The company I chose to do my investigation into is Netflix, because I know that a lot of their marketing for new shows is done on social media. Netflix is a movie and TV-show streaming site online, and naturally a lot of the conversation that happens among the audiences of these shows occurs on social media. This makes social media the best place for Netflix as a company to make announcements, interact with cast members, spark discussion about the latest episode, and overall generate as much engagement as possible. The engagement that Netflix can raise on Instagram and Twitter will eventually produce conversion and increase the amount of people choosing Netflix to watch TV.
I also looked at Netflix’s social media through the lens of how its typical users might view it, and referred back to the video “5 Crazy Ways Social Media Is Changing Your Brain Right Now” (AsapScience) from the class resource page. That video explained how influential social media is on our psyche, and this can directly affect how companies target people with their online advertising and tactics. It also talked about attention spans and that led me to think about how Netflix posts relatively short clips from movies- they know that they only have a few seconds to capture a potential customer’s interest and keep them on their social media page long enough to purchase a subscription.
Looking closer at Netflix’s social media accounts, it is clear that they primarily use their pages to promote creators and shows. There is a lot of tagging and hastagging to bring as many people into the conversation as possible. I think Netflix has a unique opportunity to use social media to market their company because their main demographic uses platforms like Twitter to get their news. Since their customer base is already online to talk to the world about their favorite TV shows, it falls perfectly in line that Netflix insert itself into that momentum and generate more interest in the shows they offer.
The two main social media platforms that Netflix is using are Instagram and Twitter. These two platforms are also most popular among current social media users because they are ideal for sharing quickly and most efficiently. Observing Netflix’s Instagram feed, it seems like they mostly post announcements about new shows and movies that are coming out soon. They also post a lot of “relatable” content to appeal to their audience like memes, clips from various films, photos of celebrities in their films, and trailers. Some of the posts are more casual or less involved in terms of creating time, and some are more professional to advertise the new products and releases.
Two recommendations I would make for optimizing the effectiveness of their social media presence is to have a more structured pattern to their Instagram feed, and to know what should be in-feed and what should be in-story. There is a lot to be said about aesthetics and how striking something is visually can change how someone feels about a brand, product, or, in Netflix’s case, a new TV show. Additionally, about determining what should be posted in the feed or in the story, I think Netflix posts a lot of memes and brief movie clips that would work and look better in Instastory than on a post that will be there forever. Using the platform wisely and timely is important for reaching the audience promptly.
So as a social media strategist for Netflix, I would definitely focus on ensuring that the content we are putting out to the public matches the proper platform. For example, I would use Twitter to make “breaking news” type announcements of new shows and movies with the specific goal of generating conversation. Twitter is all about discussion, and the more discussion being had about Netflix the more brand-recognition and therefore the more conversion for customers to make subscription purchases. I think I would also recommend moving more of what is in-feed to Instagram story rather than keeping it posted for longer than the 24 hour period. Those are just a few of the ways I would go about increasing engagement for Netflix on social media and ultimately being a greater presence to their clientele online.
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