Social Media In Other Industries

Social Media In Other Industries

Many corporate giants do not have a history of being agile in changing environments, adapting to new technology, or lets be honest, innovating. Not all large corporations are this way, but some industries seem filled with them. For example the auto industry has played a catch-up game with social media the past five years. Many companies are just now beginning to actualize and utilize the space of social media to engage customers.

The Challenge In the Boardroom

The difficulty is that for years, social media was viewed as an internet hangout for high-school kids without any regard for the potential of what social media could become. The challenge is that, this blend or evolution of culture-society-technology known as social media has evolved organically and thus, it has had to move from the bottom, up to the top of the hierarchy. In order for dramatic innovation to occur in the corporate world, social media development needs to originate in the boardroom.

A Case Study of Effective Social Media Marketing: Ford Motor Company

Looking at “America’s car company”, Ford has come a very long way in the past three years. Jim Farley, chief marketing director of global sales for the company has jumped headfirst into rebranding and remarketing a struggling giant. Two years ago Ford launched a social media marketing campaign called the Fiesta Movement. They selected 100 bloggers and influential social leaders to test-drive the new Fiesta 18 months prior to the US release of the vehicle. This combination of competition, privileged access, socially connected individuals, honest and un-edited reviews, and interactions made the campaign a big success. The following year Ford ran an interactive reality web-series called Focus Rally America. Although risky, “Focus Rally America” turned out to also be a big success.

In 2012, Ford ran their most innovative and ambitious campaign to date called “Escape Routes”. This was a full-fledged reality TV show from the producers of the “Amazing Race”, featuring the 2013 Ford Escape in a interactive, real-time game show.

All in all, the TV ratings of the show were not spectacular, but this did not deter Ford. The achievement of pulling off an unprecedented real-time, interactive, social media game show when added to the amount of online impressions/mentions was a major accomplishment for any corporation, much less a giant in the auto industry. Most recently Ford has launched a new campaign called “Random Acts of Fusion”, which as already received great success. As long as an innovator like Jim Farley is at the head, Ford will continue to innovate and find creative and effective new ways to use social media.

Yes We Have A Facebook Account and ???

Experience has proven it is not enough for a company to have a profile on a single social network. There is so much more that can be done and that is where the real action is happening. Many experts in the fields of social media and marketing agree that the CRM and data analytics side of social media will continue to go through turmoil as new companies, tools, and platforms battle it out for marketing share. There will be large turn over as more companies come to utilize social media, and as the support infrastructure of this new industry develops and grows. Only time will tell whom the leaders and innovators are as more corporations enter the realm of social media.

Aside from Ford, have any other companies stood out above the rest as innovators in the sphere of social media marketing and engagement?