The power of social media marketing is slowly being appreciated by marketers worldwide. The reason behind its success is that the Internet provides a platform where advertisements can reach a wide audience while bypassing various barriers like distance. The awareness generated through social media sites is massive because of the number of users of social networking sites.
Take the example of Facebook. The site has about 1.2 billion users. An ad on such a large website can reach out to a massive audience at relatively low costs. Some of the success stories of the past year have been listed here. There is much to be learnt about the extent to which social media marketing can take a company.
1. Hertz
Hertz recently used social media in an engaging 'share it up' campaign through Facebook. The company used the site to create awareness about certain discounts and coupons that people could avail of. Almost half those who viewed such coupons ended up sharing it with friends and family.
2. Jetsetter
Jetsetter used Pinterest in their online campaign. The advertising strategy went out to the many bloggers on the site. Using a blog site is especially clever because people who search for certain topics are interested about them. This filters out those to whom the advertisement does not apply.
3. Ikea
IKEA is another brand that celebrated a huge success through social media marketing. Their interactive catalogue was engaging to shopping enthusiasts. Sharing posts about certain commodities among friends and family accelerated the widespread excitement that enabled a large number of sales.
4. Goupon
Groupon recently rejected Google's $6 billion buyout. Through media and networking sites, the company effectively put into people's minds that they provide year-long discounts on various different things. This worked extremely well for the company and helped the firm amass a good amount of wealth.
5. Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines gave out a code 'LUV2LIKE' to their fans in a promotional event to hype up the oncoming "Wanna Get Away" flight options that are coming this fall. People worldwide started booking flights in advance to avail of the 50% discount that the airline was giving away. Although the promotion would have cost the company a large amount of money, their marketing strategy will show results in the long run.
6. Red Bull
Red Bull is now well known for its aggressive advertising using social media sites. The brand goes out to sports and extreme games enthusiasts.
7. Mad Men
The Mad Men TV series had created a faux Facebook page. The enterprise had soaring results because of the receptivity. The posts on the page were as if the characters on the show were uploading them.
8. Oreo
Oreo used Facebook to advertise aggressively. Now, the company uses its Tumblr blog to put up various advertisements similar to the Google Doodle called 'Oreo Daily Twist'.
9. Dove
Dove focused largely on social media and SEO for their advertising campaigns all of 2012. The company's aim was to boost the self-confidence in women worldwide.
10. Burger King
Early last year, the Twitter account of Burger King was hacked and their logo changed to that of McDonald's. The company used the buzz around the event to gain almost 30,000 new followers on Twitter when things died down a bit.