Mercedes Benz - the Use of Social and the Traditional Media - Case Study Example

Mercedes Benz Organization Affiliation Id Honesty ment My signature below confirms my pledge that all the writing is my work, except the work that is properly cited. Name……………………………………………………….. Signature…………………. Contents Honesty Statement 1 My signature below confirms my pledge that all the writing is my work, except the work that is properly cited. 1 Contents 2 Introduction 3 Social Media has changed the organizations do business as professionals to attain their set goals in which it serves as the platform for the exchange of ideas, sharing of experiences, and knowledge. The business professionals, in this case, include customers, partners, prospects, and employees who are keen to utilize the social media for their organizational growth. Effective customer relationship is very important to the success of any organization to enable it provides the right products and services to its customers. It is of great importance to understand what customers want, and the online communities have taken the opportunity to serve as a platform to provide any information on the customers needs. Through the social media such as the Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, business professionals can communicate effectively on matters concerning their business activities. One of the organizations that have incorporated the social media in its operations is the Mercedes Benz Company that deals with high-quality cars. The social media has helped it climb the ladder to great heights and get a big share of the world market. 3 References 11 Appendices 13 Introduction Social Media has changed the organizations do business as professionals to attain their set goals in which it serves as the platform for the exchange of ideas, sharing of experiences, and knowledge. The business professionals, in this case, include customers, partners, prospects, and employees who are keen to utilize the social media for their organizational growth. Effective customer relationship is very important to the success of any organization to enable it provides the right products and services to its customers. It is of great importance to understand what customers want, and the online communities have taken the opportunity to serve as a platform to provide any information on the customers needs. Through the social media such as the Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, business professionals can communicate effectively on matters concerning their business activities. One of the organizations that have incorporated the social media in its operations is the Mercedes Benz Company that deals with high-quality cars. The social media has helped it climb the ladder to great heights and get a big share of the world market. Company Profile Mercedes-Benz Cars development-Daimler AG is an organization dealing with quality cars with its headquarters in Germany Sindelfingen City (Daimler.com, 2015). The company uses Language or Speech Technology integrator and is the first automotive speech dialog system since 1996 in which it can voice-operate the car phone in high-end car lines. Its main research areas are Speech Dialog Systems, Speech Recognition, and Automatic Testing of speech technology. The organization is a global automotive Organization that was started in 1886 by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz and has several companies such as Mercedes-Benz South Africa, Sandown Motor Holdings, Daimler Fleet Management, and Atlantis Foundries. Some of its executive directors are H Werner as the CFO, A Van Merwe as the CEO: MBSA, JF Evertse as the head of Human Resources, JJ Van Zyl, and FJ Seidler (Daimler.com, 2015). The organization has other members such as the board members, and the now –executive directors to run its activities. The main products are Mercedes Benz cars, Mercedes-Benz trucks, buses, vans, Freightliner, smart cars, and Western Star. The use of Social Media Mercedes Benz organization has many fans especially on Facebook, which was over 17 million as at November 2014. Its Facebook page is one of the most valuable in the automobile industry valued at 7.2 million Euros (Daimler.com, 2015).. Mercedes Benz has successfully used the social media to address its numerous customers. According to the latest study by socialBench, the company has been the most active automobile producer in the social media. The companys contents, which are of very high grade, can reach millions of fans via the social media in which it markets its brands. According to the companys head of marketing Communications, at Mercedes-Benz cars, online and social media marketing is the key to their high sales. The comments posted on their social page are useful for the organizational leaders to improve their products and services. Mercedes Benz Company has been utilizing the social media in their marketing and campaigns for many years, which increased its sales in various countries. The campaigns are mainly on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube among others (Daimler.com, 2015). The other social site is the LinkedIn in which they had a campaign for business professionals to compete in nominations. The company leads in the automakers participation in the social media and their social campaigns have resulted in a high traffic. The campaigns raise the general awareness of their new products and create a market for them. Twitter is one of the social media that the company uses in raising awareness of its products to the public according to (Mercedes-Benz Company ..., 2015).. For instance, a campaign involving Mercedes Benz in Germany in which it tweeted open parking spots on holidays assisted in promoting the company’s New Park assist feature. It also helped people to locate the parking on the digital maps, which helped to create community and allow the users o have a joyous experience. The company participation in the photo sharing via sites such as Instagram and other photo sharing apps has increased its sales globally. In fact, the companys campaigns on Instagram are very many especially the one to promote