Social Listening: Nike
I was particularly interested in writing about Nike and what people had to say about Nike for many reasons. Nike is a very well-known brand that has a dominant social media presence through apps like X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. They’re also prominent in professional sports, sponsoring a multitude of athletes who represent their brand across TV’s and broadcasts worldwide. I often see and hear frequent news about Nike’s upcoming or latest product drops and endorsing their athletes.
Originally called BRS, Nike started as a track and field athletics company. Nike has expanded their awareness throughout almost all sports creating a brand awareness unlike any other. Nike’s value proposition is to inspire and empower athletes of all levels to achieve their goals through innnovative and high-quality products.
https://x.com/JoePompliano/status/1911562119482335497
The Master’s in Augusta, Georgia recently took place over this past weekend, ending with Rory Mcilroy completing his Grand Slam and winning this year’s Master’s tour. In celebration, Nike released a short video for Mcilroy which got a lot of good exposure and reception from the media. On Nike’s account on X, the post’s thread consisted of many verified users commenting about how good the video was. This video was also posted on TikTok and Instagram which received a lot good reception by respective audiences as well.
https://x.com/emma6USA/status/1912250050677469511
Since the recent implementation of tariffs on foreign countries there has been a lot of disruptions with many large businesses in the US. Nike utilizes manufactures in China to mass produce their products which has put them in a disadvantageous position as importing their goods is going to be much more difficult now. Nike has stated that they are refusing to build factories here in the United States to start producing domestically and this has received a lot of backlash on applications such as X and Facebook. A user on X by the handle @uiphotoman posted a thread saying, “Nike wont build factories in the US. Why? Because they depend on basic slave labor in China. Pennies on the dollar if that much against what they would have to pay in the US. Yet democrats love them.” Another user by the name of @emma6USA posted, “No American should ever buy Nike Again. !!!” With an attached image describing Nike's choices to not build factories here in the US. Although this isn’t the first time Nike has received backlash about utilizing manufacturing companies in China, it seems that these recent posts have been getting a lot of reposts and interactions.
https://x.com/Nike/status/1912237876395257997
A user with the handle @honkididthat recently responded to one of Nike’s basketball posts endorsing their athletes on X with, “Too bad Nike doesn’t take pride in their basketball shoes workmanship. After three months of wear their shoes fall apart. Nike shoes are for walking, not for athletes.” Attaching an image of his basketball shoes wear there were visible areas of detachment from the soles of the shoes and the body. Nike took the liberty of responding to them saying, “That’s not what we like to see. Meet us over at nike.com/help or send us DM on Nike instagram, and we’ll take a look at your options.” I found this particular interaction to very good for Nike’s brand image and their PR team. Responding respectfully and trying to assist a customer who was not pleased with their purchase and offering them multiple solutions was well thought out move.
https://x.com/Nike/status/1888761352757600538
Nike mainly acts to promote athletes they sponsor and back as well as their various sportswear and sports utility products. Nike uses their brand to push rising and current athletes into exposure as well as spread messages to connect with athletes around the globe who are inspired by their brand. They also use their platform to spread messages about current events and where they stand. Reflecting back to BLM movements, previous San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was ridiculed by social media and audiences for standing up against black oppression. Nike used their brand to back Kaepernick and stand with him in his movement.
As expected, Nike also utilizes platforms to advertise and promote their current and upcoming products. Nike doesn’t prioritize using their social media accounts to advertise their products as much as they use it to promote their athletes however. The majority of social media posts that advertise products that you will find are retailers and resellers, anticipating future or current drops and releases. Observing Nike’s social media pages, you will notice that they purposely avoid posting about their products because it isn’t their main focus.
Nike’s value proposition is their slogan, “Just Do It.” This represents their idea to uplift and encourage more than just athletes to overcome their greatest hurdles and obstacles in life to reach new heights and achievements through the power of sport. This sums up their brands movement to assist people with their advanced products that are designed with functional and aspirational thought behind each and every produced item.
Nike has one of the largest following of any sportswear or athletic brand across all platforms. On Instagram they have a current following of 301 million followers, X they have 10.2 million followers, and on Facebook they have a following of 39 million people. Nike’s content consists of athletes they represent and sponsor as well as advertisements and promotions of their various athletic products. Across all platforms Nike has an unorthodox posting schedule. Determined by events and certain circumstances, they can be seen posting to up to 7 times a day, but the majority of the time they can be observed posting once every other day or so. From some basic calculations, I was able to determine that the ratio of their following to interactions was roughly 1:10.
Their social media posts market their brand image and value proposition. Nike works to be remarkable through all of their actions and the way they present themselves. They set themselves apart from other brands by working outwards and marketing their brand and not their products. Through the majority of their social media posts, you will notice Nike utilizes storytelling to not only promote their brand, but also to connect and entice followers and audiences. The biggest marketing problem that Nike faces is continuing to compete with other companies like Adidas, New Balance, and Under Armor when all of them create similar products and endorse athletes of all levels. This is where Nike is remarkable and able to continue representing their brand in unique ways that set themselves apart from the rest of the herd. I feel that Nike is and has been succeeding in outperforming all other athletic brands simply due to the fact that they are recognized nearly everywhere, desired considerably more than other brands, and have been able to maintain a dominant position in sports industries all over the world.
Personally, if I was Nike’s brand manager, there isn’t anything I would change about the way they are marketing themselves to current and new audiences. Their posts are among the highest quality that tells stories even through short videos or photos, inspiring viewers. Their PR and social media teams have conducted excellent work responding to positive and negative reception head-on, with honesty and intent to help contribute to their consumers and followers. Referring back to one of the X posts where a customer had a complaint about the quality of their shoes after a short period of use, Nike did an excellent job responding respectfully to the customer stating their intent to help resolve the issue and their standpoint on the problem at hand. This engagement allows them to represent themselves in a view where they are there to build up their community and continue to grow and expand their brand in order to better themselves and those who are with them.
This assignment taught me a lot of background and important features to properly marketing your brand through social media. Analyzing Nike has given insights into engaging with your community in ways to make your brand unique and continue building traction even after becoming one of, if not, the biggest athletic companies in the world. Their posts and interactions differentiate them competition.
Nike social accounts:
X: https://x.com/Nike
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/nike?
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