We of course saw Twitter put up some huge numbers when it comes to social media engagement and interactions during the game. Here’s some stats related to the game that you may want to check out from All Twitter.

Hashtags were the rage of course on social media for the game, even creating sponsored partnerships and hashtags for others to participate, engage, and share insights on what brands and the teams were doing during the game.

Of course, one trend we did see over and over again was the pressure to become the next big brand to have the best commentary, tweet, and wit during the game, or otherwise capitalize on Real-Time Marketing (otherwise known as the #RTMBowl). Here are some that caught attention from MarketingLand on their website.

What were some of my thoughts on the trends related to social media for the Super Bowl? Here are just a few things that I saw:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQB7QRyF4p4[/youtube]

  • Budweiser wins big with warm and engaging content: By far my favorite post was with the puppy and the Clydesdales. This was not only engaging as a commercial, but Budweiser was able to extend the commentary appropriately with their audiences with visuals, assigned handles (even one for the puppy!) on social media. This created an engaging, memorable, and warm experience for everyone to participate in.
  • Analytics were key for measurement of engagement during Super Bowl: Engagement and views were of course some analytics noted for the Super Bowl when it came to the commercials, really showing how social media is now not only a key medium to consider for brands, but has to be integrated throughout the campaign and translate also into traditional media. It was surprising how few commercials really had branded hashtags in their commercials.
  • Some brands were just trying too hard to become the next Oreo: I am not sure where JCPenney was at during the Super Bowl, but they were I guess tweeting with mittens on but most people thought that they were not sober while tweeting. If this was the case, they needed to be consistent with all of their tweets with this hashtag if that was the case. The timing to respond to other brands was not fast enough and brands like Snickers, Kohls, Coors Light took this opportunity to extend their brand and tag lines in.
  • Brands engaged with each other, but not necessarily with customers. This was one surprising note to consider here. I think because we have built up such a presence and focus on brand exchanges that we forgot what social media really entails. It’s about having conversations with everyone – so it was great to see brand interact with others, but they didn’t interact with individuals as much on social media. Maybe this can be addressed next year.
  • Oreo did not participate, but others took notice on social media: Oreo stated that they were not going to participate in the social media commentary during the Super Bowl game, which I think in itself was genius. Even without having a presence, people were still referring to what they did last year and they didn’t have to pay for any of this content. Brillant move – cookie does know best!
  • #RTM didn’t come in the form of just tweets, but visuals (especially Vine) played a big part: Here’s a recap of some of the other #RTMBowl moves from brands in response to what was going on. Some brands like Tide really capitalized on Vine to respond to commercials that were being aired and other brands with Vine, which was creative and another way to tie in their product.

Overall, I think that while the game was pretty much dominated by the Seattle Seahawks (congrats to former USC Coach Pete Carroll!), it appears that this was only one game being played out. There were a lot of lessons and trends we are able to take away from this particular Super Bowl here not only as social media and PR professionals, but also students and professors.

Brands who were authentic and were able to translate their vision and story across platforms seamlessly were successful (Budweiser). Some brands were just trying too hard – take a moment and focus on quality posts versus posts to be in the here and now on social media. Also, engage with all parties on social media – not just with each other. It’s about focusing on the relationships, stories, and experiences shared by everyone online.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,
Karen