Coca-Cola Social Media Analysis
Nicole Huson
COM 487
Aug. 1, 2014
Introduction and Background
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores and vending machines all
around the world. Coca-Cola is the world’s most popular and best selling soft drink
in history, and the best-known brand in the world (coca-cola.com). Coca-Cola was
created in 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia (Coca-cola.com). CocaCola was patented in 1887 and by 1899 it was being sold in every state in the United
States. Today, you can find Coca-Cola being sold in every part of the world (CocaCola.com). The first marketing efforts by Coca-Cola were through promoting free
samples, coupons, and promotional items in the 1890’s. In the 1970’s Coca-Cola
created a brand image that reflected fun, friends, and good times (worldofcocacola.com).
Coca-Cola has a significant presence on social media in order to join in online
conversation and represent the company. According to the Coca-Cola Company
website, Coca-Cola’s role in the social media community is to “inspire moments of
optimism and happiness and build our brands” (coca-cola.com). Coca-Cola’s brand
image of fun, good times, and happiness that have been reflected through traditional
media in the past, are the same ideals that Coca-Cola applies to the social media
community and platforms today (coca-cola.com).
The Coca-Cola Company offers social media training to it’s employees and
has a list of social media guidelines, commitments, and expectations that employees
must follow. Coca-Cola’s commitments include that Coca-Cola will remain
transparent in every social media engagement, protect consumers’ privacies,
respect copyrights and trademarks, and be responsible with the use of technology.
Coca-Cola has a long list of expectations for Coca-Cola spokespeople and social
media. Some of the important expectations include: be trained, be authorized,
disclose affiliation, follow company policies, give credit where credit is due, and
remember the Internet is Permanent (coca-cola.com).
Overall Summary of Social Media Use
Since such a large part of Coca-Cola’s marketing is social media, Coca-Cola
encourages all of it’s 150,000 employees to participate in building Coca-Cola’s brand
image on social media. The head of Coca-Cola’s social media, Adam Brown, created
the guidelines and expectations for Coca-Cola employees and Coca-Cola’s
spokespeople to follow when using social media (coca-cola.com).
Coca-Cola has a significant social media presence. Coca-Cola’s website
features large buttons in the middle of the homepage that sends you to the various
social media platforms that Coca-Cola is currently active on. These platforms include
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. Based on these social media
platforms I have assessed that the main goal of Coca-Cola’s social media is to engage
with consumers and create content that intrigues consumers and depicts the brand
image of “Happiness” that Coca-Cola tries to convey.
Coca-Cola has been around for almost 130 years, and has millions of
consumers and fans. Coca-Cola’s main focus is not so much to raise awareness, but
rather to influence desire and create loyalty by interacting and engaging with their
fans. Coca-Cola utilizes the tactics of each platform of these social media sites to
engage audiences from all around the world.
Coca-Cola utilizes tactics from each specific social media platform to
influence desire, create brand loyalty, and continue to raise brand awareness all
over the world. Coca-Cola uses Facebook to interact with all of it’s audiences across
the globe. Coca-Cola uses Twitter to engage and participate in online conversations.
Instagram to increase brand awareness and desire through fun and creative
contests, prompts, and images. Coca-Cola uses creative YouTube videos and
Pinterest boards to inspire consumers and create brand loyalty. Coca-Cola utilizes
each social media platform in creative and unique ways to achieve it’s goals.
Coca-Cola on Facebook
Coca-Cola’s biggest social media fan base is on Facebook. Coca-Cola currently
has over 86 million likes on Facebook. Coca-Cola engages with Facebook users by
sharing/posting stories, images, art, videos, quotes, and more. Coca-Cola will often
ask users a question and prompt users to post on Facebook answering the question
with a specific hashtag. One of Coca-Cola’s most recent questions it asked Facebook
users to respond to was, “Show us how you #ShareaCoke.” Coca-Cola shared the
stories, pictures, and videos of users that used the hashtag #ShareaCoke. Coca-Cola
also recently used The World Cup to engage with users. Coca-Cola asked, “What
does the World Cup mean to you?” prompting users to include the hashtag
“#Trophytour” in their answer. Coca-Cola sways users to post on Coca-Cola’s
Facebook by offering prizes, giveaways, and even the chance to be on the next Coke
commercial.
