The Role of Web 2.0 in Social Network Marketing - Case Study Example

Heading: social network marketing Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date Introduction The advancement of technology and specifically the internet has revolutionized how business is conducted in the modern world. The internet has played a significant role in bridging geographical barriers that were experience in the past. Many technological platforms that have revolutionized the way in which modern day business is conducted includes, VoIP services like Skype, social networks, business to customer websites, retailers websites. These platforms allows customers to access their desired products and services from the comfort of their homes, they can also order the same services. Notably, social networking powered by web 2.0 has emerged a strong information sharing method that has seen millions of companies adopt the technology in the recent past. This analysis reviews the role of social network as marketing strategy of the product by a particular company. It also reviews the term web 2.0 as used by the social network marketing strategy because of its flexibility in making robust websites. The web 2.0 has completely transformed how people perceived the application development with regard to website designing and future trends of robust website. It will also be discussed how web 2.0 compliant website must provide the facility of allowing the user to modify, add or delete contents of a published article and also to come up with the application that suit the current environment and lifestyles. In addition, this essay reveals that web 2.0 compliant website must give the facility for all participants to participate. Web 2.0 and its importance in social network marketing The inception of the term Web 2.0 took place in a brainstorming session between the Media Live International and O’relly in the year 2004. The term has completely transformed the way people perceived the application development and future trends of developments. Web 2.0 allows for sharing of information through its pages. This is because Web 2.0 enables simple, intuitive, and expressive pages which provide room for collaboration. They are rich and extensible; they form the basis of expressing knowledge by allowing collaborative text-editing, they allow sharing of pages as well as keeping them private (Casarez & Cripe 2008). They increase interaction and usability by allowing for drag and drop components, dynamic layout change and easy refreshing. Web 2.0 also enhances mashup components and hence making everything in the page relevant to the users. By utilizing Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP 2.0) and Java Portlet Specification 2.0 and other Google Gadgets it allows easy passage of information from one context to the other. These standards enable pulling of information together in the core basis of Web 2.0 deployment (Cromity 2008, p.34). The features of a Web 2.0 thus forms the basis of giving the participating members the ability to modify the data stored in the core, ability to come up with the application that can adapt to a given environment, display and utilize collectivity in experiences, use web in its platform , focus on collective participatory ability of members and parties to manipulate that data, application trust on the user by allowing them to publish contents for the purpose of sharing. As an example, the Bookmark sharing, RSS feeds, Google ad sense, Wikis are some of the examples using web 2.0 applications for the purpose of social networking (Deans 2009, p.123). Despite the notion that web 2.0 is a recent technology, its idea existed in the early seventies when Boffin underwent challenging moments of trying to migrate from mainframe infrastructure so as to achieve flexibility (Donaldson 2009, p.12). Relationship between Web 2.0 and social network marketing The relationship between Web 2.0 applications and Social Networking may not be clear if viewed from a layman’s point of view. However, when the two are combined, we have a very powerful technology that has been able to transform the world. The benefit of implementing the two concepts simultaneously is gradual but has a major impact to the development of marketing strategy (Donaldson 2009). According to Fox (2009, p.99) the two forms of concepts is gaining popularity as a result of its main focus on customers’ interactions. This is attributed to the fact that web 2.0 applications allows the user to participate in the contents publishing and also allows the customers to interact with the publisher or owners of the website. This forms a social media that can in turn be used to allow both the client and the seller to interact via discussion of a product by allowing both the seller and the client to publish their ideas in the website that can be read by all the participants. In addition, the client is in a position to respond to the post that was published by the sellers thus creating a good rapport between the seller and the client. Social network allows interaction of different group of people accessing the web contents by giving them a chance to contribute to the discussion or make comments about a product. This is facilitated by web 2.0 