As we enter 2023, the regular use of social media is more profound than ever, especially for brands. More and more brands have jumped on the bandwagon of creating reactive, humorous content to reach a wider audience and grow their following beyond their regular viewers, and it has proven to work very well for a few. You can view a previous blog we’ve written on the key trends for brands to jump on here.
We’ve selected 5 of our favourite social media moments for a selection of brands in 2022 that we hope can only be beaten this year.
Aldi vs M&S Twitter drama
One of the pivotal social moments that stands out for us throughout 2022 was the continuous drama between M&S and Aldi on Twitter. It did start out quite serious, with M&S taking Aldi to court over their ‘Cuthbert the Caterpillar’ cake being a bit too similar to M&S’ famous ‘Colin the Caterpillar’ cake, however as the feud settled, the Twitter drama continued and provided brilliant entertainment and also exposure as a result.
Aldi used the court case to provide entertainment across Twitter, some examples can be seen below.
From the famous #FreeCuthbert hashtag to reacting to any viral content, it's safe to say they have been quick off the mark. Our favourite tweet has to be in reaction to the image of Selena Gomez and Hayley Bieber circulated around. As two of Justin Bieber’s exes, the comparison of that image to Aldi and M&S was genius and the reaction on social media was brilliant.
M&S stores across the city taking over TikTok
Not only are M&S all over Twitter, they’re also taking over the TikTok space. Their main TikTok channel is smashing it, currently sitting at 182.5k followers and 3.6M likes, however it is their individual store accounts we want to shout about.
One in particular, mandsromford, has picked up a huge 93.8k followers and 3.7m likes through their engaging content, reacting to trends and getting all team members involved in various dances. Their success on TikTok has even led to their own Christmas song ‘This Is Not Just a Christmas Song’ which reached number 2 in the iTunes charts! Their humour and light-hearted personalities shine through in their videos and their ability to put their own M&S stamp on trending sounds, dances and themes throughout the app has resulted in brilliant success. They are just 1 of 600 M&S stores on the app currently.
Ryanair Twitter
We couldn’t write this list without adding in Ryanair and their controversial yet genius Twitter account. They have already secured success on TikTok with 1.9M followers and 25.2M likes, however it is their Twitter that has snatched the spot in this list.
They are known for responding to their very frustrated customers with sassy responses – a great way to turn a negative situation around. Ryanair is known for its cheap flights, and also for its crazily expensive baggage fees and poor customer service. However, as they have a Twitter account for the brand and a customer service-specific account, they often play on any complaints they get through their main account as a way of diverting complaints to their other page in order to be dealt with correctly.
They are also not afraid to get involved in current affairs, whether it be controversial or not. Take this week for example – they turned their 20% off sale graphic into a meme around Prince Harry and the drama that has circulated the news this week. Jumping on something so controversial and topical has had a brilliant response - but Ryanair is open to negativity and understands that this comes with having an account willing to jump on risky areas with humour. Well done Ryanair – your controversy and humour is something most brands wouldn’t dare to try but it has definitely been a winner for your brand!
Innocent's success over on Instagram
You’ll often find the most random brands happen to smash socials, and Innocent drinks is definitely one of those. Their Instagram has the perfect mix of humour, product placement and relevant, reactive content. They are brilliant at creating content that relates to everyone in some way, rather than just images of their drinks and a basic caption. They play on the time of year, key events, members of their team, work humour and the occasional product placement to name a few areas.
They’re great at tailoring their content to the social channel, and reacting to customer mentions which builds their personality behind the brand and creates that urge for more customers to interact and engage with the brand too. Amazing work, Innocent!
Specsavers reactivity on Twitter
Specsavers operate their Twitter account in a very similar way to Ryanair, in that they jump on reactive content and put their own relevant spin on it. It is hard to believe there is much content to react to in the sense of not being able to see, but you’d be surprised at just how much Specsavers can create humour and engagement with.
From football mishaps to the new year period, Specsavers can create a witty response from just about anything! Here are some humorous examples below:
We hope Specsavers pull some more viral tweets out the bag this year, and continue to provide strong entertainment for us!