The Social Life: Leading the branding way

Which pages do you like on Facebook and who do you follow on Twitter? Chances are there will be a lot of connections to brands - accounts that don't belong to an individual but are instead run as a marketing tool. Maybe @thedailypost features in your Twitter newsfeed, or you keep an eye on what's new at your favourite retailers by liking their Facebook page.

One company I would consider to have mastered social media as a means of marketing and engaging their customers is Whittaker's, which was recently named New Zealand's most trusted brand for the second year running.

Whittaker's - a brand you can trust despite setting up a car crash to tease customers about a new flavour of chocolate. It was a stunt that could have easily backfired, photos of the Whittakers' van crashed into the World Famous in New Zealand L&P; bottle at Paeroa. They even went as far as to doctor CCTV footage to give it an air of trust that it had happened - some people went so far as to call police about the crash having viewed the video online.

But did it work? Yes it did. The day they launched the new L&P; chocolate social media went crazy - what is this new concoction, where can I buy it, what does it taste like?

You have to hand it to Whittaker's for knowing how to manipulate social media like putty in warm hands. They teased their fans with snippets, a video clip here, a photo there then BOOM, announcement and the shops went wild - all nicely timed with big product displays and specials.

Of course one of the best things about the Whittaker's social media team is that they also give away chocolate. They know their audience loves chocolate, so why not give a little away to keep them coming back in the hope they may yet win a block or two.

The Treat of the Week on Twitter is two-fold: it usually requires product knowledge, so if you don't know the answer off the top of your head you go to their webpage to find out. They don't have a shopping cart online - that's what your local dairy or supermarket is for - but gaining web traffic may pique interest a bit more.

Businesses who use social media as a marketing tool could do worse than checking out Whittaker's. Now roll on Friday so I can try to win chocolate.