Principles of Marketing
Marketing Through Social Meida
Take a few minutes to watch the following video on Social Media Revolution 2016
"Social Media Revolution 2016", You Tube Video, 2:53. Posted by "Mohamed Zohny" Published on Mar 14, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVKAtOeo-AQ
Social media are interactive platforms where content is created, distributed and shared by individuals on the web. Professors Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein of the ESCP European Business School define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content." Social media websites and applications allow users to create and exchange user-generated content where people talk, share information, participate and network through technologies such as blogs and social networking sites. Within the last decade, social media has become one of the most powerful sources for news updates, online collaboration, networking, viral marketing and entertainment.
Source: Boundless (2016). Boundless Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-media-marketing-15/introduction-to-social-media-and-digital-marketing-98/defining-social-media-480-10597/
The following video showcases Why is Social Media Marketing Important. Watch the video and be prepared to respond to some questions.
"Social Media Marketing|"Quick Tips"| Why is Social Media Marketing Important?" YouTube Video, 2:49, posted by "quicksocialtips," October 12, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xEHx5xtsgI
Please complete the following activity.
Before the term Web 2.0 was coined in 1999, Internet pages featured mostly static content such as text and graphics. Websites operated on Web 1.0 technologies, where website hosts and owners were the primary content contributors. Online information targeted a mostly passive audience that received rather than contributed content. However, with the introduction of Web 2.0 Internet technologies around the turn of the 21st century, social media venues such as blogs began to allow users to interact and collaborate with each other in virtual communities. This more open, communal method of social media dialogue contrasted significantly with the top-down approach that characterized the early years of the web.
Specifically, social media began meeting the characteristics of Web 2.0 websites, providing a rich user experience, dynamic content, scalability, openness and collective intelligence. Active social media users could take advantage of various features that allowed them to 'like,' create and post images, and upload videos and text. Users could then share this information, either with a select group of friends or publicly across the web. However, this has also opened up social media websites to spamming, trolling and flaming by unscrupulous or less mature users. Nevertheless, social media has grown rapidly in the U.S. and around the world due to its blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value.
Complete the following based on what you just read.
The following table highlights the differences between Traditional and Social Media.
Boundless (2016). Boundless Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-media-marketing-15/introduction-to-social-media-and-digital-marketing-98/defining-social-media-480-10597/
Some of the most popular current forms of social media are social networking websites such as Facebook, which surpassed over one billion active monthly users in October 2012. There are several types of online platforms classified under the vast umbrella of social media. These categories include:
Social Networks: Social networking websites allow users to build web pages featuring personal portfolios and interests. These pages are used to connect with friends, colleagues and other users in order to share media, content and communications. Examples of social networks include Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Bebo.
Web blogs: Some of the oldest and most popular forms of social media are blogs. Blogs are often viewed as online journals that order content chronologically, or by date, month, year and category. Users can also maintain "vlogs," or video blogs, featuring shared or homemade videos. Blogging websites include WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr.
Microblogs: Microblogs are blogging tools that feature short posts, as opposed to journal-style posts. Users are usually restricted to posting a few lines of text, or uploading individual images and videos. Microblogging is particularly common for posting quick updates and distributing content via mobile devices. Notable microblogging sites include Twitter and Tumblr. However, social networks such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace also have their own microblogging features.
Content Communities: Users on content communities organize, share and comment on different types of content, including images and videos. YouTube, Flickr and scribd are examples of content communities.
Wikis: Wiki websites allow a community of people to add and edit content in a community-based database. One of the best-known wikis is Wikipedia.
Podcasts: Podcasts are audio and video files available through subscription services such as Apple iTunes. The term "podcast" is a neologism derived from "broadcast" and "pod" (as in "iPod"), since Podcasts are often listened to on portable media players.
Other types of social media include the following:
Social media can also be classified by their ability to facilitate certain social functions. These social functions often involve identity, conversation, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups. Kaplan and Haenlein created a classification scheme using six different types of social media-- collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (e.g. Twitter), content communities (e.g. YouTube), social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), virtual game worlds (e.g. World of Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life).
