#EvoArmy: The EvoShield Social Model

A large percentage of organizations who set out with the goal of establishing a social media marketing strategy end up falling far short of their original intentions. However genuine in nature, these organizations often end up with a variation of an (online) marketing strategy... but with no semblance of "social." Typically, they wind up under-utilizing the social web, viewing it as an extension of traditional advertising (a one-way communication channel) to push their products, services, deals, etc. on followers/friends.

Why is it that companies fall short of a "social" strategy? Part may be innocent ignorance, part may be due to a lack of knowledge or experience working within social marketing, but in the case of many, the reason for failure originates from a lack of understanding in regards to the "social" potential of the web. The truth is, developing and maintaining a successful social marketing strategy can be laborious work. This stems from the fact that an organization cannot simply develop one persona and run with it indefinitely. Rather, the social strategy must evolve with the respective audience. 

For an exceptional example of social strategy within the sports industry, look no further than the Athens-born protective athletic gear company, EvoShield. Similar to brands of the past such as Under Armour, Mizuno, and Marucci, EvoShield has experienced explosive growth through the creation of a cult-like following among the athletic community.

Appropriately, EvoShield social marketing strategy has fueled the cult-like nature of the self-branded #EvoArmy (users of EvoShield products). The brains behind EvoShield social strategy understand the importance of two-way engagement, and (in the case of Twitter) have strategically embraced a series of widely recognized customer-bred hashtags such as: #EvoSwag, and my personal favorite, #EvoTan (a hashtag often coupled with a picture of a EvoShield Wrist Guard-resultant tan line). These hashtags have even wandered out of the digital world, and are now featured on a variety of EvoShield apparel (shirts, bags, etc.).

Very rarely does EvoShield use social platforms to push for direct sales. Instead, they rely on  #EvoArmy interaction and the aforementioned cult-following to drive their online social strategy. Based on their remarkable growth and following, the EvoShield social model is certainly worth monitoring and modeling.