Additional Research; Additional Competition

Research is critical to any strong marketing (traditional or social media) strategy. Delving deeper into the Rust-Oleum brand, additional competitors have been identified. The following is a listing of these competitors and their respective social media activity/presence:

Valspar
Valspar Paint Colors has a Twitter account (@ValsparColors). Presently there are 23 followers; however there are no tweets associated with the account. The company does not have a presence on Facebook. Valspar commercials are posted to YouTube.

Krylon
Krylon does have a strong presence on Twitter (@KrylonStain). The account, which provides product information and tips as well as contests, has 767 followers. However, it does not appear that Krylon has a Facebook page, even though there is a fan page for Krylon spray can collectors, which has 116 members. Ironically, a can of Rust-Oleum is in the cover picture. There are a limited amount of Krylon how-to-videos on YouTube.

Quickcrete
Quickcrete, a garage floor coating, does not have a presence on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

Minwax
While the brand has neither a Twitter nor Facebook account, there are many how-to-videos posted to YouTube about using the product. In addition, there is a Facebook fan page called “I Love Minwax” with 21 members. This page does not look as if it is operated by corporate.

Kiltz
Kitlz does not have a presence on either Twitter or Facebook, but there are numerous videos on YouTube detailing the product and its application.

As previously stated, there are numerous competitors, but not all of them are utilizing the social media tools available. This presents a tremendous opportunity to reach an engaged and targeted audience. One of which Rust-Oleum can capitalize. The key will be to identify the messaging and information for which this audience is looking.