Ben and Jerry's #freeconeday

Every year Ben and Jerry's have rewarded their customers with a 'free cone day'. It all started in their first year of trading, 1978, a way to promote the company and good business ethics. They handed over cone after cone to their local community, friends and family. As imagined, it was extremely popular and there is no doubt this business strategy helped boost sales in the long run and gave them a wider exposure.

 

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Thirty-five years on and the world is very much a different place; as is the franchise of Ben and Jerry's. A contemporary company, they are keeping up with the times and investing in the appropriate research. #Freeconeday trends all year but when the actual date is released online it will be flooding our feeds. With the use of Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram I have a feeling it might be their most successful year yet.

I think that it is a great example of what old-fashioned business ethics can do in today's world. Ben and Jerry's have always given us a wholesome impression of what their business is all about, its adverts are jovial and light. A business not taking itself too seriously, or seeming too, is somewhat refreshing in such a tense and forceful market.

And really, who wants to be too serious about ice cream? We enjoy it, it's a treat and associated with a good, happy time.

 

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If social media shows us one thing, its that we love to feel globally connected. There are not many businesses that are exploiting this right now but there is no doubt it will become extremely popular.

To utilise the already popular idea of solidarity through social media its a fun and innovative way to boost there sales. Posting, tweeting and uploaded photos on Free Cone Day 2014 will easily surpass any that came before it and already they have reached over 10% of the worlds population. This mass popularity could only be reached by using social media, and using it in the right way.

Ben and Jerry's are still keeping their trademark personal and inoffensive approach and it is really working. Through using and maintaining their own hashtag for this day they will be dominating all social media on the next free cone day. It is extremely exciting for the company and any businesses which are currently using social media, or thinking of using it, to heighten their exposure.

Social Media and Sports Broadcasting

Sports fans are extremely passionate about their individual teams and sports which they support – this level of passion is rarely seen elsewhere. People will travel across the world to support their favourite side, but with the growing use of social media by sports teams fans can feel increasingly connected to their team even when they are not there in person. Social media is now providing a popular platform for these loyal fans to share their enthusiasm for their teams, with over 40% of all tweets being sent about sport, showing just how popular social media is for sports broadcasting.

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The Olympics gave a real boost to the use of social media in sports. During the games Usain Bolt had 962,756 total mentions followed by Michael Phelps with a total of 828,081 mentions. The key reason for the growing use of Twitter and social media in sporting events is because now so many people own a smartphone and can therefore participate in real time, whether they are at home, at the pub or watching live at a stadium. Watching sport with a ‘second screen’ has now become more popular, as people connect with others while they watch.

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One way in which social media is helping the sports industry is by increasing fan loyalty – it allows for connections with fans to be built, something that wasn’t possible years ago. Teams are able to engage with their fans through social media, when previously this was only possible if you were to attend the sports event in person. Through following a sports personality’s personal Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or other social media websites it makes it possible to offer content to draw in the fans and increase the loyalty which they feel towards the player. For instance, by following athletes on Twitter you can get real-time updates on their latest news or injuries. If a fan hears about this kind of information through the sports star first, they will feel a greater loyalty towards them. For example, Twitter enabled the Texans running back Arian Foster to share an image of an MRI of his torn hamstring to his fans with the comment: “This is an MRI of my hamstring. The white stuff surrounding the muscle is known in the medical world as anti-awesomeness”.

Teams who offer “behind-the-scenes” content on social media networks, will benefit by having sustained followers who are loyal and will keep coming back for more content. Keeping fans informed of the day to day training, through images, tweets and posts is a valuable way of sustaining fan support. In addition, more exclusive behind the scenes content can also help to create a certain excitement and buzz around a team. For instance, when Liverpool FC launched their new kit in May 2012 they used social media alongside the usual pictures and press releases. A YouTube video of the new kit was created to showcase the new features of the kit and helped to create a wider discussion of the new developments for the team through the inclusion of the #LFCkit hashtag. This encouraged fans to talk about the new kit on Twitter and to engage with other fans too. The use of the Twitter hashtag #LFCkit is also a good way of making fans feel like they are involved in the workings of their club – it proved so popular on Twitter that it was trending worldwide just after midnight of the day of the launch. The club also sought to showcase the new kit on the highly visual platform Pinterest. This gave fans another point of access to see the new kit and to share their favourite images and this interest could be channelled into further ticket sales, memorabilia and other sales. This shows the potential power of social media sites to reach a large audience and create popular discussion topics instantly.

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Although social media is beneficial for reaching a bigger audience it can damage the brand’s values to some extent. The use of social media can lead to a digital barrier between the fans and the club when previously the core fans would have had a greater physical engagement with the club. However, social media does mean that fans have greater control, are part of a two way conversation and can feel more integrated in the organization or team. It is therefore more about creating the correct balance between using social media and maintaining personal interaction with the fans.

What do you think?

Do you think social media is important for sport? Do you use it as a way to connect with sports stars and other fans?

Top 10 Tips To Increase Your Social Media Traffic (Part 2)

This is the second part to our top 10 tips to increase your social media traffic. If you haven't read the first article, you can find it here.






6. Be more human!

Many people and businesses make the mistake of only posting about their business and trying to hard sell their products. Social media is about engaging with fans and embracing the social aspect. Consumers want to know who the people are behind the Tweets or Facebook posts. Give your business a bit of personality. Invite your fans into your business world and let them know what is happening within your office environment. Any automated responses to people is a no go. People will be less inclined to come back if they feel as though they are just interacting with a robot.


7. Use those #Hashtags

Hashtags have become a key feature within a majority of social networks. Twitter first pioneered the use of hashtags on social media in June 2009 after a tip from a Twitter user called Chris Messina, suggesting that the use of a hashtag could help group tweets together.



You should make sure to research prior to posting on social media to find out what hashtags your industry is using, to help maximise the potential reach of each post. Facebook are the latest adopters of the hashtag, which has helped users track the conversations on specific subjects.

8. Knowing when to post

Know roughly when the best time to post on your social media is an important aspect of any social media account manager. Every social media account is different as the demographics of each of their fans varies from one another. There are many tools that analyse the habits of your fans and gives you guidance as to when to post during the day to help maximise the activity on that particular piece of content. We personally useEzeesocial to help us with our posting scheduling with an easy to use reports feature.






9. Share buttons


This tip is very simple but its surprising how often you see blogs without any social media share buttons. There is very minimal effort on your part, and its effect can be huge. It allows your readers to instantly share your content with their friends, which in turn, increases your audience.


Many social media sites offer resources which quickly hands you a HTML code for your social media button. Simply add the code into your blog and you're well on your way to increasing your social media engagement.


10. Creating and joining groups/communities


Joining groups and communities on social networks can be used to leverage a great amount of traffic. Creating a group can be hard work as there are a lot of them out there and you may find it tough to get people to join. If you have a large social community already, then this might not be such of a problem. Joining groups within your niche and posting within that community can help drive traffic. Be sure to read the rules and regulations first before posting as some groups may dislike self promotion. There are many stagnant groups out there, so take the time to search for the most active communities.


By implementing these 10 tips into your social media strategy, you too should see can increase in traffic. Do you use another strategy we have no mentioned? Let us know in the comments below.