Today’s marketplace still deals with numbers, only now they are mostly binary. It is now imperative to not only have an exceptional physical presence, but also an established web presence. What was once seen as merely a means to share content with acquaintances, social media has become a staple to the marketing strategy of any brand. It has created new platforms for advertising while opening new lines of communication between companies and their consumers. That, combined with the ever-shifting landscape of mobile technology, has transformed social media from selfies and retweets to a booming market for any business.
At face value, it is difficult to see how mastering social media is a necessity for the prosperity of a business. When one thinks of Twitter, one generally jumps to the stereotyped teenage girl writing about her Starbucks order. No one associates Facebook with commerce; a “viral video on YouTube” usually translates to an animal or a child stumbling. However, to adapt to the changing tide, companies have begun to adapt social media strategies to market their brands. One such case would be the Batman franchise. An undoubtedly firmly-established brand could have promoted its film by conventional means (i.e., print and television ads) and remained a blockbuster success. Instead, they chose to rework the application of known social networking services to tell their story across multiple platforms.
In 2008, the second installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight, was released in theaters. The film featured the first incarnation of the infamous Joker on the silver screen in almost twenty years. To promote the film, Warner Brothers collaborated with 42Entertainment and birthed the “Why So Serious?” campaign a year prior. The transmedia marketing strategy started with a viral video, urging fans to decide: did they “believe in Harvey Dent” or were they on the Joker’s side. People who followed along with the story were treated to exclusive content related to the film. For example, if fans called the phone numbers that appeared in videos, they received a voicemail from “the Joker” that would tell them where they could find the next piece of the story. The campaign allowed fans to get involved with the Joker’s crew and be a part of the Dark Knight story. It created an interactive means for the fans to become more engaged in the story. For a more detailed look into this campaign, refer to the video here.
The “Why So Serious?” campaign is just one of many examples of how social networking services have paved a new road for advertisement. Brands are no longer tethered to the generic ways of marketing themselves on thee web. They can reach millions of users with one tweet. That’s about ten thousand people per character. Social media has become the most economic way to market a business effectively and if properly harnessed, can be the most effective tool in any company’s belt. But why is social media such an efficient marketing tool? And how did it go from a status-sharing network to an advertising hub?
Social media creates a community. Followers of a brand on Twitter feel like they are part of that brand’s family. It makes them feel like they are connected to likeminded individuals, with whom they can connect with, regardless of area code. Social media also provides a line of communication between a business and its customers. It fosters a more intimate relationship and the consumer feels that both they and their opinions matter. Businesses that are able to do this effectively with both their content and their follower engagement have likely ensured their longevity and that customers will continue to return.
Using social media also allows businesses to have a presence in the consumer’s pocket. More people access their social media accounts on their mobile devices than a desktop computer. Marketing and advertising through social media allows businesses to influence their fanbase every time they check their profiles. It gives them a perpetual and boundless reach to their audience while simultaneously promoting their brand or selling a product.
