Value of Cross-Platform Social Media Marketing

It is estimated that social media accounts for 22 percent of time spent online (Source).  With so many people in the social space, it is imperative that teams and brands develop a marketing strategy that utilizes all social media platforms effectively.

The most successful social media marketing campaigns are cohesive, cross-platform initiatives.  These campaigns develop a unified message across several sites, leveraging the strengths of each available platform.  Cross-platform marketing campaigns that use Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and YouTube to promote a common message are most effective in developing a lasting marketing message.

What to do- Miami Heat

The first thing you notice about the Miami Heat’s social media sites is the uniform appearance.  The Facebook and Twitter pages have clean white backgrounds with black text.  There is also a common, clear message of “White Hot,” which further unifies their social media sites.  This consistency across platforms, in both appearance and message, effectively unifies the team’s social media marketing campaign.

The Miami Heat also stand out in the way they leverage their social media ‘strengths.’  For example, the team has more than 2 million fans on Facebook, making them one of the most popular teams on Facebook.  The Heat leverage this Facebook popularity to promote their YouTube channel with a ‘YouTube’ tab on their Facebook page.  This is a great example of a team leveraging a popular site to drive traffic to their less popular social sites. 

The Miami Heat understand the value of cross-platform social marketing.  They utilize each social media site differently, but still create a unified social media experience for their fans.

What not to do- Toronto Raptors

At the other end of the spectrum, the Toronto Raptors stand out as a team that has missed the boat with social media integration.  The team’s two primary social media sites, Facebook and Twitter, have almost no integration. 

The first thing you notice is the difference in appearance between the Facebook and Twitter pages.  The Facebook page has a small team logo and few personalized tabs, which creates a lot of negative space on the page.  The Twitter page is almost the exact opposite with a red background and information lining the left-hand side of the screen.  Aside from the Raptors logo, it is difficult to tell that these pages belong to the same team.

The second thing you notice is the lack of content integration.  Specifically, the Facebook page has almost no information posted by the team.  Fans could go to the Twitter page and get all information they would need.  There is no incentive for fans to go elsewhere, and, more importantly, there is no attempt by the team to drive traffic elsewhere.

As noted earlier, almost 1 in every 4.5 hours spent online is on a social media site.  Within this social space, however, there are several different sites that serve very different purposes.  The most effective social media marketing strategies recognize these differences and utilize each platform differently to convey a cohesive message.