Most of us are familiar with the viral Stanley bottles, a line of patented steel vacuum flasks. This brand has a legacy of around 111 years and has seen steady success with outdoorsy drinkware, food storage, and cookware products.
However, when it first introduced the Stanley Quencher 40 oz (1200 ml) in 2016, sales lagged for years. Stanley even stopped stocking the line in 2019. And then suddenly, the Quenchers shot into the public limelight, becoming a coveted item almost overnight.
Unbelievably, Stanley went from US$70 million in annual sales in 2019 to US$750 million in 2023. And behind this apparent miracle is a stroke of online marketing genius.
This blog examines Stanley’s social media strategy and how it earns the brand record-breaking sales and profits.
Analysis of Stanley’s social media accounts
Today, loyalists swear by the Stanley Quenchers. Inspired by influencers and celebrities, people stand for hours in queues, waiting to get their hands on limited-edition items.
This shows how successfully the Quenchers have been marketed as a desirable symbol of prestige.
After the Quenchers went viral in 2019, thousands of customers and admirers flocked to the brand’s social media platforms, eager to see what the fuss was all about. It’s no wonder Stanley has such a dedicated online following.
Here are the total followers on Stanley’s main social media accounts.
- Instagram: 741.7K
- Facebook: 255K
- YouTube: 12.1K
- Twitter: 10.7K
- LinkedIn: 10K
- TikTok: 957.6K
With the help of some market research and influencer tracking, Stanley gained significant online traction despite operating in a relatively niche market. So, how does Stanley draw these many followers online?
Let’s take a closer look at Stanley’s social media strategy.
The main features of Stanley’s marketing strategy
Stanley has historically made outdoor, adventure, work, and camping items, particularly its vacuum flasks. These were predominantly marketed towards men or the general populace.
In 2019, emboldened by the success of the women-run blog The Buy Guide in selling Stanley Quenchers, the brand expanded into pastel and millennial-friendly colors.
Their joint marketing effort quickly resulted in a mass movement where people, predominantly women, swooped in to buy the Quenchers.
Here are the key components behind Stanley’s marketing strategy drawing in thousands of buyers.
1. Collaborating with commerce partners
The Buy Guide is a commerce blog and Instagram account run by women and moms who buy products, try them out, and then recommend them to their followers. And they are wholehearted promoters of Stanley Quenchers.
At a time when the Stanley Quenchers were fizzling out of public demand, The Buy Guide entrepreneurs were falling in love with the tumblers and promoting them online.
Stanley wasted no time in partnering with The Buy Guide, and they sold 5,000 Quenchers in just a few days. Stanley’s marketing strategy relied on the commerce blog’s established reputation and follower base.
Here is a reel with 102K views from The Buy Guide featuring a Stanley Quencher on Instagram. In fact, on the brand’s Instagram account, you come across a Stanley feature once every few reels or posts.
Partnering with The Buy Guide opened up more affiliate marketing avenues for Stanley, and it helped the brand reach a core target demographic.
2. Demographic targeting with consistent branding
Stanley’s tumblers and flasks most commonly had the iconic ‘Hammertone green’ color. You can see an example of the rugged aesthetic these products had in this YouTube video celebrating Stanley’s innovations.
There were, of course, other shades and colors. But, after its success with The Buy Guide, Stanley revamped its entire approach toward how they marketed the Quencher.
The brand brought out pastel shades, introduced patterns and prints, and offered more customization options. Through it all, Stanley’s minimalist design aesthetic and iconic logo stayed the same.
And most importantly, the company stayed consistent with the core part of its aesthetic while taking the female consumer base seriously.
Take the brand’s Twitter page, for example. From the very first banner image, you can see Stanley’s social media strategy is now centered around a more youthful and colorful vibe.
Stanley didn’t just recolor some products on a whim. It went beyond and started speaking to a larger, primarily female demographic.
3. Leveraging influencer and celebrity endorsements
Hot on the heels of Stanley’s success with The Buy Guide, the brand started teaming up with influencers, celebrities, and other brands. For example, they even teamed up with Starbucks.
But Stanley’s flashiest partnership was with country music singer Lainey Wilson. This campaign vastly contributed to the brand’s online popularity.
The limited edition Stanley X Lainey Wilson Country Gold Quencher saw a much-anticipated release on 14 November 2023. It was actively promoted by both parties and sold out at record speed.
Stanley’s social media strategy included tagging Lainey in giveaway posts on Instagram and other platforms.
This was also promoted on Lainey’s Instagram page, where she has 2.1 million followers, thus expanding the reach of the marketing campaign.
Stanley also tied up with ‘That 70s Show’ and ‘Orange is the New Black’ actress Laura Prepon, who has 11.7 million followers on Instagram. The reel promoting the Stanley barware tumbler got a whopping 420K views.
This goes to show that like with Gymshark and other brands, using the right celebrity partnerships can deliver great results.
Plus, Stanley’s content strategy is aimed at a demographic that is very much tied into the influencer mindset and following global trends.
