Social Media Marketing Example #5: ExxonMobil

Continuing with the series, “26 Social Media Marketing Examples in Detail” we will now look at Exxon Mobil’s efforts in this area:

What are they doing?

• Blogging
  • Currently the ExxonMobil site does not host a blog. Instead, it offers its content up in specific categories, with the ability to grab RSS for news feeds. Unfortunately, the site is chunked up into specific content areas which mean some really interesting editorial content (op-eds, speeches, etc) is not available through RSS.

  

• Podcasting
  • Currently the site has a “Speeches” section within the news category on ExxonMobil’s corporate site. In my opinion, this content should also be offered in audio format through a podcast that investors and customers could subscribe to.
• Widgets/Applications
  • From my search, ExxonMobil hasn’t created any widgets or applications, however it appears their competitor BP has created an application within Facebook. The “BP Ultimate Rally Challenge” is a fun racing application that has an impressive 4,585 monthly active users. Since ExxonMobil is generally more conservative, I see the opportunity for them to create a useful widget or application for Exxon cardholders and stakeholders (to deliver news, gas deals, etc).
• Social Networking
  • ExxonMobil isn’t present within social networking from a corporate standpoint, but as far as customer conversations they are a hot topic. On Facebook alone, the majority of groups are based around boycotting ExxonMobil, with nearly 3,000 members in the group “Don’t buy gas from mobil or exxon”. This shows that Exxon needs to step in and begin reputation management in these areas by creating positive groups around the brand.
• Twitter
  • ExxonMobilCorp seemed like a legit effort of Exxon Mobil entering the Twittersphere, but instead it was a fraudulent attempt from an outsider. Exxon Mobil claims that Janet, the woman behind this Twitter account was not a representative of the company, but was evidently doing a great job in her role. Unfortunately, the page is now locked (so her efforts are forever lost). I think this could have been an asset for ExxonMobil going forward, and perhaps could have generated an interesting news angle if Exxon continued Janet’s efforts where she left off (or allowed her to be hired and trained to become the companies social media spokesperson).
• Video
  • You Tube: I’m afraid that Exxon Mobil is once again suffering by letting others overtake their presence within social media. As I searched for a You Tube channel, I was able to find many videos about Exxon Mobil, channels created by You Tube users based around Exxon (mostly covering negative press), and zero corporate activity on behalf of ExxonMobil or Exxon. If they were involved, perhaps they could uncover their good works and actions for the environment in an effort to help the public forget about Valdez.
  • Videos are found in a “multimedia” section of the site, but these videos are unable to be embedded elsewhere. This is unfortunate, since many of these videos seem as if they are content that could help change the publics perception of ExxonMobil.

The takeaway from this? Sometimes the leap into social media isn’t a choice. It is very clear that ExxonMobil already has a presence within social media, but it won’t become positive or brand building unless they begin becoming part of the conversation.