As I've gotten more into social media marketing and have been reading more articles and blogs about it, I have started to hear about all kinds of interesting social media campaigns that companies are using. Both big and little companies are starting to take advantage of these platforms to reach their consumer and engage with them. However, the most innovative social media campaign I am yet to come across is Edge Shave Gel's Twitter campaign that I read about in an article titled "Twitter + Random Acts of Kindness = A Successful Social Campaign." 
       The @EdgeShaveGel Twitter account has spread random acts of kindness to 234 people in four months . Their new "Anti-Irritation Campaign" involves two people that are devoted to relieving people's irritation across Twitter. People, even before knowing about their hashtag, #soirritating, would tweet normally about things they were irritated at and Edge Shave Gel would respond with anything from iPads to funny YouTube videos to solve peoples' irritations. According to the article, in only three months 1500 people started following @EdgeShaveGel and the #soirritating hashtag was used about 6,800 times. These numbers alone prove the success of this innovative campaign's use of  Twitter. 
      People had already been using Twitter to complain about daily activities. Edge Shave Gel simply used what people were already doing on Twitter to their advantage. It fit into what people were already doing and portrayed the brand in a way that worked. They were solving irritation problems on Twitter which is also the whole basis for their products and brand. It also creates a great brand association. Every time people use or look at what Edge Shave Gel sends them, they will associate that positively with the Edge Shave Gel brand. 
       This social campaign seemed to be successful not only because of its out of the box strategy, but because it allowed the brand to connect with consumers, create a conversation, and make a personality out of the brand. The devoted staff provided quick responses to make it seem like a real conversation and the responses themselves were honest and "real." It made it seem as if you were talking to a person and not just a company through their Twitter account. Others became engaged, started following them on Twitter and contributing themselves. I really hope to see more stories like this in the future.  This campaign has gone beyond engaging customers through social media to truly engaging with them by spreading various acts of kindness. 

~Katie