Dove Social Media Audit
Giulia LaForgia
For this blog post, I have evaluated Dove’s online presence, engagement, and content performance.
Audit of Brand Accounts
For this section of the assignment, I did a deep dive into six of Dove’s primary social media accounts: Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Dove has an account on all six of these channels; however, it is clear that some platforms are more used than others. In order to conduct this audit, I searched at least the last 25 posts on each account, evaluating for like count, engagement, post frequency, customer care, content types, etc. In my findings, I discovered that all six of these accounts, while they tended to align with Dove’s main themes of inclusivity and body positivity, have their own distinct vibes in what is being posted and how. For example, Instagram and TikTok seem to be company favorites, as they share a simple, modern, and clean look. In addition to this, there is evidence of Dove participating in trends on these platforms. On the other hand, YouTube seemed to be more of a storage space for video commercials. Facebook is primarily used as an advertising platform for Dove, as the last post is from quite a while ago but there are advertisements running on the platform.
Across all platforms, the posts that seemed to perform the best were the ones promoted some sort of partnership. For example, the Dove X Crumbl Cookie partnership was huge on the accounts. Not only did these posts perform the best, but there was also an overwhelming amount of people responding positively in the comment section. Some other posts that historically do well for Dove are the ones that contain words of graphics about body positivity, women in sports, or other initiatives that the company cares about. That being said, the comments were not always overwhelmingly positive. There were often people in the comment section spewing hate and nonsense regarding Dove’s stance on these initiatives. Dove, as a brand, often did not respond to these negative comments, but that does not mean that their customer care was not there (see next section).
Check out a full, more in-depth social media audit of these platforms plus a SWOT analysis below!
↓
↓
↓ ↓
Observation of Social Media Care
This portion of the assignment required me to dig into the comments sections of all six accounts. What I found certainly intrigued me. Generally speaking across all platforms, Dove responds to positive comments, questions, and negative comments. When replying to positive comments, the company tends to say something simple and affirmative. Some examples of this are: “We all deserve amazing body care ✨” or “We couldn’t agree more 👑” or even just a simple “❤️.” When responding to questions, Dove provides simple answers or links to their website to answer these questions. Finally, Dove receives negative backlash in their comments sections for two reasons: (1) there is something wrong with a product or (2) someone has an issue with what Dove stands for. Starting with the latter, Dove typically does not respond to these hate comments. These sorts of comments can most commonly be found under posts having to do with their campaigns, such as the #KeepHerConfident campaign. Now going back to product flaws or other issues, Dove typically responds to these comments swiftly and taking action. One example of this would be when a customer commented that something was wrong with their product, Dove responded, “We're sorry to hear it wasn't a good fit, Abby! Please message us when you have a moment, we'd like to learn more about your experience.”
Overall, I think that Dove does an excellent job responding to customers via social media. Whether there is a concern, a question, or just general positivity, Dove ensures that they are staying up-to-date with what their customers are saying and what they want. Even though they are less active on some platforms (YouTube/LinkedIn), there are still a few comments on each site that Dove makes sure they respond to.
Observation and Analysis of Social Media Comments
In order to analyze social media comments for Dove, I went to one of their most recent posts about their new Dragon Fruit Body Wash. I took a whole bunch of comments from under that post, and plugged them into ChatGPT, along with the prompt: “You are advising a social media strategist. Our goal is to uncover consumer-generated content ideas for social media. Please review and analyze these Instagram comments about Dove Body Wash. What are the top qualities of this product do people mention? What ideas to go with the product do users suggest? Are there any other trends that you notice?” Here are some of the responses that were yielded:
The top qualities that were mentioned in conjunction with this body wash were mainly positive. As ChatGPT pointed out, there was scent appeal, desirability, urgency, brand loyalty, and global demand. Many of the comments expressed excitement about the scent of the product (ex. "I bet that smells so good!" and "Cannot wait to smell it in the store!"). In addition to this, comments like Need 😫💕", "Adds to cart 😍😍", and "Just bought this 😍😍" express a sense of urgency to buy this product, as well as the fact that it is desirable. Many users also expressed love for Dove products in general, saying “I am obsessed with Dove products." Finally, there was a large sense of global demand for Dove, as people from all over the world (Portugal, Holland, India, Uruguay, UK, Australia, Italy) were asking when the product would be available in their countries.
In addition to this, there were also some other trends to be gleaned from these comments. First and foremost, there was some frustration about limited availability as well as a sense of FOMO. Many customers outside the United States expressed their disappointments about delays in international releases. Emojis were also a big trend in the comments, as can be seen above. Customers tended to express both positive and negative feelings using emojis. There is also a trend of impulse buying behavior to be seen. Several users mention that they are purchasing immediately, and this, if done effectively, could be leveraged in marketing campaigns.
Closing Analysis and Learnings
Overall, I would say Dove has a relatively strong social media presence. They prioritize platforms that can be used to reach younger audiences, like Instagram and TikTok, which I think is a wise decision from a marketing perspective. They have a lot of loyal customers in the older generations, so reaching out to new generations and appealing to them is what’s important. In addition to this, Dove receives a lot of questions and comments on platforms like Facebook, which is where a lot of their already-loyal customers live. By effectively answering these questions and simultaneously reaching out to younger generations on other platforms, I think that Dove utilizes social media effectively and efficiently. There are many things to take away from this assignment, both for Dove as a brand and also other competitive brands, such as Olay.
-
Learning: There were many users outside of the United States who want certain Dove product, but they are only available in the United States.
Recommendation: Generate region-specific launch campaigns to generate buzz and excitement, as well as get products into the hands of international consumers. This should increase post engagement as well as overall consumer satisfaction.
-
Learning: Dove performs well when engaging in trends on TikTok and Instagram.
Recommendation: Increase influencer collaborations and campaigns tied to trending audio and challenges to maintain relevance and visibility. This will appeal to many audiences, especially Gen Z.
-
Learning: Many users expressed an immediate desire to purchase after seeing posts about the product.
Recommendation: Use limited-time offers, exclusive online discounts, or countdown timers in Instagram Stories and TikTok posts to reinforce urgency. This should pish customers to make purchases.
-
Learning: Dove benefits from strong brand loyalty and excitement around new scents.
Recommendation: Olay can emphasize its skincare science and formulas in product launches, positioning its body washes as premium, dermatologist-approved options.
-
Learning: Dove benefits from its emotional campaigns, their best-performing posts revolving around inclusivity and body positivity
Recommendation: Olay can include similar social responsibility messaging but focus on healthy aging, skin confidence, and diverse skincare needs to differentiate itself from Dove.
-
Learning: Dove’s partnerships and collaborations are some of their top-performing posts.
Recommendation: Olay should consider fun, unexpected collaborations, maybe with wellness brands, fitness influencers, or self-care subscription boxes. This will spark consumer excitement.