September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day – a parody holiday during which observers are expected to talk like a pirate. On surface value it is a quirky event that seems nothing more than a little bit of fun with no real meaning. Something that an oddball might celebrate, a bit of a joke. In reality, the truth is far deeper than that. This is in part down to our fascination with marketing on social media platforms.
Conventional Holiday Marketing
There is a good chance that you have heard of Christmas. Hallowe’en, certainly. Hanuka perhaps? How about Saturnalia or Allhallowtide? Why have you heard of some of these holidays but not others? The answer lies in their marketing. Saturnalia is the ancient Roman festival of the sun, held by the Romans in late December – Christians would later adopt this as Christmas. Allhallowtide is the original three day Christian celebration dedicated to the memory of saints (often known as hallows) and the dead. This starts on October 31st with All Saint’s Eve, or as it is now more commonly known, Hallowe’en – a contraction of Hallows Evening.
Both holidays have religious origins but have, through marketing, become events that are more in keeping with modern times. They are both big money spinners for companies, worth billions to western economies every year. Marketed well, many companies stand to gain huge chunks of their annual profits through these two events alone. Marketed poorly, and they could see their profits drain quickly to their competition.
So, Pirates…?
What does this have to do with Talk Like a Pirate Day? It shows us the power of marketing across a social platform in a relatively short space of time. Christmas and Hallowe’en are entrenched in our society from decades of exposure. A relatively small holiday such as Talk Like a Pirate Day has no historical or religious background to aid it – an invention purely of word of mouth. The impressive part is that it has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Tweets across a 24 hour period. Over 120 thousand shares on Facebook. Large companies such as Krispy Kreme offering free goods to anyone who speaks like a pirate in their stores. This is a phenomenon that didn’t exist 20 years ago. Thanks to the sphere of social media, it has become huge compared to a small in-joke between friends.
Social Media Marketing
In short, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a product of a new age of marketing. Word of mouth is no longer just passed between people in a small town or a circle of friends, but a wider, online community that is just waiting to hear about new ideas and trends, eager to share it with thousands of others. A market like this is imperative to modern businesses to grow their customer base. It all starts with your online community, most importantly on social media platforms.
By engaging with your audience in honest and interesting ways, you build a social following. Brands are held to account for their actions, so doing and saying the same things is vital. Audiences can turn on companies in an instant, so open engagement is key to securing a loyal following. Additionally, audiences like to be engaged often and prefer questions to statements. Understanding your social media following can give a huge edge over the competition.
Remember, it’s not about selling, it’s about engaging. Posts that encourage response have a far greater reach than those that are merely attempting to sell.
So, what have you done today to tap into this social market?
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