Social Media Branding - Reverse Engineer Post

As I was searching several websites, I decided to analyze Ford Motor Company.  I did this for a couple reasons.  First, I like Ford and I thought I would like to see how a company as large as Ford tackles social media.  Second, Ford has been around for a long time and even though they are an established company, they realize that advertising today is just as important, if not more important, than years ago.

Competition is fierce, regardless of what business you are in.  Ford sells cars and so literally hundreds of other companies.  Ford also sells their cars around the world so not only are they competing with the big domestic and popular foreign brands here in America, they have to compete with local brands in other companies.

The first thing you notice about Ford's presence is their logo.  It is a simple, two color image of their logo.  Their fortunate in that their name is part of their logo.  It is the same logo on their cars and in all of their branding.  It is also the same logo it has been for years.  While some of the logo has changed over the years, the main part, which is the cursive writing of the name, "Ford", hasn't.
Most recently and on all of their social media accounts, they have added the words, "Go further" to their logo. 

"Glamour shots" of the cars from Instagram

Ford has also has a good use of contrast when it comes to the colors they choose.  But there is something else that I noticed with even this one set of photos.  Ford has a substantial use of the red, white, and blue color scheme. 

According to the Ford Brand Identity Manual, any promoting of the product should include the Ford oval, correct color palette and fonts, their photographic style and others.  One of the other

elements that Ford requires is an orange bar.  They ask that this be done to provide a certain level of contrast.  Ford font is a proprietary font called Ford light and Ford bold. 

As I look through the posts on Instagram for Ford, I see that they obviously focus on their cars.  The cars are in a sense, "models".  While there are some candid shots of cars or trucks, the majority seem to be set up and photo shopped in ways that almost make the cars look like they were in glamour shots.

Some of the other design principles I noticed were the use of the rule of thirds and lines.  The cars are obviously the center of attention and the photographer did a good job showcasing this. In accordance with their manual, they really try and show off the best features such as roominess and comfort.

Most recently, Ford has been showcasing the Mustang.  They have made the iconic horse on the Mustang take center stage in a series if short videos they have been posting.  In addition, they have been showing some different photos of Mustangs old and new.  I believe it is in an effort to remind people how sporty the Ford brand can be.

Ford has done a great job in posting photos that people want to see and more importantly, share.  They realize that sporty cars is something that people will share.  The captions and messages they have are simple and prevent people simply skipping over the posts.

Social Media Manifesto

I live my life by a certain code.  I have always been this way though, admittedly, I have strayed from the code once or twice.  Regardless, I have always believed in certain things.

Some may find those things chauvinistic or even archaic but I believe in certain principles and have always tried to teach my children those same things.

• Never sit while a woman stands
• Always be the first to offer a handshake
• Phone calls will always be better than a text
• While important, the classroom will never be a substitute for experience, and
• Never, never quit.

While these can't directly translate into rules for social media.  I believe that the principle is the same.  Social media is both a blessing and a curse.  How we use it both dictates how people view us through the web and effects how we view others.

Hate and anger can spread quicker through social media channels than ever before.  The drive to create controversy and generate likes drives people to post or support extremely divisive things.  I have seen this and have always tried to do my best to avoid this type of posting.

I will continue to strive to refrain from posting anything religiously divisive, politically driven, or socially inflaming.  Furthermore, I will strive to avoid supporting those that cause to disrupt peace through use of social media.  

Farmers does it again

I have always been a fan of the Farmer's Insurance Company's recent ad campaigns.  I think they are funny, intuitive, and give people a reason to want to watch as opposed to almost any other insurance ad out there.  There's really nothing to them.  Take a spokesperson, throw in an outrageous scenario, and then talk about how Farmer's covered that. 

Farmer's has had great success with these commercials for some time now.  I have seen them range anywhere from a beaver chewing down a log and smashing a car to a trunk being set on fire during a parade.  Do we honestly think an insurance company will actually pay for these incidents?  I'm not sure and I doubt many people really care either.  The simple fact is, Farmer's has been getting the word out there that they will cover anything. 

They aren't trying to say that they are the cheapest agency around.  They aren't trying to target younger audiences with the promise of saving money.  They're going after a bigger pool.  They're going after people who haven't been covered like they thought they were with an insurance company.

I think Farmer's is smart in this way.  They realize that there is a small part of the population that doesn't care what get's covered.  They only want the bare minimum.  Farmer's realizes that there is a much bigger percentage of the population that has either been disappointed by their own company or has been let down.

Having that strategy in mind, they decided on a comical approach to their commercials.  We all know that sex sells and there are plenty of companies willing to use that.  Farmer's has decided on humor and I think they did well. 

Even their independent insurance agents have jumped in on the game.  Take for instance this Instagram post.

The caption around the goat's neck reads, "Apparently, I attacked my reflection in a car door.  What's a reflection?"

The text underneath tells the viewer that this was just another incident that was covered by Farmer's insurance.  The ad plays off of the guilt posts that have been so popular on social media.  Around the world, people have been posting pictures of their animals in embarrassing situations suggesting that the animal is ashamed of what they just did.  We all know that the animal isn't thinking this at all but its funny to us to think that those words could be running through the animal's mind.

Again, you see in the ad that the agent isn't concerned with making sure you think they have the best rates.  He is focusing on coverage.  He wants you to think that maybe you won't be covered if a goat smashed your car.

To drive that home, he adds the humor up the goat not knowing what a reflection is in hopes that people will share and like this post.  This is a very effective marketing campaign and one that they will be able to continue using for quite a while to come.