How could a consumer’s online brand related activities (COBRAs) on Instagram improve your tablet sectors brand reputation?

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Ellie Martin

Instagram delivers a channel where users and businesses can interconnect openly, and it is an idyllic place for businesses to associate with their existing and prospective consumers. Numerous brands are now greatly expending this social media outlet to improve their digital marketing scheme by increasing their brands coverage.

Instagram is available on both Apple and android systems and it can be opened on standard Internet browsers too, making it easily accessible. Instagram helps organisations to increase the amount of social shoppers they receive, as images and 15 second video recommendations are shared it creates a buzz around a company. Organisations can portray themselves in a more current and approachable way which appeals to the viewer. Encouraging user-generated contents emboldens a more advanced relationship, and can be inspired with hash-tags.Social media has renovated the way that consumer behave online (Kaplan & Haenlein 2010). Users are gradually becoming more powerful and persuasive in regards to the organisations they are networking about (Muñiz & Schau 2007; Cova & Dalli 2009). Furthermore, their digital exchanges are more influential on consumer behaviour than former types of promotion and marketing (e.g. Chiou & Cheng 2003; Villanueva et al. 2008). These social interactions have been referred to as ‘new forms of customer empowerment’ (Cova & Pace 2006)

This video explains tips for using Instagram as a business…

Shopify. (2014). Instagram for Business: How to Build an Audience of Followers for Your Brand.

Consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs) have important significances for companies. To efficiently expect and prepare for these significance’s, it is vital to understand the consumer’s inspirations to become involved with brand-related social media (Daniël et al 2011). These outlets are insights into the consumer’s ideas and aspirations for the establishment.

Types of COBRA

A way of categorising users is by using the model created by Daniël et al (2011), illustrating three types of COBRAs, (1) consuming (2) contributing and (3) Creating.

Figure 1: Daniël et al (2011) Introducing COBRAs,

Consuming COBRA

Daniël et al (2011) recognises that the ‘consuming COBRA’ is the minimum type of participation and involves observation of online brand related activity. Brand related activity could consist of online chats, on forums or review sites. This type of user may also “download branded widgets, play branded games and send branded virtual gifts”

Contributing COBRA

The ‘contributing COBRA’ is in the middle ground of brand related content, implementing both “user-to-content and user-to-user interactions about brands” (Daniël et al 2011). Users who exchange about this type of brand-related content are likely to chat on on a brand’s fan page. A brands fan page is the area that they can share ideas and opinions.

Creative COBRA

The creative COBRA is the most involved type of brand related activity, it consists of a user who actively creates and publishes the content. This user is interested in the latest developments and can have their own fan following who look to this person for news and updates.

McQuail’s (1983) four-category classification of motivations for COBRAs

McQuail’s (1983) four-category classification of motivations is applicable to social media. Four categories are (1) entertainment, (2) integration and social interaction, (3) personal identity and (4) information motivations

Entertainment

This motivation includes the emotions the user feels when involving themselves with COBRAs. Users are likely to be passionate about the product or service and so can become excited by new or positive content and can be angered by irrelevant or negative content. Users gain entertainment from COBRA’s, they can relax and enjoy the escapism aspects of online presence. Instagram can be used as an outlet to distract users from everyday life. The following user is passionate about the product and can discuss their opinions openly, becoming excited about the content. The users opinions are being recognised through likes and this is a fulfilling experience and part of the entertainment.

Figure 4: w_obiektywie_ani. Instagram (2015).Private user profile.

This post uses the hash-tag ‘#52bookchallenge’, this was very popular for Kindle users as Kindle tablets are well-known for their book feature and book store app. Using the hash-tag to promote reading will in turn encourage Kindle users to talk about there Kindles on Instagram to there friends and this will raise awareness of the product.

The following user is an example of entertainment…

Figure 2: Em.Pawlowski. Instagram (2015). Private user profile.

The user is excited about their new purchase, creating a positive recommendation with the hash-tag ‘#itslove’

Integration and social interaction

This motivation is about how users feel part of a society, and the online interactions create relationships and a sense of community. Kaye (2007) calls this “affiliation with like-minded others”, meaning users interact in order to gain emotional support and gratification.

The users are gaining recognition from other users as well as information, the exchange is an example of an online community in which users can create bonds. An example of a user gaining recognition is as follows…

Figure 5: Aprilamsss. Instagram (2015). Private user profile.

Figure 5 illustrates a user who has a personal connection with the brand, highlighting their loyalty towards the brand with a post about acquiring multiple Samsung devices. This loyalty creates a positive perception of the brand; viewers of the post may consider the devices due to the recommendation.

Personal identity

The motivation ‘personal identity’ related to the impression that users want to give about themselves. Commonly Instagram users create an online presence to portray their lives differently, usually better than reality. Users can gain acknowledgment of their opinions and this gives a sense of fulfilment. Boyd (2008) and Bumgarner (2007) have recognised how important the ‘impression management is, naming it as an important motivator.

The following exchange is an example of creating an impression; it fulfills the McQuail’s (1983) four-category classification of the personal identity motivations. The user wants to be known as a reputable critic, capable of making trustworthy observations and reviews. The exchange is an example of gaining recognition from other users and expressing a review.

Figure 6: Alexcodek. Instagram (2015).Private user profile.

This conversational exchange illustrated took place below a post by Intel, in which the users are discussing the tablets strengths and weaknesses.

Information

Information can be a good motivator, and information may be retrieved by users researching how Instagram is used. The information could be about the opinions of Instagram users as well as the demographics of the users. This type of information can be useful in reducing risks.

Examples of posts which fit into McQuail’s (1983) four-category classification of motivations for COBRAs are as follows…

An example of information sharing is as follows…

Figure 3: Rgsowney. Instagram (2015). Private user profile.

This Instagram user is making others aware of the hudl sale in Tesco, thus raising awareness of the product as well as creating hype around it. Using the hash-tag ‘#exciting’ shows that this is a positive post and that the tablet is worthy of praise. Businesses can benefit from users like this as this type of post can encourage more sales. The organisation ‘Tesco’ could share this post on their own page to ensure that the post reaches the maximum amount of people.

Ways for tablet sector companies to encourage COBRAs

Figure 7: AmazonFire. Instagram (2015). Private user profile.

Organisations can encourage user participation by evoking memories. This is the Amazon Fire Instagram page, reflecting on an older post, and this is apparent as the organisation has used the hash-tag ‘#regram’. This is a useful hash-tag as it allows organisations to reflect on older material without it seeming outdated. Another hash-tags with a similar purpose is ‘#throwback’, also allowing old content to be re-released. This type of hash-tag could be used in your tablet sector company in order to reflect upon past content which the audience will remember.

Figure 8: Intel. Instagram (2015).Private user profile.

Organisations can encourage users to take notice of their tablet by posting information about the product, offering a chance for users to make comparisons to other tablets. The post by Intel provoked a user to remark “Apples better”. This could motivate further discussion and debate on the page; it could also inspire users to create posts about the product.

Figure 9: AmazonFire. Instagram (2015). Private user profile.

Organisations can use Instagram to create relationships with consumers. This is the Amazon Fire Instagram page, and this page is interesting to viewers as there are posts which are unrelated to the product. This can reassure users that the aim of the business is to connect with the consumers and create useful and interesting Instagram posts. The organisation should avoid creating too many advertisements and obvious sales techniques as this can discourage users. If users feel like they can trust the organisation they are more likely to produce positive COBRAs.

References

Alexcodek. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
AmazonFire. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
AmazonFire. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
Aprilamsss. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
Boyd, D. (2008) Why youth (heart) social network sites: the role of networked publics in teenage social life, in Buckingham, D. (ed.) Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 119–142.
Bumgarner, B.A. (2007) You have been poked: exploring the uses and gratifications of Facebook among emerging adults. First Monday, 12(11). Available online at: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2026/1897 (accessed on 28 August 2009).
Cova, B. & Dalli, D. (2009) Working consumers: the next step in marketing theory? Marketing Theory, 9(3), pp. 315–339.
Cova, B. & Pace, S. (2006) Brand community of convenience products: new forms of customer empowerment – the case ‘my Nutella The Community’. European Journal of Marketing, 40, pp. 1087–2005.
Chiou, J.-S. & Cheng, C. (2003) Should a company have a message board on its web sites? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 17(3), pp. 50–61.
Daniël G. Muntinga, Marjolein Moorman & Edith G. Smit (2011) Introducing COBRAs, International Journal of Advertising: The Review of Marketing Communications, 30:1, 13-46
Em.Pawlowski. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
Haipey_. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
Intel. Instagram (2015). Private user profile.
Intel. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
Kaplan, A.M. & Haenlein, M. (2010) users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53, pp. 59–68.
Kaye, B.K. (2007) Web site story: an exploratory study of blog use motivations, in Tremayne, M. (ed.) Blogging, Citizenship and the Future of Media. New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 127–148.
Lasswell, H.D. (1948) The structure and function of communication in society, in Bryson, L. (ed.) The Communication of Ideas. New York, NY: Harper, pp. 37–51.
McQuail, D. (1983) Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage Publications.
McQuail, D., Blumler, K., & Brown, J. (1972) The television audience: a revised perspective, in McQuail, D. (ed.) Sociology of Mass Communication: Selected Readings. Middlesex: Penguin, pp. 134–165.
Muñiz, A.M. & Schau, H.J. (2007) Vigilante marketing and consumer-created communications. Journal of Advertising, 36(3), pp. 35–50.
Rgsowney. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15
Shopify. (2014). Instagram for Business: How to Build an Audience of Followers for Your Brand. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhfX21jz17c. Last accessed 10/05/15.
Villanueva, J., Yoo, S. & Hanssens, D.M. (2008) The impact of marketing-induced versus word-of-mouth customer acquisition on customer equity growth. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(1), pp. 48–59.
w_obiektywie_ani. Instagram (2015). Private user profile. Available: https://instagram.com/. Last accessed 10/05/15

Tips for implementing search engine optimisation in the tablet industry

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Ellie Martin

“site owners understand that a website not found in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERP) doesn’t exist on the web.” (Bröcker et al, 2008)

Search engines are incredibly significant in the guidance of marketing techniques, organisations can utilise the online opportunities to accomplish marketing goals. To ensure that advertisements are at the top of search results lists some organisations pay to be displayed, they do this to guarantee that they’re seen. This type of promotional tool is referred to as search engine optimisation (SEO). SEO can be costly but nevertheless is it effective, with the potential to produce large amount of brand awareness if used correctly.

“It has long been held that one of the major goals of marketing is to generate and maintain brand awareness; this is seen as particularly important in low-involvement situations where consumers may engage in little active search information to aid choice.” Macdonald et al (2000).

Brand awareness effects the decisions that consumers make, this is because users are more likely to consider brands they know. This brand knowledge can be referred to as a consideration set, organisations aim to be selected from the consideration set (Macdonald et al, 1996).

When searching for tablets the results were as follows…

Figure 1: Google. (2015). Search Results

An IDC report, ‘Web positioning as a critical e-marketing tool’, found three strategic objectives that all organisations who want to optimise their online presence should adopt. Firstly, it is important that an organisation is visible and so listed in a suitable category and with appropriate headings and keywords. It’s important that the webpage is accessible from all devices in order to avoid segregating an audience.

Secondly, it’s critical that the positioning is guided by the target market, in order to attract suitable users. Thirdly, organisations hoping to enhance their SEO should have tactical objectives which are relevant to the rank of organisation, taking competitors into account.

The target market could be children, so when searching for “tablet for children”, a more relevant list of results will be displayed. This results page illustrated the following tablets:

TEMPO MS706 7 inch Android
Cheap Tablets 7 inch M755E3
Kurio Tab 7 Inch Kids Tablet
3 inch R430W Android
hipstreet Phoenix Quad

Figure 2: Google Search Results (2015)

The power of search engines means that customer relationships begin before a customer even sees your web page, it starts when they’re directed to the web page. Customers can be directed to a web page via “on-site search optimization; paid inclusion; sponsored links and paid listings” (David, G.C. 2003).

A search will typically create a page full of listings; these are generally either editorial listings such as the relevant results or paid listings such as promotional advertisements. Typically search engines cross-syndicate there results and so it’s possible that when a consumer uses different search engines they may see the same results. The SEO can be divided into two separations: white hat SEO and black hat SEO.

White hat SEO

White hat SEO is a more genuine way of achieving optimisation; it involves developing the features on the web-pages.

Met description

Metadata creates perspective on a search page, it lays the foundations of why information has been displayed and it can be useful in directing consumers more concisely. It can be very significant to provide descriptions on the search page because these can direct more views to the page, as well as provide the user with important information which they’ll find relevant and this builds confidence. In regards to links a small amount can be enough, if too many are provided then it can appear disorganised.

The meta-description for the Tesco Hudl is displayed as follows…

Figure 3: Google. (2015). Search Results.

Keywords

Consider the words that an operator could think about searching for to discover your page. Operators who identify with the subject may use keywords which are different to a new enquirer. It’s useful to expect alterations in behaviour and prepare for them while scripting web content, arranging a creative assortment of keywords could improve the situation. Google AdWords delivers a useful ‘Keyword Tool’ that supports web designers in their quest for innovative keyword variants, as well as providing the top search queries that your page is found through.

Search optimization achieved by understanding the keywords that consumers are using and are likely to use. Having the correct keywords can make a huge difference in the relevance of viewers on the webpage. Googles ‘Keyword Planner’ helps organisations to get keyword ideas and traffic forecasts, this is useful for getting the key words right, its available here…

Google Ads Youtube. (2015). How to use Keyword Planner.

Once data has been collected organisations can use Google to analyse …

Average monthly searches:

“The average number of times people have searched for the exact keyword based on the location and Search Network targeting that you’ve selected.”Google (2015).

Competition:

“The number of advertisers that showed on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google”Google (2015).

Suggested bid:

“Your suggested bid is calculated by taking into account the costs-per-click (CPCs) that advertisers are paying for this keyword for the location and Search Network settings you’ve selected”.Google (2015).

Ad impression share:

“The number of impressions you’ve received divided by the total number of searches for the location and network you’re targeting that matched the keyword exactly in the last calendar month”.Google (2015).

Navigation

The navigation from search engine to the web page should be simple, this helps avoid any unwanted confusion. In order to retain users and lower bounce rates, the navigation on a webpage should be clearly through links, bread crumbs and anchor text displayed. Links are useful in creating a good reputation; if another website is using your organisation on their web page then it appears more trustworthy and acclaimed.

Each page must have a unique title that will help both search engines and users understand what the page is about. It’s essential that the page is correctly formatted; this is attainable by inserting heading and sub headings, as well as appropriate use of bold, underline and italics. In addition it can be useful to highlight important sections; this will make the text more understandable. Images can make a webpage display more interesting and inviting, they break up large chunks of text and can act as a narrative. For the images to be effective it can be valuable to use original images which are applicable.

Make the display attractive to consumers with the following tips, taken from the Apple Ipad (2015) webpage:

Figure 4: Apple Ipad (2015)

A link to the home page which diverts users back in order to make the website easy to use
A search button where customers can search the key term they’re looking for instead of looking through pages to find it
A frequently asked questions sections which can hopefully clear up majority of confusion and so there will be less need to have staff replying to questions repeatedly
A contacts section giving customers access to email and telephone options
Links to the online shop
Location of nearest store
Live chat with the organisation
An app for users to download

Breadcrumb lists are only necessary on large websites with a lot of pages, as they help guide the user. ‘Breadcrumb lists’ consist of a line of internal links which are situated on either the top or the bottom of a web page. The reason for breadcrumb lists is to ensure that users can navigate to a previous pace or a root page easily. Breadcrumbs are not necessary on single- level websites and should be considered as an additional secondary feature, but not a replacement for operative primary navigation menus.

Anchor text makes navigation easier, it is available on web pages, and they are visible as clickable text and arise as an outcome of a link. Ensure success by creating anchor text which is original, useful and well researched

Posting frequency

It’s encouraging to users if the webpage is renewed frequently as it reassures them that the information displayed is up to date. Renewing a webpage also gives the creators a good opportunity to learn and progress.

Paid Search Advertising

Figure 5: Search Results Page Example for Google. Rutz et al. (2007).

Organic links are displayed in order of relevance and popularity, search engines typically analyse keywords in the search in order to provide the user with appropriate links. Paid search advertising is useful for businesses as it ensures that organisations can pay for their advertisement to be displayed as a text ad when relevant keywords are searched for. The advertisement is displayed in the sponsored section of the search results page (see Figure 2). Users become aware of the link even if they do not click on it. This means that brand awareness can be built, brand awareness is important as it strengthens the relationship between the consumer and the organisation.

Figure 6: Paid Search from the Company’s and Consumer’s Perspective. Rutz et al. (2007).

The impression that a user has of an organisation can be assess through figure 3, this demonstrates the process of searching. If organisations create an easy to locate page then they are more likely to receive repeat customers. If consumers find that the page is unusable they’re less likely to return.

Black hat SEO

Black hat SEO tries to can also be referred to as on site optimisation. It’s possible to improve webpage rankings through ‘on-site optimization’, which increases short term traffic. David (2003) identifies some of these techniques as “doorway or cloaked pages contain text, metadata and other features” as well as “spamming”.

This type of technique has received a bad reputation in the past as it can generate traffic which isn’t relevant and therefore isn’t a good indicator of success. Search engines try to minimise the risk of users being directed to irrelevant web pages and so this type of technique is usually banished by the search engines.

Google’s blacklisting statement is available:

“Illicit techniques that manipulate search engines to try to rank a site higher are considered blackhat techniques that violate our Webmaster Guidelines.”

References

Apple. (2015). Apple Ipad. Available: https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad-air-2/. Last accessed 06/05/15
Ball, J. (2015, Apr 16). Let’s challenge google while we still can. The Guardian Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1673656782?accountid=9727
Bröcker, Jop, and G. van Ahee. (2008): “Semantics & Search Engine Optimisation.” 1-15.
David G, C. (2003): “Search Engine Marketing: Why it benefits us all.” Business Information Review 20, no. 4 195-202.
Karim Bahoul and Eric Ochs. Web positioning as a critical e-marketing tool’. IDC 2001. Available at www.idc.fr.
Google. (2015). Understanding your Keyword Planner. Available: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/3022575?hl=en. Last accessed 06/05/15.
Google Ads Youtube. (2015). How to use Keyword Planner. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxREkVhzEkw. Last accessed 06/05/15.
Google. (2015). Search Results. Available: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tablets&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=tHQ_VYT0DuaE7gb3voC4AQ. Last accessed 28/04/15.
Google. (2015). 2.5 Learn about search engine optimization. Available: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6001181?hl=en. Last accessed 06/05/15.
Google. (2015). Using Keyword Planner to get keyword ideas and traffic forecasts. Available: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2999770. Last accessed 06/05/15.
Macdonald, E. K., & Sharp, B. M. (2000). Brand Awareness Effects on Consumer Decision Making for a Common, Repeat Purchase Product: A Replication. Journal of business research, 48(1), 5-15.
Macdonald, E., and Sharp, B. (1996) Management Perceptions of the Importance of Brand Awareness as an Indication of Advertising Effectiveness. Marketing Research On-Line 1 1–15.
Rutz, O. J., & Bucklin, R. E. (2007). A model of individual keyword performance in paid search advertising. Available at SSRN 1024765.

How could Semantic Analysis technologies on Facebook be a key marketing tool in tablet sector companies?

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Ellie Martin

If your tablet sector company is using Facebook then you may struggle to cope with the constant demands of instant interaction, semantic analysis could help you to respond quickly and efficiently

“The World Wide Web is the single largest and most diverse repository of codified knowledge in the history of the human race” Shiri, M (2015). In 2014 it was found that roughly 40% of the world’s population was active on the internet (ITU, 2014)

With so much information available it can be daunting for organisations to unravel the meaning and relevance of it. Nonetheless, with suitable preparation the information can be transformed into a much simpler and understandable tool. Organisations use semantic analysis in order to gain insight into how their organisation is perceived, gain opinions and feedback. Semantic Analysis is an opportunity for organisations to be more active and go beyond mere public relations, they can use the tool to target customers to gain more attention and create a more narrow focus. You can build bonds with Facebook users, this reassures them that they have direct communication to the company.

Examples of Semantic Analysis on Facebook

Identified below is a comparison of the key players in the tablet industry, highlighting the use of semantic analysis technologies.
The first example of how an organisation could have used semantic analysis technologies is taken directly from the Kindle (2015) Facebook page, in March 2015 they were trying to raise awareness of national reading month. The company portrayed themselves positively, listing the comments by “most relevant”, the comments chosen were very encouraging and represented the company well, linking them with a good product.

Amazon Kindle

Figure 1: Amazon Kindle. (2015). Facebook page.

On closer inspection by clicking the “Recent Activity” option, other comments are obtainable which are less constructive. These comments were not listed as the most relevant and this is due to semantic analysis which would have chosen to show the flattering comments.

Figure 2: Amazon Kindle. (2015). Facebook page.

Organisations like Amazon know that users will probably skim read the relevant activity and are less likely to delve any deeper to view the unrelated comment. The impact of displaying relevant complimentary comments over irrelevant or negative comments is that it creates a better brand image. Users will be impressed by positive comments about the product and will therefore be more likely to purchase the product. Simple management of how the brand is portrayed can be highly influential over consumer perception.Semantic analysis technologies could have helped Amazon answer queries.

Panasonic

The like button is important as it allows organisations to target what their audience likes, and also related likes which may be useful in improving current strategies. An example of how the tablet industry could use the like button to their advantage is available on the Panasonic facebook page Facebook page.

Figure 3 Panasonic. (2015).

Organisations like Panasonic can recognise which marketing strategies receive good responses and start to understand why. The semantic analysis technology will also allow Microsoft to view how their competitors are gaining a positive response from there public communication and therefore could implement a similar idea on their Facebook page. The share button is also significant as it gives an indication of a user’s opinions, sharing content means advertisements can reach users who haven’t liked the page.

Microsoft

Figure 4: Microsoft Surface. (2015). Facebook

Microsoft Surface. (2015) could use a time frame to measure how effective there affiliation with the well-known film ‘frozen’ has been. Semantic Analysis technologies allow organisations to change the overview of what they’re targeting at a specific time, an example of this would be to change date and time period that they’re analysing in order to identify how specific marketing movements had an impact.

How does semantic analysis work?

