16 of The Best Social Media Campaigns From 2024
From Houseparty’s combination of gamification with social media to the “If you can dream it, Tweet it campaign”, here are the 16 answers to the question, “What are the best social media campaigns from this year and why?”
16 of The Best Social Media Campaigns From 2024
Gamification has long been a part of marketing but no company combined it with social media better than Houseparty. During the pandemic, Houseparty became a popular platform as it allowed people to play games with friends over video, and this created opportunities for some unique partnerships.
Houseparty, in one of the most creative social media campaigns of 2022, partnered with Fortnite to create a trivia challenge. They used their social media platforms to encourage their users to answer a multitude of trivia questions to unlock a prize on Fortnite.
The campaign was an instant hit as it brought together the game-centered platform with Fortnite users and created a marketing boon for both companies.
The best and most memorable ads that I have seen in 2022 are with VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner). It was great timing because everyone was done with the lockdown and wanted to travel again.
I would be on social media and see ads for an unbelievably unique house, and it would grab my attention. The next thing I know, I am on VRBO looking for rentals for houseboats or looking at a house that is built into a cave. Showing the unique houses they have in their profile was a genius idea and made for one of the best social media campaigns from 2022.
Kentucky Fried Chicken realized that the first thought that popped into people’s heads when they thought about breakfast was not KFC, but they wanted to change this and did so successfully in their #Unboring Morning campaign.
Most social media campaigns appear over-polished and will lose some of the human element, but KFC was determined that this would not happen.
By creating a campaign consisting of a set of humorous and relatable videos that were made by both the company and its customers, they captured the very human experience of the morning hours and our quest to get something to eat. The end result was a funny and slightly odd marketing effort that captured the attention of millions of viewers, and made it one of the best social media campaigns of 2022.
Dove’s “Reverse Selfie” commercial is powerful because it addresses the fact that young teenagers feel pressured to distort their image to be in line with what they see on social media. The commercial plays through in reverse, from the moment a girl posts an edited photo to social media to the point when she puts on makeup to appear older than she really is.
Dove, which is a power player in the beauty industry, is showing their true feelings towards how social media can negatively affect the lives of young women. This is an important message to share because there is more and more evidence about how perceived beauty standards are corrupting the youth.
I’m not a huge Zoom user, but they grabbed my attention a few times with their social media campaign on virtual backgrounds.
Using a competition for a social media campaign is always a good idea, and Zoom did it at the perfect time because virtual meetings have ruled the conversation over the last few years. In 2022, Zoom took advantage of its popularity by getting users involved in a competition that allowed everyone to take part.
Zoom users just had to take a picture of their unique background and submit it to the contest. It created some excitement on their platform, was very visual for everyone, and encouraged creativity. A very fun social media campaign from 2022!
Spotify’s Wrapped Campaign from 2022 stands out as one of the most successful and effective social media campaigns to date. Spotify used its massive user base to cleverly analyze individuals’ music listening habits, and then generate monthly reports that provided a personalized overview of their favorite songs, artists, and genres for the year.
Then, Spotify shared these Wrapped reports with their users via email or on their app and further encouraged users to share these stories on social media.
This propelled Spotify’s social media campaign beyond regular promotional content, allowing users to interact with each other while simultaneously increasing Spotify’s engagement rate across all platforms. The effectiveness of this unique campaign was reflected in Spotify seeing a 50% increase in overall site visits within weeks of its announcement.
Tip 7
YouTube's Shorter Side Of YouTube
Samantha Odo, Real Estate Expert & Chief Operating Officer, Precondo
YouTube has been one of the most successful social media platforms for years now. They came up with the “Shorter Side Of YouTube” campaign to promote their new “Shorts” feature.
This campaign revolved around celebrities and influencers posting their own original shorts. Some videos were comedic, while others were more informative. They really set the tone for the feature, and it became an instant hit.
As someone who follows a lot of marketing circles, I love to end the year looking at the best of advertising to see what we can learn from them.
McDonald’s in the United States of America began its “menu hacks” campaign on January 27, 2022, allowing customers to select from four new hidden menu items.
McDonald’s may profit from an innovative campaign using things that are already on their menu thanks to these significant mash-ups that let customers experiment with their meals. It drew many in by the fast-food companies’ colorful marketing materials and creative menu combinations, although there were conflicting opinions online.
Using the inescapable controversy around these extraordinary mix-ups to encourage their fans to talk about their brand on social media was a wise move by McDonald’s. It also helps that the offer is only available for a short time.
It also gives customers the freedom to be creative, making for a brilliant campaign.
One social media campaign that has got people talking more than most is the recent Pepsi Christmas advert with Lindsay Lohan that suggests a cocktail of Pepsi and milk (yes, really) as a cocktail for Santa.
