Social media has opened a new avenue for businesses to market their brands and connect with their target audience.
Social media proliferation can be seen from Statista research, which predicts worldwide social media users to reach 2.96 billion by 2020.
Social media has given businesses an affordable way to market their products. It is the only form of media that can expose you to 1,000 people in $3.
Also, it gives a real boost to your brand recognition since it increases your visibility. Studies also show that brands that use social media channels have more loyal customers.
Here are some examples of a few brands that are leveraging social media in the true sense:
1. Pampers
Pampers has been successfully engaging parents through its campaigns. In 2013, Pampers launched its ‘Love, Sleep, and Play’ campaign, in which it asked parents to share pictures of their babies.
These pictures were then featured on the brand’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Pampers managed to gather 20,000 pictures within just three weeks of the campaign launch. The brand also tapped in Buzzfeed to address some common baby issues.
In 2015 again, Pampers launched ‘Hush Little Baby’ video with the hashtag #BetterForBaby.
It then asked parents to share how they want to make their babies lives better with the hashtag. On receiving an overwhelming response, Pampers rolled out three videos where it fulfilled parents’ wishes.
2. Toys “R” Us
Toys R Us launched an excellent campaign for its annual fundraiser. It asked its customers to share their selfies while donating a toy or cash to Marine Toys for Tots with the hashtag #PlayItForward.
For every selfie, the company promised to donate one more toy to the charity organization. Through this campaign, the company not only encouraged people to donate but also highlighted its community service activities.
In yet another campaign, the brand started a virtual egg hunt using augmented reality. After finding each egg, the kids had to take a picture on the app, on which they were given a further clue.
Once the task was complete, the kids could take a video with Toys R US mascot Geoffrey. The kids were then encouraged to share these with the hashtag #TRUMagic.
3. Oreo
No other brand owns social media as much as Oreo. The brand has more than 32 million followers on Facebook and 14 million YouTube subscribers.
Oreos reaction during the Super Bowl blackout in New Orleans is commendable. While millions of people fidgeted during the blackout, Super Bowl shared a creative Tweet with the tagline “You can still dunk in the dark.”
The tweet generated more than 16,000 shares and was praised by all major publications.
Oreo’s Instagram content is also quite entertaining; from recipes to adverts, the brand successfully keeps its audience engaged.
Oreo posts around two to three times per week and manages to gather a few thousand likes and comments.
4. Dove
Dove has been doing a great job in making women realize their real beauty through its social media campaigns. It has floated the “speakbeautiful” hashtag on Twitter and Instagram and has encouraged people to share positive comments about themselves.
The best part about Dove’s campaigns is that they mention their products subtly and it doesn’t feel like forced ads. In fact, Dove was also chosen as the number one brand in Hootsuite’s 2014 Love list.
Dove Canada team created series of short movies to raise awareness. The videos revolved around how beauty industry exploits young girls and how makeup transforms ordinary girls into models.
The video quickly gained traction on YouTube and has more than 19 million views and people can’t stop themselves to hit the YouTube subscribers button.
5. Loreal
Loreal has more than 20 million followers on Facebook. In 2016, Loreal allocated 30% of its media budget for digital channels.
The brand has taken a wide number of initiatives to engage its customers on social media. It made a deal with five beauty bloggers to create online content. The company has also invested in an app named Veleza.
The app has a community of beauty lovers who help customers find products suitable for them. Recently, Loreal celebrated the launch of new rich matte lipstick on National Lipstick day.
Loreal asked consumers to share their pictures and bold words on social media. It also floated the hashtag #ReadMyLips.
Additional Read: How to Get YouTube Sponsor Button
6. Airbnb
Airbnb has also been utilizing its social media channels effectively. It ranks in the top 5 in terms of fan growth and gets more than 160,000 followers every month. The company came up with a video ‘Live there’ using 3D technology.
It showed people like to enjoy cities like locals. The video got 11 million views, 56,000 likes and 5200 comments on Facebook.
Airbnb also leveraged its Instagram handle by partnering with professionals to share their pictures with enticing messages.
Airbnb also celebrated Gay Pride month.
Followers created hearts from fingerprints and shared across Facebook. The campaign generated 155,000 posts in just one day. The campaign was consistent with the brand’s tagline ‘Belong Anywhere.’
7. Taco Bell
Taco Bell is a pro at social media marketing. One of its strategies involves partnering with influencers to promote its content.
Taco bell has also managed to capitalize on ongoing trends.
For example, when ‘#10ThingsIGetAlot’ was trending, Taco bell tweeted ‘do you sell bells’ along with the hashtag.
The tweet got quite popular because it was funny and consistent with the brand. Taco bell is known for taking significant risks.
To promote its new app, Taco bell closed down all social media accounts. Within 24 hours only, the app became one of the most downloaded apps in the ‘food and drink’ category.
A properly executed social media strategy holds huge potential. It can help you build brand awareness and recognition. It allows you to build strong relationships with your customers by addressing their concerns and queries quickly.
You can build a strong community around your brand to increase brand loyalty among customers. Social media marketing’s edge over traditional marketing is that it is low cost and gives insights into real time.
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