Social Media Marketing in the Football Industry, the of Coca Cola - Case Study Example

Social Media Marketing Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Social media marketing entails the use of online communities, blogs, and other social sites to market the services and products of a business entity (Neti, 2011). It is evident that social media marketing is the latest trends in marketing. Organizations have turned to online platforms in the quest to engage with their customers. The growth of the use of the social media phenomenon in business is rapid (Pradiptarini, 2011). The building blocks of social media marketing are goodwill and trust. As a result, all actors included in social media marketing should adhere to the notions as a guarantee of the success of the marketing strategy. Social media entails the online engagement with consumers. Business have resorted to social media marketing in order to benefit from two main advantages: the reduction of costs by decreasing the amount of time spent by staffs in transacting businesses for the entity and the possibility of increased profitability (Nadaraja & Yazdanifard, 2013). The article consists of four sections. The first section provides the application of social media marketing in various industries/companies. Secondly, a critique of the phenomenon with regards to its application in the business environment. The subsequent sections cover the significance of the phenomenon to marketers, the associated implications of the phenomenon to businesses and the industry applications of social media marketing. Social Media Marketing in the Football Industry Social media has played a pivotal role in marketing football clubs. Football clubs have used social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to create a two-way relationship with the fans (Kuzma et al., 2014). Football clubs create access to their websites by using links between that direct fans to the websites. Using the links, football clubs are able to reward loyal fans with exclusive offers. The other marketing capabilities presented by social media platforms to football clubs include the ability to update fans on upcoming fixtures and news. The ability to engage fans using such websites enables football clubs to increase their revenue by developing sponsor programmes and increasing traffic to the sites. Football clubs also leverage on social media platforms to enhance fan interaction and participation. It is evident that team organisations, particularly soccer consider the media as one of the main avenue of revenue generation. The three-year deal between NBC Universal and the Barclays Premier League aimed at granting broadcasting rights to the former organisation presents a case where the TV still stands out as one of the most preferred ways of catching up with football clubs. However, it is apparent that the rapid growth and utility of the social media in getting news and updates regarding football clubs implies that the social media will overtake the TV as the most preferred avenue of catching up with a football club. Currently, the average time spent by a sports fan on following up a team of preference ranges between 1 and 2.5 hours per week (Kuzma et al., 2014). Keeping the statistics in mind, football clubs have considered the move to social media as a wakeup call in the quest to enhance fan interaction and participation. Social Media in Marketing: The Case of Coca cola The active use of different social media platforms by Coca cola reiterates the significance of social media marketing in increasing the customer base of a company. The company’s website contains different links that direct the user to a specific social site. In the event that the user decides to explore one of the links, the resulting social media page also contains links to other social media sites that contained detailed information about the company. Coca cola’s homepage contains buttons that direct the user to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. Posts on the Facebook and Twitter page of the company are interactive and conversational. The promotional feel is not evident in the posts. In the quest to ascertain its continued presence on YouTube, Coca cola ensures that it uploads new videos frequently. In the quest to regulate conversations on Facebook, Coca cola introduced “House Rules” on its Facebook page to ensure that all persons that take part in Facebook conversations have expressed their wish to interact with the company prior to taking part in the actual interaction (Mayes, 2011). The figure below shows the Coca cola “House Rules”. Figure 1: The Coca cola House Rules (Mayes, 2011) Figure 2 below shows Coca cola’s post on Facebook Figure 2: Coca cola’s Facebook Post (Mayes, 2011) The journey towards the social media initiative started in 2010 by the creation of Expedition 206. At the onset of the expedition, Coca cola dispatched three bloggers on a mission to 206 countries. Coca cola used 206 at the time of the expedition since the number represented the number of countries that were already market destinations for the country’s products. The expedition formed a crucial segment of the Open Happiness campaign since it aimed at uncovering what made people happy. This was similar to identifying the needs of individuals. The activities of the bloggers entailed uploading videos on YouTube, blogging and posting product updates on Twitter. Members of the expedition also participated in events such as the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The social media played a pivotal role to the success of the mission since it enabled the company to find its “Open Happiness” ambassadors through an online voting system that selected the ambassadors from a group of online bloggers. In order to garner support, contestants also capitalised on Twitter and Facebook to convince supporters. From the campaign, Coca cola was able to create 650 million contacts on the media. Moreover, the company also managed to include billions of prospective customers in the campaign thereby increasing its revenue base (Mayes, 2011). Social Media Marketing: A Critique The use of social media marketing emanates from the gratification theory which is a compelling force behind the use of the internet by individuals, and the ability of the associated internet usage to fulfil the wants or needs of the person (Ruggiero, 2000). From the outset, it is evident that the theory holds a psychological perspective regarding the motivating factors behind the use of the internet by people. As a result, the decision of companies to pose as wants or needs before prospective clients