which enables for the publication by different users (clients and customers) participation in a conversion (Gretzel Law & Fuchs 2010). Current marketing strategies take full advantage of these abilities to draw collaboration with the customers via social media such as Blogs, facebook, twitter, MySpace page which allows them to communicate directly with the clients. These pages allow the sellers to increase their product awareness in the market. It also enhances the increase of viral marketing campaign and also increases customers’ satisfactions by answering queries asked by customers. As stated by Livingston (2010) Web 2.0 applications enable the functionalities of social networking which can be harnessed by social marketing. This is because Web 2.0 allows the use of modern technology such as Ajax which makes the page to load automatically and refresh instantly without the user’s intervention. Company that engages in social network marketing Sydney Writers' Centre is an academic institution that deals with writing services for it clients based in Sydney. The major services offered by the company include magazines and newspaper publications, training students on creative writing, pictures drawing, books writing and any academic related services to both students and scholars. From the company’s websites, it is evident that social network marketing is applied for the purpose of marketing (Sydney Writer Limited, 2011). The website provides external links that direct visitors of the website to the major social websites for purposes of directly interaction with the service providers. For example, the company offers external links to facebook, MySpace, corporate blogs and podcasting with authors all of which assist the company in handling issues raised by the clients. This social media offers the opportunity for the company writing services to be marketed besides offering solutions to doubting clients who are seeking further clarification. Analysis of whether Sydney Writers Centre has succeeded in the use of the social media Since most companies and small businesses have taken advantage of the social media, it is imperative to analyze the impact of the social media to these businesses in order to determine the extent of their success. Basically a mere use of the social media does not guarantee success if the social media chosen does not attract the right people into the ‘follow page’. In order to establish if Sydney Writers Centre has been successful in its implementation of the social media, a benchmark of analysis will be created, if the company shows that it meets all the outlined criteria then it shows that its implementation has been successful. Analysis benchmark The social media adopted Considering that there are many social Medias in the globe and many are still being developed, it is important to consider the social media that attracts more people towards your page. This means that the social media itself should be developed and with more people signed in order to attract lager traffic (Lytras & Damian 2008). Since most companies use social media for marketing purposes, traffic is essential, some of the world leading social medias include, twitter and facebook. A company should therefore consider adopting either of these or others that are relevant for their business. In essence in order for a company to be successful, it must adopt all these social Medias as they are free to join but reach a larger audience (Orr 2007, p.56). The number of social media adopted Apart from the common and famous social Medias used by many companies in the modern world, there are other forms of specialized social Medias that concentrate on specific issues. These social Medias enable people with similar interest to share their ideas and thus increase their efficiency and productivity because of the information acquired (Mccluskey & Korobow 2009). A company can therefore increase its niche by adopting these social networks for their advertisement besides adopting the common social networks like facebook and twitter. Presence of ‘likes’ in the ‘follow link’ Most of the common social networks like facebook and twitter have follow links which allows companies to create an advertisement page and link with users of their product in a unique way. These follow links usually have options for commends and buttons for visitors to click ‘commonly known as like’ this indicates that the visitor likes the content or the company’s website and once they have clicked this like button they will be receiving new updates in their profile about this company and they will be in a position to know when there is a new product or service (Lytras & Damian 2008). The number of comments in the social media (positive or negative) Since a social network allows for the interaction between the company and its users, there are a number of activities that usually occur. The comments posted by the company and the comments posted by the users indicate the magnitude of the activity. Since the users are allowed to post their comments, either negative or positive, they usually take advantage of the web space to express their likes of dislikes about the company’s products and services (McDermott 2007). The more the negative