Leveraging a unique blogger network to spread holiday cheer and extend a campaign message.
What happens when you combine a kickass holiday campaign with the creativity and social reach of 20 influential bloggers? A little fun, a little excitement, and a ton of outreach.
For Gift Card Mall, we developed a social campaign called “Giftervention”. Our objective for this campaign was to increase brand awareness of Gift Card Mall and drive purchase from giftcardmall.com by showing that gift cards are an easy way to avoid giving bad gifts.
An extension of the campaign was to show that gift cards could actually be quite personal as a gift. This is where we decided that a blogger network could provide a huge value in terms of creativity, as well as reach.
According to the 2014 Women and Social Media Study by BlogHer, 80% of the audience visits a blog for reinforcement before making a purchase. This single stat shows the power and influence bloggers can have over an audience, and is exactly why we felt a blogger network would be perfect for Gift Card Mall.
Building a Blogger Network
We combed through our network of talented influencers, focusing on those who typically blog about DIY projects, crafting, and general lifestyle. We also focused on readership that mirrors the Gift Card consumer profile. Because this campaign was so specific, we looked for bloggers that had an established following on certain social platforms, like Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
We asked that they create a unique blog post featuring a gift card from Gift Card Mall and share throughout their social channels with the hashtag #WrappedInStyle.
We also selected three high-reach bloggers who specialized in video content creation. We asked that they create a how-to video displaying a Gift Card Mall gift card as the centerpiece of a crafty hand-made gift. We used this content across social channels to promote throughout the campaign.
One of our bloggers hosted a Gift Card Mall Twitter party along with a co-host. We tagged along from the @responsemktg Twitter account and managed the @gcmall Twitter account to keep the party going.
Prior to the party, we leveraged the reach of our Twitter party host and co-host to promote the event and prizes, driving over 200 RSVPs before the party even started!
We worked with the blogger to develop a script with a balance of engaging questions and promotional information.
Twitter users were incentivized to participate throughout the event in order to win Amazon gift cards from Gift Card Mall.
We had an amazing response, with our party generating over 33,360,000 impressions in under an hour! We reached 2,761,113 users, and netted 8,582 tweets from 379 contributors.
Beyond the incredible number of participants, the engagement was the most impressive part. Here’s a snapshot of some of the tweets:
“Such a fun party! Thanks @GCMall! I have so many ideas of how to give gift cards now! #GiftCardMall”
“So happy for this chat today!! You made my holiday shopping much easier with these great tips! 😀 #GiftCardMall”
To encourage engagement on Pinterest, we updated the Gift Card Mall Pinterest account with new board cover photos and new board names. We also created a board for the campaign called “Wrap Your Gift Card In Style”. All of the influencer’s content was re-pinned to this board and promoted based on the target demographic. The extended reach of three “Pinfluencers” and a promoted pin campaign resulted in 583,551 impressions and 8,466 engagements.
Prior to the start of the Giftervention campaign, Gift Card Mall had no presence on Instagram. We used the social compontent of the campaign as a starting point to launch a @GCMall Instagram account. Leveraging the social following of each of the bloggers on Instagram, an audience of approximately 683,936 users, Response launched the official @GCMall Instragram account. The campaign hashtag (#WrappedInStyle) and Instagram giveaway hosted by one of our bloggers were an instant hit, netting @GCMall 250+ followers. In addition, the campaign hashtag, #WrappedInStyle, had an approximate reach across the bloggers’ social channels of over 6 million impressions.
Overall, the blogger network succeeded beyond our most optimistic expectations. Not only did it expose our messaging and client to a vast array of new eyeballs, it did so in a way that was true to our campaign. Our bloggers did a tremendous job of bringing an added element of personality and fun to the campaign, and it showed in the participation numbers. And when it comes to participation, we can’t wait to do this all again next year!