4. Including user-generated content, trends, and tags
Nothing speaks to online audiences like watching real people tell real stories. Stanley’s content marketing strategy makes the most of this by sharing user-generated content to draw people in.
Stanley has also aced the game of using hashtags and trends effectively. #StanleyTumbler has over 10 million views across different social media platforms.
And the brand also cashes in on seasonal themes and trending topics. Here is a Halloween-themed post on Facebook, showcasing Stanley’s content strategy.
In essence, all this adds to a desirable and authentic narrative online portraying a compelling story, thus connecting on a deeper level with audiences.
5. Promoting sustainability and social responsibility
A masterstroke of Stanley’s social media strategy was supporting the reuse-and-recycle movement. In a world filled with disposable plastic and paper cups and containers, Stanley offered people an alternative.
The brand advertises this online with the help of various initiatives meant to spread awareness and simultaneously appeal to conscientious consumers.
Apart from this, Stanley also drives community growth and change by calling for creators, builders, and inventors to come forth and use the Stanley Creators Fund.
Promoting its grant of up to $50,000 for non-profit organizations is a solid way of drawing in a more diverse audience.
Posts such as the one above are a subtle but important part of Stanley’s marketing strategy, helping drive sales while also benefiting the community.
A deep dive into Stanley’s social media strategy
The massive boom in sales and the global craze for Stanley bottles and cups prove Stanley’s social media strategy is doing lots of things right. The brand is active on social media platforms and posts interesting content with collaborators.
Let’s look at what this means in terms of user engagement.
1. Stanley on Instagram
In the last three months, Stanley has posted 47 times on Instagram, leading to a total of 1,078,602 engagements. The brand has a lot of interaction and engagement here, thanks to the regular posts and reels combined with giveaways and collaborations.
The most engaged-with post was from a Christmas-themed one from late November for a Black Friday sale.
This is a testament to the effectiveness of Stanley’s marketing strategy which incorporates trending themes.
2. Stanley on Twitter
With Stanley-related hashtags trending on Twitter, the brand engages audiences with current topics and discussions related to the bottles. Replies are Stanley’s most frequent post type.
Stanley’s content marketing strategy is strong here. Even though the brand primarily engages with replies, there continues to be a steady rise in the number of Twitter followers.
3. Stanley on Facebook
With 255,138 page likes on Facebook, Stanley maintains a consistent cycle of posting once every few days. The brand has posted 21 times in the past three months and has garnered a lot of engagement.
Stanley’s celebrity partnership paid off on Facebook: the post with the Stanley X Lainey Wilson Country Gold Quencher generated 9,804 engagements, with the Black Friday sale one coming in at a close 9.142.
This post even had 1,025 comments and 570 shares, hinting at how the content would have been seen and hooked many more than indicated by the number of likes.
4. Stanley on YouTube
Stanley has well-established accounts on TikTok and Instagram. The Facebook page also sees a fair amount of activity. YouTube, on the other hand, is reserved for ads and initiative videos as well as some new product launches.
So, the frequency of posting on YouTube is low. While the brand has not posted anything in the last 3 months, it has a total of 2.24 million views.
And even with no recent posts on YouTube, the subscriber count steadily keeps increasing, thanks to their content marketing strategy.
Use influencer marketing and market research to drive sales
Stanley’s social media strategy is an effective blend of influencer-driven content and word-of-mouth reviews and praise. And the hype is backed by truly sturdy and functional tumblers and mugs that do what they claim.
The brand caught the fancy of audiences by changing its online marketing approach. It shifted engagement toward itself with targeted design aesthetic changes.
The salient features of Stanley’s social media strategy are:
- Using influencer tracking to form the right celebrity partnerships and promote content enjoyed by targeted audiences
- Leveraging user-generated content and trending themes to paint a compelling and relatable narrative showcasing the #StanleyTumbler lifestyle
- Creating hype around the products and their relevance in today’s world with the help of online community-driven initiatives
Perhaps your brand’s online marketing needs a makeover to catch people’s attention. Or maybe your business is already doing great, but you’d like to see if you’re missing out on any key demographics.
Either way, you can use social tracking tools and analytics to optimize your social media presence and boost your sales.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does Stanley promote brand awareness through social media?
Stanley's social media strategy focuses on building a strong online presence, engaging with customers, and promoting brand awareness. This strategy involves creating high-quality content, utilizing popular social media platforms, and implementing effective marketing campaigns to reach and interact with the target audience.
2. How does Stanley use social media to engage with customers?
Stanley uses social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to regularly engage with its customers. This includes responding to comments and messages, addressing customer queries and concerns, and actively seeking feedback. Stanley also organizes interactive contests, giveaways, and polls to encourage customer participation and create a sense of community.
3. How does Stanley promote brand awareness through social media?
Stanley promotes brand awareness through social media by consistently sharing relevant and valuable content related to its products, industry trends, and customer success stories. This includes posting informative articles, visual content (such as images and videos), and behind-the-scenes insights. Stanley also collaborates with influencers and partners to reach new audiences and increase brand visibility.
