There are certainly many new start-ups looking to take advantage of change driven by the internet, yes? And many looking to win the online branding battle also. And if your business is looking to improve its online branding, where should you turn?
It was over eleven years ago when Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates were checking out the cute girls on campus with a “hot or not” approach on a program called “Facemash.” Today, millions of people like me can be watching their distant grandchildren, nieces and nephew come of age online through pictures and videos posted on the internet, thus dubbing them cute or adorable. Sometimes it is difficult to remember what life was like before the world wide web gave birth to the many different social media networking sites.
When it came to launching a new social scene online, buddies Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger really knocked one out of the ballpark when they created a photo-sharing app called Instagram. Just after midnight on October 6, 2010, Kevin put their creation in Apple’s online app store. Their picturesque creation exploded on the internet with over 10,000 downloads in the first few hours, having the duo scrambling to keep up with that massive internet traffic. Less than two years later, Facebook acquired Instagram for a cool $1 billion in cash and stock.
Given the hundreds of social media options available, which is better for branding your business online? Although Facebook still has the most global users, what about other sites like Twitter? Is Google+ better than LinkedIn for connecting with other businesses? Who is winning the branding battle online? Let’s take a look:
Brilliant branding
With over 300 billion users globally, Instagram is beating out rival Twitter in some surprising ways. Recently, Socialbakers compared 25 of the top brands on social media and found that the photo-sharing platform has engagement rates 50x higher than that of Twitter users. The average interaction rate of these brands is 38x higher on Instagram compared to that of Tweeters.
Instagram is giving businesses a real opportunity for visual storytelling and branding within this tight-knit community of photo-sharers. These photogenic users are really embracing their favorite brands on board this popular site.
Communities or groups?
While the search engine giant Google and social networking star Facebook continue to battle for online supremacy, business-minded LinkedIn continues to chime in on the scene. But what about Google Plus? Which is better, Facebook and LinkedIn Groups or Google+ Communities?
If you were to compare them side-by-side, Google+ would seem to have better features compared to Facebook, while Hangouts is a popular choice for sharing information on events. LinkedIn wins out when it comes to highlighting influencers in a group, which makes discovering new connections and engagement even easier.
Winning the branding battle
In the uber-competitive restaurant market, Starbucks is making a killing of branding online. With the most likes on Facebook, leading the race of followers on Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest, they are blowing away big competitors like Mcdonald’s and Taco Bell. They also hold the number two spot on YouTube and Klout.
Their “Buy One Get One” free beverage campaigns create tremendous social buzz and get shared all over social media. They also encourage community spirit with charitable donations associated with purchasing their products and connect with their customers on a more human level with personalized drinks and customer reward programs.
We can take some valuable branding advice from our caffeine-infused marketing pros over at Starbucks and make a valuable connection with our internet audience.
Takeaway
Whether you’re adding interest on Google+, connecting with colleagues on LinkedIn, telling a visual tale on Instagram, posting, or Tweeting, you can make the best of branding online.
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