Using Social Media Marketing Creatively

The internet has changed the game in terms of marketing and advertising for businesses. With a good idea and a camera you can create and upload an ad to YouTube and have it viewed by millions of people free of charge. Blue Nile, which is a jewelry provider, has gone this route with its new “Are You Man Enough” campaign. They are promoting a contest where the winner receives a free engagement ring. The promotion is good publicity and it brings attention to the other engagement rings offered on the site.

Blue Nile used humor in their commercial and has been pushing it through social media. That is a wise decision for a few different reasons.

Meet the people where they are

YouTube has over 490 million unique users per month which leads to 92 billion page views per month. Many people spend hours on the site video surfing or comeback to the site multiple times per day. Once a video gets a buzz on YouTube and word spreads you can reach thousands of people at all times of the day and all around the world. Some people prefer this type of advertisement over purchasing television and radio spots. With those ads you only get your commercial shown a set number of times and during certain time slots. Another benefit of using YouTube is if people like the video they can choose to share with friends via Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook and Twitter exposure

The viewership numbers for Facebook are very impressive as well and a business could market itself exclusively though the site. There are over 800 million users on the site and half of them are active users. More than 250 million active users sign on to Facebook through their mobile devices daily. These numbers no doubt played a role in Blue Nile creating a Facebook page and uploading advertisements. When a user “Likes” the Blue Nile page or shares the video it is broadcasted over their timeline so that are of their friends can see it. Twitter works nearly the same way. Others will visit the site and see the different promotions and videos and “Like” it as well. Users can “Tweet” the link to the video and friends can “RT” (ReTweet) it. When the time comes for them to purchase an engagement ring or jewelry they will remember Blue Nile or recommend it to a friend.

Spread the word

Viral videos that are informative, creative, for a great cause, disturbing or just really funny can reach far beyond their target audience. For example, Blue Nile’s “Are You Man Enough” campaign is for men who are in relationships and are preparing to take the next step and propose. But the ad is creative and humorous so it has been shared on various blogs. Funny or Die has posted a few of the videos on their site and they reach a wide audience who are looking to be entertained. People who are interested in purchasing jewelry as a gift may visit Blue Nile’s website and purchase other items besides engagement rings.