If you’re like me, your social media feeds are a massive mashup of news, comments and conversations. But culling through all that social media stuff can reveal findings as monumental as Charlie’s golden ticket to the Chocolate Factory. Social media is a hub of hot topics with some great insights for your business. Shall we explain? Here’s one example.

This Thanksgiving many are cooking up casseroles, but Mashable shared a slightly different and more engaging concoction. A new #LiteraryTurducken hashtag by publishing company Doubelday takes classic novels and turducken to engage followers in a game of combining classic works with the turkey+duck+chicken dish. Not only did it result in pure hilarity with these submissions, but it grabbed the attention of CEOs (including Twitter) and publishers.

What takeaways does this story deliver for your business? Chew on these.

The chicken: To enhance brand perception, go where consumers play and join the fun.
As you listen and understand the social media environment, you’ll start to see various trends. Hashtags, Twitter chats and Facebook games are just a few activities social media consumers use on a sometimes-daily basis. What are your customers and prospects using? Tap into these fun outlets with variations of your own. It shows that you’re interested and engaged with your consumers while demonstrating your brand as a fun, finger-on-the-pulse organization that enjoys spending time with customers.

The duck: Use timely content to create interest around your brand.
There are a few ingredients that led to the tasty outcome of this social program. Besides tapping into a place where consumers go and being a creative, unique idea, it was timely. This generated interest, excitement and a sense of urgency. Consumers may not have realized it, but they wanted to respond quickly to avoid missing out on the holiday fun. Besides, who doesn’t want to talk about food and our favorite reads? When developing your social strategy, consider how time can be on your side.

The turkey: Find new influencers and grab their attention with an engaging concept.
This truly was the icing on the cake. While it’s likely that the goal of this program was to engage consumers, it wound up grabbing the attention of some heavy hitters. If your goal of your social media program includes an infleuencer strategy, consider tactics that are unique and engaging. Influencers like to have fun too! But moreover, they want to engage with, and be part of, the buzzworthy content.

This was a simple, low-cost program that generated quick interest and excitement. While it may be tough to tie it to ROI, I think we can all agree that the buzz and positive vibe is priceless.

What unique social media efforts did you plan in 2011? How have they worked for you? Share your stories here.

Amanda Nelson is a Community Content Manager at Radian6. She is an avid writer, content curator and border collie fanatic. Find her on Twitter at @mileigh13.

Tags: #literaryturducken, Community, doubleday, Mashable, thanksgiving, turducken, twitter