2013-08-17





Social media comes with a massive built-in audience that stretches across almost every niche market there is, so it’s no wonder big companies consider social media big business.

Although most companies nowadays use social media in one form or another, some companies simply do it better than others.

With that in mind, here are five huge companies that really know how to use social media to their advantage:

1. Target

When it comes to hitting the bull’s eye with social media campaigns, Target is on top of its game. The Target brand is already highly recognizable due to its trendy commercials and contemporary style, but it’s also a huge advocate of all forms of social media.

Target is a cross-media powerhouse house, staking its social claim in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram Tumblr, and LinkedIn. And, with Facebook alone, the superstore has already implemented applications for wedding registries and digital coupon bargain hunters.

2.  Subway

The king of the foot-long sandwich is also becoming social media royalty. Subway has almost 40,000 sandwich shops in 100 different countries, so it’s no wonder social media fans follow Subway in droves.

In fact, Subway has one of the largest Facebook pages of any food vendor with more than 20 million fans. Not only that, when Subway tweets, 1 million followers listen. And why shouldn’t they? The sub shop’s known for handing out promotions by way of social media all the time.

3. Starbucks

Going head-to-head with Subway in social media statistics is everyone’s favorite coffee shop, Starbucks. The Starbucks brand knows social media is as ever-present as their coffee, and to prove it, they have amassed more than 25 million Facebook fans.

In addition, Starbucks and social media translate to promotions and other deals for avid followers. Starbucks uses Twitter to answer customer questions all the time, but it also tweets discounts to followers on a regular basis as well.

4. Ford

When Henry Ford rolled the first Model A out of his factory in 1902, he definitely had no idea the ways in which his company would market automobiles 100+ years later. More so than any other car company today, Ford has taken social media to heart.

And, the more technologically advanced Ford vehicles become, the more they rely on social media to get the word out. With the introduction of the company’s first fleet of all-electric cars, Ford turned to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to market and followers answered back by the millions.

5. T-Mobile

It seems pretty obvious that a cellular provider would use social media to reach its audience, but nobody in the smartphone world does it better than T-Mobile. So, it comes as no surprise that T-Mobile uses sites like Facebook and Twitter for marketing.

But, where T-Mobile breaks away from the rest of the pack is the fact that they use social media for recruiting as well. When seasonal hiring rolls around, T-Mobile posts and tweets job openings on all the major social media sites.

So, whether it’s a social savvy sandwich shop, a big time hotel owner like Steve Wynn, or coffee for the digital masses, when social media and big business partner up, followers listen.

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