Who is "Tesla" and Why is His Last Name "Motors"?
 |
| Tesla Motors logo |
 |
| Nikola Tesla |
Tesla Motors is a relatively new American automobile company that was founded in 2003. They got their name from Nikola Tesla who is credited for designing the modern alternating current (AC) for electricity. If you've ever been the the Museum of Science in Boston, you may have seen the giant Van de Graaff generator that they use for their lightning shows. They also make use of large Tesla Coils in the show. Since Nikola Tesla played such a large part in modern electricity, why not name an electric car company after him? That's what billionaire Elon Musk thought when founding this venture.
 |
| Elon Musk |
Tesla Motors in Social Media
Tesla Motors is a company that has the benefit of being born in the midst of the social media revolution. Back in 2003 when Tesla Motors was founded, social media was already playing a significant role in peoples lives. They realized early on that participating in social media is necessary, and so the company has used it for the entirety of its existence, which is pretty unique. It has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.
As you can see Tesla has nearly 400,000 likes on Facebook, with about 32,000 people talking about them. Now people "talking about this" is simply anyone who likes a post by Tesla, comments, shares, etc. Compare this with automobile giant Ford Motor Company, who has about 2.2 million likes, and you'd think that's a big difference; and it is! Tesla is a much smaller niche company than Ford is. But compare Tesla's 32,000 people talking about them to Ford's 50,000 and that tells a somewhat different story. Considering Ford has almost 5 times more likes on Facebook and therefore 5 times the audience reach, they don't have many people talking about them. It's safe to say that while Tesla's audience is smaller, they are more engaged and passionate.
Tesla has a good YouTube channel also, filled with high quality videos showcasing their vehicles and their achievements. Their featured video at the moment shows the company driving a couple of its cars across the country, from L.A. to New York. This is to show that an all electric car is capable of making long drives. They are able to do this thanks to Tesla Motors themselves, creating the infrastructure (building official charging stations at strategic locations) for this. So the cars can get from one charging station to the next without the battery dying.
Again, comparing Tesla with 53,000 subscribers to Ford, who has around 180,000 subscribers, another pretty large gap on the face of it. But if you put it in context, it's pretty impressive. Go drive around for 15 minutes and count how many Fords you see compared to how many Tesla's you see. I bet, depending on where you live, you'd see zero Tesla's and probably 5 to 10 Fords, maybe more. So given how little of the car market Tesla has, they are competing quite well on YouTube and social media in general.
Tesla is even actively making use of Pinterest, which is impressive since many other car companies don't use Pinterest. Tesla has about 1,600 followers and 8 different image boards.
Compare this to Ford Motor Company...
Yeah, broken image, no boards, just empty. But somehow they have about 1,500 followers. I guess they are just waiting for Ford to get with the program.
 |
| Tesla Motors |
 |
| Ford Motor Company |
According to Social Mention, an online social media analytic tool, Tesla Motors has a pretty strong presence as far as being talked about. And generally pretty positive, with a 7:1 ratio positive to negative sentiment. However, Ford is ultimately crushing it both in positive ratio and social media strength.
According to Google Trends, Tesla Motors has been on the rise in 2013 and 2014. This is probably due to their release of the Model S and increased sales. Prior to 2012, Tesla only had the $100,000+ Roadster model. Now, a family can get their hands on a base Model S for around $60,000. Obviously that has boosted sales and notoriety.
Overall, Tesla Motors has a long way to catch up to other automotive companies like Ford in a business sense as well as name recognition and popularity. But in regard to social media savvy, and overall presence, I'd say Tesla is doing well. The difference on Pinterest is quite telling, and Ford's silence there is deafening.
I believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDeleteI believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDeleteI believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDelete