5 Powerhouses Who Get Social Media Right
Despite its immense potential as a marketing tool, social media was not an immediate hit with big business.
Large corporations took their time to evaluate this new marketing opportunity and held back while small business took the lead. But once it caught the bug, big business found a lot to like about the new marketing platforms that social media provides.
In its 2012 survey of social media use by Fortune 500 companies, the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth showed that large companies are flocking to social media in ever increasing numbers.
And while this trend seems fairly widespread, a few major corporations have distinguished themselves as leaders in social media, recognizing that the immediacy of the platform allows them to respond quickly to customer needs.
OnlineMBAPage.com estimates that 99 percent of all Fortune 500 companies had some social media presence as of early 2013. However, it singles out a handful of companies as clear leaders in their use of social media.
Starbucks Gets It Right
Seattle-based Starbucks is among the most enthusiastic users of social media.
Of the corporate brands represented on Facebook and Twitter, the popular coffee shop chain ranks among the top five, according to data from Socialbakers.com. The company is also increasing its profile on the Google+ platform, moving up to number 22 in the rankings on that platform.
Using just its fans on Facebook along with those fans’ friends, Starbucks executives reckon the company’s presence on that platform gives them exposure to nearly 1 billion people, according to the Seattle Times.
Coca-Cola Integrates Its Message Across All Media
Coca-Cola, the number one corporate brand on Facebook, makes clear that its marketing success depends on delivering the same essential message across the full spectrum of all marketing media.
Writing in the company’s blog, Wendy Clark, senior vice president of integrated marketing communications and capabilities, spelled it out: “None of our plans are simply social, or TV, or mobile, or experiential. On the contrary, it’s the combination of owned, earned, shared, and paid media connections — with social playing a crucial role at the heart of our activations — that creates marketplace impact, consumer engagement, brand love, and brand value.”
Clark acknowledges that integrating Coke’s message across multiple platforms is a relatively new challenge, one that requires new skills and capabilities. She said the company may not always get it right, but it’s committed to executing “wholly integrated campaigns, with social at the heart, to fuel better outcomes and impact for our company.”
Disney Stays in Touch
With more than 1,000 social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the Walt Disney Company stays in daily touch with millions of followers around the globe. Socialbakers.com ranks Disney in the top five of corporate brands on Facebook, and it’s a major player on Twitter and YouTube as well.
Among the company’s social media accounts are those for motion pictures, popular TV shows and Disney corporate divisions. Augmenting the Disney presence on social media platforms are the accounts of TV personalities and talent at Disney, ABC, ESPN and Marvel. In their interactions with fans, these members of the Disney family help to engender goodwill for the corporation.
Ford Talks Up Fiesta
Another major player on the social media front, Ford Motor Company has made good use of this relatively new platform. After a few years of treating social media as a hobby, the company brought Scott Monty on board as its global digital and multimedia communications manager.
In advance of its introduction of a redesigned Fiesta model in 2009, Ford launched a broad multimedia campaign to spark interest in the new model. At the heart of the campaign was a contest to choose 100 drivers and give them a free Fiesta to drive for a year, throwing in free gas and insurance.
Monty spearheaded the social media component of the Fiesta campaign, winning more than 1.8 million Facebook fans and 206,000 Twitter followers for Ford, according to BU Today, a website of Boston University. The campaign was so successful that Monty and his team are revamping it to introduce the 2014 model of the Fiesta.
GM Gets Social Too
In what may well be a reflection of the troubled times it’s seen in recent years, General Motors has lagged somewhat behind Ford in its use of social media. But the automaker is trying to make up for lost time.
Mary Henige, GM’s director of social media and digital communications, told CNNMoney that GM’s social media campaigns “humanize the company.” She cited in particular the “Faces of GM” video blog, which is available on several social media platforms.
The blog puts GM employees on camera where they can help to shape the automaker’s public image. GM is active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Goggle+. The latter, said Henige, is its biggest social media platform, having accrued more than 1.3 million followers at last count.
About the Author: Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about corporate strategy, online marketing and social media. He also has written profiles of some of American business’s top movers and shakers, including Steve Wynn.
Image Credit: disney.
Posted in Social Networking. Tags: brands using social media, social media case studies, social media success
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