Online Users Engage in Social

Media
GoPro Case Study &
Key Takeaways

Submitted by: Harsh Lal

16/2310

Bachelors in Management Studies

Ramanujan College

University of Delhi
 Index
S.No. Topic
1 Introduction
2 Growth of social media
3 Key Statistics
4 Social Media For Business
GoPro’s Case Study
-GoPro’s success on YouTube
5
-GoPro’s success on Twitter
-GoPro’s success on Instagram
6 Building Partnerships
7 Key Takeaways
 Acknowledgement

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been
possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and
organizations. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Dr. Vibhash Kumar for their guidance and

constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information
regarding the project & also for their support in completing the project.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents & teachers for

their kind cooperation and encouragement which help me in completion
of this project.

I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to Ramanujan

College for giving me an opportunity to work on this project.

My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleagues in developing the

project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.
 Introduction
The latest reports reveal that there are now more than 4 billion people around the
world using internet. With over half of the world’s population online, the internet
penetration in the world has grown by 7% in the last year, wherein Africa has seen
the fastest growth by more than 20%.

Social media use continues to grow rapidly too, and the number of people in each
country has increased by almost 1 million new users every day. At least 8 in 10
online users engage in social media while 9 in 10 users access it on their
smartphones. More than half of the handsets today are ‘smart’ so it’s increasingly
easy for people to enjoy the rich internet experience wherever they are.

Social networks are now so well established, that there is a core 'top 5' social
networks that don't change much from year-to-year. But, the most popular social
media sites vary a lot by level of usage in different countries and demographics.
Understanding these differences in popularity of different social networks is really
important when targeting specific audiences. When comparing the most popular
social networks it's best to review them by active account usage, not just the number
of user accounts.

Growth of Social Media

Social media has become a necessity in society’s daily life. It allows us all to keep in
contact with one another with just a couple of taps or swipes and can provide a
constant source of entertainment. It can make people feel “sociable” regardless of
their current situation, even if commuting or relaxing alone at home. With these
platforms being so easily accessible to us with the ready availability of smartphones
and tablets, it is no wonder social media has seen so much growth in the past few
years.

In the early days of social media, the only ways to access the channels was via the
websites themselves. As more and more people were going mobile, mobile sites
were built to support the change, and not long after that, platform-specific apps were
being produced. Every so often these apps receive an update which sometimes
drastically alters the design and functionalities of the app, and sometimes it’s just for
minor bug fixes, but they all keep everything running smoothly for the millions of
users they each have.

It's particularly interesting how far some countries are diverging in terms of social
media use, and surprising that Western Countries are actually lagging a fair way
behind in adoption rates.
The global increase in social media usage since January 2017 is 13%. Saudi Arabia
has the largest year-on-year increase in social media users since January 2017
(32%), a 17% increase compared to the global average. Other countries with the
largest social media usage increase include India, Indonesia and Ghana as
technology is improving and social media becomes easily accessible to more of the
population. U.A.E, South Korea and the UK have the slowest increase with <5%.

Key Statistics
 As per the latest reports the world population is noted to be over 7.5B out of
which internet users account to be 4.02B.
 Total social media users in the world are around 3.1B which is 42% of the total
population.
 More than 2.9B people use social media over smartphones which has added
over to the convenience of the users to use these platforms as per their
comfort.
 The number of internet users is growing by 7% year-by-year while the number
of social media users is growing by 13% year-by-year which is almost double
the growth of internet users every year.
 Saudi Arabia has the highest growth in number of social media users since
the past year which is 32%
 In India the internet penetration for the year is 34% and the social media
penetration for the same year is 19% being a developing nation. The highest
penetration is from Gulf countries at 99%.
 UAE has the highest social media penetration via mobile phones at 92%.
 Facebook being the largest growing social media platform has over 2.1B
users currently in which India has the highest number.

Social Media for Business

With so many people using social media, it has become a great channel for
businesses to advertise on and have a brand presence. There are so many different
platforms with varying audience demographics to suit an array of businesses and the
vast quantity of data available allows for social media ads to be targeted very
specifically, making them really worth your while. Even business owners use social
media so B2B companies can use this channel successfully too.

