What's the Magic Behind the Social Success of

Disney?

A whole lot of work and a little bit of magic.

Whether it’s movies, amusement parks, or cruise ship itineraries, everything Disney touches seems to turn to gold and their social media strategies are no different.

To connect with audiences around the world, Disney manages over 1,000 social media accounts.

How do they do it?

Facebook Number of likes: 50 million

Disney marketers make great use of imagery on their Facebook page by making sure each post contains a picture or video clip alongside the text for maximum impact.

If you went to Disney’s Facebook page right now, chances are at least one of your friends would show up in the section that displays who you know that likes their brand.

The page has garnered a whopping 50 million likes since it was created.

Every day, thousands of fans click the coveted thumbs up and share buttons on virtually every message the team posts, proving Disney has really tapped into what its Facebook fans want.

The Disney marketing team uses Facebook to share pictures, video, quizzes, and promotional messages with its fans.

While some of the messages are advertisements for Disney products, the vast majority are movie quotes and references that reinforce Disney’s ecosystem runs on happiness and dreams.

Number of subscribers: 1 million

Since the company makes millions of dollars each year from its movies, it hardly makes sense to post its popular content for free. On the other hand, there’s not much to be done with a YouTube channel except post video. Disney solved the problem by creating content specifically for YouTube and building unique channels around them.

Disney Style is a terrific example of how the marketing team serves subscribers the content they want without giving away the store in the process. From Frozen-inspired makeup to DIY Disney crafts, the Style channel plugs into the popularity of its feature films and keeps fans coming back for more. All Disney YouTube channels are linked together across the platform for a little extra cross-promotion.

YouTube

A presence on YouTube presents a special set of challenges for Disney marketers.

Pinterest Number of followers: 118,000

Some are filled with inspirational quotes while others show inviting pictures of their resort and cruise destinations. All the images are invitingly pinnable, which accounts for their popularity in both the Pinterest and Disney community.

The brand keeps things visually interesting by pinning a broad mixture of both cartoon and tangible images.

Disney knows that some folks like to incorporate the Disney brand into every aspect of their lives, from home decorating to weddings.

Pinterest provides the ideal platform for showing all the ways Disney is about more than Mickey Mouse and movies.

The company’s Pinterest page sports pinboards covering all kinds of categories.

They’ve even included a board filled with Disney-inspired desserts, since that recipes rank very high on the list of images that get re-pinned by Pinterest users.

Photo Credit: www.bestravelvideo.com

Twitter Number of followers: 1.35 million

Park trivia and peeks behind the scenes are mixed right in with contests and promotions so there’s always a little something for everyone.

In true Disney fashion, there’s a fun surprise waiting for followers who want to poke around the myriad of Twitter accounts to see what’s available.

Disney maintains dozens of official Twitter accounts and passed the one millionth follower mark on its main account earlier this year.

Disney marketers use Twitter in several ways, including creating accounts for various verticals like Disney Cruise Line and Radio Disney. Fans can even chat with the official Disney store while shopping online. The social team keeps things interesting by sharing a variety of messages with its followers.

Quietly blended into the list of Twitter channels is an account that tracks the activity of the critters at Monsters University.

Photo Credit: Vincent Lock