Social Media and Advertisements - Essay Example

Social Media and advertisements

Social media refers to any applications or websites that enable people to create and share content or a platform in which people participate in social networking. Once one party creates the network, it can be shared by many people, which makes social media a good platform to advertise (Felix et al., 2017). People who earn less than $3000 per year are also active users of various social media channels; therefore, it is a competent tool to advertise for companies whose targets are these groups of people. There are specific reasons why social media is a powerful tool, as we shall see in the later sections of the paper. Besides, the various ways social media has been used for advertising products by firms who target classes of people who earn below $3000 annually.

Characteristics of BOP consumers

Bottom of the pyramid refers to the poorest two-thirds of the human economic pyramid. It is approximately four billion people who live in poverty. The four billion people represent a wide market, but without strong purchasing power, also they lack proper transaction capacity. Corporates wishing to exploit the Bop markets must develop a high-quality product with razor-thin profit margins in order to attract the market. According to Godey et al. (2015), many organizations have failed to market their products in the base of the economic pyramid because of the lack of proper marketing Strategies. One of the improper methods used is reliant on traditional marketing methods that are only relevant when a product is well established. Members of the base of the economic pyramid have the ability to adapt to new technology even if their income is low, therefor businesses; this is a phenomenon that has surprised many managers (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). Another interesting fact about the BOP market is that they are well connected. Most of them have access to mobile phones or computers, which forms a good base for social media advertising. On the other hand, non-BOP consumers are different from Bop consumers in that they have more money compared to non-BOP consumers. Businesses that target non BOP consumers can increase their margin while they concentrate on good quality. The dominant assumption that Bop does not have purchasing power is not true (Wang & Kim, 2017). They earn at least $ 2.5 per day multiplying this by 4 billion since they are estimated to be 4 billion around the world then it is $10 billion per day, which is a strong purchasing power.

Bop Response to new technologies

Consumers who belong at the base of the economic pyramid have a fairly open mind to technology (Wang & Kim, 2017). This phenomenon surprised many mangers as it is clear that people at the base of the economic pyramid are known to be financially disabled. However, the appearance of cheap mobile phones and computers have enabled them to acquire a connection much easier. BOP consumers have exploited the benefits of the network and are therefore well connected, which means that bad and good news about the market spread easily and faster—for example, news about prices of product, bargaining power and any slight change in the market.

According to Wang and Kim (2017), 60.5% of the people at the base of the economic pyramid at least own a mobile phone while at least 86% have an active sim card. Even a BoP consumer does not have a mobile phone, and they can borrow a phone and make a call enquiring about prices or any other market-related information. There have been cases in India, where poor fishermen use a mobile phone to search for the highest bidder of their daily catch (Felix, 2017). Based on the above evidence, it can be said that BOP consumers have no difficulties accepting new technologies. Although they are still financially constrained, they use every opportunity they can to improve them and incorporate technology in their daily lives.

Why do BOP consumers use social media?

People who earn less than $3000 are active in social media; therefore, companies wishing to advertise have a good platform to socialize with their potential customers (Felix et al., 2017). There is the various reason why people earning less than $ 2 use social media more frequently as we shall proceed to see in the following paragraphs. Businesses utilize the fact that people at the base of the economic pyramid are coming to social media and advertise their products. Social media enables businesses to connect with their customers, as awareness about their brand increases and leads and sales are boosted.

People in the base of the economic pyramid use social media when searching for new job opportunities. Social media network theory divided bonds into strong and weak bonds (Alalwan et al., 2017). Strong bonds cone from family members and immediate friends while weal bonds come from distance people. When it comes to the matter of employment and business opportunities, the most important people are not those within strong bonds. It is possible to get a business idea or a long term job opportunity from a person they have never met before (Ashlee & Tuten, 2015). However, other research indicates that strong bonds can also be of importance, especially in instances when a person is newly settled. If a person immigrants to an area with some of relatives and friends, they can assist him in getting a job or starting a business.

People living below the poverty line also uses social media to improve service delivery. Social media helps families and friends interact even if they may be located in different geographical locations (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). The family and friend’s cohesion is important in circumstances that a person needs assistance from others, for example, financial support or moral support in events of the sickness of they have been left by their loved ones. There are real scenarios where people use social media approach to fight poverty. A good example is Acumen community Enterprise development Trust, formed by former coal miners in Essington county, of Durham. The members believe that poverty can be decreased by building social capital and getting people involved in social projects. The trust engages with local people and helps them move towards economic development. It is in this forums that people update each other about products they want to buy and the best available prices.

