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I’d be lying if I said I don’t spend my fair share of time on social media. And I’m not alone. Facebook by itself has nearly THREE BILLION active users.
That’s a staggeringly huge market if you know how to tap into it. While no campaign could possibly piqué the interest of everyone on a platform, understanding how social media works and how to use it to your company’s advantage can be a game changer.
However, a bad social media campaign can do far more harm than good, so it’s important to know what you’re getting into. I’m going to take you through a few of the most successful social media campaigns so you can get inspired and take the internet by storm.
Essential Elements of a Social Media Marketing Campaign
Before we jump into some examples of stellar campaigns, let’s break down what every social media marketing push needs to have from the start.
Know What You Want
Start your social media marketing plan right by figuring out what your goals are. Do you want people to visit your site, buy your stuff, or just get to know your brand better?
Your marketing objectives should be specific, measurable, and have a deadline that ties in with your business goals. Answering these questions right off the bat helps you set yourself up for success!
Know Who You Want
We all know that understanding your target market is a crucial step in any campaign, but social media can actually help you do this market research waaaay faster (and cheaper) than ever before!
With sites like Google Analytics and other social media monitoring tools, you can keep track of the types of people who regularly talk about topics relevant to your business.
This will be wildly helpful down the road because you can use the profile of your ideal customer to target ads.
Know What You’re Up Against
No one is creating a business in a vacuum, so if you want to be successful with social media marketing, don't be afraid to use the people around you for inspiration.
Take a look at what your competitors are doing - how often do they post, what kind of content are they posting, and what kind of response does it get?
Know Where You Should Go
While Facebook’s monumental headcount might sound like a no-brainer for your social media debut, depending on your brand, you might want to look into other options. This is where that market research starts to come in handy!
For example, if you’re seeing tons of discussion around topics that relate to your brand on TikTok, that might be a great starting point.
Know What You’ll Do
It's not helpful to flood your network with posts and updates. Too many updates can actually make people tired of hearing from you, and your followers might unfollow you!
Posting often can be helpful, but it's important to make sure your content adds value and is meaningful to your audience. Otherwise, it's better to not post anything.
That’s why having a clear strategy laid out is so vital. This avoids aimless posting and keeps everything cohesive and full of value.
10 Top-tier Social Media Marketing Campaigns
Even with all these elements figured out, it can be difficult to know where to start with your campaign. With so much content to sift through, your brand has to do something fresh and creative to stand out.
Here are some of the most inspiring and creative examples of successful social media marking campaigns for you to learn from.
Spotify Wrapped
Every December, Spotify lets its users see all the songs, genres, and artists they've been listening to throughout the year. Spotify then turns this data into SICK graphics and fun tangents that show the user's top tracks, most used genres, and more.
You’ve likely seen how successful this campaign is when your own social media feed is flooded with funky declarations of “I’m a Taylor Swift top fan” and “my music aura is turquoise.” Spotify has managed to create something that is endlessly shareable and fun, boosting their social media presence without seeming like an ad.
That doesn’t mean they don’t get results through! In fact, Spotify regularly gets a boost in subscriptions in December when people see all these wrapped announcements.
Big Take Away
People love personalized stuff! If it’s relevant for your business, collect customer data and use it to make unique, exciting content that they’ll be compelled to share for you!
#WhereITrello
Trello is a leading productivity and communication software, and they were able to craft a highly successful campaign by asking people, “where do you Trello?” With a catchy hashtag and promises of getting featured on their blog, the company was ready to launch.
Twitter and Instagram were flooded with photos of people using Trello to stay organized on the go. All that content was user generated, meaning it held more weight and didn’t cost a thing.
Big Take Away
If you focus in on a single aspect of your product, service, or company (such as its ability to travel with you) you’ll be able to get unique and specific engagement.
A strong hashtag keeps the conversation going and will generate lots of fun content from your customers.
#GettyMuseumChallenge
In March 2020, the Getty Museum created an epic challenge on social media. Everyone was invited to create a masterpiece – using only items from their households!
The museum made some of their collection available digitally and asked people to recreate the images. Because everyone was stuck at home due to lockdowns, this provided a welcome distraction and a unifying activity.
The challenge took off, with people reimagining classic art using items like lasagna noodles, hockey sticks, and the family dog. It was so popular, the results were even made into a book.
Big Take Away
Use the moment you’re in. If there’s a major event that everyone has their eyes on, you can harness that positive momentum, or provide a bit of distraction and comfort.
This timeliness will help drive engagement and get people excited.
#ShotOniPhone
The #ShotOniPhone campaign is one that Apple returns to again and again to show off the picture-taking quality of their phones. Their 2022 challenge focused on macro photos taken with the new lens.
The hashtags #ShotOniPhone and #iPhoneMacroChallenge amassed over 26 million posts on Instagram alone, from which 10 lucky winners were chosen. These users had their photos used in Apple’s marketing campaigns, getting their photography featured online and in person.
