Earlier in the year, the Melbourne Social Media Club held a seminar showcasing brands Nike and 7-Eleven’s ‘Slurpee’ brand. Redhanded sent along our content team to gain some key insights into how the big players are engaging Australians through social media channels in such a successful way.
Tell it, don’t sell it
Social media is a story telling platform, with little to no focus on the product or service that a brand is actually trying to sell. If told well, social media users will ‘like’ you, want to hear from your brand and be excited by the next campaign you release. Nike are certainly one of the leaders in brand storytelling. Accompanying their “Risk Everything” campaign in 2014 was a social challenge, asking consumers to record #RiskEverything moments and share them on social media. Nike then became a part of each story, engaging with individuals and encouraging them on their journey. This kind of social interaction and on-going exchange creates moments between a brand and the consumer, fostering trust and credibility.
In turn, consumers build a positive association to any above or below the line tactics that your brand produce. Give consumers something to talk about, so THEY can then tell the story for you.
Social media is a community where brands don’t necessarily belong
“Brands on social media are like a stranger at the dinner table. So how valuable is their conversation going to be?”
These were the words, or something closely similar, of guest speaker Filip Sarna – Social media manager at Huckleberry agency. In order to bypass the cynicism that people feel towards online ad interruptions, brands must not blatently push a sale through social media, but learn how to connect with users on a personal level. Brands too, need an online personality that can engage with users in a two-way conversation and go beyond expectations. A great example of this is in 7-Eleven Slurpee’s “BYO Cup day” promotion which began in 2011. Leading up to the campaign, Slurpee began by engaging in customer conversations when they put out the question on Facebook “if you could bring any cup what would it be?”. The best suggestions from followers were turned into print and online ads for the campaign, which then triggered sharing and user advocacy for BYO Cup day. The result of the online buzz saw over 80,000 customers served in 24 hours with a 270% sale increase and thousands of #slurpee tags. Today, Slurpee continue to trigger online conversations, share user-generated content and maintain a ‘cheeky’ personality when responding to suggestions and comments. This is also a great example of how entertaining, visual online engagement leads to activation.
Don’t react to moments, plan for them
There are two ways brands can do this:
1) Predict scenarios that are relevant to your brand and prepare social content in response to these possible scenarios. For example, Nike had a brainstorm session pre 2014 World Cup, coming up with 286 possible moments that could happen during the World Cup series. They produced hundreds of social posts, ready to use should the moment actually happen. They even had a social post prepared in case Australia won the World Cup: “Dare to make history #riskeverything”. This strategy ensures brands can be the first to react to significant events with a tailored, relevant message.
2) Know the impact of your message and plan for your audiences reaction.
Pre-Soccer World Cup in April 2014, Nike posted the “Winner Stays” ad on their Youtube channel, which featured football stars Renaldo, Neymar Jr. and Rooney. The ad runs for just over 4 minutes and resulted in huge sales for a particular pair of Nike boots just one week after its release. How? The ad depicts kids on a football field, playing against their idols and trying out their new Nike football boots. At the one point, a kid says ” I’ve got boots that aren’t even out yet” to which the camera pans down for about a half second glimpse on the Nike boots on his feet. One week later, the boots sold out. Preparation is the key – Recognise the purchase trigger and plan for the consumers reaction to your social campaign.
These are just a few insights that explain how the big players have created a dominant social prevalence. In order to maximise and maintain their voice, brands must establish the right tone. As expert rural and regional communicators, Redhanded understand the language and tone is different, so our social content takes a more pragmatic approach – more sausage, less sizzle with an appreciation for the dry wit and wisdom of our audience. The social content we produce is a reflection of our value as an agency, but it is also that of our rural audience, who desire a more practical and informative approach.
A social media presence is critical for any brand wishing to better understand and connect with their target audience – how your presence is perceived is based on the conversations you create.