8 Brilliant Social Media Campaign Examples That You Must Know
Utilizing social media to promote your products and services is a great investment, regardless of your business’ scale or resources – it simply pays off. According to statistics, we spend around 42% of our waking hours browsing the internet, with 98% of people using at least two social media platforms. Given this landscape, examining social media campaign examples highlights how using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to promote your brand makes sense in 2021.
To make good use of social media channels, it is beneficial to learn from past campaigns and brands that successfully balanced creativity and originality. In this exploration, we will highlight how successful brands designed their social media marketing campaigns. We will also discuss the types of content to create and the overall benefits of social media. Each of these campaigns has become a benchmark within its sector. Additionally, they maintained strict adherence to privacy policies for stakeholders and target audiences, inspiring other brands to follow suit.
Perks of Investing Resources into Social Media Campaigns
What is the appeal of social media marketing for businesses around the world? Based on data, 61% of businesses use social media to increase conversions while 50% use it to gain customer insight. In translation, this means that most brands use a social media campaign strategy to convert users into customers or to deliver polls and surveys.
The application of social media content goes beyond that, and you can benefit greatly from investing resources into them. Not only can you manage your brand awareness seemingly for free, but you can direct relevant traffic to your website or eCommerce store easily. Beyond that, here’s what you can look forward to from social media campaigns:
- Gain valuable insight into your leads’ expectations
- Improve customer satisfaction and retention
- Collect user-generated content and testimonials
- Boost your brand’s reach through shares and comments
- Increase your brand’s bottom line and ROI
Social Media Content Types to Utilize
Depending on your target audience, budget, and staff skillsets, you should make good use of multiple types of content in your social media campaigns. Limiting yourself to images only on Instagram, or written content only on Twitter will hinder your marketing efforts. Not only will your audience grow tired of seeing the same content over and over again, but your content marketers will also grow bored. This is especially true if you work with audiences that consist of millennials, college students, or high schoolers.
User-generated content is the type of content that you can retrofit into other content types very easily. Social proof is very important for successful social media campaigns. User-generated content is synonymous with trust and customer loyalty, making it easier to convert cold leads. This principle holds true across all demographics and audience profiles. People inherently trust recommendations from others more than they trust corporate marketing content.
Many students tend to check the Instagram and Facebook pages of businesses before committing to a purchase. By managing your brand awareness on social media through different content types, your presence on those platforms will be more legitimate and trustworthy. For example, if they think of “I want someone to write my paper for me”, they should find relevant content on your social media channels. To accommodate for that, you will have to write the types of content that appeal to them, bringing us back to the original point of diversity. The content types commonly associated with social media include but are not limited to:
1. Articles, blog posts, and how-to guides
These can be shared in the form of hyperlinks or attachments which spark discussion in the comments section
2. Photographs, graphics, and visualized data
Visual content is a great way to engage your audience through accessible, eye-catching content
3. Videos featuring tutorials, demos, and interviews
Video content is a good way to make your content available to worldwide audiences via localization and transcription
4. Freebies such as PDFS, eBooks, and guides
Helpful content which users can apply at home will resonate well and ensure that they share it with their social circles
5. Live streams via social media
Live-streaming with Q&As, interviews, and direct user engagement can entice the audience to interact with your staff or guests
6. Contests, giveaways, and quizzes
Making your audience brainstorm for rewards such as coupons, discounts, or gifts is great for retention and brand loyalty
Brilliant Social Media Campaign Examples to Learn From
1. #WhatsYourName – Starbucks
Starbucks is a well-known coffee company that entered a collaborative social media campaign with Mermaids, a transgender and gender-diversity NGO. Their joint campaign, #WhatsYourName, was implemented on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube in 2020. The idea behind this campaign was to use Starbucks’ signature name-writing practice to give LGBTQ+ individuals a voice on the internet.
Starbucks stated that they want to include people of all genders and lifestyles by taking their personal chosen names into account. The result of this campaign was an amazing outpouring of public support for Starbucks on social media channels. Both Starbucks and Mermaids were met with positive responses worldwide which also encouraged many individuals to create user-generated content under their campaign’s banner.
Why the campaign worked: #WhatsYourName worked for the simple reason that it appealed to people’s emotions and sense of belonging. It relied on video ads that dramatized the struggle transgender individuals go through due to their life choices. This led to the empathetic, heartwarming buzz surrounding Starbucks and Mermaids which improved their engagement and enticed people to follow their pages. It was especially helpful for Starbucks given a racist incident they went through in one of their US stores in 2018 which then sparked backlash.
