Investments in corporate social networks grow and generate business results

A growing number of organizations recognize the strategic role of digital channels and bet on ‘proprietary content’ on LinkedIn and other networks to grow their followers base

Companies have directed resources towards producing their content on social networks, aiming to gain more visibility and build an increasingly significant engagement.

This was the conclusion of an extensive mapping of networks – LinkedIn and Instagram – of more than 100 Aberje associated companies to understand companies’ performance and engagement strategies on these two platforms. The list below shows the top 10 of the member companies, according to the number of followers on LinkedIn, divided into 10 of the B2C (Business to Consumer) and 10 of the B2B (Business to Business). The survey was carried out in mid-August, and only companies with a Brazilian profile were considered, that is, whose language used is exclusively Portuguese.

 

Top 10 Company Pages on LinkedIn (*Aberje associates)

B2C

 

Itaú Unibanco: + 2.4 milion

Natura: + 2 million

Latam Airlines: + 1.8 milion

BRF: + 1.7 milion

Santander Brasil: + 1.5 milion

JBS: + 1.5 milion

Banco do Brasil: + 1.3 milion

Carrefour Brasil: + 1 milion

Grupo Boticário: + 1 milion

Via: + 908,000

 

B2B

 

Vale: + 2.3 million

Gerdau: + 1.5 milion

Votorantim Cimentos: + 938,000

TOTVS: + 630,000

Braskem: + 533,000

Usiminas: + 464,000

Duratex: + 431,000

CNH Industrial: + 412,000

Ecolab: + 379,000

Empresas Randon: +340,000

The Communication Trends Survey “What to Expect in Organizational Communication in 2021,” prepared by the association and available in full to members, gathered 204 companies, including members and non-members.

 

Strategic value for B2C

In Natura’s view, the growth in the number of followers is based on the “origins” of the company, which since its foundation has valued human relations, with the philosophy that “every person matters.” With an expressive, organic growth in its social networks, the company believes that such success is due to the fundamental role of the content creation team. It “incorporated the spirit of the brand” and has created relevant content to involve and engage users with the themes so that their interest in following the profile is genuine and natural. For the company, this visible growth is “extremely gratifying.”

There is a principle of action in social networks for the Natura group that consists of “transforming content into a cohesive narrative, which reconciles the brand’s purpose with the audience’s identity.”

Amira Ayoub, Marketing Manager at LATAM Brasil, explains that the airline is always attentive to customer behavior on social networks and each post’s engagement. “We try our best to create the best and most relevant content for followers. We have a well-defined strategy for proactive engagement, and that generates conversation with our clients on the networks,” said Ayoub.

For BRF, “building a dialogue with the ecosystem, with a focus on long-term relationships, is an important part of the strategy to reach and involve the public.” “For this, we have an editorial staff to guide our content and a common thread, such as the 2030 Vision growth plan, to generate conversations on the networks and engage stakeholders,” said Corporate Reputation manager Cristine Freitas.

In turn, Via (formerly Via Varejo) says that, as an employer brand, it usually discloses on LinkedIn the vacancies in the group, in addition to content aligned with the pillars of diversity, ESG, and others that add value to the company as a desired place to work. “On Instagram, we work with institutional subjects in the news feed and with more routine subjects in Stories, thus always creating a frequency of relevant content,” says Communication Manager Caroline Colunna.

 

The B2B approach

More and more B2B organizations are also betting on social networks and collecting results from them. Gerdau, for example, has become the most followed profile in the world in the steel production sector and has the best engagement, reach, and growth rates within the mining and steel industry in Brazil, according to data from LinkedIn.

Melissa Domenich Bianchi, External Communication Manager at Votorantim Cimentos, says that the group seeks to build its digital strategy with intelligence, data analysis, and the use of big data. “By reading the data, we obtain information to optimize our decision making and carry out a complete analysis of user behavior and identification of trends. We are also connected to engagement opportunities to strengthen our brands, products, services, and our relationship with the various audiences,” said Bianchi.

TOTVS says that it has promoted a recent reformulation of positioning and language in its networks, taking into account diversity in the content format (articles, infographics and live sessions); posts targeted to each audience and social network, considering that each one has its specific driving rules; attention to the main themes and news so as not to miss any opportunity agenda; humor and lightness when presenting the contents. “We also pay special attention to interactions and monitoring what is being said about TOTVS on social networks,” said Helena Fonseca, Marketing Analyst at the company.

In its turn, Usiminas expands its engagement, always keeping an eye on the particularities of each network and designing its strategy to dialogue with each of these audiences. “On LinkedIn and Instagram, we noticed a search for guidelines related to the company’s Diversity and Inclusion policies. These are strategic networks to reinforce Usiminas’ values and DNA,” said Ludmila Bifano, Internal Communication, and Social Networks coordinator.

“In the local networks, however, we prioritize close dialogue with the communities where our units are located. In these networks, the challenge is to find a balance between agendas that bring the company’s key messages and issues of community relevance, such as social and cultural actions promoted by Usiminas. In addition to creating specific guidelines for these networks, we reinforced their regional character,” said Bifano.