Big brands are coming online. The goal of achieving sales solely via SuperBowl ads and magazine layouts is probably going to take a backseat to the social media blitzes we see in 2012 by big companies.
Don’t let this intimidate you. Let it excite you! Top companies are going to be on the same playing field as we are. They’ll have the same ability to build a Facebook fan page or create a Google Plus brand account that we do.
But what’s cool is now you’ll be able to learn from their mistakes and successes. We rarely have insight about how they come up with an ad campaign for TV. But we can see a social media campaign unfold as it happens online.
Big companies aren’t going to be able to get by with a corporate contact form. They’ll have to have human representation creating a relationship for them with their target audience.
Take the small airlines who had to deal with Gerard Depardieu’s “mishap” on a flight. Air France took to Twitter and got some amazing branding and exposure by joking about it. Bloggers repeatedly talked about how cool it was that they did that rather than remaining straight-faced with a typical corporate press release blurb.
Presidential campaigns are now waging war against their opponents through a series of online socialization strategies.
Your business may be small, but you’re going to see how large companies help build a buzz for their products on a bigger scale than ever before. So far, companies like Burger King have used the power of social media to promote their brand.
They had a neat campaign on Facebook where the fan had to sacrifice 10 friends in order to get a free Whopper. They claim made was, “Friendship is strong. But the Whopper is stronger.”
Imagine, making people end friendships to quench their desire for a fast food burger! It worked. The application was so powerful that 220,000 friendships were ended in order to give away 20,000 free burgers.
Starbucks is on the bandwagon for social media marketing, too. They ask for their fans’ input on ways they could better their marketing, but they go the extra mile in creating that two way appeal – they get you to vote on which idea is best. Suddenly there’s competition among fans! More buzz is created with, “Hey can you vote my idea up on Starbucks?”
How can you create a bigger brand online using social media campaigns? It’s more than simple keyword campaigns and boring content. It’s bragging, pushing buttons, daring people, and generating sparks of engagement! Big companies with teams of the best and brightest in this field are going to be entities we can learn from.
