Engagement vs Promotion – Who Wins In Social Media?
You might be thinking that based on the tittle this is going to be a typical old school vs new school marketing argument, but that’s sooooooo 2008. In 2010 it’s no longer an either or situation, nowadays it’s definitely all about both.
So how do you combine engagement and promotion without selling out?
Good Example: Dunkin Donuts (1.2mill Fans)
The Dunkin Donuts “Keep it Coolatta” is a great example of effective social media promotion. It was a short term campaign to boost both Facebook fans and sales of Coolatta iced drinks. This short term promotion was combined with an ongoing customer focused social media strategy which made it a huge success.
Some of the key features of this campaign which have helped Dunkin Donuts succeed with their use of social media are:
An on-going focus on fans
Dunkin Donuts actively celebrates and rewards their fans. This is evidenced by both their enduring ‘FAN OF THE WEEK’ campaign and the tag line “America runs on Dunkin’, and DD Facebook runs on You.”
Incentives for fan engagement
Rewarding fans who engage in both the short-term competitions, as well as those who engage in the fan page on an on-going basis is a vital part of making the fan base feel valued for their efforts.
Offline/Online cross-over
Through the “Coolatta” promotion Dunkin’ have helped bring their fans’ off-line experience with their products into the virtual world.
Not so good example:BMW (3000 Fans)
The BMW What Drives You – Graffiti Car Contest is a great example of how you can make a huge impact in social media and then have your fan base die off due to lack of sustained effort and energy. The Graffiti Car Contest involved a custom built Facebook application that allowed fans to colour in an outline of a BMW i-series and then submit it their entries to win a The top 5 creators won BMW Art Car models by artists such as Andy Warhol, while the 1st prize winner gets a $100 gift card to Amazon. In the 48hours after it was launched it received a one entry per minute. There were over 9000 submissions in the first 7 days. Sales increased over 12% during the 3 month campaign.
Some of the key features of this campaign which with its initial success are:
A Novel Facebook Application
Creating a fun creative and dynamic Facebook application was a huge part of the success of this campaign. The application allowed fans to unleash their creativity, and also automatically shared their designs with friends which created the viral spread of the campaign. Friends and fans chatted about the submitted designs and speculated over which one deserved to win.
Incentives for fan engagement
There were no major or on-going incentives for fans who engaged in this campaign. There was only the prospect of winning a minor prize, however this combined with the enjoyment gained from creating new car graphics enticed thousands of people to make submissions.
Why does BMW only have 3000 fans today?
The BMW Graffiti Car Contest while incredibly innovative and clearly successful ultimately it was a short term gimmick geared to generate hype for the 1-series. It’s now been over half a year since it was launched, and unfortunately it now has had a limited impact on the BMW brand, whereas Dunkin Donut’s social media engagement is a focal point of their marketing activities. The crucial element that is missing from the BMW campaign is the on-going community focus. Dunkin Donut consistently celebrates their fans and encourages them to share their Dunkin’ experiences with other fans. So while the Coolatta campaign may have been short lived the fans Dunkin’ gained through the campaign have become part of something bigger (1.2mill and counting).
Promo matters….
You might be a social media purist, in which case you may very well believe that promo shouldn’t be a factor in social media because promo is a numbers game and social media is not. But as much as it ‘shouldn’t be’ social media is a numbers game too.
The world of business is still run by balance sheets and board rooms, this means that when business take up the social media challenge it’s gotta be a worthwhile investment, and social media is a cost. So the reason promo matters is because promotions boost fan numbers, followers and page hits, and all of these are critical in squeezing out more coin from balance sheet.
Why do you need more coin?
- To fund the engagement side of social media (funding the time)
- To build applications/sites that add value to your community
- To reward your community
- To keep pushing the boundaries
So next time you see a promotion to boost fan or follower numbers thnk about why they’re doing it…is it a cheap trick or are they promoting to innovate and add even more value to their community.
I’d love to hear what uThnk about social media and promo…is it right or wrong? Is the amazing short term social media gimmick that BMW put together ok with you?