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How McDonald's uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+

In the latest instalment of our blog series looking at how brands make use of the four major social networks, I’ve decided to take a closer look at McDonald’s.

McDonald’s is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, yet also has to battle a fair amount of negative publicity, so one would assume that its social accounts would be extremely active.

This blog follows on from similar posts looking at the social strategies of ASOS, Walmart, Starbucks and Red Bull, among others.

And without further ado, here is a quick look at how McDonald’s uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+...

by David Moth 13 March 2013 10:39am 10 comments

30% of top brands have dedicated Twitter feeds for customer service

The immediate nature of Twitter means that it is both a blessing and a curse for brands, as it gives them an excellent opportunity for having conversations with users but also puts pressure on them to respond quickly to customer complaints.

To give themselves some breathing space and ensure that marketing messages don’t get drowned out by consumer queries, many brands operate separate Twitter feeds for marketing and customer service.

In a recent series of posts looking at how major brands use social I noted that Tesco and ASOS have dedicated Twitter feeds for customer service, and we’ve also investigated whether Twitter is creating a VIP customer service channel.

And new research from Simply Measured shows that 30 of the Interbrand Top 100 Brands currently operate a dedicated customer service Twitter feed, a number that has increased from 23 since December 2012.

by David Moth 07 March 2013 13:38pm 3 comments

Five of the top social fails of 2013 so far

In 2012 some of the world’s biggest brands treated us to some truly spectacular blunders on social media.

My personal favourite was KitchenAid’s attack on President Obama’s dead grandmother, though the Swedish Tourist Board also deserves an honourable mention for its potty-mouthed, anti-Semitic tweets.

Thankfully brands haven’t learned from other’s mistakes so the social fails have continued apace in 2013.

Obviously it’s wrong to make fun of people’s mistakes and revel in their failures, but it’s also important to document social fails as a warning to others (sort of)...

by David Moth 06 March 2013 13:12pm 2 comments

How Starbucks uses Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google+

Starbucks is often touted as having an excellent social strategy, so it’s an excellent subject for our series of posts looking at how brands use the four main social networks.

Having previously evaluated a number of brands including Red Bull, ASOS, Walmart and Ikea, it appeared that the brands that were doing well in social all followed the same basic blueprint – they post updates several times a day and are excellent at responding to consumers.

But as this post shows, Starbucks has managed to outperform nearly all other consumer brands in terms of community engagement despite taking the exact opposite approach.

And there is a special mention for Starbucks’ Instagram feed at the end as well...

by David Moth 06 March 2013 10:43am 24 comments

The Facebook mortgage. Could social data be used for credit scores?

I’m about to move house. Which, as is usual, has involved a painful bank transfer and a lot of paperwork.

One of the steps of self-imposed due diligence I did was to check my credit file. Everything was fine, I had a credit score in the region I expected / hoped and that was the end of it. Contracts done. Property secured.

It got me thinking, though. That one little number is very powerful but, given today’s focus on big data, actually very simplistic in its nature.

For something that can dictate major elements of your life (such as helping the bank decide whether or not you are ‘fit’ to buy a home), the process by which the three main credit reference agencies (Equifax, Experian and Callcredit in the UK) apply a sweeping judgement feels flawed.

I wondered if, instead, social data could provide a more accurate picture of people.

by Craig Le Grice 05 March 2013 09:01am 30 comments

The Twitter landscape of 2013: recommendations for brands

As brands continue to increase investments in Twitter as a communication increasing opportunities arise to learn from the activity taking place on the and how to better use it to your advantage from a business perspective.

A Brandwatch report, which has studied over 10,000 random tweets has established some key trends that will impact the way we use Twitter in 2013.

The results, which analysed brand mentions and consumer voice, are especially important for brands to understand Twitter as a communication channel.

by Tim Grimes 01 March 2013 09:47am 2 comments

To reach Gen Y, will financial services firms warm to the web?

According to a new report, members of Gen Y are less entrepreneurial and more risk averse than their older siblings, parents and grandparents. So it stands to reason that Gen Y, hard particularly hit by the turbulent economic environment of the past five years, probably isn't eager to invest.

But that may not be the case.

by Patricio Robles 28 February 2013 16:02pm 2 comments

Social media measurement: focus on the big picture

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about some of the problems I’ve encountered when trying to gauge accurate traffic from our social media channels, particularly Twitter.

Based on the overwhelming response in the comments section, and feedback from our own recent social media measurement roundtables, it appears this is a very common problem.

Lots of you took the time to offer up ideas and recommendations, so I thought it would be useful to recap (and test) some of the suggested solutions here...

by Matt Owen 28 February 2013 12:02pm 6 comments

How Ikea uses Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google+

In the latest instalment of our blog series looking at how different brands use the main social networks, I’ve decided to shine the spotlight on Ikea.

The Swedish furniture manufacturer is probably one of the most recognisable brands on the planet, and its catalogues are full of striking visuals that are perfect for sharing via social.

Ikea has also just found itself caught up in the horsemeat scandal, so it’s the perfect time to see how it is using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ for customer engagement.

For comparison, I’ve previously looked at how Walmart, Tesco, Red Bull, John Lewis and ASOS use the four main social networks.

by David Moth 27 February 2013 13:20pm 7 comments

As investors pour $200m more into Pinterest, is a business model in the offing?

The internet economy may be one of the brightest spots in today's global economy, but the hits taken by shares of publicly-traded prominent internet brands like Facebook, Zynga and Groupon has definitely had an impact on venture backed companies, many of which have had and will have a more difficult time convincing investors that they're worth as much as they might have been able to convince them they're worth a couple of years ago.

You wouldn't know that, however, looking at Pinterest's latest funding round, which made headlines last week. The image-based social network is on the verge of becoming the second most popular social media site in the United States, and despite the fact that it hasn't figured out how to make money, investors poured $200m into the young company at a $2.5bn valuation.

by Patricio Robles 25 February 2013 15:51pm 0 comments