Welcome back! We’ve been talking a lot about the different
social media platforms that exist and how important it is for companies to incorporate
those outlets into their integrated marketing campaigns. But, it’s not just
about incorporating every social outlet available; it’s about incorporating the
RIGHT platforms for your brand and including a consistent look and
message on each of those platforms. Let’s take a look at three brands that are
doing an outstanding job of incorporating consistent branding and messaging on
their social platforms.
First up is Target. Target can be found on all the major
social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and even
LinkedIn. Target does a great job at incorporating a consistent look on each of
their pages; most notably, the profile thumbnail photo on each platform is the
same. Target’s red target logo is easily identifiable and respected, by using
this as their profile photo alone drives traffic to their sites. Their
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages are all similar in the items they are
promoting at the tops of the pages. Currently, Halloween costumes, décor, and
other offerings are being highlighted in these areas. The Target Google+ page
is a little different in that only a recent article with the Halloween hashtag is
promoting the holiday, rather than their cover photo or background photo. In a
similar fashion, Target’s LinkedIn page is very professional and clearly a
business space. There are no advertisements or product pushing here. Instead,
there are articles about resume writing, charity work, and flu shots. Clearly
focusing more on Target’s business side rather than their in-store marketing
side.
The content on Target’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
pages is updated every day at the least, but usually multiple times a day. Their LinkedIn
profile usually has one post every day or every other day. Target’s Google+
page, on the other hand, only has four posts total beginning on September 30th.
I’m not sure if this is just a glitch on my computer or maybe Target is just
new to the Google+ world. If that’s the case, hopefully they will begin to use
this platform more frequently and effectively.
Target does a great job of using various hashtags on all of
their sites (with the exception of LinkedIn) to help users search through
content and to join in conversations. Also, each platforms clearly lists the
Target website in the “About Me” section
and generally includes the website link in each posts. They do not,
however, do a very good job of promoting their other social outlets. You cannot
find a link to their Facebook on their Twitter page or their Instgram handle on
their Facebook page. They do, however, tend to post the same images/stories on
each of their social outlets.
Next up we have T.J.Maxx. Much like Target, T.J.Maxx is present
on all of the major social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Google+, and Pinterest. Also, similar to Target, their profile photo is the
same on each and every social outlet; creating a consistent and familiar place
for fans and followers to connect and explore. Each of their pages have a
similar look and feel (even the photos to the right are hard to tell apart), showcasing the latest fashion trends, current product
offerings, and style tips and tricks.
Their content is updated extremely frequently, unlike Target
who has a few platforms that are lacking in the department. T.J.Maxx generally posts
multiple times a day on each of their social media outlets; their Google+ page
tends to only be updated once a day or several times every other day, but still
keeps content fresh and current. Also, each of their social media outlets lists
their website at the top of each page, but only occasionally includes the URL
in their actual posts.
T.J.Maxx uses hashtags incredibly well, especially when
promoting their Maxxinista campaign. All of their social outlets encourage fans
to share a photo of themselves in their latest T.J.Maxx finds and post it on
Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the #Maxxinista for a chance to win a
$1000 gift card. The one downside of their social media outlets is that they do not do a very good job of
promoting each other; there are no “find us on Facebook” links on their Twitter
page or a “follow us on Instagram” on their Facebook page.
Last but not least, we have Ebay, the king of online
auctions! Ebay can also be found on all of the major social media outlets
including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and YouTube. Also, just like Target
and T.J.Maxx, Ebay uses the exact same logo as their profile photos on every
social media platform, allowing fans and followers to quickly find their pages
when searching. Unlike the other two brands I’ve mentioned, Ebay does an
incredible job of including their various social media accounts on each of
their pages. You can find Ebay’s Facebook and YouTube handles on the background
of their Twitter page, there are buttons at the top of their Facebook pages
that link you to their Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube pages, and
they have included the same buttons on their YouTube page. The exception to
this would be their Instagram and Google+ page, neither one of these outlets
includes anything but the Ebay URL (which the other three platforms include as
well).
For the most part, each of other social media platforms
showcases the incredible items that you can find on their website. The use of
hashtags is not as prominent on the Ebay pages as the other two brands we’ve
talked about; they usually keep it to a general #ebay that is used
predominately on their Instagram page and nowhere else. As mentioned before,
their website URL is listed at the top of each of their pages, but Ebay also
does a great job of including a specific link on each of their posts. For
example, if the post is a photo of a Halloween costume, the link attached will
take you directly to the page where you can purchase said costume. Ebay’s
YouTube channel is unique in that it showcases not just their products, but
ways to use and get creative with their products. This helps to create a sense
of industry knowledge with their fans and followers, furthering their followers
trust and loyalty with the brand. In addition, their social platforms are
updated on an extremely frequent basis, generally posting multiple pieces of
content each day.
Overall, each of these three brands does a great job at
balancing the use of multiple social media platforms. While there are a few
things that could be improved with each of these brands, they have an
incredible foundation created and the sky is really the limit. These are all
great examples of brands embracing social into their integrated marketing
campaigns and not being afraid to set the bar extremely high for their competitors.
{Let's Make A Connection}
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