Whether it’s to grow your business, get a key social media campaign message out there or make a splash when you’ve launched, your strategy can truly be whatever you make it. In this last part of our Social Media Plan series, we’re looking at what makes a social media campaign really memorable, effective and unique – these are the “best in the show” of social media strategies in recent years.

Inspirational messaging

There’s nothing quite like inspiration to help your target market truly connect with your product or service. A great example of this is social media platform Twitter’s “If You Can Dream It, Tweet It” campaign, which showcased users (everyone from your average user to celebrities with millions of followers) next to previous tweets which shared big life goals or aspirations. 

It’s no question that Twitter has had its ups and downs in public opinion in recent years, so this was a clever move to tap into the emotion of Twitter users and to make social media (something that can often appear superficial) more concrete and more “real life.” The lesson here is truly that while your brand or service might be something very specific, the way you market that on social media can connect more to the emotions related to how your product benefits the life of your customers – for instance, selling a shelving unit might look like it requires a simple campaign about home design and decor, but it could easily translate into the concept of the more organised home meaning more time with friends and family and less time searching for the things you need or cleaning up.

Call it like it is

The Australian packaging company, Signet recently went out with a fun and creative “On Air” campaign where they shared clips and interviews with various famous Aussie musicians who then performed songs using an air guitar instead of a real instrument, accompanied by the unique ‘airguitarpackaging.com.au’ URL. What does all of this mean for your business? It’s about acknowledging your brand’s public image and flipping it on its head – as a packaging and safety-supplied manufacturer, getting customers excited about paper, tape, and brown boxes isn’t always easy. 

By connecting your brand to something fun, staying playful and self-aware, you can introduce your brand to new audiences in a different format – sometimes, the product itself takes a backseat to open up new conversations and have your brand aligned and associated with creativity and tongue-in-cheek humour.

Make it personal

Everyone loves the feeling of a bespoke experience, and no one has done this better in recent years than music platform Spotify with their ‘Wrapped’ social media campaign, which provides each user with a personalised playlist to “wrap up” the year, showcasing their most played songs, artists and listening habits. Not only does this show that Spotify is listening and understanding how their users operate, but we saw an onslaught of users sharing their “Wrapped” list, top played songs and reposting to their preferred social media platform. 

It’s been a real conversation starter for some people who want to show off their unique taste in music, while others enjoy having a laugh at their most-played cheesy songs that carried them through the year that was.

In short, consider how your customers engage with your product or service and make sure they know that you appreciate and acknowledge their habits – bring the focus back to how important your customers are and always add value for them in what you do.

Celebrate the throwback

Ever heard of the Ooodie? If you’re on Instagram or Facebook, you’ve probably seen the oversized fluffy, wearable blanket range in all sorts of colours and styles. Oodie recently launched a Nickelodeon range, which meant 90s kids could connect with a favourite nostalgic cartoon – millennials swarmed to the site to pick up their favourite design.

Why is this important? Well, it comes down to letting your customers know that your business isn’t just for a specific audience (of course, if you’re winning in a niche area, stick to marketing to them). For example, TikTok grew up as an app known for being used by teens and tweens but has quickly grown to be used by celebrities, businesses and users of all ages – don’t miss out on the chance to tell a new audience or age range that they are relevant and that your product or service is for them.