Source: "Defining Social Media," Boundless.Com, https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-media-marketing-15/introduction-to-social-media-and-digital-marketing-98/defining-social-media-480-10597/ (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Please watch the following video on the 3 types of social networks.
"3 Types of Social Networks," YouTube Video, 2:43, posted by "The Bigger Picture," December 11, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0LhcNLQ_jU
Please complete the following activity.
Digital marketing is defined as the use of internet-connected devices such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and game consoles to engage consumers with online advertising. One of the key principles of digital marketing is creating an easy, seamless, and convenient user experience for target audiences. Moreover, eliminating the amount of consumer effort needed to act on digital content helps establish an ongoing, automated relationship between brands and their audience.
Pull digital marketing is characterized by consumers actively seeking marketing content. Consumers might use tactics including search engines, email newsletters, text messaging, or web feeds to search for brand information. Push technologies deliver content as it becomes available and are better targeted to consumer demographics. However, micro targeting tends to produce smaller audiences, and results in higher creation and distribution costs.
Websites, blogs, and streaming media (audio and video) are examples of pull digital marketing. In each of these channels, users must navigate to the website to view the content. It is up to marketers to create digital content – text, images, videos, and audio – that is relevant and captivating enough to attract web visitors, increase page views, and improve search engine rankings.
Building online communities on related social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube is another pull tactic used by brands to increase the number of interactions with prospects and customers. Companies frequently use their corporate websites and blogs to build authority and credibility in their field, as well as improve their search engine optimization. Major search engines such as Google often index sites based on the quality and relevancy of their content. Thus, the higher a brand is ranked in Google, the more likely web users will find their website.
Push digital marketing occurs when marketers send messages with or without the consent of the recipients. These digital marketing tactics include display advertising on websites and blogs. Email, text messaging, and web feeds are also considered push digital marketing when the recipient has not agreed to receiving the marketing message. This practice is also known as spamming. The opposite of spamming is permission marketing, which uses technologies with the prior permission of the recipient. Marketers obtain consumer permission to send communications via subscriptions or written consent.
Subscriptions provide the opportunity to push content to fans and followers, prompting them to visit the brand's video channel, social media page, or corporate website. Text and video press releases can also be distributed easily through online distribution services. Journalists, bloggers, and other content producers visit these sites for news stories. Brands can gain web traffic from media publications and blogs that use their press releases as information sources.
A company may not exclusively use pull or push digital marketing strategies, or they might not use these strategies at all. There are other marketing strategies that may involve a variation of push or pull marketing. For instance, multi-channel communications use push and pull message technologies simultaneously.
Source: "Digital Marketing Characteristics," Boundless.Com, https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-media-marketing-15/introduction-to-social-media-and-digital-marketing-98/digital-marketing-characteristics-482-7594/
Complete the following activity.
This type of marketing allows marketers and advertisers to promote products and services over mobile devices including cellular phones, smartphones, portable media players and tablets.
According to marketing professor Andreas Kaplan, mobile marketing is, "Any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device". Because mobile marketing is conducted using wireless networks, it is also known as "wireless marketing". Marketing communications on mobile devices is generally carried out via text messages or applications. Since consumers typically carry their mobile devices with them throughout the day, mobile marketing presents a cost-effective way for brands to deliver targeted messaging across different platforms.
One of the most popular forms of mobile advertising is text messaging. During the early 2000' s, marketing through cell phones' Short Message Service (SMS) became increasingly common in Europe and parts of Asia. Consequently, SMS marketing has become a legitimate advertising channel in both developed and developing economies around the world. On average, it is estimated that SMS messages are read within four minutes after delivery to a mobile device. This makes mobile marketing highly attractive to brands looking for marketing communication channels with high lead-to-conversion rates.
Unlike SMS, Multimedia Message Service (MMS) mobile marketing combines the delivery of images, text, audio and video. Nearly all new phones with a color screen are capable of sending and receiving standard MMS messages. Brands are able to both send and receive rich content through MMS A2P (application-to-person) mobile networks to mobile subscribers. In some networks, brands are also able to sponsor messages sent P2P (person-to-person).
Please watch the following video on marketing trends on Mobile Friendly Content.
