The Benefits of Social Media - Essay Example

Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Overview of the social media marketing 3 Promotion 4 Multimedia Advertisement platform 5 Value for cost of marketing 6 Viral advertisement 7 Market segmentation 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Executive Summary In this paper, the two phenomena of social media and marketing are not reviewed in isolation but social media is related to popular marketing theories and concepts that have guided the day-to-day marketing philosophies of companies. These theories and concepts include market segmentation, promotion, multimedia advertisement, cost effective marketing, and viral marketing. These theories and concepts are certainly things that affect smaller companies and larger companies alike (Bijker, Hughes and Trevor, 2009). Under each of the theories and concepts, social media has been noted to offer unique benefits that range from the right targeting of market segment to the rightful use of forms of advertisement that satisfy consumer needs. Introduction One important feature of successful marketing has been noted to be the establishment of a strong relationship between the medium of marketing and the recipient of what is being marketed (Lessig, 2009). This means that the need to ensure that the platform used in marketing matches up with expectations of consumers cannot be underestimated. Meanwhile, with the popularity of digital media, consumers of most products and services have developed an easy flair with the use of social media (Hill, 2007). This line of consumer behaviour whereby most consumers spend greater parts of their lives on social media gives marketers an obligation of channelling their marketing through the social media. This is a course that has been extensively justified in this report. The report takes a look at the benefits of social media from a marketing perspective. Also, the impact of social media in cost saving marketing and viral spreading of content of marketing have also been emphasised in detail. Overview of the social media marketing The dominant role that digital media and for that matter the internet plays in modern business engagements. Lee (2008) actually noted that the digital media and the internet have become avenues for the promotion of both globalisation and competitiveness among modern businesses. This is a fact that cannot be denied, given the extent to which organisations of different outlook depend on digital media and the internet at large to execute business functions (Ghoshal and Westney, 2005). Another interesting trend that Lessig (2009) took the discussion of the impact of digital media on modern business was the fact that digital media fits almost every aspect of business engagement in a typical modern organisation. With this said, the current report seeks to single out marketing as an aspect of business engagement to look at how digital media influences marketing in any typical modern organisational setup. In a review by Gleason and Wiggenhorn (2007), it was debated that the impact of digital media comes with both positive and negative effects. In this report however, there is specific emphasis on social media as a component of digital media and also the positive impact of social media on marketing. To do this effectively, five major marketing theories and concepts are used, which are market segmentation, promotion, multimedia advertisement, cost effective marketing, and viral marketing. The benefit of social media on each of these five theories and concepts are discussed with detailed examples in the real life situation. The report therefore ends with a position taken on how modern organisations and businesses of different market sizes can take advantage of social media as posited in Bukatman (2003). Promotion Promotion is one aspect of the popular 5Ps of marketing. The other Ps includes price, product, place, and people (Mazza, 2009). Together, these explain the most important areas to focus competitive advantage when engaging in marketing (Mitchell, 2002). Of these, promotion can be seen as one marketing concept that touches on ways in which marketers can take their products as far to the people as possible (Lovink, 2012). In effect, the extent of a marketer’s promotion can directly influence the popularity of brand, product or service. Meanwhile, the more popular a brand, product or service is, the more likely it is that the company dealing in it would gain brand equity over its core competitors (Marcuse, 2004). Meanwhile, there are records to show that social media networking or browsing serve as the most dominant activity that goes on in internet usage (Cormack, 2012). It is not surprising that next to google.com, facebook.com is the most visited website, followed by youtube.com in third place and most other social media websites making it to the top 20 (Alexa, 2014). The implication that this gives to marketing is that whether companies advertise on these social media websites or register unto social media, chances that they will go far with their products and services are very high. This is because with the number of following that the social media sites have, and the vast geographical location that they reach, promoting any product or service on them guarantees that the very purpose of engaging in promotion, which is to boost the reach of brands can be achieved (Marx, 1971). Multimedia Advertisement platform Advertisement is another important concept in marketing that can hardly be taken out of any successful marketing campaign (Ghoshal and Westney, 2005). This is because advertisement is used as an opportunity by which marketers tell consumers more about their products. Promotion can therefore be related very directly to advertisement, even though not every form of promotion is an advertisement (Virilio, 2008). Because of the role of advertisements in making consumers know more about a product or a service, Hayles (2010) stressed that message remains a very crucial component of advertisement. By this, reference is being made to both the content of the message and the mode in which the message is carried (Gleason and Wiggenhorn, 2007). Dwelling on the mode by which the message of an advertisement is carried, Landsberg (2004) observed that different consumers would prefer to have different approaches or modalities to transmitting messages in advertisements to them. Normally, the approaches or modalities include the use of text, pictures, video, and audio. Even with reference to different capabilities of consumers, different people are able to interpret different modes of messaging differently (Crary, 2012). With this said, it would be note that the need to have an