This Tuesday, Dunkin’ Donuts opened a new location in Santa Monica. Dunkin’ hyped up fans for the grand opening with an effective social media build up, promises of free swag-filled tote bags, and a year’s worth of free coffee for the first person in line.
The launch was a success. More than 300 people attended and the line wrapped around the corner, some dedicated people waiting in line for as long as 30 hours. #DunkinLA flooded social media feeds and hundreds received their much anticipated donuts.
One of the reasons the grand opening was so successful was Dunkin’s effective social media strategy. To ramp up the excitement and get the word out about the new location, Dunkin’ created a new Twitter handle @DunkinLA. They announced the new handle on their “Behind the Beans” Blog and through their main Twitter handle @DunkinDonuts.
Starting on August 7th, Dunkin’ started tweeting from the new handle and introduced fans to the hashtag #DunkinLA. Tweets continued throughout the month promoting the new Santa Monica location.
To engage their fans and build conversation around Dunkin’ coming to Cali, @DunkinLA used a variety of social media tactics. Here are a some tips and Dunkin’ examples to follow when tweeting from your company handle:
1. Attach Photos
Almost every tweet from the @DunkinLA handle included a captivating picture pairing the Dunkin’ brand with a part of LA- Dunkin’ at LAX, Dunkin’ at the beach, Dunkin’ doing yoga, etc.
Attaching photos is an effective tactic. Research from Buffer shows that using images on Twitter increases retweets by 150% and click-throughs by 18%. Images capture the attention of followers scrolling down their feeds, evoke emotional reactions, can say more than 140 characters of text, and are more likely to be shared.
2. Ask Questions
DunkinLA tweeted questions and fill-in-the-blanks to inspire follower participation.
Questions and posts asking for follower participation are great for increasing engagement because they create conversation between you and your fans. In fact, prompting fans to respond can drive engagement up by 10%-20%.
Most people enjoy sharing their opinion, so giving your fans a voice is a effective way to grow the conversation. Questions and fill-in-the-blanks are a great way to start a genuine conversation, increase your reach, and learn more about your fans.
3. Retweet, Reply, and Reward Loyal Fans
By retweeting, replying to, and rewarding fans, @DunkinLA incentivized people to continue tweeting valuable content about the new location, helping to promote the launch and give it a larger reach.
To have a larger reach, it looks like @DunkinLA especially focused on retweeting fans who had large followings, encouraging these users to share more #DunkinLA content with their large audiences. Many of the fans who were encouraged by a retweet continued to generate tons of branded content.
Twitter handles like @DunkinDonutsLA and @Dunkin4Dunkin, both run by LA locals/ Dunkin’ Donuts super fans, generated a large following simply by sharing their passion for coffee and donuts. Dunkin’ Donuts recognized these two brand advocates and their power to expand Dunkin’ Donuts’ California reach so to say thank you and encourage more sharing, @DunkinLA sent them a special treat.
With these social media tactics, Dunkin’ Donuts effectively engaged their followers, had a successful LA launch, and grew excitement for other California locations opening soon. Use Dunkin’s tactics in your own Twitter strategy to increase engagement and effectively market your brand!
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