It’s possible for businesses to create a picture of the type of customer they serve. Users tend to display information about themselves on their profiles and this information can be retrieved with semantic analysis so that companies can target particular demographics. More specifically than this business can use Semantic Analysis technologies to identify similar interests and hobbies by checking what they have liked on Facebook or spoken about recently. The advertisements that would be aimed at this type of user is referred to as micro – targeted.
Mehra. M et al (2011) explains that semantic analysis technologies use ontologies, they’re important as they can be used deliver flexibility to the uses of Semantic Web. Using ‘Friend of a friend’ (FOAF) as an example, this ontology allows links to be made between social network sites and people by means of a ‘decentralised database’. The technology processes social network information such as Facebook likes, comments, shares and statuses.

Figure 5: Mehra. M et al (2011)

Mehra. M et al (2011) introduces a two-layer network for researchers as shown in figure 5, in this model the circles in the ‘concept layer’ characterise knowledge of researchers in the arrangement of words or phrases. The connections in this stratum represent the semantic associations amongst research expertise areas. The circles in the ‘researcher layer’ represent researchers, and the associations amongst them characterise some types of social connections taking place, an example for this is Facebook conversations via comments. The associations concerning ‘concept’ and ‘researcher layer’ symbolise that a researcher illustrates know-how in the area.

Another ontology example is ‘Semantically Interlinked Online Communities’ (SIOC), this one permits the amalgamation of unrestricted online material such as blogs, forums, photos and so on. It can be more valuable when used as well as FOAF for outlining user summaries on social networks.
Veda Semantics is an example of an organisation which provides semantic analysis technology, although other outsourced companies are similarly effective. They state that there mission to

“Enabling businesses create better impact by uncovering actionable insights from unstructured data.” Veda Semantics. (2015).

They detail there activities further in the following video…

Veda Semantics. (2015).

Social media is a great way for organisations and consumers to interact, during these exchanges it is possible for organisations to collect data and use it to their advantage. The social network opportunity means that organisations no longer just view extracts of information, but also have the opportunity to engage with information. Semantic analysis is the process of mining information such user generated contents in order to categorise text. Sri, et al (2013) clarifies that opinion mining can focus on two types of opinion – ‘Regular opinion’s which just centres on ‘entities/features’ and ‘Comparative opinion’ which creates link and makes comparisons.

References

Amazon Kindle. (2015). Facebook page. Available: https://www.facebook.com/kindle?fref=ts. Last accessed 27/04/15.
ITU. (2014). ICT facts and figures. Available: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2014-e.pdf. Last accessed 02/04/15.
Michael Calaresu Ali Shiri , (2015),”Understanding Semantic Web: a conceptual model”, Library Review, Vol. 64 Iss 1/2 pp. 82 – 100
Microsoft Surface. (2015). Facebook page. Available: https://www.facebook.com/SurfaceGB?brand_redir=427017100655129. Last accessed 27/04/15.
Misha Mehra and Nishant Kumar (2011) Semantic Web Applications. Journal of Library & Information Technology, Vol. 31, No. 4, July 2011, pp. 217-225
Panasonic. (2015). Facebook page. Available: https://www.facebook.com/ToughbookToughpad?fref=ts. Last accessed 27/04/15.
Sri, S. and Devshriroy, D. (2013) Semantic Orientation of Sentiment Analysis on Social Media. International Journal of Computers & Technology, 10/2013, Volume 11, Issue 4 User
Veda Semantics. (2014). Text Analytics and Social Media Monitoring from Veda Semantics . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijJCdxAIwW8. Last accessed 01/05/15.
Veda Semantics. (2015). About Us. Available: http://www.vedasemantics.com/about-us.html. Last accessed 01/05/15.

Tips for using cookies to advertise tablets on YouTube

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Ellie Martin

You could revolutionise the way you appeal to your consumers and increase the success rates of your marketing techniques. Stay up to date with the latest advancements in marketing technology and discover the power of the cookie…

“Cookies are small text files that are put on users’ devices, such as notebooks or smart phones, to facilitate the functionality of a website …or to collect profile information for targeted advertising)” Smit el al (2014).

Smit et al (2014) outlines a good technique which can help to target an audience more specifically and so is therefore more effective, the technique is ‘Online behavioural advertising’ (OBA). This method uses the data available publicly online, the data is retrieved via cookies on web pages. This would make the advertising more approachable to certain age groups or relatable to people with particular hobbies or interests.

The following image is taken from the Sony Xperia Youtube page, this illustrates what a user would typically view. The subscription section is highly useful for organisations as they can easily track what the user is interested in and implement a marketing strategy which could incorporate these interests. Although organisations would not be able to create individual advertisements for each consumer, the general idea is that they could create advertisements for categories of people, such as a pop singer endorsing the product towards the users identified as ‘pop enthusiasts’ and so on. The organisations can then create more narrow recommendations about related materials.

Figure 1: Sony. (2015). Sony Xperia Youtube page

You should address the target market by using the information gathered to create a targeted advertisements which would be interesting to that type of consumer. Google. (2015) state…

“Interest-based advertising should help monetize your website more efficiently, increase value for advertisers, and provide a better experience for users.”

Tablet advertisers are not using the video blogging platform YouTube regularly or interestingly, the following examples of current YouTube advertisements will highlight the need to update the video marketing strategies, providing tips for each organisation which can be interpreted on a wider scale.

Examples of current YouTube advertisements

Sony Xperia

https://youtu.be/PQIz-EW5OnY

Sony. (2015). B-Boy break dance practice with Sony Xperia E3. Good fun made great . The Sony Xperia advertisement illustrated is an advertisement used for the Sony Xperia phone, however the relevance is that the advertisement is targeted. This demonstrates that Sony Xperia are capable of creating a YouTube video which focuses narrowly on the category ‘dance enthusiasts’. A similar advertisement could be created for the tablet as the tablet is capable of playing music. They could use cookies to gain the attention of this category and raise awareness of the product.
Tips:

Create a targetd advertisement for the tablet
Use the cookies to recommed the targeted advertisement to relevant viewers of the tablet
Create advertisements for more categories of people to raise awareness through a diverse range of interests

Apple Ipad

Apple. (2015). Apple – iPad Air – TV Ad – Chérie’s Verse

Apple’s video is titled “Apple – iPad Air – TV Ad – Chérie’s Verse”, this video allows one user to become involved with the advertisement through creating their own story about the product. By offering an interactive style Apple were able to encourage a more personal connection to the brand. This is an example of successful interaction, Apple gained 811,836 views for their initial advertisement and user generated content will have provided further views. This is evidence that personal connections can be highly influential. Furthering the initial advertisement they could use data collected from cookies to create a “verse” for particular demographics and recommend the video to people who suit the content.

Tips:

Understand the importance of brand interaction
Direct the advertisement more narrowly using cookies
Provide platforms for users to get more involved

Amazon Fire HD Tablet

Amazon. (2015). Amazon Fire HD Tablets – More Than a Tablet .

The kindle advertisement Amazon Fire HD Tablets – More Than a Tablet was published on 9 Oct 2014. The advertisement is broad, it’s not clear if the advertisement is targeting a specific demographic. Although this is beneficial for a large scale advertisement, this is not particularly memorable nor relevant to anyone. With the advantage of access to above 1 million songs, 40,000 films and TV shows, the tablet could be targeted towards online users who have recently searched for certain genres or categories. Using cookies, a picture can be created about a user, this can then be used by organisations to advertise the tablet directly to them. For example, Kindle could say “watch breaking bad on your Kindle HD fire”, the user would be surprised about the targeted nature as well as interested in the topic of conversation and therefore it would be more memorable.
Tips

Discover the viewer’s preferences using cookies
Gain attention in the advertisement by highlighting something they’re interested in
Recommend related videos which could be of interest
Encourage viewers to share the advertisement with their friends

Samsung GALAXY Tab S

Samsung . (2015). Samsung GALAXY Tab S – Official Introduction

The Youtube description provided for the video states

“Samsung GALAXY Tab S combines the most advanced Super AMOLED display technology with a full range of premium content for an unrivalled entertainment experience. The Tab S is also powered with enhanced productivity features for effortless multitasking, all elegantly housed in a highly stylish, yet practical design.”

