The Role of Social Media - Coursework Example

Events Studies Module Module Assignment Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Key Findings 3 Overview 3 Conclusion 8 Recommendations 8 Bruns, A. (2010) ‘Doing social media: Some fundamental principles’ Keeping Good Companies, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 309-311. 9 Events Studies Introduction There have been significant changes in the event industry in the recent past resulting from changing customer needs, increased environmental awareness, rising fuel prices and increased use of social media in advertising. This has resulted to changes in doing business mainly when it comes to business communication and advertising (Masterman and Wood, 2006:37). The media scene has changed considerably in the past with the conventional media being fast replaced by social media. The use of social media in various sectors especially in the events industry has not been clearly understood (Neff, 2005:134). Yet, it is clear that the use of social media in the events industry results to immense benefits in advertising and efficient communication to the target customers. This research paper gives a detailed analysis of the use of social media in the events industry by looking into various studies that have been conducted across the globe. Key Findings Overview A recent study that was done by the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts revealed that most people consider social media to be an imperative aspect in their lives that they cannot do without. The same survey found an interesting fact that people are never truthful on what the post on various social media sited. This shows that there a clear line between members of the public and event companies who rely on social media to get honest feedback from their customers (Safko, 2010:15). Besides the simulated reality of social media, events bring individuals together. This is the most important duty that is performed by events professionals. The events industry is highly mobile and social and perfectly suited for various for the transformation that has taken place since the inception of Web 2. 0. Additionally, the second generation social media tools have resulted to the establishment of a better platform for promoting, communicating, collaborating and planning events. It is important to note that Web 2.0 paved the way for the social media applications that are present in the current times (Bruns, 2010:310). In spite of the fact that impact of the use of social media tools has not been fully understood, most event companies use the various social media tools. Validity of the Use of Social Media Tool as a Means of Advertising in the Event Industry It is clear that the use of social media tools has increased in the current times. Various social media tools are used for online ticket as well as advertising. Findings from an online survey that was conducted on 1000 event organisers and promoters from various parts of the world including South America, Austria, North America, Switzerland and Germany revealed that social media was a valuable tool in promoting events (Bruns, 2010:310). The promoters that were interviewed worked in various sectors of the event industry including nightlife events, festivals, concerts, corporate events, seminars and conferences. However, nearly 10 percent of the parties that were interviewed saw the role of social media in the events industry as being insignificant. This trend has continued to date (Kietzmann, 2011:241). It can be seen that social media tools have continued to define themselves as key channels of communication for the events industry. Benefits of Social Media in the Events Industry Over the years, great events are held across various parts of the world and in some instances the attendance is usually disappointing. This is because attendance depends on a number of factors including weather, popularity of the artist and performance that are in attendance as well as the location of the event (Safko, 2010:15). Poor attendance in various events can be attributed to ineffective marketing. However, the use of has created an effective way for event promoters to create awareness for events. The use of social media mainly for strong brands helps promoters to reach a huge audience and this improves the popularity of events. Social media is viewed as a cheap way of creating awareness about a given event. Event managers are simply required to place an advert on their Facebook page or Twitter account and their audience can get information on the events from here (Kietzmann, 2011:242). Online ticketing has also proven to be an effective way of selling tickets. Social media sites have proven to be an effective way in facilitating goal attainment. The event organisers who were interviewed reported that the use of social media resulted to improved efficiency in communicating to their audience and this leads to high success levels. Most of the individuals that were interviewed revealed that the use of social media resulted to increased awareness of their brand and their events (Lush and Lury, 2007:403). However, event companies are advised to assess how the use of social media improves their activities and brand awareness. Events companies should carefully design the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be adopted to evaluate the progress. Commonly Used Social Media Channels Based on the study it is clear that Facebook is the most regularly used social media tool at 84 percent. This is followed by Twitter at 61 percent while LinkedIn, YouTube and XING are regularly used between 41 percent and 46 percent. Google+ is also commonly used however; it can be a replacement for Facebook (Hanna et al., 2011:265). An important tip for event companies is that the strategy adopted should be one that helps the entity reach more people. For example, it has been observed that Google Analytics can be an effective tool as it helps companies establish where the individuals that visit the company’s website are from. It would important for an event company to find out information about the individuals that are interested in showing up for their event. Secondly, they would be interested in assess their competitors’ activity. Effective Use of Social media sites in the Events Industry There are various events companies that use social media to create increased awareness of their events however; such activities are not always successful. An important consideration is that the level and frequency of social media activity determines the effectiveness of social media as a way of improving awareness for events. In order for events companies and promoters to enjoy the optimum benefits of social media, they are advised to remain active on the various social media sites and this will keep their audience interested in the content that they update constantly. However, various studies confirm that event companies do not post content on the social media sites regularly and therefore do not maximise on the use of social media (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010:102). It can be noted that the quantity and volume that is posted on social media sites counts. The postings on social media sites should also be made on a timely basis. Therefore, the closer an event draws, the more appropriate it is to post content about a given event. Problems Associated with Social Media use in the Event Industry While social media tools including Facebook and Twitter provide event companies with the best opportunity to establish a cost-effective method of advertising however, this is not always the case. Failure to fully understand and implement social media marketing can end up creating negative publicity for events and low turnout. This is mainly experienced when event organizers post an ‘off message’ on their social media sites. For example, if a company posts a partisan message on their Twitter account, the readers are more likely to get a negative perception of the organised event and fail to attend. Managing Twitter account requires a high level of professionalism and any humour that is likely to offend should be appropriately managed. On the other hand, event companies should come up with Facebook pages that can be viewed by all individuals in order to reach a larger audience (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010:97). It can be concluded social media campaigns should be tailored to suit the company’s needs and should reflect what the event is all about. They should understand the value of branding and social media for the successful marketing of their events. The other major setback that is linked with the use of social media in the events industry is the lack of time and resources (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010:101). While it is clear that event organizers have acknowledged the pivotal role played by social media in advertising, only few of them set aside a considerable amount of money and resources towards it. Conclusion From the above discussion it has been found that social media has various benefits to the events industry through increased publicity as well as a reduction in the cost of advertising. It is clear that most event companies have acknowledged the benefits of using social media for creating awareness of their brand. Effectiveness of social media in the event industry is achieved through frequent posting on the various social media sites that should be done on a timely basis. There are various facing the use of social media in the events industry that call for better management. Social media is widely accepted as the future of advertising and ticket sale in the event industry. Recommendations Event companies should adopt a balanced approach in managing social media sites and find out the options that work best for them. They are also advised to set aside more time and resources towards social media campaigns. References Bruns, A. (2010) ‘Doing social media: Some fundamental principles’ Keeping Good Companies, vol. 62, no. 5, pp. 309-311. Hanna, R., Rohm, A. & Crittenden, V.L. (2011) ‘We’re all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem’ Business Horizons, vol. 54, no. 3. pp. 265-273. Kietzmann, J.H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I.P. & Silvestre, B.S. (2011) ‘Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media’ Business Horizons, vol. 54, no. 3. pp. 241-251. Lash, S. & Lury, C. (2007)’ Global culture industry: The mediation of things’ Historian, pp. 403. Masterman, G. & Wood, E.H. (2006) Innovative marketing communications: strategies for the events industry, Routledge. Neff, G. (2005) ‘The changing place of cultural production: The location of social networks in a digital media industry’ The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 597, no. 1, pp. 134-152. Safko, L. (2010) The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, John Wiley & Sons. Xiang, Z. & Gretzel, U. (2010) ‘Role of social media in online travel information search’ Tourism Management, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 79-188. Read More