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Why care, why share? Using social media for your business

The former global head of social media for Red Bull reveals her gospel for getting consumers to interact with your brand on their own terms.

SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T rocket science, but it’s also not something many people in the marketing profession are not equipped to handle either. You would think by 2014, brands and businesses would know how to use social media correctly, but still, even global brands, are struggling.

On one hand you have the brands that push their product message hard and repeatedly on their social channels, and on the other hand you have the brands that have changed their brand personality and message to be “social” focusing on generating memes rather than promoting their brand.

Both aren’t exactly the right approach, and both aren’t authentic to the social space or a brand message. But the key problem that underlines these two very common approaches is that both rely on brand-led messages being passed down to consumers as a marketing strategy.

Get fans to lead the conversation

At Red Bull, while I was the global head of social media, the approach that I drove around social was from the community and fan point of view. The idea was always to find a way to have the fans lead the conversation about the brand, and the brand to enable it, rather than the top down approach of the brand publishing a message to reach its fans.

This was approached by holding everything we did through the lens of “Why would they care, why would they share?” This meant from our social publishing content to our events like Red Bull Stratos, or even thinking about the can itself, all aspects of every consumer touchpoint were held through this lens.

Why would they care, Why would they share?

It’s important for two reasons:

1. Brand-led social publishing is having less and less of a day-to-day impact and

2. Social media isn’t just Facebook, it’s now the real world.

When thinking about the social publishing side of this aspect, the core fact that every brand or marketer needs to remember is that social networks were built for people – to connect with old friends, share great content, connect over similar interests, or see cool stuff.

Brands just came on and saw an opportunity to advertise their products under the guise of building a community. And as such, people are a bit more immune to brand-led content.

Social media isn’t about brands, it’s about people

This doesn’t mean changing what you are doing to be posting pictures of cats or corgis. It means understanding how real people in your community talk, what they are sharing and how they are speaking about your brand to their own network off of your brand channels.

By understanding this, you can reframe what your approach to your social content so it is authentic to your brand, but also something that consumers aren’t afraid of attaching their names to and sharing with their own networks.

image

Felix Baumgartner’s jump from space above New Mexico in October 2012 had eight million live viewers on Youtube, in a social media campaign orchestrated by Tessa. Image: Red Bull Stratos

But the more importantly, the part of social that most marketers miss, is that it’s also thinking about social not just from a social publishing approach, but from every touchpoint the consumer has with the brand. It means asking the questions of how can you create shareable moments around in store displays, the product itself to any events.

  • It means if you have a restaurant, do you have wifi enabled to help encourage people to share photos of their food or their experiences in the moment with their friends?
  • If you run a concert venue, do you have an experience to encourage people to share while they are queuing up for the toilets checking their phones?
  • If you sell a product is your packaging including a hashtag and perhaps a fun little Easter egg that will increase sharing by people unpacking your product?

Social isn’t about following a brand on social platforms for people; it’s about the content they create to share to themselves. This is the most important part that brand need to understand and not be afraid of.

Be authentic

This is also extremely important when you think that monetisation is leading all social platform strategies, penalising brands, and forcing them to spend money to reach a consumer base that has already expressed interest in them. The power of thinking of social away from social platforms and being consumer-led rather than brand-led is even a more authentic way to reach an even larger audience of people, and have your brand message shared.

Interact

This takes time, and is easy to overlook when you have to hit sales targets. It’s super easy to think publishing a link and marketing message is the easiest way to help make the target. But you can actually increase your sales if you understand and interact in the community, how to have them lead the conversation, and to get your message out.

By authentically creating brand affinity by relinquishing some control in a strategic manner, you can help increase your reach, build brand engagement and create a more interested audience that can drive your marketing goals further.

Tessa Barrera is Head of Social Media for Lexis and was former Global Head of Social Media at Red Bull, where she led the social media activity around Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic skydive (which got eight million people watching live on Youtube.)

She is one of the speakers at the DMX Dublin digital marketing conference on 12 March in Dublin’s Aviva.

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9 Comments
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    Mute brian o'leary
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:06 PM

    Didn’t make a clean getaway?

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:08 PM

    @brian o’leary: 10/10

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    Mute Donna Fallon
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:11 PM

    @brian o’leary: Brilliant!! ‘Ya filthy animal’!!

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    Mute Veronica Waastrumpet
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:49 PM

    @brian o’leary: he was told to cover up and “aye, sure that’s the British govt’s job. Where’s me fig leaf?”

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    Mute F1rYnpWc
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:32 PM

    Unionist paramilitaries? Sure the FFG westbrits would have you believe that the IRA were fighting themselves

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:46 PM

    @F1rYnpWc: They certainly weren’t ‘fighting’ loyalist paramilitaries to any significant degree.

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:48 PM

    @F1rYnpWc: Only 2.5% of total IRA killings were of loyalist paramilitaries.

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    Mute Johnny Wilson
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:57 PM

    @F1rYnpWc: Provo trash murdered more of their own people than the rest combined

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:36 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: I suppose you got your figures from the Protestant Telegraph?

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Dec 27th 2024, 4:19 PM

    @Brian Hunt: Such statistics are a matter of public record. Yet again, facts don’t care about your feelings.

    https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/violence/sutton.htm

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    Mute Thom Hunter
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    Dec 27th 2024, 6:00 PM

    @F1rYnpWc: they were loyalists, not unionists. That is like saying anyone that identifies as a nationalist is a child killing republican. Big difference fella. We don’t all believe in murder and mayhem.

