Beep Beep, BP; Shell is stepping up its social media game, and gaining speed. The past few years, BP has predominantly driven the petroleum presence on social media channels. However, recent data from Adweek shows that Shell has acquired 5.2 million fans on Facebook, 245,000 followers on Twitter, and is buying ads on Swarm/Foursquare.
“I think that in our area of oil and gas, that among our competitors, we are definitely adapting very quickly,” Anna Bellamy, brand advertising manager for Shell, said. “And in a short time, we’ve really grown a lot of value through social media.”
Shell’s social media efforts have successfully fueled company growth through work with Influenster, which connects companies with consumers who post comments or reviews about products on social media. The partnership allowed Shell to target 5,000 latino moms and 10,000 mothers of numerous ethnicities. Additionally, this June Influenster pushed Shell’s Fuel Reward Network program, which resulted in a 385% increase for that offer in social media mentions.
Aside from these results, why should big petro have an interest in social media? It may be the awkward oil-covered elephant in the room, but it is greatly beneficial for gas companies to utilize social to showcase their virtues and strengths they possess over competitors. “The petro industry relies heavily on branding to beat the competition as well as raising their public image, so investing heavily in social media strategies to engage a younger generation of drivers is a sound investment.”