Published on 12 Jun 2014, the video has received 6,060,025 views. The advertisement have a narrator, the descriptions are seen as words on the page. The viewer may feel distant to the product because they haven’t seen it used by a like-minded person. This could’ve been improved by making the brand message and core brand principles obvious, by doing so this will reassure the consumer about the brand reputation. Reassurance could also be created by using of a likeminded video blogger to engage more successfully with the viewer. The power of recommendations can be highly influential so organisations could hire video bloggers in the form of well known celebrities or YouTube sensations, this would spark the interest of fans and direct them to the video. Cookies would allow organisations to track recently watched YouTube videos and recommend a video which would be suitable to the user’s interests. The most successful marketing techniques are those that the public remember, and there are many marketing techniques that can trigger strong reactions to make an advertisement memorable.

Tips

Differentiate the brand
Communicate the personal experiences users have had with the product
Use the viewer’s YouTube likes to dictate the advertisements you recommend
Use video bloggers that the viewer may be interested in seeing

Overall

The current advertisements available for tablets on YouTube are lacking any real defining factors, it’s hard to tell them apart. In the current technological age it seems as though companies are not using the data available to them to their full potential. It would be more exciting and revolutionary if tablets were advertised in a more unique way to the viewer. The advertisements should aim to be unforgettable, they should stand out from the crowd and truly target the user. This will encourage a more personal relationship with the brand, boosting customer loyalty. Clear concise communication will strengthen the theme of the advertisement and can avoid any misperception. It’s possible to demonstrate credibility by posting reviews and links to successful work.

Implementation

Cookies can be implemented by data mining, Srivastava et al (2000) identifies the three main stages associated with mining data.

Figure 2: Srivastava et al. (2000). Web usage mining: Discovery and applications of usage patterns from web data.

The first is ‘Pre-processing’ at this stage any data available such as images or text need to be prepared for the web mining sequence.

“Pre-processing consists of converting the usage, content, and structure information contained in the various available data sources into the data abstractions necessary for pattern discovery”(Srivastava et al. 2000).

The second process is called ‘ Pattern discovery’,

“Pattern discovery draws upon methods and algorithms developed from several fields such as statistics, data mining, machine learning and pattern recognition”(Srivastava et al. 2000).

the most common way to transform information is statistical analysis, it can take into consideration complex consumer motivators such as time spent on a page and the amount of times a user accesses that page, this makes it easier to decipher there preferences. Classification can take place at this stage, data can tell a story about a user and so the user can be classed into relative categories. Sequential patterns can also be identified, this means the sequence in which the user is expected to act, making it easier for organisations to predict there moves and target towards them more successfully. The third key area related to data mining is pattern analysis, at this stage data mining will…

“filter out uninteresting rules of patterns from the set found in the pattern discovery phase”(Srivastava et al. 2000).

Possible barriers

Cookies are a source of debate as there are issues with how the data is used, data may threaten the consumer’s privacy and trust (Bennett, 2011). These privacy issues were defined by Beak and Morimoto (2012, p. 63) as…

‘‘the degree to which a consumer is worried about the potential invasion of the right to prevent the disclosure of personal information to others.’’

It’s essential to draw attention to the fact that cookies are a choice (‘opt-in’) and can be declined by the user (‘opt out’). Smit et al (2014) gained knowledge from an online questionnaire which indicated that some of the users of web pages do not have adequate knowledge of the advertising techniques they are susceptible to. Nowadays, marketing frequently comprises of somebody’s title and image, and it can be directed to demographic individualities or attuned to preceding website visits. Cookies are now used frequently

References

Apple. (2015). Apple – iPad Air – TV Ad – Chérie’s Verse . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbXYqHke9n8. Last accessed 27/04/15.
Amazon. (2015). Amazon Fire HD Tablets – More Than a Tablet . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcjIj2mDTSU#action=share. Last accessed 27/04/15.
Bennett, S. C. (2011). Regulating online behavioral advertising. John Marshall Law Review, 44(4), 899–961.
Baek, T. H., & Morimoto, M. (2012). Stay away from me: Examining the determinants of consumer avoidance of personalized advertising. Journal of Advertising, 41(1), 59–76.
Google. (2015). Adsense help. Available: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/113771?hl=en. Last accessed 27/04/15.
Samsung . (2015). Samsung GALAXY Tab S – Official Introduction . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwpfT9jtsMk. Last accessed 27/04/15.Smit, E. G., Van Noort, G., &
Srivastava, J., Cooley, R., Deshpande, M., & Tan, P. N. (2000). Web usage mining: Discovery and applications of usage patterns from web data. ACM SIGKDD Explorations Newsletter, 1(2), 12-23.
Sony. (2015). Sony Xperia YouTube page. Available: https://www.youtube.com/user/SonyXperia?v=PAHRBOYG8sg. Last accessed 30/04/15.
Sony. (2015). B-Boy break dance practice with Sony Xperia E3. Good fun made great . Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQIz-EW5OnY. Last accessed 30/04/15.
Voorveld, H. A. (2014). Understanding online behavioural advertising: User knowledge, privacy concerns and online coping behaviour in europe. Computers in Human Behavior, 32, 15-22.

How to avoid damaging your brand with disastrous twitter movements

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Ellie Martin

If you’ve read all the articles which explain the ways to create a good social campaign and you’re still not reaching the success you had expected, then maybe you’re making some fatal errors. Highlighted accordingly are some of the worst mistakes that companies have made when trying to get noticed on twitter.

Current assessments of branding define branding as the revealing and broadcasting of brand intentions, internally (Punjaisri and Wilson, 2007) or externally (Ewing et. al., 2002);

“Every second, the thoughts and feelings of millions of people across the world are recorded in the form of 140-character tweets using Twitter” (Mislove, A. et al, 2011).

Source: Twitter (2015)

Twitter is useful way for organisations to connect with an audience and share opinions and material that is widely viewed. The messages are limited to 140 characters and therefore the messages should be clear, concise and significant. Twitter is a great way to communicate, however is you aren’t utilising social media in the correct way then you could communicate negatively.

“The optimists celebrate social media and predict that it will cause more participation and democratization. The cynics, in contrast, condemn social media as shallow and arbitrary, while equating the death of meaningful communication and intimacy with social media’s mass proliferation” (Murthy, D. 2013)

Avoid Foul and abusive language

‘Chrysler’ had a mishap when there twitter account was used in a distasteful way. The company used inappropriate language in a tweet, the damaging tweet was as follows…

Source: Chrysler Twitter. (2011). Twitter feed.

This type of language is certainly unacceptable for a professional organisation and can be detrimental to a reputation. The organisation later deleted the tweet and apologised and dismissed the employee from the company, making it clear that the tweet was unacceptable in their opinion. Chrysler’s statement was as follows:

“Chrysler Group and its brands do not tolerate inappropriate language or behaviour, and apologize to anyone who may have been offended by this communication.” Chrysler Twitter. (2011). Twitter feed.

A crucial notion in brand management is the concept of ‘brand identity’, presented by Aaker (1996) and Kapferer (1997), and consists of ideas like ‘brand essence’ (Aaker and Joachimstahler, 2000), ‘core identity’ (Aaker, 1996), or even the ‘brand DNA’ (Kapferer, 1997). Chrysler may need to establish better brand management to ensure that this type of mishap doesn’t threaten their reputation again in the future. Chrysler should create tweets which convey the brand essence they are striving for, this will better establish their core identity in the market and the brand DNA will be noticeable in there exertion.

