Entertainment’s biggest fan An analysis of Netflix’s brand in Germany established through social media marketing on Instagram

Television has been ever-changing, from black and white to color, from standard to high-definition, and now TV can be watched wherever and whenever the users want. The emergence of SVOD services has revolutionized the media industry. Netflix is one of the most popular and well-known companies on a global scale, with over 180 million subscribers in 190 countries worldwide and as a synonym for all SVOD services. The Netflix brand is very distinct in its content distribution, self-produced content, interface design, algorithmic recommendation system, binge-watching model, and social media presence. The company operates on various social media platforms with several country-specific pages. Social media marketing allows a two-way communication, which strengthens the consumer-brand relationship and can increase the brand’s trust, credibility, and recognition. Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms amongst users and marketers. This research analyzes the Instagram account of Netflix Germany in answering the following research question: “How does Netflix’s brand in Germany, as established through social media marketing, differ from the service’s global brand?”. A qualitative content analysis of 180 posts was conducted to analyze the social media marketing strategy of Netflix Germany on Instagram. The results show that Netflix Germany follows the consistent global Netflix Identity, which is focused on promoting the self-produced content. However, the company knows about the individual cultural differences of its global clientele and adapts to it in terms of humor and culture-specific content. The overall brand voice is humorous, positive, and self-ironic, which makes the brand approachable and authentic. The content is tailored to the user’s interests and humor, as the main strength of Netflix’s content marketing strategy is the guiding principle: Know your audience.