Have you seen “What Does the Fox Say?” It’s a pretty weird little video that’s logged over 175 million views on YouTube in under two months. It’s also helped HalloweenCustomes.com not only sell out of fox costumes, but increase revenue 300% this year.
Halloween is becoming a bigger business every year, and with the help of social media, it’s getting to be much more than a blip between “back to school” and Black Friday. According to the NRF, average spending on Halloween has increased 54.7 percent since 2005, with total spending estimated to reach $6.9 billion in 2013.
Social media is playing an important role in the commercial growth of the holiday. An NRF survey revealed that 14.1 percent of consumers will check Facebook for inspiration and 3.8 percent will look to blogs. Additionally, nearly one in 10 (9.3%) will count on Pinterest for costume ideas, up from 7.1 percent last year.
Obviously, this year’s popular fox costume is a direct result of social media. So was last year’s popular costume: Big Bird. When presidential hopeful Mitt Romney threatened to pull the plug on PBS during his campaign, social platforms reverberated with accusations of Romney “trying to kill Big Bird.” Psy (of “Gagnam Style” fame) and Honey Boo Boo were also big last year, thanks to social media. “When you combine social media with Halloween you get some hilarious outcomes. 2012 will be remembered as the Twitter Halloween, “ says Chet Dickfield, editor of Shot Hot Coffee Out of Nose in a 2012 press release.
Retailers can capitalize on social influence by listening, of course, but also by engaging in conversations around Halloween-related topics. HalloweenCostumes.com, upon running out of fox costumes, posted to their blog tips on how to create a fox costume using other pieces from their inventory. That became the most popular content on their site – and their big sales driver.
A similar approach could be taken on Facebook or Pinterest. Consumers visiting retail sites from these social platforms actually do spend more, so reaching them with targeted, relevant content is well worth the investment. Leveraging FBX to surface costume ideas to someone who is looking for Halloween inspiration is just smart. Showing an ad for plush fox ears to someone who shared the “What the Fox Says” video on October 28 is even smarter.
Food For Thought: Are you confident that your messages are relevant and engaging to each individual who sees them? See how our Retail capability can help.
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