Internet Technology, Marketing and Security - Research Paper Example

? Internet Technology, Marketing and Security of Internet Technology, Marketing and Security Introduction Information and communication technology has demonstrated benefits or advantages in its application within various sectors of the economy. It is in this regard that the contemporary business environments have embraced the application of technology as a tool that facilitates the achievement of their strategic goals and objectives. More significantly technology has been utilized widely by modern marketing (Furlow, 2012). Social media marketing is the application of technology in the promotion of a company’s products and services through social media platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Skype and Google+ (Chung & Austria, 2010). The use of social media as a marketing tool has grown significantly in popularity (Hill & Moran, 2011). This research paper seeks to give a critical analysis and discussion of the reasons why social media has become very popular in marketing. The paper also describes the benefits and setbacks of social media for entrepreneurs. The paper illustrates the application of social media by Pepsi, Red bull and Coca-Cola brands and the related successes and failures. Finally this paper speculates on the future of social media in addition to relevant recommendations for effective utilization of social media by businesses in the future. Popularity of Social Media The popularity of social media as a marketing tool is argued to be a result of the advancement in information and communication technology (Furlow, 2012). The contemporary society is increasingly utilizing technology and particularly the internet for communication and networking. With the advent of social media sites and platforms, the application of technology by individuals, businesses, agencies, organizations and companies has increased gradually (Hill & Moran, 2011). Because of this, the number of people within online communities has grown out of proportion. It is because of this that entrepreneurs have targeted the online communities in the promotion of their products and services (Lipsman, Mud, Rich & Bruich, 2012). The accessibility of the internet within world economies has increased greatly due to improvement in technology and infrastructure as propelled by the forces of globalization (Hill & Moran, 2011). As a result, businesses have implemented the use of social media technology and application to communicate marketing messages and images to their consumers who have ready access to the communication media (Castronovo & Lei, 2012). Nonetheless, it is notable that many parts of the developed world has not adequately achieved access to computer systems and the internet (Chung & Austria, 2010) as a result of this, the application of social media is largely a phenomenon and concept of the urban community within developing economies because of access to technological infrastructure (Furlow, 2012). The marketing messages which are communicated via social media are passed from one individual to another rather than directly from the company or organization. Therefore, the users of social media in their evaluation of products and services act as a third parties and hence objective and credible sources of information (Lipsman, Mud, Rich & Bruich, 2012). Therefore social media is popularly being applied by business in marketing communication because of the authenticity and credibility that is associated with this form of communication (Castronovo & Lei, 2012). On the other hand, the application of social media in marketing communication has been criticized on the basis that it is informal and less reliable source of marketing communication about products and services (Hill & Moran, 2011). Additionally, it is argued that social media is only popular among specific segments of the market such as the young people (Lipsman, Mud, Rich & Bruich, 2012). This means that some segments of the market are not reached in social media marketing. Because of this, social media is often used as an alternative marketing tool for products and services. Social Media Marketing: Advantages and Disadvantages The application of social media platforms in marketing is said to be the most effective way of reaching a large number of audience at no cost (Furlow, 2012). For example Facebook and Twitter have registered billions of users within their accounts. This means that marketing communication via the social media has the potential of reaching a large number of potential consumers (Castronovo & Lei, 2012). Additionally, social media are connected worldwide via the World Wide Web. In this regard, businesses are able to attract users across the world to their products and services (Chung & Austria, 2010). Nevertheless this advantage of social media is felt by international businesses and entrepreneurs who conduct online business and transactions (Hill & Moran, 2011). More importantly though is the fact that social media allows entrepreneurs to promote their brands at no cost (Lipsman, Mud, Rich & Bruich, 2012). It this sense, businesses are allowed to benefit from the reduced costs of marketing. Since other marketing communication media such as television are relatively expensive, it is therefore argued that businesses especially small scale entrepreneurs utilize social media because there are no financial obligations and responsibilities that are associated with social media marketing (Castronovo & Lei, 2012). It is however necessary to consider that large companies have also utilized the advantages of social media to market and popularize their brands (Furlow, 2012). Furthermore, social media provide an efficient form of communicating marketing messages and images for a limitless period of time (Lipsman, Mud, Rich & Bruich, 2012). This is opposed to the procedural and time specific forms of marketing such as billboards, posters and television (Chung & Austria, 2010). Moreover, the social media help businesses to have an interactive communication with their clients. In this regard, the suggestions and comments of consumers about products and services provide valuable source of information for improvement (Castronovo & Lei, 2012). Despite the aforementioned benefits of social media marketing, there are various setbacks within this form of marketing communication which business organizations and entrepreneurs must put into consideration. Security and privacy or confidentiality of information is not guaranteed within social media platforms (Hill & Moran, 2011). Previous research on the application of social media in marketing reveal that employees of various organizations have in the past shared what is considered to be too much data and information within social media sites (Furlow, 2012). Because of this, organizations have been exposed to litigation and loss of millions in form of damages (Chung & Austria, 2010). The fact that information spreads via the internet explosively means that if an employee accidentally discloses vital data or information on the social media sites, negative implications are likely to be experienced by the firm such as the loss of customer confidentiality and reduction in market share (Castronovo & Lei, 2012). Application of Social Media by Companies Pepsi is one of the many companies across the world which has embraced the application of technology in marketing communication. The company has opted for the social media strategy as a way through which it would gain access to the vast market within the online community (Social Media Today, 2012). The adaption of this strategy by the company is motivated by the fact that