It’s coming. America’s third (or maybe fourth) favorite holiday is just around the corner.

In the days that follow, chocolate bunnies will be a common sight; there will be services in the church, and people will gather to celebrate a special time of the year.

Although there is no shortage of traditions on this day, Easter itself is signified by the egg hunt in households worldwide. 

If Easter was a big thing in your home growing up, you remember mindlessly searching for those painted eggs that were usually filled with candies and chocolates. 

But those aren’t the Easter eggs we will be talking about today. Instead, we will be looking at a different application of this term and how they can uplift your marketing efforts. 

1. Easter Eggs: A Nod to the Audience 

Americans spent $18.1 billion on Easter last year. The event provides extraordinary opportunities for businesses, small and big alike. But with so many players vying for the pie, you need something to stand out.

This is where Easter eggs come in.

Easter eggs have now become a pop culture phenomenon. You see them in movies, TV shows, games, comic books, practically everywhere. 

They’re a wink and nod to the audience -a hidden message that only the passionate fans understand. 

For instance, the 2013 superhero flick Man of Steel has Superman standing in one frame with a smiley face painted in the background. This is a nod to Director Zack Snyder’s other movie Watchmen which was released in 2019. 

Easter eggs in Cinema are to build intrigue and get the audience involved. Wikipedia describes it as “An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in an interactive work such as a computer program, video game or DVD menu screen. The name evokes the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt.”

Although your comic book thrillers are filled with them, Easter eggs have been used far beyond DC, and Marvel flicks. In fact, you can incorporate them into your digital marketing strategy to boost customer interest. 

2. Easter Eggs on the Digital World

If you simply search the word “answer to life, the universe and everything” on Google, the result will be something like this. 

This may seem odd, but only if you aren’t familiar with ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. At one point in the book, he writes, “the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything is 42”. 

Even though the writer himself has made it clear that this particular statement doesn’t mean anything –it hasn’t stopped fans of the book from crafting a million fan theories. 

But what does Google gain by getting in on the joke? Now, that’s a question online marketing should be asking themselves.

3. Going Viral With Easter Eggs

Consider this: How often have you sat in a meeting where the goal is to create something that will go viral? 

It almost always boils down to creating the precise structure to make your content a hit. But there is no real formula to help you achieve this. 

Take Old Town Road by Lil Nas X, for example. It’s a song inspired by a video game where the lyrics include gems like “lean all in my bladder” and “wrangler on my booty”. 

With such ridiculous lyrics and the fact that it can hardly fit an established genre, this song had no right to go viral –let alone top the US Billboard charts for 19 consecutive weeks. But these were the very reasons that made this song an internet sensation. 

Consider this, if Old Town Road were an overly produced song that perfectly fitted the definition of ‘country’, it would have drowned with the rest of contemporary country singles. People liked the song because it was entertaining, unique and raw. 

One thing that connects all viral content is that it’s fun and is developed in a loose format, with the creators having a great time. They create spontaneous communities where everybody feels they are an insider.

Digital Easter Eggs do exactly the same. 

4. Why Your Marketing Strategy Needs Easter Eggs

As people, we are tired of the same old stuff. So anything that’s out of the ordinary gets us intrigued. Easter eggs, in particular, arouse a raw sensation as they’ve got a rogue taste. They don’t just keep it to themselves when someone comes across them. Their desire to share this information stems from the achievement of finding the Easter egg in the first place. 

And as a result –the word spreads. 

Going back to Google’s example, anyone that stumbles on the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy reference or the famous ‘do a barrel roll trick doesn’t simply keep it to themselves. Instead, it travels from person to person. 

Your business gets natural publicity when people share Easter eggs with friends and family. It takes your message to places where no amount of paid advertisement can reach. 

IMDB’s ‘This is Spinal Tap’ page is one of the website’s most visited pages. Why? Because it’s the only movie rated out of 11 on the site –a reference to the famous ‘up to eleven’ line in the mockumentary. 

In addition to this, Eater eggs make your brand more human. People appreciate brands that do not maintain a strict robot-like image. Why else would a company like Google insert hints and nods to pop culture in their search engine? 

Easter eggs can also work as tools to keep customers on your site for longer. After discovering your ingenuity, visitors may be encouraged to explore your website further –creating more conversion opportunities. 

Conclusion

Sometimes creating an effective online marketing campaign is not an uphill task. With stiff competition surrounding all festive occasions, marketers need to dig deep to craft a strategy to make their business stand out. 

However, famous Easter traditions such as egg hunting can be a useful source of inspiration. You can create organic excitement around your brand by using a bit of imagination and instilling a bit of trickery onto your webpage.

Who is to say those Easter eggs won’t prove to be a symbol of growth for your business?

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