Timberlake Treasure Hunt

Following the release date of Justin Timberlake's latest album, The 20/20 Experience, he (along with the help of his team) hid 5 autographed copies of the album in cities across the U.S., hinting at their location via Instagram for a few lucky fans to find. 

Timberlake would dual Instagram and tweet the clues then wait. Once someone found the album, he then interacted with the "winner" by sharing their Instagram reply photos on both his Instagram and Twitter accounts, ending the whole thing with one awesome final tweet. 

This minor marketing ploy is brilliant for multiple reasons, the greatest of which is the fact that it demonstrates a very unique and compelling way for a brand — in this case Timberlake — to connect with its audience. Coupling this fun fan activity with a much-anticipated launch, like Timberlake's first album since 2007, catapulted this promo into the public eye but that doesn't mean something can't be learned...

Do you have a promo coming up that you need to get fans pumped for? Consider the simplicity of an Instagram contest (especially if the behavior of fans is already to take pictures) or "treasure" hunt.

Need SMM Help? Ask a Liar.

TV's been turning to social media over the past few years as a way to help prove the worth of its shows since day-of ratings are becoming less of a "success" indicator. ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars is an excellent example of TV getting it right.

With more than 11.3 million fans total across the three main social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), PLL does a great job of not just honoring loyal viewers (through great UGC, such as fan art and fan reactions to "shocking" moments, and sneak peaks) but of creating useful content during the show. An example of during show content involves the show's stars holding "cue cards" that include special reactions to moments from the show or messages that hint at exclusive content, like live Twitter chats. Below is a small gallery of some of PLL's social wins (in my opinion).

Update: The season 3 finale of PLL was the first series to amass 1 million live, airtime tweets.