We used Paraqeet to compare the social networks of two of the world’s most well-known competitors: Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Our search looked at 24 hours of Twitter conversations surrounding the two brands on Jan. 14, 2021.
A simple search of the soda brands’ Twitter handles (@CocaCola & @Pepsi) returned the social networks found below.
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- Pepsi’s Twitter network
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- Coca-Cola’s Twitter network
Paraqeet’s insights and influencers features uncovered two entirely different narratives surrounding these seemingly similar brands.
A deeper look into the conversations surrounding Coca-Cola revealed that its brand’s narrative became hijacked by political conversations. Take a look at Coca-Cola’s conversation cluster below.
Coca-Cola Twitter Conversation
What does Coca-Cola have to do with Microsoft and Fidelity? At the time this search was performed, public figures, activists and citizens were calling on corporations to halt political donations to elected officials refusing to certify the 2020 election results. Coca-Cola, alongside Microsoft and Fidelity, was among the corporations.
Prominent tweets sparked conversation around Coca-Cola.
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- Coca-Cola’s second-most influential conversation cluster.
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- This tweet sparked Coca-Cola’s second largest conversation cluster.
While Coca-Cola found itself caught in the middle of political turmoil, Pepsi reaped the benefits of social media by taking advantage of its strategic partnerships to promote its brand.
Pepsi – the official sponsor of the National Football League (NFL) – turned to social media to tap into momentum surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl. As a result, the most influential conversation surrounding Pepsi’s brand stemmed from the NFL.
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- The most influential conversation in Pepsi’s Twitter network came from the NFL.
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- The NFL partnered with Pepsi on a social media campaign.
The NFL and Pepsi engaged with Twitter users by creating a branded hashtag – #PepsiROY – which sparked conversations with followers.
The #PepsiROY hashtag in action and generating influence.
The second-most influential conversation surrounding Pepsi’s brand came from The Weeknd, this year’s Super Bowl halftime performer.
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- The network formed around The Weeknd’s tweet mentioning Pepsi.
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- The Weeknd’s Tweet with 1.1 million views.
The Weeknd partnered with Pepsi and published a promotional video in anticipation of the Super Bowl’s halftime show, enabling Pepsi to tap into the artist’s network of 13.9 million followers.
We are sorry for all of the Coke fans out there, but Pepsi was the clear winner this time. However, both their social networks leave us with some key insights for brands and businesses when it comes to generating influence.
Key Takeaways:
- No brand is too big to lose control of its narrative.
- Leverage your strategic partnerships online to reach new audiences.
- Be creative when it comes to social media campaigns.
- Create opportunities to engage with your followers.
- Don’t disregard the power of a good hashtag.
Explore Paraqeet yourself to compare some of the top competing brands. You never know, something simple (like soda) can turn out to be pretty interesting.