Digital marketing is an increasingly complicated and time-consuming effort, but the need is also growing as well. But how well do some of the big names in web design, SEO, etc. brand themselves? Let’s look at a few national names and one of the biggest local guys in my region to see how they compare.

Yoast

• General: Social media links on the home page, but not on blog posts or on headers, footers, or Contact page.
• Facebook: Posts at 10am, 2pm, & 6pm. 2 typically are how-tos or explanations, while 1 is typically about the company, team, or a promotion.
• Instagram: Synced with blog posts (cartoon images with the blog post title written across it). Plenty of hashtags.
• LinkedIn: Synced with blog posts. Featured images are same as Instagram (not seen on blog post itself)
• Pinterest: Synced with blog posts. Pins are posts. Boards seem to be post categories.
• Twitter: Truncated (by hand) posts synced with everything else.
• YouTube: 3-4 videos posted a month. Usually 1 Q&A session, others are how-tos or explanations.
• Newsletter: Sign up for a free 50-page eBook on SEO.
• Google+: Exists but hasn’t been updated since Dec 23, 2014.

Moz

• General: Newsletter sign-ups available on footer. Other social media buried on right rail of Community page.
• Facebook: Not consistent, but many days have 2 posts a day: 1 a blog post, 1 an invite/announcement for a workshop.
• Instagram: No schedule to speak of. Pictures of the headquarters, pets, local spots.
• LinkedIn: Synced with Facebook.
• Pinterest: Heavily used. Promotes a fun culture in the office. Fridays have how-to links posted, but still have that whimsical style of images.
• Twitter: Same as Facebook, but hand-written. Includes hashtags and blog authors’ Twitter accounts.
• YouTube: Not linked on website. Hasn’t been updated in 7 months. How-tos and videos of convention speakers.
• Newsletter: 10 most valuable pieces of SEO content sent every 2 weeks.
• Google+: Active, but inconsistently synced with blog posts. Instead of Facebook or Twitter post text, copy seems to be first paragraph of each post.

hibu

• General: Social media links on footer of pages and header of blog posts. Everything is posted with eye-catching pictures.
• Facebook: Daily. Mostly links to blog posts, but occasionally link to customer review page.
• Instagram: Was posting on a weekly basis, normally team/event pictures or life-affirming memes. Has slowed considerably over the past 3 months.
• LinkedIn: Synced with Facebook.
• Pinterest: Seldom used. Mostly infographics.
• Twitter: Truncated (by hand) blog posts, trivia, and an occasional poll.
• YouTube: Testimonials posted on a monthly basis.
• Newsletter: Invited to sign up after 5 seconds on blog posts.
• Google+: Synced with Facebook.
• Vine: Inconsistently used. Usually well wishes for a day (National Techies Day, National Coffee Day, 4th of July, etc.).

Dex Media

• General: Social links on pages go to a “social hub” that aggregates their social media posts.
• Facebook: Daily, usually blog posts, team photos, or inspirational memes.
• Instagram: Seldom used.
• LinkedIn: Synced with Facebook.
• Pinterest: Marketing data, infographics, and inspirational memes.
• Twitter: Blog posts and inspirational memes with companies’/authors’ Twitter accounts mentioned (when applicable) and light use of hashtags.
• YouTube: 5 videos from 7 years ago.
• Newsletter: Subscribe to receive blog posts via email.
• Google+: Synced with Facebook.

Main Street Media 360

• General: Social links in header that disappears when scrolling down and in footer.
• Facebook: Posts about every 4-5 days, linking to blog posts, recent videos for customers, and coupons for web design.
• Instagram: 17 posts over 33 weeks. Mostly self-promotion with strong use of hashtags.
• LinkedIn: Blog posts, but don’t appear to be synced automatically to anything.
• Pinterest: Mostly infographics and some photos of local spots.
• Twitter: Synced with Facebook with Facebook/Twitter app, so longer posts are automatically truncated.
• YouTube: 6 videos over 6 months. Mostly videos done for customers.
• Newsletter: “Sign up to get interesting news and updates.” Link goes offsite.
• Google+: Synced with Facebook.

ReachLocal

• General: Social media links on static header. Facebook & Twitter in footer.
• Facebook: About 3 times a week, usually 1 per day. Nearly all blog posts, some team photos.
• Instagram: No schedule to speak of. Pictures of the team, team events.
• LinkedIn: Synced with blog posts.
• Pinterest: Mostly infographics and some digital marketing-centric memes.
• Twitter: Truncated (by hand) posts synced with everything else.
• YouTube: 8 years of video, 6 posted 1 month ago. No real pattern. Mostly testimonials.
• Newsletter: 3 options: Ability to sign up for marketing newsletter, alerts to premium content, or offers/promotions.
• Google+: Synced with blog posts.