In this post I will be analyzing the social media of Nike and Adidas on the following sites: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
| Social Media’s Used | Nike | Adidas |
| X – 33million likes | X – 37 million likes | |
| X – 107 million followers | X – 25.7 million followers | |
| X – 8.1 million followers | X – 3.7 million followers | |
| X – 10 million monthly viewers | X – 10 million monthly viewers |
Nike’s Facebook account is the only account that has less people following it than Adidas. Their content most consisted of photos of famous athletes with a little blurb that says who they are or a poem that captures their essence in their sport.
Such as:
Adidas seems to post more video content and focuses more on the style aspect of their Facebook posts. You see a little more of the products they offer but it seems like they are trying to mostly promote a life style.
Personally, I prefer both of their Instagram posts over their Facebook posts because I feel like you don’t go on Facebook to connect with brands like this. Nike has a huge social media following on Instagram, however, they don’t get as many likes or views as you would expect a following this big to get. It is very obvious that they are gearing this more towards a younger audience because of the people they chose to have on their page. They also show a lot more people who are not as famous, more unknown athletes. I actually love their most recent post because it directly talks about the effects of the virus on society from Nike’s point of view (it actually gave me chills). I think this is why they have such a large following is because they post things like this. (This post has significantly more views than any of their previous videos.) It’s simple but effective.
Adidas has a lot more people who are famous and are not athletes support their brand (Kanye West, Beyoncé, etc.). Their feed also features a lot warmer tone colors and over all looks happier and brighter. The don’t get as many likes as Nike does, but I think they’re doing well considering they have ¼ of the following. Adidas is getting into 3D printing their shoes which is really interesting and so their most recent post it about that. It’s a cool post because they really utilize the ability to post multiple photos at once because they post two photos right next to each other that combine to make one giant photo. You have to swipe through the post to see the whole thing which is a nice feature that brands use.
I think Twitter is one of the hardest social medias to get right because of the character limitation. I also think that Twitter is where people want entertainment in their media as well such as Wendy’s account. Nike seems to do a lot more product posting on this site, at least compared to their other social media accounts.
I think Adidas had more tweets that were more personal and geared toward the Twitter audience. This account seemed to have a lot of over lap from previous accounts and made it seem like they were trying to advertise to a wider variety of people. I think Twitter does have a pretty diverse fanbase so this would make sense as a marketing move. It looks like Adidas is making a better use of the platform by making threads which is something that is unique to Twitter.
Pinterest is one one of the social medias that I know the least about. However, it looks like a lot of the photos that Nike is posting are trying to stick to a certain theme as well as support their products again.
Adidas is also trying to go for a certain type of look with the photos they are posting on Pinterest as well. They have created a lot of boards with different types of looks that are based around their products.
To what extent was the branding/message presence consistent across social media platforms?
I think that overall, Nike is trying to sell a legacy of athletic wear. They post a lot of successful athletes wearing their gear and try to sell the image of greatness. “If you work hard and ‘just do it’ you could be successful like these people as well.” I think they’re trying to do what Apple does where they sell a lifestyle which works in their favor because when I think of companies that have ad very successful marketing campaigns I would think of Nike and Apple.
Adidas tries to keep to a brighter side of advertising. Compared to Nike who has a lot of dark advertising, Adidas uses a lot of bright colors and I think that they utilize the features of the social media more than Nike does. Just in my brief look through of the Adidas social media accounts I don’t really know if I got their brand message. However, they definitely are using more medium such as videos and Twitter threads to spread their images.
For what purposes (i.e., HOW) did the organization use the social media platforms?
I think they the main thing they were trying to accomplish was to build brand identity and awareness. Both of these brands are pretty well matched with each other when it comes to what they sell and so they have to build a presence online that is unique form the other in order to stand out.
When they have a new product coming out or they are trying to promote something then they will post about it. There isn’t an overload of product information because that’s not the only thing they’re trying to sell. They’re trying to sell a lifestyle.
Based on the characteristics and tips, determine how the organizations are using social media in a constructive and effective way, and how the organizations can improve their social media presence.
I think that both of these brands have some great social media posts on all of the platforms. I think that Nike posts content based on the demographic of who is most likely to use that particular platform. Their content is clean and looks very professional because most of their posts are black and white or darker/muted colors. They do a great job highlight famous athletes and selling an the idea of greatness.
I think they can improve on how they utilize the platform they are posting on to their advantage. I think when brands post to the full advantage of the platform it can be more engaging and encourage people to spend more time looking at the post. I think both of the brands could benefit by having more consumer interaction on these sites. It would be cool if they retweeted/reposted outfits of people dressed in their stuff.
Adidas has some really cool photos that they post and switches up the style and theme of what they post regularly. They are also very good at using the platform to the full advantage. I really liked that they did a Twitter threat because I think that is something that is really trendy right now on Twitter. This is something small, but all of the Adidas accounts have (at *home emoji) in their usernames and it’s a fun way to encourage social distancing. They also respond to people in creative ways which is always nice because people love being noticed by brands.
I think Adidas could work more on spreading their message on their social media. They have a lot cool things that they could do if they try and sell the lifestyle a little more like Nike does on platforms other than Twitter. Both of the brands somewhat post about the same things, it’s either a video, an athlete, or a product. I would try and have them post something about a humanitarian effort that they might have done. If either of the brands have donated money to a charity that has anything to do with the Corona virus I think they should post it. People like to know that their money is going to a good cause.
Bird Thoughts 