C oca-C ola Social Media Audit

Bethany Corne, Caroline Doss, Kelly Fator & Meghan Poljak

This report is an analysis and evaluation of Coca-Cola and its top competitors, Dr Pepper and Pepsi, on each brand’s performance across social media platforms. By analyzing each brand’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, the research team was able to identify trends in Coca-Cola’s social media usage and opportunities for improvement. By performing a background analysis, the research team gained an in-depth perspective of the brands and their current position in the marketplace, especially in relationship to one another. The background analysis allowed the team to analyze Coca-Cola’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

The team conducted a full social media audit by examining each brand’s social media activity on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram over the course of February 2016. This gave the research team insight on what strategies Coca-Cola needed in order to improve performance across all social media platforms. Creating follower engagement was the most apparent problem for Coca-Cola’s social media. Despite producing more content than its competitors, Coca-Cola received the least engagement from its followers on Twitter as compared to its competitors. This could be due to Coca-Cola’s repetitive use of the same content across all platforms. Coca-Cola’s image was consistent across all platforms, yet it lacked in the diversity necessary to engage the specific type of followers that each platform attracts.

The main goal of the #MyCokeStory campaign proposed in this report is to increase interaction and engagement with the brand’s Twitter followers. Launching the campaign will allow Coca-Cola to give its loyal fans the recognition they crave, therefore strengthening the relationship between the brand and its fans. This will combat Coca-Cola’s current lack of engagement with its Twitter followers. The campaign will attempt to launch Coca-Cola ahead of its competitors in terms of social media engagement and interaction.

Executive Summary

Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing customers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. It has been around for 129 years, and the global headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola has products sold in more than 200 countries including 20 percent

in North America, 29 percent in Latin America, 13 percent in Europe, 16 percent in Eurasia/Africa and 22 percent in Asia Pacific. It makes a net income of $7.1 billion, and it returned $8 billion to shareowners. The total value of the company in 2014 was $81.6 billion. It has had 53 years of consecutive annual dividend increases to its shareholders. On top of the impressive profits it acquire, it is also the “#10 Most Admired Company” by Fortune magazine. Coca-Cola isn’t just about selling Coke. It has more than 3,600 products worldwide. Its brands include Fanta, Dasani, Vitamin Water, Sprite, Coke Zero, Gold Peak Tea and Minute Maid. Coke is committed to making a difference through water stewardship, sustainable packaging, energy management and climate protection. Coke has invested more than $60 billion on global bottling partners.

Fun FactsCoke makes so many different beverages that if you drank

one per day, it would take you over nine years to try them all.

The Coca-Cola brand is worth an estimated $74 billion, which is more than Budweiser, Pepsi, Starbucks and Red Bull combined.

Background AnalysisC oca-C ola

T @CocaColaF Coca-ColaI @CocaCola

T @DrPepperF Dr PepperI @DrPepper

T @PepsiF PepsiI @Pepsi

Dr PepperDr Pepper Snapple Group is the third largest soda company in North America, after Coke and Pepsi, but its stock performance blows away its rivals. In the fourth quarter, the company’s earnings rose to $114 million, or 44 cents per share, compared to a loss of $621 million, or $2.44 per share, for Coca-Cola in the same quarter. Dr Pepper was created in 1885 and is the oldest major soft drink in America. A pharmacist named Charles Alderton invented Dr Pepper in his drug store in Waco, Texas by mixing different flavors until his customers thought it tasted just right. It is a signature blend of 23 flavors that makes every sip of Dr Pepper truly unique. Its slogan is “Always One of a Kind” and the brand focuses on being original. Its social media has a vintage feel that transcends over several media channels. This organization is a peer to Coca-Cola because it is a similar product with a large reach and loyal customers. It differs from Coca-Cola and Pepsi because its product is not actually a cola.

Fun FactsDr Pepper it alleged to have been named after a physician, but the correct styling of the name is Dr Pepper, not Dr. Pepper. The company dropped the period from the name in the 1950’s as part of a redesign of the corporate logo.

Earlier this drink didn’t have a name and was just called “Waco.”

