a Guide to Social Media Marketing

by: Taylor Ohman

Taylor Ohman is currently pursuing her Masters of Business Administration, with a

concentration in marketing, from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St.
Louis. Her undergraduate education, which also took place at Washington University in St.
Louis, was focused on the study of modern digital media and its effect on American culture. In
addition to her studies, Taylors work with the marketing teams of Modern Luxury
Publications, Save the Children, The Walt Disney Company, and Yelp Inc., has allowed her to
gain unique insights into contemporary social media marketing strategies within a wide range
of industries. This book has been created as a culmination of her studies and represents her
personal viewpoint informed by experiential knowledge and academic research.

Today, the term social media

encapsulates a wide range of websites and
mobile apps; but, due to its rapid evolution,
it is difficult to articulate a definition that
remains relevant to all newly innovated
technologies. For the purpose of this work,
social media platforms will be identified by
two key characteristics: they allow
communication between users and are
digitally accessed via electronic devices.
The aim of this working definition is to
distinguish social media from other
marketing platforms, such as television,
print, and radio, and thus allow a more
specific study of its impact.

Social media has become an undeniably influential

part of American culture and has allowed
communities to connect and communicate like
never before. The unprecedented ease with which
individuals are able to converse and share
information has spurred the rise of
crowdcultures, a term coined by Professor
Douglas Holt of Harvard Business School. Social
media, Holt explains, binds together
communities, that once were geographically
isolated, greatly increasing the pace of
collaboration. (Holt, 2016). This phenomenon has
not only allowed geographically separate
communities to converse, but has also given them
a voice. Social media empowers its users by
allowing them access to a vast network of likeminded individuals; and as history has proven,
when it comes to cultural change, there is always
strength in numbers.

Currently, 65% of American adults use at least

one social media site and this statistic rises to
90% for young adults between 19 and 29 years
of age (Pew Research Center, 2015). This
demonstrates a dramatic increase in social
media participation over the last decade, a
change which has not gone unnoticed by
business owners. As a majority of the American
population can be reached through social media
sites, it has provided an unprecedented
opportunity for businesses to directly
communicate with consumers. Never before
have brands had such direct access or means of
connection with the American people. Further,
the freedom of usage of social media sites allows
companies of all sizes and economic standing to
utilize the resource to interact with customers.

As a result, companies have

dramatically increased their use of
social media sites. In 2015, 91% of retail
brands were using at least two social
media sites (Brandwatch, 2015); and in
less than ten years, cumulative
corporate spending on social-media
marketing efforts has increased from
approximately $0 to $20 billion
(Economist, 2015). However, research
has only just begun to elucidate how
consumers regard brands differently on
social media and how this unique
relationship necessitates a complete
transformation of traditional marketing
practices.

Social media is like no other marketing platform

and thus cannot be utilized in the same manner as
previously established media forms. Using social
media to effectively connect with target
consumers and increase brand visibility requires a
unique and informed strategy. This is because, as
previously described, social media gives the user a
degree of agency, which they have never
experienced before. Social media allows the
consumer to dictate what content they are
exposed to and what content they deem
disruptive. Further, the communal nature of social
media reinforces these choices by connecting
them with consumers of similar tastes. Therefore,
social media marketing must be centered around
the goal of fostering a crowdculture for its
consumers. This marks a divergence from the
more traditional purpose of marketing efforts,
which aim to primarily capture the attention of a
maximum amount of potential consumers.

This guide has been created for business owners,

who would like to use social media to market
their brand and gain attention from potential
customers by creating an online community of
followers. Through a combination of relevant
traditional marketing practices and new research
into social media sites, this guide aims to take
you, the reader, through a step-by-step process of
brand creation. You will identify what your
company stands for, determine who your target
consumer is, and understand how to promote
your brand specifically through three of the most
popular social media platforms; and, although this
guide focuses primarily on content creation for
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; its aim is to
provide the reader with an ideological
framework that can be applied to additional
social media marketing efforts in the future.

It is important to note that the strategy

lying at the foundation of this guide is
subjective. There exists a wide variety of
approaches to social media marketing, and
this is one of them. However, it has been
built with extensive research in marketing
management, consumer psychology, and
social media usage trends. This guide will
not deliver foolproof social media content
but, instead, guide you through the process
of evolving your brand and personalizing
digital communications for the purpose of
attracting a target consumer segment and
increasing brand visibility and consumer
engagement. The goal of this guide is also
to reveal how modern marketing is being
radically transformed by social media and
it's growing ubiquity among consumers.

I would like to thank Franklin Oros, Kelsey Klotz, Moire

Murphy, and Heidi Kolk for their assistance in the creation of
this guide and all others who contributed their time and
efforts. I could not have done it without you.

1: Developing Your Brand

2: Identifying your Consumer
3: Why Social Media?
4: Understanding the Platforms
5: Going Forward

Developing Your Brand

Prior to developing a marketing

strategy or social media content,
you must first determine what
the brand you will be marketing
represents. This is key to
ensuring consistency among all
marketing messages and a
consequentially stronger
relationship between you and
your customer.

by stories, history, and

experiences. Nor are brands
defined by the goods they
produce. Products should be
considered cultural artifacts that
only gain meaning through
circulation (Holt, 2003).

Although this ideology gained

traction prior to the eruption of
social media's popularity, it
According to marketing scholar remains relevant to social media
Holt, brands are not names,
marketing today and marks a
designs, images, or symbols; these point of parity between effective
are merely empty markers,
traditional and contemporary
which are useless if not filled
marketing practices.

