This is how you can raise USD 1 million in just 1 day… just like this company! Its strategy? Connections, connections, connections! [Thursdays: FYO!]
“Widen Your World.”
This motto aims to show the various destinations and connections that Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier airline, has around the world.
Initially, it sounds like the airline is just another option for passenger air travel―literally widening people’s worlds by bringing them to different countries.
However, the airlines took that motto a step further.
In 2017, it did something that not only widened its passengers’ world, but also its reputation as a “caring brand” to people both online and offline.
When the 2017 famine and drought crisis in Somalia left millions of people in need of food and water, the airline company decided to deliver humanitarian aid to those affected.
It set up a fundraising campaign in order to buy goods and other needed supplies for those in Somalia.
Although the company did not disclose the exact amount it aimed to raise for the campaign, it stated that its goal was to load just one cargo plane with the basic necessities for those affected by the crisis.
What marketing strategy did Turkish Airlines use to reach its fundraising goal?
Influencer Marketing!
―a strategy that leverages the reach of an influencer who has a large following and strong brand reputation. Business owners and marketers enlist influencers to support their brand, endorse their product, or co-create content with the intention of raising brand awareness and sales.
Going back to Turkish Airlines…
The company partnered with French Snapchat star Jérôme Jarre to raise awareness about its fundraising initiative.
In order to inform other people about Turkish Airlines’ move, Jérôme used the hashtags:
#TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia
and
#LoveArmyForSomalia
Jérôme posted information about the fundraising on his official Twitter and Instagram accounts, with captions containing the hashtags.
Since he has a huge following on his social media accounts, a single post from him can go a looooong way.
A lot of his followers shared, liked, and retweeted his posts, which resulted in Turkish Airlines’ initiative reaching more people, crossing country borders.
Even other famous personalities like Casey Neistat, Ben Stiller, and others took part in spreading the word.
As a result, Turkish Airlines, with Jérôme’s help, raised more than USD 1 million for its fundraising initiative in just 24 hours!
Indeed, partnering with Jérôme was a good decision by the airline company.
What makes influencer marketing an effective marketing strategy?
According to an article published by e-commerce company BigCommerce.com, influencer marketing is a popular tactic to drive sales, increase brand awareness, and raise engagement rates because:
- Only 1% of millennials trust advertisements while 33% of them base their purchase decisions on blog reviews from famous personalities.
- About 40% of consumers said that they bought a product online after seeing it used by an influencer on Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.
- Around 71% of influencers believe that this type of marketing has an authentic voice that keeps a brand’s target market engaged.
- As stated in a study conducted by Tomoson, a software geared towards influencer and micro-influencer outreach, this marketing strategy yields a USD 6.50 return on investment for every USD 1 spent.
For Turkish Airlines, this was how influencer marketing yielded positive results:
- In the first five days of the fundraising campaign, the airline company raised over USD 2 million and had 80,000 contributors.
- Jérôme’s branded post was retweeted more than 83,000 times on Twitter and liked over 58,000 times on Instagram.
- With the amount of money that Jérôme and Turkish Airlines raised, together with a number of contributors who participated in the campaign, they did not just fill up one plane with goods for Somalia―they ended up filling 10 planes!
- For the next 6 months, Turkish Airlines aided Somalia with over 200 tons of food.
The use of influencer marketing did not only work to raise awareness about the airline company’s branding, but also spread the word about its fundraising efforts for a good cause.
This helped establish Turkish Airlines’ reputation as a “brand that cares,” not only for its profit but the people’s well-being as well.
Influencers are called “influencers” for a reason!
As a business owner or marketer, you should learn to maximize the benefits you and your brand can gain from partnering with influencers in your marketing strategy.
Think about the huge following and the connections they have!
Combine that with a steady plan, clear vision for your brand, good and appealing content for your ads, and the right execution, you’ll achieve your business goals and…
… your brand will also get the exposure it deserves.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: FYO! Find You Optimization”
Why should you stop thinking SEO and start thinking FYO?
We’re not saying that you should abandon Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Don’t get us wrong, of course, we know this is something very important, especially in today’s digital marketing age.
The internet landscape is vast, and a world of its own. You really need to distinguish yourself and make your brand/company/website known and easily searchable.
Better yet, get to the top of page one for Top Results on Google or any other search engine.
However, what is the purpose of SEO? It’s that customers Find You!
That’s what matters. So, while SEO is one factor of FYO… it really is only one, and we ought not to abandon all the myriad of ways digitally and offline for improving your FYO.
How can we look at this from a different and better perspective?
Let’s say you have it in the bag! You and your team are experts in SEO. Awesome. But did you ever wonder what else you could do to push it further and give your SEO skills a boost?
FYO! Find You Optimization!
You need your target audience to FIND YOU—your brand, product, service, or offer. This is SEO plus other tools that increase visibility online (and offline).
Every Thursday, we publish content on how you can get your target market to find you, beyond the typical “type and search.” There are other things you can do along with your SEO to give your online advertising process a boost.
Try considering other tactics beyond it—WOMO (Word Of Mouth Optimization), RO (Referral Optimization), and “All-Other-Means-Of-Getting-Your-Target-Market-To-Find-You” Optimization (AOMOGYTMTFY, if you’d like a long acronym).
Part of a great marketing strategy is knowing how to adapt new methods and make use of different types of marketing and promotion that best fit your business goals and which give you the results you want.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s FYO!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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