Last Sunday, fans around the world sat down to watch the Super Bowl – a record 111.3 million people, according to ESPN. Although the story didn’t end well for Colorado fans, it did for social media. Twitter reported that a record 24.9 million Tweets were sent out about the game and the halftime show, nearly 800,000 more Tweets than were sent last year. According to Engagor, a social media analysis group, the Super Bowl was mentioned on social media 12,019,335 times on February 2. Facebook mentions about Super Bowl ads was 650,757 alone.
With the increased social media hype surrounding large events like the Super Bowl, this is an opportunity for effective, and cheap, marketing. Here are a few ways to incorporate social media buzz into your marketing strategy.
1. Live Tweet – during large events, fans will browse through relevant hashtags for current updates and commentary. DiGiorno was praised for joining in on the conversation with this Tweet during the Super Bowl:
@DiGiornoPizza: YO, THIS GAME IS LIKE A DIGIORNO PIZZA BECAUSE IT WAS DONE AFTER TWENTY MINUTES #SuperBowI #SuperSmack #DiGiorNOYOUDIDNT
2. Hashtag Responsibly – many contests on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites use hashtags. Keep in mind that this hashtag can be used by any user and could potentially poorly affect your image.
This happened to Esurance. One minute after they announced a grand prize of $1.5 million, over 200,000 users Tweeted using #EsuranceSave30. Because they had been so loose with their rules, Esurance’s contest attracted a lot of unwanted negative attention for offensive Tweets using their hashtag.
3. Make a Game Plan – If you’re looking to make a splash on social media, spend a little time brain storming some ideas beforehand. Perhaps you want to find a way to rock the world of fantasy football news with an eye-catching football focused sports betting campaign for example?
During this last Super Bowl, restaurant chain, Denny’s was rumored to have been building a more congenial Twitter presence for weeks in preparation for the Super Bowl. During the game, the company hired a team of 10 social media experts to run their online accounts.
In a Business Insider interview, director of digital strategy, Kevin Purcer, discussed the strategy behind social media at large events. He stresses the importance of organic conversation, “creating social media content that is relevant to the conversation and of the same quality.” Purcer explains, “It’s about understanding and relating to your audience, and just having a fun conversation with them. From doing that, you gain affinity and people get passionate about the brand.” Let’s say you decide to use a tool that can help you with instagram feed scheduling and allow you to regularly post relevant content. If this content is not relevant to your audience and it is a load of rubbish, it will hold no value and do you no favours.
Remember that many of the still most talked about social media moments happened from spur of the moment reactions. For example, the Oreos ad during last year’s Super Bowl power outage. Minutes after the power went out, Oreos Tweeted:
“@Oreo: Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark”
With the Olympics just around the corner, is your company pursuing a social media strategy? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter! Or email us at [email protected].
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Social Media Bowl XLVIII
