What were the strategies that Ford implemented to create viral awareness without one dollar of traditional marketing spend?

The 7 secrets to Fords Social Media Marketing Success

1. People trust corporations less so with the rise of social media you need to allow other people through word of mouth create trust for you through Social Media (it amplifies your message)
2. Reached out to those who are listening and let them do the talking for you and to connect with people like themselves
3. Let them know that you are real people just like them and are passionate about what they do and the Ford Brand
4. Run a competition involving Social Media eg.. To be selected to drive a Ford Fiesta for six months – select 100 of those who are “socially vibrant” such as Michelle McCormack ..view her application on YouTube.
5. Aggregated the content on Fords Fiesta movement website (crowd sourcing content) without editing it!
6. Implemented multiple Social Media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to create digital buzz
7. “Get On Board” the executive team and the board of directors

The Results

• 11 million Social Networking impressions
• 5 million engagements on social networks (people sharing and receiving)
• 11,000 videos posted
• 15,000 tweets.. not including retweets
• 13,000 photos
• 50,000 hand raisers who have seen the product in person or on a video who said that they want to know more about it when it comes out and 97% of those don’t currently drive a Ford vehicle
• 38% awareness by Gen Y about the product, without spending a dollar on traditional advertising ( Fords model “Fusion” doesn’t have that awareness after 2 years of being out in production and yet it has received hundreds of millions of dollars in traditional marketing spend).

The last bullet is perhaps the most important because it answers the all-too-common question: why should I invest in social media? What’s my return going to be? Brands need to be asking a different question: what do I lose if I am not invested in social media?