Social media climate change
Sold your car on Facebook? Found a job through Twitter? Social media has become so much more than just a platform for friends to chat or share photos, and more and more marketers are tapping into the power of people’s online networks to spruik their products.
Some brands seem to think that advertising on Facebook or (sometimes rather lame) status updates or tweets cover all there is to social media. But let’s be honest, who is really going to like a brand more because they updated their Facebook status? This activity alone will hardly be a talking point, at least not for the right reasons, if a recent post by Coca Cola is anything to go by: “Open a Coca Cola, open happiness”. Made me want to get up and buy a Coke - not.
Half-hearted and blatant attempts like that aside, there are other organisations that come up with some great campaigns that engage people and really give them something to talk about.
In the UK, chewing gum brand, Trident Unwrapped, invited 300 adults to play musical chairs in a busy London shopping centre to win Beyoncé tickets. Not only did it generate a memorable experience for participants, a funny scene for shoppers and plenty of word-of-mouth, it gained more than 50,000 views on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o9wB8e6BP4
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) used Facebook to encourage people to travel spontaneously despite the tough economic times. Players spin the “Globe of Fortune” which randomly selects a destination somewhere in the world, and one of their Facebook friends to travel with. Players get 10 spins to find the best combination, and then have a shot at winning that trip for two.
But it’s not just the big brands that use social media to engage with their target markets. Not-for-profits are already using social media to reach a massive audience very quickly – and for free!
Instead of relying on the world leaders to save the planet from global warming at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, some creative minds took matters into their own hands and created a climate change campaign for everyone – Hopenhagen.
Using Facebook, supporters become citizens of Hopenhagen, get a passport and collect stamps on Facebook for green deeds and suggesting new ‘citizens'. So far the movement has already attracted more than 1,700,000 people worldwide, almost 35,000 fans on Facebook, and all green deeds by Hopenhagen citizens are shared on the website (such as number of car pool trips taken and disposable cups saved).
Engaging? Absolutely!
Many organisations haven’t yet grasped the fact that social media is all about interaction, rather than just blurting out another message. But campaigns such as the Musical Chairs and Hopenhagen show that there is hope to change the climate of marketing through social media.
If you've come across some other creative and memorable social media campaigns, share them with us and post the link below - we're always keen to see what's out there!
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