Slim Jim
When deciding upon a company that takes social media strategy to the extreme, I decided to go with a company that’s very existence I only discovered because of Instagram — Slim Jim. The company sells snacks, specializing in beef jerky, and has over 1.2 million instagram followers. The route they took to gain this publicity started with the brilliant mind of a super fan, Andy Hines. Prior to being hired by the company, Hines had a meme page that made funny jokes based on the company with an account named @SlimJimsDoingThings, quickly ammasing more followers than the actual Slim Jim Instagram. He was hired by the company, with the esteemed title of “chief doing things officer,” and propelled them to social success. I discovered this account by randomly scrolling through the comment section of one of my favourite Instagram accounts, @daquan. The top comment was from a verified account named @SlimJim and was talking about a ‘long boi gang.’ Interested, I checked out the page and was introduced to the thriving, engaging online meme community that revolved around the snack company. “Long boi Gang” was the name the company had given its followers and the Long Boi was their signature menu item. The company, largely thanks to the witty voice of Hines, has created a meme-based community that is wholly centred around its product. Pure brilliance, considering the loyalty and activity that the followers have to the company. With posts regularly receiving over 1,500 comments, the community can be found on all reaches of the internet. Whether its another popular meme page or a celebrity post, Slim Jim is consistantly found in the comments adding light-hearted jokes and tongue in cheek remarks about their products. There are few marketting plans that are so successful, yet come at such a low cost. Other popular food companies are unable to match Slim Jim’s social media presence despite their longer standing reputations in a highly-competitive industry. Popeyes Chicken has 412,000 followers, Wendy’s has 1,000,000 followers and two of their largest competitors for beef jerky, Perky Jerky and Lawless Jerky, both have less than 10,000 followers. I am not a fan of beef jerky. I have never taken much interest in the snack but despite this, I buy into the brand they have created for themselves. Through the use of current trends in the meme community and the world as a whole such as the 2020 election, the company has created an entirely new marketing strategy for how a company can grow through social media.
Slim Jim is a company that has been arund since 1929; they are by no means an up and coming brand. However, what they have done is taken a niche, historically small market in beef jerky and turned it into a social media craze that has picked up enough steam to rival the social presence of the world’s largest fast food companies. As I stated earlier, I’m not a fan of beef jerky. I’d be lying, however, if I said I was not curious to try one of their products. Even if I don’t like the meat, the content they put out is so uniquely relatable that I may have to consider myself a new and enthusiastic member of the Long Boi Gang.
Works Cited:
- “@Slimjim.” Login • Instagram, www.instagram.com/slimjim/?hl=en.
- Bicks, Emily. “Andy Hines Dead: Slim Jim Instagram Meme Creator Dies at 35.” Heavy.com, 11 May 2020, heavy.com/entertainment/2020/05/andy-hines-death-slim-jim/.
- Bradley, Diana. “How a Superfan Grew Slim Jim’s Instagram Account from 5k to 500k Followers.” PR Week, PR Week Global, 10 May 2020, www.prweek.com/article/1662149/superfan-grew-slim-jims-instagram-account-5k-500k-followers.
- “Snap into a Slim Jim: Meat Sticks and Jerky: Slim Jim.” Snap into a Slim Jim: Meat Sticks and Jerky | Slim Jim, www.slimjim.com/.
- Torossian, Ronn. “Lessons Learned from Slim Jims Nontraditional Hire.” O’Dwyers PR, 21 Oct. 2019, www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/13243/2019-10-21/lessons-learned-from-slim-jims-nontraditional-hire.html.
