26 Ways Brands Succeed With Social Media Marketing

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26 Ways Brands Succeed With
Social Media Marketing
Do you want to improve your social media marketing? Are
you curious about what works for large companies? The best
way to add techniques to your repertoire is to look at what
brands with high levels of engagement are doing.
In this article I’ll share 26 tips, an A-Z guide, from brands
doing an excellent job of social media marketing and
getting results to match.
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Discover 26 ways top brands successfully use social media.
#1: Add Related Hashtags
To make your posts automatically recognizable to your fans
and followers, use a hashtag that relates to your brand or
product consistently.
Samsung uses the hashtag #SamsungTips whenever they
share information about their products or related helpful
content.

Create a series of hashtags recognizable to your audience.
Create hashtags that make sense for your brand and expand
them when appropriate.
#2: Build Branded Communities
Forrester Research addressed Facebook’s announcement
that beginning in January 2015, users will see fewer
promotional posts in their news feeds. The suggested
solution is that brands build alternative communities on

their own sites.
Create an on-site alternative with bonuses that followers
can’t get anywhere else. It’s an effective way to offer
incentives to engage while controlling what followers see.
#3: Create a Facebook Cover to Promote
Events
Your Facebook cover photo is prime real estate. It’s
something you can leave as-is for consistency or change
regularly to showcase special events, promotions and even a
change in season.
Guitar Center posted a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube
on November 10 to promote the Gaslight Anthem’s Guitar
Center Sessions “all-new episode on November 14th at 9pm
on DIRECTV’s AUDIENCE.”
That same day, they changed their Facebook cover image to
help promote the event.

Facebook cover photos can serve as a billboard for brand
messages, promotions and special events.
While Facebook has cover photo guidelines, it shouldn’t be
too hard to create something special that still adheres to
their rules.
#4: Develop a Regular YouTube Schedule
If you’ve identified video as an important component of your
social media strategy, then maintain an active presence. Add
new videos to your YouTube channel regularly.

During a two-week period, the top brands added an average
of eight new videos to their YouTube channels. Average
video length was 3:08 minutes.
In Monster High’s top video link (over the two-week period),
the length was only 39 seconds, and was viewed 152,689
times, received 55 comments and 757 likes.

As Monster High proves, videos don’t need to be long.
However, it’s helpful if they’re consistent.
Need a little more insight for developing length guidelines?
Orbit Media and others suggest 3 to 3.5 minutes for the
optimal video length, while comScore reports theaverage

online video content as 4.4 minutes. Figure out a length and
strategy that’s in line with your brand.
#5: Evaluate Your Approach
What works for one brand may not work for another, which
means it’s important to consistently evaluate your social
media plan and tweak it.
On Facebook, the top ten brands posted on average 35
updates over two weeks. Interestingly, iTunes, which was on
the higher end with 61 updates, experienced significantly
lower percentage of fan growth (.04% ) than Subway, which
only posted 9 updates and grew their fan base (.10%).
While there can be a number of contributing factors, the
most striking difference was that Subway received 192
questions and responded to 61% of them. iTunes received
32 questions and responded to none.

iTunes posts frequent updates, but doesn’t respond to fan
comments. If they want to amp up their number of fans,
engaging with them would be a good place to start.

Engagement matters. If you don’t receive the type of activity
you’d like on social channels, take a look at your plan and see
where you can make improvements.
#6: Fulfill Followers’ Requests
Customers rely on social media for product and website
support increasingly frequently. Keep an eye on your
Facebook fan page and Twitter notifications to keep your
response time to a minimum.
For example, Target responds to questions in a little over an
hour on average.

Target responds quickly to fan questions and comments.
Excellent customer support means high customer
satisfaction.
Respond to followers in a timely manner. It will impact likes
and shares, as well as the overall impression of your social
media efforts.
#7: Generate Interest With Instagram
Instagram has been touted as having 15 times the
engagement of Facebook and the fastest growth of the top
10 mobile apps.

Leverage engagement on multiple channels by tweeting links
to your Instagram photos, as Playstation did in the example
below.
When Playstation tweeted to Instagram, it gained more than
3,300 retweets and 3,500 favorites.
Tweeting the photo resulted in massive recognition on
Instagram. It received more than 59,000 likes.

This Playstation photo was liked by more than 59,000 fans on
Instagram.
When multiple platforms work together, the results can be
phenomenal.
An average of 55 million photos are uploaded to Instagram
every day. So if you’re not on Instagram already, bring your
brand on the bandwagon.
#8: Hide Facebook Ads With Dark Posts

We’re so used to hearing about the importance of having a
presence on social media that at first the idea of a dark
Facebook post sounds like an oxymoron.
However, many brands discovered success when publishing
a post that doesn’t hit fans’ news feeds until they convert it
into an ad. It’s a great way to run an A/B test before going
more widespread with a specific public post.
When Walmart posted their Black Friday ad as a dark post,
they received 8,250 interactions (3,733 likes, 781 comments
and 3,736 shares). The ad took followers to Black Friday
discounts from multiple departments and a list of the stores
in close proximity to users.
In another ad they posted around the same time period (this
one appeared in their news feed), they promoted electronics
as a way to target specific product interests. They received
much more engagement from their dark post.