So what is a brand? It is a culture

that is inherent in all of a brands
marketing messages. It
represents value in that it is the
difference between a customers
willingness to pay for a branded
and non-branded product, which
would otherwise be considered
identical.

A marketing mix, as described by

Neil H. Borden of Harvard
Business School, includes:
merchandising, product planning,
pricing, branding, channels of
distribution, personal selling, ads,
promos, packaging, display,
servicing, physical handling, and
market research (Borden, 1964).

In the mind of the consumer,

brands inspire association with
certain values, themes, ideas,
beliefs. These associations are
the residue of marketing mix
materials (Holt, 2003).

However, none of these

marketing mix elements, which
now includes social media, can
be created effectively without a
clear and distinct idea of the
brand that they represent.

Traditionally, mass media has

allowed a brand to have
complete control over their
image and the content
influencing their consumers.
However, social media has
transformed this model of brand
ownership. On social media a
brand belongs as much to the
consumer as it does to the
business. It is shaped by both
branded content and communal
discourse, making it a publiclyowned good that is consumed
on an individual and public level.

Therefore, when idealizing a

brand you must consider both
sources of contribution. Think
about not only the content that
you will create, but also the
conversation that you will
inspire, as both are of equal
significance to the formulation
of a brand image.
This marks a divergence from
traditional marketing strategy as
brand image was previously
thought to be under the
complete power of the
marketer.

Due to humankinds proclivity for

simplification and desire for
comprehension, a brand must also be
straightforward and easily understood.
Despite the complexity of what you
are marketing, your brand image must
be clear and concise. Although this has
been considered a longtime necessity
for marketing messages, brand brevity
is especially critical to the effective use
of social media. This is because
platforms place restrictions on the
length and detail of content, thus
emphasizing an online culture
characterized by compact and easily
grasped identities.

Although it is difficult to assess

your brand objectively, it is key in
the brand formulation phase to
view it from an impartial vantage
point. To do so, first consider the
value or benefit your product
provides to the customer.
Understand that self-perceived
product value does not always
equal the customers perceived
value. Therefore you must ask:
what benefit does my brand
provide from the consumers
point of view?

Based on this provided benefit,

identify a general brand category
to which yours can relate.
For example, consider a small
family-owned deli that sits in the
center of town; it provides fresh
sandwiches, made efficiently, for a
relatively low cost. This deli likely
belongs to the brand category of
fast-food. While it does not
resemble the large chains of
McDonalds or Chipotle, it offers
a comparable service and
product and provides a similar
benefit to its customers.

The next step is to select others

brands within your brand
category to compare yours to.
These brands should provide a
similar benefit to the consumer
and have multiple points of
similarity with your own brand.
These points of similarity
represent the general
expectations of the market
customer; for example, if you
produce soda, consumers will
expect it to be carbonated, if
you paint nails, consumers
expect you to supply the polish,
if you sell groceries, consumers

expect there to be staples like

milk and eggs. Think of this as
the mental niche you hold in the
mind of your customer (Keller,
2000).

Continuing the example of a local

deli: the competitors within the
same brand category would likely
meet the following criteria. First,
they would be located in the
same geographic area as the deli.
Second, they would have similarly
low prices and quick turnaround
times. Third, they would be open
for business during the same
hours of the day. By identifying
the companies that meet these
points of parity within the fastfood category, the business
owners would be able to identify
their competition.

There will also exist points of

disparity between all of the
selected competitors. Consider
what makes you unique from
your competition:
What are your strengths? What
are your weaknesses? How does
the benefit you provide to
customers vary from the benefit
your competition provides? How
do your marketing messages
differ from theirs?
These points of disparity are
both opportunities and threats to
your brand.

You can leverage your strengths

to procure an advantage over
competitors, as you shape your
brand. Per the deli-example,
these strengths might include:
ambiance of storefront and
interior setting, convenience of
location, quality/nutritional value
of ingredients, range of offerings,
quality of service, and many
other factors. These factors of
differentiation, and how they are
incorporated into marketing
messages, are unique to each
brand.

Holt, however, identifies four

common points through which
brands often differentiate
themselves. These are:
reputation, relationship,
experience, and symbol
(Holt, 2003).

A brand that differentiates itself

by reputation is highly trusted by
its customers, particularly
relative to their competition.
They are well-respected and
consistently meet the
expectations of consumers.
Companies such as these
consistently receive positive
reviews and feedback from
consumers. This further
propagates their reputation with
both loyal and new, potential
customers. This cycle, however,
takes time and is thus most
beneficial to older brands.

An example of this sort of brand

is Pixar. The movies children
watch are often heavily vetted by
their parents (in this case, the
decision making unit); however,
production companies like Pixar
have developed their reputation
among parents as producing
family-friendly films that are
appropriate for children of all
ages. Pixar is trusted by parents
to deliver consistently
appropriate and entertaining
films and consequentially has
earned a reputation of respect
among consumers.

A brand differentiated by
relationship defines itself by the
loyalty its customer feels toward
them. This sort of brands
customers feel that they have a
relationship with the brand, from
which both company and
consumer benefit. If problems
arise, they also feel confident
that their concerns will be heard
and the company will be there to
help. Such brands often invest
significant resources into
developing their customer
service and responding to
customer feedback.

