Opportunities and limitations of using social media in the marketing - Essay Example

Opportunities and limitations of using social media in the marketing of a cultural/creative organization Introduction Marketing is a social and managerial process through which people and groups get what they need and want by coming up with and exchanging products as well as value with other people (Applbaum, 2004, p. 24). The practice of marketing is tasked with the documentation, expectation and fulfilment of the customer requirements profitably (Smith, 2003, p. 252). On the other hand, arts marketing involve reaching the market segments that have likelihood of being interested in the product while making adjustments to the product and its commercial variables in order to make the product available to an adequate number of consumers as well as reach the goals which are consistent with the mission of the cultural enterprise. Social media has rejuvenated the manner in which individuals connect, communicate and share material (Atwood and Gallo, 2011, p. 21). It has changed the way people interact and many organizations are trying their best to catch up and many companies, including the ones that make attempts to avoid social media should be aware that majority of their workers as well as the customers they serve utilize it and this impacts the organization directly (Holloman and Adeyeri, 2012). Knowledge sharing The intricacy of a product varies depending on the specific characteristics or the consumer perception of the product (Colbert, Nantel and Bilodeau, 2001, p. 30). Some products are seen to be more intricate since the technical specifications associated with them need considerable personal effort from the consumer in order to be familiar with the attributes of the product. Majority of the cultural products are perceived as intricate particularly when the works produced need specific knowledge or depend on abstract ideas that need the ability of the consumer to understand the concepts involved (Colbert, Nantel and Bilodeau, 2001, p. 30). Even though there is a commonly held perception that arts marketing is an area of minority interest, this is more associated with a lazy prejudice than a clearly considered suggestion and it is founded on the narrow perception of arts marketing (O'Reilly, 2011, p. 26). Social media can be an important instrument as far as generating interest in the masses about arts is concerned. This is because social media can be a fast and inexpensive way of disseminating and sharing information on the arts and this information will easily reach more people. The minority that has knowledge in the cultural organization can utilize social media to reach the many that are not knowledgeable in this area. The potential limitations that are associated with marketing cultural products through social media as far as the sharing of information is concerned include the unequal access or usage. This means that the individuals who may not be using social media will have less opportunities of getting the information associated with the cultural products. Another limitation may be that social media may not be a medium of spreading negative feedback and information concerning the products associated with the cultural organization in a rapid way. Branding In an effort to include creativity that is self-oriented, the marketing concept may be reorganized in a manner that is altered where there is an extension of the terms consumer and audience beyond the public at large and also the idea of external parties to be realized that some of the marketing exchanges are self-initiated. This can be seen in the self-oriented marketing where the person that has created the concept can serve as the initial consumer of the created concept (Hirschman, 1983, p. 48). The behaviour of the consumer is a very important part of marketing and the knowledge that is acquired concerning a market as well as its components helps in responsive arts marketing. I majority of the markets, there is no single product that is sold to all the customers and this also applies as far as cultural products are concerned. However, among the consumers of cultural art, the levels of education vary with popular art attracting people from all the educational backgrounds and levels of income (Colbert, 2003, p. 32). Social media can therefore be a very important tool as far as reaching new customers is concerned since it is an easy and relatively cheap medium (McDonald, 2013, p. 69). It also increases the customer loyalty since it allows interaction with the customers on a regular basis through a platform that saves a lot of time while increasing cost efficiency (Sherman and Smith, 2013, p. 14). The downside of branding through social media is that there is no considerable effect on the customer metrics in that investments that are made on social media do not generate sales as well as the increase in customers. There are also some hidden costs linked to the maintenance of media such as the staff time for monitoring social sites as well as the regular provision of new content. Influence on organizational culture and change There is a need to examine what people actually do in their free and leisure time and very few people are not a part of culture or leisure practices as long as the leisure actions are defined in a wide way. Cultural capital has been diversified away from the narrow understanding of it as founded on the appreciation of high art alone (Bennett and Savage, 2004, p. 11). Social media in a cultural organization can be an important attribute as far as reinforcing of the culture of the organization is concerned (Mumford, Hunter and Bedell-Avers, 2008, p. 403). It can be used as a medium of collecting feedback from the customers that will enable the organization to make changes that will help the organization become more successful. Communication that is received and sent through social media will enable the organization appreciate the prevailing trends and thus inform a change in culture. The limitations that might be associated with this attribute of using social media in the cultural organization include cases where the employees in the organization might come together to resist change as well as the facilitation of company culture that is undesirable. The employees who might not be comfortable with the change in culture of the organization might use the social media to develop coalitions that will be used to counter the culture of the organization. Conclusion Social media offers a lot of advantages for marketing cultural products but some of them are not guaranteed (Procopio, Spielvogel and Thomson, 2012, p. 15). Managers should therefore make a careful consideration of the advantages and limitations of social media the same way they do when they are coming up with other policies or assessing new vendors (Daft and Marcic, 2013, p. 177). Presently, no standard in existence can be said to be definitive but to minimize the risk, it is important to keep in mind that the same compliance, moral and legal principles that are applicable to other employment practices are also applicable to social media. Bibliography Applbaum, K. 2004, The marketing era, 1st ed. Routledge, New York. Atwood, J. and Gallo, C. 2011, The effects of the internet on social relationships, 1st ed. Iuniverse Inc, Bloomington, IN. Bennett, T. and Savage, M. (2004). Introduction: cultural capital and cultural policy. Cultural Trends, 13(2), pp.7--14. Colbert, F. (2003). Entrepreneurship and leadership in marketing the arts. International Journal of Arts Management, pp.30--39. Colbert, F., Nantel, J. and Bilodeau, S. (2001). Marketing culture and the arts. 1st ed. Montreal: Morin. Daft, R. and Marcic, D. 2013, Understanding management, 1st ed, South-Western Cengage Learning, Australia. Hirschman, E. (1983). Aesthetics, ideologies and the limits of the marketing concept. The journal of marketing, pp.45--55. Holloman, C. and Adeyeri, E. 2012, The social media MBA, 1st ed, Wiley, Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. McDonald, K. 2013, Crafting the customer experience for people not like you, 1st ed, Wiley, Hoboken, N.J. 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