Big Take Away
Show, don’t tell. With all these photos coming in, Apple doesn’t need to talk about how well their phones take photos, people can see it for themselves.
Find a way to showcase your product’s unique features with demonstrations rather than words.
#ShowUs
Dove and Getty Images partnered with Girl Gaze to create #ShowUs, a collection of thousands of images that truly depict beauty for everyone.
Focusing on diversity and unedited photos of real people, the campaign strove to show advertisers and beyond the vastness of beauty that is available.
This push for inclusivity was hugely popular, garnering over 640,000 posts on Instagram along! Dove shared photos on Twitter and Facebook to spread the word.
Big Take Away
Dove took the time to talk to their customers and find out what’s important to them. You can use that to make a difference and get people talking when you find out what your audience values.
Faces of Travel
Delta Air Lines and Kinto teamed up to create "Faces of Travel". This picture library promotes diversity with over 100 stock images and videos, available to the public through Vice Media, Refinery29, and Adobe Stock.
By showing travelers of all backgrounds, abilities, and economic statuses, they hoped to promote a more inclusive attitude toward travel.
Big Take Away
This initiative was born from a renewed focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Studies show that when customers see companies sharing their values, they are far more likely to have brand loyalty and excitement.
Find out what’s important to your user base, whether that’s diversity, social justice, or environmental issues. Creating a campaign around these issues will help garner interest in your brand and help make a difference in the world.
MoonPie’s Antics
While MoonPie’s social media presence isn’t necessarily a full-blown social media campaign, it is a well-structured and effective push to get people talking about their brand.
Following in the footsteps of brands like Wendy's, MoonPie has curated a very specific persona on Twitter. With funny, snarky, and sometimes kinda ditsy comments and tweets, they’ve managed to go viral several times.
A great example of this is when they posted a picture of a moonpie taped to the wall and called it art. When fans said they couldn’t afford art commissions but could buy a few moonpies, the brand responded with “MoonPies now cost $120,000 sorry.”
Big Take Away
Creating a fun and shareable personality for your brand on social media is an excellent way to build a connection with your customers. If you’re lucky, you may even go viral.
There’s been tons of examples of funny, sarcastic responses getting traction, and if you can walk that line safely and confidently, this can be a great way to keep your brand on people’s minds even when you aren’t running a specific campaign.
Dear Kitten
Friskies, BuzzFeed, and Ze Frank teamed up to create a hilarious series of viral videos called "Dear Kitten." It follows an old cat giving advice to a kitten, and its first installment has been viewed more than 31.8 million times!
As often happens with videos of cute cats, people loved this series, sharing it all over social media. Even though this video is an advertisement for Friskies, it mostly focuses on providing laughter to its viewers aside from the tiny product placement at the end.
Big Take Away
Don’t be afraid to bring in the big guns! Friskies knew that Buzzfeed was a massive contributor on social media, and worked with them to create something that was a sure-fire win.
Content marketing can be challenging because the product needs to be high quality enough to make a buzz. Working with people who know what they’re doing is a great way to get a leg up.
Sleep Channel
Casper, a mattress store, has created a special playlist full of sounds, stories, and meditations to help people go to sleep. The campaign stands out because it took an internet subculture related to Casper's brand and worked to become a valuable contributor.
They shared the tunes and meditations to Spotify, YouTube, and IGTV in addition to their usual Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This "magical, internet slumberland" is a fun and unique campaign that keeps Casper at the front of people's minds when they're getting ready for bed.
Big Take Away
Think outside the box when it comes to your campaign. If your brand has a fun niche, find out how people within that niche use the internet differently.
There’s probably an under-utilized platform or media form that your customers are using. Find it and get in on the ground floor.
The Ballot Briefcase
PwC, a financial accounting firm, tried something unique in order to reach younger generations: a Snapchat campaign. They utilized their involvement in counting the ballots for the Oscars to generate a buzz within a demographic that might not even know what a B2B business is.
Their 'ballot briefcase' journeyed around the country for six weeks, engaging with followers and fans along the way. The campaign had big names like Neil Patrick Harris join the fun, resulting in a ridiculous 136x increase in potential impressions on Twitter!
Big Take Away
Don’t be afraid of newer platforms like Snapchat and TikTok, especially if you’re looking to reach a younger audience. Having a fun prop and involvement from specific celebrities can open you up to a demographic that you never thought was possible.
The Bottom Line
Social media campaigns are a stellar way to get people talking about your brand and reach new audiences.
Before you start, create a plan to focus attention on one aspect or feature of what your product or service offers. Show, don't tell about your product with photos and demos, and find out what your customers care about.
Looking for new platforms and media forms can be exciting and help you create campaigns your customers won’t forget.
No matter what, if you take some time to examine what’s working and resonating with your target demographic, you’ll be going viral and filling up people’s feeds before you can say #MarketingWin.
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