Aspects of ITunes Marketing Strategy - Essay Example

ITUNES AND SOCIAL MEDIA Apple released iTunes in the year 2001. This product was initially oriented towards selling music, wherein users can downloadlegal digital copies of songs of every genre. As years passed, Apple added more content and rich media to the platform, including video, books, magazines and applications. iTunes is critical in the overall marketing strategy of Apple. This platform required a transition from product-centric business towards media-centric strategy (Seba, 2002, p. 220). Today, it is the main platform that connects content to Apple devices. Strangely, social media appears to play a minor role in iTunes marketing. It does have a Facebook page but its updates are mostly music related news feed (Facebook 2014). This is the same in the case of its Twitter account. Munford noted that while Apple does have a Linkedin account and is quite active in it, it is mainly used for recruitment or that while there is an existing Apple community at Google+, the company is content to sit back and let others moderate the conversation. The author also cited the widely reported prohibition within Apple that bars employees from tweeting and discussing the company or any of its products and activities in social media. However, these do not mean that iTunes is not using social media in its marketing. Engaging Social Media ITunes strategy with respect to social media, like how the rest of the brands within Apple are marketed, is passive and one-way. The company sends out push messages but does not respond to consumers and the related social media content created are merely generated by fans. Clearly, one of the approaches, wrote Moth (2012), is “to create social buzz by staying completely silent, letting the rumour mill do the PR work instead.” For example, a report of a new iteration of the iTunes application will be leaked and fans goes on to speculate and discuss features in social media with people from iTunes neither confirming or denying the news. This goes against the popular notion that iTunes is completely ignoring social media. To demonstrate this further, there is Apple’s recent acquisition of Topsy Labs for an incredible $200 million. The huge price tag is attributed to the ability of the startup company to index half a billion daily Twitter messages, search them through Google and analyze them for user sentiments about products (Gugliemo 2013). This interest on Twitter depicts a recognition of how social media impacts Apple brands like iTunes. Also, the news of the acquisition had everyone - analysts, fans, users and the media - agitated, with each declaring a piece of their mind why Apple acquired the Topsy and how it will be used to platforms such as iTunes. This is aligned with the subtlety of Apple’s general approach to social media. By planting strategic messages and keeping away, iTunes is able to build interest, excitement and prestige that is still aligned with Apple’s obsession for minimalism, control and order while at the same engaging and benefitting from the crowd-controlled social media conversation. Social Media in the Apple Ecosystem The most direct demonstration of the iTunes social media marketing strategy could be seen within the content itself and within the wider Apple ecosystem. These two elements are characterized by close connectivity and integration among devices, content and users. This connection allows selling iTunes products to the market easier and more specific to the market’s diverse needs and interests. Interestingly, this is underpinned by the very concept of social media. Consider when a user purchases an Apple device such as a Mac, Apple TV, iPod, iPhone or an Ipad. It is imperative to download the iTunes application and register a personal account. This account becomes the users main tool of access to the products offered in the store. The profile is then linked to other iterations of social media-like features within the system such as the users Game Center account. It all looks quite complicated but, all in all, once an account is created, the user profile is logged into the system and iTunes uses this not only to offer products according to the details of the account but also to connect users with other iTunes account so that a semblance of social media network is achieved. For example, if I played Plants vs. Zombies and reached level 9, the achievement is posted at the Game Center wherein I could interact with my friends there who also are playing the same game. The Game Center also includes a feature wherein the interaction is not only based on your current network but also within a specific location. It lists players that are nearby, which you could then add or send a message to. The high degree of integration between hardware, software and content also makes it possible for iTunes to tap the users contacts stored on his Apple device for iTunes marketing. If the people listed in your contacts are using an Apple product and, hence, iTunes, then it becomes easier to build this group as the user’s network as well. For example, when a user browses the Music section in iTunes, the store can generate song offerings played by the users contacts, increasing the appeal to buy. Say a user bought a John Legend single, iTunes could suggest, for example, that John Doe (one of the contacts) also purchased and liked a song by Norah Jones. This is also demonstrated with how users could leave reviews regarding applications in the App Store, which is an integral part of the iTunes software. The integration allowed a process that constitute what Sugai et al. (2010, p. 160) called as “simplexity” wherein the users are presented with simple interface with complex processes underneath. Apple Sharing It is also important to note that iTunes integrates social media sharing functions to its ecosystem. This is not unlike how other companies embed social media “share” icons. Of course, there is a difference. When most companies would display these in prominent places, iTunes have them buried in submenus or in the form of nondescript buttons or unattractive texts. But it is still part of the overall iTunes ecosystem. Apple also has other native social media applications such as iMessage and the music social network Ping. These, including, all the abilities of applications running in iOS and even the Mac to share and communicate within the close and wider Apple social ecosystem, makes it easy for iTunes to articulate marketing messages, initiate marketing push and engage users with social media-like features. This constitutes what Peters and Bell (2013, p. xvii) called as the gestalt experience and Apple perfected it in the mobile platform. In the focus to provide the complete user experience, social features were created because it is a requirement for most of iTunes users. ITunes included features of social media and maintain a controlled connection with popular platforms such as Facebook and Twitter because they are crucial in providing a truly immersive interaction with content and information. This is probably best explained in the capabilities and potential of Siri. With a voice command (a total of two steps in the user interface), it could open iTunes or it could specifically pick a music within ITunes. It also promises (in future iterations) to integrate more social media content for user commands or search and index it according to his or her profile or how the user interacts with the Apple device he owns, with his contacts, with his online network and with the Internet in general. In evaluating iTunes it is important to remember three things. First is that the platform is a core component of the entire Apple marketing strategy. ITunes, with the App Store, is crucial in the way Apple hardwares are sold. A huge part of the users purchase decisions rely on the sheer content available in the platform, including their quality and competitive price points. Secondly, Apple’s sales and marketing approach is underpinned by the preference for a highly controlled system and the articulation of a highly controlled information. Directly using social media is against this model. To put ITunes at the mercy of the public discourse without control of the conversations that will ensue will not work for the organizational culture. The social media is also characterized by unbridled sharing of information, which is not what Apple wants because it affects profitability as well as the product quality and user experience. Finally, iTunes is part of the wider and highly integrated Apple ecosystem with its own social media infrastructure. So, all in all, one can say that iTunes has a unique way of approaching social media in its marketing strategy. This model entails minimal but existing engagement with the digital community. It sends subtle messages that take lives of their own across social media. This passive approach works well with Apple’s culture and strategy and it is effective because it engages its market. It entails very little risk because the marketing message is tightly controlled. The iTunes strategy also banks heavily on the highly integrated Apple ecosystem, with its strong social media characteristics. The only problem with the iTunes marketing model is in the area of sharing. The platform is not prepared to cede this capability to the users so it imposed restrictions. According to Peoples and Bylin (2011, p. 22), given access to almost unlimited content, there is a tendency on the part of the users to share them with their friends. This is now the risk that iTunes must contend if it will continue on its current marketing strategy. From the perspective of the company, it is a necessity in order to protect content and profitability. But its competition is already offering this functionality and it might ultimately become iTunes’ undoing. Take the case of Google Music. It is rapidly gaining popularity because one of its main features is the ability to share music with the users Google+ circles through streaming (Singh & Diamond, p. 202). 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