Their main revenue is the manufacture, and sale of computing parts and operating systems. They are the most successful at this, even beating out Apple in almost every quarter.
They don't just make those two things though, Microsoft leads the market in the production of game systems, cellular phones and digital services (MSN.)
Bill Gates, the famous creator and pioneer of the company stepped down in January 2000 to pursue charity work. Although he is still the current chairman of the company. His foundation the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was founded to increase world-wide healthcare and lessen extreme poverty. (Gates Foundation 2008)
The current CEO, Steve Ballmer, has held the position since January 2000. His estimated total wealth is somewhere near 15 billion, which compared to other corporate officers places him in the top 20.
(http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/aug13/08-23announcementpr.aspx)
Their Public Relations programs are decent and manage to get the message across. The great thing about Microsoft is they seldom need to go to crisis management. Their computing business is straight forward and does not often go in the public light. It is their other endeavors that usually give Microsoft the most grief.
Before we go into that we will talk about their social media. Their twitter, which currently is clocking in at about 2,500,000 followers, is nothing to write home about. It's not a bad twitter; it tweets about the new products coming out and the philanthropy that they do. But in successful social media you need to make sure people are interested and willing to share with their friends. Most people are not interested in the new products coming out, as they see advertisements every day.
This is an example of a Microsoft tweet:
They're selling a product: "Kodu" and are pointing you to where they want your wallet to go. Not a "bad" strategy per se, but in the long run people will not share these tweets which is the main benefit of social media.
Here is an example of a great tweet:
Taco Bell always manages to tweet great things that people laugh at. If people enjoy what you're doing they will share it with their friends. Notice how both tweets had the same purpose: to sell the product. Yet they both did it in two very different ways. Taco bell covers up their motive with humor, Microsoft makes no attempt whatsoever.
Now these are not necessarily bad things, people do expect these companies to sell. They just want them to make an effort to relate to them. It is these tenets that make Taco Bell a very successful social media operation.
Facebook on the other hand is some spot-on PR. Their social presence is more of a story board of people who work for them and good charity the company does. It casts them in a good light and makes people feel much better about their purchases and the way the company is heading.
Just look here: we have an interactive event on Tuesday where anybody can participate, the question is unique and the winner gets a prize. It's so simple there's really no reason for the average followers not to do it. And by doing so they are effortlessly advertising.
The story on the right shows the cafe at the Microsoft headquarters. It shows that the company values their employees and wants them to succeed. This lets the average consumer know that their money is going to good place and makes them feel better about the company and purchases. This is great public relations.
