Have you ever watched an artist at work? At first their brushstrokes may seem haphazard and chaotic, but slowly the lines and shapes come to life and a masterpiece is formed.
Social media engagement is a type of art. It takes vision, expertise, and creativity. As a marketer, you are the artist, brush in hand, poised before a blank canvas that is waiting to be transformed into a work of art. So what will you create?
Here are three examples of social media engagement through video, artfully executed, to give you a palette to choose from before taking that first brushstroke.
Volkswagen: The Fun Theory
This is an old one, but a fantastic example. Volkswagen launched a video campaign that encouraged people to find ways to make boring or unappealing things fun. Volkswagen came up with their own videos and then invited others to participate.
The campaign was hugely successful, inspiring, and of course—fun. It painted Volkswagen as the responsible, yet fun choice. The social media response was staggering. The winning video has received more than 1.2 million views.
Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
It began with a commercial, which targeted couples in an effort to sell men’s body wash—something that really hadn’t been done before.
The commercial dominated the market and social media. Spoofs popped up everywhere.
But the spoofs didn’t stop there. Old Spice wanted to find a way to become more interactive with their audience and so they started posting video responses to some of the buzz they received.
For example:
The campaign resulted in social media dominance. Old Spice had a 2700% increase in Twitter followers, an 800% increase in Facebook interaction, and a 300% increase in traffic to oldspice.com, not to mention incredible sales. After mere months of the campaign launch, Old Spice increased sales by 107%.
Ivory Homes: Love Matters
And finally, to give an example a little closer to home, Jibe Media had the opportunity to help Ivory Homes launch their Love Matters campaign, which included social media and traditional media integration. We developed a video contest where entrants had to create a video describing why they loved Ivory Homes.
There were a number of entries, which showcased some impressive creativity from Ivory Homes buyers.
The submissions were added to Facebook where votes where collected. Voters had to Like the Ivory Homes page (back when like-gating was prominent) and then cast their vote.
The grand prize winner received $1,000:
The video contest was a success, as was the marketing plan to integrate with traditional marketing using social media.
It broadened their social impact on more than just YouTube, as Facebook was involved as well, and engaged their audience in a unique and lasting way. They experienced social following growth, brand awareness, and campaign recognition.
Hopefully these examples have given you the vision for your own masterpiece. Dip your brush into your color of choice and make that first brushstroke, we have no doubt you’ll transform it into a work of art.