The reason this works so well Is, not only has the brand engaged one of the most infamous celebrities in the world just as she begins her comeback, but they have also created something that has caused massive debate, with many thinking this concoction sounds awful, and others convinced Pepsi are purposefully trolling us.
Either way, it has created a viral sensation of user-generated content on Twitter with people simply having to try it for themselves. Even if they don’t like the dubbed “Pilk” (a snazzy mix of the words Pepsi and milk) the product has already been purchased and shared far and wide
Undoubtedly, Apple’s #shotoniphone social media campaign won the smartphone campaign battle in 2022. Apple, this time, used the classic user-generated content (UGC) social media campaign.
In this campaign, they showed video ads of aesthetically beautiful shots and pictures in the ad. They disclosed that these were shot on iPhone, thus boasting of their flagship product’s amazing picture-capturing quality. Thousands of Apple users hopped on this trend and shared amazing snapshots of either creative work or their everyday life with hashtag shots on iPhones.
In this campaign, users became Apple’s sales team and this trend alone would have helped them boost their sales with the iPhone 14 launch while making Apple products trend on Instagram for a long period.
Louis Vuitton’s “Victory is a State of Mind” is without a doubt one of the most memorable and impactful campaigns from 2022.
Louis Vuitton created an iconic visual with two football legends, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, showing off their competitive spirit in a game of chess over Louis Vuitton’s Damier attachĂ© case.
The campaign was a modern take on Louis Vuitton’s tradition of using two legendary icons together in an environment that brings out their competitive spirit. It showed off the luxury brand’s craftsmanship and reminded audiences of Louis Vuitton’s deep roots in style and class.
The “Victory Is A State Of Mind” campaign did just that, reminding Louis Vuitton’s loyal customer base of the brand’s timeless style and luxury, while also introducing two new football legends that Louis Vuitton is proud to stand behind. It’s no wonder why this campaign is one of the most successful social media campaigns of 2022.
Thirty-second Super Bowl commercial spots cost $6.5 million each. With its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it brand awareness campaign; Reddit adopted a different strategy from the many brands that have been ready to pay more for longer advertisements.
It begins like any other auto advertisement before cutting to a picture of the Reddit logo and galloping horses in a pasture. It was an unusual strategy for drawing attention, but it succeeded admirably.
The advertisement directed users to social media as they sought answers to what they had just seen. After the advertisement, a clarification Tweet received over 464,000 views.
Tip 13
Amazon’s #GoGreen With Sustainable Materials
Michael Chepurnyak, CEO & Founder, Ein-Des-Ein
In 2022, one of the most successful social media campaigns was launched by the online retailer Amazon.
The campaign was designed to promote their new line of products, which were made from sustainable materials. To do this, Amazon created a series of short videos that showed the products being used in everyday life. The videos were then shared on social media, along with the hashtag #GoGreen.
Within a few weeks, the campaign had gone viral, and Amazon’s sales of sustainable products increased by 400%. The success of the campaign was because of its ability to connect with consumers on an emotional level.
By showing the products being used in real-life situations, Amazon was able to demonstrate that its products could make a difference in the world. As a result, consumers were more likely to purchase the products, and the campaign was widely considered to be a success.
The horror movie Smile decided to pull a stunt that all but guaranteed it going viral. You probably saw the billboards. A close-up of a woman staring at the camera, her mouth smiling but her eyes taking a sinister vibe. What better way to push the terrifying premise that seeing this kind of smile from a stranger means your doom than to have an actor do that in the wild?
A creative way to do this was placing these actors at big market MLB games like the New York Mets seated behind the batter, so they’re seen on camera for long stretches of time.
It didn’t take long for people to notice them while watching the game and posting the picture themselves! This kind of engagement and creativity helped Smile become a rare box office hit for an original movie.
In 2022, one of the most iconic social media campaigns came from the fast-food chain Burger King. To promote their new plant-based burger, the company recruited a group of well-known vegetarians and vegans to try it out. The celebrities posted videos of themselves eating the burger and giving it their seal of approval.
The campaign was a major success, helping to boost sales of the burger and increase awareness of Burger King’s commitment to offering more plant-based options.
In addition to being highly effective, the campaign was entertaining and memorable, making it one of the best social media campaigns of the year.
Tip 16
Twitter’s “If You Can Dream It, Tweet It”
Yogesh Kumar, Digital Marketing Manager, Technource
I found this campaign one of the best in 2022. Celebrities and many Twitter users shared their career and life goals on Twitter and made them come true. They featured inspirational billboards about their struggle and career goals.
What was the hook of this campaign? It was an emotional approach as far as I can understand. And the campaign came when Twitter was facing some financial dismal. So, I think it was a wise decision by the stakeholders.
Your Favorite Social Media Campaigns From 2024?
Now that you know what the experts think, it’s your turn. Drop a comment below about your favorite social media campaigns shared by these experts.
