Why it’s important?
The emergence of information and communication technologies, more specifically the internet and social media, has dramatically altered the market dynamics companies compete in. Online based social media has re shaped the consumption habits of consumers by providing them with a new channel for searching, assessing, comparing and buying new products and services (Alves, Fernandes and Raposo, 2016). Mangold and Faulds (2009) state that social media allows business to communicate with their consumers and allows consumers to communicate with each other, which develops brand loyalty and improves brand awareness and recognition.
Castronovo and Huang (2012) suggest that it is of vital importance that firms use social media to leverage promotions and customer engagement in order to build brand equity and awareness. Not only is it effective because of customisation and reach through the growing usage of the internet, but because consumers regard information shared on social media by other consumers as more reliable, when compared to information issued by firms. Whitler (2014) maintains that this is because consumers disregard bias from other consumers as they do not gain from the firm’s success, so are more likely to be honest about their experience with firms. This is further supported by the word of mouth marketing association (WOMMA) who found during a study that 92% of consumers are more likely to believe recommendations from friends, family and other consumers when compared to company generated marketing (Morris, 2014).
How you can use it?
Firms want to know where their customers are and how they behave, for which social media provides a manageable platform in obtaining data for analysis. Most social media platforms are free of charge and offer engagement functions such as posting statuses, videos, photos and events all containing followable URL’s with the capability of liking, sharing and commenting which will transcend socially through the media outlet. Popular platforms including Facebook, collect user data such as interests, age, gender and education, which are segmented allowing for a targeted promotion based on identity, harnessing more efficient results (How to Advertise on Facebook: A Beginner’s Guide, 2017).
Engagement and reach can also be achieved by participating in online communities or conversation hubs such as google+, which will align an organisation with social best practices and maximise engagement. These online communities are often controlled by “influencers”, who are people or celebrities with considerable amounts of influence, so using their social reach, consumer trust and reputation through a co-sign or partnership, will drive traffic towards the site (Booth and Matic, 2011).
However, choosing the right influencer and understanding the implications of such strategies should be considered. The influencer and their image and values must align with that of the brand being promoted and the audience they possess must include the demographic being targeted. The influencers reputation will affect the perception of the brand therefore risks such as a target market change, or a controversy that could negatively affect the brand must be minimised through vetting and constant re-evaluation of key performance indicators and engagement statistics.
One way marketing is a thing of the past and social media is the vessel that destroyed it, as the best brands are the ones that directly engage with their customers. Kim and Ko (2012) support this and found that brands that take part in two-way communication are more likely to improve brand equity and increase sales. They believe that the interactivity of direct two-way communication through social media, allows brands to work with their consumers in creating new more successful products, services, business models and values. They also found that brands with a higher positive two-way engagement were more successful at increasing value, relationship and brand equity which transferred into customer equity, which heavily increased the consumers purchase intention.
So, what are the risks?
The more risks businesses are aware of the better planned they are for navigating their way around them. Industry regulators including the financial conduct authority help strategize against these by providing guidelines that monitor content distribution and regulate the ethical implications of content and its originality. This is designed to reduce unethical marketing that has negative social implications or fraudulent intentions for the consumer or society.
Other risks they provide regulation for include security and privacy, which if breached can destroy reputations as social media accounts are often successfully hacked, which can cause the leaking of private or uncontrolled information, damaging brand equity and reputation (Leavesley, 2015). Public relations faux pas can turn into brand destroying catastrophes therefore constant monitoring and management is need internally, to avoid such mistakes. This can include authorisation codes for postings and vigorous discussions with management over marketing ideas (Steinman & Hawkins, 2010). Providing all content is aligned with the organisations values and supports their marketing intentions through targeted promotions, then a social media presence is a gateway to better brand recognition and higher conversions rates.
References
Alves, H., Fernandes, C. and Raposo, M. (2016). Social Media Marketing: A Literature Review and Implications. Psychology & Marketing, [online] 33(12), pp.1029-1038. Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/doi/10.1002/mar.20936/full.
Booth, N. and Matic, J. (2011). Mapping and leveraging influencers in social media to shape corporate brand perceptions. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, [online] 16(3), pp.184-191. Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13563281111156853 [Accessed 3 May 2017].
Castronovo, C., & Huang, L. (2012). Social media in an alternative marketing communication model. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, [Online] 6, 117–134. Available at: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=21552843&AN=76482061&h=k%2bL%2fA1YiA3bkZnBfkgTRkryvIwuIm%2bQ5Po49oZQQked8Ji26SIyoko%2brOpAO8yDfhDyEKksx2qvfMU2f3V7t9A%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d21552843%26AN%3d76482061 [Accessed 3 May 2017]
How to Advertise on Facebook: A Beginner’s Guide. (2017). [Blog] Hootsuite. Available at: https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-advertise-on-facebook/ [Accessed 3 May 2017].
Kim, A. and Ko, E. (2012). Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brand. Journal of Business Research, [online] 65(10), pp.1480-1486. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0148296311003584 [Accessed 3 May 2017].
Leavesley, J. (2015) “Social media risk: Closing the management gap to safeguard reputation and productivity”, Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing,[Online] vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 351-357. Available at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/content/hsp/jdsmm/2015/00000002/00000004/art00009 [Accessed 3 May 2017]
Mangold, W. and Faulds, D. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, [online] 52(4), pp.357-365. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0007681309000329 [Accessed 3 May 2017]. (Mangold and Faulds, 2009)
Morris, H. (2014). Six Rules for Positive WOM on Social Platforms – WOMMA. [online] WOMMA. Available at: https://womma.org/six-rules-for-positive-wom-on-social-platforms/ [Accessed 3 May 2017].
Steinman, M.L. & Hawkins, M. 2010, “When Marketing Through Social Media, Legal Risks Can Go Viral”, Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, [Online] vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 1. Available at: http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/ehost/detail/detail?sid=59aea219-0fae-4e2e-8431-4539ce846ad2%40sessionmgr104&vid=0&hid=128&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=52104077&db=buh [Accessed 3 May 2017]
Whitler, K. (2014). Why Word Of Mouth Marketing Is The Most Important Social Media. Forbes. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2014/07/17/why-word-of-mouth-marketing-is-the-most-important-social-media/#62e2e30854a8 [Accessed 3 May 2017].