Pepsi was originally introduced as Brad’s Drink in 1893, and it has since grown into a multi-billion dollar brand. Pepsi is manufactured by PepsiCo, which also owns well-known brands such as Doritos, Tropicana, 7UP, Mountain Dew and Naked Juice. In 1893, Pepsi was created and sold by Caleb Bradham in his drug store in New Bern, North Carolina. It was renamed as Pepsi-Cola on August 28, 1898, because of two its main ingredients, pepsin and kola nuts. When the price of sugar increased during World War I, Bradham made the risky move to buy more sugar in the hopes that he could sell it for profit. This gamble didn’t work out in his favor, and in 1923 Bradham declared bankruptcy. The company was then purchased by the Loft Candy Company. PepsiCo is a public company with 118,000 employees with sales of $20.37 billion. Popular celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Pink, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias and David Beckham all endorse the brand.

Fun FactsPepsiCo has nearly 500 patents, including one for a tennis racket.

There have been 11 Pepsi Logos over the past 122 years.

Pepsi

•Ranked by Interbrand as the world’s

third most valuable brand• Vast global presence—present in 200

countries around the world• Has more brand equity than other brands;

has become a part of American identity• Good use of popular and original hashtags• Mentions handles of famous people and generates content about pop culture events and holidays

• Uses social media to appropriately respond to customer complaints

and inquiries

Stre

ngths

• Competition from Pepsi and Dr Pepper

•Lack of clear competitive advantage based on products

• Increased studies linking soda and the chemicals in diet products to obesity and other

diseases• Consumers trending away from drinking soda and other sugary beverages• Indirect competition from other beverage producers, such as Starbucks, Gatorade and Red Bull• Social media algorithms make organic content marketing much more difficult

• Dr Pepper’s stock performance is superior to Coca-Cola and Pepsi

• Green activists saying that Coca- Cola has poor water efficiency

Threats

S.W.O.T.Analysis • Only produces

beverages; has not diversified its product like

competitors.• Most popular beverages are not

considered healthy • Spent 1.65 times more than that of next leading competitor, Pepsi, on advertising in 2015

• All graphics, videos, and messages shared on Facebook, Twitter and

Instagram are exactly the same

Weaknesses

• Do more promotion for the brand’s

healthy drinks i.e. Honest Tea, Powerade and Vitamin Water

• Diversify posts based on the general audience and choice of social media

platform• Post more often. Repost content from customers or other sources• Diversify product lines, consider

adding snacks or candy• Continue to promote green

practices and higher water efficiency

O

pportunities

Weaknesses Who is C oca-C ola?

Social Media Audit The

research team chose to analyze the top

social media platforms for Coca-Cola and its two main competitors, Pepsi and Dr Pepper. The companys’ Twitter

handles, Facebook fan pages and Instagram accounts received the most engagement from

the public. These conversation and photo-based platforms offer the companies an advanced

ability to connect with their customers. Over the course of February 2016, the team found an elevation in activity on all the social media platforms due to the Super Bowl, Grammys

and Valentine’s Day. These events and holidays are major opportunities

for the brands to capitalize on.

Twitter Interactions:

The Coca-Cola brand Twitter has a total of 3.22 million followers, almost more than Dr Pepper and Pepsi combined. The research team observed that Coca-Cola has roughly 1,300 tweets, averaging 46 tweets per day. The Coca-Cola Twitter posted tweets at regular intervals throughout the day, but tended to receive more interaction from followers between 12 p.m. on Thursdays and Friday each week. It’s most used hashtag, #TasteTheFeeling, was used 814 times, though it provided no increase of engagement. With 53,000 likes and 25,000 retweets, engagement for Coca-Cola’s Twitter showed low engagement compared to the amount of tweets posted.

