Social-media marketing campaigns can drive the same kind of results for manufacturers and distributors as they can for consumer brands, according to a case study published on ClickZ.
The 36-hour campaign, used to drive engagement both on and offline at SES New York, centered around an outrageous pair of shoes and resulted in more than 3,500 unique social interactions, multi-touch campaign interaction with 63 percent of leads and face-to-face interactions with 30 target brands.
The success of the campaign can be attributed to two things—first, a willingness to think creatively about how to engage attendees, and second, a willingness to overcome the barrier of using social for B2B campaigns.
Manufacturers and distributors may shy away from what they see as marketing techniques that belong solely in the retail marketplace. But the truth is, driving interaction with customers is the same no matter if they’re buying purses or pipeline.
The creative approach taken at SES New York centered around a pair of crazy-looking sneakers, and asked attendees to find the people wearing the shoes, take a photo and share it on Twitter using a specific hashtag, with the incentive of several high-value prizes.
The other successful characteristic of this campaign was the rigorous testing and planning that took place beforehand to ensure that every experience via every possible touchpoint was consistent and seamless to users.
Following that up with goals and measurement helps bring that success story to life for management.
The moral of the story, or in this case, the campaign, is that social-media is a successful marketing tool not because of the kind of audiences or consumers who use it, but because of well-executed and strategic campaigns, regardless of the marketplace in which your brand operates.
