Top 10 Social Media Accounts

If you’re still not sure what exactly your company should be posting on social media, you’re in good company. Creating a cohesive, cross-platform social media strategy is one of the trickiest parts of social media marketing. Last week, we gave you the beginner’s guide to social media marketing. But sometimes it’s easier to learn by example. So, we looked at multiple different brands with vastly different marketing strategies, to pick out the best-of-the-best on social media. Each of them has an interesting and different strategy and provides an example of what your company should be doing on social media. Here are the best social media accounts for you to learn from:

1. Coca-Cola—branding is all about storytelling and no one is better at that than Coke. They are one of the best companies at cross-platform storytelling and creating a cohesive brand message across different campaigns and platforms. They consistently chose characters and brand ambassadors (think polar bears, Taylor Swift) that convey the same uplifting, inclusive message from one campaign to the next.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vine, Pinterest, Instagram
2. Oreo—One of the most creative and innovative brands on social media right now, Oreo has one of the most talented graphics team of any major retailer. But just because you don’t have their budget doesn’t mean you can’t follow their example. They were masters of Vine before their competition had even made the jump from Twitter to Facebook. They have also been great with seasonal advertising. Example: Halloween 2013, they reenacted famous horror movies scenes with Oreos and milk.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vine, Pinterest, Instagram
3. Starbucks—as one of the most popular and influential brands in the world, you should be watching them anyway. Instead of barraging their followers with tons of posts, they post just a few, really clever posts a day with high-quality photos or graphics. By shifting their focus to beautiful, creative images, they’re able to drive interaction with their followers and get lots of likes, comments, shares, repins, etc. The Starbucks lesson: quality of posts over quantity of posts.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram
4.  Newcastle Brown Ale—not the most well-known brand, but one of the cleverest. They have managed to launch some incredibly successful campaigns without breaking the bank by utilizing social media more than traditional paid advertising. Their “Independence Eve” campaign—directed at getting Americans to buy British beer for 4th of July celebrations was hilarious and original.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram
5. Charmin—hands down, one of the funniest brands on social media. This is a great example of how you can take a product that’s not as exciting as Coca-Cola or beer and turn it into a social media all-star. They popularized #tweetfromtheseat, which encourages followers to send tweets from their toilet seat. Believe it or not, the hashtag is wildly successful and widely used. Charmin drives huge follower interaction.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vine
6. Mars Curiosity Rover—we know what you’re thinking, how can an account run by NASA be so awesome? But until your Twitter has over 2.2 million followers, you’ve got a few things to learn from the crew in Houston. The account is informative and funny and often hosts live chats with NASA astronauts. The Mars Rover also posts selfies…from Mars. Which is pretty hard to top.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
7. Pizza Hut—Pizza Hut doesn’t have the greatest reputation these days, which makes its efforts on social media doubly important. Their social media team responds to every Facebook and Twitter comment, positive or negative. That’s impressive. They also post delicious looking pictures of pizza that make you want to order some despite the bad reviews. Also impressive.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram
8. Zendesk—we won’t be surprised if you’ve never heard of this startup, but you should definitely check out their social media game. It’s full of great examples of how to balance professionalism and humor. They use clever rhymes to tweet out links to open jobs in their company and haikus to make you click on links to their blog content.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram
9. Quik Trip—like Pizza Hut, watch the way they handle customer service. They respond to almost every customer question or complaint which has provided them with impressive customer loyalty. They also post exclusive giveaways on social media, like the “12 days of QuikTrip” promotion they ran around Christmas. The promotion prompted customers to download the free QuikTrip app and take it into a store each day for a free giveaway, like a pack of Sour Patch Kids or a free fountain drink. Using social media to get customers to download your app AND visit your store? That’s the dream.
   Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram
10. Always—while this company, which produces feminine hygiene products, might not be on everyone’s radar, it did shift to a unique social media strategy a year or two ago. Always decided to take a stand on an issue important to them—girl’s empowerment and gender equality—and built their marketing around that issue. They launched the #LikeAGirl campaign, which involved young girls talking about traditional gender stereotypes they felt were untrue. If your company has certain values that you feel are important to your business and you want customers to know about them, build a campaign around it. Whether it’s gender equality, religious views, animal rights or anything else you’re passionate about, you can make it a part of your marketing.
    Where to find them: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube

We hope these examples help you begin to hone in on the best social media marketing strategy for your company. In the meantime, you can always call the experts at Skynet Solutions for all of your social media and marketing needs. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!