Are you more than a logo?

In my last blog post, I discussed how important it is for companies to implement a multifaceted methodology into their social media campaign. Last Thursday (Oct. 15^th), I had the pleasure of seeing this approach in action when I attended the opening of Garrett Popcorn’s store on Michigan Avenue.

For those unfamiliar with Garrett Popcorn it is the BEST popcorn you will ever taste (I am neither exaggerating nor being paid to say this!). This is Garrett Popcorn’s 60^th year of being in business and they were opening up a location on Michigan Avenue. Obviously, they wanted to tie the two milestones together, while simultaneously demonstrating to their customers how much they appreciate them.

The event was a huge success (you know you have done well when there is a line of people standing outside in the cold rain for some popcorn)! Garrett Popcorn used a variety of social media forms to spread the word about their product such as social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, videos and pictures.

Half of the battle is to know which forms will be more conducive in spreading your message. However, in order for you to win, your company’s message has to convey to your customers that you are more than just a logo. Let’s face it; most people do not “seek” out companies to follow unless they enjoy the product. So how do you continue to maintain the interest of those familiar with your product while attracting people who have never had your product? You can accomplish this feat by making sure your company is able to project the following attributes during your social media campaign:

Pleasant disposition: I have always been a big fan of Garrett Popcorn (if you grew up in the Chicagoland area it is impossible not to be!) and was happy to see them show up on my Twitter stream. However, what made me deepen my devotion to this company was to see how their Director of Social Media interacts with people. Some companies have a tendency to have one sided conversations because their campaigns rely solely on sharing discounts thinking this will “lure” people in to buy their product.

Garrett Popcorn does not operate under this mindset. They recognize that their product is viewed as a fun treat and they carry this feeling into their social media campaign. They maintain a great balance of engaging with their fans while sharing information about discounts and events happening at the store. The pure act of me writing a blog post about them is evidence that even when you already like a product, you are more apt to help promote it if that company practices what they preach.

Encourage participation:  When Garrett Popcorn was trying to decide how to celebrate their anniversary and store opening, they knew better than to tackle this decision on their own so they went straight to the source—their customers.  Lots of ideas were bounced around and I believe someone had suggested that they give a bag of free popcorn to every 60^th person in line.  Of course, that sounded like a great idea so they took it into consideration. After all, people love their product and would line up anyway for this tasty treat—so why not add an element of surprise by handing out free bags of popcorn to every 60^th person in line?

Take it to another level: Garrett Popcorn obviously loves their customers and appreciates their business, because they took this idea of giving popcorn to the 60^th person in line to a degree that many companies would never have dared to attempt. They gave a free bag of Chicago Mix (my FAVORITE flavor) to everyone in line between the hours of 10am and 2pm. That’s a lot of popcorn!  The line as you can imagine was ridiculously long, but no one minded the wait. Everyone that was in line was sharing stories about how much they loved the popcorn, how they heard about the event, etc. This event took place on a rainy day and Garrett Popcorn handed out Garrett Popcorn ponchos to everyone in line.

Companies that are solely dedicated to not only implementing their customers’ suggestions, but taking their ideas to the next level will always be repaid by having loyal customers. A company’s ability to anticipate anything that would deter their customer’s from enjoying their experience with the product (i.e. standing out in the rain in a line that wrapped around the block—couldn’t tell you where it ended!) will further deepen their devotion to your company (i.e. they didn’t have to care about their customers getting wet).

Regardless, of which platform Garrett Popcorn interacted with their customers, the aforementioned attributes were immediately noticed. When a company crafts a message with these aspects in mind, your audience will pick up on your authenticity and be even more eager to hear from you. Garrett Popcorn consistently reaffirms these aspects in their campaigns which is what will enable them to continue to enjoy many more years of sweet success.

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