Platform Native Social Media Marketing - Essay Example

?The past few years had d a dramatic increase with respect to the overall level of mobile devices that are used for purposes of business and pleasure throughout the world. The particular piece that was chosen for analysis within this brief summary is with regards to the October 18th article in Business Insider entitled “Platform Native Social Media Marketing”. Within the piece in question, the author discusses the benefits and pitfalls of using and over-using social media as a means of developing a marketing approach. As the year 2013 draws to a close, it can definitively be stated that the impact of mobile computing with regards to communication and marketing is more important now than it was at any previous time in the future. As a direct result of these dynamic shifts, the manner in which marketing has taken place and the manner through which firms seek to reach their clients has also changed precipitously from what it was merely a few years ago (Jones et al. 691). Accordingly, the following analysis will seek to detail the ways in which technological change has not only shifted the means of marketing and integration, but has fundamentally changed the ways that businesses promote themselves and engage with the consumers in the market (Holmes et al. 124). The article points to the fact that many firms have been unduely tempted to step away from traditional approaches and have begun to chase the allure of cheap and omnipresent forms of internet advertising; to include those linked to social media marketing. Although this can most certainly be an effective approach in engaging certain key demographics, the author warns that it must not supplant the approach that it utilized within the many other forms of marketing that have for so long helped to define the means by which businesses integrate with the consumers. In the same way that personal computer revolutionized the way in which computing took place, mobile computing has redefined the manner through which the individual communicates, the business entity markets, and computing is represented within the current world. Whereas but a few brief years ago an individual would be constrained to their desk as a manner of reaching potential clients and/or sending something as simple as an email, the communication platform that the mobile device now offers allows for a much greater degree of efficiency even if the individual in question is not within range of a Wi-Fi signal and/or within range of traditional desktop PC and keyboard (Hortinha et al. 28). Further, perhaps the greatest shift that can be noted outside of the sheer ease of communication that these devices have been able to provide is the fact that mobile marketing has been able to pervade the environment and can be exhibited to the individual upon nearly each and every website that is viewed in a mobile platform or even as advertisements that are provided within the applications that each of us have become so reliant upon (Ballve 1). With respect to the way in which the individual or the firm should integrate with the information that has thus far been presented, it must be understood that the zeitgeist of the era demands a closer attention is paid to mobile computing and the manner in which it can be utilized to garner further levels of profitability for the industry/business in question. From the personal standpoint, little if anything has changed with regards to communication over the mobile platform in the past 5-10 years (Vasilchenko & Moorish 89). Once mobile devices became internet enabled and were functionally able to send emails/MMS messages as well as search the web, few innovations have come along to shift the dynamic of personal communication. However, with that being said, it must be understood that the greatest shift that has been felt with regards to mobile computing has been with respect to the way in which businesses seek to leverage these platforms as a means of reaching out to the consumer. One need look no further than a major car manufacturer’s television advertisement to note the Twitter and/or Facebook symbols at the bottom as the salesman makes a plea for the viewer to follow them on social media (Gupta et al. 29). This of course is merely evidence of the pervasive level to which mobile technology has integrated with the world and promises to shift the technological evolution of the current era in much the same way that PCs did during the late 1980s and early 1990s (Brady et al. 557). In conclusion, as the article denotes, the issue of rapidly integrating marketing education and knowledge with the unbelievable rate of change that is exhibited within the market is something that universities and educators are currently struggling to effect (Maddox 3). With that being understood, the take away that should also be gleaned is with regards to the fact that even though new technologies exist through which marketing can take place, the entire paradigm shift away from each and every older form of marketing integration should not be immediately realized it merely due to the fact that a new method exists (Jain 55). In much the same way that print advertising continues to command a certain relevance, specifically with regards to key industries, the means and approach through which companies and individuals seek to leverage technologically oriented forms of marketing, such as social networking, should be constrained and limited to only those situations and specific instances in which the marketologist/stakeholder is firmly convinced that this particular approach is the most effective and amenable. Although the new forms of marketing may be kissing and can oftentimes represent a high reward with a relatively low risk, the repercussions of pursuing them single-mindedly can often lead to a less rewarding level of profitability and marketing success than would a more diversified strategy. In this particular way, the article that was engaged helps to provide a snapshot/overview of the current market as well as a discussion of key best practices that should be engaged as a function of affecting a better and more reasonable marketing approach (Zhang et al. 43). As a function of taking the information that was presented in the article and expanding it for relevant real world applicability and use, the reader should come to the understanding that marketing is ultimately a multi-pronged approach; intended to integrate with key demographics in a litany of different mechanisms. Works Cited Ballve, Marcello. "Platform Native Social Media Marketing." Business Insider. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. . Brady, Mairead, Michael Saren, and Nikolaos Tzokas. "Integrating Information Technology Into Marketing Practice -- The IT Reality Of Contemporary Marketing Practice." Journal Of Marketing Management 18.5/6 (2002): 555-577. Business Source Complete. Web. 25 Oct. 2013. 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