Knowing how to post on social media is also important as this is reflective of the
brand's personality and consequently influences social uses to buy or unfollow.
Social media is increasingly being used as a customer service platform where
customers and potential customers want answers quickly and in real-time.
 GoPro’s Case Study
GoPro is one of the most popular camera brands on the market today. Their success
owes a lot to the brand’s huge presence on social media. GoPro’s success on social
media is a great example of how brands can leverage their customers for more
effective online marketing through user-generated content. GoPro using this strategy
has cemented its reputation as one of the most innovative brands in the last few
years.
Unlike most electronic brands, GoPro doesn’t feature a lot of promotional
advertisements for its products on its social media pages. Instead, much of their
content is personally shot by people using their own GoPro cameras.
GoPro has:
i. 5.1 million YouTube subscribers
ii. 13.3 million Instagram followers
iii. 2.35 million Twitter followers

GoPro’s success on YouTube

They began uploading videos on YouTube in 2009 to demonstrate the capabilities of

its then newly-released GoPro Hero camera.
2013 is when the brand’s channel really took off after it started asking people to
submit their own GoPro footage. As part of its new marketing strategy, GoPro
requested the public to add its name to the title of their uploaded videos.
GoPro’s call for user-generated content proved so successful that, in 2014, its
channel was receiving more than 6000 submissions daily. The uploaded videos also
attracted more than 450 million views. That initial success also boosted GoPro’s
sales, generating more than $234.2 million worth of revenue in 2013. The figure was
a 200% increase from its sales in the previous year.
They usually post daily videos. Most of the footage submitted to GoPro focuses on
sports and travel. If the footage is good, they will show it no matter what the topic is.

GoPro also actively engages the people who comment on their videos, getting into
conversations with them. This helped attract more subscribers to its channel and
further promote its videos.
GoPro’s success on Twitter
The brand continues the strategy of telling a great story through the videos it shares
on tweets. All of the media they tweet has been carefully chosen to cater to the
specific audiences that follow the brand. Another key aspect of their Twitter success
is their engaging captions.

The videos and images that GoPro tweets are distinct from the ones that it posts on
YouTube, giving followers a variety of content to look forward to. Aside from the
usual footage submitted by the public, GoPro also creates its own content featuring
some of the world’s best athletes. The brand shares these videos under the hashtag
#GoProAthletes. This gives new followers a chance to catch up on old videos, and
deeply engage with the brand.

GoPro further engages its Twitter followers by responding to the mentions that it gets
from them. The brand does this whether or not there is GoPro footage attached to
the tweets. It also uses its replies as a means to provide customer support (‘Hey
Clayton! Give us a call at +44 330 808 1875 and we will be happy to help you out’).

GoPro’s success on Instagram

GoPro’s content on Instagram is similar to those found on its other channels, but with unique
content being presented. This maintains follower interest on the platform and gives more
opportunities for the brand to build a stronger fan base.
To encourage its Instagram audience to send their videos and images, GoPro also created a
rewards program. The brand selects one piece of content to feature on its Instagram page
daily.
In exchange, chosen content creators get:
 Cash rewards
 GoPro merchandise
 Free promotion of their account
This strategy has been successful for GoPro’s Instagram page. In 2014, the brand’s average
interaction per photo grew by 57%, while video went up by 53%.

Building Partnerships
To further extend its promotional reach, GoPro has partnered with a variety of
brands. One of the most notable of these partnerships is with Red Bull. The deal has
the two brands joining together to create content featuring Red Bull’s events. The
content is posted on both brands’ social media pages. These video collaborations
highlight GoPro’s signature first-person POV shots, giving fans a glimpse of what
they can get with the action camera.

While most of its social media content comes from its audience, GoPro also
knows how important influencers are. It regularly features prominent athletes on the
content that it produces for its channels. Celebrities are also favourite subjects for its
videos.

GoPro’s partnership with other brands has also helped increase the reach of its
products. Furthermore, these partnerships provide GoPro with more content for its
social media pages.

Key takeaways from GoPro’s social media strategy

 User Engagement: Encourage your customers to find new ways of using
your products and get them to share their experiences. Give them plenty
of creative freedom on how they will tell those stories. If you really want to
see that content flow in, you’re going to have to show your fans that they
will get some notoriety from it.
 Helping UGC: By knowing how to weave your brand’s own narrative into
the content you receive, you can promote your products more effectively
through them. Employ a variety of storytelling techniques to turn your
UGC’s into more engaging pieces.
 Partnerships: When building partnerships, consider how these
collaborations will align with the overall image that you want to project for
your brand. Choose brands and influencers that best complement your
products. This is the only way to truly connect with their audiences.
 Authenticity: Build that authenticity into your brand by letting your
customers discover more about it on their own. Use social media to
engage and encourage them to tell the stories they have with your
products.