Aldi really leads the supermarket pack when it comes to social media. Recently they used social media to apply some friendly pressure on rival retailer Marks and Spencer to rethink bringing legal proceedings against them over an alleged copyright infringement. The approach saw the supermarket increase its daily social engagements from an average of 2,000 to 360,000 over the four day period the Twitter exchange played out. Courting public opinion helped Aldi triumph over the big guys and won them support not only from their Twitter audience, but from other brands and competitors.
So, how did they do it?
Aldi uses each of its social media channels for different things. But it's on Twitter where the social media team really excels. Bringing humour to the table alongside a rapid response customer service team, Aldi’s tweets offer both engagement and entertainment.
In April 2021, Marks and Spencer announced that it would be taking Aldi to court over the budget brand's take on its famous Colin the Caterpillar cake. Aldi launched their defence via social media with their #freecuthbert campaign, driving social media engagement up by 17,900% and even saw their competitors wanting a piece of the action.
The playful approach worked not only to engage customers, but helped end the friction with M&S.
Aldi managed to handle a stuffy issue, one that would usually be resolved behind closed doors in an amicable way without losing any of the humour that they stand for.
“Aldi never fail to entertain and engage their audience. But this particular approach shows the power of empowering a social media team to have fun and invoke a people powered approach to take on the big guys with good humour”. Says Polly Barnfield, OBE. CEO Maybe*
How you can succeed with social like Aldi
Have fun. Aldi is not afraid to have a laugh and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It knows exactly what it is famous for, and plays up to that on social media.
Make sure you add personality to your posts. Entertaining customers is just another way to engage them.
Make sure you recognise positive feedback and re-share customer content.
For any negative comments or messages, respond publicly to every single piece of feedback, and then divert the complaints to a private conversation via DM or email to resolve privately.
Like all comedy, timing is everything, so make sure humour is harmless and on point.
Find out how you can engage with your audience on your social channels.
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