A brand that exemplifies this

type of differentiation method is
the insurance company,
Nationwide Insurance. As their
slogan Nationwide is on your
side demonstrates, the brand is
built upon the personal
relationship it has fostered with
each of its customers. Their
marketing mix aims to instill faith
and guarantee support; while
their brand representatives work
to continuously deliver on this
promise of support and advocacy
on your behalf.

If a brand is known for the

experience it provides, their
consumers likely expect a
predictable and enjoyable
experience each time they
interact with the brand. This
experience is defined by a
multitude of elements that work
together to define the brand.
These elements are also seen as
benefits to the customer. This
requires attention to detail, as
each distinct element of the
customers interaction with the
brand contributes to their
overall perception of it.
.

An example of a brand that has

built its image on an experiential
foundation is the movie theatre
chain, AMC Theaters. AMC
promotes its theaters, not
through the movies that they
feature, but through the variety
of benefits that come with the
purchase of a movie ticket:
reclining leather seats, extensive
food and drink menus, in-advance
seat selection, and more. Each of
these individual components of
the AMC experience define the
brand in its totality and develop
customer loyalty.

Finally, if a brand is differentiated

by its symbolic value, their
consumers association with the
brand has implicit meaning within
their own culture. Such symbolic
brands are often used to
reinforce a self-perceived image,
express this image to the outside
world, and/or allow the
consumer to connect with
people of similar values. The
brand, consequentially, becomes
a means of communication and
connection between the
consumer and their community.

An example of a brand with this

sort of symbolic value is Tesla
Motors, a manufacturer of some
of the most expensive electric
cars in the mass-market. Not
only do Teslas automobiles
represent a substantial financial
investment, they also represent a
benefit to the environment. Due
to the symbolic nature of the
Tesla brand, an owner of a Tesla
car demonstrates something
about themselves, whether that
is financial standing or
environmental concern, each
time they drive it.

Reputation, customer
relationship, delivered
experience, and symbolic
meaning are all important
elements of your brand.
However, it is important to
identify the one that sets you
apart; the one at which you can
excel and build your brand upon
and around. Nationwide cannot
provide popcorn and reclining
seats each time a customer walks
into their office just as AMC
cannot guarantee 24/7 support
and guidance to its customers.
Each has its strengths and limits.

But remember, when identifying

your strength, you must evaluate
your brand from the viewpoint
of a consumer.
Go through the purchasing
thought process of your
customer and determine your
competitive advantage
according to the general
consumers buying criteria
(Dolan, 2000). This process
includes problem recognition,
information search, evaluation of
alternatives, purchase decision,
and post purchase evaluation
(Steenburgh, 2010).

A brand is shaped by the

benefits it offers, the strength it
has relative to competitors, and
the story it tells to express both
of these elements. However, a
company can only partially
control a customers ultimate
perception of the brand.
A brand is also affected by usergenerated content. Therefore, it
is key to also identify the target
consumer who will ultimately
decide what your brand means
to them and create such
content.

Identifying Your Customer

Because your brand is ultimately

reliant on the perception of your
consumer, you must decide
exactly who your target
customer is. By doing so, you can
further inspect their decisionmaking process and more
accurately compare your brand
to others and shape it to fit their
needs.
The first step in identifying a
target customer base is to
distinguish who the general mass
market for your brand is. For
example, if you sell dog food,

then your mass market is dogowners, as the majority will

purchase dog food from at least
one brand of dog-food producer.
This example demonstrates that
sometimes the one consuming or
experiencing the product is not
always the person who has the
purchasing power. Therefore, you
must consider who the decisionmaking unit is throughout the
process (Dolan, 2000). Per our
example, while the dog is the
consumer, the owner has the
purchasing power.

The next step is to identify the

criteria that can be used to
separate the general mass market
into more segmented clusters.
This is not a separation by
observable characteristics like
age, race, gender, etc. Instead, this
is a separation by needs, values,
and preferences. These
differences imply a difference in
how they would be marketed to;
therefore you can determine if a
criteria is a good fit by asking the
question: does it affect the story I
would tell about my brand?

For example, health-conscious

individuals highly value the
nutritional content of the food
they eat. Thus, a marketing-mix
targeting their consumer group
would be shaped around
expressing ingredient quality and
nutritional value.
In contrast, price-conscious food
shoppers are likely to respond
more positively to marketing
messages that emphasize high
value and low price, as this speaks
to the benefit they seek: saving
money without significant
sacrifice of quantity or quality.

As this example demonstrates,

the consumers were not
separated by demographics but
by benefits sought. It is important
to note, however, while
demographics should not be used
to signal preferences or separate
the mass market into consumer
groups, there is sometimes a
correlation between preferences
and demographics. Therefore, it
can be useful to first identify the
disparate needs of different
customers and then identify
common characteristics of the
customers.

Once you have identified the

characteristics that distinguish the
mass market, apply the criteria
and separate the consumers into
segments. Understand that there
is not a single way to segment a
market and it often requires
multiple attempts to formulate an
effective set of criteria. It can
often help to visualize an
exemplary individual who
encapsulates all of the qualities
you have identified as belonging
to that market segment, as this
will elucidate each consumer
groups distinct qualities.

From here, consider this list of

prototypes as all of your
potential customers. Then
imagine how your brand would
be perceived in their minds.
Customers will often judge new
brands like they judge
strangers/potential friends; they
evaluate alignment in values,
overlap in identities, similarity in
stories, etc. And while you can
shape marketing messages to
more effectively appeal to a
target consumer, it is imperative
that your core competencies
address their needs.