the millennial generation within online communities and social networks has been described to be the largest of the consumer groups in history (Research and Markets, 2009). Pepsi’s social media strategy is targeted at 18 to 35 year old consumers. The effectiveness of the company’s social media strategy is demonstrated and explained in the following paragraphs. Dynamism in engaging consumers has been achieved by Pepsi through its social media strategy in marketing (Social Media Today, 2012). The engagement of consumers within social media networks by the company has been achieved through media campaigns that involves and features popular artists on tweets about the company’s products. Moreover, live coverage of the company’s marketing campaign has been achieved through video posting and live streaming on social media such as YouTube (Research and Markets, 2009). Additionally, the company has been able to engage the social communities through the interactive communication between the company and consumers on the company’s social media sites (Social Media Today, 2012). Content that is user-generated has been achieved by Pepsi through social media (Social Media Today, 2012). This means that the company employs its social media strategy to motivate customers to provide reviews and comments on its products and services. Because of this, the influence of the company’s consumers on potential customers has motivated more buyers to make purchase decisions on the company’s products and services (Research and Markets, 2009). Because of this, user generated messages are highlighted within Pepsi.com. Company executives within Pepsi argue that social media has enabled them to use user generated content to understand the needs and wants of consumers so that they are effectively met as a way of attaining customer loyalty to the company’s products (Social Media Today, 2012). Coca-Cola Company has also embraced the adoption and application of social media platforms as a way of marketing its brand within world markets. The company has specifically used social media to attain statistics of the market (Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated SWOT Analysis, 2012). This includes demographics on customers, age, interests, gender, wants and reactions to the various brands of the company. It is in this regard that it is argued that the Coca-Cola Company has greatly employed social media as a tool for market research. In return, the company has been able to achieve sufficient understanding of its market and the unique needs of each segment of the market (Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated SWOT Analysis, 2012). This is however one of the major applications of social media by the Coca-Cola company. The company has therefore applied the statistical data within the market to make decisions on marketing communication of its brands. For example, the design of marketing images and messages on the company’s social networking pages and accounts is designed in accordance to the interests of the consumers. For example the company has communicated marketing messages of its brands such as Sprite through basketball to attract the attention of young consumers who like the sport (Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated SWOT Analysis, 2012). It is therefore argued that the application of social networking sites in marketing communication has greatly promoted the achievement of marketing goals of the company. The marketing strategy of Red bull is targeted at viral promotion campaigns for its products especially among young consumers. This strategy employs social media as a medium of communicating marketing messages and images to the consumers. Games are used as a tool through which the consumer interest is attracted to the brand (Research and Markets, 2009). The company uses social media to understand the interests and need of its consumers. As a result, the company has integrated Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in its social media marketing campaigns. The understanding of the needs of consumers has helped Red bull to design and produce videos and images that the target audience would like to view and share with others. This is demonstrated by the integration of humors and celebrities in communicating the company’s marketing messages and images via social media such as YouTube (Research and Markets, 2009). The Future of Social Media Information and communication technologies are growing and improving significantly. Innovativeness in computer applications is likely to expand more in the future. This means that online forms of communication are likely to be the most authentic and desirable forms of marketing. More significantly, the traditional marketing media such as posters, billboards, print and television will be replaced completely with online marketing (Hill & Moran, 2011). It is predicted that social media are becoming more important to organizations and businesses as the most important media of connecting with the market. This is largely attributed to the increased scope of connectivity to the internet within world markets. In the light of this observation, it is recommended for business organizations to embrace, adopt, implement and utilize technology and specifically the social media as a way of achieving interactive communication with consumers. Conclusion In the light of the above discussion and illustrations, it is conclusive that social media has many advantages that are making it a significant and top priority media for marketing communication by many companies. Among these advantages is the efficiency of communicating marketing messages and images to a large audience at no cost (Chung & Austria, 2010). Social media has also been adopted by companies for marketing communication as a way of adapting to the technological changes within the business environment. Additionally, the engagement of consumers and drawing customer generated information is achieved through the use of social media as a marketing tool (Hill & Moran, 2011). More importantly, social media has been used by companies to understand the needs of consumers and in obtaining statistical data on the interest of various market segments. Furthermore, social media has acted as an avenue through which large markets are reached by companies and hence effectiveness in achieving their marketing goals. References Castronovo, C., & Lei, H. (2012). Social Media in an Alternative Marketing Communication Model. Journal of Marketing Development & Competitiveness, 6(1), 117-136 Chung, C., & Austria, K. (2010). Social Media Gratification and Attitude toward Social Media Marketing Messages: A Study of the Effect of Social Media Marketing Messages on Online Shopping Value. Proceedings of the Northeast Business & Economics Association, 581-586 Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated SWOT Analysis. (2012). Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated SWOT Analysis, 1-7. Furlow, N. (2012). Find us on Facebook: How Cause Marketing has Embraced Social Media. Journal of Marketing Development & Competitiveness, 5(6), 61-64. Hill, R. P., & Moran, N. (2011). Social marketing meets interactive media. International Journal of Advertising, 30(5), 815-838. Lipsman, A., Mud, G., Rich, M., & Bruich, S. (2012). The Power of "Like": How Brands Reach (and Influence) Fans Through Social-Media Marketing. Journal of Advertising Research, 52(1), 40-52 Research and Markets. (2009). Research and Markets: Red Bull: A trailblazer in marketing strategy. Business Wire (English). Social Media Today. (2012).5 Ways Pepsi's Use of Social Media is Right On. Social Media Today. 1 Read More