Nomo FOMO
Sometimes you need to substitute screen time for a dose of sunshine. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, L.L. Bean paused all of its social media activity in May. The outdoor retailer also partnered with fitness-tracking app Strava for its Feel-Good Challenge, which encourages people to press pause on digital life and play outside — a proven boon for mental health.
L.L. Bean pledged to donate $25,000 to Mental Health America when challenge participants track 500,000 outdoor hours. They surpassed this target in the first 10 days, putting them on track to reach an astonishing 1 million hours by the end of the month.
The brand took a similar break from social in May 2022. Impressions for the post announcing this year’s pause increased 95% over last year, showing interest in unplugging has only trended upwards.
Cosmetic retailer Lush also did a digital detox back in 2021, but the beauty brand opted to make its departure permanent. Despite the exit, it’s still thriving thanks to in-store experiences, an email newsletter, and its website.
While a permanent or even temporary social media break may not make sense for your brand, L.L. Bean and Lush’s success shows logging off has its benefits. As social media engagement across most platforms is down, it’s more important than ever to prioritize offline marketing tactics, including interactive and in-person strategies.
TL;DR: For Mental Health Awareness Month, outdoor retailer L.L. Bean paused activity on social media and saw a surge in engagement, proving the power of going off the grid.
