Key factors to remember when engaging with your audience on social media.
by Kimberly Eugene, 04/21/23
Coupled with market research, clear objectives, and the appropriate digital marketing strategy, digital marketing can be a great way for brands to better connect with their audience.
Heineken's Success with Digital Marketing Initiatives
Brands such as Heineken, the world-famous beer brand for example, have been successfully implementing digital marketing initiatives to reach its audience in new and innovative ways.
Heineken has been able to connect with its consumers on a deeper and more personal level, leading to increased brand loyalty, sales, and market share, and this is for several reasons. The first reason is due to creating unique and memorable experiences for its consumers. For example, Heineken created a campaign called "The Sub," which allowed consumers to enjoy freshly tapped beer at home. The Sub was a refrigeration-like device that allowed consumers to store and serve Heineken’s beer at the perfect temperature all from the comfort of their homes. The campaign was successful because it created a unique and memorable experience for consumers, which increased brand loyalty and sales.
In another campaign, the brand used political conflicts trending in the news to bring people from very different lives together (Simon, 2022). Heineken reps had individuals state their point of view on polarizing topics in the news such as transgenderism, feminism, and global warming. Then, the individuals with opposing views were paired together and had to complete a variety of tasks. Once the tasks were done, they were shown the interviews given by their partner. After the process of working together and watching the interviews, the pairs were then told that they could either stay and discuss their difference of opinion over a beer, or they could leave. The video garnered upwards of 17 million views, about 138,000 shares, and 300,000+ engagements on Facebook. Of the approximately 22,000 tweets about the ad, about 85% were positive. Heineken’s active presence on social media and provocative experiences that align with its brand’s values has caused its social media campaigns to be successful because they are authentic, engaging, and relevant to its target audience.
Heineken’s room for improvement.
Although Heineken’s campaigns have been proven to be successful, there are still areas where the organization should consider making adjustments. For instance, currently the company is not taking advantage of some of the major social media platforms, such as TikTok and Snapchat. This may be due to these platforms having younger audiences that may not fully share the brand’s values, however, the wider the company can spread its message, the better. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that every platform has its own specific methods of presentation for content. All content should be tailored specifically to each platform.
The US Department of Education’s failed messaging attempt.
We will also look at a not-so-successful digital marketing campaign from the US Department of Education to identify the key factors to remember for successful digital marketing campaigns and explore what could be done to improve each marketing initiative.
Social media has become an essential tool for organizations to engage with their audience and promote their message. However, the success of a social media campaign depends on various factors, one being the quality of the content shared. One example of a social media campaign that failed due to grammar errors is the US Department of Education’s "#WhyITeach" campaign.
In 2014, the DOE launched the "#WhyITeach" campaign to celebrate and recognize teachers' commitment to education. The campaign asked teachers to share their stories on social media using the hashtag #WhyITeach, and its goal was to provide positive representations of the teaching profession in order to inspire others to pursue a career in education. However, the campaign failed to achieve its objective due to multiple grammar errors in the messages it had shared on social media.
The grammar errors in the campaign messages were not only an embarrassment to the teaching profession but they also undermined the DOE’s credibility. For instance, one of the tweets shared under the campaign read, "I'm proud of my student's accomplishments”, in which the correct grammar would have been "I'm proud of my students' accomplishments." Another tweet read, "Teaching is the most important profession their is." The correct grammar would have been "Teaching is the most important profession there is." These errors were noticed by both the general public and criticized by the media, resulting in negative publicity for the DOE.
What can we learn from the DOE’s mistakes?
To avoid such errors and achieve success in future social media campaigns, there are key factors and best practices that marketers should consider. Two of them that we can take away from the DOE’s example are:
Remember your objectives. If the objective of the DOE’s campaign was to increase brand awareness, then they definitely succeeded in becoming the topic of conversation. However, if the objective was in fact to inspire future educators then posting messages will spelling errors may not have been the best route.
Clarify your message. Have a proofreading process. Before sharing any content on social media, ensure that the messages are error-free. It is recommended to involve at least two people, with one person writing the message and the other person reviewing it for errors. You may also use grammar-checking tools such as Grammarly or Hemingway to check your social media messages for errors.
In conclusion, digital marketing works best when objectives and messages are clear. The user’s experience of your brand will determine the quality of the connection that is maintained. Marketers must always be aware of how their messages are aligning with their overall goals and objectives.
Kimberly Eugene - Content Marketing Specialist
Owner of PRTYNVRNDS LLC
Futuristic | Strategic | Developer | Positivity | Relator
prtynvrnds.business.blog
References:
@ DMI, Simon. “6 Of the Best Digital Marketing Campaigns You Can Learn From.” Digital Marketing Institute, Digital Marketing Institute, 1 Sept. 2022, https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/6-of-the-best-digital-marketing-campaigns-you-can-learn-from
U.S. Department of Education. (2014, May 6). U.S. Department of Education Launches Social Media Campaign to Highlight the Value of Great Teaching. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-launches-social-media-campaign-highlight-value-great-teaching
U.S. Department of Education. (2014, May 6). #WhyITeach. https://www.ed.gov/why-i-teach