Now that we have another year behind us (hopefully a successful one!), companies around the world are starting with a new balance sheet, a new vision, and new strategies for 2014.
Like it or not, we are in the day and age where social media (SM) must be part of your business’ strategy; and, it’s not just about setting up a Facebook page and then kicking your feet back, either. The presence must be focused, active, and aligned with your business goals.
I’ve decided to examine two companies in this industry and how they utilize social media to differentiate their brands, as well as promote and enhance their strategic goals as organizations. The two companies we’ll look at are Marathon Oil Corporation and Murphy Oil Corporation.
Both of these high-powered oil & gas companies are relatively close in gross revenue at $15B (Marathon) and $28B (Murphy) in FY 2012 and are substantial upstream market players. Just looking at the shear revenue volume of these companies, you would imagine a robust social media department; however, the oil & gas market is not only controversial, but a market often saturated with more “seasoned” professionals than some of the other service-based markets like transportation or technology. This, in itself, requires companies in this industry to take a thorough look at their market, their clients, and determine where SM is best suited.
Marathon Oil Corporation seems to be on the right track. Right on their homepage, you notice the menu bar at the top with links to their profiles on LinkedIn, Flickr, Twitter, and even their own YouTube Channel. Four out of their five core values are focused on people – whether it’s their employees or the communities in which they work. To support these values, the first video that plays on their YouTube Channel is employees discussing the opportunities and culture at Marathon; the tweets on their Twitter feed are mostly job openings, charity events, and/or community outreach photos and postings. Utilizing SM as a human resources/recruiting tool has become increasingly popular for the oil & gas industry and Marathon has done a good job of promoting their core goals externally through SM.
When you navigate to Murphy Oil Corporation’s website, there are no direct links to their SM presence. In a larger search effort, you find that they “technically” have a Facebook page, but it does not display a profile photo or logo, has no postings, and a gloomy 64 “likes.” They have no Twitter account. For a company founded on more than 80 years in the industry, they may be fulfilling their stated Formula for Success: Develop and produce fields in a safe, responsible, timely, and cost-effective manner; but it sure isn’t through the new wave of SM. In the long term, a company like Murphy will need to develop a presence on SM to, at the very least, begin attracting the talent that will one day run the company.
I come across these drastic swings in SM involvement in this industry a lot. Some are on-board and put the investments in the right places for their business, like Marathon. Others still deem that this “trend” of social media will not last and cannot find the strategic links to it in their business. To the latter, I say good luck. The future of the industry is scanning Facebook right now, searching for jobs on LinkedIn, and watching YouTube videos of their next employer.
A Little Bit of Everything 