Patagonia strives and accomplishes to deliver valuable content on social media platforms
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, YouTube. Social media is currently dominating the world we live in today. It’s one of the main forms of communication that brands use to reach their customers. The population now expects new content 24/7, since media is predominantly online based. It’s an ongoing struggle for brands to keep up with the amount of content and information they produce on all of the social media platforms that exist. The most important element of a brand is trust. Customers need to trust their brand they are investing their time and money into. In the long-term, this will lead to a brand’s success if they are able to create their own unique image to acquire loyal and equitable customers. But how does a brand do this with so many social media platform options to use?
Patagonia is by far one of the leading brands in outdoor clothing and gear. Formed in 1973, it has developed into a successful clothing brand, but stands for much more than just it’s products. Patagonia values building the best product possible by causing no unnecessary harm to protect nature. They hold ethical and environmental issues close to their values, missions, and goals. The brand has built an incredible following and is dominating the industry by effectively using their social media platforms.
Patagonia is a minimalist company, which transfers over to their online activity. They predominantly use Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Their social media posts are based on delivering valuable content. They don’t focus on marketing their products, but rather showcase their assets through customers, meaningful individuals, environmental issues, places, and sponsors.
They don’t post to gain publicity for a certain product, but they post because they have a purpose. Through their posts, they also give credit to photographers, videographers, sponsors, and other companies. They succeed in maintaining what they stand for through their online actions.
Patagonia’s Instagram page utilizes a good mix of pictures and videos, and have incredible captivating IGTV content. Many competitive brands such as The North Face include too many videos that showcase singly their products. This is not effective in gaining audience’s attention as they could lose focus with lack of variety.
In saying this, Patagonia could market their products more through their page. They don’t have many of their products listed on their Instagram as they are solely focused on maintaining their values. This is not a negative concept, but they could benefit from a bit more product publicity.
Patagonia’s Twitter page consists of their Instagram posts. They don’t include many original tweets, which they could benefit from. Twitter is a platform where customers are easily able to start conversations. Patagonia could utilize this by giving their customers the ability to communicate with the brand and one another through Tweets. However, they are successful at retweeting other content that relates to their values.
What really makes Patagonia stand out in the social media aspect is their YouTube channel. Other brands in the industry do not have YouTube channels, which is what makes Patagonia unique. Their videos are a mix of environmental issues and events, along with videos that showcase their products. This is an incredible way to use social media to not only publicize their products, but stay true to their values and missions.
Patagonia’s use of social media is highly effective in showcasing their true brand, all while acquiring and maintaining customers from around the world. They are no doubt the leaders in the industry compared to many other brands such as Columbia, Arc’teryx, and Eddie Bauer. Delivering valuable content is the main reason for their incredible success.
