How Do Organizations Use Social Media?

Social media has become an integral marketing tool for all kinds of companies. As the world becomes more connected, companies have begun to harness the powers of digital to connect with customers, increase brand awareness, generate buzz, and promote themselves in a positive way. Given the wide variety of channels available and the low cost of maintaining a presence, social media marketing and advertising has become easier and more effective than ever. If that weren't enough, social media doubles as the ultimate customer relationship management tool. Having a digital presence has become the norm these days, and the companies that don't have a consistent brand presence across multiple channels are behind the curve.

 In the past I've done work posting on social media accounts for a few different businesses. The driving force behind these posts has always been engaging the consumer and making sure the brand is visible. With the amount of posts the average person scrolls through on a daily basis, it is essential that something goes up every day. Even if it's a trivial, random post, posting itself ensures that the company will be seen. One of the companies I previously worked with was my brother's T-shirt line Business As Usual. Back then I would help out primarily by crafting Facebook posts and filming videos that would be shared on both Facebook and YouTube. My brother and I would create some videos purely for social media promotion, while others would be highlight reels of events and other things. The key for us was to make funny, shareable content that would entertain fans of the company as well as whoever else happened to see the video. If we weren't posting videos or photos, we would put up quotes, ideas, and other thoughts pertaining to core values of the company. While we never ran formal paid ads, we did any and every free thing we could to stay socially relevant to our followers.

I see a lot of the same from companies I follow on Twitter, although the effort and strategy behind social media marketing has undoubtedly increased in recent years. One company I follow that makes great use of social is the National Basketball Association. The NBA maintains extremely active channels on every platform I follow, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Vine. The types of post aren't exactly the same for all platforms, but the strategies they employ seem to take advantage of each platform's strengths. For example, Facebook posts tend to contain always contain video or pictures, with a large chunk of posts promoting sponsors and other league initiatives. The highlights and game to game stories are still there, but Facebook takes on a purer advertising tone than other platforms. Twitter on the other hand is used for quicker, real-time updates; generally game scores, instant highlights, and brief promotions for other NBA stuff. The rest are pretty self explanatory: YouTube handles highlights, promotion video, and original productions, Instagram handles pictures and short videos, while Vine is ideal for short, replay-able highlight clips. All in all, the NBA maintains an active, consistent presence across all platforms, which drives maximum engagement with fans like myself.

All in all, social media is has become a marketing staple for most modern companies. They know that consumers are engaged when using social media, and having an active and consistent presence is good for business. Whether posting original content, promoting, or connecting with consumers, social has become a mainstay for in marketing, advertising, and PR departments around the world.