is an imperative necessity for companies operating under the current competitive business landscape. Posing as a want or need enables firms to increase the appeal or awareness of their brands to consumers and customers. It is evident that the development of the uses and gratification theory focused on the television media. However, it is also apparent that the application of the theory to the social media platform is also justified. The applicability of the theory to social media emanates from the fact that users have the right to select what they intend to view on the social media just as it is the case when selecting channels on the TV set (Mayes, 2011). Similarly, the application of the theory to the social media also emanates from the fact that the creation of needs or wants by the advertising firm is similar for both the social media platform and the television. The principal concern of the uses and gratification theory is the psychological and social origins of the wants and needs that generate anticipations of the mass media thereby resulting in different forms of media exposure that yield need gratifications among other results that may include unexpected consequences. In essence, it is proper to reiterate the fact that the uses and gratification theory hold a psychological perspective to the use of the media by individuals. The model reclines on five theoretical elements. According to the first element, the content that the audience receives from the media directs and consumes media exposure (Mayes, 2011). The element applies to the use of social media in marketing effectively since consumers that are in search of information about the product portfolio would browse website links that contain information about the products and services offered by the company in question. In the event that the company does not offer such information on its website, prospective customers would not throng the website in search of the information. The second theoretical model of the uses and gratification theory is the fact that people select communication vehicles with regards to their ability to satisfy their desires or needs. The element is still applicable to the decision of individuals to use the social media to obtain product information. Being the latest trend associated with the access to information, it is evident that people consider the Internet as a reliable and fast source of information as compared to other sources such as visiting the firm’s premises physically or awaiting roadside shows from the company that fail in the timely delivering of the required information. The third element states that there exists intense competition between the media and other sources with reference to the satisfaction of needs or desires (Mayes, 2011). According to the element, the other sources could either be psychological or social. Apparently, it is proper to apply the element of the theory to social media marketing since there exists other media that satisfy the needs or desires of prospective customers and consumers such as the TV. The fourth element gives the social media substantial credit over other media in social media marketing. According to the element, there are specific cases where prospective buyers can identify or report their motives and interests. As opposed to the use of the television media to identify and report information, the social media provides an immediate platform of recognising and seeking clarifications on particular information regarding the product or service in question. Finally, the fifth element of the model states that there are specific instances where the influence of individuals surpasses that of the media in marketing. Having realised the capabilities associated with the social media, global companies have resorted to using the social media to communicate, establish strong relationships, and market their products to specific audiences (Singh et al., 2012). However, the effective use of the social media also requires companies to understand the particular social site that attracts a specific subset of prospective customers. One of the measures employed by many companies is the creation of links on different sites that direct browsers to their social networking sites that contain the required information. By so doing, the companies are able to fulfil the needs of the individuals. Company profiles inform prospective buyers on comments about the past experiences that other customers had with the product as well as product reviews. It is also apparent that such profiles contain relevant information that meets the needs of prospective customers even better than the social media. One of the evident aspects associated with the use of the social media by companies is the fact that all companies are vulnerable to the use of the social media in marketing products and services. One of the ways of dealing with vulnerabilities associated with the social media is the inclusion of information books that inform individuals about the use of the communication channels as is the case with Microsoft. Even though continuous software development of the networking sites has resulted in rapid changes in the platforms of social networking sites, it is evident that the way of reaching and communicating with customers does not change. One of the major challenges that face the use of the social media in marketing is the fact that the unregulated nature of the social media subjects a corporation to negative comments and feedback from other consumers and companies that may have the intention of tainting the image of the company (Horn et al., 2015). Power shift is the other threat associated with the use of the social media in marketing. Power shift occurs in cases where the organisation does not have control over the information relayed to customers prior to the purchase of a product (Labrecque et al., 2015). As opposed to seeking product information from the corporation as it was the case before the emergence of the social media, prospective customers tend to ask other customers that purchased the product regarding its performance via the blogs and other interactive social platforms on the Internet. In the event that a customer posted negative user experience on a particular product, the company faces the risk of losing the buyer since the customer would shift preference to an alternative product even if the company had already addressed the issue in question. Reasons for the Increased Use of Social Media by Marketers Marketers consider two benefits as incentives behind the decision to invest in social media marketing. The reduction of staff time that results