Ford Fiesta Social Media Campaign

Ford’s trend-setting way of capitalizing on the new Ford Fiesta by way of social media is unique in its own right.

Ford Motors had a very strong and successful presence during the recent economic recession and came out on top against competing auto makers. They’ve now seized the opportunity to further their popularity and online presence by creating this social media campaign. They have successfully created buzz around the Ford Fiesta and connected with consumers through Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks.

The company took a very ambitious risk by placing 100 Ford Fiesta vehicles’ in the hands of consumers who expressed interest in the campaign initiatives. These “agents” were meant to drive the vehicles for a total of six months and complete a series of tasks and then report back on their findings and opinions. Kind of like an interactive focus group of sorts.



This movement signals a desire to keep up with the on-going trends of our time and shows the initiative that Ford is taking to connect with their consumers on a more personal level. They are learning what their consumers want by way of blogs, twitter and video feedback, all without spending a dollar. This is very valuable information they can use towards this product launch and future launches. They used social media as a marketing technique.

Ford targeted millenials for their campaign, which is smart as they are an emerging and important audience. They also chose “agents” with well established social media profiles. This was beneficial as it helped gain public notoriety at a fast pace.

Was this a success?

Essentially, YES! The statistics for this campaign reveal success on many levels. Check out their Facebook page and Twitter page to see the kind of feedback they received.

As of now, according to Mashable, they have received:
Over 4.3 million views on Youtube
500,000 + views on Flickr
6,500 followers on Twitter

The fact that a campaign like this has never been done before, made the Ford Fiesta Movement buzz worthy and memorable.

For more insights into the Ford Fiesta campaign check out Shelley, Jen, Lauren, Owen and Sabrina’s blogs.

Do celebrities’ use of social media detract from its main purpose?

Celebrities Influencing Twitter


Celebrities have a lot of power and influence within and amongst their publics. They implement and utilize this power through social media use, fundraising, promoting, career-building etc. The uses of social media involve engaging in conversation for the sake of interest and connection. For celebrities it is especially hard to build and maintain these connections and conversations. They cannot quite connect and engage with others in the same way most “ordinary” people can.

Through social media they are able to provide wisdom and advice and display insight into their lives, but not necessarily connect with all of their followers on the same level. It is not for a lack of trying in most cases; however, realistically it is impossible for celebrities using forms of social media, to monitor their pages well. It is especially hard with the use of Twitter.

Influence has been the most popular way of differentiating people on twitter. Influence is simply seen as popularity, which is measured on Twitter by total number of followers.


John Mayer for example follows 86 people on Twitter, while over 3 million follow him. He cannot possibly have conversations with each and every one of his followers. His fans are listening to him, but he's talking at them, not necessarily with them. The same can be said for some of Twitter’s top celebrity tweeters like MC Hammer, Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears and Shaquille O’Neal.

Despite the fact that celebrities use of social media may go against the traditional meaning intended, its use does allow inspiration and life changing opportunities for some sprung out of power and influence.

Sarah Killen’s recent fame came courtesy of newest celebrity tweeter Conan O’brien, and has literally managed to change her life overnight. His decision to choose her as his one person to follow on Twitter, catapulted her popularity within minutes of his announcement. It is amazing how “celebrity/influence” can be used as means to alter lives through use of social media.

The video below indicates just how much Sarah Killen's life has changed since Conan O'Brien decided to endorse her.



When celebrities engage in social media applications, they draw attention from those that are interested in hearing what they have to say. With microblogging applications like Twitter, they run the risk of too much intake and not enough output to generate proper fulfillment of social media terms of use. They do however provide people with entertainment and a look into their lives, which "ordinary" people may not have been able to see otherwise. Many celebrities tweet to get their messages across, but also to prove their popularity amongst the online world.

Twitter's blowing up around the world- not just for celebrities!!