its values. The one recently that I like most recently is the Ikea Showroom campaign, which combined all the elements of a strong Facebook idea, with the cheekiness and humor of the Ikea brand. Watch how it works here.
2. An idea that people want to share & others want to hear about: Some ideas aren’t born to share, aren’t right for the brand, or don’t have enough connection to truly catch on. It takes insight and inspiration to come up with sharing ideas which truly resonate with audiences. I love this one’s simplicity from Lufthansa.
Users who sign up to Lufthansa’s MySkyStatus will find their Facebook and Twitter profiles automatically updated with their altitude, location, departure and arrival information. Lufthansa is branding the service as ‘travel made social’, but any customers who don’t want to share their itineraries with the world are free to keep the information private. It’s reported almost half their online audience are signing up.
3. An idea your people want to talk about: One of the great strengths of Twitter is providing your employess, your people, to use it as a means of communicating directly with customers and provide a personal and engaging customer service experience. Best Buy is a great example of this, which you can read about here. The US-based consumer electronics retailer took its reputation for in-store service to the next level with the launch of Twelpforce – an army of 2100 Best Buy employees authorized to answer consumer questions via Twitter.
The tool took 13,000 queries in the first two months, and at a time when consumer spending in the US is down by 1.9%, the company made a net profit of $158m in 3Q09 on revenues of $11 billion (up from $9.8 billion year-on-year). It’s just one example of just how useful, fun and rewarding Twitter can be.
4. An idea that lives across different media: Yeah you can focus only on social media, but why risk that? Besides if it’s a great idea with great content then what are ALL the video, mobile marketing, social networks and traditional channels we can use to spread the idea. The reality seems to be the best ideas use other digital and other media, to drive the idea further.
One great example is Cadbury Nibbles online pop –up store, which combines Facebook application with a great in-store promotion. Read more here. The result saw comments appearing on the Facebook page at the rate of one every 2.5 seconds for the two days of the promotion, and the store garnered an equivalent footfall in excess of 4m people with over £1.5m earned through social media.
Estee Lauder also did a great campaign for cosmetics here http://visitshoremagazine.com/2/?p=7995
5. An idea that is measured, evaluated and then evolves: The evolution of social media is ongoing but the best campaigns are always measured, evaluated and built upon. In this wonderful article on ‘Retailers Go Nuts for Social Media’, it shows how Best Buy, EBAY, JCPENNEY, TOYS’R’US and WALMART are evolving their Facebook/ social media campaigns using trial, measurement and evolution.
And shows that social media marketing for retail, and almost every other industry, is here to stay.
Cheers everyone. This is my last post for 2009, look forward to exploring more exciting developments in 2010. And BTW the Avatar image is not related, but a great movie, I highly recommend it!
Happy New Year to you all.
