The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2015

It's impossible to ignore: the age of social media is amongst us.

Social media marketing has become a powerful, economical approach that is now a necessity in any digital marketing strategy. The platforms are accessible to any business in any industry, which is what makes them an attractive option for the majority of users. And all you really need to build a strong social media campaign is a creative, original marketing idea that can be leveraged on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

But that's easier said than done. Not every company has the ability to craft brilliant, memorable social media campaigns.

So what's the secret? How can your company develop a powerful marketing strategy, that maximizes the broad reach of social platforms?

There's no set-in-stone formula, but we can analyze past uber-successful social media marketing strategies to see where they're effective. Hopefully our picks for the best social media campaigns of 2015 will inspire your next internet marketing initiative!

3. GoPro's Skateboarding Cat

Internet veterans will agree that the World Wide Web has two main functions. One is generating memes to point out life's inconsistencies. The other is watching videos of cats aloofly doing people things.

 

 

GoPro understands the dynamic of the online world, adopting the internet's mascot for their unbelievably successful social media campaign. Their marketing gurus harnessed the powers of feline charm and cuteness to appeal to their internet-savvy market (or crazy cat-people). We feel this is a simple campaign, but checks off the essentials in a strong marketing strategy. Users get to see the quality and functions of the GoPro product in a fun, authentic, relatable way; it speaks to the masses.

The consumer-created video featuring Didga, the Skateboarding Cat was the most popular Instagram post by GoPro all year. While we're not sure if GoPro or cats benefitted more from the exposure, there's no doubt this was a smashing campaign.

2. Burberry's SnapChat Pre-Show

No one enjoys spoilers. Just ask the countless Game of Thrones fanatics who've had their lives ruined with friends plastering spoilers across social media.

And that's why we think Burberry's social media strategy for London Fashion Week was genius. It was built around our natural curiosity, flipping SnapChat on its head. Rather than revealing their spring and summer line throughout the week, they took to the digital world aggressively and willingly shared their entire collection on social media before Fashion Week began! It's an unprecedented move that became one of the hit social media marketing strategies of the year.

Burberry struck gold with their early bird approach, dominating the week with the #LFW hashtag. The fashion company differentiated themselves with their risky social media campaign ploy, managing to capture the ever-important Millennial demographic.

Besides being the only company to brave such a precarious strategy, this campaign was popular because it gave users 'exclusive, behind-the-scenes' looks at the show. Giving users access to the collection early makes them feel like a VIP, and brings them into the experience.

1. Expedia's South American Getaway

This may be cheating, seeing how exotic travel destinations and stunning imagery go hand-in-hand.

Expedia capitalized on our innate sense of exploration and wonderment through their Instagram contest (people love contests too), offering a chance to win a trip to South America. The 400+ million active Instagram users were receptive to the contest, giving the post a lofty engagement score of 999 on Unmetric's platform (in other words, it was very, very popular).

The travel company banked on our lust for adventure, and lust for free stuff, with a seemingly simple social media campaign. The takeaway here is providing an experience that invokes excitement, paired with even the slightest chance of realizing that dream, will pique internet user's attention.

See how influential and impactful a clever social media campaign can be? Nurtured from one simple idea, these social media marketing sensations illustrate what they can manifest to and the exposure they can offer a business.

If you're looking to create a viral hit for your product or service, Bloomtools offers social media management for your digital marketing initiatives. Develop your next marketing strategy with us contact a Bloomtools web consultant today!