Taylor Kennedy, Author at Public Relations, Advertising & Social Media - Revelation

Isn’t it crazy to think the World Cup has only been playing for a week and three more weeks remain? Not only is this the month of crazy goals between countries, but it’s also a time for sporting goods manufacturers such as Nike and Adidas to compete. This time it’s about their marketing strategies.

Nike’s commercial, “The Last Game,” features animated avatars of World Cup pin-ups Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr., as part of its “Risk Everything” strategy. The 5 1/2-minute video shows the Nike-signed players playing one last sudden-death match against the clones, who bore spectators by playing “like it’s just a job.”

Meanwhile, Adidas’ commercial features international stars David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane. In their “All in, or nothing” campaign, the duo challenge two individuals playing the FIFA World Cup video game to a real soccer match in their house. Another strategy Adidas is trying this year is shifting to YouTube and trying to introduce real-time marketing to the social platform.

Both campaigns are attempting to show how effectively channels such as video work well with e-commerce and social media. According to communications agency Way to Blue, Nike secured 200,119 social mentions between April 20-June 6 while Adidas grabbed 88,041.

Last year, according to the Interbrand 100 list that reveals the world’s top 100 brands and their activity on Twitter, 97 percent of the brands posted at least one tweet that included a hashtag. It seems that nowadays, we can’t think of social media without the usage of them. Whether it’s highlighting a significant event (#WrigleyField100) or a type of conversation (#tbt), the hashtag is a great social media marketing tool.

However, have you ever read a post with too many hashtags? Or ones that just don’t have any relevance? Here are some examples of good and bad hashtag strategies in branding your social media messaging.

Bad practice: #Hashtag #Every #Single #Word #In #Post. Hashtag over-usage is a common error in social messaging, sending some readers to skip over the post entirely. Studies show that brands that post two or more hashtags in one post miss the mark on connecting with their audience.

Good practice: Use targeted hashtags. When posting, think about your brand and use a handful of targeted hashtags that align with your brand’s identity. You should receive more interaction as a result.

Bad practice: #DontMakeOneThatIsTooLongAndConfusing. This just looks bad. Keep your hashtags short and sweet, easy to spell and easy for consumers to remember and retype.

Good practice: Do your research. Think big picture. What will your consumers see in their feeds if they click on your hashtag? Do your posts work in conjunction with the message you’re trying to convey?