HHIE's Facebook page

Materials handling and construction brand Hyundai is embracing social media to spread its message.

In the wake of its debut on YouTube, Hyundai Heavy Industries Europe (HHIE) has spread its presence to two other popular social media websites - Facebook and Twitter.

While Twitter will be used mostly for communications with media and other stakeholders, Hyundai will use Facebook to "get in touch with the men and women (who) operate the equipment". It is using Facebook to post pictures, videos, testimonials and reports of Hyundai machines at work, "all from an operator perspective".

According to a company statement, operators can share their machine experiences, comment on others and engage in discussions with fans and Hyundai. Any product-related remarks or suggestions found on Facebook will be forwarded to HHIE's R&D department in Korea.

Marketing engineer Jan Coemans says this is not the beginning of HHIE's social media experience: "We were one of the first in our market to have a YouTube channel when we created it in March 2006, but now the time has come to take it a step further."

He adds that the company is grateful for its strong and loyal customer base in these challenging times. "Facebook is a way of bringing these customers and fans together to have their voices convince others of their positive experience: the pleasure of no-nonsense quality".