To consider how you can serve

Consumers Your Comp Comp
different target consumers,
Preferences Brand
#1
#2
compared to competitors,
construct a differential advantage
analysis or competitor
capability matrix (Sarvary, 2006).
The vertical axis represents the
benefits they seek and the
horizontal axis represents each
brands ability to meet such
needs. Each box holds a score of
from 1(weak) to 5 (strong) for
each of the differentiating factors
and the sum of scores determine
relative suitability for the
consumer group.

Once you have determined the

segments of customers who
could potentially be attracted to
your brand, turn the tables and
evaluate each segment by their
attractiveness to you. Consider
the resources available to you
and your ability to fully satisfy
each customers needs.

personalize their marketing

message to directly appeal to the
customers unique preferences.

In contrast, a larger company

with more substantial resources
may be better suited for a highvolume reliant profit model.
Therefor, their target consumer
group may be larger and thus
Small businesses in the beginning slightly more generalized, for the
stages of brand development can sake of meeting the required
often benefit from being as
sales quotas.
specific and focused as possible As previously stated, each brand
in identifying a target consumer is one-of-a-kind and must be
group. This allows them to
treated as such to succeed.

It is also critical to consider if the

selected target consumers are
accessible through social media, as
this will be your initial platform of
outreach communication. Luckily,
however, the aforementioned
epidemic of social media usage
has resulted in ubiquitous
familiarity with social media sites.
That being said, it is important to
note some key demographic data
(recall that you are targeting
consumers based on preference,
and not demographic, however,
these observable characteristics
can be correlated with needs).

Ask Yourself:
Can you reach your target consumer through these platforms?

In continuing to evaluate the

attractiveness, or degree of
potential business, of each
consumer segment, use external
resources to research their
preferences and buying habits
extensively. Look into purchasing
patterns within your market and
outside of your market, as even
seemingly unrelated activities can
signal specific preferences that
you may not have originally
considered. Research and data
will inform your final decision on
which consumer to target

as well as how you can cater

your marketing message to
garner their attention most
effectively.

Once you have identified where

your strengths lie, what your
competition lacks, and who
your customers are, you can
begin to formulate your brands
overall story. This story is
communicated through the
marketing mix, which is
comprised of a wide variety
of marketing mediums.
However, a uniform element
of the marketing mix must
exist: a clear communication
of a brands deliverables in the
form of a product or service.

In other words, all content must

similarly express:
what problem the brands
product or service solves
what need of the consumer it
fulfills
What additional benefits it
has to offer
how the customer benefits
overall
A commonly used practice to
ensure consistency of this
message throughout the
marketing mix is the creation of
a positioning statement.

A positioning statement
represents the place your brand
holds in target customers minds
and shapes how customers
experience the product. This
experience can be a sensory,
emotional, or satisfying one.
(Dolan, 2000).
The positioning statement is an
internal resource that is utilized
to guide content creation. It
specifically answers: Who are the
customers? What is the set of
needs that the product fulfills?
And why is the product the best
option to satisfy those needs?

The creation of a positioning

statement draws in the decisions
you have made during the first
two chapters of this guide: brand
identification, competitor
differentiation, and customer
segmentation.
Positioning statements encourage
brand consistency and equity,
which are both imperative to the
consumer's overall understanding
of who you are, what you are
offering, and why they should
choose your product or service
over competitors.

Both brand building and target

consumer identification have
been integral parts of the most
widely-used marketing strategies
for a long time. They are often
taught in business schools around
the country and have been
widely accepted as a standard
marketing strategy.
However, these strategies were
formulated long before the
advent of social media and
therefore require supplementary
processes and considerations in
order to be applicable to modern
social media marketing practices.

The first two chapters of this

guide have highlighted the specific
elements of these older
strategies that still remain
relevant to modern social media
marketing. However, these
strategies also require
modification, in order to address
the new degree of consumer
power in todays culture.
The following chapters will delve
into this culture of social media
to demonstrate how it can be
used to foster brand loyalty with
consumers and thus increase
brand visibility and business.

Why Social Media?

At this point, you should have a

firm idea of what your brand
stands for and which
characteristics define your
target consumer group. From
here you must determine how
you will engage those
consumers and what means of
communication you will use.
While this was once limited to
purchasing advertisements for
mass media platforms, there are
now an infinite amount of ways
to communicate with a target
consumer segment.

Social media has become one of

the best first steps you can take
to increase brand visibility and
customer loyalty. Why?
Because social media has
permeated into nearly all
elements of our culture and
provides an unprecedented
means of connection to ones
target consumers.
Further, a wide array of
academic research has proven
its effectiveness in connecting
companys with their customers
and inspiring sales through
stronger customer relationships.
.

It has been proven that brand

loyalty results in sales (Keller,
2008; Aaker, 1991). This is a fact
that marketing experts have built
countless strategies upon and
continue to shape marketing
efforts around. The more
committed a consumer feels to a
specific brand, the more likely
they are to continuously purchase
from that brand. This is because
consumers benefit from brand
loyalty just as much as brands do,
as proven by extensive studies in
consumer psychology.
(Fournier, 1998).

