No one likes ‘boring.’ It’s a plain and simple fact and if you want to stand out from your competition, breaking way from the “cookie cutter”‘ mold is the best way to accomplish this. In particular, some of the most effective social media campaigns are those that ‘break all the rules’ and try something new and exciting. While there are basic elements to a social media campaign that have become industry standards, such as building a Twitter account and Facebook group page, it is what you do with these platforms that can push you into the limelight.
IKEA Shows Us Their Creativity
A great example of a company that thought outside of the box was IKEA and their most recent Facebook marketing strategy. Using showroom photos that were uploaded to the store managers Facebook account at the Malmo store, IKEA Facebook fans could win the items shown in the photos just by tagging themselves first.
IKEA didn’t create a new website or re-invent the wheel, but what they did do was further stress the importance of developing campaigns that engage consumers in a way that they haven’t been exposed to before.
Be The Innovator
IKEA’s idea was great and one that is sure to be used by other companies. While there is nothing wrong with replicating campaigns that have proven effective, it is only natural that the effectiveness of these campaigns will decrease as consumers become more and more exposed to them. Therefore, it is important that when looking at campaigns that have been effective, to not just ‘copy and paste,’ but rather find new ways to build upon great ideas.
If you look at why more and more companies are developing social media campaigns, part of it is due to consumers become less and less receptive to traditional forms of advertising. With billboards and newspaper advertisements becoming seemingly more redundant rather than creative, the average consumer wants something to peak their interest, not something they have seen before.
3 Steps To Breaking The “Cookie Cutter” Mold
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Identify Successful Campaigns With Similar Goals
At the start of any campaign, the first question you should ask yourself is “What are your goals?” After identifying them, you can look at successful social media campaigns that had similar goals as yours and how they were able to achieve them. Once you do that, you can build upon it and create your own unique campaign.
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Get Rid Of The Red Tape
One of the most important things to do when brainstorming and developing campaign ideas is to first get rid of the red tape. If you limit what you can do right from the start, you are shutting down creativity and opportunities. Take down the red tape, develop ideas, then go back and see what you can and can’t do.
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The ‘Buzz’ Factor
As mentioned before, consumers want to have their interests peaked. When you look at all your ideas, make sure you ask yourself what the “buzz” factor is for each one. What is going to make people talk about this? If you can’t come up with a good answer, that means you need to go back to the drawing board.
Joseph is the Director of Marketing at Viralogy.com & works in social media & sports consulting. Read more about him at http://JosephAYi.com
Tags: online marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Technology, the right way
