Integrated Marketing Communication - Article Example

Integrated Marketing Communication al Affiliation Integrated Marketing Communication Does the uncertainty over social mediamarketing reflect the expectations of returns for companies or does it show lack of belief in social media?Uncertainty over social media marketing reflects the expectations of companies on return on investment in the sense that when a company invests in social marketing, the management expects that such a move will help the company improve sales by attracting more customers and expanding its market base.

Therefore, uncertainty touches on issues such as how much budget and effort to invest on social media and the type of social media to concentrate on (Weinberg & Pehlivan, 2011).Do all types of social media yield similar returns in terms of marketing? If not, what differentiates them and is it important for companies to consider this in social marketing?Not all types of social media yield similar returns in terms of marketing. Different types of social media have different purposes and ways in which customers respond to their use.

Technologically, social media platforms differ and so do the rules of use and functionality for example tweeting in twitter can be no more than 10 characters. This means that there is difference with respect to how people use these applications. Therefore, companies must understand how to use blogs, such as wordpress, communities such as HP, Micro-blogs such as twitter and social networks such as facebook because of their different functions. Blogs builds brands and convey product knowledge, communities establish and maintain relations, Micro-Blogs create awareness and recall while social networks influence and track attitudes and beliefs.

Therefore, when conducting social marketing, companies must understand the type that best responds to what is being marketed (Weinberg & Pehlivan, 2011).Why do organizations use different approaches to social media marketing?Organizations use three different approaches to social media marketing namely traditional approach, experimental and experimental-discovery approach. The reasons as to why organizations use the three different approaches is because of four different reasons that include marketing plan, marketing budget, marketing channels and consumer issues.

A marketing plan that an organization has could not fit into a particular approach. Similarly, marketing channels and budget that an organization has determines the kind of social media or approach to be used. The type of consumers in terms of aspects such as age and environment also determine the approach to be used in social media marketing (Weinberg & Pehlivan, 2011).ReferenceWeinberg, B. D., & Pehlivan, E. (2011). Social spending: Managing the social media mix. Business Horizons, 54(3), 275-282.