In this assignment, it will highlight the benefits and risks of using social media marketing within the online fashion industry and focus on this specific channel. The research will be conducted to find the best method of social media marketing and how effective it is.

Benefits

“Social media marketing is an important category of digital marketing which involves encouraging customer communication on a company’s own site or social presence such as Facebook or Twitter or in specialist publisher sites, blogs and forums” (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2015).

From the research that has been conducted it shows several different methods that are effective in the social media marketing channel. It has been stated that “Social media outlets constitute excellent vehicles for fostering relationships with customers. One specific way to do this is to create brand fan pages on social networking sites” (de Vries, Gensler and Leeflang, 2018). By doing this it can allow customers to engage more with companies and get an insight into their wants and needs.  Through engagement, it can allow “customers to become fans of these brand fan pages, and subsequently, indicate that they like the brand post or comment on it. Liking and commenting on brand posts reflects brand post popularity” (de Vries, Gensler and Leeflang, 2018).

“A significant 89% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses. Increasing traffic was the second major benefit, with 75% reporting positive results” (A. Stelzner, 2016). From research, it shows us that “In 2011, more than 50% of social media users follow brands on social media and companies are increasingly investing in social media, indicated by worldwide market spending on social networking sites of about $4.3 billion” (A. Stelzner, 2016).

Another benefit is that “Social media also permits the enterprises to collect, register, analyse and use customer data and feedback for better targeting online audiences and customizing its messages” (Nadaraja and Yazdanifard, 2017). So all the information can be used to create better experiences for example companies like ASOS that welcome customers to their websites with their name which is a more personalised approach. Also with the social media marketing feedback is very common and with, “effective use of feedback it can inform product development, market research and help future campaign development” (e-Marketing is in Fashion, 2018).

Sources from:(Google.co.uk, 2018)

Risks

“Using social media to promote one’s brand, products, or services can also implicate trust, privacy, and data security

issues. It is important for companies to be aware of these issues and take appropriate measures to minimize their exposure to liability related to personal data collection, use, and maintenance” (Nadaraja and Yazdanifard, 2017). This is one of many different risks that can have a negative impact on businesses success. In addition to the data privacy issues, “social networking can be especially damaging to marketing campaigns such as negative post responses. Unhappy customers or industry competitors are able to post disparaging or offensive pictures, posts or videos and there is not much a marketer can do to prevent these occurrences” (Nadaraja and Yazdanifard, 2017).

Source from:(Google.co.uk, 2018)

This is very common in the online fashion industry because customers that are not satisfied with their products or services are able to be more vocal and give their honest opinions on their experiences. “Consumer-generated product reviews, images, and tags serve as a valuable source of information for customers making product choices online. Which has increased rapidly on the Internet and have had a great impact on electronic commerce” (Nadaraja and Yazdanifard, 2017). Bad impressions could lead to companies losing sales and prevent the new customer from shopping on their website because of the negative comments. So it is important that companies are consistent and making sure that they are providing the right services to their target market.

Furthermore, the risks are very high on this specific channel because trust will have to be earned and “it is difficult to completely eliminate risk online, therefore, a possible strategy is to find ways to increase trust. If trust is increased and perceived risk decreased consumers can develop positive beliefs in the organisation online reputation” (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2015).

Overall this channel can be used to enhance engagement and help influence on purchase decisions which can be useful however it does come with its risk, but with these risks, it can aid companies like ASOS that are based online grow and learn from their mistakes.

References

A. Stelzner, M. (2016). 2016 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INDUSTRY REPORT. [online] Pdfs.semanticscholar.org. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c900/ae47192dc2d2527520474237ab53ee22c3ed.pdf [Accessed 3 Jan. 2018].

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2015). Digital Marketing. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited.

de Vries, L., Gensler, S. and Leeflang, P. (2018). Popularity of Brand Posts on Brand Fan Pages: An Investigation of the Effects of Social Media Marketing. [online] Sciencedirect. Available at: https://ac.els-cdn.com/S1094996812000060/1-s2.0-S1094996812000060-main.pdf?_tid=089df7d6-f0a7-11e7-9c2c-00000aab0f01&acdnat=1514998766_f1043cec6f5578b08354cf901d103791 [Accessed 3 Jan.

e-Marketing is in Fashion. (2018). The Key Benefits of Social Media for Fashion Retailers. [online] Available at: https://emarketingisinfashion.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/the-key-benefits-of-social-media-for-fashion-retailers/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].

Google.co.uk. (2018). benefits of social media marketing – Google Search. [online] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=benefits+of+social+media+marketing&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3l_rFrsTYAhUiAsAKHch2Cq8Q_AUICygC&biw=1517&bih=681#imgrc=8A5ihHyHBK7roM: [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].

Google.co.uk. (2018). risk of social media marketing – Google Search. [online] Available at: https://www.google.co.uk/search?biw=1517&bih=681&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=oEpRWoGKN4HLgAaC0JnwBA&q=risk+of+social+media+marketing&oq=risk+of+social+media+marketing&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i24k1.346559.348645.0.350022.12.12.0.0.0.0.145.1285.2j10.12.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.10.1112…0j0i13k1j0i7i30k1j0i8i7i30k1.0.anUPW-Sb2cU#imgdii=bmkDdkLyaPBGHM:&imgrc=n4CyfkGToCvNRM: [Accessed 6 Jan. 2018].

Nadaraja, R. and Yazdanifard, R. (2018). SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rubathee_Nadaraja/publication/256296291_Social_Media_Marketing_SOCIAL_MEDIA_MARKETING_ADVANTAGES_AND_DISADVANTAGES/links/00b7d52235b90905db000000/Social-Media-Marketing-SOCIAL-MEDIA-MARKETING-ADVANTAGES-AND-DISADVANTAGES.pdf [Accessed 3 Jan. 2018].