While attending last week’s SEMA event in Las Vegas, I was curious to see which companies would take advantage of social media and the tremendous amount of chatter around the show. While many posted photos, I was particularly impressed with the companies that invited attendees to participate and got creative with their strategy.
It’s fair to say that I probably missed some of went on because if you’ve ever been to SEMA, you know how massive it is. There are countless things happening simultaneously. You can be snapping photos of a car one minute, talking to a vendor the next and then asking your favorite TV peeps for a photo opp while power walking to the Starbucks line. My head is still spinning, but I’m already counting down the days until next year’s event.
At any rate, here are the 2015 SEMA Social Media Marketing Best in Show Standouts:
Ford
There’s no question that the automotive giant is a master of social media marketing. One way Ford shined on social media at SEMA was through eliciting photo posts from attendees. How did they do that? They held a live contest at their booth. If you posted a photo with a Ford vehicle and used a certain hashtag, you were entered to win a drive along.
Ford also used live broadcasting to their advantage by broadcasting portions of the event with Periscope for all of their fans who couldn’t make it. (
Alprazolam) Smart.
DevilsOwn Alcohol Injection
This exhibitor was one of several that had an eye-catching display. One smart thing DevilsOwn Alcohol Injection did was bring a prop that not only was fun, but matched their branding. You couldn’t really walk by it without noticing it. What I loved the most is that the devil statue had a sign next to it that said if you take a photo with it and post it on their Facebook page, you’d be entered to win a free kit. This smart tactic got people to post on their social networks, which ultimately helped the company garner more visibility through each individual’s network.
West Coast Customs
They did it again. The West Coast Customs Experience was as legit as it gets. They had a variety booths with different vehicle customization experiences that you could sign up to do for free. Plus, they handed out a ton of swag bags. I did the airbrush experience with Ryan “Rhino” Templeton. My only regret is I didn’t have more time to spend there. I’m certain they got tons of social media exposure as a result. The company also went behind the scenes by posting daily videos on their YouTube account.
Las Vegas.
This city really loves social media. There were kiosks at hotels, the convention center, and popular attractions like Count’s Kustoms. Each one of them had people using the kiosk camera to take selfies, which they could then post on Facebook. The cool part is that each kiosk had a different digital frame designed to match the location. Essentially, you could take a picture at each location, post to Facebook, and they would all look different. Why is this awesome? Let’s face it; people love to talk about where they are on Facebook, especially if it’s somewhere famous. From a marketing standpoint, that’s one sweet way to get tons of visibility.
All in all, I really loved all of these ideas. People often think they have nothing interesting to post on social media, but if you’re willing to get a little creative and involve your fan base, you can really rev up your visibility.
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