• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 💡 Society
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing Workshops
    • Social Media Marketing World 2024
    • Marketing Events
    • Web3 Events
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Marketing Agency Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • Online WorkshopsIn-Depth Social Marketing TrainingLEARN MORE NOW

    3 Ways Sharpie is Engaging Teens With Social Media

    by Louise Julig / January 31, 2013

    social media case studiesAre you wondering how to connect with the younger generation on social media?

    Could your business benefit from connecting to the 80% of online teens using social media?

    In this article I explore how Sharpie has successfully garnered 89% market share with the aid of social media.

    The Teen Market

    Instagram is now the most popular photo-sharing site among teens age 12-17. One million of them visited the site last July alone.

    Add to that the 93% of social media–using teens who have a Facebook account (according to Pew Internet research), and the 16% who use Twitter (a figure that has doubled in recent years), and you've got a lot of teenage eyeballs.

    But to connect with a teen target market, you must do more than simply have a presence on the sites they use. You must also pay attention to what motivates and inspires them.

    Take some tips from permanent marker manufacturer Sharpie. Their successful 2012 Back to School campaign helped grow their market share to 89% of their category through a savvy understanding of how teens use social media.

    Organization: Sharpie

    Social Media Handles & Stats:

    • Website: Sharpie
    • Facebook — 3,980,835 likes
    • Twitter — 238,210 followers
    • YouTube — 2,344 subscribers; 2,101,116 video views
    • Instagram — 49,966 followers
    • Pinterest — 5,056 followers

    Highlights:

    • Gained 5 share points during 2012 Back to School campaign to end with an 89% share of permanent market category
    • Organically grew Instagram following to over 49,000 in 2012 with no ad support or integration into the Sharpie website
    • 86% of Sharpie Facebook followers are age 13-24

    #1: Make Content Visual and Engaging

    “Teen behavior shifts so quickly; their biggest enemies in the social space are boredom and unoriginality,” said Susan Wassel, director of social media and PR at Sharpie parent company Newell Rubbermaid.

    Sharpie has an advantage as an inherently visual brand. But they still constantly look at their content with a critical eye to ensure it appeals to teens.

    “Looking at our [Facebook] content from 2011, already some of it looks so boring and flat,” Wassel said. “When Facebook rolled out the timeline, there was this big photo at the top and the opportunity to fill your space with all kinds of awesome pictures.”

    sharpie cover photo
    Sharpie's hand-drawn cover photos are updated frequently.

    They make sure to change their Facebook cover photo frequently with striking Sharpie-drawn designs to catch their teenage fans' eyes.

    🌟 Ready to Supercharge Your Social Marketing Strategy? 🌟

    Social Media Marketing Workshops

    Struggling with your social marketing? You’re not alone. The solution? The Social Media Marketing Workshops!

    During these live 2 hour deep-dive workshops, you'll discover what's working now on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Skyrocket your engagement, broaden your reach, and amplify your sales.

    Become the marketing hero your company and clients need—without leaving your home!

    🔥 Save $670 on an All-Access Ticket! Sale Ends Tuesday! 🔥

    GET YOUR TICKETS NOW

    Sharpie's newest social media channel, Instagram, showcases drawings and product shots generated in-house. Whitney Kelly, PR and social media associate manager in charge of Instagram for Sharpie, has been surprised by the number of followers.

    “It's all been organic growth driven by the content and authentic presence in the space,” she said. “It shows fans an inside look into who we are and that the people at Sharpie are passionate about the markers and the products too.”

    sharpie instagram photos
    Sharpie's Instagram photos range from intricate drawings to simple text.

    Video is also a big part of Sharpie's social media. “Video content is highly engaging for our teen target,” said Ryan Rouse, global director of marketing Sharpie at Newell Rubbermaid.

    The Back to School campaign culminated in a new venture for Sharpie;—a music video, which debuted as a 60-second spot at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). The video featured artwork from hundreds of fans as the backdrop to the California Wives‘ song, “Purple.”

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL

    Here's the 60-second Sharpie ad that aired during the 2012 MTV VMAs:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDPecKs9D3I

    #2: Promote Self-Expression

    “The stars of that video are our fans and their creations that they've submitted to facebook.com/sharpie and our .com site during the back-to-school period,” said Rouse.

    Sharpie conducted a study with both teenagers and adults several years ago to learn how they were using the product. They discovered “an overwhelming amount of creative and expressive usages coming from teens,” Rouse said.

    He added, “It went so far beyond what even we had expected. Teens are customizing and personalizing and using our products and other types of products to create content. At the same time that this trend of creation was in an upswing, the ability to share, comment, give feedback, push out, and pull in was rising with digital penetration rate.”

    The Sharpie marketing team moved toward promoting more self-expression with the product and giving users ways to share what they had created.

    The YouTube channel, for example, features a Get Inspired playlist showcasing artists using Sharpies making unique creations on skateboards, coffee cups, subway maps and discarded window frames.

    Said Rouse, “We want to inspire you to do something, ask you to share and if you do, we're going to put your creation up on stage in a very exciting way.”

    Even fans whose artwork did not end up in the official music video could create a custom music video mashup and share the results via Facebook, Twitter or a permalink.

    sharpie music video mashup
    Sharpie encouraged fans to create their own music video mashup after the MTV VMAs.

    #3: Appeal to Multi-Screen and Mobile Use

    Although a TV ad is traditional marketing, Sharpie integrated the spot with their social platforms. They chose the MTV VMAs to take advantage of the emerging trend of social TV among teens. “We're seeing broadcast television interaction with social networks being a growing trend,” said Rouse.

    Twitter is increasingly popular among teens. “That's verified by my personal experience as well, with three teens [at home],” said Wassel. “Teens are the multi-screen generation. It's not enough just to watch TV. During the VMAs they are tweeting to their celebrities, what's happening on the red carpet, etcetera.”

    Sharpie collaborated with BOP and Tiger Beat magazines to co-host a VMA Twitter party during the red carpet pre-show. And the ad was Shazam-enabled, taking fans to a custom landing page where they could view the full version of the video and access one of 5,000 free downloads of the song.

    sharpie engages with fans
    Sharpie engages with fans who tweeted during the MTV VMAs.

    “It's no longer about winning on that one screen,” said Rouse. “It's about creating an experience across multiple screens that are part of our teens' media consumption.”

    What Does This Mean for You?

    Not every company can hire a nationally known band, shoot a music video and air the ad on MTV. But many of Sharpie's tactics can be scaled to a teen-targeted business of any size.

    Instagram is a good place to start. Rouse calls it a perfect storm of self-expression, both visual and mobile. “It looks and feels like what our audience is doing every single day,” he said.

    And don't forget to communicate with your teen fans. Kelly even spends after-hours time searching for photos tagged with #Sharpie to comment on them, and responding to comments on Sharpie's own photos.

    “I know that when a brand responds to me on social media I'm excited, so I try to give our fans that same pleasure and excitement and gratification,” she said.

    sharpie responds to comments
    Sharpie responds to fans' comments on Instagram.

    “It's not about us putting out branded content,” said Rouse. “It's about us amplifying the passion that exists in our community.”

    What do you think? Does your company target teens on social media? What works and what doesn't work? How can you scale Sharpie's tactics to fit your company? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Social Media Strategy

    About the authorLouise Julig

    Louise is Social Media Examiner’s case study writer. A freelance writer and former engineer, she has a passion for telling compelling true stories. Follow Louise on Twitter @LouiseJulig.
    Other posts by Louise Julig »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (37 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 15th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility