Hi all,

I have chosen to analyse Lyft’s use of 3 social media platforms. Here’s a summary of the paper:

About Lyft

Lyft is a ride-sharing company which operates in more than 200 cities in the United States. Lyft markets itself as the friendly and fun alternative to Uber, with a slogan of “Lyft- Your friend with a car”. The company encourages drivers to greet passengers with a fist bump and invite them to sit at the front seat.

Research Question

To gain an edge in the highly competitive ride-sharing industry, Lyft needs to communicate its value proposition of providing “fun and friendly car riding experiences” to both drivers and riders. As such, the research question is “How effective are Lyft’s current social media strategies in conveying its unique value proposition?”

Data Collection

Lyft’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms were tracked to measure customer reach, engagement and level of activity on each platform. In addition, its post contents were analysed to gauge effectiveness of its current social media strategies in conveying the unique value proposition. Uber, Lyft’s most formidable competitor, was evaluated on its social media strategies.

Analysis and Findings

After analyzing Lyft’s social media strategies and reviewing that of Uber’s, 4 key findings prevail:

1. Lyft’s social media strategies center around the holidays to illuminate the emotional aspect of its brand offering.
2. Previous viral marketing campaigns involving celebrity influencers has been successful.
3. Lyft’s Facebook platform is the least frequently updated, despite providing the highest reach and engagement levels.
4. Educational articles and CGC are relatable to audiences and build trust towards the brand.

Content Strategy Suggestion

Featuring the hashtag #LyftInTheAir, the campaign will involve filming a video of a “date night” set up by Lyft. A social media influencer will be featured each week, whom a lucky user will be chosen to go with on a paid-for date by Lyft. By integrating both the influencer and viral strategy, the campaign conveys Lyft’s “fun and friendly” brand image through active engagement with the audience.

Viral seeding: 1 week before the filming, Lyft will post previews on its Facebook and Instagram pages with the hashtag #LyftInTheAir and caption “I want to go on a date with (Name of Influencer) because…”. Users are invited to comment with their reason on the preview post to participate in the selection.

Execution: The video will follow the selected participant and influencer through the night, beginning with the influencer picking his or her date up with a Lyft ride. Videos will be simultaneously uploaded on YouTube and Facebook and links to the videos will be posted on Lyft’s Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Thank you for reading!