advertisement platform that offers almost all the various platforms of messaging is very important. With this said, using social media in advertising can be noted to present marketers the opportunity of varying the mode by which they advertise. This is because social media advertisement is multimedia in nature, helping to satisfy the different advertisement preference of customers or users of the social media (Poster, 2006). Value for cost of marketing Cost effectiveness is an important concept in marketing that all good standing marketers have been concerned about (Laclau, 2005). This is because once funding goes into marketing, it is expected that the funds will be yielded back in the form of revenue. But when the cost of marketing is so high, it may be very difficult to balance this up with revenue, causing the company to run at a lost even when there is positive response to the marketing that is done (Sturken and Cartwright, 2001). Meanwhile, when marketing is not done very effectively, it also comes with an effect on profitability because such ineffective marketing could trigger low patronage of products or services, which in turn would mean low revenue (Winner, 2008). With this said, it is always important that marketers will have a perfect equilibrium between the effectiveness of marketing and the cost of marketing. Once such equilibrium is achieved, it is said that there has been value for cost of marketing (Sontag, 2007). The above is said because marketing has been effective, yielding revenue, and also done at a lower cost, guaranteeing profits (Feenberg, 2009). Having said, it is very easy to admit that using social media as a platform for marketing produces such value for cost of marketing. Already, a lot has been said on the effectiveness of social media in marketing. When it comes to cost also, social media marketing can be noted to be one of the cheapest if not the cheapest (Habermas, 2011). This is because it is free to register unto most social media networks. Meanwhile once the registration has been completed, companies are free to use their ingenuity to turn the social media sites into marketing tools. Viral advertisement Viral advertisement is a theory that focuses on the extent to which a piece of advertisement or marketing can be reproduced by the people directly involved as recipients (Gere, 2012). Viral marketing or advertisement helps in both promotion and cost saving. Meanwhile when marketing or advertisement is undertaken on social media platforms, users have the opportunity of sharing what they come across with others. By just the click of a button on an advertisement or a marketing message, 1000s more people could have access to it as it is shared by one user to all followers or friends on the social media (Hill, 2007). The said benefit of social media marketing is therefore something that makes the use of social media highly adequate and convenient for any modern company, especially those who are concerned with accessibility with the information they put across by way of advertisement or marketing (Lee, 2008). Meanwhile, such forms of informal advertisement through viral advertisement have been noted to be a very important component of marketing. This is because when there advertisement come from people who have personally used products or services, chances are that those to whom the campaign is made will be taken in good faith. Market segmentation Segmentation is an important concept in marketing. According to Foss (2004), market segmentation helps marketers to identify the right consumer segment that has consumer behaviour that matches the products or services being offered by a company. With the right market segment, companies introduce to different demographic people different forms of products and services that rightly address their needs. It was for this reason that Oviatt and McDougall (2000) saw market segmentation as a useful means by which companies engage in focus strategic positioning. This is because under focus strategic option, companies identify very special segments of the market and direct their production and services to the specific needs of these people (Madsen and Servais, 2007). Meanwhile, in almost all social media networks, users that register are made to leave behind very important demographic and personal data that can be interpreted to understand the consumer behaviour of the users. For example Facebook has a timeline that is used in itemising important events in the lives of users. Through these timelines, marketers are able to make deductions on the purchasing behaviour of users (Madsen and Servais, 2007). As it is known that social media sites sell out some of these important data to companies (Oviatt and McDougall, 2000), companies are able to make the right choices with market segmentation when targeting social media users for advertisements (Gleason and Wiggenhorn, 2007). For example, through major generalisation of consumer behaviour on a line of clothing, a company will be able to know whether the products it is advertising to a particular demography of people is appropriate. Even more, it is possible for the companies to study the demographic pattern of social media users on the company’s own social media account and base on this to take decisions about market segmentation (Gitelman, 2006). Conclusion From the discussions above, it can certainly be confirmed that regardless of any weaknesses it may have, the social media comes with several benefits for organisations that want to use this platform for marketing. From market segmentation perspective, it has been noted that using social media helps in identifying the right market segment for a company’s products or services. What is more, the social media with its huge public following comes as an advantageous means to promote any brand, product or service. When it comes to multimedia advertisement, social media ensures that marketers have several media avenues by which they present their messages to the public. Some of these ways include through the use of videos, audio, text, and still pictures. By so doing, it is possible to satisfy as many different demographic preferences of customers as possible. Then also, using social media has been noted to be a very cost effective way of engaging in marketing. The freedom from cost goes to both marketers and the public who access companies. What is more, social media promotes viral marketing as it is common for people to pass on what they see on social media to others. With all these said, it will be concluded that eliminating social media from modern marketing leaves out several gaps for companies that can hardly be accounted for. 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