Top 5 Companies with the Best Social Media Presence

Social media is an effective way to recruit new customers, engage existing ones, find potential new hires, and make your brand stand out. Yet, many companies that use social media aren’t moving the needle toward their business goals. 

Think about it: when was the last time a company made you stop scrolling to engage with their post? Social media is a competitive space, with hundreds of other companies, influencers, and everyday users trying to be seen. You have to really work hard to get noticed.

And work hard, some brands did. We spotted a couple that have cracked the code: able to consistently reach users, create memorable campaigns, and build a loyal brand following. How do they do it? Let’s take a look!

5 Companies with the best social media presence

The formula is harder to get right than you might think. The companies on this list have invested the time and resources into uncovering customer insights, harnessing their employee networks, and mastering social media marketing. Use their experience as inspiration to help inform your own approach to social media. 

National Geographic

National Geographic consistently ranks in the top three brands on Instagram in follower count. @NatGeo focuses on clear, high-quality content: images that tell the story of our natural world. More importantly, the images shown on National Geographic’s social media profiles are rarely taken as paid, planned, professional shoots. Instead, National Geographic features pictures taken by amateur photographers. 

“Most of their giant social media following are not aspiring photographers, or even wildlife enthusiasts and anthropologists. And yet, there are few things in the social media landscape that are as visually impressive as National Geographic’s photos,” wrote the Many Pixels blog.

National Geographic excels in showing creative, high-quality content that’s also authentic. No wonder this brand has nearly 285 million followers on Instagram alone. 

Jackson Walker

Jackson Walker is one of the largest law firms in Texas, serving national and international clients. While many brands on this list are consumer-facing, Jackson Walker is one of the best companies that use social media to market to other businesses. If you’re looking for a great case study for social media B2B marketing, Jackson Walker is a shining example. 

Jackson Walker used social media marketing to increase awareness of their attorney bios and reach prospects unacquainted with the firm, specifically companies that were expanding or relocating from other regions. Their social media strategy hits two big standards: authenticity and consistency. Jackson Walker uses their profiles to position their lawyers as thought leaders and consistently engage with prospects. 

By sharing LinkedIn-focused content of the firm’s leaders via Clearview Social, the campaign boosted page views of the firm’s LinkedIn company page by 20%, and engagement with posts doubled. Clearview Social helped the attorneys at Jackson Walker take their digital content and translate it into a personal transaction, creating tangible business benefits through employee advocacy. 

Learn more: Jackson Walker Case Study

Airbnb

Like National Geographic, Airbnb’s social media presence is strengthened by its community. Hosts and guests alike create aspirational user-generated content that the brand can share on its own social media. Curated, well-edited images and videos of travel destinations and beautiful stays dominate Airbnb’s social media feeds. 

By tagging the original creator of the image and the host or the traveler from the experience, Airbnb creates a multiplier effect that improves each post’s reach. Amplification is the marker of a successful social media strategy. It can help you reach your marketing goals by harnessing the power of other people’s networks. 

For Airbnb, it works. Tagging members of their community encourages users to share posts to their networks—reaching others who may not be following Airbnb already. Content amplification is an easy way to improve brand awareness, increase conversions, or build a bigger audience online. 

Read how Clearview Social can help in this guide: “6 Content Amplification Tools and Strategies To Boost Impact”  

Starbucks

Starbucks is generally known as a great place to work, and on social media, it shows. Starbucks baristas play a crucial role in their branding, as these workers interact with customers daily. Starbucks highlights its baristas on social media—even in funny moments (like getting someone’s name wrong). This is part of a well-executed employer branding strategy that helps to attract and retain top talent.

Social media marketing isn’t just about selling a product. You may also want to use it to recruit talent. A clear social media strategy will define your employer branding goals and help you speed up your hiring process. Learn more: Using Social Media as a Recruitment Tool  

Wendy’s

There’s much to learn from brands that don’t necessarily have visually appealing content built into their business model. While brands like National Geographic and Airbnb have tons of user-generated content to work with, Wendy’s doesn’t have that same advantage. There are only so many pictures of burgers and fries a brand can post before it feels stale. 

Wendy’s executes a social media strategy grounded in humor and consistency. And it works. “The Wendy’s Twitter account has amassed a cult following for its relatable one-liners aimed at competitors’ food chains,” wrote Forbes. On Twitter, Wendy’s has 3.8 million followers, far more than market leader McDonald’s just 175,000. 

What do the best companies on social media have in common?

A few things set the brands on this list apart from companies that don’t use social media effectively. Social media is a crowded space. Standing out requires consistent posting, a clear strategy, and a level of creativity that makes your content grab users’ attention. 

Companies with the best social media presence meet and exceed a few key standards. 

• They have a clear social media strategy. These brands know their target audience, what platforms their customers use, and the kind of content people want to see.
• They create high-quality content. Companies with the best social media campaigns post visually appealing images and videos, as well as well-written and informative copy.
• They are consistent with their posting. These companies post regularly and engage with their audience on a daily basis.
• They are authentic and relatable. With efforts like influencer marketing and employee advocacy, these brands show their human side and connect with their audience on a personal level.
• They are innovative and creative. These companies are always looking for new ways to engage their audience and keep them coming back for more.

While virtually all companies use social media in some way or another, few are able to hit all these benchmarks consistently. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what product or service you sell: mastering social media marketing requires understanding your audience and making high-quality content to meet their expectations. 

Become one of the best companies using social media

Ready to revamp your social media presence? Start with the right tools. Clearview Social is a simple platform that helps your company share content on social media with employee advocacy, corporate posting, social media automation, and robust analytics. Learn more about Clearview Social and see how we can help boost your social media presence with a free demo.