Avoid insensitive use of a hashtag

UK home furnishings retailer ‘Habitat’ is now apologising for its inappropriate hashtags. The twitter page – @HabitatUK, was found to be using public trends in order to gain more attention on the social media outlet. Habitat’s hashtags were related to the negative circumstances in Iran to enhance their own traffic…Source: Inquisitr. (2009). Habitat UK’s Twitter fail.

Habitat apologised following the incident, explaining…

“Top ten trending topics were posted into hashtags without checking with us and apparently without verifying what all of the tags referred to… its valuable to hear how users would like us to use Twitter and we are determined to do better for the Twitter community.” @HabitatUK (2009)

Brand management can be defined by the supervision of ‘brand identity’ and the developing of ‘brand benefits’ in relation to stakeholders (McCracken, 1993; Sherry, 2005). Habitat may have threatened their brand prestige and could’ve endangered the trust that customers have with the company. It’s important for the company to learn from their mistakes and they should show the public that they’re honourable by trying to gain their trust in future campaigns. Another example of an insensitive use of a hashtag was when Bing had to apologise for #SupportJapan stunt following a negative Twitter reaction, the organisation offered to donate $1 for every retweet.

Source: Keogh. S. (2011). Bing says sorry for #SupportJapan stunt following Twitter backlash.

Although this charitable act may have been made with good intentions, the audience were questioning the intents of the organisation. The true purpose of the tweet could have been the marketing elements, therefore ‘Bing’ could have using a devastation for own lucrative benefit. Some celebrities such as Ryan Seacrest did retweet it, this means it would’ve then been on display to his 4 million followers at the time, and so Bing really were noticed. However, it’s important to remember that not all publicity has a positive outcome and the reaction of the hashtag was the #f***bing hashtag, along with many angry comments. This response hashtag can be referred to as a ‘bash-tag’, this is a hashtag which tries to humiliate the original hashtag.

Source: Keogh. S. (2011). Bing says sorry for #SupportJapan stunt following Twitter backlash.

US comedian Michael Ian Black, tweeted a reaction to his 1.6m followers:

‘Hey @bing, stop using a tragedy as a f***ing marketing opportunity.’

Bing later apologised and offered $100,000 to the charity in order to show there genuine support for the cause.

Avoid administering your twitter account with an untrustworthy representative

Marc Jacobs’ was on the hunt for a new Twitter pundit, the original spokesperson CEO Robert Duffy was swapped for an intern. The intern was given the responsibility of updating the brand’s 114,000 followers at @marcjacobsintl. He was struggling to adapt to the new occupation and felt like the company placed too much pressure upon him. The intern vented his anger on the company twitter page. He called Mr Duffy a ‘tyrant’ and thought he was ‘praying’ for his replacement.

Soure: @marcjacobsintl(2011).

Marc Jacobs twitter was updated in order to apologise for the stunt and advise the readers

“Protect your passwords.” @marcjacobsintl(2011).

The company then offered the fired employees job to the public in jest…

Source:Madison. J. (2011). Marc Jacobs intern brands company CEO a ‘tyrant’ in meltdown on fashion label’s Twitter account.

Using trustworthy employees to manage a twitter account is a valuable lesson and should be remembered by all organisations to avoid such public perception into a company. In this case the public were given insight was the unsatisfactory working atmosphere that the intern experienced, this could create a negative reputation for the organisation. Ambler and Barrow (1996) recognise that it’s incredibly important for brand management to be implemented into organisations in order to gain a better reputation from a customer’s perspective. Another example of administering a twitter account with an undependable representative is when VodafoneUK’s representative sent out a tweet which was offensive. VodafoneUK’s homophobic message could potentially have reached there 8,824 followers and more as users of the facility kept a copy of it and were therefore able to share it. VodafoneUK expressed

“We weren’t hacked. A severe breach of rules by staff in our building, dealing with that internally. We’re very sorry” VodaphoneUK (2010).

Avoid an unsuitable hashtag

McDonald’s proposed a Twitter campaign and paid for the honour of having their hashtag indorsed on the Twitter homepage. Using the hashtag #McDStories; it was expecting gratifying tales about their organisation.

Source: Roberts, H. (2012). #McFail! McDonalds’ Twitter promotion backfires as users hijack #McDstories hashtag to share fast food horror stories.

However, it enticed insults about the chain of fast food and McDonald’s critics used the outlet to share their #McDHorrorStories.Examples of the reaction tweets are as follows:

“#McDStories isn’t going the direction I think @mcdonalds wanted it to go. Lots of weed stories and heart attack jokes”. (via twitter)

“Ate a McFish and vomited 1 hour later….The last time I got McDonalds was seriously 18 years ago in college… #McDstories” (via Twitter)

It’s reported that that they cancelled the campaign within two hours. Rick Wion, McDonald’s social media director offered the following statement…

“As Twitter continues to evolve its platform and engagement opportunities, we’re learning from our experiences,”

Here’s a YouTube video explaining some more tweets which were part of the uproar

Source: Mashable (Youtube). (2012). McDonalds’ Promoted Hashtag Backfires, Goes Viral.

So the lesson to be learned is to target the market with a hashtag which is suitable for your organisation. McDonalds have since used a hashtag #meetthefarmers, which has proven to be more beneficial for the organisations as it gives consumers an opportunity to find out about the ingredients used in the fast food chain restaurant. Therefore you should always implement awareness and knowledge of your brands status, if you misread your organisations reputation you could risk a mishap like McDonald’s. The reaction hashtags which poke fun as the original posts can be referred to as ‘bash-tag’, another example of this was when Blackberry tried to gain interest in the #BeBold campaign.

Blackberry were part of an unsuitable hashtag marketing fail as Jackson, E. (2012) reports in the article ‘BlackBerry-maker torched by blowback on RIM superhero blog’. The company ‘Research in Motion’ (RIM) worked in conjunction with blackberry to create superhero cartoons which asked the audience to make there year (2012) “A Better, Bolder 2012”. The idea was established through 35,000 replies to RIM’s #BeBold Twitter hashtag for New Year’s resolutions. RIM (2012) commented that the marketing campaign was “intended to be a bit of fun”. Nonetheless twitter users poked fun at the childish cartoons which didn’t properly target the adult audience that they should have been addressing.

The following youtube video offer tips about how to avoid being the brunt of a joke. Overall it’s clear that brands should evaluate how susceptible they are when determining the success of their marketing campaigns.

Source: Likeable Media (Youtube). (2012). How You Can Deal With Bashtags On Twitter.

Do Implement Brand management

Branding and brand management is not just about communicating values; it’s progressed into a practise of ‘value creation’, a planned resource (Balmer and Greyser, 2002; Hatch and Schultz, 2003).

Figure 1: Employer branding processes in sustainable organizations (Kryger, H. et al. 2011).

The model proposed by Kryger, H. et al. (2011), illustrates that if employer branding is going to succeed in a sustainable organisation then it must be at the centre. Success can be achieved through combining the employer branding (EB) process with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Human resource management (HRM) aspects. These need to work in conjunction with the organisations vision, mission and strategic goals for the best chance of success. It’s essential that organisations reflect upon their own role in society, its ‘corporate context’ and its ‘relation to the individual employee’ (Figure 1).

Figure 2: Employer branding processes in sustainable organisations: characteristics and reflections (Kryger, H. et al. 2011).

