When Social Media Works- Part 1
I'll tweet to that! RT @reallylovemacon: No suing necessary! RT @MakeItWorkMolly: I think #Macon #Georgia is the best place to live #SueMe
— Susannah Maddux (@SusannahMaddux) July 30, 2013
EDIT:
Chuck Williams is up to it again:
@DimonKHolmes I was getting beat up by people from Middle Georgia. Columbus folks agreed with me because I was right.
— chuckwilliams (@chuckwilliams) August 1, 2013
Maybe I should post my originally written blog about what a jerk he is… Continue on to the real topic below:
Some media give us social media managers a difficult time, accusing us of not having “Real Jobs” however I can assure you this is SO not true.
I have been dabbling in social media ever since a sorority sister first convinced me to sign up for Facebook back when there was still a dislike button and you had to have a college email address to even sign up. I was one of the first people in my area to really use it to push my columns in various publications, before there was even a “social media manager” job title available.
So for me, I first started using social media to push my own brand- which was that of a highly localized fashion columnist. Since then, my writings have grown to wider and more varied topics. While I am still very much a “local girl” and even a “Southern girl”, I do use social media to push my brand outside of my own circles. As such, many times I will tweet to large, national brands that I love.
This is when social media works, and works well, when you can bridge the gap between ordinary local people and large national brands. I have written before about the infamous Oreo vs. Kit Kat Twitter debate, but I have my own examples from yesterday and today.
Yesterday, I saw a tweet from Kiehl’s president Chris Salgardo, President of Kiehl’s- one of my favorite product lines, about one of their new products. I asked him if they had samples:
@KiehlsPrez @Kiehls I saw that new promotion- are there any samples out to try it? #lovekiehls
— Molly M. Wilkins (@MollyMWilkins) July 29, 2013
It would evolve in to this:
@Kiehls @KiehlsPrez y'all are so freaking awesome!! 💞💞 @ECarrieHowland you would love this thread… #lovekiehls
— Molly M. Wilkins (@MollyMWilkins) July 29, 2013
This is when large, national brands have the chance to form personal relationships with their consumers in a way that they never could before. This in turn creates brand loyalty. Kiehl’s and Bath and Body Works are some of the best about tweeting back to me, and while I may or not be less likely to purchase from a brand that doesn’t tweet back to me- I am a hell of a lot more likely to keep purchasing from one that does.
In another example, yesterday I ran across a tweet from local The Telegraph columnist Joe Kovac Jr. about how Chuck Williams out of Columbus wrote about The Southeast Regional Little League offices and fields being built in Warner Robins, see this:
https://twitter.com/joekovacjr/status/362200032646148096
This was the tweet from Telegraph reporter Joe Kovac Jr. that I ran across, which would start it all. Of course, I was PISSED. It started a whole thread of my own, multiple ones in fact:
Thank u @joekovacjr– @chuckwilliams when was the last time u visited all of #MiddleGa? I challenge u to come and make a list of 20 …
— Molly M. Wilkins (@MollyMWilkins) July 30, 2013
@joekovacjr @chuckwilliams … Unique things about #Macon #WarnerRobins and all of #MiddleGa -if u r up for it I'll do the same 4 #Columbus
— Molly M. Wilkins (@MollyMWilkins) July 30, 2013
After a few responses from friends like these:
I think #Macon #Georgia is the best place to live #SueMe I @reallylovemacon
— Molly M. Wilkins (@MollyMWilkins) July 30, 2013
@MakeItWorkMolly Oh really? And when was the last time his region on a Little League World Series?
— OccupyYouriPod (@OccupyYouriPod) July 30, 2013
I'll tweet to that! RT @reallylovemacon: No suing necessary! RT @MakeItWorkMolly: I think #Macon #Georgia is the best place to live #SueMe
— Susannah Maddux (@SusannahMaddux) July 30, 2013
We ended up with this:
Excited to explore the wonders of Warner Robins, #Georgia, courtesy of a challenge from @MakeItWorkMolly. Bring it on.
— Sonya Sorich (@ssorichsacbiz) July 30, 2013
I had this whole blog post written out and drafted to be just snarky and smart enough but before I actually posted it I tweeted to him and his paper, challenging them to come to our area and find 20 unique things about us. And that I would do the same, travelling to Columbus. Social media manager, Sonya Sorich, for the Ledger-Enquirer responded- first she asked my feelings on Honey Boo Boo and we exchanged some pleasant tweets before she said if Chuck Williams didn’t take up my challenge that she would. And so, as you can see, it was settled over Twitter.
We have yet to confirm dates, etc but these are two fantastic examples of when social media works. With Kiehl’s, we bridged the gap between a large national brand and a small(ish) regional blogger (me). With the Ledger-Enquirer, well we have yet to see the actual results, but it looks like two ordinary writers will travel to each region and learn more about one another- not just politicians doing the political thing. Either way- two big, real world examples of social media “wins”.
For more on social media and marketing solutions, please feel free to email me at makeitworkmolly@gmail.com or hyperionmarketingpr@gmail.com
Love to all yall,
Molly
