tca push 'n pull

Friday, June 22nd, 2012
by Jocelyn Rimbey, Digital Marketing Manager

This week I’m loving Sharpie’s Facebook page. Maybe I am just biased, considering there is little more that I love than a nice, fresh, inky black Sharpie. But that aside, here’s the good and bad of what Sharpie’s social media team is doing.

Here’s what I like most:

Brand Tone and Voice - The content on the page is always in line with who Sharpie is as a brand: fun, outgoing, and creative.

Media – Pictures galore! A ton of their content is visual, again reinforcing their brand. Plus, it’s more interactive in terms of engagement.

Mini-campaigns – They don’t just maintain their page. Campaigns are a great way to increase fan interaction, as well as get new fans. It also helps with shaking up that online content. Right now, they’re partnering with Lava Lamp to give away a custom designed Sharpie lamp. Weird, but I sort of want one…

Not Overtly Promotional – The best brands don’t need to shove their products in your face. They just need to get you to identify with them. Plus, Sharpie does a great job of featuring the capabilities of their products without saying “Buy this now.” Here’s a good example.

Here’s what I think they could work on:

Answering Posts - They’ve got a pretty passionate following. A little “hey thanks, we love you, too” a little more often could go a long way. The simple solution is to comment on people’s wall posts. Don’t just ignore the positive! Give them a reason to post again. And again. And again.

Links - I hate long links. They are ugly. They make the page look messy. Shorten those links, please!

Fragmented Online Experience  - I took a gander at Sharpie’s Twitter presence, and although good in content, not good visually. It doesn’t have the same feel as their creative and explosive Facebook page.