in a consequent cost decrease suffices to be one of the incentives behind the use of social media in marketing (Sajid, 2016). The increased probability of creating revenue is the other incentive behind the use of social media in marketing. Marketers also embrace social media marketing based on the additional capabilities that it grants to its users over the conventional methods. The first capability entails the ability of the social media to enable the presentation of items and solutions as well as customer suggestions and grievances. Even though conventional methods are also capable of delivering products and solutions to customers, they are unable to obtain customer feedback and grievances thereby enabling the development of products that meet customer needs. Social media marketing also enables marketers to identify influencers that become evangelists of the item thereby contributing positively towards its organic development. The almost zero cost of carrying out social media marketing is the third benefit of the modern marketing strategy over its conventional alternatives. Besides the three benefits that are specific to social marketing, the other benefits of the marketing strategy include the generation of company exposure, increasing the number of subscribers, establishing new partnerships associated the business, the development of results on Internet search engines, and the development of products that reflect customer needs (Sajid, 2016). Celine (2012) identified brand awareness and exposure as one of the benefits associated with social media marketing. Besides creating awareness for new products, the social media raises the awareness of the existing products. Brand exposure refers to the instance where a prospective customer gets to know about a product or service. Social media marketing also enables traffic targeting. Since there are millions of individuals that use of the social media, the optimisation of search engines enables companies to redirect customers back to their websites based on their past browsing experience. Lead generation also suffices to be a paramount incentive behind the decision of companies to embrace social media marketing. Leads refer to the potential prospects about the sales or customers. The existence of millions of Internet users indicate that there are users that are potential customers for specific products. Social media marketing plays a pivotal role in the identification of such users thereby enabling marketers to reach the target customer base within the shortest time possible. Social media marketing also has a positive influence on the domains of human resource and public relations. Specialists in Public Relations identified the potential of the social media in unravelling pertinent client information and responding to the concerns and questions raised by clients. This enables firms to connect easily with other individuals within the industry, impress on the individual profession of an individual and also share ideas on the effective ways of developing the profession of an individual. The LinkedIn is a good example of a social media site that enhances professional development (Celine, 2012). The Implication of Social Media Marketing to Businesses The growing relevance of social media marketing to businesses has elicited the need for businesses to create “pages” on Facebook and interactive segments on company forums and blogs to create and increase their awareness to potential customers. The companies should post content, communicate with users and receive immediate feedback from customers (Bartoletti, 2013). Despite the advantages associated with the use of social media in marketing, businesses should also be aware of the challenges; particularly ethical that accompany the use of social media marketing. One of the challenges entails the risk of availing user data to third parties for data mining, surveillance, and commercial purposes (Vallor, 2012). Business managers should understand that enabling direct communication between customers via social platforms is equivalent to an extension of the traditional one-on-one talks between individuals. Therefore, they should consider the harnessing of the power to the advantage of the organization as their point of focus. Apparently, companies lack the power to control the actual expressions of customers regarding their products. However, it is evident that they have the power to influence the conversations to their advantage (Cox, 2012). Business managers should also understand that there are various ways of applying social media marketing to a firm. Therefore, a corporation cannot employ a single strategy and anticipate the best outcomes. The different strategies that business managers should consider as a prerequisite for effective social media marketing include identifying ways of monitoring customers’ perspectives about the business through their conversations as well as feedback mechanisms. The other ways include driving traffic to the website of the company, community building, deals and promotions, and customer service. In essence, businesses should consider content engineering as a crucial tool towards enhancing customer engagement in social media marketing (Lee et al., 2014). Conclusion The use of social media is imperative for the effective marketing of goods and services by businesses. Therefore, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as multinational corporations should embrace social media marketing as a strategy of either creating awareness of their new products or raising awareness on the already existing products. The uses and gratification theory identifies the need to satisfy needs and wants as the compelling force behind the increasing usage of the Internet by individuals. In the scope of social media marketing, prospective customers browse the Internet in the quest to obtain information regarding the products and services offered by the company. Global companies such as Coca cola provides a good example of the use of social media marketing to enhance customer interaction and participation as building blocks of increased customer base and overall profitability prospects of the company. References Bartoletti, M. (2013). The Importance of Social Media in Their Contribution to The Marketing Of Sport Events. Celine, A. R. C. A. (2012). Social Media Marketing benefits for businesses (Doctoral dissertation, Thesis). Cox, S. (2012). Social media marketing in a small business: a case study. Horn, I. S., Taros, T., Dirkes, S., Hüer, L., Rose, M., Tietmeyer, R., & Constantinides, E. (2015). 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