The Long Boi Gang

Brands that take their social media presence seriously rather than churning out self-promoting pablum can reap the benefits. Specifically, a strong sense of community can arise among users — even for those brands that on the surface seem pretty mundane. Exhibit A: Slim-Jim.

Slim Jim’s Instagram page had been, like most many brands’ social media accounts, boring and corporate. But the company noticed that one of its loyal consumers, Andy Hines, had his own Instagram called @SlimJimsDoingThings that was funny, meme-driven, and had a much larger following.

So they hired the guy.

Hines immediately transformed Slim Jim ‘s online image. In a year, its follower count grew from 5,000 to 500,000. Hines came up with the term “Long Boi Gang” for consumers who are devoted to Slim-Jim, and the brand has encouraged that sense of community with a limited edition Long Boi Stick and polls that give fans the chance to vote on options for future merchandise.

This story recently turned tragic.  Andy Hines died last month. It appears that the brand has tried to keep going with the same look and tone that Hines brought to the brand.