The Figure 2 model suggests that for EB, CSR and HRM to work collectively then it may be valuable to welcome stakeholders to discuss and co‐create the brand and highlight the developments of value creation. Moving from a ‘product‐oriented’ viewpoint to a ‘process‐oriented’ viewpoint, foundations such as “dialogue, trust and transparency” are vital to guarantee “strategic, sustainable relationships” (Kryger, H. et al. 2011).

References

Aaker, D.A (1991), Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name, Free Press: NY. Aaker, D.A. (1996), Building Strong Brands, Free Press: NY.
Aaker, D.A. and Joachimstahler, E. (2000), Brand Leadership, Free Press: NY.
Ambler .T and Barrow Simon (1996): Employer Branding ,Journal Of Brand Management, 4(3),pp184
Balmer, J.M.T. and Greyser, S.A. (2002), “Managing the multiple identities of the corporation”, California Management Review, Vol. 44, No. 3, 72-86.
Chrysler Twitter. (2011). Twitter feed. Available: https://twitter.com/chrysler. Last accessed 07/04/15
Ewing, M.T., Pitt, L.F., de Bussy, N.M. and Berthon, P. (2002), “Employment branding in the knowledge economy”, International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 21, 3-22.
Hatch, M.J. and Schultz, M. (2003), “Bringing the Corporation into Corporate Branding”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 37, No. 7-8, 1041-1064.
Inquisitr (2009). Habitat UK’s Twitter fail. Available: http://www.inquisitr.com/27226/habitat-uks-twitter-fail/. Last accessed 07/04/15.
Jackson, E. (2012). BlackBerry-maker torched by blowback on RIM superhero blog.Available: http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/01/31/blackberrymaker_torched_by_blowback_on_rim_superhero_blog.html. Last accessed 08/04/15.
Kryger, H. Sophie, A. Andersen, E. Christa Thomsen, C.(2011),”Conceptualising employer branding in sustainable organisations”, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 16 Iss 2 pp. 105 – 123Kapferer, J. N. (1997), The Strategic Brand Management, Kogan Page: London.
Keogh. S. (2011). Bing says sorry for #SupportJapan stunt following Twitter backlash. Available: http://wallblog.co.uk/2011/03/13/bing-says-sorry-for-supportjapan-stunt-following-twitter-backlash/. Last accessed 07/04/15.
Madison. J. (2011). Marc Jacobs intern brands company CEO a ‘tyrant’ in meltdown on fashion label’s Twitter account. Available: http://wallblog.co.uk/2011/03/13/bing-says-sorry-for-supportjapan-stunt-following-twitter-backlash/. Last accessed 07/04/15.
McCracken, G. (1993), “The Value of the Brand: an anthropological perspective”, in: Aaker, D.A. and Biel, A.L., (eds.), Brand Equity and Advertising, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Hillsdale, NJ, 125139.
Mislove, A., Lehmann, S., Ahn, Y. Y., Onnela, J. P., & Rosenquist, J. N. (2011). Understanding the Demographics of Twitter Users. ICWSM, 11, 5th.
Murthy, D. (2013) Twitter: Social Communication in the Twitter Age, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press
Nudd. T. (2011). Chrysler throws down an F-bomb on Twitter . Available: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/chrysler-throws-down-f-bomb-twitter-126967. Last accessed 07/14/15.
Punjaisri, K. and Wilson, A. (2007), “The role of internal branding in the delivery of employee brand promise”, Brand Management, Vol. 15, No. 1, 57-70. Prahalad, C.K. and Ramaswamy, V. (2004), “Co-creation experiences: The next practise in value creation”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Summer, 18 (3), 5-14.
Roberts, H. (2012). #McFail! McDonalds’ Twitter promotion backfires as users hijack #McDstories hashtag to share fast food horror stories. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090862/McDstories-McDonalds-Twitter-promotion-backfires-users-share-fast-food-horror-stories.html. Last accessed 07/04/15.
Sherry, J.F. (2005), “Brand Meaning” in: Tybout, A.M. and Calkins, T. (eds.), Kellogg on Branding, John Wiley and Sons: Hoboken, New Jersey, 40-69.
Wray, R. and Arthur, C.. (2010). Vodafone suspends employee after obscene tweet. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/feb/05/vodafone-twitter-obscene-tweet. Last accessed 07/04/15.

How could E- word of mouth benefit your Tablet sector company?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Ellie Martin

If you’re looking for popularity or just general recognition then Electronic word of mouth could be your outlet!

The increase of channels for media to be publicised has increased in recent years, the use of web 2.0 tools have become very popular. Web 2.0 is the user generated content on the web and can be abundantly accessible on outlets such as blogs, social networks, discussion forums, emails, review websites, and many more. It’s a great way for users to connect and converse about products and services. The interaction between users is can be referred to as Electronic word of mouth (eWOM).

eWOM can be more credible to consumers than other outlets of information as users trust there online friends and don’t expect spam or viruses to come from trusted sources. eWOM has unquestionably been an influential promotion tool in the tablet industry in recent years. Some example of eWOM being beneficial to an organisation is an article created by fans, in order to boost the excitement around a new product.

The impact of conversational exchanges

The following examples of eWOM will create an insight into the conversational exchanges that take place online and how this could have an impact on your organisations reputation. Highlighting the need to encourage positive eWOM and create outlets for consumers to post reviews in order to gain opinions and use them to consistently improve a product or service. Organisations can also be involved in the eWOM and post responses in order to gain excitement for a new product or offer help and advice on an existing one, for example this exchange on Panasonic’s Facebook page.

Panasonic Facebook. (2015). Panasonic Toughbook Toughpad Facebook.

Anticipation article with response

Macworld (UK) is an independent journal not affiliated with Apple, Macworld’s Online Editor, David price writes reviews and tutorials on Apple products. This online speculation post enables users to give their opinions and get involved with the anticipation below is an example.

Price. D. (2015). iPad Pro (or iPad Plus) release date rumours: Why we don’t expect Apple to launch an iPad Pro this year.

There is positive comments and reviews posted alongside the article and therefore the enthusiasm and approval will positively impact the tablet sales. An example of a positive comment and exchange of online chat is the comment on the Macworld (UK) page exclaiming…

“I love my iPad. I love my iPhone, and I love my MacBook Pro as well as my Mac Pro. They all serve a purpose, and yes they sometimes overlap, but it’s hard imagining life without any one of these devices in my arsenal.” Deserteagle911 (2015) .

The impact of negative articles

The downfall for organisations is that they cannot control the content being shared nor predict how quickly it was spread. An example of eWOM having a negative impact is an article which was published titled ‘5 of the worst tablets ever made’ By Pippa Tshabalala. Here she names Blackberry PlayBook (2011), D2 Pad 712 (2013), Toshiba Excite (2013), Coby Kyros MID7047 (2013) and Hipstreet Titan XK HS-7DTB4 (2013). Pippa is currently the On-Air Producer for MTV Base and a 2013 Brand Ambassador for Adidas South Africa and therefore her opinions can be highly influential. The article may have swayed a large audience as the readers have the option to share the article onto social media.

Tshabalala. P. (2015). 5 of the worst tablets ever made.

“D2 Pad 712 (2013) is completely underwhelming. That’s probably the best compliment I can hand out. A terrible 800×400 display that looks fuzzy and low res (probably because it is), combines with hideous lag and poor performance.” Tshabalala. P (2015).

Christy et al (2012) assessed 25 individual-level eWOM studies and recognised variables associated with four significant components; “responses, stimuli, receivers, and communicators”. The results uncovered that ‘attitude’, ‘eWOM adoption’ and ‘eWOM volume’ positively influence purchase intention. J. Lee et al (2008) examined the influential nature of negative consumer reviews to consumers, finding that consumers are more discouraged as the proportion of negative reviews rises so the volume of positive eWOM is highly important. This is why it is so significant for organisations to market their brand positively on a wide scale.

