Social Media Lessons “Wii” Can Learn from Nintendo
It is no secret that I love my Wii*; I tweet about our relationship quite a bit and there are tons of pictures of me playing GH3 on Facebook. It is the only video game system at which I am any good, and because of that, there have been more nights than I care to admit that I was up WAY past my bedtime playing Guitar Hero** or Mario Kart.
That being said, I have never blogged about Nintendo or even my Wii before. Tweet about ‘em? Sure. But dedicate an entire blog post to the thing? Never thought it would happen. My second run-in with a real life Nintendo Enthusiast and the events that transpired last night proved me wrong.
Let me backtrack a little. I first heard the term “Nintendo Enthusiast ” from an Enthusiast herself, Gwen Bell. She kicked off her reign with a Nintendo DS party in Boulder that she invited HappyKatie and me to attend. Sadly, we did not get to go to Boulder, but we got a second chance at Nintendo-Party-Dom when Nintendo dubbed Katie herself an Enthusiast.
“Woo-Hoo!” I thought when I got the Wii Fit Party Evite from Katie. “This party is going to be a blast!”
And it was.
Five sweet Wii Fit girls took over Katie’s house and plied the guests with healthy fare from Whole Foods and white wine sangria, while they walked us through various activities using the Wii Fit Board. It was truly one of the most enjoyable evenings I had in a long time. I went home quite sated and VERY sore. The icing on the cake? I also went home with my very own Wii Fit Board, Wii Yoga Mat and Wii Yoga outfit compliments of Nintendo!!!! How sweet is that?
It is only today that I realize no matter how much I got out of last night’s party, Nintendo probably got more because they have truly tapped into the Social Media groundswell. Clearly they understand that the groundswell matters. You put ten chicks in a room that are addicted to Twitter, and you are going generate buzz and content online.
What I think the most important thing to note about the whole party was that we were tweeting about Nintendo before the party even started and long before we got our unexpected gifts. No one forced us to tweet. No one held us down and said, “You can’t have any more white wine sangria until you tweet!” We just did it out of our own volition. And I would venture to guess it was mostly because we were all just so darn happy!
I mean, how could I NOT be happy listening to Monica talk smack about her balancing abilities or while I’m laughing and poking Fayza while she’s attempting the tree pose. I watched in awe as the Wii Gamer Chicks racked up 900 rotations in the Hula Hoop game and I talked David’s ear off about it all when the party was over. Nintendo racked up a lot of Karma Points with me last night. That is why I’m talking about them today.
Crazily enough, I think there are lots of ways for organizations to mirror what Nintendo is doing, even without spending the big bucks. Why? It is all about garnering good will!
How can your organization use Social Media to make your peeps happy? Here are a few ideas:
- If you’re having an event for your organization and you’re charging for drinks, offer everyone in your Facebook group a free one. This means you’ve gotta start a Facebook group first!
- Broadcast discount codes on Twitter. Then your followers benefit and feel the love. This will also boost the number of people who follow you, because you will be posting content that people actually want!
- Send out newsletters that include tips and tricks for whatever industry your subscribers are in. Don’t make your newsletter all about you! These helpful tips will make your subscribers more likely to forward your newsletter on (Jeffrey Gitomer’s is a great example of a helpful newsletter).
The thing to keep in mind with Social Media is this: BE good people, and good people will talk about you!
* I gave the Wii to David as a gift so it is not technically “mine” but whatever.
** Now I know you were dying to ask about my Guitar Hero skillz, so I will just go ahead and tell you the answer: I totally kicked Satan’s ass playing “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” on GH3…. I’m just not going to tell you how many tries it took 
Cheese served up by MagsMac
