Week 2 Part B - Business Research

 Nike: https://www.nike.com/

• Nike primarily focuses on athletic clothing, this mission is to expand human potential as stated on their website through shoes and clothing by producing breathable, flexible, and comfortable clothing. 

• International business, as of 2021 there are around 70,000 employees

• Clickable social media links (Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook)

- Instagram: Daily posting, 172 million followers (Last post 9/3/21)

- Facebook: Inactive, 35 million likes (Last post 1/28/2018)

- Twitter: Daily posting, 8.6 million followers (Last post 9/3/21)

- Youtube: Daily posting, 1.66 million subscribers (Last post 9/4/21)

On the majority of their social media platforms, Nike curates interesting captions which draw in the audience. All of the pictures are of athletes or celebrities wearing Nike in order to attract people who idolize them. It’s a good strategy and seeing big-time athletes wearing Nike clothing gives them more credibility and renders their brand to be trustworthy. As for interacting with customers, they’re on top of it from what I see on their Twitter pages. They get back to as many people as they can regarding issues. They utilize Instagram and Twitter the most, hence why they have a bigger audience there. A lot of people are on those two platforms the most and it allows for the most interaction between people, where on youtube they just post videos for people to enjoy, and not much interaction going on. Their Facebook is dead but they have quite a big following unless I’m just not seeing their most recent post. I feel like Facebook is slowly fading and won’t be as popular as interaction for example, so they focus most of their time on those platforms instead.

BMW: https://www.bmwusa.com/

• Automotive company

• International business, with over 120,000 employees and 31 production locations in 15 countries

• Clickable social media links (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube)

- Instagram: Daily posting, 3.3 million followers (Last posted 9/6/21)

- Facebook: Daily posting,  2.6 million likes ( Last posted 9/6/21)

- Twitter: Daily posting, 622k followers (Last posted 9/6/21)

- Youtube: Weekly posting, 254k subscribers (Last posted 8/27/21)

BMW does well in their social media, making sure their content is fresh and unique as well as keeping the consistency. They’re active on all platforms but tend to focus more on the sites which they have the most followers, Instagram and Facebook. Their pages are filled with a lot of visual representations since they are a vehicle manufacturing company so they make all their cars look pretty. The images are all appealing to the eye and to the regular eye they look good and are attractive. On their Twitter page, they incorporate a slogan along with their pictures to attract their audience. Whether it’d be a question or having the audience envision a future trip in one of their vehicles, they incorporate interaction with others.

Target: https://www.target.com/

• Retail store

• National business, with over 350,000 employees and stores established within all 50 states

• Clickable social media links (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube)

- Instagram: Weekly posting, 4.6 million followers (Last posted 9/3/21)

- Facebook: Weekly posting,  23 million likes ( Last posted 9/3/21)

- Twitter: Weekly posting, 2.1 million followers (Last posted 9/3/21)

- Youtube: Weekly posting, 254k subscribers (Last posted 8/23/21)

Unlike the other companies whose social media profiles were mainly professional, Target has more of a goofy side to not give off an intense and strictly business vibe. Their interactions and posts from what I’ve seen so far have been extremely playful, which is a different approach to keeping the audience entertained, but it works well. People seem to love the fact that they also interact with their followers frequently and in a friend-like way. It doesn’t look like a corporate response to a customer’s issue. It’s like two friends having a conversation 

McDonald’s: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us.html

• Fast-food restaurant

• International business, with around 210,000 employees all over the world

• Clickable social media links (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube)

- Instagram: Weekly posting, 3.3 million followers (Last posted 9/6/21)

- Facebook: Weekly posting,  81 million likes ( Last posted 8/27/21)

- Twitter: Weekly posting, 4.2 million followers (Last posted 9/1/21)

- Youtube: Weekly posting, 582k subscribers (Last posted 8/30/21)

    McDonald’s has a lot of posts that require its audience to interact. This interaction is an effective method to bring in new followers as well as keep the current followers interested. Since it’s a food-related business, they have a lot of pictures of food that looks delicious and too good to be true. It works and makes people hungry, and I’m proving that point as I’m typing out this paragraph. They don’t post as much as Nike or BMW, which post daily on some of their platforms. McDonald’s does however post weekly and always post about events, collaborations, or big deals that they are having which is the only thing they need to post. Like Target, their page is a bit more on the friendly side rather than giving off an intense vibe as one of the biggest businesses in the world.

Overall, to maintain the importance and for a business to grow there must be an active presence of social media that either interacts with the audience or listens to issues and requests they have. All of the businesses we analyzed today are active on the majority of their social media pages and interact with their audience one way or another. They all had different ways of communication. One thing I will say is that they all had visual representations across all their profiles which could appeal to customers. Imagery is one of the most important things for a business nowadays, it gives more life to a business and makes their brand look more appealing when they have beautiful images to display.

It wouldn’t feel normal to see a well-established company on social media with unappealing or the lack of images. People need a representation of what they’re investing in and who they’re spending their money on. Imagery has a big influence on all businesses and doesn’t matter who you are. A professional vibe is given off when you click on a social media profile and see a good layout design topped off with high-quality images. They give off credibility and their followers are able to have confidence when they purchase their items.

Something else I discovered was the way each page interacted with customers. Some were more inviting than others, Target and McDonald’s for example, who had a friendlier approach to their audience. They treated their followers as friends and interacted with them in a way that seemed like they knew each other for years. I liked this approach a lot because it takes away the intense feeling of interacting with a highly successful business. From a social media viewpoint, they try to seem as friendly and comfortable as possible to allow easier communication and possibly draw in more of an audience where people begin to notice their behavior.