What comes to mind when you think of top automotive brands? It’s quite likely such names as Ford, Jeep, and BMW. Maybe you can add Honda, Lexus, and Toyota to that list. One name you’re unlikely to consider is Falken Tire. I mean, after all, how could such a relatively insignificant brand compete with such global luxury car manufacturers.
In the world of social media, however, Falken Tire counts among the most socially engaging automotive brands, ranking alongside the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz
According to analytics and data firm Shareable, Mercedes-Benz received over 340 million social engagements in 2017, sitting right on top of the list of the most engaging social brands in the industry.
One way in which the company stands out is through the topic of its posts. While its competitors’ engaging posts are often related to the customer experience, Mercedes-Benz focuses on the very topical issue of CO2 emissions.
A 2017 Gallup poll revealed that the U.S. is more concerned about global warming than it has been in three decades. Mercedes-Benz responded to this concern by posting over and over again on Facebook about its cars’ CO2 emissions and field consumption.
BMW
While BMW posts just once or twice a day on its primary Facebook and Twitter accounts, when you take its other handles into account, such as @BMWGroup, @BMW_UK, and @BMWUSA, the number of posts begin to add up. The Shareable report ranked BMW second in social engagements with 237 million.
Their posts are entirely visual, with one photo after another. Most auto brands post 85% of photos in their social engagements, but that number stands at 100% for BMW.
The company also posts photos submitted by other users, which fans can tag with #BMWrepost. One BMW owner and follower posted a photo that was liked close to 160,000 times.
Falken Tire
Falken Tire is clearly focused on Instagram. Each of its posts comes loaded with relevant handles and hashtags, which allows the message to spread beyond the 429k followers that the firm has managed to attract. For example, it can tag other automotive brands when they feature the brands’ cars in certain posts. In fact, the company’s most engaging topics include Chevrolet, Nissan, and Ford, according to the Sprinklr Business Index.
Falken Tire is a great example of the power of social media when it comes to automotive brands. There are numerous other industries, however, that have proven the power of engaging with customers online. In the age of ‘social’, the marketplace expects to have a relationship with brands. Often, companies call upon social marketing specialists such as growthsupermarket.com to point them in the direction of the tools to work on their engagement strategy. These specialists help the brand choose the right social channels for them by helping them find out where their prospects are, as well as find relevant influencers to help spread the word on their clients’ products and services.
When associated with such traits as thrills, luxury, and speed, a product isn’t that difficult to promote. Social media has helped to level the playing field when it comes to huge brands and smaller companies, as Falken Tire appears to have benefited from.