2. #Spotify2019Wrapped – Spotify
Spotify is a popular music and podcast streaming service, similar to Netflix, that allows users to enjoy audio content worldwide. Given the high level of user interaction on the platform each month, Spotify recognized an opportunity to leverage this data. The company decided to put its insights into action through an engaging social media campaign.
The campaign #Spotify2019Wrapped introduced an extensive look at music trends from the past decade based on users’ preferences. Anonymous listening habits and preferences in terms of genres, musicians, and content were presented across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Individual singers and groups were also highlighted with their user interaction data which further expanded the campaign’s content lineup. This then led to many artists and musicians showing support for Spotify through the campaign’s hashtag – #Spotify2019Wrapped.
Why the campaign worked: #Spotify2019Wrapped put its audience at the center of the campaign. Spotify is already a popular platform for listening to music, and the company recognized the value of the user-generated data it accumulated. The campaign emphasized fairness to musicians, without showing favoritism. Each post was given ample time to “breathe,” inviting users to comment, like, and share. By highlighting users’ listening preferences and Spotify usage data, the campaign created a more personal connection with the audience. Through this approach, Spotify showcased how important its user base is to its ongoing success.
3. Shot on iPhone – Apple
Apple is a company that doesn’t need to be introduced when it comes to its product and service lineup. In 2019, they started a social media campaign under the banner “Shot on iPhone”. This campaign aimed to collect user-generated content such as videos and images created exclusively through Apple devices.
By introducing a dedicated hashtag for the campaign, #ShotoniPhone, Apple encouraged its users to share photos and videos from around the globe. The company utilized this user-generated content in both offline and online marketing efforts. This approach effectively promoted the capabilities of their phones and tablet devices. The result was a varied and engaging mix of different content types from different biomes and cities worldwide.
Why the campaign worked: Apple has spent years promoting its mission statement of bringing computing technology to consumers around the world. The campaign #ShotoniPhone is a natural extension of their company culture and aimed to include end-users in Apple’s ecosystem. The campaign worked because people love using their iPhones to take photos and videos while having coffee, traveling, or relaxing on a bench outside. The result was a very positive outcry from both users and other brands who’ve commended Apple on the initiative. Their brand was exposed to social media users worldwide thanks to the hashtag and invited new users to consider buying Apple products in the future.
4. Sleep Channel – Casper
Casper is a mattress manufacturer and seller who decided to think outside the box when it comes to social media campaigns. Instead of following in the footsteps of other social media campaign examples, Casper decided to invest resources into creating their sleep channel. Casper Sleep Channel is a Spotify and YouTube playlist that aims to make your sleep that much better.
You can listen to the Sleep Channel while you are in bed and the sounds it produced should help you calm down and rest. This type of content goes well together with Casper’s products, as people who buy their mattresses can use the Sleep Channel to improve their sleep. Most importantly, this content is unique, original, and creative, making sure that anyone who sees it will memorize it and its brand.
Why the campaign worked: Casper is a mattress manufacturer – most mattress manufacturers won’t create podcasts or YouTube sleep meditation playlists for marketing purposes. By being so different and appealing, Casper managed to garner critical acclaim not only from its buyers but also other marketing associations and brands. The campaign ensures that Casper stands out because it places its products and the marketing content hand-in-hand. While other marketing content requires attention, Casper asked its audience to relax and get some sleep.
5. #DistanceDance – Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is an international conglomerate with companies such as Gillette, Ariel, and Pantene under its roof. Given the events of 2020 and the global pandemic, Procter & Gamble decided to create a social media campaign to promote social distancing. #DistanceDance was a TikTok campaign that encouraged people to film themselves while dancing alone and at a safe distance from one another.
Procter & Gamble committed to donating to important causes aimed at combating the social effects of COVID-19, guided by the campaign’s performance. The hashtag quickly went viral, amassing over 17 billion content views on TikTok. This impressive reach marked the campaign as a significant success for Procter & Gamble. Most importantly, the company showcased how socially responsible it was in the wake of the pandemic.
Why the campaign worked: Procter & Gamble emphasized social responsibility and awareness during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As people around the world faced lockdowns and self-isolation, a TikTok campaign centered on solo dancing resonated with audiences. This creative approach provided a much-needed outlet for individuals during a challenging time. By addressing a widespread crisis or need, your brand can position itself as an advocate for solutions to those issues. Procter & Gamble did just that with #DistanceDance and they continue to reap the rewards from doing so even today.
6. Real Beauty – Dove
Dove is a women’s cosmetics and beauty product company with a long history of social media campaign examples. Their Real Beauty campaign started as a result of research conducted in 2004, where a mere 2% of women stated that they consider themselves beautiful. The reasons for this can be attributed to skewed social norms and unrealistic expectations set by the media.