Although Dr Pepper had far fewer followers than Coca-Cola, at just 404,000, their engagement was much higher. Dr Pepper had 436 tweets, averaging 15 per day. With a total of 4,400 likes and 2,100 retweets, its Twitter presence was not very prominent, but it was strong. The brand tweeted almost exclusively on the weekends between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., receiving the most engagement on those days. Unlike Coca-Cola, they only seemed to consistently use one original hashtag, #PepperUp, while others used were more universal and less unique. By using hashtags like #truth and #nomnomnom, their tweets had the opportunity to be seen by larger crowds, potentially leading to higher engagement.

Pepsi did well with engaging its 2.98 million followers during the month of February. The brand tweeted 399 times, roughly 14 times per day. Pepsi was able to gather a total of 42,000 likes and 54,000 retweets. Their tweets were posted exclusively after 8 a.m., when Twitter users seemed to be the most active. The tweets received the most engagement on Fridays and Saturday each week, with an increase on Sunday. The hashtag #PepsiHalftime was their most used by the brand, regardless of the lower engagement that it received. The #UpForGrabs promotional giveaway hashtag was only tweeted 36 times, but received a much higher engagement rate among followers.

Facebook Interactions:

Instagram Interactions:

The Coca-Cola Facebook page has 97.2 million likes, beating out its Twitter following by a landslide. Over the course of the month, its likes increased by 319,838. Most of its posting was done in the afternoon and evening, with the most engagement happening around noon and the early afternoon hours. It posted an average of 3.4 times per day and had a higher engagement rate than its competitors. Its Facebook response time was 4.5 hours, which is much faster compared to its competitors times of 20 hours for Dr Pepper and 35 hours for Pepsi.

Dr Pepper had 14,925,408 likes on its Facebook page even though it only posted about .38 times per day. Its interaction rate was only .52 percent. Almost all of its posts were done between 8 a.m. and midnight, showing the most engagement between the hours of 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. Unlike Coca-Cola, its likes dropped by 28,480 over the course of the month.

The Pepsi Facebook fan page had the least amount of likes at 35,952,000. Its average of .4 posts per day only had .2% interaction, taking 35 hours to respond to fan posts. Its few posts were nearly all done before noon, creating little engagement from the fans. Similar to Dr Pepper, its likes dropped by 4,000 during the month.

Coca-Cola’s Instagram page is followed by 1.2 million accounts from around the world. It posted a total of 20 times throughout February, garnering a total of 298,000 likes and 3,200 comments. Its average of 0.7 posts per day showed 1.4 percent interaction, just barely higher than its competitors. The engagement rate was even lower, at .097 percent. The most used hashtag was #CokeMini, followed by #NYFW and #StandUpToBullying.

Pepsi had 403,000 followers. Over the course of February, Pepsi posted more than Coca-Cola or Dr Pepper with a total of 27 pictures. The 27 pictures collected a total of 123,000 likes and 1,800 comments. At an average of 0.9 posts per day, the post interaction rate was 1.2 percent and the engagement rate was 1.1 percent, the highest of the three competitors. Similar to its Twitter, Pepsi’s most used hashtags on Instagram were #PepsiHalftime, #SweepsEntry, and #UpForGrabs.

Dr Pepper had the smallest following on Instagram with just 249,000 followers. It also posted the least, with 14 pictures posted during the month. The account pulled 42,000 likes and just 924 comments. At an average of 0.5 posts per day, Dr Pepper received 1.3 percent post interaction and a .61 percent rate of engagement. It did not use many original hashtags, but the most used and most unique hashtag was #PepperLove.

Coca-Cola’s brand is consistent among its

channels in terms of its logo, identity and voice.

Unfortunately, it was found to be almost too consistent. It was not uncommon for the same photos, videos and text to be posted on the same day on each of its social media platforms. It would be more beneficial

and ultimately more effective to present

the same content in various ways on

each platform.

C ons i stency

Coca-Cola updated its Facebook page about once per day. However, this was twice as many times as competitors Pepsi and Dr Pepper. Pepsi averaged .4 updates per day, while Dr Pepper had a mere .38. Only two to three of Coke’s tweets contained original content. The rest mostly consisted of replies to followers, making up 94 percent of Coca-Cola’s daily tweets. Coca-Cola’s Instagram was updated Monday through Saturday, with most content posted on Friday and Saturday. It only posted once or twice per day during the weekdays and did not post on Sunday. Alternatively, Dr Pepper posted on Instagram at least once every day of the week, excluding Wednesday. Its total number of posts contained five videos and nine pictures. Pepsi surprisingly posted most on Mondays, and then once or twice per day on every day but Thursday. Each of the brands posted six days out of the week.