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    Mute Llennoc
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    Dec 27th 2024, 6:46 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: You love unionism and the IDF. Vile human being you are.

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    Mute H Woo
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    Dec 27th 2024, 9:02 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien:
    SF RA better at murdering the Irish when you examine their score card

    5
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    Mute Pork Hunt
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    Dec 27th 2024, 11:06 PM

    @Johnny Wilson: there he blows west Brit knee bender waves the sash and blesses himself

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    Mute Brian D'Arcy
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:57 PM

    Loyalist paramilitaries still acyivecand given the same treatment, you wouldn’t that by the actions of numerous governments since, but the IRA ha ha and you have clowns, like Martin who constantly come out with lies about the army council, the same one that international observers observed were no in play but yet nothing about Loyalist paramilitaries.

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Dec 27th 2024, 2:03 PM

    @Brian D’Arcy: Loyalist paramilitaries aren’t trying to enter government in this state.

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    Mute honey badger
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    Dec 27th 2024, 2:12 PM

    @Brian D’Arcy: Are you drunk?

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    Mute Richard Scratcher
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    Dec 27th 2024, 2:38 PM

    @Brian D’Arcy: step away from the bottle.

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    Mute Johnny Wilson
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    Dec 27th 2024, 2:59 PM

    @Brian D’Arcy: even dogs in the street know about the existence and control of the army council

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    Mute Oretani Wildlife
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:44 PM

    @Brian D’Arcy: sorry, the music was too loud and I didn’t have my hearing aids in, and I also forgot my glasses. I didn’t quite catch what you were trying to say. You’ll have to be more clear. Sorry.

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    Mute Dan Murphy
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:26 PM

    Loyalist dirtbag is snared by bat of soap.

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    Mute Veronica Waastrumpet
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:47 PM

    It was a paisley shower curtain. Used to cover up everything else as well.

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    Mute Jack Moss
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:06 PM

    I thought the RUC and loyalists terrorists organisations were all on the same side .

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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:39 PM

    @Jack Moss: Don’t forget the Army!

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    Mute Jack Moss
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    Dec 27th 2024, 3:48 PM

    @Brian Hunt: I probably say there was more Republican terrorists working for the security forces then loyalists . What was the going rate back in them days . Eighty thousand pounds for someone in the high ranks of the IRA and twenty thousand for lower ranks . A huge amount of money back then . You could buy a house for £40 thousand back in the 80s . I say thirty percent of the IRA were on the payroll .

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    Mute Veronica Waastrumpet
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    Dec 27th 2024, 5:27 PM

    @Jack Moss: same side as the “Coolock Says No” crims and welfare cheats.

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    Mute Thom Hunter
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    Dec 27th 2024, 5:58 PM

    @Jack Moss: if you look, you will probably find that there were huge numbers of loyalist terrorists given heavy jail terms. HMP Maze was full of them. Thankfully.
    They were released the same time as republican terrorists. Skum bags each and every last one of them.

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    Mute Jack Moss
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    Dec 27th 2024, 7:14 PM

    @Thom Hunter: A loyalist was more likely. to be arrested than a Republican . IRA terrorists just crossed the border into the safety of the republic . Loyalist terrorists had nowhere to go . Many IRA terrorists were free men in NI. The security forces knew who they were and the people on the street knew who they were . Martin McGuinness was the perfect example . Apart from his short time intern he was a completely free man for 25 yrs . Everyone knew he was the commander of the Derry brigade of the IRA . He wasn’t even in hiding . Hundreds more terrorists were going home each night to their wife’s and Mothers .

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    Mute Thom Hunter
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    Dec 27th 2024, 7:39 PM

    @Jack Moss: I agree totally. I also know from witnessing with my own eyes many, many security force raids on homes of loyalists. Quite a few of my mates dad’s when I was wee were in the Maze.
    Or maybe I misjudged your sarcasm?

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    Mute H Woo
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    Dec 27th 2024, 9:08 PM

    @Jack Moss:
    Most of them turned Tout when shown the photos by Gardai Special Branch or MI5.

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    Mute H Woo
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    Dec 27th 2024, 9:19 PM

    @Jack Moss:
    Adams and Coco McGuinness were choosen men. Security forces both sides of the border “facilited” there rise to the top by shooting, blackmail and jailing members who were in the way, in order for them to deliver a deal. Well done lads.

    3
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    Mute Brian Hunt
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    Dec 27th 2024, 11:40 PM

    @Jack Moss: No doubt there was a significant amount of informants within the provos, they even had a special unit for detecting and executing such people, which must have had a negative effect on their operations.
    The Loyalist groups were infiltrated to a man!

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    Mute Temp Stuff
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    Dec 27th 2024, 6:03 PM

    Flushed out eventually

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    Mute Dan Murphy
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    Dec 27th 2024, 1:27 PM

    Bar

    6
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    Mute A D
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    Dec 27th 2024, 9:54 PM

    “When he turned up at the station still dripping wet from his shower.”

    3
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    Mute Dannster
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    Dec 27th 2024, 5:08 PM

    How old Wos he haven’t to be told to wash himself

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    Mute H Woo
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    Dec 27th 2024, 9:25 PM

    @Dannster:
    Unionists are not knowing for washing. Something to do with the water may have being blessed by a papest

    8
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