NBC, ULTA and Pottery Barn demonstrate IMC: Consistency is key for social-media-hopping customers

I've picked three brands that use an integrated marketing approach to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and at least one other social media network. Here's what I'll answer about each.

• Do they take an IMC approach?
• Are they consistent in messaging and imagery?
• Is content up to date?
• How do they drive users to the other social channels?
• Are hashtags used regularly?
• Any other items of note?

NBC

NBC is host to some of my favorite TV shows, and although my DVR is responsible for making sure I see those shows no matter my schedule, sometimes I miss things. Thank goodness NBC keeps their YouTube channel up-to-date. I missed this gem when it originally aired, but the internet was buzzing about it the next day. Courtesy of NBC's YouTube channel, I got to see it -- and then share it with my friends on social media.


NBC also maintains accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and Tumblr. Across all these networks, NBC's colorful peacock feather logo is present with muted gray and white fades or additional logos. The logo/cover/background setup is not exactly the same on each network, but the elements are definitely consistent, which offers the user a seamless experience. The voice behind the posts on all platforms is also consistent -- fun, entertaining and engaging -- and hashtags are regularly employed. On the networks that allow for longer descriptions (YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook and Google+), NBC offers links to all their social accounts, and nbc.com also has social buttons linking to all the accounts they maintain.

ULTA Beauty

ULTA uses these colors of eye makeup to bring consistency to their social accounts.

Beauty retailer ULTA has accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and YouTube. However, they haven't done as well as NBC in keeping all of them updated. Although they have created their Google+ page with a profile and cover photo, and more than 500 people have put ULTA in their circles, ULTA has zero posts on the network. They're definitely missing out on properly introducing Google+ users to their products. Similarly, they've only posted one video on their YouTube channel. For a beauty product retailer like ULTA, YouTube seems like the perfect place to show potential customers how to use makeup or hair products and, even better, how the results look. Across all networks -- even the ones they are not updating regularly -- ULTA does use the same logo as their profile photo and a cover or background type photo with the same colors of eye makeup, which is fittingly pleasing to the eye. However, it was a struggle to navigate from network to network, as most of their accounts do not link to each other, but they do have social media buttons at the bottom left of their website. ULTA is utilizing hashtags regularly on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and occasionally on Facebook.

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn uses some version of this photo across their social media accounts, which, if you're like me, makes you want to go buy everything in the picture before Thanksgiving.

We all know that Pottery Barn is amazing, so it's no surprise that their social media managers work their magic across many platforms. You can follow Pottery Barn on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. They link to these accounts from their Google+, Facebook, Tumblr and YouTube, as well as the footer on their website. Every cover photo or banner across networks is a beautiful table set for Thanksgiving -- some are zoomed in or cropped differently depending on the space it has to fill, but they provide consistency sweet consistency on every account. The photos are also deliciously seasonal and will be updated as seasons change. Pottery Barn is using hashtags regularly on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, but I'm not seeing any recently on Facebook or Google+. However, all of these profiles are up-to-date and the voice has a helpful and expert tone across platforms.

Using the same photo or same colors on all your social media accounts sounds like such a simple thing that might not even make that much of a difference, but it's actually a pretty big deal. Such consistency helps businesses battle fragmentation. You want a customer who has liked your Facebook page to feel a ping of familiarity when they stumble across your Google+ page; you can achieve that with consistent images, voice and, of course, updates.