Coca-Cola talks benefits of embracing user-generated content
Published July 30, 2010
Michael Donnelly, Coca-Cola's director of worldwide interactive marketing, emphasized the importance of social platforms at the recent ANA's Social Media conference in New York.
Fan-generated content and commentary, such as the popular Coke and Mentos YouTube video that has been viewed more than 11 million times, costs nothing to the company. However, brands must also pay attention to and nurture online communities to make the most out of these marketing opportunities, said Donnelly.
One way Coca-Cola does this is by extended user-created initiatives. For example, the brand is helping Dusty and Michael, two Facebook fans, promote their Coke-related videos.
Taking advantage of social media is one of the reasons the firm created its KO Social Hub. The Hub provides tools for marketers to leverage Coca-Cola's 7 million fans for their digital marketing campaigns. On Facebook alone, the brand gets more than 5,000 mentions per day, 99.2 percent of which are popular.
With social media membership on the rise, marketers are paying more attention to the platform. Earlier this week, Facebook crossed the 500 million member mark, establishing itself as the first networking site to reach that milestone. It gained 100 million members since April alone.