screenshots taken from @clancysautobody on TikTok
A small car body shop in Fort Lauderdale has become a TikTok sensation and generated more than 50m views in just a week after using an unhinged content strategy featuring viral feline Maxwell the Cat.
Clancy’s Auto Body was just one of many companies offering car repairs and services in Florida when it decided to green-light a quirky social media campaign to increase its brand awareness and reach.
To say it has been a success is an understatement, and it all started with a rather basic video of the body shop’s building with Maxwell the Cat superimposed on top and text asking for advice on how to be a social media marketer.
https://www.tiktok.com/@clancysautobody/video/7202272106002910510
The clip has now been viewed 21m times, received 4.3m likes and attracted 14.5k comments.
The breakout success for a company that hadn’t posted a video on the platform before is yet another reminder of the incredible power of social media marketing for small businesses.
Clancy’s didn’t rest on its laurels after that viral hit – it has since posted several other videos with more than 2m views, including one with 12m.
A recent video features the company’s manager ringing Google to complain in a sarcastic skit after people posted hundreds of positive reviews on the search engine.
What’s funny is that Google did actually have to monitor the company’s feedback due to the sudden surge in interest.
Brand experts have praised Clancy’s strategy, which has used platform-specific unhinged content and an initial viral hit to build a huge, engaged following almost overnight.
The company now also posts more informative videos with the “boss man” answering questions about their services and storylines featuring other employees.
While the strategy won’t be in traditional marketing manuals, it’s working for Clancy’s and other bigger brands such as Duolingo and Ryanair right now.