Purchases are seen as an

extension of the buyers identity
(Kleine, Kleine, Allen, 1995).
As a result, consumers often
consider the producers of such
products as acquaintances and
regard them, either consciously or
subconsciously, with an equal
degree of familiarity.
For a consumer, engaging with a
brand is like interacting with a
friend. It brings joy to the
consumer to build upon that
friendship through both purchases
and communication. This is
especially true on social media.

As many experts have confirmed,

social media is a new and
necessary addition to the
standard marketing mix model
(Mangold and Faulds, 2009).
Social media provides brands
with an unprecedented
opportunity to build personal
relationships with consumers and
this sort of access has not been
previously allowed to brands by
more traditional methods of
consumer engagement. Further, it
has been proven that consumers
trust in a brand increases when
they can be interacted with

online (Porter and Donthu, 2008).

Social media offers accessible
information and personal
attention, both of which inspire
the consumers trust. The
likelihood that a consumer will
complete a purchase increases
after a consumer follows a brand
on social media (Cruz and
Mendelson, 2010) and the more a
customer interacts with a brand,
the more loyal a customer they
will likely become. This illustrates
how effective social media
marketing can be, if approached
correctly.

After consumers initially develop

a relationship with a brand
online, their relationship quality
will also continue to be positively
impacted by consistent social
media interaction (Hudson et al,
2016). This is because the twoway communication allowed by
social media platforms, between
brands and consumers, fosters an
emotional connection, similar to
a friendship (Aaker, 1996). This
friendship, as previously
described, benefits both the
consumer and the brand.

Therefore, the most important

goal of social media marketing
efforts should be to foster this
personal relationship between
the brand and the consumer.
It is critical that the relationship
between the brand and the
consumer appears as genuine and
personal as possible. Interactions
between the two parties should
mimic a conversation between
two people. This is because
consumers are more likely to
trust personable and attentive
brands that have not been
digitally de-humanized.

Brands with humanistic qualities

are known as anthromorphized"
social media identities. These
types of brands have been proven
to be the most effective in
increasing brand relationship
quality (Hudson et al., 2016).
This means that brands which
appear to portray humanistic
characteristics on social media
will have a more significant
impact on maintaining
consumers loyalty. Why? Because
Consumers will chose to
communicate about brands that
they relate to their own self
image

(Schau and Gilly, 2003); thus, the

more personable the brand, the
more likely they are to see
themselves in it.
Therefore, content should be
created as if it were coming from
the account of a consumers
personal friend, as opposed to a
corporate conglomerate. This can
be achieved by avoiding overlyformal language, stock images,
and manufactured content and
using conversational wording and
genuine images. This shows the
consumer that there are really
people behind the brand.

It is also important to remain

consistent in brand messaging;
recall the positioning statement
you created at the end of
Chapter Two and ensure that
every piece of content you create
communicates that position.
Studies show that brands can
suffer if the content and brand
identity diverge (Huang and
Mitchell, 2012); as it is critical that
media content remain relevant to
the consumer (Shmitt, 2012).
For example, National
Geographic has become one of
the most popular accounts on
Instagram

by posting high-definition pictures

of exotic destinations all over the
world. However, their success is
contingent on their consistency. If
they began to post pictures of
food or celebrities, they would
likely lose a substantial amount of
their followers. That is not to say,
though, that another account
could not succeed by posting
such pictures. It is because the
content does not align with the
established brand identity, that it
will result in a loss of customer
loyalty.

Although branded social activity

correlates with financial
performance (Tuten, 2015) it is
important to note that the
ultimate goal of social media is
not to directly increase sales. The
most valuable outcome of social
media marketing is impressions.
Impressions describe an action
that the customer will take to
share a brands marketing
message with an individual or
multiple people within their own
social media network. These types
of impressions are extremely
valuable because user-generated

content is deemed more

trustworthy, relative to
traditional-style content
(Christodoulides, Jevons, and
Bonhomme 2012).
Further, if content is shared by
consumers with others in their
social network, the content will
inevitably gain more visibility and
garner more attention by
potential customers. This will, in
turn, ultimately increase sales and
market share for the brand;
however, that is not the
immediate goal.

You should not plan to sell your

product or service directly on a
social media platform. Instead,
have a location (either digital or
physical) that your social media
profile leads the consumer to.
By doing so, you can better
maintain the personable nature
of your brand profile and
continuously strength the
trusting relationships you have
developed with your customers.
It will also prevent the
corruption of genuine content
with overly sales-driven
messages.

Consumers do not want to be

overwhelmed by disruptive
advertising, as illustrated by the
popularity of commercial-free
programs; similarly, they do not
follow social media to be
bombarded by brands.
The most effective content will
draw the customer in with a
relatable message and provide
them an opportunity to connect
with the brand on a personal
level. This personal connection
will eventually inspire the
consumer to seek out the
external destination of purchase.

But what inspires a consumer to

share branded content? As stated,
social media provides a stage for
identity performance (Merchant,
2006); the content we follow, share,
like, etc. reflects how we view
ourselves and how we want others
to view us. If an individual
consistently shares links to recipes,
pictures of meals, and follows
famous chefs, many will likely assume
he/she is a chef themselves. This
demonstrates that shared content,
just like physical purchases, can be
considered an extension of the
consumers identity.

