Apple and Social Media

Apple, Inc. of Cupertino California designs software and hardware for computers, tablets and smartphones. The firm has a global brand and is listed by Forbes as being the most valuable brand in the world (Forbes, 2016) and sells products and services under the iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple Watch, and Apple TV brands. The firm had $233.2 billion in revenue in 2015 and spent $1.8 billion on marketing in virtually every channel (Spanier, 2015). This represents less than one percent of sales and is drastically lower than most consumer brands. Apple is a household names and a thought leader on all things digital so the value of its free advertising from media coverage is impossible to judge. Apple has created raving fans and anything that they do is well received by legions of loyal followers. 

Apple is notably absent from outbound social media. The company uses its account to buy advertising on various platforms, but the company pages are dead space. Apple has 5,705,239 followers on Facebook and has not made a single post. Apple has more than 800,000 followers on Twitter and has not made a single tweet Tweets.  Because of the total lack of a social media presence with the exception of a support Twitter account in May of 2016, there are no coordination with the firms other marketing activities and there is also no integration of social media accounts. There are no activities, promotions or events that the brand is marketing using social channels.

Apple appears to have adopted a “no social media” strategy. That being said, #apple, #ipad and #iphone have a ton of exposure, just none of it coming from Cupertino. The firm relies on traditional media to carry its digital message.

References

Forbes. (2016). The World’s Most Valuable Brands. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/companies/apple/

Spanier, Gideon (Oct. 30, 2015) Apple ad spend rises 50% to record $1.8 billion. Retrieved from http://www.campaignlive.com/article/apple-ad-spend-rises-50-record-18-billion/1370742#I3x9YXEAISsxdjeb.99