How To Run A Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign: Case Study

So you want to run a successful social media competition for your brand. What are some of the results of  successful social media marketing by organisations, companies and agencies? What are the elements  of success to facilitate the campaign going viral? Here is a social media campaign that produced some results worth noting.

Case Study

Courtesy: Quinn & Co.

Competition: The Best Job In The World

Organisation: Tourism Queensland (Australia)

Tourism Queensland’s groundbreaking “The Best Job In The World” campaign is a PR and viral marketing phenomenon that has generated worldwide media attention, . Conceived by Tourism Queensland (TQ) and its ad agency, CumminsNitro Brisbane, it was executed in the US and Canada by Quinn & Co. The concept was simple: post a one-minute video application on Tourism Queensland’s Web site explaining why you should be chosen as caretaker of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef and you might get to blog and cam your way through a six-month gig that paid about $100K U.S. The story broke with a Reuters placement around sunrise in Australia on January 12, 2009. By breakfast time in London, AP was interviewing Tourism Queenslands’s UK director for a broadcast package that turned up on the morning shows in the U.S.

Results

• Within two days there were 1,100 TV placements in the U.S. alone
• In 30 hours they had 400, oo0 new visitors. The goal was to get 400,000 new visitors to it’s website (www.islandreefjob.com) over the course of the one-year campaign
• One million hits on the second day
• The million hits crashed the site
• When they brought it back up it was hosted on 10 Web servers, the maximum number of servers possible
• Approximately 34,684 people from more than 200 countries applied for the job of Island Caretaker
• A social networking frenzy ensued with 336,000 Facebook-referred Web site visits
• More than 3,170 @Queensland followers on Twitter
• 338 members on the campaign’s Wiki (islandreefjob.ning.com)
• By the 18th of March, 2009, 423,000 people (including 210,000 from the U.S.) had voted for their favorite top-50 finalist
• Also by the same date, the Web site had 6.7 million visitors, including 1.7 million from the U.S.
• Over $11 million worth of exposure
• 627 million media impressions in the U.S. and Canada alone

Note: Quinn & Co.’s work promoting “The Best Job In The World” continues to produce powerful exposure across all media platforms and channels So how can you make a Social Media campaign a success.

Elements of Success For A Social Media Marketing Campaign

Courtesy: Toughtpick .com

The success of social media campaigns, and utilization in general, does not, in any way, rely on some magical formula or any secret ingredients we might need to acquire from the belated witches of Salem! Yet, it is a careful mixture of simple and valuable elements which need to be present before, through and after the implementation of any social media campaign. Some elements could be very obvious, while others need some research and attention to be achieved.

• Make sure that you apply smart integration with the “right” social media channels that suit your brand image, the product/service you are trying to promote and its value. Not every social media channel will bring about the positive feedback you are waiting for!
• Take time to choose the team who will be in charge of executing your social media plan. It is not about the quantity, it is about the quality, remember that! Experience and already established online PR agents or staff members will be of a higher value to your campaign in comparison with anyone with a lot of free time to waste!
• Again, content is king! It is a must to make sure that your social media campaign’s content is not offensive, biased or easily misinterpreted. This could be easily used against you!
• Just as it is important to know your target market online, learning more about your online target audience is very important! This will not only help you know where to find them, it will also guide you in designing the campaign that will intrigue them and lead them to take actions!
• You are under the microscope; play nice! Always be aware that once your social media campaign has hit the hot topics’ list, you are now being watched. Try to be continuously involved in any conversations, posts, chats and/or forums taking place regarding your product, service or campaign.
• Be innovative and try not to imitate whenever possible. You might use the same social media channels others are utilizing but try making your benefit and reward systems varied. Your audience is not always looking to get a free coffee!
• Constantly measure the depth of your social media campaign’s fulfillment of goals and returns. The ROI should always be bigger, or at least equal to, the invested money, time, effort and resources that you are putting in the project.
• Put effort into making the overall social media campaign’s experience fun, engaging and proactive. Adding games, puzzles and teasers can be very addictive!

What have been your successes with social media marketing?