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capitalism's social media strategy
- 17. A: They want to make money
- 21. 1- “Pepe the frog meme” by benluna12 – Pixabay license – pixabay.com/illustrations/pepe-the-frog-frog-meme-funny-1272162/ 2- “Social Media Apps” by Pixelkult – Pixabay license – pixabay.com/photos/media-social-media-apps-998990/ 3- “2 Boy Sitting on Brown Floor While Using Their Smartphone Near Woman Siiting on Bench Using Smartphone during Daytime” by Pixabay on Pexels – Creative Commons Zero (CC0) – https://www.pexels.com/photo/2-boy-sitting-on-brown-floor-while-using-their-smartphone-near-woman-siiting-on-bench-using- smartphone-during-daytime-159395/ 4- “Macbook Pro” by Fedrico Orlandi on Pexels – Creative Commons Zero (CC0) – https://www.pexels.com/photo/macbook-pro-3260626/ 5- Screenshot of Denny’s Tumblr page, copyright Denny’s – https://blog.dennys.com/ 6- Screenshot of Denny’s Twitter, copyright Denny’s – https://twitter.com/DennysDiner/status/1197897052044320768 7- Screenshot of Denny’s Tumblr page, copyright Denny’s – https://blog.dennys.com/post/127447544258/medium-rare-pepe 8- Screenshot of Wendy’s Instagram, copyright Wendy’s– https://www.instagram.com/wendys/?hl=en 9- Screenshot of Wendy’s Twitter, copyright Wendy’s – https://twitter.com/Wendys 10- Screenshot of Wendy’s Instagram, copyright Wendy’s– https://www.instagram.com/p/B5DsrfDj1g1/ 11- Multiple screenshots of the Wendy’s Twitter & @coralus_SF’s art tweet, copyright Wendy’s and @coralus_SF– https://twitter.com/Wendys https://twitter.com/coralus_SF/status/855817147280367617 12- Screenshot from Pepsi’s “Live for Now” ad, retrieved from YouTube, copyright Pepsi– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ 13- Screenshot from Pepsi’s “Live for Now” ad, retrieved from YouTube, copyright Pepsi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ 14-Screenshot from Pepsi’s “Live for Now” ad, retrieved from YouTube, copyright Pepsi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Yq1DLSmQ 15- Screenshot of Pepsi’s Twitter, copyright Pepsi – https://twitter.com/pepsi/status/849711408770158594 16- “Silver Imac Displaying Line Graph Placed on Desk” by Serpstat on Pexels – Creative Commons Zero (CC0) – https://www.pexels.com/photo/apple-devices-books-business-coffee-572056/ 17- Word slide 18 – “Person Holding Smartphone” by Engin Akyurt on Pexels – Creative Commons Zero (CC0) –
Editor's Notes
- Today, we live in a world where social media has become a social norm. Almost everyone you meet, including the people in this room, have a form of social media. That being said, social media has become increasingly popular with younger generations.
- Younger generations have shaped social media in the past few years by essentially creating their own internet culture and beginning trends. Companies are aware of this and are desperate to be on the same level with this potential market. The scene is changing and they want to adapt by joining this culture.
- Companies will often look at popular topics among this audience and attempt to join in on the conversation. They may make similar jokes or attempt to use memes, an image spread rapidly around the internet, which can either be received well or result in backlash.
- Some companies try a strange approach to be noticed online. A good example of this would be the Denny’s social media accounts, which are mostly posts made in surrealist humor formats. Their content is mostly memes or images meant to convey a similar humor.
- Often, Dennys will take one of popular memes, typically recent, and make their own variations. The following is a Teslatruck meme, which they’ve turned into their own truck. This is an extremely new meme format, as well, meaning they’re staying up to date.
- Taken from their Tumblr account, they also turn memes into food jokes. Though this was 4 years ago, it reads almost like memes I’ve seen on Reddit today. For something that’s meant for business gain, it’s eerily close to an average internet post.
- Denny’s is not the best example of a company that’s almost mastered this kind of language, though. Possibly just as strange at times, Wendy’s social media has gained popularity online solely because of its attitude.
- Their twitter page starts with a Dungeons and Dragons reference, showcasing their tabletop parody game that released recently. They make it obvious at a first glance that the page has a personality, most of which being based on pop culture references.
- Like Denny’s, Wendy’s also posts their own memes, with this example being horrifically drawn in their art style. It carries the same premise as Denny’s, to use the same language and same references as what’s popular to become popular.
- What Wendy’s has done differently though is attracted people by their occasional sarcastic posts, usually aimed at other companies and people. This attracted fan artists for a few months to draw their mascot reflecting this smug attitude in a bizarre turn of events.
- Unfortunately, companies don’t always choose ways to capitalize on new market opportunities. Sometimes, companies choose to engage with serious topics that circulate on social media. When done poorly, this leads to serious backlash. One example of such backlash is the Kendall Jenner and Pepsi “Live for Now” commercial.
- The “Live for Now” commercial essentially attempted to capitalize on the #BlackLivesMatter movement, a campaign against systematic racism. Though not part of a social media platform per say, it did spawn from social media influences and received most of its criticism online. It features Jenner and protestors in front of police officers, where Jenner hands one officer a pepsi to resolve tensions.
- The ad also features several protestors posing for photos, dancing, playing instruments, and generally being in an upbeat mood. It seems to be appealing to a younger audience, being lighthearted, but when the inspiration comes from police brutality, it seems out of place.
- Just a day after its release, the commercial was pulled for heavy backlash, especially on social media. Pepsi issued an apology after the commercial’s pull, including this one in response to Bernice King, Martin Luther King Jr.’s youngest child, stating they were only trying to promote unity and peace.
- At the end of the day, it’s easy to question why businesses would go so far to fit in with the new generation of social media. Why would they post strange content, make their memes, be overly sarcastic, or use serious issues to their own benefit? The answer for all is the same.
- They want their businesses to grow in the new internet economy. They see what’s popular and want in on inside jokes happening between potential customers, young or otherwise. It helps them seem more personable, especially to an impressionable age group.
- So are companies improving in this area? Well, yes. Two companies examined today were able to produce content that seemed very similar to posts that could be found on a non-business related account, while the other learned not to capitalize on serious topics. So what does this mean for the future of businesses, new generations, and changing social media atmosphere?
- Businesses can learn from mistakes such as those from Pepsi and stick to the business model laid out by Wendy’s and Denny’s; gaining attention through mastering new internet language adding their own personality to it. The new state of capitalism is to integrate with what’s popular online, even if it means stealing ideas from the local teenager who just created a new meme format on Reddit.