Inspirational Social Media Marketing Examples for 2024

Every day, an estimated 5.04 billion people use social media. Social media has arguably never been more important than it is right now for marketers seeking to attract new customers, expand their market, and grow followers. By looking at social media marketing examples from other top brands teams can hone their social media strategy and learn what works well and why!

Social media marketing offers brands the opportunity to connect with global audiences, build a memorable brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. 

But it takes a lot more than just posting content to social media to be successful. Brands need a winning engagement strategy to stand out, including unique creative, relevant targeting, and effective advertising.

That's where we can help. We've gathered examples of great posts from brands that can inspire your social media strategy.

For more social media marketing examples and advice on how to run a social media program, download our Social Media Playbook and read the Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing.

The Best Social Media Marketing Examples 2024

• 1. Spotify: Spotify Wrapped

• 2. Netflix: Wednesday Addams on X

• 3. Dove: #DetoxYourFeed

• 4. Apple: #ShotOniPhone

• 5. Prada: Paradox with Emma Watson

• 6. State Farm: Agent State Farm

• 7. Barbie: Selfie AI

• 8. American Ballet Theater: Hardest Ballet Step

• Wrapping Up: Inspiring Social Media Marketing Examples for 2024

1. Spotify: Spotify Wrapped

Why it works: Spotify gives its users a glimpse into their listen history for the year, tapping into nostalgia and reminding them of their favorite songs.

Have you ever listened to a song or artist on Spotify, on repeat? Probably so! Well, Spotify Wrapped gives you a little reminder of which songs and artists seemed to impact you the most throughout the year. It's a fascinating way to review your year, and share with your friends and followers.

It also encourages humorous posts, as people joke about not wanting the songs they listen to on repeat at work, at the gym, or at night, to count towards their Spotify Wrapped summary.

It's a masterclass in creating a feature that people want to share and engage with, whether it be for the lolz or as a serious and contemplative look-back.

2. Netflix: Wednesday Addams on X

Why it works: By creating an account on X in the voice of Wednesday Addams, Netflix was able to participate in conversations and promote the show at the same time.

To promote the release of their new show focused on Addams Family character, Wednesday, Netflix created an account for Wednesday on X. Appealing to fans of the original Addams Family and new fans alike, the account regularly re-shared content and made comments in the characters distinctively apathetic and deadpan tone. Other characters also featured prominently, such as disembodied hand "Thing" which inserted himself in various situations with punny captions.

Tip: Take a look at some more Instagram examples to inspire you.

3. Dove: #DetoxYourFeed

Why it works: Partnering with diverse influencers Dove was able to raise awareness of toxic microaggressions experienced online every day, and encourage their followers to recognize their inner and outer beauty.

Dove has been executing unforgettable and socially conscious social media marketing for more than 20 years. Every single campaign is built around its core values of inclusivity, natural beauty, and positive body image.

Their #DetoxYourFeed campaign looked at the data and found some disturbing and heartbreaking facts about how social media users, particularly young girls and teens, feel about themselves in comparison to others, and various microagressions experienced everyday. By working with a wide range of influencers Dove continues to redefine standards of beauty.

As a marketer, B2B, or B2C brand, the ultimate goal is to grow an audience of loyal followers and micro-influencers around the world that can swing into action whenever called upon. Perhaps no brand is a better example of that than Dove.

Are you interested in more Dove campaigns? Learn how Dove raises the bar with its #ArmsUp campaign.

4. Apple: #ShotOniPhone

Why it works: Apple found a way to activate their community and showcase its products all in one brilliant marketing campaign called #ShotOniPhone.

One social strategy that has been proven to increase awareness on social media is utilizing user-generated content, or UGC, to showcase your products.

In fact, 75% of people feel user-generated content makes a brand more authentic. And 90% of consumers have reported that UGC has more influence over their decision-making process than search engine results. 

The #ShotOniPhone Apple marketing campaign leverages several different marketing tactics, such as online and offline advertisements, and has produced some staggering results.

The hashtag has been used more than 16 million times on Instagram alone. This is incredible brand exposure that Apple hasn’t had to pay for directly. 

UGC is a cost-effective and persuasive source of content that brands will need to help build trust, increase revenue, and encourage stronger relationships with customers.

