Walk into a room full of people and start a discussion about social media. I’d be willing to bet that the conversation will quickly gravitate to one of three topics: Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace…and for good reason. However, the conversation shouldn’t stop with these social media power players; there’s a lot to be said about utilizing smaller, niche, networks that fit with your brand message

Take, for instance, Reebok’s latest campaign for their new EasyTone tennis shoes. According to Reebok, the shoes work your leg muscles just by wearing them because their “built-in balance pods that create natural instability in your step which forces muscles to adapt and encourages toning.” Sounds awesome but with all the fitness gimmicks out there, how can consumers know if they’re the real deal?

Reebok partnered with SparkPeople, a diet and healthy living community with over 3 million members, in order to promote these revolutionary shoes. They seeded the product with a select group of active SparkPeople members and tasked them to provide their honest feedback on a designated forum thread.

Positive comments were then selected from the thread and used on banner ads that were posted throughout the community. These ads direct members to a page that includes more information about the shoes, a store locator, fitness tips, fun activities, and a link to the group with the feedback thread.

Why this campaign rocks:

3. The community allows for natural discussion about the product. The whole point of SparkPeople is to encourage individuals to incorporate healthy habits, such as diet and exercise, into their lifestyle. The Easy Tone shoes allow people to easily incorporate fitness into their everyday routine. Talk about a perfect fit. (get it?)

2. The banners with the member contributed quotes are far more effective than traditional banners. Others will be more interested to click on the “Learn More” button when the product is endorsed by the same person that is providing them support day in and day out with their own weight loss journey.

1. The uncensored feedback forum thread is a huge asset. If you start at the beginning of the forum and read through, you can see the members’ perception of the shoes change over time. At first, they stated that they wouldn’t purchase the shoes themselves in the store. However, as time goes on you can see those same members state they they’ve grown to love their shoes and are assuring others that they’re worth the price.

If individuals cannot notice the promised effects of the shoes while trying them on in the store, it may greatly influence their purchase decision. However, thanks to this thread, any of the other 3 millions SparkPeople members that read it now know that the shoes are, in fact, worth the hefty price tag, even if they do not immediately feel the results. If you read through the thread, you can see the mission accomplished as several other members have already stated their intentions to purchase the shoes.

The moral of the story is, if you want to utilize social media, don’t just jump on the first bandwagon that comes your way, you may find your target audience walking another route.

Written by: Kim (@kimberwom)