There has been evidence that poor people are actively engaged in social media to find motivation and to be mentored (Tuten & Solomon, 2017. Disadvantaged children and young people in the United States befriend successful people in social networks to find role models support. This is evident when over 100 black people have been providing motivation information for more than thirty years related to education, economic prosperity and nonviolence. Social media enables the interaction between the role models and their followers (Wang & Kim, 2017). In addition, poor people use social media to get mutual support and comfort, especially for the older people in society (Godey et al., 2016). Research has suggested that as people get older, they get excluded from most activities of their community, and therefore they need a forum to interact with each other, social media becomes very important to this groups of people (Alalwan et al., 2017). Consumers get opportunities to consult their friends about the market of a particular product as they interact for any of the above reason. This is the reason why Consumers at the base of economic pyramids are well connected and updated about the markets.

When should BOP consumers use social media

There are specific instances that base of economic pyramid consumers can use social media to find a new information and new market activity. When BOP wants to find out the current trends about products and issues, they can only find the latest information in social media technology (Sharif et al., 2019). Consumers can stay on top of everything that is changing by consulting social media because it is rich in information posted by their peers and therefore it is easy to understand (Godey et al., 2016). Social media offers quick services to people who belong to the base of the economic pyramid. People always want access to information quickly and efficiently, which saves them a lot of time and energy. Just by searching for information that has been posted by their peer’s poor people can easily find relevant information in social media compared to other internet platforms.

Consumers use social media to grow a better relationship. Development of the internet enables people to be more critical about products (Shareef et al., 2019). Using various social media forums, it is possible for potential buyers to consult other people about a particular product before buying. Depending on what their friends tell them they form their opinion about a particular product and therefore the decision of where or not they should purchase it. People at the base of the economic pyramid may use social media when they want to use personalized experience. Even if poor people don’t buy much, they want to be valued as customers (Tuten & Solomon, 2017). Social media enables companies to create a personalized feeling of each customer, for example, by replying to their messages personally. The feeling of attention that customers get cannot be felt from other platforms.

People in the base of the economic pyramid may not earn much, but it is clear that they have a strong purchasing power. That is the reason why companies should struggle to prove goods that are of high quality and maintain narrow profits margins. There are different reasons why poor people consult social media which include, and as they interact, they update each other about the market and various forces affecting markets.

According to Wang and Kim (2017), 60.5% of the people at the base of the economic pyramid at least own a mobile phone while at least 86% have an active sim card. Even a BoP consumer does not have a mobile phone, and they can borrow a phone and make a call enquiring about prices or any other market-related information. There have been cases in India, where poor fishermen use a mobile phone to search for the highest bidder of their daily catch (Felix, 2017). Based on the above evidence, it can be said that BOP consumers have no difficulties accepting new technologies. Although they are still financially constrained, they use every opportunity they can to improve them and incorporate technology in their daily lives.

Why do BOP consumers use social media?

People who earn less than $3000 are active in social media; therefore, companies wishing to advertise have a good platform to socialize with their potential customers (Felix et al., 2017). There is the various reason why people earning less than $ 2 use social media more frequently as we shall proceed to see in the following paragraphs. Businesses utilize the fact that people at the base of the economic pyramid are coming to social media and advertise their products. Social media enables businesses to connect with their customers, as awareness about their brand increases and leads and sales are boosted.

People in the base of the economic pyramid use social media when searching for new job opportunities. Social media network theory divided bonds into strong and weak bonds (Alalwan et al., 2017). Strong bonds cone from family members and immediate friends while weal bonds come from distance people. When it comes to the matter of employment and business opportunities, the most important people are not those within strong bonds. It is possible to get a business idea or a long term job opportunity from a person they have never met before (Ashlee & Tuten, 2015). However, other research indicates that strong bonds can also be of importance, especially in instances when a person is newly settled. If a person immigrants to an area with some of relatives and friends, they can assist him in getting a job or starting a business.

People living below the poverty line also uses social media to improve service delivery. Social media helps families and friends interact even if they may be located in different geographical locations (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). The family and friend’s cohesion is important in circumstances that a person needs assistance from others, for example, financial support or moral support in events of the sickness of they have been left by their loved ones. There are real scenarios where people use social media approach to fight poverty. A good example is Acumen community Enterprise development Trust, formed by former coal miners in Essington county, of Durham. The members believe that poverty can be decreased by building social capital and getting people involved in social projects. The trust engages with local people and helps them move towards economic development. It is in this forums that people update each other about products they want to buy and the best available prices.

There has been evidence that poor people are actively engaged in social media to find motivation and to be mentored (Tuten & Solomon, 2017. Disadvantaged children and young people in the United States befriend successful people in social networks to find role models support. This is evident when over 100 black people have been providing motivation information for more than thirty years related to education, economic prosperity and nonviolence. Read More