5. Prada: Paradox with Emma Watson

Why it works: Working with actor and activist, Emma Watson, Prada established their brand as forward-thinking and sustainably minded. This helped them attract new customers and challenged the perception that luxury brands are wasteful.

While it's true that micro-influencers are hugely important for brands to consider, with this partnership, Prada achieved several key things that brands can get from working with celebrity influencers who already have a baked in audience of millions.

The campaign consisted of four main pillars of content: a short film commercial directed by Watson, a behind-the-scenes video, an accompanying video hosted by Watson that details the products sustainability factors, and extended visual promotion on Watson's Instagram page:

Emma Watson has made a name for herself as a vocal and feet-on-the-ground gender equality and sustainability activist over the past several years, and this is exactly why the partnership here is unique.

Prada is a luxury brand, not immediately associated with these values, so partnering with Watson is a clear bid to establish a connection in consumers minds that Prada as a brand is sustainable and forward-thinking.

6. State Farm: Agent State Farm

Why it works: State Farm played against expectation with an out-of-left field ad campaign that deftly used social media to drum up interest and engagement.

Prior to their 2024 Super Bowl ad, State Farm begin a using social media marketing to tease the reveal, much like a film promotion. Which of course, it was (sort of). The playful, meta approach kept people entertained and guessing as State Farm created an entire world in which a film, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as #AgentStateFarm, is coming out soon. In the the teaser trailers he prevents disasters (as any good insurance company should), and brings his classic Schwarzenegger action hero personality.

The final commercial begins like a full length movie trailer before cutting to "behind-the-scenes" as the increasingly frustrated director tries to get Schwarzenegger to say their famous tagline "like a good neighbor" in a more American-ized accent. Of course Schwarzenegger leans in to the joke with his infamous Austrian accent allowing the ad to basically just repeat the State Farm catchphrase over and over again. The end featured a cameo by Danny Devito who starred with Schwarzenegger in the 1988 film "Twins".

On social media, the brand played up the fun, with callbacks to the film, that also included their well-known character "Jake from State Farm":

7. Barbie: Selfie AI

Why it works: The Barbie Selfie AI tool created a massive amount of UGC that helped promote the film and encourage engagement.

The Barbie move struck a chord with audiences in more ways than one. As the film was promoted, and riding the coat-tails of its successful release, Warner Bros. and editing app Photoroom partnered to provide fans with barbieselfie.ai which generated a Barbie-themed background that they could use for photos and subsequently share on their favorite social channesl.

Easy to use, quick, and fun, the UGC element helped broaden the audience for the film.

8. American Ballet Theater: Hardest Ballet Step

Why it works: A viral TikTok video brought two ballet companies to the fore, expanding their audience and delighting new followers.

In a surprising and delightful social media marketing example, the American Ballet Theater social media team posted an innocent TikTok & Instagram Reel, seemingly as part of their regular social programming, asking dancers what their least favorite ballet step was:

Again...seemingly.

What happened after is so jovial and off-the-cuff, yet so precise, it's unclear whether this was masterminded before the original video or if it indeed happened organically, which is precisely what makes this social marketing so brilliant.

The post garnered such a response from the wider TikTok and Instagram communities, many non-dancers asking to see the most difficult step demonstrated, that ABT posted a followup.

It then transpired that a dancer from the National Opera Ballet in the Netherlands posted an Instagram Story asking members of their company the same question — without realizing it had "already been done". This prompted a hilarious rivalry to spring up between the two companies:

Once this got going, each account made use of the co-produced tagging feature that Instagram introduced last year.

After the final "episode" of their rivalry was posted, they created an audio of all the hardest ballet steps mentioned in the original video which was then used by other companies on their socials.

A micro-culture was then created, where companies started nominating each other, similar to the massively successful Ice Bucket Challenge.

This campaign demonstrated how powerful social media can be for developing brand awareness and recognition, even among those who might not typically follow your content.

Wrapping Up: Inspiring Social Media Marketing Examples for 2024

In many ways, social media is an ubiquitous landscape for marketing. So when a brand can push through that with a truly unique, attention grabbing, and lively campaign, then it's a job well done for brand awareness and authentic engagement.

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