Brands Get Creative with Social Media

I’ve seen several real-life examples lately of how businesses of all sizes are using social media in creative and inspiring ways to boost their brand. Here's the three I think are most exciting, and could be used by almost any business.

Pinterest and Nordstrom

First up is high-end retailer Nordstrom and their use of Pinterest. Because Pinterest is the largest and fastest growing social network for their company, they launched a campaign to integrate data from Pinterest into in-store displays.

They have created displays in several departments, such as women’s shoes and handbags, highlighting their most-pinned items front and center. This innovative idea is a great way to tie in social media marketing as a part of a larger campaign, as well as to showcase popular products.

Vine and Lowe’s

Another example is the home improvement store Lowe’s. When you think of Lowe’s, odds are you think of hardware and tools, not creative marketing. But recently they have created short, simple and helpful videos on the video sharing network Vine. The videos are clean and aesthetically appealing, and in just six seconds they demonstrate simple tricks to make daily life easier. These videos are a really creative way to provide value to customers, generate buzz online, and position themselves as a leader in content among their competitors.

Facebook and...cheese?

Recently, Mashable has been featuring several case studies that pair small businesses with social media marketers to help them improve their campaigns and expand their reach. The example I found most interesting came from a small Virginia cheese shop that was able to use Facebook to grow their online presence.

The owner of the cheese shop, Jill Erber, created informational videos and used their posts to position the store as a cheese expert to improve their image. But the most creative aspect of her campaign came when the FDA announced a ban on a French cheese called mimolette. She leveraged this industry news by creating a clever promotion on Facebook calling for fans to post photos of themselves “frowning pathetically” to win a ¼ lb of mimolette from her shop’s short supply. She had around 80 people participate, and the stunt was even featured on the national news.

Although a cheese shop may seem like an unlikely business to benefit from social media marketing, they were able to use it to their advantage and see significant results.

Large or small, all businesses can benefit

The social media scene is always growing and evolving, and as these examples have shown, there are constantly new and inventive ways to add a social media aspect to your marketing efforts.

All three of these businesses are vastly different from one another, but all three found innovative ways to integrate social media into their marketing mix.

With so many creative possibilities, social media is certainly not something businesses should ignore.

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