It’s the new year and we are looking forward to everything that it has to offer. However, before we do we are going to look at some of the biggest and best Social Media Campaigns of 2017. As the saying goes, “you can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.”
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best social media campaigns from 2017. Salt Bae First of all, let’s look at a campaign from the start of the year. Towards the start of 2017, a social media storm was created around Nusret Gökçe, who is now better known as Salt Bae. Videos of chef Gökçe’s eccentric food preparation talent were posted on social media and they quickly went viral. This created a wave of impressions likes and shares, as well prompting users to generate memes of the chef in action. This resulted in huge exposure for the chef’s brand and his chain of restaurants. With restaurants located in Turkey, the UAE and the US, there were also calls open a new restaurant in London, due to demand. The Salt Bae phenomenon is a great example of how utilising the correct medium to promote your business or brand can result in outstanding results. It shows how a well executed online strategy can explode via social media virality, and drive offline footfall to your business from online awareness.
#Realstagram The Realstagram campaign was started by Kaitlyn Bristowe, who was a contestant on American TV show The Bachelorette. Bristowe posted a picture on her Instagram, that showed her without any make-up, filters, or airbrushing. This was to show the body pressure that she perceived to be put on her during the show. (Recently Stacey Soloman posted a picture to her Instagram with more or less the same intention, showing what photos look like with and without airbrushing). The hashtag has since be taken on by people showing everyday events their lives that are far from ‘picture perfect’. A search of #Realstagram will show parents dealing with events that occur when caring for their children, people showing themselves without filters or make-up, and motivational stories or quotes. We live in the social media age, where people only see the best parts of each others lives through an edited, filtered lense. It’s important to remember that life has its ups and downs and that everyone has their own issues to deal with, regardless of how perfect they would seem from following their social media. This was a good campaign that helped remind us of that fact.
#Ham4All Lin-Manuel Miranda has created and performed in several well received musicals throughout his career. Most notably he created Hamilton, which has won over 4 dozen awards and broken records, such as only production to take in over $3m for an 8 show week. In 2017, Miranda put Hamilton’s large following and profile to good use by leveraging it to support a charitable cause. The process was simple, Miranda challenged people to record themselves singing their favourite songs from the hit broadway and Westend show, tag it using #Ham4all, asked people to also challenge their friends, and donate $10 to Immigrants: We Get the Job Done. In exchange, participants got the chance to win 2 VIP tickets to the shows L.A. opening. The challenge took off and both fans of the show and celebrities such as, Ben Stiller, Kelly Clarkson and Eva Longoria, got involved with the challenge. Similar to 2014’s Ice Bucket Challenge, the #Ham4all campaign engages people by incentivising them to create their own content and prompts them to include others in the process. This increases the viral potential, as well as spreading the message far and wide. This is a great example of some in a position of influence, using their profile to generate awareness and support of good cause.
Airbnb – #WeAccept Airbnb has taken the world by storm in the decade since it was founded. Started by roommates who were struggling to pay the rent of their apartment in the much sought after San Francisco area, the idea of Airbnb is a clever yet simple one that brings together people who are looking for accommodation with those that have extra capacity. Even though Airbnb’s age hasn’t reached double digits yet, it is now the world’s largest lodging broker. It has over 200,000,000 users, 4,000,000 listing and is present in 191 countries. Airbnb has put together some great campaigns through the years. Their 2016 campaign Live There campaign prompted people to do more that just visit a place, but to live there, “even if it’s just for one night”. Furthermore, Airbnb seems to be an inspiration for creativity, with applicants for jobs going to impressive lengths to get the attention of the company.
In response to President Trump’s ‘Travel Ban’ and in order to show that Airbnb wants to accept people from all areas and backgrounds they started their #WeAccept campaign. They created an advertisement and bought an advertising slot in the prestigious Super Bowl. The advertisement was simple, it showed people of various races, genders and backgrounds and explained that people should be accepted, regardless of who they are or where they’re from. The advertisement was also posted to their social accounts and received a further 5 million views through Instagram and Youtube. Airbnb created an advertisement that’s straightforward and clear about their stance on integration and acceptance. They wanted to spread their message far and wide so they went all out by airing the ad during the Super Bowl, which is one of the most watched sporting events in the world. This is a great example of how even a simple advertisement can get across a clear yet powerful message.
These were some of our favourite Social Media Campaigns of 2017. We are expecting big things in 2018 and can’t wait to see what happens in the world of social media and digital marketing.