Social media campaigns can be a major boost to your brand’s reputation, awareness and sales. When done well they can support your marketing efforts and significantly expand your reach. But to stand out on social media you need to offer your audience something new and interesting. To help spark your imagination, here are some of the most innovative and inspiring social media campaigns of the past year.

At Strive Digital, we can help you create stand out content that demands attention, get in touch today to make sure your brand isn’t lost in noisy newsfeeds.

1. Zoom 

Competitions and giveaways are one of the best ways to boost brand awareness on social media. You are guaranteed good engagement and positive sentiments for the simple reason that people like free stuff. One of the most successful examples of this was ‘Zoom’s Virtual Background Competition.’ In 2020, Zoom went from ten million daily participants to 300 million, generating a revenue of $328.3 million. Their overnight success was partly due to being a video communications technology provider in times of great need and partly due to their impressive, highly successful marketing campaigns. Their monthly virtual contest called on remote workers to share their pictures or videos using the tool’s virtual background feature. It worked on two levels; it added fun and interest to video conferencing and it got more of their target audience to try the app during the pandemic, over 50,000 signed up for a free trial to simply enter.

2.Hello BC

2020 was a hard year for the tourism industry, with air travel down 95% and summer vacations put on hold, travel-based companies all but disappeared. Hello BC, British Columbia’s tourist hub, however, embraced a message of social responsibility in the face of the pandemic with their #ExploreBCLater campaign. Their hashtag encouraged their audience to stay home while inspiring future travel. A twist on their branded hashtag #ExploreBC, the campaign helped to build on their existing brand recognition while being fuelled exclusively by user-generated content. The hashtag offered their target audience an opportunity to look back at past experiences while planning for future ones. It succeeded in providing value while always keeping Hello BC at the forefront of their minds. A great example of turning lemons into lemonade.

3.Coors Light

Coors Light took to Twitter to bring some light to lockdown, their giveaways and contests used light-hearted humour to inspire joy and interest in their brand. The first of their tongue in cheek campaigns introduced a ‘Clone Machine’ which let users record a 30-second video loop of themself that they could play in video conferences while secretly sneaking away to grab a beer (specifically a Coors Light). This genius campaign put the brand in the spotlight which they used to promote their next campaign #CouldUseABeer. The limited-time giveaway promised a six-pack to anyone who tweeted at them using the associated hashtag. Coors Light ended up giving away 500,000 beers and gaining international recognition. By effectively leveraging their 15 minutes of fame they were able to secure a series of social media wins and create 500,000+ new customers.

4. Burger King

Burger King used the controversy to their favour in 2020 with their ‘Moldy Whopper’ campaign. In order to announce that they had removed artificial preservatives, colours and flavours from their signature Whopper, they took to social media documenting how much mould grew on their burger over a 34 day period. The unsavoury image was shared in a photo and time-lapse video format and within a matter of hours over 50,000 people had taken to the comments to express their disgust. As such 60% of the mentions were ultimately negative. This may be an unconventional way to advertise, but it worked for them for two reasons; it was a big success in terms of reach and engagement (2 million views, 21 million impressions) and it took a swipe at their main adversary, McDonald’s, who had been publicly shamed for not changing their burgers in over 20 years. This risky campaign proved that for some brands all publicity is good publicity.

5. Netflix

In lockdown it became more important than ever to build and strengthen customer loyalty, recognising this Netflix took to social media to connect with customers in a more meaningful way. Their ‘Wanna Talk About It?’ campaign encouraged users to ask questions and share their thoughts with mental health experts via Instagram live sessions. The initiative attracted 100,000 participants and spurred a national conversation around mental health. This simple campaign effectively helped improve the mental health of young people while also helping to enhance the brand’s image.

If you want help creating a buzz-worthy marketing campaign for the Christmas period we can create meaningful content which educates and entertains your brand’s target market. Our social media team has nurtured years of experience in omnichannel content creation and online community management, get in touch today to connect to your audience.