Strategize By Size

Social Media

In Mark Schaefer's book Social Media Explained: Untangling the World's Most Misunderstood Business Trend, he discusses which companies do not actually need social media. I discovered there are few companies which have no major need for social media sites. Shaefer discusses how those companies in certain niche markets, such as for coal, radioactive waste removal, and the world's oldest company (Fonderia Pontifiia Marinelli- they make bronze bells in Italy since year 1000) do not need to go running to social media. Every company should consider social media, but ensure it fits your company!

Big Companies.. Dunkin Donuts

http://www.brandchannel.com

No matter what size your company is, you will deal with content marketing and what it is you want and should say to your consumers about your product or company. The real question is, what content approach best fits the size of your company? Dunkin Donuts is a worldwide, well-known company because they have already done the initial hard work to become a player in the coffee shop/ food and beverage industry. So what approach should a big company such as Dunkin Donuts use? In addition to traditional media advertising such as TV commercials, Dunkin Donuts has been doing a nice job of incorporating social media. The company created and aired a Vine on the popular topic of football. Their ad was shown during ESPN's Monday Night Countdown. Throughout the season, Dunkin Donuts intends to create and show a few more Vines. 

Check out the first Vine commercial here: https://vine.co/v/h15FI6tl0dL

Since Dunkin Donuts is a big name company, they are able to do such advertisements in their strategy. Everyone already knows what it is they sell, therefore the company just needs to be creative and continue to be in touch with their consumers, especially via social media. During my current semester, I will be doing a project which will look at Dunkin Donuts' social media marketing. 

A Local Coffee Shop

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In the case of a small local coffee shop, content marketing is going to differ from Dunkin Donuts'. Your local coffee shop will not be making content to push through major outlets, such as Monday Night Countdowns. A small business will recognize this and adjust to discover what content should be pushed. A small shop will be creating content to establish personal experiences with customers. The small shop approach can be more conversational and less big business like Dunkin Donuts. Local shops should use their social media to post weekly specials as one example. Your local shop could use Vines but would it really be feasible or worth it? It would be easier for a local shop to do tweets, posts, and visual posts. The big take away here is if you are a small company, realize it, see if social media works for you, and use it to your company's advantage.