Not only do social media

platforms allow communication
between consumers, but they
allows it to occur at an
unprecedented rate and scale.
Through social media, consumers
can discuss a brand with millions
of people at one time, as
opposed to the previous
standard of one-to-one
customer feedback. This sort of
user generated content fortifies
the power of online
communities, as it allows
consumers to communally reflect

on brands (Winer, 2009);

and research proves that
consumer to consumer
communication has positive
benefits that are both logistical
and emotional in manner
(Burmann and Arnhold, 2008).
Consumers are no longer under
the tyrannical rule of mass media
advertisers. Due to the
unprecedented degree of power
given to social media users,
customers are not passive
recipients of content but active
participants (Schmitt, 2012).

This is the revolutionary element

of social media; the content
produced by the user is more
important then the content
produced by the brand. However,
while this discourse is under the
control of the consumer, it
systematically reflects marketing
messages (Muniz and Schau,
2007). This emphasizes the
importance of strategic social
media content creation. Both firm
and user-generated social media
positively influences brand equity,
brand attitude, and purchase
intention (Schivinski, 2013).

But not all social media is the same. Each

platform, whether it be Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr,
YouTube, or Google + is defined by its
unique nuances and capabilities. Each fills a
different niche in the mind of the user,
which is why a majority of users take
advantage of more than one platform. It is
therefore necessary to create content
specifically for each platform, as opposed
to creating general social media content.
However, before creating content, you
must first understand what makes each
platform unique and what type of content
are most successful on each platform.

Understanding the Platforms

The purpose of this guide is not

to deliver reproducible content.
This is not possible, as the only
one who truly knows who your
customer is and what your brand
stands for is you; and this insight
is paramount to the creation of
successful content. Rather, the
purpose of this guide is to reveal
and demonstrate how social
media has transformed modern
marketing practices so that you
can create effective content
yourself, using this knowledge as
an ideological foundation.

This chapter will provide an

analysis of brands that have
succeeded in evolving their
marketing strategies to fit the
unique culture of social media
platforms. Their strategies are not
meant for replication, but for
education. This chapter will
provide both an overview of the
unique platform characteristics of
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
and an analysis of six model
brands that have successfully
utilized these platforms to
increase brand visibility and
increase consumer loyalty.

Facebook, relative to other social

media platforms, offers the
greatest flexibility in its content
type. Not only can brands post
pictures, videos, statuses, events,
and polls on their page, they are
also unrestricted by character
count or content length. In
response, users have the
opportunity to share, comment,
or like content; these actions
are also known as "impressions".
This pushes the engaged content
into the newsfeeds of people
within the users social network.
One of the most common

practices on Facebook is to "tag"

other users in the comment
sections of content and directly
draw their attention to it as a
means of engagement.
Facebook allows users to reply
to each other's comments and
partake in communal or one-onone conversation. Facebook also
allows users to converse with
brands directly. Popularity on
Facebook is often measured by
number of followers, likes, and
overall content impressions.

What makes a brands Facebook

page popular?
To find out, we analyzed two
popular brands on Facebook:
Red Bull and Pampers.
These brands were chosen for their
recognizably high follower count
and each of their unique social
media strategies. As the contrast
between the two brands
demonstrates, there is no singularly
optimal style of content. Content
reflects the brand it represents and
the customer it engages, which are
both one-of-a-kind elements.

Red Bull, as stated on their

Facebook page, is a functional
beverage providing various
benefits. Its effects are
recognized throughout the
world by top athletes, busy
professionals, college students
and travelers.Their page is liked
by over 45 million users and
their daily-posted content often
gains over one million views
within the first 24 hours. This is
impressive when compared to
other sports drinks, such as
Monster Energy Drink, which has
approximately half the followers.

A notable element of their

Facebook marketing strategy is
that almost every post includes a
video clip. These videos are
posted directly on the brand
page or are embedded via a link
to the Red Bull website. The few
posts that do not include a video
often have a similarly embedded
link to an article posted on the
Red Bull page. Each post has a
very short caption, averaging less
than ten words, which works to
pique curiosity while allowing
the videos to speak for
themselves.

While the captions are

clearly concise, they are
also notably effective in
eliciting a response from
consumers. Analysis
reveals a distinct style of
engagement; the
captions often
encourage users to
engage with the content
by asking them an openended question or
telling them to tag other
Facebook users/friends
that might relate to the
posted content.

For example a recent post shows a

video of men and women jousting one
another, while balancing on small
rowboats. The caption reads: Tag a
mate you would kick out of the boat..
This inspired over 700 people to tag a
friend and thus share the content with
their own network. This demonstrates
both the effectiveness of visual content
and the importance of directly engaging
consumers.

Another defining characteristic

of Red Bulls social media
marketing strategy is that most
of their content does not feature
Red Bull products. The videos
and articles are chosen to attract
their target consumers
attention, not sell them a
product. The videos show
mountain bikers, paragliders, jetskiers, and other athletes
performing incredible feats on
camera with the occasional
feature of a Red Bull logo on a
snowboard or helmet.

This shows how Red Bull does

not use its social media page to
directly sell its product; instead,
the purpose of its Facebook page
is to connect with consumers,
build a relationship, and foster
brand loyalty. This is achieved by
providing entertaining and
exciting content for users to
enjoy and share with friends.
Every video aims to engage the
top athletes, busy professionals,
college students and travelers
that make up the Red Bull
consumer base.

