In the vast realm of social media and online content creation, the influence held by creators has become a powerful From Ryanair’s iconic presence on TikTok to Aldi’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar sensation, and even Innocent Drinks’ witty response to the Coleen Rooney/Rebekah Vardy controversy, the landscape of reactive social media strategies has given rise to some of the most unforgettable online moments in recent years.
What is reactive marketing on social media?
Reactive marketing on social media is when a brand proactively engages with and addresses trends, viral news stories, pop culture revelations, or significant events. Social media’s influence over consumer decisions continues to grow which means that building meaningful connections and interactions with audiences through these platforms has become more crucial than ever.
Reactive marketing offers an opportunity for creativity and engagement, often combined with humour or significance. However, building a strong online presence is a gradual process, requiring a well-defined plan and the ability to produce timely responses. This ensures your brand remains attuned to current discussions and stands at the forefront of conversations.
How to increase your reactive marketing
As social media users become more aware of reactive strategies, there are several areas to consider when looking at reactive approaches:
- Relevance: Ensure the topic directly aligns with your business or industry, avoiding the temptation to jump onto every bandwagon
- Brand personality: The chosen topic should allow your brand’s personality to shine through, and link to who you are, and what you do
- Audience engagement: It should spark interesting conversations among your audience
- Brand consistency: Avoid topics that clash with your brand’s values or personality, this can come off to users on social media as insincere
- Sensitivity: Coming back to your brand personality, if your brand is professional/corporate, then steer clear of controversial or distasteful subjects
Being reactive means speed is of the essence. Posting reactive content often demands quick decision-making without the luxury of extensive approval processes. Establishing trust within your team to replicate your brand’s voice and personality quickly is crucial. This agility will allow you to jump on relevant trends at their peak and minimise communication bottlenecks that might cause you to miss opportune moments.
Regular reporting and communication are integral to showcasing the value of reactive marketing. Highlighting successful strategies, dissecting effective content, and addressing areas for improvement help drive the point home. This approach also facilitates the identification of learning opportunities for future trends.
Successful reactive marketing campaigns
To illustrate the impact of influencers on a global scale, we need only glance at the colossal followings commanded by So how is reactive marketing actually executed? Let’s round up some of the biggest reactive campaigns from brands all over the world:
1.Aldi
It wouldn’t be a reactive marketing round-up without Aldi making an appearance. Now famous for their quick wit and reactive responses on X, their social media team plays into their reputation for brand dupes and rivalry with other supermarkets:
OBSESSED pic.twitter.com/dzsAI2zZc5
— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) April 29, 2024
I think you mean ain’t no party like a Carlos Stonebaked Sourdough Spicy Meat Feast from Aldi Party https://t.co/sffNkGMfFy
— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) May 3, 2023
Closing in on 700k followers on X, the brand is really the definition of giving their social media team full reign to build an engaged audience online.
2.Specsavers
Known for their catchphrase “should have gone to Specsavers”, this is another brand that places itself front and centre in the reactive marketing space time and time again. One way that they keep themselves in the conversation is live tweeting during sporting events to throw a little shade and tongue-in-cheek humour towards sporting teams and fans:
Breaking news:
— Specsavers (@Specsavers) April 20, 2024
Handball now legal at Wembley
— Specsavers (@Specsavers) February 25, 2024
Specsavers has now taken this one step further with their very own content series “The Best Worst Team” bringing together football legends to referee local matches in a YouTube series, cementing their reactive nature in the football community.
3. Stanley
We all know that Stanley became famous worldwide for making their thermos cup the fashion accessory of the year in 2023, but they are also on top form when it comes to reactive content. When a woman filmed the damage after her car had caught fire, she showed that her Stanley Cup was the only item to make it out completely unharmed. Within 24 hours of posting her video, Stanley president, Terence Rielly, stitched her video to not only offer her a new cup, but a brand new car as a thank you for her demonstration of their product’s quality.
@stanleybrand #stitch with @Danielle ? original sound – Stanley 1913
With over 7 million likes and 195,000 shares, this video continues to gain popularity for the brand, highlighting its brand-audience connection.
Exploring reactive marketing offers a unique opportunity for brands to amplify their online presence, establish meaningful connections, and create memorable interactions within the ever-evolving landscape of social media, remembering to build trust within teams to move quality, look for relevance, and ensure brand personality is brought into the mix will allow for successful campaigns.