Walmart’s dark Facebook post received more than 8,000
interactions.
Testing an ad with a dark post may help you get more bang
for your Facebook adbuck. Try it! What have you got to lose?
#9: Influence Followers’ Friends on Twitter

Any deal or discount a follower will share with a friend is an
excellent way to extend your reach.
To get their followers’ friends on board, Starbucks makes
offers available to them too. In Starbucks‘ holiday drink
promotion, they encouraged followers to bring a friend for a
free holiday drink.

Starbucks reaches out to their followers’ friends through a
two-for-one deal.
Offers that extend into followers’ personal networks are a
great way to maintain existing customers and add new ones.
#10: Join Relevant Public Conversations

Sometimes it’s difficult for a brand to take a stand on an
issue without worrying that their position may alienate
customers. If you’re an online company and your position
has something to do with the Internet, it may not feel as
risky.
When Etsy tweeted a message about Net Neutrality,
thanking President Obama and linking to whitehouse.gov,
they chose an effective way to communicate without having
to restate a lot of information. By linking to whitehouse.gov,
they offered their fans the option to watch a YouTube video
where the President Obama explained his plan. Fans could
also read the text of his statement.

Etsy tweeted their stand on Net Neutrality.
Reply to conversations that are relevant for your company
or industry that won’t make your customers feel
uncomfortable.
#11: Keep Facebook Updates Brief
The ideal length for a Facebook update has been cited as
fewer than 40 characters, even though you can add as many
as 63,000.
Samsung Mobile USA used 47 characters in their November

10 update, Clumsy Crops No More. The S Pen > Your Fingers.
The post may have been small in number of characters, but
was effective in terms of engagement. It received nearly
30,000 interactions (28,000 were likes, the rest shares and
comments).

Sometimes less is more. This 47-character update resulted

in a huge response.
Experiment with brief updates. You never know what will be
a hit.
#12: Launch New Products
If you have a something new to promote, your first and best
audience is on social media.
Buffalo Wild Wings posted a Facebook update and photo
about their new potato offering, Wilder Wedges. They also
shared info on Twitter and Yelp, which helped generate
interest and product enthusiasm.

Use social media to launch a new product.
Social media provides a number of creative ways to
introduce a new product to fans and followers.

#13: Minimize Negative Feedback
When companies post on social media, they open
themselves up to positive and negative feedback. Respond
to customer concerns in a timely manner and minimize any
negative buzz about your brand.

When Subway posted their message about their Simple $6
Menu, they received favorable and negative comments.
After one customer complained about the bread being too
dry, Subway responded and directed the customer to their
contact page. Subway asked the customer to please share
the details and the location, so the company could contact
the owner, fix the problem and bring the customer “back to
your favorite Subway restaurant.”
Keep an eye on Facebook and address concerns about your

brand.
Gather information about any complaints to make your
customers feel heard. This also allows you to rectify a
problem you may not have realized you had.
#14: Navigate Users to Landing Pages
A landing page is a great destination for your audience,
whether it’s your home page, one of your social sites or a
place to purchase your product. Use your social platforms
as a hub for the links you want to share with your audience.
On LeanSecrets’ YouTube video page, they have the URL for
their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
When Guitar Center posted a video with a clip of the
musician Slash, they linked to iTunes where users could buy
his album World on Fire.

This YouTube video leads customers to where they can buy
the album.
Landing pages are a core part of a brand’s marketing
strategy. They offer opportunities to lead people to the
pages you want them to see.

#15: Optimize YouTube Videos
YouTube is the second largest search engine. To get the best
exposure, optimize the video’s title and description with
keywords for search.
This example from NikeSkateboarding is detailed, with a
strong intro sentence.

This is Nike’s description on YouTube for their skateboarding
video.
The beginning of your description is what shows up next to
the video in your YouTube search.

The beginning of the video’s description is displayed in
search results.
Need extra tips? YouTube provides detailed information on
how to optimize your video’s metadata.
#16: Pay Attention to Your Best Times to
Tweet
There are no hard and fast rules about the best day and
time to send a tweet. A lot of trial and error goes into

creating a Twitter plan. Review your Twitter activity, see what
gets the most engagement for your brand and plan tweets
accordingly.
Sony’s top three tweets during the two-week period we
studied tell us something, but not everything.
The top update that contained a video and hashtag was
posted on a Sunday morning at 6:08 a.m. (EST) and received
399 interactions, their second top update with a link was
posted on a Wednesday at 2:29 a.m. (EST) and generated 265
interactions. Six hours later, another tweet that included a
video received 192 interactions.
Based on these facts and figures, we could possibly surmise
that Sony followers are more likely to be online on Sunday.
Or that they prefer videos and hashtags. Or (fill in the blank).
It doesn’t tell you everything, but it’s something to go on.