the non-electric version of their product. The company is very creative when in matters of marketing and prefers the social sites such as the Facebook and the Instagram for their advertisements. The company turned the Hashtag into a digital marketing especially the statement: what would you pack in your GLA?” that increased its traffic by 600% (Mercedes-Benz Company ..., 2015). The company managed to enter the SUV market after the release of the GLA and used both the Instagram and Facebook in their promotion. Since their GLA brand targeted the young between 18 and 34, the marketing team figured out that the social platforms were the best to advertise. First, the company enlisted 22 Instagram influencers such as the celebrities, athletes, and photographers who are the majority in the social media. The followers had at least a half a million followers who will see the posts by the Mercedes-Benz Company. The company gave them the GLA and encouraged them to go on a journey and write their adventure using the hashtag #GLApacked and post through the link [http://www.glapacked.com/]. Mercedes makes the use of the Facebook to make a direct campaign to respond to the users on queries concerning their products. The digital marketing by the company is always successful as many people are influenced by their friends to explore the features of the pictures and videos posted by the (Mercedes-Benz Company ..., 2015). According to the companys digital marketing team, the ads on the social media paid off by an increase of 54% in the website traffic especially the Instagram and Facebook. The company’s traffic was also up by 580% as the appealing ads influenced the people to click and view them. The company knows their market very well and aims at targeting it through the social media as most f its interested customers are the young and classy. The use of pictures and videos has a big impression on the viewers who get the urge to know and see more of the company’s products. Comparison of the Social and the Traditional Media Social media has surpassed the traditional media because of its effectiveness and popularity as it provides a platform for various discussions and instant answers. The traditional media, on the other hand, is sometimes more reliable as the information contained in it such as in the newspapers and magazines is edited thoroughly enhancing its accuracy. The social media provides a two-way communication, and the parties can receive feedback almost immediately facilitating immediate action. The social media allows one to interact and communicate directly with the customers, which influences the performance of the brands (Chow, 2015). For instance, a company such as the Mercedes-Benz can get feedback concerning its products through the social media and act accordingly. On the other hand, the traditional media Provides a one-way conversation and immediate feedback are not possible. Social media provides an open and one on one marketing through displays and comments on the social sites (Chow, 2015). The social media users can buy items online and just wait for the delivery after the payment due to the direct communication. The traditional media is opaque and offers mass marketing as the users cannot hold a direct conversation with the marketers as it happens with the social media. In the social media, the content available is the brand and user-generated displayed on a free platform for all the users to see and comment. The materials posted targets the audience generally without considering their class or group so long as they log in. The content in the social media is authentic and uses a free platform in which the actors are the users and the influencers. The communication is unstructured and meant for community decision-making with many informal languages. The traditional media offers professional content that is polished before being released and uses a paid platform such as the newspaper or the television. The content involves economic decision-making and the relevant bodies such as the government normally control the communication. The use of formal language is necessary for tradition media and its main actors are the celebrities. One of the similarities between the social media and the traditional media is that they all need planning of the messages that need to be conveyed to the audience. The message should be clear and simple, and the use of the right channels is necessary for all the media whether traditional or social media. Just the same way one will use the TV and radio for advertisement to reach many customers, the users of the Facebook and Twitter must use them for to reach their customers (Chow, 2015). The two media are all measurable to see the effectiveness of the communicated message. For the traditional media, campaigns may involve the use of traffic, surveys, or sales data to gather the needed results. Ethical Principles Social media is a platform in which everybody has the freedom to share anything online especially in business to build a positive identity for various brands (Greysen, Kind & Chretien, 2010). Employees are normally free to share their ideas and information concerning their organization or enterprise. However, there are other people with a bad motive and may include information that is offensive to other media users. For this reason, there are various principles that govern the use of social media for its effectiveness. The traditional ethics rules apply to the social media, and the users must adhere to the rules that govern and direct on the type of content to be posted on the social media (Greysen, Kind & Chretien, 2010). When using any social media platform the user should bear in mind that the information will become public and will be viewed by many people all over the world. The information should not violate other people’s rights or be abusive. The user must use the social media to engage with the other readers professionally and with a lot of respect. For instance, the Mercedes-Benz Company has many followers and should ensure whatever it posts on its website is relevant to the readers. The users of the social media should