Making Your Campaigns Social Media Epics
By: Genevieve Coates
Have you ever heard a story that stuck with you? One that was passed down through your family or around your hometown for years? It became well known, legendary and everyone knew the tale. The oldest epic story in the English language, Beowulf, survived through the ages in a verbal and then written form, long past many other stories of the same type. The quality of the work is subjective to the reader, so why has this story survived in a verbal, written and now video format across many years and different societies?
Each time this work is introduced to a new audience, whether it be through a band recounting the rhythmic lines from memorization or through an adaptation that features a certain Hollywood leading man with a well-known accent, it begins a new campaign to grasp the minds and imagination of a new audience. If the author of Beowulf was known, he definitely would be quizzed on how he managed to set off one of the most long term PR campaigns ever.
One advantage that Beowulf shows us is that different mediums allow different messages to be told with the same story line, while appealing to the particular audiences’ preferences. For some, verbal languages comes through clearly, while for others, the written words speak stronger. And for some, both of these mediums need images or video added to them to really hit home. Think of how Beowulf has traveled across the ages, first being spoken aloud, then written down and then immortalized on film. It’s the same message but overlaid to a new medium as society developed. Adding a layer of social media to your campaigns is no different then the evolution of a story throughout the ages.
Just like with the Beowulf story, you do not have to re-imagine what it is you are trying to express to the audience, but rather allow your message to explore a new medium.
Here’s a few thoughts on how traditional media can be transposed to the social realm by simply moving some of your traditional elements to their social counterparts.
Campaign Slogans –> Status Updates
Commercials –> Online Video Clips
Billboards –> Paid Website Banner Ads
Radio Ads –> Podcasts
Flyers –> Emails
No matter if you are telling the epic tale of a warrior out to defeat an evil beast or just trying to get your new product launch the attention it deserves, you don’t need to start with a whole new story. The mediums you choose will allow your story to travel across the
What ways do you transform your traditional campaign elements in to social elements? How much time do you spend re-working ideas to fit different mediums? Are your traditional and digital efforts combined?
If you’d like to read more about how you can add a little social to your campaign efforts check out Chapter 2 in this month’s ebook.
