The band Smashing Pumpkins decided to engage their fans through a visual social media marketing campaign.

The campaign was designed to draw in fans by asking various questions about the songs the band was about to release. The fans were asked to design visual representations or texts interpreting various titles.

The social media campaign, titled “Imagine Oceania”, was part of a promotion for the band’s new album “Oceania”. The challenge was initially posted through the photography blog JPGMAG.com and selected artists would have their artwork turned into limited edition posters signed by the band’s lead Billy Corgan, as well as the rest of the Smashing Pumpkins.

Additional fan art was exhibited on the band’s varied social media outlets. These included Storify, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.

The visual social media campaign was designed to crowd source marketing by asking fans to participate, engage and share on social networks and the band would also reward the artists (their fans) by sharing their work on the band’s Facebook page which provides an audience of nearly 2.5 million fans.

So how can you make this strategy work for you?

#2. Offer Low Cost Prizes with High Returns

The prizes are valuable but not costly. Fans can have their art printed on demand and signed by the band. This will not cost very much for the band, but fans will appreciate the gesture. Additionally, the recognition received by some of the artists might eventually translate into actual work. There are positive incentives for fans to participate.

You may need to invest heavily in a prize, but don’t make your audience invest heavily. Keep it simple

1. Have them sign up with an email address and some
2. Provide basic demographic information.
3. Ask for a survey response to be entered.

#4. Attract an Existing Fan Base

Smashing Pumpkins are making use of an existing fan base. Instead of just making an effort to engage new fans, the band is also renewing interest among its existing fan base. Some fans may not have been active. In fact, many fans may not have thought about the band for quite some time, but engaging an existing fan base can cause former fans to have a renewed interest. In turn, these fans will eventually recruit new fans who will join in the fun.

The power of this technique relies upon the trust built with current and previous customers. You don’t have to court and sell yourself to this group: they already know you. You get to skip the whole process of establishing a relationship.

In Review

In looking at the different social media platforms used, Smashing Pumpkins could have gained more social sharing traction by using Instagram for publishing the fan art and not just the photography blog which is a minor player online.

If you have a look at the bands Instagram account not one of the fans images for the “Imagine Oceania” competition was published on the mobile social platform. This was an opportunity missed as Instagram is a much bigger social media network of over 100 million users. This would have assisted in increasing the success of the campaign.

A good example of leveraging Instagram as a visual social media marketing tool is how General Electric used Instagram successfully to promote their brand.

A visual social media campaign has the potential to jump start fan interaction exponentially; so learn from Smashing Pumpkins and get your customers excited and sharing images about your business!

What About You?

What visual social media marketing campaigns has worked for your business. If you are a digital agency, what campaigns using a strong visual element have worked best and why?

Look forward to hearing your stories in the comments below.

Guest Author: Tara HornorTara Hornor has a degree in English and has found her niche writing about marketing, advertising, branding, web and graphic design, and desktop publishing. Connect with @TaraHornor on Twitter.

 

 

Want to Learn How to Market Your Business and Brand on Social Networks?

My book – Blogging the Smart Way “How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” – will show you how.

It is now available to download. I show you how to create and build a blog that rocks and grow tribes, fans and followers on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It also includes dozens of tips to create contagious content that begs to be shared and tempts people to link to your website and blog.

I also reveal the tactics I used to grow my Twitter followers to over 115,000.

You can download and read it now.

94
inShare

The paperless revolution has started! We live in a world that’s abundant with so many tools and apps that the thought of going paperless has at least crossed your mind, right?

Inman Ambassador, and Phoenix-based real estate agent Kerry Melcher, and I recently had a Q&A to pin down some of the important points. It may even make you reconsider ditching your day planner.

Tell us about yourself Kerry.
I’m a third generation Phoenix REALTOR and a native to Phoenix.  I’m married to a native and we are raising two small natives.  My practice is devoted to midtown Phoenix and is all referral.  I’ve been a REALTOR for 26 years.  In the past 6-7 years I’ve become a very active volunteer in the REALTOR world and that has changed who I am and has brought me some of my closest professional and personal friends.  I really love being a real estate agent – I grew up around REALTORS and bullpens and MLS books and microfiche.  It’s not uncommon for me to say (and truly mean) I love the smell of a realtor! Good, bad, part-time or full – those are my people.

When did you decide it was time to ditch the paper?
Having children was the beginning – I needed to manufacture more hours in my day and that seemed an obvious place to find those.  The iPhone was the real turning point.  I got an iPhone about six months after the first came out and became instantly convinced that it could help me eliminate paper when it came to contract signing and transaction management.

Why did you decide to become a paperless agent?
Practically: file management with paper is not as precise and takes an enormous amount of additional time beyond the production of documents.  I am vastly more organized than i was when swimming in paper.  I must have owned 6 printers when I moved away from paper.  Eliminating the hours of research I would put into a new printer was a savings but getting away from the ink cartel was life altering (dramatic I know but I’m a realtor and paper was everything before).

Impractically: I love technology that can enhance performance and make life easier and I really love an excuse to find and use that technology.  I’m a little geekish and I think finding and using tools is fun and it turns me on.

Article continues below

Advertise with Inman Next

–>

What were the first tools you got that helped you get started?
The iPhone is where i started getting away from paper contracts.  The iPad is and was the giant printer killer for me.  The iPad is 90% a work tool for me.  The iPhone is practically a limb – please never let me choose between it and another one of my favorite limbs.

What was the transition like? Where did you start?
It wasn’t a big process.  I started trying applications for signing and practiced on school permission slips until I found the right one.  Once I found one that was nearly foolproof I used it on my next contract.  App research to use was less than two weeks.  After that it forced me to figure out storage and file management.

What challenges did you/do you face with being  paperless.
The biggest thing is really just changing your workflow but it so quickly pays off that it’s easy to let that momentum carry you to the next transaction and solve the next problem.

What are you clients’ reaction?
Some clients are at first intimidated or bothered by their signature – not a lot of hurdles really.  I’ve taken more than one client to the apple store after our transaction to buy an iPad.

Have you seen a change in your productivity as a real estate agent?
It makes me much more efficient.  I could not do all the volunteering and the caring for my husband and kids in the manner which I do without being paperless in my business.  I always thought I was an unorganized person – and it’s not my strength but I’m feel super human when it comes to my files now.

What apps are at the top of your list right now?

• JotNot Pro or Genius Scan
• Dropbox and Evernote
• Sign-N-Send
• Google apps
• Siri – she’s my CRM assistant
• Foodspotting
• Walkscore
• Cue right now I’m not sure it will stay on my page one but it’s learning more and more about me and I like that. Here is the review that I did for CUE, not too long ago.

Have you embraced being paperless as an agent? How was the transition? Do you have some favorite apps that you use? Leave a comment below! We would love to know.