make use of the website to break their news and not on platforms such as the Twitter and should beware of people’s perceptions as asserted by Greysen, Kind & Chretien (2010). In such a case, the person giving out the news should be ready to explain the meaning of the contents in case the viewers raise complaints concerning the posted contents. Since social networks are tools of communication, the users should identify themselves and be transparent with whatever they write. Whenever they are in the wrong, they should admit their mistakes, apologize, and give the correct information. Objectivity is also an important principle of the social media where one must report information based on facts and without any bias (Greysen, Kind & Chretien, 2010). The event should be reported without fear or favor to avoid irritating the media users or breaking the law. Those who give false or exaggerated information on social media should face the law. People should differentiate perceptions from truths and facts and be wary of frauds that are common in the media. The strategy is important in social media, and all the users should have training on investigation capabilities, media technology, good knowledge, and research skills. All the actors must know the purpose of posting a story or report or opinion as a strategy to define the purpose of the social media (Greysen, Kind & Chretien, 2010). Ethical considerations are important to avoid the use of vulgar language, posting obscenities such as pornographic materials, on YouTube or Facebook, or any sex related or nude pictures. Some issues concerning religion or social behaviors should e posted with a lot of caution to avoid offending the readers and the public. Other ethical issues in the social media are divulging office information and secrets that very employee using the media should be aware of to avoid any confrontation. Genuineness is an important principle in communication, and the users of the social media should post their opinions should be based on truth (Greysen, Kind & Chretien, 2010). Some bloggers and users post comments that cannot be verified and may result in political and social-economic problems. Any rumors and unconfirmed reports can cause panic, accidents, and chaos as they spread with incredible speed. All users must post stories that can be confirmed and not and not half-truths as they lower the confidence people have in the social media. Accountability and transparency are important principles in the social media, and the users should avoid writing anonymous or use avatar identifies when posting their materials (Greysen, Kind & Chretien, 2010). When tweeting or posting anything from a newsroom item, one should be careful and give verifiable information to avoid portraying a bad image of the company. One should pay attention to the way the public will interpret the information especially the one relating to the relationship, age, political views, or religious views. Joining a particular online group may give people the perception that one belongs to the group. In such a case, one is required to justify the membership to avoid negative perceptions if the group has questionable character. Recommendations The use of social media is increasing at a high rate especially among business people and the young generation due to its convenient. Companies are nowadays utilizing the Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms for their advertisement and product promotion. The company such as Mercedes Benz should maximize the use of social media, as the benefits are many. The company will benefit, as there are many viewers in the social media who can become potential customers for their products and services. All the social media users should adhere to the ethical principles and observe all the rules when posting comments or any stories that may have an effect on the social, economic, or political interests. Accountability and transparency are the key items in the social media, and all the users should give their identity on posting anything in the social media. Social media is a platform that is less costly especially for advertisements, companies, and business owners should maximize its use to cut down their promotion costs. Governments in various countries should regulate the use of the social media platforms to ensure that the users adhere to the regulations governing communication and dissemination of information. Anyone who violates the laws should face the full force of the law including jail term or fines. References CHOW, B. (2015). The comparison of social and traditional media marketing impacts on customer equity and purchase intention in luxury fashion business. Retrieved 4June2015,from http://www.itc.polyu.edu.hk/UserFiles/access/Files/BA/FYP1213/14090/11593200D.pdf Daimler.com,. (2015). Overview: Company | Daimler > Company. Retrieved 4 June 2015, from http://www.daimler.com/company Emercedesbenz.com,. (2015). Mercedes Benz. Retrieved 4 June 2015, from http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Images/Feb07/07_New_Mercedes_C_Class_Environmental_Lifestyle_Assessment.gif Google.com,. (2015). graphs of mercedes benz company - Google Search. Retrieved 4 June2015,from https://www.google.com/search?q=graphs+of+mercedes+benz+company&tbm=isch&imgil=tlHkcb4PXmSzSM%253A%253Bjs7PLjjdC7BzjM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fclassiccartrust.com%25252F2015%25252F01%25252Fclassic-car-auction-yearbook-outstanding-market-intelligence%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=tlHkcb4PXmSzSM%253A%252Cjs7PLjjdC7BzjM%252C_&usg=__ohn-PMsCw_Rch5pwTKOk1LbYsjY%3D&biw=1280&bih=685&ved=0CEEQyjc&ei=g05wVanHHOvG7AbXioHwBg Greysen, S. R., Kind, T., & Chretien, K. C. (2010). Online professionalism and the mirror of social media. Journal of general internal medicine, 25(11), 1227-1229. T CS study in the of social media activity of UK automotive industry. (2015). Retrieved 4 June 2015, from http://www.tcs.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Insights/TCS_study_social_media_activity_UK_automotive_industry.pdf Appendices (Emercedesbenz.com, 2015) (Google.com, 2015) Read More