S o c i a l M e d i a U p d a t e s

On Facebook, Coca-Cola has nearly twice as much interaction as Pepsi and nearly 20 times more than Dr Pepper. It’s average response time to clients was within 14 hours on each post, beating out Dr Pepper at 20 hours and Pepsi at 35 hours.

Coca-Cola’s top posts on Facebook were those containing pictures and videos that related to pop culture events. Its original photos, videos, links and text posts did not receive as much engagement. Naturally, the posts that had the least interaction from the public were those that did not relate to the public on a personal level or show the Coca-Cola personality.

Coca-Cola tweeted

46 times

per day.

Dr Pepper

tweeted 15

times a day. 95%

were replies.

Pepsi tweeted

the least, with 14

times per day. 51%

of were replies.

Although Coca-Cola shows

a pride in the brand and a dedication to

bringing happiness to its customers, the social media

posts analyzed all showed a general sense of distance. Not

many of its posts were focused on its customers. But in regards

to current topics, Coca-Cola was the most involved with what was happening around the world and continuously made a point to post its opinion. For example, the use of the hashtags #Lovehasnolabels and #Standuptobullyingtoday on Twitter. The brand also does many campaigns on its own, such as dressing up Cokes throughout the

decades. Though the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

posts were the same content with similar messages, its

messages were found to work best on

a Facebook medium.

94% of Coca-Cola’s tweets consisted of replies. It responded to nearly all conversations on Twitter, which is equal to the response percentage of Dr Pepper, but almost double the responses of Pepsi. However, its engagement level is an average of .087%, which is lower than both competitors. The photos that Coca-Cola posted to Twitter with the hashtag #CokeMini achieved the most amount of interaction, while its tweets about pop culture, especially the #GRAMMYS, did the best without photos. The popular hashtags included in its tweets led to an increase in its engagement.

On Instagram, it was normal for Coca-Cola and its competitors to receive many comments, but not respond. Since Instagram is more of a photo-based medium as opposed to conversational-based mediums, this is not surprising. The photos and videos that pertained to promotional material, such as movies and events, received more interaction. Original content received less interaction across the board for Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper and Pepsi alike.

Dr Pepper showed a stronger sense of personality on Twitter and Instagram by mixing its vintage

nostalgia and originality with its current campaigns by using pop culture

references, such as “emoji-fied” moments. Pepsi focused mostly on

brand endorsers like NFL and the show Empire. It put a great deal

of focus toward the corporate side of the brand, making sense of why so many of its Twitter engagements are reply tweets. On Facebook, Dr Pepper once again focused on vintage American values. Its emphasized the importance of family time, posting recipes including its products that the whole family could make together.

Although there was not much of an emphasis on

humor, it was still very light-hearted. Pepsi was a little more

personable on Facebook and Instagram. Using the #Upforgrabs

hashtag, it gave halftime show performers’ clothing items away. The

pictures that it posts have cool tones and very clean cut and basic graphics

with a corporate trendiness, which may appeal to fans simply scrolling through Facebook.

Personal ity

Interact ionOn Facebook, Coca-Cola has nearly twice as much interaction as Pepsi and nearly 20 times more than Dr Pepper. It’s average response time to clients was within 14 hours on each post, beating out Dr Pepper at 20 hours and Pepsi at 35 hours.

Coca-Cola’s top posts on Facebook were those containing pictures and videos that related to pop culture events. Its original photos, videos, links and text posts did not receive as much engagement. Naturally, the posts that had the least interaction from the public were those that did not relate to the public on a personal level or show the Coca-Cola personality.

