Retailers are looking for creative and fun ways to connect with customers on social media. Lowe’s has done a great job in this area, with a focus on reaching the younger generation who are up and coming with regard to settling down, purchasing homes, and investing in home improvement.
What are they doing? According to a recent article in the New York Times, they have a great recipe for success:
Brevity is key: knowing that customers’ attention span is short, the company created a Vine account and filled it with six second DIY tips and tricks covering a wide range of topics. One of my favorites is containing the ever growing pile of plastic bags:
Make it go viral: as a secondary piece, they wanted to allow customers to easily share the Vines and spread the word. They coupled the Vine campaign with a hashtag (#lowesfixinsix) to promote it. Additionally, they have tacked on other popular hashtags, such as #QuickTip, #DIY, and seasonal hashtags around #Halloween for added exposure. Based on our social media research capabilities, it looks like Lowe’s has strong social activity:
Take social offline: to bring the Vine content to life, Lowe’s worked their window displays quite effectively. They created displays to mirror the content of their Vine account and even displayed “live” Vine content, and coupled that with a usable “like” button for those walking by to show their appreciation for a display. Finally, they made it more interactive by painting feet in front of the display to show people the best place to stand in order to take a selfie with the window display.
This effort was incredibly successful, with over 34 million impressions on their social channels, thousands of social media mentions, and over 30,000 “likes” at their displays.
Lowe’s is a great example of creative marketing, and tying online social activity to onsite engagement. They have a keen understanding of their target demographic and have engaged in a way that makes the most impact on them.
