Converse Facebook Case Study

Converse Facebook Case Study

- Umananda Mukherjee

Fast facts

• Converse established their Facebook presence on August 14, 2008• Presently have more than 34 million fans on its Converse page• Listed 7th among top 10 successful brands on Facebook by Tracksocial.com

(as on September 17, 2012)

Community engagement

First status update

Major activity started on Feb 2010 – Converse posted opinion polls on random topics, to which they received a good amount of response, with ‘comments’ surpassing the number of ‘likes’.

RESULT: This gave them an initial understanding of the basics of community engagement.

1st

Converse Facebook Strategy

Attract eyeballs

In Feb 2010 Converse also decided to make a tryst with the idea "Attracting eyeballs". They started making and posting short movies on Facebook, showcasing people with unique talents like "Olivia the photographer “ and "Mentalgassi the street artists". Deservingly enough, the responses were very encouraging.

They even touched upon the subject “weird”, when they posted a video "Kissing with Ross", featuring a densely bearded man, showing how to kiss; which although received loads of critical comments, made Ross an internet sensation overnight.

RESULT: This indirectly promoted Converse as a brand.

2nd

Converse Facebook Strategy

Give people what they want

April 2010 saw Converse starting to promote its sponsored events like music shows, basket ball games, skating board competitions on Facebook, attracting tons of likes and comments. This move attracted lots of music and sports lovers, who were presented with something they have always loved.

RESULT: The brand Converse became synonymous with entertainment.

3rd

Converse Facebook Strategy

Understand the value of right timing and subtle marketing

By April 21, 2010, Converse which had a fair understanding of Facebook as a platform and more importantly its fans felt that the time was ripe for a little marketing.

Taking a subtle step, they started posting photos of their latest shoe models, supported by a very restrained marketing content.

RESULT: Received heaps of likes all the way, with people commenting and even sharing the posts.

4th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Promoting and recognizing partners is self promotion

Beginning of May 2010, Converse began posting status updates of its partner brands like RED (a charity for AIDS prevention and cure), Complex Magazine, Thrasher Magazine etc., who would have directly or indirectly involved in marketing or sale of its products.

RESULT: People appreciated and the likes followed.

5th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Piggy back on big occasions and encourage action

During September and October 2010, Converse tried tapping on Halloween fever. They released shoe designs on the Halloween theme and posted pictures of their shoes on Facebook.

This was also the time when they started posting action oriented status updates.

This proves that Converse had a good understanding of its audiences' behavior and know the exact timing of their posts to garner the maximum engagement and thus avoiding time decay.

RESULT: Again the amount of likes, comments and shares were very encouraging.

6th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Understand your audience

On May 27, 2011 Converse in its effort to understand its audiences a step closer, asked its fans about their likes and dislikes on Converse's activities on Facebook.

RESULT: This provided Converse with a clear understanding of their fans’ likings, which in turn helped them to better strategize their moves in future.

7th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Give fans a sense of involvement and reward them

June , 2011 - Taking a significant step, Converse asked its fans to post photos of their favorite Chuck Taylor All Star shoes on its wall. Converse then went a step further and chose a selection of the submissions and posted the images of their fans’ Chuck Taylors on their Timeline.

RESULT: Garnered a huge positive response from fans, also Converse’s decision to showcase their fans’ photo on their wall again turned out to be very popular. Who wouldn't love to be featured on their favorite brand’s page?

8th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Get hold of facebook tools

March 31, 2012 - Converse intelligently used the "highlighting option" on the very next day of its availability as a part of Facebook’s launch of the "Timeline". While the highlight option doesn’t add much practical value, it definitely adds to the visual appeal when a fan is scrolling through the page.

RESULT: Keeping a close eye on Facebook as an ever evolving platform, can keep you ahead of the competition.

9th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Create engagement and desirability for your product

Converse again proved its mastery of subtle product marketing on Facebook, when it successfully ran a campaign to promote its Dr. Seuss themed shoes; asking its fans to upload photos of their Dr. Seuss shoes, from which selected ones were later showcased in an album.

RESULT: A restrained marketing approach paid off, earning Converse a colossal amount of positive responses.

10th

Converse Facebook Strategy

Converse Facebook case study - key take away:• Community engagement is an all important key to drive a roaring trade on

Facebook • Attracting eyeballs is what you should be initially looking at and then build on

the momentum• Give people what they want and they will return the favor• Understand the value of right timing and subtle marketing - aggressive

marketing might backfire• Promoting and recognizing partners is self promotion • Piggy back on big occasions and encourage fans to take an active part• Understanding your audience, their likes and dislikes will help you know your

position and strategize accordingly• Give your fans a sense of involvement and reward them • Getting hold of the ever evolving facebook platform can be instrumental in

giving you the much needed competitive edge• Finally, keeping in mind that creating engagement and desirability of your

product is why you are on Facebook at the first place

Thank You

Disclaimer: I don’t own rights to any of the images used on this presentation. The purpose of this presentation is only informative and not commercial in anyway. The published information in no way reflects the views and opinion of my employer and represents only my personal viewpoint.

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