With the help of a hashtag, Secret is requesting users to chime in and tweet their 100 or Nothing moments from using Secret Clinical Strength Protection deodorant that promises 100 percent odor protection. The efforts represent Secret’s desire to entice consumers to try the product and build a community between the brand and its followers.

“This is simply a traditional marketing tactic,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta. “Customers love things that are given away, which is why loyalty programs that offer freebees as well as special offers work well.

“The key to exploiting that on Twitter is to know your audience,” she said. “What have you done to figure out how your brand fans reaction to different things, such as uplifting daily messages, unique or funny pictures, or videos?

“By learning how your customers react, the brand has a better understanding of not only how to get the individual to react in a specific way, such as get a free gift and then go buy the product, but also how to get that individual to be excited enough to share. Social media sharing is a powerful way to get new consumers on board.”

Smelling the roses
The ad was delivered on behalf that Teen Vogue, Marie Claire and Polyvore follow the Secret account on Twitter.

The ad reads, “Here’s a coupon for a free full sized deodorant. Just because we love you.”

There is an embedded link in the ad along with the hashtag #100orNothing.

The link takes users to a Web site that contains the coupon, and Secret requests that users fill out a form.

When users subscribe, they are submitting to receiving further offers from Secret. By obtaining this information, Secret can stay in touch with those who sign up and can offer future rewards.

Secret aims to appeal to its consumers and make friends with them through these efforts.

“Twitter is a part of an online branding strategy, not just a series of tactics,” Ms. Troutman said. “A brand must learn to leverage Twitter and the brands’ specific audience.

“Just as digital efforts should permeate all parts of a brand’s customer relationship- twitter, and other social platforms, they should be tied into all efforts to deliver relevant content,” she said.

Secret’s 100 or Nothing campaign hopes to empower women by allowing them to be free of stress. Secret promotes its Clinical Strength product to keep users from worrying about the small things in life.

Interactivity
Procter & Gamble brands are embracing other interactive ways to market their products on mobile.

Olay is embracing image-recognition platform Blippar and its augmented reality capabilities to promote the brand’s Fresh Effects products with print ads in a number of beauty magazines, such as Hearst’s Seventeen and Elle magazines.

Marketers have been experimenting with numerous mobile tools to revamp their print ads for the past several years. Olay’s ad features conversion capabilities to encourage viewers to obtain a free skin consultation via the app and then proceed to buy the products (see story).

However, Twitter is a great spot for Procter and Gamble. 

Procter & Gamble’s Covergirl and Unilever’s Tresemmé took advantage of the focus on glamour during MTV’s Video Music Awards by promoting tweets of celebrities’ looks and use of the brands’ products.

As viewers of the awards show are known to follow along in their Twitter feeds while watching and tend to admire the fashion and beauty aspects of the famous attendees, beauty brands put themselves in the center of the action to promote business and awareness. By using the edge of certain entertainers, images, embedded links and the hashtag #VMAs, beauty brands were able to stay present in the conversation and hopefully attract attention (see story).

Experts deem Twitter as an obvious choice.

“Size and scale make Twitter ideal for advertising, but if you use Twitter to augment your content marketing strategy and not just as a platform to deliver content, you can gain customers fast and at a low cost,” Ms. Troutman said.  “This means working with Twitter to connect to larger eco-systems that exist in the Twitter universe, such as connecting to influencers as well as joining larger conversations.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York