Coca-Cola also prompts users on Facebook to visit their website by posting
historical stories that involve Coke, such as Coke’s history with baseball, and invites
users to read the rest of the story by clicking on the link which redirects them to
their website.
The Coca-Cola Facebook page’s main purpose is to promote and reach people
from all around the world. Coca-Cola’s “About Me” section on Facebook states: The
Coca-Cola Facebook Page is a collection of your stories showing how people from
around the world have helped make Coke into what it is today,”
(facebook.com/cocacola). The Coca-Cola Facebook page features stories submitted
by people from different parts of the United States, Australia, Germany, Dominican
Republic, Mexico, and all around the globe.
Coca-Cola on Twitter
Like Facebook, Coca-Cola has a strong presence on the social media platform
of Twitter as well. Coca-Cola (@CocaCola) currently has 2.6 million followers and 94
thousand tweets. Coca-Cola uses Twitter as a platform to interact with audiences
even more closely than on Facebook. Coca-Cola prompts users to use hashtags and
tweet at them, but also engages in conversation with users, answers questions, and
tweets responses to consumers as well. To reach consumers all around the world,
Coca-Cola will often tweet in other languages to promote events in other countries
and to interact with all audiences.
The main focus of Coca-Cola’s twitter page is to interact and communicate
with consumers on a more personal level than on their other social media platforms.
Coca-Cola uses Twitter as a way to communicate with customers through answering
problems and questions, rather than just tweeting for marketing purposes. An
example of this is when user @RhettGillins tweeted “If I own a business and need a
soda provider I won’t use @CocaCola, terrible customer service,” (Moth, 2013).
@CocaCola tweeted back to @RhetGillins, “Really sorry to hear that, Rhett! Please
send us more info at CokeURL.com/ulsl so we can look into this, thanks!” (Moth,
2013).
Coca-Cola also uses Twitter as a way to interact and support their business
partners. For example, Coca-Cola and Subway restaurants have created the
“#ShareYourLunchSweeps.” Coca-Cola and Subway ask consumers to grab lunch at
Subway and tweet a pic of their lunch and their Coke bottles with the hashtag
“#ShareYouLunchSweeps” to be entered into a drawing to win various prizes
(Twitter.com/CocaCola). This type of collaboration creates publicity on Twitter for
both Coca-Cola and their partners such as Subway.
One of Coca-Cola’s major campaigns this summer is the “#Shareacoke”
campaign. Coca-Cola has replaced their famous logo on Coke bottles to display
common names. The purpose is to purchase a Coke bottle with a friend’s name on it
and share it with them. Coca-Cola combines the two social media platforms of
Twitter and Instagram by encouraging consumers to tweet and Instagram these
pictures with the hashtag “#ShareaCoke” to be entered into Coca-Cola’s “Share a
Seflie” gallery online and to be possibly featured on billboards across the country
(shareacoke.com).
Coca-Cola on Instagram
Coca-Cola currently has 231, 115 followers and almost 300 posts on
Instagram. Coca-Cola gets comparatively more creative and fun on Instagram than
on Twitter and Facebook. Coca-Cola’s Instagram page displays creative and eye
catching photos featuring Coke bottles, consumers, GIFs, and various themes. CocaCola encourages followers to post photos responding to prompts with certain
hashtags, accompanied by a creative photo from the Coca-Cola company. For
example, Coca-Cola asked followers, “If you could #ShareaCoke with any baseball
player today who would it be?” The post was accompanied with a fun photo of Coke
bottles on a baseball field. Coca-Cola will often repost creative Instagram photos
from users that involve Coke as a way to encourage followers to post more photos
featuring their brand.
