Twitter has come out in full force for the 2014 FIFA World Cup like we’ve never seen before. They brought back hashflags, made it extremely easy for fans to follow along and let the Twitterverse proudly choose their side and wear it like a badge of honor on their profile. When you look at the social media numbers surrounding the World Cup, this was an extremely smart move.
I’ve been swooning over Twitter’s World Cup activations the past few days and have six big takeaways from their success that I think we can all carry into our work:
1st– Make the point of entry easy.
Each point of entry for Twitter’s different activations is super easy. As you can see from the photos above, they literally walk you through the steps. And, it was also easy to skip steps (which is very much appreciated).
Anytime you run a social media campaign, there needs to be as few steps as possible. If the point of entry is long and tedious, people won’t have enough patience to figure out how to participate (unless there is a grand prize of $1,000,000, of course).
Additionally, Twitter’s activations were seamless because they were not run by a third-party platform. I know this is easy for Twitter to do, but it’s a great lesson to activate on the platform where people are and not make them jump back and forth.
2nd– Sell your product with a story.
I love that Twitter used video storytelling to demonstrate how the platform enhances a fan’s World Cup experience. We know that Twitter has immense impact on sports and the second-screen experience, so the World Cup is a great stage for them to grow their user base. In fact, if I were Twitter I would seed / advertise this video all over the place.
The video is a great reminder that written word isn’t always enough. Video can tell a powerful and memorable story. There is a need to tap into it.
3rd– Be accessible, but not forceful.
When I think about curated content from Twitter, I think their World Cup model should be the future. It doesn’t control the content on a user’s timeline, but does help them follow teams and players if they want to (and in a very easy manner).
The accessibility is a great lesson for us all—again, make it easy for your fans, but don’t force things upon them. The more you force, the less people will want to engage. Every campaign, interaction and activation must come across as genuine.
4th– Don’t always try to invent the trend, just reinvent it.
Hashflags are Twitter’s sports version of emojis. And from what I’ve seen, they’ve been a huge hit among users. I think this is partially because hashflags allow fans to tap into their passion (which I will get to below), but also because emojis are a familiar trend right now.
If you’re looking to launch a new social initiative, take a look at the world around you. Study how your fans are using different platforms and technology. Odds are you won’t have to come up with something completely new; you’ll just have to take a trend and give it your very own twist.
5th– Rally passion.
A lot of Twitter’s activations center around helping users show passion for their team. Sports fans often have a special affinity for their team and they’ll proudly boast about it. If you can provide an easy way for fans to harness their passion to help spread the word about your brand, do it and do it now.
6th– Get total buy-in.
Every single team at the World Cup is officially on Twitter. If you ask me, that’s pretty cool!
The takeaway is simple: With anything you do in social, you need to have buy-in from the right people (whether it’s senior leadership, corporate sponsors, other departments, etc.). Complete buy-in from the people around you will ensure a healthier and stronger campaign, I can promise you.
What do you think about Twitter’s activations for the World Cup? I would love to hear your thoughts below!
