Social media marketing has matured. … but, sorry to burst your bubble: posting messages wishing your fans “Happy [insert random, made up holiday here]!” no longer makes the cut for engaging your audience. Not that it ever really did…
What our consumers are after are both lasting relationships and unique and remarkable brand experiences. For us here at Reebok, both objectives are extremely important aspects of building a strong, relevant brand. And although they work extremely well together in concert, they could not be more different in execution.
Building relationships
People appreciate Reebok’s approach towards Social Media
We build relationships (and really, friendships) with people online by celebrating the successes of the community, telling great stories, being empathetic, being responsive, and being there for them when it matters. We aim to be the friend that you relate to, the community you can count on, the people you trust.
It’s a long-term endeavor, but one that is crucial to building a brand that means more than just a logo or the product we create. It establishes an emotional connection and creates consumers for life.
But who doesn’t also like a little excitement in their lives?
That’s where the other component becomes important. If relationship building on social media is akin to being the friend sitting next to you, day in and day out, then providing remarkable experiences is like bringing the circus to town. It gets everyone talking and leaves a lasting impression.
But being disruptive in this way gets harder and harder as more brands attempt to do the same. So at Reebok we’ve taken to using social channels in new and unexpected ways to create these remarkable experiences.
It’s not just about creating an interesting piece of content. We don’t think in terms of “how do we make a great post for Facebook.” We are constantly trying to create experiences that are remarkable in the truest sense of the word – that is, concepts, ideas, and experiences that people simply have to share with others.
The Hunt for the Pump Campaign
Most recently, we changed the way users interact with Instagram by turning it into a virtual run through the streets of San Francisco with our Hunt for the Pump promotion.
The concept is simple, yet innovative.
Making use of the full grid of images on an Instagram account, we set the scene for a real-life location in San Francisco. Hidden within those images is a Reebok Pump icon. When you find the Pump, simply ‘like’ the picture and follow the account tagged in the image to the next location. In this way, you get to virtually “run” along a real running route in San Francisco, finding Pumps along the way!
After 17 stops, the run ends at the Golden Gate Bridge with the call to action to click the link in the bio of the last account, directing the user to http://reebok.com/huntforthepump. Once there, they can see a map of the running route they just completed with markers for each Pump they found along the way. If they found them all, they can enter to win a pair of the new Reebok ZPump Fusion running shoes.
The response has been exactly what we had hoped for, with participants leaving comments and notes letting us know how much fun they had and how creative this idea was.
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