2013 was considered as the benchmark for traditional advertising while social media marketing was somewhat still in its infancy as marketers struggled to make sense of how to utilize social media to maximize brand exposure. You probably saw that “Oreo Envy” ad during the halftime show on Super Bowl XLVII.

However, 2014 was the banner year for social media marketing. This was the year that marketers saw the real-time advantage of social media and thereafter launched many successful social media campaigns that received a highly positive response from its targeted niche market. Here are six of those highlights from 2014.

Taco Bell and its #onlyontheapp campaign

Taco Bell shocked everyone when they had a complete social media blackout across all their platforms with the release of their mobile app. The fast-food joint chose to launch their latest product by cutting through everything with a new approach: to drive people to download their new mobile app. When people opened Taco Bell’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, all these sites offered only this single message: Taco Bell isn’t here, it’s #onlyontheapp.

The drastic tactic worked, and the app became number one in the Food and Beverage category on the iTunes App Store and broke the Top 25 Apps overall. In fact, 75% of Taco Bell’s 6,000 U.S. stores processed mobile orders within the first 24 hours of the app’s release.

The White House and its #GetCovered campaign

After a shaky start due to government website issues, U.S. President Obama and his social media team launched #GetCovered to increase registration for the Affordable Care Act. To effectively reach the targeted demographic of millennials, considered here as the niche market for this healthcare campaign, one of the most successful social media campaigns ever launched covered many social platforms previously untouched.

The #GetCovered campaign aimed to reach millennials in a way that was organic and digestible. The campaign’s website provided good information, profile pictures, and cover photos all easily sharable on users’ social media accounts. President Obama also ventured into new territory by becoming the first verified user on Quora, a question and answer based social community, in fact, holding an online forum discussing the Affordable Care Act. Arguably the most hilarious component of successful social media campaigns was the president’s appearance on the online talk show Between Two Ferns with comedian Zach Galifinakis. It got over 8 million views, trended nationally, and won a Creative Arts Emmy Award.

Successful Social Media Campaigns Means Doing Something Different

The famous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

2014 was the year you saw friends, coworkers, family members, and celebrities participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. This was a dare that encouraged people to dump a freezing cold bucket of ice water on themselves to raise money and awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The viral trending of one of the most successful social media campaigns went beyond anything imaginable. Hundreds of thousands of people undertook the challenge to raise money and awareness for ALS. According to Facebook, over 17 million videos were shared that were viewed over 10 billion times by 440 million people. Over $115 million was raised for the ALS organization.

Photo Credit | https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinjllewellyn/6235070321