Happy Thanksgiving to all those in the United States who celebrate!
I hope you’re disconnecting from digital devices and spending at least a little quality time with your friends and loved ones IRL today. If your Thanksgivings are anything like mine, I’ll bet you could use a little distraction to help you stay sane while dodging your aunt’s probing questions about your love life and heated family debates on politics (or while letting your food coma runs its course).
Plenty of businesses recognize their loyal fans and followers with special giveaways, discounts, and other rewards (content-related or otherwise); but more can take a little extra effort to dedicate team resources to content that simply expresses gratitude – to fans, followers, customers, or even their own employees – whether or not it’s tied to a sales pitch or promotion.
In the spirit of Joe Pulizzi’s recent love letter to the CMI team and community, I thought I’d share thoughtful ways companies have used their social media pulpits (and other content platforms) to give thanks to their audiences.
From grand gestures of goodwill to simple social shout-outs, the following efforts are just a sample of the ways your brand can demonstrate its genuine appreciation to those who make your business successes possible.
Simple pleasures
Saying thank you doesn’t require a huge campaign or big budget. A simple acknowledgment can go a long way (and pet pictures never hurt).
Animals Rule
It always hits me right in the “feels” when I see pet-rescue post-adoption success stories and photos on the organizations’ Facebook pages to thank new pet parents for adopting instead of shopping for a furry companion. And some – like southern California-based nonprofit Animals Rule – take it a step further by mailing (and socially sharing) postcards with a photo collage of all their rescues that found forever homes that year. It’s a great way for them to thank everyone who adopted, donated, or otherwise supported their efforts to care for the well-being of homeless pets.
Ellie Fund
An organization that provides free services to breast cancer patients and their families, the Ellie Fund also recognizes donor contributions through Facebook. This recent post thanks a group of students who participated in its Students for Hope program during Breast Cancer Awareness Month:
More elaborate displays of affection
Of course, giving thanks isn’t just for nonprofits and cause-based organizations. Plenty of B2B and B2C businesses also use content marketing to show appreciation to their brand fans and followers.
Mini
One of the most popular methods is to recognize individual fans publicly through user-generated media campaigns, photo contests, or tags in a social media post. Mini runs a monthly photo challenge where brand fans can share photos that fit a relevant theme (such as October’s #FitsInMyMini challenge) for a shot at getting their submissions showcased on the brand’s Facebook and Instagram channels.
Dropbox
Another thanks-giving technique content marketers can explore is to make an event of reaching key brand milestones…