comments about the company the more ineffective the social network plays to the company. More positive comments indicate that consumers of the company are actually enjoying their services. The frequency of interaction between the audience and the company The frequency of comments and updates given by the company in its follow link indicates the number of activities taking place. The slower a company takes to respond to users comments, the slower it takes for it to optimize its presence in the social media. In fact in some case, it causes undesired disadvantage to the company (Orr 2007). The more the comments by the users and company’s involvement including answering the client’s questions, the more the success of the company. Sydney Writers Centre success Based on the outlined benchmark, Sydney Writers Centre has been successful because of the following reasons, the company adopted famous and effective social networks which includes facebook and twitter. It has also created a blog which allows users to subscribe and post their comments. Since the company adopted more than two social networks including its blog, it has generally attracted more traffic and audience through its different channels of communicating with the clients More so, it its facebook link, there are about 2,370 people who have liked the webpage. There are also thousands of comments in facebook, twitter and its blogs showing the magnitude of activities taking place between the company and its users (Sydney Writer Limited, 2011). Sydney Writers Centre offers guidance of writing to the users through its advice and creative photos that emphasize their core writing business. The company also shows its upcoming activities and tours throughout the world and hence keeping its followers updated with their recent events. In summary, Sydney Writers Centre has been successful in its implementation of the social media because of the magnitude of activities in its major social networks and blogs. How I will launch my own social network marketing campaign When launching a social network marketing campaign, I would be important for me to extensively study the products and services at hand that are supposed to be subjected to the campaign against the attributes and forces in the market. I will conduct a critical analysis and examination of both market and my product or service. The first aspect to consider is whether the product can be subjected to online sales and if yes, how will my intended clientele access the product, I will also consider if it will be necessary to offer shipping expense (Shih 2009). My chosen product is online birthday card sale, the rationale for this choice is because of the neutral nature of my product, and it is limitless in terms of age, ethnicity and geography. The sale of birthday cards is a campaign that can be launched globally to attract a vast market and allows clients from all over the world to purchases it online via available payment gateways (McDermott 2007). Objective of the social marketing with regard to my birthday cards The main objectives and goal of this campaign is to increase awareness of the existence of my product which is a birthday cards that I intend to sell via my website called www.birthdaycard.net. I anticipate that the sale of my business and gain will automatically have good returns. Other than increasing awareness, my objective will be to create a good relationship with my customers by creating a link between my website and social networks. The social networks that I will consider in this case include; facebook, twitter, flickr.com, blogger.com, sourceforge.net, bittorrent.com and odeo.com. The rationale for choosing these social media websites is because of they are developed and attract a larger audience all over the globe. I will implement an intensive campaign in these social networks about my product in order to achieve increased sales (Solomon & Schrum 2007). Basic steps of social networking via channels Establishing a social networking embedded into my new website to have checkout and shopping cart for clients to buy product will be a wise idea. This is because doubting client can connect to my social media and pose queries pertaining to the buying and selling of the birthday cards together with getting assurance of quality (Swearingen 2008). The following stages are handy in helping me to keep track of our campaign strategy that geared towards increasing my sales turnover. Establish workable and realistic Goals The main goal of this campaign is to increase traffic into my websites and the number of traffic referral from the social media that translate to a successful checkout. I also intend to create customers confidence with our product to guarantee them money back in case they are not satisfied with my product. My plan The first phase of my plan will be to ensure that my products are of high quality and meets customers expectations. This will form the basis of my campaign since low quality products my kill the business prematurely. The second step is to identify the market and the popular social networking media that will undertake fully reach the clients effectively, as earlier noted, I will consider facebook, twitter, flickr.com, blogger.com, sourceforge.net, bittorrent.com