Relevancy in Digital Marketing

April Fools’ Day has just passed, and with it, the slew of practical jokes from brands that jumped on-board the marketing train for the occasion. It seems as though every brand tried to add to the mix to be relevant that day. Opinions on their relevancy range from amused to annoyed, but nonetheless, these brands received engagement and interest from their April Fools’ pushes. Here are a few of our favorite April Fools’ jokes: Lego Glasses. Searching for that one last Lego? Search no more with Lego Glasses. My favorite part about the Lego Glasses is that it is well thought out. There are four videos for the “product,” and Lego tries to engage the consumer at the end. Pizza Hut’s Pizza Flavored Pilsner. What’s better than pizza and beer? Pizza-flavored beer! Pizza Hut’s video is very similar to a Sam Adams style video and is very comical. The best part about this commercial is that if it wasn’t April Fools’ Day, you might consider it legitimate. Hulu Pets. We all know someone who leaves the TV on for their dog or cat because the pet “likes it.” Well, Hulu decided to feed into the consumers’ pet-obsession through dedicated shows for your pets. See a round-up of April Fools’ posts here. So, how can you be relevant for holidays and events? (1) Don’t be late to the game. Nothing looks worse than an impromptu Facebook post late in the day, because you forgot what day it was. It comes off as though you’re trying (and failing) to ride the bandwagon. Plan what you’ll do, post a couple days in advance, and be one of the earlier ones to do so. (2) Don’t be generic. If you’re just going to post “Happy April Fools’ Day!” don’t waste your time. Consumers are looking for something that is interesting and engaging. (3) Do something that will get your consumers talking. After all, isn’t that your end goal? You want consumers to talk about your brand on social media. So think of something that they will find worthy to talk about!