Coca-Cola has recently invented some fun, creative, and unique contests,
games and campaigns on Instagram to engage consumers. Coca-Cola recently
introduced the “#CokeGames” contest which involves the use of the video
application on Instagram. To participate in the contest users must post a video on
Instagram that shows certain challenges involving Coca-Cola products, such as the
fastest time to drink a cup of Coke through a straw. Coca-Cola reposted many of the
videos on Instagram and announced the winner, who won a $100 gift card, a few
weeks later (Instagram.com/cocacola).
Another major Instagram campaign/contest that Coca-Cola created was the
“#Shareacoke” campaign. The Share a Coke campaign involves the use of their social
media sites Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube as well but was created mainly for
Instagram. Coca-Cola reposts many of the “#ShareaCokeSelfies” on Instagram and a
majority of Coca-Cola’s Instagram pictures are centered around the #ShareaCoke
idea. Examples of some of Coca-Cola’s Instagram pictures advertising the Share a
Coke campaign include pictures with the captions of, “ShareaCoke with the ones
who summer wouldn’t be the same without”, “Every time a friend is given a
#ShareaCoke bottle a firework goes off”, and “With all the names on Coke bottles,
who will you #ShareaCoke with this summer?” (Instagram.com/cocacola).
The main purpose of Coca-Cola’s Instagram is to give consumers creative and
fun games, contests, and images to keep their brand interesting. Instead of
promoting events and products all the time, Coca-Cola uses Instagram to engage
with users but in fun and light-hearted ways.
Coca-Cola on YouTube
Coca-Cola joined YouTube in 2006 and currently has 347, 312 subscribers,
and a whopping 394, 753, 796 video views (Youtube.com/user/cocacola). CocaCola uses YouTube as a platform to share creative videos, show their involvement in
world issues, and most importantly, to share videos that generate smiles and
happiness all over the world (Minato, 2012).
Coca-Cola has created many series of YouTube videos in recent years that
depict the caring side of Coca-Cola. Showing consumers that Coca-Cola cares will in
turn create brand loyalty. Examples of Coca-Cola YouTube videos that combine
kindness with humor include the “Hug Me Machine” videos, in which Coca-Cola
rewired one of their vending machines to accept hugs instead of cash, Coca-Cola
filmed student’s reactions and posted them on YouTube in a series of videos. In
another series of Coca-Cola YouTube videos called “A Country of Heroes”, Coca-Cola
films random people in Honduras doing good deeds, they then reward them with a
Coke. Coca-Cola’s purpose of the video was to demonstrate that helping others is
heroic (Minato, 2012).
Coca-Cola’s YouTube page features hundreds of videos of consumers all over
the world expressing kindness and happiness. Some of the more popular Coca-Cola
YouTube videos include “The Happiness Plane”, “The Secret to Happiness”, “Store of
Happiness”, and many more.
Coca-Cola also uses YouTube to encourage consumers to make their videos
featuring Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola prompts users to make their own music videos, CocaCola commercials, and many other ideas. Coca-Cola often reposts consumers’ videos
on their YouTube and Facebook page.
Coca-Cola on Pinterest
The caption on Coca-Cola’s Pinterest page is, “Discovering Moments of
Happiness, one Picture at a time.” Coca-Cola’s Pinterest page has 10 boards, 152
pins, and 4,376 followers. Some of Coca-Cola’s boards include “Be Active”, “Be
Giving”, “Be in the Moment”, “Seasons greetings”, “Coca-Cola by OPI”, and “Coca-Cola
merchandise.” Coca-Cola’s Pinterest page is different from it’s pages on other social
media platforms, most of Coca-Cola’s boards on Pinterest are centered around
various themes rather than campaigns. The purpose of Coca-Cola’s Pinterest Page is
to increase brand loyalty, brand awareness, and influence desire. Coca-Cola uses
Pinterest to achieve this by posting trendy pictures that involve the Coca-Cola
brand, product, or bottles and hosting Pinterest Competitions.