and odeo.com (Fox, 2009). The next step is to add these social networks links into my website to allow visitors to follow me into the social media for further clarification and then create fan pages on all these social networks. After successfully creating the links, I will add updates to my pages in order to initiate users’ participation by giving their opinions. I will also ensure to keep commenting on users notes or giving clarification about their inquiries in order to demonstrate that my company cares for their needs and willing to meet their needs (Livingston 2010). Blogging Another imperative consideration is the use of web blogs to attract more traffic to my website. I will opt to use a blog because when a blog is tied to a social media it increases its rankings in most search engines such as Google.com. When a website is highly ranked in Google.com, it means that it can attract a large traffic and hence increased product sales (Deans 2009). Local Search and Social Networks A SEO complaint website is a vital concept that must be associated with Blogs, websites and social media. This is important in my website because a SEO compliant website would be accessible via the search result which translates to higher ranking and therefore higher flow to the social media via the links in the website (Cromity 2008, p.34). Conclusion In conclusion, Web 2.0 products and services must have common elements which are fresh and useful stores in the core, give other members the ability to modify the data stored in the core, come up with the application that adapted a given environment, display and utilize collective experiences, use web in its platform, focus on collective participation ability of members and putting other parties to manipulate data, trust user and allow them to publish contents for the purpose of sharing. The Bookmark sharing, RSS feeds, Google adsense and Wikipedia are some of the major examples using web 2.0 applications for the purpose of social network marketing. Current marketing strategies take full advantage of these abilities of allowing different clients to modify data stored in the core to draw collaboration with the customers via social media such as Blogs, Face book, Twitter, a MySpace page which allows them to communicate directly with the clients. These pages allow the sellers to increase the Product awareness in the market by allowing a conversion with user which utilizes the convincing power of the seller or the marketing representative. This allows increase the Viral Marketing campaign and also increase customers’ satisfactions by answering queries to customers. Web 2.0 is applications that enable the functionalities of social networking which can be harnessed to social marketing. Sydney Writers has been described as one of the successful companies that have implemented the use of social media based on the benchmark created for its analysis. My website description has also formed objectives and strategies that will be used in the launch of my birth day card product. References Casarez, V & Cripe BJ 2008, Reshaping your business with Web 2.0: using the new collaborative technologies to lead business transformation, McGraw-Hill Prof Med/Tech, Sydney. Cromity, J 2008, Web 2.0 Tools for Social and Professional Use, Online Magazine article, 1 Sept. pp. 34. Deans, PC 2009, Social software and Web 2.0 technology trends, IGI Global snippet, Michigan. P.123. Donaldson, A 2009, Another Web Revolution? African Americans Are Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Chart a New Course, Black Enterprise, Magazine, 6 Nov. p. 12. Fox, SC 2009, E-riches 2.0: next-generation marketing strategies for making millions online, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, New York. P. 99-112. Gretzel U, Law R, & Fuchs,M 2010, Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2010: Proceedings of the International Conference in Lugano, Switzerland, February 10-12, 2010, Springer, New York. P. 288-292. Livingston, B 2010, Using Web 2.0 Technologies, American Society for Training and Development, Thousand Oaks. Lytras, M & Damian, E 2008, Web 2.0: The Business Model. London, Springer. Pp. 3-6. Mccluskey, T & Korobow A 2009, Leveraging Networks and Social Software for Mission Success: Web 2.0 Tools Help Dynamically Assess Contributions, Grasp Organizational Sentiment, and Identify Key Human Capital Assets, The Public Manager, vol. 38 no.1, pp. 23-45. McDermott, E 2007, All A-twitter about Web 2.0: What Does It Offer Libraries? Searcher Journal, vol. 15, no.2, pp.13-17. Orr, B 2007, Parsing the Meaning of Web 2.0, Banking Journal, vol. 99, no.2 pp. 56-67. Shih, CC 2009, The Facebook era: tapping online social networks to build better products, reach new audiences, and sell more stuff. Prentice Hall, New York. Solomon, G & Schrum, L 2007, Web 2.0: new tools, new schools, ISTE (Interntl Soc Tech Educ, Sydney. Swearingen, J 2008, Social Networking for Business. CBS Online 5th September Available at: http://www.bnet.com/article/social-networking-for-business/219914.[Accesssed on 27 February 20011] Sydney Writer Limited 2011, Writing courses for pleasure and profits. Sydney. Accessed from http://sydneywriterscentre.com.au/ Read More