In contrast, Pampers uses its

Facebook page very differently.
Like Red Bull, the children's
hygiene product company has
garnered an impressive following
on Facebook, relative to its
competition. However, their
strategy of engaging consumers
is highly disparate from that of
Red Bulls. However, they also
have some similarities. Similar to
Red Bull, each post on the
Pampers Facebook page
features a picture or video that
catches the eye of the consumer
without forcing a specific

product. These photos and

videos often feature children
partaking in regular activities and
have a small Pampers logo
featured in the corner. A
Pampers diaper or wipe is rarely
seen in the photos, with the
primary emphasis being the
relationship between parents and
kids. These visuals are used to
relate to the Pampers target
consumer and reflect the
priorities of parents
purchasing pampers for their
own children.

Like Red Bull, Pampers recognizes

the importance of visual content
and prioritizes emotionally
affective content over heavily
branded content.
The first unique element of the
Pampers Facebook page is the
exclusive rewards that it offers
to its followers. A majority of
their posts come with unique
codes that can be entered on
their site for loyalty program
points. These codes often
expire quickly, thus encouraging
Facebook users to visit the
page regularly.

This is an effective way to

incentivize consumers to become
followers of the brand and
increase loyalty. For example, on
a recent Pampers rewards
Facebook post a consumer
gratefully posted a picture of a
childrens toy she had received
through the loyalty program. In
less than twelve hours Pampers
replied: Were so happy that
youre participating in our
Pampers Rewards programand
we hope your little one enjoys
many hours of fun galloping into
adventure with [his new toy]!

The second unique element of

Pampers social media marketing
strategy is the high level of
attentiveness that the brand
provides to its customers.
Analysis of the page reveals that
the Pampers brand replies to
nearly every comment on its
posts. Whether the consumers
comment is positive or negative,
the Pampers brand will provide a
genuine and personal response.
The brand is prompt in their
response time and often invites
unsatisfied customers to
personally message them to

further discuss their experience.

For example, a recent Pampers
Customer mentioned in a
comment that her newborn had
developed an allergy to the
Pampers diapers. Pampers
quickly replied: were so sorry
that your little girl seemed to be
allergic. Nothing is more
important to us than your babys
welfare, and wed like to learn
about any symptoms she had.
Could you spare a moment to
send a private message and share
more details with us?.

Both examples of the Pampers

communication style reflects the
importance of Pampers
personal relationship with each
of its customers. Because this is
a foundational piece of their
overall brand, it is imperative
that all communique between
consumers and brand
representatives boast the same
level of genuineness.
Their content also
demonstrates, like Red Bulls, the
effectiveness of an aesthetic
component in the form of a
photo, video, or link.

This not only increases the size

of the post itself, but also
increases its ability to catch the
attention of the consumer and
give it a more affective quality.

The social media strategies of

Red Bull and Pampers also show
that successful content will
speak to the customer, not sell
to them. To create
conversational content, consider
what the priorities of your
target customer are and use
language and visuals to appeal to
those priorities.
Red Bull customers value the
feats and adventures that the
energy from drinking Red Bull
allows them; so Red Bull shapes
their content around these
adventures.

Pampers customers value the

happiness of their children; so
Pampers features happy children
and families in their content.
The two brands also show that
the personality of the brand
on Facebook must be consistent
and in line with the overall voice
of the brand. The style of
communication between Red
Bull and its Facebook followers
is casual and quick. This reflects
their brand image in the same
way that Pampers individualfocused and compassionate
voice reflects their brand.

Instagram is a photography-based
platform that encourages
consumers to engage via likes,
comments, and tagging of other
users. Like Facebook, when users
engage with a brands content, it is
pushed into the feed of their social
network. Their followers on
Instagram may also be
recommended to follow a brand, if
a significant amount of people in
their own social network do so. In
this way, Instagram social media
content has a self-propagating
effect that is catalyzed by
consumer engagement.

To explore what makes a

successful Instagram brand, two
popular profiles were analyzed:
Staples and MTV. Both have
different ways of approaching
social media and can reveal
insight into Instagram culture.

Staples is a well-known office

supplies store; however, it is
likely not the first brand that
comes to mind in relation to
Instagram. It is, however, a
perfect example of a brand that
does not have the most
glamorous products,

yet still creates interesting and

engaging content. An analysis of
the Staples Instagram profile
reveals three unique strategy
characteristics. First, Staples uses
a playful tone of voice to present
its office supplies in a unique
manner. Through colorful and
creative visuals, they give each
item a new purpose: a menorah
made of pencils, staples, and
thumb tacks, a turkey made of
paperclips, and cardboard, and
Olympic medals made from
candy bars and ribbon.

Second, as these examples allude

to, Staples stays culturally
relevant by creating posts that
are related to current holidays,
events, or other recognizable
themes. Finally, they constantly
encourage their followers to
engage with the content by
asking questions. Overall, these
three strategic elements
contribute to entertaining
content that inspires customers
creativity and fosters brand
loyalty by presenting Staples as
more than just a generic office
supply store.

MTV, a television channel for

music videos, reality TV shows,
celebrity news, and pop culture,
lends itself more naturally to
Instagram, relative to a brand
such as Staples. But while many
similar media brands struggle to
procure an instagram follower
base, due to their inability to
adapt content to the specific
platform culture, MTV has
garnered over seven million
followers. How? An analysis of
the brands Instagram profile
suggests their success stems
from two distinct habits.

The first is their consistency.

MTV posts approximately ten
times a day, in two hour
increments. This ensures that
they are providing their
consumers with a constant
stream of current events,
entertainment, and relatable
content.

