Battle of Engagement: Quirky Photos vs. Political Passions
For retailers, fan engagement is a key social metric. But which engages fans more: political controversy or goofy photos? Big movers on this week’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) experienced heightened social participation as a result of both. However, the former narrowly edged out the competition to take the top spot this week. Was the attention wanted? Not necessarily.
Controversy struck Hobby Lobby, and as a result, it had the biggest spike on this week’s RSJI. Recently, the brand filed a lawsuit against the Supreme Court-upheld Affordable Care Act, stating it violated the religious beliefs of the company’s owners. The decision, aimed at the Act’s provisions for contraceptive coverage, sparked a firestorm on the brand’s Facebook page. Both the support and the opposition came out strong to voice their opinions on the social platform. We’ve seen companies’ political choices result in Facebook eruptions before, so this makes us wonder: how long will fans be outraged this time? According to our past research, the company will overcome the blow, but some fans will never be won back.
In what could have been a bad day for Green Mountain Coffee (due to the announcement of Starbucks’ new home-brewing products believed to be a threat to the dominant GMC Roasters), the brand kept it all positive. Green Mountain came out and straight-up asked fans for likes by posting, “Show us that Pumpkin Spice is worth 10,000 likes!” Well, Green Mountain fans clearly had fall weather and flavors on the brain—as over 16,000 likers gave the post a “thumbs up!” Starbucks who?
Tiffany and Co. had a big day on the RSJI, but an even bigger day in the brand’s history. On the 175th birthday of the iconic jewelry store, the brand shared two photos. The images, one showcasing Tiffany pieces through the years and the other highlighting the historical day, were simple, sparkly and eye-catching — much like the brand itself. The two posts racked up nearly 150,000 likes … not a bad birthday gift!
Index veterans ThinkGeek and Spencer’s each earned 166-point spikes to close out the Big Movers This Week. But this wasn’t the only thing they had in common. Both brands stuck to their usual m.o.’s — showing off quirky photos from around the internet — to get in touch with everyone’s inner-nerd. ThinkGeek shared two amusing photos: one meant to appeal to music fans and the second to excite zombie lovers. Both worked, as the posts received over 28,000 likes and 29,000 shares. Spencer’s went after a similar audience by sharing a goofy photo of a cartoon combining dance moves with daily activities. The brand said, “Admit it, you do this all the time,” and over 60,000 fans confessed with likes.
Will Hobby Lobby’s fans continue the debate? Will ThinkGeek and Spencer’s keep highlighting quirky photos? Check back daily to find out!
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