How can Guerrilla Marketing on social media work for my small business?
With a splash of enthusiasm and a sprinkling of bright ideas, Guerrilla Marketing could be a fantastic way to get people to stop and take notice of your small business.
So, what is Guerrilla Marketing?
Broadly speaking, it is the use of unconventional advertisement techniques to promote products & services or increase brand awareness with little or no budget, making it a great option for small businesses. This type of marketing strategy has arisen as we have shifted more and more away from traditional media and towards online and electronic media. When it comes to guerrilla marketing, social media is an extremely powerful tool. Your social media platforms can allow you to reach potentially huge numbers of people, as well as take advantage of the existing buzz around trending topics.
Sounds too good to be true? Not necessarily - but it’s going to take some out-of-the-box thinking to capture the attention of your audience. Although you don’t need to pour much in the way of hard cash into your guerrilla marketing campaigns they will require some form of investment, whether that be time, energy, imagination, favours or wit!
You know when you’ve got it right “when the public can’t tell what’s advertising and what’s not” says Gavin Lucas (author of Guerrilla Marketing).
So, what does a guerrilla marketing campaign look like?
This type of campaign doesn’t have a single mould to work from – if anything the idea is to break the mould, surprise your audience and get people talking. In saying that, there are a few tried and tested strategies that you can tailor to fit your own business. Here are some examples to get you in the guerrilla mindset:
Keep an eye on the topics that are trending on social media and post relevant, engaging content using the appropriate hashtags. Content in context is at the heart of the guerrilla marketing concept. Trending topics allow you to get in on the action of an already existing buzz.
Live streaming on Facebook and Instagram can enable you to schedule online events and even engage directly with your audience on a personal level, for example through Q&A sessions. You could host a live product unveiling or launch event, make an exciting announcement or broadcast from an event you are attending.
Jump on board with events near you – if you can (unofficially) associate your business with a popular event you can tap into a captive audience and ride the wave of its promotion. Perhaps you could offer a discount for ticketholders or attendees, run a themed competition or even organise an after-party! Get involved in the conversation on social media with appropriate hashtags and you’ll be able to place your business in front of a crowd of potential customers.
Feature user generated content on your social media channels, blog and website. Encouraging your customers to submit or tag you in photos or videos of them using your product or visiting your premises is a great, engaging way of showcasing your business – and the content is created for you!
These are just a few ideas to get you thinking – we hope we’ve inspired you to go forth and Guerrilla! Let us leave you with a couple of examples that we like.
Oreo Cookies & the Super Bowl
In 2013, at about 8PM, the Super Bowl had an electrical relay device malfunction, casing a blackout and living TV viewers in the dark. Immediately, Oreo Cookies posted this ad:
When the venue went dark, people went to twitter to seek out information, and immediately found Oreo’s quick-witted response.
Jagermeister: Undercover Games
Jagermeister’s creative “Undercover Games” Snapchat account left subscribers a trail of hints to find an exclusive themed party.
#BOOJUMOBILE Picture Hashtag
Boojum are an excellent example of a local company with a strong social media game. This is just one of their many simple, effective guerrilla campaigns.
