We’ve said goodbye to 2017 and hello to new social media trends for 2018, but we like looking back at previous social media campaigns. This helps us plan for future campaigns. Here at Social Media LV, we love clever marketing campaigns. The power of social media marketing is undeniable. The power to engage, inspire, and boost brand exposure makes a compelling social media campaign. This is why we love what we do. See which of our social media packages best suits your business! Although we specialize in social media management for small businesses, we take a lot of cues and inspiration from big corporations. Our Las Vegas advertising team stays on top of social media marketing! Check out our favorite social media marketing campaigns of 2017!
1. Be The Match
Be The Match is a nonprofit organization that registers people as bone marrow donors to cure blood-related diseases. Their unique “Be The Guy” marketing campaign targeted young adult men as donors. It is harder to find donors in this audience, but young men between the ages of 18-24 are more ideal donors. This demographic tends to be healthier and have more body mass.
Most nonprofits use emotional marketing by tapping into people’s guilt or compassion for the cause. However, Be The Match decided to be different and turn the tables on these millennials. Be The Match focused on empowering the donors rather than guilting them. This campaign consisted of men in this age group doing ridiculous things on video with the tagline “This guy could save a life.” The internet loves ridiculous things. It worked! The charity saw a 280% increase in donors from this group with 17,974 new donors. They also generated 212 million total media impressions on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitch. Their website alone saw a 970% increase in total direct traffic. This campaign was wildly successful. Be The Match surpassed their donor goals and increased public awareness of their organization.
2. Airbnb
Travel booking marketplace Airbnb was facing serious allegations about their hosts denying people accommodations based on racial discriminations. Social media platforms and news articles were flooded with negative news about Airbnb. Although they responded publicly and set new guidelines for fair treatment, it wasn’t enough. Nothing dies on the internet. So, Airbnb needed to spread their message.
They launched their #WeAccept Campaign during last year’s Super Bowl. “No matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, or who you worship, you deserve to belong,” wrote Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky in a tweet. This tweet included an image of a diverse group of people. With this campaign, Airbnb stated their goal to provide short-term housing for 100,000 people “in need” over the next five years. They also promised to contribute $4 million over four years to the International Rescue Committee for the needs of displaced global populations. In addition, this ad had implications of fighting against the travel ban. Airbnb managed to turn this negative situation around. They earned back the public’s good favor and gained a ton of exposure. The #WeAccept campaign earned over 87 million impressions and gained the spot of top hashtag used during the Super Bowl. They generated over 33k tweets during the first half of the Super Bowl alone!
3. Worldwide Breast Cancer
US-based nonprofit Worldwide Breast Cancer designs educational tools, apps, and campaigns to teach people about breast cancer detection. This February, they launched the Know Your Lemons Campaign with the intent of spreading awareness and fundraising for the charity. The name and concept was catchy, but their use of lemons to illustrate breast cancer warning signs was the best part. Their friendly approach to communication was designed to help save a life. This was genius! It made the information easy to understand even across language barriers. Know Your Lemons was able to gain a global audience. As a result, people around the world were learning about breast cancer.
The charity then set up a Facebook page where people could find news updates, donate to the cause, and share their breast cancer stories. The combination of a striking visual approach with a “donate” call to action propelled Worldwide Breast Cancer onto a global platform. On the fundraising site Just Giving, Worldwide Breast Cancer exceeded their fundraising target by 317%. In addition, Worldwide Breast Cancer was able to spread awareness about the deadly disease.