Stratedy Devel opment One of the biggest challenges for any large brand is keeping up with the volume of mentions. 83 percent of Coca-Cola’s tweets in February were direct replies to tweets. This tactic is employed as a customer-service method to show love for fans that show love to the brand. They respond to tweets from customers spreading their love of the brand by sending tweets such as “We’re so glad you like it, Sarah! Thanks for sharing!” This has been very successful for the company because it makes the customers feel appreciated and that Coca-Cola cares. With an audience the size of Coca-Cola’s, this attention to detail is a big responsibility, and it is one of the reasons for its success on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Coca-Cola is successful at keeping up with its customers by responding to @mentions on Twitter when customers have questions or stories about the brand. It responds to several complaints, requests and compliments. It runs campaigns to engage its audience and persuades them to click and share to spread awareness of their campaigns on social media outlets. Its biggest fan base is on Facebook with 82 million fans of the brand page. On media outlets the brand posts about current pop culture events such as March Madness, Stand up to Bullying Day, Daytona 500 and New York Fashion Week. Its Instagram is successful with thousands of likes and hundreds of comments. The brand posts several interesting videos such as Coke bottles being dressed up through the decades for New York Fashion Week. This is very appealing to the eye and an interesting idea that customers have obviously enjoyed, as expressed through their comments.

Something Coca-Cola struggles with is posting the same photos, videos and text to several media outlets all on the same day. On their Facebook page, there are not many regular day- to-day updates as compared to their competitors. Coca-Cola doesn’t have its own stores, so its social media marketing strategy isn’t focused on driving people to its shops. Instead, its all about maintaing brand image. It generally attract a few thousand likes and around a couple hundred comments. In order to be more effective, the company needs to present the information in different ways on each platform.

#MyC okeStory The primary goal of the new campaign, #MyCokeStory, is to increase interaction by celebrating Coca-Cola’s followers. The objective is to increase average likes per tweet by 10 percent, average retweets per tweet by five percent and average replies per tweet by 25 percent during the next two months on Coca Cola’s Twitter account. Due to Coke’s lack of engagement on Twitter, the campaign focuses on that particular social media, hoping that the newly sparked engagement will transfer throughout all social media outlets. This campaign includes a short promotional video with Coke Stories from loyal fans explaining their passion for the beloved brand. All of the heart-felt stories will end with the words across the screen saying “#MyCokeStory.” These stories will include people such as the Coke CEO, famous athletes, and Hollywood stars. But, the reason Coca-Cola has been so popular and relevant for decades is because of the fans. The company needs to get back to the basics and engage with its customers. Instead of only focusing inwardly without engaging with its passionate customers, it is time to move the focus outward to make sure the followers know how genuine Coke is about wanting to hear their stories. Coke fans deserve to feel special. This will be accomplished by awknowledging the company’s presence in their consumers’ lives and memories. Coke will retweet, like and share people’s Coke stories and choose its favorites. Eventually, the company will transfer the best stories onto its Instagram and Facebook. To continue engagement, Coke will send personalized gifts to the #MyCokeStory contributors as a reward of sorts and incentive for others to join the movement. The ultimate purpose of this campaign is to diversify content and spark engagement with Coca-Cola’s fans and followers, something that the brand struggles with compared to its competitors. Coca-Cola is ready to get back to the basics to celebrate the people who support Coca-Cola and flaunt how important Coke is to everyone’s daily lives.

Stratedy Devel opment

Celebrity Influencers

Company Influencers

Follower Engagement

Example PostsImplementation

Schedule

Implementation Schedule

Week 1May 1-May 7

Week 2May 8-May 14

Week 3May 15-May 21

Week 4May 22-May 28

Week 5May 29-June 4

Week 6June 5-June 11

Week 7June 12-June 18

Week 8June 19-June 25

Create Promotional Video

Launch Promotional Video

Tweets Encouraging Follower Contribution/Engagement

Stories from company leaders

Stories from celebrities/influencers

Sending promotional items to encourage influencers to create “new Coke stories”

Begin collecting, reviewing and converting followers’ stories

Launch first user stories on all social media platforms

Collection, review, conversion and sharing of follower stories

Send personalized gifts encouraging followers to create “new Coke stories”