An example of a Pinterest competition that Coca-Cola has created is the
“#TakeMeToNYC” competition. Consumers could be entered into the contest to win
a trip to New York during Fashion week by creating a board and pinning autumn
fashion pictures and styles with the hashtag “#TakeMeToNYC” in the caption
(Minato, 2012). Coca-Cola announced the winners and posted many pictures of the
winners holding Coke products at a Glamour Live event in New York.
Coca-Cola’s Pinterest page isn’t nearly as popular or active compared to it’s
other social media pages, but Coca-Cola’s Pinterest page does show that Coca-Cola
has taken time to find and repost many images that consumers post with Coke
products.
Overall Assessment
Coca-Cola uses the social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
YouTube, and Pinterest to influence desire and create/maintain brand loyalty. CocaCola achieves this through using each of the unique tactics that each social media
platform has to offer.
Since Facebook is the most universal social media platform, Coca-Cola’s main
focus on Facebook is to reach all audiences and show how people from all around
the world have helped make Coca-Cola the brand it is today
(Facebook.com/cocacola).
Coca-Cola’s main focus on Twitter is to join in online conversation by
responding to consumers’ tweets, providing customer service, and interacting with
audiences on a more personal level.
Coca-Cola uses Instagram to interact with audiences through fun and creative
contests and games.
Coca-Cola’s main focus on YouTube is to create brand loyalty through
heartwarming YouTube videos that depict the kind and caring side of Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola uses Pinterest boards to incorporate the Coca-Cola brand and
products into trends, styles, fashion, and home décor, while also engaging with
consumers by creating Pinterest contests.
Although Coca-Cola maintains a creative and successful social media
presence, there are a few improvements Coca-Cola could benefit from.
Although it is good that Coca-Cola uses Twitter to interact with
consumers and respond to consumers, they seem to tweet a little too excessively.
Users who are following Coca-Cola’s twitter could possibly become annoyed with
how much Coca-Cola shows up on their news feeds, especially if they are following
Coca-Cola on Facebook and Instagram as well. Coca-Cola could benefit from getting
their message across in just a few tweets per day.
Pinterest has become one of the most popular and unique platforms,
and offers many great ways for companies to market their brand and products.
Coca-Cola is not very active on Pinterest compared to many other popular big name
brands. Coca-Cola could benefit from devoting more time and effort into their
presence on Pinterest. For example, Coca-Cola has done a great job integrating the
2014 World Cup into their social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
YouTube. Coca-Cola could have created a Pinterest board that showcased all the
great 2014 World Cup pictures, videos, and content that Coca-Cola has generated.
Coca-Cola has done a fantastic job overall of creating a successful
online and social media presence. However, smartphone apps are becoming just as
popular as the web. It could greatly benefit Coca-Cola to create some smartphone
apps to increase desire and brand awareness even more, and even serve as a way to
reach different audiences. Games and apps on smartphones are a great way to reach
younger audiences of teens and preteens.
Coca-Cola is already one of the most successful brands worldwide,
and Coca-Cola’s social media enhances that. These few recommendations could
potentially help the company grow even more.
Works Cited
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http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/coca-cola-facts/coca-cola-history/
Coca-Cola Brands. (2014, July 31). . Retrieved July 31, 2014, from
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/brands/coca-cola
Coca-Cola Social Media Principles. (2014, July 31). . Retrieved July 31, 2014,
from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/online-social-media-principles
Shively, K. (2014, May 22). Lessons From Coca-Cola Social Media Strategy. .
Retrieved July 31, 2014, from
http://simplymeasured.com/blog/2014/05/22/lessons-from-coca-colas-socialmedia-strategy-cohesive-campaigns-and-creative-content/
Coca-Cola Twitter. (2014, July 31). . Retrieved July 31, 2014, from
https://twitter.com/CocaCola
Minato, C. (2012, June 12). The 18 Best Coke Youtube videos. . Retrieved
August 1, 2014, from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-18-best-coke-youtubevideos-2012-6?op=1
Coca-Cola Instagram. (2014, July 31). . Retrieved July 31, 2014, from
http://instagram.com/cocacola