A review of Sony’s tweets gives an idea of what works for

their brand.
Do a deep dive into your Twitter engagement to find the
most effective day and times to tweet.
#17: Question on Facebook
Questions are great conversation starters and serve as
market research. Tie a post or pic into a question about an
event, holiday or trending topic with a hashtag, and your
engagement may skyrocket.
Subway asked their followers why they love sandwiches with
the hashtag #NationalSandwichDay. The post received 3,350
comments and 107,367 interactions.

Ask and you shall receive comments, just like Subway did on

#NationalSandwichDay.
Want to know what your customers think? Come right out
and ask.
#18: Return to an Update and Edit
The edit function on Facebook makes it easy to update
original posts and inform fans who won a contest or
giveaway on your page. It also lets people know your
contests are legit.
Amazon updated the original contest announcement post
with the name of the winner.

Update contests posts with the name of the winner.

When you update posts to tell your community the outcome
of a giveaway, it validates your promotions and keeps people
coming back for more.
#19: Spend Time Interacting on Twitter
Maintaining a presence on social media requires give and
take. Don’t just tweet. Respond to tweets from followers.
Over a two-week period, Starbucks sent 31 tweets, but didn’t
stop there. Their community managers replied to followers
3,806 times, mentioned them 4,229 times and retweeted
messages 14 times.

Starbucks’ tweets get lots of engagement, since Starbucks
interacts with their followers.

Go beyond only sending tweets. Interact with your fans. It
demonstrates that someone is active on your Twitter
account and cares about connecting with followers.
#20: Try a Short Branded URL
Shortened URLs have become the norm. Take it a step
further and create a branded URL (one that uses part of
your domain). It’ll keep your domain top of mind when users
come across it and provide valuable tracking information.
Short domain names need to be 15 characters or fewer
(including the dot). Use tools such as Domainr and
101domain to search for and create a short domain name
URL.
In the example below Someecards shortened their long URL,
http://www.someecards.com/christmas-cards/holiday-gift-in-
person-funny-ecard, to 15 characters with the use of
some.ly/asBYpLF.

Someecards uses a branded short domain.
Short URLs help us make better use of the limited-character
real estate on platforms such as Twitter. Brand them to add
name recognition to that shortened space.
#21: Use Succinct Calls to Action
Whether it’s to buy, save, comment or explore, ask your
followers to take action with a few carefully crafted words.

Kohl’s Facebook update with the message, “Save online with
code FALLFB10 or in store with the pass” did short and sweet
beautifully. The offer, which was good for four days, was
claimed by 31,227 people on Facebook.
Kohl’s promotion used the CTA “Save,” which was highly
effective.

Whatever the call to action, make it short and sweet to get
substantial response from your fans.
#22: Value Voting From Fans
There are a lot of creative ways brands can use social media
to learn about their audience. Create a poll or just ask fans’
opinion as comments to a post.
Kohl’s asked fans for a “yea or nay” about a poncho. It
received a ton of engagement, not to mention a lot of mixed
reactions.

Whether yea or nay, asking customers’ opinions will go a
long way.
Go public with customer feedback. It shows brand

confidence and that you’re willing to hear what your
customers have to say.
#23: Wish for Wish Lists
Tap into your followers’ needs and encourage them to
submit something on their wish list. It’s a simple call to
action that helps customers get excited about your
offerings.
Amazon offered a chance to win a $500 gift card for fans who
included the wish list hashtag in their comment.

Offer incentives for your fans to create a wish list.
Wish lists create another effective way to engage.
#24: eXplore Vine Videos
Looking to grab attention on Twitter? Spend time creating
content on Vine.
In just 6 seconds, Samsung Mobile’s tweet with a Vine video
does a lot to get followers excited about their S Pen. On
Twitter the update received 1,030 interactions (replies,

favorites and retweets) and on Vine more than 3,000
interactions.

Vine offers many creative uses for businesses. Check it out.
#25: Yield High Return
The more you share, question and respond to fans, the
better your levels of engagement.
Do this to create a strong identity on social media and gain
loyalty in the process.
#26: Zero in on Notable Days of the Year
Notable days of the year provide topics for content and
serve as a great addition to a company’s editorial calendar.
Walmart thanked the country’s veterans. Buffalo Wild Wings
noted the end of election campaign ads. Starbucks
mentioned pumpkin pie.

Add notable days to your editorial calendar.
Find ways to connect your brand to notable days, then craft
related posts to increase your visibility and reach.
Over to You
Large brands have more resources and time to dedicate to
social media strategy than small businesses. There are lots
of good ideas that can be used in just about any industry.
Adapt and emulate their ideas and techniques for your

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marketing plans.
For this article, I took information shared by SocialBakers on
activity of the 30 top brands over a two-week period,
November 1 to November 15, 2014.
What do you think? What lessons have you learned from
brands on social media? Which of these tips will you use
in your social media marketing? Share your comments
and thoughts below.
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26 Ways Brands Succeed With Social Media Marketing

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