"Insivia Seminar Series: 2014 Marketing Trend: Mobile-Friendly Content," YouTube Video, 1:29, posted by "Insivia," October 23, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJJoKZUdhbA
Some of the key advantages of mobile marketing are the close proximity of owners' mobile devices, as well as the habitual nature of using cell phones, smartphones and computer tablets. Distributing promotional and advertising messages customized according to the recipient's location, geography and personal interests through wireless networks makes mobile marketing highly cost-effective given the potential reach and scope of the audience.
However, mobile marketing practices present challenges around privacy concerns over user data. Push marketing tactics -- mobile advertising that is sent without consumers' required permission – have caused privacy violations. Although mobile advertising has become increasingly popular with the growing use of tablets and smartphones, numerous concerns have emerged due to the personal nature and close proximity of mobile devices to users. Some of the major concerns around privacy include mobile spam, personal identification, location information and wireless security.
Industry bodies including the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Mobile Marketing Association have established guidelines to prevent SPAM messages and the practice of carriers selling member databases to third parties.
However, these self-regulatory rules are also in place to support marketers looking to incorporate mobile marketing into their larger marketing communications strategies.
Source: "Mobile Marketing," Boundless.Com, https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-media-marketing-15/introduction-to-social-media-and-digital-marketing-98/mobile-marketing-484-10594/ (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: "Online Consumer Behavior," Boundless.Com, https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-media-marketing-15/social-media-and-technology-trends-99/online-consumer-behavior-487-4108/ (CC BY-SA 4.0)
When consumers visit a web site, data is gathered about their online behavior. The site collects information about the visitor that includes the following:
The sites collect the data, along with other factors, and create a profile that links to that visitor's web browser.
Site publishers can then use this data to create defined audience segments based on visitors that have similar profiles. When visitors return to a specific site or a network of sites using the same web browser, those profiles can be used to allow advertisers to position their online ads in front of those visitors who exhibit a greater level of interest and intent for the products and services being offered.
On the theory that properly targeted ads will fetch more consumer interest, the publisher (or seller) can charge a premium for these ads over random advertising (or ads) based on the context of a site. Behavioral marketing can be used on its own or in conjunction with other forms of targeting based on factors like geography, demographics, or contextual web page content. It's worth noting that many practitioners also refer to this process as audience targeting.
On the theory that properly targeted ads will fetch more consumer interest, the publisher (or seller) can charge a premium for these ads over random advertising (or ads) based on the context of a site. Behavioral marketing can be used on its own or in conjunction with other forms of targeting based on factors like geography, demographics, or contextual web page content. It's worth noting that many practitioners also refer to this process as audience targeting.
Behavioral targeting refers to a range of technologies and techniques used by online website publishers and advertisers that allows them to increase the effectiveness of their campaigns by capturing data generated by website and landing page visitors.
Behavioral targeting techniques may also be applied to any online property on the premise that it either improves the visitor experience or it benefits the online property, typically through increased conversion rates or increased spending levels. Some of the early adopters of this technology/philosophy were among the following:
Please watch the following video about Behavioral Targeting: Ads That Track Your Web Activity
"Behavioral Targeting: Ads That Track Your Web Activity" YouTube Video, 5:55 Posted by "FOTA.tv" Published on Nov 11, 2009 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXoDSu12ces
Marketers and data brokers make the claim that all of the data they harvest about individuals and their shopping habits is their property and that the individuals have no rights to the data, to whom the data is sold, to how the data is used, or to its disposition.
Do you agree with the premise of the marketers and data brokers? Please explain why or why not.
If you were to start a Social Marketing campaign, what key actions would you put into place to ensure you get attention and action for your product?
This Marketing through Social Media module has described how the marketing environment has changed with technology. There is little doubt that these changes will continue to impact marketing. Like most things, social media marketing is a sword that cuts both ways; it has enhanced the ability of marketers and others to gather data to target their audience, but has also dramatically decreased the privacy of the individual, and society as a whole.
As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more targeted digital social media marketing. However, traditional media marketing will not entirely go away; it will continue to evolve into other forms of mass media marketing.
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