Dictionary.com states that “Deliberately irrational statements are sometimes used in Zen to jar persons into realizing the limits of the common uses of the intellect. One well-known example is, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
From Mello Yello’s Facebook posts (last five posted below), one cannot help but wonder whether they’ve created some esoteric form of zen marketing or whether this is a wily attempt for Mello Yello to slide into the future of social media marketing with a smooth, original flavor.
1) Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn’t zigzag?
Stats: 56 people like out of 87,496
6 comments2) To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
Stats: 118 likes
17 comments3) 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Stats: 89 likes
19 comments4) Something you probably didn’t know about me: I once won a contest of dueling banjos…with a saxophone.
Stats: 70 likes
13 comments5) You don’t need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
Stats: 134 likes
9 comments
Even with a 134 like high (over the past five posts), Mello Yello still doesn’t crest the hallowed 1% hurdle most businesses see as a key performance goal. In fact, as it stands, they’re barely tapping in at a .1 % or lower engagement rate. But we have to give it to them–they’re doing it without spilling a drop of Mello Yello relevant social media marketing on their wall.
Most social media experts would recommend at least throwing in product messaging every few posts, but Mello Yello in their smooth Facebook marketing way zigzags around social media marketing best practices and does it their way. With almost 90,000 fans along for a fizzy ride to anywhere but Mello Yello liquid land, the untrained eye begins making notes to duplicate Mello Yello’s “non-marketing” strategy across the board.
But let us interject first with a little contrast worth blinking at. Coca Cola’s Facebook is keeping it real with 33,047,278 fans sipping their posts through a Coca Cola straw. Post in point: “When was the last time you shared a Coke with someone you love?” But even with more fans and a lot of likes, Coca Cola’s engagement rate of .009% (for that last post) is flat compared to Mello’s headless man’s. And what’s even more interesting to see is that Coca Cola is splashing in a twist of its own philosophical lime with posts like: “Forget shortcuts; try taking a long cut and enjoy the journey.”
The question really becomes whether your branded Facebook page should just be cool, or walk around spouting out the company message 90% of the time to be effective…what do you think?