The second is their variety. Ten

posts a day can easily become
monotonous and overwhelming
for consumers; however, MTV
heavily diversifies its posts in a
way that keeps content from
appearing overly-manufactured. It
is critical for Instagram content
to appear genuine and, by voiding
uniformity in posts, MTV is able
to more personally connect with
its followers. That being said,
although the content varies, it all
remains loyal to the MTV brand
and carries the same voice and
personality throughout.

Last but not least, Twitter.

Twitter is undergoing a
transformation of its niche within
our culture. It is becoming
increasingly known for its
reputation as a live platform
where users can interact at realtime speed and engage with one
another at a rapid pace. Twitter
content, although heavily restricted
by character count, carries a unique
sense of spontaneity and is utilized
by the most successful brands
accordingly. The two brands chosen
to exemplify platform-specific
strategies are: Oreo and Dennys.

No cookie has more followers

than the Oreo Cookie. With
approximately 820,000 followers,
the Oreo brand has achieved
unprecedented Twitter
popularity relative to other
snack foods. They have drawn
from a variety of social media
marketing strategies; some that
we have discussed, like the
creation of engaging visual
content, which presents the
Oreo cookie in a variety of new
settings, and short captions that
are personable and engaging for
the consumer.

In addition, they have

"personified" the Oreo cookie
and made it the voice of the
brand. Through their twitter
account the Oreo cookie
directly engages consumers. By
doing so, the anthromorphized
brand becomes highly more
relatable and further inspires
brand loyalty. For example, when
one user tweeted I love you
Oreos they directly responded:
we've had a crush on you since
we first met, demonstrating
their lighthearted and humanistic
brand image.

Oreos social media strategy

demonstrates the effectiveness
of many of the social media
strategy elements that we have
discussed thus far. However, it is
important to remember that, as
previously discussed, there is no
right way to use social media
for marketing purposes. Dennys
is the perfect example of this.

Dennys refers to itself as

Americas Diner and with
approximately 350,000 followers
on Twitter, they are living up to
their name. Their Twitter profile
has drawn the attention of
consumers across America, as
well as the media. Why? Because
they use Twitter in a starkly
different manner than any of their
competitors. They very rarely
include a photo, video, or visual
content of any sort and their
brand is almost never referred to
in their posts.

The voice of their brand is

unprecedentedly sarcastic and
humorous, tweeting content like:
if you play a guitar loud enough
near an egg the egg will continue
to be an egg. This post received
over 1,900 retweets, which
means that nearly two thousand
twitter users shared the post
with their followers. This likely
earned Dennys a multitude of
new followers and strengthened
their relationship with existing
followers. Dennys demonstrates
that there truly is no singular
strategy to ensure social media

success; a brand must fully

understand themselves and their
customers before creating
content. This is because social
media content is not about the
product, its about forming and
building a relationship with the
customer.

Going Forward

Why Does This Matter?

Our culture is changing. The
ubiquity of social media is
growing every year and it is
having a significant effect on dayto-day life all over the world. As
shown, one cultural element that
has been drastically impacted is
consumer behavior.
Social media has empowered
consumers by fostering
communal discourse and twoway communication between
brands and customers. However,
despite this great change in

consumer behavior,
the marketing strategies utilized
by brands and taught in business
school have remained unchanged;
and social media continues to be
often regarded as a promotional
platform, synonymous with print
or television. But as research has
proven, this is not the case.
Unlike alternative forms of
advertising, the most important
element of social media content
is not the content itself but the
conversation it inspires.

As consumers engage with online

content, they expose users within
their social network to the brands
that they are interacting with.
Further, consumers are more likely
to engage with brands that are
supported or shared by people
within their social network. Thus,
social media platforms allow for
self-propagating content, as the
content becomes the topic of
consumer discussion. This
illustrates a significant shift in the
marketing goals of brands and
consequentially necessitates a shift
in strategy.

The first two chapters of this

guide are rooted in traditional
marketing methodologies of brand
identification and consumer
targeting. These have been
identified as the strategies most
applicable to social media
marketing, as they require the
brand to consider how they are
viewed in the eyes of the
consumer and exactly who that
consumer is. This is key for
utilizing platforms like Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter, which are
controlled by the consumer and
thus require consumer-centric
strategies.

The third and fourth chapters of

this guide cover the new frontier
of social media and how brand
content must be specifically
shaped for social media platforms.
Studies show that content is most
effective when it becomes the
topic of discourse among users
and is engaged with upon multiple
social media platforms. However,
as the selected case studies show,
there is no perfect social media
strategy. Every brand must
consider the uniqueness of both
themselves and their consumer,
prior to creating content that will
engage them.

I hope that this guide has

provided you with the mental
framework and inspiration to
create a social media strategy of
your own. Remember that the
most important part of content
creation is staying true to the
brand you have created and
putting the customer, not the
product, first. By fostering brand
engagement and loyalty, you will
ultimately inspire sales; in that
specific order! Also know that
brands, customers, and platforms
evolve. In order to become and
eventually remain successful,

you must be diligent in adapting

to the natural evolution of our
culture as it unfolds. This is an
ongoing creative process that
must be attended to on a
daily/weekly/monthly basis to
remain relevant and inspire
engagement. Many brands have
failed due to their inability to
evolve accordingly.
Thank you for taking the time to
read this guide. I wish you the
best of luck.
Taylor Ohman

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