Check out these five original and inspirational social media marketing stories, as featured on the new Twitter Stories site. Learn how users created buzz, served customers, and built their fan base with creative marketing strategies.
Twitter has launched a collection of user-contributed stories that showcase just how small the world can become through social media. Five of the currently published Twitter Stories are particularly inspirational for marketers looking for new and creative ways to generate conversation, raise awareness, and drive traffic with tweets.
There is definite power in Twitter as a marketing tool; in September, we reported that Twitter users convert at about 0.5 percent and spend, on average, $121.33 per order. With holiday spending expected to top $450 billion this year, this is the time to work on creative strategies to boost engagement through social media. Check out how these people/entities featured on Twitter Stories made use of the network:
Excited to announce the first ever #Tweetwalk Show. SS12 looks like will be on Twitter before the runway. Follow @Burberry today at 4pm #LFW – CB
In September, luxury fashion brand Burberry campaigned to build buzz before their runway show at London Fashion week by giving Twitter followers a sneak peek. Usually reserved for the fashion industry elite, the first look at the new collection instead went to fans of the brand. Burberry created the hashtag #Tweetwalk and used it with the #LFW (London Fashion Week) tag to get more exposure in promoting their special online event.
This campaign worked well to get consumers excited about the show, but also served as a nice reward for followers, building brand trust and loyalty.
Tomato-Pepper Soup: Sauté onion/4celery/t s+p&sage/T garlc&buttr&oil; simmr5m+3c cand tom. Puree+¼t soda; +2c milk/¼c crm/c slicd cherrytom.
Maureen Evans, author of “Eat Tweet: A Twitter Cookbook”, has accomplished a seemingly impossible feat. She tweets recipes almost every day, each keeping within the 140 character tweet limit.
She doesn’t link to a longer recipe on another page, but boils each one down to its bare elements. Her cookbook is a compilation of over 1,000 tweet-sized recipes, complete with a glossary to help new readers decipher the shortened ingredients and instructions.
Her strategy works because she stays true to form, delivering what her followers have come to expect on a consistent basis. She is careful to stay within the tweet limit, serving up entire recipes followers can read and recreate from the site or an app, without a single unnecessary click.
1st 85 folks meet me at XO Prime Steakhouse for dinner, see you there, dinner starts at 6, drink till i get there #1Luv
Sports stars are brands in themselves and New England Patriots’ Chad Ochocinco “gets it.” This spring, still a part of the Cincinnati Bengals, he invited fans to join him for dinner when the team was in Cleveland to play the Browns.
This wasn’t the first time he’d extended an invite to fans on Twitter; in 2010 he took 85 followers for a steak dinner and in 2009 he treated 64 followers to a shrimp meal. He also recently tweeted a $20,000 prize offer for his three millionth follower.
Ochocinco’s strategy works because he is making himself far more valuable in potential endorsement deals and building a solid base of loyal fans. He has made himself accessible and regularly participates in tweeted conversations with fans. He’s not putting anyone between himself and his fans and has become a stronger brand because of it.
While Japan is certainly a country of tradition, some in the fishing industry have rocketed into technology faster than you would expect. Fishermen in the Yuichi-kai Tobu fishing association upload pictures and videos of the daily catches right from their boats, then tweet them for potential customers. The fishermen are able to take and process orders from the fishing boat, preparing the catch for sale the minute they hit the dock.
This strategy allows the fishermen to better meet customers’ expectations and deliver a fresh product. They are also connected to their customer base wherever they may happen to be, whether they’re browsing from the office and planning tonight’s meal or checking in on a smartphone app.
When the Broadway Books store faced closure due to the economic downturn, the owner’s son took to Twitter to spur shoppers to buy local. Aaron Durand tweeted a link to his blog post offering a free burrito to anyone who spent more than $50 at the bookstore in Portland, shelling out from his own pocket to make good on the offer.
Durand put a human face to the business, told a story through his tweet, and offered an incentive people could get on board with. That year, Broadway Books had their best holiday season to date and they continue to thrive today.
Twitter will compile and release new stories each month. To contribute yours, tweet @twitterstories or use the hashtag #twitterstories when sharing your story.
Do you have a cool or unique social media marketing story to share? Post it in the comments!