The impact of inspirational advertising

In regards to Christy et al (2012) theory of ‘eWOM adoption’, users are more likely to adopt the eWOM if they are motivated, therefore organisations could use marketing which will motivate consumers to have a positive attitude and express it via eWOM. Inspiration can be created through company reputation such as the apple web page.

“See inspiration at work. Watch how real teachers and schools around the world are using Apple products to reinvent learning.”Apple. (2015).

Untitled

Apple. (2015). Real stories.

Jeanne Halderson, a Middle School teacher explains the usefulness of the iPad and this video is also available on Youtube and video blogging sites and so can be shared in order to reach a wide audience. This promotional campaign is available on the Apple web page and has also been submitted by a member of the public to YouTube.

Youtube, tano9999. (2015). Apple – Education – Real Stories – Jeanne Halderson.

The factors that Christy et al (2012) found to positively influence EWOM adoption were found to be the ‘type of review platform’, the eWOM ‘credibility’, ‘valence’ and ‘sidedness. Source credibility is linked with eWOM credibility. Companies could encourage credible eWOM by including a review site and links to social media on their web page, this would ensure that consumers can easily find links to credible sources as oppose to being uncertain about reliability of the site. Examples of these links on a web page are show here with Tesco’s Hudl, they illustrate that they have been awarded 4.7 stars, gained from 10553 customer reviews.

The impact of reviews

Tesco. (2015). Hudl 2 – The new 8.3″ tablet.

The web page also offers useful rating measurements and constructs an easy to read rating system. With a ‘Rating Snapshot’ and a breakdown of the ‘Average Customer Ratings’, its simple and convenient for readers to gain insight into the product and make sense of the eWOM.

Tesco. (2015). Hudl 2 – The new 8.3″ tablet.

These reviews are consumer generated and so therefore are trustworthy to a viewer as they’re the opinions of like minded people and not just the opinion of the organisation trying to sell you the product. Organisations should be careful about using there own recommendations as viewers may become suspicious of the true intentions of the influential technique and so may not be convinced by this type of review. The quality of the review is highly important as low quality reviews are less likely to influence a consumer (J. Lee et al 2008).

Christy et al (2012) found that the quality of the eWOM was found to influence the receiver’s perception of the information usefulness. Consumer involvement can also have an impact on the way the consumer perceived the eWOM, this can be positive or negative depending on the association. The involvement that a person has with a particular product or brand means that eWOM can be less effective on some consumers as they already have preconception and so are less influenced (J. Lee et al 2008).

Lingyun et al (2011) recognises that data can be highly overwhelming and so propose that organisations make use of the filter options when offering reviews to users. In Figure 1, it is illustrated how the reviews can be “ordered by date, helpfulness, rating, or reviewer category.”

Lingyun et al (2011) The sorting and filtering functions on an eWOM System.

This type of systematisation can improve the usability of the webpage and therefore consumers will have a more positive attitude. The limitation is that users can sort the reviews in order of negative to positive, meaning they would have easy access to all of the negative reviews and may be influenced by the negativity.

As demonstrated, the eWOM can be very powerful and consequently it is integral that all organisations pay careful attention to the eWOM which is being speculated about them. This will prevent bad reputations spreading quickly and prove to the consumers that they’re important and the opinions and feedback that they give is valued. Constant exchanges illustrate that customer service is key to the company and therefore some consumers may be influenced by the indication that they will receive excellent customer service. Organisations can reap the rewards of constant feedback, reactions, advice and opinions and therefore improve the efficiency of their tablets in the future.

References

Apple (2015). Real stories.Available: http://www.apple.com/uk/education/real-stories/ Last accessed 06/04/15.
Christy M.K. Cheunga, and Dimple R. Thadan. (2012). The impact of electronic word-of-mouth communication: A literature analysis and integrative model. Decision Support Systems. Volume 54, Issue 1, 461–470.
J. Lee, Lee, D.H. Park, I. Han (2008) The effect of negative online consumer reviews on product attitude: an information processing view. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 7 (3), pp. 341–352
Panasonic Facebook. (2015). Panasonic Toughbook Toughpad Facebook.. Available: https://www.facebook.com/ToughbookToughpad. Last accessed 06/04/15.
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Keyword research

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Ellie Martin

The information displayed on a web page proves very important in attracting customers, companies need to know how to set themselves apart and ensure that they’re high in the search results list. One way in which information can be set apart is through cleverly developed key words. http://www.missguided.co.uk/ use words such as “hottest dresses” in order to bring attention to there clothing range in a current and informal way which may be more suitable for the target market which is the younger generation. There is also mention to Christmas, which may attract customers who aren’t sure what presents to buy and could be intrigued to look more closely at the content.

Analysis of email marketing

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Ellie Martin

An advertisement in the form of an email was sent to my inbox from Liz Earle Beauty Co. (naturallyactive@lizearle.com). I receive advertisements from the Liz Earle website because I have visited the website and purchased beauty good from the provider in the past, when entering my details at the checkout the option was to agree to the terms and conditions and receive upcoming promotions. The option is to unsubscribe from the emails however I have not unsubscribed as I am a loyal customer and am interested in the offers that may be provided.

The advertisement page shows the Liz Earle logo to prove that the email is trustworthy and familiar. The layout included the website headings, so that if you click on any of the headings you will be diverted via hyperlink to the website and taken to the page you are interested in. There is also a number to call if you need help, to prove that the customer service is of high quality and that the company is willing to offer any advice or reassurance needed. The first promotion you see is ‘Free UK delivery on your entire order when you spend £35 or more’, this may be enough to encourage views of the website, and customers are more likely to make purchases if they feel they’re getting something in return.

The main heading in the article is ‘Vogue loves super skin which is one of the products on offer, along with 5 stars. The recommendation from a well known brand is very influential to customer perception of the product and it would definitely benefit some readers to know that the products they are using are highly thought of face cream and this may encourage customer loyalty.

Analysis of Big data: the management revolution.

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Ellie Martin

The article illustrates the importance of big data to businesses on a daily basis, it explains that the data allows us to have a better understanding of situations and therefore create better decision making processes and improves performances.

There is a link between big data and analytics; they are close in relationship. However the three key differences are 1) Volume 2) velocity and 3) variety.

The article also assesses whether big data can realistically improve business performances. To evaluate the value of being data-driven, they led a team at the MIT Centre for Digital Business, working in partnership with McKinsey’s business technology office, the aim was to test the hypothesis, the hypothesis is that it is expected that data-driven companies performer better. Interviews were held with executives at 330 public North American companies about their organisational and technology management practices, by conducting this research they were able to discover information which indicated how important the data is the relationship which stood out was : The more companies characterised themselves as data-driven, the better they performed.

So there’s plenty of evidence to show that big data has a positive effect on company performance, the question now is to whether more companies will increase the data they collect, and what effect this may have.

To be continued

McAfee, A., & Brynjolfsson, E. (2012). Big data: the management revolution. Harvard business review, 90(10), 60-66.

My first blog

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Ellie Martin

hello world

em262's blog

Just another University of Brighton Blog Network site

Category Archives: Uncategorized

How could a consumer’s online brand related activities (COBRAs) on Instagram improve your tablet sectors brand reputation?

Tips for implementing search engine optimisation in the tablet industry

How could Semantic Analysis technologies on Facebook be a key marketing tool in tablet sector companies?

Tips for using cookies to advertise tablets on YouTube

How to avoid damaging your brand with disastrous twitter movements

How could E- word of mouth benefit your Tablet sector company?

Keyword research

Analysis of email marketing

Analysis of Big data: the management revolution.

My first blog