Dove took this data and created Real Beauty, a campaign that aims to give a spotlight to women of different body shapes and backgrounds. The campaign has been ongoing ever since on various platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and even Shutterstock and Getty Images. Underappreciation of women is a serious issue we are still fighting today, and Dove has made it one of its mission statements over the years.
Why the campaign worked: Dove’s campaign targeted women of all nations, body types, and lifestyles, showcasing a stroke of genius in social media marketing. This inclusive approach allowed the brand to create a wealth of new content over the years. By featuring everyday women using their products, Dove successfully connected with a diverse audience. As a result, Dove has cultivated a positive brand image through its Real Beauty initiative. The long-term success of this campaign relies heavily on user-generated content and a commitment to inclusivity.
7. #PlayWithPringles – Pringles
Pringles is a potato chips company best-known for its unique chip packaging in the form of an aluminum tube. Their #PlayWithPringles campaign is a rare example of taking existing trends into account and building off of them.
Pringles spotted an increase in TikTok content sporting their signature chips and decided to formulate a new social media campaign based on that. The campaign started in Europe but quickly spread around the world thanks to Pringles’ marketing campaign. It resulted in over 270 million videos being created and tagged with #PlayWithPringles, where people interacted with their chips on camera in various scenarios.
Why the campaign worked: Pringles created a campaign based on the fact that they spotted an uptick in people using their product on camera. TikTok, as a short-form video content platform, was an obvious choice for the #PlayWithPringles campaign. Thanks to the TikTok content algorithm, the campaign spread like wildfire, and creators from around the world quickly joined in. With an average engagement of 13%, it’s one of the best social media campaign examples on TikTok so far.
8. #MyBestSelf – Gillette
Gillette, a popular brand of men’s cosmetic products, recently decided to expand its reach to include women and LGBTQ+ communities. To make this shift, the brand recognized the need to address perceptions of toxic masculinity. This issue had been particularly associated with the brand following its #TheBestMenCanBe campaign.
Gillette decided to create a social media campaign that would place a marginalized demographic front and center and have them use their products. The campaign #MyBestSelf involves a transgender person’s first experience of shaving, being helped by their father. This ad, followed by a campaign that received negative outcry, proved to be exactly what Gillette needed. It received high praise not only from the transgender community but the main male demographic as well.
Why the campaign worked: Following up on a bad campaign with something people will approve of is extremely important. Making mistakes in social media campaigns isn’t a one-way street – there is room for course correction. Gillette decided to take a new approach with a campaign centered on the transgender community and their struggles with societal integration. The campaign encouraged people to live as “their best selves,” regardless of gender or lifestyle choices. Through this message, Gillette sent a powerful and inclusive statement to the world. A message of accepting diversity.
Social Media Campaign Examples Takeaways – Which Mistakes Should You Avoid?
Now that we’ve looked at several successful social media campaign examples, let’s address the common mistakes to avoid. Poorly managed campaigns can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities. Without careful planning, a social media campaign can leave a brand empty-handed.
Your brand reputation can suffer significantly if you mismanage your audience’s expectations or misrepresent your message on social media. Here are the most important pointers and takeaways you should consider from the social media campaign examples we’ve taken a look at:
- Going into a social media campaign without KPIs or a content plan will make publishing and tracking difficult
- Choosing relevant hashtags can be very helpful – choosing the wrong ones can be harmful to your brand
- Make sure not to discriminate or otherwise offend any audience segment, regardless of how small it is
- Not engaging the audience through comments and failing to interact with them will appear one-sided
- Silencing critique and deleting comments can backfire and cause your brand to lose the audience’s trust
- Narrowing your content creation to one or two content types will bore your audience and marketers alike
- Not tracking your content interaction analysis and course-correcting if something goes wrong
- Creating the same content for every social media platform and hoping for the best
In Conclusion
good use of successful social media campaigns for your brand is all about research and testing. You may not strike a chord with your audience on the first try, but each attempt allows you to gather valuable data. This information can help you create more impactful campaigns in the future. Additionally, learning from an existing social media strategy is a practical approach. By cross-referencing successful campaigns and messages with your business’s mission and goals, you can refine your own strategy.
Don’t dive into social media campaigns without proper planning or the right content creation tools. It’s essential to outline clear goals for your campaigns and actively interact with your audience. With some luck, your campaign could go viral, helping you reach new audiences worldwide on your chosen social media platform. For more insights on leveraging innovative strategies, check out AI-led social media marketing: the next wave of innovation.