Based on the latest statistics, it seems like they are. With 58% of the Fortune 500 on Facebook and 62% maintaining a corporate Twitter presence, they’re well into the late majority. The real question is: are they doing it well?
Our bet is that a lot of them aren’t, and could use a few pointers. However, there are a select few brands that millions of consumers agree are getting it right on either Facebook or Twitter, or in some cases, both. These brands provide excellent examples of best practices across these two social channels.
On Facebook, the top brands are exclusively retailers like Walmart, Kohl’s and Target, or food and beverage brands like Starbucks, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s. All of these brands excel at a few things.
Their strategy is visual. Pictures remain the favourite form of Facebook post by brands, and drive the most engagement with fans, as can be seen in the picture-heavy Timeline format. Timeline offers even greater visual display options, and these brands were among the first to make the switch, as they recognized the value of visual on Facebook.
They post often. These brands have consistently new, interesting content. If the first post people see is recent and interesting, why wouldn’t they like your page? Exactly.
They interact with customers. When brands ignore people on Facebook, it doesn’t look great. These brands consistently acknowledge their followers and have a strategy in place to address questions raised on their page, whether they’re mundane or highly sensitive.
A few brands make appearances on both the top Facebook and Twitter brand lists, as presented in an infographic from Go-Gulf.com. However, it’s worth noting that while McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are popular on Facebook, they’re nowhere near the top of the Twitter list. Instead, information brand Google and health food store Whole Foods take the #1 and #2 spots, respectively.
This is a clear indication that on Twitter, the game is different, and is played best by those who excel at three things.
Information sharing. Does anyone really care what McDonald’s has to say about nutrition? Probably not, based on their relatively smaller Twitter following, but apply the same logic to the Washington Post. Do you care what they have to say about world news? It’s likely that you do. They’re a valuable information resource, which is key to success on Twitter.
Timeliness. If you’re the first to break a story on Twitter, or you reply with impressive speed and accuracy to a customer inquiry, it’s noteworthy. You’re likely to get retweeted in the first case and increase your customer interactions and loyalty in the second. Both of these things are important drivers of success on Twitter.
Being part of the conversation, AKA Interacting with Customers. Companies have received a lot of positive attention for excelling at customer interaction on Twitter, and the ones that are falling behind are receiving their fair share of attention as well, although it’s not positive. Twitter is a conversation, and to succeed, you need to be willing to take part and actively engage with followers.
Some of the guidelines for success vary greatly between Twitter and Facebook, and the same goes for every social media channel. They all have specific criteria that lead to success. The one thing that you’ll notice stays the same? Interacting with customers is always going to be a key success factor.
This is the key ingredient of social media. It’s social. Interacting effectively with customers, fans and followers on social media requires a defined strategy and a commitment to maintain your social presences, but it’s worth it. After defining your business goals and choosing the appropriate channel, the next step is always going to involve interacting with your customers.
This is where most of the Fortune 500 companies could use some work: putting the social into social media. The leading brands have gotten it right, and it’s time the rest of them got the message. Simply being “on Twitter” or “having a Facebook page” doesn’t necessarily make you social.
How are you ensuring that your social channels are staying social?