Social Media Marketing Strategy of Eagle Boys - Case Study Example

• Introduction

Social media marketing is defined as the way of marketing used by companies via social media channels. SMM is used by companies to engage customers in communication which leads to achievement business and marketing goals. There is large difference between traditional marketing methods and social media marketing methods. Eagle Boys is the third largest fast food chain which specializes in pizza. It operates 160 stores across Australia with 12% market share. The study focuses on social media marketing on Eagle Boys. The company focuses on responsiveness, dedication for growth and innovation. Social media platforms should focus on the mission of the company in order to convert normal followers into potential customers. The company is already using social media channels. But it needs improvement in order to increase the business. The research will focus on the loopholes of the social media marketing strategy of Eagle Boys and a new strategy will be recommended in order to improve the current strategy.

• Four Steps Model

Eagle Boys focuses on dedication of the growth of the company and innovation. The company has its wide presence on the social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. and is focused on its customers. However, the strategy needs to be more focused. Four step model of social media marketing strategy is the core mission of the strategy which the company should follow. The four step model consists of Listening, Content, Socialize and Measure (Castronovo and Huang, 2012). A good social media marketer should have the capability of listening to the audiences. The strategy should be formulated by aligning the goals and objectives of the company with the demands of the customers. Listening program of the four steps model helps in influencing social channels, social keywords, influential, etc (Michaelidou, Siamagka and Christodoulides, 2011). Listening is the essential part and an ongoing part of the online marketing campaign. Leveraging listening tools is the optimization effort of Eagle Boys to understand the actual need of social media marketing. As per the social techonographics ladder, Eagle Boys falls under conversationalists. They are active in twitter and Instagram. Status updates, posts on Instagram are done by the company.

The focus of the companies should be narrowed down in order to obtain a filtered result for the company. By collecting proper information about the customers and the demand of the market through optimizing listening tools (Social Mention, Google Alerts, Facebook Insights) Eagle Boys has to select the required content for its online campaign in the social media platforms (Kim and Ko, 2012). The business of social media marketing of any company revolves round creating, optimizing and promotion of quality content for the company. Eagle Boys is not meeting the needs of the customers in its Facebook page as the content of the page is not so much improved and focused to the innovation of the company. Content is one of the digital assets of the company if it can be properly optimized and planned. However, there is little engagement of customers in the Facebook page of Eagle Boys (Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden, 2011).

The third part of the model is being socialized. Socialization of Eagle Boys will be done as per the personas of the buyer, growing networks, promotion, etc. on researching the responses of the followers of the page, information will be published in the social media platforms (Yunus, Moingeon and Lehmann-Ortega, 2010). You Tube campaigning of Eagle Boys is more active than that of Facebook campaign. The company posted videos in YouTube for customer engagement. Different innovative and attractive pictures are posted in Instagram for attracting customers. Social media marketers of Eagle Boys have to grow their networks in a target basis. Blogs is the ideal hub for engaging people in the social media platforms. Socialization includes cycle of various social events such as optimization of contents, sharing of contents by the followers, etc.

Increased exposure of the content of social media channels attracts more followers, subscribers and fans. Participation of followers is the only option for growing networks in the social media platforms. The last step of the four step model is the measure. Measure is the important aspect while controlling the social media campaigning of a company. The company is not active in maintaining co-creation of contents on the perspective of company and its target audiences. Social media marketer of the company must have the knowledge about the limitations of the involvement of followers in these platforms (Chu and Kim, 2011). It should be kept in mind that the goals of the marketing campaign must have a link with the overall goals of the company.

• Social Media platforms

Eagle Boys is a renowned fast food chain of Australia. The company is known for its innovation. The company has changed its logo of eagle to a pink colored logo of the company. Real campaign was started by company which reinforced bigger better slogan. The company is already in Facebook. But the content of the Facebook is not updated regularly. Through Facebook, Eagle Boys should maintain its brand equity, brand image and brand awareness. By Facebook campaigning, Eagle Boys should promote facts about their new launches, innovation and other interesting features about the company (Edelman, 2010). Listening tools should be optimized properly before starting any online media campaign in any social media platforms. Campaigns should be organized in a way so that the subscribers find enthusiasm about participating in the campaign.

