To write today’s post, I had to look up successful social media campaigns from around the world and try to understand what they have in common. What made them successful? How was this success measured? And much more …
Social Media Examiner featured an article entitled “Top 10 Facebook Pages and Why They’re Successful” written by Amy Porterfield. In her post, Amy examines top brands from around the world and highlights what made their Facebook page stand out from the crowd. These are the tips, I’ve extracted from this great article:
- Invest in Creativity & Design
- Highlight Product/Service Uniqueness
- Engage the audience through Sweepstakes & Competitions
- Incorporated customer support
- Create direct purchase opportunities
- Keep things simple
- Build a personal connection
- Create different engagement platforms
- Start discussion streams
Amy gives clear examples of how brands from around the world have used these techniques to create successful Facebook pages. I was also interested in learning what some of the top brands on Facebook are.
- YouTube 26.9 Million
- Coca Cola 22.3 Million
- Starbucks 19.5 Million
- Disney 16.8 Million
- Oreo 16.6 Million
- Red Bull 15.1 Million
- Skittles 15.0 Million
- Converse 12.6 Million
All the success factors, mentioned Amy’s post, are present in these top pages on Facebook. Another factor that plays a huge role in the popularity of these pages is the actual offline fame of the brand itself. Let’s not forget that there’s a lot of money supporting these brands and their social media development.
In my previous post, I showcased the role of social media in the Egyptian Uprise of January 25, 2010. The logical question to follow is WHY?
Was the success of the Egyptian Revolution on Social Media attributed to the common factors present in the top Facebook pages? No!
The social media revolution in Egypt was created by the people for the people. The twitter streams, the YouTube videos shared, and the Facebook pages created all had one thing in common – PASSION! Coca Cola might have 22.3 million Likes; on the other hand, We Are All Khaled Said only has 696 thousand Likes, but each comment posted on their wall has on average 4500 likes and thousands and thousands of comments in reply (one of the comments actually had 14,696 likes and 49,675 comments – WOW!). If the purpose of social media is to engage with your audience, given the figures I just shared with you, which of the two “brands” is more successful? The answer to that is easy!
So how does a multibillion dollar brand come second in terms of engagement? The more appropriate question is what does We Are All Khaled Said have that Coca Cola doesn’t? A: Pure unsolicited Love!
The audience wasn’t lured in by great design & graphics, or coupons, or competitions, or promises, or any of the other reasons that make other pages successful – they were driven by an internal need. The marketing lesson behind all this is that a brand’s success lies in its ability to genuinely cater to that need. This way it guarantees the birth of advocates not just likes.
In developing your social media platforms, the key is understanding your target audience and delivering a platform where they can express their views freely about the brand. So many social media campaigns fail (or only experience a short term success) because they deliver off the shelf solutions. I see hundreds of Facebook pages offering the same thing – no wonder they end up failing. When I’m invited to “Like” someone’s social network, they have to give me a very good reason to do so! I’m not a “Like” collector, nor am I interested in following a million people, I want value for my very limited time. Remember that tip when developing your social media strategy.
Are you just another brand on the social media train, or do you make a difference? Think About It!
PS. In closing, I would like to congratulate the Egyptian population on pursuing their passion and cashing in on it!
BRANDING UPDATE (Feb 13, 2011): I did some further research and I was able to find the technical word behind the success of the Social Media Revolution in Egypt – they had an Emotional Selling Proposition (ESP). The whole branding of the Revolution 2.0 was perceived differently primarily because of emotional attachment. (source: Brand Sense by Martin Lindstorm)
The power of how social media can and bring about positive change. It’s not about knowing just that ‘I use Facebook and Twitter’, it’s about how do you drive the conversation forward so that people keep coming back and they are involved through contributions.
Absolutely Yasser – success depends on championing the audience’s contribution!
i resembling it The lucky collide at the back the Social Media fortunate revolt or rebellio – Focus #Egypt | The Social Media & physical Branding Blog now im your rss reader
I think a lot of marketers miss this. Campaigns aren’t about what you want to say. They are about letting your audience express themselves. That’s what people in Egypt were doing. Showing their values and dreams. If you can find the values and dreams of your audience and then let them talk about that, you hit gold.
Spoken like a true marketeer Kate. Tapping into the core of your customer’s beliefs is essential to sustainable success. I like the description of an Emotional Selling Proposition – i think it resonates quite well with regards to the Social Media Revolution in Egypt. don’t you agree?