You are using ‘Like us on Facebook’ all wrong! Here’s the Remedy

Have you ever watched an advert that ended-up begging you to ‘Like them on Facebook’ or ‘follow them on Twitter’? Did you seriously go for it? I bet not. Why? Because there was no strategy or incentive behind that seemingly frantic and desperate calls-to-action.

Welcome to the most disoriented era of technology. Here, you are bombarded with a gazillion adverts every day and each goes all out for a speck of your attention but fails to do so. Have you ever asked yourself why is it that only some ads manage to keep you riveted until the end while others make you scramble to scroll down before they even make their opening notes?

There is a subtle science behind all of this. If ‘Like us on Facebook’ is not used with a planned strategy or incentive, it will never be able to coax anyone into acting.

Here are some of the best examples which offer more than just ‘Like us on Facebook’ incentives. They probe users to take action. To find the page on Facebook and like it on their own. To follow them on Twitter on their own whim, and to even subscribe to their YouTube channel just because the message resonated deeply with them. Because they actually want to!

Vanish Tip Exchange – Social Media Integration

If you’ve seen the TVC, I am pretty sure you can relate to this. If not, I suggest you go back, watch the Vanish tip exchange TVC and then come back here to glean a better comprehension of what they did right. Right from the very first second, the intention of the product dawns on you. It is a stain removal product. But what made the product viral was the social media integration that the brand leveraged to engage their users.

It works like this. If you have a stain removal tip, share it on their page, or if you need any sort of tip, you can connect with cleaning gurus from around the world and garner their two cents. You can also subscribe to their YouTube channel and get a free tip every day.

We can excite your customers to buy from you?  We take Social Media Marketing to a brand new level 

This example is an epitome of how you can integrate social media in your marketing efforts to solicit the attention of people and do more than just get people to like you. The promotion is clear, and easily identifiable across myriad social media channels, which makes it so effective.

#DancePoneyDance horse moonwalking – YouTube sensation

Who says you need a million dollar to go viral on YouTube?

Check out this #DancePoneyDance horse moonwalking video.

This simple video generated over a million hits on YouTube.

Why?

#DancePoneyDance was able to generate 30 million impressions on Facebook and over 4 million impressions on Twitter. The hashtag #DancePoneyDance was an instant success and trended for three straight days. Furthermore, people were given the liberty to create and share their own pony dance with other people.

Isn’t this a genius way to engage your audience? I bet creating such hard-to-resist content gains more attention than imploring people to simply ‘Like you on Facebook’.

#bemoredog – Beat the competition with brilliance

In the year 2013, O2 faced a formidable competition. The rivals EE network launched a 4G campaign which offered much more affordable rates.

To counter this problem, O2 designed a ‘be more’ campaign. The concept of the ad was pretty basic and simple. A cat was captured caught up in the drudgery of daily activities, such as watching tv and playing in the pool. But in the end, it got bored. This was meant for people to relate to their everyday exasperation that they experience while using a 4G network. The ad ended on the cat dreaming of becoming a dog, which gave rise to the #bemoredog hashtag.

The idea was very well taken by people online. People started posting with the hashtag on how they are going to ‘be more dog’. There is also a YouTube channel where people are given the option to share their videos with O2.

“Like us on Facebook” Doesn’t cut the Bill. What to do instead?

• Start a campaign, a YouTube video, a hashtag with an objective. What is the one thing that you want to achieve? Is it driving sales on your website? Getting traffic? Or just creating an awareness of your brand?
• What are your goals? To increase followers, likes, or to get brand mentions? Ensure that you know exactly what you want from your advert before you create it.
• Keep everything simple. For instance, if you want people to take part in the online competition, make sure that the idea is workable on all social media channels. Give space for people to participate from any social media platform. The end goal should be to drive traffic to your website.
• Just as mentioned in the above examples, try to figure out ways in which you can drive traffic and engagement on your brand. You can use games, competitions, giveaways, make use of user-generated content, or start answering specific questions that relate to your niche to be seen as experts in your industry.
• Offer incentives to your audience to gain their attention. Make your prizes and giveaways brand-specific and see if you can try to do cross-promotion for your other brands.
• Stay current and relevant to your audience. It is not always wise to copy paste everything. You need to add your own touch to everything you do, so people can relate it back to your brand.

While some digital marketing agencies are helping brands with their digital marketing, there is still a lot of room to innovate and create memorable adverts along with experiences that will be talked about and remembered for generations to come.