YouTube promotion of Eagle Boys contains videos of the campaign done by the company. Eagle Boys should increase the frequency of uploading videos in YouTube. YouTube followers of Eagle Boys must be engaged in a way so that they can be the potential customers of the company. Followers and subscribers of the page can also share videos in different social media platforms (Lefebvre, 2011). The ideas of the videos must encourage the viewers in order to participate in different promotional activities of the company.

Eagle Boys has a wide presence in Instagram. Many unique photos of pizzas and the people involved in the company are posted on the Instagram page of Eagle Boys. Special updates about offers and discounts are also posted in the Instagram. Many campaigns are done by the social media marketer which involves involvement of followers of the page. Followers of Eagle Boys in Instagram post their experiences while eating pizzas in the stores of Eagle Boys (Sashi, 2012). Mannequin of Eagle Boys is an important element in maintaining the brand image of the company. Images of special pizzas and other relevant events are also posted in Instagram. It is very important step of Eagle Boys in order to maintain its brand image and brand equity.

Presence of Eagle Boys in Twitter has helped the company in gaining more recognition and presence in the market. There are many benefits of using Twitter by the company. Good PR activities in Twitter will yield positive interactions with the customers; engagement of followers’ increases brand image; collecting responses from the followers and subscribers, etc (Wang, Yu and Wei, 2012). Proper utilization of all the social media platforms will definitely yield positive results for acquisition of new customers for the brand.

• Recommendations

Eagle Boys currently operates 160 stores throughout Australia. Due to bankruptcy and loss in business the company closed many of its stores in Australia. To improve its sales, the company needs to focus not only on traditional marketing strategies but also on social media marketing strategies. Facebook and YouTube campaign of Eagle Boys are not so much updated. The content of these two platforms are not so much updated which could enhance the participation of the followers of the company. Costs incurred in social media are very low compared to traditional marketing. However, the topics and ideas of traditional marketing of the brand can be integrated in the social media marketing strategies. Themes of advertisement should be same in every marketing platform. Innovation of Eagle boys should be integrated into the content of the social media channels like Facebook and YouTube. Till date Eagle Boys has done many innovations as rebranding strategy. In 2014, the company has spent its entire marketing budget on digital platforms. But it has not worked equally on all social media channels.

Eagle Boys should develop their new mobile application “Virtual Drivethru” for a smooth user interface. The app is different from other mobile apps of other companies. It can be used by the customers when they are near to the stores of Eagle Boys (Eagle Boys, 2016). The four steps model of formulating social media strategies should be followed by the company in order to achieve the goals of marketing strategy.

Appropriate optimization of content in social media channels and proper implementation of online campaigns in these channels can actually help the company in attracting many customers. In Facebook, the followers should be allowed to share their photos or videos of their experiences related to the campaign which will be responsible for more engagement of customers.

• Conclusion

The research report consists of social media campaigning of Eagle Boys, an Australian fast food chain serving pizza. The company is facing tough competition from Pizza Hut, Dominos Pizza, Crust, etc. Marketing strategy of Eagle Boys involves its new strategies of rebranding. However, the social media marketing strategy of the company has some drawbacks which are mentioned in the report. Recommendations are provided in order to develop the social media marketing strategy adopted by the company. Engagement of potential customers will be the main focus of Eagle Boys in the field of online platforms. Improving its strategy on online platforms will also help in generating more revenue by conversion of normal followers into potential customers of Eagle Boys. Special offers and discounts in the promotional campaign will increase the footfall of customers in the stores. Gradually, sharing of these success stories of Eagle Boys by its followers will increase the number of followers of the company.